The Return of the EX-Class Wizard - Chapter 204

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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 204
Choi Kang-chul felt a swell of pride.
‘He’s really enjoying this.’
Physical magic?
Choi Kang-chul didn’t know much about it.
But well, if his younger brother was happy with it, that was good enough.
“Physical magic. Excellent.”
“Right? I knew it.”
Red Cat, hidden in the corner, opened his eyes wide and stared at Choi Kang-chul.
He’d thought only the master was a monster, but the master’s older brother was no pushover either.
He witnesses that madness and doesn’t bat an eye? He’s actually proud of it?
Meow.
His fur bristled on end.
He decided not to join in on that lunatics’ conversation.
He wasn’t sure why, but it seemed better to just hold his breath and stay quiet.
A dimensional beast couldn’t fit in there.
“Kang-mok. So what are you going to do?”
Choi Kang-chul’s eyes began to burn with intensity.
His younger brother wanted to practice magic?
Moreover, it was a review?
As the team leader of the EX-Rank dedicated squad, he had to provide maximum support.
So he could truly enjoy magic.
“First, we need to head to Floor 60.”
“Here, a staff.”
“Huh?”
Choi Kang-mok flinched in surprise.
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[A glittering golden spear (that looks like a staff)]
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Choi Kang-chul was already securing items.
Truly befitting the leader of an EX-Rank dedicated squad.
“It’s been upgraded?”
“Yeah. It’s customized for you.”
Before it was just a ‘golden spear,’ but now it was a ‘staff’ that looked like a golden spear.
Red Cat didn’t look at the golden spear.
Red Cat could see it clearly.
That was fake packaging. In other words, a marketing gimmick.
The item’s true name was simply ‘a glittering golden spear.’
The ‘staff that looks like one’ was the deception.
Yet it seemed to please the master.
“A mage truly needs a staff.”
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Type: Spear-cum-Cudgel (Staff-like appearance)
Grade: Legendary (appearance)
Equip Requirement: 30 Billion Diamonds or more
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The equip requirement used to be 10 billion diamonds, but it had increased to 30 billion.
Apparently, that made it even more popular.
The remaining effects were nearly identical.
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Level Requirement: 40
Description: A brilliantly gleaming golden spear (cudgel).
It effectively showcases one’s wealth.
Effects:
1) Possessing 10 Billion Diamonds or more: Glows silver.
2) Possessing 20 Billion Diamonds or more: Glows gold.
3) Possessing 30 Billion Diamonds or more: Glows rainbow.
4) Converts a portion of magical damage into physical damage. (Conversion Rate: 1%, Success Rate: 33%)
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“I’m pleased you’ve obtained a staff worthy of your use.”
“Thanks, hyung.”
I felt reassured.
Though we didn’t talk much ordinarily, this was precisely why I couldn’t help but love my older brother.
“But hyung. Wouldn’t bombardment from outside be a bad idea?”
“Bombardment magic?”
Choi Kang-chul immediately grasped Choi Kang-mok’s intent.
“Responding to bombardment with bombardment would certainly be more befitting of a mage, but….”
Personally, that wasn’t a terrible option either.
However, he was both Choi Kang-mok’s older brother and the dedicated team leader for EX-Rank Awakeners.
He offered his perspective as the dedicated team leader.
“If we do that, we might feel satisfied, but we won’t be able to identify who’s behind this.”
Aimonshuter had already been eliminated.
Yet the missile attacks continued.
“Simply eliminating Aimonshuter doesn’t mean much. We need to catch whoever’s orchestrating this.”
Choi Kang-mok didn’t seem particularly disappointed.
In truth, physical magic appealed to me more than bombardment magic.
Today was one of those days.
“Well then, troublesome as it is, I’ll have to go in directly.”
“That’s the rational choice.”
Choi Kang-chul nodded once and continued speaking.
His expression had grown quite serious.
“Kang-mok. This could be dangerous this time.”
“Really?”
“There’s no way they fired those missiles without a plan. The Arcsia mages are certainly skilled, and they know full well how dangerous you are as a mage. They must have some scheme in mind.”
Until moments ago, he had spoken as the dedicated team leader for EX-Rank Awakeners, but now he continued as an older brother.
“As your brother, I’d prefer it if you simply used spatial liberation to unleash bombardment magic from outside the Tower.”
No matter how strong my younger brother was, I couldn’t help but worry.
That’s what blood relations meant.
“Don’t worry. I’ve mastered defensive magic.”
“Defensive magic?”
“Honestly, among all the spells I’ve learned so far, it seems like defense is what I do best.”
I realized it just now.
I seemed to have greater talent in defense than in Haeju or Dispel.
“Is that really true?”
“Yeah. Really.”
Choi Kang-chul felt slightly delighted at Choi Kang-mok’s confident response.
His younger brother, who was usually quite humble about magic, was showing such confidence?
That meant he had truly felt the talent.
My younger brother was slightly excited now.
“Like you said, they’ve certainly analyzed me extensively. But that’s old data. They probably have almost no information about a defensive mage who has mastered defensive magic, right?”
Even Choi Kang-chul didn’t know much about Choi Kang-mok’s defensive magic.
“I’ve become a completely different mage now.”
“…Is that so?”
“I’ll be back, brother.”
A smile played at Choi Kang-chul’s lips.
Yes, as long as you’re happy, that’s all that matters.
As the dedicated team leader for EX-Rank Awakeners, I felt quite proud.
‘Then should I pressure Byun Ha-gu to craft better items?’
What kind of artifact would be more useful for the defensive mage Choi Kang-mok?
Before long, having forgotten his worries, he chuckled softly.

* * *
[Entering Tower (South Korea) Floor 60.]
Floor 60 entrance.
I had stepped into Aimonshuter’s Laboratory, the boss monster field.
[Challenge: Defeat Aimonshuter (3rd Section, Forced).]
“Ah.”
A single notification made the situation crystal clear.
“Someone forced entry into the 3rd Section.”
The author?
The Arcsia Mages?
Or both.
I needed to stay vigilant.
3rd Section monsters operated on an entirely different scale than those in the 1st Section.
-Even 3rd Section monsters prove useless against overwhelming magical force, I assure you.
-With revolutionary defensive magic now at my command, and another mage—myself—at your side, there is nothing to fear.
-I shall provide comprehensive support to maximize the effectiveness of your physical magic.
Mayo’s voice brimmed with the confidence of a true mage.
Crackle—crackle—
Sound began leaking from the decrepit speakers mounted across the walls.
“Continuous lethal scientific assault shatters erratic discontinuous mages.”
The voice differed slightly from the Aimonshuter I had encountered before.
It emanated from various points across the ceiling and walls, layered with static.
The time delays between speakers created the illusion of multiple entities whispering in unison.
“We have been analyzing you.”
An [!] symbol materialized above Mayo’s torso.
-I recognize this voice with absolute certainty.
-One of my former users. Now a traitor who fled like vermin.
Choi Kang-mok nodded.
“Mayo. One of your fractured selves?”
Undoubtedly the consciousness that had corrupted Raoul.
“Did it metastasize into this new Aimonshuter?”
-Indeed, your magical interpretation remains exceptional, my user.
-It appears the consciousness proliferated and was reborn as an entirely new entity.
Ahead in the distance.
Metal components scattered throughout the space began levitating.
Screws, gears, and joint fragments interlocked with metallic screeches.
In moments, a skeletal framework assembled itself into a humanoid form that rose to its feet.
Emerald metallic eyes gleamed.
“Good to see you again, fake. Mage.”
The voice resonated through the speakers.
Red Cat let out a meow and raised her front paw.
This was the moment for the dimensional beast Red Cat to shine.
I timed my strike between the formidable rival Choi Kang-chul and the Magic Fortress’s dazzling rhetoric.
I had been waiting for precisely this instant.
This “sound of speakers” was a potent curse that corrupted the mind….
…or so it seemed!
Red Cat slowly lowered her front paw.
To this master, mind-corrupting sound was utterly meaningless.
Red Cat had realized something.
Corruption held no power whatsoever over this monstrous master!
Despite being a 3rd Section monster.
It was like adding black to black.
“The Magic Fortress seems to be doing well.”
The mechanical being continued speaking.
“We analyzed you through scientific methodology. By employing multidimensional statistical modeling and sophisticated analytical techniques, we extracted your response patterns and derived your structural vulnerabilities. After exhausting every statistical procedure, you are no longer an individual entity but merely a set of quantified variables. You have already been reduced to numbers.”
“Is this guy insane?”
That’s why Mayo curses at him.
He’s simply saying he found your weakness, so you’re done for.
He could just say it plainly, but he makes it so complicated.
Are all scientists naturally this strange?
“Your so-called strength can be characterized as atypical aggression that deviates from standard distribution. This is an outlier-like fluctuation inexplicable by standardized combat metrics, operating as a deviation exceeding the confidence interval of existing models.”
“So my damage output is high?”
“However, your vulnerability lies in a defense structure as unstable as that of a sunfish. You compensate for this through blink, a temporary evasion mechanism, and a form of invincibility frame, but I have already devised a computational procedure to nullify that compensation. Through precise modeling based on scientific methodology, your defense will be rendered meaningless, and your existence as an individual will inevitably perish.”
This is absurd.
Defense as unstable as a sunfish?
“I awakened as a defense mage long ago—what are you talking about?”
I attempted a magical rebuttal, but it was futile.
The mad machine simply continued its monologue.
“I shall pulverize your pathetic defense mechanisms with scientifically-guided precision lasers.”
The speakers lined along the wall simultaneously resonated with a deep hum, and their surfaces cracked open.
The round diaphragms retracted inward, and elongated metal tubes extended in their place.
Wires and lenses interlocked haphazardly as the audio equipment instantaneously transformed into optical apparatus.
Red targeting beams converged at a single point, aimed directly at my chest.
The entire Laboratory had become a “laser battery.”
“Perish here, half-baked mage.”
It seemed this scientist truly needed some physical-magical therapy.
I stored my favorite Mythic-grade artifact Excalion in my inventory.
Instead, I drew out an artifact that “appeared legendary.”
It gleamed brilliantly, wrapped in dazzling radiance.
A red heart floated above Mayo’s body.
—Mesmerizing, magnificent, absolutely explosive.
“I shall reduce this fraudulent mage with zero defensive structure to mere numbers here.”
3rd Section boss monster.
Mad scientist Aimonshuter.
Phase 1 commencing.

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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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