The Return of the EX-Class Wizard - Chapter 161

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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 161
My body was swept by the wind.
It wasn’t a massive amount of damage, but it was enough to shake my center of balance slightly.
My science staff hadn’t reached Raymond.
Raymond asked with eyes full of anticipation.
“Do you know what that was?”
“Time magic, perhaps?”
“….”
Raymond was momentarily at a loss for words.
That wasn’t what he’d intended to discuss.
He hadn’t used time magic at all.
“Did it perhaps feel as though time had slowed down?”
“Yes. It certainly did.”
“Heh heh. I didn’t use time magic at all.”
“…What?”
“It seems my disciple used it of their own accord.”
“But I don’t know how to use time magic at all?”
“Hmm, if that’s the case, then it’s not time magic, but rather….”
The ultimate state of concentration for a combat mage.
Not time magic, but a sense that manifests in combat situations.
“Rather than I interfering with my disciple through time magic, it’s closer to my disciple unconsciously expanding the concept of time. It might be temporal perception—something that only an extreme minority among combat mages with exceptional talent are born possessing.”
disciple
rather than interfering with
disciple
“It’s close to unconsciously expanding the concept of time. It might be temporal clairvoyance—something only an extremely small number of battle mages with exceptional talents are born with.”
A new concept had emerged.
Temporal perception.
It was neither magic, nor science, nor technique.
An instinct possessed by only an extreme few among ‘combat’ class awakeners.
An ability that extends subjective time during combat, pushing reaction speed and magical efficiency to extreme levels.
“I think it’s because I changed my class to combat mage.”
“Absolutely not.”
It wasn’t an ability that manifested through class change alone.
Temporal perception only manifested when one was born as a combat genius.
The combat mage’s ‘maximization of physical and magical power upon entering combat’ was merely a catalyst to help nurture this innate talent.
“I knew your combat aptitude was exceptional, but… I never expected it to be this remarkable.”
“….”
I wasn’t entirely pleased.
It felt as though I was growing specialized only in combat.
‘No.’
The growth of combat ability is, in the grand scheme of things, merely one facet of magical development.
How long has it been since I reawakened?
There is no need to prematurely declare my limits.
-Still,
we
are growing according to plan.
-Now then, shall we continue receiving
Raymond’s magical instruction
?
Slurp.
Choi Kang-mok asked again.
“Apart from time magic, what was it you originally intended to teach me?”
“Ah, that’s right. I was so astonished by my student’s temporal vision that I forgot the main point. Ahem, you must have observed my Dispel magic precisely, yes?”
Thanks to the slowed time, I had indeed seen it more accurately.
Choi Kang-mok nodded.
“Yes. You used wind magic to destabilize my center of gravity while creating distance.”
Because of that, my physical magic never reached him.
Naturally, Raymond suffered no damage whatsoever.
– Some fools would say that’s merely evasion, wouldn’t they?
– No. While it may be classified as evasion from a combat perspective, from a magical standpoint it is unmistakably Dispel.
–
Our
magic was ‘cancelled’!
Our understanding aligned perfectly.
Raymond, Choi Kang-mok, and Mayo were truly of one mind.
Raymond continued with evident delight.
“Did you not notice something peculiar about that wind magic?”
“Ah! I think I understand.”
“What is it?”
Choi Kang-mok’s eyes widened.
Upon reflection, it was no mere wind magic.
“…The wind magic contained within my high-ranking spirit! You extracted it just now and demonstrated it for me!”
I had been continuously attempting to extract attributes from my high-ranking spirit.
But with so much to accomplish, I had not pursued serious research into it.
My teacher had shown me through action what I could not achieve alone.
“Do you grasp the concept?”
“…Yes!”
A single practical demonstration often teaches more than a hundred explanations.
Seeing it firsthand, it seemed I might actually be able to replicate it.
Raymond smiled with satisfaction.
“I’ve never taught a mage quite like this. All those self-proclaimed geniuses I’ve seen so far should reflect on themselves.”
Temporal perception, computational circuits, combat awareness.
The three elements meshed perfectly, and my magic grew rapidly.
“I think I can manage imitation.”
“Imitation is the mother of creation, after all.”
Raymond added one final word of praise.
“Targeting the back of my hand was a brilliant attempt. I was quite impressed.”
To think you’d aim for the fundamental structure at the back of the hand.
All my magic nearly unraveled in a single stroke.
“When entering combat, the eye to interpret magical structure requires at least an advanced-rank mage or higher.”
“Thank you.”
“Then, shall we continue?”
The battle was far from over.
Dozens of remaining energy spheres instantly surrounded me from behind.
I merely glanced back with my eyes.
My heart raced.
‘Targeting the back of the hand will be difficult now.’
By then, layers of defensive magic had been erected.
I could shatter them if I wanted, but this wasn’t actual combat—it was practice.
This was ‘Dispel’ training time.
Not breakthrough, but dissolution. Training over efficiency.
‘Let me try.’
I extracted only the wind attribute from the High Spirit.
It felt possible.
[Skill, High Spirit (SSS+) is being used.]
Instinctively, I recalled the first time I used ‘High Spirit’.
The dazzling magical display.
Even then, subjective time had flowed slowly.
‘It was similar then too.’
Back then, I thought it was merely a system mechanic.
But it wasn’t.
Time had felt strangely sluggish.
‘It was my temporal perception talent all along.’
From that moment, temporal perception had been gradually awakening.
I had been continuously evolving.
Confidence surged through me.
‘Interpreting magical structure.’
Not others’ magic, but my own.
That was far easier.
The heart-shaped Emily custom computational circuit hanging from my neck glowed crimson.
‘Dispel the flame spirit.’
Dispel doesn’t only erase another’s magic.
Dissolving one’s own magic is also dispel.
‘I see. So that’s what it was.’
Among the high-ranking spirits, I dissolved the flame attribute.
The spirit of flame wielding a crimson greatsword vanished into thin air.
‘I’ll eliminate the water spray as well.’
The churning waves and the tiny spirit clutching shields in both arms—all disappeared.
In turn, magical power converged into a single point.
The wind attribute grew increasingly potent.
‘Sandstorm. Dispel the earth-series attribute too.’
Light and darkness were unnecessary now.
Only one attribute deserved preservation.
I stripped away every other element, concentrating solely on wind.
What remained was the silhouette of a woman holding a harp.
The delicate form swelled and expanded grotesquely.
Her limbs elongated to giant proportions, and her skin reflected light as thin as a wind veil.
Something flowed slowly within her.
As if the very concept of temporal foresight had taken physical form.
Massive yet unsettlingly beautiful, this ‘something’ plucked a harp strung with hundreds of strings.
‘The wind blows.’
It wasn’t a violent gale.
But it was sharp.
Like a blade honed with crystalline intent, a cutting current spread outward.
Dozens of energy bolts that had been surging toward Choi Kang-mok shattered into hundreds of fragments.
Raymond let out a gasp of admiration.
“Exquisite dissolution! Cough!”
He coughed up blood.
After hastily wiping it away with water-attribute magic, he opened his eyes wide.
To witness that dispel magic—extracting attributes from a high-ranking spirit.
“Beautiful, absolutely beautiful!”
I’d only demonstrated dispel once.
Yet I’d displayed an even more beautiful and flawless dispel technique.
The range, the precision, the speed of dissolution—
It was a skill worthy of being called area-of-effect dispel.
Raymond drew his next move.
Hell Fire—a flame-attribute offensive spell with elemental advantage over wind-attribute dispel magic.
“You can cancel this as well, can’t you?”
A crimson magic circle spread forth, and hellfire descended upon it.
Infernal flames that incinerate all things.
The blazing flames spread across the ground like water before suddenly rising with sharpened edges.
“A magical attribute that grows stronger when it touches wind….”
The surging inferno was severed.
It couldn’t withstand the sharpness of the Dispel magic.
“It’s been cut.”
Just like the energy bolt, it’s being dismantled.
Cut again and again, and soon Hell Fire was completely annihilated.
The magic circle itself that summoned Hell Fire was divided into dozens of pieces.
“Cough!”
Raymond spat out black blood this time.
But I couldn’t stop here.
For my disciple’s growth, I would gladly die!
“Inferno Gate!”
The superior version of Hell Fire.
If Hell Fire summons the flames of hell, this calls forth a portion of hell itself.
A massive black magic circle spread across the ground.
Through its cracks, the roar of bizarre beasts and dissonant, incomprehensible sounds erupted.
A high-tier magic that had never been dispelled before.
‘This can’t be happening!’
Yet my disciple’s speed in mastering Dispel magic was faster than my speed in completing Inferno Gate.
It was decomposed even faster than Hell Fire.
“Cut again!”
Before Inferno Gate could even be completed.
The magic circle of Inferno Gate shattered into pieces.
“Cough! Cough!”
Raymond collapsed, clutching his chest.
It was fortunate that I had consumed the luck from the Lucky Mine in advance—otherwise, I would have died.
Choi Kang-mok swung his arm and dispelled the Dispel magic itself.
“Professor, are you alright?”
“Hahahaha!”
Raymond laughed like a madman.
Retrieving magic that’s already been unleashed is a tremendous burden for a mage.
It’s like forcibly stopping a stream of water that’s already flowing out.
That’s why the side effects are severe and the danger is high.
But my disciple’s method was different.
First pour everything out, then erase it—a Dispel of that nature.
I showed him the magic just once, and he became a master of Dispel in an instant.
“I’ll have to take back what I said about him being at least an advanced-rank mage.”
“Pardon?”
Raymond wiped the blood away once more and fell silent for a moment.
And with difficulty, he spoke.
”
My disciple’s
prowess as a battle mage has surpassed my own.”
A bitter smile crossed his face.
He greatly admired his disciple’s genius, yet an inexplicably bittersweet feeling lingered within him.
It was the instinctive jealousy that arose when one hailed as a genius encountered an even greater talent.
Contradictory emotions flooded through him. And yet, he was delighted.
The joy of encountering such brilliant talent—talent that could inspire jealousy—was exquisite.
“It is a level beyond my judgment. Next time, I shall be the student.”
Raymond felt his mind growing distant and hazy.
Pain screamed from every corner of his body.
If he did not recover quickly, his consciousness would collapse entirely.
Yet now, his thirst for knowledge burned far greater than any physical need for healing.
“But just now—did you not employ that high-tier spirit dispel variant magic nearly infinitely?”
“…Ah!”
Choi Kang-mok finally became aware of it.
He had been doing it instinctively, but now that he reflected upon it, it was true.
There was no mana consumption whatsoever. His body bore no strain.
Even as he continuously maintained the transformed high-tier spirit and released mana.
‘How is this possible?’

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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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