How to Survive as a Mage Inside a Game-Chapter 89: Flame Ring (4)

"...What?"

Fourth Prince Thayns blinked in disbelief.

The report delivered by his subordinate made no sense.

"You're telling me that Jurein is heading to Kermandel with the Rompel Knights?"

"Yes, Your Highness."

Thayns furrowed his brow and leaned on the table with his chin propped on one hand.

‘...I really can’t figure him out.’

Had he gone completely mad?

It wasn’t enough that he’d holed up in Gwangmyeong Hall, now he wanted to march out of the palace again? After everything he’d pulled recently?

Of course, to Thayns, this was a long-awaited opportunity.

He’d been agonizing over how to get rid of that thorn in his eye.

But even an idiot would know better.

Unless there was some hidden motive, there was no way Jurein would voluntarily go outside the palace in his current position.

‘He’s definitely got something up his sleeve...’

But no matter how he looked at it, he couldn’t figure out what.

Ever since the ceremony, Jurein’s actions had been completely unpredictable.

Thayns had already sent his hounds back to the Dragonhorn Range to retrace their tracks, but they never found any corpses—and there was nothing notable recovered either.

Aside from Jurein and his two companions, and the assassins he’d sent, there were no signs of anyone else having interfered.

The only strange thing was a report that the part of the forest believed to be the battlefield had been unnaturally devastated.

‘A magic tool.’

That was Thayns' current guess.

If the bastard had been hiding some powerful magic artifact and used it to wipe out the assassins, that would more or less make sense.

Still, the unease in his gut wouldn’t fade.

It felt like he was missing something crucial.

"I should go see Brother Kaivern."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Whatever the case, one thing was clear: Jurein's request to leave the capital was an opportunity that could not be missed.

A perfect chance to repay the humiliation of the poison incident—an insult that still made Thayns grind his teeth.

A cruel smile crept across Thayns’ lips.

* * *

Early morning.

As always, Jurein and the others stood at the entrance of Gwangmyeong Hall.

But today, they weren’t waiting for the Royal Guardians to escort them to the secret vault.

Sephiel was fully armored, and Jurein too was no longer in his casual clothing—he wore battle gear, already mounted on horseback.

The request to join the Rompel Knights on the Minotaur subjugation had been accepted without delay.

The Third Queen, currently acting as regent, had no interest in the royal succession—and even less in Jurein’s well-being.

None of the other royals or retainers opposed the Fifth Prince’s deployment, so the request had naturally gone through.

"My lord, are you truly sure about this?"

Sephiel asked Karl with a worried look.

Karl replied with a bored face.

"How many times are you going to ask the same thing? It's already decided."

"But still..."

"I told you. It's necessary."

Karl could understand her reaction.

It wasn’t that she didn’t trust Karl’s abilities.

After all, the overwhelming display at their first meeting had burned itself into both her and Jurein’s memory.

But regardless of her trust in Karl, as someone who always prioritized Jurein’s safety, she couldn’t help but feel anxious.

Outside the palace, the risks were entirely different.

During the royal ceremony, they had no choice—but this time, they were the ones choosing to leave.

"Sephiel. We can’t keep shrinking like frightened mice forever."

Jurein’s face was bitter, yet also filled with determination.

His plan to master the original Flame Ring had failed.

So now, the only way forward was to continue playing the bait—something he fully understood.

Of course, Karl’s real reason for this outing had less to do with provoking rival royals, and more to do with farming SP.

He looked at the two of them, deep in thought.

‘Maybe learning Flame Ring was always the real trigger all along.’

The situation seemed to suggest so.

Jurein had hoped to master Flame Ring and use it to rally support from the ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) Royal Guardians. At first, Karl had tried to play along with that plan.

But Jurein had failed miserably—and instead, Karl had been given the opportunity to learn Flame Ring. Karl, who possessed the spell Polymorph.

At this point, wasn’t it obvious what he had to do next?

‘First things first—learn Flame Ring.’

Moments later, a squad of knights appeared at the entrance to Gwangmyeong Hall.

The Rompel Knights, belonging to the royal order.

The man at the front, with a sly and unpleasant expression, approached them with large strides.

He was Verof, commander of the Rompel Knights.

"Are you ready, Your Highness?"

Verof asked Jurein with a grin that somehow made your skin crawl.

Karl, standing beside him, watched Verof quietly.

Verof was one of Kaivern’s men.

Which meant he was also aligned with the Fourth Prince.

There was no need to guess whether he was connected to whatever trap was being set during this excursion.

Jurein simply nodded with a calm expression.

"I’m ready. Let’s go."

The gates opened, and the three of them departed the palace alongside the knight order.

* * *

"Well, this is something else."

A bald man laughed dryly as he looked around.

Figures clad in black armor stood all around, blending into the night. Swords, spears, bows, chains—every kind of weapon imaginable was present.

Darkwood, Evil Jack, Gamellshooter, Blurkell...

Those gathered here were all hunters from some of the most infamous underground guilds in Marhargel.

Butchers whose specialty—and daily business—was hunting people.

It would’ve been unthinkable to see so many from different guilds gathered in one place like this.

If not for the orders from the Fourth Prince, who had maintained tight ties with them for years.

"Can you believe we pulled this many people just to kill one throwaway prince? Has the Fourth Prince lost it or something?"

Someone nearby laughed.

The leader of Gamellshooter—a tall woman with a massive longbow strapped to her back.

"You didn’t hear? A group from Regbill went after him and got completely wiped out in the Dragonhorn Range."

"That just means they were weak."

"Sure, it’s ridiculous bringing this much force just to take out one guy. But our little prince seems dead serious about it this time."

A long-haired man who had been silent until now spoke in a chilling voice.

"Enough talking. It’s time to move. They can pace themselves however they want, but we’ll have to push ahead if we want to get there before the knights."

Under the pale moonlight, the mass of killers began riding into the darkness.

Their destination—Kermandel.

Where Fifth Prince Jurein Marhargel would soon arrive.

* * *

The journey to Kermandel was uneventful.

The roads weren’t particularly rough, and with the knights marching in gleaming armor bearing the royal crest, no bandits were crazy enough to try an ambush.

Karl, suspecting poison, refrained from eating with the knights. He consumed only the rations he’d brought himself.

Even after all that travel, nothing particularly suspicious emerged from the knights.

Just one thing.

‘They’re too slow.’

The knights’ pace was so relaxed it bordered on leisurely.

Karl knew exactly why—and let out a short laugh.

‘Whatever they’re planning, they must really be stalling for it.’

Despite the slowness, there was a certain tension in the air. And in time, they arrived safely at Kermandel.

They stayed briefly at the estate of Baron Herius, the local lord, and were briefed on the Minotaur threat.

"They’re cunning bastards. They hide up in the mountains and only come down to raid when merchant caravans are heavy. Nearly a hundred merchants have died already. My men and knights—dozens more..."

After listening to the Baron’s long-winded complaints, the knights moved toward the mountains near Kermandel the following day.

Of course, no soldiers from Baron Herius’ forces joined them.

The reason was obvious. Still, Jurein asked Verof, just to push him.

"Why did the Baron refuse to provide support troops?"

"His household has already suffered too much loss, Your Highness. Besides, we can handle the subjugation ourselves."

Verof added with a cryptic smile,

"Please be careful, Your Highness. Minotaurs are extremely ferocious monsters. We’ll gladly lay down our lives to protect you—but accidents can always happen, can’t they?"

A rather suggestive statement.

And so the knights entered the foothills of the mountain range.

The deeper they went, the heavier and more sinister the atmosphere seemed to grow.

Jurein spoke again.

"Commander Verof."

"Yes, Your Highness."

"Didn’t Baron Herius say the Minotaurs were hiding near the foothills?"

"That’s what he claimed."

"Then why are we venturing so far in? Care to explain?"

Verof raised a hand, and the knights came to a halt.

They were now in a canyon, flanked by high cliffs on both sides.

Verof slowly turned his head to face Jurein—and smiled.

"There’s no need to pretend anymore, Your Highness. You knew what this was from the start, didn’t you?"

"..."

"Honestly, I should be asking you—what were you thinking when you agreed to come?"

Jurein looked up.

Above the canyon walls, black figures began to emerge.

"About time they showed up."

A bald man among them shouted down.

"Hey, Your Highness! Do you know how long we’ve been waiting here just to kill you?!"

Countless armed assailants.

Well over a hundred, easily. Jurein and Sephiel’s faces hardened.

"Sir Knight! There’s no one else in this canyon! It’s just us and the Fifth Prince!"

Verof clicked his tongue softly at the shout. freēnovelkiss.com

Underground guild hunters.

Killing someone like the Fifth Prince would’ve been more than doable with just the knights.

He didn’t like that the Fourth Prince had brought in such trash—but the Third Prince had ordered him to make sure the job was done, so here they were.

Verof raised his hand, and the knights moved to surround the three of them.

"Your Highness, why don’t you show us what you’ve been hiding?"

Verof stared coldly at Jurein.

"I don’t know what kind of tricks you’re keeping up your sleeve, but do you really think you can survive this time?"

"......"

"If not, then I’m afraid you’ll suffer an unfortunate death to the Minotaurs today."

Tch.

Suddenly, a quiet laugh rang out.

Verof frowned and turned his head.

It was the mage who had come with Jurein’s group—standing with the bodyguard.

"Well, this is a lot more than I expected."