How to Survive as a Mage Inside a Game-Chapter 64: Prisoners of the Ship (1)

"Prisoner transport warships, huh..."

Karl muttered to himself, recalling what a sailor had mentioned the day before.

The Stemic Archipelago.

Also known as the Island of Prisoners.

Its most infamous facility, Lugesium, was so notorious that there wasn’t a soul on the Rune continent who hadn’t heard of it.

It was where the worst criminals of the Setern Kingdom were thrown—people whose crimes deserved execution ten times over.

There were even rumors that high-ranking nobles from foreign nations were secretly imprisoned there by special request.

Karl couldn’t care less.

What mattered to him now was finding a ship that could get him to the Mon continent as soon as possible. The problem was...

"...That thing’s headed to Mon too, huh."

Sure, its primary mission was transporting prisoners to the island. But apparently, due to trade and other reasons, the ship would pass through the Stemic Archipelago and continue on to the Mon continent.

One voyage to take care of multiple tasks. Much more efficient that way.

Karl couldn’t help but find it tempting.

If he missed this, he’d have to wait around like an idiot for months for the next Mon-bound vessel.

So what if it was packed with criminals? It’s not like they’d be let loose mid-voyage.

‘There’s gotta be a way to get on board...’

Just as he was staring holes through the warships, deep in thought, one of the knights seemed to notice his gaze and turned toward him.

Karl quickly looked away like it was nothing, but a bit too late. The knight placed a hand on his sword and started walking over.

"Hey. Why were you staring this way?"

"......"

Caught off guard, Karl scratched his head awkwardly.

The knight’s glare only grew colder.

"Don’t just stand there. Answer me. Do you not know that’s a royal prisoner transport ship? If you don’t give me a proper answer..."

"What’s going on here?"

Just then, another knight appeared from somewhere and stepped in.

He was a middle-aged man with a striking presence.

From his attire and the air about him, it was clear he outranked the first knight—and that turned out to be true.

The younger knight, who just moments ago had been radiating hostility, instantly transformed into a docile sheep and bowed his head.

"Ah, Captain. This man was acting suspicious, so I stopped him for questioning."

"Hmm?"

The middle-aged knight narrowed his eyes at Karl after hearing the explanation.

Now two men were glaring at him.

Sensing he wouldn’t be able to talk his way out of this easily, Karl sighed and pulled out his ID.

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"I’m not some suspicious guy. Didn’t realize looking at a ship could get you interrogated. That’s new."

The knight blinked in surprise after checking Karl’s identification.

"Altius? Wait... this is an official certification from the Elder Council itself, isn’t it?"

Karl was a little surprised too.

It was rare for someone outside the school to recognize the Elder Council’s seal.

"Yes, that’s right..."

"I thought so. Could you tell me whose tutelage you’re under?"

Karl tilted his head slightly at the sudden shift in tone, then gave a half-assed reply.

"Elder Seindal."

"......!!"

The man’s eyes widened.

Then he suddenly burst out laughing.

"Ha! This is a pleasure! To think I’d run into one of Elder Seindal’s disciples in a place like this!"

"......??"

"I’m Henry, Captain of the Setern Royal Army’s Black Shark Knights. I’ve been personally acquainted with Elder Seindal for many years. Our unit once owed him our lives."

As he spoke, he tapped the younger knight on the arm.

"Apologize right now. This man’s from the Altius School of Magic. You wouldn’t know, but his master is someone who once helped our entire unit immensely."

Karl wasn’t really Seindal’s disciple, but given how nicely things were going, he didn’t feel like correcting it.

The young knight bowed his head deeply.

"My apologies. I was completely out of line."

"I hope you can understand. Everyone’s on edge since the ship sets sail tomorrow. By the way... do you know what kind of vessel that is?"

Karl nodded.

Henry glanced back at the warship and spoke.

"We’re forced to keep a tight watch since we’ve got some serious monsters locked up in there. But why were you staring at the transport ship?"

"Ah, well..."

Karl briefly explained his situation, and Henry nodded.

"I see. Headed to Mon, huh? Looking to gather research materials or something?"

"Yeah, something like that."

"Alright then. Hmm... even if you're not military, I can vouch for your identity. It’s not a problem to take on one more person."

Permission to board—granted.

Karl’s face lit up with the answer he’d secretly been hoping for.

"Are you sure? I wouldn’t want to impose..."

"Haha, I’m the commander. What’s there to impose? As long as you’re not blowing up the deck with spells, no one’s going to complain. Don’t worry about it."

Karl chuckled at Henry’s joke.

They chatted a bit longer before Henry wrapped things up.

"Wish we had more time, but I’ve got work to get to. Are you staying nearby? We’ve got spare rooms inside the ship, so if you want, you can board now."

"No, thank you. I’ve got a few things to sort out. I’ll return in time for departure."

Henry grinned and nodded.

"Then let’s do that. We’re leaving at noon tomorrow—just don’t be late."

* * *

The next morning.

Karl stepped out of the inn and strolled toward the pier.

Passing by sailors bustling about since dawn, he made his way to the warship.

The younger knight from yesterday was standing guard again.

"Ah, you’ve arrived."

As Karl approached, the knight greeted him and stepped aside.

"Captain’s on the deck. You can board right away."

Karl walked up the gangplank and climbed onto the ship.

The ship was massive in both size and height, and it took a while just to reach the deck.

Once he did, he spotted Henry standing at the far end, hands clasped behind his back.

Sensing Karl’s presence, Henry turned.

He waved, and Karl gave a small nod before approaching.

"You’re early. Had breakfast yet?"

"Yes, sir. What about you, Sir Henry?"

"I just finished, myself."

Standing side by side, Karl and Henry looked out over the sea as they chatted for a while.

Their topic of conversation was their shared connection—Seindal.

As the story continued, Karl got to hear the full details of how Henry had once owed his life to Seindal.

"...Just in time, Elder Seindal appeared, and my men and I barely made it out alive. Later I heard a young inn worker sensed something strange and went to find the elder. Isn't that wild? If you think about it, the single silver coin I gave that boy as a tip ended up saving all of us. Haha."

"It really is something."

"Now that I think about it, I haven’t contacted Elder Seindal in a while. I’m glad to hear he’s doing well, but still—I should’ve kept in touch. Work’s been nonstop lately."

As was plain to see, the Black Shark Knights' main job was to apprehend and transport high-level criminals within the Setern Kingdom, according to Henry.

But recently, due to bizarre phenomena occurring all over the kingdom, manpower shortages had piled on, and the knights were being overworked.

"It’s not just Setern. The whole continent feels off. I’m sure you’ve heard whispers at the school too—traces of dark magic are..."

Henry trailed off, seeming to regret bringing it up.

Dark magic was such a taboo topic that even mentioning it made people uneasy.

"I’ve gone and said something I shouldn’t have. Anyway, when you return to the main branch, do pass on my regards."

Karl nodded, but inwardly, his thoughts had already drifted.

'Dark magic, huh...'

So the signs were starting to show.

Not that it was surprising. The Great War wasn’t all that far off.

The war against dark magic.

A catastrophic disaster—but it wasn’t something that could be stopped by one person’s power.

The war would happen, regardless.

Karl couldn’t help but think: could he return to Earth before it broke out?

'If I collect all the Fragments of Dimension...'

And if that really lets him go back—

Should he just abandon this world and disappear?

With what he knew, he could probably save countless lives that would otherwise be lost in the war.

'...But it was just a game, wasn’t it?'

Was there any proof this world was even real?

He’d had the same thought countless times since becoming a game character.

And besides, it’s not like he’d wanted to be thrown into this world. He was a victim too.

He crushed the nagging voice of his conscience with forced rationality.

To change the subject, he looked around the quiet ship.

"...Isn’t it about time for departure? There’s hardly anyone around."

"Most of the crew went to bring the prisoners aboard. Even with them restrained, we can’t be too careful. It’s going to get noisy real soon."

"They must be quite dangerous."

It was such an obvious statement that Henry let out a hearty laugh.

"Of course they are. Why ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) else would they be bound for the Stemic Archipelago? Not only are their crimes heinous, but they’re all violent beasts. If one of them got loose in a city, you’d have dozens, maybe hundreds, dead in no time."

Just then, a knight approached from behind Henry, saluted, and spoke.

"The prisoners will be arriving shortly, sir."

"Good."

Soon after, a line of shackled figures began marching aboard the ship.

These were the prisoners headed to the island.

Each had a gag in their mouth and was bound with complicated metal restraints over their limbs.

Under the sharp eyes of the knights flanking them, the prisoners shuffled forward.

"...?"

Karl turned his head suddenly.

One of the prisoners—a black-haired woman—was staring right at him.

Even at a distance, even dressed like a filthy convict, she exuded a strangely seductive air.

Her eyes narrowed into crescent moons as she smiled at Karl.

That unsettling smirk made Karl frown slightly.

"Most of them are beasts who’ve given up on being human. Nothing good comes from looking too closely."

Henry clicked his tongue beside him.

"That woman’s the ‘Madwoman of Lubally.’ Killed dozens of young men in and around Lubally City and collected their body parts. A few were sons of nobles and knights. That’s why she was sentenced to Lugesium."

"I see."

Right behind her was a one-armed prisoner, who suddenly turned his head and glared with killing intent.

This time, the look wasn’t directed at Karl—but at Henry.

"I’m the one who caught that bastard myself. He targeted young girls and murdered them in a serial spree—even went after a noble’s daughter..."

"Judging by how he’s looking at you, I take it you’re the one who took his arm?"

"Haha! Sharp eye, aren’t you?"

Of course, the prisoner couldn’t keep glaring for long.

The surrounding knights instantly stepped in.

"You filthy piece of shit, where do you think you’re looking!"

Karl watched the brutal beatdown for a moment, then turned back to Henry.

"But is that level of restraint really enough? These aren’t just regular convicts..."

[Lv.36]

[Lv.41]

[Lv.43]

Just a casual glance revealed levels all well above 30. That meant they had strength equivalent to knights—or more.

Breaking those restraints wouldn’t even be hard for them.

And at the very back of the procession, one prisoner radiated especially ominous pressure:

[Lv.51]

A monster of a man with long, shaggy hair.

The aura he gave off wasn’t that of a warrior or a mage.

'A shaman.'

A prisoner shaman over level 50—was this really okay?

Henry answered Karl’s unspoken question.

"You don’t think those shackles are all there is, do you? They’ve all been dosed with Backflow Poison."

"Ah, I figured as much."

Karl nodded in understanding.

Backflow Poison.

Just like the name, it reverses the flow when someone tries to draw out their inner power. Whether aura, mana, or any other energy type.

Depending on the mix, the potency and duration vary—but these guys had clearly been given high-grade doses.

Henry spoke with confidence.

"Not that it’ll happen, but even if one of them does break free, they won’t be a threat. With enough Backflow Poison in their system, they’re no different from normal people. As always, this transport will go off without a hitch."