The teacher looked uneasy when she stood in front of Elias. From the first time the teacher saw Elias, she recognized his superior aura. And then she had decided to be in his good grace.
Now that he was in danger, it was her time to shine. If she played her cards right, she could foster a relationship with Elias's family.
"This is annoying. What do you think you are doing right now? If you keep blocking my way, then the consequences of doing so would not be pretty. This is my last warning - step away from our young master, you leech."
Lucas did not take the teacher's interference kindly. He looked ready to kill the teacher, which made her panic. She had not wanted to offend Lucas with her words.
'What should I do now? Forming a bond with Elias is good. But I do not want to die as well. Do I have no choice but to abandon my plan?'
The teacher was having a hard time. Behind her, the students had also caught on to the fact that something was wrong.
"Ugh, this is annoying. Luca, we do not have time to be wasting around right now. Hurry up and go after Rachael. If anything happens to her, I will not let you live."
Elias threatened, but Luca did not even look phased by her. He sighed and walked toward the dungeon opening.
"Young master, this dungeon is a small matter, and I will take care of this on my own. There is no need for you to be concerned. You should just concentrate on the family matters."
Lucas disappeared inside the gate. As soon as he was gone, a dozen strong men appeared out of nowhere and surrounded the students. They were effectively caged outside the clearing.
"I- I- Can we talk about this once? I am sure we do not need to be kept captive."
The teacher tried to get out of the situation. She was only thinking about herself right now and was even ready to sacrifice her student for her cause.
"This is too much. I can't take much more of this foolish class and these foolish people. You take care of them and quieten them down. I will go and take care of the elders and calm them down."
Elias rubbed his head as he commanded his people. He could feel how everything was getting too much for him.
All he wanted to do was to go after Rachael. But his social responsibilities stopped him. That made his mood worsen, and he was enraged.
'Tsk, this is so annoying. I will destroy this useless school if anything happens to Rachael. How dare they hire such incompetent teachers? I will make the board regret going against my family like this.'
...
"Hey, bro. I know that it was my idea to kidnap humans and use them. But are you sure it will be alright? What if the other humans come after us? We lack power in this dungeon. We will be killed."
One of the monsters asked as he watched his brother and their captured human. He had seen what happened to other monsters once humans caught them.
Unlike his brother, the first monster was much less powerful. He could not even speak human language properly. He would be the first one to die.
"Don't worry too much. Humans have a habit of underestimating us, and I am sure they will lose in a fight against us. You see, this is a 'low-level' dungeon for humans. No strong human will come in here."
"Besides, since humans left this child alone, I am sure that she is an abandoned one who would care about her at all. Come, we need to have a killer profit now."
The second monster assured him before he broke off the branches in his path. Both monsters were walking toward the forest to escape the human eye. Once they succeeded, then it would indeed be over for Rachael.
Thankfully, she woke up at the right time and opened her eyes. She had heard the last few words that these people were exchanging and quickly opened her eyes.
'I need to get out of these people's clutches. I will die if I remain here.'
Rachel was sure of this, so she struggled to escape her captor's hold. She almost successfully got away before the monster tightened his hold on her once more.
"This slippery little-! Hey, get back here. Are you trying to run away from me? Don't try to be smart with me.'
Rachael was caught again by the back of her shirt and held up in the air. She knew she had messed up heavily this time and would be hurt.
But just as she was about to, he hurt; the first monster looked up and frowned.
"Did you hear that, bro? It looks like someone is traveling inside this dungeon at a fast speed. Do you think it's a human who has come for this kid? W-What are we going to do?"
The first monster looked terrified of what would happen. But his partner remained calm.
"Don't worry. Humans might have special powers, but they have dull senses compared to us. We will be able to avoid the human if we remain vigilant. For now, follow me. We will use the deeper forest to hide our traces."
The second monster assured and then walked into the forest.
All this while, Rachael continued to try to get to her traveling kit. She just needed to find a way to reach her herbs. She had a few that could cause the target to fall unconscious.
'I am almost there. I just need to find the right herb from the space.'
Just when Rachael was sure that she grabbed the right herb, she was put down and had to leave the herb.
"Bro, why are we stopping here? This is right in the middle of the forest. What if a dangerous demon comes after us?"
The scared monster tried to convince his partner to leave this place. But the second monster did not look afraid.
"You idiot! This is a low-level world. Do you think there is anything more dangerous here than us? We can kill any creature in this world with ease. So, stop getting scared and follow my lead."
"Tonight, we shall camp here and eat to our heart's desire. Since we are about to get rich soon, we do not need to hold back now."
The second monster took a lot of loot from his bag and laid it all out. Soon, a small fire was lit, and Rachael knew it was her chance. She quickly pulled the spice from her pouch and put it into the boiling water.
"Hey, kid, what are you trying to do? Are you trying to be smart with me? I don't think you need to find out your place. So, I will have to teach it to you."
Rachael was pulled up by her leg and held upside down. It made the blood rush toward her head, but she was still aware of what she needed to do here.
The air was filled with the sleeping smell, and the monster swayed on his feet while holding Rachael up. She quickly stopped breathing the air and waited for the first monster to fall asleep.
Just as Rachael was about to make a run, the second monster returned. He cursed when he noticed how Rachael was about to run away from his partner.
But before he could chase after his prey, he smelled the sleeping agent and felt his eyelids close. He fell to the ground, and Rachael quickly ran away from him.
The forest was her only survival option, and she would take it.
Since it was night, the forest was dark, and it was impossible to tell where Rachael was going. But she did not dare to turn on any light source mainly because she did not want to risk alerting where she was.
Light would give away her position, and her kidnappers would not sleep for long.
'It is getting cold out here. At this rate, I will not be able to survive for long. I need a way to get back home.'
Rachael shivered in the night air but was determined to keep moving. She had a few emergency snacks she shoved into her mouth and then began to look for a hole to hide in.
She found one just in time to hear footsteps going past her. They sounded humanoid, but Rachael had also learned her lesson about trusting humans.
'I will not make the mistake of showing herself out in the open.'
And if she were going to get in trouble, she would use the pepper spray she had stolen from Emily.
Once Rachael was safe, she crawled out of her hiding spot and quietly exited. She looked around, only to find a human jumping adjacent to her and trying to catch her.
Rachael defended herself on instincts, and she sprayed the other man with her pepper spray.
Luca, who had not expected such a move, was taken aback and received a face full of pepper spray.
His eyes instantly burned, his throat felt itchy, and his eyes watered. When he realized what had happened, Rachael had already fled.
'That little shit. No wonder our young master is infatuated with her and her personality. She has enough brain and bravery to match him.'
Luca approved of the little girl immediately. (Not that Elias cared much about his approval.) Now, Lucas just needed to catch the currently brown-haired girl before it was too late, and she landed herself in danger.
'I should ask for a raise once I return. I am sure that young master would approve of it if he knew what humiliation I faced.'
Or Elias could make fun of Luca forever for losing to a kid.