The Mage’s Nemesis Has Reincarnated - Chapter 100

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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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The Natural Enemy of Mages Has Been Reincarnated – Episode 100
With multiple additional tags added, I had achieved tremendous growth.
‘In just one more month, that tag will change to 17 years old as well.’
It had already been nearly 17 years since I was reincarnated into this world.
Yet this place still felt as foreign to me as a foreign land.
It was only natural—I had lived 28 years as a Korean.
‘I have no desire to settle down here permanently. I need to return home.’
Even though there was no family waiting for me back there, home was still home, wasn’t it?
I yearned for cities and Korean people far more than exotic landscapes surrounded by Westerners.
‘Besides, the system told me to grow stronger, didn’t it?’
Given the skill structure, my power could only increase with time.
Ultimately, whether I liked it or not, I would have to return.
‘Then it’s better to grow stronger quickly and return sooner.’
To do that, I needed to unlock the awakening stages of my skills.
I’d heard that reaching the 7th awakening stage brings explosive growth.
‘Hunters who reach the 7th awakening stage reportedly feel a two-tier rank increase subjectively.’
An F-rank hunter would feel like a D-rank, an S-rank like an SSS-rank—the presence or absence of 7th awakening was quite significant.
That’s why I was desperately focused on raising my proficiency levels.
‘I’ve already copied all the magic from the House Deporte and other mages. To increase further, I’ll have no choice but to meet other mages through territorial wars.’
When I return, it would be better to do so discreetly.
With that thought, I called Carbollearos for the first time in a while.
‘Carbollearos. That hood you mentioned before. Does it really work?’
-The Shadow Hood, you mean? Of course it works.
My subspace was filled with items from Carbollearos’ Treasure Vault.
Among them was something called the [Shadow Hood], which I planned to use to enter the Mercenary Company.
‘I don’t want to hear complaints the moment I arrive.’
After dismissing the carriage driver, I pulled the hood from my subspace and put it on.
Whoosh—
‘Is it working? I’m invisible right now, aren’t I?’
-Yes. I cannot see you at all, even with my eyes.
‘If even a dragon’s eyes can’t see me, the performance is definitely reliable.’
Ordinary invisibility spells could be easily detected by high-circle archmages.
Some facilities had detection magic cast on them, allowing them to sense intruders.
The Golden Eagle Mercenary Corps Headquarters was currently in that state.
But with the Shadow Hood, there was no risk of being discovered.
According to Carbollearos, when used in shadowed areas, it conceals all traces—breathing, footsteps, everything.
It was no lie, for I passed through the guards and entered the Golden Eagle Mercenary Corps’ Dormitory with remarkable ease.
‘This hood is perfect for nighttime use.’
Of course, there were drawbacks.
My form becomes visible when I attack, making it unsuitable for combat.
Zeke removed his hood in front of the door and stashed it in his subspace before knocking gently.
“Who is it… Zeke!?”
“It’s been a while.”
Mary opened the door in surprise and ushered Zeke inside.
“Oh, when did you get back?”
“Just now. Nothing happened while I was gone, right?”
“No, sir. Except Captain kept asking where you were and where you’d gone.”
“Ah… he did?”
It seemed Captain Chris had pressed Mary and Peter for information, likely because of his connection to them.
“Go get Peter for me. I need to talk to both of you about something.”
Shortly after, Mary returned with Peter.
“Zeke! Where the hell have you been?”
“That’s what I’m here to tell you about. Please, sit down.”
Zeke recounted everything he’d experienced to the two of them.
Of course, he omitted the details about posing as a Kelbridge spy, meeting Azrahil, killing him, and learning illusion magic.
“I wanted to track down someone called Brahm’s Illusionist. After hearing he was behind the territorial disputes, I traveled around investigating.”
The two listened silently, but their eyes widened when he mentioned House Deporte.
“That’s when I ended up at House Deporte, and that’s where I found the illusionist.”
He’d confronted Azrahil and barely managed to escape the danger.
Zeke then explained that he’d gone to search the Count Hamilton’s mine with Deporte’s Daughter afterward.
He said he needed to understand what Azrahil was after.
“So, did you find anything?”
“No. Nothing at all.”
Zeke remained silent about discovering the Arcnium.
“Hmm, House Deporte… I recall there was talk of a betrothal between them and me before.”
“You mean Princess Sillis?”
“Yeah. I’ve never actually met her, but… what was she like? As beautiful as the rumors said?”
Zeke nodded at Peter’s question.
By Western standards, she was certainly quite beautiful.
Then Mary bristled.
“Zeke, was she prettier than me?”
“Huh? Well…”
“Why can’t you answer right away?”
“Because it’s difficult to judge. Honestly, it’s hard to say one is better than the other.”
Mary had her own charm, and Sillis had hers.
Objectively speaking, both possessed faces beautiful enough to captivate the soul.
“…”
Understanding his meaning, Mary’s excitement subsided.
Seeing the subtle upturn at the corners of her mouth, it seemed she was satisfied with his answer.
Zeke continued with his story.
I had no choice but to tell them that I had become a disciple of Omang Sung.
The reaction was even more explosive than before.
“What!? You became a disciple of the Iron-Blooded Lord?”
“Shh. Keep it down, will you? Don’t you know everyone’s sleeping right now?”
At Mary’s rebuke, Peter closed his mouth, but his flaring nostrils betrayed his excitement.
Meeting such a heavyweight as Brahm’s Illusionist was already unbelievable, but becoming a disciple of one of the Five Lords was something else entirely.
“You’ve been through quite the ordeal while we were apart, haven’t you?”
It was the kind of experience only I could have.
“I’ve arranged to travel to the Baiso Kingdom whenever I have time to receive training. It’ll probably be after the territorial dispute ends.”
“Ah, speaking of that territorial dispute—the Captain mentioned it to us today.”
“So they’ve found our opponent.”
“Yeah. But I heard both the one who hired us and the one we’re fighting against are from the Baiso Kingdom.”
Surprise flickered across my eyes.
‘Is it a coincidence? The Baiso Kingdom is an allied nation, so it’s not strange for them to hire mercenaries, but….’
The timing felt far too convenient.

* * *
“Zeke! Why are you so late?”
“My apologies, Captain.”
“Phew, well, you’re here now. Anyway, have you heard that the opponent for the territorial dispute has been decided?”
“Yes. I heard it was the Baiso Kingdom….”
“To be precise, Count Petro Ridermond of the Baiso Kingdom is our employer. Our opponent is Count Erest Lacio, also from the same kingdom.”
I nodded.
This matched what Peter had told me.
But when I heard what came next, my eyes widened involuntarily.
“Do you know about Omang Sung?”
“Pardon? Omang Sung?”
“There are five Grand Aura Masters on the continent. They’re called Omang Sung.”
Captain Chris looked somewhat melancholic as he spoke.
The reason became clear shortly after.
“The Baiso Kingdom has two of Omang Sung: the Iron-Blooded Lord and the Dark Lord. There are factions that support them—the Iron-Blooded Faction and the Dark Faction. Once I say this much, you should catch on, right?”
“Surely not….”
“That’s right. Count Ridermond belongs to the Dark Faction, and Count Lacio to the Iron-Blooded Faction. In other words, we’re awkwardly being drawn into a factional conflict within the Baiso Kingdom.”
My eyes widened, but in truth, I was shocked for a different reason.
‘The count who hired us belongs to the Dark Lord’s faction?’
In other words, I would have to fight on the side of the Dark Lord against my master.
‘I have to stand with the enemy and fight against my master’s faction.’
This was an impossible situation for me.
‘It’s natural for a mercenary to side with their employer, but I never expected things to turn out like this….’
Captain Chris seemed uncomfortable about being caught up in a factional conflict, but I found the prospect of fighting my master equally unbearable.
Peter, hearing this story for the first time, asked in a hushed voice.
“Zeke. You said the Iron-Blooded Lord is your master. But you have to fight on the side of the Dark Faction?”
“Yes, it just happened to turn out this way.”
“Sigh, how could this happen… wait a moment.”
Peter, exhaling a sigh, approached the Captain.
“Captain. If we get involved in factional warfare, won’t we risk incurring the displeasure of many?”
“Only from the Iron-Blooded Faction. Going forward, the likelihood that they’ll designate our mercenary company as an enemy and refuse to hire us increases significantly.”
“Then can’t we cancel it?”
“We can’t. Our mercenary company doesn’t pick and choose contracts. Our employer, Count Petro Ridermond, may have a notorious reputation, but what can we do? Mercenaries must stand with whoever pays. Besides, I don’t even have the authority to cancel it.”
“…”
Faced with the Captain’s resolute words, as if the matter were already decided, Peter had no choice but to back down.
“Zeke. I’ve told you, but there’s nothing to be done. We’ll have to fight with the Dark Faction as our employer, whether we like it or not.”
“It’s fine. Actually, it’s even better.”
“Huh? Better?”
‘Because I can destroy the enemy from within.’
I couldn’t betray my master—I was in no position to.
To receive the buff effects, I had to remain his disciple.
Therefore, canceling the territorial war was the best option if possible.
But if that wasn’t possible?
‘I’ll kill the employer and prevent the territorial war from happening.’
I would betray not my master, but my employer—the one belonging to the Dark Faction.
This way, the territorial war wouldn’t occur, and I could prevent needless bloodshed.
But the mercenaries would find it difficult to accept.
For a mercenary, killing one’s employer was unthinkable.
This was why Zeke had held his tongue before Peter.
‘No one can know. If word spreads that I’m planning to kill the employer, the mercenary company will cast me out too. As the Captain said, mercenaries do whatever pays.’
In the end, I had no choice but to proceed with the assassination alone and in secret.
‘So Count Petro Ridermond is the employer and belongs to the Dark Faction?’
My eyes gleamed with fierce determination as I resolved to prevent the territorial war beforehand.

* * *
-Is the work progressing well?
“Of course, Zakar Patrick.”
-You’ve hired the Golden Eagle Mercenary Corps as well?
Maligore nodded with an expression that said it was obvious.
“Naturally. I’ve hired every member of the Mage Tower, so they should all gather at Ridermond Lordship Castle by the day after tomorrow.”
-We can deal with them once the territorial war begins.
“Rather than that, why don’t you leave it to me? If there are targets for the mercenary company to eliminate, I can handle them beforehand….”
-Why would you want to scratch and create problems before anything’s even started? If you’re going to do anything, you should wait until after the territorial war begins so no one gets suspicious.
“Ah, yes, you’re right. I was shortsighted.”
-And you don’t need to do anything. I’ll handle it personally.
“Pardon? Personally?”
-The target is one thing, but we need to win the territorial war, don’t we? I’ll take this opportunity to deal with the Iron-Blooded Lord as well.
The 12 Pioneers he served would participate in the territorial war and lend their strength?
Just thinking about it filled him with reassurance.

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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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