How to Survive as a Mage Inside a Game-Chapter 71: 6-Circle (2)

The prisoners all knew why they’d been dragged out here today. It had been explained to them beforehand.

Apparently some freak spiders had surrounded a bizarre cocoon and gathered in clusters, and it was their job to get rid of it.

Naturally, every prisoner wore the look of someone chewing shit.

No one was happy about being forced into an uncharted zone on a day that wasn’t even a scheduled expedition.

Every three out of ten explorations resulted in death—and that death always fell on the prisoners.

This time, they were deliberately heading into monster extermination.

Someone was definitely going to die again today, and everyone knew it.

But not one of them dared to resist.

'Fucking hell.'

A hulking man with half his face twisted by burn scars.

Biden was lost in thought.

How long would he have to live like this—less than livestock?

He had been imprisoned for abducting numerous people and illegally selling them into slavery.

He also possessed high-knight-level combat power, making him the strongest among all the prisoners here.

Among the knights, only Squad Leader Rail could subdue him in his unshackled state.

Even so, Biden didn’t even think about escaping.

Because of the Backflow Poison circulating in his body.

Before combat, he would receive a temporary antidote to suppress the poison—but even then, trying anything was practically suicide.

They weren’t stupid. Of course they had safeguards in place.

The knights carried devices that could instantly reactivate the suppressed poison.

If a prisoner tried to resist after being temporarily detoxed, the poison would flood back through their system, delivering an idiotic, painful death.

And that wasn’t the only poison.

Before leaving, every prisoner had been forced to ingest a second toxin—

one that would completely paralyze and kill them if they didn’t receive the antidote within a set time.

In short, even if they managed to defeat the knights or escape somehow, it meant absolutely nothing.

If they didn’t return to Lugesium, death was their only guaranteed outcome.

It might have been more merciful to just die right now, but survival instinct wasn’t so simple.

They were scum who’d trampled on other people’s lives without a second thought—yet couldn’t let go of their own. That’s how they’d survived this long.

“If that bastard keeps glaring at the back of my head, I’ll rip his eyes out.”

Rail spoke flatly, without even turning around.

At her words, the knights all turned their eyes on Biden.

He hastily lowered his head.

'She’s a goddamn witch.'

He didn’t fear the other knights, but Rail was different.

He’d seen her fight. Many times.

Squish!

A massive spider corpse, left over from the preliminary sweep, burst under a knight’s boot.

That meant they were getting close.

“Ugh, this weather sucks.”

One squad member muttered as he looked up at the sky.

In the Stemic Archipelago, cloudy skies were normal—the islands were shrouded in fog all year round.

But today felt especially heavy, like rain could pour at any moment.

No one wanted to carry out their mission soaked and miserable.

Still, they had to eliminate the cocoon before more spiders gathered—there was no other choice.

Finally, the squad stopped moving.

“......”

Narrowing her eyes, Rail stared toward the massive thing taking shape in the distance.

A huge cocoon, red as blood.

Just as before—no, even worse now—it was swarming with spiders.

“Looks bigger than it did last time...”

“Agreed,” said the squad member beside her.

Everyone who had taken part in the preliminary scouting felt the same.

The cocoon had definitely grown larger.

More than the increasing number of spiders, that was what bothered them most.

This 𝓬ontent is taken from freeweɓnovel.cѳm.

“Rudalph. Think you can burn it?”

She looked over her shoulder at a squad member in the rear.

Rudalph was one of the few mages in the 3rd squad—and the most skilled among them.

His expression tensed slightly as he replied,

“The size alone is an issue... but I’m not sure that thing will even catch fire.”

It wasn’t uncommon for insect-type monsters to lay eggs and build cocoons,

but something that massive and blood-red? They’d never seen anything like it.

Before the main extermination began, a few squad members had scouted the area.

“No other monsters or traces nearby.”

Rail nodded and gave the order.

“All right, let’s begin. Send the prisoners in first—clear out the spiders.”

The prisoners’ faces twisted in despair.

The knights, unbothered, silently distributed antidotes and weapons.

Temporarily detoxed, the prisoners shuffled to the front.

They didn’t dawdle. Experience had taught them that hesitation only brought beatings.

“At that scale... we’re losing a few today for sure.”

Watching the prisoners advance, Rail muttered to herself.

She was gripping and releasing her sword hilt out of habit—trying to suppress her unease.

Not because she pitied the prisoners fated to die.

It was the cocoon. Something about it stirred a deep, creeping anxiety.

It had felt off the last time too, but now it felt even worse.

Rail trusted her instincts.

It was because of those instincts that she’d brought more prisoners than usual for this mission—

even including a high-level one like Biden.

And then the battle began.

It wasn’t even a real strategy—just a simple assault.

The prisoners led the charge to clear the spiders around the cocoon.

The knights stayed back, keeping watch and offering occasional support.

The cocoon was backed up against a massive boulder,

which made surrounding it relatively easy.

Screeeech!!

The spiders shrieked in fury.

Enormous spiders, each the size of a person, surged forward like a black waterfall.

Any normal human would have been crushed and devoured in an instant—

but these weren’t normal people. They were all Level 30 or higher.

Beasts who could rip tigers and bears apart with their bare hands.

“Fucking die, you spider freaks!”

Splattering fluids. Exploding corpses. Flying limbs.

The spiders had the numbers, but that wasn’t enough.

They couldn’t stop the slaughter.

The prisoners fought like maniacs, unleashing all their pent-up rage.

A few were killed along the way, but overall the battle went smoothly.

Before long, the last spider fell.

The prisoners collapsed to the ground, panting hard.

The knights hadn’t exerted themselves, so they remained calm.

“Now there’s just that thing left.”

Rail shook the fluid off her sword and stared at the massive cocoon.

She’d kept her guard up the entire time, but even during the battle, the cocoon hadn’t reacted at all.

Plip. Plop.

At some point, the sky had grown darker.

Thin raindrops had begun to fall, one or two at a time.

“Let’s begin.”

Before the downpour could start, Adolf and the other mages hurried forward and began casting fire magic all at once.

Whoosh! KRA-KOOM!!

Explosions chained together, engulfing the cocoon in roaring flames.

The fire caught so quickly that their earlier concerns felt ridiculous in hindsight.

“Thank god, it burns well.”

The tense squad members visibly relaxed.

But as Rail scowled at the burning cocoon, watching it closely, her eyes suddenly flew wide open.

“Get back!!”

Squelch!

Something shot out from the cocoon like a spear and impaled a knight straight through the torso.

It was shaped like a massive tendril—like a grotesque antenna.

“Ugh... urk...!”

The knight collapsed to the ground with a dying gurgle.

The other squad members just stared blankly as the tendril slowly slithered back toward the cocoon.

Splorch! Crack!

The flaming cocoon began to split apart, peeling open in fragments to reveal the hulking creature coiled inside.

A spider.

But one that dwarfed the others they'd fought so far—its entire body gleamed blood-red, slick and hideous.

Everyone—prisoners and squad members alike—froze like statues, staring up at it.

Like frogs paralyzed before a snake, they couldn’t move.

Everyone instantly recognized it.

This thing wasn’t just another monster—it was on a completely different level.

Even the seasoned veterans who had fought countless creatures in uncharted zones... their minds went blank. They couldn’t even think of how to respond.

Ssshhh...

The creature finished tearing through the cocoon and stretched its body fully, finally revealing its form.

A massive abdomen. Eight towering legs. Glowing violet eyes that scanned the humans below.

It looked as if it were contemplating which piece of meat to eat first from the feast laid before it.

“...Everyone, run.”

Rail was the first to come to her senses, speaking in a low, firm voice.

“We can’t take that thing on. We’ll all be slaughtered.”

That was the best order she could give.

“GAAAAAH!!”

Before the squad could even move, a few prisoners had already bolted.

Cursing under her breath, Rail shouted with everything she had.

“Run! All of you, now!!”

Before it was too late, Rail and the rest of the squad turned and fled—toward the bridge leading back to the central island.

Strangely, the spider didn’t pursue. It just stood there, tilting its head in jerky, unnatural movements.

Its grotesque form slowly receded from view.

But when one fleeing prisoner glanced back over their shoulder—

“...?”

The spider was gone.

And at that moment, a massive shadow loomed across the ground.

BOOM!!

Several prisoners in the lead were crushed to death instantly, not even able to scream.

The creature had leapt from above, slamming into the earth ahead of them.

It grabbed the mangled bodies caught under its legs and shoved them into its mouth, chomping down noisily.

“......”

Everyone stood frozen in horror, unable to believe what they were seeing.

'It... jumped?'

With that body? That distance?

Ssshhh!

Having devoured its meal in seconds, the beast licked its mandibles and scanned for the next target.

There had never been a chance to escape.

SSHRRRAAAKK!!

Another tendril shot out, instantly skewering a prisoner through the chest.

Rail bit her lip and drew up her aura.

Her sword flared with a crimson glow as she slashed at the tendril—

and felt a shock run up her arm. It wasn’t even the creature’s main body, just a feeler, yet it was tougher than steel.

SCREEECH!

The monster let out a short, guttural cry and swung more tendrils in rage.

Rail rolled out of the way just in time. The ground where she had stood exploded as if struck by artillery.

One of the squad members shouted,

“Help the Captain! Close in and draw its attention!”

She tried to yell for them to stop, but it was too late—the squad had already charged.

Their aura-coated swords clashed with the monster’s body... and did nothing. Not a scratch.

In return, the beast casually swept its legs, and several squad [N O V E L I G H T] members burst apart in a spray of blood. A few prisoners who had hesitated nearby were caught in the carnage.

“You idiots...!!”

Clenching her teeth, Rail rushed in again.

Seizing the moment while its attention was split, she reached the monster’s torso and stabbed with all her strength.

CLANG!

This time, her blade actually left a visible mark.

But that was all.

The creature twisted, unfazed, and lashed out with terrifying speed.

Rail instinctively reinforced her body with aura just before the impact.

KRAAAM!!

Her vision went dark from the shock.

By the time she came to, she was tumbling across the ground.

“Ghhhk...!!”

Blood gushed from her lips. Her body wouldn’t move—it was like she was paralyzed.

She barely managed to lift her head.

The spider was approaching.

The other squad members tried to block its path, but there was no way they could stop it.

“...Captain!”

All she could do was glare at it through bloodshot eyes.

And then—

A brilliant flash lit up the world.

CRAAAACK!!

A thunderous roar shook the heavens as a bolt of lightning struck the monster’s body dead-on.