How to Survive as a Mage Inside a Game-Chapter 29: The Mage Is Too Strong (7)

There were over ten enemies, but only two were worth worrying about.

It felt manageable.

But there was one problem: Karl’s goal wasn’t just a fight.

‘Annoying. They’re already captured.’

Rudy and her knight.

Karl clicked his tongue inwardly, never once glancing toward them.

If he looked like he was trying to save them, it would only work against him. And with the two huddled together like that, he couldn’t just recklessly unleash magic either.

It was like starting a boss fight with a debuff.

So his first move was to remove that penalty.

And the setup was perfect.

Rudy and her knight were in the center, surrounded by pursuers. Adjusting the area of effect would be far easier this way.

【Chain Lightning】

BZZZAAAK!!

Arcs of lightning exploded outward, sweeping through the circle of pursuers in a flash.

Galleon barely had time to dive to the side, and Efe too.

Everyone else standing around was instantly killed. Only Rudy and the knight in the center were untouched—thanks to Karl’s freakishly precise control over the spell.

Thunk-thunk!

A volley of spikes flew in from Efe.

Karl deflected them with a barrier and immediately began casting the next spell.

【Magic Booster】

SHWOOM!

A blast of propulsion fired from his back, launching Karl forward like a cannonball.

At the same time, he wrapped himself in a force field and slammed to a stop just short of crashing—like hitting a magical handbrake.

A near-acrobatic maneuver. His first time trying this kind of spell chaining.

Tap.

Thankfully, he managed to land right in front of Rudy and Hayden without any faceplants or sloppy landings.

Galleon and Efe, now flanking him on either side, stared at him in disbelief.

So did the two on the ground before him.

“Damn, that actually worked.”

The situation flipped in an instant.

Karl stood in front of them protectively. Galleon, now catching on to his intent, scowled.

“A mage from House Paul, are you?”

Karl shook his head.

“Nope.”

“Don’t be absurd. If not, then why are you protecting them—”

Ignoring him, Karl pulled a jewel from his coat.

Galleon’s eyes widened to the brink of tearing.

Efe reacted the same.

“Wait—how the hell did you...?”

Seeing how un-knightly he looked, Karl let out a small sound of realization.

“Oh, right. HQ said the big boss was here. So you’re Montoul’s leader?”

“......!!”

“I wiped out all the branches in Kerry City. Bit late, but maybe say a little prayer for your dead underlings, huh?”

With a crooked grin, Karl handed the jewel to the still-stunned Rudy.

“I’ll handle these guys. You two, take it and run.”

She blinked in confusion, but stood up with Hayden and took it.

“Who... are you, exactly?”

Karl gave a short answer.

“Karl of the Altius School.”

And then added,

“Don’t even think about helping. You’ll just get in the way if you stay. Running is the only way you help right now—”

Thunk-thunk-thunk!!

Karl raised a barrier and blocked more incoming spikes.

In real life, villains don’t politely wait while you finish your lines.

“Go! Now!”

Rudy and Hayden clambered onto the horse in a panic.

“Where do you think you’re going!”

Galleon charged at them with terrifying speed, but a wall of fire erupted in his path, forcing him to pull back.

FWOOOSH!

Meanwhile, Efe closed in from the opposite side and stabbed at Karl with a spike.

All mages have a momentary gap when chaining spells.

This was a perfect timed strike, exploiting that basic truth. But—

BOOOM!!

A shockwave blasted Efe backward, sending him tumbling across the dirt before he finally skidded to a stop.

He mumbled in disbelief, his face frozen.

“...What the hell... Why is he this fast?”

He had no way of knowing Karl’s spell °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° chaining had no delay.

Whinny!!

As the standoff resumed, Rudy and Hayden galloped away on horseback.

“Th-thank you so much! I’ll never forget this! Please be caref—!!”

Her voice faded as the distance grew, and the two of them vanished down the road.

Left behind like dogs who’d lost their prey, Galleon and Efe wore blank, bitter expressions.

Then, their murderous gazes snapped toward Karl.

Karl smiled at them.

“No more distractions. I guess it’s time to get serious.”

He was smiling—but truthfully, he was tense.

He’d never faced high-ranking knights before. Let alone two at once.

This would be the first time he had to go all-in since hitting 5-circle.

‘All things considered, I have the advantage. I probably won’t lose...’

But not even a sliver of carelessness was allowed.

High-ranking knights weren’t even in the same league as regular knights.

“...Don’t think you’ll walk away alive.”

A blood-red aura began to shimmer across Galleon’s blade.

“Be careful, sir. That one casts way too fast.”

Efe, too, dropped his spikes and drew twin shortswords from his belt.

“Oh, and—he said he wiped out our branches in Kerry. So that girl’s dead too?”

“Who?”

“...The silver-haired one. She was chasing the jewel.”

There was a tremble in his voice.

Karl’s lips curled.

“What, was she your lover? Family?”

“......”

“Ohh, family, huh? Your sister then. Don’t worry—I’ll send you to join her real soon.”

Efe said nothing for a moment. Then, with eyes gleaming with murderous rage, he spat,

“You... I’ll make sure you beg me to kill you. You’ll crawl at my feet and scream for mercy.”

Karl chuckled.

“Funny. She said almost the exact same thing. Right before she died like an idiot.”

CRACK!

Efe kicked off the ground like a thunderbolt and flew at him.

Karl instantly cast another spell.

Spikes of stone erupted from the earth, targeting Efe’s path—but he twisted and dodged every one.

But the next burst of lightning forced Efe to retreat in a hurry.

Galleon, trying to flank from the side, didn’t fare much better.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

As Galleon advanced, slashing down the oncoming fireballs one after another, a shockwave slammed into his body, sending him flying.

KWAANG! KUGWAGWANG!!

A head-to-head power clash: one high-ranking mage versus two high-ranking knights.

With magic and sword energy exploding in all directions, the trees around them were shredded like paper. The forest was being ripped open, stripped down to nothing.

And as time passed, it wasn’t Karl who was scrambling to keep up—it was Efe and Galleon.

They couldn’t even get close. Karl's magic attacks came so relentlessly, so unceasingly, that the two knights were left with no option but to dodge for their lives.

They were the ones with the numbers advantage—two to one—yet it felt completely reversed.

If they hadn’t been two, if the attacks hadn’t been split between them, they would’ve been taken down already.

Meanwhile, Karl himself was inwardly stunned.

‘I’m way stronger than I thought.’

This was his first time going all out after reaching 5-circle, and he hadn’t expected this level of power.

With the right setup, he felt like he could take on three high-ranking knights at once.

The sourc𝗲 of this content is freēwēbηovel.c૦m.

On the other hand, Efe and Galleon were going through hell.

‘What the fuck...’

Was this even possible?

How the hell was he this fast?

Efe was starting to wonder if the mage was high on Blueburn—a forbidden magical drug traded in the black market that boosts casting speed and mana output to insane levels for a few minutes... before your body explodes from the strain.

But if that were the case, those few minutes would’ve passed long ago.

And the mage was still perfectly fine.

This couldn’t be reality.

He shook off the daze and suddenly noticed—Karl’s magic suppressing him had subtly thinned.

Efe quickly turned his head toward Galleon.

“Sir! Look out!”

FWSSH!

But it was too late.

A spike shot up from the ground and speared through Galleon’s left leg.

“...Ghk!”

But even more than the pain, Galleon felt a chill crawl down his spine.

He looked up—and saw the mage smiling as he stretched out a hand toward him.

‘I have to dodge—’

That was Galleon’s last thought.

【Ray Buster】

FLASH!!

A brilliant white beam tore through Galleon’s entire body.

And when the light disappeared, there wasn’t even a trace of him left.

He had been completely erased.

“......”

Efe froze, stunned by the overwhelming power of the spell.

He slowly turned his head toward Karl, who still looked completely composed.

‘What the hell is he...?’

Even Efe, who had dealt with more mages than he could count, had never seen anything like this.

Just like running exhausts you faster than walking, casting magic rapidly comes with a cost.

Even if Karl was some freak prodigy with insane casting speed, maintaining that output—dozens upon dozens of times—without showing any fatigue? That was beyond reason.

Even when they were both attacking him together, all they could do was dodge.

Meanwhile, his body was starting to wear out.

Now that Galleon was dead, there was no chance of victory left.

Efe turned, trying to flee.

If he had tried it the moment Galleon died, maybe he would’ve made it.

But now—it was too late.

THWOK!!

A moment’s hesitation, and a glowing spike of light stabbed into his side from a blind spot.

He tried to lunge away, but a shockwave crashed into him before he could recover, slamming him into the dirt.

“Kuh...!!”

And then—one final fireball came crashing down toward him.

Efe looked up at it, muttering hollowly.

“Fucking monster bastard...”

BOOOOM!!

[<Sudden Quest: Tie the Knot> has been completed.]

[You have earned 70,000 SP as the quest reward.]

Was it because he’d jumped to level 53 right after killing Garduka?

Unfortunately, there was no level-up notification this time.

Clicking his tongue, Karl glanced around at the ravaged battlefield and then slumped to the ground.

“Ugh... that was exhausting...”

He’d pretended to be calm, but truthfully, his mana reserves had taken a serious hit.

It was only natural—he’d been firing off spells nonstop the entire fight.

Anyway, it was all over.

The quest was done. Montoul’s leader was dead. The group was effectively annihilated.

He’d saved Rudy Dwayne, taken down two high-ranking knights.

That bastard second son, Chris, had just taken a massive, flaming L.

“Wrecked every asshole that needed wrecking.”

It had been a long, roundabout trip.

Time to get moving again.

Karl let out a soft laugh and slowly pulled himself to his feet.

He turned toward where he’d tied up his horse.

And just then—

“...?”

He heard hoofbeats in the distance, drawing closer.

Karl turned his head.

More pursuers sent from the count’s house?

But what appeared wasn’t a knight.

Nor was it a masked Montoul agent.

“...What the?”

Riding straight toward him was a figure in a white robe.

As the distance closed, Karl realized it was a woman—and that her outfit was... peculiar.

Most people didn’t wear a half-mask that only covered one side of their face.

Karl narrowed his eyes.

Thock, thock...

The woman halted her horse at a distance and silently stared at him.

In the strange stillness, the two simply locked eyes—saying nothing.