Servi and Momo walked back to the training hall where most people had resumed their training, although a few had rubbernecks, choosing to stare instead of working on improving themselves. Ignoring them, Servi began the chant for Protection when she and Momo entered the section solely dedicated for practicing skills.

“Oh, the Light above who slumber in a place further our universe. I pray to you. Grant us your power of Protection!” 

“…..”  

Nothing happened.  

There was nothing.  

Nothing whatsoever happened.  

You said the chant right, but it didn’t work. Maybe we can’t use the skill this way. We might have to imagine the name like we usually do.  

“HAHAHA. Such a pathetic useless girl who can’t even use a skill.” Nimea laughed hard and pointed at the struggling Servi. She could squash him like a big, but she didn't let it get to her.

“Umm. Mr. Employee?” Momo walked over to the employee, who scolded them.  

“Yes?” he said. 

“I was wondering if there was something you could do about that guy. He’s the reason I raised my voice, and I apologize for that, but he kept calling my friend useless. And now she’s trying her hardest, but his obnoxious laughing is interrupting her. And I bet he’s disrupting the other people as well.” 

“Sorry, but I can’t. I’m only here to keep things from getting physical outside the one-on-one arena. Being an adventurer means dealing with things that could be considered crass or rude, like what he’s doing right now.” 

Momo walked away disappointed and stood next to Servi.  

That idiot. What is he even here for if not to help? Itarr said.

Servi tried the chant again.  This time, she thought the skill's name when she finished it. Just like the night before, a light appeared beside her. It faded away after covering Servi.

“Congratulations, Servi! How does it feel? Do you feel protected?” 

Servi walked over to a wall and came back with a wooden dagger. She used the tip to press it into her palm, and she felt a small pop, proof that the layer shattered. She turned her hand over and saw a white flower on the back of her hand. Every so often, a petal would fall and fade away, indicating how much time remained.   

“It does. Here, let me use it on you,” Servi used Protection a second time, and the white light came back. This time, it enveloped Momo.  

“It’s warm.” 

“Take this and press it to your palm. When you hear a small pop, that means the layer is broken.” 

“Layer?” Momo put a finger to her chin and tried to work out what Servi meant by layer.  

“Er, I mean Protection. When you hear a small pop, that means the defensive light is broken. It blocks part of the damage, but not everything. It lasts for thirty or so minutes," Servi quickly replied.

“So cool….” Momo used the wooden tip of the dagger and popped the Protection layer. A second later, she did it again. “It doesn't take that long for it to grow back. That's so cool!” 

For the next few minutes, the two of them practiced like their lives depended on it. Their goal was to make it second nature. At least, that was Momo's goal. A few minutes later, she sat on a bench. A family of sweat slid down her face as she grabbed a towel from her bag.  

“I think we’re starting to get the hang of it,” Momo said. She was breathing a bit hard.

“Me too,” lied Servi. Due to her Immortality, she was neither sweating nor out of breath.

“You know, I’m surprised. Protection is supposed to be a skill that uses more Skill Energy than Lurk or Dazzler, but you’re not even winded.” 

“That’s weird, but I’m not complaining,” Servi said, trying to cover it up.  

Since the clock said it was 9:50, they had a few more minutes to train. 

“Hey, can I ask a favor?” 

“Sure?” 

“How did you get so good at dodging? Yesterday was incredible. It was like you were dancing with that rat, just barely staying ahead. It couldn’t hit you, except for that one time.” 

If Servi was the Servi of yesterday, she would’ve panicked. Luckily for her, she wasn't. She had an answer at the tip of her tongue.

“I don’t really know. I stared at the rat and tried to predict what it would do next. I tried to find a pattern. When that rat used that spin attack, the muscles in its legs tightened and tensed up. When I figured that out, I start to look for stuff like that.” 

“That’s so cool! Would you mind sparring with me? I don’t think I’ll win, but I want to get stronger. Fighting you would definitely help.” 

Servi smiled and stood up. “I don’t mind at all. Give me one second," Servi walked away and came back with a single wooden sword.

“Umm, what about you?” Momo asked.  

“I want to practice my dodging. Are you okay with that?” 

“Yep.” 

A few seconds later, they were inside the weird little glass arena.  Servi tapped a knuckle to it before facing Momo.

“Are you ready? It’s only wood, so don't worry about hurting me.  I'll be fine.  Come at me with everything you have,” said Servi.  After activating Soul Essence of Primal Combat, she was ready.

“I will!” Momo gripped her sword, one hand above the other, and slowly walked forward. Suddenly, Servi saw an afterimage. Momo would kick off the ground and rush forward, then she would then slash to either the left or right.  It all depended on which way Servi dodged.

Servi waited for the right moment and carefully watched. The moment Momo's sleeve moved, Servi sidestepped to the right. A fraction of a second later, and she would’ve been hit. According to the skill, a horizontal slash would come instantly. Still staring at Momo, Servi ducked under the swipe and hopped backwards. The afterimage flickered.  It alerted her to an incoming diagonal slash and thrust.

Servi bounced on the balls of her feet, staying loose and light-footed as the predicted diagonal slash came. She leaned back and once again sidestepped when the thrust came in.  

“Wha!” Momo gasped, but she didn’t let up. Her grandpa once said the best way to beat a nimble opponent was to corner them. If that wasn’t enough, then do something they wouldn’t expect.  

Then came another slash, another dodge, another thrust, another sidestep. It looked like an adult playing with a kid. No matter what she did, Momo was unable to connect. 

“I finally got you,” Momo exclaimed.  Servi watched for afterimages that never came. Momo threw her sword at Servi, who didn't react because she received no afterimages. 

The reason they didn’t appear was simple. The afterimages themselves were a product of Soul Essence of Primal Combat based on the combat memories of the souls Servi had within the ring. It analyzed the movements of her enemies and compared them to the stored combat memories. If it found a match, the skill produced an afterimage. For unexpected attacks, Soul Essence of Primal Combat didn’t have any memories to compare to. That meant no afterimages. With higher levels, the images produced would be defined, and her overall skill with a weapon would dramatically increase.

“Gah!”  Servi tried to catch the sword, but the angle made it difficult. Momo went low and tackled Servi, knocking them both to the floor.  

“I got you!” she said, out of breath and breathing hard. Servi could only blink in amusement. Momo smiled, but that faded away when Servi didn’t return it.  

“Uh oh… I’m sorry if I took it too far…” Servi got up, and Momo stayed on the ground.  

“No, don’t be sorry. That was excellent! I would have never expected you to throw your weapon,” Servi extended her arm, and Momo grabbed her friend's hand, using it to pull herself up. 

"You're not mad?” 

"Nope! I’m the one who said come at me with everything you got,” for some reason, Servi reached out with her other hand and patted Momo lightly on the head. She closed her eyes in response and smiled, enjoying the feeling.  “Good job!” Servi returned a smile.  

After realizing what she was doing, Servi went bright red and pulled her hand back from Momo’s hair. It took Momo a minute to register what was happening before she was also embarrassed.

The girls shared a moment.  

“Oh, I’m sorry. I was still holding your hand,” Momo said, releasing her grip.  

The two walked over to the bench and sat down. Both were embarrassed by the hand-holding and head-patting.   

After a moment, Servi spoke. “Don’t worry about it. I’m sorry I patted your head without asking.” 

“No. I actually liked it. It might be a weird thing to say, but my grandpa used to pat my head just like that. When you do it, I’m reminded of him. I haven’t seen him in six months.” 

“He sounds like a good man..” 

“Oh, he is! He’s the nicest guy I know, and he’s always helping me out. He taught me the basics of how to use a sword and a bunch of other things,” Momo's tail wagged fast and hard. It was clear to Servi and Itarr that Momo loved her grandpa a lot.  

“Sometime in the future, I’d like to introduce you to him. Would that be okay?” 

“I’d like that. He seems like the kinda man I want to meet.” 

“Thank you! So umm…if you don’t mind, could we do this again tomorrow?” Momo said.  She had her hands ready to cover her embarrassed face if her new friend said no.

"That sounds good to me. How about we try the bow tomorrow? I wished we could’ve done it today, but that jackass made me mad.” 

“I know. He made me mad too. Wait, I don’t see him anymore.” Momo scanned the training area.

At that moment, a man's voice came from the ceiling.

“Attention members of Warden, it is now 10 am. New quests are being put up in the lobby. That is all. Thank you.” 

“That’s our cue. Shall we go down?” Servi asked, and Momo nodded, twitching her ears cutely. They put back the wooden sword and made their way to Servi’s room. She grabbed her weapon, and the pair descended the nearby staircase. Servi and Momo also stopped by the inn and returned their keys to Rakred, who worked the counter. He asked if they wanted another night, but the two said they’ll rent it later when they come back after completing a quest.

The lobby was partly full as groups checked their equipment and gear while debating on what quest they wanted to accomplish. Over in the section marked ‘Rank 7’, Servi could spot Nimea looking over the quest board with his disgusting eyes. At a nearby table, the two members of his party were chatting.

Servi silently thanked the fact she was Rank 10. Turning to her friend, Servi was about to ask Momo what kind of quest they should do, but the door slammed open to reveal a stubby out of breath Dwarf.

“Hey…hey. The….Old Onyx……and Rude….Crystal….got robbed. I think….the….owners….were …..killed...” he said in between breaths.  

It seems that they’ve discovered it. Itarr said. 

The entire lobby went so silent, it was eerie. Only a single person moved.  

“Brother, are you sure?” Quark ran over and put a hand to the Dwarf’s back.  

After a few breaths, the Dwarf had air in his lungs once more.  

“Aye….I’m sure. I was at the Rude Crystal last night, and suddenly we had to leave, but I forgot my wallet. I went back this morning and saw a horrible sight. Everything was gone, and blood was everywhere. I ran over to the nearest guard and told them, then I made my way to the Old Onyx. The old lass was supposed to trim my breeches, but I found the store empty except for blood.” 

“What about the owners?” 

“Did you see a body?” 

“How bad was it?” 

“Did you vomit?” 

“Not cool, dude.” 

 Questions were tossed at the confused Dwarf from the audience of equally muddled adventurers. For them, the Old Onyx was a beloved clothing store owner ran by a nice old lady, though only Servi knew the truth about her. And the Rude Crystal was a favorite nightly destination for those looking to take the edge off. If what this Dwarf said was true, and it was, it was like a small piece of Canary's history disappeared overnight.  

“Aye. I didn't see any corpses, so there’s a chance…but I don't think I would bet on it…” Quark led the Dwarf over to a bench, and he sat down.  

Just as the lobby started to murmur about, the door swung open, and in came a soldier wearing armor as black as Servi's hair. Gold letters were etched into it, and now that Servi could understand the language, she read it. It said ‘Justice.’ His face was young and youthful-looking, but with the hint of being older than he looked. Neatly combed brown hair decorated the top of his head. Dirt-colored were staring daggers into everyone he saw. The moment he locked eyes with Servi, her hatred flared up.  It was enough to alert Itarr.

Servi? 

“That’s the guy…” 

“Servi?” Momo murmured.

“That’s the guy who was torturing this Singi slave. I saw him do it, and he had this….joyful look on his face.” 

“How awful….” Momo replied.  Her bright blue eyes almost teared up, but she gripped her hands tightly to fight back the water that threatened to fall from her eyes.

Are we going to kill him? Itarr asked. Servi nodded.  

After the guy in black came in, four more guards joined him in an arrow formation.  He was the center. 

“Listen up! My name is Fisher Jin, and I am a lieutenant in the city guard. If anyone has even the smallest amount of information about these crimes that plagued our fair city last night and doesn’t come forward, I have the authority from our governor to execute you. In addition, I—” 

“Lieutenant Fisher!! Lieutenant Fisher!!” for the third time, the door slammed open, and a young soldier rushed in.  He was probably a messenger, and he clutched a black envelope.

“You’d better have a good explanation for interrupting me. I am not in a good mood.” 

Fisher put his hand to his sword and had it partly drawn before the young messenger spoke.  

“Sir! I have a letter from the commander!” Fisher grabbed it from his hand and read it. A moment later, Fisher spoke again to the forming crowd.” 

“Listen up! On behalf of our governor and Warden, I announce the following four emergency quests.” 

The eight receptionists immediately stopped what they were doing and grabbed their files. It was seldom that the governor was the one who issued emergency quests.

“The first quest is to find out what happened at the bar called ‘Rude Crystal’ last night, as well as the whereabouts of the bodies. The second is the same as the first, but the location is the Old Onyx clothing store. The third is for information about a massive fire found a few hours away. Countless trees were burned to the ground, and the area is black with ash. The fourth is the whereabouts of the group of soldiers led by lieutenant Arnold. He left in pursuit of a thief a few days ago and hasn’t returned. We found the sight of what seems to be a large-scale battle but no corpses. Lastly, there's a chance these four separate crimes are linked together. If so, then the criminal is considered to be highly dangerous.  If you decide to take these missions, then you all best come prepared.  That is all. As always, ask the receptionists for information about rewards.” 

Fisher thanked the adventurers and left with his little gaggle of guards followed close behind him.

Then like moths to a flame, most of the adventurers in the lobby rushed to the windows. They all desperately wanted to take on the newly announced emergency quest. Servi felt a tinge of regret about the incoming abuse the poor receptionists would likely get, but that was all. She didn't feel the need to repent anything else.

It seems they found out about everything, but I believe we don't need to worry.  

“Wow. I didn’t know all of that was going on. It’s pretty scary, isn't it?” 

“Yeah, it is," Servi replied.  Her eyes were solely focused on Fisher before he left.

“Hey, how cool would it be if we ended finding the person responsible? We’d be like heroes, right?” 

“Right,” Servi responded with a heavy heart. She could always not say anything and let it fade away. After all, those in charge of investigating were probably scratching their heads and asking themselves questions. How could the corpses disappear? And how could the heavy dressers disappear overnight without anyone seeing even the tiniest thing? It was like the perfect crime, and Servi was the perfect criminal.

“Is something wrong?” Momo asked with such an innocent and unknowing look.  

Smiling, Servi reassured her that she was okay.  

“Come on, you want to pick a quest?” Servi said.

“Yep!  I thought about accepting the emergency quests, but that might be a bit much for us,” Momo said.  She was a girl who knew her limits.  The last thing she wanted to do was die. 

Servi. If you act like this, Momo will get worried. It’s not my place to say, and I’m sorry, but you might want to be a bit more cheerful.  

The two walked over the nearly empty quest board. The only ones who remained were the other Rank 10s and 9s.  

“Let’s see…. Which ones look good?” Momo ran her eyes over the left side while Servi did the right.  

In a quiet voice, Servi responded to her friend. “I know, but it’s hard. You saw the way she looked at me, right? How can I keep lying?” 

I’m sorry. I don’t know how to help you.  

“I’m sorry too.” 

Itarr was about to respond, but Momo spoke first.  

“What about this? It says to bring back five shiroblooms.” 

“What are those?” Servi asked.  She turned to look at a paper Momo was holding.

“It’s a small white flower. Shiroblooms are said to be really pretty."

“Can they be found nearby?” 

“I don’t know. I was gonna ask the receptionists.” 

“You could. Hey, here’s a quest asking for two adventurers to be guards while the client picks shiroblooms. It shouldn’t be too difficult since it was in the Rank 10 section.” 

“Good find. I’m sure if we ask nicely, we’d be allowed to pick some as well.” 

Momo and Servi grabbed their quests. Before they walked away, Servi did another glance and was thankful she did because she found another mission that wanted five shiroblooms.  

With three quests between the two of them, they stood in line. Due to the incident before, the wait was pretty long, about twenty minutes. Once they reached the front, they accepted all three quests. The two quests for shiroblooms each rewarded ten dupla and 2 Potential. The escort quest rewarded twenty dupla and also gave away 5 Potential. Since it was a joint quest, Servi and Momo had to agree on splitting the rewards. After a quick talk, they’d each received eight dupla and 5 Potential each. Two dupla would each go towards paying back the loan. After doing the math, Servi said they’d each receive 15 dupla and 7 Potential. 

“That's not so bad, is it?” Momo asked.  Servi held the Warden door open for Momo as they walked out. 

“Not at all. It might be the perfect quest for today. It’s not too hot or cold, and a nice breeze is blowing.” 

“Yeah… It really is a beautiful day,” Momo replied.    

Their destination was Luqa Village, and the closest way to get there was to leave via the city's north exit.

Unfortunately, they had to pass by the scene of a brutal crime.

The guards had set up a barrier of yellow paper that said ‘Caution’ around the Rude Crystal. Servi and Momo had to make a bit of a detour that was, unfortunately, a bit clogged up with people.  

“That's a lot of blood,” Momo said.  The door, wide open, revealed a crimson surprise that hard to swallow.

“….Have you heard of this place before?” Servi asked.  She chose her words carefully.

“I have, but I’ve never been here before. It’s too scary for me. But I have heard some rumors, but none of them were good,” deep in Momo’s mind, she was glad. The rumors she heard involved Demi-Humans like her, and none had a happy ending. If the people who died were those who did terrible things to people like her, she should be happy. But feeling happy for such misfortune made her feel bad.  She didn't know how to process that, so she kept it all inside.

After passing it by, they soon reached the edge of town. Unfortunately, there was one last obstacle in the pair's way.  

A preacher. He was large and sweaty, wearing black clothes and a black hat. He had a rather large book down by his feet.  

“Hear me now, sinners! The holy Gods Above are watching us, and they do not like what they see! Especially you! Yes! You there holding hands!” he pointed at these two Earth Elves and charged at them. They froze up and fell to the ground as he ripped apart their physical connection.  

“You sinner! You’re all sinners! The act of homosexuality is not allowed under the gazes of the GODS ABOVE! GUARDS! Arrest these sinners and put them to the post. Flog them!!!” 

A passing duo of guards heard the commotion and ran over. Once they saw the preacher and the two Earth Elves, they put two and two together. Drawing their blades, one of the men began to chant.  The pair of lovers scrambled as fast as they could, even breaking off in different directions.

The guard on the left used Shadow Hold, but it was too late. Earth Elves were vastly faster than Singi, who themselves were agile than humans. The Human guards would never catch them. At least, not without a plan.

“Rah! Such useless guards. Can’t even do a simple thing.”  

How utterly despicable.  

“That…that...that stupid jerk!” Servi glanced down at an upset Momo.  She swore she could see steam radiating from her head. “It’s not right for him to do that!” Momo meant for her voice to come out loud, not squeaky like it did.

Before Servi had a chance to ask a question she had, the preacher had found his new targets. It was a purple Koena and a short dwarf with no beard. They gazed into each other’s eyes, but when they heard a loud voice, fright overtook them.  

“You blasted sinners! You know that love should only be between those of the same race! How dare you disrespect the Gods above with your disgusting false love! Guards! GUARDS!” like a bat out of hell with a gut problem, he ran towards them, but he wouldn’t reach his destination.  

Servi used Telekinesis to grab a tiny pebble in his path and raised it by just a hair. Thanks to her many stacks of Telekinesis, the little rock was practically frozen in place and unable to move. The heavy preacher fell to the ground with a loud noise when his foot collided with the dangerous pebble. The couple used this time to run away, hand in hand, silently thanking whoever helped.  

Servi and Momo both giggled and laughed which, caught his ire when he got up. It looked like he was about to head over, but he jerked his body.  Momo flinched and fell to her butt. He laughed and pointed at the slight terror he caused and walked off back to his book in the dirt.  

“Momo, are you ok?” Servi asked while fighting back every urge to decimate the preacher. 

“I’m fine. I just don’t like those jerks from the church!” 

Church? 

“What do you mean, church? Are they hated?” 

“You don’t know about it?” Momo asked, but Servi shook her head.

So Momo explained it to her. “The official religion of the Kingdom of Lando is called the Church of the Heavens. The Empire of Keywater and the Westera Republic also practice it. As from the name, you can probably tell that they worship the Gods, but I don’t like them that much."

“I probably know why. What that man did to those two couples made you mad, right?” 

“Yep. But that’s not all. Like with the Rude Crystal, there’s a bunch of nasty rumors going around. Like, one says the church has a secret fighting force. And another says that they have a secret base that does nasty experiments on Demi-Humans like me. But even if those two were fake, it’s the teachings of the church that upset me the most.” 

“What teachings?” 

Momo thought it was a bit weird that her friend didn’t know. After all, religion was so engrained into almost everyone’s daily life.  

“They mainly have two major ones, but they have a bunch of minor rules. Basically, they say that love and marriage should only be between a man and woman of the same race and that only Humans are guaranteed eternal salvation after death. Those stupid rules make me so mad! Is it wrong for two guys or girls to like each other? Is it wrong for a Human and a Singi to fall in love?” 

"Love is love.  I don't think it's wrong," Servi replied. 

“Oh, but there’s more. The church says not to take bribes, but I’m pretty sure that’s a lie. They also say that slaves are a legal right for those who believe in their teachings. And they say you can’t use healing skills for free.” 

“What was that last part?” Servi asked, wanting it clarified.  

“Let’s say we both know Remedium, and we find an injured person. If we heal them, then that’s illegal.” 

“So, how do we make it legal?” 

“We would have to go to the church and apply for a license. After that, we have to charge our patients, and the church ends up getting a big cut of that. And if we don’t, then we’d go to jail for conspiring against the church. They also charge Demi-Humans way more than a regular Human, sometimes up to five times more.” 

“It honestly sounds like a big scam to me,” Servi said as her opinion of the church reached rock bottom.  

“It does to me too, but even just talking like this can get us in trouble. Most Demi-Humans hate the church, but we can’t say anything,” Momo’s ears drooped, and her tail went flaccid.  

“Maybe one day we’ll be famous. Then we can try to change things,” Servi said as Momo looked up at her. “So we got to work hard.” 

“Right. I’m sure we can do it!” Momo smiled back, and the two walked on, leaving the hateful preacher behind.  

Once they exited the city gate, blue skies and a nice breeze were their traveling companions. Momo’s cute ponytail danced in the wind, and Servi’s smooth hair tried to join in as the two girls talked about various things. They would laugh and chuckle, all in all, having a grand ole time as they walked.  

They were about an hour away from Luqa Village.