How to Survive as a Mage Inside a Game-Chapter 44: Ruins Exploration (10)

He introduced himself as a descendant of the Demon King and told Demail that over a hundred years had passed since the Great War. The continent, now reclaimed by the victorious humans, was at peace.

And then, he made an offer: to help Demail regain his power more quickly.

Demail doubted how much help one mere human could be, but Galleos did not object, and he saw no reason to refuse. He even granted the human a portion of his power—just a taste.

Time passed once more.

Tobaz returned, bringing more humans into the ruins.

Demail had half a mind to raise the bastard from the dead just to rip him apart all over again.

- You... You goddamn lunatic...!!

There he stood, this human, wielding a golden sword radiating a chilling, nauseating holy light.

There was no doubt—that was a holy sword.

The old wounds he’d suffered during the Great War throbbed as if stabbed anew.

Demail couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

There hadn’t been a hint of divine power from this bastard just moments ago.

So where the hell had that sword come from? It just popped out of nowhere, floating into his hand like some kind of sick joke.

Demail didn’t know what an inventory was. To him, this was nothing short of a lethal con, a trick that could kill him.

"Let’s get started."

Karl didn’t wait to see how the demon reacted. He didn’t say another word, just readied himself for battle.

The holy sword Duradante could only maintain its power for ten minutes.

He didn’t have time to waste chatting. If he did, he’d lose his shot.

FWOOOSH!

A massive crescent-shaped wave of sacred fire erupted as Karl swung his sword.

Demail panicked and summoned the full strength of his armor. The chamber roared as divine light exploded on contact.

BOOOOM!!

The armor wasn’t completely destroyed, but a clear crack split across it.

A power that hadn’t even flinched against top-tier 5-circle magic had just started breaking from a single sword strike.

‘Damn, demons really are weak to relics. Didn’t think it’d be this bad.’

It was Karl’s first time facing a demon, and he’d only recently acquired the relic, so he was more than a little shocked.

With power like this, he figured he could finish the fight well within ten minutes.

- GRRAAAH! [N O V E L I G H T] YOU CURSED BASTARD!!

Demail roared, swinging one of his massive hands. For something that big, the speed was terrifying.

Karl layered the sword’s holy shield over his own magic barrier.

It was his first time combining magic with the sword’s power.

CRACK!!

The shockwave alone split the ground nearby, but the shield held firm.

‘Solid.’

Karl grinned and slashed at Demail’s outstretched hand.

The demon screamed again, stumbling backward.

The momentum was his now.

It was time to push harder.

Demail was so huge, he practically scraped the ceiling of the cavern. Karl didn’t even have to aim carefully—just swing, and he’d hit something.

Using his magic booster, Karl shot into the air, firing volleys of sacred flame straight at Demail’s neck.

BOOM! CRASH!!

The clash continued like that.

Karl darted through the air with the booster, raining down sacred fire, chaining spells—ice, binding magic, anything to keep the bastard pinned down.

Demail couldn’t do anything but take hit after hit.

At one point, spikes erupted from his armor—probably some kind of variation of its power—but they couldn’t pierce Karl’s double-layered defense. Defense alone wasn’t going to save him.

‘...This is insane!’

Not exactly the best time for idle thoughts, but Karl couldn’t help it.

Zipping through the air, swinging down devastating strikes, he felt like one of those legendary sword heroes you hear about in old tales. His adrenaline was through the roof. This was a whole different thrill from standing still and hurling spells.

For a moment, he thought being a warrior in this game might’ve been pretty fun too.

Not that it mattered.

Fun? Screw that. He needed to get out of this damned game and back to Earth ASAP.

Anyway, the one getting wrecked was Demail.

At least for these ten minutes, Karl could use the holy sword without limits. Which meant he didn’t have to worry about running out of sacred power.

Demail, on the other hand, was getting absolutely slaughtered.

His armor crumbled bit by bit, while Karl’s attacks didn’t even slow down.

CRAAACK!!

Finally, the holy sword shattered the demon’s armor completely.

Karl followed up with rapid strikes, slicing through Demail’s right arm, then a leg, and finally across his abdomen. That thick, black demon blood sprayed everywhere, soaking the ground.

Not done yet, Karl landed and immediately started casting.

【Ray Buster】

BOOOOM!!

With no armor left, Demail’s body couldn’t block Karl’s magic.

A beam of light tore straight through his chest, leaving a gaping hole where his heart should be.

The massive body swayed, then collapsed to its knees.

THOOM...

Karl walked forward, slowly.

Demail barely raised his head, eyes blazing with hatred.

- If I had just a little more time... if I had recovered a bit more...

"That’s the kind of last words you’re going with? C’mon, that’s weak as hell. Don’t you have anything cooler to say?"

The most uptodat𝓮 n𝒐vels are published on freёnovelkiss.com.

Karl cut him off, raising the sword.

He planned to finish this with the holy sword before the time ran out. But then—

- Galleos...! Don’t just watch—help me, I beg you! If not me, no one else will ever come to serve you again! You’ll be stuck here, in this godforsaken pit, enduring another endless cycle of torment!

Suddenly, Demail threw his head back and screamed into the void.

"...?!"

And then—an overwhelming force slammed into Karl.

He couldn’t move.

He couldn’t even think.

He didn’t have time to feel afraid.

A dread beyond comprehension gripped him. It felt like his soul itself was being squeezed in a vice. His mind shut down.

Galleos.

Until now, he’d only been able to interfere through trials. But now, he had shattered the laws of causality and reached out to seize Karl’s life directly—for the sake of his only servant.

‘I’m... I’m going to die...’

That thought looped endlessly in Karl’s frozen mind.

Just as the darkness began to close in—

A voice echoed inside his head.

[How DARE you.]

FWOOOSH!

And in an instant, the presence of Galleos vanished, scattered like dust in the wind.

[Did you really think hiding in this pit would let you break the laws of causality and get away with it?]

AAAAAAAAARGH...!!

It was like a scream echoing through his skull—a horrible, agonizing cry that could only belong to the Evil God, Galleos.

Karl didn’t hear it with his ears, but there was no doubt. It wasn’t just his imagination.

[Causality violation detected.]

[Violation has been resolved.]

"...Hah—!"

Karl finally broke free, collapsing to the ground.

He gasped for air, his chest heaving, and his eyes scanned the messages now floating in his mind.

‘What the hell was that just now...?’

He knew Galleos had tried to pull some divine bullshit. That much was clear.

But the system helped him? Or something else?

And that voice just now—who the hell was that?

He didn’t have to think too hard. The answer was obvious.

‘You son of a bitch... it was you, wasn’t it, system? Huh? It was, right?’

Yeah, that voice had to be the system. No doubt.

He cursed it out a few more times, but, of course, nothing responded.

"...Tch."

Karl sighed and slowly staggered to his feet.

Being exposed directly to divine power—

That was something he never wanted to experience again.

In front of him, Demail stood there, dazed, muttering blankly.

- G-Galleos...?

Karl scowled.

"You think you’re the only one with a god on your side?"

He raised the holy sword high again.

"My god’s better, you bastard."

SLAASH!!

The golden blade cleaved through Demail’s neck. His massive body followed, crashing to the ground with a thunderous boom.

One of the last remaining demons on the continent—Demail—was no more.

"...The system might be a huge asshole, but at least it came through this time."

Karl lowered the sword, muttering under his breath.

[Level up.]

[Level up.]

[Emergency Quest: Trial Completion – Complete.]

[Reward: 50,000 SP.]

[Reward: Random Magic Item x1.]

[Emergency Quest: Stop the Puppetmaster – Complete.]

[Reward: 100,000 SP.]

[Reward: Random 5-Circle Spellbook x1.]

Level-ups. Quest completions. A flood of messages filled his mind.

Karl checked the rewards immediately.

‘Let’s see... the spellbook... just a regular one. Trash. What about the magic item...’

<Teleport Scroll – Consumable Magic Item>

Teleports you to a random location within 50KM.

Casting time: 30 seconds.

Again with the teleport scrolls.

Maybe because they were single-use, but high-circle spells seemed to pop up often as consumables.

Karl confirmed everything and turned to look behind him.

The expedition team was standing there, still in shock, staring at him from a distance.

He stared back at them, searching for words, then finally spoke, his face tired.

"It’s over. Let’s get out of here."

What was supposed to be a simple ruin exploration turned into a nightmare.

Right now, all he wanted was to throw himself into a soft bed.

He needed to get the hell out of this cursed underground pit—now.

* * *

Despite all the madness, the expedition ended with zero casualties.

After gathering the rest of the relics from the upper chamber and escaping the ruins, the team returned to the city, the atmosphere awkward but safe.

Everyone thanked Karl deeply, but no one asked who he really was.

Later, from the ever-talkative Pakion, Karl learned that the whole expedition thought he was some kind of saint from a powerful religious order, a master of both magic and divine power.

And honestly? That wasn’t such a wild guess.

Anyone with eyes could tell that the sword Karl used against the demon was a holy sword.

As for why he joined the expedition? Obviously, to deal with the dark mage and the demon he’d "already discovered." That’s how they saw it.

Not the worst misunderstanding in the world.

Karl was fine with it.

Less hassle explaining things.

He refused any offers for relics or gold shares. He wanted to cut ties with the expedition cleanly.

Tobaz’s betrayal, the insane crap that happened in those ruins—

Whether they sent more people or not later, that was their problem now.

He just told them one thing—don’t go blabbing about him everywhere.

It wasn’t like something so many people saw could stay secret forever, but hey, better than saying nothing at all.

"Th-Thank you so much. If you ever visit the Earthmoon faction..."

"You’ve done us a great service. Please, you must come to the Dante family’s estate someday..."

The mages from Earthmoon, the knights of the Marquis house, the Slot adventurers—

After the team disbanded, Karl headed back to his inn.

Back to boring days, waiting patiently for news from Herlando.

One month later.

"I’ve found him."

Scarlett arrived, bringing a few subordinates and the news Karl had been waiting for.

The lead on how to return to Earth—the mage Fluren Acid.

She had information on his whereabouts.

Karl couldn’t hide his excitement.

"You’ve confirmed his location?"

"Yes, we have."

But something about her expression was... off.

"What’s with that face? Don’t tell me he’s dead or something..."

"No, it’s not that. But..."

What she said next made Karl’s face twist into a deep scowl.