"You want me to kill someone?" I repeated. "You should've just led with that. I don't give a fuck about the rest of it. You want me to kill someone? How much are you paying me?"

Di'at blinked. "That is not how this relationship works," he insisted.

Hilarious. What authority did this 17-year-old-looking god have over me? He was the one who needed me. Apparently, he needed me so badly that he had to tell me himself. He was also impatient. That made for great conditions for negotiation.

"Let me spell it out for you," I said, speaking slower and walking toward him now. "I'm an assassin. You even forced that Class on me. Assassins work on contract. If you want to contract me to kill someone, then you'll need to make it worth my while. I want something in return."

Di'at narrowed his eyes, staring me down. I poked him on the forehead this time, though not nearly hard enough to knock him over since I figured it probably wouldn't work anyway. We were in his domain, after all.

"King Enosh XXI isn't just anyone, either," I said. "You want me to kill the most powerful Mage in the world and the king of one of the most powerful kingdoms not only on this continent, but in the whole world."

"Shouldn't that be easy for you, though?" Di'at asked. "Since you can always just stab someone in the back even if they're the most powerful Mage in the world."

"The killing part is easy. The hard part is getting close enough to stab them in the back at the right time when no one else will be there. To do that, I'm going to need access to the Royal Palace. Most importantly, I'm going to need time to even become a good enough assassin to guarantee my success, and I'm a little short of that at the moment."

"I got you into school," Di'at pointed out.

"The Skill you gave me did that, sure."

"And helped you meet Rose."

"Do you want me to thank you?" I asked.

"I have also given you your life back a few times."

"You did that before we had a deal. None of it matters. Or are you so petty that you're trying to collect on your own good deeds as a god? My patron Shevira at that? Di'at." I leveled with him. I even smiled. "That's beneath you, isn't it?"

"Oh, fuck me." Di'at turned away from me, rolling his eyes and scoffing in what was probably exasperation. "Fine. We'll do this your way. I'll contract you. Name your price and that's what I'll pay you."

Just what I wanted to hear.

"I don't have the Stats or Skills that I need to do this job," I said. "At least not yet. But I did have them in past loops. I want access to those Stats and Skills. Not to have all the time because apparently there's an Assess Skill I didn't know about. That'd only draw attention."

"I'll give you a Skill for that then," Di'at said. "As a reward for this Quest."

"No more Quests," I said. "You send me one more fucking Quest and this shit is over."

Di'at recoiled and then scowled at me. "How the fuck am I supposed to communicate with you? How am I supposed to help you? How the fuck am I supposed to lead you to the Demeot that need to be killed?"

"I do things my way. Figure the rest out on your own." As he opened his mouth to complain, I cut him off. "I'm not done yet. I don't have the Stats or Skill that I need, and--although I hate to admit it--I also don't have enough Energy to defend myself from one of them if they attack me for any reason. I doubt I'll have the time to raise it enough to be on par. I need a way to access more Energy if I need."

"Why not just be my Avatar?" he asked.

"Doesn't that mean I have to do your bidding?" I asked. "Not only that, that'd make me a target. I need to stay like this if you want me to pull this off."

"That just isn't tru--"

"I don't care. I do things my way," I repeated. Then I offered him my hand to shake. "These are my conditions if you want me to kill King Enosh XXI. Do we have a deal?"

The god gave me the driest look I'd seen yet and pinched the bridge of his nose. Then he transformed back into his older form and took my hand. "You're a pain in the ass. We have a deal, but don't think I'm not going to be a pain in yours."

[Notice]

Congratulations! You have completed your Quest [Meet your Patron Shevira]. Your System needs to be reconfigured since you don't like Quests. Give me a moment, you little shit.

I blinked, and I was somehow laying back in the classroom.

For a moment, everything about reality was distant and muddled. I knew there were way more people running around the room than there had been before. The smell of smoke still lingered in the air even if magic had been used to douse the fire and clean the air.

Someone was checking to see if I was okay. "Gerard? Gerard, wake up, will you?"

My head hurt, but slowly, the sound of all the chaos started coming in clearer, louder. When I blinked a few more times, I was looking up at the chandelier. Rose and Rolf were on either side of me looking worried. Fantastic.

"Oh, thank Ket'ha," Rose said as I sat up. "Are you okay? I've been so worried."

"Yeah," I said though I wasn't sure why she'd worry. "Not so sure about my roommate.."

Rolf grimaced. "...Not just your roommate. A lot of people died."

Well, fuck. I hadn't wanted to be too interesting or notable in any way, but that was going to be more difficult after surviving a demon attack on my first day of school.

"The dean wants to talk to you..." Rose added. "Come on, let's get you to the infirmary first, and then I'll take you to see her."

Even worse. Hopefully, I could work it to my advantage somehow.

"Thanks," I said, letting Rose and Rolf help me to my feet. For the first time in a long time, I felt faint and weak in the knees. Neither of them said anything about the extra weight I was probably putting on them.

As they led me to the infirmary, my System finished reconfiguring--again.

[Notice] System reconfiguration complete. No more Quests for you. Now for the rest of my side of the deal...

I didn't want to put much thought into why the Notices sounded so much like Di'at now, but the answer was obvious. The Notices had always been from him, but now he wasn't hiding behind the guise of my System. I didn't like it, but it was better than not knowing and being forced to put up with it like before.

[Notice] Congratulations! You have completed your Quest [Accept your Damn System]. You have acquired the new Skill [7-Times-Returner]. [Notice] New Skill acquired: 7-Times-Returner

This skill allows you to reprise your Stats and Skills from one of your past lives as Gerard Viscoti for a period of time corresponding to your Mastery.

[0.01% Mastery] [Notice] This new Skill fulfills your first condition. A Mastery of 1% is roughly 10 minutes. These Stats and Skills will appear as yours while this Skill is activated. Good luck leveling up! [Notice] Congratulations! You have completed your Quest [Agree to Kill King Enosh XXI] even if you were a little shit about it. You have acquired the new Skill [Synchronize]. [Notice] New Skill acquired: Synchronize

This skill allows you to Synchronize with your Patron Shevira, allowing you access to an amount of Energy corresponding to your Mastery.

[0.01% Mastery] [Notice] This new Skill fulfills your second condition. A Mastery of 1% is equivalent to a 1% rise in the Quality of your Soul and an increase in +10 Energy. There is no time limit, but these buffs will appear on your Stats while activated. [Notice] Congratulations! You have completed your Quest [Surviving a Demon Attack with Help], specifically mine. You have acquired the new Skill [Demeot Eyes]. [Notice] New Skill acquired: Demeot Eyes

This passive skill allows you the ability to see as a demon.

[0.01% Mastery] [Notice] I know you love Notices so I thought I'd throw one more in just for you. Have fun out there!

Di'at was going to be by far the most annoying client I'd ever had, and that was saying a lot.