Training Camp (2)

Day of Fratur, 6:16 a.m.

After doing the exercises, Vivian and the Luxen and Heisen Chapter Temple along with the rest Temples were at a cafeteria waiting in line to grab breakfast.

"After this, the both of you are going to leave?" asked Kara.

"Yes," said Marie. "We have until 8:00 a.m before we have to leave for the Training Course. You guys will also have to do your thing at 8:00 a.m."

"That would be orientation," said Elena.

"So we won't meet after until the Holy Crusade ends?" asked Kara.

"It depends. If we happened to be assigned to the same area, we would meet. Or we can write to each other," Marie said with an assuring voice.

"Okay, Sister Marie..."

"Don't worry about it," said Elena. "You'll have Sister Vivian with you during Basic Training. And then if you pass the Training Course of the Infantry Division, who knows, you might be assigned to the same place with Brother Carr. Or maybe you and Sister Vivian would decide to apply for the same Division, just like me and Sister Marie."

"What if we all decide to apply for the Sea Division? We all seem to get along," said Marie.

Marie, Elena and Kara looked at Vivian.

"Don't worry, I'll take care of Sister Kara. If someone bullies her, I'll crush them."

"Sister, violence without any valid reason is prohibited here…" said Marie.

"I see. I'll keep that in mind."

Seeing that Vivian had no intention of applying for the Sea Division, they didn't pursue the topic and changed to another subject.

A few minutes later…

Vivian and company finally got their meals and sat down at a table.

The table was long and it was shared. However, the 4 women made sure that they sat next to each other. Elena in particular made sure that she was next to Marie.

Vivian stared at her food.

It's not bad…

But it's not enough…

The food in front of her consisted of 1 piece of bread, a bowl of bean soup, 1 serving of vegetables, 1 slice of meat and a mug of beer.

Vivian didn't mind the beer anymore and had already accepted that it was this world's normal drink for meals.

However, there was 1 thing she couldn't accept.

These people have [Greater Heal]… 

So why are they limiting the food…?!

Why…?

Like seriously, why…?!

It's not like we Priests would be starving out in the Holy Crusade with [Greater Heal]…!

This is so unnecessary…!

Ever since she got the [Greater Origin Transformation], Vivian's appetite has increased to the point she had to at least eat 9 meals per day. And now that she couldn't eat enough food, she hasn't been attentive in socializing, only preserving her brain energy for important tasks.

Vivian turned to Marie and Elena.

"Sister Marie, Sister Elena."

They turned to her.

"Both of you been through Basic Training before, is there a way to get more meals?"

Having seen Vivian's diet during the course of the trip, they quickly understood what she meant.

"My apologies, sister, I don't know," said Marie.

"Maybe the men know. They're big so they must need more food," said Elena.

"The men…?" Vivian said with a discouraged look on her face.

Wait…!

Yes…!

That's it…!

"Sister, there has to be an infirmary or something here, right? What if I say that I have a rare disease and that I must eat more in order to function properly?"

Marie looked at Elena.

"I guess it could work?"

Elena thought about it for a moment.

"I think so. But getting special treatment will only put a target on you," said Elena.

"Wait, there's bullying here?" asked Vivian.

"It's not really bullying per se," said Elena. "It's just that, once you ask for special treatment, the Temple, specifically the officers, will also expect excellent performance from you and most likely give you extra tasks as well."

"Oh…"

"But you're a hard worker, Sister Vivian. So I guess that wouldn't really bother you at all, right? After all, you did become a White Cloak in less than a month," Marie said with a reassuring tone.

Vivian didn't say anything and simply stared at her food.

"But I seriously can't still believe it," Elena said as she stared at Vivian and bit off her bread.

"About what?" asked Marie.

"About her becoming a White Cloak in less than a month."

"Sister Vivian is so amazing. I became a White Cloak only after 6 months," said Kara.

"Correct me if I'm wrong. In the evening of the day of Satur we're all allowed to go out of the Training Camp, right? Can we bring back food?" asked Vivian.

"Now that you mentioned that, I think that's also a great idea," said Marie.

"Yes, you can. But it's not like you can bring back so much food. On top of that, how will you keep it fresh? It will go rotten after 2 days. You could only have fruits if that's the case" said Elena.

"What about dried meat and chocolates?" asked Kara.

Truth be told, Marie and Elena didn't know how to deal with Vivian's problem. After all, Basic Training was only 2 weeks and the Training Course was 3 weeks. They've never heard or encountered anyone with such a problem. Even the overweight recruits had no choice but to follow the meal plan.

"But sister, if your disease is really that serious, then I believe you should inform the officers that. Because once you're out for the Holy Crusade, sometimes things can get dangerous," said Marie.

She also wanted to ask Vivian about how was going to deal with her Lore Magic [Nemesis of Beast] but never had a chance because Elena was always beside her.

***

6:44 a.m.

Vivian and company stepped outside of the cafeteria when they bumped into Carr and Franz.

"Good morning, ladies!" Carr said with a bright smile.

Elena immediately saluted.

"Greetings, Brother High Sergeant Carr and Brother High Sergeant Franz!"

Carr let out a wry smile.

"Come on, Sister Elena. I'm not even wearing my rank and we haven't been set out yet."

"We're already in the Holy Crusade just by being here, SIR," she said and stressed out the last word.

Carr turned to Marie to ask for help.

Marie let out a smile.

"She has a point, you know."

"Not you too, Sister Marie," he said and let out a sigh. "Anyhow, I came to see you guys because I wanted to ask you a few things about the Divisions you're applying for -- Sister Marie, Sister Elena and Sister Kara."

"Including me?!" Kara said with a surprised expression before blushing and looking down as she fixed her hair.

He smiled and then to Vivian.

"Sorry for making you feel left out, Sister Vivian."

"It's fine," Vivian said and shrugged her shoulders.

"Sister Vivian," said Franz. "Since Brother Carr and the rest would be busy talking with each other. Care to find someplace to wait, like under the shade?"

Vivian looked at Marie and the rest before returning her gaze to Franz.

I have a bad feeling about this…

This guy is a High Sergeant…

So his rank is higher than me…

Well, I don't have any rank to begin with…

"Sure," Vivian said and smiled.

***

Franz led Vivian to a place under a tree but they weren't alone. They could still see Marie and the others a couple of meters away.

"How was the training this morning?" Franz asked and looked at Vivian who was busy looking around her surroundings.

He also couldn't help but notice Vivian's abnormally pale skin that veins were showing on her neck and her lips were almost purple. 

Unfortunately for Vivian, she wasn't able to on any makeup when they woke up this morning and she had no plans to sleep with her makeup on. And although she could've put on some makeup right after practice, she wanted to avoid getting unnecessary attention, like being called a diva.

But once she takes a bath, she would definitely put on makeup. Just a light one.

"It was fine, Brother High Sergeant."

"Please, you don't have to call me High Sergeant. This is only a chat between fellow members of the Temple of Priests."

"Okay."

"I must confess, the way you jogged this morning, it was very beautiful."

Vivian raised an eyebrow.

"I see. Thanks."

"If you don't mind, can I ask who taught you how to run like that? I even tried to copy it and found how comfortable it felt."

"Huh? Um… That's just how I jog."

"So you're a natural? Perhaps you may be a genius."

"No."

An awkward silence enveloped between them and Franz quickly tried to think of a way to continue the conversation.

"I've heard that you're quite the hard worker. I've also heard that you became a White Cloak in less than a month, you also have 3 Magic Art Affinities -- Light, Fire and Wind, and you scored a perfect score at the Brown Cloak Written Exam Holy Mission."

What the hell…?

Stalker much…?

"I see."

"You know," he said and rubbed his neck. "Compared to you, I think the only thing I can catch up with you is your work ethic."

"We all have our strengths and weaknesses."

"That's true. But what I'm trying to say is, if you don't mind, I wanted to ask you if I could write to you. Because you know, the Holy Crusade is 6 months and only the God of Light knows and the commanders where we will be assigned, and I figured it would be nice to have someone as amazing as you to exchange letters with," he said and smiled awkwardly.

How did he arrive to that logic…?

Also…

I didn't know guys like him can blush…

Franz was in his early 20s with long brown hair and a beard.

"Is this an official order, Brother High Sergeant?"

"No! Of course not! I just…!" Franz said with a panicked expression before calming down. "I just want to be friends, that's all…"

Vivian let out a sigh.

"Then, If I may speak freely --"

"Yes?!" Franz said and stood in attention, startling Vivian for a moment.

Realizing what he just did, his already red cheeks turned even more red and he started to sweat.

Vivian cleared her throat.

"I'll be honest with you. I'm a widow who also lost her children. And right now, my only focus is to become very powerful so that I can eradicate every single demon, demon-worshiper and heretic in this world in order to make sure that no one would suffer the fate that I and my loved ones have suffered."

Franz's eyes blinked a couple of times.

Truth be told, he asked Marie if Vivian was single and Marie told him that she was.

As for how Marie knew Vivian was single, back when Marie and Criselle helped Vivian wash her body at the infirmary after Vivian opened her [Fire] and [Wind Mastery], they bombarded her with questions -- Well, technically, it was mostly Marie who bombarded her with questions.

She asked Vivian where was she from and if she had family in Luxen City. Vivian answered that she was from a place called Linu Village down south and she had no family in Luxen City. She then asked Vivian if she was married or single to which Vivian answered she was single.

"I-I'm sorry… I didn't know you were a widow…"

Oh thank God…

Now he's going to finally back off…

"You don't have anything to apologize about," Vivian said and waved her hand. "It's not something that I really want to talk about."

"Forgive me, and I won't pretend that I know the pain you're carrying. But still, and I'm well aware that what I'm going to say sounds very selfish: If you don't mind, I want still want to exchange letters with you even if just as friends."

What…?

Why is this fucking abusive pervert still pushing…?

"Look, I will be honest with you. If you write to me, I won't write back unless it's something important or aligns with my goals. Like I said earlier, my mind right now is solely focused on getting very powerful so that I can eradicate every single demon, demon worshiper and heretic in this world -- nothing more, nothing less."

"I don't mind as long as I have your permission to write to you," he said and a bright smile appeared on his face.

What the fuck…

Why is he still not backing off…!

What the fuck am I going to do…?!

Maybe I should've just said I have boyfriend…?!

Shit…!

Next time I'm definitely going to use that line…!

"Also, I hate people wasting my time. So if you will talk to me, make sure it's something important because I'm always busy with training or working. I don't have time for idle chat."

I'm also fucking hungry...!

And you're fucking wasting my time and precious energy...!

"I will," he said with a bright smile still on his face.

Motherfucker…

Well…

I'll just ignore his letters…

And if he gets creepy, I'll just file a sexual harassment case…

Or I'll just kill him myself…

Vivian then recalled that in order for the Class Magic [Resurrection] to work, it requires more than 50% of the body.

I just hope there isn't something like a memory-reading magic…

Or maybe I'll just erase every trace of his body just to be sure…

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

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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 230-235 are posted there.

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