WeTried Translations

Translator: Coughing Baby

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ The Inept Mage’s Infinite Regression

Chapter 30

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Ethan killed Moraiotz with his sword. Before dying, Moraiotz launched a thorn aimed at Ethan’s blind spot, but Ethan dodged it without even looking.

After that, he walked to a tree about ten steps away from Moraiotz’s body and hid behind it. Dozens of seconds later, three demons arrived and discovered Moraiotz’s corpse. Ethan stabbed one in the back, then threw a dagger at another who turned at the noise. Just as the third demon was about to cast a spell, Ethan called out his name.

"Xenoph Iro Sing."

Hearing his true name which no ordinary mage should know, Xenoph froze for a moment and his spell failed. Ethan rushed at Xenoph and slit his throat. The next demon was more cautious, so he moved forward to ensure the bodies wouldn’t be discovered.

Ethan crouched, not even checking how close the enemies were, and focused solely on his wrist. On his wrist was a Casio A157WA-1D wristwatch which he had got with a D-rank coupon. At first, the numbers felt unfamiliar, but he quickly got used to it. Ethan checked the time and turned his body. At the same time, a small branch fell from a tree opposite him.

Ethan had set up a simple trap. This trap wasn’t deadly. In fact, it wasn’t even child’s play. It was just a piece of wood precariously balanced on a spiderweb, designed to fall at the feet of any demon passing by. If Ethan acted the same way, the demons would also act the same way every time, and they would fall for the trap every time. That brief moment of distraction was enough.

In this manner, Ethan killed Blaosh, the one-eyed demon, Yeshren, who wielded a mace, and Dolla, the tall demon. He wiped out Moraiotz’s vanguard and defeated Sirund’s main force.

Everyone except Sirund Zen.

"...Interesting."

The white horns starting behind his ears curved upward toward the sky, framing his forehead. With bluish-gray skin, magenta hair, and crimson eyes, Sirund Zen was a member of the Zen family, known for their wisdom and cunning. The Zen family was one of the three royal families that once ruled over the demons.

Sirund wasn’t tense at all, even as Ethan pointed his handgun at him. He even knew that the handgun was a dark magic of Terra.

"Go ahead, dark mage. If your dark magic works, I’ll admit defeat today. But if it doesn’t, you’ll realize there’s a wall even your dark power can’t overcome."

Instead of answering, Ethan shot Sirund between the eyes. With a sharp crack, the bullet spun through the barrel’s rifling and flew toward Sirund.

Thwip!

However, a translucent green barrier wrapped around the bullet. The distorted green barrier stopped the bullet just a hand’s breadth away from Sirund’s head.

Sirund tilted his head slightly to look at Ethan, his hair swaying as the distorted barrier obstructed his vision.

"Too bad."

As Ethan lunged with his sword, Sirund raised a finger and said,

"→Labue, Rud Rionesa."

A massive green beam shot from Sirund’s fingertip, engulfing Ethan’s body.

∞

Ethan knew about the famous magic of demons. The spell Sirund used to block the bullet was called "Arrow Shield." Originally designed to block arrows, it shouldn’t have been strong enough to stop bullets, but demon magic had the characteristic of being strengthened based on the user’s mana.

The spell Sirund used to kill Ethan was called "Light Spear," a combat spell that Rivielton had also used before. It wasn’t just a beam of light but a powerful spell that destroyed its target with force and heat. It was the family magic of the Zen family.

Ethan knew the weaknesses of Arrow Shield as it was a well-known spell, so he decided to exploit that.

Arrow Shield was a type of enhancement magic, meaning it had to be cast on the user beforehand. Therefore, if Ethan attacked before Sirund could cast the spell, he could kill Sirund with his handgun.

"Then why not change the order?"

Ethan decided to kill Sirund first and then deal with the remaining demons.

After five failures, Ethan found the perfect ambush spot and targeted Sirund, who was at the rear.

But the shot aimed at the back of Sirund’s head was blocked by Arrow Shield again. Considering that Sirund couldn’t have anticipated the ambush, Ethan had to consider two possibilities. One was that Sirund was extremely cautious and had already cast Arrow Shield beforehand. The other was that Sirund’s mana was so vast that he could maintain Arrow Shield at all times. The latter was more frustrating, but the order of killing the demons no longer mattered.

Arrow Shield had another limitation.

"It doesn’t completely block the attack. What if I shoot from a hand’s breadth closer?"

But Ethan realized it would be difficult to find a better ambush spot. Sirund’s eyes were different from other demons. Unless Ethan moved far enough to be out of Sirund’s line of sight, Sirund would spot him even behind a tree. It seemed Sirund’s senses weren’t just limited to detecting mana.

"Then what if I close the distance with my sword and shoot?"

Fortunately, even Sirund would draw his sword and engage in a duel. However, Sirund’s swordsmanship was on a completely different level from any other demon Ethan had faced.

"Is that all the skill you have when wielding a sword?"

Ethan’s incomplete Demon-Slaying Sword crumbled pathetically before Sirund. Sirund perfectly blocked all of Ethan’s ambushes and countered with his own attacks. Ethan was barely able to defend himself.

Sirund’s swordplay wasn’t just one step ahead—it was three or four steps ahead, and that was likely just the tip of the iceberg. Ethan’s low level of swordsmanship meant Sirund didn’t even need to show his full strength.

‘...It’s not closing’

Sirund was always aware of the Glock 45 in Ethan’s left hand and never allowed Ethan to get close enough to use it. If Ethan recklessly tried to aim the handgun, his left wrist would be severed without fail.

‘...Not at all.’

At some point, Ethan realized he had died more times to Sirund alone than to all the other demons combined. A cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

‘Is this what an elder of the Mage Court is like?’

Ethan tried every method at his disposal. He shone a bright flashlight in Sirund’s eyes to disorient him, used firecracker traps to create openings, and even insulted Sirund. But Sirund was strong, quick, and unshakable.

And every single time, Sirund mocked Ethan.

"How weak, dark mage."

Ethan had observed Sirund hundreds of times but couldn’t find any habits, wounds, illnesses, or weaknesses. Sirund was clearly on a different level from anyone Ethan had faced before.

‘A riddle that keeps challenging me to solve it.’

Ethan gained insight into the magic he was using.

‘But what if the riddle has no answer?’

The important thing was that Ethan didn’t give up. Facing Sirund, he died over and over again. He fought with his left arm severed, his throat pierced, and even on his knees at Sirund’s feet. Each time, he strategized how to face Sirund and fought him again.

After dying dozens more times to Sirund, Ethan came up with a plan to hide his handgun inside a tree stump and then retrieve it to shoot.

But the plan failed absurdly.

"→Ter, Tua."

With a flick of his finger, Sirund summoned Ethan’s hidden Glock 45, which spun through the air and landed in his hand. The spell Sirund used was a simple trick called "Grasp."

Sirund sniffed the handgun and frowned. The Zen family’s demons had not only keen eyes but also sharp noses.

"Did you think you could hide this smelly piece of metal?"

Sirund pointed the handgun at Ethan’s forehead. Suddenly, Ethan had an epiphany.

"Aha."

Sirund, rarely reacting to anything, responded to Ethan’s sudden exclamation.

"...What is it?"

"Nothing. Go ahead."

"You’re mocking me."

Sirund pulled the trigger.

Ethan had finally found the answer to the riddle.

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"→Ter, Tua."

Sirund sniffed the handgun and frowned. The Zen family’s demons had not only keen eyes but also sharp noses.

"Did you think you could hide this smelly piece of metal?"

"So, the nobles of the Zen family have not only keen eyes but also sharp noses?"

"I don’t speak of eyes or noses. I simply say my senses are superior."

Ethan sneered at Sirund.

"Do you know what this is?"

"This is a handgun, a type called Glock. Using a handgun is simple. This one is loaded, so all you have to do is pull the trigger."

"You don’t seem to understand at all."

Sirund frowned.

"You’re mocking me."

Sirund pulled the trigger. The fired bullet separated into the casing and the projectile, and the projectile struck the "tail of another bullet" that Ethan had lodged inside the barrel.

The second bullet also ignited its gunpowder, but the explosive energy couldn’t escape the barrel. The barrel had been tightly sealed with mud and a cleaning rod bent and shoved inside. As a result, the explosive energy naturally went backward instead of forward, severely damaging the slide mechanism of the handgun. The slide separated, and internal parts flew toward the user’s face. A shattered recoil spring gouged Sirund’s eyes. Arrow Shield didn’t activate against one’s own attacks.

Ethan was already moving the moment Sirund pulled the trigger. Ethan knew from experience about the things to be most cautious about when facing demons. His blade pierced Sirund’s chin and soared upward through his white crown.

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