Emily's hands closed around the gold ring first, and she picked it up again. Then, she reached for the second ring, but her hand was zapped away before touching it.
The ring made a zapping noise, and electricity travelled all around the ring. Emily looked at the ring with a shocked and nervous expression.
"What the hell? Did this ring just refuse to get picked by me?"
Emily's shock turned into anger, and she reached for the ring again. The same thing happened again. But this time, Emily had a minor burn on her finger instead of a steady shove.
Her instincts warned her that if she continued like this, she would indeed get hurt. And that made her pull back and cough to hide her discomfort.
"I suddenly do not feel like taking this artefact with me. I will return for it later, so keep it safe."
Emily instructed, but Rachael knew it was all a buff from her side. There was no way Emily would be able to take this ring away with her.
The older female was still cradling her hand near her chest and blowing away at it to make the pain disappear.
"Go and put some salve on your burn. Otherwise, you can risk it getting infected."
Rachael advised Emily. It must have bruised the elder's ego because Emily left without saying more words.
As soon as Emily was out of the room, Rachael put the artefact ring back into a strong and around her neck. Now that she was sure it would not get stolen by anyone, she could finally ease up and accept it.
That night, Emily had a weird dream. And when she woke up, she could feel the dried traces of tears on her face. It was clear that she had cried in her sleep.
'But it's weird. When I try to remember what happened, nothing comes up. It's almost as if I do not want to remember what happened to me.'
It was weird indeed, but Emily also felt worried. Was this a sign of some kind of disease?
When Emily woke up, the sun was not even up in the sky, but she was excited. The first dungeon visit was the most anticipated day of her semester.
Most people protested when this subject was first introduced to children 9-16. It was considered too advanced and dangerous to be forced on kids. But Emily was glad that this was a subject.
This world was not a safe place. A dungeon could erupt around you any second. You were only safe with an expensive barrier (like the Chlorance family).
Even children needed to learn how to survive in a dungeon long enough for help to come and find them. And that was what this class was for.
Emily knew that as well, so she was up bright and early. When Rachael came down, Emily was already laying out breakfast for her to eat.
"Rachael, be careful out there and try not to get hurt. And if you do, make sure it is an injury that can be treated easily. We do not have enough money to get you therapy, and I doubt that the main house would care about our financial situation even if we complain."
Emily reminded Rachael about their situation. The elder did this once every few days to hammer in the fact that they were poor.
"I will try not to get hurt."
Rachael was not making any promises, but she could not control everything that happened around her. At least, not yet.
"Seems like that is the best I will get from you for now. Make sure you do not make enemies with other people. And arrange for your dinner since I will not be here tonight. There is a party in the main house, and I will have dinner there."
Now this, Rachael did not blame Emily for.
Rachael had only had the leading house food a few times (mostly when the other servants had leftovers and they took pity on her), but it was far better than anything their tower had. If she had a choice, Rachael would also choose to eat out.
'But will I have time to cook dinner? Who knows when I will come back home?'
"Don't look at me like that. I will leave some leftovers for you to eat during dinner. Now get out so I can start my day in peace."
Emily's tone was not harsh, just annoyed. It meant that she had an uncomfortable night and her body was not in a good condition.
It was generally Rachael's cue to leave her alone.
......
For the first time in forever, Rachael did not reach school first. When she opened the classroom door and sat down, she noticed a pair already in the room.
Suzie sat in her seat, giggling at what Elias was saying to her. One look at Suzie was enough to tell Rachael how deeply Suzie had fallen for Elias. Suzie's puppy love was too cringy to look at.
"-And then…I attacked. But that was not all…"
Suzie seemed to be reenacting a story she had likely never experienced and was making up. And Rachael could tell Elias was uninterested in what she was saying.
Why the older teen did not stop Suzie was beyond Rachael's comprehension. Maybe he just liked to torture himself.
"Hmm, it all sounds fascinating to Suzie. Let's stop our talks now. More people are entering the classroom, and we do not want them to disturb them, right?"
Suzie looked angry and gave Rachael a look that clearly said, 'Why did you come in now?'
Rachael ignored Suzie entirely after that and focused on her task, which was…nothing.
"Hello. Your indifference hurts me. Are you not going to greet us both as well?"
Elias asked with a teasing tone of voice. He looked at Rachael with an expression full of mock hurt.
On the other hand, Suzie no longer looked at Rachael. She continued to try to get Elias's attention.
"When I entered the classroom, you looked rather busy. So, I chose not to disturb you. You do not have to mind my presence in here."
Rachael's voice came out a little annoyed, making Elias smirk. She did not even know what made Elias happy in the first place.
"Aww, you don't have to be so on guard in front of me. And if you feel hurt because I ignored you, you can tell me. I will pay attention to you as well."
Elias promised her, and Rachael gave her the deadest eyes she could. At the same time, Suzie finally decided to call out to Elias.
"Elias, can you listen to what I have to say? It is important."
Suzie asked, but the elder brushed her off. Or rather, he pretended as if he did not hear Suzie speak and focused his attention on Rachael.
"You should pay attention to your friend, Elias…I mean, Ely."
Elias's look had turned dark as soon as Rachael had taken his full name, and she quickly remembered that he had asked Rachael to call him by his name.
As soon as she corrected her speech, Elias returned to his usual annoying self.
"Elias, can I call you by your nickname as well?"
Suzie asked, and Rachael was sure the older teen would allow it. He did not like the use of his name a lot. And from how insisting he had been with Rachael, it was only a matter of seconds.
However, that did not happen. Much to Rachael's surprise, Elias denied Suzie the right to call him by nickname.
"You want to call me Ely as well? But I like your voice calling out my full name. It allows me to listen to your voice for longer."
Rachael cringed at the reason Elias gave Suzie, and she was also sure there was no way Suzie would fall for his trick.
However, Suzie was both a kid and in puppy love with Elias. So, whatever he said was going to be taken seriously by her.
"I understand. Hah, take that, Rachael. Elias said he likes my voice and wants to learn it longer."
Suzie did not notice how Elias flinched at her accusation. She could not understand why Elias tolerated her if he did not like her.
'Oh well! It is his wish if he wants to suffer. It has nothing to do with me.'
Rachael turned away from the annoying pair and waited for the others to come in. It was about time for the class to start, and students began pouring in like crazy.
The teacher entered the room swiftly and placed her bag on the table.
"I hope you all are aware of what today is. Now, you all brought back forms signed by your parents, right? Those who did not would have to stay behind."
Rachael quickly took out her form, but Suzie's was unsigned. There were not a lot of parents who felt comfortable sending their kids into the dungeon.
And when you consider how poor the security was at a low-level scroll like this, the danger became even more apparent.
In the end, only six students had their forms signed. That left most of the class behind. The teacher looked relieved to see this.
"Also, today would be your last day with Elias. He needs to go back to his school and continue his studies. I hope you all will support him."
Suzie looked struck when she heard these words. She could not imagine being alone without Elias by her side.
And somehow, Rachael felt that Suzie was about to do something stupid.
That feeling was confirmed when the teacher called Elias toward her, and Suzie turned toward Rachael and held her form out.
"You said that you can make any wish come true, right? Then, I need you to sign this form so I can accompany you all. You can make that happen, right?"
Suzie demanded and held the form out in front of Rachael. The teacher would come to collect their documents any second now.
Rachael looked at the form before her, and now she had a decision to make. And that decision was relatively easy to make as well.