The Mage’s Nemesis Has Reincarnated - Chapter 149

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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 149
‘What the hell is this guy?’
The moment Zeke let out a hollow laugh upon seeing Henk suddenly challenge him to a sparring match.
【Sudden Quest: Earn Recognition from the Escort Guard】
└Many members of the Escort Guard belonging to the Hormos Merchant Alliance doubt your abilities.
└Demonstrate your strength and earn their recognition.
【Conditions】
└Earn recognition of your abilities from the Escort Guard
【Rewards】
└6th Circle Skill Proficiency increased by 7,000
The moment the Quest appeared, my hollow laugh transformed into a genuine smile.
‘Well, that changes things.’
Honestly, the murmuring from those around me felt like watching an annoying swarm of flies, but now it felt like gazing upon a pot of honey.
However.
“You’re laughing?”
Henk’s frown deepened even further.
He’d mistaken it for mockery directed at him.
‘This little punk…! Without magic, he’s nothing but dead meat!’
Henk believed that Zeke had withstood his strength moments ago because of magic.
Perhaps he’d made his body heavier using magic to endure it.
That’s why he called over the referee and added a rule.
“Hey, Arus!”
“Huh? Yeah!”
“Add a rule to the sparring match—no magic or aura of any kind is allowed! I’m about to spar with this punk right now!”
“Oh, got it. But with conditions like that, do you think the other person will agree…?”
All eyes turned toward Zeke.
After all, a sparring match required the opponent’s consent.
Naturally, with the Quest appearing before me, I had no reason to refuse, but Henk, unaware of this fact, deliberately provoked me with a snort.
“Surely you’re not thinking of backing out now that you’ve come this far? Little punk? If you’re really scared, why don’t you go get some more of your mother’s milk while you’re at it.”
“Hahahaha!”
“Kekekeke!”
Those around us snickered at whatever they found amusing, but the provocation didn’t work on me.
I simply smiled back as if it were endearing.
“I’ll spar with you. But how about we make a wager instead?”
“A wager? I like that. If I win, that woman becomes mine.”
The woman Henk pointed to was Carbollearos.
Carbollearos, who’d been singled out, wore an expression of confusion.
“I should ask Carbollearos’s opinion first, but well, there’s no chance you’ll win anyway, so fine. Now, for my condition when I win….”
“Ha, look at this arrogant little punk! You’re already assuming you’ll win?”
Instead, Henk’s forehead flushed with blood as he fell for my provocation.
“I don’t care what you’re asking for. I’m going to win anyway. But if I do win, I’ll grant you whatever you want.”
“You promised.”
“Arus! Bring me a wooden sword! I need to teach this bastard some manners.”
The referee brought wooden training swords to both of them.
As people naturally stepped back, an octagon formed.
“Of all people, he had to draw that mad dog Henk. Poor bastard.”
“Right? He’s skilled enough to create Aura Blades.”
“As long as he doesn’t cry after getting beaten, that’s a win.”
Before the match even began, the crowd was already convinced of Henk’s victory.
Though his personality was questionable, his skill placed him among the elite lower-tier Aura Masters.
But no one knew that Zeke had already reached the realm of an upper-tier Aura Master.
“As you heard earlier, the rules are to duel purely with swordsmanship—no magic or Aura. Now, prepare yourselves… Begin!”
At the signal, Henk charged forward with his sword raised.
“Die!”
His momentum was truly terrifying, but Zeke lightly evaded the attack and countered.
Thwack!
“Ugh!”
Pain shot up from Henk’s ribs, his eyes widening.
For a moment, his breath caught.
Crack!
“Gah!”
Hit in the leg, the massive frame staggered.
“You bastard!”
Henk’s sword came slashing at Zeke’s waist with a desperate cry.
But before it could connect.
Thwack!
Zeke’s wooden sword struck Henk’s shoulder like lightning.
“Argh!”
Henk dropped to one knee, his eyes bulging from the pain.
‘I can’t lose like this. Even if I’m disqualified, I need to preserve my pride!’
Though the gap in skill was now evident, there was one way to narrow it.
Aura.
If he activated Aura throughout his body, he could unleash explosive power and eventually force that bastard to his knees.
Whoooosh!
“Huh?”
“Isn’t he using Aura right now?”
Aura users could always recognize when someone else was using Aura.
The moment the spectators pointed at Henk, they couldn’t help but notice the shimmer rising across his entire body.
Crack!
“Gaaahhhhh!”
Henk’s leg bent at an unnatural angle from the wooden sword strike.
In the end, the one sitting down and wailing was none other than Henk himself.
“It’s over, isn’t it, Referee?”
“Y-yes… The winner is Zeke!”
The referee shouted, but the roaring cheers from before did not follow.
Everyone simply kept their mouths shut like clams.
It was hard to believe.
The defeat of Henk, who ranked among the top three of the Escort Guard.
“I never thought he’d win so easily…”
“Didn’t Henk just let his guard down?”
“He definitely did. From the start.”
“I could tell from when he just charged in recklessly.”
Several people changed their tune and refused to acknowledge Zeke’s victory.
‘This is ridiculous. Absolutely ridiculous.’
These were people who had lived by the sword their entire lives, so it was only natural they’d be reluctant to admit defeat to a boy so much younger than themselves.
A hollow laugh escaped me, but fortunately, there would be more opportunities to prove myself.
“Kid. How about a match with me?”
Challengers began stepping forward one after another.

* * *
Escort Guard Commander Kalos couldn’t help but worry.
‘Those men who go crazy over women—will they really stay put without causing trouble?’
Out of concern, he had even warned his men not to cause any problems, yet the worry didn’t fade.
He knew all too well that these weren’t men who would listen to words.
‘I should check on them as soon as lunch is over.’
After finishing his meal quickly, Kalos headed toward the building.
Since they hadn’t come to eat yet, the probability they were still here was high.
“As expected. They were here.”
He nodded at the sight of his men as soon as he opened the door, but there was something he hadn’t anticipated.
“What, what is this!”
Of the eighty-some men, barely half were standing.
The other half lay collapsed on the ground, groaning in pain.
“You lot! What were you doing here? Were you fighting over the female members? Huh!”
Kalos, thinking they’d gotten into a brawl among themselves, cast his gaze to one side.
Everyone was staring at one spot, as if watching some spectacle.
“What are you all standing around gawking at…”
As I pushed through the crowd to understand the situation better.
A shocking sight came into view.
Crack!
“Ugh!”
Zeke McLafflin stood alone against five opponents simultaneously, wielding nothing but a wooden sword.
Crack! Crack!
Zeke McLafflin evaded the five blades with overwhelming superiority, striking whenever an opening presented itself.
His strength was so formidable that a single hit left his opponents sprawled on the ground, unable to muster the will to rise.
“Zeke McLafflin?”
“Ah, Captain.”
Upon seeing Kalos, Zeke McLafflin lowered his wooden sword.
The match was already over.
“What in the world happened here?”
“I’m not entirely sure, sir. They kept insisting on sparring with me, so I simply obliged them for a bit….”
‘A bit? This is what he calls a bit?’
Kalos surveyed the surroundings with an expression of utter bewilderment.
Nearly forty members of the unit lay scattered about, their faces twisted in pain.
Meanwhile, Zeke McLafflin appeared virtually unscathed.
‘He faced nearly forty opponents single-handedly without even breaking a sweat.’
Kalos couldn’t help but feel a chill run down his spine, and he found himself wondering how he would have fared in the same situation.
‘Even I, an intermediate-level Aura Master, would have struggled to face such numbers without drawing upon my Aura.’
The realization that he had hired a monster sent shivers through him, yet at the same time, he felt reassured to have such a formidable ally.
The rumors of the Demon Swordsman had proven to be true, after all.
‘I hadn’t fully believed it without witnessing his abilities myself, but now the proof is undeniable.’
Kalos prodded the fallen members with his boot.
“Stop your whining and get up! How long do you intend to lie there?”
“Ugh, Captain, it really hurts.”
“That’s what you get for not listening. Didn’t I tell you before I left? Don’t cause trouble. Yet the moment I’m gone, you can’t resist picking a fight? Did you really think this would happen? Huh?”
‘W-We had no idea, of course!’
The members felt wronged at being asked such an obvious question, but they could only swallow their protests.
There was no point in saying anything more—it would only make things worse.
“Get up quickly! If anyone needs medical attention, speak up!”
“Henk was injured quite severely.”
“Henk?”
At Zeke McLafflin’s words, Kalos turned to examine Henk.
“This is… his leg is completely broken. We need to treat it immediately….”
“No. Please don’t treat him.”
Zeke McLafflin shook his head.
“We made a wager, you see. The winner gets to make any demand of the loser. Isn’t that right, Henk?”
Zeke McLafflin smiled wickedly as he looked down at Henk.
His gaze was cold and merciless—far too mature for a boy his age.
Henk, meeting that stare, instinctively averted his eyes in fear.
Terror seized him, causing his legs to tremble at the thought of what might come.
“But if we leave it as is, Henk will become crippled….”
“Yes. I wish to become disabled. And to be expelled from the Escort Guard as well. After all, you can’t use a crippled person as a soldier, right?”
“….”
Whatever had transpired before, the decision was now firmly set.
Kalos regarded Henk with that understanding.
“Henk. Do you agree with Zeke’s words?”
“….”
Henk could not bring himself to answer.
Would he truly wish to become a cripple himself?
Yet if he refused to agree, he feared Zeke’s retaliation.
He had already proven the disparity in strength by single-handedly incapacitating nearly half of the unit.
“Henk?”
“I… agree….”
Just as the words barely escaped his reluctant lips.
“Let me heal you. I can’t bear to see you suffer like this.”
“….”
Zeke showed mercy.
Reading his thoughts revealed unmistakable remorse.
And.
‘The Quest is already complete anyway.’
[Gained recognition from the Escort Guard – Complete!]
[Sudden Quest cleared!]
[You receive 7,000 Sixth-tier Skill Proficiency as a reward.]
[The skill ‘Mana Absorption’ has reached 7-star achievement.]
[Mana detection and absorption range increased from 40m▶45m.]
[Daily stat increase from Mana Absorption raised from 6▶7 points.]
[Remaining proficiency until 8-star achievement: 3,843/100,000]

* * *
Shortly after the storm had passed.
The lunch hall at the Training Facility was unusually quiet today.
Half the members were too busy receiving treatment to eat.
The other half were too preoccupied with cautious glances.
“Zeke. Those guys keep glaring at you—what’s that about?”
“They’re just being cautious. Don’t mind it.”
“Is it because you’re the king of this sector?”
“Something like that.”
“True enough. My subjects used to look at me that way too. It was ages ago, but I still remember it vividly.”
I left Carbollearos to his nostalgia and rose from my seat after finishing my meal.
Every time my eyes met theirs, I caught glimpses of their thoughts.
―He took down dozens without even channeling aura. The man’s ruthless.
―How does someone that young possess such power?
―The rumors about him slaughtering dozens alone in the Hamilton Territory skirmish weren’t exaggerations after all.
―The real mad dog wasn’t Henk. It was him.
―Damn, he made eye contact.
The way they looked at me had transformed completely from before the sparring match.
Not a single person held me in contempt anymore; most were gripped by fear.
Some members even shuddered when recalling what I’d done to Henk.
‘They’re afraid, but at least I’ve earned their acknowledgment.’
After the satisfying lunch concluded, Kalos began his briefing.
“Did everyone enjoy their meal?”
“Yes.”
Only Zeke answered with confidence.
“What about the rest of you?”
“…We’re not sure if the rice went up our noses or into our mouths, sir.”
“Ha, an amusing answer. So why did you provoke trouble in the first place?”
“….”
The members who had nothing to say hung their heads in dejection.
“I hope you’ve learned a valuable lesson—never judge people by appearances alone. Now, let me begin the briefing for this operation.”
The members straightened up and listened intently.
Despite their rough exterior, they were genuinely committed to their duties.
“This mission is a request from the Holy Empire. We’re to escort an important figure to the Braham Kingdom. We’ll cut through the Labteran Mountain Range to save time, and a total of eighty-two will be providing escort….”
The explanation continued, and each member received their assigned positions.
However, the most curious detail remained unspoken.
As the briefing was nearly complete, I raised my hand.
“Who exactly are we escorting?”
“Ah, I forgot to mention that.”
Kalos, having momentarily slipped his mind, continued.
“The one I’m escorting is….”

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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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