5:46 p.m.
Adventurer's Guild, Luxen City.
Thud, thud, thud...
Vivian entered the main lobby while using her poleaxe like a walking staff.
She glanced at the heads of her weapon.
The heads still stink of blood despite me washing it with water…
She shifted her gaze to Pana who was sitting behind her counter as usual and smiled and waved.
Pana returned the same gesture.
When Vivian turned away and headed to the Quest Rewards counter, her brows knitted together.
Oh fuck…
There were 7 people waiting in line to submit their Quest Items.
But to be fair, during this time of the day, most of the Adventurers would be returning to submit their Quest Items, so there were a lot of people at the main lobby.
Should I just submit my items earlier...?
Like 4:00 p.m...?
She shook her head mentally.
But that would be taking time training my Physical Arts...
7:00 p.m...?
She shook her head mentally once more.
I need to be at the compound during that time for dinner and other stuff...
"Honored P-Priestess Vivian…!" a female voice suddenly called out.
Vivian stopped and turned around.
It was Felize, Gaze and Torr. They were dressed in their usual Adventurer attire but didn't draw their weapons.
"Oh, it's you."
The teens approached her and then bowed.
"We're very sorry for bothering you. We waited here for you because we didn't know where to find you," Felize said.
Vivian's brows knitted together.
Find me…?
"This morning…" Felize said with a small voice. "You didn't mention where we should meet for tonight. And since we knew you will take the Bukaroo Quest, we decided to wait for you here."
The teens bowed once again.
"And please forgive us if we're talking to you in public."
Vivian waved her hand.
"It's fine. It's my fault to begin with. I should've told you where we will meet."
The teens raised their heads and bowed once more.
"Thank you, Priestess Vivian!"
Vivian noticed the people around them staring at them.
This is embarrassing…
"Raise your heads. You don't have to bow to me every time."
The teens raised their heads.
"Honored Priestess Vivian, are you going submit your quest items at the Quest Rewards counter?" Torr said.
"Yes."
"If you want, we can wait in line in your stead."
Vivian glanced at the people waiting in line in front of Quest Rewards counter.
7 people...
She returned her attention to Torr.
"You sure about that?"
"Yes! We will call you over once it's your time to submit them."
"Okay, thank you."
After Vivian handed over the small sack that had the Bukaroo tails, Torr and Gaze immediately went over to wait in line while Felize was left alone with Vivian.
"Honored Priestess Vivian…"
"You don't have to call me Honored Priestess Vivian. Priestess or Vivian will do."
Felize shook her head vehemently.
"I would never dare call you Priestess or Vivian only…!"
Eh…?
Wasn't this brat the most outspoken yesterday…?
Did I break her spirit that much…?
"Please allow me to call you Honored Priestess at least…"
"Sure," Vivian said and then went over to the chairs located at the corners of the hall.
There were some Adventurers there sitting and chatting, and Vivian chose a chair that was far from them.
When she sat down and placed the poleaxe beside her, leaning against the wall, she noticed that Felize wasn't sitting down.
"You're not going to sit?"
"I-I'm okay, Honored Priestess."
Vivian rolled her eyes.
"Look, you don't have to be too formal. Remember, we're both Adventurers and Copper I Rank. And plus, I don't want people to think that I'm a person who likes to bully and order kids around."
Felize's face turned pale and she immediately lowered her head.
"I'm very sorry, please forgive me, Honored Priestess Vivian…! I didn't realize how I was ruining your reputation…!"
Vivian looked at her with a deadpan expression.
Is this brat trolling me…?
She glanced at Gaze and Torr who were standing in line in front of the Quest Rewards counter.
Are they deliberately trying to destroy my reputation little by little because they know I'm a Priestess and they're just Copper I Rank Adventurers…
And when my reputation is down, that's when they would go for the deathblow…?
She returned her gaze to Felize.
Is that really their plan…?
I mean…
If I were in their shoes, I would just stay away from me…
But then again…
She let out a sigh.
"What did I just say?"
Felize immediately raised her head.
"I'm sor--!"
"Just sit down."
"Y-Yes, Honored Priestess…!" Felize said and then sat beside Vivian.
"You also don't have to force yourself to talk if you don't have anything important to say. I don't like small talk."
Felize nodded.
"Understood, Honored Priestess."
The two sat in silence.
Vivian sat with her arms and legs crossed, and her demeanor was cool and calm.
Felize, on the other hand, sat straight and had her shield and mace on top of her lap as tried her best not to appear uncomfortable.
She glanced at Gaze and Torr who were waiting in line and talking with each other. A feeling of envy welled up inside of her but she squashed it immediately and then shifted her gaze to the rest of the people inside the main hall.
Aside from the staff, most of the Adventurers present were either Copper or Silver Ranks and there were only 2 Gold Rank adventurers present. And looking at the Gold Rank Adventurers, she secretly stole a glance at Vivian, wondering if she was as strong as a Gold Rank adventurer.
As a 15-year-old girl, most of the Adventurers she has seen and met were Copper, Silver and Gold Ranks with the first two in abundance.
For Platinum, she had only seen two, both of which were males.
One of them was Ronaldo, the current Supreme Captain of the city. From what she heard, he used to be a Platinum I Rank Adventurer before he retired and joined the Knights Chapters.
Meanwhile, for the Diamond Rank, other than that Guildmaster, she has only heard stories about them. But according to the stories she has heard, if Platinum Rank Adventurers could be considered as demigods, then Diamond Rank Adventurers are basically gods. They are were powerful that they can subjugate an army on their own.
But the main reason as to why Felize believed that Vivian was as strong as a Gold Rank Adventurer despite she, Gaze and Torr not having personally fought one was based on Vivian's age, her identity as a Priestess, and her Magic Art Affinities.
After their "secret" Awakening Ceremony with Vivian at the Graham's Lodge House and then sleeping for a few hours, she, Gaze and Torr spent the rest of the day asking around about how powerful Priests are. But they were also careful not to attract too much attention or ask the wrong people because aside from not wanting to offend Vivian, the Temple of Priests was the most influential temple out of all of the temples. In their investigation, no one they've asked has personally seen or fought with a Priest because Priests usually only stick with each other. And if they do interact with outsiders, it's strictly business or with high-profile people only. However, some of the people they asked told them that Priests tend to be stronger compared to the average person because of their "special training methods" with the use of healing spells and also the "Holy Crusade" that they must participate in.
And speaking of the number of Magic Art Affinities, although Felize, Gaze and Torr were born and raised in Luxen City, they were from the Commoner class and they were all only 15 years old so they didn't know much or paid too much attention about the other social classes. But during the course of their short investigation, they learned that:
• Most people from the Commoner Class have 1-2 Magic Art Affinities
• Most people from the Noble class have 3 Magic Art Affinities
• Most people from the Aristocratic Noble class have 4 Magic Art Affinities
• Most people from the Royal class have 5 Magic Art Affinities
Felize noticed that a group of Silver Rank Adventurers heading in their direction -- No, if she were to be specific, they were heading in Vivian's direction.
"Hi, excuse me," a confident-looking woman in her early 20s with a Silver II Rank around her neck said. She carried a beautiful sword on her back, a beautiful curved dagger and wand on her waist, and was wearing a beautifully crafted set of leather armor.
And although she and her group all had a silver-colored pendant around their neck, not everyone was Silver II, others were Silver I.
Vivian looked at the woman.
"If you're trying to invite us to team-up, we're not interested."
Felize's heart skipped a beat when she heard Vivian say "us" and "we're" instead of "I'm".
"No, no, no," the Silver II woman said and smiled. "I just wanted to introduce our --"
Vivian turned her head away.
"My head hurts right now and I'm not in the mood to talk. Please leave us alone."
The woman glanced at Felize who lowered her head.
She then turned to his companions.
Some let out wry smiles, others looked down in embarrassment.
She then noticed that many people inside the main hall were staring at them -- there was pity, mockery and indifference.
The woman's cheeks turned bright red.
Although she was used to getting rejected when she first started out as an Adventurer, she was now a Silver II Rank Adventurer with a great track record in completing Quests and was already eligible to take the Rank Exam for Gold I Rank. In fact, she was still waiting for the guild to gather enough participants for the exam. And once she passes the exam, which she knows she will, she will finally become a Gold I Rank Adventurer.
She returned her gaze to Vivian and forced herself to smile as she suppressed the urge to grit her teeth and ball her hands into fists.
"My apologies, Honored Priestess," she said and then walked away with her companions following behind.
Vivian let out a sigh.
This really sucks...
If I were still a man, all of this attention would've been heaven…
I would've enjoyed women lusting over me…
And then build a fucking harem…
But that stupid fucking Zhey/Zhem God placed me in a woman's body...
Tch...!
Hmm...
Maybe that woman has a Magic Art Affinity that I could learn...?
She shook her head mentally.
There are many others to choose from...
A small smile appeared on her face as she threw a glance at Felize.
Many more gullible or easier to control like this little girl and her companions...
"Honored Priestess Vivian," a male voice said.
Vivian turned her head and saw Gaze.
"Is it my turn already?"
"Yes, Honored Priestess."
Vivian got up from her seat.
"Thank you," she said with a warm smile and then and headed to the Quest Rewards counter.