The Mage’s Nemesis Has Reincarnated - Chapter 95

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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 95
Zeke McLafflin nodded and extended one hand.
Tssssss!
As a pure white aura blade materialized, a glimmer of intrigue flickered across Crious’s eyes.
“Impressive. That’s certainly an aura blade befitting an intermediate-level aura master.”
“Then I’ll begin.”
“No need for warnings. Besides, to me—”
Zeke McLafflin’s feet pushed hard against the ground.
The distance between them vanished in an instant.
“Everything is visible.”
Clang!
The wooden sword and aura blade collided, producing a crystalline ring.
He had infused aura into the wooden sword to increase its durability.
‘Even so, to block it so effortlessly…’
Zeke McLafflin was inwardly astonished that his first strike had been parried.
Especially since it had been a full-powered blow.
‘He’s definitely a formidable opponent.’
I could tell from just this single exchange.
The gap between him and myself.
But Crious was equally surprised.
‘Hmm, stronger than I anticipated. The power emanating from that aura blade is exceptional.’
Though his swordplay was straightforward, Crious held Zeke McLafflin in high regard.
It was a swift and powerful strike, delivered explosively in a direct line.
‘Had it been Jack Reinhardt, he wouldn’t have even had time to block.’
Just as Crious was preparing a counterattack.
Whoosh!
Zeke McLafflin withdrew his sword and retreated sharply.
Crious inwardly marveled at this.
‘He read my sword technique and retreated beyond my range. Excellent instincts.’
Wanting to observe more of his opponent’s potential, Crious raised three fingers.
“Three moves. I’ll only defend against the next three moves. After that, I won’t hold back either.”
“Then I’ll attack without reservation.”
Before his words even finished, Zeke McLafflin’s feet moved.
Closing the distance, he aimed for Crious’s head.
For Crious, whose path was crystal clear, it was more amusing than unsettling, and he smirked.
Whoosh!
“Two moves left.”
Crious tilted his head to evade and brought his greatsword before his body.
Clang!
The blade strike, undulating like a serpent, was easily blocked by the greatsword.
“One move left.”
Where should I aim this time?
Crious, who had been watching with ease, smiled as he saw the flashing light.
‘The head again? No, that’s wrong. There are too many openings.’
I perceived the rushing blade and twisted my head to evade with minimal movement.
Without hesitation.
“Now I’ll attack.”
Crious’s greatsword moved in a wide horizontal arc.
Whoooosh—!
A devastating horizontal slash meant to cleave through my waist.
For Zeke, who had just thrust his blade forward, there was no way to defend against it.
A perfect counter.
‘I should have anticipated his counterattack.’
Before the greatsword even touched my waist, Crious was certain of victory.
Even if I recovered my Aura Blade and concentrated all my aura into my waist for defense, blocking it would be impossible.
I would surely be sent flying by his overwhelming strength.
Or so it should have been.
‘Why isn’t he recovering his blade…?’
The greatsword was just about to touch my waist.
Yet Zeke did not focus on defense.
At this rate, I might become permanently crippled and never use my waist again.
‘Even so, there’s no choice.’
Crack!
The greatsword struck my waist, and my brow contorted in pain.
With the sound of bones breaking, it would have been natural to collapse right there.
Yet.
‘Why am I unharmed?’
That was when Crious’s eyes widened in shock.
He never expected me to remain standing after taking his full blow.
But the more surprising part came next.
‘Hm?’
While enduring the strike, my Aura Blade curved like a serpent and came rushing in.
It was a lethal attack aimed at his life, but Crious easily leaned back and evaded.
In that instant.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh!
My Aura Blade extended more than halfway longer, targeting Crious’s solar plexus.
An unforeseen development.
“Tch!”
Crious’s eyes snapped wide open as he urgently recovered his greatsword.
And he increased his aura output.
Then it happened.
Boom!
A tremendous collision of forces erupted in an explosion.
Dust scattered everywhere, and Jack, who had been watching, furrowed his brow and swept his arm through the air.
After a moment, the dust cleared.
Patter-patter—
Jack’s eyes bulged wide at the sight that was revealed.
“What… how is this possible…?”
The first thing that caught his eye was his father’s great sword—shattered in half.
And then he saw it.
Trickle—
A thin red line running across his father’s cheek.
“I grazed even a hair, so I won, didn’t I?”
At Zeke’s words, Crioss Reinhardt’s eyebrow twitched.

* * *
‘No… Father lost?!’
Jack blinked in disbelief, but his eyes clearly saw it.
The small wound on his father’s cheek.
‘That’s… that can’t be right. Even a high-level Aura Master couldn’t graze Father…’
That’s why Jack had been watching comfortably until just now.
No matter how much Zeke thrashed about, he wouldn’t be able to touch even a hair on his father.
But reality completely defied his expectations.
Not just a hair—he’d actually wounded his cheek.
‘Could he have used illusion magic dishonorably…?’
Zeke could use illusion magic.
He must have confused Father with some trick of the eye.
It was natural to think this way.
The reality was simply too unbelievable no matter how many times he looked at it.
Once that thought solidified into conviction, Jack became agitated.
“This match is invalid!”
He stepped between them and denied Zeke’s victory.
“There’s no way Zeke could have won! He must have used illusion magic or some other dishonorable trick!”
“Enough.”
Crioss Reinhardt spoke in a subdued voice, but Jack refused to back down.
“No, Father. If there’s a problem with the match, it must be clarified clearly…”
“Jack! Are you trying to humiliate me further?!”
Only after he finally shouted did Jack close his mouth.
“The match is decided. You suggested that grazing even a hair with the blade would count as a win, and as you can see, I lost.”
“Father!”
“I’ve sparred with countless opponents, so I know better than anyone that there was no trace of magic being used. But even if it had been, the fact remains that you lost. Magic is also an ability of a Blade Mage, so I cannot deny its use even if it were employed.”
“….”
Jack Reinhardt’s lips pressed shut firmly.
There was nothing wrong with his father’s words.
He could only let his shoulders slump in despair.
‘I invited him here to crush him, yet I ended up being the one trampled instead….’
However, unlike Jack Reinhardt, Crioss Reinhardt—the one directly involved—felt no such despair.
He was simply astonished by Zeke McLafflin’s abilities.
‘I, who am called the Iron-Blooded Lord… actually allowed an attack to land.’
The gap between an intermediate Aura Master and a Grand Aura Master was vast and insurmountable.
It was like the difference between a child and an adult.
‘Yet he overcame that and left a wound on an adult’s cheek. Heh. The more I think about it, the more astonishing it becomes.’
What particularly amazed Crioss Reinhardt was Zeke McLafflin’s ability.
‘Not only did he withstand my strike, but in that instant his eyes turned crimson and his aura exploded outward. What technique did he use exactly?’
Moreover, when his cheek was slashed, his mind momentarily wavered.
He nearly dropped his greatsword.
He wanted to ask what method was employed, but exposing an opponent’s secret technique was not proper etiquette.
In situations like this, a swordsman’s duty was to silently acknowledge defeat without asking questions.
Crioss Reinhardt extended his hand to Zeke McLafflin.
“That was an excellent match. I acknowledge my defeat.”
“Ah, yes….”
Zeke McLafflin grasped the hand, feeling oddly bewildered inside.
‘He’s not asking? What ability did I use?’
During that match, I had employed two skills.
First was [Resilience].
A passive skill that maximized defense to the limit when subjected to intense stimuli—it proved useful in critical situations.
‘With this, I was able to withstand the Iron-Blooded Lord’s strike. My lower back is a bit sore, though.’
Even though that brutish greatsword had struck my waist with full force, I didn’t fall and could aim for the next move.
‘But the real gambit was here.’
[Basic Skill: Berserk]
-Effect: Increases all stats by 50% for 3 minutes.
-Special Note: Automatically activates when strong external stimuli are felt. 30-minute cooldown after activation.
The skill [Berserk], recently obtained as a reward from sparring with Jack Reinhardt.
This skill, which boosted all abilities by 50% in an instant, also applied to aura.
Because of this, I was able to temporarily reach the advanced level of an Aura Master.
I could even extend the length of my aura blade.
‘He probably thought it was at maximum length, so he must have been shocked when it suddenly extended.’
That was the gambit I had calculated, and fortunately, I managed to leave a small wound on his cheek.
‘It’s truly a broken skill. Without Berserk, I wouldn’t have won.’
The only drawback was that, like Resilience, it only activated when there was external stimuli, so I could only use them in combination.
‘Winning is all that matters. But… why hasn’t he asked me about it?’
The Iron-Blooded Lord must have noticed my strange ability to some degree, so why wouldn’t he?
‘I had prepared excuses in case he asked… but honestly, it doesn’t matter to me.’
All I need is to collect the Quest reward.
[Victory against the Iron-Blooded Lord achieved!]
[Main Quest cleared!]
[You have acquired a new basic skill as a reward.]
[Basic Skill: Future Foresight]
-Effect: Read the future three seconds ahead.
-Special Note: The skill can be toggled on and off using the activation phrase ‘Future Foresight Activate/Deactivate’. Using it consumes Mental Power.
Future Foresight.
The name sounded absurdly overpowered, but the vague description made it hard to grasp until I actually tested it.
‘Read the future three seconds ahead? Let me activate it once.’
I spoke the activation phrase and turned the skill on.
Then a different world unfolded before my eyes.
‘What… is this?’
Countless invisible threads connected the entire world.
These threads applied not just to the environment, but to people as well.
‘I can see every movement.’
What my opponent would do three seconds from now, what action they would take.
The invisible threads moved, predicting the next action in real-time and displaying it to me.
I could truly foresee the future three seconds ahead.
‘So this is what the skill does. Now I understand.’
Since I had no immediate use for it and it consumed Mental Power, I turned it off.
Meanwhile, Crious noticed me staring blankly into the air and spoke up.
“Zeke, are you alright?”
“Huh? Oh, yes.”
‘Did he exhaust all his strength in that duel just now?’
Crious, having misunderstood on his own, lowered his wooden sword with a worried expression.
“You can rest if you’re tired.”
“No, I’m fine.”
‘He was clearly distracted just moments ago, yet he claims he’s fine. He doesn’t want to show weakness, is that it?’
Regardless, Crious had taken a liking to Zeke.
He even wanted to take him on as a disciple.
But he didn’t know.
That there was another man who harbored the same feelings.
“Crious Reinhardt!”
At the sudden shout, Crious’s head turned to the side.
“Maligore Desbon.”
The man known as one of the two great peaks and his rival was walking toward him.

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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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