Training & Etc (4)
3:23 p.m.
Luxen Kingdom.
Three teens in full leather armor carrying weapons and backpacks were walking down a dirt road.
"Felize, are you okay? I can take some of that baggage," Gaze asked.
Felize turned around to face him and the Copper II pendant around her neck dangled.
"I'm fine. Like everyone said, I need to train my stamina more."
"But that doesn't mean you have to force yourself," Torr said and then swept his gaze around his surroundings for a moment. "If we encounter an enemy and you're too tired to move, then it would be pointless."
Felize pouted her lips and turned away.
"Like I said, I'm fine."
Regarding the Copper II pendant around Felize's neck, both Torr and Gaze had one as well. Thanks to the help that Vivian gave them, they were able to grow faster.
In the case of Felize, Vivian helped her open her [Wind Mastery] and she was also able to pay the debt she owed from the Temple of Wizards for having her [Lightning Mastery] opened by selling some of the Elemental Weapons that Vivian gave them.
Meanwhile, in the case of the Torr, Vivian helped him find out that he had a [False Fire Mastery and he was able to pay for the money to have his [Dark Mastery] opened by selling some of the Elemental Weapons that Vivian gave them.
And for Gaze, although he didn't have any Magic Art, some of the Elemental Weapons that Vivian gave them which they sold allowed them to buy better gear and focus solely on training and completing Quests.
Torr raised his head and looked at the sky.
"At least the weather isn't too hot."
The sky was cloudy and there were occasional rumbling sounds. And for the plants and trees around them, the season of Autumn was starting, so they were all starting to be affected by it.
He turned to Gaze.
"Once we arrive at Luxen City tomorrow, want to check out some items and other cool stuff at the Market District?"
They were coming from Dascha Village because of a Quest and heading back to Luxen City.
Gaze shook his head.
"I can't. I need to train and gather more information for our next quest."
Torr wanted to say more but bit his tongue and resumed walking in silence as he glanced at the Silver-grade poleaxe on his hand which was given to him by Vivian.
Before meeting Vivian, he used to use a spear. And the first time he and his group met Vivian, she was using this weapon and was still a Brown Cloak. But once she became a White Cloak, she decided to give it to him.
Truth be told, although Felize, Torr and Gaze were progressing quite fast, an obvious gap was growing between the three of them.
When they were still kids or before they became Adventurers, Gaze was the unspoken leader of their group.
Gaze was the brave and daring one who didn't back out on anything, especially in a fight, Felize was the one who kept following Gaze around and supported whatever he did, no matter what it was, and Torr was the smart but timid voice of reason in the group and was always like a third wheel.
As a matter of fact, when Gaze told them that he wanted to become an Adventurer, Felize immediately jumped in and said that she too wanted to become an Adventurer. And after that, both of them pressured Torr to become one as well. But now, it was different. Although they still looked at him as their "leader" and didn't say anything, there was a noticeable change in the structure of their group.
Felize, who has 2 Magic Art Affinities, was the strongest in their group. This was even her idea that they walk from Dascha Village to Luxen City instead of riding a carriage or something.
Torr, who is still timid but has 1 Magic Art Affinity, became the second strongest in the group.
Meanwhile, Gaze, because he had no Magic Art Affinity, had to adapt to contribute in other ways -- carry things, gather information, hunt, cook, etc.
Felize suddenly stopped and dropped her backpack before pulling out her sword and charging.
Up ahead was a Black Nake which was a 10-foot-long black-colored snake crawling on the ground.
She raised her left hand and activated a spell.
[Lightning Arrow].
Psssch!
A 10-inch-long arrow made out of lightning burst out of her hand and flew across the air until it finally struck the monster and electrocuted it.
Chak!
Felize swung her sword down and decapitated the snake.
"I thank the Gods for this knowledge and experience they bestowed upon me…" she said a prayer under her breath.
Gaze was already rushing in to inspect the monster carcass.
He shook his head.
"Your Magic Force was too high. The lightning damaged the skin so selling it is out of the question. The meat is already half-cooked so it also can't be sold."
Growing up, his father used to take him hunting because his family ran a butchering shop. So he was already familiar with the dos and don'ts of dismantling animal or monster carcasses.
"Who said we're going to sell it? It's our dinner for tonight."
"Oh…," Gaze said and then began "skinning" the monster.
Felize glanced at the sword on her hand which was an Iron-Silver-Grade arming sword.
Before she met Vivian, she used to carry a spiked club and wooden shield. But once she and her group started to become closer with Vivian and they received some assistance from her, she ditched the spiked club and shield. Originally, she wanted to carry a poleaxe just like Vivian. However, Torr was already using a poleaxe and it was a poleaxe given to him by Vivian so she decided to use a sword instead because she remembered seeing Vivian carrying a sword.
She whipped her sword to remove the blood on the blade and then placed it back inside its sheath.
***
4:43 p.m.
Luxen Kingdom, Luxen City, Temple of Priests building.
Joshua was sitting behind an information desk and talking to a customer, a woman in her late teens.
"To be able to join the Temple of Priests, you need to have the Magic Art Light Affinity or have at least 3 Magic Art Affinities."
"I have Fire, Wind and Dark."
"Are they already opened?"
"My [Fire] and [Wind Mastery] are already open."
"I see," Joshua said and nodded. "Unfortunately, we need you to open all three of your Magic Arts before we can proceed to the next step. We offer an Awakening Ceremony worth 50 gold coins. And if you're able to open your [Dark Mastery] and join the Temple of Priest, the Temple will reimburse the 50 gold coins you spent for the Awakening Ceremony. Do you wish to avail of the service?"
"I'm very sorry, but can I come back tomorrow? I don't have enough gold with me at the moment."
"No problem," Joshua said and smiled.
"Thank you, Honored Priest Sir!" the woman said and bowed before leaving.
When the woman left, Joshua slumped back on his chair and massaged his neck.
"That woman looked familiar…" he said under his breath.
"I believe the other Temples used to fight over her because she had 3 Magic Art Affinities…
"But after she finally joined a Temple and was only able to open two of her Magic Arts despite all of the efforts, the other Temples lost interest in her…
Had the woman had the Light Affinity, even if she could only open her [Light Mastery], the Temple of Priests would've done everything to get her to join just to monopolize the Light Affinity.
Joshua glanced at the clock.
"My shift is about to end..."
He gathered all of the papers on his desk and began arranging them.
***
A couple of minutes later…
Joshua was walking down a hallway and carrying a folder on his hand.
When reached a large office room space, he entered and turned his gaze to one of the personnel there.
"Sister Nese, is High Sister Grana at her office?"
The personnel stopped what she was doing and raised her head.
"Brother Joshua, yes."
"Thank you," he said and then headed over to the small private office.
Knock.
Knock.
He knocked on the door and opened it before entering.
Grana sitting behind her desk and signing documents.
"Please excuse me," Joshua said as he went over to her.
Grana didn't answer or even raise her head and continued signing documents.
"Here is the report for today's applicants. There were 3 potential applicants," he said as he placed the folder on the side of her desk.
He turned around and headed for the door.
When he was about to open the door, Grana's voice rang in his ears.
"Any news about Sister Vivian?"
Joshua stopped and turned around to face her.
"So far, the Adventurer's Guild has stopped snooping around. But we're still not sure if they've completely given up."
When Grana and Joshua first learned that Vivian had 4 Magic Art Affinities and her Physical Force was Adamantite and her Magic Force was Orichalcum-Adamantite, they immediately began to suppress some information about her to prevent the Holy Kingdom or any of the other Chapter Temples like the Orion Chapter Temple, from inviting her over to their Chapter Temple, offered her the title of nobility to keep her here in the Luxen Chapter Temple, and launched a secret investigation to know more about her background. And during their investigation, they found out that the Adventurer's Guild was also conducting a secret investigation about her. On top of that, even unknown individuals from the Holy Crusade have been snooping around.
"She still hasn't accepted the nobility title we offered to her?"
"She made no other replies except for the one I presented to you last time where she mentioned that it doesn't align with her current goals and she would like to just focus on eradicating demons, demon-kins, the Cult of Infinity and the heretics."
"Any chance that other parties have already established contact with her? I remember you mentioned that she exchanged letters with a female Adventurer."
"The female Adventurer's name is Felize and is part of a 3-man group: a male teenager named Torr and another male teenager named Gaze. None of them have the Light Affinity or have at least 3 Magic Arts. And whether the Adventurer Guild itself managed to establish contact with Sister Vivian through Felize, it's impossible to tell. But we're keeping a close eye on those three.
"And as for the Holy Kingdom and the Orion Kingdom, there's no way we can tell because she's part of the Inquisitory Division. But although we still couldn't figure out the identity of the person or people from the Holy Crusade who had been trying to collect information about her, we can at least deduce that they must be a high-ranking officer from the Inquisitory Division based on how many political lines they could by-pass without having to reveal that much about themselves."
Grana began tapping her pen on the desk and her eyes staring blankly as a thousand things ran inside her head.
And after what felt like an eternity, she returned her gaze to Joshua.
"Other than getting involved in politics and not doing any quest for a year, are there no other legal ways for an Adventurer to lose their license?"
Joshua shook his head.
"There isn't any I can think of."
"Any update about how did we miss recruiting Sister Vivian when she was younger?"
Joshua shook his head.
"It's still the same."
According to the report, Vivian was born and raised in Siera Village. She lived her whole life there as a civilian and didn't even join a Temple. She got married at the age of 16 and had 2 children. However, 3 months ago, the village was attacked by a horde of monsters and she was among the few people who survived. Her husband, children and other family members didn't. After that, she moved to Bridge Town to join the Temple of Thieves and became an Adventurer.
And here is where the issue starts…
Siera Village wasn't a rouge settlement. So it had a Branch Chapter Temple related to the Luxen Chapter Temple and was under a Count's domain. On top of that, Priests and Priestesses from the Main Chapter Temple would go there just like any town and village for the teaching and feeding Holy Missions to check anyone with the Light Affinity and potentially recruit them to the Temple of Priests. However, according to old reports, Vivian didn't have the Light Affinity. The only time it was revealed that she had the Light Affinity was when she came to visit the Temple of Priest building here in Luxen City. And because of this, an investigation is currently being conducted on the past and present members of the Branch Chapter Temple at Siera Village, and to also all of the Priests who went to Siera Village for the teaching and feeding Holy Mission in the last 24 years.
Normally, this wouldn't be a big issue. But the fact that Vivian was a person with 4 Magic Art Affinities, was able to jump from a normal civilian with no fighting experience to a Physical Force of Adamantite and Magic Force of Orichalcum-Adamantite within 3 months, and was smart enough to become an Inquisitor was a huge oversight that someone must answer.
So as far as Grana was concerned, if it wasn't for the fact that Joshua "recruited" Vivian, it would have been a huge loss for the Temple of Priests, and only the God of Light knew how many promising and talented people they failed to recruit because of the negligence of the other members.
"What about the Temple of Thieves?"
"I don't think they figured it out yet."
Another strange thing that they found about Vivian, between the months of Aprus and Junus when she was active in Bridge Town as an Adventurer, she didn't showcase any explosive growth or anything exceptional that would make her stand out as a fighter. It was only when she came to Luxen City around the month of Julus that she suddenly started soloing Quests, showed explosive growth and other things.
In Grana and Joshua's minds, had Vivian showcased her gifts and talents between the months of Aprus and Junus, they doubted if the Temple of Thieves would let go of her that easily.
"Did you make the necessary arrangements in case the Temple of Thieves would start suing you and harassing you and your family for how you recruited Sister Vivian?"
"Yes, I've already made the necessary arrangements."
Grana resumed tapping her pen against her desk for a moment before stopping.
"I've been thinking about this these past few days and I would like to hear your honest thoughts, and this should only be between you and me."
"Of course, High Sister. I swear to the God of Light that I won't tell a soul."
"Is it possible that Sister Vivian is a spy and wants to destroy the Temple of Priests from within?"
A puzzled look appeared on Joshua's face.
"What makes you think that, High Sister?"
"Sister Vivian lost her entire family during that monster attack. Given her talents, instead of joining the Temple of Priests right away, she joined the Temple of Thieves and became an Adventurer first. And considering that the Count's family and to some extent, the Temple of Priests, hold the biggest responsibility in protecting Siera Village, I wouldn't be surprised if she developed some hatred towards them."
He nodded.
"That is a possibility. But I don't think she has that in her."
Grana raised an eyebrow.
"Why do you think so?"
"Although I've only spoken to her a few times, yes, she can be quite hardworking to the point that she would sacrifice her health. However, I didn't sense any depression or sadness in her. She seemed normal, she's curious about this and her eyes would brighten whenever coins or rewards is involved."
"If that were the case, then why did she reject the offer of nobility?"
Joshua let out an awkward smile.
"Well, like you said, maybe she developed a hatred towards nobility. But I wouldn't go that far. If I were to base it on my observation of her when it comes to monetary rewards, I would say maybe she's waiting for a better deal."
Grana's brows knitted together.
"There are other things I can't figure out about her.
"She can be quite violent based on the people she has attacked during her time here in Luxen City. But so far, she hasn't had any altercations with our fellow brothers and sisters.
"And although she has a strong interest in training and fighting, and has the talent to become powerful, she still chose to be part of the Inquisitory Division instead of the Infantry Division.
"What do you think is going on inside her head or her goal is?"
Joshua thought about it for almost a minute.
"Forgive me, High Sister, but I honestly have no idea. I believe we need to gather more information about her to make an accurate assessment."
****************************
By the way, I posted the drafts of Chapters 278-313 which is up to the end of Volume II for free at my Patreon account https://www.patreon.com/Immortal_Shades. Please note that those are drafts and I didn't even edit so there will still be changes once I post them here.
As for the reason why I posted them for free, to be honest, I think I have to accept that I'm a slow writer no matter what. Back when I was still doing the lock chapters, I will admit, I was more focused on posting 5 chapter drafts there just to meet my weekly quota than focusing on writing a coherent story. So when the time came to officially publish them here, I had to do tons of rewrites and in a few cases, add extra chapters. So I've decided to stop that and instead focus more on writing proper chapters (basically, quality or quantity). But I'll still post chapter drafts there if I have some.
I'm truly thankful for all of you have been very patient with me, especially those who constantly provide Power Stones, such as DaoistL27fr7, DaoistowxxrO and Wizards, and also those who comments such as yami_die_bestie and just recently, Skahra. Those things may seem nothing to anyone, especially to popular authors. But to me, whenever I see such engagements, it makes me happy. With that being said, to anyone who wants to give further support, you can be a Patreon member for $2 a month at https://www.patreon.com/Immortal_Shades.
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I've also created an Instagram account for Vivian:
https://www.instagram.com/vivian_lightstorm/
Do check it out if you have time :)