Page count of a weekly manga, yet released at a biweekly schedule. The author should be upfront about needing time or wanting less stress that a biweekly schedule affords him.
The story really wants readers to hate the mage for his blatant disregard of lives in the pursuit of power, but without a sufficient backstory, he just comes off as a cheap antagonist who regularly intercepts the hero at specific points, like Gary in Pokemon.