The Return of the EX-Class Wizard - Chapter 100

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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The Return of an EX-Rank Mage Episode 100
[Title acquired: ‘Curse Dissolution of Haeju (National Territory)’!]
Choi Kang-mok was growing in many ways.
Along with that, my ‘Kang-mok-style thinking’ was becoming increasingly solid.
“This could also be considered a form of Haeju magic, I suppose.”
“….”
Kang Hye didn’t respond.
Kang Hye knew the truth.
That bloodline logic was forced.
But she didn’t bother pointing it out.
Choi Kang-mok likely understood that fact well enough.
Implicitly, they concluded it was indeed Haeju magic.
That’s right. This was magical growth.
“So, that [Haeju Magic] title. What’s its effect?”
───────
[Curse Dissolution of Haeju (National Territory)]
A title granted to heroes who successfully dissolve curses of national territory rank.
You can set curses of national territory rank or lower as targets and physically destroy them.
───────
“Simple. I can directly smash curses apart.”
“…Curses? Smash them apart?”
“Yeah. More precisely, through magic.”
“…That actually works, huh.”
“But there are some precautions to note.”
[※Warning※ Sufficient virtual targeting ability must be established first.]
[Attempting curse destruction without the prerequisite ability may cause the curse to amplify.]
Quite the bold warning in thick lettering.
“Fortunately.”
I’d been consistently honing my virtual targeting ability.
It had developed further while handling hostility.
Kang Hye nodded.
“This really is Haeju magic.”
“You could say that.”
Destroying it with an energy bolt?
Since I destroyed it with magic, it counts as Haeju magic.
“Will you head to Floor 34 right away?”
“Yeah. I’m planning to go, but….”
My expression darkened.
I hadn’t invested separately in my Intelligence stat, yet the damage output was running wild again.
At this rate, my body might not be able to endure it.
“Why are you like that?”
“My level is rising too fast.”
“Ah, yeah… I’ll admit that’s true.”
Normally, clearing one floor of the Tower doesn’t grant 2 levels.
Only players who clear every floor at EX-rank manage to gain 2 levels per floor.
“You’re saying you’re becoming too strong before your body can even adjust to itself?”
“Yeah.”
“That’s damn unlucky.”
Despite her words, Kang Hye’s lips had already curled up slightly.

* * *
[!Seoul Region-Wide Announcement!]
[The curse shrouding Floor 34 of Seoul Tower has been destroyed.]
The moment the notification of the Seoul region’s curse destruction appeared, the Hall of Fame updated.
───────
[Hall of Fame – Floor 34]
[Continental] [Individual]
1. – (Seoul, EX)
2. Vicario (Naples, SSS)
…
───────
Floor 34 was also cleared at EX-rank.
And Choi Kang-mok had to take a moment to catch his breath.
“…My entire body feels shattered.”
“Yeah, you look it.”
Kang Hye handed me a bottle of water from beside me, her face contorted.
A mage who had to retire because she couldn’t withstand the output of her own magic.
Was that even human?
‘There’s probably only one person like this in the entire world.’
EX Awakening was proof that it wasn’t merely about ‘strength’.
If you couldn’t bear that weight, you died.
They say the one who wears the crown must endure its weight.
“Kang-mok, I’m being serious… shouldn’t you invest some points into strength or stamina?”
“…Let me hold out just a bit longer.”
“Really….”
Kang Hye sighed deeply and stopped herself from hitting my back.
As reckless as that was, it was the reason I’d climbed this far.
My body, far superior to simple stat numbers, was thanks to that extreme ‘training’.
“So you’re postponing the challenge to Floor 35?”
“Yeah. I need to get some sleep first.”
“Got it. Sleep well.”
At that moment, Spaloti sat at the negotiation table with the Seoul Guild.
From Floor 35 onwards, I had to preserve Vicario’s pride at all costs.
‘I must make them offer tributes to the Flame Queen’s throne.’
This time, I had to seize the opportunity.
‘If they offer two artifacts, they’ll receive a special reward and a route to exit the Tower will open.’
That much was true.
But there was one fact I hadn’t disclosed.
‘The difficulty has spiraled out of control due to repeated EX-rank clears, with additional increases on top of that.’
Even Vicario, who hadn’t offered items, had nearly died.
If they offered items, a massive difficulty spike awaited them.
Even an EX-rank Awakener would be helpless against it.
‘I must guide them to offer the tributes.’

* * *
Choi Kang-mok lay in bed and quietly browsed the EX Shop.
“I don’t see any red text or exclamation marks.”
I’d actually been hoping for something, but there was nothing.
There were top-tier mana barriers listed for Floor 40 preparation, but nothing particularly appealed to me.
Besides, I could just commission Owen for that anyway.
“Nothing worth buying, really.”
It would’ve been nice if there were elixirs from beginner benefits.
Wipe away all the accumulated fatigue, clear all minor injuries.
Then I could practice energy barriers to my heart’s content.
“…Should I raise my stamina and strength more?”
Even now, it’s honestly precarious.
But once I enter Floor 35, the level cap lifts and my level shoots up to 70.
“If my level rises by 2 more, will my body even hold up?”
I couldn’t tell.
Every time I cast magic, my body feels like it’s shattering first, and it’ll go even higher than this?
Forget energy barriers—even casting an energy bolt carries risk.
───────
[Status Window]
Strength: 49 (20 +5 +24)
Stamina: 40 (35 + 5)
Agility: 50 (34 + 3 + 4 + 2 + 7)
Intelligence: 35 (30 + 5)
*Remaining Stats: 9
───────
“In terms of pure efficiency, putting one more point into strength would be the right call.”
The key to stat progression is breaking through in increments of ten.
I quietly invested one of my saved remaining stats into Strength.
[You have achieved Strength 50.]
[Abilities related to Strength increase significantly!]
───────
[Stat Window]
Strength: 50 (21 +5 +24)
Stamina: 40 (35 + 5)
Agility: 50 (34 + 3 + 4 + 2 + 7)
Intelligence: 35 (30 + 5)
*Remaining Stats: 8
───────
“Ah.”
That was exactly the sensation.
Like taking a proper painkiller when your head feels like it’s splitting open.
My body felt considerably lighter, and my limbs seemed to fit together more naturally.
‘I should have raised it sooner.’
…That was nonsense.
‘What was I thinking?’
What I should have raised sooner wasn’t Strength—it was Intelligence.
Relying on bones to compensate for magic in reality had caused me to forget my true purpose at some point.
‘Don’t forget. I am a mage.’
A legitimate mage who had even earned the title of Haeju Mage.
“At this rate, Floor 35 seems worth attempting….”
“Oppa, if you keep this up, I’m canceling the Blood Pact Blessing. You need at least 24 hours of rest.”
Threatened by the Blood Pact Blessing, Choi Kang-mok relented and quietly pulled the blanket over himself.
He fell asleep in three seconds.
24 hours later.
[Entering Seoul Tower Floor 35.]

* * *
From the 31st to the 34th Floor, one thing had changed consistently.
The Forgotten Fire Spirit’s Stone Tower had been steadily upgraded.
At first, it was simply the “Forgotten Fire Spirit’s Stone Tower.”
Then came “Remodeling 1,” “Remodeling 2,” “Remodeling 3.”
By the 34th Floor, it had transformed entirely into “Reconstruction.”
‘Will the 35th Floor be even more fortified?’
[You have entered Seoul Tower, 35th Floor.]
[Challenge: Defeat the Flame Queen (Normal)]
But this time, a completely different kind of change had arrived.
[Confirmed: Consecutive SSS-Rank or higher (EX-Rank Clear) from Floors 31-34.]
[!Special Condition Satisfied!]
The very condition that Vicario had satisfied.
He had fulfilled it at SSS-Rank, while I had done so at EX-Rank.
Boom!
The ground trembled as if struck by an earthquake.
The earth beneath my feet cracked open, and through those fissures, massive hands surged upward alongside crimson magma.
[Challenge: (Real-time Update in Progress)]
Flame Queens in white dresses stained with viscous magma emerged into view.
A piercing, high-pitched shriek echoed through the air.
It was a death wail seeping from the Flame Queen’s mouth.
“So it really does have undead properties mixed in.”
The Flame Queen.
A monster fusing flame and undead attributes.
Bluish-green rotting skin, with black flames flickering through the gaps.
Red tentacles—whether hair or magma, none could say—writhed and twisted together.
[Queens seated upon the Corrupted Throne reveal themselves]
“Themselves”?
It was plural.
The Flame Queen, which had always appeared singular, now emerged in hordes.
The acrid stench of fire and the reek of rotting flesh,
even the sight of withered wildflowers decaying on the spot was conjured.
[Challenge: Defeat the Flame Queens and the Flame Legion Commander]
[Flame Queen (Normal) 100 to defeat]
[Flame Queen (Legion Commander) 1 to defeat]
One hundred.
‘The Flame Queens… have appeared as a legion?’
“Mayo, can you hold out?”
-It depends on which division the Flame Queens belong to.
An [!] appeared above Mayo’s body.
A symbol of confidence.
-Part 1: The Flame Queen is light-footed 🙂
-Can I cut it? What would it feel like to sever flames? Ecstasy? Joy? Will you scream for me?

* * *
In the past, Vicario had to face seven Flame Queens.
The more Flame Queens there were, the more explosively their power amplified.
A unique resonance that strengthened one another—a form of self-resonance buff.
Flame attribute amplification, area damage, group stacking debuffs.
Back then, Vicario had brushed against death multiple times.
‘If there were seven of them for me…’
An EX-Rank Awakener?
At minimum, dozens of Flame Queens would appear.
‘It would be a catastrophe.’
And in that moment.
Choi Kang-mok calmly walked past the swarm of Flame Queens.
“The pressure is quite something.”
But it was nothing.
The Flame Queens couldn’t penetrate Mayo’s friend-or-foe identification.
In other words, they didn’t draw aggro at all.
“But…”
There were far too many Flame Queens.
So many that I couldn’t even tell which chair required an offering.
Near the Forgotten Fire Spirit’s Stone Tower (Reinforced Reconstruction), bronze chairs lay scattered like classroom desks.
Just like an elementary school fifth-grade classroom after dismissal ended and everyone rushed out.
Here, Flame Queens were mere minions.
“Offering to a minion’s chair feels wrong.”
Far in the distance, atop a distinctly elevated magma hill.
Someone sat there, swirling a red dress.
A golden chair, scorched and faded by fire.
The Flame Queen (Legion Commander).
“If I offer to her chair, that should work?”
Then, the Flame Queens began wailing even louder.
‘Huh?’
[The Flame Queens’ Requiem has been completed.]
The entire world turned red.
The red ceiling opened, and the world was consumed in flames.
‘There’s something to this.’
I sensed a hint of danger.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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