Fifth Quest Complete

"Why are the monsters aggressive to you?" asked Marie.

Aside from that, she also wanted to ask why Vivian doesn't offer a small prayer after killing a monster but figured that maybe she just says a single-sentence prayer inside her head right after killing one.

A cold shiver ran down Vivian's spine.

Shit…!

I forgot about this…!

What do I tell her...?!

Her brain went on overdrive and a thousand scenarios ran inside her head.

"If you don't want to tell me, I don't mind," said Marie, interrupting Vivian's thoughts.

"No, I don't mind telling you. After all, you've been a big help... The truth is... I have a Lore Magic that attracts monsters to me. This is why I avoid traveling with other people because I don't want them to get hurt because of me."

Like hell you don't mind…!

"You have Lore Magic?!"

Vivian was startled by Marie's reaction and subconsciously took a step back.

Marie quickly cleared her throat and stood up straight.

"My apologies, sister. It's just that I've only met a handful of people who have Lore Magic with magical effects."

"I... I see..."

"What's the name of the skill and how much mana does it cost to activate?"

"The name? It's called [Nemesis of Beasts]. It's something like a passive skill because it doesn't require any mana and I can't even turn it off if I want to."

"Does it also affect intelligent monsters?"

"I don't know. I've never tried it."

"Does this mean you weren't born with it and learned it? How did you learn it?"

What the fuck is wrong with this bitch…?!

Why is she asking so many questions…?!

Can't she just mind her own business...?!

"Yeah, I wasn't born with it. As for how I learned it, I'm not sure. I just woke up one day and learned it."

"Well, they did say that Lore Magic solely depends on the will of the gods," said Marie and paused for a moment to think. "And I can see how that Lore Magic of yours can be a good thing but also a bad thing. Although it's a great spell for hunting monsters, it can be a problem if you encounter a powerful monster."

"That's actually one of my main concerns, to be honest… Which is why I don't travel with people…"

"But sister, maybe there's a good reason why the Gods gave you that Lore Magic. And if you inform the higher-ups in the Temple of Priests, maybe they can think about something for your situation."

Vivian raised an eyebrow.

"But is that the smartest thing to do? I mean, what if they use me for something dangerous? Although I attract monsters, the monsters inside the city don't seem to be aggressive to me, they just avoid me."

"Oh… Now that you mentioned that, I'm not sure anymore."

Vivian went over to Marie and grabbed her hands.

"Sister Marie, promise me you won't tell anyone!" he said with a pleading voice as if she was about to break into tears. "Once I'm strong enough like you, I promise to tell the Temple about this!"

Marie held onto Vivian's hands and nodded.

"You have my word, Sister Vivian. I swear in the name of the God of Light that I won't tell a soul about this!"

Although Vivian couldn't see Marie's face because of her helmet, she could at least see her eyes from the slit and it seemed like she was serious.

"Thank you, sister!" she said and then hugged Marie.

Marie was startled by the sudden embrace for a moment before hugging Vivian back.

A moment later, Vivian pulled away.

"Thank you once again, sister. Come, let's go back to the city and deliver that Bukaroo tails. I still have so many things to do after this."

"Okay, sister," Marie said and nodded.

Vivian turned away to pick up her sword.

Fuck…!

I just hope I made the right decision…!

Truth be told, she also thought about telling Marie the truth and then killing her once she lowered her guard. But after considering that many witnesses had seen them together, she dropped the idea.

She also thought about lying, such as telling Marie that she used some kind of potion or perfume to explain why the monsters were attracted to her. But she decided that it had too many holes.

Because of these reasons, she decided to just come clean. After all, they did say that in order for someone to learn Lore Magic solely depends on the will of the gods. And given that the Temple of Priests was a religious organization, it will only add another layer of protection for her.

Looks like I really can't party with people unless I want them to learn this Lore Magic that I have…

And if they also notice that I have multiple skills, they would eventually also learn my other Lore Magic [Otherworldly]…

This fucking body has too many secrets…

I seriously, seriously, need to get strong as fast as possible…!

***

Luxen City.

Vivian and Knight Warrior (a.k.a Marie) stepped inside the Adventurer's Guild.

And just like when they both first got here to take a quest, many eyes turned to them.

Vivian ignored them and went straight to the Quest Rewards counter, while Marie followed her.

Fortunately, the counter was empty so they didn't have to wait in line.

If they had to wait, it would be awkward for Vivian because although she told Marie that she could just wait outside or on the side, Marie told her that she wanted to see what the process of receiving the quest rewards looks like.

"Hi, how may I help you?" one of the receptionists behind the Quest Rewards counter asked.

"I'm here to deliver the quest items," Vivian said.

She then proceeded to do the usual steps.

A few minutes later...

Vivian received her reward and turned away with Marie following behind her as usual.

This is it…

I can finally ditch this tall bitch and train without any worries…

As she was heading over to the exit, a female voice called her name.

"Priestess Vivian! Wait!"

Vivian stopped because she knew the voice.

She turned around and saw Pana who was rushing towards her.

When Pane finally reached Vivian and Marie, she placed a hand on her chest and let out a sigh of relief.

"I thought you were going to take another quest so I didn't expect you to head for the exit!"

Vivian awkwardly scratched her nose.

"Um… Yeah, I'm a bit busy today... So..."

"I'm sorry, but there's a special quest for you."

Vivian raised an eyebrow.

"For me?"

"I promise I'm not the one who told this Noble about you."

Vivian's brows knitted together.

"What do you mean?"

"This Noble found out that there's a Copper I Rank Priest Adventurer who completes quest alo--" Pana bit her tongue when she saw Knight Warrior. "I mean, who USUALLY completes quests alone so he wanted to hire you for a quest."

Vivian turned to Knight Warrior (a.k.a. Marie) who didn't say anything or give any reaction.

She returned her gaze to Pana.

"What is the quest and how much is the pay?"

"The Noble said he wants to set up a meeting with you soon to negotiate the details."

"Sorry, but I'm very busy right now. I don't have that kind of time."

Pana bit her lip for a moment before finally answering.

"The quest is to provide him healing magic while he practices Magic Arts. And the pay is 5 silver coins per healing magic. However, he is willing to negotiate."

Vivian couldn't help but recall doing the Awakening Ceremony where she unlocked her [Fire] and [Wind Mastery].

"I'll think about it first. I'll tell you later once I've decided. Sorry, but I'm actually very busy right now." 

She turned away and headed for the exit.

***

Vivian and Marie stepped out of the Adventurer's Guild building.

"Sister, you don't want to take more quests?" asked Marie.

Tch…!

Vivian clicked her tongue mentally.

Now that this tall bitch knows one of my secrets, I have no choice but to play extra nice with her until I get strong…!

FFFFFUUUUUCCCCCKKKKK…!!!

She turned her head to Marie and flashed a warm and friendly smile.

"Yes sister, I want to focus on training my Magic Arts now."

"Train your Magic Arts? Then I suggest you should go to the Training Grounds at the compound. There is a place there specifically built to train Magic Arts."

"Really?!" Vivian said and then immediately cleared her throat. "I mean, really? I want to go there right away."

"Sure, I'll take you there."

They began heading back to the compound where the Temple of Priests members live.

"Sister, what do you think about the quest? The one about the Noble," asked Vivian.

"That one? If it's just healing magic, if a client were to go to the Temple of Priests, as long as it's just within the Temple's vicinity, [Heal] would be 5 silver coins per heal and [Greater Heal] would be 1 gold coin. 

"But if the client wants to take the Priest to another location or bring that Priest along with him, depending on the location, the minimum is 1 gold coin for [Heal] and 5 gold coins for [Greater Heal]. 

"On top of that, the client also needs to sign a waiver and do a background check. And assuming the Priest decides to accompany the client to another location, if something unfortunate happens to the Priest on the journey, regardless if there was an agreed Hazardous Pay or not, the client has to pay another fee and the amount depends on how much suffering the Priest has suffered."

"So the Noble is a cheapskate?"

"Cheapskate?"

"Someone who loves cheap prices."

Marie let out a soft chuckle.