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Translator: Ryuu

Editor: Gorm

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◈ The Inept Mage’s Infinite Regression

Chapter 16

"You are referring to the girl with the wildly bouncy blonde hair," Boen said, pretending he already knew. "The one who always carries around a rabbit familiar."

"The rabbit's name is Weibrae," Ethan noted.

"Is that really important to this conversation?"

"You’re not curious about that? Really?"

Boen waved it off lightly. "Anyway, I’ve never been given any reason to suspect Maya Onik is a dark mage."

"Me neither."

"Then on what grounds do you claim she is?"

"This information comes from the Mage Court. I don’t know their reasoning."

Boen nodded in understanding. "Hmm, very well. The Mage Court is powerful and gathers all sorts of miscellaneous intelligence. Since you already know something similar about me, I trust your claim. For now, let’s focus on your problem rather than on Maya Onik."

"My problem?" 

"Ethan, how do you plan to pass the Basic Magic Practice exam?" Boen asked.

∞

The moment Ethan had opened his eyes, he’d gone off to meet Boen. That meant he would soon have to attend his Basic Magic Practice class… and if he failed that exam, he’d receive a failing mark and be expelled from the academy. Naturally, Ethan had thought about how he would pass.

"Don’t worry," he assured Boen. "I’ve got it handled."

Before the class, Ethan visited Professor Rivielton’s workshop for a briefing on the exam procedure. When Ethan mentioned that he required a large stone, Rivielton decided to change the final Basic Magic Practice class from an indoor lecture to an outdoor exam. After all, everyone other than Ethan had practically passed already, so there was no reason to insist on the indoor setting.

The outdoor session was held in a spacious testing ground adjacent to the lecture hall. There, a huge stone of unknown origin had been placed. It rose well above the knees, and it was too wide to embrace; it was a massive, rough-hewn boulder.

Professor Rivielton said to Ethan, "Ethan, this is your final practice."

"I know."

"Everything is prepared as requested. Does it seem adequate?"

"Yeah."

While the other students regarded Ethan with looks of disbelief, there was an inexplicable gleam of expectation in Professor Rivielton’s eyes.

"Begin when you’re ready."

Ethan stepped forward, bare-handed, before the gathered students and stood in front of the stone. Bending his knees, he wrapped his arms around it and drew a deep breath using the Ruure Breathing Technique. The magi he inhaled stimulated his lower abdomen, then transformed into mana and circulated through his body to reach every muscle.

According to the treatise "Introduction to Magic Studies" by Zarada, the first great mage: One of magi’s properties was "making the impossible possible," and this quality followed an object’s natural "flow." For instance, since a stone’s desire was to be hard, a magic stone was harder than an ordinary one. Because a tree longed to grow, enchanted wood grew faster than normal, and because a human aspired to make the impossible possible, a mage could accomplish feats beyond belief. Of course, this ancient theory of magic didn’t apply uniformly—there were definite exceptions—but the basic principle of magi was common knowledge. This principle was observed in conventional magic theory, though only partially; for example, muscles that yearned for greater strength would be endowed with more power when infused with mana.

Ethan exhaled shallowly and, still clinging to the stone, rose to his feet. The boulder weighed roughly 270 kg. While not an insurmountable weight for an ordinary person, it seemed utterly impossible for a slender, still-developing boy. Before the 10 months Ethan had spent conversing with Boen, he had diligently trained under Professor Rivielton’s tutelage, and had thus managed to lift the very stone that Rivielton claimed was enough to pass the Basic Magic Practice exam.

‘If not for the demons showing up, I would have failed this Basic Magic Practice…’

Even the students who had intended to mock and tease Ethan were momentarily rendered speechless. Even though Ethan dropped the stone the instant he fully straightened his legs—his fingers lacked the strength to grip it alone—no one could deny that, even if only for a moment, Ethan had done something magical.

Breathless and with his face flushed, Ethan was panting as he asked Professor Rivielton, "How was that?"

With a broad smile, Rivielton replied, "Oh my, Ethan, why have you been hiding such impressive body magic?"

"I’m not putting on airs or anything, I just wanted to surprise you and the other students."

"I see. In any case, you’ve passed. Let’s conclude the class with this. Ethan, I’d like you to stay behind for a chat."

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Translator: Ryuu

Editor: Gorm

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Once the other students had departed, murmuring among themselves, Rivielton patted Ethan’s shoulders. "Excellent, Ethan. While it may not be an extraordinary achievement compared to knights who have trained in body magic from a young age, it’s rare for someone from a mage family to learn it at all. This strength will mean a great deal to you as you pursue becoming a mage."

"Thank you."

At Ethan’s reply, Rivielton unexpectedly added, "Do you have any intention of studying more body magic with me over the vacation?"

"Huh?"

"Of course, all I can teach you is body magic, swordsmanship, and combat magic. Depending on which path you wish to follow, it might not be of great practical use, but in my eyes…"

Ethan had already been planning to ask Rivielton to teach him body magic, swordsmanship, and combat magic, so he saw no reason to refuse, so he promptly replied, "All right."

Rivielton smiled and lightly patted his forearm. "Good, good. Ah, but tell me… Where did you learn that breathing technique?"

"The breathing technique?"

"The Ruure Breathing Technique."

Demi said, <Even though Professor Rivielton doesn’t have demonic eyes to see mana, it makes sense that he would recognize it…>

Fortunately, Ethan had anticipated this situation.

"Ah, well, it’s like this…" Ethan began to offer his chosen explanation: his family. After all, one’s family always made for a good alibi. "The Charasen family, like many great noble houses, receives numerous guests, and among them was a Ruure hunter from afar. When that hunter discovered not only my lack of aptitude for various magics but also for body magic, he pitied me and, as a way to repay the Charasen family’s favor, taught me the Ruure Breathing Technique."

"I see."

When Rivielton seemed satisfied, Ethan felt a brief moment of relief—but he hardly had time to relax.

"What was that hunter’s name?" asked Rivielton. "Ruure hunters are notoriously exclusive, they rarely leave Ruure or travel about. If one came down to Charasen, he might be from a clan that trades with the North, in which case I might know him."

Ethan, concealing his nervousness, answered, "I only know his given name, Olson."

"Ah, Olson. That Olson, was it?"

Ethan’s mind raced. Could it be the same Olson that the Professor knew?

But Rivielton’s reply was not what Ethan feared. "I’ve heard there’s a drifter among the Ruure hunters called Olson. It might have been him."

Ethan exhaled in relief. He had anticipated this line of questioning and had already noted that Ruure hunters often took on the names of great hunters of old—so Olson was a common name. Ethan figured that even if Professor Rivielton suspected they were referring to the same person, he could simply chalk it up to coincidence.

"Anyway, that’s good. Judging by your training, it doesn’t seem to have been that long. Roughly…"

"Ah, yes."

"…Five or six months?"

Suppressing the urge to correct him to 11 months, Ethan replied, "…Yes, that’s right. Six months. I wanted to learn more from him, but then I ended up enrolling in the academy."

"I see. Since there was no one to guide you, you had no choice, I suppose."

Ethan, feeling a tinge of indignation, began planning his training schedule with Rivielton for the vacation.

∞

The Onik family had originally been a knightly lineage, but generations ago, a trace of mage blood had manifested, causing the family to split. Such a split—when a single family divided into two or more branches—often occurred because the knightly branch sought to expunge the mage branch while the mage branch aimed to rise above it. Traditionally, the knightly and mage bloodlines had been at odds. However, the mage branch had been allowed to retain the Onik name on the condition that they concede their assets and lands in exchange for non-interference. Thus, when two Oniks existed, they were distinguished as a knight Onik or a mage Onik—but naturally, at the magic academy, only a mage Onik would be present, so they were simply called Onik.

Maya Onik, being the eldest child of the Onik family, was significantly older than her siblings. She was already recognized as the designated heir, having surpassed even prominent figures, and there was little doubt she would later become Baroness Onik. Her magical prowess was outstanding among first-year students, and her sociability, refinement, and striking looks had already earned her a fair number of acquaintances among those eager to forge connections with the Onik family.

"…In short, she’s just an ordinary magic academy student."

"Ordinary magic academy students don’t learn dark magic."

Ethan and Boen were sitting in the cafeteria, watching Maya Onik from a distance.

"Just from looking at her, I don’t see any sign that she’s a dark mage. Do you have a plan?" Boen said.

"I don’t know."

Somehow, the demons of the Mage Court had, upon arriving at the school, immediately deduced that Maya Onik was a dark mage. However, Ethan neither knew how the demons’ had picked her out nor how he would repeat their feat.

"I could write a letter," Ethan suggested.

"Are you going to confess?"

"To duel."

"A challenge, then? It’s a good idea, but upon looking at the envelope with your name on it, she’ll assume you are confessing and tear it up, so she won’t know to show up for the fight."

"Why would Maya think that…? Fine, then you do it."

"I’m not willing to lower my reputation that far."

"What about my reputation?"

"Yours cannot fall any further."

Ethan glared at Boen.

Boen, ignoring Ethan’s gaze, thought for a moment and said, "How about this?"

"What?"

"Ethan, you stop Maya in a dark alley. Then, I’ll defeat you."

"You’d fight me just for stopping her?"

"Your reputation is only worth that much."

Ethan would’ve asked another question…

If not for the fluffy brown furball of a rabbit that suddenly leaped onto the table.

"Fear not," said the rabbit.

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