How to Survive as a Mage Inside a Game-Chapter 37: Ruins Exploration (3)

Karl subtly stepped back.

Pakion, who had been chatting with Eril a little ways off, quickly jogged over.

"Lord Tobaz, what’s the matter?"

So his name's Tobaz, huh. Was this guy their employer?

Tobaz let out a hearty laugh.

"Just wanted to have a quick word before we set off. Everything good on your end?"

"Haha, don’t worry about it. Not my first rodeo. We’re solid."

"Glad to hear it. By the way, looks like you’ve got one more in your group than before...?"

Tobaz gave Karl a curious look.

Karl smiled awkwardly and suppressed his circle-level mana as much as possible.

Tobaz was level 50, Karl was 53.

Around level 50, even a few levels made a big difference. If Karl wanted to hide his level, he could.

Fortunately, Tobaz didn’t seem to notice Karl was a mage, thanks to his tight mana control.

Although, judging by the slight tilt of his head, maybe something felt off to him.

"Oh, this guy’s an old friend. We ran into each other recently, and he jumped into the expedition last-minute. But he’s legit, so no worries."

"Is that so? Alright then. Who you bring along isn’t really my business."

Tobaz lost interest in Karl and continued chatting with Pakion.

"Uncle! All the magic tools are checked!"

Suddenly, a young mage swaggered over, hands clasped behind his back.

It was Arman, Tobaz’s nephew and one of the expedition members.

Tobaz sighed and nodded, clearly annoyed.

"Go check everything else again."

"Come on, I said it’s all good. Anyway, who are these guys? Oh, are they the adventurers you hired as guides?"

Arman shook his head in disbelief and said,

"Honestly, I don’t get it, Uncle. Why spend so much money bringing in these people? Between us and the marquis’ knights, we’ve got more than enough to handle a ruins exploration."

He wasn’t even whispering. He was just straight-up picking a fight to their faces, and Pakion looked dumbfounded.

Tobaz scowled and waved his hand.

"Stop running your mouth and get lost. What kind of disrespectful crap is that?"

"What, did I say anything wrong? Tch."

And then, as he turned away, he threw out one last gem.

"Adventurers, my ass. Just a bunch of con artists trying to make a quick buck..."

He didn’t even bother to lower his voice. Everyone heard it.

Tobaz sighed.

"Sorry about that. As you can see, my nephew’s still got a lot of growing up to do."

"...It’s fine, haha."

Pakion gave an awkward laugh and let it go.

A moment later, once Tobaz had walked off, Eril, who’d been quietly listening, spat out a colorful curse.

"Fuck, that little shit... What? Con artists trying to make a quick buck?"

"Hey, hey, he’s still close by. He’ll hear you. This ain’t the first time—just let it go."

Karl watched Tobaz’s retreating back in silence.

The nephew might be an idiot, but Tobaz seemed like a decent guy.

But that was all just an act, wasn’t it? The guy was a dark mage.

Karl turned to Pakion, who was calming Eril down.

"Is that the guy who hired your team?"

Pakion nodded.

"Yeah, that’s Lord Tobaz, head of the Kelops branch of the Earth School. He’s a big deal—5-circle high mage. We had a bit of a connection before, so I guess that’s why he brought us on as guides for this."

"I see..."

"And he’s also the expedition leader. Apparently, he’s the one who first discovered the ruins."

"You keep calling him ‘lord.’ Must’ve paid you a fortune."

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"...Huh? Haha!"

Pakion gave a sheepish laugh, like he’d been caught.

"Sharp, aren’t you? Yeah, he paid us pretty damn well. Those big magic schools might be strict about some things, but when it comes to money, they’ve got plenty."

Karl half-listened to Pakion rambling on and drifted into thought.

‘So the dark mage is the one who discovered the ruins and set up this whole expedition...’

What the hell kind of scam is this?

This was shady as fuck, no matter how you looked at it.

That’s when the quest notification popped into his head.

[A surprise quest has appeared.]

<Surprise Quest: Stop the Puppet Master>

You have identified the presence of a dark mage. Determine his goal for this expedition and stop him.

May be related to the main quest.

Quest reward: 100000 SP, one random 5-circle magic tome

"...Hmm."

It was just like when he ran into that chimera in the Antlerstag Forest.

Is it just a rule now that every time a dark mage shows up, the system tells me to kill him?

Karl sighed and looked around again.

A spy among the knights.

A cultist among the priests.

And now a dark mage running the whole expedition.

The problem wasn’t just the dark mage.

Ruins were dangerous places.

All it took was one person going rogue to completely screw over the whole party.

And here they had three of them.

What should’ve been a simple, straightforward expedition had turned into a ticking time bomb.

‘Maybe I should just bail now.’

If he went into the ruins, he was bound to get caught up in some serious bullshit.

He really thought about just walking away.

But guilt hit him, and he dropped the idea.

Judging by the quest, it was clear that at least the dark mage had something shady planned.

He couldn’t just walk away knowing these people would be walking into a shitshow and still sleep at night.

Karl «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» glanced over at Tobaz in the distance.

Figure out his goal and stop him, huh?

If it came to it, screw the quest—he’d just kill the bastard quietly. There’d be plenty of chances inside the ruins.

Karl suddenly found himself chuckling at the absurdity of it all.

After all, he was technically lying about being with Altius and sneaking into the expedition himself.

The only difference was, he just wanted to check out the ruins for fun.

But now that things had gone to hell, there was no room for taking it easy.

‘Sorry for sneaking in like this, but I’ll make sure those other bastards don’t pull anything.’

That should be enough to make it worth his while on this mess of an expedition.

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"Alright, we’re heading out now! Final checks, everyone!"

Soon enough, everything was ready.

Thudududu...!!

At the front, the Earth School mages who would lead the way. In the middle, the marquis' knights. At the rear, Karl, the adventurers, and the porters.

The expedition team, mounted on horseback, filed out of the castle gates in a long line. Destination: the mountain range where the ruins lay hidden.

The expedition had begun.

* * *

After several days of riding non-stop through the plains, the team finally reached the mountains.

They spent another full day climbing the rough trails, and at last, they stood before the entrance of the ruins.

"We’ve arrived."

They pushed through thick underbrush and emerged before a small, exposed passageway on the ground.

It was just big enough for two people to enter side by side.

Inside, a steep staircase descended into darkness.

The mages and knights gathered around the entrance, forming a loose circle, discussing their next move.

"If we go straight down, the passage opens up into a much larger space. We've already checked that far—there are no traps."

"Hmm, even so, we should still proceed with caution."

"Of course. First, we’ll secure a line to the surface and activate some of the magic tools..."

After a brief discussion, they left a few people at the surface, and the rest of the expedition began their descent, one by one.

Just like the mage had said, they reached the underground section without running into any traps.

And then, just as promised, the massive corridor appeared.

"Whoa..."

A collective gasp filled the air.

Karl’s eyes gleamed as he took in the neatly hewn stone walls of the tunnel.

‘Now this is the real deal.’

Bioluminescent stones embedded in the walls glowed faintly, and a strange energy seemed to seep from deeper within.

It was just like the dungeons and ruins he’d only seen through a computer screen—now laid out right in front of him.

"This must be the true entrance. Then..."

The knights and mages turned to look behind them.

Pakion gave a nod and stepped forward with his companions.

It was now the adventurers' turn.

"Let’s take it slow, just like always," Pakion said, and the others nodded, taking the lead.

They moved forward, scanning the ground and walls carefully, stopping often to look for traps or clues.

Karl followed a bit behind, eyes always on his surroundings.

And of course, his awareness never left Tobaz, or the other two troublemakers in the group.

‘Nothing stands out. Seems like a pretty standard straight corridor.’

They walked, stopped, walked again.

That slow, boring pace dragged on for quite some time.

The knights and mages, who had been keeping up their tension, were starting to show signs of boredom on their faces.

But knowing how dangerous ruins could be, no one voiced any complaints and quietly followed along—until someone suddenly spoke up.

"How long are we gonna keep creeping forward like this?"

All eyes turned.

It was Arman, Tobaz’s nephew, scowling at Pakion.

"Aren’t you guys supposed to be good at this? What’s with the snail’s pace?"

This little shit again.

If being an insufferable prick in a room full of silent people was a talent, he’d be world-class.

Karl clicked his tongue and turned his head.

He could see the veins popping on Eril’s forehead.

And yet, as usual, Pakion handled it without flinching.

"We’d love to speed up too, but we can’t. In ruins like these, even one trap could kill us."

"Sounds fancy. You sure you’re not just pretending to be thorough to justify your pay?"

For a moment, even Pakion’s expression hardened.

The other knights and mages weren’t looking too pleased either. Arman was openly poisoning the mood.

"You seem to lack the sense to match your words to the situation. What a childish fool."

A calm but sharp voice broke the brief silence.

It was Lady Rosariel Dante, standing among the knights.

She’d just called him out—right to his face.

"W-what..."

Arman’s face flushed red, stunned that someone had thrown his own bullshit right back at him.

But she didn’t even glance his way, lips sealed as if she hadn’t spoken at all.

"......"

Meanwhile, Karl, who had been inspecting the ceiling, suddenly noticed something off.

‘There it is.’

A point where faint lines on the wall intersected.

The sign of a trap.

Just like when he fought the grand shaman Garduka, Glorious Soul was an absurdly detailed game, with guides and mechanics for every skill.

That level of detail applied to dungeons and ruins, too.

Players had to identify and master every trap and gimmick down to the smallest details.

And Karl, having completed all four class endings, was the kind of hardcore veteran who had experienced all that more times than he cared to count.

Even now that the game had become reality, the massive bank of knowledge in his head and his sharpened senses as a mage let him spot hidden mechanisms with ease.

"Pakion."

Karl called out to him and the others.

"See that over there?"

"...Huh?"

They narrowed their eyes and looked where Karl was pointing. Then their eyes widened.

"Looks like a trap, right?"

"Yeah... yeah, I think it is."

With their impressed gazes on him, Karl picked up a small stone from the ground.

He tossed it right at the intersection of the threads.

Clank! Thududududu!!

A deafening crash followed as crossbows fired in a deadly rain from the ceiling.

The knights and mages flinched, whipping their heads around.

Karl casually dusted off his hands like it was nothing.

"There was a trap, so I triggered it and cleared it."

"..."

"I trust everyone’s now okay with us moving at this slow pace?"

All eyes turned to Arman again.

His already red face darkened even more with shame.

Karl smirked at the sight.

"Alright then, let’s keep moving."