How to Survive as a Mage Inside a Game-Chapter 86: Flame Ring (1)

...He’s gone mad.

That was the thought running through Royal Guard Knight Eric’s mind.

He couldn’t fathom where the Fifth Prince had found the confidence to pull something like this.

Sure, it was the Fourth Prince who made the first move—but the Fifth Prince was in no position to fight back with such clean precision.

Yet instead of letting it go quietly, he had escalated things to this level—and even executed one of the Fourth Prince’s subordinates right in front of him.

Was this just provocation... or a declaration of war?

Eric glanced sideways.

Coincidentally, Heila’s severed head had rolled to rest at Thayns’s feet.

Thayns was glaring down at it, his expression twisted into something monstrous.

His lips trembled with restrained fury.

There was no need to ask who that fury was aimed at.

Everyone present could sense it.

A bloody storm was about to sweep through the royal palace.

Even if the other royals did nothing, the Fourth Prince—at the very least—would now resort to any dirty trick he could to choke the life out of the Fifth Prince.

Of course, backroom schemes like that weren’t the Royal Guard’s concern.

Their job was simply to carry out their duty and ensure fair handling of what had already surfaced above ground.

“Retrieve the body. A few of you stay behind and secure the area. Everything in the room is to be preserved exactly as it is.”

Thayns turned to Eric with a sharp, venomous glare.

Eric met it with his usual impassive stare as he replied.

“This is a major incident involving an attempted regicide. Regardless of this being within Taerang Hall, jurisdiction over the crime scene lies with us.”

“......”

“His Highness the Fourth Prince will also be subject to an official royal inquiry.”

Heila had been a mage directly affiliated with Taerang Hall.

Even for a prince, a formal investigation was unavoidable.

Thayns simply clenched his teeth and said nothing more.

When it came to royal security, the Guard Knights’ authority was absolute.

The tide had clearly turned in favor of the Fifth Prince and the Royal Guard.

Kicking up a fuss now would only make things worse, and Thayns wasn’t stupid enough not to know that.

“I’ll leave the cleanup to you. We’ll be going now.”

Leaving only those words behind, Jurein turned toward the room’s exit.

His composure was almost unsettling, as if nothing had happened at all.

As he passed right by Thayns, a low voice whispered into his ear.

“Can you really bear the consequences of what happened today?”

Jurein turned slightly to look him in the eye.

If no one were watching, the look in Thayns’s eyes said he would’ve torn him limb from limb on the spot.

“You’d best focus on answering the investigation, brother.”

“......”

“You should also consider whether you’ve left behind any other incriminating traces. Though surely you wouldn’t have been so careless...”

There was no going back now, and Jurein knew it. So he spoke freely.

Thayns’s face—and that of his knights—twisted at the overt mockery.

And so, Jurein, Karl, and Sephiel exited, leaving the room in heavy silence.

Thayns and his subordinates stood like statues, motionless for a long time.

Only the Royal Guard Knights busied themselves, scanning and documenting the items in the room.

“...Jurein.”

Thayns muttered, and a cold killing intent gleamed in his eyes.

* * *

The attempted poisoning of the Fifth Prince.

It caused an uproar throughout the royal capital for days.

But the scandal wasn’t that Jurein had almost been poisoned.

Everyone already knew he was clinging to life by a thread.

The real shock came from what he had done in response: he had used the incident as a pretext to execute one of the Fourth Prince’s subordinates on the spot.

A breathtaking counterattack.

Now, all eyes in the capital were fixed on how the other princes and princesses—especially the Fourth Prince—would respond.

Most believed it was only a matter of time before the Fifth Prince was crushed completely.

But a few suspected he might be hiding something—some hidden card.

After all, without something like that, this path he’d chosen was nothing short of suicidal.

“Hoo...”

At that moment, Jurein himself—the source of all the turmoil—stood near the entrance of Gwangmyeong Hall, looking visibly nervous.

Sephiel beside him was just as tense, her expression rigid.

“They’re taking their time.”

Only Karl appeared calm and relaxed, as always.

They were currently waiting for the Royal Guard Knights to escort them.

Jurein had received official permission to enter the royal archive—a secret vault. Access was limited to a set period and required a permit.

Today, under escort, he would finally attempt to learn the original Flame Ring technique.

Growing bored with the wait, Karl suddenly asked Jurein a question that had come to mind.

“Did the First Prince ever try to master the original Flame Ring as well?”

Jurein nodded.

“Not just him. All the others gave it a shot at some point.”

Despite the risk of permanent maiming or worse, the Flame Ring held great significance for the Marhargel royal line.

It was the founding king’s only legacy, and no one had yet succeeded in mastering it.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call it the very symbol of the royal family.

Its value was more than worth the danger.

Perhaps none had attempted to fully master it, but every prince and princess had visited the vault at least once.

“Did the First Prince ever say anything about it?”

Jurein looked up as if sifting through old memories.

“I think he did mention a few things... but it was a long time ago... Ah.”

Something came to mind, and Jurein continued.

“He was well-versed in magic theory—besides swordsmanship, of course. He read magical tomes often, and the court mages were always impressed by his knowledge.”

Karl frowned slightly.

“...Wait. Magic? That’s even possible?”

Aura and mana.

The two forces were fundamentally incompatible.

Even though mana was cultivated through the heart and aura through the lower abdomen, they would still inevitably clash if stored in the same body.

That’s why there was no such thing as a magic swordsman in this world.

But Jurein nodded.

“Ah, I don’t mean he actually practiced magic. I’m talking about theory. He had a deep interest in it and studied it extensively. The royal court mages often praised his insight.”

Jurein then added,

“Anyway, I remember him saying this about the Flame Ring—it felt, at its core, more like a mage’s circling than an aura cultivation technique.”

Circling?

Just then, a group approached from the distance.

Karl turned his head to look.

“...They’re finally here.”

It was the Royal Guard Knights they had been waiting for.

They stopped in front of Jurein at the entrance of Gwangmyeong Hall.

The man at the front—a middle-aged knight—bowed slightly.

Sensing something unusual, Karl quickly checked his information.

[Lv. 58]

[Deputy Commander of the Marhargel Royal Guard Knights]

A deputy commander.

Given they were headed into the royal vault, it made sense a figure of his caliber would personally escort them.

“We’ll escort you now.”

And so the three of them followed the knights to the Central Hall.

At the entrance, one of the knights stepped forward to block Karl and Sephiel.

“From here, only His Highness may proceed.”

Karl and Sephiel obediently stepped aside.

Jurein turned to them, nodded, and entered the Central Hall under the knights’ escort.

With Royal Guard presence, no one would dare try anything inside—not even an assassin.

Sephiel moved beneath a nearby tree and stood watch.

Karl, watching her, asked,

“You’re really going to wait here? It’ll take quite a while before he comes out.”

Since taking the manual out wasn’t allowed, all Flame Ring training had to occur inside the vault itself.

He remembered there was even a special sparring area inside [N O V E L I G H T] for that purpose.

“You may return, my lord. Please don’t worry about me.”

Karl scratched his head and sat down beside her.

“Well, I’ll wait with you.”

He had nothing better to do back at the palace anyway.

They sat together in the shade, killing time in silence.

Eventually, the sun reached its peak.

Feeling hungry, Karl pulled some jerky from his inventory.

“Here.”

“Ah, thank you.”

He handed some to Sephiel as well, and they quietly chewed together.

Glancing at him, Sephiel softly spoke.

“...I’m always grateful to you, my lord. For saving His Highness... and continuing to protect him...”

Having heard that sentiment countless times over the past week, Karl grimaced.

“I’ve told you—I have my own motives.”

“But still—”

“‘But still’ nothing. As I said before, nothing changes. Once I achieve my goal or the situation turns unfavorable, I’ll leave the capital without a second thought.”

At his cold words, Sephiel’s face darkened slightly.

Karl clicked his tongue and asked,

“Do you really think the Fifth Prince will succeed in mastering the original Flame Ring?”

“......”

“You might feel differently, but I’m not expecting anything. He has no talent, and no one’s ever succeeded before. What chance does he have?”

Her expression fell even further.

She knew—deep down—it was a hopeless dream.

“Besides, his real goal isn’t the throne. It’s uncovering the truth behind the First Prince’s death, isn’t it?”

“......”

“If that’s the case, we should be looking for other methods. After what happened a few days ago, we’re sure to get some kind of response soon...”

The clue they needed likely had something to do with the First Prince’s death.

That was Karl’s working theory, though there was no certainty—nothing concrete yet.

So he continued to stay close to Jurein, waiting, not yet making a bold move.

After all, Jurein was the one at the center of it, and staying by his side was the best way to seize the thread of any clue.

But if Jurein failed to master the Flame Ring...

Then I’ll have to start making moves myself.

He wasn’t without hesitation—what if he acted too early and lost his chance?

But sitting idle wasn’t a viable alternative either.

With the Fourth Prince provoked, the best next step was to watch and see how he responded.

In silence, Karl and Sephiel waited for Jurein to return.

Time passed, and as dusk approached...

“...Ah!”

Someone appeared at the Central Hall’s entrance, accompanied by Royal Guard Knights.

It was Jurein.

Sephiel was the first to rush over and check on him.

Some members of the Marhargel line had been crippled by attempting the Flame Ring, so she had every reason to worry.

“Your Highness, are you alright?”

Jurein nodded.

He seemed physically fine, but his expression was heavy and grim.

Even without hearing the answer, the result was clear.

Karl stared at him. Jurein let out a long sigh and finally spoke.

“...I didn’t even get to attempt the training. I couldn’t understand a single thing in there.”

“......”

A result that had probably been inevitable from the start.

There was no miracle.

Jurein had failed to master the original Flame Ring.