6:13 p.m.
Luxen City.
The sun was starting to set and Vivian was walking down a street.
Hopefully, the Bukaroo Quest will be ready by now…
And hopefully, it hasn't been taken…
She touched the pouch on her hip.
Should I just submit these Bukaroo tails right after accepting the Quest…?
She returned her focus to the street and noticed that she was already about 20 meters from the Adventurer's Guild building.
There were a couple of Adventurers -- Copper, Silver and Gold -- hanging around near the entrance. Some were on the corners while others were at the sidewalks, chatting with each other. When they noticed her, they stopped what they were doing and stared at her, some of them even began whispering among each other.
Vivian knitted her brows.
Bunch of useless perverts…
She continued heading over to the building with her gaze fixated on the entrance. However, the closer got to the entrance, the more people started to move away or distance themselves from her.
Good…
Make way for me…
And stay away from me…
Fucking useless perverts who can't control yourselves in the presence of a beautiful and perfect Priestess…
When she finally got through the entrance and stepped inside the main lobby, she found it packed with many Adventurers submitting their Quest Items.
I truly hope that it's available and it hasn't been taken…
I swear to God I'll throw a riot if it's been taken…
And just like what happened outside, the moment the people in the lobby noticed her, they stopped what they were doing and stared at her with some whispering among each other.
Vivian knitted her brows.
Huh…?
Even the guild receptionists…?
She turned to Pana.
When their eyes met, Pana hurriedly looked away and pretended like she was busy doing something else.
So that's it, huh...
"Honored Priestess Vivian…!" a familiar female voice rang in her ear and she turned to the direction of where it came from.
"Felize, Gaze, hi," she said and then looked around for a moment. "Where's Torr?"
They gave a quick bow.
"Torr is busy at the moment. He'll come by later," Felize said.
"Honored Priestess, are you going to take the Bukaroo Quest?" Gaze asked.
Vivian raised an eyebrow.
"It's already available?"
Vivian usually comes to the Adventurer's Guild anywhere between 9:00 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. to sign up for a Quest and then returns around 5:30 p.m. to submit her Quest Items.
However, for Felize, Torr and Gaze, theirs was a bit different.
In the morning, they would come here around 7:00 a.m. And when they're here, they would divide their tasks. Gaze and Torr would join in the "stampede" of taking Quest Papers around 8:00 a.m. Meanwhile, Felize would not only socialize with other Adventurers to build friendships or networks but also listen to any new gossip that's interesting or worth paying attention to.
In the afternoon, they would usually come here around 4:30 p.m. And when they're here, Torr would go to the Quest Rewards Counter to submit their Quest Items, Gaze would check the Quest Board to see if there was anything interesting or worth paying attention to, and Felize, again, would not only socialize with other Adventurers to build friendships or networks but also listen to any new gossip that's interesting or worth paying attention to.
Gaze nodded.
"Yes, Honored Priestess. I was even surprised to see it ."
"Honored Priestess…" Felize said and then swallowed, "Are you… okay?"
"Of course."
The two teens looked at each other for a moment before returning their gaze to her.
Naturally, they heard what happened between her and Mrs. Belfair and her sons.
"Honored Priestess, if you don't mind, after you're done signing up for the Bukaroo Quest, can you meet us outside?" Felize said.
Vivian's brows knitted together.
"Are you kids in trouble? Is someone harassing you or your families?"
Felize and Gaze immediately raised their hands and shook their heads.
"No, no, of course not…!" Felize said.
"No one is harassing us or our families, Honored Priestess…!" Gaze said.
Vivian relaxed her brows a bit.
"Then what is it about?"
"We have a surprise for you. Torr will be --"
Thud.
Gaze elbowed Felize's side and let out an awkward smile.
"Honored Priestess, we promise you that it's nothing strange or scary. We simply have a little surprise for you that we hope you will like."
Vivian leaned back a bit as she eyed them with a suspicious look.
"Okay…? If you say so…?"
Gaze grabbed Felize's arm.
"Honored Priestess, we will be waiting outside. Please come outside once you're done," he said and then bowed before dragging Felize away.
"Hey, I'm going to slip…!" Felize cried.
Vivian watched the two teens head over to the entrance and step outside.
Well…
That was unexpected…
She turned away and headed to the Quest Board.
When finally got to the board, she immediately searched for the Bukaroo Quest.
Oh thank God…!
Riiip!
She tore the Quest Paper and then headed to the Quest Processing Counter.
***
6:33 p.m.
Vivian stepped out of the Adventurer's Building and she touched the pouch on her hip that had Bukaroo tails but was now empty.
After signing up for the Bukaroo Tails Quest, she immediately went to the Quest Rewards counter to submit the tails.
Hmm…
No one among the receptionists questioned me about the incident this afternoon…
Does this mean that Adventurer's Guild is that pathetic in terms of social class…?
Or is the Temple of Priests just so powerful that no one would dare to question their authority or business…?
This is a very interesting piece of information…
She continued walking away until she saw Felize, Torr and Gaze.
They were standing across the street and were waving at her with a nervous smile on their faces. She also noticed Torr hiding something behind his back.
They say that it's nothing strange or scary…
She waved back and smiled as she made her way to them.
When she finally reached them, Felize spoke first.
"Honored Priestess Vivian, as a token of our appreciation for all the help you've given to us, we would like to give this to you," she said and then turned to Torr who stepped forward and revealed the item behind his back.
It was a leather belt pouch with two pouches on each side and a large one at the back.
"Thank you so much, Honored Priestess!" the three teens said and lowered their heads as Torr presented the item.
Vivian's jaw dropped.
A gift…?
For me…?
As a 24-year-old man in her original world, she was nowhere used to receiving gifts from people. The only people who gave her gifts were her parents.
Even when someone pays for her food, aside from her own parents, she just hasn't experienced it enough from extended family members, acquaintances and her boss to feel comfortable about it.
Hold on…!
What should I give in return for this gift…?
Noticing that Vivian has yet to accept the gift, the three teens raised their heads a bit to see her reaction.
"Honored Priestess, do you find the belt pouch ugly…?" Felize asked.
"No, it's not. It's just that --" Vivian stopped in mid-sentence when she noticed that all three of them were looking at her with a worried look.
She accepted the gift.
"I'm sorry. I'm just not used to people giving me gifts. Thank you, I will treasure this," she said before untying her sword, pouch and water pouch hanging around her waist and turning over to Gaze. "Please hold this for a moment."
A serious expression flashed across Gaze's face as he knelt down on one knee and presented both of his arms forward with open palms.
"Yes, Honored Priestess!"
Eh…?
For a brief moment, Vivian contemplated whether to give him her items or not. But in the end, she decided to.
Gaze continued kneeling with his hands forward as he carefully held Vivian's sword, pouch and water pouch with open palms.
Vivian began putting on the belt pouch. Once she was done, she returned her attention to Gaze.
Gaze lowered his head and raised the items on his palms a little bit higher.
"Honored Priestess!"
Felize and Torr, on the other hand, were watching him with an amazed expression on their faces.
"Thank you, Gaze…" Vivian said awkwardly as she retrieved her items and then tied them back around her waist. She placed her water pouch inside the large pouch at the back, she placed the pouch inside one of the pouches on the sides, and she tied her sword on her left hip.
She tried moving.
My hips feel heavy…
Or should I say restricted…
Shiiing!
She pulled out her sword.
Shiiip!
And then returned it back to its scabbard.
Not that bad I guess…
But I will need time getting used to it…
When she turned to the three teens, she couldn't help but notice their worried and anticipating expressions.
She let out a very warm and kind smile.
"Thank you for the gift. I honestly rarely receive any gifts. So I'm really surprised that you three were able to give me one that's not only very useful but I also like it."
A bright smile broke out from the faces of the three teens.
"Yaaa!" Gaze shouted as he raised his fist in the air.
Torr didn't say anything but he gritted his teeth, raised both of his fists in the air and closed his eyes as he tried his best to hold back his tears.
Clap, clap, clap!
"Yaaay~! We did it~! We chose the right one~!" Felize cheered with a bright smile on her face and tears welling up her eyes as she clapped her hands.
Seeing their reactions, Vivian couldn't help but let out a chuckle.
Ding!
'Unlocked Class Magic [Halo]!'
Vivian immediately stopped chuckling and she stood in front of the three teens with a blank expression on her face.
"Honored Priestess…?" Torr and Gaze asked.
"Honored Priestess Vivian, is there something wrong?" Felize asked.
Seeing Vivian not responding, Felize was about to turn to Torr and Gaze and scold them for choosing the belt pouch when suddenly Vivian burst out laughing.
"BWAHAHAHAHAHA…!"
The three teens were caught off-guard, even the people nearby turned around to look at Vivian.
Chud!
She suddenly hugged the kids, causing them to blush.
"Thank you! Hahahahahaha~!" she said and then hugged them even tighter.
"H-Honored P-Priestess…?" Felize said in a small voice as her cheeks slowly turned to red.
Gaze and Torr, on the other hand, their cheeks also turned to red. And when they got a whiff of Vivian's sweet scent, specifically from her hair, their cheeks became even redder. They initially looked down, but their gaze landed on Vivian's chest and they could feel and hear her hot breath, so they quickly and exaggeratedly turned to the side that their necks and eyes started to hurt.
In the mind of the three teens, especially with the two boys, although Vivian could act weird and scary sometimes, she was still a beauty. On top of that, not only was she a Priestess with 3 Magic Art Affinities who could stand her ground against veteran Gold Rank I Adventurers, but she also helped them a lot.
Vivian realized what she was doing and immediately released them.
"Ehem!" she cleared her throat. "Sorry about that. I didn't mean to hurt the three of you. Are you guys hurt?"
I totally forgot about my Physical Force…
Felize shook her head.
"Not at all, Honored Priestess."
Torr nodded.
"Yes, we're fine, Honored Priestess."
Gaze didn't say anything and simply nodded.
Vivian nodded.
"That's good to hear. It's just that I finally learned my first Class Magic so I wasn't able to control myself."
The eyes of the three teens widened.
"Congratulations, Honored Priestess!" they said.
Chud!
Felize rushed over to Vivian and hugged her.
"What is the Class Magic skill you learned?" she asked with sparkling eyes.
"[Halo]," Vivian said and smiled.
A confused expression flashed across the faces of Felize and Gaze.
"Please correct me if I'm wrong, Honored Priestess. But [Halo] is the Class Magic spell of Priests where anyone caught looking at them can't afford to lie, right?" Torr said.
Am I allowed to explain my Class Magic spell to them…?
She shook her head mentally.
Whatever…
I don't think these kids will betray me…
"You're half-correct. It's not that anyone affected by [Halo] can't lie. It just makes the target more inclined to tell the truth."
I didn't tell them everything…
So that's enough I guess…
Felize, who was still hugging Vivian, looked at her with a bright smile.
"Honored Priestess, does this mean you'll finally be allowed to wear a White Cloak? I heard that only the members of the Temple of Priests who have Class Magic are allowed to wear White Cloaks."
Vivian placed her hands on Felize's shoulders and gently pushed her away before nodding.
"That's correct."
"What are you going to do now, Honored Priestess?" Gaze asked.
She turned to him.
"Are you asking if I'm going to celebrate?"
Gaze nodded.
"If you don't mind me asking..."
"I'm a ma-- person and 24 years old. I don't need celebrations. What I need to do now is to go back to the Temple of Priests' office, process the necessary papers, and then resume training as usual."
Hearing Vivian's answer, on one hand, they were amazed because she sounded so mature and responsible. But on the other hand, they felt somewhat sad for her.
In their heads, learning their first skill, spell and Class Magic was such a big deal and deserves a celebration, big or small. In fact, when Felize first opened her [Lightning Mastery], despite her family having to borrow coins and Torr's family also helping a bit in paying for her Awakening Ceremony, her family still threw a small celebration for her.
And as for her [Wind Mastery], no one aside from Vivian, Torr, Gaze and herself knew that she had opened it because Vivian told them their Awakening Ceremony should be kept a secret. However, she, Torr and Gaze agreed with each other that they would tell their families in the future that she opened it but with a different story because they didn't want to cause Vivian any problems.
"I have to go now. Thank you for the wonderful gift, Felize, Torr and Gaze. I really love it," Vivian said and smiled.
The teens lowered their heads.
"Thank you, too, Honored Priestess, and take care!"
"You too as well. And may the God of Light continue to watch over all of you."
Vivian turned around and left.