The World's Strongest Wizard Becomes Manaless Read online

  “Did something happen?”, Zephyr curiously asked. Wilson nodded.

  “The moment you left, he arrived at our shop.” Wilson said with a sigh.

  “He said he wanted to talk with me about the business, but what we talked about had nothing to do about business at all…”, he added.

  “Really? What did you talk about?”, Zephyr asked.

  “He wants to take my daughter’s hand in marriage.” Wilson said with a problematic look on his face.

  Zephyr let out a laugh.

  “That old geezer…”, Zephyr commented while still laughing. Irene looked at them. She didn’t seem to know what they were talking about.

  “Wait, does she know?”, Zephyr asked Wilson while pointing at Irene.

  Wilson shook his head. Zephyr found this funny for some reason.

  “This is no laughing matter, you know… He’s a Duke, so I can’t just refuse him.” Wilson said with a hint of anger in his voice. Zephyr realized that what he did was inappropriate and apologized to Wilson.

  “It’s fine. I’m thinking about pulling out our business in Stalta, but I don’t think that will stop him from going after my daughter.” Wilson said with a sigh.

  Zephyr patted his shoulder. “Don’t worry, I’ll try to do something about it.” Zephyr reassured Wilson, as if he had a plan.

  “What? Really?”, Wilson saw a glimpse of hope as soon as Zephyr reassured him.

  “Of course!”, Zephyr replied with a cunning smile on his face.

  Irene still had no idea what they were talking about. “What were you two talking about?”, Irene felt left out, so she wanted to join in the conversation.

  “It’s a secret!”, Zephyr told her. Both Wilson and Zephyr laughed heartily. Irene had an annoyed look on her face.

  “You two seem quite cheerful, would you mind letting me in on the conversation?” a voice came from behind them.

  Zephyr’s aura changed. The air around them turned cold. Both Wilson and Irene could feel anger emanating from Zephyr.

  Zephyr recognized the voice as soon as he heard it. How could he forget the voice of the man who had caused him suffering? He turned around and gave the man a forced smile.

  “It’s been a long time, Sir Zephyr. Do you still recognize me?” the man smiled and bowed towards Zephyr. He then extended his hand, as if he wanted to shake Zephyr’s hand. Zephyr held his hand and firmly gripped it. He wanted to break the man’s hands, but he restrained himself.

  “How could I forget? You’ve taken care of me for a while, Duke Seymour.”

  Chapter Six

  “No need to be so stiff, Sir Zephyr.”, the Duke arrogantly told Zephyr with a smile.

  Zephyr smiled back at the Duke.

  “I see that you’ve already met my business partners.” the Duke said while looking at Wilson.

  “Yes. In a way, they’re my benefactors.” Zephyr responded.

  The two exchanged words for a bit, but they looked like they were ready to slit each others throats.

  “Now, if you’ll excuse me, Sir Zephyr. I have business to attend to.” the Duke bowed towards Zephyr. “Ah… as for my gift, I’ll send it later. I’m sure you’ll like it.” the Duke continued with a sly smile.

  “I’ll look forward to it then.” Zephyr responded.

  “Ah, I should also thank you.”, the Duke turned around, as if he forgot to tell Zephyr something.

  “For what?”, Zephyr asked him.

  For some reason, Zephyr started to feel as if something was amiss. The Duke looked as if he was taunting him. “Thank you for bringing back my slave to me.”, the Duke’s smile grew even wider. At that moment, Zephyr lost all sense of control. His anger took over. Everyone in the room felt the anger that Zephyr was emanating. As they turned their heads towards Zephyr, they started to tremble in fear as they realized what he was about to do.

  He was ready to pummel the Duke’s head into the ground. As he raised his fist, everyone in the room felt Zephyr’s immense strength. Everyone had the same thought—

  ‘Whoever is catching that fist won’t survive for sure.’

  But for some reason, the Duke seemed calm. He was even smiling. People thought he was crazy. After all, he looked like a man who was smiling while seeing death come for him before his eyes.

  Zephyr threw his punch.

  *BOOM*

  Everyone present almost lost their balance from the sheer impact caused by Zephyr’s punch. But that wasn’t the most surprising part. The fact that Duke Seymour, who was supposed to receive Zephyr’s punch, was still standing, as if nothing happened.

  In front of the Duke, a beautiful woman with snow white hair blocked Zephyr’s punch with a saber. Zephyr was surprised. He was sure that the punch he just threw contained all his strength, but it was blocked by a mere saber.

  ‘What is that saber made out of? And who is this woman?’ , Zephyr’s thought to himself.

  A window popped up in front of Zephyr.

  ---------------------

 

  A lightweight blade that is able to blend itself with the wind.

  AGI +50

  DEX +50

  ---------------------

  The woman smiled at Zephyr.

  “That was quite the punch. You seem to be a very strong man.” she told Zephyr.

  She looked at him as if he was something that she’d been looking for all of her life.

  “You seem to be quite strong yourself.” Zephyr looked at the woman. Throwing out a punch seemed to calm him down, as he felt relieved that he didn’t have to face the consequences of murdering a noble.

  “I’ve always wanted to meet someone as strong as you.”, the woman kept her eyes on Zephyr.

  Zephyr sighed. He withdrew his fists. “Sadly, this isn’t the time or the place to be exchanging our greetings.” Zephyr calmly said as he showed that he had no intention to fight. Unfortunately for Zephyr, the other side wasn’t willing to back down.

  Everyone could feel that the woman with the snow white hair was still rearing at it. They felt that she would start attacking Zephyr anytime. But they knew she wasn’t an ordinary person. After all, she managed to block a punch from someone as powerful as Zephyr.

  “Now, now. Let’s not get all feisty. I’ll find a proper venue for you two to exchange pleasantries.”, the Duke calmly said with a smile as he pulled back the woman who blocked Zephyr’s punch for him.

  The woman didn’t want to back off, but after hearing the Duke’s words, she retreated. She realized that there were plenty of people who could get involved if they start a fight right there and then. “Oh, how could I forget to introduce this lovely lady.”, the Duke continued.

  The woman, who was ready to attack Zephyr moments ago, seemed as if she’s completely changed into a different person. She became completely calm and expressionless.

  “This beautiful lady is the Blade Princess, Miss Aria Kingsley.”, the Duke calmly introduced her, as if he was introducing a friend.

  The people were surprised. Two S-grade adventurers were face to face with each other!

  If they decide to fight, who knows how much damage they’ll do to the surrounding area.

  “Nice to meet you, Miss Aria. My name is Zephyr Chronis.” Zephyr bowed to show respect.

  “Good, good. The both of you should get along. You two are both S-grade adventurers after all.” the Duke let out a sly laugh.

  “Now, we will have to excuse ourselves.” the Duke bowed and left together with the Blade Princess.

  As they got out of the area, the Duke asked Aria. “How was he?”

  Aria smiled.

  “He’s better than I expected.” she responded.

  “Do you think you can beat him?”, the Duke asked.

  “I… don’t know.”, Aria replied while trembling.

  “Are you afraid of him?”, the Duke asked with a displeased look on his face.

  “No. I’m just excited. And also…”, Aria looked at her saber on her hands. H
er arms kept trembling. “The punch earlier… he’s definitely going to be my strongest opponent so far.” her smile grew even wider. She felt some bones on her arms were broken after receiving Zephyr’s punch. But the most convincing part was that her sword, an artifact that was widely believed to be unbreakable, actually cracked from the impact.

  “But something is off…”, Aria’s face suddenly turned serious.

  “Hmm? What is it?”, the Duke curiously asked.

  “Isn’t the Grand Wizard a magician? I even heard that all of his other stats were C-grade… how was he able to throw a punch that strong?”, Aria asked. “And also… I couldn’t feel any mana coming from him at all…”, she continued.

  The Duke also thought it was weird.

  ‘Could he have developed a new spell to enhance his physical capabilities?’, he thought to himself. Aria saw the Duke’s puzzled expression and knew that he was just as clueless.

  She had already planned out how to intercept the Grand Wizard if he tried to cast a spell towards the Duke, but she didn’t expect that he would actually throw a punch. The two of them walked in silence, both deep in thought.

  After a while, Aria broke the silence.

  “I just realized that I need a magician that can heal my arms.” she told the Duke.

  “Don’t worry about that, I’ll have the Imperial Doctor come and heal you.”, the Duke assured Aria.

  “Oh, how about your sword? Do you need a replacement?”, the Duke continued.

  “No need. I can fix it by feeding it mana.”, Aria responded.

  The Duke simply smiled at her and continued walking.

  …

  Back at the banquet, the whole room became silent.

  Everyone was still in shock after what just happened. Even the King himself didn’t dare to say a single word out of fear that Zephyr would snap. Zephyr read the mood and became embarrassed. He wasn’t used to being the center of attention.

  Wilson noticed Zephyr fidgeting.

  “Sir Zephyr, I have something to discuss with you in private.” he asked Zephyr in a slightly louder voice so people around them would hear. He gestured to Zephyr to follow him as he walked towards the balcony.

  Zephyr immediately caught on to Wilson’s plan and nodded as he followed him.

  “W-wait for me!” Irene followed them as well.

  In the other room, Wilson started taking deep breaths. “My heart was pumping back there! I never would have thought that in my lifetime, I would get to see two S-grade adventurers going at it…” Wilson said.

  “I thought I was going to lose my life right there and then, since I was literally beside you two.”, Irene said as she let out a sigh of relief.

  Zephyr laughed it off.

  “Don’t worry, you’re still alive.” Zephyr told Irene.

  “Anyways, what the hell happened back there?” Wilson curiously asked Zephyr.

  Zephyr suddenly put on a serious face. “They probably have Isabelle…” Zephyr told them.

  Both Irene and Wilson were surprised.

  “What?! How?!” Irene asked, unable to contain her shock.

  “I… I don’t know… but the Duke thanked me for bringing his slave back to him…” Zephyr replied. He tried his best to keep his composure, but Irene and Wilson could tell he was worried.

  “Well… Miss Isabelle is a tough nut to crack. I’m sure she’ll be fine!” Wilson tried to cheer up Zephyr.

  “Yeah! We’ll help you rescue her!” Irene also joined in the conversation.

  “Rescue who?”, a familiar voice came from below them.

  The three of them looked down the balcony. Hanging on the ledge was none other than the person they were worried about. “Isabelle?!”, the three of them shouted in unison. They all couldn’t hold in their surprise.

  “What’s this talk about rescuing someone?” Isabelle asked as she climbed up.

  “Aren’t you supposed to be kidnapped by the Duke?”, Zephyr asked her and looked at her with a look full of confusion.

  “Oh. That?”, Isabelle chuckled as she realized what they were worried about.

  “I got out of the carriage before the coachman led me to the trap they set up.” she continued. Both Irene and Wilson were surprised to hear the news. The coachman who was from their group tried to kidnap the Grand Wizard’s assistant.

  “W-we’re extremely sorry! Please forgive our incompetence!”, Wilson bowed apologetically. Irene also bowed with her.

  “You don’t have to be! I know you guys aren’t involved.” Zephyr tried to lighten up the mood, but it didn’t work.

  “No! It was one of our men after all!”, Wilson was frustrated at how he couldn’t stop one of his men. Isabelle patted him on the shoulder.

  “Don’t worry. I am the Grand Wizard’s assistant after all. I’m not that weak.” Isabelle reassured them. That seemed to have worked, as both Irene and Wilson raised their heads. Wilson could only let out a sigh of disappointment.

  “After this, I’m pulling out my business from Stalta for sure. Duke or not, he isn’t getting my daughter!” he grumbled to himself.

  “Getting what?” Irene asked as if she had just heard something outrageous.

  “Oh yeah, she doesn’t know yet, right?” Zephyr told Wilson.

  “Oh, you’re right!”, Wilson realized.

  “The Duke wants to marry you.” Wilson told Irene nonchalantly.

  “WHAT?!”, Irene’s surprised voice could be heard all over the castle. “THAT OLD GEEZER?!”, Irene angrily exclaimed.

  “Calm down… I was gonna refuse him. Duke or not, I don’t care anymore.” Wilson said with a calm expression. “Well, we’ve got to plan things out. Since Isabelle is supposed to be kidnapped, you two should go back and hide in our store first.” Wilson suggested.

  “Alright, I will. I plan to pay back Duke Seymour’s attempts to kidnap Isabelle too, so we’ll have to intrude.” Zephyr said with an angry look. Both Irene and Isabelle looked at both of them like they were crazy.

  “Shouldn’t we just leave as soon as we can?”, Irene suggested. Isabelle also nodded, since she agreed with Isabelle’s idea.

  “No… if we leave now, he’ll keep going after us.” Zephyr said.

  Wilson nodded. “Mhmm… he might also come after us as well.” he added.

  “And also… that girl that protected him. I have to greet her as well. “ Zephyr said. This time, his voice was filled with excitement. He wanted to test his abilities against someone strong like the Blade Princess. After all, that was the reason why they set out on their journey to Lochwood.

  Isabelle sighed. She knew that when Zephyr already decided to do something, he wouldn’t change his mind anymore. “Okay… I’m going back to the Bellridge store first, then.” Isabelle said.

  “Okay! We’ll catch up to you after the banquet.” Zephyr told her.

  Isabelle slowly made her way down the balcony and disappeared shortly after.

  After that, the three of them rejoined the banquet. Zephyr exchanged pleasantries with the other nobles, and the night went on as if the whole ordeal with the Blade Princess never happened.

  ...

  “What?! You didn’t capture her?!”, the Duke’s angry voice echoed throughout his study.

  “F-forgive me, Duke!”, the man who drove the carriage Isabelle was on was prostrating in front of the Duke.

  “Useless.”, the Duke signaled one of the guards to get rid of the man.

  The guards immediately restrained the man and dragged him outside.

  “N-no! Wait! Please!” the man begged for his life, but the Duke was too annoyed to hear his screaming.

  “Tsk. Everything is going wrong.” the Duke complained out of frustration.

  He planned to have the Blade Princess fight Zephyr. If he had Isabelle, then he could have threatened Zephyr if the Blade Princess isn’t able to beat him. But now, not only has Isabelle escaped, the Blade Princess also isn’t sure that she could beat Zephyr.

  The Duke grit h
is teeth and slammed his desk. “I have got to teach those slaves a lesson!” he angrily exclaimed. “Guards!” he called out to the people outside his study. Immediately, one of them entered the door. “Call the Blade Princess! I need to discuss something with her.” the Duke angrily commanded the guard.

  “No need for that. I’m here.” a woman’s voice came from behind the guard. It was none other than Aria herself.

  “B-Blade Princess! Forgive me for showing you something unsightly!”, the Duke immediately started fixing his unkempt appearance.

  Aria sighed. “What did you want to discuss with me?” she asked the Duke.

  “W-well… the battle with the Grand Wizard that I promised. I will call for some A-grade adventurers to help you beat him!”, the Duke suggested. After hearing this, Aria emanated a scary aura. The guards around her, and even the Duke himself started trembling in fear.

  “I know that you are not an honorable man...”, she angrily said. “… But if you try to mess with my battle against him… I will get rid of you first!”, Aria shot a glare of pure anger towards the Duke, which made him fall off his chair.

  “U-understood! I won’t do anything!”, the Duke immediately responded. His voice was shaking. After hearing that, Aria immediately disappeared from the room.

  …

  The next day, Wilson stood outside the gates of the Duke’s residence.

  “Are you sure about this?”, Wilson asked Zephyr, who was standing beside him.

  “Don’t worry about it, and go. We still have to catch up to Isabelle and others.” Zephyr urged Wilson to continue with their plan. The night before, after the banquet, the four of them planned how they would pull off how they would pay back the Duke.

  “Tonight, the both of you will leave together with the entire staff.” Wilson pointed at both Irene and Isabelle.

  “What about you and Zephyr?”, Irene asked.

  “We have to meet the Duke.” Zephyr responded in Wilson’s place.

  “I have to personally give him a piece of my mind.” Zephyr continued. A hint of anger could be heard from his voice. Both Irene and Isabelle couldn’t hide their worry. Zephyr noticed this and tried to reassure them.

  “Don’t worry. You guys can wait outside the gates. We’ll catch up as soon as we’ll make sure that the Duke won’t ever come after us again.”, he said. Irene and Isabelle couldn’t do anything but agree to the plan. “Alright, but you better come back safely.”, Isabelle told Zephyr.