Noble Lady Reformation Guide

The 6-star mages Dereck had encountered so far all shared one common trait—they seemed to have completely transcended the limits of the human.

Drest observed the future.

Kalimford brought down meteors.

Fina had demonstrated strength great enough to corner an entire prestigious family on her own.

Facing beings like those was not merely a matter of winning or losing.

It awakened a primitive, visceral fear.

In this world, mages who reached 6 stars were treated as legendary figures, almost like the great sages of history, and opposing them was considered little short of suicide.

However, Dereck deviated somewhat from that general perception.

He had met many 6-star mages.

He had observed them, analyzed them, one by one, and had reached a clear conclusion.

Even if they possessed power capable of twisting the very laws of the world, they were still human.

If they were stabbed, they bled.

If their necks were cut, if their hearts were pierced, if they stopped breathing, they died.

There was only one existence that had truly transcended those laws of life and death.

Even a confusion mage at the absolute peak could lose their life to a single slash.

That was the human limit.

***

Slash!

Whoosh!

Under the moonlight, in the northern clearing—the vast field reserved as a magical training area—Dereck advanced at full speed, wielding a dagger in a reverse grip.

The man covered by the robe leaped far backward and clenched his fist tightly.

Boom!

For an instant, Dereck’s consciousness nearly went dark.

Thanks to his magical resistance and his mastery of detection magic, he managed to endure, forcing his eyes wide open, though it was clear the attack had taken effect.

“…”

The open terrain stretched out before him.

The silhouette of the hooded man multiplied, splitting into hundreds of copies.

It was an illusion—something he had faced before—but the scale was completely different.

Thud!

With a single push against the ground, Dereck activated the 2-star combat magic “Freezing,” attempting to freeze all the illusions at once.

Most of them dissipated instantly, turning into mist.

Only one figure remained trapped, its feet frozen, immobilized at the edge of his field of vision.

Whoosh!

Dereck gathered mana in the hand gripping his longsword and unleashed a direct slash toward it.

The 2-star combat magic “Sword Energy Manifestation,” combined with the 3-star transformation magic “Acceleration,” created an attack impossible to evade.

Crash!

Fwoom!

But where the strike landed, there was nothing.

It too was an illusion.

In that extremely brief instant, the enemy had created an illusion with frozen legs to deceive him.

‘Confusion magic is definitely annoying. But it doesn’t seem to excel in direct combat.’

Dereck adjusted his grip on the sword and focused.

He activated the mana detection technique he had learned directly from Drest, searching for traces of the enemy hidden within the darkness of the forest.

‘I can’t find him.’

Even for Dereck, who had mastered detection magic, the enemy’s presence was nearly impossible to locate.

The situation was not good.

He didn’t know when the next surprise attack would come, so he had to keep all his senses at maximum alert.

At this rate, he would be the one to tire out first.

When fighting an opponent of a higher rank, the battle had to be resolved quickly.

That was something he had learned when facing the Grand Duke Beltus.

Without technique or improvisation, there was no way for Dereck to defeat a 6-star mage.

Trying to surpass him in sheer magical power would be foolish.

It was at that moment, as he was calculating his next move—

Whoosh!

From a tree behind him, a hand suddenly emerged and directly launched a 3-star “Fire Pillar” at the nape of Dereck’s neck.

Boom!

With almost supernatural reflexes, Dereck twisted his body, but he couldn’t avoid the attack striking his left arm head-on.

He rolled across the ground, shaking the arm engulfed in flames, and let out a brief groan as searing pain coursed through him.

It was confusion magic that couldn’t even be perceived.

It allowed transformation not only into people, but also into objects and parts of the environment.

Moreover, the Fire Pillar the enemy had used was identical to the one Dereck had cast moments earlier.

Taking the residual mana trace of the opponent and reusing it to manifest the magic again.

A technique Kalimford had personally taught him.

‘This bastard knows how to do it too.’

Dereck rolled once more and got back to his feet.

Pain surged up from his charred arm, but he clenched his teeth and endured it.

The man flicked his hand casually, tilted his head, and retreated, vanishing once again into the darkness.

Once more, his presence became undetectable, forcing Dereck into a situation where he could be attacked at any moment.

‘He’s not a combat-specialized mage.’

While catching his breath, Dereck continued to slowly track his traces.

He wasn’t directly using high-level magic; he was reusing Dereck’s magic.

That made it clear.

That 6-star confusion mage did not possess particularly high mastery of combat magic.

He was unparalleled at confusing, manipulating memories, and altering perception—but his direct firepower had limits.

Even so, handling 3 or even 4 stars was still far beyond what most people would achieve in their entire lives.

For that man, it was simply a field in which he didn’t feel completely confident.

A strange excitement ran up Dereck’s spine.

That particular stimulation he felt when facing strong opponents always drove him further.

Even now, fighting that man hidden in the darkness, he felt an indescribable euphoria.

He was right on the verge of breaking into 5 stars.

For anyone else, facing a 6-star mage in this situation would be a terrifying catastrophe.

For Dereck, it was a blessing.

Someone had once said that Dereck and Kohella were the same type.

That they differed only in direction, but that both were equally obsessed with magic.

He had found the idea unpleasant, but he couldn’t deny it.

Even in front of an unknown enemy, without knowing his limits or true identity, the only thing on his mind was how to absorb that experience and make it his own.

‘Don’t get carried away.’

Dereck steadied his breathing and, with his head slightly lowered, focused his mind on mana.

The enemy had reached such a level of mastery over confusion magic that he could evade all perception.

He didn’t just manipulate memories at will—he even altered his appearance, becoming whatever person or environment he desired.

To capture someone like that, there was no choice but to resort to large-scale magic.

Dereck released his mana.

It was time to unleash one of the most powerful spells he possessed, one with a wider range than anything he had used until now.

The earth began to tremble, and the ground around Dereck started to crack.

Rumble. Rumble.

Dereck clenched his fist tightly.

4-star combat magic.

“Large-Scale Spatial Freezing.”

It was a spell primarily used in war scenarios, capable of freezing an entire area and subjugating everything within the field of vision.

Crack! Crash!

Whoosh!

In the training field, where there was nothing but vegetation and darkness, a glacial cold began to seep in.

The moment Dereck opened his eyes wide, the entire area was completely frozen.

It was not something that could be dodged with agility.

Everything within sight was ice.

Clang!

And so, when everything was covered in frost, the figure of the man hidden in the darkness was revealed.

The enemy was completely frozen by Dereck’s magic.

Dereck moved immediately and drove his sword into the man’s abdomen.

Stab!

A critical hit.

Blood burst forth violently and spread across the robe.

The heavy sensation transmitted through the blade confirmed that it had pierced straight through the body.

Dereck was about to deliver the finishing blow when—

Whoosh!

“…”

“Did you daydream?”

When he opened his eyes again, everything had returned to normal, as if nothing had happened.

The training field under the moonlight.

Beyond the darkness, the man wrapped in the robe was standing there, completely unharmed.

“I knew it was too easy.”

“If you keep consuming mana like that, you won’t take long to reach your limit—”

Stab!

Before he could finish the sentence, one of Dereck’s throwing daggers buried itself into his right shoulder.

Blood splattered, and the man’s body jerked violently.

Whoosh!

But once again, the scenery darkened, and everything returned to how it had been, as if nothing had ever happened.

Where did the illusion end?

Where did the confusion begin?

And what was real?

The ability of that mage, capable of blurring all those boundaries, seemed impossible to counter.

However, Dereck didn’t care.

If the enemy wanted to wage a war of attrition, he had no intention of running.

“You will never defeat me. You’ll exhaust yourself attacking shadows within that confusion, until your mana dries up completely.”

“Fine. Let’s see if that’s true.”

Slash!

Whoosh!

Dereck’s slash once again cut through the enemy’s body.

The accelerated leap, reinforced with acceleration magic, was so fast it seemed to cross space itself.

But again and again, the figure vanished, as if it had never been there.

Then Dereck understood.

The essence of confusion magic that Katia had explained to him.

The technique known as “Broad Daylight Dream,” a 5-star spell that traps the enemy in a dream and forces them to chase illusory targets.

But that mage was using that spell not just once, but dozens, hundreds of overlapping layers, trapping Dereck inside a landscape of hallucinations.

In that space, one ends up fighting and killing illusions over and over, until collapsing from exhaustion.

Dereck’s mana was not infinite either.

Repeating this endless duel would not lead him to victory.

“I see. It seems persuasion won’t work. You’d rather trust that madwoman Kohella or the arrogant princess Roselin.”

The robed man shook his arms and declared coldly.

“If I can’t convince you, then I’ll have to kill you. Turn you into a sacrifice to pressure Kohella—”

“Hey.”

Dereck suddenly interrupted him, his voice even colder.

Up until then, he had shown no emotion, despite the provocations.

But now, as if he had understood something, he lifted his gaze with absolute coldness.

“You’re fake.”

“…Correct. You’ll only fight me eternally within these illusions.”

“No. That’s not what I mean.”

“…”

Dereck ran a hand over his sweat-soaked face, brushed his bangs back, and let out a long sigh.

There was anger in his eyes.

An unsettling pressure that made the other tense up.

“You’re not a 6-star confusion mage.”

He said it with a cutting voice.

The anger he contained was not directed at the attack, but at the very fact that his opponent was not up to par.

He had thought he was facing a true battle against a 6-star mage, but upon evaluating the enemy’s level, he couldn’t help feeling disappointed.

“What are you saying…?”

“You’re too weak. Yes, you are the bait.”

Stab!

At that very instant, Dereck’s dagger pierced the robed man’s chest once again.

This time, unbearable pain surged through his body.

The metallic stench of blood rose up his throat.

At last, the man realized that his true body had been pierced by Dereck’s blade.

No matter how powerful a confusion mage might be, he could not trap an enemy in an illusion if that enemy was not even within his field of perception.

The true body had to be hidden somewhere nearby, casting the magic from there.

Dereck had found him with detection magic and, with an accelerated sword, pierced his chest without hesitation.

His persistent use of detection magic had paid off.

“Cough… huff…”

“If you were a true 6-star mage, my level of detection wouldn’t have worked.”

The confusion energy surrounding him dissipated completely, and the smell of the pierced man’s blood tickled Dereck’s nose.

Dereck yanked his sword free and kicked him, sending him crashing to the ground.

The man fell heavily and let out a tearing scream.

“¡Aaagh!”

“You have a respectable level. At least 3 stars. That’s not common.”

“D-damn you… I am… a 6-star confusion mage… I…”

There was conviction in those words.

Dereck understood immediately.

This man had been a victim of a true confusion mage.

He genuinely believed that he was a 6-star mage.

The burning emotion in his eyes and the way he clawed at the ground, consumed by frustration, were not an act.

Dereck approached with slow steps and roughly tore away the robe covering him.

“…”

His eyes trembled.

“Cough… huff…”

The man hidden beneath the robe was someone familiar.

An immaculate white shirt, a refined leather vest, and over it, the feather emblem symbolizing an imperial magic advisor.

The only magic advisor who had survived.

Dalton.

The same pathetic man who had been trembling in fear in a corner of the main hall had been here, pretending to be a confusion mage and attacking Dereck.

Dereck shook the blood from his sword and silently observed Dalton, sprawled on the ground.

A mere pawn used by someone else.

As he looked at him, a strange sense of déjà vu ran through his mind.

Was this really the first time?

The image of the other dead magic advisors overlapped in his memory.

Perhaps the one who had killed them was Dereck himself.

If that were the case, then all the advisors under Kohella’s command had been manipulated by confusion magic and used as substitutes until they died.

It was only a possibility.

But that unsettling feeling would not stop haunting him.

***

“Have you come to kill a confusion mage?”

The emperor’s bedroom.

Kohella, sitting alone, smiled with ancient elegance as she looked at Linus.

In the darkness enveloping the Ravenclaw Academy, the woman obsessed with magic smiled with refinement.

“You speak as if I were using confusion magic.”

That smile, laden with meaning, made Linus slowly close his eyes.

“Lady Kohella, would you like to gamble a round with me?”