Noble Lady Reformation Guide - Chapter 188

Every 6-star mage Derek had encountered gave off the impression of having transcended human limitations.

Drest could observe the future, Kalimford summoned meteors, and Phee demonstrated combat prowess sufficient to corner an entire prestigious family single-handedly.

Facing such beings in battle evoked primal terror beyond mere questions of victory or defeat.

In this world, 6-star mages were considered figures akin to demigods, where opposing them was tantamount to suicide.

Yet Derek stood slightly apart from such conventional perceptions.

Having met numerous 6-star mages, observing and analyzing each one, he'd realized something.

While 6-star mages possessed power sufficient to twist the very laws of providence, they remained human.

Stab them with a blade and they'd bleed.

Sever their head, pierce their heart, deprive them of breath... They would surely die.

Only one person had transcended this law of life and death.

No matter how supreme a confusion mage might be, the ability to lose one's life to a single sword stroke marked the limits of humanity.

- Slash! Whoosh!

In the moonlit northern training grounds, Derek charged across the vast grassland with a dagger held in reverse grip.

The robed man leapt backward, fist clenched tight.

- Boom!

For an instant, Derek's consciousness nearly blinked out.

Though highly resistant to magic and skilled in detection spells, Derek's wide-eyed resistance seemed ineffective this time.

"..."

The open plain.

Hundreds of duplicates of the robed figure now stood there. Though Derek had faced illusion magic before, this scale was extraordinary.

- Slash!

With a single stomp, Derek attempted to freeze all illusions using the combat magic"Freeze."

Most illusions dissipated like mist, leaving only one figure at the edge of vision, its feet frozen in place.

- Swish!

Derek channeled magic into his longsword and swung toward the figure.

A combination of 2-star combat magic"Blade Manifestation"and 3-star transformation magic"Acceleration"—an unavoidable strike.

- Crash! Whoosh!

Yet nothing remained where the attack landed. That too had been an illusion.

In that brief moment, the mage had created another frozen-footed decoy to deceive Derek.

'Confusion magic is certainly annoying. But he doesn't seem particularly strong in direct combat.'

Derek tightened his grip and focused.

Using the magic detection Drest had taught him, he searched the forest darkness for traces of his foe.

'Can't find him.'

Yet even Derek, master of detection magic, couldn't easily perceive the robed man's presence.

The situation was unfavorable. Not knowing when the next ambush might come forced constant sensory vigilance.

In such conditions, Derek would inevitably tire first.

Against supreme beings, battles must end swiftly—a lesson learned fighting the Beltus Grand Duke.

Without technique and improvisation, Derek stood no chance against a 6-star mage through pure magical power alone.

As Derek pondered:

- Whoosh!

A hand suddenly emerged from a tree behind him, slamming 3-star combat magic"Pillar of Flame"directly into his skull.

- Crack!

Derek twisted aside with supernatural reflexes but couldn't prevent his left arm from taking the hit.

Rolling across the ground while shaking off flames, he groaned briefly from the pain.

Confusion magic that defied detection.

Transcending human transformation to become objects or environments.

Moreover, the robed man's flame pillar perfectly replicated Derek's earlier spell.

A technique of analyzing residual magic and re-manifesting it against its caster—the very method Kalimford had taught.

'He knows it too.'

Derek rose from his roll.

Though pain radiated from his charred arm, he clenched his teeth against it.

The robed man shook his hand and retreated into darkness.

Once more untraceable, leaving Derek vulnerable to ambush.

'Not combat-specialized.'

Panting, Derek slowly tracked his foe.

The moment the mage repurposed Derek's own magic rather than casting high-level spells, realization struck.

This supposed 6-star confusion mage lacked profound combat magic expertise.

Unrivaled in disorientation, memory manipulation, and perception control... but limited in direct firepower.

Yet still capable of 3 or 4-star level spells—lifelong achievements for some, mere secondary skills for him.

Excitement prickled Derek's spine.

That unique exhilaration when facing the strong always propelled him higher.

Now, on the cusp of breaking through to 5-star, this battle with a 6-star mage might be a terror to others.

For Derek, it was pure blessing.

Someone once said Derek and Kochella were kindred spirits.

Differently oriented perhaps, but equally mad for magic.

Though slightly offended, Derek couldn't deny it.

Even facing this unknown adversary of indeterminate power, Derek only contemplated absorbing these magical attainments.

'Stay calm.'

Derek steadied his breath and focused.

His foe possessed confusion magic that defied all perception.

Freely manipulating memories, transforming into people or environments at will.

To catch such a being required large-scale magic.

Derek gathered power—preparing his mightiest spell yet.

The ground trembled, fissures spreading outward from Derek.

- Rumble... Boom... Boom.

- Whoosh!

Frigid energy permeated the training grounds.

When Derek's eyes snapped open, the entire area flash-froze.

- Crackle! Snap!

- Whoosh!

No evading this—everything in sight became ice.

- Crash!

As frost claimed the landscape, the hidden figure emerged—frozen solid.

Derek lunged, driving his sword into the man's abdomen.

- Thunk!

A lethal strike.

Blood sprayed across the robe as steel found its mark.

Preparing a follow-up amidst the crimson shower:

- Whoosh!

"..."

"Dreaming, were you?"

Blinking, everything reset as if nothing had happened.

The moonlit training grounds.

The robed man stood unharmed in the darkness.

"Too easy, I thought."

"Expending magic like that will reveal your limits soon enough..."

- Thunk!

Before he finished, Derek's throwing dagger embedded itself in the man's right shoulder.

Blood sprayed as his frame shuddered.

- Whoosh!

Yet again the world darkened, resetting all damage.

Where did illusion end and reality begin?

The mage's ability blurred all boundaries, seeming invincible.

Yet Derek remained undaunted.

If this became a battle of attrition, so be it.

"You can't win. You'll exhaust yourself attacking phantoms until collapse."

"Let's test that theory."

- Slash!

- Whoosh!

Derek's blade bisected the man again.

Acceleration magic enhanced his movements to near-teleportation speed.

Yet the illusions kept resetting.

Derek understood now.

Katia had described confusion magic's pinnacle—the 5-star spell"Daydream."

Trapping opponents in endless dreams of chasing shadows.

This mage had layered the spell hundreds of times, imprisoning Derek in illusions.

Fighting phantom after phantom would exhaust him.

Derek's magic wasn't infinite. This unwinnable duel couldn't continue indefinitely.

"Persuasion won't work, then. You'll trust that madman Kochella or that arrogant Princess Rozelyn."

The robed man finally declared:

"If you won't be swayed, I'll have to kill you. Another sacrifice to pressure Kochella..."

"Hey."

Derek interrupted, his voice turning icy.

Despite previous insults, Derek hadn't shown emotion until now.

But with sudden realization, his tone turned frigid as he glared.

"You're fake."

"...You'll keep fighting my illusions forever."

"Not what I mean."

"..."

Wiping his sweat-streaked face, Derek swept back his bangs with a sigh.

Angry.

The eerie dread in his eyes unnerved his opponent.

"You're not a 6-star confusion mage."

Derek's glacial tone carried fury.

Fury at what? The very fact his opponent wasn't a true 6-star mage.

Thinking this was genuine combat experience against a supreme mage, Derek could only lament upon assessing his foe's true level.

"What nonsense..."

"You're too weak. You're just bait."

- Thunk!

In that instant, Derek's dagger pierced the robed man's chest. This time, unbearable pain wracked his body.

The metallic scent of blood filled the air.

The man finally realized his true body had been stabbed.

Even a confusion mage couldn't deceive what he couldn't perceive—he must have been hiding nearby while casting.

Derek's detection magic had finally located him.

"Guh... Hah..."

"A real 6-star mage would've been immune to my detection spells."

The confusion magic dissipated, leaving only the bloodied figure.

Derek yanked his blade free and kicked the man down.

"Gaaah!"

"Skilled, though. At least 3-star. Not many at that level."

"Y-you... Who are you... I'm... the 6-star confusion mage... I..."

The genuine conviction in his voice made Derek realize:

This man... had been deceived by a confusion mage. He truly believed himself to be one.

The raw emotion in his eyes and frustrated gestures weren't acting.

Derek strode forward and yanked off the robe.

"..."

Derek's eyes twitched.

"Guh... Hah..."

The face beneath was familiar.

White shirt, fine leather vest, feather emblem—mark of an imperial magic advisor.

The sole surviving advisor. Dalton.

The pathetic figure who'd trembled in the Main Hall's corner now played at being a confusion mage.

Derek shook blood from his blade, staring down at Dalton.

A pitiful pawn.

An eerie sense of déjà vu surfaced.

Was this truly the first time?

Memories of other dead advisors overlapped in his mind.

Perhaps... Derek himself had killed them.

If so, Kochella's advisors had all been manipulated into acting as proxies before being eliminated.

A slim possibility, but the disquiet persisted.

"Come to kill a confusion mage, have you?"

The emperor's bedchamber.

Kochella smiled archly at Ryner in the darkness.

Ravenclaw Academy's heart.

The magic-obsessed elder spoke with cultured amusement.

"As if I'd employ confusion magic myself."

That profoundly meaningful smile made Ryner narrow his eyes.

"Advisor Kochella. Care for a game of chance?"