Chapter 64: Encroaching Darkness (5)

“I tried to be nice, but you just won’t go away.” Yuna spoke calmly. Her strength was clearly higher than Rave’s since she was holding him to the table with one hand, despite his struggles.

When the change in atmosphere final settled, the whole room was stunned. They had all tried to gauge Yuna’s strength from her fighting spirit, but seeing her in action was another story. Rave was a Berserker over level 200. The class was known for its strength, yet he was instantly subdued with only one hand.

The first to recover were Rave’s party members. All of them stood and drew their weapons while shooting murderous glares at Yuna.

Seeing the opposing party targeting their friend with such hostility, the girls took action too. They had reacted on impulse, not worrying about where they were or the strength of the other side. Their reactions were purely based on the fact that Yuna was in trouble.

Surprisingly, Esaa, who had been the most timid since they left the temple, was the fastest. She stood up with a ferocious hissed that betrayed her gentle appearance. Teta jumped onto her chair and had her wand at the ready before she even stood up straight. Her eye were wide open in a heightened state of alertness, no movement would go unnoticed through her spectacles.

The initiates were the fastest to react, but Christina’s actions were the most impressive by far. With her heart racing with fear and uncertainty, she stood up with her friends and casted Barrier for the first time.

There were no words spoken. Not even the slightest incantation was heard when the transparent wall suddenly separated the two parties. The spell given by the Goddess of War was chantless and battle-ready at all times.

Such a rarely seen skill would obviously cause an uproar among Travelers.

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“That’s Barrier! I thought there was only one priestess that could use it! Is that her!?”

“No, that’s not her. She doesn’t have the mark!”

“Dammit, I’m so jealous! I wanted Barrier but that Rosemary is too secretive!”

“This might be my chance! If I can find out what God she prayed to, I’d be rolling in gold!”

All the players in the restaurant couldn’t help but exclaim after they saw Christina cast the ‘ultra rare’ Barrier skill. Although Rosemary had been in the presence of other priests and priestesses during her own ceremony, she had prayed silently. Even those that had been lucky enough to discover that she worshipped Tegaia could only scratch their heads in wonder after asking around and coming up with no information of there ever being a Goddess with such a name. Thena’s censure had only increased in severity after her confrontation with Tegaia in the Tower of the Gods. Those that knew about Tegaia were few to begin with, and now, finding a statue of her was nearly impossible. Still, the statues that remained depicted Tegaia as the Goddess of Poverty, not the Goddess of Love, War and Humility, and there was absolutely no evidence of her being the Mother of all Creation.

So even if someone wanted to believe that Tegaia was the source of such an awesome skill, all evidence proved otherwise. The consensus was that Rosemary purposefully spread false information to keep the skill to herself. Since Barrier had such an illusive background, the uproar after seeing an unknown priestess use it, was definitely warranted.

Blocked by Christina, Rave’s party could only watch the situation. No one had actually been harmed, but their pride was another matter. Thanks for reading on ManaNovel!

Yuna was fully aware of the hostile group behind her, and their every move was being closely monitored by her aura. She didn’t want to cause trouble, however, she had to make known that her group wasn’t to be harassed while here. As long as they could eat in peace and leave without trouble, she would be content. In order for that to happen, a display of power needed to be made.

“I want to make one thing perfectly clear. I am very hungry, and in case you don’t know what that means, allow me to enlighten you.” Yuna said solemnly. Then with deliberate slowness, she reached for her sword.

Rave’s party was on full alert, but as soon as the thought of battle crossed their minds, an unbelievably heavy pressure came crashing down. The pressure forced them back into their seats, even breathing had suddenly become an uphill battle. Unfortunately, they weren’t the only ones to experience this. Everyone in the dining area felt that monstrous pressure. Only the chefs in the kitchen were spared, for obvious reasons

Although Yuna didn’t have the Ambient Pressure like Thadius, her pressure was still broken. So even though the effects were somewhat weakened with a large number of targets, the skill relied heavily on the fighting spirit of the parties involved. The average fighting spirit of the room was only a little over 500. With Yuna’s fighting spirit in the thousands, the fact that anyone was even conscious was by her will.

The soft ringing of Yuna’s sword being drawn sounded sharp in the suffocating silence. Beads of sweat appeared on Rave’s face as the point of the sword was stabbed into the table in front of his nose.

“Being hungry makes me quite irritable, but luckily for you, I don’t like killing on an empty stomach. So I’ll let you off with warning.” Yuna declared with a sweeping glare across the room. “But if me and my friends are disturbed again, many of you will lose a life today.”

The pressure in the room increased by a fold. Those with lower fighting spirit could no longer hold up, and directly fainted into their meals.

With one last sneer, Yuna tossed Rave like a ragdoll toward his friends, sending him flying a few feet before crashing into his empty chair. Then she released her pressure and sheathed her sword, not even sending another glance in his direction.

Once Yuna disarmed, Christina and the rest hesitantly returned to their seats. Then each of them secretly sent an amazed look at her.

Yuna could only purse her lips as her cheeks flushed under their looks. She had told them before that she would be fearless, but even she hadn’t expected to suddenly threaten a room full of Travelers.

Rave and his party on the other hand, quickly finished their food and left. They wanted to vent their anger at the embarrassment they suffered, but offending a high level player was never on the agenda for today, so they could only curse under their breath and leave.

As they walked out, the waitress walked over with some soup and breadsticks.

“Well, that was certainly the most excitement we’ve had in awhile. He’s been desperately hitting on almost every girl that’s eaten here. If I were you though, I would have shoved his face to floor.” she said as she set down the food.

“I-I hope we didn’t cause too much trouble.” Christina said worriedly.

The waitress chuckled, “It’s fine. He gets put in his place most of the time anyway. It’s just that he was put down thoroughly this time.”

“Then I guess I shouldn’t feel too bad then…” Christina sighed in relief. ’I don’t know what would have happened had we got into trouble with management.’ She mentally wiped the sweat off her brow.

The waitress retreated once more and then returned after a few minutes with their meals.

To say that the food was delicious would be an understatement. After the first bite the girls were completely focused on devouring the meals in front of them. The steaks were juicy and tender, much to the pleasant surprise of Esaa and Yuna. Christina took big bites out of her burger, and her puffed out cheeks nearly sent Teta into a coughing fit due to laughter. Even the drinks were satisfying, leaving the girls wallow in the bliss of being fully fed.

After the main dish was served, Yuna’s apple pie came. The crisp cinnamon crust and the golden filling stuffed with apples caught the eye of everyone at the table. The chef had obviously risen to the challenge and put in an extra effort to impress. Yuna dug in with her fork and hastily tried a bite.

“’So...good.’” she sighed in amazement. She had some doubts about how good the pie was going to be, but that one bite, and the doubt cleared like smoke in the wind. The sweet tanginess of the apples melding with the buttered cinnamon crust was definitely worth its weight in gold.

After such a tasty meal, the girls were ready to head back to the temple. But before that, Yuna insisted on giving the pastry chef his reward face to face. The waitress had already anticipated it and quickly brought out a tall, chubby man.

“I take it you enjoyed my pie. I worked extra hard on it you know!” he said with a smile.

“It was absolutely scrumptious!” Yuna’s eyes lit up, taking out a small coin purse. Although Thadius handled their expenses, he still gave her a generous amount of pocket money.

Seeing the amount taken out, the chef’s eye lit up. “I’m glad you enjoyed it. Feel free to come back and ask for BigBuffJohn!”

“Then I’ll come back soon. I’ll be expecting something good next time too!” Yuna smiled.

[GOURMET OF THE GODDESS

The fallen goddess Yuna will return occasionally to try new desserts you’ve prepared. She’ll pay for each helping in its weight in gold if she enjoys it. If not, the quest will no longer trigger.

DIFFICULTY: Continuous Quest

REQUIREMENTS: Must have Cooking Advanced or above.

REWARDS: Exp. + Gold for every passing serving]

BigBuffJohn’s voice caught in his throat as he looked at Yuna, but she chuckled playfully and put a finger to her lips with a ‘Shhh’. Then, she promptly left with her friends.

After the girls left, the waitress gave the chef a curious look. “What’s with your face? Did she trade you something?” she asked. She had been busy clearing the table, but she was able to see his shocked expression.

“Yeah, I got something quite good!” BigBuffJohn laughed and strolled back to the kitchen with his head high. It wasn’t everyday that his food was praised by a goddess.

---

The quartet left Game Grub at a brisk pace. It was well into the evening now. The orange light cast long shadows on the city streets and the wind carried a chill from the darkening alleys.

“Come on. We need to get back before curfew, our we'll be in trouble.” Christina said as she took lead. No one argued with her or asked her what she meant by ‘trouble’. All of them could feel the eyes following their every move as they headed back to the temple.

As they walked, Yuna brought up the rear. She spread out her fighting aura to the limit and kept tabs on any individuals that could be following them. Although she could use Vanish and protect the others from the shadows, she knew that after her display in the restaurant, her presence was a major deterrent to anyone that had any ill intention.

None of them spoke a word for while. Christina was wholeheartedly focused on finding the fastest route back, while Teta and Esaa were lost in their own thoughts.

Yuna was silent for an entirely different reason, and her expression grew darker with each passing minute. Every now and then, she would fall behind a bit, only to quicken her steps a moment after.

In the end, she walked up next to Christina.

“Christina.” she whispered. “I don't want to scare you, but you'll need to use that skill again very soon. You're being followed.”

Christina’s steps faltered, but the moment they did Yuna linked their arms together.

“Don’t stop walking, I don't want them to get suspicious.” Yuna said, then leaned her head against Christina’s arm. By now, the initiates behind them had sensed something was amiss and walked up beside the two. Esaa, with her superb hearing, naturally caught every word, and she was now struggling to keep her tail lax.

“A-are you sure?” Christina asked quietly. She suddenly felt as if the shadows around them had turned several shades darker.

Yuna nodded. “I fell back a few times to give them an opportunity to come after me, but every time they inched forward a bit. I think they are only interested in you. Esaa and Teta weren't with us when we came to the city.”

Now even the light seemed to dim as the blood drained from Christina’s face. “You mean it's…” the words caught in her throat. The image of a man garbed in black, glaring at her with bright crimson eyes, suddenly surfaced to her mind.

“Thadius said it would be at least four days before he could look for us. It's been almost a week, but this is our first time outside since then. We may have made some enemies back there, but those guys know my strength. So who else would have a bad impression of us? It's him, I can feel it.” Yuna explained. She could sense that the presence that stalked them from the rooftops was the same one that had attacked Thadius when they first entered the city, and her eyes lit up.

“What do we do?” Esaa asked after linking with Christina’s other arm with shaking hands.

Yuna's eyes narrowed, and small smile spread on her face. "We fight!" she whispered fiercely. Her voice was hushed, but the confidence and conviction was hard to mask.

Christina's heart jerked violently hearing the goddess' reply. She had anticipated that a fight would break out, but now that it was confirmed, she shuddered.

'Fear is okay, but running from a fight...I won't do it!' Christina brought her thoughts to order and clenched her teeth. If she had the courage to stand up to Travelers in a room full of them, she knew she at least had the courage to fight one against one.

Christina looked down at Yuna, the soft glow in her eyes now a seemed sharp and bright. "My Barrier can stop any attack, but the strength of the attack will determine the drain on my mana. If the attack is too strong then-"

"You'll only need to block once, then leave the rest to me." Yuna said, then she suddenly let go and turned down another street. Before Christina and the others could even register what happened, Yuna waved happily and then disappeared into the shadows.

Not even second had past after her disappearance when her voice from behind them, "Keep walking."

They all continued on the path back to the temple, but the mood was tense. Every minute that passed without incident only multiplied the girls anxiety.

Finally, Yuna's voice whispered hurriedly from behind them, "Get ready Christina."

"Ready..." Christina voice trembled in reply. She didn't even need the warning as a chill crawled up her spine before Yuna could even finish her sentence. Every hair on her body suddenly stood on end and she was deafened by the thundering of her pulse. Esaa's quivering arm around hers suddenly seemed very still as a numbing sensation spread through her limbs. It was the first time in her life that she knew, without a doubt, that someone wanted her life.

"Now!" Yuna shouted.

Christina quickly raised her hand, and a translucent wall instantly separated heaven and earth, followed by a harsh ringing sound coming from a dagger that was pointing directly at her head. A moment too slow, and she would have died.

Christina face paled as her barrier hungrily drank her mana. Crouched above her, a pair of neon crimson eyes were opened wide in surprise, and a face, hidden in shadows, twisted into a sneer. "I knew something was funny about you! But your Barrier isn't going to stop me!"

The assassin raised his dagger to stab once more, only to be sent flying by an unforeseen force crashing into the wall of a nearby shop. He picked himself up off the ground in a flash and scanned for the one who had attacked him. He immediately found the young woman armed with a longsword standing on the barrier. He had specifically waited for her to leave before he attacked since he could feel the same oppressive fighting spirit from her that he could feel coming from the guy that killed him early, but it looked like he miscalculated. The warrior had never left.

“It takes quite the coward to attack an unarmed woman.” Yuna’s eyes narrowed.

“She’s can’t be simple if she’s in a party with you freaks, and obviously I was right. A priestess with Barrier? Definitely not simple!” SmartYeti grit his teeth in anger. He had wanted to assess the capabilities of every member of the party before getting his own party together to have a showdown. He relied heavily on stealth to fight, so he wanted to get his friends to keep Thadius occupied so that he could stab him in the back. He could assume that the female warrior was just as strong from her fight spirit, but the priestess was still a mystery. Until today.

’A Priestess with Barrier won’t be easy to kill. Especially with those Warriors beside her!’ he cursed to himself silently.

“You dared to attack my friend thinking her an easy target! I’ll show it’s not so easy to get past me.” Yuna jumped down and took the Dragon’s Tail stance. “Come! Yuna of Yune will be your opponent!”

SmartYeti quickly leaped back and shook his head. “I don’t feel like fighting any freaks today. Stealth!” he shouted as he activated his skill. He knew better than to underestimate either of the warriors from this party. His first thought was to maintain distance and use his skills to make his escape.