Broken Possessors of Infinite Regression Academy

“No… It can’t be… It can’t be…” Laura began to speak rapidly, her words tumbling out almost too fast to understand. Most of what she said was too quiet and quick to make out, and the few words I could discern, like ‘it can’t be’ and ‘how could I,’ didn’t provide any context.

After muttering to herself like a madwoman for a while, Laura reached for the notebook as if drawn to it. I handed it to her, and she took it with trembling hands, carefully flipping through the pages as if they contained something of immense value, despite them being blank.

Her expression was so serious that it was hard to believe she was simply looking at blank pages. I wondered if there was something I couldn’t see.

‘Is there something only she can see?’

I tried using magic and manipulating mana to see if I could perceive anything, but to me, the pages still appeared blank. Meanwhile, Laura continued to scrutinize the notebook intently.

“Your Highness, the Crown Princess?”

“Ugh, hah…”

“Your Highness?!”

As Laura flipped through the notebook, about halfway through, she clutched her head and let out a pained moan. I rushed to catch her as she began to collapse.

“Ugh…! Ahh…”

The pain seemed to intensify, and Laura thrashed about. Her body trembled more violently than when she had been aroused by the pheromones. Yet, she refused to let go of the notebook.

I quickly cast a barrier and used healing magic, but the green light did nothing to ease her struggles. I tried using the status ailment removal magic, but it had no effect either. I was at a loss as to what was happening, as neither healing nor status removal magic was working.

“Ugh…”

While I struggled to find a solution, Laura eventually lost consciousness, unable to bear the pain any longer. However, she still clutched the notebook tightly.

I checked her breathing by bringing my finger to her nose. Thankfully, she was still breathing. I carefully picked her up and laid her on the bed. Her face was covered in sweat, indicating that the pain had been intense during those brief moments.

I tried to take the notebook from her clenched fingers but gave up when I saw how tightly she was holding on to it.

‘What is this?’

To me, it was just a blank notebook, but it seemed to hold a different meaning for Laura. With her unconscious, I had no way of asking her about it.

“I’m here… Hey, what are you doing?”

As I wiped the sweat from her forehead, Ibrante suddenly burst into the room and gave us a curious look. The timing couldn’t have been more awkward.

At least she didn’t seem to have any strange misunderstandings.

“Perfect timing. Come a little closer.”

“Huh?”

Ibrante obediently followed my command, though she looked confused.

“Can you see any writing on this?”

I carefully opened the corner of the notebook. Ibrante, standing awkwardly on the bed as if she didn’t want to get too close to the next-in-line for the Imperial throne, craned her neck to peek at the corner.

“No, it’s just blank pages. That’s all I see.”

“I see.”

If it appeared blank to Ibrante as well, it was possible that a special magic allowed only Laura to see something different. It seemed the best course of action was to wait until she woke up and ask her directly.

“What’s so important about this?”

“I was hoping to find out myself.”

“Huh?”

“Don’t ask any more questions. It’s related to Her Highness, the person lying here.”

Ibrante jumped back in surprise, like a cat startled by a cucumber. Her head nodded vigorously, indicating her agreement to keep quiet.

“Did you get a response?”

“Well… I did get a response, but…”

Her smile turned awkward, and her voice trailed off.

“They said they’re ready, so you can come right now if you want.”

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.
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Laura remained unconscious until we left the room.

I had to settle for casting a proactive defensive magic circle to protect her body, as waking her up forcibly could have unpredictable consequences. After all, someone might visit while I was away.

As a result, I had to go to the Magician’s Association alone, not as planned with Laura.

When I mentioned the Magician’s Association, Ibrante showed a violent refusal and then fled at top speed, leaving only a request for another commission later.

“Stop. Are you Mira Crate?”

As soon as I arrived at the Magician’s Association building, a woman smoking at the entrance stopped me. She crushed her cigarette underfoot and approached me.

“Yes.”

“Really? You’re a bit short with your answers. I’ve probably lived three times longer than you, you traitor.”

Traitor, huh. The rumors must be spreading.

Well, it didn’t matter. Soon enough, she would deny that statement herself.

“Why are you speaking so casually?”

“Hah… Are you a better magician than me?”

There was an age-old ideology shared by all magic towers: the most skilled magician was the one in charge, regardless of age or position.

Considering what I was about to do soon, using casual speech was the least of my concerns.

“You’ve got guts, I’ll give you that. I like it.”

The magician, who had been giving me a nasty look, suddenly changed her expression and smiled, patting my shoulder.

“Good, I’d be disappointed if the person who gathered all of us didn’t have some guts. Let’s go in. I’ll show you the way.”

Crackle!

As the magician turned around, her robe tore, and wings and a tail sprouted from her back. Her arms had also transformed into something resembling a dragon’s front legs.

The magician looked herself over and clicked her tongue.

“Damn, I shouldn’t have extinguished it earlier. Can I ask a favor? Can I smoke? Well, technically, it’s not a cigarette, but a mixture of herbs.”

“Sure, go ahead. I don’t mind.”

“Thanks, pal. Anyway, these stubborn bastards kept insisting it wasn’t a cigarette…”

The magician grumbled about her colleagues as a cigarette automatically emerged from her robe pocket and was placed between her lips. Sizzle! The end of the cigarette ignited by itself, emitting light and heat.

The wings, tail, and transformed front legs protruding from her robe began to shrink. The magician took a deep inhale, then turned to me.

“You’re not surprised, even though I’m like this right in front of you?”

“I know what it is. It’s a side effect of your failed research into Dragon Transformation magic, right?”

“To be precise, it was a partial success. I transformed into a dragon, but I couldn’t control it. My body kept trying to change on its own. I would die if I maintained the transformation for more than 30 seconds, but my body kept trying to turn into a dragon. What else could I do but use drugs to suppress it? I still have so many experiments left to conduct; I can’t die yet.”

The magician chuckled.

“So, I’ve become famous, huh? Even Academy students like you know about me. Or did you do extra studying?”

I knew about her from Priscilla. In one of the episodes, she was briefly mentioned, but if you hear something a hundred times, you’ll eventually remember it, whether you like it or not.

The conversation ended there, as she didn’t seem to expect an answer. Without exchanging another word, we arrived at the Grand Auditorium, and the magician entered first, teleporting inside.

‘I guess I’ll go in too.’

Bang! I flung the door open energetically. The magicians inside turned their gazes towards me, their eyes cold and intense. The owners of the magic towers that towered across the empire were looking at me with a mix of suspicion and anticipation.

The cold gaze was suspicion, and the intense gaze was expectation. The ratio was about half and half.

“So, you really came, Mira Crate. I heard you were imprisoned in the Imperial Palace with the Crown Prince for treason.”

An elderly man in the front row stroked his beard as he appraised me.

“If I couldn’t get past that, I wouldn’t have been able to gather all of you here.”

“Hoo?”

As the old man narrowed his eyes, I quickly counted the number of magicians. There were 53 of them. There were 50 magic towers across the empire, and only the masters were allowed to attend these meetings. Three more people were present than there should have been.

In other words, a Grand Magician was secretly attending, disguising their identity. The others knew but couldn’t stop them because of the nature of the Grand Magician’s work.

Who else but a Grand Magician could enter the Magician’s Association building, which even the Emperor couldn’t enter without consequences? These people would do just that and more.

“Before we begin, is there anyone who didn’t come?”

Despite my casual tone and use of informal speech, no one corrected me.

Instead, their gazes became even sharper, evaluating me more critically.

“If anyone didn’t come after reading what was written in the letter, they don’t deserve to be called magicians. I even abandoned my ongoing research to be here.”

A woman in the front row, like the old man, with her legs crossed and draped over the table, spoke nonchalantly. She was wearing a loose dress that exposed the inside, but neither she nor the other magicians seemed to mind.

“So, get on with it already, kid. I’m dying to know.”

“Sure. This presentation requires audience participation, so you can help me out.”

“Ask away.”

The woman tilted her chin.

“I need to see some blood. Do you want to be wounded, or do you want to wound me?”

“Oh, you naughty boy. Asking such a question to a lady. Fine, I’ll tell you. I prefer to be the one wounding, of course.”

“Then, attack me. I won’t die, but the visual effect will be quite something.”

There was no further questioning. The woman snapped her fingers, and my left arm was instantly severed at the shoulder. My arm fell to the floor, and blood gushed out like a fountain from the severed stump, covering the floor.

‘… Come to think of it, this is the third time my left arm has been cut off, isn’t it?’

Somehow, this particular body part had endured a lot of hardships.

“I was going to go for the right arm because you looked like a right-handed person, but if I was wrong, I apologize.”

The woman didn’t bat an eye at the blood flowing right in front of her.

In fact, none of the magicians, including myself, seemed to care. It was painful, but the pain was bearable.

“I am right-handed, so it’s fine.”

My nonchalant attitude piqued their curiosity, and the magicians leaned forward in their seats. I directed another question at the woman.

“Just to be sure, you didn’t just pretend to cut it off, did you?”

“You’re the one who got their arm cut off, and you’re asking me if I pretended to cut it off? That’s a first.”

I felt a bit uncomfortable being called insane by someone from the Magician’s Association. I continued anyway.

“It’s a magic that requires confirmation, so I need to know. Your answer?”

“By the honor of the Red Tower, I really cut it off. Are you satisfied now? Can we please move on?”

“Sure.”

I picked up my severed left arm and cast a healing spell.

“!!!!!!”

As the light of a color that the people of this world would never see in their lifetime unless they met me manifested from my fingertips, the woman jumped up from her seat, her eyes wide.

The other 52 magicians did the same. Not a single one of them remained seated. From the moment the green light appeared, no one was sitting.

To prove that my arm had been perfectly restored, I spun my shoulders and said:

“Who wants to experience it for themselves?”

Simultaneously, a total of 53 blood fountains erupted.