Breaking... Breaking a Few Legs, Perhaps?

"Name?"

"Vivian."

"Age?"

"114 years old."

At the city gate inspection checkpoint, the young girl sat nervously on a wooden chair. Several fully armed City Guards stood across from her.

The chief inspector responsible for admitting people into the city was conducting a routine registration for the girl.

After asking the first two questions, he reached the third: "Gender." He first looked up at the skinny girl, then seemed somewhat uncertain.

After studying her several more times, he hesitated before finally writing down the character for "female."

"Wait, you—you don't come out. Maybe he—he just isn't very good at writing?"

Vivian quickly lowered her head and softly reassured the other her in her mental space, who was currently cursing the inspector at the top of her lungs.

"What? Were you talking to me just now?" the inspector asked suspiciously.

He saw the girl across from him muttering something under her breath. At the same time, he tugged his collar tighter. For some reason, a chill suddenly ran through him.

"Ah, n-no... It's nothing." Vivian gave a guilty little laugh.

The registration continued.

"Where are you from?"

"Nuoqi Village."

The inspector paused again.

"Do you have a permit to enter the city?"

"No."

"If you don't, then please go back. Huodian City is under martial law right now. Everyone entering the city must submit an application to the Knight Order office a week in advance. Only those who receive an entry permit are allowed inside."

The inspector recited the standardized official statement, closed the registration book, and waved Vivian away, indicating that she could leave.

It was obvious that he had gone through this process many times and was extremely practiced at it.

"Please wait, sir! I may not have a permit, but I do have this."

A "kind-hearted" passerby had explained the situation to her earlier, so Vivian was not too flustered. She handed the Fire God Token she had prepared in advance to the inspector.

"What is this?" The inspector looked at the wooden token the girl had handed him and asked the same question as the hooligan youth before him.

"The Fire God Token, sir."

"I—I really do have something very important to do in the city," Vivian pleaded.

Then, just as expected.

Not only the inspector across from her, but all the City Guards at the gate looked at the girl as if she were an idiot.

However, just as the City Guards were about to drive her away, Vivian fortunately still had another card to play.

"I can prove it to you, sir!"

As she spoke, Vivian took the Fire God Token back from him. Then the girl circulated her magic power and sent it into the small wooden token in her palm.

Buzz!

As the girl's magic power surged into it, the unremarkable token—which at most could be considered finely carved—suddenly burst into dazzling crimson light.

Flames seemed to burn across the wooden token. The emblem engraved upon it appeared to come alive, eventually gathering above the token like puzzle pieces and forming the character "fire."

Even the girl holding the token, bathed in its scarlet radiance, no longer looked like a shabby country girl. Instead, she seemed to have become mysterious and noble.

The entire process lasted four or five seconds. Only after ensuring that every City Guard had seen it clearly did Vivian finally withdraw her magic power from the token.

As the flow of magic power stopped, the crimson light faded away as well, and the token returned to its original, inconspicuous appearance.

Everything had come and gone quickly.

The only difference from before was that the inspector standing across from Vivian was completely dumbfounded.

He rubbed his eyes in a daze, then slapped his own face hard, making sure that what had just happened was not an illusion.

"You—you stay here. Don't go anywhere. Wait for me!" The inspector hurriedly told Vivian to remain where she was, then ran toward the city.

He did not know whether it was truly the Fire God Token.

But he did know that an ordinary wooden token would never shine like that.

Clearly, this matter was beyond his ability to handle. He needed to report it to his superiors and have a professional come over.

Perhaps he had been frightened as well.

So Vivian did not have to wait long. Before long, a hurried set of footsteps rang out.

The inspector returned, accompanied by a young Spellcaster apprentice wearing the robes of the Fire God Cult.

"Yasen, hurry and take a look at this. Is it something from your Fire God Cult?"

As he spoke, the inspector took the wooden token from Vivian and handed it to the young man beside him.

At that moment, the apprentice mage of the Fire God Cult named Yasen was also utterly confused as he looked at the small wooden token in his hand. The inspector had dragged him over in such a hurry that he still had no idea what was going on.

"You said this is... our Bishop's Fire God Token?"

"That's right. Hurry and see if it's real!" The inspector was extremely anxious. He suddenly felt that the Fire God Cult member he had brought over did not seem very bright.

How could he not recognize something so important to the Fire God Cult at a glance?

"This..."

To be fair, the inspector had wronged him. Yasen had never seen a Fire God Token either. No, forget Yasen—even among the entire Fire God Cult, there might not be more than a few people who had seen the real thing.

Still, with an attitude of just giving it a try, Yasen injected his magic power into the wooden token skeptically.

Then...

One second passed. Two seconds passed.

The atmosphere became awkward for a moment.

Yasen's face had turned bright red as he poured magic power into the token with all his might, practically straining himself to the limit. Yet the wooden token in his hand did not change in the slightest, as if all his magic power had sunk into the sea.

What was going on?

The inspector and City Guards around him, who were growing anxious as they waited and scratched their heads, all wore expressions that seemed to ask, What are you doing?

The girl had just gone "smack," and the token had lit up immediately—probably in less than half a second.

But you've been at it for so long. Why hasn't the token reacted at all?

"Ahem, ahem. Um, wait a little longer. I—I'll go get someone!" Yasen could not explain whether his magic power was simply too weak or whether this was really just an ordinary wooden token.

And so the inspector, the City Guards, and Vivian were left staring at one another again.

This time, the wait lasted rather long.

Just as the girl was beginning to lose patience, footsteps finally rang out again.

The person who arrived this time was also wearing a long robe of the Fire God Cult, but the patterns and style on it were clearly far more advanced than those on Yasen's robe.

Yoseph, a second-rank Professional, Elemental Mage, and deacon of the Fire God Cult.

"Bring it here." His position was different, so naturally, his attitude was different as well.

Especially toward a country bumpkin who had come from a village.

Yoseph spoke in a cold, indifferent tone as he ordered the girl sitting on the wooden chair.

Vivian could tell that he was an important person too, so she obediently handed over the wooden token.

Yoseph carefully examined the token first. Then, like Yasen, he began injecting magic power into it.

Then...

The air seemed to freeze once more.

At first, the arrogant Fire God Cult deacon held his chin high. But after several seconds passed and the token remained completely still, utterly ignoring him, Yoseph finally frowned.

"You're certain this token lit up just now?" The Fire God Cult deacon was now highly suspicious that these people had banded together to play a prank on him.

"Absolutely!"

Yasen did not respond, but the inspector immediately spoke up. He had witnessed it with his own eyes.

"You. Make it light up again." Yoseph clearly still did not believe them, so he tossed the token back to Vivian.

"Oh. All right."

The girl was actually puzzled too. Why could none of these people awaken the token? She had only needed to send in the tiniest bit of magic power for it to react!

Vivian repeated the same steps as before. With ease, almost in the blink of an eye, dazzling crimson light flashed before everyone's eyes once more.

Ah.

The pressure now fell upon Yoseph, the Fire God Cult deacon.

Feeling the awkward gaze of his disciple Yasen and the suspicious looks of the City Guards, Yoseph suddenly found himself unable to save face.

He pretended to cough, then did not even ask any more questions. He simply reached out and snatched the token from Vivian's palm.

This time, the Fire God Cult deacon truly used every ounce of strength he had.

Yoseph's face flushed red as he desperately circulated every bit of magic power in his body. His body even began to tremble, and he could barely remain standing.

Finally!

Yoseph's efforts were rewarded!

A faint red glow, like a tiny flame, slowly emerged from the wooden token. Yet unlike the dazzling radiance Vivian had produced, the light in the Fire God Cult deacon's hand was like a dying candle, as though a single gust of wind might extinguish it.

"Whew... whew... whew..."

Even so, Yoseph lasted only two or three seconds before his strength gave out. His entire body nearly collapsed, but Yasen, quick-eyed, hurriedly caught him.

"Deacon, are—you all right?" Yasen asked his mentor with genuine concern.

However, those words sounded rather unpleasant to Yoseph.

He was a bona fide deacon of the Fire God Cult, respected by countless nobles in Huodian City. He should have been the person most favored by the God of Fire. How could someone like him be inferior to a little village girl from the countryside?

"Mr. Yoseph, what exactly is this token...?" the inspector asked. But before he could finish, Yoseph interrupted him.

Yoseph could now confirm that this token was probably the legendary Fire God Token.

However...

"Ahem. I'm feeling somewhat unwell today. I'll have to take this token back to the Fire God Cult for identification," the Fire God Cult deacon said without batting an eye.

Yoseph could never admit on the spot that this was the Fire God Token. Otherwise, where would he put his dignity in the future?

"As for her..." Yoseph glanced at Vivian, whose simple clothes and frantic journey had left her somewhat dirty.

To be honest, he truly could not imagine how someone like her could have any connection to the Fire God Token.

But regardless...

No matter what her identity was, she had come carrying the Fire God Token. He still had to treat her with some importance.

And so...

"Let her wait here for now."

"Understood."

"And pour her a cup of water."

That was how the Fire God Cult deacon understood the concept of "treating someone with importance."

Yoseph genuinely felt that, given his status, speaking to a village girl who had appeared from who knew where like this was already giving her more than enough face.

After giving his instructions, Yoseph prepared to leave with the token without even looking back.

What he did not expect was for the country girl to call out to him.

"Please wait!"

"You can leave, but... please return the token to me." Vivian spoke very seriously as she stood up from the chair for the first time.

The monster uprising in Claw Forest. The strange black hand in the depths of the forest's lair.

Even Vivian, who had seen so little of the world, knew that these were matters of great importance. Moreover, many villages near the forest might be plunged into danger, waiting for her to bring reinforcements back from Huodian City.

And she was a penniless, lowly village girl. The only proof she had of what she was saying, the only thing that could make everyone believe her, was this Fire God Token.

So when she saw Yoseph about to take it away, Vivian, who had always been timid and gentle, became unyielding.

The Fire God Cult deacon stopped.

He turned around, his face filled with disbelief. His expression was even more exaggerated than when he had seen the real Fire God Token just now.

Yoseph could not understand.

What gave her the nerve to speak to him like that?

However, the various mocking retorts he had imagined never came. The deacon could not even be bothered to acknowledge her. He felt that arguing with a villager would simply lower his status.

The inspector and City Guards nearby also looked at the girl from the countryside with strange expressions, perhaps convinced that she really was not very bright.

Wasn't it obvious? The man had told her to wait here. Since he had not driven her away outright, it meant he was merely giving her a way out. Once some time passed, he would surely let her enter the city. Why had she chosen this moment to cause trouble?

He was a deacon, a mid-ranking member of the mighty Fire God Cult. In terms of official position, he was far above an inspector like himself. How could a powerless villager like her afford to provoke him?

Just as the inspector was about to signal Vivian with his eyes, telling the foolish girl to shut up and say less, he noticed that after her attempt to stop Yoseph failed, the girl lowered her head just as she had when he was registering her gender.

This time, the inspector finally heard clearly what the girl was muttering under her breath.

"Um, they aren't really bad people either, so later... go easy on them, all right?"

"Yes, yes, yes."

"Um, you have to promise me there won't be any deaths!"

"Yes, yes, yes!"

"Um..."

Hey! Are you done yet?

"No, I mean, I thought about it some more. The others really don't seem like bad guys, but that Fire God Cult deacon leading them should be a... bad guy!"

"You can just teach him a little lesson later. Ah, of course, don't go too hard. Just break a few legs, perhaps?"

"Another me, then... I'll leave it to you!"