Daz sighed, "Now, as much as I''d love to sit and chat for a while, this array''s power is limited. At most, we''ve got half an imperial hour. Even so, I believe face-to-face conversations are much more agreeable to long-range discussions. To speed things along, I''d like to simply put everything on the table. I wish to accept you into my employment. I will pay you with both information and obscuring amber, much like the piece Kalion gave you earlier."


    The woman leaned forward and Devon saw the intensity in her eyes, "To further make my conditions appealing I shall say this now. Until we can reach an agreement of cooperation I swear upon my spirit, the core of my existence, that I will not lie to you. As I stated before, what I desire is a positive working relationship. And such relationships are based on good faith."


    "Why would you expect me to trust you when you knowingly brought me to a place where people will hunt me down for my marks?"


    "You''ll be hunted for your marks no matter where you go, I can promise you that. The difference is that in the Empire we can obscure the means of locating marks with the amber. The curse hunters beyond our borders have no such limitations. If you decide you do not wish to stay within the Empire for any reason that piece you already have should last long enough to get you outside the border."


    As Devon opened his mouth to say something else Daz cut him off, "I should also mention I don''t expect you to enter my employment today. After this meeting, I encourage you to seek out the imperial archive and do as much research as you desire. Instead of wasting time doubting the facts of the world I present to you, verify them later. For now, next question."


    Devon frowned. He''d expected Daz to want an immediate answer, but it seemed the woman was used to dealing with cautious people and had already anticipated his suspicion.


    Well, she''s not wrong. It would be far simpler to verify everything later than to question everything now. So long as there''s no time pressure it shouldn''t matter.


    "Alright then, you said you''re a schemer. I assume you mean that in a literal sense rather than a figurative one."


    "My profession within the system is Schemer, yes. What about it?"


    "I want to know how common the profession is, as well as what benefits it provides. I''m extremely curious about how different cursed classes and professions are from their normal counterparts."


    "Very well. As far as I know, there are only seven individuals within the Empire that possess the Schemer profession, and I''ve never heard of anyone, even in literature, having the cursed variation of the profession. The primary benefit of the Schemer class is probability manipulation. Simply speaking, so long as I have a scheme listed as active, that event is more likely to happen"


    Devon felt his breath catch, "To what extent?"


    "It varies based on the level of the profession, but several centuries in the past there was a rebel leader who it''s said called down a meteor shower as a part of a scheme to overthrow a planetary government."


    That''s absurd.


    "From your expression, I''m guessing that the cursed variation doesn''t act in the same way," Daz said, eagerness evident in her expression.


    For a moment Devon hesitated, but with the amount of knowledge Daz was sharing he figured it wouldn''t hurt too much to share a small tidbit of his own.


    Besides, probability manipulation is in a completely different league compared to what the cursed variation does.


    "Cursed Schemer rewards me with stat bonuses on completion of a scheme or plot. For plots, it gives numeric boosts, while schemes give percentage-based boosts."


    Daz''s expression shifted from eager to intense in an instant, "Are you telling the absolute truth currently?"


    Devon was taken aback by the instantaneous change in demeanor, "Yeah. But If you ask me, probability manipulation sounds way more powerful."


    Daz stared down at her hands. Devon could see thoughts racing in her head as she slowly said, "Yes, I would tend to agree. However, the system awarding attribute points of any kind is thought to be fundamentally impossible."


    "But doesn''t it already do that with level ups?"


    "No, it… Actually, this is too detailed of a topic for this meeting. Let''s get back on track, you can research the system''s facilitation of physical and spiritual growth on your own."


    Devon frowned, but couldn''t argue with the logic, "Alright then. I want to know what your end objective is if I''m to work for you. What''s your true goal?"


    A smile flicked across Daz''s face, "I refuse to answer."


    Devon cursed internally but could only accept the answer for what it was. Daz had said she wouldn''t lie, but she''d never promised to properly answer every question.


    This is her way of keeping secrets without having to lie about them. Since she''s also a schemer she''s probably aware I have a skill like Lie Detection, so I can be reasonably sure she won''t lie in general. She''s clearly too smart not to realize that a single caught lie would call everything else she''s said into question, and I''d disappear as fast as I possibly could. Even so, I only have one use of Lie Detection, so I need to save it for the question I need absolute verification of.


    Devon decided to squeeze as much out of the woman as he could, if only to test what she was willing to talk about. He held up the piece of obscuring amber, "What else does this do besides the obscuring effect?"


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    "It acts as a tracker. I hope you weren''t expecting me to not keep track of your whereabouts. That is its only other function though. The obscuring runes on it were too complex to fit anything else."


    Yeah, that''s what I anticipated.


    "You said before that you''d be willing to locate my family member. Hypothetically, would that happen before or after I agree to work for you?"


    "Before. It''d be an inconvenience to locate them and then have circumstances come up that put strain on a working relationship. Tell me their name and I''ll do an idle search through my sources while we talk."


    "...Sara Wells, my sister."


    A wolfish grin replaced Daz''s previously neutral expression, and Devon heard Kalion groan behind him.


    "I''d always heard that marks of disdain carried far more karmic weight than those of affection, but to this extent…" Daz mused to herself.


    Devon narrowed his eyes suspiciously, "What is it?"


    Kalion tapped his shoulder, "Remember the troublemakers I mentioned among the first wave initiates? Your sister sits head and shoulders at the top of that list."


    "Officially," Daz said, drawing Devon''s attention again, "Sara Wells is one of the most wanted figures in the Empire. From what I heard, she murdered the viscount that summoned her before disappearing. It''s actually incredibly impressive how she managed to do it too. You won''t be able to find these details in the publicly available information, but she grinded her way up above level 60 before killing the viscount several days before the initiation period."


    So she did that, huh? Why am I not surprised?


    Devon knew better than anyone how unique Sara''s worldview and personality was. It was why he had no doubts she wouldn''t return to earth. Not when she was granted the power necessary to fulfill her ideals on a scope far broader than their single planet.


    "Why is the fact that she killed the viscount before the end of the initiation period significant? Does it give the initiate a mark of disdain?"


    Following the rules of the tutorial, the protected status that had been applied to Devon and Trey would have worn off in the days preceding the end of the initiation period, but there was no guarantee the first wave operated on the same rules.


    "No, not to my knowledge. It''s important because it serves as a kind of proof that the act was premeditated. During the first phase of initiation, the initiates are confined to the planet of their sponsor until the end of the initiation. Then once the initiation phase is over a ceremony is held where anyone who wants to return to their homeworld can, and those who want to stay are given special privileges and benefits. By killing her sponsor several days before the ceremony she freed herself of the planetary limitation, enabling her escape before anyone noticed something was wrong and before the full bustle of the ceremony could get underway. Truly, it was an astonishingly skillful assassination."


    "Okay, so what does this mean in the context of our deal?"


    "It means it isn''t going to be as simple as I hoped to find her. But she''s probably still somewhere within the Empire, so it''s more a matter of time than anything."


    "You don''t care that she killed a viscount?"


    "No, I don''t. Frankly, I''d be more than happy to accept her into my employ as well. Someone that resourceful is an extremely valuable asset. I simply wonder what her motive would have been, or whether we''d have conflicting ideology."


    "And what makes you think we won''t have conflicting ideology?"


    "Nothing. I have no idea what your ideals may be, just as you don''t know what I stand for. That''s why I''ll be giving you time to look into my public record and see whether you''re content with working for me." Daz''s expression turned dark, "If you choose not to enter my employ I''ll make certain you exit the Empire and make certain you''re barred from reentry. If you resist then I''ll have you killed."


    "In other words, you don''t care what I do so long as there''s no chance of me working for one of your enemies."


    "Precisely. If, when I find your sister, you decide not to enter my employ then I''d be willing to foster a reunion followed by immediate exile. It''d be a disappointing result of the investiture so far, but better that than risk making an unnecessary enemy."


    "Sounds reasonable enough to me." Devon was devilishly tempted to use Lie Detection on that last statement. As far as he was concerned, there was very little chance Daz would actually allow him to live if he refused her offer. From her position, it seemed like he was a little too valuable of an asset to allow even the possibility of being used against her to not have him assassinated.


    Most likely she''s telling the truth verbatim, but not mentioning the fact that she would have me assassinated once outside the Empire''s borders. Best not to press her on the wording though, there''s no purpose in ruining a potential working relationship over semantics. If everything she''s said so far is, in fact, the truth then there''s far too much for me to gain here to risk throwing it away over something that might not even matter.


    The fact that she didn''t care that Sara had murdered a viscount was a very interesting piece of information that told a lot about Daz''s position. Devon would need more details on the Empire in general before he could work out precisely what it meant though.


    Devon paused before asking his next question. Most likely, it would be extraordinarily obvious he was using system-given means to verify the answer, but it was a question he had to ask. Without a definitive answer, there was no way he could trust this individual enough to proceed.


    "Since you''ve sworn to speak nothing but the truth, I''d like to know something. How often do you sacrifice your pieces in order to achieve your objectives?"


    Even without turning around, he could sense Kalion stiffen behind him. The man wasn''t a fool, he was well aware of the risks of working for a person as cautious as Daz. Even so, being reminded of it was like being splashed with a bucket of cold water, or being slapped in the face.


    Daz had an amused grin on her face. Devon was certain the question came up in most, if not all, of the so-called interviews she did. Or at least the ones where the opposite party felt they had enough room at the table to negotiate.


    How do I know you won''t just use me as a sacrificial pawn to further your goals?


    "...In almost every halfway decent game across the Empire, and most that I''ve seen from beyond, there is always the concept of give and take. Of necessary sacrifice. I can only assume your games are similar in that respect. They can be excellent representations of many things. War. Politics. Economy.


    "I do sacrifice pieces when I deem it to be necessary, I won''t deny that. However, I can say this with every measure of sincerity I can muster. I have no plans or intention of allowing any harm to come to either you or anyone I know to be associated with you. Naturally, that includes your sister."


    Activate skill-


    "However. I won''t for a single second pretend that I won''t sacrifice any of you if I deem it to be absolutely necessary. My work contains a myriad of dangers and threats, and I am not infallible. If a situation presents itself that leaves me no option but to cut my losses then I will sever them without remorse or regret."


    …Activate skill; Lie Detection.


    There is no trace of falsehood within the words of the individual known as Daz.