To The Great Plains of Stanza

8:52 p.m.

Vivian was inside her room and lying down on her bed while reading a book about noble etiquette. This was one of the books given to her after she graduated from the Training Course.

Given her status as an Inquisitor, it was inevitable that she would be brushing elbows with the people in the top echelons of society.

In her previous world, whether one would admit it or not, there were rules about how people treated the rich and famous, and there were also rules on how people treated the poor and average. And the world she was currently living in was no different. There were rules about how to treat influential and powerful people, and there were also rules on how to treat common and weak people. So she understood that she needed to learn proper manners in order to make her job easier.

Vivian closed the book down and read the author's name.

The author is a Priestess from the Orion Chapter Temple and an advocate for female and children's rights, huh…

That's interesting…

I didn't expect that the people in this world to be that progressive…

I mean, I heard about the Orion Kingdom and the Orion Chapter Temple back at the Training Course…

But I thought it was just lip service…

She recalled all of the Priestesses she encountered.

But then again, everyone in this world has Physical and Magic Arts…

I wonder if there's something like an Amazonian kingdom here…

I'd like to see if women are truly incapable of building useful things like in my previous world…

She put down the book and rubbed her eyes before reaching out for her pocket watch laid out on top of the desk.

8:57 p.m…

Well, I guess it's time for me to get out there…

She got up from bed and wore her Inquisitor Full-Mask this time around but decided to leave her White Cloak behind. Although her skin had started becoming pale, it hadn't yet reached to the point where her veins were so visible.

She wore her Earring of Spirit on her right ear, her gold necklace around her neck, a black short and fitting long-sleeved backless turtleneck dress, a pair of black leather gloves, another pair of long-legged black leather boots that reached up to her thighs, and had her belt pouch around her waist. 

She carried no weapons as usual.

I'm going to leave the water pouch this time…

It's not like I'll be gone for a long time…

She exited her room.

*** 

Vivian was walking within the compound of the Third Inner Stanza Border Checkpoint and heading towards the South Gate.

When she arrived at her destination, she encountered a Guard who was caught in surprise for a moment to see Vivian without her White Cloak and wearing a short and fitting long-sleeved backless turtleneck black dress before finally offering a salute.

"G-Good evening, Honored Priestess Inquisitor!"

"I'm going to the Great Plains of Stanza to hunt. I'll be back in a few hours."

"Yes, Honored Inquisitor. But please let me get the Knight on duty tonight to discuss the details with you before you depart."

Although Yandell and the Guards on duty that night Vivian went out to go to the Mobius Mountain and promised not to say anything, there were only 5 Priests, 5 Knights, 15 Guards and so much nothing to do here. Because of that, despite the Guard not knowing all of the details, he heard enough rumors to understand the situation. But most importantly of all, if something were to happen to their Inquisitor because the Great Plains of Stanza was a wasteland for demons, monsters, bandits and the like, he didn't want to take all of the blame and was going to pass the responsibility to the Knight on duty tonight.

"Okay," said Vivian.

"Thank you, Honored Priestess Inquisitor," the Guard said and then quickly left.

When he came back, he was with Lamont who was wearing his armor and had a sword hanging in his waist.

A look of surprise flashed across Lamont's face for a moment when he saw the dress Vivian was wearing.

Although this wasn't his first time seeing provocative dresses, especially when considering he already has 3 wives, Vivian was a Priestess, an Inquisitor and also had that distant professional demeanor.

Vivian's face twitched behind her mask and her stomach twisted.

This guy again…

Just my luck…

"Good evening, Priestess Inquisitor Monad," he said and smiled.

"Good evening, too, Knight Lieutenant Lamont."

"I was informed that you wish to go to the Great Plains of Stanza tonight to hunt?"

"Yes, I will be back in a few hours."

"Forgive me, Priestess Inquisitor, but the Great Plains of Stanza is not a safe place. In fact, many seasoned fighters have perished there. Even I am not confident heading there myself alone. So if you want to go there, you will need to make an official request to the commanding officers and be escorted by a group of personnel."

"I am aware of the risks and I understand your concerns, Knight Lieutenant. But like I said earlier, I will be back in a few hours. On top of that, it's not like I'm going far away. I'll just be nearby."

"I understand, but again, and I really have to stress this, the Great Plains of Stanza is not a safe place. If something were to happen to you, it would be us, especially me, the Knight on duty tonight, who would be in trouble. I know you are a capable person, but you can at least understand that I can't risk my career for your own personal entertainment."

"And if I were to exit the North Gate instead?"

"My answer is the same."

Eh…?

I didn't expect this pervert to be a sucker for rules…

Vivian let out a sigh behind her mask.

I guess there's no choice…

"Knight Lieutenant, let me show you a fraction of my strength," she said and raised her hand close to her chest.

"Hmm?"

"If you can avoid my touch, I promise to do what you asked. But if can't avoid my touch, you must promise not to get in my way ever again. And to make it fair, I'll stand away 10 meters from you."

Lamont shook his head.

"I refuse to participate. Like I said earlier, I don't have any intention of risking my career for your own entertainment."

Vivian raised an eyebrow.

"Huh?"

"Please go back to your quarters, Priestess Inquisitor. It's already late. You have work tomorrow and I have work tonight."

He turned away and started walking.

"Stop. I order you to stop, Knight!"

He stopped and turned to her.

"Are you refusing my orders?" she asked in an icy tone with a tinge of killing intent that both Lamont and the Guard felt.

Lamont's brows knitted together.

"Priestess Inquisitor, if you wish to go, then go. But know that I'm not co-signing this decision of yours to go out and hunt, and I will inform the commanding officers."

Vooom!

Chud.

Vivian blurred and grabbed onto Lamont's neck.

She tried to raise him in the air but Vivian was only around 5'4, while Lamont was 5'11.

"Priestess Inquisitor… what is the meaning of this…?!"

"Listen here, little pervert," Vivian said and tightened her grip a little bit, causing Lamont to grab onto her wrist but found it impossible to move, let alone shake it. "You think I don't notice you staring at me with lustful eyes? I wonder, whose word do you think they would believe if I go around telling people that you tried to sexually harass me?"

She noticed that Lamont was about to attack her but she quickly intercepted it.

WOOOH!

Chud.

She grabbed him by the collar, spun around, and then threw him over the wall outside of the compound before pointing at the Guard.

"You will do nothing and watch or you will be next," she said coldly.

Wooom!

She jumped over the wall, causing the Guard's jaw to drop.

The wall that surrounded the border checkpoint was two stories tall. With that, a person needed enough Physical Force -- around 170 STR -- and the [Power Leg] skill in order to jump over such a wall. But in Vivian's case, she didn't even use a skill, it was simply pure raw strength.

***

Thud.

Vivian landed outside the ground and saw Lamont who was still getting up from the fall.

"Now that I think about it, didn't you invite me this morning to spar with you?" she said and then began to casually make her way towards him. "Well, I accept it and I want to spare with you right now, little pervert." 

Lamont finally got up and stared at Vivian was already in front of him.

"You! You've done it! You're not --"

Chud.

Claaam!

"--blargh!"

Vivian grabbed him by the hair with her left hand and then punched him in the stomach with her right hand, causing the metal plate to bend inwards.

Thud.

When Vivian let go of Lamont's hair, he quickly fell down to his knees and palmed his stomach as he coughed out blood along with other bodily fluids and gasped for air.

She shook her head.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk… As expected, so weak," she said and then tilted her head to the side. "You seem like you're having a hard time breathing. Here, let me help you." 

Thud, thud.

Riiiiiipppppp!

She grabbed onto Lamont's armor with both hands and ripped it out apart as if it were made of cardboard.

By now, a few Guards who were on duty tonight were watching in awe and silence.

They went to check when they heard the commotion and were surprised to see that it was Vivian and Lamont fighting.

All of them were shocked to see how helpless Lamont was in front of Vivian because within the Knights Squad, he was the second strongest and Inquisitors weren't exactly known for their fighting prowess. And when they saw what Vivian did to his armor, their jaw dropped in disbelief because they all knew that Lamont's armor was made out of Orichalcum.

Bam-Crack!

"UGH!!!"

Vivian kicked Lamont on the rib, causing him to groan in pain as he rolled over the ground a few feet away.

"Get up, let's spar like you asked me to. Draw out that sword on your waist, little pervert."

Noticing that Lamont was unresponsive and continued lying down on the ground, Vivian rolled her eyes.

Vooom!

She turned into a blur and appeared right next to him. She was about to reach out and heal him when Lamont suddenly threw a skill at her.

[Power Fist].

Thud.

Vivian easily caught his fist with one hand and they both had a surprised expression written on their faces.

In the case of Vivian, she wasn't surprised that she felt nothing but a slight vibration on her skin -- similar to holding a phone when it vibrates. What surprised her was that the skill destroyed the leather of her glove around the palm area.

Hmm…

I didn't expect this…

When it comes to her stats, to say that she was a superhuman was an understatement -- at least in most cases.

With her 11 (+286) STR, she could generate a maximum physical force equivalent to 29.7 adults.

With her 9 (+262) VIT, aside from the sturdiness of 27.1 adult bodies concentrated into one body, her body's recovery speed was also x27.1. So if she received a wound, it would heal at x27.1 speed.

However, as amazing as her body's recovery speed is, it was still inevitably human. For example, if her eye got injured during a fight, although it would technically heal at the speed of x27.1, it would also heal like how a wound would normally heal -- the eye's vision could be blurry or completely lost, depending on the scale of the wound. The same goes if she loses an arm. It won't grow back or regenerate another arm. It would simply heal like how a severed arm would heal. This is why, when a being like her receives a fatal blow, like decapitation or being split into half, they would still die.

With her 12 (+273) AGI, her body could move at the speed of x28.5.

And lastly, with her 8 (+280) INT, once she focuses, she can view the world through her eyes at the maximum speed of x-28.8.

However, Vivian only has a very shallow understanding of these things because no one could provide a precise measurement on this level due to the fact that there weren't that many people beyond Spirit Steel or 210 stats, most studies beyond Spirit Steel were kept a secret and shared only among small and trusted circles, and she was the only one who had a Status Panel.

Lamont, who had a shocked and puzzled look on his face, had his eyes bouncing between his fist that was caught by Vivian's hand and Vivian's face that was covered with her Inquisitor Full Mask. His Physical Force was Orichalcum-Adamantite and using a Physical Art raises the Force by 1 grade, making the [Power Fist] he threw at her with the force of Adamantite-Rainbow Steel-grade or around 165 points. And yet, the reality laid in front of him showed that it did nothing but destroy the leather of the glove around the palm area that he could feel her soft and smooth palm.

"H-How…? W-Who are you…?"

Although Priests are known to be quite powerful because of their healing magic which allows them to train their Magic Art faster, when it comes to Inquisitors, they aren't known to be fighters. They're more known as academics and scholars. 

"You destroyed my glove and I only have one spare."

Craaack.

"AAAHHH!"

Vivian squeezed, crushing Lamont's fist.

"That's for my glove."

"AAAHHH…!"

Pah!

She slapped him out cold.

"So noisy. Aren't you supposed to be a man?"

She turned to the Guards who were watching and they all flinched when they realized that she was looking at them.

"All of you, come here."

The Guards obediently went to her in complete silence.

"Honored Priestess Inquisitor Monad…!" they said and saluted.

"At ease," she said. "Knight Lieutenant Lamont invited me this morning to spar with him and I accepted his invitation, right?"

"Yes, Honored Priestess Inquisitor…" they replied.

"Right?"

"Yes, Honored Priestess Inquisitor!"

"And since this was only a friendly spar between colleagues, there's nothing to report, right?"

"Yes, Honored Priestess Inquisitor!"

"And when he wakes up, you will tell him that he agreed to let me go out and hunt, right?"

"Yes, Honored Priestess Inquisitor!"

[Heal].

Vivian cast healing magic on Lamont and his wounds were healed but was still unconscious.

"Let him rest for a moment, but don't make any fuss or attract any unwanted attention."

"Yes, Honored Priestess Inquisitor!"

"One of these days, I going to need to award you people for your hard work. Tell me your name, rank and Class."

The Guards looked at each other.

"What the fuck are you useless idiots waiting for?!"

"I-I-I'm Guard Sergeant Oslo and my Class is Tamer, Honored Priestess Inquisitor!" said a male in his early 20s.

"I-I'm Guard Dani and my Class is Hunter, Honored Priestess Inquisitor!" said a male in his late teens and he was the one that Vivian threatened earlier.

"I'm Guard Sonia and my Class is Thief, Honored Priestess Inquisitor!" said a female in her late teens.

"I'm Guard Novak and my Class is Warrior, Honored Priestess Inquisitor!" said a male who looked like he was in his mid-teens.

"I'll keep your names in mind," said Vivian. 

"Thank you, Honored Priestess Inquisitor!" they said and saluted.

Vivian removed her boots and held them in her hands.

"Remember what I told you and I'll see you all in a few hours."

Vooom!

She burst out into a run using her full speed and left a huge trail of dust behind her.