A Talentless Mage Devours a Disaster-Class Future - Chapter 40

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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 40

A private room in the Exion Medical Wing, where the faint scent of disinfectant hung in the air.

Two beds stood side by side in the chamber, and upon them lay two unidentifiable cocoons.

Two figures swaddled from head to toe in pristine white bandages.
With only their eyes and mouths left exposed in neat circles, they resembled perfect mummies.

“…I understand why you’re wrapped up, but why do I have to be like this?”
“To maximize the effects of Healing Magic.”
“Damn it. This is suffocating. I can’t stand it.”
“Then you’ll have to be discharged tomorrow.”
“Now that I think about it, it’s not suffocating—it’s actually quite comfortable. …Blast it all.”

Click.

Just then, the door to the hospital room opened cautiously, and a male student entered carrying a Premium Fruit Basket.

“Is it this one?”

He was one of the group who hung around Kael, always eyeing Aion with disdain.

“Kael! Are you doing all right?”

The student made a fuss, settling down beside Aion’s bed.

“What happened? I heard you got tangled up with that smelly bumpkin from the Northern Region? So… you finally couldn’t take it anymore and gave him a good beating, right? Huh?”
“…….”
“That’s what I thought. He was way out of line, wasn’t he? We’ve been waiting for any excuse to put him in his place. But how did you end up getting hurt like this?”

Just then, a voice came from the opposite bed.

“…You’re looking at the wrong one, you fool.”
“Huh…?”

Sweat began pouring from the student’s forehead like rain.

“…So this person is…?”
“The smelly bumpkin from the Northern Region you mentioned.”
“…….”

The two mummies’ physiques and the way their bandages were wrapped were so nearly identical that it was impossible to tell them apart—which was precisely how this confusion had come about.

“Ah… so it was here. Yes, this one’s got such obvious grace about him—this must be it.”
“What a keen eye you have. Don’t talk nonsense. Put down that basket and get out. We’ll talk later.”
“Right, right. You both look like you’re in real pain. I’ll let the others know.”

The student hastily set the Premium Fruit Basket on the table and fled the room.

Bang—the door shut, and an odd silence settled over the hospital room.

“…….”
“…….”

It was Kael who broke the silence first.

“You don’t smell.”
“…….”
“I’ve confirmed it this time.”
“Well, that’s a relief.”
“I mean… there are hardly any mages from the Northern Region, so it’s just a common assumption people make.”
“A common assumption….”

That couldn’t be right.
It was the sort of statement only a vicious group would voice.

“…that’s quite a leap, admittedly. Curse it all, I’ll have to watch my tongue going forward.”
“There’s no need. No one could have foreseen things turning out this way.”

A peculiar situation indeed.
That Kael and Aion, who had done nothing but snarl at each other, would find themselves united by a shared threat to their lives.

And that this unity would be what pulled them both back from the brink of death.

Click—

Just then, the sound of a door opening reached them once more.

“Ah, there you are. My goodness… looking at your condition, you’ve all taken quite a beating, haven’t you?”

This man was unfamiliar to both Aion and Kael. The woman beside him appeared to be his assistant, and another figure looked like someone from the administrative office.

“Ah, I see you don’t know who I am. I’m Haber, the senior researcher overseeing the entire Breeding Grounds at Exion.”
“…….”

His introduction seemed truthful enough.
The man who looked like an administrative official stammered awkwardly, which confirmed it.

“Sir Haber… these students are still in recovery, and discussing the incident might place them under undue strain….”
“Strain? Ooh, I see. Don’t you worry. I have absolutely no intention of saying anything burdensome.”
“…Yes? Then…?”

Haber stood in the center of the ward and spoke.

“I must say, I’ve been profoundly impressed by these two students.”
“……Yes?”

His eyes gleamed with a deep reverence directed at the two figures lying side by side on the beds.

“Two first-year students, having been here less than a month, single-handedly vanquishing that savage Salamander!”
“Well… according to the account of events, they didn’t enter the Breeding Grounds with any improper intentions….”
“Intentions? What does that matter? The monsters in the Breeding Grounds are destined to serve as teaching specimens for future mages. The Salamander is typically used for second-year students in their final semester.”

Haber showed no particular attachment to the monsters themselves.

“Still, there is the matter of financial loss….”
“There is no loss. Mages are absolute. And when a talented mage’s future has gained nourishment from such a thing, Exion must accept such trivial losses without complaint.”

He understood that the cost of training a single mage far exceeded what it had taken to train a Knight during the old age of steel.

“In that sense, any damages resulting from this incident are hereby waived in full. I’m confirming this here by my authority as senior researcher.”
“…Thank you.”

It was a concern that weighed on both Aion and Kael alike.
Though their respective families possessed wealth substantial enough that calling them anything less than magnates would feel strange, having family involvement in such a private matter was hardly an appealing prospect.

“I’ve heard this year’s first-year cohort consists of the finest talents in Exion’s history, and it seems the rumors were no exaggeration. Truly monstrous ability.”

Thunk—

He set two Premium Recovery Potions carefully on the table before continuing.

“I hope these aid in your recovery. A Salamander, well—they’re common enough in the Southern Volcanic Region. So please, both of you, rest well and make a swift return to health.”

The researcher bowed respectfully and deeply, then left the ward alongside the others.

Click—

Silence settled over the room once more, now that they were alone.

“…Common. Right.”

Kael let out a hollow laugh toward the ceiling, his tone laden with disbelief.

“That so-called common monster nearly burned us both to ash without leaving a scrap behind.”
“…I know.”

Rustle—

Kael turned his head, regarding Aion from the bed beside his own.

“Hey, Aion.”
“…What.”

Kael’s voice had grown measured. They’d been trading barbs mere moments ago, yet somewhere along the way, the energy to maintain his irritation had simply drained away.

“That spell at the end—what exactly was it?”
“…….”
“Your Telekinesis is strange too. You’re ripping apart pipes like they’re twigs, but you’re not 1st Tier, are you? How does someone nearly expelled manage….”

Suspicion was kindling in him. Perhaps this small spark would ignite and consume the very existence known as Aion.

But before it could spread, Aion struck first with fire of his own.

“Is that Metal Magic something the Pairon Family keeps secret?”
“…….”
“The Pairon Family is a renowned house of flame arts, after all—”
“Enough! Fine, damn it. If you don’t want to answer, then don’t. I’ve got no intention of answering either.”

It worked like a charm, as it always did.

“…Good.”
“Infuriating bastard. Still don’t like you.”

And why wouldn’t there be friction?
Until this ordeal, they’d made it clear they despised each other.

“That said… your skill wasn’t as poor as I expected.”
“…….”
“…Why did you chase after me that day? Don’t tell me—”

He asked directly, without preamble.

“You were suspecting me of being the arsonist?”

Aion answered the question with perfect sincerity.

“I suspected him.”
“…damn bastard.”
“Not anymore, though.”

Even before now, Aion had believed Kael wasn’t the arsonist behind the dormitory fire. That conviction had only grown stronger.

“I know you’re the type who trembles at the sight of flames.”
“Hmph… that’s a misunderstanding….”
“Well, let’s leave it at that.”
“Whoever started that fire and made such a mess of things—honestly, I suppose I should be grateful the suspicion’s cleared up this way. What a drag….”

Kael moved straight to the next subject.

“Speaking of which… those bastards who tried to kill us both in the Breeding Grounds.”
“Lenar and Mark… right?”
“……you knew already?”
“Yeah.”
“How are you connected to them?”

Aion gave a brief account of his enmity with those two. After hearing it, Kael chuckled darkly.

“Those idiots have nothing better to do. Ambitions that dwarf their abilities, methods as base as they come.”

Click—

“We ought to make them pay, shouldn’t we?”
“The Bosco Battle evaluation comes first.”
“I know. You’ll need to win there. You’re not thinking of losing, are you?”
“If that were the case, I’d have closed my eyes peacefully in the Ultra-Low Temperature Containment Chamber.”
“Heh… krkrkr… right. Death would’ve been kinder than that. Well, do what you need with the Bosco Battle or whatever, but that won’t be enough, will it?”
“It won’t.”
“Those bastards will run. They’ll dodge without evidence, but how….”

Aion cut him off calmly and stated his thoughts.

“There’s one method I’ve been thinking about.”

***

That very afternoon.

Having been discharged from the Exion Medical Wing, Aion made his way to his dilapidated Mountain Cottage situated in the Mistveil Forest.

The agonizing pain that had threatened to shatter every bone in his body had subsided completely thanks to roughly two days of treatment.

Fortunately, there had been no fractures, which meant recovery had proceeded swiftly.

Aion settled into the creaking wooden chair on the cottage porch and gazed into empty space, breathing slowly and deliberately.

“Exhale….”

There were still lectures ongoing, so he was alone in the cottage.

It was time to check the things he hadn’t been able to examine carefully in the immediate aftermath of his escape from the Ultra-Low Temperature Containment Chamber—dulled by excruciating pain and exhaustion as he’d been.

“Yggdrasil. Show me the reward details from back then again.”

At Aion’s call, a system window shimmered with crystalline blue light, blooming across the empty air.

Ding—!

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
[!] Rewards granted: All Status Attributes +4, Water Stream Ultimate Form: Drop inheritance acquired, all Skills and Magic proficiency increased.
[!] Mana Control Lv.3 → Lv.4▲
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Aion’s eyes grew darker as he parsed through the list one item at a time.

‘All Status Attributes plus four… If I just survive, that’s quite the reward.’

The problem, of course, was that each time he crossed the line between life and death.

‘But what’s my current level of Status Attributes?’

Aion spoke toward empty air.

“Yggdrasil, visualize my Status Attributes.”

Ping—!

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
『Cultivation Status』
Name: Aion Iscar
Intelligence (INT): F+
Wisdom (WIS): F+
Mana (MANA): F++
Sense (SEN): F++
Vitality (VIT): F++
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

“Hmm…”

【Mado: I know what you’re thinking.】

“The growth feels slower than all the hardship I’ve endured?”

【Mado: Because you’ve hit a wall.】

“…A wall?”

In that instant, Aion felt he understood what it meant.

“Don’t tell me…”

【Mado: That’s right. You’re on the verge of a Tier Advancement.】

“Tier Advancement… for me?”

【Flame: Already advancing to 2nd Tier? This milk-reeking brat?】
【Earth: That’s right, this greenhorn who’s even more incompetent?】
【Lightning: Kehehehe! Idiot!】
【Flame: …That’s just plain insult, isn’t it.】

Aion looked down at his own hands.
From his first day at Exion, he’d been on the brink of expulsion, and yet in that short span of time, a 2nd Tier Advancement loomed before him.

【Mado: Your Status Attributes haven’t stagnated. It’s simply how Yggdrasil’s notation system works. One plus mark means your ability level is suited for your current tier; two plus marks mean you’re at a level where Tier Advancement is appropriate.】

“…So that’s what it was.”

【Mage: Also, your Status Attributes are different from those of ordinary students. It’s extremely rare for all attributes to grow uniformly like this.】
【Flame: That’s true. Usually, if you train in the way you’re accustomed to, you end up skewing toward just one area.】
【Earth: In those cases, you have to retrace your enlightenment, so it takes far longer.】

“So when does a Tier Advancement happen, then?”

【Mage: As for that part, Yggdrasil controls it.】

“…What?”

【Mage: It means you need Yggdrasil’s approval more than anyone else’s. It’s not that you’re being penalized, but according to Yggdrasil’s judgment, it’s better for you to remain in the 1st Tier for now.】

“…Nothing comes easy, it seems.”

Without Yggdrasil’s approval, there was a risk that his time in the 1st Tier would stretch on indefinitely.

Aion decided not to grow impatient.
Even though prodigies of the 2nd and 3rd Tier were already arrayed around him.

He nodded to himself with composure, then shifted his gaze to the lowest reward item displayed.

“Is this it…?”

The second Ultimate Form he’d obtained after defeating the Salamander in the Breeding Grounds.

◆◆◆━━━━━━━━━━◆◆◆
『Water-Flow: Drop』
Classification: Ultimate Form
Effect: Draws moisture from the atmosphere and compresses it into an extremely pressurized sphere. As the compression rate increases, strength and piercing power increase dramatically.
◆◆◆━━━━━━━━━━◆◆◆

Aion’s brow furrowed slightly as he read through the description.

“…Why is this an Ultimate Form?”

【Water-Flow: Check it yourself.】

Whoosh—

Aion cast the spell while standing toward the forest.

Drop.

Whiiiiiiiii…

A torrent of water swirled through the air and began forming a sphere.

Shrieeeek—

The whirling water gradually began to shrink.

“…This…”

【Water-Flow: Right. At first, without technique, it’s going to consume an enormous amount of Mana.】

He was right.
Only by exerting his full power, manipulating Mana as if crushing a ball with both hands pressed down hard, did the sphere gradually shrink.

A droplet.

To the eye, it was merely a single transparent, luminous droplet no larger than a thumb.

Yet Aion could sense the inconceivable density and relentless weight that the tiny sphere contained.

A heaviness that bore no comparison to an ordinary steel ball.

“What’s this supposed to be used for?”

【Water Spirit: You’re asking what water is used for?】

“…….”

【Water Spirit: Use it for brushing your teeth or washing your face, why don’t you.】
【Flame: Hahaha! Fool! It means figure it out for yourself.】
【Earth: Have you forgotten that Yggdrasil selects and grants you the magic you need most right now? Tsk…】

Aion had secretly hoped the Ultimate Form he’d obtain this time would be defensive magic.

It bothered him, after all, that an Exion student couldn’t deploy even a single defensive spell.

‘The magic I needed most… why?’

He gazed into empty air for a moment, then

“Ha….”

let out a dry laugh.

“So that’s what it was.”

Whoosh—

Aion suspended a high-pressure water projectile formed from the droplet before his palm and activated the Sky-Moving Technique.

Without the slightest warning, he fired.

Fwoooooooooosh—!

Along its trajectory, a trail of water vapor like a flight cloud was stitched across the void.

Even as the water projectile pierced clean through the center of the tree standing directly before him, Aion did not lower his hand.

And he frowned.

“Why….”

The reason he hadn’t lowered his hand.

“Why can I still feel the presence of this droplet even though it’s far beyond the reach of the Sky-Moving Technique?”

The Water Spirit answered.

【Water Spirit: From the moment it is created, it rests in perfect control beneath your will.】

A resonance far removed from that of mere shards or pebbles.

Aion lowered his hand and began walking deeper into the forest.

Following the path where the water projectile had pierced through the tree.

Past gnarled trees thick with moss, following the traces steam had left behind.

It was only much later that he reached the final point where Sutan had arrived.

There, a large pool of water remained.

He turned to look back and let out a hollow laugh.

It would take quite some time to return to the Mountain Cottage.

“……I rather like it.”

The Sky-Moving Technique was magic that could kill a person by itself.

And now, something truly dreadful had been fitted to that magic.

The Talentless Mage Consumes a Calamitous Future — Episode 40

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

UCI
G720:N+A036-20260706063.0040

ⓒ2026. Wang Mozi

※ This electronic book is a work protected by the copyright law of the Republic of Korea.
No part or all of the contents of this work may be reprocessed in any form without the permission of 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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