The Mage’s Nemesis Has Reincarnated - Chapter 88

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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 88
Tssssss—
“Th-that!”
“…!!!”
A beam of white light streamed forth from Zeke’s grip, coalescing into form.
It was unmistakably a blade.
An Aura Blade—a technique wielded only by Aura Masters.
Deporte’s Daughter, who had been watching, widened her eyes in astonishment.
“Fa-father. Isn’t that an Aura Blade?”
“Y-yes, it is. And even larger than Prince Jack’s….”
“….”
Jack, witnessing Zeke’s extraordinary feat firsthand, was no less shocked than the spectators.
‘This can’t be real. A mage wielding an Aura Blade?’
And thicker and longer than his own, no less.
‘An Aura Blade of that magnitude would require at least intermediate Aura Master rank….’
There was no denying that he surpassed Jack, who was merely of lower rank.
‘Despite his youth, his achievements exceed even mine—a sword prodigy? And he commands magic as well?’
It was then that Jack caught the conversation between father and daughter.
“How can a mage possibly wield an Aura?”
“I-I have no idea. It would be impossible unless he were a Spellblade from legend….”
‘A Spellblade?’
Jack let out a hollow laugh.
There was no way a legendary being could stand before him.
He would sooner believe dragons existed.
Magic and Aura were incompatible—that was common knowledge, wasn’t it?
‘He must be lying about being a mage when he’s actually an Aura Master. Or perhaps he’s casting an illusion on me.’
Jack had heard from the Maid that Zeke had saved Sillis by learning illusion magic.
‘He’s deceiving everyone watching, including myself. There’s no other explanation!’
How pathetic.
Resorting to such cheap tricks in a sparring match to unsettle him.
‘Unfortunate, but I won’t fall for it.’
Jack’s eyes turned glacial as he planted his feet firmly.
The distance closed in an instant.
Zeke stood motionless, seemingly unable to react.
‘If he doesn’t dodge, he dies!’
Jack’s Aura Blade aimed for Zeke’s upper body.
Clang!
A crystalline sound rang out as Jack’s strike was parried.
Not by a mana shield, but by an Aura Blade.
Grrrrr—
The two auras clashed, their blades locking in a contest of raw strength.
But there was no way Jack could match an opponent whose aura blade was so vastly superior in both size and thickness.
‘I’m… losing ground. In this test of strength.’
Jack watched the aura blade bearing down on him with increasing pressure, cold sweat beading on his brow.
‘Damn it! Is this… real? Not an illusion?’
Against Zeke’s aura blade, which pushed forward with tremendous force, Jack poured every ounce of his aura into his own blade.
“Haaaaaaah!”
Yet both in quantity and quality, his opponent was far superior—his blade didn’t budge an inch.
If anything, I was the one being pushed back.
In a sense, it was inevitable.
The size of an aura blade was the deciding factor in such contests.
“I cannot lose. I will not lose!!!”
Jack cried out, and in that instant, he withdrew his blade and pivoted his body.
The moment he broke free from the clash, he launched a surprise attack at Zeke’s lower body.
A fluid, natural strike.
But Zeke was not merely strong.
Whoosh!
As if he had anticipated it, he evaded the lower attack and thrust his aura blade toward Jack’s throat.
Jack froze.
“It appears to be over.”
“…”
A trickle of blood ran down Jack’s throat.
Had the blade gone even one centimeter deeper, it would have been a one-way trip to the afterlife.
Jack’s complete and utter defeat.
‘I… I, who am called a genius of the blade, have lost. And in just a single exchange…’
Jack could not believe what was happening.
The pain trickling from his throat felt like nothing compared to the shock.
“Are you alright?”
“…”
“Young Master Jack?”
“Ah, I’m fine.”
Coming to his senses at Zeke’s inquiry, Jack wiped the blood from his throat with the back of his hand.
It felt far too vivid to be an illusion.
‘I wish it had been an illusion.’
He had been utterly defeated before everyone’s eyes.
Perhaps because of this, Jack could not bring himself to look directly at Zeke.
All he felt was a deep sense of humiliation and contempt.
“Young Master Jack! Are you alright?”
Deporte’s Daughter, who had been watching, rushed over in concern.
Deporte’s Daughter, who had been watching, came running over with concern for Jack.
But that curiosity was fleeting.
They began asking Zeke questions.
“Sir Zeke. How on earth did you manage that? We understood you to be a 7th Circle mage.”
“Prince Zeke. Are you perhaps an Aura Master rather than a mage?”
I could have been flustered by such sudden questions, but I remained composed.
I had already prepared my excuses beforehand.
“To answer both of your questions, I am both a mage and an Aura Master.”
“S-surely you don’t mean to say you’ve become a legendary Sword Mage?”
“If you’re referring to someone who has mastered both the blade and magic, I won’t deny it.”
“How is that even possible? It’s common knowledge that Aura and magic cannot coexist.”
“I’m not sure why, but somehow it works for me.”
I had considered using the Dragonian excuse, just as I had with Gerard and Dalpred, but I reconsidered.
After all, whether Dragonian or Sword Mage, both were equally legendary existences.
‘Why invite unnecessary misunderstandings? Claiming to be one or the other was sufficient.’
From birth, I could cultivate both Aura and magic simultaneously.
I don’t know the reason myself.
It was a rather hollow excuse in some respects, but the evidence was so clear that people had no choice but to believe it.
Moreover, the fact that Sword Mages had genuinely existed in the past reinforced the notion that it wasn’t impossible.
“Haha, to think I’d witness the talents of a Sword Mage that existed only in legend. Truly, a genius of the century.”
“You are truly remarkable, Prince.”
The father and daughter praised me so lavishly that one person could not remain silent.
It was Jack, whose pride had been utterly shattered.
‘Damn it! Damn it! Damn iiiiit!!!’
His confidence in the blade was as strong as anyone’s.
Because of that, this defeat stung more than ever before.
It turned out the opponent was a Sword Mage, a legendary monster, but even so, it offered no consolation.
Regardless, a defeat was still a defeat.
‘How could I, a genius of the blade, lose so helplessly twice….’
Once to Azrahil, and once to Zeke.
To face two such absurd monsters.
Had he been my father, he would have laughed it off as a fortunate day, but Jack was not so magnanimous.
The only emotion he felt was the humiliation of defeat.
‘Curse it! I’ve shown nothing but a pathetic display in front of Sillis….’
While Jack harbored such thoughts, I was checking my Quest rewards.
[Victory in sparring using Aura completed!]
[Sudden Quest cleared!]
[Random Stats increased by 800 as reward.]
[5th Circle Skill Proficiency increased by 6,000 as reward.]
[Proficiency remaining until 8-Star Achievement: 28,080/100,000]
‘Okay. Sweet rewards.’
I was about to laugh without thinking when I caught myself, quickly composing my expression as I observed my opponent.
Anyone could see that Jack was not in a good mood.
‘It seems he took quite a shock. Well, he did say he came from a renowned swordsmanship family, so his pride in the blade must have been sky-high.’
To think he lost to a sword rather than magic.
It was hardly surprising that he’d be shaken.
Yet Jack did something strange, as if he truly had been shocked.
He burst into hearty laughter as though nothing had happened.
“Hahaha! You’ve completely outplayed me, Prince Zeke. I thought you were a mage, but to possess the intermediate mastery of an Aura Master—I was so skeptical that I assumed you were using illusion magic to deceive me!”
“Is that so? I apologize for inadvertently concealing my nature as a Spellblade.”
“Not at all. Even if I had known you were a Spellblade, I would have challenged you out of curiosity. In any case, I acknowledge my defeat.”
Though he seemed to accept it coolly, I saw it clearly.
The venom flickering in Jack’s eyes.
“Since I’ve never encountered a Spellblade like yours and find it fascinating, I’d like to invite Prince Zeke to our family estate. What do you say? Shall we consider this fate and have you visit our family?”
“You mean the Baiso Kingdom?”
“Indeed. Since Decan and we are allied nations, there are no special procedures required to cross the border. The journey won’t take long either. We have a Teleport Gate connected near our family estate, so arrival would be instantaneous.”
An unexpected invitation.
I was about to refuse without hesitation.
Why would I visit someone else’s home?
‘We’re hardly that close.’
Honestly, this was my first time meeting Jack today, wasn’t it?
Moreover, since his intentions were clearly dark, there was no reason to accept.
There was no benefit to me whatsoever.
But the System apparently thought differently.
【Main Quest: Visit the Reinhardt Family Estate】
└Jack Reinhardt, son of the Iron-Blooded Lord known as one of the Five Lords, has invited you to his family.
└Accept the invitation and visit the Reinhardt Family Estate in the allied nation of Baiso Kingdom to meet the Iron-Blooded Lord.
【Conditions】
└Meet the Iron-Blooded Lord
【Reward】
└Acquire Skill ‘Berserk’
‘What? One of the Five Lords?’
I carefully reviewed the Quest details again to make sure I wasn’t seeing things.
‘Jack Reinhardt was the son of one of the Five Lords?’
I’d heard they were a renowned swordsmanship family, but I never expected them to be this famous.
‘The System knew all along. That’s why it deliberately made me use Aura to duel him.’
The System had predicted that only by completely crushing Jack’s pride would he harbor enough resentment to invite me to the Reinhardt Family Estate.
That way, I could face the Iron-Blooded Lord, one of the Five Lords.
‘So there’s another person here with dark intentions besides Jack. Or rather, not a person?’
In any case, there was no reason to refuse.
I’d always wanted to meet one of the Five Lords eventually.
‘I’m curious why the System is arranging these Five Lords for me….’
As Zeke accepted the Quest, Jack posed a question.
“Well? Don’t you want to see what the sword masters of other kingdoms are like?”
Urgency colored his tone.
He seemed anxious that Zeke might refuse the invitation.
‘There’s definitely something he’s scheming.’
Under normal circumstances, I wouldn’t have played along, but the Quest made me willing to indulge him.
“I must admit, you’ve piqued my interest.”
“Is that so? Then you’ll come?”
“Yes. Since you’ve extended the invitation, I’d be delighted to accept. However, not at this moment.”
“Then?”
“Give me a few days. I have business in Hamilton Territory to attend to.”
At those words, Deporte interjected.
“May I ask what brings you there? Count Hamilton and I are on quite familiar terms.”
“I need to share the information I’ve gathered so far. Count Hamilton was inadvertently caught up in this affair, and there are also matters I wish to verify.”
“I see. Then why not travel with me? I’ll introduce you to the Count myself.”
“Me too. I’m coming with you.”
As Duke Jose was followed by Sillis raising her hand, Zeke let out a hollow laugh.
‘I hadn’t planned on collecting an entourage like this… but I suppose it doesn’t matter.’
Zeke’s head bobbed up and down.
“Very well. Given the urgency of the situation, let’s depart immediately.”

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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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