Hiss!
A handsome man with blue hair in his late teens holding two swords with a Silver I Rank pendant around his neck rolled to the side as evaded an attack by a 10-foot-long Brown Nake.
His lips curled up into a smile.
"You're still a million years away from touching me!"
He glanced at his side.
There were two beautiful women in their late teens who also had a Silver I Rank pendant around their neck. One had a green ponytail hairstyle with glasses and holding a metal staff, while the other had pink short curly hair and holding a metal staff that had a red gem on it, and they were facing two Brown Kraines.
"How are you two doing there?"
Rawr!
Pa-arw…!
The woman with green hair struck one of the Brown Kraines on the head with her metal staff.
"I'm still waiting for Lorietta to cast her magic," she said with a bored tone and then pushed up her glasses.
Lorietta, the woman with pink hair, puffed her cheeks in a cutesy manner.
"Drake, please tell Chisa that she should properly set up an opening so that I can cast my magic."
Hiss!
The Brown Nake delivered another attack and Drake, the man with blue hair, dodged it once again.
"You guys, stopped fooling around. Don't forget we're here for a Quest and to train a bit."
Lorietta puffed her cheeks once again.
"But why do we even have to do this?"
Rawr!
Pa-arw…!
Chisa struck one of the Brown Kraines once again and let out a sigh of exasperation.
"Being strong and attacking in an efficient manner are two different things. Like Hazan and Iris said, you rely too much on your Physical and Magic Force and other things that you forget about your companions."
"What's the big deal as long as the enemies get defeated?"
"That's not the point…" Chisa said and let out another sigh.
Drake let out a wry smile.
Rawr!
Rawr!
The two Brown Kraines lunged over at Chisa and Lorietta.
Pa-arw…!
Pa-arw…!
Chisa thrust her staff in a blur and struck the two wolves on the nose, driving them away before turning to Lorietta.
"Come on, finish it."
Lorrieta puffed out her cheeks one last time.
Vooom!
She disappeared from her spot and appeared on the side of one of the two wolves which formed a straight line.
[Fire Breath].
A glowing red circle engraved with runes with a diameter of 3 feet appeared in front of her.
BRRRGGGHHH…!!!
Dragon-like fire breath came out of the circle, burning the two wolves and everything on its path.
When the fire breath and the glowing red circle disappeared, Lorietta turned to Chisa.
"Satisfied now?"
Chisa closed her eyes and massaged her forehead.
"Great Ancestors...! Please give me the strength to…!"
Lorietta tilted her head to the side.
"What is it now? You said I rely too much on my Physical and Magic Force so why are you still unsatisfied?"
Chisa shot her a glare.
"I don't know if you just like to give people a headache or you're just… I'm assuming it's the former. And how many times Hazan and Iris told us not to use our Lore Magic unless it's an emergency or else our cover will be blown?"
Lorietta stuck out her tongue.
"Gra-You gra-people gra-are gra-too gra-serious. Gra-Life gra-is gra-about gra-living, gra-not gra-worrying~!" she spoke in a different language.
"Gra-This gra-is gra-why I gra-can't gra-stand gra-you Gra-Royals…" Chisa said.
Hiss!
Drake evaded another attack from the Brown Nake and then turned to the women.
"Um… Hello...? Girls…? I'm still here waiting for one of you to finish this monster off… Hello…?"
Lorietta pretended to be busy inspecting the red gem on her staff.
"Is that a scratch? I wonder how long will you last. At least two more spells? I wonder what color should I buy next?"
Chisa, on the other hand, stared blankly at the grass. She wasn't saying anything but the expression that her face was wearing looked like she was contemplating her life decisions.
"Seriously…? We still have to gather Fire Fruits, you know..."
The two women continued to ignore him.
Seeing the situation, he shook his head with a helpless expression before turning away.
The Brown Nake was on the ground and about 6ft away from him. It was about to move forward and launch another attack when it suddenly stopped and then moved to a different direction.
Drake raised an eyebrow.
"Hmm?"
Whoosh!
A brown and blurry figure passed by the snake and its head was sliced off its body.
It was none other than Vivian.
The world moved slowly through her eyes as she turned to Drake, Chisa and Lorietta one by one.
Three adventurers…
All Silver I Rank…
And they all look like they're in their late teens…
She knitted her brows.
Hmm…
Why do these people seem familiar…?
She shook her head mentally.
Who cares…
They're just Silver I Rank Adventurers…
She continued searching for enemies without stopping.
When Vivian was finally out of their sight, Drake, Chisa and Lorietta looked at each other.
"I didn't know the members of the Temple of Priests are also Adventurers," Drake said.
Chisa pushed up her glasses.
"I've heard of her. They say she's a bit stuck up. She rejects all clients who offer her Special Quests and Adventurers who invite her to do a Quest."
"So just like you?" Lorietta asked with an innocent expression.
Chisa looked at her but didn't say anything.
"But why is she still a Brown Cloak at her age?" Drake asked.
"I'm not sure if this information is correct, but some say that she recently joined the Temple of Priests."
"That late?"
Chisa shrugged her shoulders.
"That's all I know."
Drake turned to Lorietta who was smiling.
"You seem to be in a good mood..."
Lorietta flashed a smile that wasn't exactly a smile.
"Wasn't she interesting?"
Drake raised an eyebrow.
"What are you talking about?"
"She's a Brown Cloak and a Copper I Rank Adventurer at her age. And although she's quite strong for her titles, for her age, it's too low."
"Maybe she's a Mercenary or she used to be a Guard?"
"Lorietta is correct," Chisa said. "As hypocritical the Temple of Priests are, most people would choose to join it if they can. Her age and Physical and Magic Force isn't enough to be a Mercenary. And if she were to join the Knights Chapter to become a Guard, even if the Temple of Priests failed to bribe her, I doubt if the Knights Chapter would let her go. And why now at her age that she decided to join the Temple of Priests and also become an Adventurer?"
"You girls, you do realize that not everyone wants to live a warrior's life, right?"
Chisa snorted.
"Everyone can at least learn Physical Arts. And if they're a woman, it's more important if they don't want men to take advantage of them."
Drake bit his tongue.
"Do any of you remember that Special Quest about investigating the reason behind the abnormal amount of dead monsters in the forest?" Lorietta asked.
Drake and Chisa turned to her.
"Remember the corpses we encountered? And if any of you focused while she was here, she was carrying a poleaxe," she added.
Chisa shook her head.
"Even if the wounds of the monsters matches her weapon, it's still impossible for her to kill that many on her own. Moreover, I didn't smell any potion or anything on her that could attract that many monsters."
Hearing the word "attract", Drake recalled how the Brown Nake's reaction earlier.