The blood vessels parted to the side at the touch of Evan's cold palm. It was unknown if this was how the lock worked or if the vessels were simply avoiding Evan, but one thing was certain, the passage was open.
The stone slab slowly opened, revealing a multitude of silhouettes lying against the walls. A stinky odor wafted outward, causing Evan to frown. Klaus and Hana even covered their noses to avoid smelling it.
"Fucking hell..." Klaus muttered, looking at the dozens of corpses, more like mummies since they were completely desiccated, without a drop of blood.
The corpses continued to rot, even though there were still living people here, or rather two girls in the corner.
Even though Evan had gone inside, they didn't raise their heads, hoping that they wouldn't be noticed this time.
'Hmm? They must have heard Klaus's voice, but they are still afraid... Can monsters talk?' Evan pondered, then his eyes went wide, and a smirk appeared on his face, 'No... Definitely not those crazy parasites... I see, sometimes you don't have to be a monster to be one of them...'
Step. Step. Another Step.
A tall silhouette towered over the girls, causing them to raise their heads. At first, they were startled, but very soon their gaze was filled with confusion.
"Agh... Who are you?" A girl with short crimson hair asked.
Evan tilted his head, "Really? Is that all you care about? How the hell did you end up here, and what happened to the others?"
"We were kidnapped!" A second girl with long blonde hair exclaimed, "Please help us!"
Halvor walked up behind them and looked closely at the girls, especially at their thick shackles restraining their arms, they had blue runes carved into them.
"Wait... Are you mages?" Halvor asked, "How old are you?"
"I turned 16 a week ago... My name is Ruby" Crimsonhead muttered.
Blonde sighed, "My name is Lana! Ten days ago I turned 18... And yes, we both awakened our talents for magic at this time, but we were immediately captured by those fucking parasites!"
Halvor wanted to say something, but Ruby beat him to it.
"Look out!" She shouted from behind her.
At the same moment, a monster appeared behind Halvor, stretching its long paws right towards him.
Halvor just took a step to the side, continuing to scratch his chin with a pensive look.
Then, he nodded, and his fist came down on the monster's head, a loud crack spread from the breaking skull as Halvor smashed the monster's head against the stone floor.
The girls' eyes went wide as joyful smiles appeared on their faces as they realized that Ereg was a mage, and that was all they needed to know to have hope.
"Fine, let's get you free." Ereg uttered before swinging his axe.
The girls were startled and squeezed their eyes shut.
Opening their eyes, they saw their shackles cut as well as chains, falling to the ground with a clatter.
Then, an aura spread from the girls, similar to Ereg's one. It was very weak, as they were only at the beginning of their path, but they were definitely mages.
"Do you know any spell?" Halvor asked, glaring at the girls.
They shook their heads.
"Agh... Well, it's impossible to learn a spell in a few minutes, but I can help you with something. Look." Halvor opened his palm as his aura intensified.
Streams of mana quickly clustered at one point, turning into a pale blue orb - the neutral color inherent in mana.
"It's called Magic Missile, the simplest spell in existence. It doesn't require an element, only mana that is concentrated in one point." Halvor said before pointing his hand forward.
At his will, the sphere shrank several times, releasing a dense ray of energy that shot a deep hole several meters into the wall.
Ruby nodded, immediately trying to do the same, while Lana looked at Evan, Klaus, and Hana.
"Are you mages too?" Lana asked, narrowing her eyes.
Klaus waved his hand, "Nah, we're just helping Halvor. He's the strongest, but it's going to be hard to handle everything alone."
Lana smirked as she flicked her long hair, "In that case, you should give us your catalysts. In the hands of Mages, such valuable weapons will be much more effective."
"Agh...? Lana, that's rude... I mean, they saved us..." Ruby muttered hesitantly.
"What? I'm just stating the facts. If we want to survive we have to act as efficiently as possible." Lana chuckled snidely, "Don't forget that Mages are superior to Commoners!"
Then, Lana turned around, only to see the sharp tip of the sword at her neck and Evan's cold eyes as ancient glaciers.
"Come on, take my sword, if you can of course."
Lana gulped, goosebumps going down her body.
"The real fact is that you should be grateful to us for saving you as your mate. Otherwise, I will break your legs and leave you here to die." Evan uttered like a death ghost before turning around and walking further away.
Klaus shrugged and along with Hana followed him.
"You're a mage too! You're one of us! Why do you let a commoner get so bold!" Lana exclaimed, turning to Halvor.
Halvor took a deep breath, like the father of a spoiled child.
"You may be right, our world works that way, but I'll give you some advice for the future. Before you fight with someone, first gather all the information you need about that person. It will save your life one day, trust me."
Lana stared at the departing Evan, with a strange expression.
Like everyone else, she knew that commoners didn't have the ability to outsmart mages. However, she couldn't ignore Halvor's words, for she respected mages as much as she disregarded commoners.
'What...? Is this guy hiding something? Pffft! It doesn't matter! In a few years, no, a few months, I'll be so strong that he can't do anything to me! It's only a matter of time before the world falls into place!' Lana snorted inwardly before leaving the room.
Ruby was the last one out as she concentrated on the spell. Taking one last look at the tiny orb hovering above her palm, Ruby smiled happily and moved on.
The fact that she had been able to shape a spell, though a simple one, on the first try, was almost an anomaly.
However, no one noticed it, or rather almost no one...
Klaus's green eyes grew deeper, filling not with envy like any commoner who would see this, but with sadness and regret.
'Awakened a talent for magic at 16... Ruby... Not bad, not bad at all.' Klaus inwardly muttered, slowly stepping forward.
Hana lowered her head, receiving the same look as Klaus and pressing her palm tightly against her chest, trying to hold back her emotions.