The next day we did another information swap with Anna (Callie had more questions), but the day after we'd already gotten what we needed, so it was back to the normal point swap. I got forty two Fantasy from Chelsea, swapping for forty two Might to fill out her physical stats a bit before training. With everyone having done their own thing for a few days, it was officially time to sign up with Camden.

When we arrived back at the manor, it looked a lot less empty. They'd carried in a ton of furniture and the place had transformed so thoroughly you'd have thought everything had been here for years. I whistled as we entered. "Do you think somebody here has an Interior Decoration Skill? I have to assume that's a thing somewhere, everything else is. I wonder what that would look like."

"Expensive." Came a familiar voice as Camden stepped into view. "It would look expensive, which is why no, no one here has it. Do you know how much experience it takes to rank up a Skill like that? The sheer number of houses and buildings you'd have to decorate even to make it to a point where you could apply it to other things?"

I didn't, though to be fair, I was biased. DS Mastery alone was something almost no one else would have been able to rank up. Forgetting the experience needed to start, just the sheer number of Skills I'd had to accrue to fold them in before my intermediate rank up was absurd for any non candidate. Focusing on our host though, I nodded solemnly. "Baron Tolbert."

He waved a hand. "Camden, when we're not in an official setting. Nobody has time for that Baron Tolbert nonsense. So, which one of you is my new healer? I assume you're here to take my offer?"

Jessie stepped forward, holding out a hand, and Camden grinned, stepping forward to take it, though he pulled back slightly as a miniature Randall poked his head over her shoulder and growled. Jessie shushed her bear. "Sorry about that Camden. Randall is a bit protective, especially in his small form. He prefers to guard me at a full size though, so when I start healing I'll need a sizeable tent."

The bear grumbled and settled back down, but the E-ranker was barely bothered. "Of course. I'll also be assigning you a guard. You can pick anyone you like. It's important to make sure you're well defended. No Baron would attack a healer in service to another noble, but anyone at the Lord rank will be free to try to kidnap or eliminate you. Better safe than sorry."

"Bethy." She said bluntly, pointing to the tiny vampire. "I'm positive no one at the...Lord rank, will be able to overpower her." She didn't mention the strong likelihood that our eccentric friend would be incapable of obeying any sort of military directions and would probably start some kind of camp riot after she got bored of trying on new uniforms. That actually solved a lot of problems I'd been worried about.

The vampire pouted. "Awww, I wanted to strike fear into the hearts of my enemies as I crushed them under my snazzy platform heel." She glanced down at her shoes, which were platform (though I wasn't really qualified to comment on their snazziness) then shrugged. "Oh well, I'm sure me and Jessie will have so much fun together. And I can let Luggage out to play! He's been so cramped in my Domain. He doesn't like to snooze as much as Poptarts and Donuts."

She waved a hand and a hulking black dog with glowing red eyes appeared in the middle of the room, shocking everyone who wasn't us as Luggage growled menacingly at the newcomers. Camden just closed his eyes and sighed. "Why do I get the impression that you all are going to be even more of a headache than having a healer will be a benefit?"

"Because you're a smart guy?" Said Benny with a snicker. "But you'll sign with us anyway, because we're a hell of an asset. Now, where are the contracts we'll be signing. Shane, Celine, and I are all going to need to go over them. Shouldn't take long, not with Focus like ours."

We'd decided to try to get the best possible terms out of signing up, so Benny's Haggle Skill, Celine's negotiation experience and political savvy, and my contract knowledge would all be put to good use here. Snapping his finger, Camden summoned a tall rail thin man with slicked back white hair and a well sculpted mustache, who handed him several sheets of paper.

"We had these made up. If you'll follow me I can have my lawyer walk you through them." He led us into a study, where a massive dark wood desk sat on plush carpet amid walls lined with bookshelves. A woman with red hair in a ponytail wearing an expensive looking suit sat at the desk, seemingly waiting. "This." He said as we entered. "Is Patricia Smallbrook. The Smallbrook family are some of the best lawyers in the system, and are known for skill and discretion."

Lawyer was apparently a job on the Empire's roles, from what I gathered. "So, you'll all be joining our little operation?" Said Patricia with a smile. "Glad to have you aboard." Her green eyes twinkled as she gestured to the three chairs on the other side of the desk. I had to wonder if those had been there the whole time or if she set them out before we arrived. Either way it was impressive.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

I sat at the far end, followed by Benny and then Celine. The contracts were laid out in front of us in stacks. "These are all the same right? Except Jessie's, which I imagine is more detailed given her particular status here. So we can just each read one and then adjust them as we go?"

"By all means." She said cordially. "You can each go over the healer contract one at a time if you like. We have nothing to hide."

That was a nice sentiment, but it didn't change what we needed to do. I picked up the contract closest to me and started parsing the language. It was mostly pretty clear cut, with a clearly stated term of employment, mention of the benefits we'd be giving up in exchange for our armor, and a few target goals for us to hit in terms of training and battles won. I had to stop a few times to clarify certain terms native to the local legal statutes, but for the most part they'd been pretty fair to us.

Benny, on the other hand, was having a field day, changing terms and altering certain stipulations when it came to our armor. Increasing the material threshold, potential enchantments, and he caught a tricky piece limit on our armor sets that probably would have screwed us. Between Inventing and Haggling he knew exactly what we should aim for, even if he wasn't really in a position to get it.

Once he found those, Celine took over, her noble negotiation skills making for quite a challenge to the smiling lawyer, whose grin became less smug and more acknowledging by the second as our resident elf worked to get us the best deal. It was probably closer to what Patricia was used to, given the Fairyland also used the Job system (alongside the Domain system we'd seen in the tournament).

Apparently the legal terms were more familiar to Celine, because she and the lawyer were bartering back and forth without pausing for breath, changing materials, enchantments, and even equipment types rapidfire as they negotiated. I grabbed Jessie's contract as they bartered, finished it (after making notes) then passed it to Benny who did the same before handing to a just finishing up Celine, and back into the negotiation they went.

Even with my Focus it was hard to follow, though I did hear her bring up Randall's armor, which brought them into an entirely new phase of bargaining. As we'd talked about, Callen had given up his right to new equipment for Randall, since he was already pretty well geared. Camden had to be consulted on a few of the changes, given the huge size difference between the bear and the swordsman, but eventually we came to an accord.

After a second time going over everything for each of us, just to make sure we hadn't missed anything, we finalized the contracts and each signed our own. Six months with an option to re-up for another two, as well as possible command training for any of us who reached E-rank.

We'd agreed to leave four months for travel to the conclave, given how long the trip here had taken. Once we finished all of our negotiating, Camden poured us each a snifter of brandy to toast our new partnership, and filled us in on exactly what we could expect.

"Well, first thing is you'll be staying in the barracks." He clarified as we all retired to a library with a whole host of overstuffed chairs. "Male and female barracks are separate to prevent fraternization. It can be a distraction. You'll get weekends as time off, though we recommend you don't stay up too late because you'll be expected to be awake and ready to start your day at Reveille each morning."

Callie's expression darkened at BOTH of those things, we'd gotten used to bunking together, and she hated being woken up early. We'd expected them though, so she didn't say anything. "Any rules about healing?" I asked cautiously. "We used to have a trainer who insisted we go without. Said it was better for muscle memory."

"It is." Admitted Camden. "But most of the people here have had physical training already. Formations are more of a mental thing. There will be combat drills to train you with your standard issue weapons, but for the most part we'll be working on formations, since we don't have time to get people into the Jobs we would normally prefer. Healing should be fine. Be warned though, I can't guarantee you constant access to the healer's tent, even if you are friends."

I knew we'd have to work around injuries, both training and battlefield, but luckily for us I could act as an intermediary because of my stored heal bursts. As long as heals were allowed we'd be fine. I was pretty sure we would need them too, this planet's Impact was going to make the whole experience here hell.

The excitement I'd been feeling had only grown. This was going to be such a good environment to correct some of the bad habits and weaknesses I had from growing up a mortal. Maybe not erase them completely, but it would be more than enough to improve my foundations as an Ascendant and a combatant. Even if we hadn't been planning to hit E-rank within a month or two and then get bumped up to command, I'd still have signed up.

Of course, at nine thousand plus, Callie and I could do it easily, and I was sure the others would be at E well before we left the planet. My goal was to have us all there by the time we hit the conclave, because I hoped it would help them take us more seriously. Plus we didn't know where it would be held, and if it was a B-rank planet F-rankers like us wouldn't even be able to stand up there let alone function.

With all the negotiations finished and our brandy sipped (apparently it wasn't a chugging alcohol) we thanked Camden and split up, Patricia offering to escort the girls to the womens barracks. I gave Callie a quick kiss before she left, hugged Jessie and my sister, and then followed Camden himself to the mens barracks to set up my space, a much easier feat with a spatial ring. Then I got in bed and went to sleep. I had to get to bed early, tomorrow was my first day of basic training.