A Talentless Mage Devours a Disaster-Class Future - Chapter 55

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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 55

The vast quantity of Flame Runes used in the dormitory arson case.

The inference that they had been smuggled into Excion disguised as long-unclaimed emergency procurement supplies.

It didn’t take long to relay this information to Inspector Raven.
And Raven’s reaction upon receiving word proved to align almost perfectly with Aion’s expectations.

—
“Long-unclaimed supplies, you say? Ha ha! I never would have thought… Hmm… Just as I suspected. The real thread of this case was right there all along!”

He expressed his gratitude for the clue Aion had provided, gesturing with theatrical flair.

—
“A magnificent deduction indeed, Aion. I’ll have the distribution center’s ledgers combed through immediately. If this theory proves correct… it’s only a matter of time before we catch our rat by the tail.”

The one minor complication was that the distribution center’s records were so poorly maintained that only someone of Raven’s caliber could parse through them effectively.

Only Raven could resolve this matter.

Having handed over the clue he’d uncovered, Aion now needed to turn his attention to the very real disaster bearing down on him.

Bang! Bang!

“Seriously, I don’t know why I’m out here nailing up someone else’s outer wall!”

In the courtyard before the Mountain Lodge, the voice doing the griping belonged, predictably, to Luana.

“I’m a noble’s daughter too, you know! …Hey, everyone?”

Aion and Layla deliberately pretended not to hear her complaints and focused on their work.

Before the Mana Storm could strike, they were engaged in the grueling labor of reinforcing the Mountain Lodge’s frame and sealing its gaps.

“Grumbling away, yet your hands never stop working.”
“Of course not! How could I stand to watch Layla shivering like a leaf after getting soaked in that downpour? You, though—freeze to death or blow away, I couldn’t care less!”

Even as her tongue fired off barbed remarks, Luana moved with surprising deftness, ferrying cloth and planks to patch the gaps.

And it seemed her assistance in repairing the lodge wasn’t solely on Layla’s account.

“Should I set this here?”
“Yes.”

Despite her show of reluctance, she threw herself wholeheartedly into helping repair Aion’s lodge.

Aion finished driving the last nail, lowered his hammer, and turned to face her.

“…Thank you. For taking the time to help, despite how busy you must be.”

His gratitude was plain but sincere, each word weighed with genuine feeling.

Flinch!

Luana’s movements froze abruptly. Her face flushed with confusion as she cleared her throat awkwardly.

“Ahem, well! Just because you say thank you doesn’t mean everything’s solved, but… in any case!”

It wasn’t until he’d surrendered an entire weekend day to the work that he could finally call it finished.

The moment the repairs were complete, that familiar blue light flickered across Aion’s vision.

Ding!

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
[!] Task completed.
[!] Reward distributed: Vitality +3
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

His Vitality had increased as quest completion reward, and in that same moment, the old voices in his head erupted into cheerful chatter.

【Hwayeom: Tch, so Intelligence and Wisdom go up, but only Vitality rises? Listen here, don’t just move your body—use your head!】
【Daeji: Stop your complaining! You should be grateful anything went up at all.】
【Noejeon: Hihihihi! Sturdy is best! Can’t break if you’re sturdy! Sturdy wins!】

Aion let the chatter wash past his ears without a word, surveying the finished outer walls of the Mountain Lodge.

Rough-hewn as it was, he was certain it would withstand a Mana Storm without crumbling.

Luana stood beside him, wiping sweat from her brow, gazing up at the fortified lodge.

“…Should we eat?”
“Good idea. Let’s.”

He found himself naturally anticipating whatever Luana would prepare. There was something warm woven into her cooking.

Before long, Luana had a large cauldron suspended over the campfire, simmering stew enough for three.

“Here, let me serve.”

She handed a bowl first to Layla, then waited to see her reaction.

Slurp…

After that first taste, Layla’s eyes went wide.

“Luana, this is incredible.”
“Oh… really?”

Luana handed a plate to Aion next.

Sip…

It was just as exceptional.

“It’s delicious.”
“Well, of course it is.”
“With a talent like this for cooking, you’d have made a name for yourself if you’d chosen that path.”

At those words, shadow crossed Luana’s face.

“…Being good at something and wanting to do something are different. Of the two—me doing what I’m good at, and me doing what I want—which one do you think is the real me?”
“……”
“My parents wanted me to inherit their merchant house. But I… I hated it.”

Aion simply listened.

“Because I wanted to be a mage.”
“…I see.”
“I’m only telling you this, but… honestly, I don’t think I have much talent for magic.”

She laughed softly.

“But I still want to be a mage. Even if I don’t shine as brightly as Layla or the other prodigies, I want to live as a mage who glows gently. Even if no one pays attention to someone as clumsy as me.”
“…….”

Something heavy in her words made Aion and Layla pause mid-spoonful, their eyes turning to Luana.

“What is it? Why aren’t you eating?”
“Luana, you’ll do well.”

Layla took Luana’s hand and squeezed it firmly.

“You’ll be a good mage.”

Aion added his own words.

“…I’m rooting for you.”
“What is that supposed to…”

Luana let out a small laugh and drew her portion of stew toward her.

“Honestly, I was regretting the trip out here—it was exhausting…”

She spooned the stew into her mouth and broke into a bright smile.

“Not bad at all.”

***

The final lesson before the Mana Storm arrived.

The Basic Magical Combat students, who would normally have headed to their lecture hall, were gathered instead before the heavy iron gates of the Erebos Archive, located in the deepest basement of Excion’s main building.

Stern-faced guardian knights stood in formation, and the air in the cold stone corridor was glacial.
Yet in that eerie atmosphere, the freshmen’s mouths never ceased their chatter.

“Wow…! So this is the legendary Erebos Archive where magical relics are kept!”

Cassius, still clad in what amounted to underwear, spread both arms wide and announced his entrance to the Archive.

Goosebumps rose across his skin from the cool basement air, but he laughed boldly, pretending not to feel the cold.

“H-hey! A-Aion! Over h-here!”

Darren stammered, calling out to Aion who stood at some distance, and the enormous bear plushie cradled in Vera’s arms nodded its head at a comical angle.

“Look who showed up. For someone who nearly died, you’re making quite a dignified entrance.”

Aion exhaled lightly and positioned himself among them.

“By the way, isn’t the air particularly pleasant today?”

Vera’s bear plushie asked, and Cassius laughed.

“It must be because the Cassius Kingdom has defeated its enemies.”
“Y-yes, y-yes, exactly. R-Renar was completely d-driven out, and M-Mark was….”

The bear-shaped doll cut off Darren’s words with a sharp, dismissive tone.

“Starting with that breeding ground incident, you’ve been dragged before the disciplinary committee and cooped up in your dorm without a breath of fresh air? Couldn’t have happened to nicer people.”

A fitting end for those snake-like wretches who’d resorted to contemptible tactics.

Aion nodded calmly enough, but a strange emptiness settled over him nonetheless.

“…Aria hasn’t come, then.”

At his question, the buoyant mood of the team members dimmed at once.

Cassius dropped his usual playfulness and spoke softly, his face now serious.

“…It seems there’s something else occupying her. Perhaps our duty as comrades is simply to wait without pressing.”

The bittersweet undertone in Cassius’s words laid a heavy stone in the depths of Aion’s chest.

‘Once the storm passes, I should visit her estate.’

Thud—!

At that moment, Professor Donabel approached the entrance of the Archive with a heavy, deliberate tread.

“Everyone’s here? Since the storm is imminent, instead of combat training, we’ll be observing the Archive—one of the core facilities of Excion—to stabilize our Mana Power.”

Under ordinary circumstances, she would have come bounding in with her arms full of snacks or supplies, but today was different.

When Professor Donabel nodded to the guardian knights, dozens upon dozens of magical seals dissolved, and the Archive’s massive doors swung open with a ponderous grinding sound.

Creeeeeeak—

The students held their breath as they stepped into the Erebos Archive.

“Wow…”
“This is really…”

It resembled a vast museum or exhibition hall. Beneath dim lighting, display cases ringed with thick barrier glass stretched endlessly in all directions.

“The Magical Academy Excion doesn’t merely cultivate exceptional mages. It also preserves the magical records of the continent—”

Professor Donabel halted before a colossal display case at the center.
Beyond the barrier glass, objects that emanated sinister and ominous power came into view.

A shattered Mirror from which black mist flowed ceaselessly, a pitch-black dagger that seemed to drink in the surrounding light, and a crimson jewel that produced the eerie sound of a heartbeat.

“We serve as a vast guardian, preserving and sealing away dangerous relics.”

Just then, a student carefully raised their hand.

“Professor… why does a magical academy take responsibility for such dangerous things? Doesn’t the continent have vast supranational institutions like the Magical Council or the newly independent Mages Association?”

Professor Donabel answered the student’s shrewd question at once.

“Excellent question. I’ll answer it directly. Whether it’s the Magical Council or the Mages Association, there are ultimately countless national interests entangled within them. This means they can never be free from political maneuvering and external coercion. Now consider—if such Calamity-Class Relics fell into the hands of the wicked, what would become of the continent?”

A chill threaded through her voice.

“Excion alone remains independent, free from such external pressure. We have defense facilities of continental caliber, a faculty composed of arch-mages, and guardian knights posted here without rest, day and night. That’s why nations and organizations alike entrust us with—or donate to us—relics they cannot control themselves.”

Though I suppose some of them recover on their own.

Professor Donabel pointed her baton toward a pitch-black dagger encased within the barrier glass.

“That dagger is Isabelle’s Blade. The moment someone with Mana grasps it, it drains the wielder’s Mana and life force entirely, converting them into destructive power. And that mirror beside it is a Puzzle Artifact—a relic that once paralyzed the rationality of an entire free city, driving its people to devour one another.”

Not even the sound of swallowing echoed through the archive.
The very thought of what unspeakable chaos would engulf the world if even a single one of these objects on the dais were to escape sent shivers down every spine present.

From within the oppressive silence, Darren’s ashen face trembled as he stammered out a question.

“P-P-Professor… w-what if, hypothetically speaking…”
“Yes, Darren?”
“W-what if this place were attacked by s-s-someone? What w-would happen then?”

At Darren’s question, every student’s gaze locked onto Professor Donabel.

It was an absurd premise, yet they too found themselves curious.

If the heart of Excion—this chamber where relics of catastrophe lay gathered—were to be breached.

As all held their breath awaiting her answer, Professor Donabel smiled gently toward her students.

“An amusing question, Darren. Well… to break through countless spells and traps, to overcome faculty of overwhelming prowess, and to slip past our seasoned guardian knights—only then to steal these relics…”

The answer was already written.

“It simply wouldn’t happen.”

Impossible.

The Talentless Mage Devours a Calamitous Future — Chapter 55

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

UCI
G720:N+A036-20260706063.0055

© 2026. Wang Mozhi

※ This digital publication is protected by the copyright laws of the Republic of Korea.
No portion of this work may be reprocessed or reproduced in any form without the express written 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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