Supported by Balthus and sided by a grinning Josefine, Cless returned to the inn waiting to be berated by Karen. Her aunt didn't disappoint.

"Are you insane?!? That High Inquisitor could've swatted you like a fly on his shoulder!"

Oh. Is this why his magic didn't work to dispel hers? And how much power should someone have to swat a person with her stats 'like a fly'. Cless was feeling skittish. She had to work so hard to keep herself under control while she played the act against the Inquisitor that maybe she was indeed insane. Who knows?

"Is his build entirely physical? His Magic and Intellect must suck! He couldn't even dispel a level sixty-two spell." Cless replied.

"No, he is a spellcaster..." Karen stopped to appraise Cless. She sighed. "Cless, how do you go out for four days and get twelve levels?"

She grinned. For some reason, putting Karen out of her game in her own turf was exhilarating for Cless.

"I scammed the orcs out of their Exp. I also got some Stats and Skills out of them." Josefine bent over from laughing. Now that the mask was off, her fey nature was showing if not on the tips of her ears on her demeanor. The coy barmaid had almost vanished. Cless continued. "Oh, we also cleared 80% of a Dungeon floor. That alone was worth two levels."

That made Balthus open an amused grin. "What did you get?"

"Twelve crowns and fifty ducats," She made a dramatic pause, "And some potions and a few fancy items."

Josefine whistled. "Woo, my first Dungeon loot. Show us!"

Karen seemed to be doing her best to keep her temper under control. "Guys, guys, the Inquisition is here to murder Cless. Can we just focus?"

That raised an important question. "What is that Trevor guy's level?"

"That's a rude question," Josefine quipped.

"About a rude old geezer. Please tell me? It is not he knows you appraised him, Josie!"

"Fine," Josefine avoided looking at Karen. "He's a hundred-ninety."

That made Cless take a step back. She was playing with people way out of her league. She was afraid to even ask the heroes' levels. She remembered the

"That's how many million Exp again? One hundred is five, two, twenty, three, forty-five, four, eighty, five, one-hundred-twenty-five. I don't know the others."

"That's irrelevant," Josefine brushed away Cless' concern. "You can't see the forest for the tree."

She thought it was funny an elf was talking about trees, but she let it go because Josefine was glaring and Cless probably let her amusement leak.

"Hold it, Josie. He's a level hundred-ninety spellcaster that can't dispel my magic?" She could work that into her plan.

"Apparently, yes, I guess? On two counts? He did cast Dispel Magic twice, didn't he?"

"That he did," Balthus quipped. "What did you do?"

Cless thought was easier to share her status with them. She triggered her Skill and did just that. Now that their bond of trust was strong, she could do it by making so that there was no punishment and that the expectation of getting advice from a hero was a fair enough compensation. She also noticed that her appraise resistance was back to its soft cap. They probably already tried to use it on her. Or the inquisition dude.

Karen broke her silence, putting emphasis and irony on the word 'few', "That is a few Stats you got from the orcs?"

"Actually no. I shared about a hundred fifty Stat points with the guild." Cless answered just to prick Karen.

Karen sat and suddenly there was a drink in her hand. "And that, children, is what an S-rank Skill can do. And they call us heroes."

"Pretty unfair," Josefine agreed and retorted. "But then again, you didn't go through what she did, Karen."

"Changing the subject, because I'd love to chat but we don't have much time..." Cless rubbed her hands. "Who is the Holy Maiden? I read about her in passing on one of the books at the church but, very conspicuously I must add, there was nothing else about her."

She had a huge hunch. Such a term and the fact that mere foot soldiers knew about her while Cless, that spent her whole life without anything else but religious books and novels to read. It was deliberately removed and she'd bet a hundred Stat points that it was.

"Does anyone know of a Holy Maiden? Yes? No?" She glanced at the three looking for an answer.

Before the situation became too unbearable, someone entered. The Priest. He seemed to be in a hurry, as his face was flushed with physical exertion and had this look of horror stamped. Cless turned around to see him and he locked his eyes on her. An awkward moment later, he recognized her.

"Cless? Why are you dressed like that?"

She bowed and explained what happened with all sarcasm she could muster. "The nice fellows of the Inquisition came to pay their respects and probably take me away under irons. But I decided to use the Codex against them. They can't arrest a member of the Church in good standing without a formal accusation. Since you are the leader of the Church in this town and intervention was not declared, I assumed they didn't have such accusation filed. What happened?"

At least she knew the Church's procedures. For a world-spanning organization, said rules were its lifeblood, more than the faith of its clergy. Filing a formal accusation would mean exposing what were their terms and allowing them to level the playing field. Declaring an intervention would have serious political implications and also expose their hand as the public would need to know the reason for the intervention and the Association had the report of thousands of orcs killed during the last weeks in the woods around the town so a monster invasion was not a viable excuse.

But something bad happened. The way the Priest came rushing and obviously concerned with her assured that.

"An inquisitor went to my church and filed an accusation against all the nuns. The bastards accused them of satanism and took them all away!" Now that he was no longer worried about Cless, his rage boiled to the surface.

Cless staggered and Karen had to support her. The nuns were the closest thing she had to a maternal figure growing up. Her initial gut instinct was to go there and burn the Inquisition in the sacred fire, what she had to agree was rather ironic. But there was another detail she picked up.

"The accusation was written in a way that could include me if I was hosted at the church yet, right?"

The priest nodded. So it could be a double play. She didn't discard the idea that one of the nuns was a spy, as some of them rotated in and out. Maybe several spies changed places during these thirteen years she spent there. But not recently, and communication in and out of the local church itself would be hard to happen without the knowledge of the Priest. They would recall all the nuns, "execute" the spy's identity and release the others. If Cless was in the middle of them, better yet.

"We have to save them!" Cless cried.

"Wait, wait. They won't kill them," The priest let go of his anger to calm Cless. "There must be a trial and I must attend. Now that you revealed yourself, you will probably be called to that trial, and this is the problem if you know what I mean."

She did. The Codex stated that during a trial if evidence was presented, anyone attending could be accused. It was not unheard of using these Inquisitorial trials to convict a third party. However, the trial would take time to organize. They would have at least the time it takes to travel to the next town and back. Two days in their case.

"We are short on time. I need to prepare myself, I can take down these Inquisitors," Cless was worried for the nuns. She would risk herself if it meant setting them free. "First things first. We got some items from the Dungeon but we don't know what they do."

Josefine raised her hand. "I'll teach you the identify spell. With the amount of Magic you have, you can use it even without having a class for it."

"Thanks, Josie. I would also love if you taught me some way to recover Power faster. I dumped fifty points in Wisdom but it is still low even with a Skill do double the recovery."

The great sage disguised as barmaid tapped her cheek. "See what happens to people that lose all sort of contact with reality? And to think that spellcasters were used to 'five spells a day' and they thought it was nice. Cless, a full magician of your level has fifty-five Magic if they are lucky. And they don't have Wisdom unlocked. That was a pretty stupid Stat to unlock as all classes that grant it are crap."

"Is there any other way?" She asked. "I'm having trouble keeping my Power reservoir full maintaining the Golem."

"You should get the Clockwork Artisan class, it is a fifth tier one, if you want to have animated servants all the time. Golem is for combat. Summon, pew pew and die. Comes fast and goes fast."

Good reference. She wasn't inclined to stray off her path but she needed to keep her options broad. Speaking of which.

"Any stat-less class you know besides Skill Hunter?" She would ask about 'good' ones but she knew their bias against them.

"All of them are crap," Balthus sighed and broke the silence. "There is the Gambler where everything you do becomes a random dice roll. Worse yet, a balanced random dice. You can either win in one shot or suicide in one shot. Then there's the Allium Knight. It gives nothing, no proficiencies, and no stat bonus until you earn ninety levels in it. Then it increases everything at a high pace."

Josefine went next, "Get five hundred more books and you can be a Librarian. Pretty neat class, it gives proficiency in anything you have in your library so long you've read each book once in the last year. Until you have so many books it takes a whole year to read them all."

"Beastmaster, maybe?" Karen suggested. "It is a second-tier and she already has the boys. She could tame non-sentient monsters as well."

"Oh, I like that one." Cless was already thinking of the mole baby upstairs. If SIlverfang didn't eat it yet. "Can it strengthen the boys?"

Karen shrugged. "I don't know. You'd have to try."

"Good. I need to change professions too, I'm going to the Association."

Her aunt held her by the wrist with a stern look. "Take Balthus with you. George and Olson are using all their influence to keep the town under their control and curb the Inquisition but the streets are not safe for you."

"Okay," Cless beamed. It felt warm to have so many people worried about her. "Come, master Balthus." Cless took him by the arm and went out, pushing the big man out first. She poked her head out and taunted Karen, "When I come back, you must tell me what tier of divine magic my mom reached!"

She went out but not without overhearing the next exchange.

"She didn't—"

Karen was cut off by Josefine. "You must tell her..." And then she was too far away.

They went to the Association with Cless holding onto Balthus like two lovebirds on a date. People on the streets kept staring, especially because she was still with the newly crafted holy robes and the veil. They were alert, however. Cless had even infused Protection and Blessing on Balthus. Besides some strange looks, nobody tried to stop them, not even the Inquisition soldiers patrolling... she meant, strolling through town in pairs.

The building was not too different from when she last saw it. WIth the sawmill suffering from a chronic lack of resources, the construction halted. The winter was turning the corner and the first snow could happen at any time. She would probably have to go on more logging trips.

"Balthus, you are banned from the Association grounds!" The bitter clerk she usually got was sitting by the porch.

"That's fine by me. I won't leave my pupil's side and you can explain to the Association why the report she has to give was delayed."

"You can also foot the taxes," Cless added. "Do we have a deal?"

She swore internally she would trigger her Skill if he agreed. He didn't. "You can go ahead. Don't say that I warned you."

Inside, Cless filed the papers to declare her expedition's loot. She had to list unidentified items, so it was one weapon, one armor, four accessories. The tax was two crowns for each item. She paid the twelve crowns, leaving a note that the shield was gifted to Arnold of the Orc Smashers. Slayers. Whatever. The raw pelts didn't go above the threshold except for the Hellshadow Tiger. That one made the clerk call her supervisor. Soon Cless and Balthus were in a room she never heard before with a man she saw a few times from a distance.

"Guild master Cless, regarding that Hellshadow Tiger, where did you find it?"

She really didn't want to tell about the Dungeon but she both had to as an Association member obligation and to explain the Hellshadow Tiger pelt. It would cause a rush as a newly discovered dungeon would surely turn the town upside down but it could net her a reward from the Association and maybe disturb the Inquisition.

"Supervisor Anthony, could you send for High Inquisitor Trevor? I'd rather give my report at once. I'm sure he will want to know of the Infernal beasts."

The supervisor sighed but complied. There was a kind of friendly rivalry between the Association and the Church. What Cless wanted to do was force the Inquisition to delve and leave the town alone. Neither Cless or the Association wouldn't like that as there was a chance the Inquisition would just destroy the Dungeon. While they waited for him, Cless spoke to Anthony.

"Off the records, supervisor, I've found a Dungeon. Since that beast was the boss of the first floor, the church must know. But I will make it so that the Association has the rights over it."

Another detail of the inner workings of the church. Now that she was a third tier member of the clergy, Cless could claim the gnome village area as her own Parish and she would have the last say regarding the Dungeon. She would need the approval of the nearest member of the church above a certain rank, but she was sure the Priest was the guy. Since they were just visitors, the Inquisition was out.

Anthony just raised an eyebrow at Cless. He seemed skeptical of her ability to twist a High Inquisitor from that juicy morsel.

"Just one moment. — Hearth Recall!"

Cless popped back in front of the common room hearth. Karen, Josefine, and the Priest were there, talking.

"Father, I need one thing from you." Cless requested.

"Speak, Cless. What is it that you need."

"Please declare the gnome village my parish. I will relinquish it later this week."

He just gave her his usual grandfatherly smile. "It is done. I'll have the paperwork ready later after I return to my temple."

"Thanks. — Blink!"

She dashed back to the Association and blinked back in the room. Trevor was not there yet.

"You are a person of many talents, aren't you, guild master?" Anthony remarked with a greedy smirk.

"Speaking of which, since the High Inquisitor is not here yet, I'm using the crystal for a while. I capped my profession."

She used the door this time and went to one of the booths with a Class crystal. She wondered how much to get one of these for herself. Cless placed her hand on the thing and selected her new Profession. She had new advanced options. Since there was no reason she wouldn't double up again, she had to decide between two she wanted the most.

Master Instructor.

Increase all of your proficiencies by a twelfth (x2) of your profession level and their learning rate by 50% (x2)

Increase all of your allies' non-magical proficiencies by a twelfth (x2) of your profession level and their learning rate by 75% (x2) as long as you have a higher proficiency than theirs.

Brigadier General.

Increases all your martial and weapon proficiencies by a sixth (x2) of your profession level and their learning rate by 50% (x2)

Increases all your subordinate soliders' weapon proficiencies by a third (x2) of your profession level.

Increases effective Level of all your subordinate soldiers' by a third (x2) of your profession level up to one level lower than you.

Really tough decisions. Increasing her subordinates' level was a fantastic thing. At level 25, that profession would shorten the level gap by at most eighteen between subordinates and herself. Given her penchant for milking Experience out of nowhere, the gap would surely exist. She picked Master Instructor because it was best for everyone including her. The self bonus was for her spells as well. She could come back and pick it later if there was no better choice.

After selecting her profession, Cless searched for the Beastmaster class. She couldn't find it. Cless tested several variations until she found one.

Beast Tamer (2nd Tier)

Main advancement: Health for tame beasts. (+13)

Secondary advancements: Intellect, Agility for tame beasts. (+7)

Bonus advancement: Strength for tame beasts. (+11)

Techniques:

- Level 04: Beast Taming: Can tame one beast for every four class levels. Handling checks automatically pass for tame beasts.

- Level 06: Beast Status: Can see status of tame beasts.

- Level 18: Accelerate Growth: Double Experience for tame beasts that are lower than your level -2.

- Level 25: Pick one:

- - War Form: Increase size by 100% if bound creatures weighs up to 150kg. + 50% Strength and Health. Lasts 10 minutes. Cooldown 2 hours.

- - Share Skill: Share one of your Skills with your bound creatures.

- - Heal Companion: Fully heal one bound creature over 10 minutes. Cooldown 8 hours.

Proficiencies: 3x to trained beasts.

It was not stat-less. It had stats but for making her beasts powerful. She would have to swap and lose the priestess bonuses. And she couldn't tame the boys. Oh, dear. They were people, not beasts. Shocker!

She returned right when Trevor was coming into the half-repaired building. She curtsied and entered the room before he could talk. The High Inquisitor, clearly irritated, came.

"What is so important, Adventurer's Association representative? And why is this girl of all people here?" Balthus cleared his throat. "And the Armsmaster as well."

"If you allow me, High Inquisitor. I declared the site of a demi-human village to the east as my parish. The Priest has already given his approval." She could see a grin forming on Trevor's mouth. A parish was like a barony but with a member of the Church in control. Cless knew he was thinking it would cement the influence of the Church in this region and also bind her to the land. She was about to hand him another defeat.

She continued. "It was also the staging grounds of an orc horde assumed to be three thousand strong if we didn't cull them. The demis, some mining gnomes, perished under the orcs' wicked control. However, after inspecting my lands, we discovered a Dungeon. My guild and I delved and found a colony of Hellshadow Cougars led by a Hellshadow Tiger level fifty-two, I believe."

Trevor was brimming with excitement. "Excellent. You want us to declare a crusade, don't you?"

"Before that, I am severely lacking the funds and manpower to rule my Parish. Therefore I will strike a deal with the Delver Association. I will lease control, development, and administration of the lands and the Dungeon to them for ten years at no tax for the first five years as a development fee and a ten percent tax on all Dungeon goods including minerals and other Association taxes. My only rule regarding development is that the dungeon entrance cannot be walled off. Let the monsters have a way in."

That was an excellent deal for the Association. Complete control over a recently discovered dungeon, one whose first layer had a level fifty-one boss and an unknown amount of floors. It could be a literal gold mine. The representative only problem was why the Inquisition of all people was invited for this deal.

All the mirth Trevor had vanished. "What does it have to do with us then, girl? You are literally giving out the land to the Association!"

"As you said, I will request a crusade. I have to collect a finder's fee from the association and I'd like to tithe that money for the crusade against the Dungeon, with the obligation of not breaking the core."

Trevor must have remembered what she made him go through a few hours ago. He scoffed. "That is clearly a demonic Dungeon! It must be destroyed."

"Are you denying my request, High Inquisitor?"

She had a Hero and the Association supervisor on her side. She knew that denying a request for a crusade with good cause when a tithe was involved would knock Trevor a few steps down the Church's organizational pyramid.

"Of course not, girl. I just want you to see the folly of your actions."

"Is everyone in an agreement of my terms?" Cless asked. "I expect the Inquisition to report, but not pay tax, all loot extracted from the dungeon. The penalty for not reporting is a hundred percent of the item's appraised value, due in one month after the item is taken out of the Dungeon by any means. Failure in paying will incur interest of ten percent per month. Defaulting for too long will mean divine punishment for the offender, with suitable compensation via divine power for me. The amount of time considered too long depends on the estimated value of the item and the compensation I earn, which is the three things I most want."

The three things she wanted. Skills, Stats, and Experience, in this order.

"As for the Association, destruction of the core or blockading the entrance is forbidden. The embellishment of funds, whether by Association members or staff will also be punishable by the same terms as the crusade's loot. All my purchases from the association will have a twenty percent discount. The association may impose mild taxes on business and housing as it sees fit. Abusive taxing will also be punishable by the same terms."

She felt her Skill pushing to be triggered.

Anthony was sweating in anticipation. It would mean a promotion for him. He would be a Dungeon Manager. "The Association agrees."

"Before I agree, how much is the compensation for discovering a new dungeon?" Trevor asked.

"Depends on the levels and the report of the first exploration," Anthony met Trevor's eyes. Both smiled with greed. Since the first exploration would be the crusade, the Inquisition could set the bar wherever they wanted.

"Then I agree! Let the Infernals burn at our holy power! Tell me, girl. Did the cougars burn with your Hallow?"

"They burned so much I didn't even have to tan or scrap the bristles of some hides," Cless bragged.

"That is excellent. As I expected for the one that is being called the new Holy Maiden by my men." Cless could swear she saw Trevor lick his lips for a moment.

She let her Skill run wild. As everyone had clearly stated the penalties and conditions, she suppressed the notification for the others. The words she heard next from the audio notification made her squirm with delight.

Contract estabilished with the spoken terms. You earned 500,000 Experience Points. You reached level 70. +4 Stat Points. You reached Beast Tamer level 16. You learned Beast Taming IV. You reached Master Instructor 5.

Cless grinned, victorious. She spent two points on Health and other two in Intellect. Now the Inquisition had a motivation to go and leave her alone. They had to do God's work.

Status:

Name: Cless (no surname)

Race: Human.

Level: 70 ( 2,421,000 / 2,485,000 Exp )

Class: — Dabbler 25 ( 300,000 Exp / ** ) — Beast Tamer 16 ( 500,000 / 511,000 Exp ) — Vicar 12 ( 646,000 / 678,000 Exp )

Profession — Veteran Warmaster 25 (300,000 Exp / **) — Master Instructor 5 (100,000 / 110,000 Exp) — Crafter 23 (Skill) — Farmer 23 (Skill) — Herbalist 23 (Skill)

Base Stats — Strength: 64 [108] — Agility: 79 [142] — Health: 98 — Intellect: 100 — Wisdom: 100 — Charisma: 100 — Magic: 237

Available Status Points: 0

Skills:

S-rank: [ Absolute Contract ]

B-rank: [ Succubus’ Kiss ]

C-rank: [ Crafter ], [ Dangersense ], [ Elven Longevity ], [ Eat Anything ], [ Earth Magic ], [ Master Miner ]

D-Rank: [ Trick Shot ], [ Nimble Step ], [ Tinker ], [ Grounding ], [ Dancer’s Grace ], [ Great Leap ], [ Druidwalk ]

— [ Tremorsense ], [ Gemsense ], [ Ore sense ], [ Brownie Magic ], [ Courtier’s Charm ], [ Curmudgeon crafter ], [ Farmer ]

— [ Singers’ Talent ], [ Poison Resistance ], [ Merchant sense ], [Steelshine], [ Heavy Handed ], [ Twin Strike ], [Spell Resistance]

— [Runner's Dash ], [Steel Muscles ], [Evade Projectiles ], [Snakes' Flexibilty ], [Herbalism ], [Stage Magician ]

E-Rank: [ Gravebreath ], [ Architectural Ingenuity ], [ Coin Sense ], [ Weavertouch ], [ Silk Hair ], [ Wanderlust ],

— [ Giant's Stamina ], [ Hearth’s warmth ], [ Seamstress Talent ], [ Lady’s Countenance ], [Enhanced Touch],

— [ Howl], [ Air Sailing], [ Splinters ], [Pack Rat], [Virility]

F-rank: [ Gardener’s touch ], [ Florist’s Wonder ]. [ Cheat ], [ Inner Compass ]

Techniques:

— [Beast Taming IV]

Spells (spells under 20 hidden):

Cleric: — Mending: 50 — Detoxify: 50 — Light: 55 — Turn Undead: 34 — Blessing: 50 — Holy Bolt: 59 — Purify: 50 — Protection: 53

— — — Hallow: 60 — Flametongue: 43 — Cure: 50 — Uncurse: 40 — Banish: 40 — Heal: 57 — Warding: 50 — Revivify*: 40

Mage: — Detect Magic: 38 — Armor: 53 — Fireball: 37 — Shield: 48 — Resistance: 34 — Deeppockets*: 38 — Blink*: 41

Priestess: Censure: 42 — Bulwark: 55 — Mass Mending: 51 — Sacred Dance: 46 — Judgement: 56 — Song of the Accord*: 55

House: — Detect Dust: 32 — Doorwatch: 26 — Prestidigitation: 32 — Never Overdone!: 35 — Touch Up: 27

— — — Dry: 34 — Repair: 46 — Clean: 50 — Bloom: 45 — Hearth Recall*: 24

Earth: — Soften: 40 — Earth Armor: 55 — Stone Shape: 53 — Terrakinesis: 49 — Golem*: 60

Vicar: — Water Breathing: 23 — Shield of Faith: 30

Proficiencies (values under 10 hidden):

Appraise: Status: 50 — Resistance: 50

General: Prayer: 60 — Reading: 16 — Skinning: 11

Social: Negotiation: 60 — Persuasion: 50 — Bluff: 50

Martial (+18 profession): Leadership: 61 — Intimidation: 59 — Tactics: 55

Weapon (+18 profession): Long Blades: 49 — Unarmed: 47 — Archery: 57 — Maces: 38