Chapter 64: Chapter 64: Under Attack

It occurred to her that she hadn't really felt anything from the spirits, assuming they were there. Was that a 'no news is good news' situation? Then again she also had no idea how to recognise what a spirit felt like.

The crowd seemed to be dispersing a bit now. Watching a tree write a document in silence was probably not very interesting, though some people were sticking around. Perhaps just to see if anything else was going to happen.

About two thirds through her writing, she suddenly felt four stabs from Danger Sense. She looked up, and could see a person on a roof in one of the directions. Flame was forming in front of them, and she could spot another on a different roof in the same position. The final two she couldn't immediately see, but they were to her sides. Things seemed to be moving weirdly slowly. Then she recalled that she had felt this once before.

Oh... this is going to kill me, huh?

The max level bonus on Danger Sense said something like if she was about to suffer a lethal hit, time would seem to slow down. During the raid it hadn't really done more than give her one final struggle since the attacks kept raining in too fast to dodge them all. She hadn't gotten a lot of time to process the feeling. Now it happened ahead of a coordinated attack.

Well, that gave her a little time to think about what to do. Dodging wasn't an option in this form, and reverting to wolf form would likely not stop her from getting hit, though losing the fire vulnerability might be enough to save her life. That assumed she managed to complete the change in time. The assailants were already mid-cast.

She could see some of the guards had started to move, but to her it looked like they were forcing themselves through water. Speaking of, water was her best chance. Water Bubble, and Water Film were effective against stopping magic attacks to begin with, and fire was weak against water so it should have extra effect. Her skill levels were low, so she had to hope type advantage was good enough to make up for it. She couldn't Copy Cast either spell since they lacked casting time, but she probably didn't have that kind of time to spare anyway. Blocking one of them with Earth Wall would help her odds further.

All of these were concealed skills for her, but she had to prioritise survival in this case. Getting sent back to the den at this point would be a giant pain. Thankfully the parchment had the waterproof enchantment.

Let's see, if I put the Earth Wall there, it will block that shot, and not disrupt any of the guards. Unless it startled them a lot. That one felt slightly more dangerous than the others. She did idly wonder what spell they were using. Even if it was four of them, and she was weak to fire, that was a lot of damage per hit.

So: Earth Wall -> Water Bubble -> Water Film in that order. They were all instant cast, but there would be a slight delay between the different activations, and she needed to place Earth Wall precisely. Also just in case the spells reached her before she got both off, then Water Bubble had a higher protection rate than Water Film. Having both was simply insurance.

Her spells went off in quick succession, and time went back to normal speed. Her Earth Wall got blasted, and exploded, but it had done its job. The remaining three spells slammed into her Water Bubble, and fizzled down significantly. Then what little pushed through slammed into another barrier, and none of it actually reached her. That wasn't a barrier she had put up herself, and she had no idea who did. She couldn't even see it well.

The Water Bubble was large enough that it even covered Laroni because of how close she stood. Maybe also because of how large Sara's body was in this form. She had never actually tried it before. Honestly she should have tested it at least once, but she had forgotten. The poor Druid was quite startled.

"W-w-what?!" Laroni shrieked. There was a lot of screaming, and shrieking from the outside as well, though the sound was a little distorted by the water.

"I was attacked, Laroni," Sara said as calmly as she was able. It was possible her leaves her shaking. "But I think the danger is over." She couldn't really see well through the bubble, but the pings from Danger Sense had vanished one by one.

[ Earth Wall Skill Level Up! ] [ Water Bubble Skill Level Up! ]

After 10 seconds the bubble dropped, and Sara could see again. A lot had happened in those 10 seconds, it seemed like. Lieutenant Davril, and his guards had formed a perimeter around Sara with what looked like a magic shield wall raised, the booths were being evacuated, the officials had fled (Luneria, Mirielle, and the Naturalist Society duo had stayed), the crowd was fleeing in all directions, and elf guards had jumped onto the roofs. She wasn't sure if the attackers had fled, gotten killed, or gotten captured. The people still standing around were probably mostly Adventurers, though the guards were starting to usher them off as well.

"Are you okay, Guardian Beast?!" Davril shouted.

"You can tell them I'm fine," Sara told Laroni, even though she felt like she was shaking. "Some barrier blocked anything from getting through my Water Bubble. I'm grateful to whomever put it up."

"S- Guardian Beast!" Mirielle ran over before Laroni got to say anything, and cast a healing spell. Luneria was right behind her. Light magic healing felt a little different from Nature magic. A little warmer, and less tingly. While she was full HP, it helped her feel a little better.

Laroni hurriedly started to explain what Sara had said, and Mirielle looked visibly relieved. Though it was neither her, nor Luneria who had cast the barrier.

"It was a Spirit Barrier," said someone walking closer. It was the Naturalist. "The spirits do not like fire getting close to Manarsil, and it seems they chose to protect the Guardian Beast as well." She was a woman who looked rather bulky for an elf, but maybe that was more due to her outfit than her physique. Her hair was dark, she had green eyes, and what could be seen of her skin was tanned.

[ Naahl Coretender - Elf Naturalist Society Spiritualist (Naturalist Lvl 37) HP: 277/277 ]

If that was true, depending on how strong that barrier was, maybe her measures had been unnecessary.

"Please thank the spirits for us, Spiritualist Naahl," Luneria said. "But how were you able to react so quickly, Guardian Beast?" Luneria asked, and the questioning looks from Laroni and Mirielle implied they wondered the same.

"I was saved by Danger Sense," Sara said, and Laroni conveyed the message, even if it didn't sound like she fully understood.

"So you could sense them, but even so that reaction speed..." Luneria still seemed confused.

"I can explain," Lieutenant Davril said as he walked up to them. "Not many people get Danger Sense all the way to max level, since you have to be in a special position to experience that much danger. When you reach max level, it will give you a last chance if you're about to get killed. Time seems to slow down, and you get faster, which gives you a better chance to respond. So you would have died from that attack, Guardian Beast?" he asked to confirm.

"Yes. I'm not sure what spell they used that would have killed me in just four hits, but if I hadn't defended myself I would have died," Sara said. "Then again, perhaps the Spirit Barrier was strong enough that my actions were unnecessary."

"It is possible," Naahl said. "But I believe your reaction was still correct."

The quick response made Sara realise that Naahl had to have Commune With Animals as well. Which meant Naturalist had to be an upgrade to Druid.

"Also... just how many skills are you hiding, Guardian Beast?" Luneria said with a sigh. "I am pretty certain none of the ones you used are on your skill list."

"A fair amount," was Sara's answer, that a confused Laroni had to convey. Though a lot of them weren't really useful for her build.

"What do you mean, Bishop?" Davril asked.

Luneria paused. "I suppose I shouldn't have said that... but I think all of you are trustworthy enough to know. The Guardian Beast has the ability to disguise parts of her status, and even I can't see through it. Perhaps the Archbishop, or the Oracle could, but I don't actually know how strong she truly is, nor everything she can do. If we brought her into the Temple we could check... but I have a feeling she wouldn't agree to that."

"I see..." Davril gave Sara a calculating look. "That makes a certain amount of sense. Regardless, it was our negligence that allowed this to happen in the first place. We didn't expect anyone to actually try anything considering the measures we had taken, and the short notice made it unlikely anyone could have time to plan anything like... this. Ironically by preparing so much we let our guards down." Even though he was practised at not letting his emotions show, a slight amount of annoyance slipped into his tone.

"Do you know who they were, Lieutenant?" Naahl asked.

"I haven't gotten a report yet, though it looked like one of them got away after they were fired upon by our archers. I await word on the other three," Davril said. "I prefer to not speculate."

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Sara did like speculating, and the two options that seemed most likely to her were either Wanderers who thought they could get an easy kill, or Residents that wanted to hurt the alliance. It was possible someone made a misguided attempt to get revenge for the punished raiders, but that seemed less likely since she had come here to have them pardoned, and announced as much.

[ Intuition Skill Level Up! ]

That was nice, but she wasn't sure whether that meant she was correct, or whether it was just because she had tried to sleuth so much that day, and it was patting her on the back for the effort no matter whether she was right or wrong.

"I should finish the terms document while we wait," Sara told Laroni, and Naahl so they could tell the others. She still had the quill in hand, and hadn't really moved from her spot. It occurred to her that she could have tried to snipe her assassins, but she probably didn't have enough power to take one down even with a perfect headshot from a Water Jet. Because of the path her progression had taken, her stats were a little too balanced. She didn't have that min-max power level.

If she'd had her buff, and depending on the level of her opponent, then Tree Form could have possibly gotten there, but it wasn't a guarantee. Then again, her taking offensive action within the city, no matter the target, might be seen negatively. Sticking to defensive spells was probably the better choice all around.

"You can't, Guardian Beast," Luneria said, interrupting Sara's thoughts. Sara could only look at her as she continued to explain. "The witnesses have to be present for the entire ceremony, and currently..."

Sara looked around. The evacuation of both booths was complete, and the public officials were nowhere to be seen. She sagged a little.

"Does that mean I have to come back another day?" she asked.

Luneria patted Sara's trunk gently. "We will find a solution, I promise. This wasn't your fault, after all. I'm not sure if everyone will return, but we can find the minimum required amount of witnesses needed to finish. You will need to wait a little bit, as regrettable as that is," she said.

"Understood," Sara said, and suppressed a sigh. She put the quill down carefully in a place where it was unlikely to fall down, and shifted back to wolf form before plopping down on her stomach to wait. It might not be the most dignified position, but she was a mob, so people probably didn't expect perfect manners from her anyway.

"Senior Speaker Golhon," Naahl called out to the other Druid. "Go check on the public officials, inform them the danger is over, and get at least one of them to return. You are free to impress upon them the importance of this as much as you wish."

"Understood," he said, and headed off.

"I should go check in with the Royal Guards myself," Lieutenant Davril said. "They'll probably want someone of at least my rank to show up. At worst I'll have to involve the Captain. Sergeant Nymaia, you are in charge here. Await the report from the City Guard, and make sure to stay vigilant."

"Yes, Lieutenant!"

Davril marched off, and Luneria straightened her back. "I will probably have to go myself as well. I need at least one more Bishop here to fulfil the Temple's witness requirement, and they might get insulted if I send Priestess Mirielle to fetch them." Her tone implied that they might even try to avoid coming. "I will be back as soon as possible," she said before also walking off.

Which left Sara with Mirielle, Laroni, and Naahl. The latter of which was clearly examining her, even if it was just with her eyes. And probably Identify, come to think of it. It also felt like Mirielle was fighting the urge to hug Sara, but maybe that was just her imagination.

"Are you really a mob?" Naahl asked after a minute of relative silence.

Sara was only mildly surprised by the question. She'd heard the sentiment expressed from the crowd as well. And the Spiritualist had probably interacted with her fair share of mobs. But she wasn't sure how much she should reveal.

"Well, you can't speak to me without Commune With Animals," she went with as her answer. "Does that not answer the question on its own?"

"Normally I would agree," Naahl said. "But even the fact that you know that much is unprecedented."

"It's true I'm unusual for a mob, but it doesn't change that that's what I am. I am neither Resident, nor Wanderer," Sara said. "Even if I may seem more similar to you in some ways. People can come in many different shapes." She poked at the foot of the podium. "Depending on how much the Temple has shared about me, I should perhaps not say more than that."

"So the Temple knows more?" Naahl asked, and looked at Mirielle for a moment, who couldn't understand more than Naahl's side of the conversation, but of course reacted to the question. She looked a little nervous.

"Correct," Sara said. They wouldn't know everything, since Mirielle wouldn't have shared the full story with them, and she wasn't sure exactly how much Luneria had shared of what she knew. So how much the Temple as a whole knew she wasn't sure. Which was part of why she didn't want to just freely tell everyone everything. "And I don't want to abandon the trust I have placed in them." Not to mention she didn't really know what status the Naturalist Society held in Hanoleav. Druids seemed to be an important part of elf society, but maybe not at equal level to the main religion.

Naahl sighed in a way that was eerily similar to Luneria. Perhaps that was what dealing with Sara did to people.

"So you refuse to tell me anything?" she asked.

"Mm..." Sara thought about it. "It's more that I'm not sure how much of it is okay to say. I don't enjoy having to hide things, but I accepted a while ago that it's necessary. I never intended to become... a public figure, if that's the right term for it. But I wasn't able to avoid it, and I'm still figuring out how to navigate my new role."

Naahl rubbed the back of her neck. "Well, you certainly don't talk like any mob I've met," she said.

"Maybe you just haven't met enough yet," Sara said in a playful tone.

"Maybe," Naahl said with a note of resignation. "I respect that your position is a difficult one. It does make me wonder whether all boss mobs are similar to you, and we just never bothered to check."

"Well, if it wasn't for Priestess Mirielle's perseverance, you might have never found out about me either," Sara said. "It was the first time anyone actually tried to talk to me, which I found intriguing. So I wanted to see if I could change the world a little.
... you know, when I say it out loud like that, I feel foolish for thinking it wouldn't be so troublesome.
As for other bosses... in the right circumstances you might find some of them to be sociable, but I suspect most of them are not interested in trying to communicate with Residents, even if they possess enough ego to do so.
My friend in Wutsch had never seen any reason to even consider the idea before I asked her, and she's very friendly, and curious about others." When it hadn't even occurred to someone like Gloria, it felt unlikely that others would have arrived there on their own either. "Most of us are stuck on the idea that our role is to oppose the Residents, and also now the Wanderers, and don't see any reason why that should change. Or rather, they don't even realise it's an option."

"But you are able to convince them," Naahl said.

"Only some. If they are willing to listen to me," Sara said. "I can give you a tip based on my own experience. If you find anyone willing to talk to you, appeal to the idea that changing things would be interesting, rather than trying to appeal to it being nice, the right thing to do, or anything else like that." She hadn't gotten the impression that most mobs had any strong sense of morality. "I'm sure there are exceptions, but in general it seems like mobs are more enticed by things becoming more interesting than any other argument. Most of us are stuck within our roles, and while we might not necessarily mind it, at least the more clever of us will get bored, even if we don't always realise it. So you might be able to make some friends, or allies that way. Of course assuming they're willing to talk in the first place."

"I see... that could be useful," Naahl said. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Sara replied. "You will probably need to do a bit of convincing beyond that, like demonstrating what you can do for them to make things more interesting. I would suggest trying bribery, but most of us don't really have any desire for material things. Unless that changes, you'd have to make a really good case for it. I am simply offering a way for you get the dialogue started. Beyond that the negotiation will depend on their character." She knew that there would be an update that would make mobs hungry, but she couldn't openly admit that. Her wanting food was already seen as unusual.

"I understand, but even having a starting point is more than we used to have," Naahl said with a nod.