How to Survive as the Second Son of a Mage Family - Chapter 437

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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“Ah… Oh, no way.”

Elias, who had been silent for a moment as if flustered, caught on to my meaning and chuckled.

“You’re going to do the same thing?”

“Wouldn’t that be good? I’m asking you.”

“Oh, really…”

Elias kept giggling. As he lifted his body up slightly, his voice gradually began coming from a higher position.

“Fine. Defend well, Luca.”

Whoosh—

A refreshing blue light, yet with mana that sent chills down one’s spine, flowed faintly through the gaps between stones. It was mana I found pleasing no matter when I felt it. As my mind became at ease, I wanted to close my eyes again and fall asleep. Though I couldn’t do that considering Elias’s request.

The hope that we might be able to get out awakened one’s spirit. Little by little, little by little. Instead of falling asleep, I thought about the structure of the collapsed building with a slightly clearer head. The area above the stones covering Elias couldn’t exactly be called the immediate outside either. If it had been the very outside, moonlight should have leaked into where he was lying, but since that wasn’t the case, there must be something else covering this floor with some space above it. For example, part of the roof.

“Elias. What’s the structure like above here?”

“Hmm… there seems to be enough space to crouch, but above that, something’s blocking it so my mana can’t get through. Must be the roof? Should I break that first?”

“Then, how thick are the stones above us?”

Then came the sound of him groping around the gaps between stones. He sent his mana flowing, then measured the points where the mana spread and bent as he spoke.

“I’m not good at measuring things with mana, so I’m not sure… but it goes up much higher than I thought.”

Elias made a humming sound as he concentrated on measuring, then continued speaking.

“It seems to be about 30cm thick.”

“…”

Even though it probably wasn’t the height of a beam, and it would have been thicker before collapsing, it was an incredible thickness anyway. Good. It was so thick that breaking through on our own was hopeless. As Elias said, we might have to wait here until we became skeletons.

However, because it was that thick, we could now attempt this operation. I just stared into the darkness and waited. About 5 minutes later, Elias grumbled.

“…Hard to control.”

“I’m sure it is. Hang in there, Elias.”

As faintly as possible, yet so the direction could be detected, not showing too strong a reaction, making it stay continuously. It wouldn’t be easy since he had to do all that. I wished I could do it for Elias instead.

How much time had passed? Just as Elias, who had been sending out mana in an awkward position, exhaled deeply from exhaustion, a strange sound was heard nearby.

[Uhhhhh…]

Thud—

Something was stepping around the area. Splash, there was the sound of something like mud touching. I held my breath. If I could have seen Elias, our eyes would have met by now. Above the stone materials covering us, a victim standing on what was presumed to be roof debris walked around this place, dragging dripping mud. As expected, there were also people who had moved with us but weren’t buried or got out quickly. The problem was that they had no reason.

Thump—

Thump—…

The sound of mud chunks falling onto the prison roof continued. Sticky sounds came from the north then moved sideways. As if other rampagers had also gathered at a distance around the area, footstep sounds overlapped at intervals. I was suffocated by the Vitriol. The sound of something bubbling could be heard.

“Are you okay?”

A quiet question was heard.

He was asking if I could endure it. Of course. Was there any reason I couldn’t endure it? I answered truthfully that I was fine. Bone-cutting tension and silence flowed. Only the sound of mana flowing existed down here.

We waited for a long time. They didn’t leave. They just kept circling around the area. The bubbling sound gradually got closer. Though it was still heard from far away because a lot of things had piled up above, compared to earlier.

CRASH!

“…!”

“…Huff.”

Even though I couldn’t see anything, I reflexively squeezed my eyes shut at the loud noise. Goosebumps rose all over from the vibration caused by the impact. While trying to suppress my pounding heart, I opened my mouth.

“This right now…”

“It’s roof debris. I’m sure. What was above is gone.”

Elias, who had been catching his breath with me, whispered with certainty. A ‘part’ of what had been presumed to be the roof in the distance had fallen onto the stone materials. Even so, the stone materials didn’t break. Right, our ceiling above needed to be thick enough to support it even if part of it collapsed. Though I knew this before starting, my heart pounded wondering if the structure supporting the prison 3rd floor debris would collapse.

But there was nothing to be done. Like we had been doing until now, we could only lie there like corpses and wait. The growling sounds and mud dripping sounds continued. I counted seconds in my mind. The bubbling sound gradually came further down.

We waited for a long time again. It seemed like about an hour had passed. Maybe a bit more. The darkness didn’t let us know the time. The sound of Elias controlling his mana and exhaling could be heard. We were still lying beneath the rampagers. Sometimes we could hear them fighting among themselves. Each time that happened, we had to hold our breath.

Another 30 minutes after that. As if running out of strength, Elias gasped and whispered.

“Should we stop now?”

“Stop.”

Then Elias made a groaning sound and lay down on the floor.

BANG—!

“…!”

Again. Huff, shocked breathing could be heard from beside me. I was the same. Something presumed to be iron had fallen onto the prison 3rd floor stone materials. It appeared to be the bars that had formed the prison. The footsteps weren’t heard right around me. Even though there were no rampagers wandering right above us, this had fallen, meaning it was no longer receiving support from other structures that had been supporting these bars. Why? I exhaled and twisted the corner of my mouth. Elias seemed to have reached the same conclusion as he quickly whispered.

“Since your side is lower, it should be more certain. The roof debris should also be gone or weak now.”

“Right.”

The bubbling sound was getting closer and closer. Now this sound was right in front of me. I slowly tapped the stone. Unlike before, a more muffled sound came out.

“Elias, how about your side?”

“It’s different here too.”

Elias tapped part of the floor and answered. He said quietly.

“It has to be different. We’ve been waiting for almost two hours? No, three hours. But how long did it take for the building to collapse earlier?”

“It didn’t even take 30 minutes. That’s enough. Now, Elias.”

I took a deep breath and continued speaking.

“I’ll count.”

“Good.”

Elias also slowly inhaled. The sound of him lightly touching the floor could be heard.

“Three.”

I pulled my left knee toward my body and pushed the stone while silently reciting an incantation. If you remain in me and my words remain in you.

“Two.”

Ask whatever you wish.

“One.”

Do not be afraid. For I am with you.

CRAAASH—!

Dust that stung the eyes flew about. Outside air rushed in. The moment I pushed with mana, light burst forth. It wasn’t just the light of mana. Light embedded in the pitch-black sky could be seen. Moonlight, countless stars floating in the sky, and…

CRASH—!!

Blue mana that wasn’t mine exploded before my eyes. I deflected the Vitriol and small bricks falling toward me with mana and squinted. A large hand that had turned bluish-purple with scratches thrust forward. Elias was standing on the debris that had been supporting the stone materials.

The moment I pushed and broke the stone materials with magic, he squeezed in front of me and sent the stones flying far away. Even with the thickness of stones remaining in front of us, I could have pushed them away as a barrier even if they shattered into pieces. I couldn’t help but laugh at his consideration and reflexes. As I got up and grabbed his hand, Elias grinned and pulled me up.

“I told you, just trust Luca and everything works out.”

‘Really…’

We got out.

We escaped. Really.

I can’t believe it. Who knew outside air touching facial skin could be this welcome? I deeply inhaled the clear air. The place where we had been lying was exactly like a coffin in length. I shook my head to dust off the debris accumulated on my head and face as I laughed.

“What do you mean just trust and everything works out… How could that be possible?”

“Haha~ Look at this. It all melted.”

Elias pointed to the debris we had blown away. It was a stone chunk that appeared to have a cross-sectional diameter of about 5cm, but that had been stone materials about 30cm thick 3 hours ago.

We need to trace back what the situation was like earlier. How did the building collapse? Why did a 3-story building that had been running well for decades get smashed today, at this moment? The cause was obviously Vitriol and rampage, even to passing civilians. The lime floor had melted unevenly due to Vitriol, and as the flooring and beams melted and shook, the walls that had also been damaged by Vitriol collapsed together. Most rampagers who had lost their reason either struggled to escape or rushed at us, and in that process, they couldn’t handle the building as precisely as before they went on a rampage. It’s unimaginable how much shock their mana—Vitriol—which had become at least dozens, at most thousands of times stronger, gave to the building.

Just seeing some Vitriol corrode and burn iron and cloth, we can guess to some extent that Vitriol can also melt objects made of other materials. Since each Vitriol has different properties, there are also Vitriols that don’t have corrosive properties, but we know from experience that such Vitriols also exist quite widely.

And what do rampagers who have lost their reason primarily want? Why did one of the patients attack me on the first high-risk rampager disposal day?

It was because I was a mage. Rampagers are drawn to mana and want to absorb mana. Therefore, Elias took on the role of luring the rampagers this time. He probably made quite an effort to guide the rampagers not to step directly on the stone materials.

Thus, we were now standing on the debris of a building that had collapsed like a sand dune. We weren’t inside it. Not anymore. As Elias grinned, I also found myself laughing. As I was chuckling, Elias directly dusted off my face with his sleeve. The smile quickly disappeared from his face. Elias wiped away the dried blood. The reality I had tried to set aside was dragged out. The joy of escape didn’t last long. No, it couldn’t. In many ways. I pulled my wand from the torn holster and thrust it out.

CRASH—!

I deflected the Vitriol flying from behind Elias with mana. Having been in darkness until now, I hadn’t been very conscious of it, but damn, my left eye was hardened with blood and wouldn’t open well. Even when it did open, blood was in the eyeball so it wouldn’t focus.

Elias, who was already supporting me, grabbed my arm that was about to fall down below and pulled it up sharply to maintain balance, then blocked the Vitriol rushing from behind. He turned his head toward me and shouted.

“Luca, this won’t work. We need to quickly…!”

Along with the noise, Elias’s gaze fixed on something beyond my head. His eyes widened. He whispered with a pale face.

“If I let go, can you stand up?”

“No, I still have no sensation in my right leg.”

“Damn.”

Elias stared blankly only behind me and moved his lips. I couldn’t not know why he was doing that. The reality we had to face as soon as we escaped the building was now standing firmly in front of us.

Splash—…

“AAAAHHHHH—!”

A muddy voice sharply pierced our eardrums. From all directions. Elias, who had been licking his lips with his tongue, picked me up and jumped down below the debris.

BANG! Rumble—

Bars and floor debris rolled down following his movement. Hiss, the sound of Vitriol flying and hitting was eerie. I thrust out my wand and tried to block the black stream aimed at the back of Elias’s head. No, I tried to.

Thwack—

‘…Damn it.’

I gritted my teeth and swung my wand once more. Crash—! Finally, a proper impact sound rang out. But I couldn’t keep covering attacks in this state going forward. Elias was right. I was too slow. It was clear that not just my speech, but all my cognitive functions had deteriorated.

Rumble—!

In that case….

Barrier magic slammed down in a semicircle formation 100 meters ahead of the rampagers chasing Elias. Dozens of vitriol strands crashed into the barrier with thunderous roars. If my reflexes to counter-attack were dead, then I’d just have to defend with barriers. At the same time, I squeezed Leo and Mecklenburg’s cores and sent a signal. No response came back. Elias asked as he ran frantically, cutting through the wind.

“Luca, do you think you’ll recover if you practice walking a bit?”

“…Sorry. I’m not sure.”

“Yeah, yeah. Of course you don’t know. At least we made it out, so that’s fortunate. Right?”

Elias nodded as if brainwashing himself. With a flustered expression, he slowly raised the corners of his mouth. Then, breathing heavily, he said:

“Now that we’re out, let’s try destroying the coordinate system. If it’s a coordinate system someone inserted, we can definitely destroy it.”

“Yeah, let’s try.”

“Luca. Are you sleepy?”

“No. I’m fine.”

“Right now, you’re not bleeding from your head, right?”

“Yeah, don’t worry. It doesn’t seem to be bleeding that much.”

“Hahaha….”

Elias burst into laughter. I could tell he wasn’t laughing because it was a situation to laugh about. It wasn’t a hollow laugh from feeling lost either. Nor was he savoring hope in advance. With an expression I couldn’t understand, despite it being impossible, he was laughing as if feeling liberated. As if he’d lost his mind.

“This is why.”

Just as I thought that, he opened his mouth while panting, so I looked at my friend’s face.

“It really feels like we’ve become prey.”

Sweat dripped down Elias’s chin as he raised the corners of his mouth. The story about the dead pheasant overlapped in my mind. That’s right. I couldn’t deny it. Right now, we had become food for the rampagers in a world where we were the only two mages.

“Alright, let’s stop here.”

Elias stomped his foot to quickly reduce speed and carefully set me down. A road sign creaked and fluttered in the wind.

Chiemgau. We were on the road where the five victims had fled when we were actually in Munich. A sign with warp coordinate numbers was attached to the wall. Now it was just an illusion.

Elias pulled out his half-broken wand from his waist and waved it. A staff’s form tried to materialize but disappeared. He cursed and shoved the wand back into his waist, then pressed his chest. He was gathering magic power with his body. If there was no staff, he’d just use his body. Elias spread his fingers and said:

“This time I’ll count to three. Three.”

If you remain in me and my words remain in you. I recited the incantation silently once again.

Crash—

With a sound of tearing air, blue flames shot up from the staff I held.

“Two.”

Elias counted while staring firmly into my eyes. The light of magic power reflected in his blue pupils flickered madly, but the strength emanating from his eyes didn’t waver in the slightest.

“One.”

CRASH—!!

The moment I struck down hard with the staff, I winced at the ear-splitting noise. Light spread out. In all directions. The light at the center where we stood gradually cleared.

“….”

“The coordinate system….”

The city blocks were still before my eyes.

Nothing had changed. The first thing that crossed my mind was shock. No, that didn’t last long. Elias’s inexplicable laughter that I’d heard while fleeing, my instinctive thoughts about it, rose up and covered the shock. Without even having the courage to face him directly, I raised my head toward Elias.

“Elias.”

“….”

Howling grew closer like a tsunami. Roars craving predation were covering the world. I looked at the horde of rampagers charging to tear us apart and my friend standing with his back to them, and said:

“We need to find another way.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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