Later at Marcela's house
"Hey Sarah, are you really going?" Bernardo, sitting on the kitchen floor, asks upward while looking at Sarah who is sitting on a chair with her legs crossed.
"I want to see what these hunters are capable of, who knows, maybe I will change my mind about joining the guild." She explains with a book in her hand that has written on the cover "Monsters and Animals".
"Man! I'm jealous of you two." Marcela, who is also sitting at the table, leans over an open book identical to Sarah's. "All I know how to do is collect seeds and identify plants."
"By the way, you are very good at that, you even received the internship invitation from the collectors guild, didn't you?" Bernardo also flips through the same book as them while speaking.
"Do you think so?" She smiles while looking at her still with her head resting and her face hidden by the golden strands.
"Marcela, you can stop right there! Have more confidence. I still want to see you plant your own passion fruits." Sarah places the book on the table and pats her head.
"Can't you just plant its seeds?" Bernardo even stops flipping the pages while looking at the two of them.
"No, those seeds are infertile. The real ones that are used for planting are extremely rare and expensive, that is also why the price per kilo is so absurd." Marcela begins to straighten herself in the chair while staring at the book with a distant gaze.
"My mom said you can only find those seeds in the black market." Sarah leaves the words in the air while observing the figure of a boar on a page.
"This happens because the large passion fruit producers monopolize the seeds. There are recurring cases of mercenaries hired to kill whoever manages to get some and tries to sell them on their own." Marcela explains still with a vague look.
"But you won't sell them, you will give them to me right?" Sarah looks at her with a fixed gaze.
Marcela cannot resist and begins to laugh lightly.
"Obviously, right, I will be your private supplier." She leaves the laugh for a confident look toward Sarah and then toward the book. "But now I need to learn to distinguish the levels of animals and monsters, otherwise I will get screwed in the practical test."
"Haven't I told you already? Normal animals are those that are easily seen in daily life and in places with easy access. Rare ones are those that take long intervals of time to be seen and usually stay in places more difficult to access. Epic ones usually stay in isolated places and are very skittish when they feel unusual presences, that is why few times someone manages to see one." Bernardo even raises his chin while speaking.
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Marcela takes the opportunity to add.
"Those are the ones that are usually seen when some hunter is tracking one specifically correct?" She is already flipping through some pages until she finds the section that talks about them.
"That's right! Very good!" Bernardo smiles while looking at her face all concentrated.
Sarah watches them in silence and even puts the book aside to do so.
"Legendary ones are those that take years to see one, they live in hostile places and with high risk of life. As for the Heralds..." He is interrupted by Marcela.
"Creatures that you see once in a lifetime, they inhabit the most hostile and secret environments. And even so it is still difficult to affirm that they really exist, only those with concrete proof are considered real." She runs her finger along the lines of the book while reading.
"Good thing I won't need to take that test, I would get all the categories wrong." Sarah lets the words escape while looking at the ceiling.
"There you go again with those shabby excuses." Marcela takes the opportunity and throws a sock at Sarah's face.
"Don't you take showers?" Sarah lightly smells the sock and releases the words on purpose while forcing a grimace.
"You'll see the shower." Marcela is holding a mug full of water in her hand.
"Don't forget the Mystics huh! My favorites." Marcela's father speaks from the living room in a loud voice, interrupting them.
"Beings that have no reports of their existence except in tales, legends and myths. Few are those whose existences were proven." Bernardo finishes.
"Why do you like them dad?" Marcela raises her voice.
"When I was a child, I heard the legend of the Anhangá, a white and furry deer that they say has such a divine appearance that just by being seen it already makes the person become healthier and live longer." The father finishes speaking already in the kitchen, leaning on the refrigerator and with a distant gaze. His short blond hair contrasts with the black shirt and the green shorts.
"Mr. Cláudio, your feet stink." Bernardo says placing his hand over his nose.
"Hey, just because you are dating my daughter doesn't mean you can invent lies like that!"
"But it's true dad!" Marcela's voice even comes out nasal.
When he sees that the two of them are also with their hands on their noses, he takes the trouble to smell more carefully and really confirms the obvious.
"You win, I'm going to take a shower. By the way, I need to take you back home. Get ready!" He finishes speaking while turning toward the living room.
Then they tidy the mess and continue talking about some topics of the tests and some silly teasing.
Already at night, Sarah finds herself thoughtful about which weapon she will use and vaguely remembers those dreams. She can even hear the sound of glass breaking in her mind. But it doesn't take long and she leaves the choice for the next day, surrendering to sleep and the night.
The next day
The sun is already at the peak of its power when the action finally begins.
In a more open area in the middle of a corn plantation, a black furred boar charges voraciously with its sharp tusks ready to pierce whatever is in front.
Further ahead in the direction it is going, Lozar, a man of medium height and a bit thin, holds a short sword while a black round shield made from the scales of some animal is attached to his right arm.
