The Mage’s Nemesis Has Reincarnated - Chapter 13

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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 13
‘What? Mana?’
My mana absorption skill currently sits at nine stars of mastery.
Normally I could sense mana within a ten-meter radius, but thanks to the Master of Mana passive, I could read it up to sixty meters away.
‘But I’m sensing mana at the sixty-meter mark? Not from the communication conduit?’
My head turned toward the three o’clock direction.
Peering intently through the distant brush, I could make out someone lurking there, watching us.
“What is this? An ambush?”
“First Son, what did you just say?”
At Raker’s question, I raised my hand.
“Stop the carriage for a moment.”
“What are you talking about? Why would we stop?”
Peter looked at me as though I’d lost my mind, but I remained serious.
Catching sight of that gravity, Raker immediately brought the magical carriage to a halt.
“Stop!”
“Don’t stop! Who do you think you are—”
Peter was still shouting when it happened.
BOOM!
“Ugh!”
“Argh!”
A sudden explosion erupted, sending three Guard Knights who had been protecting the front of the carriage flying backward.
A magical circle appeared on the ground before vanishing.
A spell that had been prepared in advance had detonated.
“Ambush! Protect the First Son!”
At Raker’s command, the Guard Knights moved with perfect coordination.
The claim that only elite soldiers had been selected was apparently no exaggeration.
Some surrounded my carriage while others rushed toward the brush.
The mage who had been hiding burst forth, robes billowing as he fled.
“The enemy is a mage! Don’t give them time to cast!”
They closed in swiftly, but the mage’s body vanished even faster.
Like smoke.
“Invisibility?”
“They’re using concealment magic! At least a fifth-circle mage!”
Tension flickered across the Guard Knights’ faces.
Even with their skill, they had no way to discern invisibility, and they glanced about uncertainly.
But the mage targeting us was not alone.
“Wait! There’s another mage at nine o’clock!”
“And another at seven o’clock!”
Information was exchanged instantly, and their response was equally swift.
The dispersed knights had already closed in on the mages’ positions.
“Young Master! Close the window and get inside—it’s dangerous!”
“What’s happening?”
“It appears three mages were lying in ambush. Please get inside at once. The magical carriage has protective enchantments, so you’ll be safer there!”
Raker spoke urgently, but I felt no real tension.
Compared to the majesty of the Dragon Army I’d faced in my past life, mages were trivial.
They were merely humans, not even monsters.
‘Besides, their positions are already exposed to me.’
My mana absorption skill could detect magical power within a sixty-meter radius.
Thanks to that, I could pinpoint every mage’s location.
Every mage carried a ring of mana around their heart.
‘Judging by the number of rings, they’re all Sixth-Circle mages?’
Moreover, Raker had said three mages were in ambush, but there were actually four.
Two of them were using invisibility.
Whoooosh—
Boom!
“Argh!”
An explosion and a scream echoed in succession.
Through the magical carriage’s window, a sight unfolded that was almost unbearable to witness.
‘The knights are taking a beating.’
The knights had closed the distance and attacked first, but even they couldn’t pierce the mages’ thick shields.
So they had no choice but to suffer a counterattack from the flame magic.
‘Huh?’
Then I sensed magical power behind me.
A mage who’d dropped their invisibility unleashed a flame spell.
Boom!
“Kyaaah!”
The interior of the magical carriage shook violently.
The attendants inside screamed, but I remained composed.
Though I was slightly startled.
‘Damn. That explosive force is no joke.’
The carriage shook hard, but fortunately the protective enchantment held and it didn’t shatter.
However, sensing the magical power flowing through the carriage, I had a premonition it wouldn’t withstand much more.
‘If I allow one more attack, it’ll be reduced to splinters.’
As I was thinking that, another mage dropped their invisibility.
The moment the second flame spell finished casting, a sense of danger finally struck me.
“We can’t stay here. We need to get out now!”
I urgently opened the door and ushered the attendants out.
Peter scrambled out as well.
Raker, who had just slit one mage’s throat, shouted in surprise as people suddenly emerged.
“Why are you coming out? It’s dangerous—get back inside!”
“No, I have to go!”
Just as Zeke shouted while leaping from the magical carriage.
A second inferno struck the vehicle directly.
BOOM!
“Ahhh!”
The shield spell shattered, and the carriage was engulfed in flames.
Had I remained any longer, I would have become roasted meat.
“Dispatch the mages with haste!”
Yet despite the bold command, the knights found no way to apprehend the mages.
Whenever they attempted to seize them, the mages vanished before their eyes as if mocking them with invisibility.
It felt like fighting ghosts.
Raker, recognizing the dire situation, turned back with resignation.
“Young master! This won’t do. While we hold them off, you must— Where is First Son McLafflin?”
At those words, Zeke turned his head.
First Son McLafflin, who had been beside me moments before, had vanished.
“What? Where did he go?”
-I saw him use invisibility and flee. I witnessed it myself.
At Carbollearos’s response, I couldn’t help but laugh bitterly.
So he was using invisibility to escape alone, abandoning everyone else.
‘Does he not care if everyone here dies?’
This wouldn’t do.
Just as I realized I had to act, Raker wrapped his arms around my waist like I was cargo.
“Forgive the liberty, young master!”
“Wait, hold on—!”
“Everyone, cover the young master and follow me!”
The knights, like Raker, hoisted their fellow servants and retreated while intercepting the mages.
They chose flight over confrontation.
“If we take refuge in that forest, they won’t pursue us!”
I lifted my gaze toward the direction Raker was running.
There was indeed a forest, but it looked ominous—like the gaping maw of some beast.
Tap-tap-tap—
The mages cast haste magic and pursued, but they couldn’t close the distance.
Our knights held the advantage in mobility.
Seeing us approach the forest, the mages slowed their pace and began chanting.
They were abandoning the chase to unleash one final spell.
‘I can’t let that happen.’
Zeke absorbed the mana surrounding the mages.
Whoooosh—
“Huh?”
“…!”
The mages preparing their spells flinched in alarm.
Panic seized them as their magic suddenly refused to activate.
[Absorbed 17 mana.]
[Absorbed 22 mana.]
[Absorbed 15 mana.]
…
…
With the relentless drain of their mana, the mages found themselves utterly powerless to cast any spell.
Zeke was continuously absorbing their magical energy.
‘Excellent. The mana absorption is blocking their spellcasting entirely.’
It was far from a mere stat-boosting skill—far from overpowered in that sense alone.
It possessed the devastating effect of neutralizing an opponent’s magic.
‘This is essentially a skill designed to counter mages, isn’t it?’
The natural enemy of mages, born into a mage’s household.
Truly ironic.
The system had indeed chosen a background perfectly suited for my growth.
Thanks to the opening I had created, the knights and attendants were able to slip safely into the forest.
They had successfully shaken off the mages’ pursuit.
“This should suffice. Let’s stop here.”
At Raker’s command, the knights who had been running continuously came to a halt.
All of them, breathing heavily, set down the attendants, and I was finally able to touch solid ground again.
“Young Master Zeke, are you injured anywhere?”
“I’m fine. But those creatures from before—they were professional assassins, weren’t they? It seemed too deliberate to be simple bandits, the way they targeted the mana carriage so precisely….”
“Your insight is remarkable. As you suspected, these are no ordinary brigands. They’re trained assassins.”
These were not common highwaymen one might encounter by chance.
Four of them—all 6-Circle mages—composed this professional assassination squad.
“Damn it, where did such creatures come crawling out from….”
The sudden mage assault had wounded several of the Guard Knights.
The mana carriage was damaged beyond immediate use, and the attendants bore minor injuries as well.
The situation had deteriorated to the point where proper protection was no longer feasible.
As captain of the Guard Knight Order, Raker bore the weight of responsibility for failing to prevent the ambush.
“I apologize, First Son. I should have been more vigilant….”
“No. Rather, those creatures seem to have been waiting for us specifically.”
“Waiting for us?”
“They had drawn the explosion runes in advance and were lying in ambush, didn’t they? That means someone provided them information and they knew our route beforehand, doesn’t it?”
“Hmm, your reasoning has merit, but I cannot fathom where such information could have leaked from….”
“Someone ordered them to kill me and my eldest brother. Someone from within our own ranks who knew our movements.”
“What? An inside job?”
Could there truly be a traitor among the family’s own members?
‘If someone harbors a grudge against me….’
Zeke’s eyes lit up with sudden recognition.
A single person came to mind.

* * *
“Damn it. We let them slip away.”
The assassins who had stopped in their tracks watched blankly as Zeke’s group disappeared into the forest.
The footwork of mages was no match for the speed of Guard Knights.
So they had decided to stop and snipe with magic instead——.
“Why isn’t the magic working?”
“I’m not sure. The gathered mana suddenly dispersed.”
For some reason, the magic had simply vanished on its own.
“Could it be the forest’s influence?”
“That seems to be the case.”
“It would have to be a forest with such a notorious reputation.”
The forest the mages were watching was where their target had entered.
“They actually dared to enter that place.”
“What do we do? Should we follow them in?”
“Are you insane? You want to enter the Monster Forest?”
Even for sixth-circle mages like them, the Monster Forest was equally dangerous.
“Leave it. The mission has failed, but once they’ve entered the Monster Forest, they won’t be coming back out alive.”
“Shouldn’t we at least try to confirm it?”
“The risk of going in directly is too great. They might escape quickly, so we’ll just keep watch here for now.”
Even as he said this, it was a painful blunder.
For assassins like them, mission failure was tantamount to death.
“We were supposed to kill both targets, but we failed. And we lost one of our own.”
“We don’t know that yet. Since they’ve entered the Monster Forest, we can’t call it a failure.”
“If only the magic circle we set up had detonated, it would have been perfect.”
“How did they even know we were there and stop it right before the explosion?”
“I have no idea. More importantly, keep quiet.”
The mage pressed his index finger to his lips.
“That fleeing rat might be listening.”
“Ah….”
The rat they spoke of was Peter McLafflin.
They were well aware that he had used invisibility and disappeared during the chaos.
“One of you stay here and watch the forest. The rest of you search the surrounding area. We need to find that rat.”
The mages nodded and quickly dispersed.

* * *
‘What are those bastards doing? Are they searching for me?’
Peter chewed his lower lip as he watched the assassins.
It appeared they were conducting a search for him.
I couldn’t remain in this invisible state indefinitely.
Once my mana depleted, the invisibility would dissipate.
‘I don’t have time for this. I need to escape now.’
Fortunately, their search radius was quite distant from my location.
Survival depended on putting as much distance as possible between myself and the assassins.
Tap, tap, tap—
I sprinted relentlessly, but without regular physical conditioning, exhaustion overtook me quickly.
‘Huff, huff. At this distance, they shouldn’t be able to catch me.’
The moment I believed I’d created sufficient distance, my allocated mana depleted and the invisibility shattered.
Thud—
Exhausted, I collapsed to the ground, catching my breath as I reflected.
How had I ended up in this predicament?
“Here I am, the next family head, being hunted by assassins. This is absurd.”
I could guess who wanted me dead.
Which made it all the more infuriating.
“After eight years of working like a dog, seeing every humiliation imaginable, this is my reward? Is this why you agreed to take in Zeke? Damn it all.”
The thought of betrayal from someone I’d trusted clouded my judgment.
Otherwise, I wouldn’t have recklessly retrieved the communication stone and contacted them directly.
Tap, tap, tap—
I pulled out the communication stone hidden in my robes and tapped it three times, establishing a connection.
-Who is this?
At the abrupt question, I spoke in a cold voice.
“Tower Master. It’s Peter.”
-Peter. Good. Are you bringing the youngest with you?
“This is too much, Tower Master.”
-Hmm?
“I’ve served you faithfully without fail all this time. Yet this is how you repay my loyalty?”
-What nonsense are you spouting?
“You sent assassins to kill me.”
-What?
“When you wanted Zeke brought here for experiments on mana backlash research, I didn’t object once. I actively supported and cooperated with your plan. Yet you’re trying to dispose of both Zeke and me like this… It’s truly too much.”
-Assassins? What are you talking about? Were you attacked by assassins on the way?
“…Didn’t you send assassins to kill us?”
-Whatever you’re thinking, I’ve never ordered an assassination. Why would I want you dead?
“Ah….”
Peter could only wear a dumbfounded expression for a long moment.
I had assumed the Tower Master of the Magic Tower had sent an assassin to kill me, but I was completely wrong.
“Are you truly saying this was not the Tower Master’s order?”
-And what if it wasn’t? You swore your loyalty to me with a mana oath. Why would I kill you? If I intended to, I wouldn’t have asked you to bring me test subjects.
“Ah, I apologize. It seems I misunderstood.”
-Are you unharmed?
“Yes, I managed to shake off the assassin’s pursuit.”
-The test subject?
Peter recalled Zeke McLafflin, who had ventured into the Monster Forest moments ago.
“Zeke won’t be coming back alive.”
-What a pity. I wanted to observe him myself under the guise of magical training, given his lack of mana affinity.
“I apologize. The sudden attack was something I couldn’t have anticipated either….”
-There’s no need to apologize. It was an unavoidable circumstance. For now, focus on keeping yourself safe. Assassins tend to be persistent.
“Understood. Then I’ll take my leave.”
Peter closed the communication device, his expression noticeably lighter.
“The assassin wasn’t hired by the Tower Master after all.”
If I hadn’t contacted the Tower Master to clear up the misunderstanding, I would have remained deeply confused.
‘Then who sent the assassin?’
The question lingered, but for now I needed to focus on evading.
‘Why did the communication device stop working….’
I wanted to inform my father of my situation, but the communication device he gave me was broken, leaving me with no means of contact.
“I’ll have to go tell him in person.”
My destination was now clear.
Once my breathing had stabilized, I surveyed my surroundings and quickened my pace.
Unaware that someone had overheard the entire conversation.

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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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