Vision

Vritra and Jackal were walking a little behind the two young boys, since the two of them were talking about it so openly that it didn't seem like some kind of secret. 

Unfortunately, Vritra wasn't able to get any more information from them as they soon shifted onto some other topic. 

" Who are they? " Vritra questioned in a low voice. 

Jackal cleared his throat, then he began to explain: " They are Acolytes, or you can say the senior disciples of the Sanctum. 

The people who have talent can become rune masters. After those people awaken, they would become the disciples in the Sanctum, who have 2 stars under there emblem. 

And after one year of training and education, they are promoted to Acolyte only if they pass the test, the Acolytes have 3 stars as you have seen. 

These disciples usually are at the 2nd Gate. Ha! I wish I have some talent too and I become one of them in the future then I would surely kill the one eyed dragon and... " 

Soon they arrived in front of the storage, and unlike always, today Bonnie was not there. 

But without waiting for him, Vritra and Jackal went inside to finish their duties after checking the selves they would have to clean. 

As he walked inside, Vritra's gaze shifted towards a girl who was probably a year or two older than him. She was also an attendant and one of the people who were present in that vision. 

After using his ability on her a couple of times, he wasn't able to find much but only saw a scene where she was pushing him away. 

Most of the time, these scenes left him with only doubts. 

Vritra could think of several reasons why she would shove him away. Maybe she was trying to save her own life or maybe... save him. 

Sighing, he decided to start working. 

Sana, the same girl that Vritra was looking at moments ago, sensed someone's gaze on her. So she turned her head and caught the sight of a boy looking at her. 

She had noticed this a few times already in the last few days, and the only reason she could think of his sudden interest in her was that he might be in love with her. 

Sana is used to stares from other attendants, since there aren't many female attendants who are beautiful. 

But his gaze for some reason felt different, some times he would kept glancing at her again and again and other times he wouldn't even look at her. 

Sana couldn't help but keep looking back at him, his method of showing interest and then avoiding attracted her attention making her feel strange.

' I don't even know him, why am I reacting like that? And he is even younger than me. ' Sana thought, this was the first time she was experiencing this. 

Sana was slightly taller than Vritra, she had long brown hair and fair skin. Despite her status as a servant, she took proper care of her body and always looked tidy and pretty.

Unknowingly, a smile appeared on her face, displaying the two small dimples on the teen's rosy cheeks as her gaze shifted towards him wondering when he would glance again at her.

Even though Vritra wasn't exceptionally good-looking, he seemed fine and his gaze seemed special for some reason. 

' And he would be an adult after reaching 15 years of age, maybe I should try talking to him... Sigh, what am I even thinking? ' She wondered, but then reminded herself not to jump to conclusions. 

******

At the boundary of the Monethian Sanctum, a man wearing a light purple robe was walking along the fields of flowers. 

The air was fresh and smelled nice, while the scene looked especially beautiful under the dim light coming from the sun which peeked through the clouds. 

The man in purple was in his sixties, yet there were no wrinkles on his skin and his body looked as upright as a young man, with short black hair looked most others.

His face looked especially pale, he had a small tattoo of the symbol of Goddess Miratheon at the centre of his forehead. 

There was a smile on his face which made him look kind, his entire body radiated an aura of positivity and authority. 

On the left side of his chest was the symbol of the Goddess, but instead of stars, there were three half moons under it. 

It was the Priest of one of the branch of the Monethian Sanctum, the most powerful individual in the Qortern City branch, who held the highest position within this branch of the Sanctum.

Behind him walked a middle-aged man, he had his back bent as he followed behind the priest. Despite being in his forties, he looked like an old man who was having difficulty even walking. 

Like others, he too had short black hair, but his most distinct features were his ears, which were especially big, too big for a human who had a face that looked similar to a mouse. 

This was the Deacon, the person serving directly under the priest; he was only below one person in this branch. Under the emblem on his chest, there were two half moons, shining under the light.

" How is the situation? " The priest asked, gazing at the beautiful flowers with the same kind smile. 

" T- The number of deaths by the Archill snakes has increased recently; they have started to move deeper into the city. " The deacon replied; he seemed afraid of the priest like always. 

" And we are still unable to find their breeding space? " The priest extended his hand to touch a flower as he questioned. 

" Yes, we have already searched everywhere in the city and even in the forest of the surrounding area, but we can't find it. " The deacon replied; the more they talked, the more hunched his back got. 

" Hmmm Unless we find their breeding place, we can't eradicate the Archill snakes for good; they would just come every year to create chaos here and then just leave. " The priest mumbled, talking to no one in particular. 

The wave of Archill snakes would attack the Qortern city every year; so far, they have been able to protect themselves, albeit they have to pay heavy prices each year. 

And even though they slayed more than half of the snakes, the next year the number would be even higher than the previous, and the snakes would be much stronger. 

So it was a matter of time before the Archill snakes became strong enough to destroy the Qortern city, unless they asked for help from the empire. 

" We have been gaining a lot from this city; it would be a pity if such a good place is destroyed. 

Let a few more people die, then we will send reinforcement to push back the snake wave. " The priest ordered, then plucking a flower, he turned around and asked:

" What about our friends from the continent? You have been taking good care of them, right? Haha, I wouldn't want the empire to look down on the Monethian Sanctum. "

"Yes, sir, I have personally arranged everything for them. They are staying in the best rooms, are eating the best food, and we even delivered some gifts. But... " After a small pause, the deacon added: 

" They have been urging me about the Zhorian inheritance. Their main objective in coming here was to ask for assistance in clearing the inheritance. 

They even brought a letter from the empire, and the main branch of the Monethian Sanctum had ordered us to help them. " 

In the continent, there are several noble families which serve the empire. They take care of the area bestowed upon them. 

This team was from one of those noble families named the Korvyn family. 

They could be said to be one of the strongest middle-class noble families, and from their information network, they have recently found out about the Zhorian inheritance. 

Since it was a 4th Gate inheritance and the number of people who can enter it is limited, they put together a team consisting of thirty people. 

There were five people at the 4th Gate, while the remaining were at the 3rd Gate. 

The Korvyn family had asked the empire for help. In return, they would have to give up on a part of the inheritance they receive. 

The empire pushed off this responsibility to the Monethian Sanctum so that they could obtain the rewards without even lifting a finger, and they could even avoid losses if something goes wrong. 

The main branch of the Sanctum obviously didn't like the empire's orders, yet they had no choice but to follow the orders. 

The Zhorian inheritance was somewhere between the continent and the Qortern city, so the Monethian Sanctum decided to push all this responsibility towards this branch. 

" I am sure this is more of a test for us, so we must do our best in helping our guests. Meet the head attendant and prepare a team of ten who will go on this adventure. " The priest spoke. 

From the start till end, he maintained the same kind smile on his face. 

"Yes, sir, but if we just provide them with servants, they won't be happy about it, " Deacon asked, his head tilted downwards. 

" Oh, did the letter mention anything about their happiness? " He questioned, and the deacon could only shake his head.

"Anyway, what can we do when the threat of Archill snakes is looming over our heads? That is all the support we can provide right now. " The priest's smile widened, to the point it seemed his cheeks might be ripped. 

He looked frightening.