The Mage’s Nemesis Has Reincarnated - Chapter 96

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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 96
“When did you arrive?”
“Before the duel even started.”
“…Then you saw everything.”
“I did. I saw you get utterly crushed while caught off guard.”
A mere scratch on the cheek, yet utterly crushed?
His words were imprecise, but Crious didn’t bother to deny them.
In the sense that he’d lost, there was truth in it.
That said, he had a response ready.
“Maligore, are you so confident you wouldn’t have fallen for it? Your aura blade expanded right before my eyes when I thought it was at maximum output.”
“If it were me, I would have anticipated and dodged even that.”
“Your mouth runs as wide as it opens.”
Maligore didn’t even glance at the scoffing Crious.
His gaze remained fixed entirely on Zeke McLafflin.
“Tell me. What’s your name?”
“Zeke McLafflin.”
“McLafflin? Don’t tell me you’re from the McLafflin Family of the Decan Kingdom?”
“Yes, that very family.”
Maligore’s mouth fell slightly open in surprise.
“Isn’t that family a Prestigious Magic Family?”
“Zeke is Decan’s only Spellblade. Or rather, the continent’s only Spellblade, to be precise.”
Crious explained in his stead, yet Maligore’s astonishment showed no signs of fading.
“A Spellblade? You expect me to believe that?”
“Listen, Zeke. Since we’re already here, why don’t you show us some magic? I’m curious myself whether you can truly use it.”
“Of course. That much is no problem.”
Zeke McLafflin readily agreed, raising his hand to cast a spell.
Whoooosh!
A torrent of water materialized in the air, swirling as though it would overturn the entire Training Ground.
“Water Wave! That’s a 6th Circle spell, isn’t it?”
“Are you 6th Circle?”
“No. I’m 7th Circle.”
There was no advantage in claiming a higher Circle, but since they believed he’d used Teleport, he had no choice but to establish himself as 7th Circle.
“Incredible! You really can use magic!”
The ones called the Five Lords marveled before Zeke McLafflin as though watching circus acrobatics.
For them, witnessing a being who wielded both aura blades and magic was unprecedented.
‘This should be enough. Now, what wish should I make?’
As Zeke McLafflin dismissed the magic and ended the display, he was contemplating what wish to ask of Crious.
[A Main Quest has occurred!]
Upon reading the quest details that appeared, Zeke McLafflin’s eyes filled with bewilderment.
‘Are they really asking me to make this my wish?’
It was somewhat absurd, but the compensation didn’t look bad at all.
Moreover, it was an unusual reward unlike anything before.
‘The compensation looks too good to refuse…?’
Zeke, having decided to accept, looked toward Crious.
“Iron-Blooded Lord. Didn’t we promise something?”
“Ah, you mean the wish.”
“A wish? What wish?”
Crious explained in response to Maligore’s question.
“If you beat me before our duel, I promised to grant you a wish.”
“What? Haha! That means you saw a possibility of winning, doesn’t it? You’ve got quite the gambler’s spirit in you.”
Maligore’s intense gaze turned toward Zeke.
To be honest, it was rather unsettling due to its oppressive nature.
“Go ahead and tell me. What is your wish?”
“My wish is….”
Zeke paused before continuing.
“To become your disciple.”
“What? A disciple?”
At this unexpected wish, Crious’s eyes widened in surprise.
Maligore beside him, and Jack, his son, were equally taken aback.
‘It’s understandable to be shocked. It’s quite an abrupt proposal.’
But Zeke had no choice but to make this wish.
The Quest itself was demanding it of me.
【Main Quest: Become a Disciple of the Five Lords】
└You have earned the right to make a wish by achieving victory in a duel with one of the Five Lords.
└Request to become a disciple of the Five Lords as your wish.
【Conditions】
└Become a Disciple of the Five Lords
【Rewards】
└Obtain the Buff ‘Blessing of the War God’
Looking at the Quest that had just appeared, I understood the system’s intention.
‘The system wants me to become entangled with the Five Lords.’
That must be why it’s asking me to become a disciple through this wish.
If I become Crious’s disciple, I’ll naturally become connected with the other Five Lords, and then naturally.
‘I might become entangled with the 12 Pioneers as well.’
I don’t yet know if there’s a connection between the Five Lords and the 12 Pioneers, but in any case, isn’t this asking me to approach it with that intention?
There’s no way the system would give me such a Quest otherwise.
“Hehehe, you wish to become my disciple? That’s truly an unexpected wish.”
Crious was taken aback at first, but seemed to be in good spirits, laughing continuously.
As if it were rather he who desired to have a disciple.
Then, Maligore interjected from beside him.
“Listen, you said your name was Zeke, right? How about becoming my disciple?”
“Pardon?”
“If you don’t know, allow me to introduce myself—I am Maligore Desbon, one of the Five Lords and known as the Lord of Darkness. It’s no exaggeration to say that there isn’t a single Aura user across the continent, let alone in the Baiso Kingdom, who doesn’t know my name.”
‘He was one of the Five Lords too?’
I hadn’t known.
No wonder the two of them had been conversing so freely—they were peers, both Grand Aura Masters.
‘I’ve already met two Lords in a single day.’
Certainly, becoming a Lord’s disciple would significantly increase the probability of becoming entangled with powerful figures.
‘More than anything, the Quest reward is too tempting to pass up.’
This reward was different from the previous ones—not a skill, item, or proficiency increase.
A buff!
It was a buff called the Blessing of the Divine Warrior, something that looked undeniably promising, but I couldn’t verify its effects.
‘I should just become a disciple, shouldn’t I?’
Though I had never intended to refuse the Quest, I couldn’t help but deliberate.
But whose disciple should I become?
‘The Iron-Blooded Lord or the Lord of Darkness?’
As if waiting for my answer, both Lords fixed me with piercing gazes.
“Tell me whose disciple you’ll become. Mine, or Maligore’s?”
“Why are you hesitating? Speak up.”
After a moment of silence, I finally opened my mouth.
“The one I choose is….”
Everyone’s attention fixed on my words.
But what came out was utterly deflating.
“Honestly, I’m not sure.”
“You’re not sure?”
“I don’t know which one to choose.”
I muttered with a troubled expression.
“As you saw from the sparring match, I’ve never learned any proper swordsmanship. To be frank, I’m pathetic in both technique and experience. That’s why I want to become a disciple of one of the Five Lords—to receive guidance from an excellent master and grow stronger. But….”
I lifted my head, glancing between both Grand Aura Masters.
“I don’t know which of you is stronger.”
“What kind of thing are you worrying about? Obviously, I’m the stronger one!”
The one who shouted was Maligore, the Lord of Darkness.
But that single statement was enough to prick the Iron-Blooded Lord’s pride.
“What are you talking about? You lose every time we spar.”
“That’s because I was going easy on you—how many times do I have to say it?”
“Then, shall we prove it here?”
“Fine, let’s do it!”
In a flash, as sudden as roasting beans over lightning, a sparring match materialized between them.
Though they were rivals who met frequently to spar, this time they intended to go all out.
After all, the person they wanted to take as a disciple was watching.
“The winner takes the Demon Sword Mage.”
“Very well. So it shall be.”
Watching the lords pick up wooden swords, I had to struggle to conceal my bewilderment.
‘What is wrong with these people? They suddenly want to spar? Are lords naturally this belligerent?’
I hadn’t deliberately orchestrated this, but regardless, an excellent spectacle had materialized.
“Let’s go, Crious.”
“Whenever you’re ready.”
The two wooden swords clashed in midair almost immediately.

* * *
An impromptu duel between two titans.
Or rather, it was truly a contest for a disciple—nothing less.
It spoke volumes about how coveted I had become.
The chance to accept the continent’s only Demon Sword Mage as a disciple—how could one not covet such an opportunity?
Especially after witnessing my growth potential firsthand, their eyes blazed with fervor.
‘Yet to fight with such ferocity over it…’
Crimson and obsidian auras traced dozens of lines through the air.
‘I’ve heard that aura color varies according to one’s nature, but such vivid hues…’
It spoke to a mastery of aura that had transcended a certain threshold.
Boom—! Crash—!
Explosions erupted continuously from the aura collisions, and the match concluded.
“Gah!”
A wooden sword stained with crimson aura was leveled at Maligore’s throat.
“If this were real combat, you’d be dead. Understand?”
“Tch! Don’t get cocky—put that away!”
Maligore, his pride wounded, knocked the wooden sword aside and turned his back, striding out of the Training Ground without another word.
Crious watched his departing figure with an amused smirk.
“Forty-three wins, twenty-three losses. I’ve won again.”
“Father!”
Jack rushed forward with unbridled joy.
He must have been anxious that his father might lose.
“That was incredible! You defeated the Lord of Darkness!”
“No need for such fuss. I’ve beaten him before—more than once.”
“But this time was different! You were fighting with true intent, like a real battle!”
“Could you see how we fought?”
“Well… that is…”
He couldn’t have possibly seen it.
There was only the flash and glimmer.
“I… I didn’t catch all the details, but it was amazing regardless!”
“What about you, Zeke?”
Under Crious’s gaze, Zeke hesitated before finally speaking.
“I could see some of it.”
“You could see it? Then can you explain how the final exchange ended?”
“The Iron-Blooded Lord pressed down three times from above, and the Lord of Darkness defended before bending his body to aim low. The Iron-Blooded Lord anticipated this and dodged, then created an Aura Blade in his left hand to narrow the options before finishing with a wooden sword strike.”
Jack’s expression turned incredulous as he watched Zeke speak so fluently.
He couldn’t read a single moment of the exchange, yet this man had observed every detail?
And he was merely an intermediate-level Aura Master?
He was about to mock him as a liar when admiration burst from his father’s lips.
“Hoh… You saw it correctly. That speed would have been difficult even for an advanced-level Aura Master to read… How on earth did you manage it?”
“Well, I suppose… my dynamic visual acuity is rather good?”
It was a half-hearted lie, but there was no other choice.
I couldn’t honestly admit that I’d read the movements through future foresight.
‘When I activate future foresight, I can see this. Or rather, the situation is inputted directly into my mind?’
Honestly, the speed was impossible to follow with the naked eye, but when I activated future foresight, all the information flooded into my mind.
Future foresight didn’t rely solely on visual perception to convey information.
Knowing the situation three seconds ahead meant exactly that.
So I had known who would win three seconds before the match ended.
“When I was an intermediate-level Aura Master, I wasn’t capable of this. It seems there’s someone here with eyes more remarkable than mine. Heh.”
Crious’s gaze upon Zeke was intense—almost burdensome in its fervor.
The desire to take him as a disciple was laid bare in his eyes.
“But why did the Lord of Darkness leave? I thought he came for some business…”
“That business was sparring with me. He often visits to request matches.”
“Ah…”
“Anyway, your curiosity is satisfied now, isn’t it? Who is stronger.”
“Yes.”
“So what will you do now? Will you become my disciple?”

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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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