The Return of the EX-Class Wizard - Chapter 184

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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 184
The explorers trembled with awe.
This entire massive Gate was the Ruby Mine.
They would be recorded as the first explorers to discover such a colossal gemstone mine Gate from another dimension.
‘Extraordinary.’
‘Never thought I’d see a day like this in my lifetime.’
It was an achievement anyone would be proud to boast about.
And they all knew the truth.
‘We didn’t really do anything.’
It was true.
Despite calling themselves explorers, they had contributed little.
‘So this is what an EX-Rank Awakener is.’
He cleared the challenge in just one second.
‘Did he prepare in advance?’
‘Must have.’
Looking at the results, that seemed to be the case.
Whatever the ‘Master of the Mine’ was, he must have prepared for it beforehand, which is why it was cleared so swiftly.
It was a method favored by Korean explorers.
Prepare the necessary items for a Quest beforehand, then accept the Quest.
It seemed he had done exactly that here.
Lee Hyung-joo thought the same.
‘He’s several steps ahead.’
He wanted to impress Choi Kang-mok just once more.
By explorer standards, he had accomplished something extraordinary, yet to an EX-Rank Awakener, it seemed trivial.
‘Well.’
Judging by what he usually does, something like this would be minor.
It struck me anew that he lived in a different world.
“I will return to Earth and inform the Korean Guild of this discovery.”
Mining the rubies would require miners.
Fortunately, Korea had no shortage of miners who met the qualifications.
‘Fortunately?’
He shuddered slightly.
It didn’t seem like mere fortune.
Who was it that had engineered the mass production of miners with experience extracting the Unbreakable Rock?
The EX-Rank Awakener himself.
Call this fortune? Absolutely not.
‘He must have orchestrated these conditions deliberately.’
No, wait.
This time it truly was fortune.
In any case, Lee Hyung-joo returned to Earth, while Mayo watched Red Cat with cautious eyes.
-The Red Cat appears to have quite the appetite for food.
Meow.
It was touching its face with its front paws.
Mayo had read through the fierce gaze hidden beneath that adorable exterior.
A kindred spirit.
-It does seem to be a dimensional monster capable of depleting a mage’s finances.
But Mayo also knew the truth.
This mine was vast—impossibly vast.
Rubies stretched across the entire world.
No matter how voracious Red Cat’s appetite was, it seemed the supply could be essentially unlimited.
Mayo began to feel a slight sense of crisis.
-Though it does have a slight edge over me, who consumes EX Coins.
And then there’s that scheme of replacing the ‘-‘ in the Hall of Fame with ‘Mage’.
Everything about this is dangerous.
At this rate, I’ll lose my position as the closest confidant.
What do I do? I cannot let that sycophant steal my place as the mage.
[‘Magic Fortress’ growth condition has been satisfied.]
[When specific conditions are met, ‘Magic Fortress’ will grow and new functions will be generated.]
Choi Kang-mok’s face broke into a satisfied smile.
‘Suddenly?’
What did I do?
What in this Ruby Mine could satisfy a growth condition?
Mayo was drawing considerable inspiration from Red Cat.
Understanding how to conduct oneself
as a mage
was becoming clear.
-I am now a proper mage, after all.
-Your magic has been deepening and expanding from basic magic into various domains.
Choi Kang-mok nodded.
With a solid foundation, magical branches were spreading in all directions.
Just like today’s newly unlocked magic.
-I too am fundamentally the same.
-Given the proper opportunity for enlightenment, I can demonstrate a far more mature form as a mage.
Meow.
Red Cat’s gaze turned toward Mayo.
Between Mayo and Red Cat, a subtle current flowed.

* * *
Barbarian Warriors’ Dimension.
All miners in the Brain received the same notification.
[!Miner-Class Territory-Wide Alert!]
[Colossal Ruby Mine Generated in This Dimension!]
This news reached Smattu, the Grand Chieftain of the Barbarian Warriors.
“So these mining wretches finally become useful.”
The miners of the Brain were third-class citizens.
First-class citizens were naturally the warriors.
Second-class citizens were the Sorcerers who healed the warriors.
Third-class citizens were everyone else.
Miners were the lowest stratum among them.
Failures who could not revel in slaughter and instead scraped out gems.
Their temperament was coarse, their strength feeble, their resolve brittle.
Many among them could not even bring themselves to harm others.
That alone was pathetic, but the Brain possessed no great mines whatsoever.
Mining was truly the lowliest of callings.
“Dispatch the warriors.”
A handful of miners.
And a multitude of warriors advanced toward the gate of Red Cat’s Premium Provisions Warehouse.
[Gate ‘Red Cat’s Premium Provisions Warehouse’ — Do you wish to enter?]
The expedition’s commander was Lefudo, the Grand Chieftain’s right hand.
One of the miners.
The eldest among the miners opened his mouth hesitantly.
“Lefudo. Since this gate is confirmed to be a mining gate, it would be prudent if we miners entered first to scout….”
The Barbarian Warriors possessed almost no concept of “explorer.”
Miners entered mines first, fishermen entered underwater gates first—such was their way.
“Insolent worm.”
Lefudo swung his massive iron mace.
The elder miner’s skull was crushed.
“The first of all things must belong to us warriors.”
The miners clenched their eyes shut.
They dared not resist.
The warriors laughed mockingly at the miners.
“No wonder they’re reduced to mining.”
“Your elder is dead—will you truly stand idle?”
Not even warriors.
Creatures without a warrior’s heart.
Utterly contemptible.
Lefudo spoke again.
“Well then. Are there any more commoners who dare covet what belongs to a warrior?”
“….”
The miners stepped back one pace.
They couldn’t even muster the courage to retrieve the corpse.
“Come. Let us enter. My proud warriors.”
The warriors shoved past the miners and stepped through the Gate.
Choi Kang-mok and his party of explorers encountered them ten minutes later.

* * *
Lefudo’s brow furrowed.
“Dare to covet what belongs to a warrior?”
Earth dwellers.
They dared to sneak into a warrior’s land.
Like rats.
Not a single one is properly armed.
I don’t see a warrior among them.
“Are you also miners?”
The warriors lined up in formation.
The moment Lefudo gave the command, they looked ready to charge forward and tear Choi Kang-mok’s party to shreds.
Choi Kang-mok stepped forward quickly.
“Everyone. Allow me to attempt dialogue first.”
A mage is an intelligent being.
Intelligence and reason. The embodiment of advanced knowledge.
We do not advocate for one-sided slaughter and destruction.
“I shall violate you all.”
Waaah!!
The warriors blew their horns and roared.
Choi Kang-mok’s brow furrowed slightly.
‘I should have learned a silence spell or something.’
-If we direct an energy bolt at their throats—using a silence spell would quiet them, I suppose.
If their throats are destroyed, wouldn’t they become quiet?
Perhaps that is the true silence spell?
‘No. That’s a bit much.’
As someone who had just mastered the unlock spell, that felt like crossing a line.
Mayo is good in every way, but sometimes she insists on such unreasonable things.
-….
Mayo felt somewhat wronged but refrained from offering further opinions.
“Sever their limbs and bury them in the ground.”
He speaks too harshly.
Is this a cultural difference?
Still, as an intellectual, I wanted to at least attempt a conversation.
A true mage eschews needless slaughter and destruction.
“I shall feast upon your flesh.”
Waaaaah!!
Excited beyond measure, they chanted “Uga! Uga!” while repeatedly raising and lowering their crude weapons.
I wasn’t entirely sure what they were doing.
-It’s a group incantation that has no effect on the user, but inflicts a ‘fear effect’ on explorers.
-Though I’m uncertain whether they’re consciously aware of this.
I glanced back over my shoulder.
Kang Hye and the other explorers’ faces had gone deathly pale.
They were visibly crushed by terror.
I shrugged. It seemed these people were forgetting something important.
“Everyone. There’s been a slight misunderstanding on your part. I am not a seal-breaking specialist mage.”
“?”
Kang Hye was somewhat bewildered.
No one here would ever mistake an EX-Rank Awakener for a seal-breaking specialist.
Of course, I had demonstrated an extraordinary level of ‘seal-breaking,’ but generally speaking, I was regarded as a combat weapon capable of deploying ICBM-class bombardment magic.
‘Brother. People are terrified not because they mistook you for a seal-breaking specialist.’
It’s purely because of the fear effect.
They’re frightened by that monstrous roar.
‘It doesn’t seem to work on you, though.’
Why? Because your intelligence is high? No, that’s not it. You haven’t invested much in intelligence.
Regardless, it’s having no effect whatsoever. I have no idea why.
“Still, my primary field of expertise remains combat.”
I could afford to be a bit more confident now.
It would be embarrassing as a mage to claim combat as my specialty when I can only do combat.
But now things were different.
I was being mistaken for a seal-breaking specialist mage.
At this point, there was no shame in saying combat was my primary field.
Boom! Boom!
The Barbarian Warriors stomped their feet.
A crimson aura began swirling around the tips of their weapons.
It was an aura similar to sword energy—the mana of the Barbarian Warriors infused to maximize cutting power and destructive force.
The ritual that granted a fear effect to opponents and a buff effect to themselves had concluded.
Lefudo gnashed his teeth.
“So you’re the ones who killed Atublang?”
Mayo spoke up quickly.
-Atublang was a war commander who invaded Earth.
-The user
magic
by subjugating them.
“How cowardly, resorting to poison.”
“?”
Choi Kang-mok’s expression twisted.
Poison? Poison, you say? Why would my magic be poison?
I had confirmed it clearly through the Orb of Vengeful Spirits.
According to Mayo’s description, it was ‘a screaming memory reproduced through the gaze of the dead’.
I explained it plainly.
“Magical decomposition and annihilation through tower purification magic. Maximization of precision attributes. Magical dissemination in the truest sense. Remote combat magic operating on a concept virtually identical to striking across dimensional boundaries… that was it.”
“That’s right. Poison doesn’t work on me.”
The Barbarian Warriors erupted in jeers and boos.
Those who use poison are cowards.
Weak and petty creatures.
All of them, despicable.
“I explained calmly that it was magic.”
I needed to show them.
A mage’s true magic.
A mage’s words must be answered with magic instead.
I had to silence their malicious voices.
“Silence magic. Silence.”
[Skill, Energy Floor Platform (Creation) is activated.]

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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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