REAPER SCANS

Translator: Ryuu

Editor: Gorm

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◈ The Inept Mage’s Infinite Regression

Chapter 48

Ethan had tried various methods.

‘If it lands without touching any branches, maybe I won’t die. Sorry, Jimonail.’

But even with Boen’s outstanding drone-handling skills, that wasn’t easy to do. First of all, Ethan couldn’t always distract Jimonail so thoroughly that she failed to notice an overhead attack. Just as Boen knew precisely when a hunter was at their most vulnerable, so too did Jimonail.

Even if such an attack succeeded, there was another problem. Ru’s estate wasn’t particularly large, and the forest around it was dense. On rare occasions, Jimonail received a genuinely grievous wound, yet she still retained enough strength to command the skeletal knights. And the ground, though uncovered, was soft earth, so the drop really wasn’t very high in the first place—perhaps that was the issue.

‘What if I attack her right after she falls?’

That was Ethan’s misconception. The moment Jimonail crashed to the ground, she might have looked vulnerable, but she’d been anticipating an ambush and had combat magic at the ready. “Marrsinon’s Flame,” a famous combat spell that hurled a head-sized explosive fireball, was notorious for having burned countless people on the battlefield.

For Jimonail to have been able to cast that spell right after getting thrown to the ground, she must have cast some form of magic—or be carrying a magic item—that mitigated pain and damage at the moment of impact. The Emperor had granted her a skeletal wyvern, Orl’s Skewer, and the Undying King’s knights, so it was only natural that the necromancer would thoroughly prepare herself to deploy them effectively.

‘In the end, I’ll have to deal with those four knights…’

That was why Ethan had brought Rivielton. Ethan had considered asking Headmaster Aincher as well, but according to Rivielton, Aincher was unable to leave the school for undisclosed reasons. Rivielton therefore suggested that it would be better for Ethan to handle Jimonail himself rather than alarming Aincher unnecessarily.

‘But if the Professor goes outside like this, won’t I have to face all four at once…?’

Almost as though sensing Ethan’s worry, Rivielton said, “If we stay indoors, we can’t keep track of the enemy’s movements. If they try a feint, you need to see the entire battlefield.”

‘I’m learning so much, Professor,’ Ethan thought to himself.

Jimonail also noticed Rivielton’s appearance. The skeletal knights seemed ready to charge right away, but when Jimonail lowered her magic wand, they paused briefly.

“Rivielton? Professor Rivielton Fabier? Why are you here…?”

“Let’s end this here, Miss Jimonail.”

Though the skeletal knights were hoisting their weapons, Rivielton didn’t even draw his sword. He simply addressed Jimonail. “No one’s died yet, which means it’s not too late to turn back. You’ve taken quite a beating, and you need treatment. How’s your leg?”

“I used Anashi. It barely hurts.”

“That won’t help you heal. I don’t know what all this is about, but why not see if we can resolve things by talking?”

Jimonail lowered her head, as though torn by hesitation at Rivielton’s genuine concern. Then her red eyes, gleaming even from within the forest’s shadows, shifted toward Rivielton, and then at Ethan beyond the window.

“I do appreciate your concern, Professor. However, I came on His Majesty’s orders, and I will see them through, even if it costs my life. If you die here, it will only speed up what’s going to happen anyway. I have no personal grievance against you. You were just unlucky.”

Jimonail raised her magic wand to point at Rivielton.

Rivielton shook his head with a wry smile.

“I’m a bit too old for flinging myself around like this, but so be it.”

Fortunately, the knights focused on Rivielton. He shot Ethan a subtle glance, a signal to launch their plan.

Ethan handed Ru and Agatha over to Boen.

“I’m counting on you.”

“Understood.”

Boen’s target was Jimonail.

Unlike puppet-manipulation magic, necromancy didn’t always require sustained concentration; sometimes, it needed none at all. But with a high-level mage, an academy professor, on the scene, Jimonail’s attention would be focused on Rivielton.

‘So we have to take down Jimonail before she can mount the skeletal wyvern.’

There were two problems. First, Rivielton was engaging the four knights, while Jimonail was lingering near the forest’s edge. Boen planned to slip out the mansion’s back door and circle around the wall, coming at her from outside her field of view.

Second, if Rivielton lost ground to the skeletal knights and failed to contain them, then those knights, capable of a fair amount of autonomy, would pick up on Ethan’s and Boen’s positions and move in. For stealth’s sake, the first issue demanded fewer people, yet for the second, more assistance was better. So Ethan decided to help Rivielton. He worried he might be a burden, but Rivielton welcomed the idea.

But upon observing the progress of Rivielton’s fight, Ethan wondered, ‘Am I even needed here?’

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Translator: Ryuu

Editor: Gorm

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One skeletal knight stormed in with a greatsword, but Rivielton sidestepped and hooked its leg, causing it to topple under its own weight. Rivielton had no chance to capitalize on that fall before another knight thrust in with a halberd. Rivielton used the inside of his blade to slash the knight’s gauntlet, slicing off two of its fingers. If it had been a living foe, Rivielton would have seized victory with that.

The warhammer knight charged him from behind, and Rivielton darted forward, closing the distance so that the weapon’s swing came up short. Taking the brunt of it on his back, cushioned only by leather armor, he wavered from the force, and the dual-sword knight chose that moment to rush in.

“Hup!”

Suddenly, Ethan lost sight of Rivielton. When Rivielton lifted his blade, he was behind the dual-sword knight, whose two forearms were severed.

Rivielton turned to Ethan, who had just run over. “Ethan, did you see that?”

“Huh?”

“I’ve shown it to you before.”

“No, it was too fast…”

“That was ‘Scale Slash,’ one of the Hunting Sword stances. A giant snake’s hide is so tough, you have to slice along its scales.”

“I see… Professor, behind you!”

The warhammer knight was lifting its weapon for another blow. This time, Ethan was watching intently enough that he caught a glimpse of Rivielton’s movement. Without even turning, Rivielton drove his sword into the knight’s flank, sinking the blade so deeply it nearly disappeared. Then he crouched low, stepped on the knight’s foot, and yanked upward with all his might. The knight’s bronze armor tore like paper as its upper torso was ripped apart.

“This technique…?”

“ ‘Carve.’ Some call it ‘Kidney Carve.’ When you fight a giant bear, facing it head-on is suicide, so while others distract it, you aim at a critical organ like the kidney from behind. It’s usually done with a greatsword.”

Continuing that same motion, Rivielton whipped his sword at the two knights—one wielding a greatsword, the other a halberd. Obviously, his blade hadn’t grown longer, but he stretched forward as though lashing out with a whip; the distant halberd knight lost its wrist before it could counter.

Ethan commented, “ ‘Bloodletting.’ ”

This Hunting Sword technique, used against giant stags, aimed for a vital artery to force the target to lose massive amounts of blood. In Yurmus, hunters usually waited in ambush, then attacked once the stag was near enough.

Rivielton nodded. “The Hunting Sword has many more techniques, but these three, along with Tusk Breaker, see the most use. Master them in real combat and you can say you’ve truly learned the Hunting Sword.”

“…I haven’t even learned the basics yet, then.”

Rivielton let out a hearty laugh. Ethan keenly felt how extraordinary Rivielton was, as he used these skeletal knights, roughly equal to real knights, as mere practice dummies.

Of course, Jimonail wasn’t remaining idle. She was chanting in a resonant voice.

“→You cannot step closer

I won’t apologize to you

I merely howl from this place still.”

Spikes rained on Ethan and Rivielton, forcing them to throw themselves flat to the ground to avoid the barrage.

That was “Gora’s Thorns,” a necromantic ice spell that formed a couple dozen sharp icicles over three seconds before launching them in succession. Ethan knew necromancers favored this spell because it inflicted negligible harm on undead.

Luckily, neither Ethan nor Rivielton took a hit. Still, it allowed the knights time to retrieve their shattered limbs. The warhammer knight’s upper armor was badly shredded, so it wasn’t in great shape, but all four knights could still raise their weapons.

Ethan looked over at Jimonail. Realistically, she could have used Gora’s Thorns from the beginning, so it was odd that she’d waited. Likely, during the knights’ brief engagement, she had been preparing another spell. A cloth bearing a magic circle was spread on the ground, and Jimonail was rummaging inside her coat. Surprised at how quickly her knights had gone down, she must have abandoned the other spell and hastily switched to Gora’s Thorns.

Ethan told Rivielton, “She’s doing something. I think we need to move in.”

“Agreed. I’ll keep these four occupied, Ethan.”

Jimonail shouted, “It’s already too late!”

She opened a jewel box from her coat, spilling its contents onto the magic circle. A pale-white skeletal hand appeared from inside the circle, sweeping up the scattered jewels.

Rivielton reacted first.

“Death, is it?”

“Pardon?”

“I’ve seen this a few times. ‘Death’ just claimed her offering.”

“That means…?”

“It means these knights will become even more like living warriors. It won’t be easy for me to fight them and protect you.”

Rivielton placed the hand holding his sword over his lower-left chest, partially covering his left eye with the blade—a gesture of respect.

“I am Rivielton, a professor at Yurmus Magic Academy and Lord Fabier. I pay my respects to the knights of the Undying King and present my sword.”

The skeletal knights spoke.

<Oooh…>

<O mage… Why…?>

<Very well, very well…>

<Where… is Death…?>

Though their minds still seemed clouded, all four knights fixed their gazes on Rivielton.

Rivielton charged at them first.

∞

As Ethan sprinted toward Jimonail, she cried, “Help me, Leto!”

The skeletal wyvern dove steeply, landing between Jimonail and Ethan. It crushed the funeral coach in the process, but that no longer mattered. It had served its purpose.

Baring its teeth, the skeletal wyvern blocked Ethan’s path while Jimonail, limping, grabbed its flank.

‘Don’t be scared! Until Jimonail is actually seated, the skeletal wyvern can’t attack—’

But that assumption was wrong. As Ethan approached, the skeletal wyvern’s long neck snapped at him, and when he dodged, its tail swept him away.

“Guh!”

Ethan slammed against a nearby tree, giving Jimonail time to groan and scramble up onto the wyvern’s back. With her injured leg, the saddle seemed particularly high.

‘If she manages to sit in the saddle…!’

However, at the very moment Jimonail was about to seat herself, a white rope looped around the wyvern’s neck. Ordinarily, the wyvern wouldn’t lose a tug-of-war, but as it lurched violently, Jimonail toppled to the ground.

‘How…?’

She looked up to see Ru pulling on the rope.

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