The Return of the EX-Class Wizard - Chapter 18

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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 018
That said, Mayo’s interception capabilities were far from inadequate.
-Raising it by just 10,000 would enable 100% interception of all attack forms within Tower Floor 20.
“Even the Floor 20 boss?”
The question referred to the “Awakening Nullification Curse”—a nightmare for everyone fifteen years ago—and whether Mayo could block it.
-That bastard, seriously….
-X-rank bastard….
-How pathetic …it was.
Mayo’s chassis crackled slightly.
For Mayo, it was a shocking question.
-By my standards, the Floor 20 boss’s attacks fall lower on my response priority list.
-Among all users synchronized with me, not a single one has factored the Floor 20 boss into their considerations.
-You’re actually concerned about that? Are you insane?
Mayo’s chassis flushed a faint crimson.
A subtle static-like waveform flickered across the eye display.
Ahem—a soft system recalibration tone sounded,
and the tone shifted.
-I can intercept the Floor 20 boss’s attacks without difficulty.
-The user will sustain no damage.
-The previous statement is classified as an emotional error. Should you request correction, I will remove it from the
records
immediately.
Just then, beep beep beep—
the sound of the door lock’s password being entered echoed through.
“Brother! Brother! Brother! Brother!”
Kang Hye burst through the entrance in a frenzy.
Without even properly removing her shoes, she thundered into the living space.
Choi Kang-mok’s brow furrowed.
“What’s wrong? Sudden emergency?”
“I think I’m about to get hired by Lee Kang-nam.”
“Lee Kang-nam from the Daegu Guild?”
“Yeah! I just submitted an application on a whim, but….”
“Mm.”
“…You’re not surprised? Lee Kang-nam picked me? Me, who isn’t even a ranker?”
“Of course he’d pick someone of your caliber.”
Kang Hye’s eyes narrowed.
“Why would he obviously pick someone like me?”
“You’re not asking because you don’t know, are you?”
Choi Kang-mok’s eyes also narrowed.
The siblings locked eyes, both narrowing their gazes at each other.
“Speak. Quickly.”
“Getting cooperation from the Seoul Guild is off the table anyway. If someone wants to find me within Korean territory, hiring Awakeners is the most sensible approach, isn’t it?”
“….”
“The rankers belong to the Seoul Guild, so that won’t work. It’s better to recruit promising university students who have a vested interest, don’t you think?”
Kang Hye was slightly taken aback.
She already knew it, but her older brother’s insight was sharp.
“Looking at the Busan Guild’s situation, they’re desperate. They won’t hesitate to use extreme measures. They’ve definitely made contact with Lee Kang-nam too.”
What is this guy?
Terrifying.
“If they’d approached this righteously from the start, the two of them could have joined forces. But they wouldn’t have.”
“….”
“They probably tried underhanded tactics and got cursed out for it. Lee Kang-nam chose the straightforward path instead. And that’s how you ended up connected.”
“….”
Kang Hye remained silent.
Information wasn’t something you obtained—it was something you created.
“So? What now? Are you going to sell my information?”
“Are you insane? Why would I sell your information?”
“They’re going to offer a fortune for it.”
“I can make money later.”
“Do you think making money is easy?”
“I volunteered to create confusion in their intelligence.”
Choi Kang-mok chuckled.
“You need to start building your career too.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Say you found me in about three or four days.”
A few days would give me time to raise my shields further.
Interception would strengthen as well.
Without the magical fragments of ‘Dilcciknu’, at least minimal safety is guaranteed.
Optimal outcome. My enemy is myself.
Attacks from ordinary players are no longer a significant threat.
“My existence being revealed is only a matter of time anyway.”
The assassin Kim Yu-jun has vanished.
Park Sung-hyun, Vice-Lord of the Busan Guild, already knew this location.
Information leakage has begun.
Now, it’s time to stretch my wings.

* * *
All of Seoul—no, all of South Korea—held their breath in anticipation.
[Will he clear Floor 7 today?]
└Looking at his expression, seems likely…
└About time he cleared it.
└What if it’s another EX?
lol looks like Seoul’s population is about to hit 10 million soon
Seoul, which had crumbled after the Tower’s emergence, was stirring back to life.
Low-level Awakeners flooded in from all directions, and the atmosphere promised Seoul’s second golden age.
[Floor 6 must have drained an insane amount of mental energy, right?]
└ At least a week of rest is necessary
└ I’m over level 30 myself, and the Ancient Wheel is absolutely the worst
└ If you can’t overcome that, you really can’t progress
└ Seoul/Daegu Guild rule is 10 days mandatory rest
Indeed, both the Seoul Guild and Daegu Guild had mandated at least 10 days of mandatory rest after entering Floor 6.
[But they still haven’t found the EX-rank Awakener?]
└ It’s not that the Seoul Guild is incompetent, they’re just superhuman, right?
└ Incheon Guild: money doesn’t even work;;
└ Busan couldn’t find them either
Lee Kang-nam is causing a scene at the hotel again lol
Everyone focused on two things.
1) Would the EX-rank Awakener clear Floor 7 at EX-rank again?
2) Which Guild would find the EX-rank Awakener first?
And with that, Choi Kang-mok entered Floor 7.
[Entering Tower (Seoul) Floor 7.]
[Level increased.]
[Level increased.]
Experience points carried over from the previous floor’s EX-rank clear,
and my level rose once more.
[Current Level: 14]
[Challenge: Defeat 3 Sparrawks]
Sparrawks.
A monster presumed to be a hybrid of sparrow and hawk.
A flying creature with the body of a sparrow and the face of a hawk.
Attack power isn’t particularly high,
but hunting them is troublesome due to their aerial nature.
They’re cowardly and flee at the slightest startle.
‘My goal is an EX-rank clear.’
First attempt.
I set aside magical research and applications for now,
I need to focus solely on clearing this floor.
Fortunately, I’d grasped the scope of mana pressure on Floor 6 to some degree, and I’d honed my sensitivity through days of practice.
‘This time, I’ll carefully observe the damage increase from two levels.’
On Floor 6, I’d underestimated the damage increase, which led to my failure in researching the penetration attribute.
This time, I had to keep in mind the excessive rise in mana pressure beforehand.
‘Damage will land on Sparlock faster than I anticipated.’
Then dangerous Sparlock fragments would scatter toward me.
Shield (5) and Interception (1).
Even trusting Mayo, I had to maintain my vigilance.
To lure Sparlock, I scattered the special bait I’d received from Kang Hye far and wide.
‘Good, they took the bait.’
The cowardly creatures swarmed in flocks.
They’d flee immediately if I failed to eliminate them.
‘Focus.’
I concentrated mana into Energy Bolt.
Ashen energy condensed and warped.
‘Got it!’
My heart raced faster.
Penetration attribute granted, Stage 1 success.
‘Fire.’
[Using skill ‘Energy Bolt (S)’.]
Two ashen-tinged bolts stretched forward refreshingly.
Speed was 1.3 times faster than before.
The ‘Combat Specialist Mage’ title effect had activated.
‘Too fast.’
My control lagged.
Even sharpening my focus, my aim wavered.
Crackle!
Still, thanks to precision, I managed to land the shots somehow.
[You have defeated Sparlock.]
[You have defeated Sparlock.]
[You have defeated Sparlock.]
Three Sparlocks burst before the Energy Bolts even reached them.
Aim and control failure.
I hadn’t even observed how much the damage increased.
“It’s fine. My goal is EX-rank anyway.”
Everything else can wait.
I’ll handle it once I grow stronger.
‘Until I clear Floor 10, I’ll focus solely on growth.’
Even if it looks like I’m heading down the Combat Specialist Mage route.
I decided to focus on what I could do in the present moment.
At that instant, the energy bolt struck the ground and scattered.
‘Focus!’
A shield alone wouldn’t suffice.
I had to calibrate each fragment with precision.
Like threading a needle through the magic I’d unleashed, I had to seize the trajectory with an invisible hand.
It was a technique without precedent.
No mage had ever bothered to account for the ‘residue’ of magic.
But when your life hangs in the balance, you naturally find a way.
[Challenge cleared.]
But then.
Crack—crack—the ground split open.
A phenomenon that had never once been observed began to unfold.
[Prerequisite challenge initiated.]
[Bug detected!]
[Part 3 elements forcibly activated!]
The ground began to tint with green pixels,
and electronic noise rippled across the entire space.
[Ch■llenge: King Sp■rrow Def■at ■ Now!]
The text was corrupted, but the meaning was unmistakable.
‘A Part 3 challenge?’
-It’s above us.
-※Approach velocity extremely high. Collision estimated in 1.7 seconds.
In the sky above, not a sparrow but a creature the size of an eagle was plummeting straight toward me.
‘…Is that King Sparrow?’
It looked unmistakably stronger.
Its frame was massive, and its movements were swift.
‘What?’
It spread its wings in the sky and launched its feathers.
Dozens of feathers shot forth like arrows, rushing toward me.
-This wretched sparrow dares bare its filthy beak?
Back then,
I didn’t take
the full brunt…
-Deploying interception.
Dozens of magical circles materialized around Choi Kang-mok.
The interception magic activated, and beams of light struck each feather in succession.
Boom—crash!
Chain explosions erupted in the sky above.
Most were intercepted, and the rest I blocked with my shield.
[Shield (5): 89]
But that wasn’t the end of it.
‘So fast!’
The creature vanished from my sight in an instant.
When I opened my eyes, it was already inches away.
Boom!
A tremendous impact sent my body hurtling backward.
[Shield (5): 39]
Half my shield was obliterated.
Choi Kang-mok swallowed hard.
‘This is a level 125 shield, and it’s already half gone?’
What kind of monster was this thing?
The only saving grace was that King Sparock was staggering too.
The impact had clearly been substantial.
‘Now’s my chance.’
While it was in a dazed state—this was the moment.
[Skill: Energy Bolt (S) activated.]
Two energy bolts struck King Sparock’s torso.
And something different happened than before.
‘It’s withstanding the magical pressure of the energy bolt.’
Crackle!
The energy bolt sphere struck King Sparock directly.
Despite the direct hit, the creature didn’t fall.
‘…So it’s finally appeared.’
An existence that could endure my magic head-on.
The fragments from the energy bolt barely scattered.
Thanks to the precision effect, even the magical shards that burst forth were redirected back into its body.
And yet, it still lived.
‘Formidable.’
The majesty of a Phase 3 monster.
Perhaps this was danger.
‘Penetration Research. I can attempt it.’

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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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