Cless left the booth and heard a commotion in the association lobby.

"Get this damn filthy demi out of here!" Some woman cried.

She heard the term only a few times and read about it in the novels she read but it was enough to know what it was. Demihuman. A derogatory term for the creatures that resemble humans close enough to be not considered monsters but far enough to be not human.

Cless rushed down the hallway and into the lobby. "Venaris!" She called.

She came and saw the situation. An adventurer party arrived at the association and started a staredown contest with her friends. She couldn't even think of them as monster boys anymore. Silverfang was growling, Vic coiled and ready to spring and strike as snakes do and Kurt was... fanning his feathers. Karen was also staring them while Venaris was cowering next to Silverfang.

Cless' shout only aggravated the situation. Silverfang drew his lips back showing too many teeth. One of the adventurers was already palming throwing daggers. She thought about what she could do and one thing came to mind.

"Hallow!"

She used the abridged chant, without the One God drivel. Cless was still divided in this as the doctrine was too ingrained in her mind but all her senses screamed them to be a lie. She shelved that conflict for the visit to the church and the inevitable talk with the Priest. Her spell had the intended effect. The halo of holy energy washed over the area, a golden curtain of light spreading out from her and going through walls unimpeded as the entire building and most of the surrounding ones was enveloped and consecrated as her sacred ground. Anyone hostile to her and hers would suffer.

At over a hundred Magic, the buff and debuff it applied were palpable. Cless kept chanting at the top of her lungs while she glared at the adventurers. Compounded with her Veteran Warmaster and Leadership, these adventurers might as well be at the same level as the Orc King to stand a chance.

Karen turned around to wink at Cless. The adventurers measured the odds and lowered their stances. Cless dismissed the spell and walked forward.

"Take it back right now. You offended my heart-sister. Take your insult back or I will challenge all of you to a duel."

She moved with grace and coordination that would cause envy to a dancer, an acrobat or an assassin. No wasted movements, the flow of her body was perfect. Cless connected and pulled the power of [ Nimble Step ], [ Dancer’s Grace ], [ Courtier’s Charm ], and [ Lady’s Countenance ] on top of her Intimidation proficiency.

She felt like another person. It was her but she felt... taller? dignified? beautiful? The feeling was so strange to her but the awe stamped in the adventurer's faces felt even stranger.

"So?" She asked. "What are we going to have? Polite apologies or bloodshed? I'd really love the former."

"Excuse my fellow party member, madam." The warrior and, apparently, the leader of the group spoke. "Her family was murdered by demis."

Cless stared down at the warrior. She measured him and his abilities without even noticing. She was thinking about how she would disarm, subdue or kill the man. How he would react. How fast were his reflexes by the subtle movements of his body? She knew she could take him down easily.

"She can speak, I just heard she doing that," Cless turned her gaze on the Agility fighter, probably a rogue or archer type. "And I don't want to hear that word again from any of you. My heart-sister is a gnome. She has a name that's not worth of your mouths."

The woman that insulted Venaris turned beet-red. She shifted and Cless could see a quiver underneath her cloak. An archer then. It gave Cless an idea.

"And Venaris is a better shot with a sling than her. I bet five crowns Venaris can defeat your archer in a precision contest."

That was a lot of money for a commoner but as Cless was slowly coming to, not a lot of money for an adventurer or a delver. She remembered Balthus' words, 'can you remember when fifteen crowns was a lot of money to us, Karen?'

Her pride hurt, the archer woman brushed the warrior aside and extended a hand to Cless. "I accept that wager."

Cless shook her hand and fought to keep her Skill from triggering. It would not be wise to make a notification pop in front of her.

"Tomorrow at noon at the association range." She set the time. "And bring your coin purse."

"Likewise, my pretty." The woman's derision would've hurt Cless elsewhere but not now.

They left and Venaris scolded Cless, "What are you thinking? I know how to shoot a sling but I can't defeat a trained archer."

"Venaris, trust me. I'll make you an ace with the sling." Cless went back and forth and remembered. "Before that, I need to buy spellbooks."

She turned to face Karen. The innkeeper jingled a large sack of coins.

"I already sold your loot and paid your taxes. You paid the association twenty-eight crowns." Karen reported with a grin. "I got the receipt. What an upstanding citizen you are!"

Cless made an 'O' with her mouth. Her eyes darted to the bag. How much money was there in that bag? Oh, two hundred, seventy-nine crowns, fifty-eight ducats. No counterfeits. Freaking Skills. And it hit Cless. Two hundred what?

Cless opened her mouth and made some weird vowel sounds.

"I got a hundred and eighty for the dragon head," Karen answered a question that wasn't asked. "And neck. A good call to get the neck too."

Cless wanted to say it was Silverfang but she didn't want to expose the lycan. She crouched and ruffled the wolf's fur. It also brought her level with the gnome.

"Venaris. This was something I was already planning to do. I want to make you strong enough so you never need to be a victim again. Would you let me?"

"I guess? Thanks for standing up to me. Means a lot."

Cless kissed the girl. "We're sisters. Family. For you, I'd slay a chimera. Another one."

"Weren't you going to shop?" Karen jingled the coins again.

"Right!" Cless went to the front desk. "Hello?"

The front desk clerk, that for some reason was a very attractive girl, answered with a smile. "Yes, guild master?"

"I want to build a library for my guild. Can I see what spellbooks, bestiaries and other books you sell?"

The thought of getting all that gold back into the association coffers enticed the receptionist, "Of course, guild master. I'll get a catalog for you. Would you like some tea?"

After all, Cless' loot drained the branch's coffers almost to the bottom. She brought the catalog and Cless selected her purchases. She tried to not mind the prices but a spellbook for tier one mage Spells was one crown. Elementalists? Three crowns each element. There were eight. Illusionist, five crowns. House magic was cheap, a bargain for two crowns. Second tier Enchanter for eight crowns, but the book was twice as thick. Beguiling magic, four crowns. The bestiary came in three volumes, six crowns each. But with color illustrations! And much more. The receptionist kept showing books to Cless.

Building a library was an expensive endeavor.

Cless looked at the pile of books and some of them felt odd. She had a hunch that they were too expensive. She separated the piles under the watchful eyes of the receptionist lady. She eyed the pile that didn't feel odd and after some math, decided.

"Let's begin with this one. Thirty-six crowns for this pile."

The clerk was with some weird device with beads on sticks mounted on a rack. She pushed and pulled the beads left and right. "These should be forty-two, guild master."

"Make them for thirty-six."

"I can't do that. Books have a fixed price."

Cless paused to think and shifted to the other pile. "What about this pile here?" She could see the receptionist make a concerned face. The woman counted again on her strange device.

"This pile here should be fifty-three crowns, guild master."

"Tell me, what is the problem with these books? They all seem odd to me. This bestiary... looks old."

Cless measured the receptionist's reactions. She almost nodded when Cless said it looked old.

"Guild master..."

"Look. We can disagree on the price. But I want to know what I am buying. These volumes are old. I would say outdated."

Cless could hear the thoughts in the older woman's head. Not literally but she could read her.

"Yes. They are old. There are newer versions out but we didn't receive them. I could put an order in your name and when they arrive I send them your way, how's that?"

"A discount?"

"No can do, miss Cless. I'd be out of a job before sundown if I gave you a discount. All prices are fixed."

"Oh, well. Then I'll take only these three." She picked the Mage, Illusionist, Earth Elementalist, and Magic Maid books.

She fished in the bag and came with eleven crowns. Once again her Skill let Cless know how many coins were on her hand without looking. She just had to pull out when there were exactly eleven. Cless bought the four books and placed them on the now-empty saddlebags Silverfang carried. The receptionist carried the others back to the storage with a dismayed face.

"Let's go to a private meeting room. We need to talk." Cless announced. Once they were settled in the room, she explained herself. "Venaris, you know I got the Skills from the other gnomes, don't you?"

"Yes, I was there. I mean, I was in pain from all the parasites in my womb but I heard you tell them."

"Good. I don't think I should keep all of them to myself. I want to give you some of them. And I think it is right to do that."

Venaris' chest rose and fell. She was clearly disturbed by that. "They are yours, Cless. You avenged us. I don't..."

"I'm gifting them to you. You will be with me, and it will be dangerous. While you could stay with Karen and be safe for the rest of your life, I want you with me. I can make you strong. What do you want?"

"I want to be strong enough to never be a victim again," Venaris answered.

"Then it is settled. Make a contract with me. I'll give you the Skills and Stats in exchange for a kiss from you. On my cheek."

Venaris pouted. "That is hardly an equal trade!"

"But my sister's kiss is the most valuable of all," Cless answered with a grin. Venaris huffed in frustration then smiled and kissed her.

Trading [ Sling Mastery ], [ Trapsense ], [ Wide Vision ], [ Night Vision ], [ Icewalk ], [ Tree refuge ], [ Burrower Bond ], and [ Goblin Slayer ] to Venaris for a kiss. You gained 2,000 class Experience Points.

She had no idea how this Skill granted Experience or the criteria for the awards.

Cless asked Venaris. "Do you have a class?"

"I'm only level four," Venaris revealed looking down. "I had my rite of passage last summer. Not many opportunities to level. Then the orcs came."

"Gift Venaris four thousand Experience."

Cless spoke the command in a whispered voice but she knew both women near her could listen. But it had the weight of an absolute command. She was trying to make her Skill work the way she wanted. Push the boundaries. If her Skill was meant to create bonds, she could use the ones that already existed if it was not harming the other party. Venaris was startled at what happened to her and looked up at her benefactor-sister.

4,000 Experience Points gifted to Venaris.

"What?" Was all the gnome could say.

"Did it work?" Cless asked. Venaris nodded. Cless took her out of the room and into the hallway where the clerk worked. "Excellent. Now go down this hall and get yourself a Class. I suggest something with main Agility and secondaries Strength and Health. You don't need to pick Archer. Get something that gives good proficiencies for things you want to do. Like hunting or scouting or even crafting."

Cless waited until the gnome returned. She was smiling.

"Skirmisher. Stats just like you told me. Gives a boost in movement and general outdoors proficiencies."

"And the profession?"

"Ranger. It doubles down on the outdoors and terrain proficiencies."

Cless crouched and whispered in the gnome's ear. "Grant Venaris thirty-five thousand Experience. Now go back there and pick the second profession."

While the gnome went there, she pondered on the Exp award of her Skill. Create bonds. The award then was how much she nurtured those bonds. That was why the contracts with the boys paid so little Exp compared to others. Venaris returned.

"Scout. Movement and perception proficiencies." She said before Cless could answer.

Cless just smiled. "Good. We are done for today here. Let's go home."

They left the guild and went on their way back to the inn. Cless could go and get a third tier class but it was not very smart to do that. It would raise immediate suspicion. She would go after she finished practicing all the Priestess' spells.

For some reason, there was a second bed in a corner of the room. And another dresser. Cless' bed moved too. Probably Karen with her Skill. She could teleport people around the inn, why not furniture, thought Cless. She removed the saddlebags from Silverfang's back and placed the books on the shelf.

"I'm sorry, Venaris." Cless opened the conversation. "I didn't think there would be so much prejudice against you. I've never met any... non-human races before."

The gnomes traded with a dwarf clan deep in the mountains but they also didn't have much contact outside their own race.

"That's fine. I also didn't like how they look at you. Because of your..."

"My skin? I grew up like this. I just learned how to ignore them."

"It is their loss because you are awesome, Cless! We should just grow a thicker skin. Oh, not like that, sorry. Just an idiom... nevermind."

It was cute seeing Venaris get tangled up and stutter in her own words. The gnome girl was just too cute! Cless smiled and hugged the gnome. "It is fine. We'll learn to ignore all of them."

Cless closed her eyes and laid on her bed. So soft! She used that time to check her status and any pending notifications.

For using your class proficiencies, you earned 15,000 Experience points. You reached Dabbler level 11. +1 Wisdom.

Startled, Cless stood up and shouted.

"WHAT?"

Name: Cless (no surname)

Race: Human.

Level: 50 ( 1,224,681 / 1,275,000 Exp )

Class: — Dabbler 11 (56,542 / 66,000 Exp ) — Priestess 25 (975,000 Exp / ** )

Profession — Veteran Warmaster 18 (158,689 / 171,000 Exp) — Crafter 16 (Skill) — Farmer 16 (Skill)

Base Stats — Strength: 63 — Agility: 85 [136] — Health: 85 — Intellect: 96 — Magic: 126 — Charisma: 43 — Wisdom: 17

Available Status Points: 66

Skills:

S-rank: [ Absolute Contract ]

B-rank: [ Succubus’ Kiss ]

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

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

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

— [ Singers’ Talent ], [ Spellslinger ], [ Poison Resistance ], [ Merchant sense ], [ Master Miner ],

— [ Heavy Handed ], [ Farmer ], [ Druidwalk ], [ Twin Strike ], [ Curmudgeon crafter ]

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

— [ Giant's Stamina ], [ Hearth’s warmth ], [ Perfect pitch ], [ Seamstress Talent ], [ Lady’s Countenance ]

F-rank: [ Gardener’s touch ], [ Florist’s Wonder ]

Proficiencies:

Appraisal — Status: 22

Crafting — Crude Weapons: 5 — Arrows: 1

Magic, Cleric

— Mending: 50 — Detoxify: 36 — Light: 44 — Turn Undead: 34 — Blessing: 46 — Holy Bolt: 50 — Purify: 40 — Protection: 50

— Hallow: 46 (+1) — Flametongue: 30 — Cure: 30 — Uncurse: 30 — Banish: 30 — Heal: 45 — Warding: 30 — Revivify: 30

General — Prayer: 47 — Scribe: 2 — Houseworking: 6 — Math: 3 — Reading: 12 — Forestry: 9 — Skinning: 7 — Herbalism: 3 — Sabotage: 2

Social — Negotiation: 20 (+5) — Persuasion: 10 (+7) — Bluff: 10 (+4)

Social, martial — Leadership: 34 (+6) — Intimidation: 36 (+5) — Tactics: 26

Movement — Tumbling: 3 — Stealth: 3 — Sneak: 3

Weapon — Long Blades: 27 — Short Blades: 2 — Unarmed: 27 — Archery: 28 — Spears: 3 — Maces: 32 — Staves: 4 — Axes: 9