The Return of the EX-Class Wizard - Chapter 201

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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 201
Sparks literally ignited between them.
—I am a mage, dimensional beast.
Mayo conjured flames through magic.
No longer merely displaying text, but now capable of wielding elemental magic.
Though unable to exert any significant physical force.
Yet it was unmistakably fire-attribute magic.
Sufficient for demonstration purposes.
—A mage understands a mage’s heart better than anyone.
You can’t use magic, can you?
—Did you not just witness my interception magic seal the enemy’s spellcasting?
Meow!
Red Cat’s amber eyes gleamed with light.
—The only true mage in this world is my master alone.
Red Cat cannot use magic.
Therefore, I cannot boast of magical prowess.
It vexes me. Had I known this would happen, I would have devoured ten thousand mages beforehand.
Then I could wield weak magic at least.
Red Cat’s counterattack took a different angle.
—A true mage requires no assistance from other mages.
A mage beside another mage?
That breaks the composition.
A mage should have a supporter at their side.
—Rather, this cat’s antics prove far more beneficial to my master.
The mock battle field, Mage’s Gorge.
The clash between Red Cat and Mayo was nothing short of magnificent.
Christine and Bessius stood before Choi Kang-mok with somewhat bewildered expressions.
“Hey, Strongtree. We’re feeling this right?”
No matter how I look at it, we’re just supporting cast?
And yet we’re supposed to be Earth’s greatest mage combination, aren’t we?
Bessius burned with indignation.
“How dare you ignore this Grand Mage!”
He summoned wind to his aid.
Since it had come to this, it was time to demonstrate a mage’s true power.
Mayo maximized friend-foe identification.
Christine and Bessius were hurled beyond the spatial boundary.
—These nuisances keep interfering at critical moments.
—Not even mages, the lot of them!
Meow!
An enormous paw swatted them away.
Like swatting a fly with a flyswatter.
Both fell to the dimensional beast’s devastating assault.
Upon reviving in reality, Christine was left utterly bewildered.
“Wait a moment.”
Something had felt off earlier too.
I hadn’t been mistaken.
“37 matches, 40 wins? What is this?”
Meow.
Red Cat licked her front paw.
—Did you see?
Choi Kang-mok’s jaw dropped wide open.
37 matches, 40 wins.
Somehow, I had reached 40 victories.
The next tier after the Gold Badge was the Platinum Badge.
───────
37 Matches / 40 Wins / 0 Draws / 0 Losses
───────
A silvery radiance shimmered across the record column.
A brilliance incomparably more luminous than silver itself!
The badge emanated cyan auroras and violet spectrums.
The border of the record column reflected light.
It sparkled as though carved from a flawless diamond.
Choi Kang-mok’s heart raced.
“Christine, do you see it? Bessius, can you see it?”
Christine’s eyes perceived it as well.
“I’ve never seen a Platinum Badge before.”
The numbers themselves were no ordinary numerals.
They appeared as though sculpted from crystal.
An artistry distinctly different from standard digits emanated from them.
Bessius snorted derisively.
“I can’t see it!”
Then he brandished his staff.
He was confident in such ‘display-oriented’ magic.
Mockery magic was part of that arsenal, was it not?
“Look. My record column is far more magnificent!”
Does the system decorate records with badges?
Then I shall embellish mine splendidly with magic….
“Cough!”
Bessius coughed up blood.
[Unauthorized access route detected.]
[※WARNING※]
[This is considered a buggy exploit.]
[First offense results in a warning. From the second offense onward, your account will be deleted.]
Bessius swallowed hard.
‘Account deletion?’
This wasn’t a game.
What could account deletion mean in reality?
It meant death.
That was possible.
Attempting to customize the battle record arbitrarily could indeed be considered a bug from the system’s perspective.
I accept that.
“Isn’t this a bit excessive?”
I was only trying to make it look a little better.
───────
37 Matches / 40 Wins / 0 Draws / 0 Losses
───────
No matter how I think about it, isn’t that far more egregious buggy play?
Choi Kang-mok shook his head.
“You still have a long way to go, Bessius.”
He seemed to pride himself on being a mage approaching world-class standards, but it was nowhere near the mark.
“My master wouldn’t have reacted like you did.”
“Your master?”
“Professor Raymond.”
Raymond’s teaching methods were abysmal, yet the essence of his instruction always inspired me with profound insight.
“If the professor were in your position, he would have lamented his own magical prowess instead.”
Thinking: I can’t even do this?
“And then he would analyze and comprehend how I—or rather, Red Cat—accomplished this from a magical perspective.”
Every phenomenon around us becomes a magical revelation.
That’s what it truly means to be a mage.
Red Cat’s manipulation here, when approached from a manipulation magic standpoint, holds plenty of lessons worth learning.
I myself am thinking along those very lines.
“Complaining over something so trivial.”
I clicked my tongue in disapproval.
“And you call yourself a mage?”
Christine, who had appeared beside me, pointed her finger accusingly.
“Seriously. And you call yourself a mage?”
You were complaining about the same thing just now!
You treacherous wretch!

* * *
We decided to conduct several more mock battles.
Choi Kang-mok also needed to continue practicing defensive magic at this point.
Conducting many mock battles certainly had its benefits.
“I don’t mind. Though your loss record will keep piling up—you’re okay with that?”
Bessius let out a scoff.
“A few more losses won’t make any difference anyway.”
Bessius was the type to actively engage in mock battles.
He had many victories, but also many defeats.
Christine sighed.
“Again, again! You’re saying something shameful for a mage.”
“What now?”
“You shouldn’t focus on losses—you should prioritize our magical development and inspiration.”
“What kind of nonsense is that?”
“Don’t you realize meeting a mage like this is a stroke of fortune?”
“….”
Bessius was at a loss for words.
Wow, she’s serious about this.
“Strongtree is demonstrating it right now. The fundamentals of a mage. Manipulation magic. And that radiant platinum insignia.”
“What does that have to do with being a mage? Isn’t it just cool?”
“Sigh. You’re truly beyond redemption.”
Mayo also displayed text above its body.
-Magic is inherently magnificent.
Choi Kang-mok’s eyes narrowed slightly.
That one was truly far gone.
Just as Mayo said, magic was inherently magnificent.
Like Raymond’s triple-headed bald eagle transformation flight magic, for instance.
Sometimes, even if inefficient, one must know how to pursue romance—that’s when magical advancement follows.
“Christine. Are you really going to keep cooperating with that guy?”
“I’m not sure. I’m quite disappointed.”
Meow.
Red Cat’s gaze mirrored theirs.
Bessius’s eyes turned triangular.
“I’m the normal one, and you’re all the abnormal ones!”
A world of madmen.
In this world, common sense becomes insanity.
Christine spoke seriously.
“Bessius. Please come to your senses. Aren’t you ashamed as a mage?”
Christine. Choi Kang-mok.
Red Cat. Mayo.
Everyone’s eyes gleamed with the same intensity.
Bessius clenched his teeth.
‘They’re all insane. I need to keep my wits about me.’
He switched the field.
It was the ‘Stage’ field, commonly used in mock battles.
There was no need to travel far—the moment the ten-second countdown ended, combat would commence immediately.
[10]
[9]
The Kve Alliance had prepared a cooperative spell.
No tricks. They would overwhelm through sheer firepower.
“Listen, Choi Kang-mok. You said the Magic Fortress wouldn’t provide support this time?”
“Yeah.”
The Magic Fortress had been deactivated.
The absence of a Mythic+ tier artifact.
Then perhaps this was worth attempting?
[3]
[2]
[1]
The mock battle had begun.
In that instant, Choi Kang-mok scattered five energy platforms into the air.
Christine quickly deployed a blink spell and retreated.
Bessius, who had been preparing his magic, coughed violently from the shockwave and spat blood once more.
“Christine, what are you doing!”
“What are *you* doing?”
“What kind of lunatic mage unilaterally cancels a cooperative spell mid-cast?”
Christine sighed with exasperation.
“This is exactly why I can’t stand textbook scholars.”
“What?”
I’d never heard such a thing before.
It was insulting.
Bessius prided himself on being a practical mage.
“In combat magic, evasion comes first. Does the enemy politely wait for you to complete your spell?”
….
Bessius wiped the blood from his mouth and spoke.
“You’re not even human.”
“Yeah. I’m a mage.”
Christine felt no pangs of conscience.
She had made the right choice as a mage.
She gazed forward.
Her eyes fixed on the ‘small energy platforms’ suspended in the air.
Admiration escaped me unbidden.
“Wow… is this a new defensive spell?”
Choi Kang-mok nodded in affirmation.
Seeing Christine’s expression of wonder, I felt quite pleased.
“May I test it with an attack?”
“Of course.”
Christine unleashed a flame-attributed spell.
The magic collided with the ‘defensive spell’.
More precisely, it dissipated before impact could even occur.
Christine gasped repeatedly in amazement.
“Truly… overwhelming defensive power.”
Bessius grumbled.
“That’s offensive power, you mean.”
“Are all blades the same blade?”
Christine flared with indignation.
“Use it for cooking and it’s a kitchen knife; use it to cut down a person and it becomes a murder weapon!”
Magic operates identically.
Even the same spell must be distinguished by its application.
“A mage doesn’t know that? Disappoint me one more time, and I’m never cooperating with you again.”
Choi Kang-mok nodded with satisfaction.
She had voiced what I wished to say.
Christine truly possessed the fundamentals of a mage.
One day, she would become a magnificent mage.
Christine’s eyes brimmed with curiosity.
“It can also transform shape and adjust range, right?”
“Yeah. I’m still getting used to it though.”
“Show me.”
I expanded the defensive spell’s range.
Through shape transformation, I reshaped it into a broad ‘curtain’ form.
A planar defensive barrier unfurled.
I could feel its tremendous defensive capacity.
“This could actually stop a missile.”
A missile would turn to dust and vanish entirely.
A defensive spell that shatters attacks to block them—it’s magnificent.
Christine offered another idea.
“Master. Is it possible to layer this spell?”
“Absolutely. Stack multiple layers and it evolves into a defensive spell infused with black hole phenomena.”
“Oh…!”
I desperately wanted to witness it.
Yet it seemed impossible.
At my current magical prowess, if I were to witness ‘Black Hole Magic’….
‘I’d be swept away.’
It’s a defensive spell I’m not yet capable of confronting.
But then.
Mayo spoke.
-An anomalous object is approaching the mock battle field.
Mayo expanded her sensory perception widely.
-From this mage’s detection magic perspective.
-A combination of science and magical civilization.
-It is estimated to be a missile.
Indeed, a missile was flying toward me.
-Assessed as an assassination attempt.
Choi Kang-mok lifted his head and gazed upward at the sky.
It pierces through the mock battle field.
A missile imbued with the ‘subtlety of spatial liberation’?
Who fired it? How intriguing.
‘Should I block it with defensive magic?’
It would certainly be more stable if Mayo intercepted it, but my academic curiosity was burning intensely.
-It will arrive in approximately 120 seconds.
-Shall I use interception magic?
Then. A brilliant idea occurred to me.

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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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