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"Come here, Leo." Madam Ruth called.
As Leon stepped into this different room, he felt no presence around him other than Madam Ruth, Jessica who was standing behind her, and another woman sitting on the other side of the table.
The room wasn't Ruth's room but rather a place which seemed to be used for entertaining guests of higher standing than the usual customers. The only reason Madam Ruth would open this room for anyone can't be Leon or Jessica which leaves only one person left.
She was a woman dressed in a dark green coat and put on a hood but she wasn't too excessive with her unwomanly fashion compared to the norm. She didn't look like much of a beauty though beside the lavish Madam Ruth and the natural Jessica.
'Read!'
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< Mikaela - Lv.15 Rogue >
[STR: 25] [END: 24] [AGI: 35] [PRC: 29] [INT: 19]
- Titles: {Monster Slayer} {Rabbit} {C rank Mercenary} {Adept Thief}
- Skills: [Combat Magic Lv.4]
- Proficiency: 28%
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Leon barely managed to keep his act together in front of that woman. She looked a bit past her youth but her stats were very good. Above all, she's a Rabbit, a Mercenary, a Thief, and a Monster Slayer. Even her 28% Proficiency isn't something one sees every day in the street.
"This is him?" The woman asked.
"Yes. Leo, this is Madam Mikaela." Ruth said.
Leon looked dumbly between the two women and lowered his head.
"Nice to meet you, Madam." He said.
"Madam Mikaela here has verified your story about the attack on Todd. As she described, the situation got too messy." Madam Ruth said.
"Oh… yes." Leon replayed while not forgetting to show how affected he was.
"You were shocked by it?" At this time, Madam Mikaela was the one asking.
"Shocked? Maybe." Leon smiled in self-mockery, "I have seen my fair share of dead people but not people killing each other like… dogs."
"That's what they do. That's why they are called Dogs. But a Rabbit was caught into this situation, one that shouldn't be caught in the first place." She said.
"Excuse me?" Leon feigned ignorance, "I get what a Rat and a Dog is but a Rabbit…"
"You'll know soon enough." Madam Ruth said.
Despite being spoken to by the two Madams, Jessica was the one narrowing her eyes. Leon was mostly curious and asked a lot of questions but now he's acting all meek, she didn't seem to have expected it.
Meanwhile, Madam Ruth handed over the flat cap Leon picked from the dead Rabbit and gave him a paper folded like an envelope sealed with wax.
"I want you to take this to the Temple in Woodson's territory, the one near the market. Find a Cleric named Brother Saylus and hand it to him." Madam Mikaela was the one who said so, "You will bring it to me and I will hand you another letter with another address. Once you are done, return here to the Saloon."
"Eh… can I ask what is all this about?" Leon said as if he felt the strangeness of the situation.
"Don't worry about it, Leo. You will be paid for this separately from your usual pay." Madam Ruth said.
"Alright… I don't mind." Leon said with a dumb smile.
Both Madam Ruth and Madam Mikaela seemed happy with Leo on the outside as they looked at each other. Mikaela gave a signal with her eyes to Ruth who quickly caught up.
"Oh, almost forgot… one last thing." Madam Ruth said, "The temple closes its door in less than an hour as the sun sets. You must reach it as fast as you could or you won't be paid a penny."
"Eh! Al- Alright. I'm on my way. Excuse me!" Leon panicked and took permission before leaving.
Seeing him run off, both the Madams had a hint of anticipation on their faces as they nodded to each other. The next thing was Madam Mikaela setting off as well.
This marked the beginning of Leon's test as a new member among the ranks of the Rabbits.
***
A test?
Leon expected something of the sort but this Mikaela woman was something out of the blue to him. The other Rabbit he killed this morning wasn't even half as strong as she is.
But that's nothing to worry about. He just needs to perform well. Other than that, the time limit they gave him was to force him to do his best, in other words, run on the rooftops as he told Madam Ruth.
It was just a thing he used to sell himself to the Madam but she seemed interested in his ability more than what he imagined she would be. All for the better in any case.
Now he stood in front of the Honey Saloon and only needed to secure the letter. He copied the Rabbit from this morning and put the letter in the flat cap tying it with a strip and put it on.
The brown cap, the brown vest, and the pair of pants were all well-matched together. He felt good about the appearance and with a light step forward, he started running like a loose arrow.
"Change classes to Rogue and Hunter."
< Confirmed! >
Crossed the street, entered the alleyway ahead, found a low wall with some old carriage resting against it, two light steps and he was holding the top of the wall, took it up with a turn rather than lifting his body up and just like that, he was on the first roof.
What followed was simply running nimbly and gracefully on top of each lining roof as most of the buildings were close to each other and of the same height.
Once he faced an obstacle he couldn't bypass, he would find his way around it. What was way more awesome than anything in the Northern District was how the alleyways and how tightly they brought buildings together. Leon used leaps a few times non-excessively to cross some alleys from the top over them. The time he truly showed off was when he climbed a pipe and bypassed a huge obstacle faster than he normally should.
Finally, he was on top of a three-story building near the market where he killed the Rabbit this morning. Not too far, he could see a building with an outlandish style and different decorations made of ginormous pillars and stones.
The Temple.
Descending from the building he's on and reaching the Temple wasn't even a challenge and as he approached the building, he noticed the second problem he's up against.
There was a line in front of the temple that transcended what is physically possible to wait.
"Fuck! I knew it wasn't simple."
He may have arrived in ten minutes but he wasn't sure how to do this. One thing he noted about the line was that it is made of poor people, poorer than most of the people in the street which got him thinking…
He decided the best course of action is to skip the line and so he did under the gazes of everyone present.
From the first look, the Temple was very alien and bland compared to the city's style of building as it was built by smooth large pieces of stone and barely decorated from the outside but as soon as he saw it up close, he saw various patterns carved on the stones of the sun and moon and stars. There were a lot of sun rays inscriptions outlined as well from the sun drawings and felt rather magical in nature.
There were square-shaped pillars as well but they were made with curvature all the way up in an artist design and two similar statues of a woman in a very conservative dress similar to that of nuns with tranquil facial features outlined. Each of the statues was facing the other and guarding the big gate, they opened their arms as if receiving visitors with the warmth of a mother.
The Holy Mother.
In truth, the religious views of this world were very strange. The Holy Mother, despite her reputation and popularity, is neither a deity nor a personification of anything. Her position is the first head of the temple and the first follower of light meaning she is the one who founded up the faith.
Who takes the role of the Deity then?
Basically none. The populace of the Amber Kingdom worshipped the Light and personified it in the Sun. They don't worship the Sun itself but rather the Holy Light of the Sun.
Leon wasn't really interested in religious views at this moment and walked right towards the gate but he was greeted with two faces that were the opposite of welcoming.
"To the back of the line." One man dressed in Roman-like Toga (Mantle Dress) dyed like tiger skin.
"I am here to…"
"To the back of the Line or your name will be crossed from the almsgiving ledger this month." The man, who seemed like a cleric, didn't even give Leon a chance to explain himself.
"But I…"
"If you keep wasting my time, I will have to ask a Brother Knight to remove you from the premises." The Cleric returned to the large ledger that was resting on a wooden stand not reading but waiting for Leon to disturb him one last time.
Leon signed as he fished five copper coins from his pocket.
"A Donation… for my brother and sisters in the Light." He said.
"Oh!" It was at this time that the Cleric felt strange and looked at Leon up and down, "Thank you. May the Light shine upon you."
"Amen. I am here to see Brother Saylus." Leon replied.
The Cleric blinked twice and nodded.
"How can I help you?" He asked.
Leon felt it was easier to meet the Cleric out here of all places. Maybe this wasn't as difficult as he expected.
"A Message!"
He immediately handed out the letter to Cleric Saylus who grabbed it and inspected the seal.
"Why didn't you say so from the start?" He asked.
"I was going to…"
"Hm?"
Leon felt irritated by the cleric who keeps interrupting people so he put on a fake smile and spoke faster.
"I was taken by the majesty of the Temple and the awe of the Light." Leon said holding every urge to hide the cringe on his face.
"Oh! I am glad to see a devout brother in the Light. Wait here."
The Cleric skimmed through the message then hid it under the pages of the ledger. He then turned to the Knight behind him and spoke.
"Please, take our younger brother here to the Chamber of Appraisal before the sun goes down. Keep his papers confidential." He said.
"Of course." The Knight replied and cleared the way for Leon to pass into the Temple.
Meanwhile, Leon was taken aback by what he heard.
"Eh! What is that? What did the message say?" He was suddenly worried.
"Not much. Every devotee of the Light has to do an Appraisal when they come of age. If they carry the blessing of the Holy element, which is rare, they will be offered a place in our midst. If they carry the dark curse, which is even rarer, they would be offered a residence in the side of the light to guarantee their safety and health." The Cleric said with a natural face.
"Ah!" Leon reacted with a genuine dumb face but in his heart, he was going 'Holy Shit!'
He carries both Elements within him and in truth, this may be even more dangerous. The Light Element is all good and fine with those fanatics but if it is the Shadow Element, it will be a shit show.
"Alright. May the Light bless us. Haha!" Leon was almost about to faint as he walked into the Temple.
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