Sarah's Story Chapter 58 - Grizzly Claws

Sarah had wanted to use her rope, but rope was a bad match up for the heavy, strong Grizzly Claws, especially given their, well, claws.

She tossed the sword she was holding behind her, trusting the Adventurers to catch it.

Even with the sword, the Grizzly Claws were just so large they would have better reach.

And in the moment she had before the monsters closed in, she pulled from her magic bag the spare lance she had brought.

The Treasure Seekers’ Lancer still had his, and it didn’t seem broken.

She changed her stance yet again, abandoning the delicate, precise steps of before to now ground herself, with lowered hips, and up, up she thrust, twisting her body savagely to pierce the closest Grizzly Claw’s skull from below, up into its brain. And in the next instant, she pulled back, withdrawing the lance before the monster’s bulk could impale itself further, weighing down the lance, pinning Sarah in place.

She neatly side-stepped, and the Grizzly Claw fell to the ground, dead instantly.

Finder Class has reached level 10.

Sarah flexed her Finder Class and [Brawler’s Domain] and [Battlefield Control], carefully monitoring the entire area.

The wounded party she was protecting.

The living monsters approaching.

The carcasses littering the ground.

Space was tight.

Sarah wasn’t fond of the lance. It was a weapon that sacrificed everything else for piercing. It wasn’t great for smacking things, and it even hindered movement, unlike a nice spear with a strong shaft.

But it was the best option she had.

Step. Thrust. Withdraw. Step.

Her mind raced, analyzing potential moves and discarding those that led to bad outcomes.

Thrust, withdraw, step.

Thrust, withdraw, step.

Each new carcass changed the battlefield, reduced space to move, caused the Grizzly Claws to shift their approaching paths.

Sarah was being pushed back.

Each step she lost ground.

She was nearly pushed all the way back to where Stuart and Kyle were preparing themselves for a last stand when Jane fainted, completely mana-spent, certain that she was dead and she’d never open her eyes again.

“Jane!”

Sarah hurled her lance.

But a lance is not a javelin.

Lances sacrifice everything for piercing.

Without a solid thrust, the thrown lance just bounced off a Grizzly Claw’s thick skull, and clattered to the ground.

But it distracted that monster for just a moment.

Pushed its head down for just a second.

And Sarah leapt through the air, landing on the opposite side of the remaining monsters.

Stuart swore again. “Brace yourself, Kyle!” he shouted.

Sarah had in her hand a dagger.

There were eight Grizzly Claws remaining.

Even a single one would be enough to wipe out the exhausted Treasure Seekers.

Sarah accelerated, dashing in.

[Technique: Stab]

It wasn’t a flashy technique.

It was simply a dagger, with a sharpened point, applied to the precise weak point of a Grizzly Claw’s neck.

The Grizzly Claw barely even felt it as its carotid arteries were pierced, and its lifeblood started pouring from below its slavering jaws.

Finder Class Skill [Find Weakness] has been acquired.

Even now, the Finder Class was growing, developing as Sarah used it.

Seven Grizzly Claws remained.

Four of them were turning to her.

The three closest to the Treasure Seekers continued forward towards the closer targets.

Everything snapped into focus for Sarah, then.

What had been a complex calculation seeking to pierce the veil of probability and the future became certainty.

Sarah found the path to victory.

Her perception expanded.

It was like she could see everything at once, no longer limited by her singular perspective.

She dashed, rolled, and leapt.

[Stab]

[Stab]

[Stab]

In less than ten seconds, three more Grizzly Claws died, even though they wouldn’t realize for another minute.

Kyle, the Lancer, missed the weak spot and merely stabbed into a Grizzly Claw’s shoulder.

Stuart, the Tank, nearly had his shield sheared in half by a swipe of the monster’s claws. Nancy, the healer, was reduced to hurling rocks at the oncoming monsters, but a lucky throw managed to hit the third Grizzly Claw in the eye, slowing it for just another second.

And then Sarah was there, threading between the monster’s limbs.

[Stab]

[Stab]

And Stuart grimaced as the Grizzly Claws massive paws descended towards him.

Sarah tackled him out of the way, and a fistful of pocket sand got in the monster’s eyes.

It roared in fury and the ground shook as its paws smashed into the ground, missing their target.

Sarah, now off balance, forcibly righted herself by lashing upward with her foot, snapping the monster’s jaw shut with a sickening click of teeth on teeth.

She then flipped back into the air, throwing a rock of her own at the half-blinded and enraged Grizzly Claw, distracting it that much longer as she raced towards the other remaining monster, now rushing towards the Swordsman and the unconscious Mage.

Leonard was shielding her with his body, ready to sacrifice himself.

Not today.

Sarah darted in.

[Stab]

And then there was one.

The monster flailed, and a wide swipe of its paw batted the Lancer and Tank away as though they were children, opening up just enough space for Sarah to approach and engage.

Sarah gasped.

Now she could use the rope!

She pulled the rope out of her bag, and flicked it just so.

The end formed a loop, around one limb, and she pulled it tight as she leapt over the monster. She yanked as she landed, pulling the forelimb into an awkward position before there was an audible crack and it dislocated.

The monster, now crippled as well blinded, howled in fury. But within seconds, it was tangled up in the rope, not unable to move, but hindered.

Sarah leapt onto the monster’s back and reached down, stabbing upward into its throat. She jerked the dagger savagely, metal sharpness tearing through veins, arteries, trachea, and esophagus.

The monster’s howls of fury cut off, and it started choking on its own lifeblood.

A minute later, and like all its brethren, it bled out. Dead.

Brawler Class has reached level 16.

Finder Class has reached level 11.

Sarah was soaked in sweat.

Nearly thirty Grizzly Claws had been a bad matchup.

She was better than she had been when she had fought Svalbard, but tanks still gave her trouble.

She wondered if she should try other sword schools, or maybe seek actual instruction from the Immortal Sword School rather than just copying what she’d seen during their spars.

But, she smiled.

There were no more monsters approaching.

None of the Treasure Seekers had died.

Their healer was giving Stuart another high potion, and they still had a few more left.

Finally, now that things had calmed down, Sarah was able to introduce herself.

“I’m Sarah, Brawler and Scout. The Guildmaster sent me to find you guys.”

“What the hell was that?!” Stuart, the leader, hissed. He wasn’t so foolish as to yell and bring even more monsters down upon them. “[Challenging Roar], really?! In Grizzly Claw territory? What were you thinking?”

Sarah shrugged. “I had to get the Dire Wolves off you.”

“And you couldn’t have done anything else?”

“Stuart, please, she just saved our lives!” Nancy interjected, smacking him on the shoulder.

Sarah, however, was unbothered. “Nope, not if I wanted to get all their attention at once.”

Kyle clapped a hand on Stuart’s other shoulder. “Stuart, calm down. It’s over.”

Leonard was leaning against the wall, still too weak to stand, and was cradling Jane’s head in his lap. She was still mana-spent and unconscious. Sarah hadn’t brought any mana potions with her, so the only remedy was rest. “Sarah, you said your Class was Brawler? Is that a Tanking Class?”

The Swordsman was curious. Scouts certainly didn’t use provoking Skills like [Challenging Roar].

“Nope, Brawler is more a fighting Class. And that’s my only provoking Skill.”

It still took Stuart a few more minutes to calm down. He had been fighting so long, and death had seemed so certain, that he was having a hard time coming to terms with his own survival.

“Well, learn better Skills, then!” he said, petulantly.

“Oh, will you teach me?” Sarah asked innocently, eyes shining. She’d never turn down the opportunity for specialized training.

He sputtered. “I, you, teach you? Skills?”

“Yeah!”

Nancy frowned at him. “Stuart, we owe her our lives. I’m ordering you to teach Brawler Sarah whatever she wants.”

It turned out that Nancy—Archer and Healer—was the Leader of the Treasure Seekers.

They waited another hour for Jane to regain consciousness, and then another hour after that for her to regain the stamina to walk.

None of the Treasure Seekers were in any shape to carry anyone else, and Sarah needed to be unburdened both for Scouting and for defense against monster attacks. They moved slowly, climbing back out of the ravine, and spent several hours picking their way through the rugged terrain back to the stairs to the first floor.

The first floor boss had yet to respawn, so Sarah took the time to disarm the traps on the treasure chest. Inside was a mess of herbs, none of which anybody present recognized, so Sarah merely put them all into her borrowed magic bag.

It was another six hours to carefully pick their way through the first floor back to the Dungeon exit. And when they emerged, squeezing through the cleft in the tree, dawn was breaking.

A carriage awaited them, and several priests, as well as an escort of C Class adventurers.

A cheer went up as they emerged, but Nancy silenced them. “What about Benny? Is he alright? Did he make it?”

“Yes, he’s fine! The priests got to him in time, and he’s recuperating at the temple.”

“Thank the gods,” she gasped, and sank to her knees. Relief overwhelmed her. And once they were in the carriage and heading back to the city, exhaustion overwhelmed the rest of the Treasure Seekers, and they passed out.

The Treasure Seekers reunited, and Sarah was able to pick up a basic [Provoke] Skill from Stuart in the short time they had together.

Sam was relieved. “Thank the gods you made it through, Sarah.”

Beth’s guilt overwhelmed her. “I’m so sorry, Sarah, I just, I had to tell the Guildmaster you showed up…”

“It’s fine, Beth. Really.”

“The, uh… The Guildmaster did ask to see you as soon as you returned. Do you want to…?”

“Yeah.”

Beth guided Sarah upstairs, and the Guildmaster looked much better than he had the night before. He’d bathed, changed into fresh clothes, and had restyled his hair.

“Ah, the hero of the day! Welcome back, Brawler Sarah.”

Sarah smirked, remembering the Class she had been offered.

You don’t need a Hero Class to be a hero to someone in need.

They sat down to tea, which Sarah greatly appreciated given her long night, and the Guildmaster formalized her promotion to A Rank.

“As you know, you’re now exempt from taxes and all entry fees and border crossing fees. This crest,” he tapped the engraved metal crest of the Adventurer’s Guild, “serves as something like a diplomatic passport. Try not to lose it. But, if you do, it’s tied to your identity by magic, so nobody should bother stealing it, at least not to use it. Bloody Thieves…” he grumbled for a minute until Sarah cleared her throat, and he refocused.

“Ahem, right. There’s also the reward for the rescue itself: twenty ounces gold.”

“Put it all on the usual request.”

The Guildmaster sighed.

“Really?”

Sarah shrugged and grinned. “Yeah. I’ve got more than enough pocket money.”

In all this time, there still hadn’t been a whisper of what had happened to James.

But at the temple, where Sarah had reunited the Treasure Seekers with their Scout, she had checked with the Priest of Divination.

Her brothers were all still alive.

Somewhere.

She would find him.

It was just a matter of time.

“As you wish, Brawler,” the Guildmaster said, and so it was.

The reward for the quest was now up to thirty ounces of gold.

The Guildmaster leaned back in the couch and sighed, looking at Sarah with a relaxed expression.

“So? What will you do now that you’re A Rank? You’ve met the primary qualification for a branch Guildmaster position…”

“Nope, not interested.” Sarah cut him off mercilessly.

“Looking for your brother, then?”

“Yes.”

“And what about after?”

“I’ll think about that when the time comes.”

The Guildmaster grinned wryly. “Well, as you wish.”

Sarah spent the next few days visiting with her aunt, and Tiffany and her other girl friends, and then she departed in a carriage for Mortimer Barony, to return home for the first time in two years.