WeTried Translations

Translator: Coughing Baby

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◈ The Inept Mage’s Infinite Regression

Chapter 46

Ethan and Boen approached the window.

Boen muttered, "Is that… a wyvern?"

"It looks a bit different."

Ethan took out the Monocular (D) he had bought from a merchant in Limbo not long ago, which could magnify up to 75 times, and looked through it.

"It’s Jimonail."

"Can Jimonail ride a wyvern? I heard it takes multiple lives and years of training to do that."

"It’s not an ordinary wyvern."

Wyverns were a type of lesser dragon capable of flight, and while their size and wing shapes varied slightly, they generally looked similar. They had dragon-like snouts, long necks, bat-like membranous wings, and large hind legs comparable to a giant eagle's. Depending on the species, they might also have a long tail, which might be equipped with a venomous stinger. These lesser dragons were larger than warhorses and, if well trained, could carry people and fly. On the battlefield, dragon knights and dragon mages who rode wyverns were revered.

However, the wyvern Jimonail was riding was different from the ones Ethan knew. Its bones, which should have been hidden, were exposed, and its desiccated skin clung to its bones in patches. The membranes of its wings were full of holes, yet the wyvern’s flight remained steady.

"It’s a skeletal wyvern."

"That’s a combination of words I didn’t want to hear."

"Jimonail’s necromancy must be animating the wyvern’s corpse."

Jimonail made a wide turn with the wyvern.

"There’s something else behind it."

"Hmm. What’s that?"

The wyvern was pulling a massive wagon-like object connected by chains. Despite its size, the wagon seemed weightless as it glided smoothly behind the wyvern.

Jimonail’s voice, amplified by magic, echoed. "{Intruders in the mansion! If you can hear my voice, show yourselves!}"

As Ru started walking toward the window, Ethan grabbed her. "What are you doing?"

"She said to show ourselves."

"Why would… No, just stay put."

"Okay."

Boen said, "My magic can’t reach that far. What about you, Ethan?"

"I don’t have any other options either."

"Jimonail hasn’t pinpointed our location yet. Should we wait?"

"Yeah. Jimonail will have to come down eventually to search the mansion. Or we could use Professor Ru."

"That sounds incredibly rude."

Jimonail said, "{If you don’t show yourselves, I’ll blow up the entire mansion.}"

Ethan saw Jimonail pick up a long rod hanging next to the saddle. At its end was clearly a spearhead.

Jimonail threw the spear at a small statue of a boy in the garden.

Clang!

Instead of the dull metallic sound of hitting stone, a strange, painful noise struck Ethan and Boen’s ears.

When they looked up, the statue had turned into a skewer with dozens of protruding spearheads. Considering the length of the spearheads, the range was about five meters. If a tightly packed unit had been there, it would have been wiped out in one strike.

Boen said, "It’s a magic weapon."

"I figured that out."

Ethan noticed seven more spearheads hanging on either side of Jimonail. While they might not bring down the mansion, if Jimonail used detection magic to pinpoint their location, it would be too tricky to deal with indoors.

"Do you think you know how that spear works?"

"Give that to me," Boen said, pointing at Ethan’s magnifying device.

"It’s called a Monocular."

"Does the name matter?" Boen took Ethan’s monocular and examined the spearhead. "Only one spearhead is embedded from the inside out, not the other way around. Jimonail must have thrown it. It’s embedded pretty deep. If I remember correctly, it’s a magic weapon called 'Orl’s Skewer.' The deeper it’s embedded, the more spearheads protrude from the surroundings. That’s why Jimonail threw it at the ground. The spearheads are enchanted to pierce even stone, but if thrown at a solid brick wall, the power won’t be as great. That was definitely a show of force."

"Ah, you’re so smart."

Boen glared at Ethan as he handed back the monocular. "This isn’t the time for jokes. If Jimonail is in that position, there’s no way to strike her."

"Do you know when a hunter is most vulnerable?"

"When they’re hunting?"

"…You’re so smart."

Ethan handed his item to Boen, impressed.

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"{This is your last warning, intruder! Show yourself!}"

"…I’m here."

"{Right now… huh?}"

"I’m right here!"

When Ethan revealed himself on the rooftop, Jimonail, about to throw another spear, was taken aback.

"{Ethan? Ethan Dora Charasen?}"

"I can’t use that voice-amplifying spell, so why don’t you come down?"

"{Why can’t you use such a simple spell?}"

Jimonail, sensing a trap, gripped her spear and scanned her surroundings. There were no dangerous movements. Even if there were, Orl’s Skewer could kill in one strike.

Jimonail lowered her altitude slightly.

"Why are you here, Ethan?"

"That’s what I want to ask you. This is Professor Ru’s mansion, it’s not a place for you to interfere."

"Don’t tell me what to do, outsider."

"You’re an outsider too, aren’t you?"

Jimonail didn’t know why Ethan was here or how much he knew, so she acted cautiously. She felt the urge to kill him and silence him immediately, but there might be others with him. After all, the remains of security automatons were scattered around. It was unlikely that Ethan, who couldn’t even use proper magic, had taken them down alone.

"I’m not here to play word games with you. Tell me how you got here."

Ethan said, "The automatons were acting strange, so I asked around and ended up here. I heard Professor Ru, who manages the automatons, lives here, but when I arrived, Professor Ru was torn apart, and the security automatons attacked me. And then you showed up."

"Strange movements? That shouldn’t be happening. Why isn’t the cognitive interference working?"

Ethan caught a secret in Jimonail’s words.

‘So the reason no one at the academy cares about how the automatons are managed was because of magic. Did Jimonail cast that spell? It doesn’t seem like something a mere student could do. It must have been pre-existing magic. That’s how Jimonail, who somehow learned the automatons’ secrets, tore Ru apart and took control of the automatons. But the cognitive interference didn’t work on me because I noticed something was off with the Cario vote. The Cario vote was Jimonail’s own doing. She really loves Cario.’

"Why don’t you answer me? The automaton named Agatha said you took control. Why did you do that?"

"I don’t owe you an explanation. Also, that skeletal wyvern you’re riding, and that magic weapon you threw in the garden… I’m not trying to disrespect the Eurogia family, but those aren’t things a family head would invest in for a student studying far from home."

Ethan wasn’t in a position to say this, but for a high-ranking noble, attending a magic academy was often seen as a waste of time. Arca was an exception, but typically, the children of influential families were educated by the family’s mages. While magic academies weren’t without value, in many cases, enrolling in one was more of a diplomatic activity, especially for students from distant lands.

From this perspective, Ethan didn’t think Jimonail was an exceptional mage. Of course, as a member of a great family, she likely received more support than other magic academy students, but the fact that she’d come to the magic academy suggested she wasn’t particularly special.

"…Hmph. Don’t bring up my mother. I owe her nothing."

"So you’re saying you acquired all this on your own?"

"Yes! I was chosen!"

"By whom?"

"I was chosen! Don’t you get it? There’s only one being in this world who can choose others." Jimonail raised her spear and said, "His Majesty, the Emperor!"

Having revealed that secret, there was no reason to keep Ethan alive.

Orl’s Skewer flew toward Ethan.

Considering Jimonail’s strength, stamina, and the fact that she was riding a skeletal wyvern, her accuracy was poor. But as long as the spear landed within a five-meter radius, it didn’t matter. Since she had descended enough to talk to Ethan, the spearheads were almost aimed at him.

"The spear won’t directly hit me. So…"

Ethan jumped into the air the moment the spear was thrown.

Compared to the flying skeletal wyvern, it was a modest jump, but it was enough to clear a person’s height.

Clang!

As expected, the spear embedded in the stone, losing much of its power. Only half of the spearheads protruded, to a range of about three meters.

"That was close."

Feeling a chill down his spine, Ethan landed in a corner of the rooftop.

"Why did the Emperor give you such a weapon? Ah, to take over this place?" Ethan boldly guessed. The immediate follow-up attack confirmed he was right.

"Can’t you shut up?"

Jimonail anxiously watched Ethan.

"There’s less room to dodge on the rooftop. Next time, you’ll have to jump off. The ground below is dirt. Orl’s Skewer will embed itself fully. Even if you go inside, if I throw the spear through a window, you won’t be able to escape and will die. But…"

Jimonail hesitated to kill Ethan because she was also wary of another intruder.

‘I’m not worried about running out of spearheads. That incompetent fool is only so confident because of his companions, right? Is this a diversion? But no student has flight magic comparable to this skeletal wyvern. If anyone does… Arca? Damn it. No, I heard she’s not close with him. She wouldn’t care about such trivial matters…’

Ethan said, "You’re not going to throw it?"

Annoyed, Jimonail threw the spear.

Ethan jumped over the rooftop railing and landed on the dirt below. Jimonail, seizing the moment, prepared to throw the next spear with both hands.

"…Huh?!"

Jimonail didn’t react in time to the white ring approaching her vision.

Whoosh!

Boen’s Gespenst V ascended above Jimonail.

The rope attached to the drone looped around Jimonail’s neck. Before the drone could rise, the skeletal wyvern flew forward, causing Jimonail to fall off. The wagon behind the wyvern slammed into Jimonail’s back, and she dropped the spear as she struggled to free herself from the rope around her neck. After the wagon flew away with the wyvern, the drone couldn’t support Jimonail and began to descend.

Boen, watching from below, input a command to release the rope.

Jimonail plummeted to the ground.

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