Luxen Forest (3)

"Are you the new adventurers who took the Bukaroo quest?" Vivian asked.

Gaze, Felize and Torr looked at each other.

They were surprised to see a Priest here. But they were more surprised that the Priest was a Copper I Rank just like them.

Gaze managed to recomposed himself and was the first one to open his mouth.

"We didn't expect to meet a fellow Copper I Rank adventurer here who also happens to be a Priest. Are you alone?"

"Answer me," Vivian commanded.

"Hey! Just because you're a Priest and older, you're also a Copper I Rank adventurer like us! You should know how to treat your colleagues with respect!" said Felize.

"Felize!" Torr said in a harsh whisper.

Maybe it's because Torr was timid despite his height, but compared to Gaze and Felize, he knew some things about the other face of the Temple of Priests that were shared to him by his father whose profession was mainly that of a traveling merchant.

As far as he knows, Priests do go around preaching and helping those in need with their Holy Missions within the city and the nearby towns and villages. However, he also heard stories about their fanaticism and some weren't exactly happy stories.

"Priestess, please forgive my companion. We're indeed here on a quest to gather Bukaroo tails."

Both Gaze and Felize looked at Torr and their faces were painted with confusion and surprise.

"Torr, what are you doing? This isn't the time to be timid!" said Felize.

As for Gaze, he didn't say anything but still looked at Torr with a confused and surprised expression.

Given that his father would take him to hunting trips, one of the things his father taught him was that not everyone you meet outside are friendly so it's best to never reveal too much information and always be cordial.

"Listen here, kids," said Vivian. "That Bukaroo quest is mine. Don't ever take it ever again until I become Silver I rank. Do you understand me?"

"But Priestess --" said Gaze.

"Huh?! What are you talking about? The quests are first come, first serve!" said Felize.

Vivian let out a sigh.

"This is why I hate kids…" she said and looked at Torr. "You seem to be the reasonable one. Tell your companion to shut up and only answer when she has something good to say."

"Why you--!"

"Felize, shut up for a moment will you?!" 

To Felize's surprise, it was Gaze who shouted at her.

"Gaze…?" she asked, her voice unsure how to react.

"Just stay quiet for a moment and let us do the talking," he said and then looked at Torr. "Watch her."

Torr nodded.

Gaze turned to Vivian.

"As you already heard, my name is Gaze. About what your asking, isn't that a bit unreasonable?"

"Really now?" Vivian said with an amused smile on her face.

"The quests posted on the guild are first come, first serve. If you can't take on the quest yourself before we do, then I have a proposal that might interest you."

The smile on Vivian's face grew.

"A proposal?"

"Yes. Since we're both Copper I Ranks, why don't we party together instead? You're a Priest and you don't look like you're in need of money so I'm guessing it's the promotion points that you're after, right?"

Vivian didn't say anything and continued smiling.

"If you agree, it will be a win-win for us all and we'll both grow strong together!"

"Hahahaha…"Vivian let out a laugh and then wiped the tears on her eyes. "You almost had me there. Proposal, huh. Well, since you offered a proposal and talked about growing strong together, let me give you a proposal as well to be fair so that you won't say that I'm bullying you kids."

And when the 3 kids saw Vivian's lips turn into a wide grin, they suddenly felt a cold shiver ran down their spine.

"I'll agree to party with you 3 if you can defeat me. Don't worry, I won't use any weapon or any Physical and Magic Arts," Vivian said slowly and carefully.

The kids looked at each other.

"And of course, if you disagree, well, I'll just convince you by force whether you like it or not."

"You can't do that!" said Felize. "Adventurers aren't allowed to hurt anyone without a valid reason! If you do that, we'll report you to the guild and have your license revoked!"

"Such a pity..."

And before the kids could even react, Vivian suddenly burst forward.

Vooom!

She moved so fast that in the eyes of the kids she appeared blurry and was already in front of Felize.

Bam!

Crack!

Blargh!

Thud.

Vivian drove a semi-uppercut punch to Felize's stomach which some made cracking sounds, causing her to cough out blood and other bodily fluids and was sent a few inches in the air before landing back to the ground.

Tch!

Vivian clicked her tongue as she stared at some of the vomit on her cloak. Her eyes then shifted to Felize who laying on the ground and twitching right beside her feet, completely incapacitated.

"Even when I held back, you were still too weak..."

"FELIZE!!!" Gaze shouted as he drew out his bow and arrow and pointed at Vivian.

Torr, on the other hand, got into a fighting stance and pointed the tip of his spear at Vivian.

Vivian focused and the world appeared to move slower through her eyes.

She ignored Torr and rushed towards Gaze.

When he was about to release the arrow, Vivian was already in front of him.

Woooh!

Bam!

Thud!

Thud!

The arrow missed Vivian's head as she sent out a spinning lower back kick on Gaze's stomach, sending him flying a couple of feet away before slamming against a tree and falling to the ground.

Vivian turned to the remaining kid.

Torr was still in a fighting stance, but his eyes were wide, his face covered in beads of sweat and his limbs were visibly shaking.

Earlier, when Vivian attacked Felize, he thought that they weren't able to react right away because they didn't expect Vivian to suddenly attack in the first place. But when he finally got into a fighting position and saw how Vivian easily dealt with Gaze, that's when he realized that whatever they did didn't matter, it would still be the same result -- Vivian was too strong and too fast.

"You're not going to move?" Vivian said and then tilted her head to the side as her lips slowly curled up into a smile.

Torr gritted his teeth to psyche himself up, but his body still refused to move.

"Let me give you a little of a motivation," Vivian said as she slowly raised her left hand and aimed at Felize's legs.

[Fire Arrow].

Woooh!

"AHHH!!!" 

With blood and other bodily fluids running down her chin, Felize screamed in agony as the [Fire Arrow] shot right through her leg, leaving a hole and the smell of burned flesh permeated through the air.

Tears started flowing from Felize's eyes and she called out for her parents.

"Mama…!"

"Papa…!"

"It hurts…!"

"IT HURTS…!"

Vivian returned her gaze to Torr.

"Pathetic."

Torr was still left frozen in a fighting stance. However, his face was now pale as a ghost, his mouth agape and his body trembling violently that it looked like he would shatter into pieces if a wind passed him by.

"YOU WANT GET AWAY WITH THIS!!!" Gaze growled as he laid helpless on the ground on his stomach.

He tried to get up, but his body felt so powerless that he could only raise his head and throw a murderous glare at Vivian.

Vivian let out a chuckle and slowly turned to him. 

"Did you forget that I'm a Priest?"

"IT DOESN'T MATTER!!! A CRIME IS A CRIME!!!"

Vivian burst out into laughter.

Hearing Vivian's mocking laughter, Gaze could only clench his teeth and jaw so hard as he continued to swear revenge a hundred times inside his heart.

"Ah, Kids…" she said and shook her head. "Has it ever crossed your mind why I didn't use my weapon?"

Before Gaze could even react, Vivian blurred once again from their eyes and appeared right in front of him.

"Because I don't want to leave any evidence when I break you!"

"Wha--"

She grabbed him by the hair and activated a skill.

[Heal]. 

A faint yellow light enveloped Gaze's body and he felt most of the pain on his body go away.