The Return of the EX-Class Wizard - Chapter 16

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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 016
“So the Busan Guild Master didn’t trust the assassin Kim Yu-jun.”
“Pardon?”
“Ah, you might not have heard. Kim Yu-jun tried to kill me.”
The words were delivered calmly, yet their weight was substantial.
The expressions of the Seoul Guild representatives hardened subtly.
The Busan Guild Master’s objective was to obtain Choi Kang-mok, not to kill him.
To kill an EX-rank Awakener who had just cleared an EX dungeon for the sake of inheriting a job rank?
That offered little merit as a lord.
“The Busan Guild Master would never have agreed to such methods. Inheriting an EX awakening that way would be a significant political liability. That’s why they sent the vice-lord separately. Using the assassin as bait up front while they themselves followed in secret.”
Lee Byung-gyu’s eyes narrowed.
Thanks to Choi Kang-mok’s words, the internal fractures within the Busan Guild became glaringly apparent.
Choi Kang-mok shrugged and spoke.
“I thought there would be more time, but it seems I judged the situation too leisurely.”
Not realizing that Korea’s strongest guild could be in such disarray was an oversight, if anything.
Lee Byung-gyu and Han Sang-hyun turned to look at Choi Kang-mok simultaneously.
‘Not a shred of hesitation.’
‘Right after being attacked by an assassin… can someone really be this composed?’
From the perspective of those who had rushed here at full speed upon receiving a distress call,
this scene felt utterly surreal.
Looking at the situation alone, didn’t it seem as though Choi Kang-mok had actually ensnared Park Sung-hyun in a trap?
“In other words, this man is truly aligned with the Busan Guild Master. His value as a hostage would be quite high.”
He was also a high-ranking executive who could reveal the internal factions of the Busan Guild.
“With just this one person, we should be able to prevent the Busan side from pulling any underhanded tricks.”
Meanwhile, Lee Byung-gyu and Han Sang-hyun felt somewhat deflated.
‘This is almost like…’
‘…lordly?’
The touching scenario of arriving heroically and declaring “Are you alright? The Seoul Guild has come to rescue you!” had already fallen through.
The rescue target was far too composed and was essentially controlling the situation.
“By interrogating this man, we can determine how much of my information has been leaked to the Busan Guild. We’ll also be able to grasp the Busan Guild’s internal secrets more accurately. Take him and extract everything, won’t you?”
“Yes. We will conduct a thorough interrogation and do our utmost to ensure no further concerns arise. Director Han Sang-hyun, evidence collection should be possible, correct?”
“We will do our utmost…”
Choi Kang-mok shrugged.
It seemed they couldn’t sense this “colorless, odorless poison.”
While it could be lethal to low-level awakeners, it appeared to cause no adverse effects on them.
The more he thought about it, the more infuriating it became.
‘They calculated the dosage so precisely that high-level awakeners wouldn’t detect it, yet it would still affect low-level awakeners. How cunning and malicious.’
Truly insidious and malevolent.
He reconsidered.
The Busan Guild was a lost cause.
Choi Kang-mok furrowed his brow deeply and spoke rapidly.
“The evidence remains here.”
“Here?”
“They attempted to poison me. It’s a colorless, odorless toxin. Traces should still be present, so it can be used as evidence of attempted kidnapping.”
“Then we’ll need to collect samples.”
“As it happens, my younger sibling is an Explorer. Still a prospect, but finding traces within traces is quite manageable.”
“Then I’ll have to ask for your help.”
Han Sang-hyun, who had by now returned to human form, let out a soft cough.
“Choi Kang-mok, are you perhaps a Returner?”
“Pardon?”
“No, it’s just… you’re remarkably composed.”
It had been quite a shocking day for Han Sang-hyun in many ways.

* * *
Daegu.
A conference room shrouded in thick darkness.
Lee Kang-nam, a Daegu Guild ranker, threw a punch at someone.
“What the hell do you take me for?”
“Ugh, hack!”
The target was Park Sung-hee, one of the Busan Guild’s vice-masters.
Twin siblings with Park Sung-hyun.
Park Sung-hee attempted to evade with nimble footwork, but she was no match for Lee Kang-nam’s assault.
‘W-what kind of tank is this fast!’
Lee Kang-nam seized Park Sung-hee by the nape of her neck and hurled her to the ground.
Just as Park Sung-hee twisted her body like a cat to land safely—
“It’s strange how everyone assumes I’m slow.”
Thud.
A fist drove down onto the crown of Park Sung-hee’s head.
She lost consciousness in a single blow.
“Slow tanks are already extinct. Damn it.”
Park Sung-hee was knocked out instantly.
Lee Kang-nam lit a cigarette and settled onto the sofa.
“Ah, right. No smoking indoors.”
Laws must be obeyed.
He tucked the cigarette away.
Lee Kang-nam exhaled a long sigh.
“Tch. These worthless bastards. What? Kidnap an EX-rank Awakener? They’re spouting nonsense about kidnapping.”
They claimed to share information generously. Said they were almost ready.
They promised to hand over the EX-rank Awakener later if he helped them.
After securing a few more EX-rank levels, that is.
From a practical standpoint, it was a proposal without drawbacks—but for Lee Kang-nam, it was the worst possible scenario.
“That’s a garbage idea.”
Weren’t they colleagues, regardless of being from different regions?
Lee Kang-nam had never even considered such a sordid approach.
“Kim Nam-chul didn’t dislike the Busan Guild Master for nothing.”
For reference, Kim Nam-chul was the name of the Daegu Guild Master.
On the surface, he maintained a very cordial relationship with the Busan Guild, but in reality, he was quite wary of them.
In fact, he maintained a far better relationship with the Seoul Guild, despite their last-place standing.
Lee Kang-nam immediately contacted the Seoul Guild Master.
-Take this garbage bastard. What? I don’t know, he’s still breathing. He’d die if left like this anyway. Don’t thank me. I don’t want to help you. I just hate the stench of garbage in my room.
“Looks like I’m getting tangled up with those Busan Guild bastards.”
Getting help from the Seoul Guild was also difficult.
I had no choice but to move alone.
“I need to hire an Explorer.”
When it came to tracking and uncovering things, Explorers were the best.
The Daegu Guild Master also couldn’t spare Scouts or Explorers in any significant capacity.
I decided to search in Seoul.
As if it had nothing to do with the Daegu Guild Master, as if the somewhat ‘moody and impulsive Lee Kang-nam’ was leading the charge.
Which was actually true—I was the one leading it.
“I can’t use the already famous ones.”
All the famous Explorers within Seoul belonged to the Seoul Guild.
Persuading and using them wouldn’t be fair.
“The promising prospects might actually be viable.”
I needed those who hadn’t yet joined a Guild.
So I posted an advertisement.
[Seeking Explorers to find EX-rank Awakener together. Will provide Unique-grade Explorer set items.]

* * *
Kang Hye saw the announcement too.
‘Huh?’
Her seniors were already buzzing with excitement.
“Unique-rank?”
“Wow. Isn’t this the Night Wanderer set they lend to promising prospects at the Daegu Guild?”
“No way. They’re giving it away, not lending it?”
The Daegu Guild had the most well-developed system for nurturing promising talents.
Though they had the dubious distinction of training prospects only to lose them all to Incheon and Busan.
“Will they really give it away?”
“They’re from the Daegu Guild. Their promise fulfillment rate is 100%.”
“Should we apply?”
Kang Hye’s expression darkened.
‘I can’t do this!’
Kill an EX-rank Awakener, and you inherit their power.
The moment my identity is exposed, I’ll face assassination threats every single day.
‘It would be better if I handled it myself.’
There’s an old saying about how the darkest place is beneath the lamp.
The actual odds of signing a contract were slim, but perhaps it would be better to infiltrate enemy territory and obscure the information instead.

* * *
Lee Byung-gyu handed over the EX Coins.
Since they happened to meet face-to-face, he gave them directly.
“These are all the EX Coins accumulated through automatic collection. As I mentioned beforehand, the maximum is one per day, and there are times when even that doesn’t accumulate.”
“But I haven’t signed a contract yet?”
“It’s a gift. I can’t say there’s no intention behind it.”
Yet there was no calculation in his eyes.
Only sincerity.
Only earnestness.
“I will do my utmost to support you.”
He turned to leave.
Sincerity, after all, must be shown through action rather than words.
He was in a position to be chosen, not to make proposals.
Choi Kang-mok suddenly grew curious.
“Why go to such lengths?”
He’d heard it from his brother, but wanted to hear it directly.
In truth, if it were for the development of the entire nation, it shouldn’t matter which guild Choi Kang-mok belonged to.
“I cannot trust the other guild lords.”
If anyone, perhaps Kim Nam-chul, the Daegu Guild Master.
But even that wasn’t complete trust.
There’s no such thing as a hundred percent certainty for humans.
“It can’t be easy to remain unmoved when an EX-rank succession looms ahead.”
There’s no telling what someone might do to inherit an EX-rank Awakening.
As long as they’re human, desire is inevitable.
“Doesn’t that apply to you as well, Guild Master?”
“Precisely. I don’t trust myself either.”
That’s why I made a covenant with Han Sang-hyun.
A covenant stating that if I ever attempted to scheme my way into an EX-rank Awakening succession, he would shatter my spine without mercy.
That’s how I bound even myself.
“I want you to soar higher and farther.”
Those weren’t the words of Seoul’s Lord Lee Byung-gyu.
They were the words of an Awakener of South Korea.
‘Even Busan, Korea’s strongest, has only reached the thirty-ninth floor.’
Compared to the world as a whole, we’re far behind.
Does it matter since we’re physically blocked off completely?
He didn’t see it that way.
Lee Byung-gyu was a first-generation Awakener who clearly remembered the announcement from fourteen years ago.
[World Announcement!]
[Open Beta Service Concluded. Official Service Begins.]
[Part 1: National League]
The national league was Part 1.
Then what was Part 2? Part 3? And beyond?
For the future that would eventually arrive, I had to protect and nurture the EX-rank Awakener.
I believed that was what I, Lee Byung-gyu—not merely Seoul’s Lord, but one of Korea’s Lords—had to do.

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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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