The Return of the EX-Class Wizard - Chapter 101

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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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All place names and country names appearing in this work have no relation to reality.
The Return of an EX-Rank Mage Episode 101
Red vapor billowed from the entire bodies of the Flame Queens.
The heat that had been boiling with fierce momentum consumed the entire space in an instant.
With each breath, scorching energy seeped deep into my lungs.
Choi Kang-mok made his decision.
“This won’t do.”
It was no coincidence that Dil-jjik-nu had become the answer to conquering the higher floors.
The moment I allowed an ultimate skill, the risks would spiral beyond control.
I had to suppress it before that happened.
‘First, reduce their numbers.’
[Skill, Energy Bolt (S) activated.]
A spell my hands had grown thoroughly accustomed to.
In an instant, fragmentation.
Four energy spheres collided with each other in midair.
Crack!
Thousands of shards swept across all directions.
‘Easy!’
Far easier than completing an energy floor pattern.
Guiding the fragments had become second nature now.
In the past, I would have relied on Blink and invulnerability frames, desperately focused on evasion and survival. Not anymore.
There. The Commander seated upon the golden throne was visible.
Clear hostility emanated from her.
When hostility was unmistakable, guidance became effortless.
The shards swept like ashen wind, and the red forms fell like autumn leaves.
[Flame Queen (Common) 100 defeated]
[1/100] [2/100]…[48/100]
‘My magical training bore fruit.’
The fragments naturally gained piercing properties.
That was now as natural as breathing.
The magical shards imbued with penetration flew toward the Commander without losing their remaining velocity.
At that moment, the Flame Queen Commander rose from her seat.
Flames wrapped around her arms.
[Flame Queens’ Requiem effect activated]
[Burning Demonic Blade ‘Crimson Flame’ created.]
A blazing red sword now rested in the Commander’s hands.
Clang!
With a thunderous sound, the red blade shattered into two pieces.
The Flame Queen Commander flinched in surprise, and I was taken aback as well.
‘The Energy Bolt fragments broke through?’
[The Burning Mystic Blade, ‘Crimson Flame’, has been destroyed.]
For a Burning Mystic Blade, it shattered far too easily.
Regardless, the fact that the Tower boss had managed to block the attack at all was quite remarkable.
Blocking a mage’s magic.
Crimson flames blazed across the Flame Queen Commander’s eyes.
Her mouth tore open sideways, and flames erupted from within.
Behind her back. Massive wings unfurled.
Quite literally, wings woven from flames.
[The Flame Queen Commander assesses compatibility with her opponent and adapts accordingly.]
[Requiem Effect: Burning Wings ‘Crimson Wing’ generated]
[Requiem Effect: Time limit imposed]
‘How many tricks does she have.’
[Time Limit: 5 minutes]
[Failure to clear the challenge within 5 minutes will result in an F-rank clear.]
In an instant, the Flame Queen Commander’s form vanished.
‘What?’
Mayo located the Flame Queen Commander.
-Look up.
I lifted my head. Close enough to touch if I reached out my hand.
Flaming claws hung directly above my head.
I twisted my body.
The flames grazed my cheek.
The sound of wind being torn filled the air.
Heat seared across my skin like a blade.
[Shield(10): 98]
My friend-or-foe identification had been pierced.
Moreover, my shield had decreased by 2.
‘This is a first.’
I had never taken damage to my shield while fighting a boss before.
By standard rankings, it was a level 250 shield.
Mayo attempted an interception, but the Flame Queen Commander was already surging upward.
Her trajectory, tilting and circling, bordered on acrobatic.
Her speed made prediction meaningless.
‘So when she talked about compatibility, she meant maxing out agility.’
At this rate, landing a spell at all would be impossible.
Even if I scattered fragments to create a net, the Flame Queen Commander’s speed would slip through entirely.
[Shield(10): 97]
The damage itself was minor.
The problem was that attacks kept coming relentlessly.
‘My concentration breaks even from a single mosquito….’
I’m in the midst of a magical battle right now.
And that mage is Dil-jjik-nu.
If my concentration breaks, I die.
My control over the fragments was visibly wavering.
‘High-tier spirits are too much of a burden.’
I can’t even control fragments properly—high-tier spirits? Impossible.
Not a chance.
I’d considered luring an energy field and pulling her into it, but I don’t have enough time to concentrate on manifesting the field in this chaotic battle.
Now I understood viscerally why combat mages preferred efficient spells.
In the end, what remained was fundamentals. Energy Bolt.
‘At least the Excalion effect is a blessing.’
The mythic-grade staff, Excalion.
When used in boss battles, it nullifies the cooldown of specific spells.
[Skill, Energy Bolt (S) activated.]
[Skill, Energy Bolt (S) activated.]
Thanks to my recent strength gains, my physical capabilities had improved.
I could now handle Energy Bolt to a reasonable degree, and successive uses were possible.
Two spheres detonated simultaneously.
The Commander twisted her body to evade.
Crackling—!
The deflected Energy Bolt swept across the surroundings.
[Flame Queen (Normal) x100 eliminated]
[Challenge objective partially completed.]
Now only the Commander remained.
‘That’s the real problem.’
She’s far too fast.
‘What about restraint?’
The method I once used to bind Christine was now useless.
Operating a Pocket Dimension in the chaos of battle? Impossible.
The Commander’s assault was too relentless.
‘I need precise maneuvering…’
In that instant, my gaze fell upon where the Commander had been sitting.
The golden throne. And beyond it. The Forgotten Fire Spirit’s Stone Tower.
‘The golden throne, the stone tower beyond it.’
The strategy was simple.
Complete the challenge objective, or destroy the stone tower.
The Commander clearly had gained breathing room now.
Her speed had increased, her reactions refined.
‘Which means she’s growing accustomed to my magic.’
This moment was actually my chance.
Choi Kang-mok made his decision.
[Activating Blink.]
This time, it was a different application.
Today’s Blink was no longer for evasion.
This time, it was for offense. For closing the distance.
Before the golden throne.
The exact spot aligned with the Forgotten Fire Spirit’s Stone Tower.
I landed and immediately retrieved Ignis’s heart fragment and the phoenix feather.
Power coursed through my fingertips, and hesitation had no place here.
[Hidden Piece, ‘Flame of Consecration’ has been satisfied.]
‘Might as well claim the Hidden Piece. It’s the basics, after all.’
Only then did I catch my breath.
On the surface, it appeared I was being pushed back. But that wasn’t the reality.
The Commander is fast. Her attacks are relentless, and her trajectory defies prediction.
Yet within that assault lies no killing blow. No fatal wound.
Counterattacking is difficult, but if I land just one clean hit, I win.
Precisely one strike. That’s all it takes.
In this battle, it was crystal clear who held the advantage.
Time aside.
[Time Limit: 1 minute 34 seconds]
The Commander descended upon me.
A trajectory like a crimson barrage, overwhelming everything.
Flames coiled around her arms, and the escape angle was narrow.
Yet I stood my ground.
Instead, I tilted my head back slightly, exposing my throat.
The most vital point.
‘I’m offering up my weak point.’
There’s a saying about letting the bait be taken.
What Dil-jjik-nu needs is opportunity.
The opening that comes when the enemy commits everything.
[Activating skill, Invincibility (S).]
───────
[Invincibility (Growth-type)]
Rank: S
Upon activation, enter an invincible state for 1 second.
Perfect resistance to all physical and non-physical damage.
Cooldown: 24 hours
───────
Flames engulfed me.
The ensuing flash warped space itself, and heat seared my forehead.
Yet nothing happened.
‘I blocked it.’
A forceful attack, brimming with power.
And it bought me time in equal measure.
Exactly one second. Perhaps even closer to an instant.
‘That’s enough.’
[Skill, Energy Bolt (S) activated.]
Two shots.
One toward the stone tower. One toward the Flame Queen Commander.
Simultaneously, precisely fired.
Additional blink activated through the Thunder Horse Combat Boots effect.
I moved and evaded in one fluid motion, widening the distance between myself and the Flame Queen Commander.
I had bought roughly three seconds.
‘My target is the Forgotten Fire Spirit’s Stone Tower.’
A brief window of opportunity had been granted to me.
I focused my concentration.
[Title effect, ‘Curse Breaker of Haeju’ activated.]
‘Curse Breaker of Haeju’ directly strikes formless, intangible curses.
It required some concentration, but I had secured the minimum time needed.
[Skill, Energy Bolt (S) activated.]
Crack!
The stone tower did not possess the same defensive capabilities as the Flame Queen Commander.
Three seconds.
More than enough time to destroy not only the tower itself, but the curse contained within it.
The stone tower, unable to evade the energy bolt, crumbled to dust.
[!Seoul Region-Wide Announcement!]
[The curse shrouding Floor 35 of Seoul Tower has been destroyed.]
[Forgotten Fire Spirit’s Stone Tower (Prestige Forest Central Reinforced Reconstruction) has been destroyed.]
‘Now I should be exiting?’
Until now, the sequence had always been to exit the tower once the clear notification appeared.
‘…Why haven’t I left?’
Something felt wrong.
The clear judgment wasn’t registering.
My eyes instinctively snapped upward.
The Flame Queen Commander was diving toward me again.
Her arm drew back, and within it, dangerous flames coiled once more.
‘Blink!’
I pushed space itself with my final remaining blink.
The crimson arm’s edge slashed through empty air, and I barely slipped past its arc.
My abdomen burned with heat.
[Shield (10): 76]
‘On normal floors, destroying just the stone tower counted as a clear.’
But this was the boss floor.
The rules were different.
‘Is this getting dangerous?’
Simple energy bolts wouldn’t be enough to conquer this.
Direct attacks weren’t landing, and the wide-area net of fragments or precision-guided strikes were impossible due to lack of concentration.
Nothing was connecting.
It was harder than a normal person swatting a fly with their bare hand.
‘Either her stamina runs out first, or my shield depletes, or the time limit expires.’
It had to be one of those three.
Like clothes soaking in drizzle—my shield had dropped to 76.
Even now, the Flame Queen Commander showed no signs of exhaustion.
Less than a minute remained.
“Sigh.”
I really didn’t want to use this method.
But it seemed unavoidable.
Of all things, time was not on my side.
What was crushing me wasn’t heat—it was time itself.
Choi Kang-mok opened his stat window.
Ten remaining stat points were left.
‘I’d saved them so carefully.’
I always kept stats in reserve.
With the belief that one day would come when I could raise Intelligence without hesitation.
[Time Limit: 00:47]
But not today.
‘A mage’s’ dictionary had no room for an F-rank clear.
I invested the remaining stat points into Agility.
───────
[Stat Window]
Strength: 50 (21 +5 +24)
Stamina: 40 (35 + 5)
Agility: 60 (44 + 3 + 4 + 2 + 7)
Intelligence: 35 (30 + 5)
*Remaining Stats: 0
───────
[You have achieved Agility 60.]
[Abilities related to Agility have increased significantly!]
“You bastard.”
A short curse escaped my lips.
The Flame Queen Commander’s form, which had merely flickered past like a shadow until now, crystallized in my vision.
The trajectory that had moved with the speed of light now became distinctly traceable.
I could see her turning sharply, moving, and approaching with perfect clarity.
“She’s fallen behind.”
Then, an unexpected notification followed.

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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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