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Nummi Family Estate Mansion, She'kel Village.
9:32 p.m.
Wind and Pablo were standing in the middle of the mansion's foyer with Dinah, Galah and Tekoah from the Internal Unit, Isla from the External Unit, Trophimus and Darius who are retired Priests, and another 2 retired Priest and Priestess named Naaman and Galatia. Given that there were 4 "retired elders" among them, the topic of their discussion was mostly about the active years of Trophimus, Darius, Naaman and Galatia as Priests and Priestesses.
Vivian was standing by the entrance. She was with Zola, Theodore from the External Unit, and Manuel, a man in his mid-20s with dark blonde hair and the Assistant Councilor and secretary of Pablo. Zola, Theodore and Manuel were chatting about random stuff, while Vivian was simply silent.
As for Ronan and Janis, they were outside of the main entrance with Demius from the Internal Unit and the Guards preparing the carriages with the help of the staff of the mansion.
Vivian focused on the 4 elders.
The first elder was a man in his late 70s wearing a light blue nobleman's clothing.
His name is Trophimus, the Patriarch of the Capiton family…
Grandfather of that Priest named Tekoah from the Internal Unit…
Low-Tier Noble Priest family…
So 2-3 Magic Art Affinities…
Not counting if it's True or False Magic Art Affinities…
And thanks to my Status Panel…
I know they're Magic Force or INT is only 200-300 points…
"Weak…" she muttered under her mask and then moved to the next elder.
The second elder was a man in his early 70s who was wearing a red nobleman's clothing.
I think his name is Darius…
Not the Patriarch, but one of the elders of the Herma family…
He's related to Demius from the Internal Unit…
Also Low-Tier Noble Priest family…
200-300 points on INT or Magic Force…
"Still weak…" she muttered and then moved to another elder.
The third elder was a man in his early 80s who was wearing a black nobleman's clothing.
His name is Naaman and the Patriarch of the Nummi family…
Related to Dinah, Kadmiel and Emmanuel…
However, Dinah is married to the White Cloak Priest named Seth from Has'tam family, one of the Golden Families…
I met him at the daily evening banquet…
Leah is from the Pygro family, Sister Bithiah's family, but she's married to Kadmiel…
The Nummi family is a High-Tier Noble Priest Family…
4 Magic Art Affinities…
Regardless of whether it's True or False Magic Art Affinity…
So their highest INT or Magic Force is 400 points…
Strong…
"For now…" she muttered and then focused on the last elder, who was also in her early 80s.
Galatia…
She lives here…
But I don't know if she married into the family or if she's from this family…
Unknown…
No files were given to me about these 4 elders…
She focused on Wind.
Fucking idiot…
Introducing unnecessary variables…
Her eyes turned to slits.
He's too much of a pushover…
He got lucky they coopera-- well, 2 out of 3 cooperated…
But still…
We're still going to suffer the consequences of how the other families would react…
We still lost no matter what…
Is this what I'm supposed to learn…?
Is this what Pen wants me to learn…?
Be a pushover so that I can add unnecessary problems…?
"This is stupid…" she muttered and then looked outside the entrance.
The carriages are already ready…
She returned her gaze to Wind and the others who were still chatting.
How long are we supposed to wait here…?
Like WHO fucking cares what some ancient relics have to say…?!
We've been working the whole day, since 7:30 in the morning, and it's now close to 10:00 at night…!
Like seriously, man…!
Read the fucking room…!
She focused on Wind.
Really fucking useless…
What a fucking spineless bastard…
Tap, tap, tap…
Vivian subconsciously began tapping her feet.
Can I seriously just fucking wait inside the carriage…?
***
10:21 p.m.
Temple of Priests Compound, She'kel Village.
Wind and Pablo were walking down a corridor to their rooms. Behind them Vivian, Ronan and Manuel, and then Zola and Janis.
"So we'll take a break tomorrow and the next day after that, and then resume on the 30th?" Pablo said.
Wind nodded.
"Yes."
Pablo didn't say anything.
"There's something on the files that Sister Inquisitor Monad and I have to confirm," Wind continued. "After all, the remaining recipients would be Brother Jeremiah and the people in his camp. I want to make sure we do a proper interview."
Pablo nodded.
"I understand," he said and then let out a sigh. "Well, it's not like I can leave this place before the Pre-Hearing Review anyway."
Wind nodded.
"Thank you for understanding."
Pablo looked at the windows.
"Come to think of it, I've never been here, but I've heard that She'kel Village is one of the richest settlements within the Holy Kingdom. I might as well explore its luxuries for the next 2 days."
"I pray to the God of Light that you will have a wonderful time."
"Do you have any idea what She'kel Village is known for?"
Wind thought about it for a moment.
"There is a popular opera house here, though I can't remember the name. They also have luxury saunas here. And for the inconvenience we've caused you and Assistant Councilor Manuel, please put all of your expenses on the Inquisitory Division's tab."
Pablo nodded.
"I appreciate it."
Wind turned to the rest.
"All of you, feel free to enjoy She'kel Village for the next 2 days and put it on the Inquisitory Division's tab."
Ronan nodded.
"Thank you, Brother Inquisitor. But I think I'll just spend that time training."
Zola nodded.
"I'll try some restaurants and check out some shops, and then spend the remaining time for training."
Janis scratched the side of his head.
"I'll spend some time with Bru and also training."
Manuel didn't say anything and simply gave a slight bow as gratitude.
Ronan, Zola and Janis glanced at Vivian.
"I'll be training."
"Sister Inquisitor, if you don't mind me asking, what type of training are you doing? If it's Physical, perhaps I can be your sparring partner," Ronan said.
Although it was considered "taboo" for someone to ask the Physical and Magic Arts, especially the Magic Arts, of a person, there was this "gray area" where it wasn't considered taboo to ask someone to be a sparring partner. After all, at least for people without the Chaos Affinity, the way they train their Physical Arts is through sparring with people or inflicting someone with the skill of the said Physical Art.
Vivian shook her head.
"I'm sorry, Brother High Lieutenant, but what I'm currently training is [Savage Mastery]."
Everyone was shocked.
Putting aside that Vivian specifically told them her Physical Art, which was considered taboo, they were genuinely surprised that she was training [Savage Mastery].
Since there was the "1 Magic Art = 2 Physical Arts" rule, and given that most people who would seriously pursue a fighting career would have at least 2 True Magic Arts, the Physical Art Masteries that most people end up having are very common:
• [Fist Mastery]
• [Leg Mastery]
• [Throw Mastery] or [Bow Mastery]
• Any melee-type Mastery that involves a weapon (sword, dagger, axe, spear, mace, etc.)
The [Fist Mastery] is for when you're in a situation you don't have any weapon, or if you get grabbed or tied.
The [Leg Mastery] is for giving an extra dash or adding an extra height when jumping.
The [Throw Mastery] or [Bow Mastery] is for dealing with flying enemies or enemies who prefer to fight in range battles.
And the melee-type weapon Master is for cutting, stabbing, bashing, etc. enemies.
The combination of these 4 Masteries is the most common build to cover all of the weaknesses that a fighter might end up encountering.
But despite that, there are some people who would "choose" to go against this proven and tested route that has helped many fighters. However, there are only 3 types of those people:
• They have 3 or more True Magic Art Affinities and have already mastered the 4 basic Physical Masteries
• They have no idea what they're doing
• They believe themselves to be revolutionaries
And given that Vivian was an Inquisitor and was currently involved in dealing with this case, in their minds, it was highly unlikely that she was the 2nd or 3rd type.
Ronan, Zola and Janis suddenly remembered the "inhuman physical feat" she performed during their first day here at She'kel Village.
Janis also remembered his "lunch" with Vivian. And as for his first encounter with Vivian, specifically when she beat Bru into a bloody pulp, although it was impressive, in his mind, he just assumed that she already mastered 2-3 Physical Art Masteries, not 4.
Zola and Janis focused on Ronan, waiting to see how he was going to react.
As for Pablo and Manuel, they were still focused on Vivian.
In Pablo's mind, although he was aware of what had happened at Plano Town, the idea that Vivian was already training for [Savage Mastery] was still a complete shock to him. And once Vivian learns the [Primordial Beast], considering her attitude, in his head, only the Elemental Gods would know what would happen.
Wind stopped and turned to everyone.
"We're already here."
Everyone turned to him and noticed that he was already standing in front of the door of his room.
Pablo turned to everyone and gave a slight bow.
"Goodnight, everyone, I will be seeing all of you tomorrow," he said and then headed to the door of his room.
Manuel gave a slight bow as well.
"Goodnight to you all," he said and then headed to the door of his room.
Vivian turned to Wind.
"Brother."
"Yes?"
And then turned to the rest.
"Since I said that I would be training, I want everyone to know that I will be training inside my room for the next 2 days.
"In those 2 days, I don't want anyone to come to my room. No matter what the reason, don't -- not even for food or for water. If there's an issue or anything related to the case or anything, solve it yourselves or postpone it. If it's for me or something that only I can solve, tell them to wait until the 30th, the Day of Monar. I will not entertain anyone for the next 2 days.
"If anyone disobeys that, I will see to it that they will definitely suffer the consequences.
"That will be all. Thank you.
"Goodnight and see you all next week on the Day of Monar."
She turned away and then headed to the door of her room.
***
12:01 a.m.
Vivian was inside her room as she was sitting on a chair by a desk and putting on her black boots. And just like her boots, everything on her body were also black: her one-piece dress and her gloves.
After putting on her boots, she went over to her cabinet, grabbed a plain black cloak, and then went in front of a full-body mirror as she wore it.
My period didn't come…
Perhaps tomorrow…?
Either way, I will spend the 2 days in demon form and train…
Once she was done, she went to her bed and grabbed a medium-sized black backpack that had her Priestess gear, including her mask, and a few pouches of water and wine.
I'm sick of this place…
Ka-cha.
She went over to a window and then opened it, causing the cold autumn night air to brush against her skin.
"Cold..." she said with gritted teeth and then stared at the fog-covered street and buildings.
[Greater Origin Transformation].
Blaaak!
Her eyes transformed into demon form and she saw everything clearly in black and white, like thermal vision, but clearly, and all living beings were either in red or blue-colored nervous systems.
She focused, not just with her eyes, but also with her ears.
One…
She noticed a blue-colored nervous system passing through the pathway on the ground outside her window.
Two…
And another one standing near a statue, a couple of meters away.
Guards…
She waited until the one passing through the pathway turned to a corner and disappeared.
Thud.
With her backpack on her back, she grabbed the sides of the window and placed one foot on the windowsill.
Vooom!
***
12:05 a.m.
Vooom!
Vivian was traveling across the barely lit and foggy streets using her full speed of AGI - 12 (+457). And combined with her STR of 11 (+475), she could travel through the roofs, but decided not to because of 2 reasons:
The first reason was that jumping from roof-to-roof and walking through roofs were actually noisy. Unlike the concrete rectangular-shaped buildings from Vivian's original world, the buildings here were made with medieval architecture, so most buildings featured a house-shaped roof-top, not flat surfaces. And if she made a mistake with her step, she could easily slip and fall down.
The second reason was that she'd be out in the open. Unlike the streets where she could hide through the alleyways, on the roof, if she stopped or slowed down and then someone with enough Magic Force was wearing a Magic Item with the Vision Magic Effect happened to be looking in her direction, they'd spot her.
Vooom!
Vivian suddenly stopped but made sure to still hide in the alleyway.
Finally…
In front of her was the three-story outer wall that surrounded the entire She'kel Village. She stepped closer to the edge of the alleyway and poked her head a bit to see if there was anyone nearby.
No one…
She shifted her gaze to the top.
But I don't know if there's someone at the top of the wall patrolling…
She shook her head mentally.
Of course there would be…
How will I do this…?
Should I just jump over the wall…?
Or jump on top of the wall and kill anyone nearby…?
Her brain went into overdrive for a moment.
Okay, I will do that…
She raised her head and then positioned herself to make sure she didn't hit anything when she jumps, like the edge of a roof or a sign.
Okay, there…
I also don't see any strings…
Wooom!
She bent her knees just a bit and then jumped. As she reached mid-air above the wall, she focused, causing the world to slow down through her eyes, and then checked her surroundings left and right.
For a person to jump to the 3rd floor with [Power Leg], they would need a Physical Force of around 160 points or a little over Adamantite-Grade.
For a person to jump to the 3rd floor without [Power Leg], they would need a Physical Force of around 220 points or a little over Spirit Steel-Grade.
To the 4th floor with [Power Leg], it's 290 points.
And to the 4th floor without [Power Leg], it's 360 points.
In Vivian's case, since she had a STR of 11 (+475) or 486, she could easily jump to the 5th floor with [Power Leg]. Meanwhile, without [Power Leg], she would need 520 points.
Fuck…!
One on the left…!
There was a blue-colored nervous system standing a few meters to the left from where she would've stood if she had landed on the wall.
[Mana Tail].
Chud!
A 10-meter-long demonic tail made out of blue mana appeared on her lower back. And before the blue-colored nervous system could have even figured out what was happening, the Mana Tail wrapped around its body and snatched it away.
Thud!
Vooom!
When Vivian landed on the ground, she didn't stop and immediately ran as she continued to carry the blue-colored nervous system with her tail.
Craaack!
She crushed the blue-colored nervous system on her tail while still holding it as she disappeared into the dark forest.
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Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed this chapter!
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