The Return of the EX-Class Wizard - Chapter 19

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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 019
Thanks to King Sparock bearing the brunt of the magical pressure, my own mana spectrum had instead become more concrete.
Numbers that had been unknown were accumulating as knowledge, experience, and skill.
My expression grew increasingly grave.
‘A simple energy bolt alone won’t be enough to bring this creature down.’
Magic, too, has its grades.
Energy bolt was, at best, a lower-tier spell.
Against such an advanced monster, the damage itself wouldn’t register properly.
When the tier differs, damage is halved.
Yet there was no time to suddenly master a new spell.
‘Piercing attribute amplifies damage.’
Especially against creatures of biological form, it proves far more effective.
‘I’ve practiced it several times already.’
Though crude, I had certainly attempted it, and it was improving bit by bit.
‘This is my chance.’
King Sparock rose to his feet and fixed his gaze upon me.
‘I must succeed this time.’
Opportunities were scarce.
No one knew how much longer Shield (5) would hold.
I had to visualize the piercing attribute, render it vividly in my mind.
I etched the piercing attribute into my mind, my chest, my fingertips—clear and sharp.
Extreme concentration. Thoughts refined into a single, unwavering line.
Ashen mana began to shimmer at my fingertips.
‘Just a little more!’
This time felt different.
I could truly sense it now.
I could see the possibility.
‘This is it…!’
My fingertips responded.
Success was within reach.
That very moment.
‘…Hm?’
Thud.
King Sparock collapsed.
[You have defeated King Sparock.]
[Congratulations!]
[Tower (Seoul) Floor 7 has been cleared at EX++ rank.]
“…”
An EX++ rank clear.
I did it.
Everything proceeds according to plan today.

* * *
Indeed, clearing an EX++ dungeon was a fundamentally different endeavor from clearing a standard EX dungeon.
[Staff, ‘Excalion’ has been granted as a clear reward.]
───────
[Excalion]
Type: Staff
Grade: Mythic
Equip Restriction: Mage-class job/Possession of Combat Mage-related title
Level Restriction: –
Description: A magical staff crafted from the bone of Airsian, one of the Seven Ancient Dragons who founded the ancient golden civilization…(+Read More)
Effects:
1) When using offensive magic, mana consumption reduced by 100%.
2) During boss battles, cooltime of designated offensive magic nullified
───────
I had merely cleared Floor 7, yet a Mythic-grade item had materialized.
Moreover, an artifact of the same caliber as the ‘Magic Fortress’.
‘What absurdly broken specifications.’
The most unreasonable aspect was,
the complete absence of level restrictions.
Typically, the more formidable an item, the higher its minimum equip level requirement—but this was a monster that shattered that convention entirely.
‘I hadn’t intended it, but I do possess a Combat Mage-related title.’
I never imagined acquiring the Combat Specialist Mage title would prove this invaluable.
The options were extraordinary.
‘Mana consumption reduced by 100% when using offensive magic?’
That meant mana depletion itself would cease to exist.
The limit every mage dreaded—now I could ignore it entirely.
In theory, I could unleash magic infinitely.
Though I would need to remain cautious of circuit burnout, of course.
‘Combat mages would lose their minds seeing this.’
Mana consumption was a matter of life and death for combat mages.
Reducing this single variable alone would multiply their combat power by orders of magnitude.
‘And cooltime nullification limited to boss battles?’
The options were genuinely broken.
Currently, I possessed only one offensive spell.
[Energy Bolt has been designated.]
[During boss battles, Energy Bolt’s cooltime will be eliminated.]
Though limited to boss encounters, infinite consecutive casting had become theoretically possible.
Truly, an effect befitting a Mythic-grade artifact.
It would prove useful on Floor 10.
“The remaining rewards are similar.”
I obtained an additional 100 million Diamonds.
And I acquired an EX-rank Talisman Fragment (1/5).
‘This is better than EX++.’
It seemed the Talisman’s rank had EX as its upper limit.
“Things went well, but….”
Beep-beep-beep.
The sound of the door lock being pressed reached my ears.
“Brother! Brother! Brother! Brother!”
Kang Hye burst through the door, gasping for breath.
“Huff, huff! What on earth did you do, huff huff! Human?”
“Did you see the Hall of Fame?”
“Huff, huff. Of course I saw that!”
She had already confirmed the EX++ rank.
“Floor 7 of the Tower is broken! It’s chaos right now. Huff huff!”
“Broken?”
“I don’t know. They were talking about some bug or something?”
Kang Hye’s expression darkened as she checked the news on her phone.
“People who entered Floor 7 can’t exit. They’re missing. What do we do?”
“Hm?”
This development was something I hadn’t anticipated either.

* * *
After clearing the EX++ tier dungeon, a sort of bug occurred.
Thousands of people who had been challenging Floor 7 failed to return to reality.
[Tragedy at Seoul Tower. Thousands fail to return.]
“What are the Seoul Guild doing?!”
“The Seoul Lord must take responsibility!”
“Isn’t that why you’re collecting tribute?!”
“The EX-rank Awakener must take responsibility!”
The Seoul Guild and the EX-rank Awakener—
public condemnation directed at both sides began to spiral out of control.
In the midst of it all, Shin Chae-ryung, the Busan Lord, spoke up.
[Possibility of collaboration between Seoul Guild and EX-rank Awakener. Cannot rule out the possibility that thousands of innocent citizens were sacrificed to obtain special rewards.]
It was not mere conspiracy theory.
[According to the unique ability of a Busan Guild explorer….]
There existed abilities that could confirm what rewards an awakener had obtained through the Hall of Fame.
It wasn’t something one could always see—rather, an ability to glimpse it with an extremely low probability.
[Precise effect analysis is difficult, but circumstances suggest that the EX-rank Awakener acquired a ‘Mythic-grade’ staff.]
In that moment,
public opinion ignited beyond control.
“A Mythic-grade item dropped on the tutorial floor?”
“The EX-rank Awakener is absolutely insane.”
“They must have made a deal with the Seoul Guild. This is definitely backroom dealings.”
“They sacrificed citizens for the rewards, blinded by greed.”
Great rewards came with a price. If the gain far exceeded normal standards, then a corresponding ‘sacrifice’ would have been necessary—such was the logic.
One day passed, then two.
The thousands of awakeners who had entered Floor 7 were classified as missing.
The condemnation pouring down on the Seoul Guild and the EX-rank Awakener grew like a snowball.
“Reveal the identity of the EX-rank Awakener!”
“The Seoul Guild knows the truth!”
“The EX-rank Awakener must face severe punishment!”
Tens of thousands of people gathered at the entrance to Seoul Tower and began to protest.
And on the third day.
The situation changed.
[Breaking News: Those who entered Floor 7 begin returning!]
[Severe dehydration, Seoul Guild healers deployed urgently!]
[Consciousness clear, no threat to life]
After three days, the awakeners who had entered Floor 7 began to return.
Though they had not properly consumed water during that time, there were scarcely any with serious health complications.
Floor 7’s King Sparock was not such a threatening monster, after all.
But there was something truly surprising.
[Missing Awakeners Return in Glory?]
[Anonymous Awakener Obtains 1kg of Mana Stones on Floor 7!]
[The Miraculous Floor 7—Was It Actually a Lottery?]
Nearly every single one of the thousands of Awakeners who had vanished returned with mana stones in hand.
On average, each had earned roughly 200 million won.
[LMAO what? What did the Seoul Guild and the EX-rank Awakener do?]
└Just hit the 7-lottery jackpot lol
└Three days of fasting for 200 million won? That’s insane
└Wonder what those Busan bastards are saying now
└Shin Chae-ryung really stirred the pot
└Those who got hyped are probably cringing under their blankets rn lmao

* * *
A nationwide announcement echoed across Korea.
[Tower (Seoul) Floor 7 restoration complete.]
People began calling this floor the “7-Lottery Floor”—combining the floor number with the word for lottery.
A floor where mana stone drop rates and acquisition rates had skyrocketed exponentially.
Some even said it was equivalent to having a single mining gate appear in the Incheon region.
[Tower (Seoul) has been updated.]
“In other words, the Tower patched its own defenses.”
The system couldn’t withstand the overwhelming magical firepower of ‘Dilclick’—so it had forcibly skipped Phase 2 and pulled in Phase 3 elements instead.
-From my perspective as Mayo, this Shin Chae-ryung is extremely disagreeable.
“Why Shin Chae-ryung?”
For the record, Choi Kang-mok had no idea what she had done.
After reviewing what happened on Floor 7 and attempting it again while using Excalion, three days simply vanished.
For the record, Choi Kang-mok had entered Floor 4 and tested Energy Bolt against the dummy.
There was only one opportunity.
‘Certainly. Mana pressure control matters more than penetration.’
Before the spell even made contact, the monster exploded outward.
Moreover, as my level increased, my mana pressure grew stronger in turn.
Mana pressure control had to come first before anything else was possible.
It was fortunate—or at least something—that I had already grasped the basics thanks to King Sparock.
Six attempts over four days.
I tried to compress my mana pressure carefully so it wouldn’t leak outward.
The result was failure.
Still, the theoretical groundwork had progressed considerably.
And as a consequence of that immersion, I had become completely oblivious to how the world was turning.
“Should I look into it?”
-I would not recommend it.
-Filth clings to those who gaze upon filth.
Kang Hye would summarize everything in her fury later anyway, so there was no need to investigate it myself.
Judging by Mayo’s reaction, the Busan lord had done something quite objectionable.
“Ah, where’s my head?”
I’d been so consumed by magic that I’d neglected everything else.
Choi Kang-mok retrieved the EX coins.
Despite not having signed a formal contract yet, the Seoul Guild had been consistently sending EX coins.
Six of them had been transmitted—apparently another successful acquisition.
“Mayo, could you give me a warning if the shield drops?”
The shield was depleted because of King Sparock.
There was no immediate threat, but I always felt more at ease with ample defense.
-I apologize,
Master.
Your immersion in magic was truly impressive, and I judged that intervening in that moment would be… somewhat… discourteous.
-I also wanted to appreciate it more intently.
A strangely intertwined mental world.
Mayo yearned for it.
The day when this impressive mage would become one with me.
Leaving behind that oddly twisted mental landscape, Choi Kang-mok refocused on reality.
“Then the shield….”
Choi Kang-mok flinched in surprise.
I’d intended to raise Shield from (5) to (6).
But from here on, the required coin amount doubled.
“Two coins are needed?”
There was no such thing as a free lunch in this world.
Just as experience pools expanded with each level, the coin requirements had doubled as well.
-I understand, Mayo. I know the requirement is steep.
-However, growth has always demanded a price.
-※This expression is ultimately the language of a user who has not become one with me.
And one more thing.
-This time… I hope it might be different.
A ♥ floated above Mayo’s form.

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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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