A Talentless Mage Devours a Disaster-Class Future - Chapter 28

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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 28

Aion’s life now hung by a thread in the grip of an unknown elf.

【Flame: Aion… don’t move carelessly.】
【Earth: This one is formidable. Who in the world is she?】
【Water: She is not someone you can resist. Any effort would be futile—do not provoke her.】

Aion wanted to argue back against their warning.
A moment ago, he had felt killing intent radiating from that elf.

Real killing intent. Unmistakable.

Yet the Extrema Points, perhaps because they were not the targets, showed little sign of alarm.

【Flame: …True enough. She doesn’t seem intent on harming you, at least.】

“…Soul fragmentation? No, is it a curse?”

The Elf Mage’s murmur—she studied Aion as though she were not looking at him at all, her eyes distant and appraising.

Her gaze swept over him. Top to bottom, bottom to top. Like a scholar examining some rare specimen.

Then her eyes grew dull, as if the entire affair had suddenly become tedious.

“Never mind.”

She turned away, shuffling slowly toward an armchair.

Thump.

She sank deep into the seat, and without looking at Aion, she spoke.

“Boy. Didn’t Rowell ask you to deliver a message to me?”
“…Yes, ma’am. I was given a letter.”

Aion drew out the letter he had received from Professor Rowell.

Whisper.

In that instant, the letter slipped from his grasp.

‘What—?’

It was as though a gentle breeze had passed through. In the blink of an eye, the letter lay upon the Elf Mage’s hand.

Snap.

She unfolded the letter. Her expression never changed as she read.

Then she gave her hand a casual flick.

Whoosh!

The letter ignited, reduced to ash.

“He certainly ran on about not killing you. Shameless old fool.”

She gazed at the flames dancing in the fireplace and spoke.

“Among your household duties, is there anything you can actually do?”

One day a week.
Just for a few hours, and only to attend to the needs of whoever stayed here—that was the substance of the contract Rowell had proposed.

Of course, Aion had never imagined the owner of this cabin would be quite so unpredictable.

Still, Aion had no intention of breaking the contract. Rowell had made clear it would benefit them both.

“Most things are possible.”

Now that Aion knew there would be no assassination attempts, the figure before him was no longer a homicidal maniac—merely an enigmatic grand mage.

The Elf Mage let out a scoff.

“Most things?”

She flicked her chin and made a dismissive gesture with one hand.

“Then go ahead and show me.”

Chime!

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
[!] A new Quest has been issued.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
『Quest: First Visit』
― 『Quest Summary: As per your contract with Rowell, assist the inhabitant of the dwelling in the north of Mistveil Forest. One day a week, just a few hours—that will suffice.』
― 『Objectives: Complete the simmering Stew, organize scattered objects in the first-floor living room (0/2)』
― 『Reward: Perception +2』
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

“…Did you hear a sound just now?”

The Elf Mage tilted her head, still gazing toward the fireplace.

“…!?”
“Strange. I could have sworn I heard something.”

She fell silent for a moment, then shook her head.

“Never mind, then.”

Aion surveyed the living room.

Despite the initial impression of coziness, a closer look revealed chaos in every direction.

Books lay open or stacked haphazardly everywhere, and objects on the shelves tilted as if they’d lost their proper places.
In one corner of the floor, an unidentifiable heap of herbs had accumulated thick and high.

‘So I’m meant to organize all of this.’

Aion quietly rolled up his sleeves.

First, the floor.
He closed the books that lay spread open one by one, checked their titles, and stacked them carefully.
Some bore worn covers; others showed clear signs of being left mid-read.

Tap, tap—

Once the stacks of books were organized, it was time for the medicinal herbs. The bundled ones she kept together, and the scattered loose ones she gathered by type and arranged on one section of the shelf.

The items on the shelf proved more troublesome.
There was no way to know what belonged where. Aion simply righted what had fallen and spread out the things that had shifted to one side, evening them across the surface.

Thud, thud—

After dusting everything off, he surveyed the common room. It looked considerably better than before.

It hadn’t taken long. Physical labor was no stranger to Aion.

Now he moved toward the hearth. As he lifted the pot lid, the aroma of stew rose up.

He ladled out a small portion into a bowl and tasted it.

‘…Plain water. Didn’t she season it at all?’

The stew had no seasoning whatsoever. The ingredients were properly included, and it had clearly simmered long enough.
But there was no trace of salt or even a whisper of spice having touched it.

Aion rummaged through the shelf.

Click—

Salt, pepper, and a few spices were shoved into a corner. Dust had accumulated, suggesting they hadn’t been touched in ages.

He added them in gradually, adjusting the seasoning carefully.

Stir, stir—

He tasted the stew again as he stirred.

Blow—

‘This will do.’

Soon after, Aion poured the finished stew into a bowl.

“It’s ready.”

The Elf Mage was still gazing at the fireplace.

“…Where do you take your meals?”
“There.”

Following her gaze, he spotted a small dining table. Aion set the bowl down upon it.

The Elf Mage rose slowly from her seat and made her way toward the table.

Clink—

She picked up a spoon.

One spoonful.

…

Two spoonfuls.

“…….”

Her face remained perfectly still.
Yet the speed at which she brought the spoon to her mouth had quickened slightly from before.

Then she lifted her head.

“Idiot. I’m an Elf.”

She spoke while holding the spoon, her tone not particularly reproachful.

“Did you not know that Elves don’t season their food?”

Aion answered without hesitation.

“I understand that Elves who dwell among their kin in the forest prefer a different palette than one who has left the fold—those who walk alone tend to develop a taste for more worldly flavors.”

Her spoon stilled for a moment.

“…Are you calling me a loner?”
“Am I mistaken?”
“……Want me to punch a hole through your head?”

Her words carried none of the Killing Intent from before.

“In any case, it was a needless gesture.”

Clink—

She picked up the spoon again.

“Where did you hear that?”
“From a former colleague. She was an Elf.”

Pause—

“……A colleague?”
“Yes.”

She studied Aion for a moment—or rather, the wall in the direction where he stood.

“Did you work as a mercenary before coming here?”
“……Something like that.”

A brief silence fell between them.

After a few more spoonfuls, she pushed the bowl and spoon away.

“I’m full. Clean it up.”

Aion took the bowl and turned toward the kitchen.

From behind him, a voice came—faint as a whisper.

“……Well, I suppose he’s not entirely useless after all.”

Ding—!

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
[!] Quest complete.
[!] Reward granted: Perception +2
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

“…What was that sound just now?”

She murmured to herself.

“An illusion?”

***

Aion stepped through the cabin door.

Creak—

Cold forest air swept across his face again. Crows still perched on the branches, their eyes tracking his every movement.

Once he’d put sufficient distance between himself and the cabin, Aion spoke.

“Does anyone know who that elf mage inside the cabin is?”

Silence stretched between them.

【Water : Well… elf mages are inherently rare. Could she be one of the Golden Council’s members?】
【Life : If she belonged to the Golden Council, she wouldn’t be living in seclusion like this. They’re known to always move together.】
【Water : And she doesn’t seem to be Falter of Collapse either. Falter is known to be a male elf.】
【Earth : …Mother?】
【Life : If she were Mother Moriart, Aion would be dead before he could even have a conversation with her.】

The Extrema Points’ speculation dissolved into dead ends.
The conclusion was that Aion would have to discover the elf mage’s identity himself.

‘Since I’ll be coming here often from now on…’

If they kept meeting, eventually they’d exchange names one way or another.
It was merely personal curiosity, so Aion quickly turned his attention away from the cabin’s inhabitant.

There was a more pressing matter at hand.

His footsteps carried him directly to the Arcane Hall.

Not only was it where magical aptitude measurements were conducted, but it was also where he’d encountered the student council members before.

Familiar faces were already there.
Darren was one of them.

“Y-you m-made it?”

He raised a hand in greeting at the sight of Aion.

And Vera.

She sat with a bear puppet resting on her lap, watching Aion’s approach.

The puppet’s mouth moved.

“At least you’re not late. Unlike some people.”

Cassius was nowhere to be seen.

“Has Cassius not arrived yet?”

Just then, the front doors of the Arcane Hall swung open.

“Hahahaha! Have you found the protagonist? Right here, you say! Cassius has arrived in this place!”

It was Cassius. He strode in confidently, golden hair cascading past his shoulders, both arms spread wide.

Today too he wore nothing but his undergarments—half-naked as always. Yet the traces of disciplined training were evident across his physique, which only made the sight more ironic.

Cassius turned his gaze toward Aion.

“How is it progressing?”
“…Progressing with what?”
“Calling forth another Knight of this kingdom, naturally.”
“Ah.”

Having Aria participate in the Bosco battle evaluation.

“Well, I’m working on it. Won’t be easy, though.”

Cassius laughed.

“I believe in you.”

Vera’s puppet lifted its head.

“What if Aria doesn’t come? How are we supposed to fight without her?”
“That’s a matter requiring strategic consideration. We each have our roles to play, after all.”

Cassius spoke, arms crossed.

“The Knight attacks, the Rook defends. I, the King, can do both. Still, I have good news for you all.”
“Good news?”
“That I, Cassius, am an extraordinarily powerful mage! I do hope this fact brings you some measure of comfort!”

Vera’s bear puppet waved dismissively.

“That’s hardly reassuring.”
“Ha! Let’s not sweat the small stuff!”
“It’s not small stuff. What in the world has become of this kingdom?”

Despite Vera’s complaints, Cassius merely laughed, and the group made their way together to the Measurement Room.

The Measurement Room was somewhat larger than the one Aion had used before.
It seemed Cassius had reserved it well in advance.

The fallen king of the kingdom stood with folded arms, surveying his teammates.

“Now then, we must establish our roles clearly. Today is a time for us to learn what magic each of us can wield.”

Nod.

“Right. So, Darren—what can you do?”
“I-i-i-in the W-w-water d-d-defense magic. A-a-actually, that’s all I… I c-c-can do.”
“Excelling at one thing is virtue enough. Show us, then.”
“O-o-okay.”

Darren spread his feet to assume a stance, then extended both arms toward the front.

“W-w-w-w-w-water Wall!”

Water Wall

Whoooosh―!

In an instant, a barrier of waves surged up from the ground.

“Excellent! Quite a considerable level of….”

Whoosh!
…Whoooosh!

“…you didn’t need to show quite so much, though.”

“I-i-i-i-i-it j-j-just….”

Vera’s Bear Puppet spoke.

“Is the stutter causing multiple spellcasts to trigger?”
“Y-y-y-yes.”
“…At this rate, your mana will run dry in no time.”

“Y-y-y-yes, th-that’s…”

Cassius chose to take it in stride.

“Ha ha ha! That’s just something to polish over time! We’ve still got three weeks!”
“Y-y-yes!”

He turned his attention to Vera.

“And you?”

Vera’s puppet opened its mouth slowly.

“I’ll show you.”

Vera set her Bear Puppet down on the ground.

Squelch―

The bear’s body began to swell and expand.

“Grow, Teddy.”

Swelling Guardian.

Squelch-squelch-squelch―

The bear puppet had already grown to at least three meters tall.

“Perfect! How large can it become?”
“If I’m only controlling one, it’ll reach the ceiling here. If I’m managing multiple, it gets cut in half.”
“Splendid. Now show me a defensive spell.”

A brief silence fell.

“…What about this?”
“……?”
“Both the attack and defense… Teddy is handling it.”

Cassius’s eyes flickered slightly. But he quickly regained his composure.
Aion saw the sweat trailing down his temples.

“…Ha ha ha! Of course it was a joke. That was excellent. Not without its flaws, but… yes, we still have three weeks left.”

Now, it was Aion’s turn.

“Aion, truthfully your role is the most ambiguous. Whether you’ll be a Rook or a Knight….”
“I haven’t learned defensive magic yet.”
“Is that so? I suppose so. Blast it… only three weeks left!”

Darren and Vera exchanged glances and whispered to each other.

“Cassius, isn’t it a bit odd how harsh you’re being only to Aion?”
“Your t-true thoughts s-slipped out, C-Cassius….”

Cassius spoke to Aion.

“Hmm… I lost my composure for a moment there. Sigh, is offense all I know? Well… let me see what you can do first.”

He didn’t even look at Aion, only stared down at the ground and spoke with a sigh in his voice.

“But I’m not expecting much.”

Aion stepped forward slowly and spoke to Cassius.

“Step back.”
“Eh…?”

Cassius took a few steps backward, then asked.

“Is this enough?”
“More.”
“Hm hm….”

He started to take a few more steps back but ended up putting nearly ten paces between them.
Still, he remained ahead of the other two team members.

“Is this enough now?”

Aion measured the distance between the target and Cassius, then spoke.

“More.”

The Talentless Mage Swallows a Calamitous Future — Chapter 28

Author
Wangmozzi
Publisher
Daon Creative
Planning / Editing / Production
Yeon
Cover Design
Dalli

UCI
G720:N+A036-20260706063.0028

© 2026, Wang Mozhi

※ This electronic book is a copyrighted work protected by the Copyright Law of the Republic of Korea.
Without the permission of the author and publisher, no part or whole of this work may be reproduced or adapted in any form.

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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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