A Talentless Mage Devours a Disaster-Class Future - Chapter 13

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 13

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[!] A new task has been assigned.
[!] You stand at the Crossroads of Fate.
[!] All your choices and their consequences at the Crossroads of Fate will be reflected in your rewards.
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……

A scream cut through the air.
At first, I thought someone was playing a prank.
The dormitory corridors were always loud, saturated with the distinctive laughter and clamorous chatter of noble-born students.

…But this was different.

“Fire!”
“The lower floor—! The lower floor went dark!”
“The door’s blocked! Who locked the door…!”

Voices overlapped like waves, colliding and ricocheting off one another.

Someone running and crashing into a wall. The sound of a fall.
Someone stifling a sob.
Someone calling a name until their voice cracked.

Scorching air licked across my skin—thin, but unmistakably there.

I had to get out. Now.

Amid the chaos, voices of the Extreme Points reached me.

【Flowing Water: Get out of here! This isn’t a situation where you can do anything!】
【Earth: Child, survival comes first. You must—you must survive, whatever it takes.】

Urgent counsel poured over Aion. The Flame Extreme Point said nothing.

“…….”

Aion nodded grimly.

“Understood. Whatever’s happening here—I need to get out first.”

The instant he turned toward the door—

Crash—!!

The ceiling collapsed.

No—”collapsed” was too weak a word.
As if the room itself was being crushed from above, something massive blotted out his entire field of vision and bore down on him.

“Ugh…….”

Aion didn’t even manage a scream before the debris swallowed him.

With the impact came a flash
of white light before his eyes.
His ears rang. His breath caught in his throat.

The sensation of his body slamming into the floor.

Then—
nothing.
When he opened his eyes, the world was unnaturally silent.

The screams that had torn through his ears moments before were gone, replaced only by the distant, heavy groan of collapsing debris.

The air was searing hot.

Blink. Blink.

Aion blinked for a long while, eyes wide.
Dust and ash hung in the air before him, drifting down slowly like snowflakes.

“…Ugh.”

When he tried to move, his head throbbed painfully.

Aion reached up and touched his forehead.
Warmth clung to his fingertips.

Blood.

Only then did Aion’s mind begin to clear.

He’d been buried under a collapsed ceiling. Yet he was alive—either his body had fallen through a gap between the rubble by sheer luck, or—

【Flame: This… this is really….】

That voice, the one he’d been hoping would say something, trailed off without finishing.

【Flame: How… again….】

Not the irritable, cutting tone that usually pressed its advantage. Not the caustic edge it wielded so easily.

That steely mockery, forever dripping with composure, was shaking now.

Wisp—

Aion wiped his lips. Blood and ash mixed rougher than sand.

“First things first—we survive. I need your help, old spirit.”

【Flame: …Understood.】

A brief answer.
He wanted to ask as a joke what else it might be hiding in those few words, but this wasn’t the moment.

Aion looked around him.

This was the Hazel Wing of Lumenia Dormitory.

Even student housing here was occupied by nobility, so the ceilings rose to abnormal heights.

His room was on the third floor.
The outer wall was completely engulfed in flames.

Jumping out the window would be suicide—if he was lucky, it’d be nothing more than shattered legs, but even that choice had been taken from him now.

“I have to find a way out from inside.”

【Flame: …Good.】

Aion staggered out into the corridor.

He still couldn’t believe it.
The voices that had been cacophonous chaos mere moments before were now utterly silent.

‘Did they… all get out…?’

Leaving only me behind…?

The answer came quickly.

Crack-crack-crack-crack—!

A pillar at the far end of the corridor fractured and collapsed.

The floor buckled inward.

The central hall seemed to be caving in entirely. Dust swept toward him in a torrent, and scorching air engulfed him in an instant.

“Ugh…!”

Aion clawed at his throat.
Hot smoke threatened to pour into lungs that were already struggling for breath.

Then the Extreme Point of Flame, silent until now, spoke.

【Flame: Aion. Lower your posture.】

Aion reflexively crouched down.

【Flame: And activate the Heavenly Motion Art.】

“Cough… the Heavenly Motion Art…?”

【Flame: Push back the hot air and smoke. It’s the only method left to you now.】

Aion hesitated for a moment.
He knew his own level was not yet high enough.

【Flame: …You should be able to do it.】

The Extreme Point of Flame added quietly.

【Flame: It’s no harder than grasping an object.】

Aion gritted his teeth.

“Huuuh….”

He drew up his Mana. Its scarcity made it all the more vivid to his senses.

Then he recalled that sensation once more—the feeling of wielding the Heavenly Motion Art.

The sense of gathering the Mana within and expanding his body.

He pushed outward.
Smoke and heat—he shoved them away from his face.

He had to push them back.
…If he wanted to live, he had no choice.

At first, nothing seemed to change.
But as time wore on, his body grew attuned to that sensation.

…And finally.

Wheeeesh—

The smoke parted before Aion’s face.

As if it had struck an invisible pane of glass, the scorching air bent at the boundary and flowed to the side.

Aion drew in a sharp breath.

Air entered his lungs.
It felt more hopeful than any success he’d ever known.

“It worked…I did it. Gasp….”

Aion’s eyes snapped wide open.
As the smoke cleared, an exit path appeared before him.

“Stairs! There are stairs over—”

CRUNCH-CRASH-CRASH—!!

Before he could finish, the stairs gave way.

BOOM!

The railing tore free, an entire section of steps snapped loose, and the floor caved in.
Below yawned a black void.

Whoooosh—!

Scorching flame erupted through the chasm, surging upward.

Aion stumbled backward by reflex.
He’d nearly fallen into that pit.

Thump.

“…What is this?”

Among the collapsed debris, something gleamed.

A glass shard?
No—something harder and thicker than that. A plate.

And burned markings across it.

As Aion reached out, the Extreme Point spoke first.

【Flame: That is….】

Aion picked up the fragment. It radiated a gentle warmth, different in character from the searing heat surrounding him.

【Flame: A Lower-Grade Rune… Ah. Now it makes sense.】

“What do you mean?”

The Extreme Point of Flame drew in a breath, as though swallowing an old memory.

【Flame: Its core has burned out. This rune has already undergone Activation.】

Aion’s eyes widened.

“Activation? Then this fire is…?”

【Flame: This blaze was… intentional.】

Arson. The word circled in his mind, but now was not the time to dwell on it.

Aion steadied himself and slipped the rune fragment into his pocket.

“We can talk about this later. First, we need to survive.”

Whoosh—!

The flames surged higher.
At the far end of the corridor, the red glow intensified. Hot air rolled toward him again.
Aion clung to the Heavenly Motion Art with desperate concentration, shielding his lungs from the smoke.

“Ugh…”

His mind grew foggy.
One slip in concentration and the smoke and heat would sear his throat raw, leaving burns as deep as a brand across his entire body.

“Still… there’s one thing the old man was right about.”

Aion let out a short laugh.

“Even with my meager Mana, I can keep using the Heavenly Motion Art.”

【Flame: ……Aion.】

“Old man, I’m—”

That was when it happened.

Crack.

Through a fissure in the crumbling floor, the level below came into view. Aion squinted down at the gap.

Below, someone was standing.
Shaking their head side to side. As if saying no. As if saying it couldn’t be.

“No… it can’t be…”

Aion caught sight of the muttering figure and his eyes snapped wide open.

‘Who is that…?’

It was Kael Pyron.

Of course, Kael hadn’t noticed Aion. Or rather, he seemed too preoccupied to observe his surroundings—his gaze was fixed on something in the distance.

“I… I can’t….”

Those words drifted through a crack in the wall.
And then Kael fled.

Without so much as a backward glance, he bolted away like a man possessed.

“…Why on earth?”

The moment Aion leaned his body toward the end of the fissure,

Crash!

Another collapse erupted overhead.
The ground beneath Aion’s feet gave way.

“Ugh—!”

His body plummeted downward.

Thud.

Aion tumbled across the floor.
His body ached as though torn apart, but at least his bones felt intact. He’d simply had the wind knocked from his lungs.

“Hgh…!”

The Heavenly Motion Art nearly shattered. Aion gathered his scattered focus and concentrated once more.

Then, he understood.
Why Kael had reacted that way.

Looming before him was an enormous iron door.

“This… this place….”

The Dormitory Small Hall.

A space rarely used.

Before the iron door lay the remains of shattered pillars and massive stones scattered about.
The door itself glowed a sickly red—touching it would burn the flesh, leaving it branded and clinging.

And then….

…voices reached his ears.

– …please.
– Save… us, please.
– …someone… cough… help us….

It wasn’t just one voice.
Multiple voices overlapped, layering upon one another.
The sound of coughing and weeping.
Even the desperate pounding of someone striking the door.

The Extreme Point of flame began to speak, each word dragged out as though from someone suffocating.

【Flame: No… no, that can’t be… this door… this door is….】

― There was a great door. Blocked by rubble, one that could never be opened from within. And a voice coming from beyond it… it was definitely there. But I….

He had spoken of it.
There was a door, he had said. Of that much, I was certain.

Flame’s voice
wavered. As though the moment he beheld this door, he was being dragged backward into the past.

【Flame: It’s a lie… it can’t be… why has this door returned….】

He was in such anguish that he could not complete a single coherent sentence.

Then, in his stead, other voices broke through.

【Water: Aion! Get out of here at once! There’s nothing you can do here now!】
【Earth: Survival comes first, boy!】

“…….”

Aion did not answer for a moment.

He stared at the rubble before the door.
And he did not leave that spot.

Crack―

The ceiling groaned. A pillar twisted, fissures spiderwebbing through it. The floor trembled faintly.
If he did not escape this place immediately, the entire building would come down upon him.

【Water: Aion! Move now!】
【Earth: Please, boy! Not now!】

Aion understood something then.
Even a Grand Mage who had lived fifty years longer than him, who had reached the uttermost reaches of principle itself, might not overcome all things.

That man from that day, fifty years ago, might still be standing here, frozen in this place.

【Flame: I… I cannot… I….】

Even after all that time had passed, he might still remain trapped here.

【Magic: Aion, be rational. Your power cannot accomplish this.】
【Life: Aion! Stop it! This is madness!】
【Lightning: Hehehehe! You’ll die! You’ll surely die!】

Aion did not answer.
Instead, he reached out toward the rubble.

Rumble-rumble-rumble―!

Stone that would not budge an inch if pressed by force alone.

He uses the Heavenly Motion Art instead, forcibly.
Finding its angle, breaking its balance, making it slide.

Creak…

It begins to move, bit by bit.

Clang—
It shifted again.

And from the recoil, something warm and metallic trickled from Aion’s nose.

A nosebleed.

“Ugh…”

Clearing the debris while maintaining the Heavenly Motion Art to protect his breathing meant doing two things at once.

With Aion’s level of strength, there was no way his body could avoid the strain.

【Arcana: …Reckless fool.】
【Earth: Hey, stop! This place is about to collapse!】
【Life: Aion…!】

The protests of the Extreme Points overlapped with the sound of the building crumbling.

Then,

【Flame: …Aion.】

The Flame Extreme Point called to him, her voice trembling.

【Flame: You don’t have to carry my regrets as well.】

Aion said nothing.

Instead, he kept clearing the debris.

【Flame: So then…】

“You’re still here, aren’t you?”

He probably—

“You’re still in this place, right?”

You are here.

【Flame: ……】

The Flame Extreme Point didn’t answer.

Crash—

Aion shoved the last of the debris aside.

“…Just wait.”

He couldn’t even tell how much time had passed.

Crack—

“I’ll get you out of here now.”

Aion reached toward the iron door.

Wheeee….

The moment the Heavenly Motion Art activated, the iron door—which had remained utterly motionless for reasons unknown—began to tremble.

Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud….

But still, the output fell short.

Trickle….

Blood from his nose, now thick and heavy, ran down to his lips.

【Flame: Aion!】

“Nnngh….”

More. More.

Honestly, he’d thought it might be impossible. Yet he didn’t stop.

Not because he could.
But because he had to.

He’d always lived this way.

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[!] New Trait Unlocked: From the End of Despair
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Pop!

Aion’s eyes snapped open.
He clenched his teeth and pulled at Mana as if dragging an invisible lever.

Shudder-shudder-shudder….

“NNNNNGH…!”

Screeeee—

The iron door warped with the slightest bend.

Creak….

The frame groaned.
The balance between both sides of the door began to twist.

‘Not enough…!’

Aion then stripped away even the Heavenly Motion Art that had been wreathing his face, pouring every ounce of concentration toward the iron door.

“AAAAAAAAAAH!”

He unleashed everything in one final push.

Screeeeeee—

The sound of metal tearing.
The door warped and buckled, forced open on both sides.

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[!] Heavenly Motion Art proficiency has increased.
[!] Heavenly Motion Art Lv.2 → Heavenly Motion Art Lv.3▲
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The iron door finally gave way, swinging wide open.

Crash—!

At last, he’d done it.
He’d opened that door—the one that seemed it would never yield—at last.

“Haa… haa….”

Thud….

Aion dropped to his knees.

Drip…

Blood fell from his nose, his lips, his chin. His fingertips had gone numb.

As consciousness slipped further away, he thought he heard voices.

Not the voice of the Extreme Point.
They had to be people beyond the door.

Aion’s eyelids grew too heavy to bear, and they fell shut.

【Flame: I… for all this time, I wanted to confirm it.】

The sound of held breath.

【Flame: …what lay beyond this door.】

The voice he’d turned away from.

…And the what-if that had left the old sorcerer with a stain worse than terrible scars—the stain of regret.

If only he could turn back time, if only it were truly possible… he would have opened that door.

If only some other hero had existed instead of himself, they might have saved them.

And yet, the hero of the past—the one he had waited for all these long years—

was right here.

【Flame: …you did it well. Damnable wretched thing.】

Ding—!

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[!] Quest completed.
[!] You have escaped the Crossroads of Fate.
[!] Rewards are calculated based on all choices and outcomes.
[!] Rewards include the magic of Flame’s Extreme Point.
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The Talentless Sorcerer Swallows a Calamitous Future – Episode 13

Author
Wang Mozhi
Publisher
Daon Creative
Planning / Editing / Production
Yeon
Cover Design
Dali

UCI
G720:N+A036-20260706063.0013

© 2026, Wang Mozhi

※ This e-book is protected under the Copyright Law of the Republic of Korea.
No part or whole of this work may be reprocessed in any form without the permission of the author and publisher.

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