A Talentless Mage Devours a Disaster-Class Future - Chapter 4

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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 4

Northwest of Exion, an old-fashioned building constructed of deep gray brick.

The Argent Building. Ordinarily, students’ footsteps rarely ventured here.

Today, the Resonance Chamber—where the re-measurement would take place—was housed within its walls.

A heavy silence hung over the space as three professors occupied the dais of the chamber.

The man seated dead center, tapping the table with a measured rhythm, was Alister Thorn—Exion’s admissions director and a professor of the Flame Studies Department.

“So, then.”

Alister Thorn gestured toward the empty seat beside him and spoke.

“The man responsible for this mess won’t even show his face?”

His gaze fell upon a nameplate reading “Kalian de Mare, Professor of Water Flow Studies”—and nothing else.

Ronan, the professor of foundational theory seated nearby, answered with an obsequious smile.

“Ah, well… apparently an urgent consultation came up. Something about Mana Fluctuations during high tide, or so I heard.”
“Hmm. Starts work then runs off to the sea for leisure?”
“Indeed. Truth is, that’s hardly an excuse, is it? He approved the candidate himself, but the moment re-measurement was announced, he tucked tail. Didn’t want to show his face in shame.”

Rodel, the professor of biology, chuckled in agreement.
Both professors were working overtime to match Alister Thorn’s mood.

“Obvious, really. He rammed through an approval to spite the Director, then the moment re-measurement was mentioned, he lost his nerve.”
“Or perhaps there was another motive. The Iscar Family has kept a low profile for years, but the wealth they’ve accumulated is staggering. He might have secured something in exchange for that passing grade.”
“That’s exactly what’s stirred up trouble. Students are already whispering about fraudulent admission.”

Yet contrary to their expectations, Alister Thorn’s response was glacial.

“You two seem to mistake Kalian for some common street thug.”
“Pardon? Ah, no, that’s not what we meant—”
“The man’s stubborn as stone, inflexible as they come—oil and water compared to me, that much is true. But when it comes to magic, he tolerates no compromise. There’s no way he’d orchestrate something like this without absolute conviction.”

Alister Thorn pushed his glasses up and fixed the two professors with a cold, penetrating stare.

“He didn’t run. He’s making a statement—that he has no intention of backing down, so we might as well verify it ourselves. Arrogant, even.”
“Ah…”

A student he himself had failed in the third round.

Ronan glanced sideways at Rodel, who stood beside him, and spoke.

“Well, he’ll find out soon enough when he comes in. Until a few days ago, he barely had any magical power in his body at all, didn’t he? Isn’t that right, Rodel?”

Rodel adjusted her glasses at the question, recalling that moment. The Crystal Orb that hadn’t so much as trembled even when Aion Iscar raised his hand. A Mana reading so faint it was almost embarrassing to call it one.

“…Yes, that’s correct.”

Her voice carried neither particular hope nor denial.

Alister Thorn gestured silently toward the door with his chin.

Creak—

The heavy wooden door swung open, and an assistant’s voice rang through the space.

“Re-measurement candidate, Aion Iscar. Enter.”

From the far end of the dark corridor, Aion Iscar walked in wearing a neat school uniform.
The atmosphere surrounding him was utterly different from when he’d lain in the infirmary days ago.

Alister Thorn’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“Let’s see what all this rumor is about, shall we.”

Aion Iscar soon came to a halt a few paces away from them.

“I am Aion Iscar.”

A terse greeting.
Only then did Alister Thorn raise his head to regard Aion Iscar. The gaze beyond his glasses was sharp as a razor’s edge.

“So you’re Aion.”
“…Yes.”
“…Prove it.”

Alister Thorn unclasp his interlocked hands and gestured forward with his chin.

A transparent Crystal Orb sat upon the raised platform.

Aion Iscar approached the Crystal Orb without hesitation. His face reflected in its transparent surface.

He closed his eyes.

The past three days flashed through his mind. Standing with both feet planted on the earth, he drained every drop of Mana from his body.
Each time the pain of magical exhaustion struck, he gritted his teeth and endured, until the essence flowing up from the earth filled him again.
He repeated this countless times a day.
While listening to the earth’s cursing voice.

Breathe—

Not through his lungs alone, but with his entire being. The sensation of Mana scattered through the air awakening each cell.

【Earth: Yes, like that. Don’t rush.】
【Life: Focus on your breath.】

Aion Iscar briefly centered himself on those voices. The ones who drove him mercilessly during his Quest were different now.

Aion Iscar slowly opened his eyes halfway and raised his right hand, placing it above the Crystal Orb.

“Beginning now.”

Tap.

His palm made contact with the cold surface of the Crystal Orb.

Whine—

Hum…

Only a faint light flickered at the core of the Crystal Orb; it did not blaze forth.
A trembling, precarious glow.

A smirk began to frost over Ronan’s and Rodel’s lips.

“There, you see. Just as expected….”
“There is a Mana reaction, but at this level, it’s only marginally better than an ordinary person.”

Aion Iscar’s brow tightened.
Something was wrong. Mana was flowing from his fingertips—he could feel it—yet the Crystal Orb’s response remained coldly indifferent.
As if the Mana poured in but could not escape.

‘Why?’

With the Mana he’d accumulated over the past three days through Grounding, illuminating the Crystal Orb should have been effortless.

【Flame: The more you panic, you fool, the more unstable your flow becomes.】

Aion let those words pass through unheeded.

Whether the fault lay with the Crystal Orb or with himself, there was only one thing he could do now.

“Then, I’ll stop—”

Professor Ronan was waving his hand to cut him off when—

Professor Alister Thorn raised a hand slightly. Ronan’s mouth shut at once.

Aion clenched his teeth.

The answer was clear. Push harder.

“Ugh….”

He drew in a deep breath.
He wrung out the Mana scattered across his veins and cells, pouring it all into one palm.

Whine…

In that instant,

Crack-pop!

The Crystal Orb erupted in response.

Brilliant flash!

“Agh!”

A blinding white light devoured the space. Impossibly bright.

“Ugh…?”
“The light….”

Two professors furrowed their brows and raised their hands to shield their eyes.
Only Alister Thorn stood motionless, the intense light reflecting off his glasses, his gaze unwavering.

A moment later, as Aion Iscar lowered his hand, the light faded.

A heavy silence settled over the room.
Ronan and the other professor exchanged bewildered glances, waiting for someone to speak.

It was Thorn who broke the silence.

“Assistant, you work under Professor Ronan?”

His voice was calmly detached, almost chilling.

“Yes? …Yes, sir!”

The assistant, who had been standing back, startled at the question and answered hastily.

“Check the Crystal Orb’s resonance reading.”
“……Yes?”
“The light was too bright. Check it.”
“Ah, understood!”

The assistant fumbled with the Mana Calibration Device. Moments later, his face went ashen.

“Wait, that’s… Why…?”
“…It’s misaligned, isn’t it?”
“It’s… that is…”

The assistant fell silent, frozen. Ronan quickly interjected.

“Professor Alister, sir? This young man hasn’t slept because of the research, so there may have been some carelessness.”
“I see. And thanks to that carelessness, an innocent Exion student nearly left for home a cripple.”
“That’s…”

At Alister’s tone, Ronan fell silent.

“What were you doing, not even checking properly?”

Under Alister’s rebuke, the assistant bowed his head.

“I’m… I’m sorry! I was checking the equipment this morning and failed to restore it properly…!”
“…Tch.”

Alister clicked his tongue and turned his gaze downward, looking at Aion Iscar.

A boy who didn’t even know the Crystal Orb was broken. A boy who pushed through to the end. And managed to draw out the light anyway.

“…This is precisely why I dislike newcomers at this time of year.”

He murmured in a very cold voice.

“All this fuss. And rumors about this and that.”
“Pr… Professor? Then, this student…?”
“He’s an Exion student.”

Tap.

Alister Thorn covered the documents.

“It’s still only the first steps, but if you walk that path steadily from here on, it will do.”

Scrape.

The sound of the chair sliding backward echoed louder than it should have. He turned without hesitation.

“Off with you. Wasted enough time as it is.”

He paused.

“Ah, one more thing.”

Alister Thorn turned and pulled something from his breast pocket.

A small brooch gleaming silver.
He held it lightly to the Crystal Orb.

Ring.

With a clear resonant tone, Aion Iscar’s Mana Wave was recorded onto the brooch.

Whisk.

He tossed the brooch with casual indifference.

“Catch.”

Aion Iscar caught the flying object.
It was a silver brooch engraved with five stars—the emblem of Exion.

“A brooch that proves your standing as a student. Fortunate I prepared it in advance.”
“…Thank you.”
“Save your thanks for later. With your current ability, you wouldn’t graduate even if you died and came back to life.”

With that, Alister Thorn left the Resonance Chamber without so much as a backward glance.

“Ahem, ahem…”
“Well then…”

The remaining two professors cleared their throats and hastily followed after him.
Rodel was the last to leave her seat.
Just before stepping out the door, she stopped.

Click.

Rodel straightened her glasses and turned slowly. Her gaze lingered on Aion Iscar for a moment.
A student who had foreseen the impossible and then shattered that very prophecy before her eyes.

“Remarkable. My prediction has been overturned.”

She adjusted her glasses once more. It was a professional habit.
But in this moment, that small gesture seemed less a habit than an attempt to conceal her feelings.

“You have proven yourself.”

That was the end of it.
Rodel did not look at Aion again. She turned away, closed the door quietly, and left.

Tap—

Her footsteps faded down the corridor.

A moment later, Aion stepped slowly into the hallway.

The cold metal felt smooth in his palm. A silver brooch etched with the emblem of Exion.

Aion gazed at it for a long time.

Three days ago, he’d nearly been cast out from this place. Now he held this in his hand.

It was only a small piece of metal, but its weight was not light.

He carefully pinned the brooch to his academy robes.

‘This time… this is really the beginning.’

【Flame: …We’re alive. Bloody hell. I really thought we’d failed….】
【Life: My, weren’t you full of confidence just moments ago?】
【Flame: …That was just talk.】

Right then, as if waiting for its cue, Yggdrasil’s notification chimed.

Ding—!

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
[!] Quest completed.
[!] Rewards issued……
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

The Talentless Mage Swallows a Catastrophic Future – Episode 4

Author
Wang Mochi
Publisher
Daon Creative
Planning / Editorial / Production
Yeon
Cover
Dali

UCI
G720:N+A036-20260706063.0004

ⓒ2026, Wang Mochi

※ This electronic book is protected under the Copyright Law of the Republic of Korea.
No part or all 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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