The Mage’s Nemesis Has Reincarnated - Chapter 8

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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 8
Raker was in a difficult position.
As the captain of the McLafflin Family’s Guard Knight Order, he was supposed to assist the young master, yet….
‘There’s nothing I can do but watch from a distance.’
All he could do was observe the Tree Hollow from afar where the young master had entered.
Even now, thirty minutes had passed!
‘I’d like to follow him in if I could. But….’
The closer he approached, the more the turbulent fluctuations of mana made him hesitate.
If he ventured any closer, it could affect the aura within his dantian.
‘If I’m careless, the vessel of my dantian could shatter, and I might live the rest of my life as a cripple.’
If that happened, his career as a knight would be finished.
The other knights understood this well, which is why they too dared not approach.
‘But that’s the same risk if something happens to the young master’s safety.’
What if something befell young master Zeke?
Not only would he face consequences, but everyone present would find it difficult to escape responsibility.
A guard knight’s reason for existence was to protect their charge with their very life.
‘But if I approach any closer, I’ll become a cripple. I’ll become unable to protect anyone even if I wanted to.’
If he became disabled, he couldn’t save the young master anyway.
All he could do now was watch and hope the young master emerged safely.
He wasn’t the only one who was anxious.
The attendants who came to serve the young master and the other guard knights were also watching the Tree Hollow with worried expressions, hoping he would emerge unharmed.
Praying that nothing would happen inside.
‘Please, let nothing happen to him in there….’
Before departure, he’d heard the destination was dangerous, but he hadn’t expected it to be like this.
He hadn’t expected the young master to enter that hole alone.
“Young master….”
After thirty minutes of waiting with clasped hands like a prayer—
A shadow suddenly burst forth from the hole.
It was Zeke, the young master they’d been waiting for.
“Young master!”
“Did I keep you waiting long?”
“What happened! We were so worried!”
“I’m sorry.”
“No, there’s no need to apologize….”
Raker, flustered, examined Zeke’s body as he approached.
Fortunately, there didn’t appear to be any injuries.
‘Hm?’
But there was something different from when he’d entered.
“What is that, young master?”
“Oh, this?”
Around his neck hung a necklace I had never seen before.
“I found it inside. What do you think? Isn’t it magnificent?”
“…Yes. Indeed it is.”
It certainly looked refined and expensive, though I couldn’t quite place its origin.
‘To simply pick up some unknown object without a second thought.’
It was the sort of behavior one might expect from a beggar, but Raker refrained from voicing such thoughts aloud.
He merely assumed his young master possessed some degree of greed for material possessions.
“In any case, I’m relieved you’re unharmed, young master.”
Yet an unexpected statement escaped from the young master’s lips.
“Shall we return home now?”
“Pardon?”
I had assumed we would stay several more days, yet now he wished to return to the Duke’s Mansion?
“Have you… completed your business, then?”
“Yes, I have.”
“Surely not!”
Raker exclaimed with barely contained excitement.
“Can you sense mana now?”
“No.”
Raker found himself more disappointed by this unexpected answer than the young master himself appeared to be.
“I achieved no results whatsoever.”
Yet the young master’s expression showed no trace of disappointment whatsoever.
‘Why does he not despair? Surely he had placed great hopes upon this journey?’
Where Raker expected dejection, the young master’s response remained surprisingly composed.
His eyes still gleamed with determination—he had not yet surrendered.
Witnessing such unwavering resolve, Raker could not help but feel genuine admiration.
‘Indeed, despite lacking talent, this is what it means to be a scion of the McLafflin Family.’
Raker smiled faintly at such bearing unbecoming of a twelve-year-old.
The young master’s earnest determination was truly commendable.

* * *
I had to forcibly suppress the smile creeping across my face.
Someone might think I looked foolish if they saw me like this.
‘But what can I do? I’ve obtained such a high-quality slave.’
I lowered my head and gazed at the necklace with satisfaction.
To others, it might appear to be nothing more than an exquisite piece of jewelry, but the reality was far different.
They could never imagine that a dragon’s soul resided within it.
-Y-you human bastard. What’s making you so pleased! Your expression is positively sinister!
‘Well, the treasures in that vault are now mine, after all.’
-What are you saying! Those items I collected so desperately….
‘They’re my possessions now. Doesn’t the one who discovers them become the owner? Besides, you have no body, so you have no use for them anyway.’
-That doesn’t mean you get to keep them! I do not permit this!
‘I don’t need the permission of a bodiless spirit, do I? Hehehehe.’
-Grrrrr…!
I heard indignant snarling, but there was nothing the creature could do about it.
Now that I understood it couldn’t cast magic without mana stones, it was powerless.
Besides.
[Absorbed 107 mana.]
[Absorbed 102 mana.]
[Absorbed 108 mana.]
I was continuously absorbing the mana flowing from the necklace at regular intervals.
The fact that mana was being released without any mana stones suggested it was emanating directly from the soul itself.
This meant I could continue absorbing mana even after leaving the Dragon Ruins.
‘How is a soul producing this much mana?’
-Hmph! Doesn’t that prove how magnificent I am! So from now on, please return me to my proper place….
‘No, that’s impossible. Did you forget what you said earlier? You agreed to become my mana shuttle.’
-When did I! I never consented to this!
The way it shrieked, practically bouncing with indignation, showed just how much it despised the arrangement.
‘You hate it? Then why don’t you just transfer your body to another object like before and escape?’
-I’m not an idiot, and of course I’ve considered that! If it were possible, I would have done it long ago!
‘Why can’t you? Don’t tell me it’s because I’m absorbing your mana?’
-….
My guess had been correct.
‘Interesting. So to keep you bound to me, I simply need to continue absorbing your mana, don’t I?’
-What could you possibly gain from me? Just release me already.
‘I’m afraid I can’t do that.’
I had no intention of releasing this audacious dragon that had tried to kill me.
‘From now on, you’re my mana shuttle, understand?’
-Have you lost your mind, human! I have no intention of cooperating with you, whatever your scheme may be!
‘Want another mental breakdown?’
-….
‘If you need the same stimulus as before, just say the word anytime. I’ll use it again for you.’
-I… I must decline.
In truth, there was no way to use Mental Collapse again—I’d already exhausted it.
But the dragon believed my lie that I could use it whenever I wanted, likely because the psychological shock had been so severe.
And amusingly, the creature had begun to think of me as something like a ‘descendant of the divine.’
It was understandable, really.
Not only had I blocked the Mental Collapse spell it had cast, but I’d turned the very same magic back on it.
A human without a single Circle in his chest.
And since I was simultaneously absorbing its mana to prevent it from escaping, it wasn’t strange for it to think that way.
-That I, who feared nothing in life, should be toyed with by a descendant of the divine… This makes no sense. No sense at all…
‘Stop muttering and finish what you were saying before. You’ll do it, right? The magic shuttle thing?’
-What exactly do you mean by a “magic shuttle”?
‘Nothing complicated. Just cast magic at me whenever I want, like you did before.’
-To cast magic, I require a mana stone to act as a catalyst for connection with the material plane. And I need my own mana reserves as well. If you continue draining my mana like this, I can do nothing.
‘Of course. When it’s time to cast, I’ll stop the absorption. And I’ll find you a mana stone too.’
-Then… casting magic would not be difficult.
‘Okay. I’ll take that as a yes.’
-….
Its silence suggested it wouldn’t refuse.
‘Or… can’t you do it?’
From its perspective, it had no choice but to accept this bitter pill.
One wrong move and it might suffer the agony of Mental Collapse again.
‘As for me, having a magic shuttle is pretty convenient.’
-Hmm? What did you say?
‘Nothing. Never mind.’
For some reason, the creature could read my thoughts.
Though only those in Runic or the common tongue.
When I thought in Korean like now, it understood nothing at all.
Even removing the pendant from my body didn’t seem to let it read me.
This was slightly inconvenient for me, but I still needed to keep the creature around.
I needed a slave who could cast magic to raise the proficiency of my Third Awakening skill.
Up through the First and Second Awakening skills, proficiency rose from mana absorption alone, but not from the Third onward.
Just as the skill name “Magic Absorption” suggested, proficiency only increased when I absorbed actual magic.
So a mage’s assistance was essential.
And if that mage was a dragon—the very progenitor of magic—all the better.
‘By the way, how can you see my face if you’re just a spirit? That’s strange.’
-It is possible because I am a spirit.
‘Because you’re a spirit?’
-All sight is visible to me.
‘At the end of the day, you’re just trapped inside a trinket.’
-T-That is… there are reasons for it!
‘What reasons?’
-I have no obligation to explain myself to a descendant of the gods!
‘Is that so? Then would you like to experience some mental restructuring through psychic collapse, you divine descendant? Hmm?’
-Ugh….
The soul of this self-proclaimed dragon trapped within a necklace was utterly helpless before a single human.
With no means of resistance and genuinely believing I was a descendant of the gods, any threat I made would prove effective.
‘Don’t be scared. I was just asking. Truth be told, I don’t care about your reasons. Why should I care why you’re stuck in soul form? What matters is that I’ve secured myself a magical shuttle.’
-A heartless creature you are.
‘Speaking of which, what happens to the magical energy in this region if I take you away? Does it all disappear and return to normal?’
-No. This place was originally damaged by dragon’s breath. Its own magical aura remains. However, it will no longer emit the intense fluctuations it once did.
‘Then isn’t your treasure vault in danger too? What if others come and covet it?’
-There is no need for concern. Even after I depart, the concentration of magical energy will remain sufficient to make it difficult for ordinary humans to approach. Furthermore, there is a stone gate that responds to magical power which no ordinary person can open… or rather, it was destroyed. Someone crudely forced it open with brute strength.
‘If you’d just made it sturdy enough, you wouldn’t have been captured like this and everything would’ve been fine, right?’
-I never imagined there existed a human capable of pushing it open with pure strength alone, without even an aura.
Neither had I.
That it could be opened by sheer force.
Regardless, I couldn’t keep calling it a dragon forever—I’d need to give it a proper name.
‘What did you say your name was again?’
-To forget the name of this one! How disrespectful….
‘Before I sell this necklace off, why don’t you just answer the question?’
-C-Carbollearos!
‘Too long. From now on, your name is Golden Dragon.’
-What does that mean?
‘Gold Dragon, as you said. So, Golden Dragon.’
-Such a carelessly chosen name….
‘You have complaints? If you do, speak up. Mental collapse is always ready to be deployed.’
-Ugh….
‘So you won’t tell me? Why were you trapped in soul form?’
-Hmph, I have no intention of sharing personal matters with a human.
‘Well, it’s not my concern anyway.’
With an indifferent shrug, I turned to address my companions.
“If everyone’s ready, let’s head home now.”

* * *
‘Truly, what a fascinating world this is. Science hasn’t advanced, yet they possess everything imaginable.’
Communication networks, mana-powered vehicles—mana proved remarkably versatile in countless applications.
Perhaps that was why.
In this world, where magic had become ubiquitous, mages wielded greater power than aura users.
‘I read in a book called “The History of Magic and Aura” that aura users’ standing has been shrinking day by day.’
Unlike mages who forged mana circles within their hearts, aura users accumulated and refined mana in their dantians, channeling it into physical strength.
The aura they wielded—another term for magical power—lacked the flashiness of magic but delivered formidable force.
Yet because magic had developed so extensively, even those who reached the pinnacle as aura masters couldn’t stand against a 9th Circle mage.
‘The fact that the highest-ranking 9th Circle mages are called the Twelve Pioneers says it all about the current state of affairs.’
Therefore, being born into a prestigious magical family was undeniably fortunate for Zeke.
Born with the talent of a mage in an era that revered mages above all.
‘The problem is I have no opportunity to display that talent.’
Because of the Mana Absorption skill, I had no choice but to maintain the façade of being talentless, yet I possessed genuine aptitude.
The issue was that Mana Absorption consumed the user’s own mana as well, making it impossible to form circles.
But what about aura?
‘Does the system count aura as magical power? What would happen if I accumulated aura in my dantian and used it? Could I leverage the system while also wielding aura-user strength?’
I couldn’t form circles, but as an aura user, the situation would be different.
Perhaps by utilizing the system’s power, I could also harness aura.
‘The problem is how to learn it….’
My gaze shifted toward the knight commander riding alongside the mana-powered carriage.
“Commander Raker?”
I lowered the window and spoke; the commander drew closer.
“Yes, Young Master. What is it?”
“Would you keep me company? Riding alone in the carriage is rather tedious.”
“Ah, of course.”
Though he answered, he seemed slightly taken aback by the unexpected request.
“It will take about four more days to reach home, won’t it?”
“Yes, that’s correct. You remember the route we took coming here.”
“I wasn’t worried when Father and I came, but is it safe?”
“Absolutely. There are no monsters in this region, and since this road sees little traffic, bandits won’t appear. Rest assured.”
“Then we can travel at ease. By the way, Commander Raker, you’re an aura user, correct?”
“That’s right.”
“What level of aura user are you?”
“Myself? I’m at the advanced level of Aura Expert.”
Aura users are classified into three tiers: Aura Beginner, Aura Expert, and Aura Master.
Each tier is further divided into advanced, intermediate, and beginner levels.
‘Advanced Aura Expert means roughly equivalent to 6th Circle, then.’
I’d read that this level constituted quite a skilled knight.
“What about the other knights?”
“The rest are low-tier Experts selected from the finest members of the Guard Knight Order, so there’s no need to worry.”
“I’m not worried. I was just curious about Aura users.”
“Haha, is that so?”
Raker offered a faint smile.
It seemed the young master of a prestigious magical family’s interest wasn’t entirely unwelcome.
‘I’ve laid enough groundwork—might as well push forward.’
Riding the momentum of the conversation, Zeke McLafflin broached the main topic.
“Sir Raker, would it be alright if I asked you for one favor?”
“Please, speak freely.”
“If you have time, would you teach me how to accumulate Aura?”

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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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