Magur quickly went ahead, turning nervously once every few meters, to make sure i was still behind him. His actions right now were fuelled by a blend of fear to ignite my anger somehow and leaving a suspicious person like me out of sight.

[Haha, he is totally overwhelmed still.]

Thanks, Fluffy.

I had to take care to not laugh externally, even without Whispy reminding me how hilarious the situation actually was. If Magur knew i was just some noob and not a strong boss-like entity, he would fade away in shame. He is, with the exception of my particular skills, a dozen times stronger than me.

Well, i can't die permanently, so eventually he will succumb to exhaustion, but you know what i mean.

So, we entered the guild through a small door on the back side of the building and went straight upstairs. Fortunately, or unfortunately, i am not sure yet, we met no one on our way up to the third floor. In front of a door, with a small tag that simply said 'Guild Administration - Fortheim City Branch', we stopped. Magur knocked, still on edge. Calm down, dude, that stress is not good for your heart.

[I doubt he will follow your suggestions right now.]

I know, i know. Just saying. If i was the arch-enemy or something, wouldn't i just have killed him already?

[There is a lot of evil that schemes for entertainment. So he is actually acting pretty reasonable. Except that you are weak, but he can't know that. To him you are someone who can evade his strongest skills. On the other hand, you could just sneak away. Right now, no one in this city can detect you when you walk around as true shadow. He should have realized that, if you wanted to leave, he couldn't stop you.]

Thanks, fluffy guide. That is what i thought, too.

"Who is it?" A deep, slightly hoarse voice sounded through the door. I pictured some old, overworked man.

"It's Magur." Magur said.

"Ah, come on in."

While we walked inside, i scanned the room. It was a medium-sized office, with expensive furniture, but otherwise no decoration except a map of Fortheim and immediate surroundings, pinned to the wall. Two chairs on one side of a big desk, made of dark oak. On the other side, a man, presumably in his early fifties, sat. He was scribbling down on some parchment and didn't even look at us.

"You got the report for the new recruits already? That's fast.." He paused writing. "Who is that with you?" He looked up, a bit surprised.

"She is.. eh.. one of the newbies. Although i am not sure what she really is."

"Hm?" Now he was interested. "Why did you bring one of the recruits? Hello there, my name is Karl Jakur. Call me Karl. I am this branches master." Karl introduced himself to me.

"Nice to meet you, my name is Alira Wesz, call me Alira." I mirrored him.

"So, why did you bring her?"

"Well, she is a level 9 thief." Magur began.

"A thief? That is unusual, but.."

"She can hide from my 'High Detection'."

"Oh."

Karl fully focused on me now, making me feel a bit uncomfortable.

[Directly to the higher ups, huh. Way to go Alira.]

"High Appraise."

Not that again..

"Appraise says she is a level 9 human thief. But if what you just said is true, that can't be right." The master slowly spoke.

"I have never heard of Appraisal being wrong. If the difference in strength is too high, you get no information. But wrong information? That is definitely new. How are you doing that?" He asked me, intrigued.

"Doing what? I really am a human low-level thief." I responded innocently.

"Stop lying! If that were true, there would be no way in hell you could have pulled off that stunt earlier. What are you, heh?" Magur burst out.

"Calm down, Magur." Karl reprimanded.

"..He is right though. What you apparently did is unheard of." Great, now he is on guard against me, too.

[They will not believe your story about how you are a normal girl. And you can't tell the truth either. So, how about some new truth, like you told Fer? In case they ask around later, it would be bad if multiple different versions of your story came up.]

Shit, you are right Whispy. What did i tell her? I ran away from arranged marriage in another country? I sighed. Thing is, Whispy, i do not even know the nowadays countries, or their names. Fuck.

[Keep it general then. I have an idea on how to explain away your vanishing skills.]

Let's hear it, Fluffy. I am grasping straws here.

[You know that skills can be inscribed onto scrolls, yes? Scrolls that, when read, grant the reader the skill contained?]

Yeah..

[So just go with that. Tell them you found some weird scroll, together with the coins you sold the other day.]

That actually sounds legit. Thanks, i think i'll roll with that.

[Don't tell them the skills name though! Humans don't know skills higher than 'High' grade exist, better keep it that way. Make a name up, or don't tell them any.]

Understood, guide-san.

"Okay, okay, you got me." I began selling my tale.

Both men looked at me with faces readily displaying 'I knew it!'. Magur put a hand on the handle of the sword at his waist.

"I.. eh.. fled from my family, because they wanted to marry me off. My parents are merchants, and in our home's basement there is a lot of old stuff. Some of it i grabbed, to finance my journey. Among the things i grabbed was a weird, old scroll. When i held it, i was suddenly granted a passive skill. The scroll described it as making illusions way more efficient. I never tested it, until today. I am sorry if i caused trouble, but i didn't know there was something special about it." I tried to look indifferent.

Magur's expression changed to full-on doubt, while Karl just became silent. Please, let it be good enough for them?

After a few seconds, Karl spoke up. "There is a way to test your story."

Huh? No. No-no.

[Keep calm, we don't know if it works on us yet.]

"There is?" I sounded a bit meek. Fuck.

"Yes. If what you say is true, you have to have incredible talent, hidden or otherwise. Skill-scrolls have strict requirements to work. Affinity, for one. If you have a dormant affinity, specialized on illusion magic, that could be it."

Aha. Meaning?

"And?"

"We at the guild have 'Alteration Orbs.' They can be used to unlock your first affinity. If you do not have an affinity already, we could make you use one of them and look at the results."

[That is actually a great chance! Although a bit risky, because i don't know what will be unlocked. Take the test. If something goes wrong, just sneak away in the true shadows.]

Haha, great. Do i have a choice?

[Not really, no.]

..Fine.

"I don't think i have an affinity already."

"Great. Are you willing to do this? It will help a lot with your credibility." Karl was obviously relieved.

"Sure, what do you want me to do?"

"All you need to do is.." he reached into one of the compartments beneath the desk. "..to put your hand on this and say 'Alterate'." He held a small white ball, socketed onto a small slab of black stone.

Sigh.. Let's hope this shit works out.

Whispy chuckled. [Anyway this ends, you have a way out. No sweat.]

Under Magur and Karl's watchful eyes, locked on to me in expectation, i hesitantly put my left hand down onto the globe. It felt warm to the touch, very pleasant.

As soon as i whispered "Alterate.", i felt something stirr inside where i imagined my soul to be. Slowly at first, then spinning ever so slightly faster, until a storm raged in me. As the feeling came, it went.

I was a bit disappointed. Nothing? Just as i was about to pass it aside as failure, a screen appeared over the globe. Judging by how it drew the two guys attention, it was visible to everyone.

Alina Wesz's fate has been altered! Affinity unlocked: Illusions (3.2) This individual has remarkable talent in overriding what entities can sense.

Ha! You happy now, you stupid guild people? I was on the verge of shouting.

[Hahaha, for a LCK of 6 you sure are lucky in the right moments.]

"That settles it, i think. A (3.2) multiplier? She is extraordinarily talented." Karl spoke, now going easy again. Even Magur visibly relaxed.

Don't they trust those orbs too much? I fooled their 'Appraisal Orb' too when i registered.

[Are you really gonna complain about their faith?]

No. I am grateful, actually.

Just as Karl turned to me and opened his mouth, a screen, this time only destined for my eyes, stole my attention.

Blessing of §'#&, the True One, was triggered. A secret has been shared with you.

..I am getting used to this blessing shit far too quickly..

Secret: Modifying your own soul Effect: You are now able to distribute stat-points directly into affinities. (+0.1) per point distributed He, who stands atop the world, lets you bathe in his glory.

Okay. Thanks.

"Sorry, i was distracted for a second. What was it you said?" I snapped back to reality.