[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-how-to-survive-as-the-second-son-of-a-mage-famil":3,"chapter-how-to-survive-as-the-second-son-of-a-mage-famil-how-to-survive-as-the-second-son-of-a-mage-famil-chapter-165":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","How to Survive as the Second Son of a Mage Family",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1474071,1923,"Chapter 165","how-to-survive-as-the-second-son-of-a-mage-famil-chapter-165",165,"\u003Cp>‘Wait…!’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was no escaping it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Who the hell would think they needed to enter a room without touching the floor, just in case of a potential crime? It would be easier to tell them to walk on water. At least that would give them time to prepare a spell.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The intermediate state of nothing but darkness was brief.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My thoughts were cut off instantly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>* * *\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A strange smell.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was the first thing I felt when I opened my eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hmm….”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I tried to regain my vision, but my sight moved excessively slowly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I know when this kind of reaction happens.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Right now, I’m on the border [of consciousness]. It happens when I’m in shock or when I’m bleeding and feel sleepy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘…But there’s no reason for that right now. Did I have an accident?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I definitely met His Majesty the Emperor, used Divine Power on the Police Bureau people….\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What happened after that?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…….”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I clearly knew what I had done, but the haziness erased my thoughts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I must not lose consciousness. If I close my eyes like this….\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Was it too much….]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[…were you?]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I forced my eyes open as they were slowly closing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If I closed my eyes like this, I would faint.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[…uh.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Something to wipe with….]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Someone held a rough towel to my mouth from the side.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thanks to biting my tongue, I was momentarily jolted awake. The sensory delay was still there, but my ability to think had somewhat returned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Maybe some water….]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[No. Just….]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As my mind cleared up a bit, I gradually became aware of how my senses were processing information.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Voices scattered at the edge of my consciousness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A discomfort, like an inflammatory reaction from the outer skin to the inside, continued. It was a sensation too unpleasant to endure while fully conscious.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘…Retry. As quickly as possible.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ding―!?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chapter 6 Searching for Checkpoint… (0\u002F?)\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even as my eyes were closing, white text flashed in my vision.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘No, you bastard….’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Anyway, this is the first time I’ve seen a window like this.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Still, the fortunate thing is that the window [Chapter 6 Checkpoint has Expired] didn’t appear. This kind of window pops up when too much time has passed and you can’t return to a turning point in the story.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Still, it’s a relief that it’s at least attempting to search this time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘…Then, for now, I’ll have to endure.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even without that, I need to find out who the hell put a warp spell on the Imperial Second Academy dormitory with such audacity, and for what purpose they dragged me here.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This is the opportunity to find out who they are, rather than whining about the unpleasant pain while already inside the enemy's base.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, it seems my condition is far from allowing me to think leisurely… But I have to find out what I need to know before I go.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I put strength into my heavily bent neck and slowly turned my head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A few humans, clearly Old Humans, were sitting next to me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Hmm.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My brain is also getting slightly tainted by the New Human way of thinking, so the fact that they were Old Humans reached my brain first.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If I had been living in my previous world, I would have first perceived that they were girls.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But….\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘…Fuck….’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My brain kept flowing slowly, but I reached a clear conclusion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This is the Primrose Path.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was nothing more to figure out. The appearance of the Old Humans was definitely not something you’d see on the street.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I turned my head and gazed straight ahead. I don’t know what it looked like to others, but I tried to gaze.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Likewise, a man who appeared to be an Old Human was sitting there.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Among Old Humans, it’s difficult to distinguish those over 175cm from New Humans, but this man, despite his large build, showed signs of long-term hormonal influence on his facial extremities, as if he was getting older.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘A pimp, perhaps.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Old Humans next to me look at best old enough to graduate from the 3rd Academy, but that man is at least in his late 30s.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rather than being a customer, he was observing me instead of the Old Humans sitting next to me. And he was holding a camera artifact in his hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the very least, he must be the manager of this place.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After confirming that much, I leaned my head back on the sofa, lacking strength.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ah….”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[…Give this person something….]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[…Leave them be….]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sound of the Old Humans talking to each other blurred at the edge of my hearing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The reason I sighed was different from what these people would have expected.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Fuck….’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Firstly, what the fuck am I even seeing? My lifelong ethics are rejecting the scene unfolding before my eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Secondly, it’s now certain why I was dragged here.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘It’s obvious.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To threaten Elias.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tormenting those around him to wear him down. If someone is constantly harassed, they might shift the blame, thinking, ‘This is all Elias’s fault.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But that kind of harassment is limited to sending threatening letters until the mailbox overflows or camping out in front of the house; it doesn’t extend to warping an investigator friend to a seedy establishment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And why the hell me, of all people?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, that doesn’t mean it would be better for Elias or Narce to go through the same thing. It’s better for me to experience it, since I can turn back time, rather than them. And they are still just high schoolers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So, to put the question precisely, what do they trust to be able to go this far?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Beep―\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It’s the sound coming from the artifact the Old Human was holding.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I lifted my head again and looked at him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was holding the artifact up towards me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…….”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Do they think I haven’t come to my senses?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Taking pictures openly while I’m wide awake.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, the world is moving excessively slowly. To them, it probably still looks like I haven’t fully regained consciousness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘I have a few questions.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Let’s set aside the fact that their backer must be enormous for now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The real question is ‘why’ me, of all people.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because I’m the easiest target? I doubt it. One of the reasons Philip cried that day was because he was afraid I might ‘snitch to my family’. That alone gives the answer as to what kind of meaning being from a ruling family of a nation holds.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Their supporting force must be at least equivalent to the Askanians, or even higher.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Could it be… my brother’s doing?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since Pleroma didn't work, he'll send me to a seedy establishment? And scatter the photos nationwide?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Looking only at the results, it would be effective, but thinking that my brother placed such a high-risk order himself feels a bit ambiguous.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And there’s still one problem.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘What happens after I get out of here?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From the warp spell placed on the school to being given some unknown drug, I know everything.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In particular, I can use this to empower Elias. The photos would actually serve as evidence proving the harm done to me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This is their critical problem.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Their weapon will soon become my weapon, yet did they move so foolishly without knowing this?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Assuming the opponent has a plan is the safest approach, rather than assuming they are foolish.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘If so, what could their scheme be?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For now, since there’s no clear answer, let’s stick with the hypothesis that they are trying to ‘brand me as a Primrose Path customer and, furthermore, destroy Elias’s social connections.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I can gather enough evidence while I’m here.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before that….\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘It’s difficult to figure things out in this state. Shall I give it a try?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I brushed the sofa with my fingers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was hard to sense since the Magic Power coming from my body was also uncontrollable, but I didn’t particularly feel any other Magic Power. I didn’t feel anything other than my own Magic Power in my body either.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘The air feels a bit ambiguous.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Magic Power was mixed in, but it wasn’t the kind of magic that blocks all Magic Power except Vitriol, like the one Pleroma used.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I suspect it might be Magic Power mixed in for the establishment’s business purposes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Hmm.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Alright.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In conclusion, I can use magic, that’s the point.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I considered reporting these bastards’ actions without using Retry like this, but that won’t do. I have to use Retry anyway.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There’s no guarantee that only I am being harmed at this very moment. There’s no need to inflict trauma on my friends.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And Nicolaus warped straight from the inn to the school.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing that they put a spell on the dormitory, it seems their target wasn’t Nicolaus but me, but since the time Nicolaus got off the carriage and the time he was warped are close, I have to turn back time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Whine―\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just then, an alert sound came from the artifact by my ear. Someone was sending me a message.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Hmm, they didn’t take this off? How sloppy.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How would Old Humans detect an artifact with stealth cast on it, but I’m grateful for this sloppiness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Anyway, before using Retry, I should find out what these bastards wanted by bringing me here.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It would be best to endure as long as possible to obtain evidence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…Why.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[…What, you’re awake already? How…? No, this isn’t the time for this. Bring the drug.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sound felt distant, like a phone call, but now the voices were coming through without interruption.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I opened my mouth once more.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Why did you bring me here?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Hurry, fuck! So slow….]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the manager yelled, the teenager Old Human, who had been watching his reaction, jumped up and rummaged through a drawer at the end of the room.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘If it was that important, he should have kept it himself, instead of bothering a middle schooler….’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I glared at the manager, holding my throbbing head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That Old Human manager snatched the medicine bottle and plunged a syringe that had been rolling around on the sofa into it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fear began to seep into the eyes of the guy watching my movements. It wasn’t because I was glaring. It was because he knew well what it meant that the drug’s effects were wearing off on me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I glanced down at my heavily trembling hand, then flicked my finger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Light pink Magic Power spread through the air and quickly became transparent. With this, the sound was blocked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The manager, perhaps not seeing it, threw the syringe at the kid.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Hey! You do it.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[…! Yes, yes?]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[You do it. Huh? Buy me some time. You bastard won’t die. I’ll go tell them to just sprinkle the drug in the room, so…!]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I calculated his position and flicked my finger. I saw a bright red light burst before my eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Boom―! Clang!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Aaaargh!]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If you won’t die, why don’t you do it yourself?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[K-urgh….]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I heard the sound of him hitting the wall repeatedly, as if choking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I tried to sit up, pressing one hand to my eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To be like this even with the drug’s effects wearing off, this drug’s effect is truly remarkable. Unlike usual, I couldn’t focus.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘The effects are unusual…. Was it supplied externally, or is it a self-made drug?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If it’s external, there’s one place that comes to mind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Uwaaaaargh!]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Huh, Huk…!]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing the sounds of astonishment, I belatedly raised my head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It seemed he had hit his head on a decoration while being thrown; I saw blood flowing on the wall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I failed at controlling my Magic Power.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was nothing I could do about it because of the drug.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I clutched my head, which was throbbing even more because of the scream, and muttered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>―Unless Yahweh keeps the city, the watchman's wakefulness is in vain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thud―!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fortunately, the teenage Old Human had now fallen asleep.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He seemed to have collapsed on the floor, and I was sorry I didn’t have the strength to catch him. Still, if I turn back time, even if he got a concussion, it would disappear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I embedded Magic Power into the floor and my legs and got up from where I was.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As I gestured towards the manager across the room, his body, which had already lost consciousness, was easily dragged over.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I grabbed the collar of his shirt and threw him onto the table.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Slam! Thwack―!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Get up. You shouldn’t be sleeping.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I struck his head with my fist while injecting Divine Power.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Ugh…. Cough.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The smell of blood that wasn’t mine stung my nose.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I spat on the floor and spoke quietly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What did you trust to prepare so shoddily? This clearly isn’t the end.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Huh, Huk… I just did as I was told…!]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If you don’t know, who does?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Should I use brainwashing magic right away?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Actually, I’d like to just pressure him while fully conscious and see what happens….\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Waste of time.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The pool of blood on the table began to drip onto the floor. Too much blood was flowing from his broken head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It seems there won’t be any place left to hit even if I try to push him further.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In any case, I only need to know one thing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>―Enter through the narrow gate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I muttered, pressing his head onto the table. His pupils dilated instantly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“There are too many shortcomings to say you simply brought me here just to threaten an investigator. Or did I overestimate you guys?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The guy shook his head, as if wanting to show he was innocent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That’s probably not the case. What’s behind you must be at least equivalent to Anhalt, or even higher.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And now, there’s one piece of evidence to support Elias’s hypothesis.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If it’s true that Primrose Path meddled with Adelbert and Elias’s rooms, as per Elias’s hypothesis, then it means there’s a powerful figure behind these bastards who can even touch the Imperial Family.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You probably know where you’re going to send me next, or who will be coming.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I’m starting to get a sense of it too.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I grabbed him by the collar, lifted him up, and asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Who is it?”\u003C\u002Fp>",2371,"2026-06-06T03:11:08.304Z",1,"novelbin.me","20771928aef76c63f1b3925d04fdbca8ca760377ef68f21863a7b396c40d0b83","how-to-survive-as-the-second-son-of-a-mage-famil-chapter-166","how-to-survive-as-the-second-son-of-a-mage-famil-chapter-164",367,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fhow-to-survive-as-the-second-son-of-a-mage-famil-cover.jpg"]