Using Siren's Cry to amplify my voice was the best decision I made all day. The tall man in the center of the group of mages pales visibly, shaking slightly before gathering his courage and stepping forward. A tattoo of a stylized comet shimmers across his throat as he swallows nervously, motioning for his men to back down.
Smart. He either knows I don't want to fight or thinks he can't win. Either way, might as well show the same courtesy.
I stow my cutlass and pat Ouro, calming him enough to dismiss the churning spears of water. The leader of the squadron seems to calm at that, regaining his color and approaching a few meters closer, his men following at a short distance. The five holding bulky shields and heavy armour remain in formation, forming a barricade between me and the lighter casters in the back. Those five don't bother staying professional, whispering to each other as they approach. They shut up quickly at a glare from the leader, and he turns to me while clearing his throat.
“Excuse us, ma’am, for the slightly hostile greeting. We've been on edge ever since arriving. Perhaps you could assist us, miss…?”
He trails off, obviously asking for my name. Channeling years of customer service and HR meetings, along with every haughty noble ever, I respond in kind, disused voice somehow still perfect.
“You may call me Siris. As for helping you, now why would I do that?”
I tilt my head innocently, looking down on the tall man from my own seven foot height.
“You nearly attacked me just now. You could have been seriously harmed, you know! Besides, I know not your name nor affiliation, so why would I bother myself with those that interrupted my rest?”
Internally, I'm cringing at my own words, but the man seems to understand the underlying questions, and subtle threat.
“Ah, where are my manners? I am Sergeant Andrius Felstone, sent by the Collegium of Libram to investigate a recent surge of divine energy detected here in addition to clearing the Breaksteel formican hive from the island.”
I nod in understanding, realizing that I'm probably the cause of the divinity and have already cleared the hive. I smile widely, one of the mages in the back shivering slightly at the predatory grin.
“Well then, it seems I can help with both of those things. You see, I have already cleared the hive, and the divinity was more than likely me. After all, I'm not precisely from here, nor did I plan on being here in the first place.”
Both true, if only by excluding a lot of context. The Sergeant seems to break for a few moments, pausing with a confused expression as he mulls over my claims. Eventually, he shakes himself back to the present and coughs awkwardly.
“I… See then. Please, do not take this as a doubt of your strength, but we will have to confirm this ourselves. Bronx, bring the damn ball over here!”
One of the mages, the one that seems the most terrified, hurries over while pulling a blue crystal orb from his pocket. I fire off an inspection, and am not disappointed.
Divinity Measurement Crystal (Uncommon, Utility)
Measures the amount of divinity within a creature or object in contact with the orb. The brighter the orb glows, the more divine energy found.
Uh oh. Wait; my body was made by a goddess, and I have four blessings plus a skill from the same goddess. How much-
My train of thought is broken as the Sergeant holds out the orb and I take it. Instantly, a blinding golden light flares from the crystal ball, flashbanging all of us before it winks out just as suddenly. The once-blue crystal is now a scorched gray, fractures running across the smooth surface. All eleven of the wizards just stare at me in shock as I just smile sheepishly, handing the orb back.
“I do hope that wasn't expensive. I should have informed you beforehand; I have multiple blessings plus a skill with a connection to divinity. I believe that overloaded the measurement crystal.”
They continue to stare in shell shocked silence as Bronx hesitantly takes the useless crystal. He stows it in his bag before returning to his place in the formation as Andrius looks between me and the scorched crystal ball with utter bafflement.
“That… In my twenty years of serving the Collegium, I have seen numerous people tested for blessings with those orbs. Never have I seen someone burn one by simply touching it… Anyway! I believe that has proven your claim of being the energy source we were searching for. Now, if you could kindly lead us to the hive spire ma'am so we can confirm your claim of clearing it, we shall be on our way. Of course, you are free to accompany us back to the mainland should you desire.” Dıscover more novels at novel※fire.net
From the looks his men gave him, I could tell that was an unpopular opinion. Most seemed terrified of me, while the few others seemed to see me as a threat and nothing more. Channeling every young master I can remember reading about, I nod primly and turn around as I respond, already walking towards the spire visible in the distance.
“Of course, Sergeant. I am many things, but a liar is not one of them. At least, not this time.”
Ouro huffs unhappily before unsummoning himself, returning to my arm with a flash of blue. The tattoo forms with a swirl of shimmering ink, and a small application of mana to the bottoms of my feet sends me sliding forward with each step as though skating. A nifty little trick I discovered during my explorations. The mages hurry to catch up, some activating movement skills while others rely on raw stats to close the gap. At this rapid speed, it only takes a minute or so to cross the town and stop at the base of the spire. The splattered remains of the three oathbound revenants are still there, the Queen a piece of abstract art across the spire itself and the other two in bits on the ground. The Sergeant seems to be in his zone now, as all nervousness is gone and replaced by cold analysis. He immediately begins barking orders, directing mages to different jobs.
“Bronx, Smithson, and Ja'Var! You three, inspect the corpse on the spire. Terrance, Filo, and Kasar, you're on the one in the crater. The rest of you lot, try and find a big enough piece of the third to analyze! There's supposed to be three truly dangerous ones. A shield warrior, a duelist of some kind, and a rogue which is suspected to be the queen themself.”
“Were all three of those slain?”
I nod in confirmation, pointing to each as I identify them.
“The one across the spire is the queen, which was called a Grafted Horror. The one in the crater was a Royal Guard, and the other one in bits everywhere was the Bladedancer.”
One by one, the teams return from their investigations and confirm what I said by using specialized scrolls to identify the corpses. Andrius nods and begins to say something to me, but I feel something disturbing probe at my very being before sliding off. I turn, ever so slowly, to meet the eyes of a horrified Bronx holding up a scroll in a vain attempt to Identify me. The issue with his plan is my blessings. Apparently, Deras’ and Quill's work together to block Identify that I do not allow from finding anything and also tell me who did it. I cock my head, channeling mana into Siren's Cry to give my voice physical weight.
“So, you nosy little creature. Did you really think that I would have no protections from people like you?”
A single drop of mana flows into Nesuskape, and his own shadow stands up and restrains him before he can run or attack. By now, Bronx is shaking in terror and pale as a ghost as his commanding officer and a creature that killed a natural disaster loom over him. I also identify his scroll just to see what it does.
Scroll of Reveal Status (Uncommon, Consumable)
A spell scroll imbued with a runic array. Allows the user to view basic information about a creature.
Huh. Interesting, and not nearly as powerful as I thought. Wonder what it showed him?
As if on cue, a window appears that seemingly shows what the scroll revealed.
Race: Unknown Elder Race
Class: Error - Match Not Found
I can't hold in a soft chuckle as I see the system trolling the poor mage. I'm not sure what an elder race is, but from context I can easily gather that it's something to fear. Andrius looks at me and clears his throat, bowing his head as he speaks.
“Please, ma'am, release my idiot subordinate. I will see to it that he is properly punished for his attempted prying. Is there anything I could do or offer as reparation?”
I nod primly, banishing the shadow Bronx.
“Why yes, actually. I would be most grateful if I were allowed a place on the ship that brought you here. There's not much to do here, after all.”