The Return of the EX-Class Wizard - Chapter 176

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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 176
The Invasion of Scientific Civilization.
The people of Arcsia, unable to grasp the situation, were consumed by rage.
“A newly connected lower dimension?”
“Scientific civilization? What is that?”
What was scientific civilization?
Rough information about it reached Arcsia.
“In the end, it’s just scrap metal and gunpowder, isn’t it?”
“How was the barrier maintained so poorly that it broke from such things?”
Rather, arguments that Earth should be conquered began to gain traction.
“How dare they touch mages?”
“It’s time to show the power of magic.”
Public opinion boiled over with calls to attack Earth in retaliation.
“Wasn’t there talk that we invaded Earth first?”
“Of course it’s a baseless rumor spread by Earth. I’m more concerned about your brain for believing such nonsense.”
Most of the Arcian Empire’s people refused to believe the fact that “Arcsia invaded Earth first.”
“They’re barely at Floor 60?”
On Earth, only one nation had broken through Floor 60, and the rest of the top-tier powers remained in the early-to-mid 50s.
In contrast, Arcsia had already entered Floor 75.
The highest-ranked hunters were positioned at Floor 70 and above, and there were quite a few dwelling at Floor 75.
Relatively ordinary(?) high-tier hunters were concentrated in the late 60s.
“Earth has only one person who surpassed Floor 60, they say.”
The difference in military strength was clearly overwhelming.
The consensus was that if Arcsia had truly invaded first, Earth would have fallen long ago.
“But why….”
“Why did Lord Peltin die?”
Had scientific civilization truly killed the Archmage Peltin?
Through cowardly and petty schemes?
“Who knows. Maybe he got caught up in political intrigue?”
“There were rumors that Lord Peltin and the Emperor weren’t on good terms.”
“Was he purged in this opportunity?”
Peltin was dead. That was fact.
But killed by someone from Earth? That was a lie.
Most believed it that way.
However, there were those who did not.
They were the mages who had invaded Earth directly and clashed with Choi Kang-mok.
“You only see what you know….”
“At this rate, we’ll all die.”
They were consumed not by rage, but by fear.
And some of them betrayed Arcsia.
Their point of contact was Lin Zhiwei.
“Lin Zhiwei. We wish to surrender.”
“Please convey our intentions to the monster—no, to the EX-Rank Awakener.”
Lin Zhiwei sensed that an opportunity had come for her as well.
How could she grow closer to the EX-Rank Awakener, even by a fraction?
Or rather, how could she gain his favor?
After considering her options pragmatically, she made a single request through a conversation with Lee Byung-gyu.
“Could you obtain a map for us?”
“A map?”
“The more detailed, the better.”
“But why a map…?”
“Are you questioning my reasons?”
Lin Zhiwei feared the EX-Rank Awakener Choi Kang-mok, not some otherworldly mage.
She managed and persuaded the Arcsia Mages with the methods of a lord and politician.
And in the end, she obtained the maps.
“Maps with detailed recordings of the Tower’s locations and the Cradle of the Crimson Cat.”
The varieties of maps were diverse.
The most basic form was a 2D planar map.
The advanced version was a 3D precision stereoscopic map.
Based on topological data stored in mana crystals, real-time three-dimensional imagery was projected into the air.
Administrative cadastral maps marked land ownership, feudal boundaries, and mana mining rights.
Time-interference mana maps reproduced the terrain and building conditions of specific time periods exactly as they had been recorded.
Lin Zhiwei immediately handed the maps to Choi Kang-mok.
It was right after dispelling the barrier.
“Oh…!”
I hadn’t expected her to obtain maps this detailed.
Her capabilities were better than I’d anticipated.
Lin Zhiwei spoke.
“I thought such maps would be essential for magical reconnaissance, if nothing else.”
“Yes. They will certainly prove useful. Thank you.”
“Maps are both essential and fundamental for a mage specializing in spatial and topological magic.”
I could see myself getting along well with Lin Zhiwei.
Looking at her again, she seemed like a person of refined character.

* * *
I focused my mind intently.
Now was the time to expand my magic.
‘I’ve already expanded it to Barrier Dispel.’
It was remarkable growth.
I could feel the advancement coursing through my entire body.
But a mage does not stop here.
As Lin Zhiwei had acknowledged, now was the time to leap forward as a spatial topology specialist.
‘I strike at an unknown dimension I have never visited before.’
Two things were necessary.
Long-range strike.
Dimensional separation.
I had practiced both separately many times.
Now I would combine the two.
What came before was foundational; now this was advanced application.
Lin Zhiwei pondered silently.
‘A dimensional-piercing ICBM?’
She asked just to be sure.
“Is the magic you’re about to cast a sniper strike or a bombardment?”
“Hmm.”
I paused to consider.
Conceptually, it was a sniper strike.
But in terms of destructive power, it was bombardment.
“Haha, I asked a rather foolish question, didn’t I?”
“?”
“Bombardment is merely one result of magic, isn’t it?”
…What?
My ears perked up.
“You perform a sniper strike, but the destructive power is so tremendous it appears like bombardment—yet fundamentally it remains a sniper strike. My thinking was shallow. I suppose as someone not specialized in magic, I lack that perspective…”
My body stirred.
Lin Zhiwei’s perspective was remarkably neutral and precise.
The fundamental nature was indeed a sniper strike.
Bombardment was merely the phenomenon.
Lin Zhiwei continued.
“In fact, isn’t it the same with Dispel? Destruction is merely the phenomenon, while the fundamental nature was Dispel, after all.”
“Exactly.”
“I apologize for the unnecessary question.”
“Not at all. Questions about magic are always welcome. Please, ask whatever comes to mind.”
Conversations with non-mages, with ordinary people, held their own peculiar joy.
Recalling the fundamental principles I had overlooked, I fixed my coordinates.
I stepped forward and explained first.
“We will attack the Tower first through spatial liberation.”
This was a conclusion I had reached together with Lee Byung-gyu.
What mattered most to me right now was the Cradle of the Crimson Cat.
I would acquire an exceptional appraisal grimoire from there.
But would they truly refrain from interfering?
To achieve proper magical results, I had to demonstrate it first.
The power of an Earth mage.
“The objective is to destroy the Tower’s reward system.”
Destroying the Naples Tower’s reward system had been close to an accident.
But now, through a mage’s will, it was possible to implement it artificially.
Lin Zhiwei swallowed hard.
‘A destroyer who can destroy Towers in the age of Tower civilization.’
And moreover,
‘almost the only human who can restore them.’
No matter how I thought about it, I seemed to have chosen the right side.
Before destroying the Imperial Tower using Meteor Descent, I confirmed once more just to be safe.
“Ah, right. We did declare war, didn’t we?”
“Yes. We did.”
From Lin Zhiwei’s perspective, it didn’t quite make sense.
She thought a surprise attack would be far more effective.
But understanding wasn’t necessary. The opponent was the emperor of a new age.
All she needed now was obedience.
Choi Kang-mok, now in excellent spirits, explained first.
“I dislike my magic being dismissed as mere killing magic.”
Tower destruction? That could be classified as a magical phenomenon.
But the additional collateral damage from destroying the Tower? The deaths of people?
That was not what my magic sought to achieve.
Fundamentally, the purpose of magic lies in enriching human life.
Not in killing humans.
This fundamental principle had never changed from the beginning until now.
“As magic grows, responsibility grows alongside it. A mage who loses that sense of responsibility….”
Magic is the study of miracles.
Miracles are called miracles because they are miracles.
They inherently invoke phenomena far too vast for humans to bear.
“You lose your humanity.”
That was something to be truly cautious about.
Many of my predecessors had been consumed by Mayo.
Losing one’s humanity was something to be truly cautious about.
-Hmm, we’re already nearly
have become us.
It is a different method than our previous form, but still.
-However, the user is
denying us.
It matters not. That does not make us any less
us.
Even this Mayo is already a mage.
“I am a mage before I am human.”
“?”
By that logic, shouldn’t it be human before mage?
Yet Lin Zhiwei did not press the matter.
If the Emperor said so, then it was so.
‘Perhaps his words became tangled while he concentrated on the magic.’
“Perhaps you got your words tangled up because you were concentrating on the magic.”

Choi Kang-mok’s first choice was, as expected, Energy Bolt.
An early-game suppression spell.
Perfect for getting a feel for things.
An alert blazed across the entire Arcsia region.
[!Arcsia Region-Wide Alarm!]
[The Tower is under attack.]
The declaration of war had already been made.
Those arrogant Earth fools had even added a warning: “Severe damage is anticipated. Civilians must evacuate from the Tower vicinity.” It was absurd.
Countless Rankers converged.
“Raise the barrier!”
“Stop the encroachment of science!”
Yet something felt wrong.
A magical aura was present.
“Energy Bolt?”
Two Energy Bolts.
“What can mere parlor tricks accomplish!”
But the barrier shattered in an instant. Torn to shreds.
Boom!
Two Energy Bolts struck the Tower’s flank.
The Tower trembled as if an earthquake had struck.
“What?”
The two Energy Bolts pierced through the flank and erupted from the opposite side.
“What is this?”
Energy Bolts fused with scientific civilization.
An energy bolt combined with scientific civilization.
The impact force exceeded all imagination.
“Barriers are useless!”
“We need to switch to interception magic.”
They were a civilization specialized in shattering barriers.
They immediately prepared their interception spells….
“T-the Tower is collapsing!”
It tilted precariously.
The Tower began to fall.
“Restore it! Where are the restoration mages!”
“Use temporal magic!”
We only needed to buy a single second.
After that, the Emperor himself would pour in countless ‘growth resources’ to restore the Tower.
We barely managed to prevent the Tower’s collapse.
“Steady your formations.”
“We’ve bought ourselves time.”
There was no way they could unleash such an absurd attack consecutively.
“They must have exhausted themselves considerably.”
“Switch to interception. If possible, transition into a counterattack.”
A science that distorts dimensions?
They refused to acknowledge it.
They had prepared counterattack spells that would use the enemy’s own magic as a medium for retaliation.
“We need time.”
“We have plenty of time. Don’t worry.”
After all, they were merely a lower civilization. The Arcian Empire possessed numerous mages specialized in counterattacks.
Now, the moment for retaliation had ripened.

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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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