WeTried Translations

Translator: Coughing Baby

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ The Inept Mage’s Infinite Regression

Chapter 64

Laken’s roar sent dozens of soldiers trembling, and they quickly broke ranks to flee. However, when the knight who appeared to be their commander insisted it was just an illusion and ordered them to advance, the soldiers who had been hesitating began to charge.

Laken opened her jaws and unleashed her breath as if it were nothing.

Kwoooom!

Her massive form, measuring some thirty meters, produced flames incomparably larger than what she’d produced in her human form, incinerating the enemy troops. A dozen or so soldiers ignored their commander’s orders, threw down their weapons, and ran for their lives.

“Hurry!” Rivielton shouted. “They’ll come back once they regroup!”

The battle mages hastily unhitched the horses from the carriages, took chains from the luggage compartment, and connected carriage to carriage. They then fastened the chain extending from the first carriage to the decorative coverings on both of Laken’s legs. Normally, it would have been a minimal piece of lower clothing made from that expensive cloth, but now it appeared as a protective leg wrap with a golden design on dark green fabric. The cloth featured embroidered wolf heads baring their teeth—the emblem of the Lagina family—worked in gold.

Once they finished, Laken turned her head and said, “{Everyone get on! The dragon carriage is departing!}”

As soon as the battle mages scrambled back onto the carriages, Laken dug her claws into the cliff and began to climb. Effortlessly, two of the carriages were lifted off the ground and hauled upward.

To Rivielton, Ethan asked, “Aren’t you coming, Professor?”

“It will be troublesome if an enemy battle mage shows up below us. We won’t have an easy way to resist while climbing this cliff, so someone who can climb on their own must remain to block them.”

“I understand.”

Rivielton lifted his head. “They may need your help up there, Ethan. Once you’re on a carriage, don’t stay inside—go across the roof to reach Laken’s tail.”

“Pardon?”

“Please.”

Rivielton gave Ethan’s shoulder a couple of taps and mounted his horse. Spotting the last carriage as it began its ascent, he rushed over and grabbed hold.

The battle mage who had the door open said, “You’re not riding inside?”

“The professor told me to go on top!”

“What? Man, professors are the worst, assigning insane tasks to such a small kid.” The battle mage turned his head and called inside, “Right?”

The others inside the carriage casually nodded. Even as the carriage rocked and rattled on its way up the cliff, they seemed unconcerned.

“All right, good luck!”

The battle mage shut the door. It was likely for safety, what with the rocks tumbling down as Laken climbed, but it still felt a bit cold. Ethan had no time to complain, though; he grabbed the chain and began climbing.

Dodging or taking hits from falling stones, Ethan eventually reached the first carriage with some difficulty, when Laken shouted, “{They’ve spotted us from above! What now?}”

A veteran battle mage in the first carriage opened the door and said, “You’re the boss here, Laken! What do you want to do?”

“{Huh? Me? Let’s see… Anyone here who can fly?}”

“From here? Ack, damn it! I bit my tongue.”

In the first carriage, Boen raised his hand. “I can.”

“{Great. And where’s Ethan?}”

Ethan, who was on the chain running from the first carriage toward Laken, called out, “I’m right behind your left side!”

Laken turned her head the other way. “{Aha. Trying to sneak up onto my butt, were you?}”

“You’re joking around at a time like this?!”

“{Both of you, grab my tail.}”

Laken flexed her tail toward Boen and Ethan. Although it looked smooth, the scales actually made it pretty easy to cling to. They didn’t need to hold on for long.

Laken flicked her tail, launching both men into the air, then caught them on her head. More precisely, each landed on one of her horns, Ethan on the left horn, Boen on the right. Ethan was fine, but Boen grumbled, “Now I see why I mentioned flying magic.”

Laken let out a low growl and said, “{How was that? Pretty good, right?}”

“Incredible precision,” Boen said as he adjusted his glasses, which had slipped off.

“{Then you trust your big sis, don’t you?}”

“Um, what?”

“{Ethan, you go first. No jokes this time. Get ready.}”

Ethan began to ask, “What do you mean—whoa!”

Before he could finish, Laken tilted her head to the left and used the massive strength of her dragon neck to fling Ethan forward.

“Uwaah!”

The cliff’s edge was roughly fifty meters above them. Ethan soared past it, gaining another 10 meters of altitude before landing atop the cliff.

“{You’re next.}”

“Wait, give me a second to prepare—waaagh!”

Laken twisted her neck to the right, flinging Boen into the air. Just before plummeting, Boen’s coat billowed out, allowing him to land safely, albeit looking somewhat pale.

From below, Laken called up, “{I’ll climb up soon, so you just have to hold them off a bit… Argh! I’m slipping!}”

Ethan and Boen sighed simultaneously and looked straight ahead.

“Great.”

“My stomach’s churning.”

Dozens of soldiers already stood there, shields raised in a single defensive line.

Most notably, there was a knight, likely their commander, wearing heavy armor and armed with a chain flail and shield. They couldn’t guess the knight’s skill level, but ideally, he needed to be taken down before the other battle mages made it up.

“Take out the knight,” Boen said.

“You sure?”

“There’s no need to protect me, and in this situation, it’s best to break the enemy formation.”

“All right. I’m going in.”

Just before the knight could order a charge, Ethan shattered their line with Tusk Breaker, closing the distance to the knight in a single bound. However, the knight casually sidestepped Ethan’s sword and raised his shield, blocking Ethan’s view.

‘In that case…’

Recalling Rivielton’s teachings, Ethan seized a soldier rushing from behind and threw him toward the knight. He expected the knight to hesitate or break formation, but the chain flail came swinging down on the soldier’s head without a second’s pause.

‘Climbing a cliff in the middle of a battlefield is full of variables. One mistake and I’ll have to Load a bunch of times.’

The soldiers were well-trained. Even if Ethan faced the knight one-on-one, he didn’t feel he could guarantee victory. He steadied himself, focusing on the knight battling among the soldiers around them.

∞

Right after Ethan charged into their ranks, the rest of the enemy soldiers closed in on Boen near the cliff’s edge. They looked ready to shove him off if the opportunity arose.

“I can’t become a burden now.”

Boen revealed 10 hidden crystals and spread them through the air. They were elongated octahedrons, rough-hewn with jagged edges and razor-sharp tips.

He suddenly recalled Ethan’s remark and let out a small chuckle.

“So now I can use 10. Why is that?”

“Why what?”

“Oh. He once said, ‘I’ve seen three and five, then seven, then nine—shouldn’t it be eleven next?’ ”

It might’ve been a reasonable question, but it was still funny.

Typically, mages used things like wands, staffs, crystal orbs, or magic tomes to supplement their spells. These “magic tools” could hold certain spells or help simplify high-level magic. Boen’s crystals were another type of magic tool.

Using gems to control magic had become popular among younger battle mages in the field of combat magic research. The most widely used combat magic was traditionally fire magic—flames were terrifying, inflicted serious pain, and could spread through enemy lines. Since ancient times, fire had been the first choice for battle magic.

But with the Empire’s Mage Council increasingly under threat and interference, it had become necessary to develop new combat magic, reigniting research. This “gem-based control magic” was part of that recent trend among young battle mages. Bain had introduced Boen to the concept.

Boen had chosen crystals, often used as crystal orbs, to be the projectiles he controlled. With minimal movement, they could kill, like arrows he could guide with his will.

However, no magic is omnipotent. Using these crystals limited access to other spells. The flight magic he’d used earlier had actually been managed by tucking his 10 crystals inside his clothes to support his weight.

Controlling the crystals wasn’t easy either. Boen linked each crystal’s movement to one of his fingers. That was why there were not 11 but 10. A crystal shot forward when he extended a finger and returned when he curled it. Keeping the incantation silent for stealth meant it was too complicated to adjust speed, power, and direction beyond that. He needed to study more to refine his technique.

‘But for now, this is enough!’

All 10 of Boen’s fingers extended, sending his crystals hurtling at the oncoming soldiers. The troops, unsure what kind of magic this was, couldn’t react in time, and some failed to raise their shields. Their necks and inner thighs were slashed, sending them falling. Panicked soldiers charged in, but by timing his finger movements, Boen could recall the crystals as quickly as they attacked, taking down all six who rushed him.

Frightened, the soldiers ducked behind their shields, hugging them tightly.

“Block those crystals with your shields!”

“What?”

“He attacked right when we lowered our shields! He can’t pierce our shields!”

There were so many soldiers, it wasn’t a surprise that someone was observant or clever enough to figure it out—or so they thought. Everyone hid behind their shields, and that did make it tough for Boen to attack them directly…

‘A month ago, this would’ve been bad, but…’ Boen remained calm. ‘He advanced so fast that it spurred me to work harder too.’

He crossed his left and right hands so that the crystals collided with one another, and they shattered on impact.

“→High upon the forsaken fortress. Crown the star-gazer with flowers.”

The 10 shards combined into two larger crystals.

“He’s casting a spell! Charge him!”

Boen swung both fists in controlled motions. It looked more like a dance than a punch, seemingly unthreatening at first glance.

Yet the two crystals orbiting him like moons suddenly streaked forward, slicing through soldiers’ shields like paper, piercing torsos and smashing heads without losing an ounce of momentum. Boen, mindful of their speed, inertia, and rotation, aimed for the soldiers’ heads and hearts. They began backing away before he’d even moved three steps forward. Some even forgot they were in a fortified position and started to run.

Then Boen rushed toward Ethan, who was still struggling.

“Ethan!”

“Why do they always tell me to ‘get down’ when they see me?” Ethan grumbled, rolling toward Boen’s side.

Soaring over Ethan’s head, the two large crystals slammed into the knight’s shield and flank. The knight paused briefly but then continued trudging toward them, ignoring the crystals embedded in his body.

“…Um, Boen?”

“Don’t worry. It’s not over yet.” Boen, as if someone were restraining his hand, trembled slightly while fully extending his fingers.

“→O fleeting instant…”

The moment he spread all his fingers…

“→…return to me!”

With that incantation, the crystals exploded.

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