A Talentless Mage Devours a Disaster-Class Future - Chapter 15

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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 15

A high-pitched whistle cut through the air…

“Aion.”

Above the pristine Snowy Plain, a sun that never set hung in the sky.
A world without night. Beyond the Barrier, it was always like this.

Aion approached the Mage, carrying two mugs of warm cocoa.

“Usually, the men here endure the cold with strong liquor, but I prefer this.”
“Thank you.”

The Mage accepted the mug. Then, hesitating for a moment, she asked.

“About that Hand… are you still refusing my offer?”

A Hand.
A devoted attendant sworn to serve a Mage.
A singular existence, like a hand itself—one per Mage, irreplaceable.

“…It’s because of my shortcomings.”
“I don’t understand.”

In Aion’s mind, he was not the right person for that position.

“But I like you just as you are.”
“…….”

This incomprehensible woman.
Sometimes, Aion found it hard to believe she was a Mage at all.

Sip…

The warmth of cocoa seeped into Aion’s body.

And then the Mage spoke carefully, as if posing a question she’d held for a long time.

“Aion…”

A breeze swept past.

“Have you never thought about becoming a Mage?”

Pfft-!

In that instant, Aion sprayed every drop of cocoa from his mouth.

***

A sweet, familiar scent drifted from somewhere.

Yes, cocoa.

“……!”

Eyes opened.

A white ceiling came into view first, followed by the faint smell of disinfectant.

On the table beside the bed sat a mug, thin wisps of steam rising from it.

Cocoa.

Aion lay still for a moment, unable to make sense of the situation.

Creak—

The door opened and someone entered.

“You’re awake.”

Seria von Kroitz.

A face neither familiar nor strange.

A faint weariness clung to her features, yet her expression remained composed.

That very composure revealed how long she had been here.

Seria glanced at the mug, then at Aion, and spoke without affectation.

“How’s your body?”
“Seems fine.”

Seria’s voice took on a peevish edge.

“Well, that’s fortunate.”

“Have you nothing to say to me?”

Nothing to say?

Aion raked his fingers through his aching head, searching for something—anything—to fill the silence.

There was nothing.

He had thought their misunderstanding was settled last time.

After a pause, Seria’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“Apologize.”
“Apologize?”
“Your wretched lack of social grace has wasted my precious time.”
“Ah.”

Aion grasped her meaning at once.

“How is it you haven’t made a single friend in this vast city of Exion? Because of that, I’ve had to stay by your side.”
“I’m sorry.”

He felt the apology genuinely.
When he thought about it, she had no connection to him whatsoever, and yet she had taken on the role of his caretaker.

“Well, you’re awake now, so that’s enough.”

Seria turned away.

“I’ll let them know you woke up in the Medical Pavilion.”

Seria turned toward the door.

She looked ready to leave.
But just before her hand reached the doorknob, her shoulders tensed slightly.

There was something she wanted to say, yet she held it back.

“…Please don’t do anything so reckless again.”

Her voice came out clipped, almost abrupt.

“It bothers me.”
“…Bothers you?”

Seria’s voice rose slightly at Aion’s words.

“No, that is—! I mean, I didn’t say that right—!”

Her face flushed crimson all the way to her ears.
Against her pale skin, the blush showed even more vividly.

“What I meant is, ‘bothers me’ doesn’t mean I’m deeply interested or anything like that, or fascinated, or—! It’s not that kind of—!”

Flustered by her own confusion, she turned on Aion instead, as if angry.

“It’s just that because you have no friends, Aion, I have to deal with all these annoying things! That’s all there is to it!”
“……”

When Aion gave no particular response, Seria huffed and turned away.

“Anyway! I’m leaving!”
“Seria.”

Aion called out to stop her. After a pause long enough to take a single breath, he spoke.

“…Thank you. I mean it.”

Seria turned her head just slightly. Her gaze remained cool, but there was no anger in it.

“…You drink it instead.”

Aion’s eyes shifted to the cocoa, steam still rising gently from it, and he asked.

“…Am I allowed to?”
“It’s already cooled down anyway.”

With that, she opened the door and left.

Click.

“…….”

Then came a moment of silence.

【Flame: …She’s gone?】
【Stream: …Seems like it?】
【Earth: Phew….】

As if on cue, the Ultimate Points stirred to life.

【Flame: What do you mean it’s cooling? Steam is still billowing off it.】
【Earth: These sensitive youngsters—we can’t just butt in. This is terribly awkward.】

The moment Seria vanished from sight, Aion felt the pain.

A sharp throb—!

“Ugh….”

【Water: Your body won’t be whole. You may need to stay abed for a few more days.】
【Thunder: Hehehehe! You burned through way too much magical power all at once!】

“…How many days have I been like this?”

【Water: Two.】

“I feel like I’ve been given a second chance at life.”

【Earth: You didn’t just feel it, fool—you actually died and came back. Why do you have to be so reckless!】
【Water: Your head will be ringing. Best not raise your voice.】
【Earth: Ugh… tch. Anyway! Now that this idiot’s awake, we need to settle this once and for all! What we’re going to do going forward.】
【Thunder: Hehehehe! We gotta decide! For real this time!】

“…What are you talking about?”

【Water: This is for us to decide. You need only listen.】

“……”

【Earth: Nothing major. This time, Flame caused quite a mess. And because of it, we’ve come to realize something—we need rules between us.】
【Water: Simple enough. We must decide now whether we should warn you of events that will unfold in the near future, or whether we should forbid it.】

“……What?”

Aion asked, bewildered.

“Of course you should tell me. How else could I change that future?”

【Earth: And you’re certain the future you change will be better than before?】

“Well… if I know about it, I can alter it for the better, can’t I?”

【Earth: Can you truly guarantee that the changed future will be an improvement?】

“That’s….”

He trailed off, words failing him.
Naturally, he could offer no such guarantee.
The future hadn’t arrived yet.

【Earth: Listen well, boy. In this fire incident—what future did you change?】

“…I saved people who were trapped, didn’t I? Those who should have died lived.”

【Earth: Exactly. And you ended up covered in wounds and unconscious for two days before waking. Do you still not see the problem?】

“……If you’re saying it’s because I got hurt, I understand that much.”

【Earth: Strictly speaking, it was something that could have cost lives. And yet, the only change was saving just over ten people. Or, to be more precise….】

Earth’s Ultimate Point spoke as if addressing an unseen listener.

【Earth: I merely corrected that shameless old man’s regret.】

The shameless old man answered without strength.

【Flame: …I’m sorry.】
【Earth: If you understand, then say so!】
【Flame: …Aion, I apologize from the heart. My willful decision nearly drove you toward death.】

Aion protested in confusion.

“What? You’re saying saving those people was wrong?”

【Flame: That was your choice. But…I cannot deny that I encouraged you to act in such a way.】
【Water: …Was teaching you the Celestial Movement Art for that same purpose?】

Flame’s voice flared with indignation.

【Flame: No! Never! I too wished for you to grow stronger. That was all—nothing more.】
【Water: You deceived us.】
【Flame: …Yes, I deceived you. I should have spoken plainly. Or else said nothing at all from the beginning.】
【Earth: Ah… this is troubling. What are we to do? Should we tell Aion about our future, or not?】
【Life: If we do, Aion will surely try to correct not his regrets, but ours. That’s far too dangerous.】

Yet another voice offered a counterpoint.

【Water: But if we don’t speak…what of those who will perish if his choice proves wrong? Dozens now, yes—but what of the hundreds, the thousands of lives?】

“…I’m asking this half in jest, but is there really some future where thousands die?”

【Water: ……I misspoke.】

Just as a simple answer seemed impossible, another Ultimate Point finally opened its weighty mouth.

【Magic: Cease this unproductive quarrel.】
【Earth: Unproductive? Ha! You’re one to talk, staying silent this whole time….】

Magic’s Ultimate Point brushed aside Earth’s objection with ease.

【Magic: Through this crisis, we have learned one thing. Or more precisely—we have now verified it.】

The tone was so calm it felt ominous.

【Water: What do you mean?】
【Magic: When you speak of the future in concrete terms, it influences Aion’s reality.】
【Earth: Of course. Aion hears what you say and decides how to act based on it.】
【Magic: No. You are summoning the future itself.】

No one spoke.
Not Aion. Not the Ultimate Points.

【Water: …What?】
【Magic: To put it plainly: you are a mass of terrible calamity. Do not speak carelessly of the future. If you misstep, catastrophes will descend that Aion cannot resolve.】

The Ultimate Points fell silent all at once.
So did Aion. A mass of terrible calamity—the words would not leave his mind.

【Shuiryu: How can you be certain of that?】
【Mado: I’ve been observing since before this crisis began—precisely when Hwalyeom first mentioned this place’s affairs.】
【Hwalyeom: What!? You… you already knew how I would act from that point onward?】
【Mado: I was merely watching carefully.】

A silence settled between them.
Mado’s Ultimate Point began to fill that silence slowly.

【Mado: The moment Hwalyeom spoke of what transpired here, the event was already as good as done. Temporal Energy surged dramatically.】
【Daeji: Temporal… Energy?】
【Mado: The very force that sent you back to the past. Now, paradoxically, future catastrophes will cross through time and arrive here by way of your words.】
【Shuiryu: That can’t be…!】

The words were concise, but their weight was not.

【Hwalyeom: Then what do we do? Even if we say nothing, there must be calamities already in motion?】
【Mado: From this point forward, the future events beginning to influence this world will be divided into three stages.】
【Daeji: Three… stages?】
【Mado: Omen, Arrival, and Manifestation.】

Mado’s Ultimate Point continued its explanation methodically.
Though somewhat elaborate, Aion’s compression of that information bore this result:

Omen. A known future event has yet to occur, though traces that might lead to it have been detected.
Arrival. A known future event has a high probability of occurring.
Manifestation. A known future event has already taken place.

【Daeji: So what do you want us to do with these divisions?】
【Mado: An Omen is merely an omen. In this world, all events across the eight realms have the potential to occur. Therefore, there is no need to divulge all information simply because an Omen has appeared.】

Aion and the Ultimate Points considered those words.

【Shuiryu: What about the Arrival stage?】
【Mado: Arrival is no different. So long as the possibility exists that a future event might yet deviate from its timeline, there is no reason to speak of unnecessary information. Only at the Manifestation stage do we fully open all information.】

When Mado finished speaking, silence fell once more.
The sound of pieces clicking into place seemed to echo.

【Shuiryu: I think I understand. At the Omen and Arrival stages, we withhold all information, and only when we reach Manifestation do we fully disclose it?】
【Mado: Precisely.】

It was a brief answer.
Yet that brevity itself sounded like certainty.

【Daeji: This is useless! You’re just shackling us with constraints—is this all you can do?】

Daeji’s voice rose.
Yet Mado remained unmoved.

【Mado: Calm yourself. Though you have gained a restriction, you have also gained a benefit in return.】

Daeji fell silent.

【Daeji: …A benefit?】

Aion and the Ultimate Points.
A certain benefit capable of quelling all their resistance.

【Mado: If Aion overcomes the trials he encounters in this refined state, he will be able to grow at an impossible speed.】
【Life: …For example?】
【Magic: As always, it’s best to verify directly.】

Ding—!

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
[!] User’s continuous vital functions confirmed.
[!] Pending rewards disbursed.
[!] Escaped the crossroads of fate.
[!] Rewards calculated based on all choices and outcomes are being disbursed.
[!] Rewa……
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

One of the Ultimate Points, having read through the reward message, let out a hollow laugh.

【Flame: This is… extraordinary……】

What the Mage had spoken of as “growth at an impossible speed” now stood revealed before them all.

The Talentless Mage Devours a Catastrophic Future — Chapter 15

Author
Wang Mozi
Publisher
Daon Creative
Planning / Editing / Production
Yeon
Cover Art
Dalri

UCI
G720:N+A036-20260706063.0015

ⓒ2026, Wang Mozi

※ 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 permission from the author and publisher.

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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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