I Don’t Want To Be The Protagonist of a Romance Novel – Chapter 88

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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First, the mana boiled.

Magic was a miracle that materialized by drawing an image and channeling mana.

As if reacting to my emotions, the mana that filled my body began to boil like heated water.

Actually, it was the first time I had deliberately used attack magic like this since I accompanied the knight order’s training last time, but I had no hesitation in using magic against something that wasn’t even a magic beast, but tentacle-like things.

Chanting an activation word while using magic could be likened to a kind of process shortening.

When using simple magic, it was a concept of shortening the activation speed even if the power was reduced through incantation.

However, now, the protective barrier Sylphia had created was sturdily withstanding the attacks of the fiercely thrashing tentacles, so there was no need to go through that process and reduce the power.

“Rudrick, by any chance…”

“Let’s talk after it’s all over.”

As if sensing something was off, Sylphia hesitated and opened her mouth, turning to look at me, but I cut her off and rejected her words with a single stroke.

My mind was still in chaos.

What on earth was going on?

Was our mentor really dead, or why did this happen when he clearly opened the door leading to the origin, and what was the identity of these tentacles that were multiplying and attacking us from beyond that door?

I couldn’t give a satisfactory answer to any of those questions, and my thoughts momentarily overlapped, causing the arrangement of mana to become disrupted.

For a mage, magic was a mirror that reflected their state of mind.

Distracting thoughts interfering with the act of embodying miracles that would normally be impossible was out of the question.

The result was the flashing light before my eyes.

“…It didn’t go as planned.”

Bzzzt!

Sparks flew and the light flashed.

Through the incandescent light, electricity surged and the belatedly rising flames burned like the wick of a candle.

Like a bolt of lightning striking from the sky to the ground.

However, because of the misguidance that occurred at the last moment, it didn’t have the power exactly as I had imagined in my mind.

“Kieeeek!”

Nevertheless, the tentacles writhed, screaming without even having mouths, but it was still not enough.

Instead of overwhelming talent for magic, the infinite mana that had shackled my lifespan was now helpful.

Unless the mana was removed all at once by specific means, as Sylphia had done in the lair, the mana flowing in my body instead of blood didn’t seem to decrease even when using magic.

If it had been an ordinary mage casting the magic just now, nearly half of their mana capacity would have been consumed in an instant, but for me, it was like scooping a bucket of water from a lake.

I drew a magic circle with mana at my fingertips again.

I didn’t like this situation that unfolded in the blink of an eye.

To be honest, I was angry, and in front of my eyes was the best toy for venting my anger.

Actually, if you thought about it, that open door in front of me and the wriggling tentacles from beyond it were the root cause of this situation.

With that thought, my hands moved without hesitation.

“Kieeee!”

The magic circle, overlapped five times in an instant, spewed flames.

The wave of flames that surged in a fleeting moment enveloped the black tentacles from all directions and burned them.

The tentacles that had been confidently knocking on the protective barrier until just now were engulfed in the blaze and burned, once again emitting gloomy and painful screams.

Yes, for now, as Sylphia said, about an hour to two hours.

It seemed I wouldn’t be able to get a satisfactory answer until I burned all the culprits that caused this mess.

“I don’t know why you’re angry, but for now…”

“I know. So Sylphia, just keep maintaining the protective barrier. I’ll handle the attack.”

“…Understood.”

Even the way Sylphia answered, strangely in a worried tone, bothered me to the point that even such trivial things were irritating.

Above all, the subtle sense of discrepancy was the most bothersome.

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Once the place where Lorenzo Tonali, the court mage of the Esgelant Empire, had been experimenting to open a door to the world beyond the “origin” to pursue the truth, his lifelong secret wish and the aspiration of all mages.

This place, which was spatially fixed through magic that distorted space between reality and the dimensional realm, had a very unstable dimensional boundary.

Of course, the aftermath of repeatedly experimenting with magic connecting worlds had the greatest impact, but the power of the magic Rudrick was now indiscriminately unleashing was also not to be taken lightly.

Sylphia had expected the situation to end when Arwen, who had noticed the anomaly, arrived, just as she had in the past before the regression, but…

‘…Was it to this extent?’

To the point where Sylphia, who had been looking around after the situation had completely ended, unconsciously had that thought, the state of the surroundings was beyond words.

The opened “door” had long been forced shut, unable to withstand the relentless barrage of magic.

The invaders from the origin who had crossed the door, in other words, the tentacles, were burned by fire, scorched by lightning, and had crumbled into mere debris.

The scene where a great mage-class mage had deliberately unleashed magic of their main attribute without worrying about mana could easily be inferred from the traces of its destructive power.

Even Sylphia, whose essence was a dragon, clicked her tongue as if slightly disgusted by the gruesome traces of destruction.

Just like in the past before the regression, the situation had completely ended before Arwen could even notice the anomaly, and in the midst of everything being over, Rudrick stood blankly, clenching and unclenching his hand.

‘About half of my mana remains.’

Rudrick’s mana capacity was almost infinite, but now, even the mana he had in his body, which was nearly that much, was almost half gone.

That was how fierce the recent battle had been.

In reality, he had only unilaterally unleashed magic without worrying, protected by the barrier directly created by a dragon, but it was not an easy task to cast hundreds of high-level magic spells in a short period of time.

“…Rudrick, are you alright?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

“That’s a relief, but…”

“It’s the first time I’ve used magic like this without thinking, but somehow I still feel unsatisfied.”

“…Pardon?”

As soon as Rudrick’s words ended, Sylphia’s heart sank.

She couldn’t fathom at all why Rudrick was reacting that way.

It wasn’t the usual casual yet somewhat cautious tone that always seemed cute, but a cynical and somewhat distant, cold attitude.

“Tell me.”

“Pardon?”

“Whether what I thought is really true.”

“What do you mean…?”

Sylphia’s eyes wavered.

On the other hand, even while constantly unleashing magic until just now, Rudrick’s thoughts had been organized to some extent.

“…You already knew, didn’t you?”

“That’s right. It was something I had already experienced once, so…”

“I’ve been thinking quietly, but no matter how much I think about it, I can’t come up with a reason why you would have known and neglected it.”

The way he addressed her had changed from “Sylphia” to “you” at some point.

As if signifying the subtle distance between the two of them now, Sylphia’s heart ached every time she was called “you.”

“As you said, our mentor wouldn’t have listened even if you tried to stop him. It was his lifelong secret wish and aspiration, so there’s no way he would have listened to you, who was just acting as his disciple. And if you had told him what would happen, he naturally would have asked how you knew. It’s strange either way.”

“…”

“Actually, I’m a regressor, but I’ve already seen it once in the past. Or I’m actually a dragon, and opening the door to the origin doesn’t lead to enlightenment but causes terrifying things to happen. Either way, it’s strange, right?”

“…That’s right. That’s why I didn’t say anything.”

“Because your way of thinking is different from that of humans. Since it’s just a pastime anyway, why should I go through the trouble of revealing my identity just to save a mere human? Why should I break the established board? You must have thought it was more of a loss than cleaning up what had already happened.”

Rudrick’s words continued.

His innate disposition was just easygoing and disliked troublesome things, and it wasn’t simply because of his constitution that he had gained talent on par with a great mage.

Rather, if you look at it, Rudrick’s intellect was actually quite sharp.

Because he could easily approach the essence of the problem with just a few given clues.

Naturally, Rudrick’s voice, which had been interrogating Sylphia until just now, turned cold.

“Don’t lie, Sylphia. If you had really made up your mind, there are many ways.”

“…”

“With just a little perception-inhibiting magic, you can easily manipulate memories. I believe you wouldn’t say something absurd like a dragon can’t break through the mental barrier of a mere human mage, given your title.”

“…That’s true, but this time, it happened so suddenly that I didn’t have the leeway to think──”

Before Sylphia could finish her words, Rudrick let out a hollow laugh.

“Lie.”

No matter how much he thought about it, there was only one reason why Sylphia would have left Lorenzo to die here.

With the sole exception of Rudrick Weiss, Sylphia’s way of thinking was thoroughly aligned with that of a dragon.

A transcendent being who lived a lifespan close to immortality and wielded power in a realm that could not be reached by human training since birth.

Her fundamental attitude towards humans was a mask created during the process of her pastime.

The roots of her fundamental thoughts weren’t like that.

The corners of Rudrick’s mouth twisted upward.

“Just tell me the truth.”

“…What truth?”

“If our mentor dies in such an unsavory way, naturally, a successor will be chosen. The position of court mage can’t be left vacant for long.”

“…”

The essence was exposed in a single breath.

“You could have just said you wanted to make me the court mage. Why are you making excuses?”

Sylphia couldn’t understand what the problem was.

No, she couldn’t understand.

Perhaps, from the very beginning.

Like parallel lines running in opposite extremes.

What was a “good opportunity” for Sylphia was not at all a “good opportunity” for Rudrick.

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[BROOOO sylphia done him dirty but sadge about lorenzo i liked him he was a good pervert]