Outside the sewer

Once she exited the sewer, Helena took a few long moments to bask in the sunlight.

“You finish the job, Helena?” Callie the guard asked.

Helena nodded, but her expression was grim. “I did, but there was something odd about the encounter. I initially spotted a large mass of slime and planned to attack it. But when I examined it with Mana Sight, I realized it didn’t have a mana core. I stepped back and looked around, and saw that there was a smaller mass above me that had the core. It was connected to the larger mass by a thread of slime, enough that it could still control the whole thing, but if I hadn’t noticed it would have ambushed me from above.”

Callie’s expression was grim. “Could you write all of that up in a formal report? I figure you were already planning on it, but I want to show it to my superiors. If someone without Mana Sight ran into the same problem, they wouldn’t realize the problem until it was too late. We’ll need to take precautions.”

“Yes, I’ll make sure to.”

“Thanks.” With that settled, Callie’s expression lightened. “And once you wrap up that report, why don’t I treat you for dinner. My shift ends in half an hour, and I was interested in going to the Roasting Pit. How about it, my treat?”

“I couldn’t ask you to pay for me…”

“If that’s your only issue, I’m going to have to insist. So am I going to have to stop by the guild to pick you up or can I meet you at the Roasting Pit?” Callie asked with a steady gaze.

“The Roasting Pit,” Helena replied awkwardly, not wanting to inconvenience Callie any further. That earned her a slap on the back and permission to head back to the guild.