The Return of the EX-Class Wizard - Chapter 165

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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 165
A glimmer of intrigue flickered across Tofurian’s eyes.
There it is. He’s wavering.
In combat, hesitation means half the battle is already lost.
He had grasped one crucial fact.
‘This must be a class that suffers severe penalties when its mage identity is denied!’
Exactly.
That’s why he disguised himself so thoroughly as a mage.
Even mimicking spatial release magic.
‘If someone kills that person, they inherit the EX-rank Awakening.’
Logically, revealing one’s true nature makes no sense.
Yet he did exactly that.
“Now the entire picture becomes clear. The more people you deceive, the more your power is maximized, isn’t it?”
A method to overcome an EX-rank Awakener.
I think I’ve found it.
“A deceiver whose foundation lies in deception itself.”
Countless eyes were watching.
Now it was time to shatter the ‘false belief’ that empowered this man.
Conveniently, a fairly famous broadcast-affiliated Awakener—Kang Pal-do—was visible.
He deliberately raised his voice.
“A deceiver grows stronger the more they deceive. But the moment that deception is exposed, that power crumbles like an illusion.”
Hear me, foolish earthlings.
Tofurian spoke again with emphasis.
“You are not a mage.”
Choi Kang-mok’s expression hardened.
I clearly stated I was a mage, and now he’s being stubborn again?
I cast an Energy Bolt.
The casting speed was on an entirely different level than before.
“Then take it head-on and tell me.”
Once you take it, you’ll know.
Whether this is magic or not.
Tofurian grinned wickedly and swung his staff.
A subtle shield materialized around him.
“The fake magic of a deceiver whose deception has been exposed. It won’t even tickle.”
People see what they believe, they say.
In his eyes, my Energy Bolt appeared trivial.
The Energy Bolts came streaming through the air.
‘I’ll crush you completely.’
He dispelled my magic?
Then I’ll dispel as well.
I scanned it multiple times with sensory magic, just to be sure it was an Energy Bolt.
‘It’s definitely an Energy Bolt.’
A simple structure Energy Bolt.
Low difficulty to dispel.
Suddenly, I recalled that the EX-rank Awakener was essentially Raymond’s disciple.
Raymond must be watching this scene from somewhere.
‘Behold, Senior.’
Your disciple crumbling in utter devastation.
You always said magic must carry romance and elegance.
Allow me to demonstrate.
“Shed the veil of falsehood. Let illusions crumble. Tear through the corridors of delusion and bring them down.”
In truth, the incantation was unnecessary.
What mattered was the trigger word.
“Dispel.”
Choi Kang-mok’s Energy Bolt struck my shield.
Crack!
‘The Dispel succeeded….’
The Dispel magic did touch the Energy Bolt.
Literally, it merely touched it.
The moment it made contact, it shattered into hundreds of fragments.
Choi Kang-mok spoke.
“That’s destruction.”
The Energy Bolt obliterated the shield itself.
The shield couldn’t withstand even a single second, crumbling helplessly.
[Dispel based on destruction.]
[And an EX-rank Awakener now demonstrates firsthand the difference between such Dispel and pure destruction magic.]
Dispel based on destruction is still, strictly speaking, Dispel.
Regardless of the process, it dismantles and cancels the magical structure.
But destruction magic is different.
It literally crushes everything.
[Though the results appear identical, the process is distinctly different—demonstrated through an overwhelming gap in power.]
[A mage from South Korea single-handedly repels the invasion of an otherworldly civilization.]
Tofurian concentrated his mind to activate Blink.
‘What?’
His mana scattered.
It wouldn’t activate.
‘What is this!’
And one second.
That brief moment delivered a catastrophic result upon him.
‘But that was clearly an Energy Bolt!’
That much was certain.
Structurally, it was an energy bolt.
Yet I sensed a powerful gravitational field emanating from the energy bolt.
My body was pulled toward it.
I staggered—losing my balance.
‘What is this…’
In that final moment, I understood.
‘It was damage.’
Pure destructive force.
That’s what had conjured this phenomenon.
The energy bolt had generated a powerful gravitational pull.
Like a black hole.
It drew everything within its domain inward, then shattered it to pieces.
That’s why even casting magic was impossible.
‘Unbelievable.’
Lost in a sense of helplessness, I laughed.
‘Manifesting gravity through pure power?’
Deception? No.
Just raw power. Absurd, yet true.
If anything, my mind felt lighter.
“So fragments of the Small World have naturally embedded themselves within it.”
The ‘fabricated truth’ dwelling within the Science Staff.
A Small World that seals an opponent’s magic through perfect deception.
That power had naturally infused the energy bolt.
“An application of unparalleled ingenuity.”
My own arrogance had led me to dismiss it as mere deception.
A clear defeat. So there’s no room for complaint.
My opponent is at least several moves—no, several dozen moves—ahead in strength.
Who could have imagined a mage of such caliber existed in a dimension so recently connected?
In a sense, this was a natural disaster.
“What kind of monster have you cultivated, Senior?”
My head touched the energy bolt, my body consumed by it.
An otherworldly mage who had sought to invade Earth by deploying Barbarian Warriors as a vanguard.
Tofurian was obliterated.

* * *
Tian Lun struggled to comprehend the situation unfolding before him.
The energy bolt had swept Tofurian away, leaving not even a trace of his form behind.
It was as if he’d vanished through teleportation.
The voice of an EX-rank Awakener rang out.
“And you still claim this isn’t magic?”
The mages, now leaderless, descended into chaos.
Several high-ranking mages, recognizing the overwhelming destructive force, fled using teleportation magic.
Others seized control of the magical artillery and unleashed a barrage of fire upon Choi Kang-mok.
-From this moment forward, I shall personally escort the user.
-Having clearly demonstrated the distinction between Dispel and destructive magic, I shall now showcase the proper technique for intercepting attacks within a Pocket Dimension.
-Our Dispel magic truly is
magic
—you’ll be able to distinguish it far more clearly now.
Mayo, delighted, began to rampage.
Intercepting countless spells.
The Mythic-rank artifact magical fortress grew in tandem with its user’s achievements.
-I am going absolutely wild with power.
As Choi Kang-mok’s magical structure analysis and computational abilities surged dramatically, Mayo’s own computational power amplified exponentially.
-Behold my
interception magic
in all its glory!
-Kehehehe!
Like a fireworks display, brilliant bursts of multicolored flames engulfed the skies above Shenyang.
In the midst of it all, Choi Kang-mok continued to absorb the magical artillery’s spells.
My eyes for perceiving the true nature of magic had grown considerably sharper.
‘It appears they possess the ability to attack what should be theoretically impossible to attack.’
Then?
That means they could attack my precious Magical Research Institute as well, couldn’t they?
Wait—is that why they invaded Shenyang?
Ah, now I understand their sinister intentions.
“You dare attempt to destroy my Research Institute?”
Well.
From the mages’ perspective, it would certainly be an incredibly desirable stronghold.
“The
mages’
holy ground?”
Then it’s time for me, as director of the Research Institute, to demonstrate my worth.
[Activating Skill: Energy Platform (Creation).]
Beneath the magical artillery.
A massive black energy field materialized.
‘By precisely controlling the destructive radius.’
Ensuring no debris scattered outward.
I controlled it with near-perfect precision.
‘So I can do this now.’
After casting remote magic through Spatial Release, using it directly before my eyes felt remarkably easier.
Indeed, there was no need to rush.
Looking back, I was growing like this every single day.
“The magical cannons are not functioning.”
“Magical cannon malfunction!”
“This one too, it’s stopped!”
Every magical cannon within the radius was obliterated.
The magical cannons outside the radius ceased operation.
Just as Tofurian had gained enlightenment in his final moment, I too had obtained a similar revelation.
‘This is a mimicked version of True Ability.’
In the extreme(?) combat situation.
The Pocket Dimension’s power and magic had merged.
Though it manifested almost instinctively now, through consistent repetition, mastery, and practice, I could implement it artificially.
I had discovered yet another path of magic.
-Perhaps it will develop into a branch of Sealing Magic.
-Who could dare diminish this as mere combat magic?
It is unquestionably Sealing Magic.
Canceling magic that has been cast is Dispel.
Blocking magic before it can even be used is Sealing.
-A mage who wields both Sealing and Dispel simultaneously.
–
We are mages
of this nature.
All the magical cannons were destroyed.
The otherworlders were swept up in the energy field, with most annihilated.
The Chinese Awakener Tian Lun, who had fled far away beforehand.
And only the Chinese Awakeners under his command survived.
“Wait, hold on! EX-rank Awakener! You’re already too late!”
“….”
The mage Choi Kang-mok, who had repelled the otherworldly invasion with magic, lifted his head to gaze at Tian Lun.
Too late? Did he mean my enlightenment came too late?
I listened to what he had to say.
“We Awakeners and the otherworlders have already occupied the Seoul Guild’s Shenyang branch.”
At that very moment, a system notification appeared targeting both nations.
[!National Territory System Notification!]
[※ This notification is being broadcast throughout the entire Korean and Chinese domains.]
[The Korean stronghold (Shenyang outpost) has fallen.]
[Ownership of the Shenyang outpost is being transferred from ‘Korea’ to ‘China’.]
[Shenyang is being incorporated into the Chinese domain.]
Hundreds of millions of Chinese citizens erupted in cheers.
[Now that’s strategy and tactics]
└What does Korea have besides EX-rank Awakener? lol
└They say it was a completely bloodless conquest
└Heard all the Korean Awakeners fled? lololol
└They know their place
└Chinese people: Recapturing Shenyang as if taking a walk ^ㅡ^
The occupation system introduced after the integration of the National Towers.
Within each stronghold, a flag symbolizing the Guild is planted. Once you breach the defensive line, replace the flag, and ten minutes pass, ownership changes hands.
This was the first real-world case of that system actually taking effect.
└We’ll have to reclaim what’s ours
└But won’t it just get taken again?
└No, the system guarantees ownership for at least one year
Kang Pal-do’s AI narration analyzed it this way.
[We may conclude that while we won the battle, we lost the war.]
The Korean people, having lost Shenyang with its advanced Magical Research Institute, burned with rage.
[Wait, did all our Awakeners really flee?]
└Academic consensus is they got scared of the otherworlders
└Besides EX-rank Awakener, there’s literally nothing but trash
└Call them professional deserters lol
└Korean mages = cowardly traitor specialists
└We just take it back then
└System-wise, China owns it for one year confirmed
At that moment, Choi Kang-mok shrugged his shoulders.
He confirmed the situation once more through his earpiece.
“All our Awakeners have evacuated, correct?”
Lee Byung-gyu’s voice came through.
-Yes, they’ve all evacuated.
The Korean Awakeners hadn’t fled.
They had deliberately vacated the area.
Choi Kang-mok spoke while gazing at Tian Lun.
“What does flag replacement and occupation even matter?”
They still don’t understand
EX-rank
mages.

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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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