How to Survive as a Mage Inside a Game-Chapter 56: Sky Sword Castle (1)

“Doesn’t seem like you’re actually glad. How’s that guy doing?”

He meant Remic.

Raphan nodded as he replied,

“He’s staying put in his room. Seems he took the defeat pretty hard.”

Karl reflexively almost asked Are you okay?, but held back.

Maybe noticing that, Raphan gave a bitter smile and continued,

“Honestly, if we’re talking about shock, mine’s probably greater. I never expected to lose to a much younger junior at my age.”

“Well, life throws all kinds of things at you, doesn’t it? If it hadn’t been me, it would’ve been someone else eventually.”

It was kind of a weird form of consolation, but fortunately Raphan didn’t take offense.

After a few more exchanges, the awkward air between them completely dissipated.

“Sorry about how I treated you back then—pushing you like that. It’s just that kid is an extremely important talent for the Combat Division...”

“It’s fine. I was a bit over the top too.”

“Ah, I also heard from Elder Hurst that you’ll be joining us on the Sky Sword Castle trip. Is that why you visited this branch?”

He had actually come to fix his magic device and the timing just happened to work out, but Karl gave a vague nod.

Raphan burst into a hearty laugh and said,

“With you on the team, there’s no way we can lose this duel. No matter how elite Sky Sword Castle may be, they couldn’t possibly have a young disciple on your level.”

Praise so excessive it was almost embarrassing to hear—but Raphan’s words were also not exaggerated in the slightest.

Karl knew that well.

He understood that his very existence was abnormal from the perspective of others.

Someone of a similar age being able to compare with him—while he was under the protection of the system—was practically impossible.

Time passed, and departure drew near.

The two martial artists who had come down to deliver the duel proposal and stayed behind were the ones who would guide them to Sky Sword Castle.

“Let’s head out now.”

The faction members gathered in front of the gates, mounted their horses, and rode out of the city—

—toward the Blade Ridge, where Sky Sword Castle stood.

* * *

A forest region in the Blade Ridge.

“......”

Someone was lying on a boulder, staring blankly up at the sky.

A striking red-haired woman with hair that flared like fire.

Her brown eyes slowly traced the drifting clouds.

Then, she let out a big yawn and stretched with a face full of boredom.

“Ugh... I’m so bored.”

The woman’s name was Akion Hexer.

Sky Sword Castle’s only heir.

With the sun now high in the sky, other martial artists of her age group were probably training hard inside the castle.

Only she was out wandering, wasting her time like this—and not for any particular reason.

Because training or whatever—it was all just too ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) much of a hassle.

At some point, she had lost all desire for greater mastery.

Every time she looked around, all she saw were people hopelessly lagging behind her in the distance. There was no room for motivation to arise.

Akion turned her vacant gaze toward one side of the forest.

Soon, someone came running into view from that direction.

“...Hey! Akion!”

A martial artist of Sky Sword Castle.

He was also a mid-level warrior like her.

Akion frowned, clearly annoyed.

“What are you doing here, Peter?”

“Ha, shouldn’t I be the one asking that? You're out here lounging around again in this dangerous place!”

“It’s not dangerous for me. That’s only true for weaklings like you.”

It wasn’t wrong, so his mouth snapped shut for a moment.

Then his eyes suddenly sharpened as he looked toward a thicket off to the side.

“......”

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A strange silence fell.

Akion also turned her head to look in the direction of Peter’s gaze.

GROAR!!

With a chilling beastly roar, a massive black tiger burst out of the bushes and charged straight at Peter.

It was a Krark, a mid-to-high-tier monster of the Blade Ridge. He hadn’t expected to encounter one right at the entrance.

Peter panicked and tried to dodge, but something shot past him far faster and blew apart the Krark’s head.

BOOOOM!!

“......”

The Krark’s head was obliterated in an instant, its body collapsing into a cold, lifeless heap.

Peter looked up to see Akion standing in front of it, casually shaking blood off her hand.

From that distance, she had instantly reached here and killed a Krark in a single blow.

A monster that even high-level martial artists of Sky Sword Castle struggled to deal with.

‘She really is... something else...’

Peter felt a chill run down his spine as he stared at her.

He too was considered a genius among the young warriors—someone receiving a lot of attention.

But she was on a completely different level.

This was why no one could scold her for wandering outside whenever she pleased.

Clicking her tongue at the sticky blood that wouldn't come off easily, Akion spoke.

“So, why? Did you suddenly get the urge for adventure too, and want to roam around?”

“...As if. You got found out, so I came to tell you to get back. Also, the Lord said something...”

When she heard what came next, Akion’s eyes went wide.

“What? A mage?”

* * *

After returning to the castle, she was immediately summoned to the Lord’s Tower.

Avoiding her father’s disapproving gaze, Akion braced herself to let the scolding go in one ear and out the other.

“Have you heard the news?”

But instead of a roar, what came out of Bashon’s mouth was a question.

Understanding right away what he was referring to, Akion nodded.

“Yeah, something about some mages coming from outside soon to do a duel, right? Alrius or whatever?”

“It’s Altius. One of the most prestigious magic schools on the continent.”

She gave a half-hearted nod.

Her attitude showed she didn’t particularly care either way, but Bashon could tell a flicker of curiosity had surfaced on her face.

For someone like her, who had almost never gone down below the Blade Ridge her entire life, mages were a completely unknown entity.

It was the reaction he was hoping for, and Bashon quietly rejoiced on the inside.

“We’ll be selecting about twenty mid-level martial artists to carry out the friendly duel. Since the younger ones have never faced mages before, it’ll be a valuable experience.”

“So you’re saying I’m supposed to join too.”

“That’s right. Do you not want to?”

Akion imagined for a moment what mages, who she’d only ever heard about in stories, might be like.

People who could ignite fire in thin air, shoot lightning, and perform all sorts of bizarre techniques, apparently.

She’d even seen some older martial artists in the castle who called them “magic freaks” and cursed them out.

It might actually be pretty fun to fight one directly.

Scratching her head, Akion replied,

“If they look interesting when I see them, sure.”

It was practically a yes, so Bashon didn’t feel the need to add anything more.

“Hm.”

As she stepped out of the Lord’s Tower, done with the conversation, a faint glint of curiosity and expectation lingered in her eyes.

“Mages, huh...”

* * *

About a week later, Altius had left the city and arrived at the Blade Ridge.

From here, the guiding was taken over by Sky Sword Castle’s martial artists.

“Even though it’s a developed trail, the road is extremely treacherous, so please watch your step.”

It hadn’t been long since they began ascending the mountain, but the faction members quickly understood the warning all too well.

Was this really a trail you were supposed to climb? The terrain was so steep, and the sides were nothing but endless cliffs.

“Now I see why it’s so infamous. How do people even live in a place like this?”

One of the faction members clicked their tongue while watching the Sky Sword Castle martial artists march ahead unfazed.

They were starting to seriously wonder if there even was a castle waiting at the end of this path.

It was just too hard to imagine a fortress being built in a terrain like this.

But after about two days of climbing the mountains, they finally started to see it.

A towering fortress standing tall in the exact center of the peak.

Several faction members gasped in awe at the sight.

The guiding martial artists smiled faintly and said,

“We’re almost there now. Thank you for enduring the journey this far.”

And so, within half a day, they finally arrived at the gates of Sky Sword Castle.

Thooooom...

The massive gates slowly opened, revealing the vast inner landscape of the fortress.

There was no grand welcome or ceremonial reception.

Some of the younger faction members looked visibly disappointed, but the older ones already knew enough about the nature of martial sects not to care.

As they waited briefly at the entrance, a group of martial artists came out from inside.

At the front stood a bald old man who stepped forward and greeted them.

“Welcome to Sky Sword Castle.”

The old man introduced himself as Karban, the Grand Elder of Sky Sword Castle.

He was practically second only to the Lord of the Castle in authority.

He explained that the Lord was currently outside handling matters related to exploring dangerous zones, so he had come to receive them in his place.

After chatting a bit more with Hurst, the faction members were guided to their accommodations for their stay in Sky Sword Castle.

All the young mages participating in the upcoming duel were taken to the same lodging.

As they stepped into a small estate located on the outskirts of the fortress, they couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration.

“Whoa, what the—this place is huge!”

“Never seen a building like this before.”

Karl was quietly surprised too.

‘This is pretty close to an Eastern-style architecture.’

In the center of the estate stood one large main building, flanked by two smaller ones on either side.

As the faction members began figuring out where to stay, they glanced toward Karl.

They all knew exactly what had gone down between him and Remic.

Karl glanced back at Remic, who was standing behind the group.

Remic flinched and glared at him as if asking what he was looking at.

There hadn’t been any further confrontations since that day, but every time their eyes met, Remic would always glare like that.

Karl chuckled and said to the faction members,

“I’m planning to stay in the side building, so you can all stop worrying.”

When Karl pointed to the building on the left, the faction members’ faces brightened.

Everyone had clearly been hoping to stay in the large central building.

And so, everyone began heading toward their chosen accommodations.

Karl glanced at Sharon, who had been following behind him.

She had chosen to come here instead of staying with Elder Hurst.

“You’re not going to the central building?”

When Karl asked, she flinched and stopped in her tracks, then snapped at him,

“What’s it to you? Mind your business.”

Karl shrugged and was about to turn away when a voice came from somewhere.

“So you’ve finally arrived. Everyone’s gathered here, huh.”

The faction members all stopped and turned their heads.

Someone was sitting atop the estate wall, scanning them.

“...?”

A young woman with fiery red hair.

Without saying who she was, she casually jumped down into the estate and started walking toward them with sluggish steps.

“You guys, right? The mages who came for the duel?”