As is well known, caution is a prerequisite for conducting good research.
All academic mages, bearing this in mind, will selectively engage in reckless acts.
However, despite that, given Hikari's overly carefree thought process and behavior, I always felt that I wasn't about to venture into potentially dangerous territory, but rather preparing for a camping trip in the warm spring with a flower basket filled with my lunch.
Once again deviating from the main road, the path was much less crowded than yesterday. Although the overgrown shrubs showed signs of pruning, they had also sprouted many new branches and leaves. Occasionally, it was difficult to find a suitable place to stand, and two people had to help each other to climb.
"Pay close attention to the previous section."
Miyuki suddenly stopped halfway and glanced at us: "We're about to get close to the Dark Zone, and with the number of teams choosing the same route decreasing significantly, if we're unlucky, we could easily be surrounded and attacked by monsters."
"At worst, I'll just put in more effort and fly you there."
I don't really care about that. The Gray Zone is the Gray Zone. It's just a peripheral area, and I'm not going to go deep into it. Besides, it's a region full of magic. Although the elements are mixed, the good thing is that it doesn't have the annoying no-fly restrictions of the academy. It's just a matter of using a few more units of magic.
Faced with Miyuki's questioning look that seemed to say, "If you have this ability, why didn't you use it sooner?", I could only shrug and indicate to her that I was just an ordinary pure-blooded human.
Even if I use magic stones to replenish my magic power, there is a limit to how much I can do.
...
Two days have passed in the blink of an eye since we officially stepped onto the edge of the dark zone.
I should have chosen the main road.
I earnestly pray once again that I will never have to experience something like this again.
It could be said that even describing it as a nightmare underestimates the amount of monsters spawning in the Dark Zone, let alone the idea of crossing it.
The instant we all stepped into the edge of the area, the entire forest suddenly turned pitch black without warning. The eerie darkness merged with the jagged, sharp canopies, and countless blood-red eyes were projected from all directions. The cawing of crows, though invisible, was omnipresent, summoning the shadow of death. A bloodthirsty grin appeared on the corner of a mouth, and heavy breathing was close to our ears, all because our feet had just stepped on a sleeping stone giant, awakening it from its slumber and causing it to tremble restlessly.
Then came the almost non-stop escape.
There was no option to retreat, nor was there any possibility of avoiding battle. The fierce attacks from all sides left us no choice whatsoever. The only way to escape was to keep breaking through the encirclement of all the awakened monsters.
The icy, shimmering sword dance became the most beautiful sight in front of me. Behind me, I continuously cast various spells, not striving to kill the enemy in one blow, but pushing away the demons attacking from both sides, giving each other a moment to catch their breath.
Hikari obediently followed beside us, occasionally chanting to restore our stamina and that of Miyuki, while also healing any injuries we had sustained. Thanks to her, this greatly reduced our physical fatigue and the possibility of being hampered by our injuries, and incidentally, it also gave me the opportunity to take the two of us on a high-speed drive.
And, to my great surprise, this little idiot is actually not attacked by monsters on its own!
I didn't understand the principle at all. I had prepared a backup plan in case I couldn't protect her, so I just opened the door and threw her back into the garden. But when I turned my head just as I was about to do it, I found her waving and greeting the monsters that had gathered around her. The monsters on the other side seemed to be stunned and hesitated for a long time before raising their claws and shaking them from side to side. Some of them even had a shameful blush on their faces!
I knew it! That's why she was under the least pressure!
That's absolutely amazing!
Well, all in all, we finally left the Dark Zone safely. After traveling a while longer and shaking off a few monsters that were chasing us, we made some repairs by the main road near the river.
It was really exhausting. That stretch of road drained our energy, magic, and physical strength. Fortunately, we cooperated well and were able to get out of there smoothly.
“But those inside aren’t so lucky.” Miyuki wiped the water from the corner of her lips, sat down on the ground without a care, and sighed. “They are obviously exhausted from fighting. Even if we can rescue them from the siege of those monsters, we don’t have the ability to carry them the rest of the way, and we might even lose ourselves in the process.”
The stream flowed silently, carrying away the blood and sorrow.
Just like the three of us, that group of people probably thought they had some ability and could take shortcuts to get to where they wanted to go quickly. However, their excessive underestimation still caused them trouble. Even though it was just a marginal area, the dark area ranked among the top forbidden zones still taught them how to behave.
Unfortunately, this price was paid with their blood and bones, which eventually mingled with the white bones scattered beneath the leaves.
Hopefully, they will learn from this lesson next time.
The long-awaited meal replenished some of my strength. It was still early, and the dazzling sunlight hanging above the treetops made my eyes, which had been used to seeing in the dark for so long, feel a little uncomfortable. I couldn't help but squint when facing the light. Hikari teased me, asking if I had injured my eyes before, and insisted on making me look at them carefully.
"It looks like there's nothing wrong..."
After a long while, she finally let go of me, pulled back her body which had been too close, and fell into deep thought.
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