A mage in the making: Unlocking my mage system-Chapter 39: The red zone pt 1

The room went silent after Kaiden said those words. It seemed like time stopped making everything still and unmoving. Chuck stared at Kaiden with a terrified look, thinking that she had finally gone bonkers. The red zone wasn’t just another field on the other side of the dimension, it was the place that harbored beasts considered to be at the evolved level. Their last encounter with the regular beasts in the yellow zone ended with Kaiden getting hospitalized, almost succumbing to the life threatening injury that she suffered.

Beasts that were classified at the evolved stage were stronger than the regular beasts by leaps and bounds, giving them more advantage, durability, and versatility in combat. They also had access to mana — the main source of magical affinity control, and it made them exhibit special feats that were only applicable to their race.

When Chuck and Erik heard Kaiden’s suggestion, they thought she was mentally unstable due to the trauma of a neat death experience, facing off an evolved beast could end with various casualties that they weren’t prepared for.

"You’re kidding right? You can’t possibly be suggesting our next direction to be the red zone," Erik said with a frown on his brows.

"Ohh she’s definitely kidding... she has to be," Chuck said, forcing a smile on his face as he tried to shake off his anxiety.

Kaiden stood still, looking at them with an unreasonable expression as she began speaking, "come the fuck on, guys. It was very obvious that we were uncoordinated during our last fight, and that was the reason as to why I got injured."

"BUT YOU ALMOST DIED!" Erik shot with anger, a vein seemed to be pooping out of his forehead, "don’t you understand? You could’ve been killed. If Chuck didn’t have this strange energy, he wouldn’t have been able to save you."

"Erik’s right," Chuck spoke up, "we’re definitely not strong enough to fight evolved beasts, coordinated or not. You guys are only at the high magus stage, and I don’t even know how to rank my mage stage."

"We’re not fully equipped to go around fighting evolved beasts."

"But it’s the best way to win the event. If we stay extremely careful, we should be okay. We will be okay," Kaiden said with a plea.

Chuck stared at Kaiden’s puppy eyes, and whether he admitted it or not, he was charmed by how she spoke. He knew that heading over to the red zone was extremely dangerous, but part of him also wanted to give it a try, just so he could please Kaiden.

"Alright just imagine if we actually agreed to your crazy plan," Chuck spoke up, "how exactly do you expect us to slay even one evolved beast? What if they travel in hordes?"

"I don’t think that they travel in hordes. The academy would not send us to this dimension if they didn’t believe that we couldn’t kill the beasts," Kaiden replied.

"Touche," Chuck said.

"Touche? Really? What the fuck is wrong with you Chuck, are you really gonna take her side?" Erik said in annoyance.

"Don’t tell me that you’re not scared of going to the yellow zone, seeing as you buried a fucking headless body underneath it’s soil."

Chuck was immediately stunned by Erik’s comment. He didn’t expect Erik to reveal what he did in Kaiden’s presence, not wanting Kaiden to have any knowledge about the bloody occurrence that happened when Chuck was alone in the yellow zone.

"What the fuck did you just say?" Kaiden spoke up suddenly, staring back at Erik in shock.

"Ohh did I forget to mention? Chuck told me that he killed three students in a berserk state of his," Erik said, completely snitching on Chuck.

"They were sent after me. It was just self defense. And besides, people die everyday right? It’s nothing to worry about as long as everyone learns to KEEP THEIR MOUTH SHUT!" Chuck shouted as he stared at Erik.

For a brief moment, the hue on Chuck’s eyes glowed a deep golden color as a tiny ripple of golden essence seeped through his being. This immediate reaction sent a chill down Erik’s spine as he felt the ripple of energy phase through him, causing a slight feeling of discomfort.

"Kaiden has a point. In order for us to accumulate the most points, it’ll be better if we kill some beasts in the red zone. The crystal from regular beasts will only get us so far," Chuck said, the glow in his eyes vanished.

Aside from the fact that Chuck was trying to support Kaiden, he also had personal reasons for wanting to travel to the red zone. If he absorbed the crystals from evolved beasts, it would pace up the required energy he needed to unlock the Harelm guide. He didn’t know what the Harelm guide was, but if the system gave him an option to unlock it, it meant that the Harelm guide was going to be a useful tool in his arsenal.

"Let’s just wait for the twins to arrive, then we can decide together," Kaiden said.

As though her thoughts were read, they heard the sound of the doorknob twisting slowly. The door creaked open, and emerging from the entrance was Lance and Xin. They both walked in a synchronized pattern, wearing a matching outfit as they stepped into the room.

Erik’s nerves spiked up as he laid his eyes on Xin, he could help but recollect the memories of the last time they were together. She seemed to be putting on a more concealing dress compared to the attire she wore previously.

Xin advanced towards Erik, her boobs swaying with every step she took, "good morning, love."

"M...m... morning," Erik said with a stutter, "when I woke up you were gone."

"Yeah, I couldn’t really sleep due to your loud snores," Xin replied with a giggle.

The entire group didn’t acknowledge their exchange — It was already obvious that they had a sexual connection, it was only a matter of time until they started fucking.

"Now that you’re all here, we all need to decide on something," Kaiden spoke up, her voice becoming even more audible.

"Decide on what?" Lance said as he stopped by Chuck’s side.

"On whether or not we should head to the red zone. The chances of winning the event will increase significantly if we do so..." Kaiden replied.

Lance made a loud yawn, as he stretched his body peacefully. His eyes seemed to be half open as he stood, seemingly not caring about Kaiden’s words, "it’s dangerous, but if that’s what Chuck wants, then I’m down for it."

"Then it’s settled!" Kaiden spoke up before Erik could object, "we’re heading to the red zone."

Erik’s expression turned sour, clearly agitated about the idea of facing off evolved beasts. He wanted to yell, or rant about how much of a bad idea it was, but he decided to keep his composure before Xin. Looking beside him, he could see Xin standing akimbo. His eyes would occasionally move from her face to her boobs as they vibrated from even the slightest body movement she made.

"Wait a minute," Lance said, "what about the crystals that Chuck was supposed to harvest from the ten beasts that we killed?"

This was the kind of question that Chuck had been avoiding, he didn’t know how to give them a reasonable answer, nor did he want to tell them about how he absorbed it. He still didn’t want the twins having knowledge about his virtues.

"I got attacked, and a crystal got stolen. I only have nine crystals left with me," Chuck replied flatly.

"What? Did you recognize the attackers?" Lance asked.

"No."

"Did you take note of any of their features?"

"No."

"Do you know how they arrived? Anything?"

"No."

"Is there any word you can say other than ’no’?"

"Yes," Chuck said, still trying to act dumb.

"FUCK!" Lance yelled in anger.

Muffled giggles and laughs could be heard as the group laughed at Lance’s and Chuck’s tantrums. It was like they had all forgotten about the dire situation that awaited them.

"You guys are clearly not taking this event seriously," Lance sighed in defeat.

"Alright, alright. Let’s head out," Kaiden spoke up, "we need to leave as quickly as possible. Chuck will keep the crystal with him for now, and when we’re done with today’s hunt, we find a better place to store them."

"Alright," the group said in unison as they turned around towards the exit of the room.

They walked out of the building, heading out of the shelter entirely as they traveled. After a long moment of waking and sulking, they were completely out of the green zone. Following the directions of their map, they traveled in the direction of the red zone. Far in the distance, the group could see various masses of colossal trees, making a massive forestation. They looked at their maps, and they could see their figures standing at the edge of the red zone.

It was finally time for the cohort to face off the deadly evolved beasts.