Vivian's jaw dropped.
This…
This body was married and had children…?!
An image of herself getting pressed down by a faceless man made her stomach churn and she immediately closed her mouth as she turned away.
Robert raised an eyebrow.
Vivian stared at the floor -- her face was pale as a ghost and her eyes wide.
S-S-Someone actually shoved their member inside this body…?!
Her whole body suddenly felt weak and she almost fell from her chair but she summoned all of her remaining strength not to.
"I want… I want my real body back…"
Robert's brows knitted together.
"Is something wrong? Are you not feeling well?"
Hearing Robert's voice, Vivian's expression twisted and she glared at him.
"WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU WANT…?! GO ON, TRY BLACKMAILING ME…! YOU'RE NOT THE FIRST ONE AND WON'T BE THE LAST ONE TO TRY IT…! LET'S SEE WHAT THE TEMPLE OF PRIESTS IS GOING TO DO TO YOUR ORGANIZATION…!"
Instead of getting angry, Robert relaxed his face and wore a calm expression.
"As a Guildmaster, I made a vow to protect the rights all of Adventurers and the employees of the Guild, not take advantage of them.
"In your case, since you're an Adventurer, were an Adventurer before you joined the Temple of Priests, and are still an Adventurer, naturally, I'm also going to extend the same treatment. But if you touch or anyone touches any Adventurer or employee of the Adventurer's Guild, especially the ones under my branch, I'm willing to fight fire with fire."
Vivian didn't say anything her face relaxed a bit -- but only a tiny bit.
Robert let out a sigh.
"I am not blind.
"I understand that your status as a Priestess attracts a lot of attention, both good and bad, regardless if you want it or not.
"Also, as a Guildmaster and former Adventurer, I'm fully aware that conflicts and disputes are simply part of an Adventurer's life. Anyone who believes otherwise would not survive or live long enough as an Adventurer.
"If you're willing to confess to these accusations, this case will immediately be closed and you will receive the appropriate punishment -- 2 weeks of suspension from the Guild, -20 Quest Points, and a fine of 100 silver coins."
Quest Points are needed for an Adventurer to get promoted to a higher Rank and Quest Points could only be gathered from doing Quests. However, not all Quests are equal.
If an Adventurer completed a normal Quest on his own, he would receive the entire 1 Quest Point. If he completed it with another person, the Quest Point would be divided into 0.50 points or depending on the number of companions he completed it with.
On the other hand, if an Adventurer completed a Special Quest on his own, he gets all of the Quest Point. And if he completed it with companions, the Quest Point would be divided as well. However, the main difference here is that not all Special Quests offer the same Quest Point. The Quest Point or Points depends on the difficulty of the Special Quest and the Adventurer's Rank.
And lastly, Rank I needs a total of 20 Quest Points to get promoted while Rank II needs 40 Quest Points to get promoted. And then for an Adventurer to get promoted from a different Color (i.e. Copper II to Silver I, Silver II to Gold I, etc.), they must take and pass the Adventurer Rank Exam.
"But if you don't want to confess to these accusations, this case will be moved to the Local Public Office where you and the other party will each be appointed with a Councilor to defend your cases. And as for what your punishment will be in case you are found guilty, that depends on the Local Public Office."
Vivian relaxed and stared at Robert.
"If I confess to these accusations, I will receive a 2-week suspension from the guild, -20 Quest Points and a fine of 100 silver coins? Nothing else?"
Robert nodded.
"Nothing else."
"What happens if I can't pay the fine?"
"The Adventurer's Guild will issue some tasks for you that's equal to the amount. And if you refuse, you will be arrested and thrown to jail."
"Let me clarify things one more time. If I confess to the accusations thrown at me, I will receive a 2-week suspension from the guild, -20 Quest Points, and a fine of 100 coins? There's nothing else? No jail time, extra tasks or things, paperwork, including from the Local Public Office?"
"There is some paperwork here in the Adventurer's Guild. You will have to sign a couple of documents and it will be recorded on your Adventurer Records and also on the Guild's Memory Crystal. Moreover, if you commit the same offense or violate another rule in the future, these accusations that you confessed to will be taken into consideration."
"Will these things be publicized?"
Robert shook his head.
"No. But if someone finds out and shares it with the public, the Adventurer's Guild isn't responsible for that."
"What about the people who accused me? Will I know their names?"
"What do you plan to do with them?"
"I don't plan to do anything with them. I at least have the right to know who accused me, right?"
"Priestess Vivian, do you remember when I mentioned earlier that something caught my attention?"
Vivian's brows knitted.
"What's that got to do with my question?"
"First off, I would like to extend my condolence to your family. As a father and a grandfather, I couldn't even imagine myself going through such a tragedy. You are a strong person.
"With that being said, according to the reports that the Guild has done about you, you were born and raised at Sierra Village and lived your whole life there as a civilian. It wasn't until 2 months ago that the village got attacked by monsters led by a Demon Necromancer named Brooker. You were among the few survivors, but your husband, children, parents, siblings and other family members didn't.
"After that, you moved to Bridge Town, joined the Temple of Thieves, registered as an Adventure there, and then came here to Luxen City.
"Based on your Adventurer Records, you've completed 4 Quests and failed 3 Quests at Bridge Town and completed 10 Quests here at Luxen City."
Vivian knitted her brows tighter.
"What exactly are you trying to say?"
"Two months ago, you lived as a very normal housewife who had 2 Magic Art Affinities -- Poison and Fire, who didn't undergo any Awakening Ceremony, who wasn't even part of any Temple. But after the tragedy that happened at Sierra Village and you became an Adventurer, something very interesting happened.
"Out of the 4 Quests you've completed at Bridge Town, 1 was done solo and 3 were done in a group. Meanwhile, for the 3 Quests you failed there, 2 were done solo and 1 was done in a group.
"But when you came here to Luxen City, out of the 10 Quests you've signed up for, all were completed and done solo.
"Furthermore, in the span of 2 months, you're now able to stand toe-to-toe with Gold I Rank Adventurers.
"How is that possible? I've never met anyone who jumped from being a normal civilian to a Mithril-Grade in the span of 2 months.
"Even if you didn't sleep for 2 months and dedicated all of your time to training, it's still not enough.
"If you were part of the Royalty or Aristocratic Nobles, with their vast wealth and resources, it may be possible to achieve it, but only for the Magic Art.
"But for the Physical Arts? This is where I can't figure it out.
"Yes, you are being accused of overhunting. But the number of monsters that people are accusing you of killing isn't even enough to cover from normal civilian to Mithril. It is but a droplet on a barrel. Unless there have been unreported or unsolved cases where thousands of monsters have been slain. However, there aren't any -- at least that I'm aware of.
"There's also the angle where you might've had a Physical Force of Mithril before the tragedy that befell on Sierra Village. But your performance at Bridge Town proves otherwise. Unless you've been deliberately falling.
"But even if that's the case, your Magic Force is still unexplainable.
"In addition to that, you only had the Fire and Poison Affinity according to the records. Yet you're now a member of the Temple of Priests with the Light Affinity. And one thing I know about the Temple of Priests, they know everyone who has the Light Affinity and will do everything in their power to monopolize it.
"I don't always say this, but you're one of the most mysterious people I've met in a long while."
"So my accusers are from Bridge Town?" Vivian asked.
"I will neither confirm nor deny that. But if you really want to know their identity, you're free to take this case you're facing to the Local Public Office. There, you will face them."
"What if I confessed to these accusations and the case was closed? But after that, the accusers or some people decided to harass me, what can I do?"
"If the people harassing you are Adventurers, you can file a complaint here and an investigation will immediately be conducted. And if turns out that they are truly harassing you, then they will be punished accordingly."
"I will confess to the accusations."
***
Vivian stepped out of the Adventurer's Building.
Her face was as calm and collected as she turned around and walked down the street.
When she finally reached a corner a couple of meters away from the Adventurer's Building and there was no one nearby, her face suddenly twisted into a dark and violent expression.
She grabbed the Copper I Rank pendant around her neck and ripped it out.
She thought about throwing it away but stopped herself.
I SWEAR…!
She gripped tightly that the pedant bent on her palm.
I SWEAR I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU ALL...!!!
JUST WAIT FOR ME AFTER A YEAR...!!!
I'LL FUCKING DESTROY YOU ALL...!!!
***
Adventurer's Guild, Guildmaster's Office.
Ka-cha!
A door opened and it was Shay who entered.
"What's your assessment?" Robert asked.
"My [Danger Sense] didn't activate," Shay replied as he made his way to take a seat at one of the empty chairs in front of Robert's desk.
Before retiring 2 years ago, Shay was a Platinum I Rank Adventurer with 2 Magic Art Affinities, had a Physical and Magic Force of Orichalcum, and was a member of the Temple of Hunters.
And as for what [Danger Sense] was, it was one of the Class Magic spells of the Hunter Class. The spell was a passive spell that didn't require any mana points but could only be activated if the opponent tries to "size up" or "assess" the owner of the spell and the opponent is stronger than the owner of the spell.
"But based on the witnesses I interviewed yesterday, she at least has the Physical and Magic Force of Mithril. I've met the Belfair brothers before. Their fighting prowess are real. Ramus may have retired about 7 years ago to become a Blacksmith but he and Ranz are Mithril. However, I wasn't aware that she was a White Cloak. I was already surprised when you told me that there was a Brown Cloak Adventurer."
Robert nodded.
"As far as I know, she was a Brown Cloak yesterday."
"Is that why you went easy on her?"
Robert raised an eyebrow.
"You think I'm like that?"
Shay let oa ut chuckle.
"Of course not. I was just testing if you're still the same Guildmaster that I know."
"Now that you've seen her, I want you to continue investigating."
"About how she managed to jump from civilian to Mithril-Grade in two months?"
Robert nodded.
"Yes. But make sure not to attract any attention. Whether it's true that she did manage to jump from civilian to Mithril-Grade in two months, another thing I know about her, it's only been at least 2 weeks since she joined the Temple of Priests and she already learned a Class Magic spell."
Shay's knitted his brows.
"People learning a Class Magic spell in less than a month isn't unheard of. If the person has a high affinity towards their chosen Class, they're able to learn Class' Class Magic spells right away."
"You know and I both know that the core practice of learning the Priest's Class Magic spells is easing the pain and suffering of others. That woman, does she strike you as someone with that kind of personality?"
Shay nodded.
"You have a point. Perhaps she got forced into a situation? There have also been cases like that."
Robert leaned back on his seat.
"I have one question though," Shay said.
Robert nodded.
"If it turns out that that woman really did manage to jump from civilian to Mithril-Grade in 2 months, what are you going to do?" Shay asked.
Robert thought about it for a moment.
"If it's true, then we made the right move not making this a bigger issue. On the other hand, if it turned out to be false, then it's still fine. I wish her the best."
"But the things she did to Mrs. Belfair within the property of the Adventurer's Guild building. Don't you think that that's grounds for expulsion? Many people have been talking about it. Even my own neighbors are talking about it."
Robert shook his head.
"She is a member of the Temple of Priests. And regardless if she was being honest or dishonest about doing it under the pretense of 'apprehending a suspected demon-worshipper or heretic', you and I both know that that's a losing battle. We may win 1 battle but we will lose the other 9 battles if the Temple of Priests decides to retaliate. You know how much those rich snobs hate to lose, not to mention it's a Priestess we're dealing with, not a Priest. I've had enough of dealing with the Orion Kingdom. But if she continues or anyone from their side decides to hurt anyone from the Adventurer's Guild, that's another story."
Shay smiled.
"Ah, yes, the Orion Kingdom. Such a lovely bunch, brings back so many memories… But that's not the main reason why you want to investigate her, right?"
A playful smile appeared on Robert's lips.
"We are the Adventurer's Guild. Information is our greatest strength."