How to Survive as a Mage Inside a Game-Chapter 87: Flame Ring (2)

The first attempt was a complete failure, but Jurein didn’t give up so easily.

Every day, he entered the secret vault early in the morning and didn’t come out until just before sundown. That was how desperate Jurein was.

Because this was the only way.

He had no choice but to master the original Flame Ring manual if he wanted to even take a first step forward.

Even if it was just the tiniest, most pathetic achievement, he hoped he might be able to gain something and kept trying without giving up.

But could everything in the world be achieved through effort and willpower alone?

If that were true, then Jurein wouldn’t still be stuck at such a miserable level even after reaching adulthood.

Jurein’s martial talent was dreadful.

And the original Flame Ring was an impossibly high wall to scale for someone with such miserable talent. That was all there was to it.

The cultivation technique that had made countless so-called geniuses of the Marhargel family despair and fall into ruin.

A secret technique no one had ever mastered, yet paradoxically treated as the royal family’s symbol.

Jurein hadn’t even gotten to the point of trying to cultivate it—he couldn’t even understand the content.

Nearly fifteen days passed like that, and still, nothing had changed.

Karl and Sephiel were watching Jurein, who was seated cross-legged in the training ground from early dawn.

After spending fifteen days going in and out of the secret vault, he had memorized all the core passages of the Flame Ring manual.

But that was it.

Jurein sat with his brows furrowed like he was wrestling with something, yet there was no change.

Even when Karl examined his internal energy, only the faintest trace of aura could be sensed in the dantian, completely still.

He hadn’t even managed to perform the most basic act of cultivation—circulation.

“......”

Sephiel watched the scene with a conflicted expression.

Karl, who hadn’t had any expectations to begin with, wore a detached face.

“...Haa.”

At last, Jurein opened his eyes and exhaled.

It was a sigh close to resignation.

Karl approached him and opened his mouth.

“You’d best give up now.”

“......”

“Pushing on any further would just be a waste of time. I’ve said it again and again. Give up on Flame Ring and look for another way.”

Karl actually thought this situation was for the better.

If Jurein had been able to make even the slightest progress with the Flame Ring manual, he definitely wouldn’t have been able to let go of it and would have kept clinging to it.

And the only ending to that road was wasted time—or ruin.

If something went wrong with Jurein, everything Karl had invested so far would go up in smoke.

“But this is the only method...”

Jurein muttered in reply.

Even as he said that, his expression was already half resigned.

His lips moved slightly, then he clenched his fists and raised his head.

“...There’s about a week left on the access permit, so I’ll try just until then.”

So stubborn.

Karl shook his {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} head and suddenly a thought came to mind, making his eyes glint.

“By the way, Your Highness.”

“......?”

“If it’s the royal palace’s secret vault, surely there must be other rare items besides the Flame Ring manual? Like magic tomes, for example.”

Jurein tilted his head, then nodded.

“I haven’t looked at anything besides the Flame Ring manual, so I’m not sure... but there probably are. There were items that looked like magical tools, so I’d bet the magic tomes are filed separately from aura cultivation manuals.”

“Then let me go in today.”

“...Hm?”

“You’ve already memorized all the core incantations anyway, haven’t you? I’ll go into the secret vault in your place today.”

Jurein looked flustered.

“What do you mean, go in in my place—ah.”

He’d momentarily forgotten Karl’s abilities.

If Karl could perfectly transform into Seion’s appearance, there was no reason he couldn’t mimic someone else.

“I’ll take that as permission, then?”

Jurein nodded, still dazed, as he watched Karl—who even looked a little excited.

“Th-The items inside can’t be taken out...”

“I know that much. Ah, and Your Highness should remain quietly in your room today. It’d be a problem if you were seen in the palace while I’m in the vault.”

For the first time in a while, Karl felt a tinge of anticipation.

Just what kind of treasures were hidden in the Marhargel royal vault?

* * *

Karl polymorphed into Jurein’s appearance and stood at the palace gate like always, waiting for the Royal Guardians to arrive.

They showed up not long after.

The vice-captain leading the group cast a curious glance Karl’s way.

It was because he’d come alone today without any attendants.

“Let’s move.”

Karl calmly spoke to the Royal Guardians.

He didn’t need to worry about his tone—he had no intention of chatting with them anyway.

Soon the Royal Guardians began to escort him toward the central hall.

They passed through the entrance and walked along the long corridor, arriving at the court.

Karl entered with the knights, observing the grand and ornate scenery.

Jurein had been here every day for two weeks, but it was Karl’s first time.

He wouldn’t get caught, of course, but still, being in the heart of the royal palace made his nerves stand on edge.

A massive hall, red carpet laid across a marble-smooth floor.

The direction they headed was downward.

At the end of a long hallway was a massive door, guarded even more tightly than the entrance to the court.

The knights recognized Karl and his escort and saluted briefly.

“Please present your authorization.”

Even though Jurein came daily, procedures had to be followed.

That’s how important the royal palace’s secret vault was.

Karl presented the authorization slip he’d received from Jurein.

After confirming it, the knights saluted again and stepped aside.

Beyond them, a spiral staircase came into view.

Darkness was lit by glowstones embedded in the walls.

Once Karl descended the stairs completely, another long hallway appeared.

As he passed through it, he could feel hidden presences around him.

Each one was fairly powerful.

‘They’ve got all kinds of stuff here.’

Were they guarding the vault entrance while cloaked?

Well, it was the royal vault—this much security was only natural.

At the end of the hallway was a door that seemed to be the vault entrance, and in front of it sat an old man on a chair.

“We’ll take our leave, then.”

Once they arrived, the guardians turned away without hesitation.

Karl took out the authorization slip again.

He already knew who the old man was from what Jurein had told him.

[Lv.59]

[Guardian of the Marhargel Royal Secret Vault]

One of the former king’s brothers.

That meant he was Jurein’s great-uncle.

And he was also a top-tier senior mage.

The duty of guarding the deepest part of the vault had always belonged to a royal.

“......”

The old man barely glanced at the authorization as he stood and took out a key.

Rumble...

He inserted it into a hole in the center, and the heavy iron door slowly opened.

He gave Karl a nod.

“Go on in.”

Karl said nothing and stepped forward.

Just then, the old man’s voice stopped him.

“Your brother wasn’t assassinated.”

Karl turned and looked at the old man.

It was hard to read his expression in the dim light and with all those wrinkles, but the emotion on his face was clearly pity.

“Even if he was, you must believe he wasn’t.”

“......”

“What can you do alone? With your strength, you’ll never reach the truth. Leave the capital now while you still can. Abandon Marhargel’s castle and go into hiding somewhere no one can find you. With time, you’ll forget everything.”

Karl didn’t know what to say.

For a moment he wondered if the old man was connected to the First Prince’s assassination—but from the look in his eyes, he was simply worried about Jurein.

“Mind your own business.”

Regardless, Karl found the words unpleasant and answered curtly.

Jurein would have felt the same.

The old man was telling him to run away from his brother’s death and live alone for his own sake.

“......”

The old man shook his head and sat back down.

He added one last remark.

“If you truly intend to follow this through to the end, forget about getting the Royal Guardians’ support. Stop chasing the unreachable illusion that is Flame Ring and make a plan that has at least some chance of working.”

Karl agreed with that, at least.

The old man closed his mouth as if he had nothing more to say.

Karl said nothing either and walked deeper into the vault.

Creak...

He opened the second door inside, and finally the interior of the vault revealed itself.

“Oh.”

Karl let out a short breath of awe.

A massive glowstone hung from the high ceiling, illuminating the entire vault.

Beneath it, countless crates were piled on either side of the central aisle.

A quick glance suggested most were filled with gold and silver.

‘So this area’s just treasure?’

Karl didn’t give it a second thought and kept walking.

He could feel traces of mana further in—probably where the magical tools were.

As expected, not long after, shelves filled with various items lined the wall. All magical tools.

[Staff of Frozen Breath]

[Ring of Ketraxa]

[Orb of Flame’s End]

...

It wasn’t hard to figure out what these tools were used for.

Whether it was a spellbook or a magical artifact, anything magic-related could be identified with the system.

Karl paused and skimmed through the tools’ info.

“Oh, this one’s decent...”

There were some tempting items, but of course, he couldn’t take any out.

Trying to sneak something past the old man at the entrance would be impossible.

The inventory system could only hold items fully owned—so that was out.

And beyond all that, it was a matter of conscience. He had no intention of stealing royal treasure to begin with.

He soon lost interest in the magical tools and headed down the opposite hallway.

This side had items—so perhaps the other side held books.

Just as he expected, rows upon rows of bookshelves appeared, packed with an overwhelming number of tomes.

The spellbooks were filed separately from the aura manuals, located on the right-hand shelves.

“So this is where they were.”

Karl smiled and walked toward the magic section.

He leisurely looked around, checking which spells were included, when he suddenly noticed another corridor leading even further in.

“......?”

At the end of the passage stood a black, semi-transparent monolith.

And resting at an angle on its base—one lone book.

Karl instantly knew what it was.

‘That must be the original Flame Ring manual.’

The secret technique that symbolized the Marhargel royal family.

Karl stared at it with no particular interest.

No matter how valuable it was, what good was an aura manual to a mage?

He was about to turn back toward the spellbooks when—

“......?!”

Karl’s eyes went wide as he turned again toward the Flame Ring manual.

As if drawn by something, he slowly walked toward the end of the corridor.

“......”

Karl blankly stared at the Flame Ring manual resting atop the monolith.

His expression stunned, wordless.

There was a reason.

[Secret Manual of the Founding Ancestor of Marhargel]

[Contains the formation and operation methods of Flame Ring. To learn it, SP must be spent.]

[Flame Ring (350,000 SP)]

[Spend 350,000 SP to learn ‘Flame Ring’?]

Reading the message that floated in his mind and wouldn’t go away, Karl muttered,

“What the hell is this...?”

Wait, isn’t this supposed to be an aura cultivation manual?

Why is something that’s not even a circle magic spell available for me to learn?