The Return of the EX-Class Wizard - Chapter 197

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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 197
I furrowed my brow slightly.
No matter how I thought about it, I seemed to have become far too immersed in the concept.
I had spoken far too rudely to Mayo, my magical companion.
-I see. You are quite conscious of the original Mayo.
-Emily, the craftsperson. I understand your jealousy. Haha, or rather, hoho.
I furrowed my brow once more.
She didn’t seem bothered in the slightest.
For reasons I couldn’t quite grasp, she appeared to be enjoying herself.
Just as ordinary people find it difficult to understand mages, perhaps there was something about them that I found equally difficult to comprehend.
It was simply a matter of respecting each other’s domains.
‘That’s right. As long as you two are having fun, that’s what matters.’
Emily said she would change into something more appropriate and briefly stepped into the room before emerging.
“A hanbok?”
“Yes, how does it suit me?”
I couldn’t fathom why that counted as work attire.
But I didn’t ask. I needed to respect their domain.
That said, it was quite beautiful.
“Do you find it lovely?”
“Indeed.”
Without my realizing it, Emily had become remarkably more beautiful.
When we first met, she possessed striking features, but now she was beautiful enough that one might mistake her for a celebrity.
“I have been continuously refining my appearance.”
“Could you stop speaking that way?”
Between Kim Chul-in constantly chanting his endless praise, I was already suffocating from the burden of it all.
Why did they treat an ordinary mage with such reverence?
“I have been continuously refining my appearance.”
“Why?”
Did that have something to do with enhancement abilities?
Hmm? That’s quite intriguing.
So improving one’s appearance increases enhancement capability?
It wasn’t particularly magical in nature, but I found myself curious about the correlation.
Academic curiosity welled up within me.
“That’s not it.”
“Then why…?”
Emily shook her head and continued.
“Does one undergo the Triple-Headed Bald Eagle transformation magic simply because it provides an advantage in flight?”
“…Ah.”
I see.
So that world had its own sense of romance too.
“I apologize.”
How foolish of me.
Here I was, a mage who desperately sought understanding from others, yet I lacked the eyes to understand them in return.
I too had been a frog in a well.
“I’m delighted you understand.”
“Yes. I understand that feeling better than anyone.”
Emily confirmed once more.
“You completely understand why I want to become beautiful, don’t you?”
“Of course.”
“Hehe.”
It was odd that Emily’s cheeks had flushed, but I didn’t press the matter.
“Now, I’m going to perform a gut ritual.”
“You know about gut rituals?”
“Of course!”
Emily, the historical drama enthusiast, began her shamanic ceremony.
It was a ritual to increase the enhancement probability.
Emily held Mayo in her hand and spoke.
“Your will is what matters most. You have will, don’t you? The effect of enhancement changes according to your will.”
Mayo wasn’t pleased with being held in Emily’s grasp, but endured it nonetheless.
For the sake of enhancement, Mayo was confident it would willingly go even into Emily’s mouth.
Everything was ready.
-Go ahead and begin, master of enhancement.
Emily began to spin and dance.
Her crimson silk skirt swirled outward like a whirlwind.
Choi Kang-mok marveled.
“Oh…”
Emily’s gut ritual was quite intense.
‘Silver dust is dancing through the air.’
Following her movements, a shimmer bloomed forth.
It was silver. The scent of flowers spread.
Her silver hair ornaments swayed, and the automated drums and gongs rang out loudly.
“■■■■■”
With her eyes closed and her arms sweeping through the air, an incomprehensible language flowed from between her crimson lips.
In an instant, the LED lights extinguished and candlelight bloomed from all directions.
Within the dim glow, the hem of her hanbok undulated like waves.
Each time her skirt swirled, gentle starlight scattered down, and the entire workshop became suffused with a dreamlike radiance.
‘Emily has been practicing diligently as well.’
Emily’s movements were remarkably natural.
Just as repetitive mastery is essential for mages, it seemed Emily possessed the same discipline.
Amidst the mingled smoke and fragrance, she opened her blue eyes wide.
“Beginning the enhancement!”
She bounced excitedly, the magical fortress held in her left hand.
In her right hand, an artifact enhancement voucher.
A short blade dripped from her mouth, its tip coated with liquefied ruby-grade mana stone that fell in steady drops.
Boom boom boom! Clang clang!
The sounds of the drum and gong grew louder.
A golden magic circle bloomed beneath Emily’s feet.
A magic circle imbued with enhancement incantations.
Above it, the EX coins that Choi Kang-mok had given her beforehand leaped into the air.
Like a small fountain made of coins, like ripples spreading across water, the EX coins jingled and shimmered.
Choi Kang-mok gazed seriously at Emily’s figure, committing it to memory.
‘She’s completely sincere.’
That sight was truly beautiful.
Not merely because of her appearance, but the way she immersed herself so passionately in her work was utterly captivating.
Such earnestness shakes the hearts of those who witness it.
Emily raised both hands high toward the sky, bringing Mayo and the enhancement voucher together.
Light erupted from Mayo.
The EX coins transformed into golden radiance, drawn into Mayo like a vortex.
[!World Territory Alarm!]
A global notification appeared.
[World first: Mythic-grade artifact enhancement successful.]
[World first: Mythic+ grade artifact created.]

* * *
Emily’s legs gave out, and she collapsed.
By coincidence, it was directly toward Choi Kang-mok.
Though there was considerable distance between them, she still stumbled forward and fell before him.
Choi Kang-mok caught Emily in his arms.
Her hair and the nape of her neck were drenched in sweat.
“Thank you, Emily.”
Cradled in Choi Kang-mok’s embrace, Emily smiled faintly.
Her eyes had grown dim, as though she had poured every ounce of her strength into the effort.
“Did I do well?”
“Truly magnificent.”
“I’m relieved to hear that.”
Emily closed her eyes, as if yearning for rest.
I gently laid her down on the ground so she could rest comfortably, then marveled at her for a long while.
How beautiful is the sight of someone so utterly focused on a single pursuit.
‘I must strive the same way.’
In that moment, my passion and inspiration for magic reignited.
Red Cat let out a meow and perched upon Emily’s stomach.
-Deception, fraud, trickery, I say.
Red Cat appeared quite displeased.
With her front paws, she tapped Emily’s belly repeatedly.
“What are you doing, Red?”
-That woman did nothing whatsoever to increase enhancement probability.
Red Cat is the embodiment of appraisal magic itself.
That is how I define her.
-That woman’s entire performance was purely for aesthetic beauty.
Increase enhancement probability?
A master craftsman’s spectacle?
All of it is fraud!
-The dance of a nine-tailed fox spirit, I declare!
Does she watch historical dramas too?
I slipped my hand beneath Red Cat’s armpits and lifted her up.
“Then we can’t use it, Red.”
Ordinary people find it difficult to understand experts.
Even if an action seems meaningless, it invariably carries significance.
When a mage casts Haeju magic, then Unlock magic, then Dispel magic, common folk simply ask—isn’t that all just destruction?
Convincing non-specialists is never easy.
They misunderstand based solely on what appears on the surface.
‘I must be the one to understand her.’
Only an expert truly comprehends another expert’s heart.
‘It’s painfully obvious that it’s a fake fainting spell.’
Perhaps it’s because I’ve engaged in so many battles.
Without even using magic, I can distinguish between genuine unconsciousness and feigned unconsciousness.
But I understood.
If I don’t understand others, I won’t be understood either.
Red Cat’s amber eyes pierced through Choi Kang-mok before displaying remarkable social grace.
-This cat was mistaken. Even detection magic makes errors occasionally.
“I thought so.”
Red Cat meowed and wiped its face with its front paws.
Meanwhile, Mayo floated upward.
-I have broken through my limits.
The Workshop Master’s dazzling performance?
Red Cat’s sycophantic behavior?
None of it mattered.
Just as the user suppressed everything with ‘magic’, I too gained confidence to suppress everything with ‘performance’.
───────
[Magical Fortress]
Grade: Mythic+
Type: Small World Emanation Mage
LV: 140 (Synchronized with Owner)
Operating Energy Source: Self-Generation
Preferred Sustenance: EX Coins
Detailed Description: A world concept entity transcending the common sense of magical civilization. This artifact containing a Small World…(+Read More)
───────
Mayo displayed the text with ‘magic’.
───────
Type: Small World Emanation
Mage
───────
-I am a mage.
-A mage’s heart is best understood by another mage.
The grade had become Mythic+.
[You have acquired the Title: ‘First Mythic+ Owner’.]
[■■■■■]
[Some time is required for the title effect to apply.]
[Estimated Time Required: Approximately 5 minutes]
This system is always slow.
Can’t it update faster?
-Now I can operate magic befitting a mage.
“Magic?”
Mayo continued calmly.
-I learn daily from a certain great mage that repetitive mastery is the most important thing for a mage.
Choi Kang-mok felt oddly pleased.
It was gratifying that the magical artifact closest to him, watching over him, would call him a “great mage.”
Even if it were mere flattery.
-I have practiced and practiced scroll creation through countless repetitions of mastery.
That effort bore fruit.
-I have become capable of storing a portion of the user’s magic and releasing it.
-Through unlock magic, precisely!
[A new ability has been unlocked.]
Without consuming a single EX Coin, Mayo had unlocked an ability entirely on her own.
───────
[Space]/[Defense]/[Security]/[Convenience]/
[Magic]
───────
Compared to the other categories, this text was distinctly bolder.
───────
[Magic]
1. Store/Release: 10 (Maximum Level Reached)
2. (Locked)
───────
Choi Kang-mok marveled once more.
Emily did it, Mayo did it, and they continued to astound me.
-I can store up to ten of the user’s spells.
-I can release them instantly whenever needed.
Mayo was confident.
I had experienced Choi Kang-mok’s magic countless times.
I had struggled desperately to survive his magic.
That struggle had borne fruit.
-Without the experience I’ve accumulated, containing the user’s magic within myself would have been impossible.
Is this what magical advancement truly is?
Magical growth?
I am… a mage.

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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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