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Reborn as the Doomed Heir of a Mage Dynasty (Web Novel) - Chapter 201
Chapter 201
This chapter is updated by JustRead.pl
“Already here? Take Heike while you’re at it.”
Elias shoved Heike forward, raising both hands to make it clear he had no intent to attack.
Then he stepped in front of Lucas, who stood behind him.
Anyway, Heike could warp away on her own—she’d only stayed by Elias because she was scared of getting chewed out by Team 1—so there was no more juice to squeeze from her. Handing her back to Team 1 now was no big deal.
Leo caught the stumbling Heike, steadied her beside him, and looked at the person behind Elias.
It’s the real Lucas.
Seeing the warp coordinate booklet in Lucas’s hand, it looked like he’d been reading it. Now he was blindfolded again.
Despite not seeing, Lucas looked exactly where Leo stood. Then, with a casual tone, he greeted Leo, who was staring back.
“Nice to see you like this.”
“Nice?”
Leo let out a small laugh and raised his wand.
“Then say it to my face.”
Boom—!
A surge of magic power hit Lucas’s face and fizzled out. Elias stepped in front, raising a barrier.
“Bit harsh for a friend, don’t you think?”
“Then take off the blindfold. You Team 3 guys can have it your way—I’ll stick Heike and myself to you from now on.”
“That’s just saying let our plans get read and die~ Lucas can’t even breathe without scheming, so no way.”
Fair point. Which is exactly why I need to make him see. Why would I miss the chance to crush all those endless possibilities?
It’s been over 20 minutes. If their plan was to wear Narce out, they’ve succeeded.
As Leo glared at them silently, Elias clapped his hands.
“Alright, let’s think about what’s going on here. Our Leo’s used to being guarded, so he wouldn’t come here alone.”
At that, Lucas let out a small chuckle.
Leo felt a surge of disbelief as he looked at them.
What’s so funny? Even if we ignore that Lucas is practically my guard, everyone here’s used to being protected.
Whether Elias knew Leo was internally scoffing or not, he just grinned and said,
“Okay, let me think like Lucas for a sec. Leo, you saw through Auguste’s illusion magic, backed by a decade of experience…”
“Your word choice is so not Lucas.”
“Whatever, you broke the magic and realized we’re holding you back. At that moment, you thought, ‘Ah, Team 3’s already infiltrated Friedrich Street, sniffing around.’ And… since not all of Team 3 is at Friedrich Street, the rest must be off looking for other berserk sites.”
Elias held up his fingers.
“Two possibilities here. First, the rest are diving in headfirst with no info. Every minute saved is a gain, after all.”
“…….”
“Second, the rest used Auguste to get berserk clues from Heike Ainsidel. They found a new point that way.”
Leo smirked.
Elias mirrored his grin, tilting his head.
“…Can’t underestimate the opponent, so you’d pick the second, right? You probably got word from Narce that Heike Ainsidel didn’t show up. Am I wrong, Leo?”
“…Told you, you and Lucas have some similarities.”
“Oh, right. You said that at the start of the semester. Anyway, here’s the conclusion.”
Elias stared straight at Leo.
“Assuming the second, you didn’t come here alone. I don’t know where the Team 1 kids whose artifacts I broke are, but Narce and Hildegard are probably outside, yeah? So, is Yulia out there dealing with them? Or…”
Elias’s hand went to his ear.
Beep—
“…is she lying in wait to pounce once she’s got the info?”
[…Hahaha… this is the toughest exam yet~ Everyone’s too damn good, that’s the problem.]
Leo looked at him expressionlessly.
Can’t let your guard down just because Lucas is in the back.
Yulia and Elias are no pushovers either.
Yulia lacks creativity, so her strategizing is slow, but her plans are meticulous. Elias excels at executing them. Hell, Elias sometimes pulls off crazy ideas like Lucas.
Having known them since childhood, I’d be blind not to see it.
‘…Lucas knew that and left it to them.’
If those two weren’t here, Lucas would’ve targeted Narce from the start, planning to disable him. It’d be a huge loss, but without key strategists, they’d have to swallow it.
The reason Team 3 is still cocky despite being one point behind…
Is because they’re fully prepared.
They’re holding their own now, but they know they can pull out the Lucas trump card when shit hits the fan.
Right on cue, Elias started bragging with a grin.
“Leo, guess what I did, knowing this?”
“What.”
“Heike gave us some great info. The first berserker you caught was a homeless drifter. Berserked, so he must’ve drunk something or been exposed to something for a while, right? But if it was river water or rainwater, that wouldn’t make sense. Tons of people would’ve berserked and died.”
Elias tapped the rain-soaked ground with his foot.
“But that doesn’t give us any clues, right? So we need to think about this as an artificial exam scenario.”
“Stating the obvious. And?”
“Heike had evidence. A tattered coat pocket on the street had a piece of paper…”
Elias pulled out a yellow paper with a note attached.
A fine notice.
Leo’s dumbfounded gaze shot to Heike.
You handed that over?
It’s an exam, so the school left it on the street for a reason. That’s a clue to get closer to the answer.
Heike averted her eyes, turning her head.
“A fine notice from the City Aesthetics Department. Below it, a handwritten personal contact. Must be some campaign to clear out vagrants before the Pentalon International Conference, scattering all sorts of stuff~ Seeing something from the news in an exam is no small thrill.”
“…….”
“The school didn’t just toss this in. They probably meant for you to get it from Heike, right?”
Elias pointed to the department name listed as the issuer on the notice.
Below it, on a small attached note, was a handwritten name, postal address, and what seemed like warp coordinates, likely for somewhere in city hall.
“…They included this on purpose, so the school wants us to go to a location tied to this person. So, how’s that for thinking like Lucas?”
Leo shrugged, saying calmly,
“Fine. Gotta take it back.”
“Good luck. I’m not giving it.”
“So, why do you think I’m here? You’re dodging the obvious about me standing right here.”
“Obvious, huh? You came to find our team’s ace~ To rip off Lucas’s blindfold and let him carry you to that final point you can’t even guess yet.”
“You got it.”
Leo grinned and swung his wand.
Blue magic sparked against the barrier.
Elias held Lucas with one arm, reinforcing the barrier with the other.
“No way, Leo. How could we hand this to you? Think Lucas, our main star, is just tagging along out of boredom to support us?”
Before Elias finished, Leo spun the wand between his fingers, forming a staff. Elias braced at the staff’s threatening movement.
Leo raised the staff high, then slammed it into the ground.
*Boom—!*
“…?!”
Elias looked at Leo with startled eyes.
Leo’s magic didn’t come at him. It wasn’t guided toward Lucas either.
Instead, Heike, standing in the corner, vanished.
Leo asked in a cold voice,
“Then?”
“…Oh.”
“How you gonna stop it, Elias?”
‘He used Space Magic.’
He didn’t move Heike. He moved us.
Even the magic flow outside vanished.
Leo’s Space Magic isn’t top-tier. Not weak, but Elias could break it with his own power.
So why do this?
“Narce is involved.”
Lucas muttered from behind.
Of course.
Leo’s not the type to pull reckless moves. He had help, so he could act like this.
“Elias, your logic was solid, but you got one thing wrong. You call Lucas your team’s ace—think I’m any different?”
“…….”
“Think I’d face Lucas alone?”
“Hahaha…”
“Narce’s Space Magic is pretty damn good.”
With that, Leo’s magic surged right up to them.
Lucas’s hand slipped from Elias. Even blind, Lucas sensed the flow and backed off. Elias glanced at him.
‘Skilled as hell.’
It was impressive just watching, but having him as an ally in the same field made it crystal clear. Calling this five months of training is pushing it.
Even now, Lucas was controlling distance to keep Leo from widening his attack range too much. If Leo moved away, Lucas stepped closer; if Leo approached Elias, Lucas pulled back. Simple, but when distance shifts suddenly, I have to cover both Lucas and myself, which adds variables. His consideration makes it easier.
At the same moment, Leo heard a notification through his artifact, swinging his wand.
[Got Heike out. I’ll check if a berserk happened here.]
“Check and head straight to city hall.”
*Boom—! Bang—!*
‘By the way…’
Watching Lucas’s dark brown hair flutter in the magic, Leo thought.
The real thing’s better than the fake. Way more human. Unlike that earlier vibe, like he’d crawled out of a coffin.
‘Oh, right, the illusion couldn’t replicate smell, could it?’
Makes sense. Lucas goes out of his way to mask his scent to separate himself from Nicolaus. Maybe Narce, Elias, or I would know, but no way Auguste would.
Now I’ve got a tool to spot illusions. Team 3’s same trick won’t work on me anymore.
“Our Leo doesn’t focus on the opponent during a fight~? Since when did you get like this?”
Boom—! Screech—Creak—
Leo was pushed back, slamming his staff into the ground.
His eyes scanned Elias’s expression and posture. A sweaty face and slumping shoulders stood out.
Lucas is covering for Elias, but protecting someone else while guarding himself is wearing Elias out faster than usual. All talk, no stamina.
Ignoring Elias’s jab, Leo said to Lucas,
“Seen some wild shit in my life, but a guy taking an exam blindfolded? Where do you find that?”
“You’re looking at one~”
Behind Elias’s teasing, Lucas said calmly,
“Common sense says it’s absurd. I get it.”
“Absurd’s an understatement, Lucas.”
“That’s ‘cause you haven’t ditched common sense yet. If we played by common sense, we’d be screwed. In times like this, even if you’re the enemy, you gotta tolerate a slightly insane visual. Sure, it feels a bit like visiting an eye doctor or like we’re back ten years playing tag, and yeah, Lucas saying he’s gotta climb into a pyramid doesn’t help shake that image, but you gotta embrace this visual so our team can eat. Right?”
“Are you messing with me or Leo? Pick one.”
Not the time for this pointless banter.
Ignoring them naturally, Leo said in a chilly voice,
“Not everyone can pull off taking an exam blindfolded. Takes resolve to block your team’s path and be a nuisance. Blindfolded? Why not plug your ears too? It’s a decent idea, though. But usually, blindfolding just screws you over.”
“…….”
“Here’s what I think…”
His whisper grew even more sinister.
“I’ve made too many things physically possible for you, Lucas. Haven’t I?”
Elias’s blue eyes filled with a bright sky-blue glow. Leo’s faint magic, which didn’t seem threatening at first, now carried a near-murderous aura.
Boom—! Crack…
At the sound of the shaking barrier, Elias gritted his teeth.
Leo’s attack was aimed at Lucas, not Elias. Blocking attacks outside his vision was no small feat for Elias.
But he couldn’t show a gap here.
“So you’re testing human limits now? Didn’t I already put you through that daily? Not enough? If you’re so curious about limits, you should’ve done this during training.”
The sarcasm was blatant.
Lucas, who’d been blasting magic to clear Elias’s barrier, smirked and let out a hollow laugh.
“Just realized your tone’s not as proper as I thought.”
“Time for side chatter?”
Leo swung his wand.
The two, retreating, slipped through the building’s back door, cornered into a narrow alley.
Amid the roar of clashing magic, Elias turned and shouted to Lucas,
“Luca, watch the manhole behind~ What’s with all the construction signs?”
There was already a strange flow—magic sinking into the ground and creeping back up.
More importantly…
Feeling the oddly brightened vision from the sunlight, Lucas thought,
‘Too draining.’
Lucas naturally switched his wand to a staff and slammed it into the ground.
The space didn’t crack. With two people’s magic combined and Lucas skilled at escaping Space Magic, he didn’t think his friends would’ve made this place sloppily.
As he moved to support Elias again, Lucas froze, staring at where the ground should be.
“…!”
Narce is distracted right now.
The Divine Power forming this space keeps flickering in and out.
It’s rhythmic, like someone’s countering an onslaught of attacks.
The space’s stability feels slightly off. With magic flow more sensitive than usual, it’s easy to notice.
“Eli, now’s the timing. Just a bit more.”
“Got it.”
“I’m taking off the blindfold, so buy me a little time.”
If Narce was fully focused here, seeing would be risky—my thoughts would go straight to Leo—but he’s clearly not in the headspace for that.
About 30 seconds to adjust to light and distance. Once my eyes are open, I can go beyond half-assed contributions and pull my weight in attacks.
But Elias’s response was unexpected.
“Uh, no.”
“What?”
“Call it stubbornness, but I can’t do that. He came all this way… not just for the berserk site we found but to take the last point with your power. Right?”
[Yahweh is my strength and my shield.]
Boom—!
The impact after Leo’s defensive spell was clean. No push, no cracks in the barrier.
Elias’s attacks were starting to lose strength.
What’s he planning in this situation?
“If you fight with a wand yourself, we’d obviously win… but we can’t let Leo have his way in such an obvious setup, right, Luca?”
“So?”
He’s right.
They might be baiting me to fight directly.
But what’s the plan?
“Just watch. I know how to mess with his head.”
Boom—!
An impact rang out right in front of Lucas. His hair whipped in the wind, then settled.
Elias’s barrier blocked Lucas’s front.
At the same moment, Leo stepped forward, frowning at Elias, who’d taken his attack.
“What the hell are you doing?”
“Leo, listen.”
Leo just flicked his wand silently.
Dozens of attack streams shot toward the barrier behind Elias.
Boom—!!
Elias flicked his wand, deflecting them.
But the real target was elsewhere.
Leo’s next wave of magic flung Elias far back.
Leo pinned him with magic, approached, and started searching Elias’s robe.
“Hey, what? Looking for the notice?”
“…….”
“I got something to say, though… Isn’t the Empire better than Bavaria? To unleash talent, a big world like the Empire’s the best, right?”
“You used to hate it. If you’re gonna talk nonsense, shut up.”
Leo kept one hand searching Elias’s robe, the other swinging his wand at Lucas’s barrier, and said,
The sky-blue magic grew denser, already shattering Elias’s barrier. Only Lucas’s reinforced barrier inside remained.
“Nonsense? No, you should listen.”
In the roar, Elias raised his voice, spinning his wand between his fingers. It elongated, transforming into the imperial staff.
Even with Leo’s gaze on it, Elias spoke casually,
“You know what? No matter what you say, the moment I hold the scepter, Lucas is coming with Hohenzollern.”
“…?”
“He didn’t tell you, huh? The chancellor to rule the Empire’s 100 million people will be Lucas. We made a deal, didn’t you know?”
Elias locked eyes with Leo, grinning confidently.
The moment those distrustful eyes wavered slightly, a blue magic glow, matching Elias’s eyes, flashed faintly below Leo’s vision.
Boom—!
“…!”
Leo shielded his face with both arms, stepping back, brow furrowed.
‘…Damn.’
It didn’t take long to realize he’d fallen for Elias’s trick. The Space Magic broke from Elias’s staff, and the air’s magic collapsed.
Elias kicked at Leo, sprang up, and pulled Lucas with magic, running.
“Luca! Let’s go!”
[Wha—?!]
Narce’s startled voice came through Leo’s artifact.
Already frazzled from facing Yulia and Team 3, and now with the Space Magic link to Leo—who was supposed to grab Lucas—broken, how could he not be shocked?
Leo made a dumbfounded face and shouted at Elias’s back,
“What the hell am I supposed to do with that?!”
“Hahaha! Do what? You’re out!”
Leo belatedly activated his unique ability, but Elias, having mastered it his whole life, slipped away easily.
Cutting through plants and sprinting, Elias suddenly stopped.
“Leo!”
Elias cupped a hand to his mouth, amplifying his voice, and continued,
“Forget something?”
[Leo! If it’s not done there, finish and get out! Yulia and Auguste are blocking us from reading this street’s memories! Ugh, guys~]
Narce whined, fending off attacks.
Leo, fixing his artifact, froze.
‘Blocking?’
Lucas and Elias are at the street’s end, Florian and Oswald were left at the first site after their artifacts were broken.
That leaves Yulia and Auguste on Team 3.
‘If Yulia and Auguste are blocking our team’s entry, someone from Team 3 must be searching for victims inside the street.’
But…
Team 3 has no one left.
No one to search inside the street.
So why block our team’s entry?
“…Narce!”
[Huh?!]
The moment Elias took the fine notice and shared its contents with his team was the same.
And that was when I was caught by Auguste, so about 15 minutes have passed.
Leo shouted into the artifact,
“Get out now! You can’t stay there!”
For a few seconds, only the sound of Narce blocking attacks came through his artifact.
Lost in thought, Narce muttered in an unfamiliar low voice,
[…Ah~ Got it.]
I said 15 minutes, right?
The moment Elias got the info, shared it with his team, was 15 minutes ago.
And I broke Florian and Oswald’s artifacts and came here about 10 minutes ago.
Five minutes are missing.
The reason Yulia and Auguste are blocking Heike Ainsidel’s entry isn’t anything else…
It’s because no berserk happened in that street.
Instead, there’s another likely berserk site tied to that employee’s personal info.
To city hall.
Now.
Beep—
That same alert sound from before.
Leo, rarely panicked, snapped his head up.
* * *
[Team 1: +1]
[Team 3: +1]
Tie.
Lucas, lifting the bandage, squinted at the sunlight.
Seeing the same +1 score wasn’t a bad feeling.
“Alright~ Last one.”
Yeah, the last one.
Yulia and Elias’s strategies got us this far.
Tied, so the final showdown happens here.
But…
“Elias.”
“Yeah?”
Elias turned with an excited face.
But Lucas’s words weren’t exactly upbeat.
Fresh from the earlier chaos, Lucas now scolded with a smile.
“The scepter, the chancellor—why bring that up here?”
“Hahaha~ Gotta win first, right? Besides, the professors can’t see what happens inside Space Magic…”
Elias paused, then continued casually,
“Nobody takes my words seriously, Luca. No need to worry.”
Even with the laugh, there was an odd vibe.
Lucas roughly got the meaning and nodded.
“…Well, fine. If you say so.”
“Haha, can I finish what I was saying? We need your strategy now.”
“Got it.”
But I can’t think now.
They can’t just feed me info and ask for answers normally.
It’ll all go to Narce.
Thinking that, Lucas said briefly to Elias,
“You said we need a strategy. You know normal thinking won’t cut it, so figure out a way to use it.”
“Oh~ Gotcha. Any method’s fine?”
“Yeah. As long as it works, do whatever.”
“Sweet. Read me the city hall warp coordinates. Florian and Oswald should be there, so let’s meet up.”
“188:231:425.”
Lucas reached for the warp coordinate booklet in his pocket but recalled the numbers instead.
Earlier, he’d grabbed a booklet from a newsstand in the field and memorized it front to back. If you don’t know the coordinates, you’re running until you find a sign, so memorizing was the better deal.
Maybe because it was such chaotic info, Narce seemed to turn off his Insight when I was memorizing it.
“Okay~ Warping.”
Elias warped with Lucas to city hall.
Right after, they met two visibly hyped Team 3 students. Oswald waved, approaching.
“Elias!”
“Yo~ Nice job. What floor was the secondary victim on?”
“Not in a building. Collapsed in the park behind city hall.”
Then Yulia and Auguste warped in, having received the coordinates from Elias.
Leading them into an empty building to find a spot to sit, Elias tapped Lucas and said,
“Alright~ Luca, blindfold and earplugs back on!”
“…This is starting to feel kinda shitty.”
Lucas grumbled but covered his eyes again.
The final point.
At this critical stage, letting info leak to Narce would be a real pain.
Of course, there’s not much time left to keep this up.
Elias, casting a silencing spell, looked at the team.
“Okay, guys. Let’s pool info. We can’t run around everywhere for the last one. Even if we did, it wouldn’t solve it. And if it did, Team 1’s smart enough to outpace us.”
“Probably. The school went as far as crafting a fine notice as evidence for a reason.”
Elias nodded at Yulia’s words.
“Right. The berserkers are likely the vagrant and the person who issued the fine. They definitely had contact. So there’s one more person tied to them.”
“But how long does issuing a fine take for both to berserk? Drank the same water?”
Oswald frowned, completely stumped.
“Exactly. That’s the part that doesn’t add up.”
“So I grabbed a newspaper. It’s about Pentalon, from the City Aesthetics Department. Read it. I don’t get it, but maybe you’ll spot something.”
Yulia pushed the rolled-up newspaper toward them.
The content was standard.
Ahead of Pentalon, sewer maintenance was planned, littering rules would tighten, and hefty fines would hit anyone damaging city landscaping.
Elias read it carefully and passed it to the others.
“…You guys read too. I don’t get it either. Anything relevant here?”
“Haha… I thought the same. What’s the connection between a vagrant and a bureaucrat that the school linked them with evidence…”
Yulia glanced at Lucas, who seemed lost in thought beside her.
“No guesses. It’s been about 25 minutes since the exam started. Can we afford to stall?”
“…….”
The students exchanged glances. Their eyes followed Yulia’s to Lucas.
Elias broke the silencing spell and tapped Lucas’s shoulder.
“Luca.”
Lucas lifted the blindfold and looked at Elias.
Elias wore an oddly ominous smile.
“…Any method’s fine as long as it succeeds, right?”
