How to Survive as a Mage Inside a Game #Chapter 22: Orc Invasion (7) - Read How to Survive as a Mage Inside a Game Chapter 22: Orc Invasion (7) Online - All Page

Chapter 22: Orc Invasion (7)

[Your level has increased.]

Level-up notifications popped up in Karl’s head in rapid succession.

Considering the opponent, even though he had already reached Level 50, he still gained a whopping three levels at once.

Since he hadn’t fought alone, he probably didn’t get the full experience points, but even a portion of it was an enormous gain.

“...Sir Karl! Are you alright?!”

At Jeraph the knight’s shout, Karl slowly nodded his head.

“Yes... I’m fine.”

“Are you really alright? Just a moment ago, you were staring blankly into space without any response...”

“No, really, I’m fine. I think he tried to do something to me, but it looks like it failed.”

Karl silently gazed down at Garduka’s corpse lying sprawled across the ground.

His lifeless eyes, unable to even register his own death, held an especially hollow light.

The incomprehensible words Garduka had spoken kept echoing in Karl’s mind.

‘...The cause and effect of the flesh and soul have twisted?’

What the hell kind of bullshit was that?

Could it possibly have something to do with being possessed in a game character’s body?

Whatever it was, Karl didn’t dwell on it.

It wasn’t like thinking hard about it now would uncover anything useful anyway.

So he shoved it into a far corner of his memory and turned away.

“Anyway... everyone, great work.”

At Karl’s completely drained voice, the knights let out faint chuckles, and Mayer burst into hearty laughter.

“All we did was follow orders. It’s all your achievement. But anyway, those orc bastards...”

Mayer turned his head to the side.

The orc horde that had been charging their way had suddenly stopped and was now in visible disarray.

It was the expected reaction—Garduka had died, and his shamanic magic had been broken.

“Thankfully, they’re not even paying us any attention.”

“Let’s save the chatter for later and get out of here before they notice us again.”

The five of them, dragging their exhausted bodies, hurried back to where they had left the horses.

* * *

Waaaahhhh...!!

Watching the orcs fully retreat, the soldiers dropped their weapons and cheered madly.

Darkan also gave a faint smile as he gazed toward the plains.

‘...Looks like he really pulled it off.’

Everything had gone exactly as Karl had said.

Once the shaman was killed, the orcs descended into chaos, snarling at each other before retreating back into the Forest of Gwangrim.

The war was over, and the city had been protected.

Even the casualty count, which he’d feared might be the worst in history, was far lower than expected.

Karl hadn’t just saved his daughter—he had made all of this possible. Feeling a mix of gratitude and awe, Darkan gave the order to those around him.

“Open the west gate and welcome the heroes.”

The five figures were visible from afar, circling around the plains on their return to the city.

It was the return of the heroes who had defended Bard City.

* * *

The moment Karl passed through the gate, he was greeted with an overwhelming welcome as he entered the city.

The soldiers, who had fought like mad without knowing the full details, still understood that thanks to these people, the war had ended safely.

Cleanup was someone else’s job now—and the ones who had made the greatest contribution to the war's conclusion had earned the right to rest immediately.

“Haa...”

Led directly by Darkan’s adjutant to the Baekjak Castle, Karl was given a luxurious room, where he let out a sigh and collapsed onto the bed.

“So goddamn tired I could die.”

Once again, he had somehow survived. He had stopped another future disaster in time.

He wanted nothing more than to black out and pass out cold right now—but there was still one last thing to do.

Karl read the notification that had popped up in his head.

[You have completed the 5-Circle Awakening Quest.]

[As a quest reward, you may now awaken to the 5th Circle.]

[Would you like to awaken now?]

“Yeah.”

Karl answered without hesitation.

He’d done this four times already, so there was no reason to hold back.

[Initiating Circle Awakening.]

Vrrrrmm...

A sharp tingle spread from deep in his chest.

Then, the four magic rings inside him began to rotate and amplify at a terrifying speed.

This wasn’t just a simple increase in magic capacity.

Through the power of the system, «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» the very framework of existing magical logic was being twisted—forcing an elevation in Circle rank with no enlightenment or side effects required.

Fwoooosh!!

Soon, that energy spread throughout his body, then converged again in his chest to form the fifth ring.

[Circle Awakening complete.]

Karl slowly rose to his feet.

And as he felt the mighty flow of mana coursing through his body, he let out a breath of amazement.

“Hah.”

This was way beyond what he had expected.

Compared to normal level-ups, the boost in capability from the Circle jump was on another plane entirely.

No, it wasn’t just an increase—it felt like the very quality of his mana had changed.

There was a reason why 5-Circle and above were classified as High Mages.

5th Circle. High Mage.

The magical equivalent of a high-level knight.

A stage where one could take on an entire small army solo.

It finally felt like he’d stepped into the realm of real powerhouses.

[As a reward for completing the quest, you will receive 3 random 5-Circle spells.]

The next reward followed.

Every time he awakened to a new Circle, the quest would grant him three skills appropriate to the level.

You know, like how in games, you get new skills after your second or third job advancement.

“......”

Karl stared at the notification in his mind for a moment, then solemnly clasped his hands together and closed his eyes.

“Please... give me an Arcane Spell.”

When he awakened to the 4th Circle, he’d gotten Calling Thunder.

And that was the only Arcane spell Karl currently had. Well, aside from the black magic, which didn’t count.

So please—Arcane again, this time too.

Another notification flashed in his mind.

[You have learned ‘Fire Horn’ (Common).]

[You have learned ‘Bind Swarm’ (Common).]

[You have learned ‘Ray Buster’ (Arcane).]

“...Yes!”

As if teasing him with a delay, the last notification finally appeared, and Karl clenched his fist with a brief shout of triumph.

It actually dropped—another Arcane spell!

It felt like he was finally being rewarded properly for all the hell he went through to kill Garduka.

An Arcane spell created by ‘Barop Oscue,’ the second head of the Hera School, who valued only destructive magic above all else...

Since it was an Arcane spell, it came with a long background and lore attached.

Karl skipped the opening lines and read only the effect.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

“...Condenses mana transformed into destructive properties to the extreme and fires it in a linear beam. Hm.”

So, basically, it was a spell that shot out something like a laser beam.

Karl wanted to test it immediately, but if he did it here, the knights would probably rush in thinking the castle was under terrorist attack. So he held back.

‘And the rest of the spells...’

After reading the descriptions of the other spells, Karl grimaced.

They were all kind of... underwhelming. Not particularly useful.

Fire Horn was just a more powerful version of the flame spells he already had—pure destruction with no added value. Bind Swarm was at least a wide-area bind, so it was somewhat better, but...

“All the luck got sucked into the Arcane spell, huh.”

He had hoped for something a bit more versatile.

Still, just getting Ray Buster alone was a massive win, so Karl was reasonably satisfied.

And as for 5th Circle spellbooks, he’d already snagged a few decent ones back at Altius Main—stuff worth using.

It wouldn’t have been possible normally, but hey—when else would he cash in on his Elder connections if not then?

Knock knock.

Just as he reached into his inventory to pull out a spellbook, there was a knock at the door followed by a voice.

“Sir Karl, apologies for disturbing your rest. I’m Hayes, the house steward.”

“Ah, yes. Come in.”

A middle-aged man entered and bowed politely toward Karl.

“Is there anything you find uncomfortable?”

“Nope. The bed’s ridiculously soft.”

Hayes gave a small smile at Karl’s laid-back answer before continuing.

“The Lord has just returned. I can escort you to him now, if you’d like.”

So the cleanup must be more or less done.

Karl nodded.

“I’ll go right away. Please lead the way.”

“Yes, then...”

Following the steward, Karl made his way down the hall to the lord’s chamber on the top floor.

Upon entering, he saw not only Darkan but also Mayer and the senior knights.

“Oh, welcome! I thought you’d rest a little more before—huh?”

Mayer, who had been laughing and waving, suddenly froze.

He stared at Karl, eyes trembling as if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

“...Hold on, you—?”

Karl was puzzled until he realized Mayer’s gaze was locked on his chest—no, to be precise, on the core within.

‘Ah. He noticed.’

He’d immediately picked up on Karl’s advancement to the 5th Circle.

Karl gave an awkward smile and nodded.

“I just broke through. Got some insight while fighting the shaman.”

Darkan and the other high-ranking knights, who had been about to rise, understood the implication of that exchange and turned to Karl with looks of pure shock.

The first to recover was Darkan, who offered Karl his congratulations.

“...Sir, congratulations. Reaching High Mage at your age—it’s almost beyond belief.”

The tone was dry, but from a man who despised empty words, it was the highest form of praise.

Reaching the 5th Circle at age twenty.

It was a genuinely staggering achievement.

There were plenty of prodigies in the world of magic, but even so, reaching the 5th Circle at such a young age was rare even historically.

There was a reason the 5th Circle and beyond were classified as High Mage.

Magic, beyond mana and technique, was fundamentally based on willpower.

And that will—“intention,” “essence,” whatever you called it—was something almost impossible to cultivate deeply when your life experience was still shallow.

‘Even geniuses can’t borrow the time they haven’t lived yet...’

Especially for Mayer, a High Mage himself, he knew just how absurd this was.

To be twenty years old and already at the 5th Circle.

What kind of monster would Karl become when he turned thirty—or forty?

The head of one of the Three Great Schools, or a Grand Magus from the Black Tower... someone who would, without question, hold sway over the continent in the future.

‘...Maybe I’m watching a piece of history unfold right before my eyes.’

When someone’s talent is so far beyond your reach, you don’t even feel jealous anymore.

Mayer let out a faint laugh and offered sincere congratulations to his young junior on his progress.

Once the pleasantries had passed and only Karl and Darkan remained in the room, the conversation returned to the original topic.

“Anyway, thanks to you, we were able to end this war safely. I truly thank you.”

Darkan bowed his head deeply to Karl.

Regardless of status or age, he bowed like any ruler offering his gratitude to the savior of his city.

“My heart says I want to grant you a barony and territory right this instant, but...”

Karl almost flinched, but the follow-up calmed him down.

“...Altius School doesn’t allow full members to also hold noble titles. What a shame.”

Ah, right. That’s true.

A massive institution like Altius had numerous policies to block external interference.

One of them was this—anyone who held a noble title couldn’t become a full member of the school and could only remain as an apprentice or honorary position.

“So I wanted to hear from you directly. If there’s anything you want, just name it. I’ll grant you whatever I can.”

Karl hesitated for a moment.

He didn’t need a noble title. He wasn’t in a position to live a peaceful life managing some estate.

Likewise, he didn’t need a mountain of gold. As long as he wasn’t broke, he was fine—and right now, he had more than enough.

‘There’s really nothing I want.’

Maybe he should just leave it as a favor to be called in later.

Then, something flickered in his mind.

“By any chance, do you have any ancient spellbooks? Anything like that?”

He hadn’t expected much when he asked.

But Darkan widened his eyes—and answered.

“I do.”

“...Excuse me?”