How to Survive as a Mage Inside a Game-Chapter 49: Secret Auction (3)

For now, he was just thankful that the old man wasn’t charging at him, trying to rip him apart on the spot, hostage or not.

Srrrk.

Karl lifted the woman’s body up like a shield in front of him.

This way, it would be harder for the old man to find an opening and attack.

"Khuh, hah... heuk! This is really something else."

Despite her limbs and neck being tightly bound, she suddenly let out a breathless laugh.

"So, it was you, huh? The mage who twisted my brother’s neck and teleported away?"

"......"

"Then you heard everything I said earlier too. Must’ve been real nerve-wracking sittin’ right next to me... guh!"

Karl tightened his grip on her neck, shutting her up.

"Why don’t you start acting like you know your place. You should be grateful I haven’t shut you up already."

The old man frowned.

"I’ve already figured out who you are."

"......?"

"You’re with Altius, aren’t you? I heard about what happened in Bard City. Now that I see you up close, I’m certain you’re the same person."

Karl didn’t respond.

He wasn’t particularly shocked that his identity was exposed.

He’d figured they’d at least know that much.

Aranhel would’ve definitely done some digging to track him down, and that would naturally lead them to Bard City, which was nearby. Anyone with a brain could connect the dots and suspect there was some link.

Meanwhile, the old man was looking Karl up and down, trying to mask his own shock.

'...Altius really raised a fucking monster.'

Back when they first met in the forest, this bastard was at most around 4-circle.

Even that was insane.

To reach 4-circle at his age, you’d have to be one of the top geniuses on the entire continent.

But now, after just a few months...

The bastard had already broken through another wall, reaching 5-circle, stepping into the realm of high mages, the true superhumans. At that age?

The old man glanced at the woman.

Unlike the one Karl killed before, she wasn’t some bastard child—she was the legitimate heir.

Sure, she was a bit wild, a headache for the organization, but no one could deny her talent.

Everyone in the leadership had high hopes that she’d rise to the rank of a high knight by the time she hit thirty.

But she didn’t even get the chance to swing her sword properly before she was completely overpowered.

The old man suddenly felt just how big the continent really was.

Sure, their organization had grown a lot recently, ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) but the power of old giants like Altius, rooted deeply in the continent for generations, was on a whole different level.

'He needs to die here, now.'

The old man’s eyes darkened with killing intent.

It wasn’t just about avenging Aranhel’s fallen heir.

If they didn’t stomp this monster out now, he might grow into something they could never handle.

'...What the hell. Why are his eyes like that now?'

Karl realized the old man’s bloodlust had intensified, and panic started to rise.

He racked his brain for a way to escape this alive.

Luckily, he still had that thing in his inventory.

A teleport scroll he got as a reward for killing the Demon of Anguish during the ruins quest.

The problem was, it wouldn’t be easy to catch the old man off guard this time.

He’d already fallen for it once, so it was obvious he’d be on the lookout for teleportation.

"Planning to try teleporting again? Using that mysterious scroll?"

"......"

"I’ll warn you now—don’t expect to get away like last time. If I even get a hint that you’re trying it, that hostage in your hands will become worthless real fast."

In other words, he’d kill her without hesitation if Karl tried to teleport.

"Kuhuk, old man... are you serious?"

The woman’s face twisted at his words.

The old man looked at her with a hint of pity.

"This is for the organization, miss. If we let him go again, he’ll become an enemy we won’t be able to handle. If it comes to it, your life won’t take priority over eliminating him."

Then the old man turned his eyes back to Karl.

"Of course, that’s only if things go to the worst. I have a proposition for you."

"......?"

"Hand her over now and surrender quietly. I swear on my honor, I’ll make it quick and painless."

Karl couldn’t hold back his laughter.

"Hah! Honor, my ass... What honor do terrorists have to swear on?"

"......"

"Same bullshit as last time. You really suck at negotiations, old man."

The old man clicked his tongue.

"Fool. You don’t realize this is the greatest mercy I can offer."

Karl was reminded again of how many people like this twisted the meaning of “mercy.”

"Considering what you’ve done, a painless death is already too generous. I admit, your achievements in such a short time are impressive, but there’s no escaping my grasp."

"We’ll see about that."

Karl replied indifferently, finalizing his plan.

If the old man really attacked without caring about the hostage, then he’d have no chance.

'Still, I’ve got a shot.'

Unlike last time, he wasn’t injured, he wasn’t poisoned, and most importantly, he was a hell of a lot stronger now.

He was sure he could make it out alive.

"By the way, that sword... looks pretty important?"

Karl glanced at the sword in the old man’s hand.

It was the rusty sword that had been one of the auction items.

"The auctioneer was going on about the Age of Steel and the Sword of the King of Blades or whatever... Don’t tell me it’s real?"

"You worry about useless things, when your life’s the only thing you should be thinking about."

"I was just curious. Thought I’d ask before I get out of here."

Karl raised his hand toward the ceiling, eyes still locked on the old man.

【Ray Buster】

BOOOOM!!

A pillar of light shot up, blasting through the ceiling.

The layers of stone gave way, revealing the night sky above.

"You planning to escape through there? Go ahead and try..."

The old man sneered—until he noticed the scroll in Karl’s hand, eyes going wide.

<Teleport Scroll - Consumable Magic Item>

Teleports you to a random point within 50KM.

Casting Time: 30 Seconds.

Karl grinned.

"Let’s see if you can stop me. I’m curious to find out who’s faster this time."

[Using Teleport Scroll.]

[30, 29, 28...]

A massive surge of mana filled the room.

A tense current hung in the air between Karl and the old man.

Karl knew that if he waited to react to the old man’s move, he’d be too slow.

The most uptodate nove𝙡s are published on frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓.

So he chose to act first.

The moment he sensed even the slightest shift in the old man’s bloodlust, he unleashed the spell he’d been casting.

Splat!

A fountain of blood burst forth.

A blast of extremely condensed, formless force pierced just off-center through the woman’s heart area and shot toward the old man.

The old man easily dodged, and in an instant, lunged straight at Karl.

【Earth Spear】

【Magic Booster】

BOOOOM!!

Countless spikes erupted from the ground, and at the same time, Karl’s body shot up into the air.

He soared skyward through the hole he’d blasted open earlier with Ray Buster.

15 seconds.

He glanced down quickly and saw the old man, his face twisted like a demon, launching himself up through the same hole, right on his heels.

‘Jesus, he’s really not even looking at her. Is that really okay for a supposed heir?’

Karl had deliberately aimed just off-center, hoping to provoke some reaction, but the old man didn’t give a damn about her. He threw her aside and came straight at Karl, intent on killing.

If he’d known this, he would’ve just finished her off properly.

Anyway, for now, he had the upper hand in terms of position.

Hovering in midair, Karl unleashed a barrage of lethal spells downward at full power.

BOOOOOM!!

Flashes of every color tore through the pitch-black night, explosions lighting up the sky.

Dust clouds billowed up, and the entire auction house collapsed into rubble.

Karl tried to soar even higher, but through the smoke, several red threads came flying at him.

CRACK!!

His shield shattered completely.

But he had no time to worry about that.

The old man came bursting through the smoke, charging straight for him.

Karl hastily used Magic Booster to hurl himself backward.

11 seconds.

Twisting in midair, the old man stepped into the sky itself and dashed toward Karl again.

He’d shot up vertically, then suddenly changed direction horizontally. It was the kind of move that made you question your eyes.

Karl recognized the technique—he’d seen it while playing warrior classes.

A sky-stepping move, something out of wuxia novels, usable only by superhumans with absolute mastery of aura control.

This was his first time seeing it in real life, but he wished it wasn’t like this.

There was no way he could land a big spell now.

Instead, Karl threw out wide-area scatter spells at the old man.

The goal wasn’t to hit him directly, but to throw off his balance midair.

Even the old man seemed slightly taken aback by the absurd speed of Karl’s spell combos—unbelievable for a 5-circle mage.

But that was all.

The gap between them was still massive.

The old man slashed through every spell with strikes too fast to see and closed the distance, finally reaching Karl.

8 seconds.

BOOM!!

The old man’s strike shattered Karl’s regenerated shield to pieces.

Thanks to a secondary shield from a magic item, Karl didn’t get sliced in half, but the shock still slammed into his body hard.

He barely managed to trigger an explosion spell midair, which sent him flying in an arc down to the ground far away.

4 seconds.

"Kuh...!!"

Karl tumbled across the ground, but before even trying to stand, he threw up another shield.

The distance was reopened, but another attack would be right behind.

Just as expected, the air was filled with the sound of something tearing through it—red threads flying at him in a chaotic storm.

CLANG! CRACK! SHIIING!!

His shield shattered again, and one dagger grazed his cheek.

3 seconds.

He looked up and saw the old man’s distorted face, preparing the final strike.

Out of daggers, the old man now gripped the rusty sword from the auction in reverse, launching it at terrifying speed.

Karl’s shield had just broken—he couldn’t use it again.

But he still had his ace.

BOOM!!

A golden divine barrier.

The rusty sword half-penetrated the barrier, quivering violently.

And in Karl’s hand was something new—the holy sword, Duradante.

Behind him, a radiant golden halo blazed, lighting up the darkness.

1 second.

Karl wiped the blood from his cheek and looked at the old man.

He could see the old man charging toward him in desperation, filled with murderous rage.

But it was already too late.

"...I win again."

Karl smirked and murmured.

Someone like that old man would definitely hear him even at this distance.

0 seconds.

[Casting complete.]

FLASH!