The Return of the EX-Class Wizard - Chapter 11

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

The Return of an EX-Rank Mage Episode 011
Kang Hye.
An explorer coveted not only by Daegu and Busan, Korea’s two powerhouse Guilds, but also by the Incheon Guild, the wealthiest of them all.
Possessing sufficient talent, though still merely a promising prospect at level 40.
It proved difficult to discern anything concrete.
Kang Hye bit her lip.
‘Damn it!’
If only I’d leveled up faster.
I should have gained more real combat experience.
Choi Kang-chul’s expression twisted as well.
‘Already here?’
Far sooner than anticipated.
‘I should request reinforcements from the Guild.’
Just in case, Seoul Guild players were on standby alert.
The moment I pressed the button in my pocket, they would deploy immediately.
Three buttons in total.
“Take one each. Press it and support will arrive right away.”
Choi Kang-mok closed his eyes briefly, sensing the flow of mana.
“The current feels wrong.”
It was closer to intuition.
Kang Hye sensed something similar.
Something was amiss.
There was a discrepancy, yet I couldn’t pinpoint its nature.
Choi Kang-mok spoke.
“I have a request.”
“Should we press it?”
“No. You two just leave as if nothing happened. Don’t raise suspicion.”
“What are you talking about?”
“No time. Trust me.”
Something was approaching.
An alien presence.
The ‘virtual space for assassination’ my brother mentioned.
Its preparation seemed to be underway.
“The button is….”
“I’ll press it if things get critical.”
Kang Hye bit her lip.
“Older brother, let’s go.”
“But….”
“Our youngest brother doesn’t talk nonsense.”
Had there been more time, I could have heard an explanation, but there wasn’t.
She could feel it too, as an explorer.
Malevolent mana approaching. Something was unfolding.
And my second older brother was preparing for something as well.
Kang Hye spoke with deliberately bright cheerfulness as she stepped toward the entrance.
“Oh! I’ll go grab some chicken!”
She opened the front door as naturally as possible.
Choi Kang-mok watched the entrance with a grave expression.
‘Don’t panic.’
I can’t even run away in this body.
Dodging or sprinting are both impossible.
‘Better to lure them in. Make them drop their guard.’
What if that suspicious character tried to kidnap me and threw a hook?
An ordinary person might be fine, but a damage dealer is different.
I’m fragile enough to die from slime poison.
If I pressed the button first and the assassin rushed their attack?
Even a graze means death.
It’s far better to fight while luring them into complacency.
‘I’m reckless too, but so is my opponent.’
That’s what makes them a damage dealer.
Meanwhile, Kim Yu-jun, who had been hiding outside, let out a sinister smile.
‘Perfect.’
The nuisances had conveniently disappeared on their own.
Through the closing door, Kim Yu-jun seeped inside like a shadow.
“Are you EX?”
Black space spread from behind my back.
Mana that constricted the lungs.
My breath caught in my throat.
‘This is a strange space.’
The space was warping.

* * *
My first impression upon witnessing something so strange was not fear, but fascination.
This was fundamentally different from an ordinary skill.
‘A new dimension.’
It felt as though I had entered the Tower itself.
The sensation of stepping into an entirely different space and time.
The system kindly informed me of this.
[You have entered the Pocket Dimension, ‘Kim Yu-jun’s Torture Chamber’.]
Choi Kang-mok inwardly marveled.
‘So this is what a Pocket Dimension truly is.’
It had never been properly disclosed to the general public.
However, it was known that Rankers possessed special authorities that allowed them to manifest their own laws.
That power was called a ‘Pocket Dimension.’
The space was filled with silence and a thick, suffocating darkness.
“Are you the EX-Rank Awakener?”
Even the smallest sound echoed and reverberated through this shadowed realm.
“….”
Rather than answer, Choi Kang-mok quietly raised his hand and cast an Energy Bolt.
“Energy Bolt?”
Kim Yu-jun let out a derisive laugh.
“You may not realize it, but within this space, my rules are absolute.”
“What exactly do you mean?”
“A Trace-Annihilation Pocket Dimension. No matter what you do here, no evidence will remain.”
It was, in essence, a playground designed entirely for him.
“And within this space, Assassin-class Awakeners move 1.2 times faster.”
Kim Yu-jun lowered his guard entirely, spreading both arms wide as he spoke with leisurely amusement.
“Go ahead and shoot, you EX bastard.”
“…Really?”
Choi Kang-mok let his words trail off, his expression one of apprehension.
It was merely an act to lower his opponent’s guard.
‘There’s likely nothing impressive here. I only need to confirm his minimal EX-Rank abilities.’
It seemed he had merely obtained a novice mage, nothing more.
Beyond Energy Bolt, there were no remarkable movements to observe.
‘Still, if he’s truly EX-Rank, something should feel different.’
Energy Bolt.
A fundamental spell I’ve witnessed countless times.
Which meant I could analyze it more precisely.
‘If I take the hit directly, I can analyze it with certainty.’
His EX-Rank classification would become undeniable.
Dangerous? Hardly a concern.
Even a tiger cub is still just a cub.
Its bite is nothing more than a tickle.
Choi Kang-mok uttered the incantation.
“Energy Bolt.”
The pre-cast Energy Bolt erupted forth.
Kim Yu-jun’s eyes narrowed.
‘Two trajectories simultaneously?’
I was somewhat taken aback.
Segmentation is a common technique, but it shouldn’t be implementable at this level.
One traced an honest straight line.
The other flowed in an elegant curve.
Two streams of energy converged at a single point.
“Playing tricks, are we?”
Boom!
Space itself trembled.
In that instant, tension flooded across Kim Yu-jun’s face.
‘…This is.’
Not mere desperation.
My instincts were screaming.
There was something more.
Crack!
A fracturing sound echoed from somewhere.
‘What?’
Light began seeping into the darkness-shrouded microcosm.
‘What is this?’
A sensation I’d never experienced before.
My breathing quickened and my vision wavered.
‘Surely not.’
My mind froze solid.
My microcosm was shattering.
‘This cannot be happening.’
A small world constructed from the caster’s will and spirit.
If that world trembles, the caster’s very foundation—the caster themselves—trembles as well.
‘Focus. I can stabilize this.’
I pulled my consciousness upward to grasp the crumbling world.
Yet the light poured down ever more fiercely.
‘Damn it!’
There was only one cause.
The Energy Bolt.
That trivial spell had ruptured my microcosm.
“So you really are EX-rank.”
Now I was certain.
This was definitely an EX-rank awakened one.
‘I have to kill them now!’
I momentarily forgot about my objective of inheriting EX-rank power.
Pure instinct—murderous intent surged through me.

* * *
Choi Kang-mok sensed the principles of the small world vaguely.
Any impact in this space would rebound to the caster.
Therefore, this was my opportunity.
‘They’ll be careless. They’ll be observing my magic to confirm whether I’m EX-rank.’
Exactly as I predicted.
In that moment of carelessness, the opening appeared.
And amid extreme concentration, a fragment of understanding emerged.
“Ah, so that’s how it works!”
Here I could verify non-contact destruction.
‘The answer was pressure!’
The mana pressure that magic itself radiates.
As my level increased, magic damage surged dramatically,
and the pressure intensified proportionally.
‘High-tier magic deals damage through mana pressure alone!’
Energy Bolt was warping the structure of the small world through pure pressure.
‘If that’s the case, the caster will take damage too.’
In this extreme situation,
my concentration heightened further.
‘Magic segmentation.’
Mana split into four streams from my fingertips.
Small spheres floated and vibrated.
[Skill, Energy Bolt (S) activated.]
With the double multiplier talisman’s effect, a total of eight Energy Bolts were fired.
‘This strains even me. But this is how we proceed now.’
Control was difficult.
But now, quantity mattered more than quality.
‘They’re an assassin. They’ll take the optimal route. I’ll accept some damage in exchange.’
Assassins are a class that inflicts fatal wounds on enemies.
A class that pursues extreme efficiency.
They tend to ignore minor damage during their assault.
And with an EX-rank right before their eyes,
their mind would be racing with urgency.
If luck were on my side, I might land one shot.
But Kim Yu-jun was equally seasoned.
‘I need to evade.’
I’d already confirmed his bizarre ability.
Even low-tier magic demanded absolute vigilance.
He moved like a beast, dodging every sphere.
‘Now to close the distance.’
“Gack!”
A sharp pain erupted from behind.
‘…What?’
Confusion arrived before the pain could register fully.
Magic had struck from behind.
‘Magic? When?’
An advanced technique employed by seasoned battle mages.
Deploy magic in the enemy’s rear beforehand, then trigger it at the precise moment—a sophisticated combat method.
But the opponent was low-level.
There was no way he could execute such advanced battle magic.
And then I understood.
“What the—?”
It was unbelievable.
“Magic fragments?”
The energy bolts had collided and fragmented.
And those fragments had engulfed me.
“Did he deliberately split them for this?”
Kim Yu-jun’s entire body was riddled with holes.
Below the waist was unrecognizable.
[The laws of the pocket dimension, Kim Yu-jun’s Torture Chamber, apply.]
[No evidence remains from destructive acts.]
This made no sense.
Magic fragments were mere magical residue.
Normally they’d scatter on the wind without a second thought.
Someone had weaponized them, and I’d been struck down by them.
Worse—the fragments were homing.
“This is absurd.”
Those were Kim Yu-jun’s final words.
The pocket dimension shattered completely.
[The pocket dimension has been destroyed.]
[The laws of the pocket dimension no longer apply.]
All that remained was a head drenched in blood.
Choi Kang-mok stared down at it in silence.
Surprisingly, I felt nothing about my first kill.
If I hadn’t killed them, I would have died instead.
[You have obtained the Title ‘Murderer’.]
Murderer was a notorious title.
A title obtained upon killing an Awakened One.
‘Hmm?’
But this wasn’t the end of it.

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