The forest felt like an endless entity. The more Rachael ran, the more greenery she saw. The density of the forest did not even seem to waver, and Rachale was afraid that she would never be able to emerge out of the woods.
Just when it felt as if nothing would change no matter how much Rachael ran, she finally broke through the line of trees and into the open space. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the first sign of life.
It looked like an abandoned village with old-fashioned mud houses and grass-straw roofs. The place would have been a perfect old-fashioned village if not for the size of the house itself.
The house came up to about Rachael's knees, which looked cute, but Rachael only realized this when she reached the village.
Dungeons did not have any humans. But they did have humanoid creatures. The higher the dungeon level, the more humanoid the monster inside would be.
Usually, these low-level F-class dungeons did not have any creatures inside. That was why finding such a village seemed like a miracle.
"Hello, is anyone there? If you are, then please show yourself. I am not here to harm you."
Rachael spoke loudly and made a lot of noise. She did not want to scare the inhabitants of this settlement.
The experience proved that the miniature monsters feared things more significant than them. So, they must be terrified of Rachael as well.
She had to admit that she was a little disappointed when she did not get a response from the inhabitants of this place. But Rachael did not let it discourage her from doing what she wanted.
Rachael would make sure that these tiny creatures were not afraid of her.
An hour passed, and the tiny creatures continued to hide from her. At first, it seemed as if they would continue to do so for the whole duration Rachael was there.
Finally, after an hour of waiting, a small area saw some noise. Small animal-like creatures started to walk out of their holes and make their way toward Rachael.
They had been observing this short human and could not feel malice from her side. As such, they decided to trust her and come out to meet her.
Rachael was startled by the sudden interest these small and cute creatures showed in her, which caused her to lean back and hold her breath.
But as soon as she noticed these tiny creatures did not intend to harm her, Rachael relaxed as well.
One of the tiny creatures jumped into her lap and nuzzled her hand. They seemed harmless, and Rachael spent some time petting it.
The more time she spent in the company of these tiny creatures, the more Rachael realized she was lost in this dungeon.
'This feels good. I can last a little while if I stay with these creatures. I wish I had enough money to buy a phone. Or some kind of communication device. They are pricy but not more than my life. Now, all I can do is wait to be rescued.'
That was Rachael's plan. But when things seemed to be going incredible for her, the first sign of danger approached her. And it came in the form of a gunfire.
The tiny creatures ran away as soon as they heard gunfire. Their scared bodies disappeared behind the locked doors, and Rachael was alone.
She was about to hide as well when Rachael was caught. Her wrist was tightly gripped, and the monster pulled her petite body up.
"Looks like we have a jackpot here. This looks like a young human. The market would pay a reasonable price for such a rare find.
Rachael looked up at the half-beast face in front of her. Somehow, she could tell the beast before she was not human.
Many humans had evolved, and many looked like monsters as well. The line between a demon and a human had never been blurrier before.
And yet, one look at this beast and Rachael knew that this was no human. And she started to struggle to get out of the monster's grip.
"Stop struggling. You are giving me a headache with all your thrashing around. I will break your spine if you do not sit quietly."
The beast threatened. And just to prove his point, he smacked Rachael's back against the tree trunk. That caused Rachael to lose control of her body, and she stopped moving around.
She was not unconscious, but her body refused to move. It felt heavy. Rachel felt faint.
"Tsk, what happened? Did you accidentally kill our human? Do you know how precious these resources are? Stop trying to kill all of them."
The second beast yelled at his partner, wanting him to stop being mean to Rachael. But the first person did not seem to care. He pouted and shook Rachael around until she moaned in annoyance.
Only then did the man look satisfied and smirked at his partner.
"The human is alive. Looks like we got fortunate with this kid. She has a vital spirit that keeps her alive. She'll make a great enslaved person."
Rachael's conscience waved in and out. She blinked a few times to clear her sight, but it was useless.
The creatures of the small village watched the beast take the gentle human away from them. They felt pity for the human child. But they quickly went about doing their work.
......
Elias felt anger go through him when he looked at Suzie's crying face.
'I knew I should not have encouraged the little girl's crush on me. Now I must look after her because the teacher gives me these helpless looks.'
Elias was only considering being calm because he needed the teacher's referral to come back and be next year's assistant. This was his only point of contact with Rachael, which was expected and could be explained to society.
'Then again, I can not care about anyone else but Rachael. It would surely make these fools realize how precious she is once I reveal my identity.'
That was a possibility Elias could see. He wanted to leave Suzie's arms and quickly extract himself. But he had to keep himself in check.
The thought of Rachael hating him for his deeds kept Elias grounded.
Finally, after about half an hour of crying and getting herself under control, Suzie fell asleep. She had a tight grip on Elias's clothes, and he could get away only after she fell asleep.
"I am so sorry for making you experience all this, Elias. I know that it is your last day. It is a pity that you must experience all this."
The teacher looked at Elias with a sorry expression. She looked tired, but Elias felt no pity for her. His sympathy was only saved for people he wanted to pity and like.
And currently, that includes only a handful of people.
Suzie continued to cling to Elias. It irritated him a lot, but he continued to take deep breaths and calm himself down.
'I can do this. I can endure this humiliating grip on my arm and forgive this child. I do not need to be harsh on anyone like this.'
Elias kept control of his emotions, and the teacher took it as a sign that he did not have a problem with his current situation.
"Hey Elias, can you bring Suzie out of the dungeon? I will gather everyone else, and we will meet you outside."
The teacher finally sighed and knew her free time was over. She quickly wrapped up all she had on hard, and the children gathered around her.
Elias was about to head out with Suzie when he quickly did a head count and felt his heart stop.
Someone was missing. And that someone was Rachael as well.
Elias had missed seeing her because of the change in her hair color. His eyes had glazed over the students before he did a head count.
It was then he noticed that Rachael was missing from the group.
"Hmm, it seems like no one is missing. We have all the six students here-"
"Miss, there were seven of us at the start. I don't think Rachael is here with us right now."
One of the kids commented, and the teacher immediately took a head count. She realized what the kids were saying was the truth, and she immediately broke out a cough.
"I knew that one of you was missing. I was trying not to worry about all of you. Did you think I would make such a mistake? No way. That is not possible at all."
The teacher bragged, but the children had already seen her nervousness about the situation.
"A-Anyway, Elias, can you take these children back while I make an important call? We need to retrieve Rachael's dead body and tell her family…"
Before the teacher could finish, Elias had also disappeared back into the field. He was so fast that the teacher was not able to stop him.
Before Elias could enter the dungeon, he found a large boulder in his path. Fiery red hair and an impassive gaze blocked his way.
"Young master, I am afraid this is out of your contract development with the current leader. If you breach this contract, then it would be dire for you if you proceed. As a subordinate, I cannot let you go in."
Luca stopped Elias from stepping into the dungeon portal. His presence caused the children to gasp in awe. But the teacher. Who knew Lucas's real identity gasped and instantly shielded the children.
"Get out of my way, Luca. This is my last warning to you. You will be responsible for what happens next if you do not get out of my way right now."
Elias warned Lucas, but the elder refused to get out of the way. By this time, the teacher also got concerned and quickly approached Elias.
"Child, do not anger the man in front of you. You do not know just how dangerous he is. You will die if you go against him now. So stand behind me so that you can remain safe."