137 White Cloak

After dropping off the items she bought, Vivian immediately headed to the Mission Room.

When she entered the room, she headed straight to Ezekiel who was sitting behind a counter and happily chatting with a Priest who was also sitting behind another counter.

"Excuse me, Brother Ezekiel," said Vivian.

Ezekiel turned to her.

"Oh, Sister Vivian. How are you today and how may I help you?"

"I'm good. Sorry for the interruption, but I have some news." 

Ezekiel raised an eyebrow.

"What is it, sister?"

"I finally got a Class Magic skill."

Ezekiel's eyes became wide.

"Congratulations, sister!"

"Congratulations, sister!" the other Priest congratulated her as well.

"Thank you, brothers," Vivian said and smiled before turning to Ezekiel. "I wouldn't have achieved this without your help."

"My help? So you got this from doing Holy Missions?"

"It's part of it I guess."

Vivian didn't exactly want to reveal how she helped Felize, Torr and Gaze because as far as she knows healing is one of the streams of income of the Temple of Priests, so she decided to be vague about it. 

"What is the Class Magic you learned?"

"[Halo]."

"Can you show it to us?"

"I have to?"

Although Vivian doesn't believe that she's one of the most powerful people in the city, she at least knew that she was at least above-average based on the people she fought and the reaction of Grace from the Blacksmith Shop gave her.

The skill [Halo] only affects targets with lower Magic Force, right…?

If I turn on [Halo] and it affects him, how will I explain my fast growth…?

As far as Vivian can remember, she got affected by Joshua's [Halo], her story is that she only has Light, Fire and Wind Magic Art Affinities, she underwent Awakening Ceremonies for her [Light], [Fire] and [Wind Mastery] when she joined the Temple of Priests, and she got beaten by Marie.

No matter how hard she tried to think, she couldn't give a proper explanation except for one -- if it could even be counted as a proper explanation.

I think the only explanation I can give is that I've worked very, very hard…

I just hope that my [Halo] won't affect him…

"But brother, are you sure? I was told that it was considered rude to use [Halo] on other people."

Ezekiel flashed her a kind smile.

"It's okay, sister. I give you my permission. And plus, we also need proof in order to officially promote you to White Cloak."

"Oh…"

Dammit…!

Why was it [Halo]…?!

Why not [Greater Heal]…?!

She then remembered that her [Halo] skill combined with [Greater Origin Enchant] gave her almost infinite mana.

Well, I guess there is that…

I just hope that this person is too stupid to realize it…

She activated a spell.

[Halo].

A golden halo appeared behind Vivian's back and she immediately studied Ezekiel's face, especially his eyes.

To Vivian's surprise, Ezekiel didn't show the same reaction that Felize, Torr and Gaze gave her yesterday.

"Brother…?" she asked softly.

Ezekiel nodded.

"You can turn it off now."

Vivian immediately turned it off.

So this guy is stronger than me, huh...

"Once again, let me congratulate you, sister. You've truly received the blessing of the God of Light. I'm truly happy for you," Ezekiel said and flashed a warm smile.

"Thank you, brother," Vivian replied and smiled as well.

"Now that you've acquired your first Class Magic, please go to the Main Office and inform Sister Gillian."

Sister Gillian…?

The name sounded familiar in Vivian's ears. 

She thought about it for a moment and finally remembered who it was. 

It was the woman Joshua introduced her to when she first got here and she also gave her her cloak and necklace.

"Also," Ezekiel said and then began writing on a piece of paper before handing it over to Vivian. "Give that to Sister Gillian as well."

"Yes, brother, and thank you."

"May the God of Light continue to watch over you, sister."

"May the God of Light continue to watch over you as well, brother."

Vivian finally left and headed to the Main Office building.

As for reading what was written in the note, based on Vivian's experience in the workforce, most of the time it's better to not know the private businesses of the higher-ups because that will only put a target behind your back.

And given Vivian's many secrets, she wasn't interested in attracting that much attention, but not to the point of not getting any attention at all because that would only make her a target for bullying.

Office politics is a tricky playground to play in. It was no different from high school politics or drama. The only difference is that there are no teachers or principals to stop the bullying that there's even a chance that the boss themselves would join in the fun or tolerate it.

Sure, one can file a legal case, but it's a long, expensive and messy endeavor. And even if you win, it will make many companies hesitant to hire you.

Basically, it's safer to simply adopt a see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil mantra.

***

At the Main Office building.

Knock.

Knock.

Vivian knocked at a door twice before entering.

There were three desks inside the room and each had a person sitting behind it, two women and one man, and they all wore White Cloaks.

All of them turned to Vivian.

"Good afternoon to you all," Vivian greeted and smiled.

She then turned to Gillian and went over to her.

"Good afternoon, Sister Gillian. I was instructed by Brother Ezekiel to come see you because I acquired the Class Magic [Halo]."

"Oh, I see! Congratulations, sister…?"

Although Gillian recognized Vivian's face, she couldn't remember her name.

"Vivian."

".…Sister Vivian!"

"Congratulations, Sister Vivian," the other two said as well.

"Thank you, all of you," Vivian said and smiled at them before returning her gaze to Gillian and handing over the piece of paper that Ezekiel gave her. "Brother Ezekiel also told me to give this to you."

Gillian read the piece of paper for a moment before returning her gaze to Vivian and standing up.

"Allow me to congratulate you once again, Sister Vivian. I'm really impressed that you managed to acquire a Class Magic in no less than a month," she said and smiled.

Hearing that Vivian managed to acquire a Class Magic in less than a month, a surprised expression appeared on Gilian's companions.

"Thank you, Sister Gillian," Vivian replied and smiled as well.

Please don't ask me to activate [Halo]…

Please don't ask me to activate [Halo]…

Please don't ask me to activate [Halo]…

"Your size is M, right?" asked Gillian.

"Y-Yes, sister...!" Vivian's voice almost cracked. 

Gillian turned to one of the white cloaks sitting behind the desks.

"Brother Brian, can you fetch me a size M White Cloak?"

"Yes, sister," the Priest said and got up before entering one of the doors within the room.

Gillian returned her gaze to Vivian.

"Please forgive me, sister," Gillian said and offered a bow. "Usually, whenever a member ranks up, it is the duty of the Headmaster or any of our available Red or Gray Cloak brothers and sisters to congratulate you and present you the reward. Unfortunately, everyone is so busy right now dealing with the betrayal of the former Supreme Captain and also busy preparing for the upcoming Ranking Match where our brothers and sisters from the Heisin Chapter Temple would be attending."

"It's okay, sister. I'm not really comfortable with grand gestures anyway. As long as I get my rewards, I'm good," Vivian said and smiled.

Brian, who was ordered by Gillian to get a White Cloak for Vivian, finally returned.

"Sister, I already have it."

Vivian and Gillian turned towards him.

"Thank you, brother," Vivian said and she received the White Cloak.

"You're welcome, sister," Brian said and smiled.

"Sister Vivian."

Gillian called her name and she turned to her.

"Although you don't have to return your Brown Cloak, you're not permitted to wear that anymore."

"Noted, sister."

"And as for your reward," Gillian said and wrote a note on a piece of paper before handing it over to her. "You will receive 100 gold coins which you can collect from the Mission Room and you will also receive a coupon for 1 free mithril-grade magic item which you can trade at the Blacksmith Shop within the compound."

"Thank you, sister!" Vivian said in as she received the note. "Is there anything else?"

Gillian's eyes blinked a few times.

Although Vivian didn't blatantly say it, she could tell that Vivian wanted to leave right away in order to claim her rewards, making her smile a bit inside her head.

Based on her experience, usually, the new and younger members would prefer that the headmaster or any of the Red or Gray Cloak Priests to congratulate them and be the one to give them the rewards.

"Oh, I have to mention a few things as well," said Gillian. "Now that you're a White Cloak, you're no longer eligible for any Brown Cloak Holy Missions, you will have a bit more priority compared to Brown Cloaks in certain areas, and in case you're not aware of the lending system of the bank of the Temple of Priests, you can now lend up to 1,000 gold coins which was only up to 100 gold coins when you were still a Brown Cloak."

"I see. Thank you."

"Also, in case you also don't know this, at the upcoming Ranking Match on the day of Satur everyone is required to attend."

"Attend? You mean participate in the fight?"

Vivian had absolutely no interest in participating in the fight because she couldn't afford to bleed in front of anyone and have people know that the color of her blood was blue.

"No, not everyone is required to participate in the fight. But everyone is required to watch for the monthly checking, not to mention that we will also have guests from another chapter."

"I see. I understand, sister."

Aside from having no interest in participating in the fight because of her blue blood, Vivian also had no interest in watching other people fight.

In her mind, it was no different from watching a sports game.

Unless she was betting on one of the teams or players, or the game had something to do with her that would give her some sort of personal benefit or reward, she wouldn't waste her precious time watching such pointless things.

She would rather work or exercise, or do something productive for herself.

Silence enveloped the room.

"Ehem," Gillian cleared her throat. "That will be all, Sister Vivian."

"Thank you, Sister Gillian," Vivian said and bowed before leaving.

Gillian shook her head mentally.

She couldn't help but notice the flat reaction of Vivian compared to when she was told that she would receive 100 gold coins and a single coupon for a magic item.

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