The Inept Mage's Infinite Regression - Chapter 47

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Translator: Ryuu

Editor: Gorm

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◈ The Inept Mage’s Infinite Regression

Chapter 47

Ethan approached the corner of the workshop on the first floor, where Boen was waiting, and tapped on the window. When Boen opened the window, Ethan asked, "Is she dead?"

"I don’t know. She fell deep into the forest."

"I heard branches breaking. She’s probably light, though." Ethan glanced up at the skeletal wyvern soaring leisurely in the sky. "I don’t know much about necromancy, but what usually happens to the skeletons a necromancer controls when they die?"

"Lower-tier skeletons usually just collapse, but a skeletal wyvern is different. I’ve heard that the larger the skeleton, the more expensive. In this case, even if it can’t receive direct commands from the necromancer, it might still be able to act. It’s possible it was given post-death orders to follow in a situation like this."

"Like attacking anyone who approaches the necromancer?"

"Probably."

Ethan thought for a moment before saying, "Still, it’s better to check on Jimonail. With so many trees, it might be hard for the skeletal wyvern to get close due to its size."

"Then it’d be best to send the Gespenst V first."

"Boen, you handle that."

As Boen began directing the Gespenst V, Ru, who was behind them, spoke up. "This is dark magic, isn’t it? Whose is it?"

Boen briefly glanced at Ethan, signaling that he needed to focus and that Ethan should handle the conversation.

Ethan didn’t see much point in hiding the fact that he was a dark mage, so he bluntly replied, "It’s mine, Professor."

"That’s a strange-looking puppet."

"Technically… it’s not a puppet."

"That’s not what I meant. A puppet is something that does what a person would do, not something that looks like a person."

"People don’t fly, though."

"But they want to."

‘Is that so?’ Ethan thought.

Ru leaned on the windowsill and continued, "Why use it as a puppet?"

"That’s just how it was made. It can follow me around like a puppy, but that’s about it."

"But… it’s dark magic, isn’t it?"

"This person is hard to talk to."

"No, that’s not what I mean… If it’s dark magic, why not have your backer control it?"

It was an interesting idea, so Ethan asked Demi, <Is that possible?>

<Yes. You would require a wireless access device and a dimensional communication relay. The former might be manageable, but the latter will be quite difficult for you to obtain.>

<What’s S?>

Ethan waved his hand dismissively. "Let’s put that aside for now. What I’m curious about is this: if I give Professor Ru an order, and then Jimonail gives the opposite order, what would happen?"

"I’d be confused."

"...That makes sense."

"But I like people who treasure puppets."

"Can I treasure you more than I treasure my professors? I treasure the magic academy professors more than my own father."

"Then I’ll do as you say, Ethan."

Ethan blinked, feeling a sense of dissonance. But he couldn’t quite pinpoint what had caused it.

Boen lowered the controller toward Ethan and said, "Look. Over here."

Jimonail was alive and getting up, though she was limping heavily and didn’t look to be in good shape.

"Good. I’ll go subdue her."

"You should be careful. The skeletal wyvern alone wouldn’t have been enough to take over this mansion."

Ethan was about to head toward Jimonail when he turned his head. The person in question was right beside him.

"By the way, Professor Ru, there aren’t any signs of the mansion being attacked by the skeletal wyvern. How did Jimonail take over the mansion?"

"With that."

"Huh? That?"

Ethan and Boen looked up at the sky where Ru was pointing. The skeletal wyvern flapped its wings and shot upward. Then, from the carriage it was pulling, four long rectangular wooden boxes tumbled down and embedded themselves into the ground.

Upon closer inspection, the boxes were coffins. The skeletal wyvern hadn’t been pulling a cargo carriage but a hearse. As Jimonail emerged, the four coffins creaked open, their lids flying off and shattering.

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Translator: Ryuu

Editor: Gorm

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"How dare you attack me? I, who acts on His Majesty’s orders!"

With a metallic clank, four knights in heavy armor emerged from the coffins. They were skeletal knights, their eye sockets glowing with blue soulfire. They were armed in turn with a heavily rusted greatsword, halberd, warhammer, and dual swords. Their armor was completely corroded, a clear sign of their age.

Jimonail pointed her magic staff at Ethan.

"Die."

The skeletal knights moved with a speed and agility that couldn’t be compared to the security automatons. They were on par with living knights, if not better.

Ethan dodged the charging knight and leaped back through the window.

“With their size and weapons, the indoors should be to our advantage."

"Advantage? Those aren’t your run-of-the-mill skeletal soldiers. At this distance, a knight versus a mage? The mage doesn’t stand a chance."

Ethan grabbed Ru and Agatha by the wrists and ran further inside.

"We can win if we subdue the necromancer, right?"

"How?"

"Professor Ru and I will buy time. Head upstairs, get into position, and attack Jimonail with your crystals."

"...All right."

Before the four of them could leave the workshop, the skeletal knight with the greatsword smashed through the window and charged in. Ethan handed Agatha over to Boen, who ran off without looking back.

Ethan placed his hands on Ru’s shoulders.

"Professor Ru, you’re all I’ve got right now."

"I lost to her before, you know?"

"But I’m here now."

Ethan wasn’t entirely confident either, but he had the reckless courage of someone who had experienced infinite regressions.

The greatsword shattered the workshop’s makeshift bed and table as it swung. The notion that it would be hard to wield a sword in a confined space was also shattered. Ethan blocked the sword with all his might but was overpowered.

"Throw something at its head!"

Ethan worried if such a simple command would work on Ru. He half-expected a candlestick to go flying at the back of its head, but Ru understood Ethan’s intent perfectly. A spare automaton head, likely meant for repairs, smashed into the skeletal knight’s skull.

Thud!

The helmet’s durability meant the knight’s head only jerked back slightly, but it was enough for Ethan to gain the upper hand. Ethan aimed for one of the few weak points in the heavy armor. the shoulder joint, and thrust his sword in.

"I can’t feel any resistance."

The padded armor inside the plate was cut, and Ethan used the leverage of his blade to push the knight’s shoulder upward, slicing through.

Clang!

The magical connection between the bones was severed, and the skeletal knight’s right arm dangled limply.

Just as Ethan was about to celebrate his small victory, the skeletal knight with the warhammer smashed through the window and charged in. Ethan retreated toward the entrance, panicking.

"Why just one? Where are the other two?"

A scream from Boen upstairs answered his question. The greatsword-wielding knight took advantage of Ethan’s distraction and thrust its blade forward.

"I underestimated Jimonail."

Ethan hadn’t expected her to bring four high-level skeletal knights in addition to the wyvern. In a war, Jimonail alone could easily handle over a hundred soldiers. Unlike the battle with the demons, where Ethan had the element of surprise, Jimonail could fly, making it hard to get close enough to attack.

"Using the drone for a surprise attack would have a low success rate anyway."

Moreover, facing Jimonail at full strength without a handgun, Ethan judged that it would take too long to handle her alone.

Behind him, Ru spoke, worry in her voice. "Ethan?"

"Don’t worry." Ethan turned to Ru, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. "I’ll just bring one more ally."

∞

"How dare you attack me? I, who act on His Majesty’s orders!"

The man behind Ethan said, "The Knights of the Undying King."

Ethan glanced back and asked, "You mean that Undying King?"

"Correct."

Ethan knew of one Undying King. A man from the Eurogia family who had married a princess from a small kingdom. He had unexpectedly ascended to the throne when the king and princess both died of illness.

In his youth, he ruled well and earned a good reputation. But as time passed, those close to him began to die from war, illness, and accidents. He grew increasingly afraid of death and began to make deals to extend his life.

There were countless ways to extend one’s lifespan, but the Undying King’s method was one of the simplest—a contract spell that exchanged wealth for life. Even though he was a Eurogia, he had no particular talent for magic.

Historically, immortal kings hadn’t initially been met with much opposition. Political stability and unchanged relations with other kingdoms were beneficial, but over time, the kings’ flaws inevitably became apparent. In the case of the Undying King, it was his very existence. To maintain his lifespan, he had to levy exorbitant taxes upon his people.

After two centuries of this, the kingdom’s nobles and commoners alike rose up to overthrow him.

But the Undying King, though lacking in magical talent, had been a tactical genius. He repeatedly won battles with minimal forces and extended his lifespan by creating an army of skeletal knights and soldiers. Even if no one remained loyal, he could still remain king. Maintaining such an army required too much of his lifespan, however, so he sought another way. If wealth was insufficient, he would take it from others. The Undying King began invading neighboring kingdoms to continue extending his life.

One of the four great evils defeated by the hero Cario was Cascail Eurogia, known as the Undying King.

"After Cario allied with the Eurogia family to defeat the Undying King, the whereabouts of his skeletal knights became a mystery. But seeing them occasionally on the battlefield suggests the Empire has been deploying them. It’s not something a student from our academy should have…."

"Can we win?"

"Ethan, don’t you understand what I just said? When I say I’ve seen them on the battlefield and returned…" Rivielton Fabier leaped over the windowsill. "It means I’ve always won."

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