The Return of the EX-Class Wizard - Chapter 151

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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 151
The mad scientist Aimonshuter.
His appearance from beginning to now had been nothing but deception.
He deceived the rewards of Story Gates. He twisted the orthodox methods of climbing the Tower.
‘He calls himself a scientist, but….’
Not a shred of scientific form remained in that entire body of his.
It would be more accurate to call him a collection of supernatural abilities.
From his first appearance, sentences mimicking System Messages came flying.
[Caught, huh?]
In other words, he had been caught deceiving something.
The core keyword remained consistent throughout.
Afterward, the System itself had told me.
[This is the realm of science.]
[Magic usage is impossible.]
But there was one strange thing.
Whenever someone enters an artificially created Pocket Dimension, the System always announces it in the same way.
[Entering Pocket Dimension, ‘Kim Yu-jun’s Torture Chamber’.]
[Entering Pocket Dimension, ‘Silver World’.]
[Entering Pocket Dimension, ‘World Beneath the Tomb’.]
Even Mayo herself.
[Welcome to Pocket Dimension, ‘Mayo’.]
A Pocket Dimension is a ‘small world with artificially implemented laws’ recognized by the System.
But here?
‘There was no Pocket Dimension notification.’
Perhaps,
[This is the realm of science.]
[Magic usage is impossible.]
…even this notification itself was fabricated.
From start to finish, there was nothing but deception.
And the most vicious deception of all.
───────
There was no way to face that lunatic through ordinary means…
───────
Or so it went.
───────
To a madman, only another madman is the answer.
───────
He had deceived me into thinking I myself was mad.
As if there weren’t enough madmen in this world already.
‘So is this really Floor 60?’
Where does truth end and falsehood begin?
Where does deception start and reality cease?
‘Floor 60 is correct.’
This was a mage’s intuition.
The Pocket Dimension’s structure was intricate and concealed.
Only around Floor 60 would such complexity emerge.
Choi Kang-mok reached his conclusion.
“This isn’t a scientific Pocket Dimension.”
Truth and falsehood woven so cunningly that they masquerade as reality.
That is the true nature of this Pocket Dimension—the one the Floor 60 boss had manifested.
Things invisible before now began to reveal themselves.
Like the sensation of holding a map in one’s hands.
The structure of the Pocket Dimension gradually became visible.
[You have entered the Pocket Dimension, ‘Fabricated Truth.’]
Only then did I see it.
‘The boundaries of my body are wavering?’
Poland’s national hero. Similar to Kowalski.
Though stabilized now, Kowalski was subtly different from an ordinary human.
A persona that seemed to embody ‘the ideal heroic image the people desired.’
Perhaps it was a concept akin to a Pocket Dimension entity.
‘I too was becoming that way.’
Was this the ‘corruption’ Mayo had spoken of?
Choi Kang-mok understood with certainty.
“A mage who cannot cast magic. That was the image it sought to project onto me.”
A rather sinister method.
The abyss I had endured for fifteen years.
It sought to materialize and apply it against me.
Relentlessly probing my weaknesses and anxieties.
–
“Enough of your rambling, you mad mage!”
Aimonshuter’s claw arm came hurtling forward.
Countless instruments erupted from the gaps between the pincers.
Scalpels, cutters, and bone saws spun as they flew toward me.
Blades gleaming under the light traced arcs through the air.
With a chilling scraping sound, they drove forward in straight lines as if to tear through flesh.
Choi Kang-mok did not dodge.
‘Mayo, I trust you.’
Friend-or-foe identification could not filter out the claw arm.
But the shield held firm.
Metal instruments collided with magical force, sending sharp metallic sounds scattering through the air.
A sound like glass being scraped filled the space.
[Shield(10) : 88]
[Shield(10) : 87]
-This Mayo is
us,
the
mage,
in
combat,
a Mythic-grade artifact that provides comprehensive support.
-This mythic support will refuse any unauthorized surgery.
Right now, evasion is not the priority.
Now is the time to focus on this enlightenment.
[Shield(10) : 84]
….
[Shield(10) : 78]
-Disassemble! Disassemble! Disassemble!
-Assemble! Assemble! Assemble!
–
The perfection of a complete human!!
Whirrrrring!
The saw blade spun violently.
Sparks erupted from the blade’s edge where it struck the shield, scattering away.
Choi Kang-mok closed his eyes entirely.
‘I know the stabilization method well.’
A mage learns through theory and develops through experience.
I stabilized Kowalski. I did the same with Mayo.
Now it was my turn.
[Shield(10) : 73]
….
[Shield(10) : 68]
‘I am unstable right now.’
That’s why using magic is difficult.
Stabilization will fix it.
‘Fortunately, I have enough stabilization fragments.’
The method is simple. Just consume them.
I swallowed a stabilization fragment.
Then I concentrated my mind and moved my mana.
The mana that wouldn’t budge began to move little by little.
‘This feels right.’
Normally, it had been a constant headache to deal with.
The driving force alone exerted formidable physical power.
But this time, that very trait became my advantage.
Driving force mobilizing physical power—its presence was unmistakable.
“Energy Bolt.”
A basic spell that required no incantation, yet I cast it deliberately.
To sharpen my concentration.
An energy sphere materialized in my palm, trembling on the edge of formation.
Crack!
The metal casing warped and detonated.
Boom!
The driving mechanism shattered, and exposed wiring ignited in flames.
The pincer arm flew away, and its joints ruptured in succession.
Cold fragments scattered in all directions.
-Compared to the user’s magical shards, metal fragments are trivial.
-I, Mayo, will filter them all out through friend-or-foe identification.
One basic spell obliterated Aimonshuter’s entire body.
Only the head remained—Aimonshuter’s grotesque visage, wearing Raoul’s form, drifted suspended in the air.
And yet.
‘It’s smiling?’
Aimonshuter was laughing.
I didn’t lower my guard.
‘This is…’
Phase two.
Perhaps what Aimonshuter had been aiming for all along.

* * *
Aimonshuter chuckled with a peculiar, high-pitched laugh.
–
Magic has been cast in a forbidden space where magic cannot be used!
-Aah! This is an ignorant act that defies the laws of science!
From the floating face, something began to grow downward from beneath the chin.
Flesh and metal fused together, extending like a stem.
The face remained intact. Below the neck, an elongated staff materialized.
–
Then as a scientist, I have no choice either.
-To face a madman, one must become a madman.
–
I too… am magic!!
Choi Kang-mok observed the transforming Aimonshuter.
‘Is he seriously calling that a staff?’
Had Excalion possessed consciousness, it would have hurled bitter curses.
Regardless of its function, its appearance was utterly pathetic.
There was no way that could be called a staff.
Even the most deranged mage would never use such a thing as a staff.
Then, a notification echoed.
[Tower (Seoul) Floor 60 Management has successfully found a suitable contractor.]
[Tower (Seoul) Floor 60 Management and Kang Pal-do enter into an exclusive broadcast contract.]
At that moment.
Aimonshuter’s mouth gaped wide open, shooting forth light.
Like a spotlight.
A summoning magic circle materialized on the ground, and someone appeared.
“Aaaah! Nobody said I’d be summoned here! Dammit, get me out, get me out!”
It was Kang Pal-do. Half-spectral form.
He had entered observer mode.
Aimonshuter chuckled with that peculiar laugh again.
–
The world must know how worthless, irrational, and irreproducible magic truly is—a mere illusion.
“No, dammit, I can use drones! I didn’t need to come in!”
-I shall prove it here and now,
in the name of the
Magitech Scientist.
“What the hell is a Magitech Scientist, you nerd!”
While facing Choi Kang-mok and Raymond, Kang Pal-do grew bold.
Floor 60 boss or not, he had things to say.
‘Damn, I’m screwed if I stay here.’
Kang Pal-do’s eyes were fixed solely on Choi Kang-mok’s hands.
An EX-Rank Awakener. A monstrous mage.
That one pierces through ‘Observer Mode’ itself.
‘Damn it. If I’d known it would come to this, I wouldn’t have accepted the invitation!’
I thought I could broadcast remotely, but he actually entered the Tower itself.
No matter how I think about it, this is a fraudulent contract. That bastard conned me.
The space is far too cramped. If an EX-Rank Awakener starts spamming magic….
‘I’m going to die.’
As someone specialized in luck, I know it well.
There’s nowhere here to dodge.
I’m definitely dead.
Yet my fingers moved of their own accord.
[※Live Exclusive Broadcast※ EX-Rank Awakener vs Insane Scientist! / Tower Floor 60 LIVE]
The world’s first Floor 60 boss battle.
It began broadcasting to the entire world through Kang Pal-do’s eyes.

* * *
Choi Kang-mok gazed at Aimonshuter, who had transformed into the shape of a staff, with composed eyes.
‘Summoning the Mine was unexpected, though….’
But there are no actual attacks. The battle has reached a temporary lull.
It seems there’s some ulterior motive at play.
‘He’s tracking my movements with keen sensitivity.’
Since a portion of Mayo’s consciousness has been inserted, he knows my combat prowess well.
He’s being excessively cautious.
‘In the end, there’s no choice but to clash directly.’
The restraining magic energy bolts have relatively low destructive power, but the risk is correspondingly minimal.
They’re appropriate for gauging the situation.
[Skill, Energy Bolt….]
Crackle!
The energy bolt vanished.
‘Oh!’
Now I understand it clearly.
“You reverse-engineered my magic and canceled the magical manifestation itself?”
Before, it was the domain of the Pocket Dimension.
Now, it’s purely the domain of magic.
To use a mathematical analogy, he’s deleting the solution process in real-time, preventing the answer from being derived.
That staff is rather tempting!
–
I shall show you the futility of your magic.
-Incomplete formulas, unproven theorems, no output results!
—Keep trying. I’ll erase your answer every single time.
Choi Kang-mok smirked.
“Ah. So that’s what you want?”
This was a mage’s
combat
intuition.
That magnificent
magic staff
was actually driving Choi Kang-mok to cast more magic, more complex spells.
‘Which makes it easier to disrupt.’
That’s how the staff’s mechanism worked.
The harder the problem, the longer and more intricate the solution becomes.
Touch or delete even a portion of it, and no answer emerges.
In a situation where even energy bolts were being erased, high-tier magic was effectively sealed.
Then… why?
‘To buy time.’
For what purpose?
‘It has no means to attack me.’
Magically refined, yes, but its offensive power had weakened compared to Phase One.
No—it seemed the means themselves had vanished.
‘Instead, it showed me.’
By forcibly summoning Kang Pal-do.
As a mage
in combat,
I deciphered its strategy.
‘People who could become my weakness.’
Like an older brother or younger sibling, for instance.
It’s drawing them in.
‘With something like a forced summons.’
Whether as hostages or fused with Phase One’s grotesque form to serve as combat components.
Its true intention is to exploit them.
‘Kang Pal-do was practice.’
Then the staff let out a smirk.
Light shot from the staff’s mouth.
A spotlight once more.
Where the light touched, another summoning circle materialized.
—
The divine move! Here it comes!!
Kang Pal-do, now absorbed in the moment, focused intently as the summoning circle zoomed in.
…Yet nothing happened.
“What the hell is this nonsense?”
But the truly astonishing thing came next.

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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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