I Became a Veteran Who Has to Stir Up Trouble to Survive - Chapter 59

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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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[059] Mage of Runaway Mana
[You have been expelled from the Mansion!! A 24-hour entry cooldown has been applied!]
“Cough…!!”
We were hurled from the pond like discarded refuse, landing hard on our bellies as we gasped for breath.
The sight unfolding before my eyes was nothing short of catastrophic.
Flames that had crawled up the bookshelves consumed the entire study in an instant, and worse—they were collapsing the mansion itself.
‘I nearly burned to death again….’
If we’d been expelled even a moment later, we would’ve been roasted alive.
I didn’t know who owned this place, but I almost felt sorry for them.
Yet as relief at our survival faded, I suddenly noticed something peculiar.
‘Wait, this Distorted Space shouldn’t burn so easily, should it?’
Since it was formed by magic, the space itself possessed formidable magical resistance—ordinary spells shouldn’t have any effect at all.
Otherwise, one could simply ignore the rules and break through the walls.
But just before I was ejected from the Distorted Space, I distinctly saw the opposite room flicker into view beyond the flames.
Even the grotesque creatures that hadn’t budged when Malton struck them vanished without a scream the moment they touched Karen’s flames.
In other words, Karen’s magic possessed
enough power to completely shatter and overwrite
the rules of the Distorted Space itself.
‘This insane… there’s no way the Old Man’s niece could be an ordinary human.’
Blood doesn’t lie, as they say.
“Cough… what exactly did you do?”
I shot Karen a bewildered look, but seeing her bite her lip with an expression of ‘I’ve done it again,’ I immediately understood.
‘Ah, she can’t control her mana at all.’
Now that I thought about it, she hadn’t used magic once when being chased by the scarecrows.
Mages typically fail at mana control for two reasons.
Either they’re inexperienced novices lacking the finesse to handle mana, or they’re monsters born with such enormous mana reserves they can’t contain it.
In Karen’s case, it was clearly the latter.
｢You have obtained a clue about party member ‘Karen’.｣
“…Are you alright? You’re not hurt anywhere?”
After checking on Malton and Radi first, I extended my hand to the dejected Karen, and she looked up at me blankly.
“You’re… not angry?”
“Angry? Why would I be?”
“Because I got us expelled from the Mansion. The exploration was cut short….”
“So what? We got to defeat grotesque creatures and earned experience points. We can just go back in tomorrow. Watching you burn everything down so thoroughly actually felt pretty refreshing.”
I smiled brightly and pulled Karen up by her gloves.
Of course, it was a lie.
‘That crazy senile old bastard Belmont…!!’
I should’ve known from the moment he said he’d introduce me to a mage.
She can only cast flame magic, and she can’t control the output.
A recipe for blowing up the entire party.
Now I understand why a noblewoman would explore a Distorted Space alongside common Adventurers without retinue or guards.
‘But… there’s no need to point it out and embarrass her.’
After all, this woman and I are merely passing acquaintances, are we not?
There’s no reason to upset her with needless commentary.
It’s far more advantageous to leave a good impression, perhaps get introduced to fellow Mages, or extract some benefits from her family connections.
‘And… Mages like her actually have growth paths most people don’t know about.’
“…For now, let’s rest today and regroup tomorrow to continue exploring. Since we’ve figured out what this Distorted Space is roughly like, the next exploration should go much more smoothly.”
Karen looked up at me as though I were a peculiar person.
* * *
「You have entered the Haunted Mansion!」
「This is the Banquet Hall! What an extravagant spread!」
「If you are caught by the apparition here and expelled, you may suffer permanent stat reduction! Be warned!」
The next day, we arrived via teleportation at the Banquet Hall.
The rule was simple: ‘Observe proper dining etiquette.’
But what lay upon the table was nothing but rotting meat and writhing insects.
“Ugh… I’m supposed to eat this?”
“Just bear with it even if it turns your stomach. If it’s too much, just pretend to chew without swallowing.”
Doran took his seat, draped a napkin across his chest, and grasped a fork and knife in his hands.
At that very moment, spectral waiters emerged from behind the curtains bearing trays and wine, beginning to circle the room.
Apparitions adorned with silver name badges patrolled the space, monitoring our dining etiquette.
We could only advance to the next chamber by adhering to this place’s rules.
Normally, we would have no choice but to consume every last morsel of the dishes laid before us…
‘But there’s no need to broadcast myself eating phantom cuisine.’
Doran subtly erased the contents of the menu card placed at the head of the table and rewrote it with the names inscribed upon the apparitions’ badges.
「You have altered today’s food menu!」
「Today’s meal is no longer an insect banquet, but the apparitions themselves! The invincibility granted to the waiters is now nullified!」
「The apparitions are greatly flustered!! Your stats increase due to [Chaos]!」
“Time to eat!!”
As Doran kicked over the table to seize attention, Malton burst forth like lightning, plunging between the enemies.
Malton tore through the apparitions, shattering skulls left and right.
“These dishes put up quite the fight!”
“I’m joining in!!”
Radi followed in Malton’s wake, crossing paths as she charged forward.
Radi slid past an incoming wine bottle, then appeared from the shadows via Dark Leap, methodically sniping the apparitions one by one with Venomous Bolts.
Karen was hardly content to stand idle like mere baggage.
“Get out of my way!!”
A fireball erupted from the tip of the short staff she gripped, incinerating an apparition.
A spell-inscribed artifact.
So expensive that commoners couldn’t even dream of affording one, with abysmal mana efficiency and capable of casting only a single predetermined spell—but in Karen’s hands, drowning in mana as she was, it was at least worth one person’s contribution.
Witnessing the scene, Doran demonstrated his resourcefulness by seizing the tablecloth and hurling it over the mass of apparitions.
“Now! This way!!”
As Karen unleashed a fireball, flames raced across the tablecloth, engulfing the twisted creatures in a conflagration that consumed them entirely.
｢[Banquet Hall] cleared!｣
｢You’ve defeated the creatures using an unprecedented method!! You are the first to vanquish creatures in the [Banquet Hall] this way!｣
｢You’ve gained substantial experience! Your level has increased!｣
“Phew… is it over?”
A clean, efficient battle without excess.
Yet Doran clenched and unclenched his fist, his eyes fixed on the log window with a hint of dissatisfaction.
‘My stats are only creeping up bit by bit….’
Though I’d gained respectable experience and drawn closer to clearing the Distorted Space, the battle left me unfulfilled.
After tasting the exhilaration of true stat growth during that final confrontation with the demon, everything else felt hollow.
When would a large-scale battle finally come?
As Doran sighed and turned around, his gaze met Radi’s, who looked equally unsatisfied.
“…You too, Doran?”
“You as well?”
Radi scratched her cheek sheepishly as she answered.
“I’d never want to experience that pain again, but… I miss those days when I could chug high-tier potions and use Darkness Leap freely. Now using it three times in succession strains my body.”
“I remember… back then I could tear apart mid-tier demons in a single strike.”
“Right… I actually enjoyed cutting through enemies with a dagger up close instead of sniping from range.”
Once you’ve tasted such exhilaration, it’s hard to forget—both sighed in unison.
If I experienced a few more large-scale battles like that, I’d surely develop a dangerous taste for such combat.
Moreover, through that previous battle, Doran had gained absolute clarity about the path forward.
‘I need to learn how to use monsters’ abilities without transforming…!’
For the first time, I glimpsed the true essence of a mythic-grade rune.
The Selurian Golem’s magical resistance, the Night Stalker’s Darkness Leap, the undead’s unique properties, and the winged monster’s flight ability….
I must hunt as many diverse monsters as possible to expand my disguise list and unlock the rune’s hidden power.
If I could use monsters’ unique abilities without transforming, I’d grow exponentially stronger.
‘It’s unfortunate that the creatures defeated here don’t get added to my disguise list.’
Doran turned his steps toward the door, his expression tinged with regret.
But lost in thought, he remained unaware.
That Karen was observing his every movement with sharp, calculating eyes.
* * *
｢You’ve solved the hidden mystery of the [Reception Room]!｣
｢You’ve solved the hidden mystery of the [Studio]!｣
｢You’ve solved the hidden mystery of the [Wine Cellar]!｣
｢You’ve defeated the ‘Rotten Oak Barrel’ creature and gained substantial experience! Your level has risen!｣
As Doran tore through the mansion at a terrifying pace, Karen maintained her unwavering scrutiny, her eyes brimming with suspicion.
‘No matter how I look at it, something’s off.’
From her perspective, Doran was far more than simply strong.
He possessed an uncanny ability to discern enemies’ weaknesses, deploy allies’ strengths with precision, and even generate unpredictable variables.
And above all, that seasoned expertise—as if he had pierced through the very patterns of the aberrations themselves.
‘This is the skill of merely an E-rank Adventurer…?’
No, it made no sense.
No matter how exceptional one’s talent, this was a realm impossible to reach without experience.
Moreover, because of her innate constitution—having spent her entire life watching the expressions of her fellow Mages—she grasped it all the more clearly.
That man had yet to unveil even a fraction of his vast knowledge.
‘…He knows far too much for his level.’
And this type was almost always the same.
“Say, Adventurer?”
Karen deliberately approached Doran as if nothing were amiss.
“Your movements earlier seemed anything but ordinary. Did you perhaps work as a Mercenary before?”
“No, it’s just luck.”
>”For luck, you seemed far too seasoned… Did your level perhaps decrease for some reason?”
Doran hesitated.
He glanced toward Radi as if searching his memory, then nodded and answered.
“Yes, actually that’s right. I was cursed with a severe level decrease before, and I’m raising it again now. The experience shows because of that.”
“Ah… a curse? Yes, I thought so.”
Karen laughed brightly.
But her eyes were not smiling.
‘Bingo.’
Level decrease from a curse.
A common excuse used by reincarnates—or rather, malevolent spirits—to hide their unnatural strength.
Malevolent spirits reincarnated into Belheim inevitably brought with them vast knowledge and experience.
But because their bodies could not keep pace, creating a disharmony, they often resorted to one particular excuse to bridge that gap: the ‘curse.’
Unlike others, Karen—a Mage who pursued knowledge and had learned of reincarnates from Belmont—possessed a sharp understanding of their behavioral patterns.
As Doran moved ahead and vanished from sight, Karen immediately seized Malton’s arm from behind.
“Excuse me, Elf. May I have a word?”
“What is it?”
Malton turned in confusion, and Karen adjusted her pointed hat as she drew closer.
Like a witch offering a poisoned apple, she whispered his greatest secret.
“That man… I suspect he’s a malevolent spirit.”

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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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