How to Survive as a Mage Inside a Game-Chapter 9: Monster in the Forest (3)

Still, she had prepared it early in the morning. It would’ve been rude not to eat.

Just as he was about to dig in, Camilla spoke up again.

“Um.”

“......?”

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“Thank you. Really. All the other villagers are thankful too. Thanks to you, there’s finally a sense of life returning to the village.”

Karl nodded.

“You’re not too late to say that—wait until the monster’s actually dealt with.”

After finishing breakfast and stepping outside the inn, he found the village chief and a few others waiting out front.

“Ah, good morning, Mage, sir.”

The chief bowed respectfully.

“We wanted to prepare a more comfortable room for you last night, but you seemed to go to bed immediately, so we didn’t get the chance.”

“......”

A completely different attitude from when they’d first met.

Not that Karl felt anything about it besides discomfort.

Telling them to act naturally now wouldn’t change anything.

“What is it?”

“We were simply waiting to see you off.”

“...No need. You all should just get on with your own work. By the way, where’s Jeep...”

To find the monster without wasting time, they needed his guidance in the forest.

Right as he finished the sentence, Jeep appeared from down the road.

Judging by his outfit, he’d prepared thoroughly in his own way.

“How’s your condition?”

Jeep asked in his usual flat tone.

Karl shrugged.

“Why wouldn’t it be? I’m in top shape.”

“That’s good to hear... though we’ve got shitty luck with the weather.”

Jeep looked up at the sky.

Overcast and heavy with clouds—rain seemed imminent.

Karl looked up as well.

“I actually prefer it this way.”

“Oh? You like gloomy days?”

“Not really...”

As they continued chatting for a moment, Ultern finally arrived.

As usual, he was fully armored from head to toe.

“Karl, sir! You’re already out.”

“No need to ask how you’re feeling, I suppose. You’re overflowing with energy this morning.”

“Ha ha! I got too carried away with my morning training and showed up a bit late. Let’s get moving.”

The three of them, with the villagers sending them off, headed into the forest.

* * *

The forest was thick with trees on all sides.

“May I ask something?”

Jeep, who had been silently leading the way, suddenly spoke.

“You said that monster’s called a Krurk, right?”

“That’s right.”

“I’ve traveled all over the continent in my younger days, but I’ve never heard of such a creature. Where the hell does ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) something like that even live, for it to show up way out here?”

“That’s a good question. It’s rare for giant monsters to appear near human settlements.”

Ultern chimed in, equally curious.

Karl debated whether to answer, then decided it didn’t really matter.

“Have you ever heard of the Hellam Plains at the far western edge of the continent?”

“...Hellam? I’ve heard the name. Supposedly an uninhabitable demon zone.”

“Krurk is one of the lowest-tier monsters in the food chain there. So it’s no wonder you haven’t heard of it.”

Jeep, more informed than Ultern, was visibly shocked.

“Hellam? How the hell did something from there end up here?”

Truthfully, Karl had been wondering the same thing.

Even if this was part of the western continent, the Hellam Plains were far away.

It was hard to believe a creature had wandered all that distance just by being pushed out of its ecosystem.

“I don’t know that much either. In any case—”

“In any case?”

“...Never mind. Let’s keep moving.”

At least it was just a Krurk.

Karl kept the rest to himself.

Every single monster from that place is a walking disaster.

Even the insects were the size of humans.

And Krurk? It was nothing more than a prey species there, feeding on those oversized bugs.

“You really do know a lot, sir. This is the first I’ve heard of anything living in Hellam. Don’t tell me you’ve been there yourself?”

“No chance. I read about it in books.”

“Shh.”

A moment later, Jeep suddenly stopped.

He seemed to be on alert, and pointed at something on the ground.

“What is it?”

“Tracks.”

Sure enough, a massive footprint had been pressed into the soil.

There were also rough scrape marks on nearby trees, as if something huge had brushed past them.

Ultern’s expression tensed the moment he saw them.

“Looks even bigger than I expected... but I’m not worried, since we have you, Karl.”

“Don’t put that much faith in me.”

“Ha ha, but you’re an Altius mage! I’d hope you have some faith in me too. I can hold my own in a fi—”

It was then—

KIEEEEEK!!

A monstrous scream echoed from afar.

The ground began to thud softly beneath their feet.

The sound grew louder.

“It’s... heading this way, isn’t it?”

“Get ready. Jeep—fall back the way we came. Stay well out of range.”

Jeep nodded and quickly retreated the way they came.

His role was finished.

He knew he’d only get in the way from here on out.

THUD. THUD. THUD...!!

Karl and Ultern could now see the massive form emerging between the trees, getting closer.

Ultern drew his sword, bracing himself.

Meanwhile, Karl’s expression hardened.

...What the hell?

Why could he feel mana radiating from it?

Something was wrong.

That thought crossed his mind right as the creature burst through the trees into full view.

Both Karl and Ultern were struck speechless by its form.

“...Karl, sir.”

“......”

“Are you sure that’s the same species as the lizard we saw yesterday?”

He wasn’t wrong to ask.

Calling that thing a “lizard” felt... absurd.

Is it even fair to describe a living creature as grotesque? Because somehow, that word fit perfectly here.

SKRAAAAAAK!!

Its face was obscured by clusters of tiny barbed spikes.

Dozens of tentacles unfurled from the center of its back.

The fact that it had six legs almost seemed normal in comparison.

Karl, staring in stunned silence, finally muttered,

“Chimera...”

Dark magic that fuses creatures together.

The kind of forbidden technique that creates truly abominable monsters.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

The creature was without a doubt a chimera.

Not just its grotesque appearance—Karl could feel the mana pulsing from it. That was the definitive proof.

I miscalculated.

So much for "manageable."

Fighting that thing would mean staking his life.

Karl bit his lip hard and immediately began casting a spell.

【Lightning Wave】

Bzzzzzzzzt!!

Forks of lightning burst out like spreading roots.

For a moment, the chimera seized up as the electricity coursed through it.

...KIEEEEEEK!!

But soon it roared, shaking off the surge like it was nothing.

Burned flesh sizzled with rising smoke—only to heal over in seconds.

“...Fucking hell.”

Terrifying magical resistance and regenerative power.

Karl forgot his next spell for a second, thrown off by the sheer lack of effect.

He hadn’t expected it to be this ineffective.

“HYAAAAA!”

Then Ultern charged at the chimera, roaring.

His blade flickered with a faint red glow—Aura Blade—a technique only mastered warriors who had reached the pinnacle of swordsmanship could use.

KAGAK!

Even that barely left a scratch. It didn’t pierce the hide.

The chimera’s tendrils moved.

Ultern hurriedly pulled back, twisting his body to dodge.

BOOM! CRASH!!

Every time the tendrils struck, the earth cracked and caved in with thunderous force.

It was sheer, awe-inspiring destruction.

Karl glared at the chaos and began casting his next spell.

From the magic circle, strands of light shot forward, racing to bind the chimera’s body.

“Move aside!”

【Blaze】

Ultern dove to the side just in time.

FWOOOSH!!

Blinding flames engulfed the chimera.

Waves of heat spread through the area.

When the fire cleared—the chimera was still standing.

It looked more scorched than before, yes. But the wounds healed rapidly.

And now it was pissed—its slit pupils locked directly onto Karl.

CRACK!!

A tendril shot forward like a lightning bolt, smashing Karl’s shield to pieces.

He flew backward from the force, barely managing to stabilize himself mid-air.

“...Karl, sir!”

But the assault wasn’t over.

The chimera readied another tendril, about to crush him where he lay—

TING!

An arrow whizzed in from nowhere.

It didn’t do any damage—but it made the chimera pause, flinching instinctively toward the source.

Jeep.

“RUN! ALL OF YOU!”

Run?

Run where? There was no escaping that monster.

But the moment Jeep had bought was real. A chance.

Karl clenched his teeth and, from the ground, began casting his most powerful ice spell.

【Frost Field】

CRACKK-KK-KK!!

A chill that froze to the bone—Krurk’s massive body iced over in an instant.

Jeep and Ultern, stunned, shouted in unison.

“Run! Now!”

“Karl, sir! Come on! That thing’s beyond us!”

Karl got to his feet and said,

“That won’t hold it long. It’ll catch up quickly.”

“Even so, we—!”

“Even if we could escape, where would we go? Lead that thing into the village? Are you insane?”

Jeep and Ultern fell silent.

Karl looked up at the stormy sky and spoke again.

“There’s a way. Ultern, step back—far from it.”

“A way? What do you—”

“No time. Move!”

Ultern hesitated, then backed away from the chimera.

Karl pulled a mana recovery potion from his inventory.

The spell he needed could only be cast with a fully charged mana pool.

After chaining multiple high-level spells already, he didn’t have nearly enough.

Gulp!

He downed it in one go and focused his mind.

Vision Magic.

Unlike common spells passed around freely, vision magic was in a different league.

Spells created by true masters—founders of entire magical disciplines—at the cost of immense mana and time.

Karl had one such spell.

Its casting time was long, the mana cost extreme, and it had strict conditions.

But now, those conditions were met.

The sky above was full of storm clouds, ready to burst.

RRRUMBLE...

As the casting neared completion, thunder echoed overhead. Sparks began dancing between the clouds.

“What... what the hell is that...?”

Jeep and Ultern stared, dumbfounded.

Ultimate lightning magic.

Though it was technically a 4-circle spell, with nature’s power added, its destructive force surpassed even most 5-circle killing spells.

CRACK!

The chimera's body trembled beneath its icy prison, ready to burst free.

“...You freakish lizard bastard.”

Karl curled his lip into a smirk.

“If you can regenerate from this, be my guest.”

【Calling Thunder】

KRAAAAAK-BOOOOM!!!

A blinding bolt tore down from the sky, lighting up the world as it slammed into the frozen beast.

When their vision returned, all that remained was a massive crater in the earth—

Szzzt...

And the blackened, motionless corpse of the chimera, charred beyond recognition.

“......My gods.”

A long silence followed.

And then, Ultern’s hollow voice echoed faintly in the aftermath.