The Return of the EX-Class Wizard - Chapter 188

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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 188
Massive, solid chunks of metal.
Products of Earth’s scientific civilization. Multiple Launch Rocket Systems.
A Multiple Launch Rocket System is a weapon that simultaneously fires dozens of rockets, obliterating an area spanning several football fields in an instant.
But to Smattu, they were merely ‘flying metal.’
‘Metal soaring through the sky?’
It was shocking.
They resembled crude blunt weapons, yet spewed fire from their rear ends.
‘Are they monsters?’
Now that I think about it, I believe I heard such stories from cowards who fled Earth… but I didn’t pay attention, so I don’t remember well.
I slaughtered them all anyway, so there’s no one left to ask.
“Those are not stars.”
Smattu hoisted his massive axe.
“They are the poison of Earthlings!”
“Ohhh!”
“Uohhh!”
The other warriors answered the Great Chieftain’s fervor.
Smattu infused them with courage through his Great Chieftain skill.
“Now, warriors! Raise your axes!”
“Yes!”
“Yes!”
They formed their battle formation.
“Split those foolish metal chunks in half with our proud axes held firm in our grasp!”
“Yes!”
“Yes!”
The valiant warriors swung their axes.
Powerful mana contained within the axes extended skyward.
It was blade energy.
With explosions, several rockets shattered mid-air.
They had defended through a form of interception.
“Behold! This is the power of warriors…?”
Yet something felt wrong.
Those metal chunks…
“Many are incoming!”
Not just one.
“Incredibly many are incoming!”
One or two could be managed.
But when it became dozens, hundreds of them, the situation changed entirely.
No matter how powerful the warriors were, intercepting every single rocket was impossible.
Boom-crash!
A pillar of flame consumed the warriors, their horses, and the earth itself.
Once the defensive line was breached, there was no stopping the onslaught.
Boom! Boom-boom!
Artillery fire rained down relentlessly.
“Aaaahhh!”
“Noooooo!”
Faced with firepower from a civilization they had never witnessed, the warriors’ formation shattered completely.
The acrid stench of gunpowder. Clouds of dust billowing upward. Smoke obscuring everything. Fragments of fallen comrades scattered across the field.
‘Is this the poison of that world, Earth?’
If this was the poison, it made sense that Atublang had died so helplessly.
The Great Chief Smattu was seized by panic.
His instincts screamed that something was terribly wrong.
But this was far from over.
‘Again?’
‘Flying metal’ filled the sky above them.
The warriors began fleeing in all directions.
Smattu raised his axe once more and roared.
“Do not run! You are proud warriors!”
And he personally severed the neck of one warrior who attempted to flee.
The others flinched at the sight.
Run, and the Great Chief would terrify them; stand and fight, and the ‘flying metal’ would kill them.
Trapped between these horrors, salvation came.
Divine grace descended upon them.
[My warriors. I command you not to flee.]
[This is but a fleeting trial. Stand firm and face it with courage, and you shall prevail.]
[I am proud of you and rejoice in your valor!]
It was like the Quest before.
Great Chief Smattu cried out with renewed fervor.
“The God of Warriors stands with us!”
Meow.
An odd sound echoed, though no one had time to dwell on it.
“Advance!”

* * *
After Choi Kang-chul warned Choi Kang-mok that Red Cat might be dangerous.
Red Cat returned, having consumed an enormous amount of rubies.
And Choi Kang-chul briefly explained how to handle Smattu’s army.
“The United States is being incredibly cooperative.”
“Really?”
Before the Tower Civilization era.
The United States was Earth’s strongest nation.
A country with overwhelmingly superior military power.
“They’re sharing everything—technology transfers, operational command expertise, you name it.”
They’re also actively exporting weapons.
Items they’d previously rejected with various excuses are now being handed over without hesitation.
Choi Kang-mok let out an admiring sigh.
“Wow. The Korean Guild really knows how to work.”
Diplomatic influence had skyrocketed. Korea’s international standing was on an entirely different level now.
Choi Kang-chul understood the reason well.
‘It’s all because of you.’
They wanted to stay on good terms with an EX-Rank Awakener.
So they treated the Korean Guild—the intermediary—with utmost care.
There was no point mentioning it, since the inevitable response would be “I’m just a mage, though?”
“Fortunately, they obliged by gathering in one location.”
And it was in the Plains Region, no less.
We swept them all away with multiple rocket launchers.
“We achieved near-total annihilation.”
Yet their momentum remained unbroken.
If anything, they charged forward with renewed vigor.
“They’re still advancing toward us, but there’s nothing you need to worry about.”
Truthfully, they posed little threat.
Earth’s scientific civilization could handle them without difficulty.
Multiple snipers are standing by as well.
“You just focus on finding the 70th Floor boss.”
“Got it. Thanks.”
Choi Kang-mok shrugged his shoulders.
“Things always work out when I’m with you, hyung.”
At those words, Kang Hye, who had been studying a map intently at another table, suddenly looked up.
Wait—I’m the EX-Rank advisor, aren’t I?
For some reason, her ears perked up at the brothers’ conversation.
Was my real rival actually my older brother all along?

* * *
Korean Domain forces.
Soldiers sat inside tanks, eating hamburgers.
“Do you think those lunatics will really come charging on horseback?”
“That’s what I heard.”
Even with their combat strength reduced to a tenth.
Their fighting spirit remained unbroken.
“Hey, scout drone signal incoming.”
“Coordinates received.”
Invisible to the naked eye.
Far beyond visual range.
But the radar had them locked.
“Should we fire?”
“Hold for now.”
According to the operation briefing, helicopters would be deployed first.
“…It’s over.”
Tank-hunting helicopters.
The Apache had taken flight.
It annihilated the remaining Smattu warriors.
Not a single warrior attempted to flee.
One commander who reviewed the footage wore a troubled expression.
“Their resolve is extraordinary.”
With such casualties, one would expect fear to take hold.
Yet they showed no signs of hesitation.
Like moths drawn to flame, they gripped their axes and charged across the ground.
“Whether to call it foolish or sublime…”
From a military standpoint, it was fortunate.
Had they waged guerrilla warfare using the terrain, it would have been considerably troublesome.
Instead, they came out into the Plains Region of their own accord.
“They were like monsters that had been aggro’d.”
“That’s what it looked like.”
Like monsters drawn to a tank’s aggression.
They charged madly toward this position.
“Something about divine revelation, wasn’t it?”
“Nonsense, surely.”
In any case, their conviction deserved acknowledgment.
This information was relayed through Choi Kang-chul to Choi Kang-mok.
“…So that’s how it went. From what we’ve confirmed, they’re completely wiped out.”
“But?”
“One escaped.”
Choi Kang-mok tilted his head in confusion.
“He fled?”
They seemed like martyrs who had sacrificed their lives for their convictions.
Though, even among them, there could certainly be one person for whom safety mattered more than principle.
“Yes. Smattu.”
“The Patriarch?”
Unexpected.
The Patriarch, who had been leading the charge, had fled.
“I apologize. To put it plainly, the capture failed.”
“Huh? From what you’re saying, it sounded like you caught him quite easily?”
“Here’s the footage.”
I examined the drone footage.
Smattu wavered for a moment, then vanished abruptly.
Choi Kang-mok’s eyes narrowed.
‘Is this… magic?’
Something felt off.
The term “movement technique” didn’t fit.
It was magic or some supernatural ability.
‘The Patriarch, representative of the “warriors”?’
Meow! Red Cat licked her paw, clearly displeased about something.
-This cat’s encouragement was ignored!
I urged him to be proud and advance.
I sent divine revelation multiple times!

* * *
My expression grew serious.
The Patriarch Smattu’s behavior was strange.
A man who would never flee had run.
And in a manner difficult to explain at that.
“What’s this? You have nothing to apologize for, brother.”
There could only be one answer.
“Perhaps he might be the 70th Floor boss.”
A being who deemed the Tower unsafe and kept his true body outside.
In other words, one who championed a “safety-first” doctrine.
Where was the safest place in the Brain Dimension?
Wasn’t it within Patriarch Smattu’s body?
Even if he wasn’t the 70th Floor boss’s true form, it seemed certain he was at least connected to it.
“I need to find Smattu first.”
Kang Hye, who had been waiting for her chance, raised her right hand.
That was an explorer’s domain…
“I’ve already attached a location transmitter. It’s a bit inconvenient without satellites, but we should be able to pinpoint the location soon.”
Kang Hye’s expression dimmed slightly.
The more the fusion of scientific and Tower civilizations diversified and strengthened, the more she felt her place slipping away.
‘I need to work harder.’
Finding him wasn’t the end.
After that, discovering the 70th Floor boss’s mechanics was the explorers’ responsibility.
Choi Kang-chul continued.
“Once the location is pinpointed, I can display coordinates combined with a 3D scanning map.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. It was an incomplete technology, but I received calibration after arriving here.”
If he was indeed connected to the 70th Floor boss?
I couldn’t simply leave it to the military.
I had to handle it myself.
This was my chance to inscribe “Mage” at the top of the 70th Floor consecutive Hall of Fame rankings.
Choi Kang-chul understood that fact well.
“It’s a far more precise map than ordinary ones, so it’ll be perfect for you to deploy interception magic with spatial concepts woven in.”
“Thank you.”
I meant it sincerely.
Only blood relatives understood a mage’s heart so completely.
A 3D hologram.
A red dot appeared at a single point marked on the terrain map.
“This is Smattu’s location.”
“Got it.”
Before long, Kang Hye drew closer to my side.
‘Is the location actually being marked?’
No matter how I look at it, this is absurdly overpowered.
The scientific civilization’s support for interception magic is remarkable.
Kang Hye opened her mouth.
“It’s there. Yasbe Rock Mountain.”
The space where Smattu had displayed thousands of corpses like trophies.
It was their sacred rock mountain, with the faces of three legendary great clan leaders carved into the cliff face.
Kang Hye continued quickly.
“There are tons of caves inside the rock mountain, so it’s perfect for hiding.”
That would make interception difficult.
Soon after, the signal cut out.
Presumably, he’d entered a cave or gone underground.
Kang Hye’s expression grew serious.
‘Now this is truly the realm of explorers.’
Entrances branching into hundreds of paths.
Finding Smattu in that maze-like place was indeed the explorers’ responsibility.
“Kang Hye.”
“Yeah.”
Kang Hye rose from her seat.
It seemed I’d need to call in major reinforcements.
Gathering more Earth explorers….
“There are no residences around there, right?”
“There are no residences….”
Kang Hye’s eyes widened.
“Don’t tell me.”
I understand.
This older brother is planning to blow the entire mountain away.
Is that even possible? I thought so, but I’ve already seen it’s possible when we developed the Unbreakable Rock mine.
I was about to ask if he’d destroy it, but I looked at Choi Kang-chul.
What would my rival have said?
Kang Hye changed her words.
“You’re going to use Infinite Leveling Magic?”

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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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