Chen Ruoxi?
The temple of Amariel rose up from the ground like a vision from a dream.
Half divine architecture and half sensual mirage perched in the centre of the plaza surrounded by flowering trees in shades of blue and dark violet.
The smooth marble walls of the temple glowed slightly with a rosy luminescence as if the stone itself blushed under the light of the sun.
Tall, sweeping pillars carved from marble lined the entrance of the temple's main doors, each depicting lovers in intimate embraces.
Some of the figures were human, others were elven, beast kin, demonic and even animalistic. All clearly displaying the passionate flames of desire, love and lust.
Inside the temple, Mei Lian could hear the sweet sounds of violin music echoing through the hall although she could not tell where the music was coming from.
Scantily clad men and women wearing silken garments freely walked through the temple with their clothes leaving little to the imagination.
Golden chains adorned their limbs with each having a centrepiece of a flower.
Some wore veils that half covered their faces while others flirtishly winked at those who had come to pray while revealing their bare beauty.
The servants of the goddess moved with practiced, effortless allure that made it difficult to avoid staring at their movements.
The seductive sway of their hips, those plump lips and cheeky smiles.
Mei Lian had to quickly avert her eyes as she found herself becoming enchanted by the faint outlines of nuns with particularly busty physiques.
However, Mei Lian saw those who were an exception to the rule. Heavily armoured knights and paladins clad in rose-white colours.
Judging by their muscular frames and the well-maintained swords attached to their hips… clearly the goddess of love did not entirely preach about desire and peace.
Mei Lian slightly fidgeted in her seat as she anxiously looked around the room. Old man Li had dropped her off, said a few words to a barely clothed nun and then left.
He didn't even say goodbye.
Mei Lian did not think that she would miss that drunken old fool but… she did.
He was the only constant since arriving in this new world and without his protection, she felt a bit lost.
This was not a novel or a game.
This was real life. There were no second chances.
She was not some invincible goddess who would enter this new world and immediately slay all her enemies with ease.
For gods' sake she had almost died fighting bandits!
Considering the fact that it was a tutorial quest, it was probably safe to assume that tougher battles lay ahead.
"Summoned one, your companion is ready to meet you," a gentle voice whispered in Mei Lian's ear.
A blushing nun with a loose veil over the bottom half of her face respectfully stood at attention.
"Thank you, I would like to meet them," Mei Lian replied politely as she got up from the bench and moved to follow the nun.
As she walked through winding corridors where silken drapes of crimson hung from the arched ceilings and stained-glass windows cast beautiful shadows on the floor, she felt… nervous.
Every breath that she took felt heavier, as if the temple itself was peeling back the layers of her soul with each step that she took.
She was about to meet someone else from Earth.
Another person who had been trapped just like her.
Hope flickered but it was mired with anxiety. Maybe that person had answers? Maybe they could work together and try to find a way back home?
What kind of person would she meet?
Were they also scared desperate and lost? Or had they already adapted to their new situation…
Mei Lian's palms began to sweat slightly as she found herself stepping ever so closer to the end of the corridor.
Please be a decent person… please be a decent person… please… please…
The lightly dressed nun opened the wooden door leading to the room where the meeting was going to take place.
Mei Lian nervously stepped inside and saw… a very strange sight.
The room itself was similar to the rest of the temple with murals on the walls depicting the goddess or her believers in acts of erotism.
A few plain white chairs had been placed in a semi circle formation in the middle of the room and two figures had already sat down.
One was that of an older man who had clearly been handsome in his youth, and one could even still see faint traces of his good looks on his face.
He wore a simple brown robe that was very modest and the only piece of jewellery on his body was a ring on his right hand depicting a blooming rose.
But the other figure…
Was the most beautiful woman that Mei Lian had ever seen in her life.
She genuinely could not believe that a mortal woman could ever reach that level of beauty.
Golden hair that flowed down her shoulders, a sharp angular face with cheek bones that could cut glass and her body…
My goodness her body… muscular with curves in all the right places. She was the perfect image of a female knight from Mei Lian's more X-rated fantasies.
Mei Lian had to stop herself from staring for too long.
The mysterious woman's beauty had even managed to distract her temporarily from the odd sight of several knights surrounding the old man and staring daggers at the woman.
"You must be the other summoned one… allow me to introduce myself I am Pope…" the old man began to speak but he was soon interrupted.
"Hold on! Hold on!" the female knight rose up from her seat causing the warriors surrounding the pope to quickly stiffen.
She ran over to Mei Lian and rudely grabbed her arm with so much force that it caused Mei Lian to wince slightly.
"You are from Earth, right? You aren't one of these NPCs?"
"You cannot believe how long I've been waiting to talk to an actual person. Holy shit these temple guys are annoying as fuck."
"So how do we escape? I need you figure a way out now!"
Mei Lian was overwhelmed by the rapid-fire orders coming from the mysterious woman's mouth and yet there was something oddly familiar about her tone and voice.
She just… couldn't place it.
"Hello?! Hello?! Are you deaf?" Chen Ruoxi scowled as she saw the woman in front of her stare back with a dazed expression.
"My family has money. Get me out of this hell hole and you can have more wealth than you can possibly imagine."
"Fail me and I'm not going to give you shit. UNDERSTAND?"
There was a brief moment of silence as Mei Lian genuinely did not know what to say. In her head, she had pictured how this meeting would go dozens of times and yet…
Who could have predicted that it would turn out like this.
Clearly the woman could not stand the silence as she opened her mouth and began to speak once more without giving Mei Lian a chance to interrupt.
"Now I am a paladin of this ridiculous church, but I am level one, so you need to do all the questing or completing the game or whatever and I'll stay here and provide you with moral support."
"What do you say?"
Chen Ruoxi crossed her arms and looked at the black-haired woman. Sometimes her generosity really did know no bounds.
Offering this woman some cash in exchange for braving the dangers of this world was more than enough.
It wasn't that she would not pay up. A few million dollars would barely even put a dent in her savings, so it was a good deal for both sides.
Mei Lian opened her mouth and then closed it several times. This person may look beautiful, but her unpleasant attitude had immediately killed any sort of attraction that she might have formed.
She was rude. She gave out orders with no consideration.
She was a spoilt brat who acted as though her money placed her above the law.
Wait… no… there was no way…
"Chen Ruoxi?" Mei Lian asked hesitantly.