Devon tossed back the remainder of what was in Trey's glass then spat it back out into the cup, "Wow, I can barely taste the alcohol in there, that's crazy." He took a whiff from the still-open bottle the booze had originated from and recoiled slightly, "Now that, I can smell. What kind of juice did you use?"

  Kalion responded as he finished cleaning up the floor, "I'm so sorry about this, I didn't realize humans couldn't tolerate that drink. I have something that should flush it out of his system if you want. It's on the-"

  "Let's avoid taking anything else from the nontoxic list for now," Devon said with a meaningful look.

  "Right…"

  "Besides, I think it's probably fine. The majority of it should be on the floor, it hasn't been nearly long enough since he started drinking to absorb most of it."

  From everything visible to him, Devon surmised it was simply the excess of alcohol Trey drank at once that caused him to throw up, rather than any actually toxic effects from either the drink itself or the juice. But just in case, he'd need a more elaborated description of various foods and beverages in the future before consuming them. Puking all over the floor was never fun, after all.

  Even so, later on I'll need to make absolutely certain there was nothing else in that glass. If we're meeting the head honcho soon then I need to save Lie Detection for that conversation, but I'll ween the truth out from Kalion just as soon as the cooldown expires.

  "So is alcohol poisonous to humans or not? It's on the list, so I assumed it would be fine."

  "It isn't toxic in lower doses, but our drinks never usually go anywhere near what's in that glass. And that's as shots. I'd hazard a guess that we have a much lower tolerance for the stuff than you do, seeing as how you already finished your glass and don't even seem tipsy."

  "Well I was, then there was a spear in my face. Tension has a way of pulling you out of it, you know?"

  "I would've thought a bartender would have kept much more up to date about things like this, especially in a town that was expecting initiates."

  "I've been busy setting this place up, okay? Like I said before, I'm a bit of a do-it-all for the boss's E grade tasks. Ask any of the locals, they'll tell you I've been here for all of two weeks, and most of that was spent getting this place to look somewhat acceptable."

  "You seemed pretty knowledgeable about drinks for someone who's only been a bartender for two weeks. And yet you didn't spend any time researching the peculiarities of human taste."

  "Drinks have always been my hobby. I just set this place up because I always find the best ways to blend in are somewhat rooted in truth. I'm sure in a month's time I'll get told to head to a planet half a dozen systems away to deal with something else."

  Devon narrowed his eyes, "In other words, you used your current assignment as a way to indulge in your hobby on your boss's dime for a while."

  Kalion pretended he didn't hear that statement as he polished a bottle and avoided Devon's gaze. At that point, Trey came back from the restroom after feeling the need to wash his face. His friend wasn't fully drunk, but he was clearly a fair bit past tipsy. Since it didn't seem like the time for more important conversations, they spent the next hour talking about this and that in an attempt to keep Trey entertained.

  Devon felt like he had a pretty good read of Kalion from the brief time they'd spent together. More than anything, the man seemed to simply enjoy lounging about and talking. And he hated working, which explained the gruff attitude he'd greeted them with.

  From the man's perspective, Devon and Trey arriving here was unusually unlucky for him. Out of thirteen potential worlds for tutorial initiates to arrive upon and thirteen agents ready to potentially receive him, it was Kalion that had wound up being on the right world. The man wouldn't admit to it, but Devon could tell he was annoyed that he was the one responsible for being their chaperon.

  Kalion, more than anything, was the type who hated putting actual work in. He'd come to this planet hoping for a vacation where he could sit back and tend to his bar and drinks. Devon and Trey's arrival had dashed those hopes.

  "Well, I think it's about that time," Kalion said, ending the light conversation. He looked to Trey, "You alright to take part in a more serious conversation? Frankly, the boss didn't expect a tagalong, no offense, so strictly speaking you're free to sit out."

  "I'm still not a hundred percent, but I'm settled enough to listen in silence at least," Trey responded.

  "Fair enough. However, I have some warnings for the both of you before we proceed. Under normal circumstances you wouldn't even be allowed to meet with the boss without a range of invasive security measures, but the boss has granted you an exception."

  "How invasive?" Devon asked, curious about the emphasis on that word.

  "Usually a poison capsule or bomb of some sort at the base of your skull that doubles as both a tracking and listening device. Insurance to make sure you don't overstep the bounds of privacy."

  "A rather extensive security measure, isn't it?"

  "That's the type of person you're dealing with. I've got one of my own. In truth, the boss has probably been listening in on the entire conversation so far, though I couldn't say for sure. Regardless, once you know who they are, if you under any circumstances reveal to any interested party that the piece of amber that conceals your curse came from the boss I can all but guarantee you'd be assassinated in less than an imperial week."

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  It's pretty easy from that to assume that whoever the boss is is either an important criminal or political figure. There are too many resources at play here to believe anything else.

  "Understood. Any other restrictions?"

  "For now, none. If the boss wants to add some more later on that's up to them."

  Kalion led them down into a basement area half-full of kegs that looked a little too clean. Devon supposed he shouldn't have expected the place to feel lived in considering the man had only moved in over the last month if he was to be believed.

  Trey and Devon were led into a nondescript square room that only contained a few pieces of basic furniture. The only source of light in the room was a lamp on the small table between the couches. Kalion closed the door behind them before taking what looked like short poles out of his inventory.

  "You know, furniture alone doesn't really complete a room," Trey said with a skeptical expression as he looked at the otherwise bare walls and floor.

  "It's better to have as few items as possible present when we do this. These are array flags. They're used to activate a variety of effects, but these in particular are made to link two spaces together. The more objects litter the area inside of the array, the more dangerous the merge can become."

  "That's quite something," Trey said, knowingly understating the obvious.

  "Absurdly expensive though. Definitely not something the average person would be able to get their hands on. And it's not exactly infallible either. Something like this is only really usable because we're on an undeveloped world, though I'm not exactly sure of the specifics on how it works so I'd rather you not ask."

  Devon watched as Kalion set the 'flags,' as he called them, around the room. There were eight in total and it seemed as though the man was placing them to form a perfect cube, or at least a perfect rectangle, around the room. From the way the man double and triple-checked the flag placements Devon assumed they needed to be precisely placed or the entire thing would fail.

  When Kalion had first brought them into the mostly bare room and closed the door behind them Devon's suspicions had flared, but he'd quickly numbed them with the logic that if Kalion's boss wanted them kidnapped or dead there would be far easier ways to do it.

  "Alright, you two. Come stand behind this couch with me."

  "What, are we lining up at attention or something?"

  "No, we're just making sure we don't accidentally overlap with the boss and merge into some grotesque abomination."

  That shut Trey up, and they both lined up alongside Kalion behind the couch as instructed.

  After only a few seconds Devon felt the world seem to blur, as though coming in and out of focus repeatedly until a figure stood on the opposite side of the room. It was a dark-skinned woman, almost perfectly human in appearance. But Devon didn't miss the slitted eyes that followed his face like those of a predator watching its prey.

  [Daz - Level 278]

  She radiated power and authority, and sported clothes that complemented that image. The style was completely unfamiliar to Devon, but he could tell at a glance that her garments were likely worth more than the sum total of the earth's resources before the initiation. They gave her a refined appearance that had a few feral touches here and there.

  "Hello there, little schemer. It's a relief to see you accepted my invitation. I'd have hated to have gone through so much effort with nothing to show for it."

  Devon looked around the room and realized that the walls were gone, and all he could see beyond the bounds of the array flag was the nothingness of the space between worlds. He refocused his gaze on the woman in front of him.

  She's created a situation where she has absolute power. Even if Trey and I worked together, she'd likely be able to take us down in an instant, and it isn't like there's anywhere to go.

  "It's Devon. If you don't mind, I'd like to hear exactly what you expect from me. You said you wanted a working relationship, but you never specified what kind or why."

  Daz took a seat in the chair opposite them with the casual demeanor of someone used to authority. Devon could tell simply by looking at her that she was a being far, far above him. His every instinct screamed caution, but he buried those irrational thoughts with cold calculation. He took a seat opposite her, and he saw the sliver of a smile cross her face.

  "I desire a new piece on the board. One that I can trust to work toward my purpose while not being bound by anything. A piece that moves independently in such erratic motions that it disturbs the rest of the board."

  "And by the board, you mean the Empire."

  "Correct. The Empire is like a pool of stagnant blood. Rot festers in every corner of the realm, and yet the divine emperor refuses to change anything. This presents opportunity, and I have no intention of letting it slip by. But for all my efforts, I haven't been able to make anything more than a few ripples on the surface of the pool. And so I need a piece, one capable of altering fate itself."

  "Just because I can create a fate-altering event doesn't necessarily mean I want to. And as far as I know, it doesn't mean I can actually affect fate in any meaningful way except my previous method, which I don't intend to replicate."

  "Whether or not you're able to affect anything beyond what you did before remains to be seen. It's a known fact that people with karmic marks are more likely to do something noteworthy than people without. It's actually such a strong trend that those who sit at the top don't usually consider those without a mark to even be worth interacting with."

  "So I'm pre-destined to be somehow more important than someone without a mark of affection or disdain?"

  "No, you're about 99% more likely to be absolutely more important than someone without a mark. Naturally, you're free to off yourself right now and prove me wrong. Break the cycle or whatnot if that's something you're into. But assuming you don't feel suicidal, it's almost a guarantee you'll be doing something karma deems important. Whether that something is an action you take or merely being hunted down so whoever kills you can profit off your marks of disdain remains to be seen."

  Something tugged at the back of Devon's mind, "You said you wanted a piece on the board. That's an oddly specific metaphor to use. I want to know how long you were rooting around inside my head when you telepathically broke into the tutorial."

  The metaphor was simply too close to his own way of thinking to be coincidence. Just how long had this woman observed his thoughts?

  "Not very long, a minute at most. And I could only perceive surface level thoughts, as going deeper would have alerted you sooner. But I should think the reason that metaphor sounds familiar should be obvious."

  Daz splayed her hands as she smiled, "We're two of a kind, you and I. Opposite sides of the same coin. Schemers through and through."