How to Survive as a Mage Inside a Game-Chapter 17: Orc Invasion (2)

“Do monsters usually show up on this road?” Lette asked.

Yurie shook her head.

“We’re far from Gwangrim, so no. This route normally doesn’t see any monster activity. For gnolls—who usually live deep in the forest—to appear in a group like this... that’s certainly unusual...”

Just then—

KRAAAAK...!!

A monstrous roar rang out, vibrating through the air.

All three in the carriage flinched. The sheer pressure—this was no ordinary monster.

Yurie quickly checked outside again.

Emerging late from between the rocks—something massive.

Unlike the normal gnolls, this one had a blood-red mane bristling across its head.

“...What the...?”

Lette and Karl both saw it.

While Lette looked shocked, Karl just stared with mild surprise.

'A mutant gnoll. Blood-colored... that’s the one that comes from cannibalism, isn’t it?'

Back in his PC-gaming days, one of the reasons this game got such high praise was its detailed monster mutation system.

Gnolls had several variants—blood-red from cannibalism, ash-gray from feeding on corpses, purple from ingesting poison...

These rare mutant monsters were far stronger than the standard types. They also had unique special abilities.

RRAAGH!!

The thing turned its head toward them.

Then, ignoring the nearby knights completely, it dropped to all fours and charged straight for the carriage.

“My lady, stay inside! Don’t come out!”

Yurie jumped out, drew her sword, and dashed to meet the gnoll.

BOOM!!

Roughly thirty steps from the carriage—their weapons clashed.

The sheer weight difference meant Yurie was the one pushed back.

She barely deflected its forepaw and slashed at its knee, but the beast didn’t flinch. It swung its other foreleg with brutal force.

“Kh...!!”

The onslaught was relentless. Yurie had no room to counterattack, only barely dodging again and again.

Watching from inside, worry flooded Lette’s face.

She desperately wanted to help, but she had little real battle experience.

An ill-timed magic spell could easily do more harm than good—especially in close-quarters combat like this.

Meanwhile, Karl was thinking about something similar—but with a twist.

'My mana’s recovered somewhat... but forcing it might cause internal damage.'

Mutant or not, it was still a gnoll.

If he used magic, he could easily take it down—but his body wasn’t fully healed yet.

He’d tried a few times along the way, but the residual poison still caused his internal energy to recoil whenever he tried to summon mana.

Still, there were ways to assist in battle without using magic.

Karl shouted toward Yurie,

“It has narrow vision and poor pivoting! Don’t confront it head-on—keep circling around from the sides!”

Mutants with that blood-red coloration usually had the “Berserk” trait.

The more they fought, and the more damage they took, the stronger they got—feeding off their pain and fury.

But “Berserk” was actually one of the easier mutant traits to deal with.

Because it had a painfully obvious weakness.

The stronger its body became, the narrower its field of vision. It couldn’t react quickly to changes in direction.

If you had the skill, Berserk monsters were surprisingly simple to beat.

Fortunately, Yurie was a veteran warrior.

She didn’t ignore Karl’s advice. She immediately adjusted her movements.

At first, the gnoll managed to keep up with her dodges. But as she kept circling without pause, it started to falter.

SHLAAK!

She seized the opening and landed a flurry of slashes. The beast was caught off guard and couldn’t retaliate.

No matter how long it could thrash about in a frenzy, it still had biological limits.

GUUURK...

Finally, the gnoll collapsed with a hollow, deflated sound.

The two knights, having finished off the rest of the gnolls, looked over and let out impressed whistles.

“Whoa, Yurie. You took that thing down by yourself? That’s impressive.”

“So that was one of those mutant monsters people talk about, huh?”

Once the situation was handled, Yurie returned to the carriage. Lette greeted her.

“Well done, Yurie.”

The knight nodded, then gave Karl a curious look.

“How did you know its weakness?”

Karl shrugged.

“Just bits of knowledge picked up from wandering the continent. Nothing special.”

“...Either way, thanks. That made it a lot easier.”

Karl could tell the tension in her voice had eased a bit.

Things had gone smoothly on the road so far, and he’d just helped in a fight—that had earned him a sliver of trust.

Lette, eyes shining, chimed in.

“You seem to know even more about those mutations than rangers do. I’m very curious where you learned all this.”

“Haha...”

The carriage started moving again.

* * *

A massive bridge. Below it, a flowing river.

Once they crossed here, Bard City would be close.

But the carriage came to another halt at the foot of the bridge.

And again, it was because of a monster.

Though this time, not because they were under attack.

“...You’ve got to be kidding me.”

Yurie stepped out of the carriage, dumbfounded by what she saw ahead.

A gigantic humanoid monster was sprawled across the bridge, blocking the path, a single eye closed in sleep.

A cyclops.

'Unbelievable. A mutant gnoll, and now a cyclops. What’s next?'

Karl stepped out of the carriage and stared at the creature.

Cyclopes were rare monsters, usually found deep in the densest parts of massive forests.

'First the gnolls, and now this... these creatures shouldn’t be in open plains.'

It might’ve seemed like a coincidence—but Karl knew better.

This was a sign.

A sign that a major catastrophe was looming over the Empire’s frontier.

“What do we do, Yurie? Just wait until it wakes up and moves on?”

Lette asked.

Yurie didn’t answer.

Neither she nor the knights had ever fought a creature like this. It was the first time they’d seen one in person.

It might be asleep now, and a surprise attack could work—but with something that huge, would stabbing it in the neck even be fatal?

If they attacked carelessly, the consequences could be severe. She hesitated.

That’s when Karl spoke.

“When one of those things falls into a deep sleep, it can stay down for up to three days—unless someone disturbs it. Waiting it out doesn’t seem like the best option.”

Lette and Yurie turned to look at him.

“So you’re saying there’s another way?”

They looked at him expectantly—like they hoped he had some trick up his sleeve, just like with the mutant gnoll.

“Do you know why they only live in the deepest parts of forests?”

Karl said, staring at the cyclops.

“It’s because they’re scaredy-cats.”

“...Scaredy-cats? That thing?”

“Yes. That’s why they always settle in deep caves, and why they avoid showing themselves to other creatures. In fact, they won’t even hunt unless they’re starving.”

Lette tilted her head.

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“Then why would such a cowardly creature come out here and fall asleep?”

“That’s... not the important part right now. What matters is getting it off the bridge.”

Karl pointed at the cyclops.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

“It's got extremely tough hide and muscles like boulders. A blade won’t even pierce it properly.”

“So then?”

“That’s why I’m asking Lady Lette to cast a fireball.”

“...?”

Both Lette and Yurie blinked at the nonsensical leap in logic.

Karl added calmly,

“It’s scared of a lot of things, but what it fears the most is fire. If you scorch it lightly, it won’t attack us—it’ll panic and dive into the river under the bridge.”

Yurie looked doubtful.

That massive creature, throwing a fit over a single fireball?

“Wouldn’t it be better to strike first and kill it outright?”

“If it bleeds, it gets excited. It’s still a monster, and its survival instinct is ridiculously strong. If you don’t kill it in one go and just injure it, it could go berserk.”

Lette, who had been quietly listening, asked,

“Are you certain it will go the way you say?”

“Yes. I’m sure.”

He answered without hesitation. She nodded and stepped forward.

Then she began casting a spell, conjuring a ball of flame in her hand.

“My lady, please fall back right after casting.”

Yurie looked at her with concern.

Fwoosh!

The fireball flew in a straight line and struck the cyclops’s torso.

...GUWAARRRK!!

The cyclops let out a shrill scream and jolted awake.

It looked down at the flame clinging to its belly—and promptly freaked out.

Without even glancing in their direction, it spotted the river beneath the bridge and scrambled toward it.

SPLOOSH!!

A loud splash and an enormous spray of water exploded into the air.

Yurie and the two knights stared blankly at the scene.

Even Lette let out a helpless laugh.

“What a waste of size.”

* * *

After crossing the bridge, the carriage ran for three more full days before reaching its destination.

“We’re here.”

Bard City, slowly emerging in the distance.

To be precise, it resembled more of a fortress than a city.

Understandable, considering it frequently had to fend off invading ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ forces spilling out of Gwangrim.

Even from a distance, the towering stone walls gave off an aura that no intruder could ever breach them.

As Karl looked up at that iron fortress, he couldn’t help but feel a strange sense of awe.

Because the one sitting right in front of him—his traveling companion until now—was the daughter of the fortress’s master.

“Karl.”

“...Yes?”

“What will you do once we arrive in the city?”

Karl turned to look at Lette.

'I would’ve continued across the border as planned...'

His external wounds had mostly healed. The poison from the Sanma Toxin had also faded, and now his mana no longer surged backwards when summoned.

His body was more or less recovered, so he should’ve been ready to move on—but the looming disaster at the frontier still gnawed at him.

“I don’t have any plans yet.”

“I see. Then...”

She fidgeted with her hands in her lap, then spoke again.

“What would you say to staying at my family’s estate for a while?”

“...?”

“You mentioned being chased by dangerous people. House Rubedom could protect you.”

Karl shook his head.

“You’ve already shown me more kindness than I deserve. I couldn’t possibly accept any more...”

“Mmm. This isn’t kindness.”

Lette hesitated for a moment, then seemed to steel herself.

“It’s because I want your abilities. Your vast knowledge.”

“......”

“I’ll be clear—are you willing to fully entrust yourself to House Rubedom? If you reveal everything you’re hiding, I’ll personally speak to my father...”

That’s when—

“Turn back!!”

A voice shouted from outside the carriage.

All three of them leaned toward the window at the desperate cry.

Someone was charging toward them on horseback, yelling at the top of his lungs.

He was a knight of House Rubedom.

“Turn the carriage around!! The gates won’t open!!”

At those inexplicable words, Yurie’s expression hardened.

“What nonsense is he—”

BOOOM.

A massive vibration.

The tremor rippled from far away. Yurie turned her head.

And she saw it.

The opposite side of Bard City—the direction of Gwangrim.

From the horizon in that direction, an enormous green tide began to rise.

“...Ah.”

When had it gotten this close?

Following Yurie’s stunned silence, Lette and Karl both fell into speechless awe.

The approaching knight screamed again, voice hoarse with panic.

“The orc horde is right upon us! The gates won’t open—turn the carriage around and flee! Hurry!!”