The Mage’s Nemesis Has Reincarnated - Chapter 97

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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 97
“Is this… is this really where I write my wish? It feels more like your wish, Master.”
“Hmm? Did it show?”
“Very much so.”
“Hahahaha! You got me there. You’re absolutely right. To be honest, I’m the one who wants to propose that you become my disciple.”
Crious admitted it frankly, then spoke after a moment of deliberation.
“How about this instead? Forget the wish. Become my disciple instead. Even as my disciple, you can still ask me for a favor.”
“What’s the time limit?”
“There isn’t one. Just ask whenever you want. If you become my disciple, I’ll grant you anything.”
‘So if I become his disciple, he’ll grant me a wish…’
It wasn’t a bad offer at all.
Why waste this precious wish on becoming a disciple when he was so eager for it?
The man was practically desperate.
“Sounds good. Should I start calling you Master from today?”
“What? Hahahaha! I like your decisive nature!”
Crious laughed heartily several times over.
Jack watched his father’s display with visible displeasure.

* * *
“Brother. You don’t look well. Are you okay?”
“Don’t talk to me.”
On the way back to his room.
Jack replied to his younger brother with a sharp edge to his voice.
Ruin Reinhardt, the second son, found his brother’s behavior strange.
“What’s wrong? Did something happen?”
“I said don’t talk to me! Get lost!”
With those words, Jack entered his room and shut the door.
Slam!
Behavior unlike him.
Worry etched itself across Ruin’s face.
‘Did Father scold him?’
Jack and Ruin, having the Iron-Blooded Lord as their father, naturally received instruction from him every day.
As a result, they were often scolded by him, and whenever that happened, Jack would refuse to train and sulk in his room like this.
‘But he’s rarely ever been angry with me before…’
The twin brothers had a better relationship than most siblings.
Rather than rivals, they were comrades who relied on and supported each other.
Thanks to that, Ruin had also reached Aura Master at the age of twenty-one like his brother, and through sparring with each other, they’d grown explosively stronger.
And their pride in the sword was equally formidable.
‘How much was his pride wounded for him to act like this?’
Ruin turned around to find out what had happened.
Not long after, I was able to gather various pieces of information through the guards.
‘Father has… taken on a new disciple?’
A Sword Mage had visited today as a guest, wounded Father during their sparring match and won the wager, and Father had even accepted this Sword Mage as his disciple.
The more I heard, the more astonishing the story became.
‘So that’s why my brother is so furious? Because Father accepted an outsider—not even from our own kingdom—as his disciple.’
The Iron-Blooded Lord had never once accepted an outsider as a disciple.
He had only permitted instruction to his twin brother, someone who shared his blood.
Though perhaps there simply hadn’t been anyone skilled enough to warrant becoming his disciple.
‘In any case, it must have been a shock to my brother. Difficult to accept, even.’
Even I, with my flexible temperament, found the idea of taking an outsider as a disciple unsettling—what must my brother be feeling?
‘A Sword Mage, you say… I’m curious what kind of person they are.’
Ruin Reinhardt’s footsteps carried him toward the guest chamber.

* * *
Zeke McLafflin was examining his Quest rewards in the guest room that had been prepared for his rest.
[Becoming a Disciple of the Five Lords – Complete!]
[Main Quest Cleared!]
[You have received the buff ‘Blessing of the War God’ as your reward.]
[Buff: Blessing of the War God]
-Effect: The amount of Aura you can raise per day increases to 20, and your comprehension and adaptability regarding swordsmanship increase substantially. Additionally, whenever you receive instruction or gain enlightenment regarding swordsmanship, a fixed amount of Aura increases.
-Special Note: The buff is maintained only while your master, the Iron-Blooded Lord, exists.
‘Excellent, a buff.’
The daily limit for raising Aura was normally 10.
This doubled that limit to 20, and on top of that, my Aura would increase whenever I received instruction.
Plus, my comprehension of swordsmanship would improve dramatically.
‘The buff’s duration is incredibly long too. It persists as long as I remain the Iron-Blooded Lord’s disciple…’
In other words, it would last until the Iron-Blooded Lord’s death.
It was a buff I could milk for at least several decades.
‘With this alone, reaching the advanced stage of Aura Master is just a matter of time.’
I was currently at the intermediate stage, but with my Aura accumulation speed increased, advanced would come quickly.
Perhaps I would become the sixth Grand Aura Master on the Pangaea Continent.
‘Then would the Five Lords become the Six Lords instead?’
It was a dream, but not an entirely unrealistic one.
‘I should stay here for a while, receive some training, then return to the Mercenary Company. I can’t neglect skill growth either.’
If I came to the Baiso Kingdom on rest days to receive instruction from the Five Lords, and on days when territorial wars occurred, I trained my magic replication proficiency against mages…
I could catch both rabbits—sword and magic.
I was lost in such thoughts.
‘Huh?’
[An Urgent Quest has occurred!]
My eyes widened as I confirmed the Quest details.

* * *
In the depths of darkness, Maligore sat cross-legged, attempting to quell the tempest of excitement churning within him.
He had to.
Otherwise, he might do something irreversible.
“Hah… finally, some semblance of calm.”
For him, darkness was comfort itself.
Whenever his mind grew turbulent like this, surrendering to the darkness allowed his thoughts to crystallize.
Yet perhaps that was merely his own delusion.
The way he kept reigniting with fervor proved it.
‘Damn it. To lose so shamefully before all those spectators.’
I had clashed with Crious in earnest, yet I still fell short.
I had coveted the rare trophy of a Demon Swordmaster as my disciple, but that opportunity had slipped through my fingers like sand.
‘If only my dark power had been a fraction stronger, I could have utterly crushed Crious…!’
Regret gnawed at my teeth, and fury surged through my veins.
Between the undulating waves of my dark aura, my eyes gleamed with fierce intensity.
‘Zeke McLafflin, was it? That Demon Swordmaster has become Crious’s possession.’
The more I dwelled on it, the more I recognized his considerable talent.
Technically, there was nothing to praise, yet nothing glaringly flawed either.
His aura, combat instincts, and mental acuity were qualities even I, one of the Five Lords, had to acknowledge.
‘With proper cultivation, he could have become a Grand Aura Master.’
For decades, no legendary Grand Aura Master had emerged since the Five Lords themselves. Perhaps another would be born.
‘My disciple becoming a Grand Aura Master… the very thought would have been magnificent.’
But that opportunity had already slipped from my grasp.
Just as the saying goes—the strong wish to learn from the stronger. Unless I defeated Crious, I would never have the chance to claim that boy as my disciple.
‘If I cannot possess him… then I shall destroy him.’
Maligore’s gaze grew cold and lethal.
I would sooner die than watch Crious’s disciple ascend to become a Grand Aura Master.
Better to prune the bud before the monster could fully bloom.
‘Assassination is my specialty. Killing the Demon Swordmaster would pose no problem.’
In fact, the Demon Swordmaster’s death would place Crious in a precarious position.
Invited by the Reinhardt Family and staying as their guest, only to have a McLafflin Family heir assassinated?
It was obvious whom the McLafflin Family would suspect.
Perhaps the two families would even wage war against each other.
‘This way, I eliminate the seedling, remove a rival, and come out ahead.’
With my dark aura, no evidence of my involvement would ever surface.
I could simply ignite the flames of discord and slip away unnoticed.
‘I must kill him before it’s too late.’
Maligore moved through the shadows.
Having already left the estate, my alibi was perfect.
If I sneak in, kill Zeke, and slip away undetected, there’s no reason anyone would suspect me.
Shhhhh—
Maligore Desbon vaulted over the Duke’s Mansion wall, his aura pushed to its absolute limit, his body merging seamlessly with the darkness.
Find the room where Zeke is staying, emerge briefly from the shadows to strike him down, then vanish back into darkness—
A kill without witness or trace.
It was his signature assassination method, never once discovered in all his years, boasting a perfect 100% success rate. No one would ever suspect him.
Or so he thought.
Yet even now, after dozens of minutes, Maligore had failed to assassinate Zeke.
‘Where the hell is this tiny bastard?’
He’d searched every room in the mansion, but hadn’t found a single hair of Zeke’s.
For Maligore, who’d expected to finish quickly and leave, it was a bitter blow to his pride.
No—it wasn’t pride that was the real problem.
‘I can’t afford to waste any more time.’
Wandering freely through the estate of one of the Five Lords was far too risky.
If he ran into Crious, there was a real danger his dark aura would be exposed.
If word spread that someone had infiltrated the mansion, he’d find himself in a precarious situation.
‘Let me search a bit longer. He has to be somewhere here.’
It was certain that Zeke hadn’t yet escaped the Duke’s Mansion.
A little more searching and he’d find him.
‘Hmm? That’s Ruin, isn’t it?’
Crious’s second son.
He’d checked every guest room, but only that brat was visible.
‘Should I ask him? He seems to know where Zeke is, judging by his presence in the guest quarters…’
No.
Better not to invite unnecessary complications. I’ll search a bit more.
It was then, as he was exploring elsewhere, that it happened.
‘There he is!’
Maligore’s expression brightened as he spotted Zeke.
If he killed him now and escaped, no one would ever know it was his doing.
‘I’ll kill him.’
Maligore, radiating murderous intent, began closing in on Zeke slowly.
“Maligore Desbon!”
A voice suddenly called out from behind him.
‘C-Crious?’
The man was staring directly at him.
As if to say he could see through even the veil of dark aura.
Maligore hastily abandoned his technique and stepped out of the darkness.
Click—
Naturally, Crious looked furious.
“What are you doing here? I distinctly heard from the guards that you’d left the estate!”
“Hmm. Well, that’s… the thing.”
Given the circumstances, I had no choice but to offer a flimsy excuse.
“On the way back, I suddenly needed to use the restroom, you see.”
“Are you jesting? If that were true, you would have simply walked in openly. So why sneak in like this? Like some assassin lurking in the shadows!”
“That’s harsh language. An assassin? We may be sparring partners, but that was downright insulting.”
“Then explain yourself! Why did you infiltrate our family estate in secret!”

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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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