A Talentless Mage Devours a Disaster-Class Future - Chapter 17

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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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Chapter 17

“What are you doing, exactly?”

Aion didn’t answer.

Leon emerged from the veil of steam.

His hand settled quietly around Bruno’s wrist.

“What do you think you’re doing to a first-year?”
“And what about you—how exactly do you plan to clean up this mess?”

Bruno shot back immediately. Leon fell silent for a moment.

That was when it came.

“Let go.”

The voice was faint, but Bruno heard it distinctly.

“…What?”

Aion looked up at Bruno, his eyes cold and sharp.

“I said, let me go.”

Bruno’s body went rigid.

Those eyes.
Bruno felt as though he’d seen eyes like that somewhere before.

Eyes like those belonging to the man who’d left that scar across his face.

…The strength drained steadily from Bruno’s grip.

“Tch.”line>

Bruno turned toward Leon.

“Hey, you said you’d take responsibility for this, didn’t you?”
“…Yeah.”

Leon’s answer was curt.
Bruno let out a short, bitter laugh.

“Fine then. Figure it out yourselves. And…”

His gaze shifted back to Aion.

“Hey, what’s your name?”

Aion regarded him for a moment.

“…Aion Iscar.”

Bruno’s eyebrows rose.

“Iscar? Ah, the one from the dormitory fire incident? Figures… so that’s why you’ve got your eye on him.”

He spoke quietly.

“Listen, be careful.”

Aion’s brow furrowed.

“Those people are definitely gunning for you.”

Bruno disappeared down the corridor without another word.

Leon crouched before the shattered Impact Absorption Panel, running his fingers over the jagged cross-section of the torn surface.

Silence stretched between them.

“To be honest…”

Leon opened his mouth slowly.

“Even with Hydro Gale, it wasn’t easy to completely suppress the flames.”
“What? You, senior?”

Iris looked taken aback, but Leon continued matter-of-factly.

“The internal circuits of the Impact Absorption Panel suffered severe damage. Natural repair won’t be possible—it’ll need a complete overhaul.”

Aion’s expression darkened abruptly at those words.

‘Meltdown… the destructive power is that much?’

Enough to wreck even the Impact Absorption Panel of an Intermediate Measurement Chamber.

【Flame: See? What would’ve happened if this had been the Beginner Measurement Chamber?】

Leon turned to face Aion. His eyes held a wealth of emotion—curiosity foremost among them.

“I didn’t think there’d be another first-year who knew how to wield magic with this much destructive power. This year’s freshmen… they’re terrifying.”

Aion flinched at those words.

‘…Another?’

That word meant someone else wielded magic with destructive power equal to the Meltdown Aion had just unleashed.

Another freshman, just like him.

【Water Stream: If there are people capable of that… well, there are quite a few.】
【Flame: Even if it were my magic, at the level this bastard displayed, it would’ve been plenty powerful.】
【Earth: Sloppy work though, tsk.】

Just as Aion sat there taking grief for no good reason, as usual.

“Senior Leon, about the damage—since you’re taking responsibility for it, maybe you should tell the administrator that instead of the freshmen… you know…?”

Leon responded to Iris’s words.

“Yeah… though I’ll admit, that’s not the kind of responsibility I had in mind.”
“I understand. I was shocked too. But what I mean is…”

This time it was Iris who circled around Aion with her eyes narrowed to slits.

Tap, tap—

She jabbed at his shoulder and arm as though she’d discovered some rare creature.

“What’s your deal? I heard there are plenty of monsters among this year’s freshmen, just like every other year. But you weren’t on the list of promising candidates I received.”
“We already heard his name a while ago, Iris.”
“I know, but… hmm…”

Marcel picked up where Leon left off.

“Then let me ask instead. What kind of magic is that?”
“Marcel, that’s quite a rude question. Asking a Mage about the principles of their secret art is rather like asking a lady her weight.”
“Tch… I was trying to be subtle about it, but there we are.”

This time he asked in a voice everyone could hear, making a show of whispering only to Aion.

“But… you can tell us your Tier, right?”
“1st Tier.”

Aion’s answer carried to everyone in the room.

“… What?”
“Wow…”
“Hold on…”

Marcel asked, his face flushed with surprise.

“A 1st Tier Mage can output that much destructive power? You’re not lying, are you?”

Leon immediately cut off Marcel’s reckless questioning.

“Enough, Marcel. He doesn’t look like he’s joking.”

His assessment was correct.
Aion’s expression was utterly serene, and there wasn’t a hint of playfulness in it.

Sensing that a barrage of questions was about to continue, Aion turned the tables instead.

He asked about what Bruno had said at the end.

“What did that man Bruno mean by what he said earlier?”

Iris and Marcel waved their hands about in exaggerated panic.

“W-well… that? I… I don’t really know what he meant…?”
“Not at all~! Not at all, not at all! I have no idea, I don’t either. No, I really don’t. Aha, ha, ha, ha!”

All the while, they kept watching Aion’s reaction closely.

Iris fussed with her hair for no reason, and Marcel stared up at the ceiling.
Both were frantically avoiding his gaze.

“You see… we’re not just people who sit around here with nothing better to do…”
“We’re all fairly dedicated to our school life, or so it should be said. At least, that’s what I’d like to think.”

Aion understood at once.
These people were hiding something from him.

Whoosh!

Iris and Marcel turned to stare at Leon.

Leon sighed, then spoke.

“Aion, would you mind if I introduced myself again?”
“……? Leonhardt Kael, isn’t it?”
“Yes, that’s right. Third year, Leonhardt Kael. And….”

The air around him shifted.

“I serve as Student Council President of this Exion Academy of Magic.”
“……What!?”

The person he’d just been speaking with—the Student Council President of Exion, this sprawling magical institution.

“I apologize for not mentioning it sooner. Actually, I was thinking of making you a proposal….”

***

Click.

The moment Aion shut the door to the Temporary Quarters behind him, he collapsed onto the bed.

“Hah….”

As the tension drained away, suppressed pain came flooding back like a tide.

His right arm throbbed as if pierced by a fork.

When he rolled up his sleeve, what appeared was a vein swollen and flushed crimson.

【Flame: Look at the state of that. That’s the price for using Meltdown with an unprepared body.】

Flame’s Extreme Point clicked its tongue.

“…When will I actually be able to use this properly?”

【Flame: Hmm… when did I finish completing Meltdown again…?】

“How long will the side effects last?”

【Flame: In that state, at least a full day. If you used magic again right now, it’d last considerably longer.】

“Then I can’t use it carelessly.”

【Flame: Well, that’s the way of it. Still, there’s no harm in knowing about it in case of emergency.】

Aion opened and closed his fist as he spoke.

“It was incredible power…. I’ve never seen magic like that.”

【Flame: Well, it’s a respectable level for a mage fresh off the boat at Exion.】
【Water Stream: Your standards are too high. I thought it wasn’t bad at all.】
【Flame: Isn’t that just because the Water Stream attribute lacks destructive power?】

Aion rubbed his arm with a wry smile.

【Water Stream: ……You joke harshly. Let me correct myself. By my standards, Meltdown doesn’t even qualify as magic—it’s crude grappling.】
【Earth: Stop bickering, you old fools. It’s unseemly.】

A moment of silence fell.

【Flame: In any case, the Meltdown you deployed in the Arcane Hall is still little more than a novice’s work. Though I’ll grant you didn’t lose consciousness, which shows some promise.】

Flame spoke playfully, yet didn’t forget to impart his wisdom.

【Flame: Aion, hear me well — Meltdown is not a spell to be cast at any time. It has a grave limitation: it requires direct physical contact with your target. Never forget that.】

“…I understand.”

It was a warning from the very one who had created this magic, and I had no choice but to heed it.

Still, I’d gained something new to think about.

‘The Student Council…’

The words Leon had spoken just before I left the Measurement Chamber kept echoing in my mind.

— The Exion Student Council is recruiting new executive members. I’d originally had other candidates in mind, but I thought I might extend an offer to you as well. What do you say? Would you join us?

The Exion Student Council’s executive board.
It was an organization I’d never heard of until now, but my Extreme Points held different views.

【Earth: Well, if we can just siphon off the benefits and slip away whenever we like, there’s nothing inherently wrong with joining the Student Council.】
【Water Stream: I oppose it. The Student Council is hardly idle work. It won’t serve our cultivation well.】
【Thunder: Eehehehe! But you’ll probably end up caught up in some incredible incidents!】
【Water Stream: …True, we’d certainly come into more direct contact with various incidents.】

Magic Way’s voice grew low and measured.

【Magic Way: Whatever the choice, it rests with Aion. We must not forget that Extreme Points are merely your aids.】
【Flame: …Yes, I know that already.】

My gaze hardened.

In truth, my Extreme Points had often discussed this matter in the time since our last deliberation.

There lingered a worry that keeping silent about the future might itself become a worse course.

I still found all of this unfamiliar, and it was difficult to make clear judgments.

And for now, there were more pressing concerns.

‘…First, I need to settle the most urgent matter — my new living quarters.’

Since I hadn’t yet been assigned a new place to stay after the fire, the later problems didn’t feel quite as real.

“Sigh…”

Just then,

Knock, knock—
A knock broke through the silence.

I cleared my thoughts and turned toward the door. There was no one who would seek me out here on personal business. I assumed the matter of my dormitory assignment had been settled.

“Who is it?”
“We’re from the Academic Affairs Office. Is the student Aion Iscar in?”

With that thought, he opened the door.

Standing outside was not the dormitory administrator, but an unfamiliar staff member from the Academic Affairs Office. His expression was rigid as stone.

“This isn’t about dormitory assignments, is it.”
“…No, it’s not.”

The staff member gave a curt denial, avoiding Aion’s gaze.

“It’s a witness inquiry regarding the Fire Incident. I’ll need you to come with me for a moment.”

Aion sensed it immediately.
An early night’s sleep might be difficult after all.

The staff member lowered his voice.

“The matter is quite serious, and there are multiple victims, so the Mage Council Special Inspection Bureau has been engaged and an inspector has been dispatched.”
“…An inspector?”
“If you simply tell us what you know, there shouldn’t be any problems.”

Outside interference in Exion’s affairs.
Aion nodded calmly and followed along.

‘Well, as long as I tell the truth, it should be fine.’

He was led to the 3rd Reception Room in the basement of the Main Building.
In normal circumstances, it would have been a cozy room used for counseling, but now the very air felt different.

Creak—

The moment he passed through the heavy iron door, a chill pricked at his skin.

“Ah, there you are. I’ve been waiting for you, Aion.”

A man sitting askew on the sofa, flipping through documents, spoke.
In his worn long coat and tousled hair, he looked less like a Mage than a hunter.

Thump—!

‘…A dangerous person.’

Aion instinctively recognized that this man was no easy opponent.

And,

Pant, pant….

A massive black dog sitting at the man’s feet. Since the moment Aion entered, it had been watching him with gleaming eyes.

“Ah, do you happen to have a dog allergy?”
“…I don’t.”
“That’s good then.”

As the man stroked the dog’s neck, it lay down.

“Bark, you need to stay calm.”

Tap—

He set down the papers and lifted his gaze.
Despite his gentle eyes, his stare cut through Aion with surgical precision.

“I’m an Inspector with the Mage Council Special Inspection Bureau. The name is Raven.”
“…Aion Iscar.”
“I must say, I didn’t expect to see a scion of the Iscar Family—renowned in the distant north—here at Exion.”
“…You know of the Iscar Family?”
“Know of them? Well, they’re hardly obscure.”

Raven rested his chin on his hand, studying Aion intently.

Tap.

“You’ve guessed why I’m here, I’m sure—it concerns the Fire Incident.”
“……”
“No need to be anxious. I won’t bite. And I intend to avoid heavy-handed methods as much as possible.”

His eyes turned cold.

“Today I’ve called in students who were either involved in the incident or likely witnessed something.”
“Students…plural?”

It seemed Raven had called in more than just Aion.

Just then, a knock sounded again at the reception room door.

Knock, knock.

Raven’s mouth twisted into something like a smile.

“Ah, right on schedule.”

The door opened, and someone stepped through with an expression caught between annoyance and unease.

“……Sigh.”

A deep exhale. Aion caught sight of the newcomer’s face and stifled a wry laugh.

‘…I had a feeling it would be him.’

Pale and drawn, the one who had entered was none other than Kael Pairon.

The Talentless Mage Devours a Calamitous Future — Episode 17

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

UCI
G720:N+A036-20260706063.0017

ⓒ2026, Wang Mozhi

※ This e-book is protected under the copyright laws of the Republic of Korea.
Without permission from the author and publisher, no part or all of this work may be reproduced, adapted, or transformed in any form or manner.

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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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