Morning arrived, leaving Cassandra feeling weary. Sometime during the night, the memories of Sandra finally merged with her own. She came to understand that she was an eighteen-year-old orphan girl, known for her natural beauty and flawless skin, which seemed to benefit from her healing magic. Her long black hair flowed straight down to her buttocks, and she possessed perky, modestly-sized breasts. In comparison to the exaggerated proportions she had in her previous life, Cassandra found contentment with her current form, although she couldn't help but wish for a slight increase in size. Her most striking feature was her bright blue piercing eyes, which she believed to be the highlight of her face, along with her small, dainty nose and delicate rosy lips. Cassandra couldn't help but chuckle at Sandra's limited perception of beauty. With Sandra's stunning appearance, she mused that she could have easily pursued a career in modeling.
Cassandra yearned to return to Sandra's former master's hut, but now that it was no longer hers and she had reached adulthood, she knew she had to escape her current predicament. Remaining here alone would only lead to her being exploited, mistreated, or even killed for her valuable magical core. It finally dawned on her that the old mage who had killed her master might be behind the attempted kidnapping. Fear tightened its grip on her heart, causing her to startle when she heard the gate being unlatched. She quickly checked to ensure that the protective spell was still in place, relieved to find that it hadn't drained too much of her mana. Perhaps it was because she hadn't exerted any additional energy while maintaining the spell. However, she knew that the next spell she planned to cast would significantly deplete her mana reserves. It would only last for ten minutes before she would have to rest and meditate to replenish her energy.
As the guard entered the compound in front of the dungeon and scanned the area, he nearly stepped on Cassandra, who had been hiding there. He proceeded to clear the vicinity of the dungeon, which was littered with a hundred dead rats, each pierced by arrows. Retrieving his arrows, he gathered the rats and piled them on the ground, mere inches away from Cassandra. Horror filled her face, and she bit her lip to suppress a scream of disgust.
After ten minutes, the guard swung the gates wide open, granting the adventurers access to the dungeon. Their task was to mine ores and eliminate the rats on the first floor. The guard settled down and began to skin the rats, skillfully removing their tails. An hour later, he called for someone to take the rats to the butcher. It was well-known that dungeon meat contained a potent concentration of mana, which could boost the mana pools of casters and martial warriors for a few hours. However, it would take several weeks of consuming rat meat to observe a tangible increase in their mana capacity.
Drawing upon her past life as a magician and illusionist, Cassandra managed to grasp a rudimentary understanding of the magic in this unfamiliar world, even though her own world lacked such powers. Her expertise in visual deception and her vivid imagination, which her grandfather always praised, became valuable assets. When the servants entered the courtyard of the dungeon to collect rat meat, Cassandra cast an illusion spell, assuming the appearance of a friendly face from her memories: her childhood best friend, Charlie. Charlie had plain blond hair and an unassuming countenance, precisely the kind of appearance Cassandra needed to blend in and avoid attracting attention.
Cassandra walked discreetly behind the other servants, her eyes shut tight. She picked up a basket filled with meat that one of the other servants had been preparing for removal. Repeating the phrase "It's only meat" in her mind, she struggled to maintain her balance while holding the staff and the basket. With the illusion concealing the staff, she carried both items through the gate and placed the basket on the wagon, reserving a piece of rat meat for later, in case she couldn't find any other food.
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Finding refuge in a cluster of bushes several hundred yards away from the dungeon proved to be a simple task. Cassandra heaved a sigh of relief as the illusion spell dissipated, settling down amidst the foliage. She hoped to replenish enough mana to cast another spell. After a few minutes, she realized she could shroud herself in an illusion, resembling a nondescript bush, and meditate. This would prepare her for a subsequent attempt at escaping incognito as a servant later in the day. Though fatigued, Cassandra understood the importance of remaining alert until she discovered a secure location. She settled down to meditate for an hour.
Suddenly, her senses tingled as she detected someone parting the bushes around her. Opening one eye, she recognized a young man clad in leather armor, triggering a faint sense of familiarity. He meticulously searched through the bushes, his fingers narrowly missing her nose.
Turning his head to glance over his shoulder, the man muttered, "No one over here either. Why does the boss think that girl escaped the dungeon? No one has seen her since she was left abandoned in there by that fool who killed her. Now Miss Hart wants us to search until we find her body or her core!"
A shrill, whiny voice emerged from behind the man. "Hey, Henry, why don't we go hunting in the dungeon and make some money looking for her there? Otherwise, we're just wasting our time and money searching here."
"Great idea, Carol! Let's gather a few more people and explore the new floor," Henry eagerly responded.
Cassandra couldn't help but roll her eyes at Henry's infatuation with Carol.
"Are you joking? We won't find anyone willing to join us after what we did to that girl! We need to move to another city. I've already asked my dad to transfer me to a better dungeon, and he agreed to do it in a week!" Carol confidently boasted.
"What about me?" Henry asked. "Why should I be trapped here and punished just because you didn't like Sandra's looks?"
A hard slap resonated through the air as Carol screamed at Henry. "Do not mention that girl's name or dare to compare her to me again, or I'll have my dad abandon you to the wolves! I've spent a lot of time using those powders I bought to make her suffer. But that girl still shows up every day, looking pretty and sweet, no matter what I did to her. I hope she rots in hell." Carol spat on the ground near Cassandra.
As Cassandra observed Henry trembling in fear before Carol, memories of a woman flooded her mind. Carol had been like a best friend to Sandra for the past three months, for reasons unknown, despite her annoyingly whiny voice. Now it made sense why strange rashes and boils had appeared on Sandra's body recently. They were most likely caused by the powders. Cassandra remembered how men in town would flirt with Sandra, which only fueled Carol's jealousy. Without her healing powers, Sandra would have been miserable, covered in rashes and sores.
Emerging from the safety of the bushes after the two entered the dungeon, Cassandra ventured through the town, discreetly acquiring stolen items like an old torn backpack and a dirty, worn-out bedroll. She managed to find some slightly oversized, patched-up clothing that fit her and appeared a bit baggy. Considering her long hair, she briefly contemplated using a knife to cut it short and tossing it into a nearby burning debris pit. However, she decided to keep her long, beautiful, and shiny black hair as it was a stark contrast to the frizzy, dry hair she had in her previous life on Earth. Determined to leave the small town and head towards a city, she left her hair untouched. Along the way, she stumbled upon an abandoned shed outside of town, where she discovered a broken flint and a cracked copper pot that could hold about a pint of water. She added them to her pile of stolen items.
Cassandra boiled a piece of rat meat she had hidden away, using the broken flint to start a fire. She stared at the meat for about an hour, battling her hunger until she finally gave in and ate it. Surprisingly, the meat tasted good, and she could feel the mana from it flowing into her, filling her up much faster. She slightly regretted not picking up a few more pieces, but her fear of rats still lingered.