WeTried Translations

Translator: Coughing Baby

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◈ The Inept Mage’s Infinite Regression

Chapter 23

“So you really don’t know any usable spells at all?” Boen asked.

Ethan wiped his sweat with a handkerchief. “Why are you suddenly trying to provoke me?”

Hardly any other students from the Combat Magic Society visited the workshop during vacation. As a result, Rivielton had Ethan and Boen training against each other. This benefited Ethan by letting him practice blocking and evading Boen’s crystal attacks while wearing quilted armor and holding a round shield in each hand. And yet, he couldn’t shake the feeling that he was somehow on the losing end of this arrangement.

They had just paused for a break in the middle of their training. Boen had decided to ask his question while Ethan was removing his iron helmet.

“I’m not trying to provoke you, I’m genuinely curious,” Boen clarified. “You were so terrible in Basic Magic Practice that many assumed you were incompetent. But the academy does conduct entrance interviews. The interviewers don’t accept a student with absolutely no potential… Granted, they do have a pretty generous minimum threshold, partly to maintain enrollment numbers.”

“All right, let’s be clear here,” Ethan said. At this point, he was unfastening the straps on the shields on his arms so he could take a drink of water. “I’m not being modest, I really am at that so-called ‘generous minimum threshold.’ At my family’s manor, I met loads of mages. Nearly all of them said it’s rare for someone to have as little magical talent as I do. Especially since, as you know, any child born into a mage family will be trained, sometimes forcibly, to develop power, even if they start with nothing. I’m sure it’s no surprise to you that this is true for a family as prominent as the Charasens.”

“Go on.”

Ethan lifted a porcelain teacup, imported from the East, to drink, and Boen scolded him briefly not to place his lips directly upon it.

Ethan waved in acknowledgement and continued, “But surprisingly… this Ethan Dora Charasen can use magic.”

“Really?”

Demi cut in, <Is there any point in boasting to Boen like this, User?>

<Obviously.>

<Also, Heart Rupture… While it’s a meaningful spell, you obviously can’t demonstrate it now.>

Boen asked, “So what magic can you use?”

“That’s… a secret.”

“No need to puff yourself up over mere pride.”

“Fine. I’ll tell you this much: It’s family magic. I’m sure you understand why it has to stay secret.”

Family magic referred to spells passed down strictly within a lineage. Outsiders were sometimes unaware such spells even existed, let alone how to learn them.

“…But the Charasen family is ancient, and as far as I know, most of their family magic is already well documented. I’ve read that it generally involves contract magic. Indeed, contract magic often uses an external source of power instead of your own mana, and it can work regardless of your breathing technique, so that makes sense… But if you really have that, why did you lift that rock by hand to pass Basic Magic Practice?”

“Because it’s better not to use it,” Ethan replied.

Boen nodded, then succinctly summarized: “In other words, you can’t use magic. Let’s continue training. Put that tin can back on your head.”

“What? I just took it off!”

∞

Over vacation, Ethan kept up with using Ruure’s Breathing, learned Hunting Swordsmanship from Rivielton, and practiced evading attacks from Boen. He also used the C-rank Lottery Coupon he’d earned from taking the teal coin off Maya’s corpse in Limbo.

[Items acquired!]

[Item: Ascender (D)]

[Item: Climbing Rope (D)]

[Item: Climbing Hammer (D)]

[Item: Ice Pick (D)]

[Item: Anchor Bolts x20 (D)]

[Item: Carabiners x5 (D)]

Demi, retrieving the items from somewhere behind her, commented, “One ‘climbing set.’ It contains many items, but don’t worry about the quantity. You can teleport them in whenever you need.”

“That’s not so great, is it?” Ethan murmured.

“Why do you think that?”

“When you’re making a deal with someone and they start piling stuff on you, it usually means you’re the one losing out.”

“Is that something your father taught you?”

“He taught me common sense… and this is pretty basic.”

“All items have different uses depending on who’s using them, where, and when.”

Ethan picked up the rope—white with a black mosaic pattern. It was thin and lightweight, yet extremely sturdy and quite flexible. “I do like this,” he said. “An adventurer or thief would pay a premium for it.”

“Are you thinking of selling it?”

“…Should I not?”

“If you have a use for it, there is no harm in keeping it.”

“I’m not selling it right away, at least.”

He tried to imagine situations where he might need to climb. The ability to ascend something could certainly be valuable, and there were plenty of places that might be worth climbing: building exteriors, fortress walls, labyrinths with vertical passages… But even if the item was functionally useful, there was a more immediate problem.

Whenever an item was acquired, Ethan gained minimal archive-like knowledge about its materials and basic usage—but that didn’t mean he was skilled enough to use the item. Even if he moved well, he couldn’t match a professional rock climber from Terra.

“…Unless I unlock a Rock Climbing skill one day.”

Ethan checked the merchant’s shop but found no sign of a “Rock Climbing” skill for sale. Deciding there was no rush, he saved his remaining D-rank Coupons.

Just before leaving Limbo, Demi said, “Your vacation shall end soon, User.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“Do you really plan to do as you mentioned?”

“I do.”

He had waited this long to draw the C-rank lottery because he needed time. Demi had heard his dilemma, and he’d made up his mind.

“It’s not exactly what Boen wanted, but at least I’m keeping my promise.”

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Early one morning, Boen woke up, found his glasses, and checked a calendar he had made at the start of the year. Only about a week of vacation remained.

“It might be time to start pushing Ethan.”

It was fortunate that the academy wasn’t making too big a deal of Maya Onik and Koshe Ludyrock’s disappearance, but who knew how long the status quo would last?

“Maybe we’ll get through the rest of school without incident.”

That wouldn’t be surprising at all. Boen would remain in bondage to Bain Wiz Decarune. Though Boen had never thought of Bain as a kind master, he was aware that there were people far worse off, whose lives were miserable and ended earlier and even more painfully than his own. He had never found that truth particularly shocking before.

But his thinking had changed in recent days.

“It’s probably because of Ethan.”

Nobody paid attention to a slave bound to a mage. Bain knew many mages, and many had come and gone around Boen, but not one had volunteered to free him.

“Ethan never explicitly said he’d free me, but…”

All the same, the hope Ethan had kindled made Boen’s heart and mind lean toward that possibility.

A crisp, polite knock sounded at the door, unfamiliar to Boen. When he told the knocker to enter, Ethan’s head poked inside.

“What are you doing here so early?” Boen asked.

“I’ve got something to show you. Can you come out now?”

“…Let me get dressed.”

After Boen changed, Ethan led the way to the dormitory’s basement.

“We’re not heading into the Great Library Labyrinth, are we?”

“We are,” Ethan confirmed. “Any issues with that?”

“Why ask me how I feel all of a sudden?” Boen responded. “I’m not like you, bursting with energy in the morning. I’m tired.”

“That’s because you never exercise. Maybe next time, you should wear the quilted armor and tin can on your head with shields in both hands.”

“Then you’d probably be the one throwing stones.”

They bantered as usual, then entered the Great Library Labyrinth. The secret door in the dorm basement apparently hadn’t been discovered, but security had been tight immediately after Maya and Koshe’s disappearance, complete with automatons standing guard. Over the past month, however, it had reverted to its prior level. Yurmus Magic Academy was big, the number of automatons was limited, and there was never enough personnel.

They passed several archive rooms, taking irregular turns yet clearly following a route Ethan seemed certain of.

After a while, Ethan said, “I heard from the Mage Court.”

Boen assumed Ethan was finally broaching the main topic. He asked why they had to go so far into the labyrinth just for a private conversation, but Ethan didn’t answer him. They just kept walking.

“What did they say?” Boen asked eventually.

“Don’t get your hopes up too much.”

“I’m used to being disappointed. The world never seems to go the way I want. You endure more than expected, suffer more than expected, and grow more tired than expected.”

Ethan glanced back, but Boen shook his head.

“You’re just a student yourself, Ethan, so honestly, I never held out that much hope. Unmasking a run-of-the-mill dark mage—especially one who isn’t from Terra—probably wouldn’t boost my value enough to sway them.”

“…Right. A Terran dark mage would be a different matter entirely.”

“Right?”

Ethan kept his gaze forward as he walked. “They said they can’t lend me enough money to pay off your Contract of Pasitaros with Bain. If you think about it, I haven’t proven my own creditworthiness yet. It’s not a matter of achievements.”

“…Makes sense.”

“But they offered an alternative.”

“An alternative?”

“What’s the main issue with your contract? You had no power to resist the mage at the time it was signed, and now that you do have power, you’re blocked by Prohibition—the mental spell Bain’s using to prevent you from killing him and voiding the contract. Thus, the solution is simple.” Ethan snapped his fingers. “You just need someone else to kill Bain for you.”

“…Huh?”

Ethan pointed to the center of the archive.

Bain Wiz Decarune lay there, blood darkening the spot between his eyebrows. His eyes were still open, staring blankly.

“So, I killed him.”

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