Noble Lady Reformation Guide - Chapter 260

Two great mages were born in different eras.

One was a descendant of the prestigious Elvester family, raised on the foundation laid by ancestors who established their legacy during the continent's chaotic early days. The founder bestowed upon her the name Kochella.

The other opened his eyes in a stinking corner of Evelstain's slums. With no one to give him a proper name, he decided to call himself Derek.

One rose with many things already in hand.

From the beginning, the Elvester family's wealth and glory were hers to claim, along with exceptional magic mentors, abundant resources, facilities for endless practice, loving family members, respected retainers, and ancestral guides.

The other gathered whatever scraps he could find with empty hands.

Surviving on moldy rye bread and apple cores among street thugs, he grew up rough. Without proper magic education among commoners, he cultivated his own magical energy.

One discovered magic in a pristine library filled with incense, enthralled by its boundless potential.

The other awakened to magic's grandeur alone in a lightless back alley. Staring at a single spark of mana on his fingertip amidst the stench of drunkards'vomit.

She possessed extraordinary talent, quickly advancing to 3-Star mastery, learning 4-Star spells years ahead of peers, becoming a Family Head-level mage before wrinkles formed.

He too, through connections and effort, became Evelstain's magic instructor, teaching disciples until reaching 5-Star status—a remarkable achievement for his youth.

Then one day, both realized:

When magical progress stalled like hitting a wall, they understood the problem.

'Too many possessions hinder my advancement. Seeking extraordinary achievements while clutching everything is arrogance. I must discard and sacrifice to grasp what I desire.'

'Having so little narrows my vision. To continue magic training through life's trials, I must accumulate more. That will become my asset, my foundation for achievement.'

Reaching opposite conclusions, each pursued higher realms in their own way.

Thus the woman walked forward by discarding.

Shedding family authority, retainers'loyalty, disciples'respect, court factions'trust, even parts of her body and humanity... casting off worldly burdens to gaze solely at the celestial realm.

Thus the man walked forward by gathering.

Abandoning lowly status for noble authority, solitary life for comrades, taking worthy mentors and promising disciples. Estates and schools rose under his name. Until his shoulders groaned under accumulated weight, each step requiring gritted teeth.

The woman strides lightly toward stars, burdens shaken off.

The man sweats and trembles toward stars, laden with heavy baggage.

The stars above merely watch.

- BOOM! WHOOSH!

Derek accelerated with magic, quickly catching Kochella.

Below, Melberot and Rozelyn dismantled the spirits and magical branches Kochella created from the Tree of Truth.

With limited time, Derek couldn't afford leisure.

The luminous staircase now flattened into a vast platform bathed in starlight.

At its peak stood Kochella, gazing down as if observing the world.

Clutching"Light of the Empire,"she floated before a massive golden archway—the door awaiting truth-seekers, engraved with Polaris symbolizing Grand Mage Adelbert.

- WHOOSH!

Derek fired fireballs at the door, all nullified by Kochella's transformation magic.

Her tattered robe fluttered, revealing an emaciated old form carrying nothing—a life dedicated solely to this moment.

"We meet here again, Lord Ravenclaw."

"Huff... huff... Not too late, it seems."

"I expected Lord Melberot, but apparently he prioritizes earthly matters."

Adjusting her robe, she remained the continent's most magic-obsessed being.

Derek drew his sword, balanced himself. No time for talk.

Plunge the blade through Kochella's heart, end this, return to Gremfort Palace. That was the plan.

She was a 6-Star transformation mage.

But support rose from below. Time favored him. Clear objective, reliable means. Everything smiled upon Derek.

Yet he stayed tense.

A schemer like Kochella would've anticipated this.

"Must we fight, Lord Ravenclaw?"

"..."

"We're alike. Don't you yearn to know what lies beyond 7-Star magic—the divine realm?"

Kochella grinned.

"Some call me traitor and madman for sacrificing empire and emperor to reach truth. But such judgments belong to earthbound fools. You understand, don't you?"

She extended her hand.

Truth wasn't monopolized. They could share it—enter that door together, witness what Adelbert left behind. Earthly morals would become meaningless.

"Take my hand. Together we'll reach magic's end."

A madwoman sacrificing all for truth.

Accepting her hand meant abandoning everything—imperial authority, teaching legacy, academic connections—ascending to the stars. Reaching magic's pinnacle was Derek's deepest desire.

Yet Derek spat curses.

"Bullshit."

Uncharacteristically crude for the composed noble.

But no further outburst. Just habitual disdain as he shook his blade.

"Even the great Kochella ages. Senility muddles your mind at life's dusk."

"..."

Kochella's smile twisted. Derek continued his insults.

"Many said we're alike. All supposedly wise, aged, authoritative figures. I never bothered refuting them."

Derek stared directly at Kochella.

"What an insult."

Most shuddered at Derek's intense gaze. Kochella remained unshaken.

- CRACK! WHOOSH!

Ice spears flew at Kochella, effortlessly dodged as she ascended. Peak transformation magic manipulated reality itself—space bent to her will.

Derek clenched his fist.

A massive explosion erupted around Kochella, instantly contained by defensive barriers.

Expected. Derek pressed on.

Kochella blinked—Derek already leapt, his blade spitting sparks against her barrier.

Sizzling energy crackled between them. The sword's engraved magic was Derek's own work.

- CRACKLE! SNAP!

"Insulting. Truly shocking words."

"Damn right. My thinking's nothing like yours, you narrow-minded lunatic."

"Don't you wish to see magic's ultimate achievement?"

"Yeah. But there's one thing you lack that I have—purpose."

- CLANG!

Landing after the recoil, Derek triggered 4-Star magic—Large-Scale Spatial Freeze. The area iced over instantly, but Kochella countered effortlessly.

Her magic manipulated reality itself.

- THUNK

Derek gasped—an ice blade now protruded from his shoulder.

Kochella had repurposed his own spell, materializing the blade inside him. She stood before him in less than a second.

Her serpentine smile returned.

"No purpose? Seeking magic's pinnacle is my noblest goal."

Blood droplets scattered. Shoulder burning, Derek gritted his teeth.

"Blind fool."

"..."

"A lunatic who just wants to climb higher, pretending nobility. Achievement without purpose is meaningless. You're a magic-obsessed imbecile."

"Then we've no compromise."

- THUNK! THUNK!

Reality manipulation left no room for resistance.

Another blink—two more ice blades pierced Derek's abdomen and chest. No warning, no magical fluctuation. As if they'd always been there.

"Guh...!"

"Pity. I thought we were alike."

- WHOMP!

- WHOOSH!

Kochella kicked Derek's bleeding form.

He plummeted down the luminous staircase, blood trailing through starlit sky toward the distant ground.

- FLUTTER

Adjusting her windblown robe, Kochella watched Derek fall.

Even the renowned Ravenclaw was just another mediocre talent. With this thought, she turned to the golden door.

- WHIIISH!

Derek tumbled through night air.

Closing his eyes, he saw all he'd accumulated.

From lonely beginnings, his climb left him carrying more than expected.

He imagined reactions to Count Ravenclaw's death—disciples mourning, some burning for vengeance, others maintaining composure.

Retainers, mercenary comrades, academy staff weeping quietly in the baron's estate.

From a lone slum boy to someone bearing many trusts—life proved unpredictable.

-'Derek, why do you live?'

Trace life's origin to a ragged old mage in the slums.

Derek's first mentor once asked this while fishing by the river.

After another beating from thugs, the old man rambled nonsense.

-'Dunno. Just living to live, I guess.'

-'Right. Life's meaningless. Wretches like us at society's bottom live just to survive.'

A pathetic, unrespectable fool who occasionally tried teaching Derek.

Though Derek half-listened, the old man grinned with stained teeth and said:

-'I'll just live a bit longer before croaking, but you've talent and tenacity. As you live, you'll accidentally gather things. They'll feel heavy, burdensome. But—'

Words from a twilight-years elder that Derek dismissed, yet—

-'Never discard a single thing.'

—reached the shivering boy wrapped in rags.

-'They'll become your life's reason and purpose.'

- SNAP!

Derek's eyes flew open.

It happened instantly.

Kochella was a 6-Star transformation mage; Derek, 5-Star combat mage.

The gap was vast. But Derek's mercenary years honed improvisation—striking unexpected weaknesses.

To surprise an opponent, act beyond their expectations.

Derek's spells operated within Kochella's knowledge. He needed magic outside her expertise.

A lifetime immersed in magic couldn't cover everything. That was his advantage.

- FWOOOSH!

By the time Kochella sensed the mana surge, it was too late.

5-Star Time Magic:"Reversal."

Even veteran Kochella had seen it only once. Undoing events, creating time-rewind illusions.

The mage who'd been falling, impaled through heart, abdomen and shoulder, now stood before her again.

Though she'd clearly seen him falling, had turned toward the door... it was as if nothing happened.

- THUNK!

Before reacting, Derek's dagger pierced Kochella's side.

"Guh...!"

Now Derek delivered the kick, sending the mortally wounded Kochella crashing down. Blood pooled rapidly.

Wiping blood away, Derek rose despite time magic's strain. Blood dripped from his ears—he ignored it.

Against the starry sky, his glowing eyes marked his battlefield return.

Like a starved beast.