Her surroundings changed into a green meadow. There was a faint wind blowing past her, swaying the tender grass on the ground. Sarah looked behind her and saw a huge Rat Head with its mouth opened wide enough for 10 people to comfortably pass through at a single time.
She saw a girl walking out through it and kneeling on the grass to vomit. Once she finished vomiting out to her stomach's content, the girl awkwardly wiped her mouth on the sleeves of her clothes and gazed at her surroundings in wariness. When she spotted Sarah standing in close proximity, her lips curled up to reveal a bright smile as she walked towards her.
Sarah didn't avoid the girl and stood in her spot. She had noticed the girl when they were changing their clothes and had quite the impression of her.
"Hello, I'm Cailey Strawneck. I was wondering if the two of us can team up." The girl extended a hand, a professional smile etched on her face.
"Hello, I'm Sarah Washer." Sarah lifted her hands for a handshake in response but paused midair. She remembered the event of the girl vomiting just a while ago and brought her hands down. She then extended her ring finger out and placed it before her chest, forming a wave pattern. It was the traditional greeting style of the followers of the Heavenly Voyager.
Cailey let out an embarrassed laugh as she cleaned her hands on her dress, showing not an ounce of noble upbringing. She then looked at her surroundings and noticed the groups that had formed in front of her and at the figure of Sarah who stood beside her, observing the landscape with a collected demeanour.
'I have never heard about the Washer family. Are they a noble family from the southern part of the country? But, judging from her actions, she doesn't look like someone from a minor noble family.' The girl thought carefully.
Earlier, when Blista had released her aura for an instant, it wasn't her intention to scare or suppress them. She had put up such a front but it was her providing an opportunity for the attentive ones to chose worthy teammates.
The ones that could resist her aura to a certain extent and not make a mess of themselves would prove to be strong warriors in the field. Anyone who could judge that would seek to form a team with such people. It depended on their observational skills amidst intense pressure. Cailey had noticed Sarah faring better than her during that minor test and sought to form a team with her.
"It is fine if I call you Sarah right?" Cailey asked.
"It is fine," Sarah replied. She hadn't tried to conceal her name because it would be revealed when the test results were displayed. So, she didn't try to do such an annoying act that could break the trust with her to be teammates. Moreover, the family name of Washer wasn't displayed in her identity card because such a name didn't exist on official records.
…
Rooknil Princely City, in a certain hotel room, a child displayed the feeling of confusion as she held an identity card in her hands.
"Dad, why is it that my name is only written here as Sarah and not Sarah Washer?" After waking up from her nap, Sarah sought her father to clear her confusion.
"That is because only a Noble family can have a family name. They are generally bestowed by the King if you perform meritorious deed to a certain level. We can call ourselves with our family name, but it has zero official credibility since it hasn't been acknowledged by the King."
"Listen, my child," David Washer said as he kneeled down and gazed into the brown eyes of Sarah, "The moment you reach level 4, you will gain the qualification to establish a Noble family by yourself. Level 4 is a special stage; only the warriors who possess either a Principled Jewellery or a bloodline will be able to ever reach this level. I had none so my journey stopped at the peak of level 3. But, you are different; you can reach level 4 in this lifetime if you work hard enough."
…
Sarah cautiously surveyed her surroundings and hadn't noticed any monster in her vision. She could see many groups of boys and girls, ranging between 5 and 20 people per group. Just based on appearance alone, she couldn't judge the combat capabilities of the boys. And of the girls she had kept an eye, they had already formed groups of their own.
'It would prove to be difficult to join the larger groups and achieve our task. It is better to move in small teams that could easily be hidden.' Sarah thought as she looked behind the groups of people. There was something like a forest on their left while a huge hill resided on their right. It was somewhat blurry due to the distance so Sarah couldn't make out where the monsters resided.
The Rat Head was situated on one end of the meadow. Behind the meadow, all Sarah could see was a huge barrier. It was a barrier that separated the dungeon world from the real world. They were termed as a 'Dungeon Wall' and were so tough that warriors on her level couldn't even dream of scratching it.
"Sarah, do you have anyone else in mind that can join our team?" Cailey said when she noticed Sarah being silent.
"I had a few in mind but they have already formed groups of their own. It would be difficult for us to pass the test if we join those larger groups. Moreover, we would just paint a big target for the monsters." Sarah said. She kept an eye on the Rat Head to check if anyone strong would walk out.
"I thought so too; that's why I approached you. It is easier to move with a small team." Cailey said when her face turned sour as she noticed the figure of a girl walking out. On seeing her expression, Sarah turned to look at the Rat Head and spotted a girl with yellow hair and yellow eyes walking out.
The girl took a moment to scour through her surroundings before her gaze fell on Cailey. Heaving a sigh of relief, the yellow-haired girl walked towards the duo.
"I think it is for our best if we start moving now. That woman is really annoying." Cailey said as she pulled Sarah's hands, motioning for her to move.
"I have the same thought, follow me," Sarah said as she led the way while Cailey followed behind. The duo circled around the groups huddled in the middle and proceeded to rush towards a forest. Some gazes from the attentive people in the groups fell on the running duo as they noticed minute changes in their surroundings. They silently began to execute their own plans and moved accordingly.
"Wait for me!" The yellow-haired girl shouted as she chased after the running duo, with frightening speed. On seeing her approach speed, the duo broke into a sprint and rushed towards the forest section.
Left of the meadow was a forest where giant trees that blocked out the sky grew. On the right was a huge hill with rugged rocks strewed all across its surface. Even they looked blurry when viewed from the meadow, once they approached its boundary, the forest and the rocky mountain came into view, as if the previous blurry image had been melted.
The trees were shaped like pine trees but had leaves that were similar to that of a coconut's. They were long and sharp but had a thick stump at the bottom that was wide enough for their hands to barely circle around. After some consideration, the duo decided to first enter the forest area to complete some basic preparation.
They weren't provided with any rations so they had to find them first. Moreover, without any Energy Berries to replenish their energy reserves, they would run out of steam after a single attack. They also lacked water to quench their thirst, a bag to hold their items, weapons, etc.
Sarah didn't have any intention to use her Dimension Box because she didn't want to reveal her actual ability. She only planned to behave in such a manner as if her Divine Might skill was her only ability.
"Wait for me!" The moment the duo had slowed down to cautiously enter the forest area, a figure jumped on them from behind. Sarah had almost used her skill to retaliate but controlled her instincts when she noticed that the yellow-haired girl didn't mean them harm.
Sarah planted her foot into the mud to increase her grip as she bent to her side. Using the momentum of her previous running, she rolled on the mud and avoided the crash. But, Cailey clearly didn't possess such control over her body as she directly received the yellow-haired girl in her arms.
The duo rolled on the ground due to the impact and stopped after some time. The steepness of the forest area also helped to quickly reduce their rolling.
"You monkey, are your eyes only meant for decoration?" Cailey shouted as she pushed aside the heavy girl that lay on her.
"I should be asking you that, you useless firefly. Are your ears just decorative pieces of meat?" The yellow-haired girl stood up as she pinched her nose and gazed at Cailey with disgust.
"Ugh, you sting. Did you just vomit?" She took a few steps back with aversion and used the sleeves of her dress to cover her nose.
"That's it monkey, you're dead," Cailey shouted as she pounced on the yellow-haired girl and pulled at her hair. The yellow-haired girl retaliated by pushing Cailey's cheeks and nose with her hands to create some distance between them.
"Get off of me, stinking firefly." The yellow-haired girl shouted as she changed her target to Cailey's hair. Her scalp was in pain as Cailey had targeted her hair from the very beginning.
"Why should I listen to you? I will change my family name to a monkey if I don't make you bald." Cailey shouted. Her face was flushed red while the strength she used in her hands increased. The two started crying as their scalps were in pain since the other party relentlessly pursued with their attacks.
"Quiet, there's a goat." Sarah suddenly shouted with a muffled voice as she pulled Cailey away from the yellow-haired girl. The girls immediately turned quiet and stood up in alarm.
Sarah hurriedly pulled the two into the thicket of the trees and hid behind the trunk of a tree. They watched with silence at a horde of goats that were rushing down the rocky hill towards the meadow.
"Those people near the Rat Head are screwed." The yellow-haired girl said as she wiped her tears on the sleeves of her dress.