Vivian's Servant

Glug! Glug!

A series of bubbles rose from the clear lake bottom, followed by a small figure emerging from the water. First, a wet little head appeared, then a princess dress clung to her body, soaking wet. Vivian seemed to be drunk as she emerged, then wobbled onto the water's surface. Still somewhat disoriented, she staggered a few steps before suddenly raising her small hand in surprise to cover her mouth.

"Ugh!... Ah!..."

The little girl's eyes widened in surprise as she looked at the water beneath her feet, where ripples gently spread. She walked on it as if it were flat ground. Without using any Spell, she simply walked on the calm lake surface. Feeling uncomfortable from being wet, she snapped her fingers, and instantly her entire body became clean. Curious, the little girl took a few steps on the water, then started running. Her petite body leaped lightly across the surface, like Elf from the lake.

"Wow, that's amazing!... Wow!... When did I become so amazing?!"

The little girl tilted her head and thought for a moment, then a series of memories surfaced in her mind, perhaps because she had suddenly drifted off into thought.

thump.

She lost her footing and fell into the lake again.

"Ptooey! Ptooey! Ptooey!"

Her wet little head popped up again. The little girl spat out a mouthful of lake water, then climbed out of the water like she was climbing a wall, standing once more on the calm lake surface. This time, she didn't dare to run around. After drying her soaking wet clothes, the little girl walked towards the lakeside. She looked rather cautious, as if afraid of falling in again.

She can't swim yet.

Once she stepped onto level ground, Vivian patted her chest with her small hand, seemingly relieved, and said, "I'm safe now!..."

But... where am I now?

The little girl stood on tiptoe, trying to see her surroundings more clearly, but she was short and small, so she couldn't see very far. Helpless, she could only run up the hillside ahead, then try to jump up and down to see her surroundings. It was quite amusing; even though she tried her best, her jumps weren't very high. However, she still managed to see her surroundings clearly: a vast wilderness in front of her, a very large lake beside her, a dense forest to her left, and a very high mountain to her right.

There were no signs of human activity in sight, so she must be somewhere near the wilderness.

"Oops."

The little girl immediately looked miserable and muttered, "That idiot Lillian!... She actually called me an idiot, but she's the idiot!... Why did she run so far? Now look what's happened... I'm going to get lost..."

Perhaps they felt a little uncomfortable with this tone of voice.

The little girl quickly rubbed her cute little face and muttered, "Oh no! I've been influenced by that girl! I'm even talking like her now! I absolutely can't let her out next time!"

Vivian muttered something to herself, then took out a number of small items from her exquisitely embroidered Bag of Holding. First, she tied her hair up with a pink ribbon, turning it into a pretty single ponytail. Then, she took out a pair of deerskin boots and replaced the slightly high-heeled leather boots on her little feet. Next, she used strips of cloth to tie up her snow-white socks and pure white trouser legs, looking somewhat like Soren preparing for a long journey.

"Elder Sister Goria said that you shouldn't wear small, loose items in the wilderness; they look nice but are a hassle."

The little girl seemed to be talking to herself, shrinking her head to look around before crouching down and disappearing into a clump of grass. When she came out a while later, her princess dress was gone, replaced by simpler clothes. If it weren't for her pretty face and smooth, long hair, she would look like a complete tomboy.

Of course, she still looks like she's only eight years old.

"I wonder how Elder Sister Goria is doing? I hope she's alright!"

After the little girl finished everything, quite a while had passed. She looked around somewhat blankly and murmured, "Which way should I go?"

The little girl had absolutely no clue.

In the end, she could only take out a Gold Daler and toss it casually. Then she headed southwest. Behind her was a vast forest; Goliath had warned her not to enter those dense forests carelessly. She didn't know how far she had teleported, but she was certain she had left the North; it was significantly warmer here. Vivian was still a little scared, but she was also a very strong girl. Her experiences in the Slums had made her very sensible from a young age, and she knew that she needed to encourage herself in times like these.

Because her brother wasn't by her side, she had to rely on herself.

"First, find a place where there are people."

Vivian's small body moved forward across the grass, her pace not actually slow, because she had cast a Spell on herself. She looked up at the sky and murmured, "There are so many monsters in the wilderness. I'm so small, I look like an easy target. Those monsters will definitely want to capture me for a meal. Right now, I can only try to find a city first, and then see if I can hitch a ride on a caravan to find my older brother Elder Sister."

"Elder Sister Goria said there are a lot of bad people outside!"

"Goddess of Wealth! Please bless me so I can meet some good people!... I will definitely work hard to earn lots and lots of money in the future!..."

The little girl didn't quite understand faith yet.

However, she believed that since the Goddess of Wealth controlled wealth, it would be good for her if she earned a lot of money. That way, she would be rich, and the Goddess of Wealth would be happy too.

In fact.

From the very beginning, Goria taught the little Witch must learn to make money; Witch without money is not a powerful Witch, only Witch with money is a powerful Witch. Thus, the idea of believing in Deity first popped into the little girl's mind. After thinking about it carefully for a long time, Vivian finally chose to believe in the Goddess of Wealth, becoming Lay Worshipper in the Goddess of Wealth —meaning she would just pay lip service to it, rarely praying seriously, and only occasionally offering last-minute prayers.

This is a very common situation.

After all, devout believers pray every day and frequently mention their Deity, while most people in this world have only a general faith.

As they walked, it was getting dark.

Vivian felt much stronger than before. She had walked so much without feeling tired at all. However, she felt a little uneasy because she couldn't see anyone around her, after all, she wasn't very brave. Many people her age are actually quite timid, afraid of the dark, afraid of being alone, and afraid of empty houses. They only feel safe when adults are around.

Awooo!

The distant howling of wolves seemed to echo in her mind, prompting her to quicken her pace.

Suddenly.

The little girl seemed to have spotted something and quickly ran towards the woods. She noticed rising smoke near the wilderness road, possibly from other Adventurer. Wild creatures rarely light campfires, and almost never do so by the roadside. Goria had taught her a lot of useful knowledge over the years.

"Who!?"

A warning sound rang out from ahead, followed by a figure darting out.

Vivian suddenly stopped in her tracks as she saw the person in front of her. The strange appearance of the person made her feel a slight fear.

It was a man, with two other men and three women beside him.

The men's faces were somewhat eerie, while the women's were quite alluring. They looked no different from ordinary Adventurer, except for a touch of bewitching beauty in their appearance; otherwise, they were quite normal. But Vivian saw something different. She saw that each person had two faces. The first face was human, the one that others saw with their naked eyes. The second face was a blurry, illusory figure. These people's faces had silver scales, their pupils had turned into eerie pale yellow vertical pupils, they had sharp fangs at the corners of their mouths, and their bodies were completely covered with tiny scales.

This is Yuan-ti.

A race that has always lurked in the shadows among humankind, an Evil and dangerous species.

They possess an innate ability to transform, allowing them to disguise themselves as humans in front of ordinary people. Most are hybrid Yuan-ti, but occasionally one may encounter a very powerful pure-blooded Yuan-ti.

Vivian had read about these creatures in a book; they were a very cold-blooded and ruthless species.

"Huh?"

One of the mixed-race Yuan-ti looked surprised, seemingly finding it hard to believe that he would see a lone little girl in the wilderness, who looked no more than ten years old. However, the Adventurer's vigilance kept him at bay. He gestured behind him and then slowly walked towards Vivian.

Without a second thought, the little girl immediately turned and ran.

The alluring woman at the back, who appeared to be the Boss, frowned and then coldly ordered the others around her, "Grab her!"

Several figures flew out.

The little girl had short arms and legs and ran very slowly; in the blink of an eye, she was almost caught up.

Just as the other party was about to grab her, Vivian suddenly screamed, raised her small white hand and pointed forward. A faint Spell Aura appeared, and then five Magic Missile shot out. The closest male Yuan-ti trembled all over. When he looked down, a huge bloody hole had been opened in his chest.

Thump! Clang!

One of the mixed-race Yuan-ti Yuan-ti to the ground, and the others immediately drew their weapons.

Vivian seemed slightly startled, and almost subconsciously tapped her fingers repeatedly. Then, a barrage of Magic Missile erupted, riddling the other four Yuan-ti who rushed in front of her with holes, and they fell one by one, covered in blood.

The female Yuan-ti initially gave the order was dumbfounded!

When she saw Vivian's gaze turn towards her, her face was filled with terror. Suddenly, she knelt down with a thud, burying her head deeply in the ground, trembling all over as she cried out, "Don't kill me!... I'm willing to serve you as my master!... Mighty master!... Your lowly servant is willing to be loyal to you forever!... Please spare my lowly Hit Points!...

...(To be continued~^~)