"No. Suzie, I will not be signing your form. First, it is risky, and you must offer me more of something to take such a risk. Second, I will not endanger your life like this."
Rachael quickly shot Suzie down. It made Suzie angry, and she pouted at Rachael. It went ignored by Rachael's side, making Suzie even more mad.
'People take risks for all kinds of reasons, but I cannot respect Suize; what she is doing is reckless, and I will not be a part of her demise.'
If Rachael had helped Suzie out now, she would have become an accomplice of Suzie. And this could land Rachael in a lot of trouble.
Knowing her stance in advance was better to avoid any future trouble. And this time, Elias was her witness.
Suzie turned toward Elias to ask him for help, but the teacher recalled the teen in front of the class. Rachael also turned her attention toward the teacher, so she did not notice Suzie swiping her form out of her bag and entering an empty one for Rachael.
When Rachael took out her form from her bag, she was surprised to see it was empty. She was sure she had filled the paper out and had Emily sign it.
But maybe Emily should have remembered to sign it or something. In that case, Rachael could just sign the form herself.
Even if the teacher knew what Rachael did, what could she do? The elder would just say she had signed the form if she asked Emily.
'Did Suzie swipe my form with hers? I need to tell the teacher about this.'
Rachael made note of this. But when the time to hand her form in came, Rachael forgot all about it. Her teacher even commented how there was one more kid than she had counted to enter the dungeon.
But no one paid extreme attention to the details as they got ready to enter the lowest-grade dungeon, the F-class.
These kinds of dungeons were harmless, and they did not have monsters. The only lander here was landscape, so these were considered safe to bring people into.
Rachael had read about the dungeons in the books, but this was her first time seeing them in person. But so far, the dungeon looked rather ordinary.
"Now, children, a dungeon could become dangerous in seconds, so you need to be careful and listen to me. Try not to leave my side if you can help it. Do you understand?"
The teacher asked, and the students quickly agreed. Rachael was the only one not paying attention to anything, and Suzie was only paying attention to Elias.
The teacher stopped in the flowering field and tapped her utility bracelet. It was a low-grade artifact often given to those headed for the dungeons.
A small protective barrier formed around the clearing, and the teacher finally relaxed.
"Alright, kids, you can roam around in the protective barrier. Remember to keep inside, and I will reward you for it. Now, you all can run around and have fun."
The teacher did this every year, so she was relaxed. No accidents had happened, and the barrier did not allow anyone to enter or exit. It was a safe place for children to be.
Of course, the children did not know that they were safe and confined. So, they continued to try to get away from the barrier. It was entertainment for the children and relaxing for the teacher.
So, with that thought in mind, the teacher quickly went to sleep. She could not even imagine what was going to happen today.
...
Rachael waited for her teacher to fall asleep before she began to experiment and look around.
There were so many flowers and trees she had only seen in books. And there were just as many she had never seen before. Rachael wanted to take them back with her, but she could not.
She could not grow most of these trees outside this dungeon because they required a specific environment and care. So, the only thing she could do was collect samples and bring them back.
For that, Rachael had brought her small pocket dimension where she could store things.
It had not come cheap, and Rachale had taken funds from Adrian's card. Not that the older teen would notice it since his bank account was still full of money.
'I need these roots. And maybe this flower as well. Hmm, this seed was used as a poison. Not a strong one at that, so that I can use it in the future.'
Even if Rachael could not use all these ingredients, she could see them. It would get her some money from peddlers interested in these things. But she would have to do it illegally because she had no selling license.
"Hmm, what will you do with all these plants and flowers? I don't think you know how to use them or what they do."
Rachael felt her heart leap in her throat when she heard Elias's voice whisper right in her ear. She had not expected him to be standing anywhere near her.
"Aww! You scared me. Please do not make a noise to inform me that you are coming next time. You also made me drop my samples."
Rachael felt terrible for the samples. They were such gorgeous pieces of flora she had collected. And now they were wasted because she could not keep her composure.
"Oh! I see. I apologize for my mistake. As compensation, let me help you out."
Elias picked up a few flowers and seeds for Rachael to take. He even gave her samples from parts Rachael was not able to reach. Rachael did not want to get involved with this man, but he proved helpful to her.
They both worked in harmony for some time before Elias asked her the same question again.
"So, what are you going to do with these samples? I don't think you told me about it."
Elias asked as he handed Rachael another herb she had not seen before. It looked like mint, and it made her hands feel cold. She quickly pocketed it and chose to ignore what Elias was asking her.
Suzie, who had been watching this happen from the sideline, was jealous. She could not understand why Elias was wasting his time with Rachael.
Was not she being a better and more beautiful child? Every other child wanted her attention and play with her. She was the princess of this class.
(Emily did not realize that it was not *her* but her *parents* influence that the other kids were after. They were asked to become friends with Suzie because their parents forced them to do so.)
"Hey, Suzie, come and play with us. We will be kicking the ball around. You like to play this game, right?"
One of Suzie's friends called out to her with enthusiasm. She was one of the few people who genuinely liked Suzie. But Suzie did not care about playing for now. She wanted to attract Elias's attention.
So, she quickly picked up an herb and walked toward the working pair.
Only Suzie made a mistake and picked up a poisonous herb. It caused her to develop painful rashes, and Suzie held her cry back. She did not know why her hands were red and aching, but she wanted relief.
Suzie's cry caused the teacher to wake up and look toward her. Elias had to pay attention to Suzie as well once she was hurt.
"Rachael, I will come back soon. There was an accident that happened. You should do what you were doing up until now and gather more herbs."
Elias patted Rachael's head before walking toward Suzie to check on her.
Rachael was also worried about Suzie, but she was sure this place was not harmful. The authorities would have only allowed this to be a teaching spot if it was safe.
So, she went back to farming. The more Rachael looked around, the more new plants she could discover. The more she found, the further she went.
Before she realized it, Rachael had reached the end of the barrier, and her ring formed a wall around her. It allowed Rachael to pass through the teacher's barrier without realizing it.
Rachael walked until she was tired. Then she turned around, only to notice that she was in the forest and could no longer see the clearing.
"Huh? This is weird? I am sure that I did not walk long. And didn't the course book say that we cannot leave the barrier no matter what? Teacher and the clearing must be close by as well."
Rachael turned back and started to walk around. But she soon realized she was lost and had no idea where to go from there. The forest looked the same no matter where she looked.
"I hate to admit it. But I may be lost right now. What did the book say about this? To follow the tracks on the trees?"
No matter how hard Rachael looked, she could not find what the book was talking about. So, she continued to walk and let her instincts lead her around.
The sun was setting, and the dungeon took on a darker tone. Rachael was out of her element now since she did not know what would happen next.
None of the books she had read had told her what happened in a dungeon after sunset. Was it still safe to linger here?
'I don't want to die. I truly do not want to die. Someone, help me out.'
For the first time in her life, Rachael felt such intense helplessness. But the feeling she had right now felt familiar. It was almost as if Rachael had felt these kinds of emotions before.
The way her breath hitched and her eyes dilated, it all felt familiar to her.
'I need to get out of the forest. This place is not safe. I need to run….'
Rachael was high on instincts right now. She was running as fast as her legs would allow. Her lungs burned due to the lack of oxygen. But she felt nothing the whole time.