How to Survive as a Mage Inside a Game-Chapter 53: Altius Summons (3)

That was Remic’s conclusion.

There was no way this guy was above him—that was impossible.

Or at least, he’d thought it was.

Among his generation, the only one remotely comparable was Sharon Rachel, Elder Hurst’s protégé. That had always been the assumption.

And yet here he is—someone like this hiding out in a remote branch?

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A mix of excitement and tension crept through Remic as he gathered his mana.

That’s when Karl finally spoke again.

“From the looks of it, you were only using force magic to fight, right?”

Remic raised his chin arrogantly and replied,

“Yeah. The deal was that they just had to make me move a single step. As you saw, it was a complete and utter failure.”

“......”

“You want in on this bet too? Trying to avenge that cocky girl? Fine. I’ll—”

Karl cut him off with a dry laugh.

“You really are full of shit.”

“...!!”

Remic couldn’t believe what he’d just heard.

Full of shit?

He had never, in his entire life, been insulted so blatantly. He was at a loss for words.

“...What did you just say?”

“I said you’re full of shit. Standing there with your hands behind your back like some grand archmage just descended from the heavens.”

“......”

“And you’re from the main office, right? Then act like it. You visit another branch, try not to cause problems and just leave quietly. What the hell are you even doing? Doesn’t it embarrass you, flaunting your strength and bullying juniors like this? I honestly don’t know how thick your damn skin has to be to pull this crap.”

The surrounding spectators all visibly paled.

Lyle’s earlier words had been bold, but at least she'd kept some form of decorum.

This, on the other hand, was flat-out mockery.

And he was saying it to the disciple of the Head of Combat—one of the academy’s top talents.

Who in their right mind would say something like this to him?

“H-Haha...!!”

Remic, who had just stood there stunned, finally let out a forced laugh.

Then, radiating a dense murderous aura, he spoke.

“You willing to take responsibility for those words?”

Being part of the Combat Division, Remic had extensive real combat experience for his age.

His killing intent was sharp enough that it made the nearby students tremble.

Of course, to Karl, it was just cute.

Karl smirked and said,

“Take responsibility, my ass. You’re pissed but you’ve got no comeback, so all you can do is shake and threaten me?”

“......”

“And don’t talk to me about responsibility. You’re nowhere near the level to be spouting that crap. If you want a fight, stop leaking all this weak-ass killing intent and just raise your damn mana already.”

BOOM!

A fierce burst of force came flying at Karl, only to fizzle out just in front of him.

A thunderous blast followed, shaking the room with a shockwave.

“You must really be starved for a real opponent, rotting away in some remote branch like this.”

Remic ground his teeth, drawing in his mana with full force.

“That pathetic arrogance of yours—I'll break it. You’d better give it everything you've got. Playtime’s over.”

Wow. What the actual fuck...

How did he manage to make every line sound like something out of a cringe novel?

Karl shook his head.

“If I went all out, you’d die. And as much of an asshole as you are, this kind of crap isn’t really worth killing over.”

“...!!”

“So let’s do it the same way you suggested. I’ll only use force magic. Try to move me even a single step. If you pull it off, hell—I’ll even get on my knees and apologize.”

Not that it was ever going to happen.

With that, Remic’s magic burst forward once again.

Crimson fireballs.

Compared to Lyle’s, they were larger, faster, and shot toward Karl like artillery shells.

But the result was exactly the same.

The fireballs stopped in midair, then flickered out like candles in the wind.

Remic’s eyes bulged in disbelief.

“What are you just standing there for? Keep going.”

“......”

Karl gave a lazy flick of his hand.

His attitude was dismissive to the point of disrespect, but Remic was too shocked to even react.

He just stood there, stunned.

...It was blocked? My magic?

Not with a shield—just force magic?

Something that simply couldn’t happen... just had.

As with his bet against Lyle, this kind of overwhelming gap should have been impossible unless the difference in level was massive.

So what was this?

Was this bastard somehow beyond 4-circle—a 5-circle high mage?

No fucking way... that’s impossible...

Clinging to denial, Remic cast his next spell.

A glowing blue magic circle formed in the air, crackling with sparks, then released a massive bolt of lightning with a deafening roar.

BOOOOM!

But again—nothing changed.

The lightning was severed in the air, completely failing to reach Karl.

“Y-You’ve gotta be kidding me!”

Half-mad, Remic began flinging spells wildly.

Some were advanced, even potentially dangerous, but none of them pierced Karl’s force magic.

The branch trainees—including Lyle—watched the scene in stunned silence.

Karl had even absorbed the shockwaves, keeping the surroundings untouched.

If he hadn’t, the training hall might’ve been demolished by now.

“Hahh... haah...!!”

Gasping for air, Remic stared blankly ahead.

Karl hadn’t moved an inch.

He was still standing there with that same bored expression.

“You done?”

Karl clicked his tongue and reached out a hand toward him.

“You seriously need to chill the hell out. Were you trying to bring the whole place down?”

WHIP!

A force whip snapped out and wrapped around Remic’s arms and legs.

Not that he could’ve defended himself anyway—he was already close to collapsing.

“Shame to end it already, huh?”

“Ghhk...!!”

“I’m just returning the favor, so don’t go whining about how unfair this is.”

WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH!

Bound tightly by force, Remic’s body was swung around in midair like a balloon losing air.

Laughter started bubbling up among the trainees.

Meanwhile, the men who followed Remic were ghost-pale.

If even Remic had been overpowered this easily, what chance did they have?

They could only stand there helplessly, not daring to move.

“S-Senior!”

Among them, Lyle also called out, clearly flustered.

No matter how awful Remic had been, she felt this might be going too far—even for the disciple of the Head of Combat.

She was worried Karl might end up getting in trouble because of her.

Karl stopped swinging Remic and looked over at her.

“Yeah?”

“U-um... you really don’t have to go this far just because of me...”

Remic hung limply in the air, his hair a total mess, still suspended like a ragdoll.

Karl looked back and forth between him and Lyle, then said casually,

“I didn’t really do it because of all that.”

“Sorry? Then why...”

“I just found him irritating and felt like smacking him around a bit. He wasted my precious time too, which pissed me off.”

Thud.

Remic dropped to the floor like a sack of potatoes.

“R-Remic!”

His followers rushed to check on him in a panic.

Lyle kept staring blankly at Karl.

Just... who is this man?

Remic was supposed to be one of the top prodigies in the school.

For someone to toy with a 4-circle mage like that... just how strong did Karl have to be?

Of course, even within the same circle, there were huge differences—early, mid, late stage—but still... this kind of gap shouldn’t exist if they were in the same circle.

Only now did Lyle start to guess at Karl’s actual level, and she silently covered her mouth.

A high mage... 5-circle...?

At that age?

Could it really be that someone even more talented than Remic—or the famed Sharon Rachel—had existed all along?

“...What in the world happened here?!”

A new group entered the training hall.

They were other academy members who had been nearby.

Considering Remic had gone all-out with his magic, it was no wonder people had come running.

“N-No way... Remic?!”

The middle-aged man at the front rushed to his side, eyes wide with disbelief.

He was Raphan, the 3rd Squad Leader of the Combat Division—one of the people dispatched from the main office to participate in the Sky Sword Castle delegation. He’d come as Remic’s guardian, since the Head of Combat was too busy.

“What the hell happened?! What went on here?!”

He swept his sharp gaze across the room and barked.

One of Remic’s lackeys shakily pointed at Karl.

“H-Him! That guy over there did it!”

Everyone’s attention turned to Karl.

“...That kid did this?”

Raphan narrowed his eyes, full of disbelief.

Karl clicked his tongue and tilted his head lazily under the weight of their stares.

“Yeah, that’d be me.”

“......”

Raphan turned toward Remic’s men, his expression demanding more detail.

The followers began explaining the situation with sweat pouring down their faces—of course, painting Remic as the victim ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) wherever possible.

“...Hah.”

After hearing it all, Raphan still looked skeptical as he questioned Karl again.

“You don’t seem to be part of this branch. Just who are you?”

Karl shrugged without answering.

He didn’t like the interrogation tone the man was using.

Raphan’s face darkened.

“Answer properly. What you’ve done here could easily be considered a serious offense, depending on the circumstances.”

Karl let out a dry laugh.

“A serious offense? Which part exactly?”

“This boy is the personal disciple of Lord Grambell, Head of the Combat Division. He’s a carefully managed talent, one of the school’s elite. You think you can just beat him to a pulp and walk away from it?”

Karl glanced toward Remic’s lackeys.

They flinched, but then puffed themselves up and glared at him defiantly.

Karl chuckled and said,

“Sounds like you didn’t hear the first half of the story. Your little golden boy clearly started it.”

“H-He did! He really did—!”

Lyle quickly jumped in, but Raphan cut her off with a furious roar.

“Silence! And all this over a petty training hall dispute?! And you branch members just stood around and let it happen?!”

Now the blame was spilling onto the local trainees as well.

Even the branch members who’d arrived with Raphan frowned, knowing full well how often Remic had stirred up trouble—but no one dared say a word against him.

Raphan turned back to Karl.

“And you’re claiming you subdued him using just force magic? Don’t make me laugh. What kind of nonsense is that? Are you trying to claim you’re some high mage?”

“......”

“You must’ve used some kind of tool. A magic device, perhaps. That would explain why I can’t get a proper read on your mana. It’s no ordinary artifact, that’s for sure. If you don’t come clean right now, I’ll make you talk by force.”

FWOOM—!

A huge surge of mana burst out around Raphan, pressing down on the entire training hall.

It was the weight of a high mage’s mana field.

Trainees throughout the room groaned under the pressure.

And at the center of it stood Karl.

Raphan scoffed at him.

“You’re holding out pretty well. Let’s see how long that lasts—”

He stopped mid-sentence.

He narrowed his eyes and stared at Karl.

Something was wrong.

This wasn’t someone barely withstanding the pressure—Karl looked completely unaffected.

Ha... Hahaha...!!

Karl suddenly burst out laughing.

“Relying on a magic tool? Wow. You really said that with a straight face, huh?”

WHIRRRRR!

Circles began to spin violently around him.

A colossal wave of mana surged outward from Karl.

“Wh-What the hell...?!”

Raphan’s face twisted in shock.

His pupils trembled like an earthquake.

As Karl began drawing up his circle mana in earnest, Raphan finally realized the truth.

This wasn’t a trick. This wasn’t some artifact’s borrowed strength.

This was pure, raw mana—Karl’s mana.

Step. Step.

Karl walked slowly toward him.

With every step, his mana began to push Raphan’s back.

Before long, it was Karl’s mana—not Raphan’s—that filled the entire hall.

Crushed under the overwhelming pressure, Raphan staggered and let out a strained groan.

“You want me to ‘come clean’? There’s nothing to explain. It’s a simple fact.”

“Gh... Ngh...”

“That brat was just way weaker than me. And...”

[Lv. 52]

[Combat Division Deputy Squad Leader of Altius]

Karl stopped in front of Raphan.

Looking down at him as the man struggled to even stand, Karl muttered flatly,

“You’re no different.”