The ship sailed at a very slow pace because the waters were fully covered by aquatic plants that peeked out of the water; some of the aquatic plants also grew large enough to look like trees. The ships travelling through these domains usually followed certain routes that had been cleared of the aquatic plants. There were many private forces stationed in such areas who maintained the routes and collected tolls from the ones who passed through them.
The ship carrying Sarah was currently travelling in one such route that was wide enough to allow their passage. When the ship had travelled one-tenth of the route, a huge tree came into their view. This tree blocked their way with a massive trunk that was wider than the breadth of the route. The midsection of the tree had a huge line that split its trunk into two equal halves. A force seemed to have held the two halves from falling apart.
As the ship approached the tree that was modified into a gate, it slowed down to a halt. A man dressed in baggy clothes flew from the branches of the tree and landed on the deck.
"Strevor, it is a surprise seeing you during this time of the month. Is there some reason you are in a hurry?" The man laughed as he greeted the captain of the ship.
"We recently had a spike in our sales and have run out of stock. That is why we had set off in advance this time." Strevor, the captain of the ship exchanged greetings as he fished out a Ten Rupi coin from his pocket and handed it to the man.
"As direct as always; I like people like you." The man laughed as he flew back to the top of the tree and erupted with energy. The huge gates opened and allowed entry for their ship to pass through.
Strevor commanded the sailors to sail the ship as he made eye contact with the man who currently stood amid the branches of the gigantic tree one last time and bade farewell. After meeting each other numerous times, they could be said to have become acquaintances.
Sarah saw the ship pass through what looked like a huge tunnel that seemed to be made from wood that gave out a mellow colour in the ambient light. There were curt drawings inscribed into the inner walls of the wood that seemed completely random at first glance. But under careful observation, Sarah noticed the presence of a couple of Runes she had recognised, camouflaged amid the drawings to look inconspicuous.
After the ship came out on the other side of the tunnel, Sarah was once again greeted by the sight of the regular aquatic plants that made up the Vitality Domain.
'This aquatic plant is so massive. Even calling it a tree is an understatement to its size.' Sarah thought as she focused her attention on the leaves of the surrounding aquatic plants. There was a scenic monster that habitated this region which was sought out as a privileged necessity by the wealthy populace.
Leafray, a level 1 monster that looked like two leaves attached to a twig. They generally attached themselves to the stems of the aquatic plants and preyed on the passing fishes. They were only palm-sized but the two leaves on their bodies were items that were sought after by rich people.
With a tough but smooth exterior that is equivalent to metal, its thin film that is thinner than insect wings and its ability to be inscribed with metals made them the prime choice of papyrus that was to the tastes of the noble families. Even commoners that belonged to the line of wealthy merchants used them to store confidential documents since the papyrus made out of the two leaves of the Leafray fish had a shelf life of more than a hundred years.
'Too bad my Dimension Box is filled to its limits. Otherwise, I would have liked to hunt a couple of Leafrays to sell later.' Sarah thought as she returned to her room. She didn't want to make any unnecessary contact with the sailors that would expose her identity in the future. There had to be a prime reason her father was chased and hunted down so she had to keep a low profile before investigating into it.
Both her father and Stephen were tight-lipped about their attackers even during the final moments before their separation. They ensured to not expose even a single clue so that neither Sarah nor John will be able to make use of it to narrow their search should they ever survive.
The sailor stood beside her door to guard her as Sarah closed the door shut and began to exercise the forms of martial arts her father had taught to her. This was a habit that was ingrained into her body since young. She was taught to wield a sword, a spear, a whip and also fight barehanded. Even though they were just the basics of basics, what she learned was still sufficient for someone her age.
Sarah removed her gown and undergarments and wore simple baggy clothes that facilitated movements and was also not of much concern if they got torn while exercising. There were many tear marks along it due to previous exercises but Sarah paid them no heed as she continued to exercise.
She first stretched her legs to perform a split and then launched a straight right towards her front. She then performed a hook towards her back as her legs sprang up like a spring. Gracefully landing on the floor, she then took a side-step and performed a high kick. Following that, she executed a back end kick.
Then crouching low, she broke into a short sprint and leaped towards the front, landing her two feet on the wall and performing a back flip. As her legs landed on the floor with lithe grace, she proceeded to roll on the floor and made sweeping motions with her legs.
Sarah continued to practice many movements as she shadowboxed with her imaginary opponent and repeatedly analysed the fighting patterns of her opponents. When she was done with her routine, Sarah removed the baggy clothes and went towards the bathroom. After taking another refreshing bath, she proceeded to clean the baggy clothes of all the sweat that had accumulated on them and then hung them dry atop the bed.
She then wore her gown and picked up a book from the cupboard. On her return, Sarah had asked for some books to read from the sailor assigned to take care of her. She specifically asked for storybooks that were refreshing to read. Anyway, all she wanted to do now was to relax her mind and think about her future course of action.
Her father David had presented her with many choices to undertake, with the safest of them becoming the maid of an Administrative family. With her strength as a level 1 warrior, she would be able to garner enough respect if she chose to serve an administrative family that was based in small towns.
She could slowly take her time to develop to a higher level and later move towards better places and search for better opportunities. Of the riskier options, she could join either the Hunter or the Explorer Guild and rake in enough contributions until she could join a Temple and become one of their Templar Knights.
A Templar Knight garnered respect and authority even in Princely Cities but becoming one was very difficult. One mush also possess a morally upright character and should have contributed immensely to the betterment of the people. Though, since only level 3 warriors could become one, it was a thought of the future.
She could also take the production route and join a Blacksmith or a Weaver Guild but, she hated doing menial repetitive work so she set aside such options. She took a look at her arsenal of abilities and saw that they all leaned towards fighting. Her father wasn't an academically trained person so he lacked literary knowledge. Even Stephen only knew basic language and arithmetic which he had passed on to her.
'Is joining the Hunter Guild my only option?' As Sarah pondered, she suddenly felt the energy draining from within her body. The energy was draining at such speeds that she felt like she would run dry in a couple of Chants.
Sarah hurriedly rushed towards the entrance of her room and looked at the figure of the sailor stood guard there. There was a slight frown on his sleepy face as he felt the energy being drained from his body. It took him a moment to sober up before he noticed Sarah staring at him. He hurriedly knelt on one knee and bowed in apology.
"It was my fault to have not informed my lady in advance. We are currently flowing across the periphery of the Fallen Heart Domain and are expected to come out after a Mier." The sailor said.
"I see. Make sure to inform me of such situations on prior notice." Sarah said with a cold voice and shut the door behind her.
'Ah shit, the captain is bound to kill me if he finds out about this. I hope lady Claire doesn't complain to him.' The sailor wiped the sweat that covered his face as he silently prayed in his heart. He also made sure to remain attentive and not doze off no matter how tired he became.
After she had closed the door behind her, Sarah let out a breath of relief. Thankfully, the phenomenon of her energy being drained away was only due to the unique properties of the domain they were currently passing through. The only reason she had acted in such a manner was to behave like an arrogant Noble.
Though, from what her father had said to her, the heads of the commoners would have rolled in an instant when a Noble was angered. Since she neither had the capability nor the ability, Sarah settled for realistic grounds for the sole possibility that she might be able to obtain something good out of this situation.
She had already known about the place in advance due to the map her father had prepared for her. This was one of the safest routes so she predicted that the ship will also follow the same. It wasn't like only her father was privy to such information. Other experienced sailors on his level would also know about them.
Even though they were just passing through the periphery, the rate of her energy drain was still high. It was said that not even high-level warriors dared pass through the core of the Fallen Heart Domain as it was rumoured to house the corpse of a pinnacle being. The energy drain in such places was so high that no lifeform ever managed to get out had they unfortunately stumbled into the area.
