Secret Tunnel

Aurgus 20, 3023 A.M., day of Sunar, 9:05 a.m.

Vivian was at the entrance of the Training Camp and waited at what could pass off as a "bus stop" or in this case, a "carriage stop".

She was wearing her White Cloak and beside her were her belongings, including her Crusader Set which were kept inside a crate.

She wasn't alone, other people were waiting with her. 

There were Turd and Xander, both of which are her classmates but were from the Heisen Chapter and had their belongings with them as well. They too were wearing their White Cloaks.

There were also Gars, Julia and 2 other High Lieutenants that Vivian wasn't familiar with. They weren't wearing their cloaks. Instead, they were wearing their usual Basic Training attire.

However, everyone was armed with some light gear.

From a distance, two carriages were heading their way. 

And as soon as the carriages came close, the animals pulling the vehicles became restless and wanted to run away but the coachmen managed to calm the animals down and continue approaching Vivian and the others.

The carriage stopped in front of them.

"Greetings, Honored Priests and Priestesses," one of the coachmen greeted.

Vivian, Turd and Xander turned to the High Lieutenants accompanying them.

"Remember the plan," said Gars.

Before heading over here, they made plans. And one of them was their sitting positions.

On one carriage, Vivian and Julia will sit inside while Gars will sit outside beside the coachman.

Meanwhile, on the other carriage, Turd, Xander and an officer will sit inside while the other remaining officer will sit beside the coachman.

Vivian, Turd and Xander placed their luggage behind the carriages with the help of the coachmen before stepping inside the carriages.

***

Inside one of the carriages.

Vivian and Julia sat in silence.

Vivian stared at the window while Julia stared at the other window.

I'm finally going to the headquarters of the Inquisitory Division…

The most secretive Division out of all of the Divisions…

Hmm…

There's one thing I'm confused about though…

How come they didn't bother to guard me while I was out on the nights during the day of Satur…?

Why now…?

Is the base of the Inquisitory Division that much of a secret…?

Ever since Vivian decided to participate in the Holy Crusade, her goal was always to join the Exploratory Division because she wanted to avoid being accused of overhunting, just like what happened at Luxen City, so she never once bothered to investigate about the other Divisions.

A sudden realization came to her mind.

Fuck…!

Did they find out what I've been doing and are actually leading me into a trap…?!

FUUUCCCKKK…!!!

She secretly glanced at Julia.

She doesn't seem to be worried…

I don't see any leg tapping or anything that indicates that she counting time…

Or is she just a good actress…?

Fuck…!

FUCK…!

FUUUCCCKKK…!

How could I be so stupid not to realize this until now…?!

Vivian pretended to rub her eyes.

As far as I can remember, assuming that she really used her real speed at that time, then I can defeat this woman…

But for Gars, he was able to react normally when I focused during the first mock battle class….

There's also the other 2 officers and the 2 coachmen accompanying us which I have no idea…

Shit…!

Why didn't that stupid Zhey/Zhem God give me a power that allows me to read someone else's Status Panel or just stats…?!

The moment I sense something wrong, I'm going to boost my [Halo] with [Greater Origin Enchant] for infinite mana…

And I would only [Greater Origin Transformation] for curing any fatal wound I get…

I just hope there's no Bard who can cast [Whistle] on me to lock my skills and spells…

During the afternoon classes that Vivian attended, she learned a lot of things. These were one of them.

Regarding the Class Magic [Whistle] of the Bard, although it was indeed a powerful spell because it could prevent the target from casting any skill and spell for 5 seconds, it had a fatal one flaw. The weaker the target compared to the caster, specifically when it came to Magic Force, the higher the chances of the spell taking effect. Meanwhile, the stronger the target compared to the caster, the lower the chances of the spell working.

If this truly is a trap…

Well…

They better make sure to kill me…

They're not going to like what I'm going to do once I come back for revenge…

In Vivian's head, although there was no magic back in her original world and she wasn't some rich and famous person, she worked hard and built a life there for 24 years. Her being suddenly thrown into this world without her consent and trapped inside a woman's body was not her wish or decision.

***

Sometime later…

The carriages stopped in front of an affluent neighborhood and in front of a high-end boutique shop.

The doors of the carriages opened and Vivian, Julia, Turd, Xander and the others stepped out.

There were people nearby and they glanced at Vivian and the others before resuming to do whatever they were doing.

The carriages continued moving without unloading their luggage.

"Your luggage will be sent later," Gars said and then entered the shop.

Julia followed behind him.

Turd, Xander and Vivian looked at the two officers who didn't move.

"We'll follow from behind," said one of the officers.

Turd walked first, followed by Xander, and then lastly, Vivian. Only then did the two officers move.

Inside the boutique shop, there wasn't anything strange or special about it. And no matter how many times Vivian looked around, it simply looked like any high-end boutique shop with staff and some customers minding their own business.

Gars led the team to the backroom and entered another room which looked like a storage room. And inside the storage room, there were dozens of large shelves with tailoring items and equipment stacked on them.

He went over to one of the large shelves where there were masks.

"Crusader Vivian, Crusader Turd and Crusader Xander, each of you pick a mask. Make sure it has a brown-colored sun on its forehead. That would indicate that you're still a trainee."

Vivian and the two Crusaders went over to the shelves.

The masks looked like the one worn by Inquisitor Mabel who went over to the female dormitory to ask about the missing Priestess from the Orion Chapter Temple.

There were 4 types of masks. Although they were all made out of something like porcelain and painted in white, there was a difference in the sun symbol on the forehead.

The first mask had a gold-colored sun.

The second mask had a red-colored sun.

The third mask had a brown-colored sun.

And the fourth mask didn't have any sun.

Gars picked up a mask with a red-colored sun on its forehead. Meanwhile, Vivian, Turd and Xander each picked up a mask with a brown-colored sun.

"Raise the hood of your cloak to cover your hair. Especially you, Crusader Vivian."

Aside from Vivian's beautiful face, her hair was too memorable because it was purple hair with red highlights.

Vivian untied her hair and then pulled up her hood.

Click.

Gars went over to another shelf and flipped a hidden switch, causing it to make a clicking sound.

He then went over to one of the walls in the corner and pushed it, revealing a dark secret entrance with stairs that seemed to lead underground.

He turned to Turd, Xander and Vivian.

"There are no light sources underneath so I will need to use [Halo]," he said and then activated a spell.

[Halo].

A golden ring appeared on his back and all 3 of them were caught in a trance.

Fuck…!

So he really is stronger than me…!

Is this it…?!

What should I do…?!

Vivian was fighting different emotions and desires inside of her.

One was to trust Gars.

The other was to fight back and then run away.

And another one was to calm down and review her surroundings.

"Follow me," Gars said before turning away and stepping into the dark secret entrance.

***

Gars, Turd, Xander and Vivian were walking in a dark tunnel and their only light source was Gars who had his [Halo] on and was leading the way.

Vivian studied her surroundings.

The tunnel itself was about 7ft tall and 4ft wide. Not only was there no light source except for the light coming from Gars' [Halo], but the tunnel also led to several lightless pathways.

The walls seemed to be made out of bricks, the ceiling was also made out of bricks but had a curved design, and the floor was nothing but dirt and stone. Moreover, the walls and ceiling also had nothing to indicate it had something for light bulbs or torches.

And although there were some scratches on the walls and some walls looked older compared to the others, the claustrophobic feeling it gave where all one could see was an endless maze of bricks, dirt and darkness was enough to make anyone lose their mind.

Sniff.

Sniff.

Vivian tried breathing.

She couldn't tell if she was actually not breathing properly or if she was suffering from paranoia and was actually breathing normally.

How does one breathe under here…?

"According to historians, the shop we entered from above was owned by a husband and wife named Shi'ioan and Fra'zae and they had 2 children, a little boy and a little girl," Gars suddenly began talking.

"Back then, the Holy City was only a tiny and simple town, no different from a small and poor secluded rogue settlement by today's standards. And the shop was a small and simple house where the family sold milk, fruits, vegetables and occasionally some meat.

"Fearing of demons, demon-worshipers, monsters, bandits and other threats, the father, Shi'ioan, dug a small and secret tunnel for his wife and children to hide in case of an emergency.

"And one day, a group of demon-worshipers came to this town to kidnap some sacrifices for the demon they worshiped.

"Shi'ioan and his family hid under the small and secret tunnel and it was only after 3 days that they decided to come out. And when they came out, they the found whole town destroyed.

"The men were killed, the women and children were taken, and the only people that were left were old people.

"Because of that, Shi'ioan and his family were devastated and decided to leave.

"The next day, as the family left to find another place to live, their son, who happened to be named N'eua, burned the image of his broken hometown inside his head and swore in his heart that one day he would come back and exact revenge against the demon-worshipers and the demon they serve.

"So yes, that shop was the place or plot of land where the First Priest, the first Light Saint and the founder of the Temple of Priests, His Holiness, Light Saint N'eua, grew up as a child.

"However, even though many would like to consider that plot of land as a holy place, His Holiness N'eua refused and even forbade to make that place something like a holy ground or anything special.

"His reason, that plot of land would be better suited for the people to conduct businesses, not to build a temple, castle or anything similar to that manner, which is true to be quite honest because it's located near the heart of the city.

"But despite that, there are still some who made that neighborhood into something where only the wealthy can afford to do business.

"Nevertheless, this tunnel was one of his legacies.

"Or to be precise, the legacy of His Holiness' father.

"And throughout the years, the citizens here made it greater and more complex that one can even get lost and only a select few know the hidden chambers. There are even traps here that could kill or trap a person."

Turd, Xander and Vivian didn't say anything.

However, if they were to be honest, thanks to the active effect of his [Halo] spell, his voice sounded quite soothing to their ears that they just have this urge to trust him.

They continued walking in silence until Xander couldn't take it anymore.

"Brother High Lieutenant, may I ask something?"

"What is it?"

"Can anyone be possibly lost here? Why not just break the ceiling?"

A small smile appeared on Gars' face.

"You can, but I wouldn't advise you to do that. Just remember: the Holy City has stood and remained as the headquarters of the Temple of Priests for more than 2,000 years."

Xander became silent.

Gars and company continued walking and turning for almost an hour until finally they reached their destination.

Up ahead, on the edge of the tunnel, there was a yellow light and there was also some noise which only grew louder the closer they got.

And when they finally reached the end of the tunnel, they found themselves in a large and spacious area.

Gars deactivated his [Halo].

"Here we are, one of the secret bases of the Temple of Priests and the current headquarters of the Inquisitory Division."

Vivian knitted her brows.

********************

********************

Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

By the way, I posted some Chapter Drafts at P-a-t-r-e-o-n. And to view them, you can read them at…

https://www.patreon.com/Immortal_Shades

There, you will have access to the Chapter Drafts for $5 a month.

Please note that the chapters posted there are only drafts. So when those said Chapter Drafts will be published here, there will be some edits. They also involve a few secret outline notes/details that I won't publish here because they contain spoilers or dispel some of the mysteries. And at the moment, Chapter Drafts 263-267 are posted there.

I would like to give my special thanks for this month's Patrons:

• 

Thank you once again and I will see you in the next chapter.