Manaless Mage-Chapter 325: Who cares if you know?

The adventurer’s body froze mid-step, and for a second, he found it difficult to breathe.

Then, with jerky, abrupt motion, he spun around, eyes wide, hand already halfway to the short blade at his back.

But what he saw stopped him cold.

Standing only a few meters away, arms crossed and expression unreadable, was a young man with straight brown hair and narrowed black eyes.

His silhouette wavered for a moment before fully solidifying, like smoke condensing into flesh.

’Harry Ainsworth...?’ Dani thought, his pupils shrinking in confusion.

He hadn’t sensed him at all. Not even a whisper of magic, no presence, no footsteps—nothing.

It was as if he’d materialized from the air itself.

Dani’s hand hovered near the hilt of his blade, but he didn’t draw it. His instincts screamed at him that if he so much as twitched the wrong way, he’d be dead before his fingers closed around the weapon.

"How... how long have you been standing there?" he finally asked, voice low.

Harry tilted his head slightly, gaze unwavering.

"From the very beginning," he said.

Silence settled between them, thick and choking.

Dani’s lips parted, but no sound came out. He stared at Harry as if trying to read his thoughts, as if hoping this was all some terrible misunderstanding.

Then, abruptly, he cleared his throat and straightened his coat, a forced, awkward smile spreading across his face.

"Well," he said, trying to inject concern into his voice, "it’s good you’re here. I’ve been trying to piece together what happened. Where are the other students? What’s going on here?"

Harry didn’t answer immediately.

He just looked at Dani for a long moment, and then—

He scoffed.

"Don’t bother pretending," Harry said, voice flat. "I already know what’s going on."

Dani blinked, eyes widening with exaggerated confusion.

"What do you mean?" he said. "Don’t tell me... have you been affected by the attack? Did something happen during the encounter? You seem tense."

Harry’s eyes narrowed.

Then, without a word, he lifted his hand and pointed to the blackened corpse lying several meters behind Dani—the twisted, scorched remains of Adolf Rashin.

"Isn’t that your buddy over there?" he said, voice sharper now. "Why don’t you start by explaining what you really came here to do... Dani."

The deliberate emphasis on the name sent a fresh wave of cold sweat down Dani’s back.

He turned slightly to glance over his shoulder, confirming once more the identity of the corpse behind him.

Though he had been burned to a crisp, he was still somewhat recognisable to those who knew him before.

The burnt demonic wings and claws on his hands were also a dead giveaway.

Dani’s mouth opened, then closed again.

His facade cracked—only slightly—but Harry caught it instantly.

There was a flicker of emotion. Not grief. Not shock.

But fear.

And that told Harry everything he needed to know.

Dani stepped back once, then turned again fully toward Harry, schooling his features into something resembling professional concern.

"Harry, I’m not sure what you think is going on here," he said, tone carefully measured. "But I came through the portal because I received a distress signal. I thought something had gone wrong. When I got here, the entire area was scorched and I saw... that."

He gestured toward Adolf’s remains.

"And now you’re saying I’m involved? That I’m somehow connected to... to whatever this was?"

Harry said nothing.

He just stared.

Stared until Dani shifted uncomfortably, his shoulders tightening beneath the weight of that silent accusation.

"You should improve on your lying skills," Harry said, the words almost a whisper. "You’re terrible at it."

Dani stiffened.

For a moment, he said nothing.

The air between them grew heavier, more strained. It was as if the silence itself thickened into something suffocating.

But then—

Dani’s lips twitched.

And then, the man threw his head back and let out a sharp, guttural laugh. It was sudden, and loud—so loud it echoed off the shattered stone pillars and scorched debris littering the landscape.

"Pfft—HAHAHAHA!"

Harry didn’t flinch. He watched silently, arms still crossed, eyes still glowing faint blue. But his gaze sharpened.

Dani laughed until he was nearly out of breath, bending slightly as though the weight of amusement was too much to bear.

When he finally looked back up, his expression had shifted entirely.

The nervous mask was gone. All traces of feigned concern or confusion had vanished.

In their place was something darker.

His lips curled into a sneer as he turned his full body to face Harry, arms loose, stance open and relaxed.

"And so what?" he said, voice dripping with venom. "Who cares if you know I’m a traitor?"

Harry’s eyes narrowed at that, just a fraction. But still, he said nothing.

Dani stepped forward once, slowly, deliberately.

His eyes flicked to the scorched body of Adolf behind him, then returned to Harry with growing interest.

"Tell me," Dani continued, the edges of his tone now edged with steel. "Who did this here? And how come you’re still alive?"

Without waiting for an answer, he reached behind his back and drew both of his curved blades in one fluid motion—silver steel catching the dull morning light.

The air shimmered around the weapons, reacting faintly to the mana infused within them.

He pointed one directly at Harry, his stance tightening as a dark chuckle slipped from his throat.

"Don’t think I won’t kill you just because you’re a kid," he said, eyes narrowing. "I don’t know what you’ve done in the academy, but topping the ranks against a bunch of little brats doesn’t mean shit out here."

His lips pulled back to reveal clenched teeth. "You don’t stand a chance against me."

For a moment, Harry didn’t respond.

Then, slowly, he tilted his head.

"So that’s how you want to do this?" he said, clicking his tongue once against the roof of his mouth. "Tch."

The sound echoed slightly—light, dismissive.

Dani’s brow twitched.

He didn’t move yet, but Harry could feel the tension coiling tighter around him like a stretched wire waiting to snap. A single blink could ignite the fight.

And Dani... Dani was starting to get irritated.

He had expected fear. Panic. A desperate attempt to run or maybe even groveling—he’d seen it all before from upstart students who thought they were invincible until they weren’t.

But this kid—this boy—was just staring at him.