How to Survive as a Mage Inside a Game-Chapter 8: Monster in the Forest (2)

Meanwhile, Karl, who had activated night vision magic, saw it clearly and immediately identified the creature.

That thing.

Krurk.

A kind of downgraded basilisk—a Level 30-range monster.

Two thoughts shot through Karl’s mind in that moment.

That’s too small for a Krurk, though?

Of course, his memory of Krurks was entirely based on what he’d seen through a monitor—this was his first time seeing one in person.

But even accounting for that, it was noticeably undersized compared to a human.

And the other thought—

Whatever. I’ll handle it first, think later.

Pushing the thoughts aside, Karl focused on movement.

The soldiers who had arrived ahead were now surrounding the creature, stabbing at it with their weapons.

“I-It’s not cutting through!”

“Fuck! What is this thing made of?! Argh—!”

A soldier was sent flying by the sweep of Krurk’s tail.

KIEEEEEK!

“Shit! Rick! Watch out!”

The monster lunged toward a soldier who’d fallen and couldn’t get up—

BOOM!

A shockwave struck, flipping the Krurk over.

The soldiers turned toward the source—Karl—and broke into relieved expressions.

“Mage, sir!”

Several of them rushed closer, intending to strike while the beast was flipped.

Karl yelled at them,

“If you don’t wanna die, back off! That shit won’t even scratch it!”

Its ironlike hide and powerful regeneration—

These were Krurk’s defining traits.

Especially resistant to physical attacks.

As if to prove the point, the monster, which had taken a direct hit from Karl’s magic and gone down, shook off the blast and stood back up in seconds.

Force magic’s gonna take forever.

He needed proper elemental spells.

Just as he was about to spark his hand with lightning—

“No, no! Paul...!!”

“Our child—he got eaten! Please, someone help! Please...!!”

Karl’s magic dissipated the moment he heard the villager’s desperate wail nearby.

So it already swallowed someone?

He narrowed his eyes, studying Krurk’s mouth.

There was no blood, which meant the child had been swallowed whole.

In that case, the kid might still be alive inside.

If he fried the monster now, the child would die too—no doubt about it.

KRRK! KREEEEEKK!!

Krurk’s slit-like pupils snapped in Karl’s direction.

It shook its head violently, then let out a scream and charged straight at him.

Karl calmly caught its foreleg with a Force spell. With its own momentum working against it, the monster tumbled and flipped onto its back again.

This time, instead of lightning, Karl opted for a more moderate method of subduing it.

【Flame Spear】

Four flaming spears materialized in the air.

They blazed fiercely and streaked toward the overturned Krurk.

BOOM!!

An explosion of limbs, blown apart in fire.

Krurk thrashed and screeched in pain, twisting wildly.

【Frozen Shot】

Next, a freezing spell struck its head, encasing it in ice.

The struggling slowed.

Bit by bit, the creature weakened and finally collapsed.

“......”

The soldiers and villagers—

Everyone stood frozen, holding their breath.

In the heavy silence, Karl walked slowly toward the dead Krurk.

The couple who had cried out—the child’s parents—rushed up behind him.

“M-Mage, sir! Our child...!!”

“I’m going to get them out. Step back for a moment.”

Detection spell.

Using it, Karl pinpointed where the child was inside the beast’s body.

Still alive, I think.

Without hesitation, he activated Force magic.

Concentrating fully, he shaped the spell into a precise blade and began carefully slicing open Krurk’s belly.

Krrkk—

The monster’s physical resistance was no joke. Even with magic, it was tough cutting through.

But in the end, he succeeded.

Splitting the outer hide, carving through the inner flesh and bone, and finally, delicately slicing open the stomach—

Inside, the child lay buried.

Curled up like they were dead—but they were breathing.

“Paul!!”

The parents rushed in and pulled the child out.

“Thank you! Thank you so much...!!”

This chapter is updat𝙚d by freeweɓnovel.cøm.

Karl watched quietly for a moment, then turned away.

That’s when he noticed Jeep nearby, though he wasn’t sure when he’d arrived.

He stood there with his bow drawn, staring blankly in Karl’s direction.

Karl chuckled and said,

“Looks like I stole your moment of glory, Jeep.”

Jeep let out a tired smile and responded,

“It’s fine. Truly. Thanks for stealing it.”

He lowered his bow and slowly walked over to Krurk.

Looking between the dead monster and Karl, he asked awkwardly,

“...Should I be calling you Mage, now?”

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

“Forget it. ‘Mister Mage’ sounds better.”

Jeep gave a faint smile.

“I don’t have the guts to call an ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) Altius mage ‘sir.’ Anyway, thank you for saving the child. But I’m afraid there’s something you need to know...”

Karl glanced down at the Krurk’s corpse and replied,

“I think I already know what you’re going to say. This thing...”

That’s when a commotion rose in the distance—something was rushing toward them at an inhuman speed.

And shockingly, it was a human.

“Where is it?! Where is the monster?!”

A young man clad in silver armor, his blonde hair gleaming, shouted as he looked around with fierce eyes.

Karl clicked his tongue.

“Way to show up late.”

* * *

Once things had more or less settled down.

Karl stood side-by-side with the knight who had arrived too late.

The knight looked at Karl with shining, reverent eyes and said,

“Truly, thank you. Thanks to your intervention, both the villagers and the soldiers avoided harm.”

“Well... just did what needed to be done.”

Karl gave a reluctant nod.

Sure, gratitude was to be expected, but there was something extra in this knight’s eyes—something a little too intense.

But then again, considering what he’d heard from the soldiers, it was probably a big shock.

A mage unlike all those lazy bastards! What a man!

That was the impression Ultern—the hot-blooded young knight—had formed.

The mages he knew were arrogant freaks, obsessed with their own greatness.

And Altius? Altius was like the royal palace of arrogant freaks.

And yet, this young mage, a member of that very institution, had stepped in of his own accord, slain the monster, and even rescued a villager’s child.

Ultern stared down at Krurk’s corpse in awe once again.

Didn’t even attack the torso—took out the legs first, then froze the head to suffocate it.

That elaborate method was clearly done to ensure the swallowed child wouldn’t be harmed.

His respect for Karl deepened with each passing moment.

Just as the knight’s admiration was about to become unbearable, Jeep stepped in.

“That’s not it.”

Ultern tilted his head.

“Not it? What do you mean?”

“I mean, that wasn’t the monster. This one’s just...”

Karl cut in.

“Small. Judging by its size, I’d say it’s a Krurk hatchling.”

“A Krurk?”

“That’s the name of this monster. They’re not exactly common, so I wouldn’t be surprised if you’ve never heard of them.”

Ultern nodded, face darkening as he processed it.

“But if this is a hatchling... then how big is a full-grown one?”

The one in front of them was already as large as a massive tiger.

And this was just a baby?

“At least twice the size. And with way better durability and regeneration than this one.”

Leaving a visibly shaken Ultern behind, Karl turned to Jeep.

“Do you know where the adult is hiding?”

“Hmm... it always stayed deep in the forest, except for the times it came near the village.”

“We’ll need to go take care of it tomorrow morning. Once it finds the body of its dead spawn, it’s bound to go on a rampage.”

Jeep stared for a moment, then gave a deep bow.

“Truly... thank you. If you do that, the entire village will owe you a debt we could never repay.”

Bit much, isn’t it?

Karl had only changed his mind because he now knew what the creature was—and it seemed manageable.

Helping the village was a nice side benefit. And hey, killing something Krurk-level would get him some EXP. Win-win.

There was still one thing bugging him, though...

“Karl, sir! Please let me join you!”

Ultern, who’d been listening nearby, suddenly shouted and raised his sword with conviction.

Karl raised his hand, frowning in disgust.

“Who said we’re going now? Don’t go waving your sword around like that, it’s creepy.”

“O-Oh... my apologies.”

Ultern quickly sheathed his sword with an awkward expression.

“Oh, and your soldiers—”

Something Karl had forgotten came to mind as he shot a glance toward the lined-up troops and started recounting what had happened back at the inn.

Ultern’s expression grew darker with each word.

Until finally, fury sparked in his eyes, and he turned his murderous glare on the soldiers.

“You worthless idiots...! I specifically told you not to disturb the villagers! And you dared command a young woman to serve you drinks—and laid hands on her?!”

His voice thundered like a storm, and the soldiers turned pale as corpses.

Karl shook his head.

“Anyway, if you’re planning on coming to the forest, you’d better be up at dawn.”

“Understood, sir. But first I’ll need to do some retraining before bed.”

“Do whatever you want. Oh, and I won’t be bringing your soldiers with us tomorrow—they’ll just get in the way. Feel free to be as rough with them as you like.”

The soldiers turned to Karl with desperate puppy-dog eyes.

Karl was about to ignore them—but then relented just a little.

“Hmm... still, I’ll give them this—they didn’t hesitate when the monster appeared. No one ran. They fought, even knowing they couldn’t win. Just saying.”

“Well, that’s the bare minimum for a soldier. But still, I understand.”

Ultern nodded and stomped off toward the soldiers.

Whatever happened next, Karl didn’t care.

“S-Sorry, sir! It was the alcohol—I swear... ugh!”

“Please spare me, sir knight! Aaarrgh...!!”

Tuning out the sounds of beatings and screams, Karl headed back to the inn, ignoring the murmurs of the villagers trailing behind him.