How to Survive as a Mage Inside a Game-Chapter 25: The Mage Is Too Strong (3)

"Have five of them keep following the trail. The rest will follow the scent on the jewel."

Dozens of masked figures turned their steps toward the Free City of Kerry, following the woman.

* * *

Thunk!

Arrows bounced off uselessly, repelled by the shield.

And then, the dolls rushed in.

It was the same group of masked assailants that had ambushed him in the canyon the previous night.

"Click."

Kwaang!!

Karl sent a shockwave blasting out, slamming all of them into the wall at once.

He immediately activated detection magic.

Multiple presences were detected on the floor below.

"How the hell did they find me?"

Karl got out of bed and was about to head downstairs.

At that moment, the inn window burst open, and something flew in again.

Chains, throwing knives, and all sorts of projectiles.

Of course, just like the arrows, they were repelled feebly by the shield.

Karl waved his hand and yanked all the figures perched on the window straight into the room.

Thud!

Three masked attackers were thrown to the floor.

They writhed, looking up at him.

Karl frowned and looked down at them.

"What the hell are you guys? You’re after the jewel, right? How the hell did you figure it out and chase me here within a day from the canyon—"

...CRACK!!

Before he could even finish the question, the upper body of the one in the middle exploded.

A spear, launched from below the inn, had pierced through the floor and hit the shield with monstrous force. It bounced and fell to the floor.

Karl stared down at the assailant’s ridiculous corpse with a speechless expression.

"...Unbelievable."

Slice!

He used Force magic to decapitate the remaining two attackers.

Then he dropped straight through the hole in the floor to the lower level.

"Huh. You actually blocked that?"

A woman stood directly in front of him.

A red rat perched on her shoulder, and twin short swords hung at her hips—an imposing figure.

"But where did that knight escort go, and what’s with this mage popping out instead?"

She tilted her head and stared at Karl. He stared back, scanning the surroundings.

The thick stench of blood.

Masked attackers had already filled the inn, and corpses lay scattered everywhere—dining patrons, overnight guests, even the staff who had kindly served him.

“......”

Karl’s eyes turned cold.

The woman flicked her tongue, running her gaze up and down Karl’s figure.

"Hey, kid. Just who the hell are you to suddenly show up and swipe that jewel? Hm? You’re way too green to be someone sent from House Baul, don’t you think?"

Karl didn’t answer the question—instead, he asked one of his own.

"How did you know?"

"Huh?"

"How did you know the jewel was with me and track me here so precisely?"

It didn’t make sense.

Even if they managed to follow the trail from the canyon to the city, figuring out which inn, and which exact room, in a city as large as Kerry? That was impossible.

"Ah, that? I didn’t want to tell you."

“......”

"Hehe! Just kidding. Relax your face. You’re gonna die anyway—what’s the harm in telling you a little something?"

She grinned as she stroked the red rat on her shoulder.

"We soaked that jewel in tracking scent—real thick. Ever heard of a Cramdell Sewer Rat? Maybe not. But this little bastard here is crazy sensitive to the scent of Raspis leaves. It can track it down from dozens of kilometers away, no problem."

So that was it.

Karl hadn’t lived a particularly gentle life in this world, but he’d rarely been involved with this sort of scum.

It hadn’t even occurred to him that they might have doused it in tracking scent.

"I see... that’s how it was."

Karl muttered, looking around at the dead bodies once more.

Then he declared coldly:

"I’ll give you one chance."

“...Huh?”

"Anyone who wants even a sliver more life left—drop to your knees, press your head to the floor, and explain who you people are and what this jewel is. Do that, and I’ll at least kill you painlessly."

The woman blinked in stunned silence—then burst out laughing.

"Pffft—ha! Oh shit... hey! You’re a pretty funny one, huh!"

“......”

"What, you just crawled out of some magic school and think the world’s got nothing scary left? All cocky just ‘cause you can cast a few spells?"

Her laughter abruptly stopped. Her gaze sharpened, killing intent in her eyes.

"You little brat—you really should think about who you’re mouthing off to. You still haven’t figured out the situation?"

Shwaaang!

She drew both short swords from her hips.

A vivid sheen of blood glinted on the blades.

Not quite a high knight—but definitely near that level.

"Get ready. I’ll have you crawling, sobbing at my feet in no time. Let’s start nice and light—how about I chop off one arm first?"

Swish!

She lunged with terrifying speed, sword raised high.

She smirked as she saw the shield around Karl.

‘Idiot. He really thinks that scrap of magic will stop my blade aura?’

Her aura technique had a much more destructive nature than standard versions.

It was strong enough to shred the shield of some snot-nosed young mage.

At least, that’s what her calculations told her.

KWAAANG!!

A deafening shockwave rang out.

The smirk disappeared from her face.

“...What?”

It was blocked—completely and effortlessly.

Not casually either—she had gone all-in with that attack.

The twin sword aura strikes hadn’t left even the slightest crack in the shield.

“Idiot.”

Karl’s cold, mocking voice rang out from directly in front of her.

"Like you said—you should really think about who you’re mouthing off to."

【Chain Lightning】

ZZZZZAAAT!!

A wave of blue light engulfed the inn.

This chapter is updat𝙚d by freeweɓnovel.cøm.

Lightning crackled outward like spiderwebs, piercing through every masked attacker in the room.

In an instant, over dozens of them were reduced to cinders and scattered blood.

The only one left standing was the woman right in front of Karl.

Snap!

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

The only mistake she made was picking the wrong opponent—other than that, her judgment had been quick and precise.

She didn’t stand there frozen. She immediately leapt back and threw something.

KWAAANG!!

Spheres radiating condensed mana slammed into the shield and exploded.

Of course, they didn’t deal any real damage. The inn shook, smoke billowed in every direction—but that was all.

Karl swept the smoke aside with wind and cleared his vision again.

And saw her—already outside the inn, fleeing down the street.

He calmly watched her retreating form and began casting.

Shwaaak!!

Countless strands of light shot out from the magic circle, rushing outside.

They wrapped tightly around the woman’s body and halted her escape after only a few steps.

Karl reeled her back toward the inn and tossed her to the ground.

“...Kgh!!”

She glared up at Karl, her eyes filled with rage.

Karl scoffed.

"I don’t get it. Why is it that every last one of you idiots starts getting cocky once you’re caught? Maybe kneel before I rip your eyes out."

"Go fuck yourself, you son of a—kyaaaaagh!!"

Karl cast fire magic, searing both of her arms.

The acrid scent that filled the air was subtly different from the odor of burning flesh by lightning.

"Good. Now answer my question. Who the hell are you people?"

The woman writhed in agony, then let out an unhinged laugh.

"Khuhuh... You think you’re going to walk away from this?"

"I asked who you are. Next time, I’m burning your face."

"Fuck you. Burn whatever the hell you want. I’m not saying shit."

The woman was panting hard, still letting out deranged giggles.

"I don’t know where the hell you crawled out from, but... just wait. Now the organization’s really going to come after you. Do you even know how many of our branches are spread across this city? How long do you think your pathetic little lifespan’s gonna hold up?"

Karl laughed right back at her.

"You guys Aranhel, by any chance?"

“...What?”

"Or what, maybe Blood Skull? Doom Slayer?"

They weren’t on Aranhel’s level, but both were continent-wide infamous—one a criminal syndicate, the other an assassin guild.

"If you’re not even that, then what’s with the weak-ass threats? You think you can kill me just by swarming with your little thugs? What, your crew’s got dozens of high knight–level elites stashed away or something?"

“......”

"You’d never be commanding fish like this if that were true."

She didn’t answer. She just kept glaring at him with everything she had.

"Yeah, figured you wouldn’t talk. Go on, follow your little friends."

Thwack!

Her heart was pierced clean through. She writhed for a moment, then went still.

Karl stood there a moment, then turned and walked back into the inn.

“......”

The body of a staff member, slumped across the table.

Killed in the middle of cooking, it seemed—he still had a ladle in hand. A pot full of soup sat just in front.

Scattered across the dining hall tables were other corpses, faces frozen, eyes wide open. The guests who had been visiting the inn.

All of them people who wouldn’t have died if Karl hadn’t come here.

“...I’m sorry.”

He was used to this.

Used to it, but it had been a while.

Back when he had just entered the game, when he was weak and clumsy—his companions would be wiped out by monsters or fall victim to traps.

Karl didn’t feel guilt.

No, he tried not to.

If he let himself feel something every time this happened, he wouldn’t be able to go on.

‘It’s not my fault.’

The blame lay with the bastards who did the killing.

And guilt quickly twisted into rage.

"Right..."

With eyes brimming with cold bloodlust, Karl stared down at the scattered corpses of the attackers.

"Let’s see what you’ve got."

He turned again and stepped out to the road, back to the woman’s body.

He pulled a robe from his inventory and draped it roughly over her, then began casting.

【Turning to Undead】

Fwoosh!

A black aura enveloped her corpse—and she slowly opened her eyes, now pitch black.

She rose to her feet, standing before Karl once again.

He issued the command immediately.

"Go find wherever your organization has a branch. Start with the closest one."

The soldiers would be swarming in soon after the commotion.

Without drawing attention, Karl slipped out of the inn and looked up at the night sky.

It was going to be a long night before morning /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ came.