How to Survive as a Mage Inside a Game

Chapter 55: Altius Summons (5)

Hurst blinked for a moment before asking,

"You want to go to Sky Sword Castle with us?"

"Yes."

"And the reason?"

Since he couldn’t tell the truth, Karl came up with a plausible excuse.

"Simple curiosity. Sky Sword Castle is one of the Five Great Martial Sects of the continent, after all. It’s not like I’ll get another °• N ???? v ???? l i g h t •° chance to visit a place like that."

At that answer, Hurst frowned.

"The lineup has already been decided. Are you saying we should change it just to include you, over a whim of curiosity?"

"Change the lineup? It’s just adding one more person. I don’t see why you're acting like it’s a huge deal."

"That’s because..."

Because I really don’t like you, that’s why.

Hurst swallowed the rest of his words and stared at Karl with disapproval.

Karl grinned cheekily and said,

"If you’d like, I can participate in the friendly duel as well."

"...Regardless of the result of the duel, we’ve already secured the distribution rights to the mana stone mine. If it’s just about the duel, there’s no reason to include you."

"Hmm, is that so?"

Karl glanced at Sharon, who was still staring blankly ahead.

"But for something that supposedly doesn’t matter, both she and that other guy earlier—seems like quite a bit of effort went into selecting the participants."

"......"

"Not sure what Sky Sword Castle is thinking, but from Altius’s side, the goal is probably to win the duel first and figure things out later, right?"

Hurst was quite surprised by how sharply Karl saw through the situation.

Karl gave another faint smile and said,

"No matter how I look at it, bringing me along won’t hurt you in any way."

"...Even without you, we’ll win the duel."

"Yes, of course you will. But in life, there’s always an ‘if,’ isn’t there?"

Kgh!

Hurst let out a pained groan and shook his head.

Personally, he really didn’t like the idea—but as Karl said, there was no real downside to bringing him along on the Sky Sword Castle trip.

They didn’t yet know what form the duel would take, but regardless, a 5-circle like Karl was practically a guaranteed win in any scenario.

In the end, Hurst gave his permission.

"Fine. You’ll be included in the lineup."

"Haha, thank you."

"...You’re craftier than your master. You’re more like Elder Seindal."

At the mention of Seindal again, Karl finally realized.

He’d been so caught up in the Sky Sword Castle business that he forgot to ask about him.

"How is Elder Seindal doing?"

"Nice of you to finally ask. Come to think of it, ever since you visited the main branch, he’s been holed up in his lab and hasn’t shown his face."

From that, Karl could tell Seindal was continuing Jeron’s re

No one—not even Bashon himself—could control her.

Forced suppression wasn’t a solution.

Bashon understood the root of the problem.

Where her indifference and chaos came from.

"Even too much talent can be a curse... sigh."

Heaven-blessed sword talent.

Before even reaching adulthood, she had already bested Sky Sword Castle’s top warriors—overwhelming strength.

That absurd level of talent was what ultimately drained her will.

Bashon had gone through something similar in his youth, but he hadn’t been able to offer her any guidance.

Her potential far exceeded his own.

What she needed was a rival.

Of course, there were plenty in Sky Sword Castle stronger than her.

Her father, the lord himself. The elders and executive officers. Many others.

But no one her age.

Not just her age—there wasn’t even anyone slightly older who could match her.

That was the problem.

You might wonder why age matters when choosing a rival, but it wasn’t so simple.

Especially for a genius like her.

Sure, they might be stronger now—but with just a bit of time, she’d easily surpass them. So why bother feeling competitive or impatient?

It was an absurd arrogance... and yet, an undeniable fact.

That was how monstrous her talent was.

Even Bashon couldn’t predict how far she’d climb ten years from now.

While deep in thought, he received a message from Altius about the mana stone mine.

And then a thought crossed his mind.

Perhaps—just perhaps—one of the continent’s top magic schools might have a genius to rival her.

Even if not a perfect match, someone strong enough to light a fire in her again.

It would be her first time facing a mage, too. The duel could be a fresh kind of stimulus.

‘I really hope this becomes a turning point for her.’

As he wished for that outcome, Bashon also felt quietly confident.

Not as a blindly doting parent—but as the head of Sky Sword Castle, making a cold, objective judgment.

Among her age group, there was no one on the continent stronger than her.