How to Survive as a Genius Spy in the Game

Carlyn gauged the distance to the suddenly returned Star.

Although he couldn’t stop the intruder from sounding the alarm, he could deal with them before Arniel arrived.

Evading illusion magic was not an option; it was better to eliminate one foe before being caught in it.

Carlyn took a short breath.

“We’re going at full speed. Follow me.”

Carlyn dashed forward, with Denif and Rina following close behind. Rina was also confident in her speed, keeping up without falling too far behind.

They ran through the spider-web-like passages and instantly reached the central cavern.

Carlyn’s Winds was still monitoring the base.

They were faster than Arniel and her subordinate, who weren’t moving in a hurry, likely due to their confidence.

Seeing Carlyn charging at full speed, the man realized combat was unavoidable.

With two others following behind, the intruders didn’t seem easy to handle. The only thing he could do was:

“Arniel!”

Letting out a thunderous roar to call his comrade, he charged forward.

The man brought the axe behind his back, using the rotational force to swing it down in front of him.

He was confident in his strength and speed. But his opponent was ill-chosen – it was Carlyn.

With intense focus at its peak.

The man flinched upon seeing Carlyn’s eyes, filled with killing intent yet emotionless like a machine.

‘Fear? Me?’

Trying to deny his emotions, the man put more force into his arms.

The axe, arcing from behind his back, aimed for Carlyn’s head.

Carlyn swung Moonlight diagonally upwards. The moonlight seemed to flicker. Moonlight coiled under the axe’s blade, not resisting the force head-on but wrapping around and pushing it aside with a twisting motion.

“Huh!”

Though the man strained with both arms, he couldn’t overcome that technical move.

The axe passed within an inch of Carlyn’s head, grazing his shoulder.

Carlyn thrust his shoulder into the man’s chest, accelerated by Winds. His strength overpowered the man’s.

Deflecting the axe and pivoting to the right, Carlyn simply twisted his wrist, thrusting the sword he had readied in that direction.

Squelch – the sword pierced under the man’s jaw and emerged gruesomely from the top of his head, spraying blood and brain matter from its tip. A clean fight.

‘Typical Carlyn.’

Denif, right behind, nodded in approval. It was precisely Carlyn’s style.

Had it been Denif, he would have deflected the axe with force, then slashed across the chest. But this method wasn’t bad either.

Rina’s mouth was agape.

Arriving a beat late, she had witnessed the second Star fall in an instant with her own eyes.

‘I knew he was strong, but……’

It was beyond her imagination.

When she had first met Carlyn, she had harbored expectations, as the strong one had promised to achieve her revenge.

Having just escaped from Arachne, the fear had faded a bit, allowing such thoughts.

However, as they moved eastward, closer to Elish, her former terror gradually resurfaced.

Recalling the Stars’ might, she had doubted whether this young man could truly avenge her.

She had even considered fleeing alone. But an inexplicable gut feeling had stopped her. Fortunately.

‘Taking down the second Star in one strike……’

Having infiltrated Arachne’s base and killed five, he had faced no difficulties whatsoever.

The Stars, once objects of her terror, had offered no real resistance.

Even Comin, her former master and the sixth Star, had been swiftly subdued.

It was unbelievable.

That she, the one tormented by her master?

The cruel and terrifying Comin was now begging for his life before her?

To be honest, until just moments ago, it hadn’t felt real. She had wondered if it was all a dream.

But it wasn’t.

Her heart was now pounding faster than ever before. Thump, thump – she could feel its rhythm.

She realized something that had been weighing heavily on her heart was gone.

‘Was it back then?’

She remembered the tears streaming down her cheek. It was when those tears fell that her heart had become light.

Truly, truly, her dream was coming true.

“They’re coming.”

Rina’s bright thoughts were interrupted as Carlyn spoke, and the surrounding mana rippled with the activation of magic.

And then her vision went dark. The one whose heart had been beating in the cavern now found herself in the midst of ominous darkness.

And in that darkness appeared Comin, her former master.

“Rina, did you have a nice dream?”

His sinister, malicious voice from the past reached her ears. She shook her head with a trembling voice, as if denying reality.

“No, it can’t be……”

***

‘Oh no.’

Carlyn too realized he had entered the darkness – the hidden magic array within the base had been activated.

Not a good situation.

Simply being caught in an illusion magic and being ensnared by a prepared illusion were different matters.

The more prepared a magic was, the stronger it became.

Fortunately, Carlyn was aware of this particular magic.

Nanna’s Seven Constellations.

However, knowing about it didn’t make the situation any less difficult.

He had considered the possibility but hadn’t expected to truly face Nanna’s Seven Constellations.

Even in the game, it was a magic that required considerable preparation.

Carlyn had only anticipated an illusion overlaid on reality. But the situation had become much more complicated.

Only a Sword Master could fully resist illusion magic.

‘By emanating Sword Energy with keen senses, they can cut through the illusion itself.’

But Carlyn was not a Sword Master, nor was Denif. Carlyn first checked on his companions.

In anticipation of such a situation, he had attached Winds to them.

While not certain it would still be felt within the illusion, the connection was being maintained.

However, the Winds that had been observing the entire base was no longer sensed.

A difference arising from selection and focus – he had allocated more Winds to Denif and Rina for their safety over observing the structure.

‘Still intact, for now.’

He couldn’t warn them about the illusion magic, as Arniel was the only one on the continent capable of wielding it.

If asked how he knew, he would have no answer.

Of course, having attached Winds to his companions didn’t resolve the issue.

The terrifying aspect of Arniel’s illusion magic was one thing:

‘Realization of the illusion.’

Of course, it didn’t truly make the illusion a reality – that was within the realm of gods, recreating physical existence.

But within the illusion, it was a different story.

Arniel’s well-prepared illusion magic was akin to manifesting another world.

Even if that world was entirely an illusion, she could do almost anything within it.

And death within the illusion was connected to death in reality, a concept similar to phantasmal passage.

Like a person without a right arm feeling pain in the absent hand, death in the illusion was treated as such.

‘Huh. Experiencing it directly is different.’

Carlyn perceived the darkness before him as reality.

In the game, even knowing it was an illusion, he couldn’t understand why his character was affected.

Now he understood. Despite possessing keen senses, he recognized this darkness as real.

It was slightly different from his thoughts before coming here.

He had assumed it would be difficult but that he would prevail. Yet now, he couldn’t predict the outcome.

Carlyn pressed his temples.

‘Dizziness.’

The dizziness was due to the Winds he had attached to his companions.

While recognizing this darkness as reality, Carlyn was also sensing Denif and Rina outside the illusion.

It was possible because he had enveloped them with Winds beforehand. The Winds he was currently manipulating couldn’t extend beyond the illusion.

In any case, Carlyn felt as if he existed in two worlds simultaneously.

Humans naturally feel disoriented when what they see and hear don’t match.

Perceiving sensations from outside while within the illusion was even more disorienting.

The distance of a single step inside differed from one outside.

Carlyn was simultaneously aware of two sensations – the external world and the Winds enveloping his body.

‘Perhaps it’s better to close my eyes.’

There were two ways to dispel Arniel’s illusion magic. One was to defeat Arniel within the illusion, where she could achieve the impossible.

The other was to kill Arniel outside, as she too was bound by the illusion.

Both were difficult.

Defeating Arniel, who could act almost like a god within the illusion, or killing the Arniel in the world beyond sensation.

‘That Starlight fellow is probably with her too.’

The downside of Arniel’s illusion magic was that it left her vulnerable. Hence, she always had a guard.

That guard wouldn’t deal with those trapped in the illusion.

It was Arniel’s arrogance and confidence that she was invincible within the illusion. Arrogance and confidence often differed by a hair’s breadth.

Most outcomes were decided by results. Carlyn judged the latter option to be better.

‘Better than facing an unrestricted opponent within the illusion.’

Arniel could summon a tidal wave or even transform into a massive dragon herself.

It was better to penetrate through her guarding subordinate instead.

Outside the illusion, the Winds enveloping Carlyn’s body extended about 10cm. He had prepared for such situations.

Meaning, if an attack entered that range, he could sense it. He just needed to react faster.

Additionally, the latter choice would be virtually impossible for someone without Winds like Carlyn.

There were two problems. One was the path leading to Arniel.

‘I do remember it.’

He had mapped the base’s layout in his mind using Winds. He had also detected Arniel’s location.

However, with the external Winds now gone, he couldn’t be certain of the accuracy.

Another issue was Arniel appearing before him. He might have to fight two battles, one inside and one outside the illusion.

It wasn’t clear if this was a favorable situation, but Arniel had not appeared yet.

Arniel could only exist in one illusory world at a time.

So for Arniel to attack Carlyn and Denif simultaneously, the two of them had to be together in this darkness.

‘It’s on Denif.’

Denif’s body began to twitch. Carlyn nodded, as if he had expected this.

The Arniel in the game had also preferred to separate them when the situation wasn’t urgent.

To savor inflicting torment on one at a time.

Of course, her targeting Denif instead of Carlyn had an element of chance.

Simultaneously, Rina fell to her knees, clutching her head with both hands, seemingly in agony.

A different reaction from Denif, who appeared to be fighting.

‘Leaving her out intentionally.’

Carlyn’s judgment was correct. Arniel had set the defector aside for separate punishment.

Carlyn used Winds to render Rina unconscious, briefly depriving her of breath. He deemed it better than letting her suffer.

Better than letting her mind shatter. The illusion would likely awaken Rina soon, but she needed some respite.

Now it was a race against time.

‘Denif needs to hold on.’

Carlyn considered Denif’s inclusion a stroke of luck. Had Arniel come for him instead, the outcome might have been less favorable.

Without Denif, he would have had to face her alone.

Fighting within the illusion while maneuvering outside would have been even more difficult.

Carlyn and Denif. If it had been one instead of two, the chances of dying here would have been high.

‘As quickly as possible.’

Of course, Carlyn trusted Denif. But enduring was another matter. Carlyn quickened his pace.

And at that moment, Denif appeared before him, thrusting his sword forward. Carlyn focused on defense.

‘It feels real, but it’s an illusion.’

He couldn’t pinpoint the location, as the movement differed from the Denif outside.

Carlyn gritted his teeth.

While the start of combat made his senses reel with dizziness, it was far better than facing Arniel directly.

***

Denif was confronting Arniel, who had taken the form of a dragon over 30m long.

Breaths of flame rained down from the sky. Denif ran and rolled, evading the scorching flames.

Amidst it all, the annoying presence was Carlyn beside him, constantly appearing to attack.

Of course, it wasn’t the real Carlyn.

‘An illusion.’

Even knowing that, it felt real, but Denif had unwavering trust in Carlyn.

The Winds enveloping his body affirmed that.

The sensation had weakened since entering the darkness, but he could still faintly feel Carlyn’s Winds.

Still, he didn’t attack the illusion. Just in case it was the real Carlyn, he didn’t want to risk injuring him.

“You bastard! Come down here!”

Denif gritted his teeth and shouted at the dragon soaring in the sky.

The situation was dire. Could he possibly defeat that dragon? It seemed impossible. But he wasn’t worried.

Because he was with Carlyn. He knew the missions they had completed together as children were designed for their sake.

But regardless, Carlyn had always put them at ease in every moment.

‘He even saved us twice.’

On their first mission, he had saved Orhen’s life, and in the empire, he hadn’t abandoned the injured Denif.

Though naturally not one to worry, in this worst of situations, Denif felt an odd sense of calm.

No need to worry.

Carlyn would resolve it.

But when the massive dragon’s tail smashed the ground, heading towards Denif, and breaths of flame were about to be unleashed…

“Carlyn! Hurry up!”

Even Denif couldn’t help but urge him on.

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