The Inept Mage's Infinite Regression - Chapter 76

WeTried Translations

Translator: Coughing Baby

Editor: Coughing Baby

◈ The Inept Mage’s Infinite Regression

Chapter 76

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Truth Is the First Casualty of War

"Was that death I just met?"
<Seems like it. Summoning death in one strike... are you some incredible necromancer?>
"It was the Undying King."
<What?>

Sercis fluttered his tiny wings in disbelief and stared at the Undying King's corpse, shattered beyond recognition as it burned.

['Quest: Kill the Undying King (B)' Complete!]
[Reward: 480]
[Reward: B-Rank Lottery Coupon]

The quest completion window had appeared, so he was probably dead, but Ethan still felt uneasy.

"Can he revive even in this state?"
<Hard to say. I have only heard rumors about the Undying King. I do not know what exact contract he made with death, or what kind of deal he struck. Still, the principles behind his magic are not that profound. Coming back from this would be difficult. If this is truly the Undying King, and Cario once bargained with death itself to bring him back, then Cario would have at least kept the king's head separately. He would need a minimum form to revive. More importantly...>

Sercis shot forward and hovered right in front of Ethan's face.

Ethan shook his head and dropped to the ground.

"Uh, wait. I'm dizzy."
<What? Damn it... mana thirst.>
"What do I do?"
<Tch. There is no choice but to return. Next time we meet, you had better explain properly.>
"...Are you okay with that?"

Just like that, Sercis returned, and Ethan killed the Undying King.

Once the tension left him, the mana thirst hit even harder. His consciousness was fading. Ethan lay flat on the ground and watched Cora's walls open in the distance as Osmal, his knights, and Boen rode out to confirm the Undying King's death.

Then a question struck him.

'...Why isn't the main quest completion window appearing?'

The reason was simple.

The main quest had not been completed, so no completion window appeared.

∞

[Main Quest: Truth Is the First Casualty of War (S)]
[You have learned what is happening. But there is no way to avoid it. Witness the truth and accept it. And survive. When winter comes, the hell of this world will come crashing down on you.]

The quest status was still "In Progress," and Ethan did not need long to find out why.

That night, after the Undying King had fallen and everyone in Cora was raising toasts, Osmal called Ethan and Boen out to the garden. Warm light leaked through the windows of the inner fortress, but the dark garden felt far removed from the noisy drinking and singing.

"Ethan."
"Yes, go ahead."

Osmal hesitated, then spoke as if he had made up his mind.

"You should run west."
"What do you mean?"
"We do not have time for a long talk. I will be brief. The Empire has realized you are a dark mage."
"Was there an informant inside Cora?"
"Probably... yes. But that is not what matters. The Empire believes there is no mage in Cora who could defeat the Undying King, and they are claiming that if he was defeated, it must have been the work of a dark mage. So the Empire plans to send the Imperial Inquisition to Cora."

Ethan said, "Can you refuse them or deny it?"
"I would like to."
"...Your retainers think you should follow the Empire's will?"
"Yes."
"Why?"

Osmal gave a small shake of his head, as if he did not want to think about it.

"I know the Empire wants war, for whatever reason. Just as in the future you saw, a large force has gathered in Ysoren. They can begin marching at any moment. My retainers believe that if we give the Empire any pretext here, war will start immediately. Not just my retainers. Other lords think the same. If I reject that view now, I become the lord who handed the Empire that pretext and allowed war."

Boen said to Ethan, "...There is no reason to hear more. I will prepare the horses."

Ethan watched Boen head to the stables, then turned to Osmal.

"But why are you telling us this? If you let us escape, the war will break out in the end anyway."

Osmal smiled.

"That is a lord's matter. This is a human matter. I, Osmal Saikal, am a fine lord, but also a man with a conscience. If I drew my blade on the righteous man who prevented my ruin, I might keep my land, but how would I face Imon and keep living? And this territory is mine. It only means something if I protect it with my own strength. I have received enough help from you."

"...Thank you, Count Saikal."
"Compared to what you achieved, this is a small reward, but I loaded both your saddles with plenty of travel money."

Ethan and Boen left through Cora's west gate, the one Osmal opened for them.

As they rode, Boen said, "You never saw a future like this?"
"Right. From here on, I have no experience either."

Boen, looking deep in thought, pointed ahead.

"Then this will be your first time seeing that person too."

It was dark, but the road ran along the ridge, so the figure standing on the path was easy to spot. The person wore armor, but moonlight lit the side of the face and the tied-up hair fixed with a hairpin, making the silhouette clear.

It was Margrave Doyeon Yumuran.

In any normal situation, Doyeon would never have been west of Cora. But the reason was clear. Just as Osmal gave Ethan a chance to run, Cora's traitor gave Doyeon a chance to capture him.

Boen asked Ethan, "What do we do?"
"They did not come alone."
"If there is an ambush, it is too late to turn back."

If archers were waiting nearby, they would become pincushions before they could wheel their horses around.

"Break through."

Ethan and Boen loosened the reins, lowered their bodies, and kicked hard.

Doyeon drew a blade from horseback and charged at them. Ethan rode ahead of Boen and drew his sword as well.

Their blades seemed to meet. Then Ethan felt heat in his forearm, followed by blinding pain. He looked and saw that his forearm had been severed.

Clutching the stump, Ethan twisted around.

"Boen, are you oka-"

Boen, headless, toppled limp from his horse. Boen's horse stopped running and slowly lost speed. Doyeon's horse leaped over Boen's corpse and rapidly closed in behind Ethan.

Before Doyeon's blade could reach him, Ethan ruptured his own heart.

∞

"So even if I kill the Undying King, the war does not end?"

In Limbo, Demi answered Ethan's question.

"If the Empire's will for war is firm, that can happen."
"So even to the Emperor, the Undying King was just one Rocaf piece. ...I knew that, but still."

Demi said, "If you can kill the Undying King, the remaining battles may be easy."
"But if the Emperor's desire for war does not end, continuing the war itself has little meaning."
"That is also true."

There was also the problem of the attack the Undying King used when he gave up on reviving himself.

"I saw death."
"In this world, it is known that death can be observed in that way."
"According to what death said, in that situation you could not save me."

Demi paused as if thinking, then spoke.

"On that point, my view differs from death's. But I admit I cannot say it with certainty. If you had not summoned the phoenix, what would have happened is unclear. The Undying King's attack was exceptional enough to be treated as an outlier."
"Then in future battles, that kind of 'exceptional' situation could happen again."
"...I cannot assert that either, but yes. In the current situation, this is a possible inference: 'The Emperor placed the Undying King there to target the dark mage from Terra.'"

Demi continued.

"My recommendation is to abandon your current single save and enter a completely new regression. The Empire already strongly suspects the existence of a dark mage from Terra because of the deaths of the Mage Court demons. In that case, you are in great danger even outside war."

Ethan said, "But I think there are not that many dangerous spells in this world that involve directly facing death."

He remembered how much gold the Undying King had cast off to use that magic. It was beautiful craftsmanship, yes, but even the raw weight of the gold alone was enormous. He spent all of it to summon death itself. They got lucky that the phoenix's revival worked as the right counter. Any mage would have died without being able to resist.

Ethan said, "And it is better to recognize danger in advance. So I think it is reasonable to use the save I have as much as possible."
"Understood."

At the end, Ethan asked about Heaven-Defier.

"I do not know that concept. Terra has a similar one, but it seems somewhat different from this world's. It may be related to Mystery."
"Mystery?"

Demi replied, "Every world has a 'Mystery' that distinguishes it from other worlds. This world's Mystery is provisionally inferred to be magi."
"Wait. Then Terra has no magi? That means no mages either."
"Yes. As I have often said, there are no mages from Terra."
"Then what is Terra's Mystery?"

Demi said the sentence Ethan never liked hearing.

"Your level is insufficient to fulfill this request. I ask for your understanding."

Ethan had expected that, so he said boldly,

"Fine. Then let's do the lottery. Let's see what this B-rank gives us."

∞

After loading, Ethan spent about a month checking himself over. He reviewed the power from Terra that he already had and thought through how to use it. Most of all, he needed to grow more familiar with the newly acquired SIG MCS Odium automatic rifle.

A gun was powerful on its own, and Ethan's basic Marksmanship was enough to make it deadly, but improving aim speed, swapping magazines smoothly, and clearing malfunctions quickly were separate skills. On top of that, he planned to use Ruure's Breathing to fire more steadily, and in emergencies, grip and fire one-handed.

After about a month had passed, Ethan went to Boen's dorm room, where Boen had summoned him.

Boen sat there arrogantly with his feet on the desk.

"Congratulations on becoming lord, Sir Palmize."

Boen's chair tipped backward.

Boen got up, rubbing the back of his head.

"Did you see the future through dark magic?"
"Yes."

Ethan said, "You are going to tell me there are three options. First, go to Charasen. Second, go somewhere safe but not Charasen. Third, march out to war. And I chose the third."
"What happened?"

Ethan remembered losing Boen in the chaos of war, seeing him blood-soaked among soldiers, seeing him beheaded and falling from his horse.

Ethan patted Boen's shoulder.

"You did well."
"Did well?"
"But I think the second option is better."

Boen asked, puzzled, "Not Charasen? If it were you, Ethan, I thought you would obviously choose Charasen. Do you know another safe place?"

Ethan said, "I do not. But someone else does."

Ethan took Boen to Rivielton's workshop.

The man who had worn armor on the battlefield and cut down enemies like straw bundles now sat peacefully with a monocle, reading a book.

Rivielton closed the book and greeted them with a smile.

"Oh, Ethan. And Boen. What brings you here?"
"Professor."

Ethan said to Rivielton, "You have a dark mage you are close with, right?"

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