How to Survive as a Mage Inside a Game-Chapter 65: Prisoners of the Ship (2)

“Is that so? Let’s finish transferring the prisoners first, and then I’ll head over.”

“And also, there are additional prisoners to be transported...”

As she continued her report, Henry’s face darkened for a moment.

After a short pause, he turned to Karl and spoke.

“Ah, while you’re here, could you show this guest to his quarters? Give him one of the large rooms on the third floor.”

“Understood.”

“Karl, go ahead and get settled in. This is Meylin, one of our knights—she’s in charge of administrative work for the order. It’s going to be a long voyage, so if anything comes up, whether questions or inconveniences, talk to her.”

With that, Henry hurried off.

“Please follow me.”

Karl tilted his head slightly, then followed after Meylin.

They descended a set of stairs leading into the ship’s interior, arriving at the living quarters.

The room he was assigned was located in a corner of the corridor—and was fairly spacious.

Of course, "spacious" only by ship standards. Just enough to live in without discomfort.

The only furniture consisted of a bed on one side and a desk on the other. Through the window, the ocean was in full view.

“Meals are served on the upper deck at scheduled times. As for washing...”

Before Karl could even ask, Meylin neatly explained everything he needed to know.

“Any other questions?”

“No, none at all.”

Karl shook his head and plopped down on the bed.

“Thanks for showing me around. You can go ahead and take care of your duties.”

“......”

She stared at him for a brief moment, then turned toward the door.

But she paused mid-step and spoke again.

“I’m saying this just in case.”

“......?”

“Don’t forget this ship is a prisoner transport vessel bound for the Stemic Archipelago. Refrain from causing friction with the knights while onboard. Don’t make any strange requests, like asking to see the prisoners.”

Her tone had an oddly sharp edge to it.

“None of them are ordinary criminals. And where we’re going is the middle of the open sea, far from land. A single careless action could endanger the entire vessel. Please keep that in mind. That’s all.”

With that, she turned once more and left the room.

Karl, left sitting there, clicked his tongue softly and laid back on the bed.

“...She completely treated me like some brat.”

Not that it was hard to understand why.

She had probably been told in advance who he was.

A disciple of an Altius elder.

Given someone like Remic as an example, it was no surprise—most young mages with that kind of status were unbearably arrogant.

Call it prejudice or just reality, the nature of magic users tended to be self-important, and that arrogance only got worse when mixed with youth.

She was probably worried he didn’t even realize what kind of ship he was on and might start trouble with the knights or crew over some dumb misunderstanding.

“Not like I needed to be told—I was planning to lay low and act like I don’t even exist.”

He was lucky enough just to be allowed on board. Why would he be stupid enough to stir up shit?

So he lay there on the bed, gazing blankly up at the ceiling for quite some time.

Eventually, the ship began to rumble.

When he turned to look out the window, the vessel had started to move.

The voyage had begun.

* * *

A decent bed, decent food, and a decent view.

Karl didn’t suffer from seasickness, so life aboard the ship was peaceful.

Whenever boredom crept in, he passed the time chatting with Henry or the crew, or by reading books they lent him.

The voyage progressed smoothly.

At times, they ran into swarms of carnivorous fish or stormy weather that slowed them down, but nothing serious ever happened.

Nearly a full month passed since they’d set off.

“Haha, so then—”

Now, the transport ship was three days away from its destination: the Stemic Archipelago.

Compared to when they’d first departed, the atmosphere on board had noticeably relaxed.

Karl was having dinner with Henry when something crossed his mind, and he decided to ask.

“By the way, Sir Henry.”

“Hmm?”

“Not sure if this is rude to ask, but—is there something wrong with the voyage?”

Rather than rude, it was simply unexpected, and Henry tilted his head slightly.

Karl clarified.

“It’s just... sometimes you seem troubled. If I misread, I apologize.”

Henry blinked in surprise at that.

After silently stroking his beard for a moment, he gave a bitter smile.

“It’s nothing to worry about. Just a personal matter, that’s all.”

“......?”

“Did I ever tell you? I’m not from a noble family—I was raised in a small martial sect.”

Karl nodded.

If he remembered right, it was a sect nestled in the mountain range of the kingdom’s frontier, called Garukh or something.

It wasn’t uncommon for martial artists from such sects to become knights. Nothing unusual about that.

“Before I left the sect, I had a friend. We were closer than brothers. He was better than me in every way.”

It was a sudden story, but Karl kept listening.

“After I was knighted, I returned to visit the sect about ten years later—but my friend was gone. Supposedly, he had briefly left the mountains, met a woman, and fell in love at first sight. He left the sect to be with her.”

“......”

“I couldn’t find him after that, but I wished him well from afar. That he’d live happily with the woman he loved. But... fate is cruel.”

Henry’s eyes sank darkly.

“He murdered the head of the Holdein County and all his family. Killed one high-ranking knight, seventeen other knights, and forty-three soldiers. Then, when royal knights were dispatched to track him, he killed three more.”

“......”

“My men and I caught him ourselves, after a long and exhausting pursuit.”

Karl stared blankly for a moment, then asked,

“...Why the hell would he do something like that?”

“Revenge.”

Henry’s answer was blunt.

“The count’s bastard second son kidnapped the woman and did unspeakable things to her before killing her. Even the young child who was with her at the time—he was murdered too.”

“......”

“One of the prisoners locked up in the hold right now is that very friend. I wanted to pull every string I could to keep him out of Lugesium, but... the charges were too severe. He was added to the prisoner roster at the last minute on the day of departure.”

Henry let out a long sigh.

“It’s just... such a damn shame. One rotten noble’s son ruined the life of a friend I once spent my youth with.”

Karl nodded, finding the story as tragic as Henry said.

But at the same time, a thought crossed his mind.

‘He killed four high-ranking knights? What the hell level is he...?’

Karl had assumed that the shaman prisoner was the most dangerous one onboard, but it seemed there was someone even worse hidden among them.

Something felt off.

The realization that such a monster was right below his feet gave him a vague, crawling sense of unease, and with that, Karl quietly finished his meal.

Night slowly deepened over the ship.

* * *

After dinner, Henry returned to his office and sank into a chair.

“......”

He stared blankly into space for a while before rising to his feet.

Grabbing a bottle of liquor from the corner of the desk, he stepped back out of the office.

His destination—none other than the ship’s prison quarters, where the convicts were held.

The knights standing guard saluted him, and Henry moved through the dim corridor into the inner section.

At the final solitary cell, a man sat motionless, head bowed.

Unlike the other prisoners, there was no gag in his mouth.

Henry stood silently for a moment before speaking.

“Bahon.”

The man—Bahon—slowly lifted his head.

His lifeless, hollow eyes reflected the glowing magic lamp in Henry’s hand with an eerie gleam.

“You brought booze?”

The rasp in his voice was rough and dry.

Henry nodded and pulled the bottle from his coat.

Bound hand and foot, Bahon dragged himself closer to the bars and began chugging the liquor straight from the bottle.

“Pah.”

He drained it in no time, then smacked his lips and slumped against the wall of his cell.

Henry watched him with eyes full of pity.

“We’ll be arriving at the island in three days.”

Bahon glanced at him.

“So what, you came to say goodbye?”

“......”

“Stemic Archipelago, right? The Island of No Return.”

His tone was flat, emotionless.

“In a way, I’m grateful. If I weren’t being sent there, I’d no doubt be facing execution.”

“...Instead, you’ll be living a life worse than death.”

Lugesium.

Prisoners sent there met one of two fates.

They were either used in gruesome human experimentation by mages—or forced into the unexplored regions of the island, filled with unknown dangers, to pave the way for others.

Bahon stared at Henry again.

His gaze, dark as a bottomless pit, made Henry flinch for a split second.

“I still remember it all, clear as day.”

“......”

“I’d saved up every coin I had and finally opened a little shop. A backwater idiot who spent half his life swinging a sword in the mountains, finally making it in the city.”

“...Bahon.”

“My wife was so excited she took our son to the market... I was just sweeping the floor, waiting for them to come back so we could eat the meal she promised to cook. I couldn’t even imagine how happy life was going to be. A new place, with the ones I loved.”

He laughed quietly, head bowed low.

“They didn’t come back. Not until I found my son’s body at the alleyway.”

His words flowed like he was recounting someone else’s tragedy.

“You’ll never understand the kind of despair I felt. I’m going to survive, no matter what.”

“...No one escapes Lugesium. It’s a place you leave only at death’s door.”

“If I’m patient, if I wait... one day, the opportunity will come.”

“You’ve already had your revenge. You destroyed that bastard’s noble house, killed everyone connected to him—even innocents.”

“And yet, the hatred still burns in me. If I keep killing every single person remotely connected to him... maybe I’ll be satisfied.”

“How long are you going to stay trapped in this damned obsession?!”

Henry’s voice rang out in fury.

Bahon slowly raised his head again.

“I don’t know.”

That chilling smile crept onto his lips.

It wasn’t just madness—it was madness with purpose, with depth. Henry took an involuntary step back, unsettled.

“...I’ll come see you again on the last day.”

He turned away and left the prison.

Darkness swallowed Bahon once more, as if returning him to the pit.

* * *

Two knights were standing guard at the prison.

“Only a few more days till we land.”

One of them grinned, clearly in high spirits. The other—Dain—clicked his tongue.

“What are you so happy about? We won’t even get to rest before we’re back on the ship again.”

“Still, at least we’ll be allowed to drink on the return trip.”

“You know how the Captain is. If we drink, it’ll just be one sneaky cup at most.”

“Heh. Even that’s something.”

As the two chatted, Dain suddenly glanced at his partner and said casually,

“Hey, don’t you feel a bit hungry? Go grab us something from the galley.”

“What? Come on... fine.”

Grumbling, the other knight trudged off. Last time, Dain had been the one to go.

Technically, leaving a guard post was unthinkable. But since it was only for a moment—and they were so close to arrival—everyone’s guard had slackened.

Besides, the prisoners were tightly bound inside cages. What were they going to do, escape? Guarding them felt more symbolic than anything.

“......”

Once he confirmed his partner had disappeared down the corridor, Dain hurried into the prison block.

He went straight to one of the inner solitary cells.

“Hey! Get up!”

The monster with the long, tangled hair.

The shaman prisoner opened his eyes slowly from behind the bars.