The Return of the EX-Class Wizard - Chapter 113

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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 113
Choi Kang-mok asked to confirm.
“Blue Signal. Is that correct?”
“■■■■, it seems I cannot answer that after all.”
Owen’s lips fell. In that instant, his face was replaced by an expressionless avatar. His expression vanished, his eyes went blank.
The system’s will to block even non-verbal information. Further explanation was impossible.
That itself became the answer.
‘It’s Blue Signal, then.’
Blue Signal was said to be an item that altered and distorted flows.
It was said to be useful when clearing the 40s Floors from higher dimensions.
‘Entering Part 2, then.’
If another EX+ clear were possible, it wouldn’t be bad to purchase the Seal of Justice in advance.
“By the way, Mage Owen.”
“Yes, Water Master—I mean, Research Institute Director.”
The word “Water Master” had slipped out, but Choi Kang-mok let it pass without acknowledgment.
The Professor had taught me well. Affinity with NPCs was important.
“Have you heard the news that the reward system of Naples Tower was destroyed?”
“I have indeed.”
Owen was unusually well-informed about Earth people’s affairs.
There were rumors he traveled frequently or did it for research, but the real reason was different.
“The truth is, discovering things the Research Institute Director would enjoy is my hobby.”
His goal was singular: contract renewal.
Preferably permanent employment. A long-term contract.
With that singular desire, he was grasping the Director’s preferences faster than any AI.
“Why did it end up that way?”
“It’s suspected to be a magical disaster from the Energy Bolt family.”
An Energy Bolt that destroyed part of the Tower?
One person immediately came to mind.
‘Me?’
Choi Kang-mok quickly continued as if making an excuse.
“Actually, I was here at that time. I was in a mock battle with Professor Raymond.”
A perfect alibi.
After hearing the full explanation, Owen stroked his chin and nodded.
“Indeed, that’s how it happened.”
Owen was an intermediate-rank mage and did not understand or know all the magic of professor-rank mages.
However, he could grasp the general outline.
“To evade the guided missile—or rather, the sniper shot—you sacrificed Naples Tower as a decoy. To evade perfectly, you would have needed dimensional transfer, but that has many restrictions.”
“Why Naples specifically?”
“It would have been appropriate as a scapegoat. A place bearing obvious hostility. And the target upon which the ‘curse’ directed at the Research Institute Director was activated.”
Obvious hostility toward Choi Kang-mok.
It meant that Professor Raymond had interpreted the Naples Tower that way.
“Pardon? The Naples Guild has been favorable toward me….”
“Particularly for survival magic meant to preserve life, a life-attuned vessel is most effective.”
The heart of intermediate mage Owen quickened.
At this rate, wasn’t I earning my keep?
“I hear that [Final Curse] recently descended upon Seoul Tower Floor 40?”
“Yes. Well, it wasn’t anything significant.”
“That’s only because the Research Institute director is Earth’s finest curse-breaking specialist, so it felt trivial to him.”
“Is that so?”
Choi Kang-mok felt genuinely pleased inside.
Being acknowledged as a ‘mage’ by a true mage felt slightly better than when I’d obtained my Bronze badge.
“In any case, that curse likely cost someone their life to cast. It’s perfect for setting as a vessel. You probably acquired that curse from Naples Tower.”
“Then….”
Choi Kang-mok’s expression darkened slightly.
He was unconsciously denying it,
“Did I destroy Naples Tower?”
“You didn’t destroy it. You merely touched the rewards a little. Completely different. Haha!”
A tower is essentially everything in the Tower civilization era.
It was the workplace of countless awakeners and the foundation upon which countless breadwinners built their lives.
The rewards of a tower disappearing?
It essentially meant the entire region would be paralyzed.
And Owen was a mage with rather excellent social skills.
“And we must be precise about this. It was Professor Raymond who destroyed Naples Tower!”
In any case, the villain was Raymond.
He added various magical explanations, actively asserting that ‘this is absolutely Raymond’s fault.’
Choi Kang-mok’s expression became considerably more at ease.
‘But would the Naples Lord have known all these facts?’
Vicario was certainly an enemy.
Then what about Spaloti?
I needed to make a clear judgment.

* * *
After concluding his investigation into the Naples Tower’s malfunction, Spaloti bit his lip.
I’d suspected as much.
It appeared to be damage from Energy Bolt-class magic.
There was only one person in the world capable of wielding such an absurd Energy Bolt.
‘An EX-rank Awakener!’
Real Madrid had even kindly revealed all their schemes.
Was it necessary to stab him in the back like this?
‘Smiling on the surface while hiding a knife—no, a missile—behind their back?’
Anti-EX sentiment was already boiling across all of Italy.
It would be difficult to reverse that tide now.
‘And I was trying to do things differently.’
Was it even possible to shake hands with an EX-rank Awakener after being humiliated like this?
Just then, a message arrived from the Seoul Guild.
[If you need resources, we will assist.]
It was a polite message.
Yet Spaloti let out a derisive snort.
‘The final insult is their offer of support.’
Orbs were the critical resource for tower reconstruction.
That the world’s largest orb exporter, South Korea, was extending a hand—on the surface it was a cooperation proposal, but he read it as mockery.
The Seoul Guild and the EX-rank Awakener were one body.
If the EX-rank Awakener was the head, Seoul was the hands and feet.
‘Obvious mockery.’
He could not accept orb support from those wicked people.
He shot up from his seat and headed for Seoul.
The moment he met Lee Byung-gyu, he poured out his words.
“How much have you been looking down on and mocking us internally!”
“Pardon?”
“I don’t understand why you needed to humiliate us this far. Isn’t this too much?”
Just then, the door to the lord’s chamber opened and Choi Kang-mok walked in.
“You’re the one being too much.”
“….”
At the appearance of the great figure, Spaloti fell silent.
Rage surged to the top of his head, but his opponent was an EX-rank Awakener.
A monster who could even destroy the Tower’s system itself.
If he wagged his tongue carelessly, it might not be the Tower that was destroyed, but his own head.
Choi Kang-mok faced Spaloti directly.
“Vicario. The Final Curse. Did you think I wouldn’t know?”
“….”
All color drained from Spaloti’s face.
‘An EX-Awakened One. So he knew all along.’
He had known.
He had simply pretended not to.
Perhaps from the moment he deployed that curse across Korean Territory, he had been orchestrating this very board.
‘No. I’m certain of it. He deliberately engineered this moment. To bring me to this place.’
Of course, that wasn’t true.
Choi Kang-mok had only learned of it thanks to Agnesha and Owen.
Yet Spaloti’s fear only deepened.
All the more so because he was a lord accustomed to orchestrating the board and commanding the pieces.
One sees only what one understands.
‘This man is no mere monster.’
He was not simply a madman of brute strength.
He reads the moves.
He perceives the political landscape and manipulates his opponents into motion.
‘He dragged me to this very place and ultimately forced my apology.’
A lord’s stratagem.
As a lord, he had become afraid of this author.
Moments later, having processed everything, Spaloti quietly knelt.
“…I sincerely apologize.”
With those words, he pressed his forehead to the ground.
His voice was quiet, but his words tumbled forth with urgency.
It was precisely the rhythm of one begging forgiveness.
And he poured out his apologies like a waterfall.
“I was not entirely ignorant of Vicario’s plans. However, he is Italy’s national hero and the true power behind Naples. It was practically impossible for me to influence such a man’s decisions. I was vaguely aware that Vicario was scheming something, but I was not privy to the specifics, and even had I known, I would have had no means to intervene. The ‘Final Curse’ itself was entirely a decision made by Vicario’s personal judgment and will. I only learned of that fact after the fact, so I had no involvement whatsoever. I genuinely regret this deeply, and I earnestly beseech you to take this into consideration. I humbly pray that you will show mercy just this once.”
Did I survive?
With his forehead still pressed to the ground, he darted his eyes sideways to gauge the mood.
‘The path is already set!’
He knew he could never be an equal partner like London was.
It was already too late.
At the very least, he had to position himself beneath his feet.
“There is a Korean saying that even a servant serving a great lord is better than a servant serving a lesser one.”
Thud!
Once more, he struck his forehead against the floor.
“If you will forgive me just this once, I will devote myself entirely to your service.”

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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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