How to Survive as a Mage Inside a Game-Chapter 66: Prisoners of the Ship (3)

It had all started back at the temporary detention center, before the transport began.

Dain had been assigned to prisoner management there too, handling security and logistics. One day, while distributing food, Aguf had spoken to him.

[You have a gift for shamanism. Rare, considering you’re not of tribal blood.]

[From what I heard chatting with your buddy, there’s a woman you’re interested in. If you learn suggestion shamanism, winning her over would be simple.]

He was talking about Rozael—a fellow knight in the order, and the woman Dain had feelings for.

Dain had confessed his interest subtly several times, but she never returned his affection.

One day, while venting to a colleague during guard duty, Aguf had overheard everything.

Outraged, Dain had responded by skipping Aguf’s meal and kicking the crap out of him.

But even through the beatdown, the man kept talking.

[If you don’t believe me, try this: when the full moon rises, soak your body in water and meditate. You’ll awaken your shamanic energy.]

At first, Dain scoffed and ignored him.

He even considered reporting the nonsense to his superiors but decided it was too trivial.

But then, one night, drunk and miserable after another cold rejection from Rozael under a full moon...

Dain recalled Aguf’s words.

Stumbling outside, he slipped into a nearby pond and began to meditate.

He felt like a complete idiot. And yet, after a few dozen minutes, something stirred inside him.

Something alien. Something different from aura.

Shamanic energy.

[See? I told you.]

The mocking smile in Aguf’s voice pissed him off, but now that he’d felt it, Dain couldn’t deny the curiosity boiling within him.

Could he really use shamanism to win Rozael’s heart?

[Knowledge always comes at a price.]

Aguf’s first request was simple.

Smuggle in decent meals now and then.

Compared to the crap bread the prisoners normally got, it wasn’t a tall order.

Dain hesitated—torn between his knightly duty and his feelings.

But the decision came easily enough.

It was a small, harmless favor. Nothing serious.

So he began slipping Aguf extra food and learning shamanism bit by bit.

[This one’s a type of suggestion spell. With your limited talent, you’ll have to influence her little by little.]

The results were staggering.

Each time Dain secretly used the technique on Rozael, her once-cold demeanor gradually warmed.

The change was visible—and addicting.

Dain became desperate to advance his skills, to deepen their connection.

[Want to speed up your progress? Heh... I told you—nothing’s free.]

Aguf’s demands grew steeper.

Not just food now—he wanted rare herbs. Odd ones.

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Dain should’ve sensed something was off. But his head was too full of obsession.

Why would a prisoner care about his health anyway? The man was days away from being shipped to an island prison.

Dain thought nothing of it and gathered the herbs.

Then came the day of transport.

By the time Dain secured the last requested herb, they were already underway.

He had no choice but to wait for an opening—until now, when security had relaxed, and he was alone with Aguf.

“Hey! We’re running out of time!”

Even with Dain hissing urgently, Aguf said nothing—just kept chewing the herbs.

Growing impatient, Dain slammed the bars with a loud clang.

“My partner will be back any minute! Hurry up and teach me how to amplify my energy like you said!”

Aguf finally finished eating and slowly raised his head.

Dain flinched at the sight of his pitch-black eyes.

Kik!

A chill laugh echoed from the cell.

“Good...”

Aguf’s twisted smile widened.

“My tribe lived in the far east, deep in the Forest of Gwangrim. Because of the terrain, every one of us became masters of herbal mixtures and shamanism. The forest was overflowing with all kinds of herbs.”

“...What?”

“Among them were dozens of blends your kind now call ‘Backflow Poison.’ We used it as punishment for tribal offenders... good times. That was before the Empire wiped us out, of course.”

Another eerie chuckle escaped his lips.

Dain finally sensed danger and stepped back, his hand instinctively flying to his sword.

“Domeli, Rozagus, Hamol, Praton... and Aruma.”

“......”

“The herbs you’ve been feeding me, idiot. I’ll tell you for free—know what happens when you mix them all together?”

Fwoosh!

A wave of ashen energy exploded from Aguf, engulfing Dain.

“......!!”

The speed was unreal—Dain couldn’t even draw his sword.

His body froze. He couldn’t move. Couldn’t scream.

CLANG! # Nоvеlight # CRACK!

The shackles binding Aguf shattered one by one.

Freed at last, he rose to his feet.

Dain’s eyes widened in helpless terror, unable to lift a finger.

The shamanic energy swirling around Aguf was monstrous—completely beyond Dain’s level.

In that moment, he realized the truth.

Unbelievable as it seemed, Aguf had neutralized the Backflow Poison.

“They used a pretty potent brew, but turns out, if you rotate your inner energy just right, it’s manageable.”

Aguf sneered.

His method had been simple: store the herbs in his body without digesting them, and once all ingredients were acquired—mix them into an antidote inside himself.

Only a shaman of his caliber could pull off such a feat.

“The tribe god hasn’t abandoned me after all. I’d nearly given up, but you brought me the final piece.”

Crack!

The ash-grey energy around Dain turned blood red.

And in an instant, his body began to shrivel like a dried husk.

His life force was sucked out, flowing into Aguf along with the shamanic energy.

Aguf’s withered body—ravaged by years in prison—regained strength in seconds.

Thud.

Dain’s corpse hit the floor.

Aguf calmly stepped out of the shattered cell.

“Haah...”

He closed his eyes, savoring his first breath of freedom.

But it wasn’t true freedom yet.

Opening his eyes, he bent down to pick up the herb pouch.

Then he raised it to his lips—and vomited into it.

HUUAAAGH!

Thick, greenish liquid filled the pouch.

After emptying himself, Aguf moved to the next cell.

A massive prisoner, bound from head to toe, stared wide-eyed through the bars.

CRACK!

Aguf ripped the bars apart and undid the restraints.

The hulking man staggered to his feet, confused.

“Shit, what the hell? How’d you break out?”

Aguf didn’t answer. He simply held out the pouch.

“Antidote. Take a handful and swallow it.”

The giant squinted at the green sludge.

“This is the antidote? It looks like someone puked in a bag. Wait—was that you puking just now?”

“If you say another word, I’ll kill you. Just eat it.”

“......”

Grumbling, the man scooped a fistful and downed it. Better that than dying.

Aguf moved on, repeating the process.

Cell by cell, he freed the prisoners and fed them the antidote.

“Oh? Hey, this stuff actually works!!”

“Bwahaha! I’m free, baby! FREE!”

Before long, all the prisoners were out, standing in the corridor, fully restored.

Some looked dazed. Others were giddy with freedom.

One guy smirked and kicked Dain’s dried corpse like it was a toy.

All eyes eventually turned to Aguf—the one who had made it all happen.

“Guess that’s done.”

Aguf looked around.

Then the first prisoner—the hulking man—stepped forward.

“Hey, I appreciate you letting us out, but you’ve got a debt to pay.”

He cracked his knuckles and stomped toward Aguf.

“Talking all big, huh? Do you even know who I am? I’m the guy who tore apart over a hundred mercs in Gasbon—barehanded—”

CRACK!

His skull twisted violently as he crumpled to the floor.

Dead before he finished his sentence.

A few prisoners watched with amusement.

“If anyone else has a grudge with me, step up now.”

Aguf lowered his hand and glanced around.

No one moved.

They were all monsters in their own right—each ruthless and deranged.

But none of them were stupid enough to miss the difference in power they just witnessed.

“Damn. That charisma’s hot. If his face was just a little better, he’d be my type.”

A woman raised her hands and giggled.

Even standing still, she radiated an intoxicating, seductive aura.

“So? What do you want from us, mystery shaman with a death glare?”

The other prisoners also looked to Aguf, curiosity in their eyes.

Aguf curled his lips into a grin.

"Is there really more than one reason I’d let you out?"

He pointed down the corridor outside the prison block.

"I’ve given you your freedom. Now go cause whatever chaos you want. If you don’t want to rot on that island for the rest of your life, then kill every last knight and take this ship for yourselves."

A chilling smirk spread across the prisoners’ faces.

As Aguf watched them surge out of the prison block, he drew in a breath and focused.

[Veil of Disruption – Night Fog].

A thick, suffocating black mist burst forth and spread through the corridors.

With the ritual complete, Aguf bent down, picked up Dain’s fallen sword, and turned—not to follow the other prisoners, but to go deeper into the prison block.

Toward the deepest solitary cell.

"Hey."

The man inside lifted his head.

CRACK!

Aguf shattered both the bars and the bindings holding the prisoner in place.

The man, Bahon, rubbed his freed wrists and stared at Aguf with an unreadable expression.

Aguf tossed the pouch of antidote and the sword in front of him.

"The Sword Demon of Holdein."

"......"

"I’ve heard a bit about you. Quite the infamous name. You’re not really planning on staying locked up in here, are you?"

"How did you get out of your cell?"

"Does it matter?"

Bahon picked up the sword from the floor.

A slow, bone-chilling smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.

"Guess it doesn’t."

* * *

A pair of knights walking back to their quarters.

"...Hm?"

One of them stopped.

His partner turned, raising an eyebrow. "What is it?"

"I don’t know... something’s off up ahead..."

It was night, so darkness inside the ship was expected—but this darkness felt wrong.

Soon his partner frowned, instinctively reaching for the hilt of his sword.

The darkness that had begun to crawl through the corridor now swallowed even the light crystal in their hands.

"What the...?!"

Suddenly blind, the knights fell back-to-back, tense and confused.

But it wasn’t just their vision—it was like their awareness and senses were being dulled too.

An unknown darkness pressed down on them from every direction.

Slice! Splurt!

A wet sound. The scent of blood.

A moment too late, one realized his partner had already been struck down.

He swung wildly, but hit nothing.

"Who the hell are you slicing at?"

Splurt!

His head hit the ground next, severed cleanly.

From within the unnatural mist, two figures emerged—a man and a woman, coated in blood.

The man shook his blade, scattering droplets, and looked around in amazement.

"This really is something. They couldn’t even react. We’re completely fine while the knights are totally helpless."

"Shamans always come up with freaky tricks like this."

Even with their power restored by the antidote, their bodies were still recovering from long imprisonment. In a fair fight, they’d struggle.

But Aguf’s spell gave them overwhelming advantage.

The woman bent over a corpse, sneering.

"Whew. Good thing they’re all ugly. Would’ve been a waste if any were hot."

"You’re insane. Come on, let’s head for the deck."

Behind them, the halls were littered with mangled, shredded corpses.

Prisoners that had split off must’ve been hunting the crew elsewhere by now.

The woman shook her head.

"I have someone to find. Go on without me, ugly."

"Huh? Someone to find?"

Her eyes narrowed.

She remembered the boy she’d locked eyes with when she first boarded the ship.

'Haa...'

She’d never felt anything like that before.

The moment she saw him, her mind had gone blissfully blank with desire.

That golden hair, that pale skin, those jewel-like sapphire eyes—

She’d hunted and killed countless men, but never had one so perfectly matched her ideal.

Now that she was free, finding him was more important than escaping.

"Here comes another."

She paused as a crewwoman came down the opposite hall, froze, then fell back in terror.

"Aaack!"

The sight of two blood-drenched monsters was too much.

The woman giggled, squatting in front of her and stroking her hair.

"Shhh. I can be nice to men, but I really hate noisy bitches. So answer my question properly, okay?"

"U-Uuh..."

"On this ship, there’s a really handsome guy. Blonde hair, blue eyes. You know where he is?"

The trembling crewwoman stammered,

"H-He’s in the third-floor quarters..."

"Oh, the third floor? And we’re on...?"

"Sixth..."

"So I just go up three levels. Great~."

The woman stood and casually walked past her companion.

He watched her go, then turned back to the crewwoman.

"They called her the Madwoman of Lubally, right? Poor bastard, whoever gets caught by that psycho."

He grinned.

"And me? I’ve been hacking through guys so long, I forgot what a good cut feels like. But thanks to you, I get to enjoy myself again."

He raised his blade, still dripping red, as the woman screamed.

KYAAAAAA!!

Horrific slicing sounds and agonized screams echoed through the ship’s halls.

* * *

Karl opened his eyes.

He blinked away the dryness and sat up in bed.

"...?"

Something felt wrong.

He frowned.

Then chaos broke out beyond his door.

Karl stood and moved to open it.

Footsteps pounded closer—urgent, panicked. Then someone rounded the corner.

"...Meylin?"

It was the knight, Meylin.

Her face was pale with urgency, and Karl instantly knew something had gone terribly wrong.

She saw him and rushed over.

"We have to get to the deck! Now!"

"What? What the hell’s going on in the middle of the night—"

"The prisoners escaped! A mass breakout! Half the ship is already overrun!"

"...What?"

Karl’s expression darkened.

"There’s no time to explain! Just follow me!"

He moved after her, preparing to activate a detection spell—when—

BOOM!

Something slammed into the wall at the end of the hall.

Meylin flinched hard and froze.

The object embedded in the wall... was a crewman’s corpse.

Step. Step.

Footsteps rang through the corridor.

A woman with black hair appeared.

"Oh?"

Her eyes lit up.

More accurately—they locked on Karl, ignoring Meylin entirely.

Karl recognized her too.

She was the prisoner who had smiled at him with that creepy half-moon gaze on the first day aboard.

"Found you, my love."

She smiled, seductive and horrifying at the same time.