Today was not going the way I’d expected. Instead of going on a carefree trip around the city with a friend, I was currently in a tunnel under Nadja’s bar, blindfolded.

“Is this really necessary?” After getting used to always having freakishly good sight, its absence threw me off more than I would have expected. My Perception also flared, alerting me to the fact that someone was watching me, but that was to be expected: Nadja was.

“Sorry. Just a precaution. Like I said, my friends want to keep this under wraps.”

Ah yes. Her friends.

After Nadja had confessed to being able to get me a class, she’d needed to hastily construct some sort of reason for it. What she’d settled on was that she was “part of a secret society,” which focused on “helping people out.” They’d recently been “gifted” a powerful artifact that could grant people classes, but it was a very hush hush affair in case someone tried to steal it from them.

I wasn’t thrilled with the fact that she was lying to me, but then again, I was doing the same, wasn’t I? The truth of the matter was that I knew exactly what her “secret society” was.

Nadja was a member of the Thieves Guild.

In retrospect, perhaps I should have been less surprised at the fact. Certainly a lot of thieves came into her bar, and she was pretty chummy with them. In fact, she’d since informed me that it wasn’t even her bar: It belonged to her “friends.” I supposed a bar made for a good meeting spot for the thieves, all while looking legit on paper.

The true surprise of the night, however, was that the bar also served as a hiding place: a hiding place for one particular magic scepter.

How have I been getting drunk for a week, right on top of what I’m looking for, and I didn’t even have a clue?

And so it came to be that many hours later, once the bar had fully closed, I’d come here again. This time, however, I wasn’t here for drinks.

Scratch that. I definitely heard Nadja grab a few bottles after she blindfolded me.

This time, however, I wasn’t only here for drinks.

After blindfolding me and leading me through a hidden door, a trapdoor, another trapdoor and then a short tunnel, we stopped, evidently having arrived at our destination. Nadja stood beside me with one arm looped around my waist in case I tripped.

Surprisingly, we weren’t alone.

“You’re bringing her here? And I’m guessing you’ll want me to be quiet about it too, huh.”

As it so happened, I was fairly certain I knew that voice. My suspicions were confirmed a moment later.

“What, are you going to stop me, Tem? After I took the trouble to come all the way down here and grab you a drink?” A pop sounded as a bottle of something was uncorked.

Temrin grumbled, but judging by the refreshed ahh sound he made soon after, he’d accepted the alcoholic bribe. “First you ask me to let her in, then you have me drinking on the job. Better hope no one comes around tonight or they’ll have both of our hides.”

A door creaked open and Nadja gently pulled me through the doorway. “You worry too much. Swing by tomorrow, and your next few rounds are on me.”

He mumbled something unintelligible before closing the door on us. After a muffled thunk of a few bottles being placed on the ground, Nadja at last removed my blindfold. The feeling of being watched went away, replaced with sight once more.

For all the trouble to get down here, the room looked fairly mundane if perhaps a touch cluttered and remarkably dim. It was laid out kind of similar to a miniature library, actually, with a few rows of bookshelves stretching from the floor to the ceiling. Instead of housing books, however, they were covered in what at first glance appeared to be scattered junk. With Mana Sense, I could see that some things clearly were enchanted, but without it, I might have mistaken the place for the back room of a particularly strange pawn shop.

“Is that, um, a guard’s armor?” Standing on an armor rack on the far side of the room was a set of full plate mail, akin to what I’d seen the guards at the palace wearing. Something told me the king wouldn’t be particularly happy to know the guild had nabbed such a thing.

For her part, Nadja simply waved it off. “We have a few guards in the society. Pretty diverse group. But nevermind that — Welcome, welcome! Grab the bottles, will you?”

After I picked up the booze she’d set down, Nadja led us to the center of the room, nestled between two of the tall stacks of shelves. She then darted around the corner of one of them, quickly returning with an ornate black scepter in her hands. It was actually less gaudy than I’d expected, with a sort of refined minimalism. The only truly magical-looking thing about it was the gem that sat at its head which seemed to contain a roiling, gray fog.

“That’s the artifact you were talking about then?” I at least knew what that was for. Looking around, on the other hand, I was less sure why she’d brought the bottles. “Also, uh, what’s with all the alcohol?” We weren’t about to actually get drunk, were we?

“This is it! And we’re getting drunk!” She beamed at me, and with her newly heightened Charisma, I nearly felt blinded by the sight. “You can’t just rush into it. You have to tell me what you’re going for. Plus, once you use it, it clears your head. Free drunkenness cure. No hangover.”

Now that was some high grade magic right there. I briefly considered stealing it from the Thieves Guild and the king just to have a handy hangover cure around.

Probably some spell for that. Worth checking around for.

She sat across from me, uncorking a hefty bottle of honey wine before taking a swig and passing it my way. “So? Spill. Figure out what class you’re going to take? And don’t mind Tem outside. Door’s pretty soundproof.” She gestured to the entrance where a heavy iron door lay.

I failed to suppress a chuckle. I didn’t even know what my options were, let alone what I’d choose. “This will probably sound strange, but I haven’t given it much thought. You have any suggestions?” I took a long gulp from the bottle, seeing no reason to pace myself if I was soon to be clearheaded again.

Nadja leaned in extra close as she grabbed the bottle from me, her lips right by my ear. “A good class that gave you some extra Charisma, Endurance, and Dexterity would be nice. You can really get a lot of good use out of those stats, you know?”

Huh. Not a combo I would have jumped to, but she had a point. From my story with the dryad, she’d likely realized my Endurance was low, and with higher Charisma and Dexterity, I’d be able to talk my way out of fights or run before they started. Good things to raise if I wanted to keep myself safe without constantly fighting. It was nice to have a friend who knew a bit more about everything to look out for me.

Still, as I considered it more, I decided I probably wouldn’t listen. I’d been in too many situations in the span of a month where I’d almost died. Frankly, I was a bit tired of feeling helpless.

On top of that, if I went with a professional class, what would I even pick? Save for the job I’d quit, I hadn’t been able to figure out a full-time career path back on Earth. How was I supposed to pick one here in fantasy land? As much fun as I had with woodworking, I wasn’t about to commit to it full time after a week.

“Actually, I think I’ll probably go with something that helps me fight,” I admitted. Maybe I’d settle down and never use the skills, but I’d much rather have them and not need them than need them and not have them.

Nadja shrugged. “No judgment here. You want to beat stuff up, beat stuff up.” She idly tapped the staff against the floor, and I found my eyes drawn to it.

I still found it kind of odd that, of all places, the scepter had been here. What were the odds?

Actually, on second thought, what were the odds? The whole reason I’d ended up here was…

“Off-topic, but does the scepter have anything to do with the whole ‘Shadow of Ftheran’ person? Kind of a long shot, but this is right where I lost them.” It wouldn’t fully explain things, but the connection seemed odd.

She was mid-sip as I asked, and she nearly choked on the honey wine. “Ack- Probably shouldn’t tell you this, but yeah? The Shadow is the one who gave it to us. I don’t really know the specifics, but it was kind of a big deal.”

Why would the Shadow lead me here then? For a moment, I entertained the notion that they were trying to help me with my quest, but I hadn’t actually had the quest back then. I hadn’t even known that the Scepter existed.

Ah well. Maybe there was a reason, or maybe there wasn’t. Sometimes coincidences were coincidences, and if there was something more to it, hopefully I’d figure it out later.

I put the Shadow from my mind and the two of us moved onto lighter topics, alternating between class choices and a host of smaller sundries.

As the conversation rolled on, however, and I realized how much I enjoyed Nadja’s company, the weight of everything kind of hit me. Things had moved so quickly that I hadn’t had a moment to let it sink in.

The only real friend I’d made in the city — hell, the only real human friend I’d made in the world — and here I was, planning to accept her gift then rob her.

Sure, she was in a guild of thieves, but still.

“Nadja, what does your group use the scepter for? Why’d you get the Shadow to acquire it for you?” I knew she wasn’t the head honcho of the thieves, but she’d know something, right?

She tilted her head to the side. “Just to help out, honestly. Not many people here have ever fought, so most of us without a ton of skills are stuck below level 10. The king is supposed to help give people classes, but unless you do something that directly helps him — like becoming a guard — it costs way too much for most people.”

I frowned. That wasn’t exactly the narrative I’d been given by the king, although it matched with what Barum had told me. Admittedly, on the flip side, if Temrin and his friends were anything to judge by, they were using the Scepter to give people thief classes too.

All in all, it was a mess, and I wasn’t really sure what the full truth was. In hindsight, walking into a foreign kingdom and agreeing to handle the king’s issues without knowing anything was probably not the best idea, but what was I supposed to do? I had a dark god to deal with.

I considered telling Nadja everything right then and there, but a faint voice from behind the door stopped me.

“Eh? Is my shift over already, or what are you doing here?” Temrin’s speech was muted but still audible, my enhanced hearing just barely picking it up through the “soundproof” doors.

A new voice joined the conversation, this time one I hadn’t heard before. “Higher ups just decided to double the shift here. Apparently one of the palace guards we’re paying off just told us that the king gave some random diplomat woman a quest to get the scepter back. Admittedly, I heard the guy said all sorts of wild shit about gods and Protagonists too, so I don’t believe a word, but we’re tightening security for now. Moving the scepter somewhere safer tomorrow just to be sure. Wait, are you drinki-”

Shit! Shit, shit, shit!

Okay, breathe. It’s fine. Just because they know there’s someone lurking around, that doesn’t mea-

“Well, whatever. Apparently she’s some traveler who was living with a tribe of forest shadows before this. They told me her name, I think…”

Ahhhh, shit shit shit shit.

“Hey! Nadja! Quick Q: How long does it take to choose a class?” I wasn’t sure I’d even need the scepter to clear my head anymore: I was just about as alert as I could be.

She raised a brow at my sudden question. “Hmm? It’s instant. Takes no time at all.”

“Great! I’m suddenly feeling really inspired! Think I want to choose now!” I leaned forward to snatch the staff from her.

Instead of giving it to me, however, she abruptly lunged at me, practically tackling me. Her arms wrapped around mine tightly pinning me to the ground.

Oh my god. Does she know? She knows! I’m sooooo fucked right now.

“Mmm. Sorry. I’ve just always been curious, you know? What would it feel like if you come back with a bunch more Strength while I’m holding onto you? Would your muscles literally grow while I’m holding on?” Once again, she brought her lips to my ear, this time, brushing them against my skin. “And if you get something that boosts your Charisma, we’re in a good position for me to teach you a few new skills afterwards, yeah?”

She pressed the Scepter into my hand right as a series of shouts came from the other side of the door.

You are holding the Scepter of Assignation. Currently, you do not have a class. Would you like to select a class?

Right before I mentally selected Yes, I had time for one final thought.

Wait. Is Nadja into me?