A Talentless Mage Devours a Disaster-Class Future - Chapter 5

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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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Episode 5

Ding!

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
[!] Reward granted: Trait Inheritance
[!] Trait Inheritance: Mana Manipulation (Lv.1)
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

“What is…”

Aion read the words that bloomed before his eyes.
Yggdrasil responded to his gaze with a terse explanation.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
『Mana Manipulation (Lv.1)』

Category: Trait
Effect: Allows smoother flow of mana within the body.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

“…A Trait?”

Aion tilted his head in confusion as a dry voice sounded in his mind.

【Mado: I see. So Yggdrasil made that judgment about your body’s condition.】

“…What do you mean by that?”

【Mado: Yggdrasil’s rewards may seem irregular at first glance, but they are not. It attempts to select the finest reward based on the user’s physical state.】
【Hwayeom: Ho, I see.】
【Mado: The Trait you inherited this time should have been the best choice, judging by Yggdrasil’s assessment.】

“The finest strength for who I am now.”

【Mado: Following only the principle that rewards match the Tasks overcome—though it may not feel intuitive, observe this.】

“…What are you saying?”

Mado clicked his tongue sharply and issued a curt command.

【Mado: Yggdrasil, visualize the user’s stats.】

Flash.

Light swept across Aion’s retinas, and a blue window unfurled in the empty air.

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

……

Aion’s mouth fell open. The bottom rung of the alphabet. A catastrophic report card plastered entirely in F’s. Only his Mana Power had climbed to F+—a three-day reminder of what Grounding had wrought.

“These abysmal scores… what is this?”

A flat response came back.

【Mado: What do you think they are?】

“……”

【Mado: Your reality.】

He couldn’t argue with that.
He’d known for some time that his talent as a mage was meager—it wasn’t a revelation.
Yet there was one thing about these results that Aion still couldn’t make sense of.

“Everything else I can accept, but… my Vitality being in this state? That I can’t understand.”

He looked down at his own arms and legs.
Muscle built lean and hard. He’d never lived carelessly up to now.

“Don’t all of you know how I’ve lived my life until now?”

【Hwayeom: Yeah, yeah. I know it well.】
【Suryu: I—no, I know that you’ve lived more fiercely than anyone else.】

“And yet you’re saying my Vitality is pathetic?”

Then a heavy voice resonated through his mind.

【Mado: You seem to be laboring under a misapprehension.】

“…What?”

【Mado: The Vitality score listed doesn’t simply measure how physically superior you are. It measures how suited your body is to wielding magic, and how much strain it can endure.】

“Ah…”

【Noejeon: Hehehehe! How did I ever think to become a mage with a body like this? Was I really so careless in my past self?】
【Suryu: It’s… sobering to reflect on.】

There was a moment of quiet in his mind.

【Saengmyeong: But don’t worry, Aion. If you tend to your body as it deserves, it will blossom one day.】

A voice both gentle and cool—Saengmyeong’s Extreme Point, forever offering him solace.
Even as he heard it, something clicked in Aion’s mind.

“I… have a question.”

【Saengmyeong: Go ahead.】

“Are some of you different from me in sex? Your voices sound that way.”

【Daeji: Ha! Only now do you ask? You’re not very perceptive, are you?】

【Saengmyeong: That’s right. Daeji and I—our Extreme Points are female.】

【Hwayeom: So we’ve got two old ladies on our hands now.】
【Daeji: Shut your mouth, you fool who’ll get struck by lightning!】

“…I was told they’re all my futures, but could they have different genders?”

【Mado: Same soul, but different worldlines. We are each Aion Iscar from different worlds. We share the same name, but we were born in different worlds from the beginning.】

Eight Archmages who had walked different paths. And now here were some who even differed from him in gender.

‘…So this is how complex eight worlds could be.’

【Daeji: In other words, we’re different possibilities of you.】

Well, it wasn’t something impossible to accept. But what mattered far more was what came next.

Aion pushed himself upright.

【Hwayeom: Don’t tell me you’re already thinking of moving again? Why are you in such a hurry? Expulsion isn’t a threat anymore, is it?】

Ding!

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
[!] A new task has been assigned.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
『Task: Consistent Training』
― 『Task Overview: Your physical condition is abysmal. This is another way of saying you have no time to rest.』
― 『Objective: Achieve Grounding 5 times.』
― 『Designated Reward: Mana Power +2』
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Aion gazed down at the task window that had appeared and spoke.

“I have no time to waste.”

***

The entrance ceremony that took place days later passed quietly, contrary to his concerns.

It was nothing but a tedious succession of moments—clapping amid hundreds of new students and listening to declarations.

But the gazes directed at Aion were far from quiet.

“Isn’t that the student over there? The one rumors were spreading about—the fraudulent admission?”
“No, they said it wasn’t. Professor Alister checked it himself. Apparently it was a device error.”
“Even so, it still feels rather off. The Crystal Orb reading was strange from the start, wasn’t it?”
“Well, time will tell. As you know, this is Excion. You just have to prove yourself through ability.”

A stigma, once branded, did not fade easily. Aion let the murmurs pass over him and reflected.

‘At least it’ll be quiet for a while.’

With the entrance ceremony successfully completed, Aion was now a legitimate enrolled student of Excion.

So long as he gave them no grounds for complaint, that status would hold.

Dormitory assignment began immediately after the entrance ceremony concluded.

After passing through a lush forest path, an elegant wooden building appeared on the outskirts of Hazelnut Forest.

Lumenia Dormitory—tradition and freedom united.
And within it, the innermost building, its roof draped beneath boughs like natural thatch: Hazel Dorm.

Creak—

As Aion pushed open the ancient wooden door and stepped into the corridor, a gust of stale air swept over him—the mingled scents of forest earth and old dust.

Room 301, his assigned quarters. He pushed open the door and began to unpack.

【Saengmyeong: My, the facilities here are quite worn, aren’t they? So this is what the inside of Hazel Dorm looks like?】
【Suryu: I couldn’t tell from the outside, but it’s rather cozy.】

The Extreme Points began offering their assessments of the dormitory one after another.

【Daeji: Wait. Now that I think about it, is anyone here originally from this place?】

A brief silence fell.

【Noejeon: Hehehe! I’m from Nocturna!】
【Saengmyeong: I was from Lumenia too, but the Maple Dorm. The autumn leaves there were truly beautiful.】
【Mado: I was from Nocturna as well.】

Answers tumbled out one by one. Among the eight Extreme Points, only one carried memories of staying in Hazel Dorm.

【Hwayeom: …It’s been a long time.】

There was a peculiar nostalgia in his voice.

【Daeji: Well, isn’t that something.】

Daeji’s Extreme Point laughed with a hollow ring to it.

【Daeji: We may not have lived through the same time, but we’re still all Aion. To think even our dormitories would be so different.】

Aion set his bundle down on the bed and let the remark pass.
The old springs creaked beneath the weight.
Beyond the window, hazelnut branches swayed in the breeze.

【Mado: It’s only natural.】

A terse reply. Suryu picked it up quietly in the silence that followed.

【Suryu: So long as a human draws breath, everything is choice. Across fifty years, each of us made the choices we believed were right. And that’s precisely why we each arrived at a different truth.】
【Saengmyeong: We are alike as no others, yet different as no others could be.】

A brief silence hung in the air.
Aion stopped what he was doing and listened to them speak.
Beings who shared one name yet lived different lives. And now, all of them existed within his mind.

【Daeji: …I suppose so. Well then.】

That was when it happened.

Tick. Tick.

The Mana Lamp that should have illuminated the room wouldn’t turn on.
Though he pressed the switch, only sparks flew from inside the Mana Stone—no light came forth.

“Old indeed.”

Aion tapped the lamp a couple of times. That was when Mado’s Extreme Point interjected.

【Mado: It’s worn down. The flow is blocked.】

“Flow?”

【Mado: A Magical Device left untouched for long accumulates Mana residue. Why not try clearing it yourself?】

Ding-!

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
[!] A new Task has been assigned.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
『Task: Repair the Broken Magical Device』
― 『Task Overview: Through brief training, you have come to understand Mana Manipulation to some degree. You must grow accustomed to it before you forget.』
― 『Objective: Repair all broken Magical Devices in Room 301, Hazel Dorm』
― 『Assigned Reward: Sense +2』
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

“…the reward is quite generous.”

【Mado: Your newly inherited Trait should prove useful.】

My newly inherited Trait….

‘Mana Manipulation.’

Aion gazed down at the Mana Lamp and placed his hand over the Mana Stone.

Closing his eyes and focusing his perception, he felt the flow of Mana Power within the lamp through his fingertips.

Remarkably vivid.

‘Mana residue is clogging the channel.’

A frustrating sensation, like silt choking a narrow stream until it stops flowing altogether.

‘I just need to push it through.’

He gathered the remaining Mana in the stone and gently tapped at the blocked section.
The accumulated residue was driven out, and the flow opened.

Whoosh.

That refreshing sensation of a blockage giving way.

Blaze-!

Bright light burst forth from the dormant lamp.

“Oh….”

A steady glow flooded the room.

“Quite serviceable.”

Emboldened, Aion made a circuit of the chamber.
The creaking window’s Mana Lock, the lukewarm heating unit, even the leveling enchantment on the old desk.
With each touch, the worn implements returned to life.

There was no flashy display of magic. But the clarity running through his fingertips was undeniable.

‘Is this… the sensation of living as a mage?’

Hwayeom’s Extreme Point, who had been watching the scene, suddenly spoke up. His voice carried a peculiar, subdued quality.

【Hwayeom: Listen, Mado.】
【Mado: …Speak.】

Aion continued his work without pausing, listening intently.

【Hwayeom: The things I’ve experienced. The information I possess… should I share it with this one?】

It was an abrupt question.
But Mado answered at once, as if he already understood the underlying intent.

【Mado: When you feel it necessary.】
【Hwayeom: And when would that be?】
【Mado: The answer is the same.】

A brief silence fell. Hwayeom offered nothing more.

【Hwayeom: ……Understood.】

Aion stopped his hands before the heating device he’d just finished repairing. He didn’t know what it meant. But he didn’t press further.

Once he’d tended to every Magical Device in the room, twilight had already settled beyond the window.
A crimson sunset spread across the Hazelnut Forest, and shadows stretched long through the trees.

Ding—!

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
[!] Task completed.
[!] Reward granted: Sense +2
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Aion sat on the edge of the bed, opening and closing his fists. A tingling sensation lingered at his fingertips.

‘I can’t forget this feeling.’

Then,

—Tap.

A dull sound struck the glass pane, breaking the silence.

‘The wind?’

—Tap.

No. Someone was deliberately hurling small pebbles at the window.

The suspicious visitor stood gazing up at Aion by the window.

Looking closer, a Brooch of Excion gleamed at their chest. They were an Excion student.

Aion pointed at himself with his index finger.

‘Are they calling me?’

The robed figure nodded slowly.

Aion studied the silhouette for a moment. Someone who, as evening fell, had thrown a stone up at the third-floor window while wearing a robe.
Either they possessed uncommon boldness, or they had urgent business indeed.

‘…Who are they?’

He sensed no hostility. Aion threw on his coat and left the room.

Behind the dormitory, beneath a hazelnut tree where an old bench sat.
As Aion approached, the waiting figure slowly turned to face him.

Swish.

Up close, the frame was slight.
The figure confirmed Aion’s approach and spoke without preamble.

“I came to offer my thanks.”

It was a woman’s voice—quiet yet crisp.

“…Thanks?”

The unexpected words gave him pause.

When Aion tilted his head quizzically, the figure clarified.

“You saved me from Bycon.”
“……Ah.”

Now it came back to him. The girl he’d pushed away just before Bycon could strike her down.

“You came just for that?”
“…Yes.”
“…Understood. I’ve accepted your gratitude.”

The girl hesitated briefly.

“But…!”

…But?

She drew back the hood of her robe.

Soft rustle.

A face revealed in the moonlight.
Silver hair like starlight melted into silk, eyes of an icy blue.

Aion’s gaze stopped without his knowing.

But his gaze quickly fell not on her face, but on the emblem adorning her school uniform’s chest.

‘That crest….’

Two crossed swords. The symbol of the Northern Tiger, of the Rustian Federation.

“Aion Iscar.”

The girl called out his name.
Her voice was measured, yet it trembled faintly at the edges.

“Don’t get the wrong idea!”

She suddenly raised her chin and fixed him with a cold, piercing gaze.

“……?”
“I’m grateful you saved me… but that doesn’t mean my heart has changed, or that I’ve developed any feelings for you.”

And this time she drove the point home, her eyes locked directly on his.

‘What is she talking about?’

Aion turned her words over in his mind when a memory suddenly flickered into being.
Something from long ago. And this face.

…He remembered.
Who this girl standing before him was.

“You’re not… Seria, are you?”
“Don’t call my name so familiarly!”

In that instant, Aion’s mind reeled.

【Hwayeom: Hahahaha! This is insane!】
【Suryu: Things have gotten complicated.】
【Noejeon: Ehehehehe! Hick-hee-ik… Hehehehehehehehe! Hyahahahahahahaha!】

The raucous laughter of the Extreme Points crashed through his mind.

【Hwayeom: Of all people, you just saved your broken-off fiancée, didn’t you, Aion?】

Seria von Croitz.

She was someone Aion had known for a very long time.

The Talentless Mage Devours a Catastrophic Future — Episode 5

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

UCI
G720:N+A036-20260706063.0005

ⓒ2026, Wang Mozi

※ This e-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 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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