WeTried Translations
Translator: Coughing Baby
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◈ The Inept Mage’s Infinite Regression
Chapter 21
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Maya responded to Weibrae’s question with her own. “Really? You can do that again?”
Weibrae crawled atop Koshe’s corpse, moving like a water pouch shaped vaguely like a rabbit. It no longer bothered pretending to be a rabbit.
“Death is irreversible,” Weibrae began, seated on Koshe’s body, “but it is possible for you to attend school with your friend, make memories, and graduate together. Your friend will whisper secrets to you, show you a smile that only you can see, and do things that only you can allow. As long as you forget, people will still see, feel, and treat Koshe as Koshe. So, what do you think?”
“Th-that’s fine… I’m okay with that.”
“Understood.”
True to her identity as a dark mage, Maya didn’t forget to ask, “What’s the price?”
“Koshe Ludyrock’s corpse.”
“…All right.”
Ethan was the first to come to his senses. “Maya, what’s going on…?” he asked, instinctively trying to approach Weibrae.
Maya turned around with both hands raised. “Stop!” she shouted. The expression on her face was one he had never imagined she could make.
Boen pointed toward Weibrae and Koshe’s body. “Ethan, look over there.”
Translucent droplets began to form upon the tips of Weibrae’s fur. One by one, they fell with a wet thud onto Koshe’s abdomen, exactly where Weibrae was perched. With each droplet, a white vapor rose, melting Koshe’s clothing and flesh into a raw, crimson puddle. Within seconds, so much liquid poured out of Weibrae that its shape became unrecognizable. The mixture of liquid and blood welled up inside Koshe’s body, then overflowed outward. The acid even began to corrode the wooden floor of the Great Library Labyrinth.
“It’s a strong acid. Breathing that smoke is dangerous,” Boen explained. “We have to move back.”
Following Boen’s lead, Ethan covered his mouth with his sleeve and backed away. Meanwhile, Maya simply stood there, arms hanging limply at her sides as she watched Weibrae and Koshe melt away.
“Do you know what that thing is?” Ethan whispered to Boen.
“I believe so.”
Without warning, Weibrae opened its mouth wide. Ethan knew a rabbit’s mouth was bigger than it looked, but this was on another level. Weibrae started spewing out a red lump of flesh. It was littered with blood vessels and far larger than the creature’s own body. As soon as the mass had been fully expelled, it snapped into a roughly human-sized shape and then devoured the “rabbit” portion from the outside in, like the creature’s insides had been flipped inside out. The red mass was left with only a gaping maw for a head, while the rest clumsily began mimicking human limbs. Then, it swallowed whatever remained of Koshe’s body.
“It’s a Coclyde Mimic. A type of mimic creature. They’re natural shapeshifters, able to spew strong acid from their stomach and imitate whatever they’ve eaten almost perfectly. Typically, they’ll pretend to be a small animal and infiltrate that animal’s burrow—or a human ranch, acting like livestock—so they can eat their fill.”
“Ah, so that’s what it is…”
After hearing Boen’s explanation, Ethan finally recalled what he knew about Coclyde Mimics. Back in the Charasen territory, he would occasionally hear ranchers complain of Coclyde Mimic attacks or brag about hunting one.
“But I thought Coclyde Mimics had no intelligence?”
“Once bound as a familiar, any creature can gain enough intelligence to communicate with its master. Depending on the contract, its intelligence can increase further.”
“But as far as I know, controlling such a monstrous familiar would require an enormous amount of mana.”
Boen nodded. “Indeed. It’s impossible for a typical first-year magic academy student. Yes, there are always outliers, like your sister, but from what I know, Maya’s abilities aren’t anywhere near that level.”
“Dark magic… That’s the only thing that would explain it.”
Maya slowly turned to look at the two of them. She forced on a stiff, awkward smile. Her lips trembled slightly; it was clearly taking all her effort to keep smiling. “Y-you two must be really shocked,” she said.
Meanwhile, the Coclyde Mimic, Weibrae, was munching away, chewing on Koshe’s head with a sickening crunch.
Ethan and Boen looked at each other. Then, Ethan turned to Maya. “What about you, Maya? Are you all right?” he asked.
“I’m fine. As you’ve noticed, Weibrae isn’t really a rabbit.”
“…Right.”
The Coclyde Mimic certainly seemed to be savoring its meal. It showed no sign of urgency, leisurely absorbing Koshe’s acid-dissolved remains.
Ethan gathered his courage and asked, “Is Koshe… fine with all this?”
“Ah, yes. Koshe… probably wouldn’t be thrilled about this outcome, but she always gave up so much for my sake. Even if I’m being stubborn… I think she’d forgive me.”
“…I see.”
“Once Koshe returns, I plan to apologize.”
The crunching continued.
“Apologize? But she won’t really come back in the truest sense.”
“Weibrae is right. Death can’t be undone. However, I’ll at least have the impression that Koshe’s still with me, somehow. I’m sure that’ll make me feel less lonely.”
“If that’s enough for you, then I’m glad.”
“Yeah.”
More crunching.
“Y-you two won’t tell anyone else, will you?” Maya asked. “Not the professors or any of our classmates? If you do, you’ll both be punished for sneaking into the Great Library.”
“I don’t have any friends,” Ethan said. “Neither does he.”
“That’s a relief.”
“Well, we’ll be going, then. Once you’re done, you should head back.”
“All right.”
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Ethan turned away, but then heard Maya draw her magic rod. He stopped.
“Ethan, you haven’t answered me yet, have you?”
“About what?”
“About telling the professors. You won’t, right?”
Boen pushed up his glasses. “Sorry, but we will,” he said.
“Why?”
“First, that monster is extremely dangerous. Despite being your familiar, it’s controlling you, not the other way around.”
“Weibrae isn’t controlling me,” Maya insisted. “I just think it’s the right decision.”
“Second, if you have enough mana to subdue a Coclyde Mimic as a familiar, your actual mana capacity is far greater than people realize. There aren’t many ways to gain such power. In fact, I doubt you’re powering that familiar with your own mana. This is dark magic, isn’t it?”
“It’s… because of the curse.”
“Third, this isn’t your first time. When you saw Koshe’s corpse, you said, ‘I can’t lose you too,’ and you asked Weibrae, ‘You can do that again?’ So, who else among your circle have you replaced?”
Maya’s went rigid, and she said nothing for a moment. “Weibrae, how long do you need?” she eventually asked.
“Thirty minutes,” the mimic replied.
“Still hungry?”
“I hunger yet.”
Maya pointed her magic rod at Ethan. “Then, let’s eat him first.”
Weibrae leapt forward, trying to attack him from behind.
“Ethan!”
Ethan noticed Boen’s crystals flying his way and dove forward. Five crystals struck Weibrae’s limbs, knocking it back. Maya shrieked in pain, sharing the mimic’s damage through their familiar link. However, neither Weibrae nor Maya fell.
“→Oh fickle one, so quick to vanish if uncalled…”
Sword in hand, Ethan sprinted toward Weibrae.
“→Now’s the time to upend things… Push!”
A gust of wind suddenly caught Ethan, blowing him back behind Boen. Weibrae yanked the embedded crystals out of its body with a snarl, then unhinged its jaw, aiming for Ethan and Boen.
“Duck!”
“Gah!”
Ethan tackled Boen to the ground. Over their heads flew a glob of milky-white acid.
“→Oh dearest rascal so quick to depart if unheeded… Now’s the time for target practice—fire!”
Maya’s incantation ripped the wooden floorboards beneath them and hurled the splinters at Ethan and Boen. Ethan shielded Boen with his back, activating Ruure’s Breathing. Although wooden shards lodged into him, his body enhancement was strong enough to prevent serious injury.
“Ethan,” Boen protested, “you—”
“We can’t drag this out.”
Given the volume of mana required to control a Coclyde Mimic, it was safe to assume that Maya had plenty of strength left, and a mage with enough time was a terrifying foe indeed. However, both Ethan and Boen already saw the path to victory. The familiar showed no inclination to protect its master, and its master wasn’t truly controlling it.
“So, are we doing this?”
“Yeah.”
Chanting faster, Maya sent another wave of splinters hurtling from both sides. Up front, Weibrae lunged, gaping maw at the ready.
Boen launched his crystals at Weibrae’s head in quick succession. One was blocked by Weibrae’s hand, but the second struck its neck, and the remaining shots split its head open. Acid from its stomach spilled out of the gash.
From among the flying shards, Ethan squinted with one eye closed and hurled a dagger at Weibrae. However, Coclyde Mimics were nearly immune to their own acid. Weibrae deftly dodged the dagger, then let out a mocking laugh at the missed shot.
Upon witnessing the splinters clatter to the ground, however, it belatedly turned around.
A dagger sat buried in Maya’s forehead. She sank to her knees, then toppled backward. A familiar’s wounds could pass onto their master, but the reverse was true as well, and if its master vanished, then the familiar would lose its intelligence. The familiar wasn’t the most important half of the equation. That was always the mage.
Freed from Maya’s influence, the Coclyde Mimic collapsed, wracked with pain and confusion at its sudden plight. Ethan approached it and began slashing it with his sword until it stopped moving.
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