"Are you the new Adventurers who took the Bukaroo Quest?" Vivian asked.
Gaze, Felize and Torr blinked as they stared at her before turning to each other.
Although they were surprised to see a Priestess here, they were more surprised that she had a Copper I Rank pendant around her neck just like them.
Gaze returned his gaze towards Vivian.
"We didn't expect to meet a fellow Copper I Rank Adventurer here who also happens to be a Priestess. Are you alone?"
"Answer me," Vivian commanded.
"Hey! Just because you're a Priestess and older, you're also a Copper I Rank Adventurer like us! You should know how to treat your colleagues with respect!" Felize said.
"Felize!" Torr hissed.
Torr's father was a traveling merchant and he has shared a couple of stories with him. And among those stories, a few of them were about the Temple of Priests -- some talked about how Priests go around preaching and helping people in need while others talked about how Priests deal with "heretics".
"Honored Priestess, please forgive my companion. We're indeed here on a Quest to gather Bukaroo tails."
Both Gaze and Felize looked at Torr.
"Torr, what are you doing? This isn't the time to be scared!" Felize said.
As for Gaze, he tried to recall what his father and the Adventurers he talked to told him.
Gaze's father was the owner of a small butchering shop. Back in the day when he was still young, he would hunt his own game and then sell the meat. Nowadays, he focuses more on selling meat. However, before Gaze reached 15 years old, he used to take him out on hunting trips whenever he had time to spare.
"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?"
The eyes of the three teens blinked a couple of times.
"Huh? What are you talking about? The Quests are first come, first serve!" Felize said.
Vivian let out a sigh.
"This is why I hate kids…" she said and then looked at Torr. "You seem to be the reasonable one here. Tell your companion to shut up and only answer when she has something smart to say."
"Why you--!" Felize said and then puffed her cheeks.
"Felize, be quiet for a moment!"
To Felize and Torr's surprise, it was Gaze.
"Gaze…?"
"Just stay quiet for a moment and let us do the talking," he said and then turned to Torr. "Watch her."
Torr nodded.
Gaze turned to Vivian.
"Honored Priestess, as you already heard, my name is Gaze. It's an honor to meet you. As to what you're asking, I'm sorry, but isn't that a bit unreasonable?"
Vivian raised an eyebrow.
"Unreasonable?"
"From my what friends and I know, the Quests posted at the guild are first come, first serve. But if you can't take on the Quest yourself before we do, then I have a proposal that might interest you."
A smile appeared on Vivian's face.
"You have a proposal?"
Gaze cleared his throat and straightened his back.
"Since we're all Copper I Ranks, why don't we party together instead? You're a Priestess so you're not in any need of money. So I'm guessing it's the promotion points that you're after?"
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 suddenly burst out in laughter and then wiped the tears in her eyes. "You almost had me there. Well, since you offered a proposal and talked about growing strong together, let me give you a proposal as well, just to be fair so that you won't say that I'm bullying you kids."
Her lips turned into a wider grin and the teens felt a cold shiver run down their spine.
"I'll agree to party with you three if you can defeat me. All of you can attack me together or one by one. And don't worry, I won't use any weapon or any Physical and Magic Arts. What do you say?"
The teens looked at each other.
"And of course, if you disagree, well…" Vivian didn't continue her sentence but she maintained a grin on her face.
Felize stepped forward.
"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..."
Vooom!
Before the teens could even react, Vivian already turned into a blur and then appeared in front of Felize.
Bam!
Blargh!
Vivian sent an uppercut into Felize's stomach, causing her to cough out bodily fluids as she was sent a few inches in the air.
Thud!
When Felize landed on the ground, half of her consciousness blacked out while the other half was gasping for air.
Hmm…
Did I overestimate the women of this world…?
I mean...
I was already holding back because they're kids…
And plus, it's 3v1 --…
"Shit," she cursed when she noticed some vomit stains on her cloak.
Okay…
Note to self…
Don't do uppercut to stomachs anymore…
She turned to Gaze and Torr who were standing frozen.
Gaze and Torr were still trying to figure out what just happened. All they saw was Vivian standing a couple of meters away from them and then the next moment was Felize flying in the air and then falling to the ground.
So the boys are also this absent-minded…?
I mean, this is a magical world set in the Medieval era, right…?
Gaze snapped out of his trance first.
"FELIZE!!!" he shouted as he drew out his bow and arrow to aim at Vivian.
Torr, on the other hand, snapped out of his trance as well after hearing Gaze's voice. He got into a fighting stance and prepared to thrust his spear.
Vooom!
Vivian moved like a blur once again. She ignored Torr and appeared in front of Gaze.
Chud!
Woooh!
Gaze released the arrow and it shot to sky as Vivian grabbed him by the neck and squeezed just enough for him to feel the pain before trying to raise him up in the air.
Oh…
I forgot…
I'm short now…
Vivian was about 5'4" while Gaze was about 5'8".
"Ah, ah...!" Gaze dropped his bow and held onto Vivian's wrist as he desperately gasped for air.
Wooom!
Thud, thud, thud! Bam!
Vivian spun around as he threw him away, causing him to roll on the ground a couple of times like a rag doll before hitting a tree.
She glanced at her gloved hand.
Disgusting…
I can literally feel his grease and sweat on my gloves…!
And then formed a fist before turning to Torr.
Torr was still in a fighting stance. However, his face was pale as a ghost, his hands were gripping his spear so tight that they turned white, and Vivian could hear his teeth clattering.
Vivian tilted her head to the side and smiled.
"What's wrong, kid?"
Torr didn't react. Or to be specific, he was too afraid to move.
"You're not going to move?"
Torr gritted his teeth to psyche himself up, but his body still refused to move.
"Let me give you a little of a motivation then," Vivian said.
She turned to Felize who was still lying on the ground. She was no longer trying to catch her breath but she was incapacitated with no motivation to get up and fight. She raised her left hand and aimed at her legs.
[Fire Arrow].
Woo-brgh!
"AHHH!!!"
With vomit running down her chin, Felize let out a cry as the [Fire Arrow] shot right through her leg, leaving a hole and the smell of burned flesh permeated through the air.
"Mama…! Papa…! It hurts…! IT HURTS…!!!" she said as she tried to desperately crawl away with tears on her eyes.
Vivian returned her gaze to Torr. He was still left frozen in a fighting stance. However, his face was now paler and his whole body was trembling.
"Still nothing?"
"YOU WON'T GET AWAY WITH THIS…!!!" Gaze growled as he laid helpless on the ground on his stomach. He tried to get up, but all of his body was in pain that he could only raise his head and shoot Vivian a murderous glare.
Vivian slowly turned to him and smiled.
"Did you forget that I'm a Priestess?"
"CURSE YOUR TEMPLE…!!! 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?"
Vooom!
Before Gaze could reply, 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--…?!"
Chud!
She grabbed him by the hair.
[Heal].
A faint yellow light enveloped Gaze's body and he felt most of the pain on his body disappear.