"Uh, hey… yea…yes, I am Maria… and thank you for the compliment."
Said Sister Maria, with a little blush on her face. Being from a poor family, and always holed up in this small town, she never got to see such a handsome man and more so, even though she herself was a Rank 2 magus, he gave a warm feeling which made her more comfortable even though she could not detect Tarun's level. It was as if he wasn't even a magus, which was absolutely impossible! Her heart started pounding real fast and It took a minute for her to get her composure back and then she politely said,
"I am sorry, but I don't recognize you, sir…."
Tarun plastered a warm smile on his face and was about to say something, but a voice came from inside and with it came a boy of about 20 years.
"Hey Sister Maria, who is on the door? Come in, let me help you with your talisman."
The boy which just came out was named Donnie. He had a crush on sister Maria for as long as she's been here and even though she was prohibited to have any relationships, he never stopped trying.
He was also one of the main bullies who use to make Manan do his work and occasionally rough him up in the name of practice. He also used to help Sister Maria make talismans for church to sell so the priest never reprimanded him for anything, as talismans were one of the main sources of income for the church. They were simple magic artifacts, most with a onetime use and many which could be charged with magic energy and keep on running for a long time. People of the Green-River city used to buy them all the time, many for home security, household chores, some even for hunting beasts and others for different purposes.
So, because Donnie could create ordinary grade talismans with the help of sister Maria with a 30% success rate, and also because he was the strongest Rank 2 magus in the church, he had an air of arrogance around him, and as soon as he saw his sister Maria blush for the first time and even a warm smile, which she never showed him, showing to a stranger, he was filled with anger.
'Just because this guy is handsome, she is behaving like this? WHY!? THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE! WHAT ABOUT ME? HAVEN'T I HELPED YOU COUNTLESS OF TIMES IN THE PAST! WHERE WAS THIS SMILE THEN? I am gonna make this guy lick my boot and then you will see who's really better.'
Roared Donnie in his heart. Regardless to say he was extremely insecure even though she never responded to his advances, he already claimed her to be his.
By this time, a priest of the church, clad in white robes with light golden stripes also came towards the door and seeing the situation, he immediately connected the dots and guessed what could've happened and tried to contain the situation.
"Honored Guest, I am the Head Priest of this church, My Name is Christopher. May I know who you might be?"
Said the priest very politely. Although he himself was a Level 3 Light Elemental magus, he also couldn't detect the power level of Tarun. It was because Dracula himself was a God Level Existence and because Tarun has absorbed his blood and inherited his powers with system. He could easily hide his level from people below God level and could also see their actual levels.
The priest also noticed that Tarun was wearing a robe issued by the holy church but it didn't have any patterns and colors on it, so it must be a disciple from another branch of the church and because even he was unable to assess his level, he thought that Tarun was even more powerful than him, and this could only happen if Tarun was from the main branch. His mind started to run fast thinking of all the different reasons he could've come here.
"Ah, greetings Pastor Christopher, I am Tarun, a disciple from the Holyflame church"
'Holyflame!!'
siiiiiii
Holyflame church was the main branch of the entire Thunder Country and was located in the Imperial capital of the thunder country. TwinPearl City.
Their Green-River city church was just a small branch in the outskirts and it receiving someone so monotonous was unexpected!
Before anyone could say anything, Tarun continued,
"I was sent here because recently a monster was sighted in this village and the church wanted me to deal with it as soon as possible. So, I would like to stay here for a few days till my mission is completed, after which your branch will be rewarded accordingly."
Actually, every disciple from the Holyflame church had a badge as a proof of identity, but they didn't know about it. They only knew about the Holyflame branch because it was mentioned in their books.
After listening to Tarun's words, Christopher and Maria were overjoyed and at the same time, worried.
A monster? What kind of monster, and why hadn't they heard about it?
Tarun seeing their expressions continued.
"Actually, that monster is very cunning; he has intelligence and just arrived at your city, so you people might not have heard about it."
After listening to Tarun's words, they had an expression of understanding and at the same time they got a little scared as well.
But they welcomed Tarun nonetheless and hosted a little banquet at the night. In the banquet, Tarun sat right beside Sister Maria and was also chatting with her nonstop about her family and all. This scene was witnessed by all, including Donnie and his friends.
Donnie, incapable to control anymore broke the wine glass in his hands, and the cheap wine spilled all over his dress and the floor. He got up and dashed towards Tarun! Christopher with a half bread in his mouth hadn't expected Donnie to disobey him and that too in front of everyone, so he was not able to react in time. But as everyone was in a daze, Donnie actually froze in that position with one hand drawn back to release a punch and just the next second, everyone reacted fast and surrounded Donnie.
"Donnie! Are you crazy? You dared to disobey my commands and tried to hurt our honored guest!"
"Donnie Bro, this isn't the time for this, what are you doing?"
"Has he gone mad! Even I can't detect this person's power level and I am level 2, what makes Donnie think that he can punch him and then get away with it? He truly is reckless!"
Everyone was shouting at Donnie, asking him to draw back and apologize but Donnie was as if he had heard nothing, was still frozen in that place.
When everyone seemed confused, Tarun got up, went to Maria's side and said...,
"You left our conversation in the middle, I am truly upset."
After saying that, without waiting for Maria or anyone to say anything. His expression changed to a cold one, devoid of any emotion, looked at Donnie and said in a very normal manner, but it was like a thunderclap, which reverberated in everyone's mind!
"Kneel"