How to Survive as a Mage Inside a Game-Chapter 43: Ruins Exploration (9)

No one in the expedition had anything to say.

There were a million questions they wanted to ask, starting with who the hell this guy really was, but no one dared say a word. No one wanted to be the first to break the silence.

"You, how the hell did you...?"

Only Eril, standing close by Karl, managed to stammer out a question.

Karl calmly tilted his head. "Did what?"

"What do you mean 'what'? That magic just now—"

"I never said I wasn’t a mage."

"..."

Okay, well, sure. Technically.

Eril shut her mouth, full of things to say but not knowing where to start.

If he’d had power like this and just never used it until now, that’s basically the same as hiding it, whether he said anything or not.

Karl turned away, continuing flatly, "And it’s not over. He’s not dead yet."

"...?"

Everyone’s eyes snapped back to Tobaz’s collapsed form.

His body sparked from the lingering charge, completely still.

But Karl knew he was still alive.

He’d held back, after all. If Tobaz had taken a full hit from that lightning, he wouldn’t have even had time to scream—he’d have died on the spot.

Even checking with detection magic, Tobaz’s life force was still very much intact.

"Grgh..."

Just as Karl expected, Tobaz slowly pushed himself up.

His entire body was now covered in a dark, armor-like aura.

Karl could tell that wasn’t mana.

Given Tobaz’s affiliation with a dark magic school, he had a pretty good guess where the power came from.

‘A demon’s power, huh? Some kind of regeneration and defense boost, maybe?’

The Helzar school specialized in summoning or borrowing power from demons—it was one of the darker branches of magic.

High-level dark mages could fully dominate a demon, turning it into a servant. But if they weren’t strong enough, the tables turned, and they ended up receiving the demon’s power in exchange for serving it.

In Tobaz’s case, it was pretty damn clear which side he was on.

"Where the hell did you come from...?" Tobaz growled, panting, eyes locked on Karl.

Yeah, no doubt the guy was seriously rattled right now.

Karl shrugged. "What, you got brain damage from the shock? I’ve been with the expedition the whole time, remember? ‘Where did I come from?’ Really?"

"Cut the crap... whatever, it doesn’t matter. Not like you’re worth worrying about anyway."

The dark armor around Tobaz thickened, swirling tighter around him.

"You’ve got some skill, I’ll give you that, but none of you are making it out of here alive. From now on, I’m going all out. Let’s see how long you last!"

Karl chuckled.

If he’d really wanted to kill the guy, he’d have finished him off while he was still twitching on the floor.

But there were still things he needed to drag out of him, so he let him live. And this is what he gets? Hilarious.

"Really? Big talk from someone who was half-dead after one lightning spell."

"Tch! You won’t be so smug soon—"

"That black armor—you sure love that demon’s gift, huh?"

"...!!"

Tobaz’s eyes went wide.

No way. There’s no way Karl knew about the demon.

"I’m going all out now too," Karl said with a cold grin. "Let’s see how long you can last."

He began casting.

Magic circles spun wildly in front of him.

FWOOOSH!

Fire, ice, lightning—elemental magic of every kind surged forward like a goddamn tidal wave.

Tobaz scrambled to cast his own spells, but it was pointless.

Karl’s casting speed, the raw destructive power, and most of all, the way he chained spells together so fast it defied belief—

Tobaz couldn’t even come close. Not to Karl’s level, not even to his shadow.

Sure, they were both 5-circle mages, but the gap between them was a canyon.

The clashing forces in the air tilted violently to one side in an instant.

Tobaz’s spells were torn apart, shredded, and scattered like dust.

KWA-BOOOM!!

Karl’s deadly magic slammed into Tobaz’s body.

The shockwaves rattled the entire cavern, making the ground tremble.

The expedition, standing behind Karl, could do nothing but gape at the overwhelming power.

"AAGHHHH!!"

From that point on, Tobaz couldn’t even fight back. He could only scream as he burned in agony.

Even the demon’s armor couldn’t hold out much longer.

CRACK!!

Karl’s final lightning spell shattered it completely.

With a flick of his hand, he yanked Tobaz’s mangled body toward him with force magic.

He drove ice spikes through Tobaz’s limbs and tossed him to the ground like trash.

Tobaz twitched feebly, crawling in the dirt.

"Ggh, gghhaa..."

Karl stepped on his chest, grinding down hard.

"So much for ‘all out.’ Didn’t seem much different to me. What the hell were you planning to do with that cheap armor anyway?"

"Kh... urgh!"

"Why’d you drag the expedition into these ruins? Gonna offer them up to your demon buddy? Tell me what your real goal was. If you answer properly, maybe I’ll let you live."

Tobaz, coughing up blood, suddenly laughed like a madman.

This chapter is updat𝙚d by freeweɓnovel.cøm.

"Heh, heh heh! What a pathetic bluff... how the hell did you find out about the demon?"

"I ask the questions. You answer."

"...Kuh! Fine, yeah. I was going to sacrifice you all to the demon that lent me its power... though this turned out to be a real shitshow."

Karl’s eyebrow twitched.

"Yeah, that’s what I wanted to know. You say you were offering sacrifices, {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} but what’s with the trials and dragging everyone into the Evil God's Domain? What was the point?"

"How the hell do you know this place is part of the Evil God’s Domain...? Eh, whatever, guess it doesn’t matter anymore. Cough, cough!"

The light faded from Tobaz’s eyes.

But that sick grin stayed on his face.

"The demon that lent me power... it’s here, in these ruins. It’s under the protection of Galleos, the Evil God of Torment. The mental and emotional suffering you bastards endured during the trials—every bit of it fed the demon’s power. Heh, heh! I didn’t expect you to pass all the trials without losing a single man, though... that part was way off..."

Ah, so that’s what this was all about.

Only now did Karl fully grasp the situation.

A demon under the protection of the Evil God of Torment could draw power from anguish. The “sacrifice” Tobaz mentioned wasn’t just about flesh—it meant the suffering caused by the trials themselves.

Karl shook his head.

"Tough luck, huh? Like you said, we breezed through those trials without breaking a sweat, so your demon barely got any power. I’m guessing you were trying to break some kind of seal or something, but that’s not—"

"...Seal?"

Tobaz went blank for a moment. Then, suddenly, he burst into wild laughter.

"Phuhuhuh! Puhahahaha!"

"..."

"Now I get it. You’ve got it all wrong. A seal? Don’t tell me you actually thought the demon here was sealed away?"

"Then why the hell pull all this crap?"

"Simple. To help the demon regain its power. Heh heh... That’s why even if you cleared the trials, there was no scenario where any of you walked out alive."

Tobaz’s voice grew faint, barely clinging to life.

"You’ll be joining me soon, so I guess at least I won’t be dying alone. Just wait... the demon will..."

Thunk.

His head slumped forward.

Tobaz was dead.

Karl stepped off him, frowning.

‘The demon will what?’

He didn’t have to wonder long.

Suddenly, the massive stone gate on the other side of the chamber creaked open all on its own.

A chilling aura spilled out. From within, something enormous began to emerge.

THOOM... THOOM...

Karl and the expedition could only stand there, frozen, as they watched.

The blurry shape grew clearer with every step, until it passed through the gate and revealed itself completely.

A hulking, humanoid body, easily over ten meters tall.

Jet-black skin, bulging with muscle, and two sharp horns protruding from its forehead.

Karl didn’t recognize it as any demon he knew.

Unless it was a major named boss, he couldn’t be expected to remember every random background mob the game ever mentioned.

Not that this thing was any random mob. Not at this level.

This wasn’t some exit at the end of a trial.

This was the belly of the beast.

[Lv.59]

[Mid-Tier Demon, Seed of Torment]

Karl clicked his tongue quietly as he read the info.

‘Level 59...’

This was top-tier among enemies in the 50s.

And at that range, even a few levels’ difference meant a huge gap in power.

Karl had one-shot that Level 52 Kerus back when he was 53, but this? Even for him, facing a 59 was heavy. Real heavy.

The demon’s grotesque aura had locked the entire expedition in place.

The menace it radiated made the earlier beast, Kerus, feel like a puppy.

Only Karl could still face it without flinching—barely.

- How the hell did filthy humans make it in here?

That sickening voice echoed through the chamber, vibrating in their bones.

The demon scanned the room with its blood-red eyes.

Then it spotted Tobaz’s corpse.

- What the... Why the hell is that fool dead over there? He promised to restore my power... Typical worm, all talk. What, did he get killed by these insects?

As the demon’s gaze passed over Karl and the others, the air grew heavy with killing intent.

The quest wasn’t over yet.

Karl realized he’d have to take this thing down for the quest to be complete.

And beyond that, if he wanted to get out of here alive, he didn’t have a choice either way.

‘First strike wins.’

【Ray Buster】

FLASH!!

A massive white beam shot straight for the demon’s head.

Of course, he didn’t expect that to finish it.

But he figured it’d do some real damage to start off.

However...

Ssssss—!

The demon’s face emerged from the blast, completely untouched.

At some point, a dark aura had wrapped around its entire body, blocking the attack completely.

The same power Tobaz had used.

Except this was the real deal—the demon’s own armor, infinitely stronger and tougher than whatever Tobaz had.

"...Huh."

Karl hesitated for just a moment, unnerved.

The demon sneered down at him.

- Pathetic human. You think you could scratch my armor with that weak little trick? That’s no divine relic—only sacred power can pierce my dark armor.

"...?"

Karl’s expression shifted.

Oh, right. He’d almost forgotten.

Demons were weak to holy relics—and he had one.

"Relic?"

- Yes, relic. The only thing that can break through my armor is sacred power.

"Oh... that so? Would a holy sword do the trick?"

- More than enough! With a holy sword, you could shred my armor like paper, heh heh! But as if you’d have someth— huh?

The demon’s eyes widened, blinking in disbelief at the golden sword now gleaming in Karl’s hand.

It had appeared from thin air, radiating a pure, holy light.

The demon felt a cold dread crawl down its spine.

No... no way...

- Human... what is that?

Gone was the arrogance, gone was the swagger. The demon’s voice now trembled with fear.

Karl smiled sweetly.

"The sword that’s gonna take your head off."

FWOOOSH!

He activated the sword’s power.

Behind him, a brilliant halo of light flared to life.