2:03 p.m.
Somewhere deep in the forest outside Luxen City.
Rawr!
A Yellow Wok jumped and exposed its fangs.
Suuup!
A blade entered the fox-like monster's mouth and exited at the back of its head, killing it immediately.
Whooosh!
Thud, thud, thud…!
Vivian swung her sword to the side, whipping the fox from her blade, causing it to bounce and roll a couple of times on the ground.
Vooom!
Pa-braaak!
While the fox's body was still rolling on the ground, Vivian appeared next to it and delivered a swift kick to the head, causing it to explode with blood and guts splattering all around.
She gritted her teeth and tightened her grip around her sword as he ignored the blood and guts on her face, hair and clothes.
Vooom!
She burst out into a run in search for more enemies.
A couple of steps later, she saw two Treebarks from a distance and headed straight to them.
Whooosh!
Before the first Treebark could even turn around, Vivian's sword already cut through its body as she passed it by and she was already on to the next one.
Chud!
Woo-braaak!
Vivian grabbed one of the arms of the other Treebark and then violently swung its body to a tree, shattering it into pieces.
Vooom!
Vivian burst out into a run once again.
FUUUCCCKKK…!!!
A few steps ahead, this time around, she saw a Brown Kraine.
Woooh!
Vivian threw her sword at it like an axe.
CHAAAK!
The force behind the throw was too powerful that the sword sunk inside the wolf's body and was stuck inside.
Vooom!
Chaaak!
Vivian appeared in front of the monster and stabbed her hand inside its body before pulling out her sword.
Whiiiip!
She swung her sword to whip out the blood on it.
Voooom!
She burst out into a run once again.
HOW DARE YOU…?!!!
Beak!
Beak!
Vivian stopped on her tracks and searched for the Bukaroo.
Vooom!
When she finally spotted the bird, she immediately rushed to it and performed a jump attack.
Wooom, Whooosh!
Thud, thud.
The bird was sliced into two pieces in mid-air including the tail.
Seeing the damaged tail, her eyes turned bloodshot red.
Clang.
She dropped her sword.
"HAAAAAHHHHH!!!" she shouted at the top of her lungs as she raised her hands and resisted the urge to pull her hair out.
BAM!
She stomped on the ground so hard that her feet sunk in a few inches deep and made a loud noise that echoed throughout the forest.
"THAT OLD FUCKING UGLY HAG…!!!
"HOW DARE TO ORDER ME AROUND…?!!!
"I CAN FUCKING KILL YOUR ENTIRE CLAN IN A BLINK OF AN EYE…!!!
"AND I'M A FUCKING PRIESTESS…!!!
"HOW DARE YOU…?!!!"
Thud.
She fell on her knees.
Thud.
And then planted her palms on the grass.
Riiisk…
She gritted her teeth as she dug in her finger into the ground and squeezed tightly.
"Fuck this shit…!"
She relaxed her jaw and hands, and then closed her eyes. A few moments later, she opened them.
Yeah…
I can't kill her and her family right away…
I'll definitely be one of the main suspects…
Maybe I can use my status as a Priestess…?
Accuse them of being heretics…?
She shook her head.
It's still a faulty plan…
Anyone with half a brain could dismantle it…
And plus...
Even if it does work...
I'll only end up owing something to the Temple…
At least with the Adventurer's Guild, I'm more free…
Her eyes landed on her sword beside her and she picked it up before getting up.
I need a plan where I can destroy them without having me ending up as one of the suspects…
What if I just ignore her…?
She scoffed.
There's the contract and a couple of witnesses…
She gritted her teeth and tightened her grip around her sword.
"THAT. FUCKING. OLD. HAG…!"
She swept her gaze around her surroundings.
This forest…
The monsters aren't enough…
I need something else…
Something smarter…
Something stronger…
"Human…"
She then recalled about the humanoid monster called Peon.
A crossbreed between a dwarf and a goblin…
I need to go deeper if I want to find one…
She raised her head and looked at the sky.
It was still sunny…
It's probably still around 2:30 p.m. at this point…
Yeah…
I need to buy a watch…
And just when Vivian was about to burst out into a run, she noticed a group of four armed people from the distance heading to her direction.
She immediately got into a fighting position, her eyes turned to slits and she focused, slowing the movement of the world through her eyes as she looked around to see if there were others.
I can't see anyone else…
Is it really just them…?
She returned her focus to the four people.
And what the fuck do they want…?!
She then noticed that one of them, a man in his mid-20s carrying a two-handed axe, seem to have a gold-colored square pendant around his neck.
Is that a Gold Rank Adventurer pendant…?
It's too far to see…
Mid-20s…
She glanced at the other three.
The first one was a man in his mid-20s with had a bow and arrow.
Gold-colored pendant…
The second was a woman in her early 20s with two daggers.
Silver-colored pendant…
And the third one was a man in his early 20s with a tower shield and javelin.
Also a silver pendant…
When the man in his mid-20s carrying a two-handed reach around 8 meters from where Vivian was standing, he lowered his axe and raised one hand.
"Greetings, Honored Priestess!"
Vivian maintained her fighting stance.
I can now see it…
Gold I Rank…
"What do you want?"
The man turned over to his companions who also lowered their weapons and then returned his glance towards Vivian.
"We were passing by when we heard someone shouting and thought they might be in danger."
The one with a bow and arrow is also a Gold I Rank…
The rest are Silver II Ranks…
Can I take on a Gold I Rank…?
How about two Gold I Rank Adventurers…?
"I see. And as you can see, there's nothing here."
The man glanced at the mutilated Bukaroo for a moment and returned his gaze to Vivian.
"It appears so."
"Is there anything else you want from me?"
The man shook his head.
"It seems we may have bothered you. We'll be going now," he said before turning around and walking away.
His companions did the same thing.
And as they were walking away, Vivian didn't let her guard down even for a split second as she carefully watched them and her surroundings. It was only when they were no longer visible and after 5 minutes has passed that she decided to relax a tiny bit.
Is it safe now…?
She swept her gaze around her surroundings and also strained her ears.
Is it really…?
She swept her gaze around her surroundings and strained her ears once again.
Just to be sure…
She swept her gaze around her surroundings and strained her ears for the third time.
I think I'm safe now…
After almost a minute, she dropped her fighting stance and then let out an exasperated sigh.
Fuck…
What in God's name were those people thinking…?
What kind of idiot would dare approach a lone and beautiful woman like me in the middle of the forest…?
Are they that dense…?
Hello…?
Inconsiderate busybody idiots…!
She glanced at her sword and then gritted her teeth as she tightened her grip.
This feeling…
It's disgusting…
So weak, vulnerable and powerless…