Vivian was walking down a hallway and heading to the Library Room. She had already done her morning routine and had breakfast before heading here. Her eyes were still a little red and there were dark and heavy eyebags underneath them.
After this, I'm going to sleep for a bit and then do a quest at the Adventurer's Guild and level up my [Throw Mastery]…
And after that, train my Magic Arts once again…
She stopped for a moment and then resumed walking.
Shit…!
I almost forgot…
I also have to take another Holy Mission…
After I complete this current one…
She finally arrived at the Library Room and then she swept her gaze around the room. The desk where the librarian would sit was empty and there was no one else inside the library.
Did I come too early…?
But it's open…
"Sister Vivian?" a female voice called from behind.
She turned around.
"Sister Annabelle, good morning," Vivian said and smiled. "I'm here to take the exam."
Annabelle smiled as well.
"Good morning, too, sister. Of course, please take a seat anywhere you like and then wait for a moment as I prepare the test paper."
"Thank you, sister," Vivian said and nodded before heading to one of the tables.
A few moments later, Annabelle brought a sheet of paper along with a pencil and eraser and gave it to Vivian.
"Sister Vivian, I have to inform you that while you're answering this test paper, you're not allowed to leave this room or talk to anyone else but me until you're finished. Also, you must have a score of at least 15 points in order to pass. If you can't, you will have to be tutored once again before you can retake this test."
Vivian nodded.
"Okay, sister. Got it," she said and then began answering.
The topic was similar to the mock exam that Marie gave Vivian -- about the religion and history of the Temple of Priests. It also had 3 sections: multiple choice, true or false but she had to point out why the statement was false, and then essay.
***
A few minutes later…
Vivian got up from her seat and headed over to Annabelle with her test paper on her hand along with her pencil and eraser.
There were other people inside the room already. However, Marie wasn't present, but Carr and Said were and they were each tutoring a Brown Cloak.
"Sister Annabelle."
Annabelle, who was sitting behind her desk and writing some notes, stopped and raised her head.
"Already done, sister?"
"Yes," Vivian said as she handed over the test paper and also the pencil and eraser.
"I'm going to check this now. You can wait anywhere inside the room or you can come back later."
"I'll just wait here, sister."
"Okay," Annabelle said and nodded.
Vivian went back to her table.
***
A few minutes later...
Sister Annabelle got up from her seat and went over to Vivian with the test paper on her hand.
"Congratulations, sister. Your score is 30 over 30," she said with a smile and then handed over the test paper. "I'm very impressed!"
"Ah… Thank you, sister," Vivian said and forced a smile.
"Sister, I want to confirm something."
"What is it?"
"Sister Marie told me that before she tutored, you didn't know how to read and write but you were immediately able to master the alphabet on the first session and then could already write and also read a book. And on the next day, you read another book and asked if you could take the final exam. Is this true?"
Huh…?
Why is she asking that…?
Was the exam supposed to be that hard…?
I mean…
I can speak the language...
So once I know the alphabet and the periods, commas and other punctuation marks, it became easy to connect things…
One has got to be a special kind of idiot not to figure that out…
Or perhaps it's the identification…?
I mean, there was that true or false section where if it was false, I needed to point out why...
"Yes, sister. Is there something wrong?"
Annabelle smiled and shook her head.
"Nothing all, sister. I'm just happy for you."
"Well, what can I say? Sister Marie is a great tutor. I wouldn't have made such quick progress if not because of her."
Annabelle nodded with a smile.
"Go to the Mission Room and submit that paper to Brother Ezekiel. And may the God of Light continue to watch over you."
"Um… Yeah, you too, sister."
Vivian got up from her seat and then left.
***
Vivian entered a large room that looked similar to the main hall of the Adventurer's Guild and then went over to one of the counters.
"Hi, I'm looking for a Brother Ezekiel."
It was the same Priest that gave Vivian the Holy Mission to learn how to read and write, but it had been days since she last seen and spoke to him so she wasn't sure.
"That's me. How may I help you, sister?"
"I was told by Sister Annabelle to submit this to you," Vivian said and then handed her test paper to him.
Ezekiel checked the test paper and immediately noticed something. Had Vivian checked her test paper while heading over here, she would've noticed the small notes written by Annabelle at the top right of the paper. He put the test paper down and grabbed another piece of paper before writing something on it and then giving it to Vivian.
"Congratulations, Sister Vivian. You have completed your first Holy Mission. Please give this paper to the Mission Rewards Counter over there to claim your reward," he said and pointed to another counter.
"Okay, thank you."
Vivian went over to the Mission Rewards counter and there was a White Cloak Priestess behind it.
"Hi, I'm sure to claim my reward," she said and handed over the piece of paper that Ezekiel gave her.
"Hello, sister. Of course," the Priestess said and picked up the paper before reading it. "Your reward is 1 gold coin and 1 coupon for 1 silver-grade equipment. Do you want the gold coin to be changed into 10 silver coins?"
"What?" Vivian said and knitted her brows. "Wait, I'm confused. What 1 coupon? I mean, as far as I know, the reward for the Holy Mission I took was 1 gold coin. Was there an update or something that I wasn't aware of?"
"No, sister. A coupon is given to a member who performed excellently during a Holy Mission. May I ask what was the Holy Mission you took?"
"To learn how to read and write and then pass a written exam."
"Ah, the Tutoring and Written Exam Holy Mission. This means you must've done something excellent, like maybe get a perfect score."
"Oh.. I see…"
"There's nothing to worry, sister. This is how the Temple of Priests conducts things. The Temple always makes sure to reward its members who perform well or go way and beyond in completing a Holy Mission."
"I see..."
"So do you want the gold coin to be changed into silver coins?"
"Should I… sister?"
"If I may explain, sister, since you're a Brown Cloak and you probably aren't aware of this yet, all Holy Missions have a minimum reward of 1 gold coin. Because of that, it can be hard sometimes for Priests like us to go around buying normal everyday things, especially outside of the compound."
Vivian recalled the prices of the food, lodging and other things.
I guess that makes sense…
Even I would get pissed if I was a business owner and a customer buys something only worth 5 copper coins and gives me 1 gold coin…
And as far as she knows, 1 gold coin was 10 silver coins and 1 silver coin was 10 copper coins.
"About the coupon, where or how will I use it?"
"You can use it at the Blacksmith Shop."
"I see. Please change the gold coin into silver coins."
"As you wish, sister," the Priestess said and nodded.