Cafe (2)

"Sister, I have a question about Physical Arts," asked Vivian.

"What is it, sister?"

"Why are people weak?"

Criselle knitted her brows.

"What do you mean?"

"Correct if me I'm wrong, but everyone can learn Physical Arts while Magic Arts are limited to what you're born with, right?"

"Yes, that is correct."

"Then why isn't everyone learning Physical Arts?"

If there was such a thing as Physical Arts back in her previous world, Vivian knew that it would spark countless wars.

"But everyone does learn, sister."

"I know. But considering that there are so many threats in this world -- demons, demon worshipers, the Cult of Infinity, monsters and many more, why wouldn't people learn Physical Arts while they're still young? After all, Physical Arts can be learned by anyone. Are people just lazy or is there a law that prohibits anyone from learning them at an early age, like the law where people can only get their Class once they reach 15 years old? As a matter of fact, I don't even understand why there are poor people. There's a lot of jobs available, like being an adventurer."

Even if Vivian didn't have her Lore Magic that gives her x5 boosts to all Affinities, she knew in her heart of hearts that she would still train them. After all, back in her previous world, part of her lifestyle was lifting in order to look great.

"Don't get me wrong, sister," Vivian continued. "Just between you and me, I'm thankful that most people are either stupid or lazy, or both, because it makes it easier for people like you and me to climb the ranks and lord over them while they fight over the scraps."

Criselle's eyes blinked due to the unexpected opinion shared by Vivian.

"Sister, there's something that I've always been meaning to ask."

Vivian raised an eyebrow.

Did I reveal too much of my true colors…? 

Shit…!

"What is it, sister?" Vivian asked with an innocent expression.

"You mentioned that you grew up in a tiny village down South called Linu -- or was it Sulu? And you said that you were a farm girl all your life."

Vivian's heart skipped a beat and didn't say anything.

"You see, sister, I too grew up in a small village. However, you don't strike me as someone who grew up in such an environment -- the way you carry yourself, the things you ask, your view of the world, you remind me more of… the scholars and nobles I've met but not quite…"

The truth of the matter, Criselle wanted to tell Vivian that she reminded her of the rich kids who grew up in a very safe and sheltered environment, and then ran away from home to become a knight, adventurer or whatsoever.

Such people were not rare. 

In fact, there are many female nobles who ran away from their home and joined the Temple of Priests because they didn't want their parents forcing them to participate in an arranged marriage or something similar to that.

And of course, only those who had the Light Affinity or at least 3 Affinities could join the Temple of Priests. 

But once they joined, no one would dare to lay a finger on them anymore, not even royalty.

Anyone who dared to lay a finger on them would face the wrath of the Temple of Priests.

And lastly, based on her years of experience being a part of the Temple of Priests, she concluded that if Vivian were to continue her path, based on Vivian's attitude, temperament, view of the world and inquisitive nature, she was more suited in the Temple of Wizards.

She was sure that Vivian would fit perfectly there, specifically on the scholarly faction side who were prone to jump over to the Necromancer or Cult of Infinity side due to their obsession in the pursuit of magic and the mysteries of the world.

But of course, she wouldn't dare say such things.

Had she still been her young and idealistic self, she knew she would've said that and wouldn't care of who gets hurt.

But now that she was older and experienced a lot of things, she strongly believed that people like Vivian simply needed the right guidance in order to prevent them from straying from the right path.

Scholars…?'

Vivian waved her hand. 

"Haha… Sister, to be honest, you're not the first one who said such things to me. I've lost count of how many people have called me weird."

"Is that so? Please forgive me, sister, if I offended you. It's just that back when I was still doing Holy Crusades, I used to be part of the Inquisitory Division and it made me very paranoid that it drove many people away from me, including my husband and children."

This woman…

I swear to God she's a doomer…

No wonder she got divorced…

And what the fuck is an Inquisitory Division…?

I feel like I've heard that somewhere before…

"Regarding your question about why people don't train Physical Arts," Criselle continued. "It's because it only trains your physical strength and movement speed, it doesn't train your magical strength and reaction time."

She noticed the confusion on Vivian's face. It was a common look that most people who knew nothing much about the fundamentals of Physical and Magic Arts.

"Let me tell you a story, sister.

"There was a king who passed down a law that all of his citizens must start training Physical Arts once they become 5 years old. He even provided the weapons, instructors, facilities, food and many other things.

"His main purpose was that they would be the reserve force of the kingdom against any future threats. It also allowed the king to find out who were the most talented individuals among his citizens and recruit them in his army.

"But in the end, his army of Physical Art Masters were easily wiped out by a small group of elites who were born with multiple Magic Arts."

"A conspiracy? Betrayal?" asked Vivian.

"No, they were weak against magic --"

"Excuse me, Honored Priestesses," the waiter from earlier came with the food that they ordered.

He placed their food and drinks on the table.

"Please enjoy your meal," he said and bowed before leaving.

"Thank you," Vivian said with a snappy tone before quickly turning to Criselle. "Please continue your story, sister." 

"Okay…" Criselle said with a surprised tone. "The army of Physical Art Masters was defeated because they were weak against magic. And as I said earlier, Magic Arts trains your magical strength and reaction time.

"Firstly, let's talk about magical strength.

"Although one can protect themselves from magic attacks with metals such as iron and silver, arming an army with full sets of orichalcum and adamantite armor against powerful Magic Art Masters isn't exactly cheap.

"So if even a person has mastered 10 Physical Arts, they're still as weak as paper from a magic attack of a person who has mastered a single Magic Art.

"Secondly, let's talk about reaction time.

"Not long ago, you opened your Magic Arts and you've been training them, right?"

"Yes," said Vivian.

"And you've grown stronger, correct?"

"Yes."

"And as you grew stronger, you're now able to focus and see the world in slow motion through your eyes?"

"Yes…" 

"That is because of your Magic Art. It allows your brain to process things faster in order to react faster.

"And remember, Physical Arts only trains your physical strength and movement speed.

"So even if you mastered 10 Physical Arts which gives you superhuman strength and speed, it would still mean nothing if you don't have any Magic Arts to balance them off because just with your superhuman speed alone, your brain couldn't catch up and it would be no different from fighting with your eyes closed."

"So I have to balance it out like one Physical Art to one Magic Art?" asked Vivian.

"Based on the research done by the scholars, one Magic Art must be balanced out with two Physical Arts," said Criselle. 

"Oh…"

Criselle found it a bit strange that with Vivian's personality, she didn't know about it. However, she tossed the notion at the back of her head because she enjoyed teaching and helping people, especially to someone like Vivian who actually listens and asks questions, and also seems to be a hard worker.

After all, Criselle was still human and had an ego. It felt good that someone like Vivian was seeking her advice.

"But what if one just focuses on Magic Arts?" asked Vivian.

"Someone has tried that and a nerve inside their head exploded, killing them instantly on the spot."

Vivian's face suddenly turned pale.

"W-What…?"

"If you may recall, one of the effects of learning Magic Arts is that it allows your brain to process things faster in order to see the world in slow motion, right?"

"Yes."

"Performing a feat is very taxing to the body. So a person has to train their Physical Arts which trains their physical strength in order to withstand the stress from allowing their brain to process things faster." 

"I see..."

So I can't just learn Physical Arts without thinking…

"It's one Magic Art to two Physical Arts, right?" asked Vivian.

"Yes," replied Criselle.

"Our tea is getting cold. Please eat. Don't mind me, I want to think for a moment about everything you said."

Criselle nodded with a satisfied look on her face as she picked up her tea.

So the ratio is one Magic Art to two Physical Arts…?

She recalled that she had learned too many Physical Arts. 

Some of them she didn't even like, such as [Spear Mastery], [Dagger Mastery] and [Whip Mastery].

Although her body had an Affinity to daggers, she as a person, never found daggers appealing and she believes that it must be the original owner of the body who had that desire. Even with her Fire Affinity, she doesn't have that burning desire or interest to really use it.

Out of all the natural Affinities of the body she currently resides on, it was only the [Poison Mastery] that she uses. However, it was simply out of necessity, like for capturing people or trying to get additional stat points.

If there was an Affinity that she really liked using, it was her [Lightning Mastery]. 

However, one could argue that since she has all Affinities and has yet to open and use them all, her true Affinity has yet to be realized.

Assuming what Criselle is saying is true… 

And also assuming that when it comes to Magical Arts there's only Light, Dark, Fire, Poison, Wind, Earth, Lightning, Ice, Chaos and Soul which makes it ten…'

Then that means I can only learn a maximum of 20 Physical Arts…

From now on, I have to prioritize Physical Arts where I don't need to rely on physical weapons…

And also Physical Arts that I know that I'm sure that I'll definitely use or are useful to me…

Thank God I have the Status Panel…

I may have already messed up, but at least I have the Status Panel to track things properly…

"Sister Criselle."

Criselle stopped eating her cake and looked at Vivian.

"Is there a way to get rid of Physical Arts, Magic Arts and Lore Magic?"

"I haven't heard of such a thing."

"I see," said Vivian. "Last question, sister. Does this mean that the more Magic Art Affinities a person has, the more powerful he or she could become?"

"Yes. However, mastering a single Magic Art takes a lot of time and humans don't exactly have a long lifespan. So everything still balances out. Which is why some people would fall from the temptation of demons and the Cult of Infinity, and why we exist to stop them."

Vivian wanted to ask more, specifically about the price of power, immortality or whatever that the demons and the Cult of Infinity are offering, but stopped herself because it might be common knowledge. It would only make her look even more suspicious if a grown adult Priest such as herself knew nothing about it.

One of these days I have to capture one of the demon-worshipers and ask them…'

"And sister," said Criselle. "You must understand that everyone has their own hopes and dreams. Not everyone wants to dedicate their whole life training Physical and Magic Arts." 

Vivian suppressed the urge to not comment about that.

"You're an adventurer, right?" asked Criselle.

"Huh? Ah, yes…" replied Vivian.

And currently suspended for overhunting…

"When it comes to adventurer ranks, there's Copper I, Copper II, Silver I, Silver II, Gold I, Gold II, Platinum I, Platinum II and Diamond, right?"

"That is correct, sister."

Hmm… 

Why does she know so much about adventurers…?

Did she used to be an adventurer as well…?

After all, in Vivian's eyes, Criselle looked to be in her early 30s. 

Or are those things simply common knowledge…?

"Did you also know that those rankings are based on humans with 1-2 Magic Art Affinities below the age of 35?" 

Wow...

I didn't know about that... 

Should I also say that I know about it…?

But before Vivian could reply, Criselle already continued.

"That's because most adventurers quit once they reach their 30s. Either they want to focus on their family or they want to take a much safer profession which holds some political power."

Vivian recalled that adventurers couldn't hold political positions. They would have to relinquish their adventurer license if they wanted to hold such positions.

She also recalled the first time she went to the Adventurer's Guild and asked about the rules for becoming an adventurer. One of the things mentioned to her was that most adventurers retire in their 30s.

"So if you really think about it, a Diamond Rank adventurer is simply a person with at least orichalcum-grade Physical and Magic Force," said Criselle. "And if we were to compare that to our Temple, that's a Gold Cloak who meets the minimum Physical and Magic Force requirement to become a Gray Cloak."

Vivian's eyes turned wide. 

Gray Cloaks are that weak…?!

As far as Vivian knows, the metal grades from lowest to highest were iron, silver, mithril, orichalcum and adamantite, and then the legendary metals. And last time she checked, her Physical and Magic Force were mithril, which surprised the Priestess in charge of the Blacksmith Shop and prompted her to lie that she was a secret agent.

But then again, that's for people who are below 35 years old… 

And plus, like she said, orichalcum-grade is the minimum Physical and Magic Force to be a Gray Cloak aside from the Gold Cloak requirement… 

So the people whom I should only worry about are old people who are still active…

Vivian made a mental note to be careful in dealing with the older members of the Temple of Priests.

But what about this person…?

She looks like she's in her early 30s… 

So her Physical and Magic Force is around or at least orichalcum…?

But she's still a White Cloak…

Ugh…!

I'm so fucking confused already…!

"I see. I now understand, sister. Thank you so much. Once again I've learned a lot of valuable things from you," Vivian said and flashed a very warm and kind smile.

As for Criselle's suspicion as to why Vivian lied about being a widow during the time she and Marie washed her, she figured that it was Marie's fault.

After all, Marie asked Vivian if she was single and Vivian said yes.

So technically, Vivian wasn't lying about being single because she was actually a widow.

Moreover, as a mother herself, even she wouldn't want to go around telling people, especially strangers, that her husband and kids were killed.

But at the same time, she could understand that Marie didn't actually mean to be nosy and rude. After all, she was only a teenager and to be interested in things like love and relationship was common for her age.

However, if there was one thing that Criselle still wasn't 100% sure of, it was Vivian's identity as a farmer.

No matter how she looked at it, Vivian doesn't strike her as a farmer and it was obvious that she didn't know much about the studies and theories regarding the fundamentals of Physical and Magic Arts. She even had to undergo an Awakening Ceremony for her [Fire] and [Wind Mastery].

Nevertheless, she's was still fond of Vivian because she actually listens and asks questions, and seems to be a hard worker -- despite being a bit too extreme, if she were to be honest. The fact that Vivian became a White Cloak in less than a month was proof of that.

And whatever Vivian's true identity is, to her, it doesn't matter as long as she was loyal to the Temple of Priests. Someone of her caliber would be a great addition to their Temple and for the sake of humanity.