A Talentless Mage Devours a Disaster-Class Future - Chapter 2

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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 2

【When is this fool going to wake up?】
【If I’d known that earlier, I wouldn’t have entered this bastard’s head in the first place.】

Flutter—

Aion’s eyes opened.

He stared blankly at the ceiling. Some lingering effect of the concussion, perhaps. A hollow laugh escaped him as he muttered to himself.

“…Have I got some malevolent spirit lodged in my skull?”

【Oh, he’s awake? But doesn’t this idiot grasp the situation? We’re malevolent spirits?】
【Malevolent spirits? Hehehehe! Do I look like a malevolent spirit to you? Maybe a demon, but! Hohohohoho!】

Voices clanged inside his head with deafening force. Aion pressed his throbbing temples. The sensation was so vivid that reality itself seemed to slip away.

“I’ve lost my mind. Or maybe I’m dead.”

【Don’t be absurd. This is the Medical Wing of Excion, and fortunately, you’re alive.】
【To be precise, by some miracle you weren’t badly injured—discharge is possible soon.】
【Sure, we understand why our voices strike you as strange… but this is reality, fool.】

‘Reality? These voices?’

Aion tried to force his upper body upright but collapsed back down with a cry.

“Ugh….”

Sharp pain lanced down his spine. Right—this isn’t a dream. It hurts too damned much to be.

【Stop moving, at least for today.】

“…I have no intention of heeding a malevolent spirit’s advice.”

【Malevolent spirit? We’re telling you—we’re you from fifty years in the future. And we’re mages who’ve reached the pinnacle of our craft.】

‘Shameless bastards, the lot of them.’

Aion paused to consider. Me, fifty years hence? And multiple Archmages at that? It was a scenario he’d never once imagined in his life.

Yet something about it—something he couldn’t quite dismiss outright—felt wrong.

“If I haven’t lost my mind….”

Aion drew a deep breath and shook his head.

“Explain everything about yourselves.”

A gravelly voice answered as if it had been waiting all along.

【Finally showing a willingness to listen. Simple enough. We are all Aion Iscar—you—but each of us hails from a different future.】

“Me from a different future… This is madness. And I’m supposed to believe this….”

Belief did not come easily; yet the conversation unfolded with such vivid clarity that at least one thing seemed certain: these beings existed in his mind right now.

“…Why did you come to my world? Or rather, why did you come to me?”

【To prevent the End.】

“……The End?”

【Yes. Our worlds faced Calamity in the future, and each took a different form.】
【In mine, a massive sun rose in the sky!】
【A terrible plague brought our world to ruin.】
【Hee-hee-hee-hee! A madman tore our world asunder!】

Voices tumbled over one another, clamoring to be heard.
Information about the Calamities each had faced poured in, yet none of it seemed to reach Aion.

“……What—?”

【Enough. Babbling like this won’t help Aion understand anything. Let me speak for us.】

Mercifully, one voice rose above the rest, silencing the others.

【In any case, we made a decision. We would return to the distant past before the Calamity could claim our worlds.】

“…And this is where you ended up?”

【Precisely. The problem is—】

The calm voice paused. Something about the hesitation betrayed genuine discomfort.

【All eight of us performed Temporal Reversal simultaneously, with no margin for error whatsoever.】

“……What do you mean?”

【Everything went wrong. Our souls became tangled, and we returned to the past together. Before we could escape that state, we were consumed by you.】

Eight different futures that had reversed through time.
Aion bore the throbbing ache in his back as he turned the words over in his mind.

“…Why did you enter my body?”

【To be precise, we were swallowed. Put simply, your soul and ours are not so different. But you were empty, so your soul yearned to fill itself with something.】

“…Are you saying my soul devoured all of you?”

【Yes, though we were half-willing participants in that as well.】

“…I don’t need you. Is there no way to send you back?”

The question might have seemed rude, but the voice replied with no hint of offense.

【It’s possible. But Temporal Reversal consumes an enormous amount of Mana. We all wagered our worlds’ fates to return to the past—if we go back empty-handed, it’s the same as abandoning our worlds.】

The long explanation ended. Aion stared blankly at the ceiling.

So future versions of himself, having come back to save their worlds, had encountered some complication and been swallowed by him.

It was a story no one could easily believe.

Then Aion remembered something.

“But that Temporal Reversal—isn’t it not something you can just use freely?”

【…….】

Even if Aion had yet to become a true Mage, he was not ignorant of this fact.

After all, Time Magic was forbidden.

“Time Magic is a forbidden art managed by the Clock Tower, isn’t it? And there are precious few Mages in the world who can even use it….”

【Which means we were among those precious few.】

“……That can’t be right.”

Aion couldn’t believe it.
If these voices were indeed countless versions of his future self, then they would surely know his present circumstances as well.

“If you’re my future selves, then you’d know what kind of talent I possess, wouldn’t you?”

【Hehehehe! We do know! It’s garbage!】

“…….”

They answered without hesitation.

【Your talent is mediocre, and you have no mentor to guide you. We couldn’t fail to know—we’ve all walked similar paths, regardless of how our threads diverged.】

“Then why are you saying that you were able to use Temporal Reversal?”

A deficient version of himself, using a forbidden art that even Grand Mages dared not approach?

Every version of his future self that had come to this place?

【Because we reached it nonetheless.】

One of them spoke with solemn resolve.

【The End of Principle.】

“…What are you talking about?”

The words would not come clear to him.

“The End of Principle….”

Aion tilted his head in confusion and steered the conversation elsewhere.

“I’m not sure what you mean. But if I change my present, will your future change as well?”

【To be precise: we don’t know.】

“Then why did you come back to the past?”

The voice fell silent for a moment before answering.

【…Because if even the slimmest possibility existed, we had to stake everything on it.】

“…….”

Aion furrowed his brow for a long time in thought before reaching his conclusion.

“No matter how I think about it, I can’t see any reason I should fit in with all of you.”

The moment he spoke, several voices erupted from nowhere.

【Oh, come on.】
【He’s not listening to a word we’re saying!】
【Who just said that? All you’re doing is making this brat even more stubborn!】

***

For a long time after, the voices showed no sign of ceasing their relentless barrage.

“Look, could you all just keep it down a little?”

Aion groaned, muttering the words through gritted teeth.

【We’ll make noise until you accept our will!】

With his body already in such poor condition, the unwanted voices were only adding to his stress, his head throbbing near the point of splitting.

Then,

Knock, knock.

A tentative knock broke the silence.

The moment the sound came, the murmuring voices cut off completely.

“Ah…”

Aion caught his breath, his eyes shifting toward the door.

Click—

The door opened, and the woman who entered wore the uniform of Excion’s Admissions Office—a mage by trade.

Her name badge read Rodel Franco.

She was a beautiful woman, though her glasses seemed small for the size of her eyes.

“Aion, how are you feeling?”
“I’m fine. …What brings you here?”

She gave him a brief, measuring look before speaking with businesslike coldness.

“I have something to convey to you.”

Her expression remained impassive as she regarded him, utterly professional.

“I’m afraid the news isn’t pleasant, and I regret having to deliver it under these circumstances.”
“…What do you mean?”

Tap.

Rodel adjusted her glasses, then withdrew a single piece of parchment from her coat and set it quietly on the small table beside his bed.

The largest text written on the parchment read:

『Reconsideration of Admission and Recommendation of Withdrawal.』

What…!

Aion’s heart sank.

“This incident has drawn far more attention than necessary—from the students and faculty alike.”
“…I see.”

Saving someone had become a problem?
As that question filled his mind—

“Among them, talk has spread that your Mana Attunement ability and Mana reserves fall considerably short of Excion’s standards.”
“……!”

Aion realized Rodel hadn’t come because of the Baikon rampage incident.

She was here because of what had happened during the identity registration process.

A soft clink.

This time she withdrew a Crystal Sphere.

“Place your hand on this Crystal Sphere.”

Her voice remained coolly composed throughout.

Aion slowly pressed his hand against the Crystal Sphere she produced.

“…….”

Nothing. No response whatsoever.
Not the slightest change occurred.

A quiet tap.

Rodel adjusted her glasses once more.

“To put it bluntly, your current Mana sensitivity is below even that of an ordinary person—let alone a Mage.”

It was utterly absurd.
Already admitted to Excion, yet his qualifications were being questioned.

“…And what are you suggesting I do about this?”
“I commend your courage in trying to help someone. But Excion speaks in results. If you cannot even pass something this straightforward, becoming a Mage would be so difficult as to scarcely bear imagining.”

Rodel’s gaze wavered, as though she found this uncomfortable.

“And now, unfavorable rumors have begun to spread.”
“…Unfavorable rumors?”

Much had happened while Aion slept, it seemed.

“Talk is circulating that the Iscar Family donated a substantial sum and pushed through their under-qualified second son.”
“…That’s absolutely preposterous!”
“I know. But what matters is that people don’t see it that way.”

Rodel met his eyes directly, then continued.

“This rests entirely on you. If you cannot prove yourself, you cannot dispel their suspicions. As you know, over half of Excion is composed of narrow-minded nobility.”
“Are you telling me to reconsider my admission?”
“We can process the acceptance as a system error. That way, at least, the honor of the Iscar Family can be preserved. This is the last consideration we can offer you.”

Consideration.

The word carved into Aion’s chest.
He couldn’t even summon anger. His opponent was relentlessly rational, unfailingly courteous, and genuinely concerned for his wellbeing.

Which only made Aion feel more diminished.

‘Is it my weakness…?’

Tremble…

His trembling hands gripped the sheet. If he said yes now and fled, it would be over.

“…A chance.”

Aion forced the words out through clenched teeth.

“I want a chance to prove myself again.”
“…….”
“Right now my body’s condition is poor because of the accident. If you just give me time to recover, I’ll prove it somehow.”

He met Rodel’s gaze directly as he spoke.

“That I’m not a lacking student at Excion.”

Rodel glanced out the window for a moment, then replied.

“Must you go to such lengths?”
“I will… prove it. Without fail.”

Seeing Aion’s resolute expression, Rodel spoke.

“I’ll conduct a reassessment in three days. I’ll notify you of the details separately.”
“……!!”

She turned to leave the room, driving her point home with perfect courtesy until the very end.

“Aion, I’ll grant your request, but I do hope you’ll conduct yourself with more maturity when the time comes.”

Click—

The door closed. Heavy silence reclaimed the hospital room.

Then the entities held silent in his mind began to murmur.

【…Completely ruined, aren’t you?】
【The air’s suffocating…】
【Um… anyone else had a similar experience around this time?】
【…Doesn’t seem like it.】
【…Ha.】

A hollow laugh as if to say what a fool he was.

Squeeze…

Aion bit his lip. The metallic taste of blood bloomed against his tongue.

Rage consumed him.

So tangled in a deep swamp was he that even his thrashing came to nothing.

【Interesting situation this is. Though it’s not as though one must graduate from Excion to become a mage.】
【But the path will only grow more treacherous from here.】

A voice emerged—one that might belong to the most calculating among them.

【Aion. In the original timeline, you were meant to slip quietly through the entrance ceremony. But because you drew attention by saving someone, the future changed.】

“Are you saying that… saving someone was wrong?”

Aion muttered in a tight voice.

【Virtue is noble. But virtue without power always brings danger in its wake.】

Those words cut through Aion’s chest like a blade. He’d once believed the same thing himself.

That if one lacked power, one had to be careful even in doing good.

“…Damn it all.”

Frustration consumed Aion, and the words spilled out.

“In three days, there’s no way to illuminate that Crystal Sphere…”

There isn’t.

【Is that really true!?】
【Hehehehe! Of course it’s a lie!】
【No matter what we teach him, there’s no way to change his fundamental capacity in three days.】

【That bastard!】
【Speaks in such an irritating way.】

【If you accept this contract, we shall aid you. Not merely in this matter, but in all the horrors that lie ahead.】

“……!”

Such a tempting proposal.
Yet there would be a price.

“…What is the price?”

【You, in turn, must aid us.】

Aion lifted his head. Venom gleamed in his eyes as they fixed upon the empty air.

The voice echoing in his mind felt like a demon’s honeyed temptation.

“…How could someone as inadequate as I am help the likes of you?”

【You are unremarkable now, yet we believe in your potential.】

We believe in your potential.
Those words lent certainty to Aion’s decision.

“…I accept the contract.”

A moment of silence―

【…Excellent.】

In that instant, terrible agony seized him.

Rrrip!

“Gh—what…!?”

Without warning, his skull felt as though it were splitting apart. Like his brain’s every fold was being forcibly flattened to make room for something new.

“Ghhhhh…!”

Crackle!

Red sparks burst across Aion’s vision, and geometric patterns materialized in the empty space before him.

Whine-whine-whine!

“What is this….”

【What binds us now is my final invention, wrought at the culmination of magical study.】

Whine!

【The Ultimate Magical Device—Yggdrasil.】

Against all reason, text continued to materialize in the air.

『Ultimate Magical Device Yggdrasil—Activation.』
『Commencing Soul Synchronization with user.』
『Progress: 10%… 50%…』
『Soul Synchronization in progress….』

“Haah… haah….”

Before Aion’s eyes, gasping for breath, a vision far more refined than anything before took shape.

【We shall make you a Mage.】

From this moment on, they would share a common fate.

The Talentless Mage Swallows a Calamity-Grade Future Episode 2

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

UCI
G720:N+A036-20260706063.0002

© 2026, Wang Mozhi

※ This electronic book is a work protected by 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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