The Return of the EX-Class Wizard - Chapter 202

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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 202
“What if you tried intercepting with magic?”
Mayo’s form shuddered slightly.
-This mage has always intercepted with magic, but…
“Honestly, it wasn’t really magic, was it?”
The boundary of the form rippled.
Mayo’s ‘interception’ as a Small World concept entity was closer to an instinct that activated automatically when certain conditions were met—specifically, when the enemy launched a preemptive attack.
Because I was designed that way, I simply reacted naturally.
-This mage…
“Accept it, Mayo.”
-This mage…!
“If you don’t accept it, there’s no growth as a mage. Just because you weren’t a mage yesterday doesn’t mean you can’t be one today.”
-:(
-I accept it. The Mayo of the past was not a mage.
But things have changed now.
I can store magic and release it.
“Your interceptive physicality is already perfected, isn’t it?”
The noise of the boundary gradually subsided.
Pride and self-respect as a mage began to take root once more.
“Combine your interceptive physicality with your magical abilities and use them together.”
-Like the fusion of scientific civilization and Tower civilization?
-Indeed, it seems the time has come for me to be reborn as a specialized interception mage.
Christine let out a soft cough.
“So… you’re having a conversation with the Magic Fortress, right?”
I was about to demonstrate the black hole spell but kept spouting nonsense instead.
From Christine’s perspective, every second counted.
Hurry up, show me, the black hole!
“Ah. It’s because missiles are incoming right now.”
“Missiles?”
Christine tilted her head in confusion.
“The kind of missiles I know about?”
“Yeah.”
Bessius also tilted his head in confusion.
“So the ones loaded with explosives that fly in and destroy enemy positions?”
“I don’t know if the warhead contains explosives or magic.”
“You thought I was pathetic just now, didn’t you?”
“A little.”
I never expected them to still be trapped in such outdated thinking.
Whether the warhead is scientific or magical remains unknown.
For instance, if it carried a nuclear payload, it would be scientific; if it carried magic, wouldn’t it be closer to magical bombardment?
Bessius’s expression twisted into a grimace.
What does it matter right now?
Whether it’s gunpowder or magic—does that even matter?
A missile is incoming!
“What kind of lunatic is pulling this stunt?”
Korea is protected by its borders.
Which means it was fired from within Korea itself.
And it pierced through the Mock Battle Field to get here?
This is no ordinary opponent.
“Choi Kang-mok. Isn’t this an emergency?”
“It is an emergency, I suppose.”
I’m deliberating.
This is the ‘first real combat test’ of ‘Defensive Interception’… what should I use?
Normally, Energy Bolt would be the obvious choice.
It’s standard practice to master the fundamentals before moving on.
‘But…’
Looking at Christine’s sparkling, eager eyes makes it hard to ignore.
Think about it.
A Black Hole Defensive Interception is far more spectacular than an Energy Bolt one.
Magic should be magnificent.
“Mayo. Are you ready?”
-Of course. I can contain up to 10 Energy Field Plates.
-And naturally, I can release and layer them as well.
What a dependable mage.
Mayo had already dismissed the notion of something as mundane as Energy Bolt.
“Let’s do it.”
We still have roughly a minute.
That’s more than enough.
Bessius tilted his head once more in bewilderment.
He whispered to Christine.
“He’s practicing magic right now, isn’t he?”
“Obviously.”
Why is that obvious?
There’s a missile coming!
Bessius was at a loss for words.
‘When I was in Spain, I thought I was the craziest one…’
Bessius, who had earned a reputation as a madman even in Real Madrid, once one of the World’s Three Major Guilds.
But now he realized he was utterly normal and reasonable.
Facing true madness, he had found his sanity.
‘If I keep running around with these lunatics, I won’t live to see old age.’
Even when witnessing the same sights and experiencing the same events, people absorbed them in vastly different ways.
Bessius extracted a single lesson: ‘Never become like these madmen.’
Christine, however, saw things differently.
‘How magnificent.’
To ignite such scholarly passion for magic even as missiles rained down—wasn’t that the very ideal every mage aspired to?
‘I must become exactly like that.’
For Bessius, the disappointment ran deep.
The Bes-Christine alliance was finished.
‘I won’t become a coward like him.’

* * *
The Magic Fortress’s ‘magic’ unfurled.
I had stored Choi Kang-mok’s energy barrier within my body.
-This is.
-A mage’s.
-Magic.
My torso trembled.
Despite being shielded by invincibility, the impact reverberated through me.
The damage exceeded what I could contain.
Yet I endured.
-I am.
-A mage.
A mage does not yield to magic!
And through my interception ability, I pinpointed the exact location of the magical discharge.
The trajectory of the supersonic missile was traced with perfect precision within the conceptual framework of the Pocket Dimension entity.
-Ah.
-I am indeed a mage.
Thanks to the trait of growing in synchronization with my master mage, my interception ability had evolved to new heights.
The structure of the Mock Battle Field became clear.
Pinpointing coordinates and calculating trajectories had become remarkably effortless.
[Releasing stored magic ‘Energy Barrier’.]
…
[Releasing stored magic ‘Energy Barrier’.]
I unleashed the energy barriers all at once.
Concentrating them upon a single coordinate.
The interceptive energy barriers layered instantaneously, generating magic remarkably similar to the black hole Choi Kang-mok had manifested directly.
-The quality falls somewhat short of the user’s magic.
Now I had become a mage worthy of recognition.
Recognition is where growth begins.
-However, the interceptive magical properties are far superior to the user’s magic.
The destructive power and perfection of the ‘Black Hole’ itself fall short.
However, in interception situations, it’s far more advantageous.
A black hole materialized in the empty air.
At that moment, a booming voice echoed out.
“What kind of bastard is this!”
The figure who appeared, pixelating space itself, was none other than Kang Pal-do.
Kang Pal-do was an EX-Rank Awakener exclusive streamer.
In specific situations, he could remotely broadcast the activities of EX-Rank Awakeners.
He was attempting to do so now.
Until the missile came flying.
“Choi Kang-mok! A missile has breached the perimeter!”
I had to alert him to this fact as quickly as possible, even if only by a second.
“Deploy defensive magic immediately! The location is over there….”
He gazed toward the missile using the streamer’s distinctive remote vision.
He was observing the Mock Battle Field as if looking down from the sky.
Using his ‘Third Eye’ skill.
His voice suddenly became composed.
It was his broadcast tone.
“There was a missile… but it’s gone now.”
It was sucked into the pitch-black void.
Without sound or form, it was obliterated, with only a handful of fragments scattered to the ground.
He zoomed in to focus on it.
“What used to be a missile!”
Kang Pal-do was no longer conversing with Choi Kang-mok.
He had already begun concentrating on the broadcast.
“Do you see? The remnants of what was once a missile are scattered about. Shall we rewind the recording just a bit? Oh, it’s just like a black hole.”
He actively utilized the assistance of narration.
[Layers of formidable destructive mysteries converge, and a black wick is generated. Space tears asunder, and overlapping planes compress against one another, creating a vortex of darkness. In the midst of empty air, a devastating black hole opens as if the very universe were collapsing.]
Kang Pal-do turned off the narration.
What is this narration saying? Has it gone mad?
Why is it describing it like some extreme offensive destruction spell?
“Did you see that? This is the defensive magic of an EX-Rank Awakener. The defensive capability is extraordinary. Remarkably excellent defensive magic indeed. Look over there. Even the red cat is nodding in agreement.”
Meow!
A cute affirmative sound was captured on camera.
Bessius regarded Kang Pal-do with an expression of utter disbelief.
‘How did that lunatic breach this place? And why does he keep emphasizing defense?’
Korea. I knew it was an extraordinary nation, but it’s beyond imagination.
Is it really this common for people to break through the Mock Battle Field?
‘And when a missile comes flying, doesn’t it usually bounce off?’
It didn’t bounce—it forced its way in here instead.
I think everyone’s gone mad.
For some reason, today feels like a day I want to return to Spain.

* * *
Choi Kang-mok approached Kang Pal-do.
Kang Pal-do’s expression darkened.
“I’m streaming right now.”
I can’t mine at the moment.
You don’t touch anything while I’m on air—not even a dog.
“I know. I’m not asking you to mine.”
“Then what?”
“How many viewers do you have right now?”
“I turned it on so suddenly that it’s not many.”
Kang Pal-do lost some confidence.
Content. The material itself was flawless.
There couldn’t be better material on Earth than an EX-rank Awakener.
Making good use of it was now the director’s job.
If the viewer count was low? That was Kang Pal-do’s own fault.
Heat flushed across my face.
“Less than a million….”
“That’s enough. There are plenty of Korean viewers too, right?”
“About a third….”
Choi Kang-mok nodded.
I don’t think missiles flew across the border.
I can tell precisely because I’m someone who’s been hit by them before(?)
It wasn’t a missile that sophisticated.
“It wasn’t fired from overseas—it was fired from within Korea.”
They probably poured all their resources into breaching the Mock Battle Field.
“Now I’m going to trace it.”
“Trace it?”
Kang Pal-do’s eyes widened.
He meant to trace the source and strike back.
The material was directing itself.
Ah, I really am a blessed creator.
“Yeah. From what I can tell, this couldn’t have been made with pure Earth technology.”
Which means,
“Either the Arcsia Mages lent their hand.”
Or otherwise,
“The [Authors] must have had a hand in this.”
Either way, it’s good.
If I keep striking, something will eventually emerge.
“I’m quite confident in spatial release magic myself.”
They attack from there to here?
Then I can attack from here to there.
Pinpointing the origin is entirely feasible.
Especially within Korean Territory, I can do it with far greater precision.
───────
[Security]
3. Tracking: 10 (Limit Level Reached)
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Tracking isn’t the only option available.
A more substantive defensive strategy is possible.
───────
[Defense]
3. Origin Strike: 10 (Limit Level Reached)
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With Mayo’s pure abilities alone, origin striking is now within reach.
And if I add magic storage and release on top of that?
It’s merely an extension of what I just practiced.
“Just as I magicalized interception and used it.”
-Origin Strike can likewise be magicalized and utilized.
Origin Strike has now become executable through Choi Kang-mok’s magic.
Mayo’s torso glowed crimson.
-This mage’s interception damage becomes infinite…!
-Hehehehe, hehehehe, hahahaha!
Like a gun barrel heating up from the scorching fire it unleashes.
Mayo trembled with excitement.
-Indeed, magic’s expandability is truly boundless.
-I can hardly wait to test the origin strike defense magic.
-Hurry and implant the magic. A high-ranking spirit would be ideal.
Mayo began tracking the location on his end.
An orange thread of light extended through Choi Kang-mok’s mind.
‘The location is….’
Wait.
I thought they fired from within Korea.
‘They didn’t fire from domestic territory?’
The coordinates don’t exist on Earth.
It’s outside the dimension.
Then could it be Arcsia?
-Arcsia was the leading candidate.
That wasn’t it either.
-It seems we can interpret it as outside the dimension, yet within Korean Territory.
It didn’t belong to the same dimension.
However, there exists one peculiar space within Korean Territory.
-The origin point is the Tower in South Korea.
Inside the Tower itself.
A missile came flying from within the Tower.
-Specifically, Floor 60.
The mad scientist.
The floor where we had conquered Aimonshuter.
-Let’s begin the origin strike. With high-tier spirits.
-Ah, this is clearly a legitimate self-defense situation, so once more the energy barrier black hole
defensive magic
looks good too. Let’s sweep it away.

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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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