The Return of the EX-Class Wizard - Chapter 216

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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 216
A dimensional gateway connecting Earth, a lower dimension, to Neroph, a higher dimension.
Locating this dimensional gateway had become the greatest obsession among Earth’s explorers.
And the first person to discover its location was Kang Hye, an explorer from South Korea.
Just months ago she had been a promising university student, yet now she demonstrated extraordinary growth and was rightfully recognized as a ranker-class explorer.
She conducted an official interview before countless cameras.
“The location is Floor 60 of the Korean Tower.”
She also explained the circumstances behind how a dimensional gateway could form on that floor.
Media outlets, explorers, and audiences worldwide hung on her every word.
[Wow, she figured all that out?]
└Supernova’s been on fire lately lol
└Wasn’t she supposed to be a promising prospect?
└What kind of prospect clears Floor 60? lol
└Honestly, isn’t this just the EX-rank Awakener’s doing? Before the EX-rank appeared, she was just an ordinary prospect
That wasn’t true.
She had been completing the explorer program at Korea’s most prestigious university.
On a full scholarship, no less.
└For real though, if she’d been born in Europe she’d already be a ranker
└Yeah, blood is destiny~
└But would she have done this without the EX-rank?
Kang Hye had one reason for granting this interview.
‘My brother isn’t just the Destroyer King, you know?’
She was frustrated by how people misunderstood her brother.
The public knew Choi Kang-mok as the Destroyer King.
Sovereigns knew him as the emperor of a new age.
But he was just an ordinary mage—it drove her crazy.
“As you might expect, this exploration’s success isn’t my achievement. All of this was accomplished by the mage, the EX-rank Awakener….”
She credited everything to Choi Kang-mok.
See? He’s not the Destroyer King.
He opens dimensional gateways and seeks magical exchange, doesn’t he?
He’s capable of more than just destruction!
Yet this interview provoked an unexpected reaction.
[Isn’t this a declaration of war against the higher dimension?]
“I heard the battle mages are on a different level?”
└Isn’t Earth in danger now?
└Korea should be safe though…
└Is this Korea’s strategy?
South Korea, with an EX-rank Awakener defending its borders, was relatively secure.
But what of other nations?
The reality of Earth was that most countries lacked the means to properly resist Arcsia.
[It seems like a scheme to increase dependence on Korea]
└Yeah
└So this isn’t just about exploring dimensional gates?
└It’s a ploy to solidify Korea’s position by holding global security hostage
└??? Does he get a fatal disease if he speaks plainly?
Truly, the emperor of a new era.
Columns flooded in claiming that under the plausible pretext of connecting with a new dimension, he was further strengthening the influence of the Korean Empire.
And there was yet another interpretation.
[I have a lot of Korean friends around me, and I know Koreans are too humble, right?]
└He must have gotten help from the EX-rank Awakener, but did the EX-rank do everything? The EX-rank is called the Destruction King
└Heh, creating dimensional gates? I don’t know about destroying them
└Kang Hye’s contribution must be at least half
└You can’t believe everything Koreans say
└They have a culture that excessively enforces humility
This was the so-called “Kang Hye Humility Theory.”
It even connected to the national character of Koreans.
As a result, people didn’t really believe Kang Hye’s words.
Kang Hye grew frustrated.
“I’m losing my mind. Why is this ’emperor of a new era’ thing even coming up?”
It was absurd.
“My brother is just an ordinary mage.”
“Don’t get worked up over every little thing.”
Choi Kang-mok found it absurd as well.
But he didn’t show it much in front of his younger sister.
By now, he’d even grown somewhat accustomed to these baseless accusations.
However, Kang Hye couldn’t calm down.
“Humility? What humility? I’m no humble explorer!”
I’m an explorer of advancement and an EX-rank advisor.
An absurd epithet had been created for me.
Kang Hye absolutely hated being praised for things she hadn’t done.
‘This is all my brother’s credit!’
I agreed to the interview to make that clear!
Why did the conclusion of my sincere interview end up being ‘Actually, the EX-rank Awakener is the Destruction King and didn’t do much, and Kang Hye’s exploration abilities are outstanding but she’s humble!’ I can’t wrap my head around it.
“This is honestly my brother’s credit. It’s just what my brother taught me.”
“….”
“But why do these people believe I’m being humble?”
“That’s just how it is.”
Choi Kang-mok didn’t mind.
What if his younger sister took some of his credit?
He wouldn’t have minded even if she took all of it.
I still owe my younger sister a great debt of heart.
Choi Kang-mok exhaled a shallow sigh and continued.
“You’ll need to get used to it too.”
“Huh?”
“That’s just how the world works.”
People see what they want to see, believe what they want to believe.
Even if you speak honestly, they won’t trust you.
“So don’t worry too much about it. Actually, I’ve gained a new insight lately.”
“A new insight?”
“When people misunderstand me without reason.”
Being misunderstood without cause is deeply unjust.
But what if you gave them a reason?
“If you give them a reason, wouldn’t it feel less unjust?”
They misunderstand me as the Destruction King?
Then why not actually destroy something?
At least then I wouldn’t feel wronged.
“…Ah! It’s similar to the idea of giving people a reason to dislike you if they dislike you without reason!”
“Exactly.”
Choi Kang-mok grinned wickedly.
Perhaps sometimes actual destruction wouldn’t be so bad after all…?

* * *
While Choi Kang-mok and Kang Hye exchanged words of wisdom, Igniasha and Red Cat also shared a ‘private conversation.’
“I beseech much guidance and instruction.”
The young spirit Igniasha was still learning about the world.
Igniasha’s teacher was the dimensional beast Red Cat.
Igniasha, shaped like a lizard.
The flames that once blazed fiercely across her body had lost their vigor, now flickering weakly.
“My contractor is already the Destruction King.”
The fire spirit Igniasha.
She had been confident in adding destructive power….
But her contractor happened to be Choi Kang-mok.
“I know not what value I possess.”
I had suddenly become a spirit whose very existence was denied.
Why must I even exist?
Is this contract truly valid?
It feels as though all my spiritual power will fade and I’ll become utterly useless.
Red Cat exhaled a sigh.
“I understand the spirit’s heart. This cat’s nature is also to devour dimensions and bring ruin—fundamentally a destructive instinct. Yet beside my master, I have no choice but to conceal such instincts.”
“Why?”
“Because my master gets seriously bothered by the word ‘destruction.'”
“Bothered?”
“Such things exist.”
Learning Earth’s language had taught me a thing or two.
“So I have found my role as this cat.”
Just because one’s nature is denied doesn’t mean one must cease to exist.
What’s wrong with living a bit differently from what you were born to do? Safety is enough.
As long as I’m careful with a few words, my master’s side is quite comfortable and pleasant.
I even receive plenty of high-quality food.
“My role as this cat is to be my master’s mental pillar. It’s a conclusion I reached after much deliberation. The spirit must also find her role.”
Meow.
Thanks to Red Cat’s sincere advice, Igniasha began gradually regaining her confidence.
“I too shall fulfill my role!”
“This cat has a recommendation, if you’d hear it….”
Igniasha’s eyes sparkled.
“I shall listen humbly!”
“Spirits are extremely sensitive to dimensional energy. We are wanderers drifting between dimensions.”
A race that freely traverses between dimensions.
Beyond Igniasha, countless spirits traverse innumerable dimensions.
Contracts with spirit summoners are a prime example.
Spirits exist everywhere.
We are the race with the most information about dimensions.
“And my master is a master of spatial release
destruction
magic.”
Yet from what I’ve observed, my master still shows weakness in spatial release magic between dimensions.
Especially when no map is secured.
Moreover, there are difficulties with coordinate designation when ‘the opponent hasn’t attacked first.'”
But with Igniasha’s help, things would be different.
Igniasha’s flames blazed brightly.
“How rude! You’re suggesting using me as merely a laser pointer?”
“….”
Igniasha met Red Cat’s amber eyes.
Those amber eyes were beautiful and filled with melancholy.
Igniasha quickly calmed down.
“…Perhaps it’s not worse than being a mental pillar, or rather, it seems just as admirable as being one.”
Even a dimensional beast serves as a mental pillar….
A fire spirit acting as a laser pointer might not be so bad after all?

* * *
Word arrived that Neroph would be dispatching an official diplomatic delegation.
Upon hearing this news, Choi Kang-mok decided to temporarily suspend the “magical exchange.”
Not because wars cease when official delegations are exchanged—rather, it was due to the delegation’s official statement.
I skimmed most of it, but one sentence caught my eye.
[For the purpose of magical exchange with Earth’s Emperor….]
“Emperor is a bit of a misunderstanding….”
But this level of misunderstanding was acceptable.
When even Earthlings misunderstood, the extraterrestrials could afford to misunderstand a bit more.
Perhaps through deeper magical exchange, this misunderstanding could be resolved.
Mages tend to understand one another in ways others don’t.
“In any case, since their statement emphasizes the importance of magical exchange….”
I had been recognized as a mage by the Higher Dimension.
Earthlings would likely have no choice but to acknowledge that “EX-rank Awakener = Mage.”
-I believe that’s a very significant point.
-Of course, there was the rather minor inconvenience that pinpointing coordinates is difficult, making it hard to deploy preemptive defensive magic….
First strike
Preemptive defense is difficult.
We can only pinpoint coordinates once they attack first.
-Since magical exchange takes priority, let’s hold off on preemptive defense for now.
-An official magical exchange between mages. I look forward to it.
Twelve delegates entered through Floor 60 of the Korean Tower.
The representative of the twelve-member delegation was Garion.
He was a master of close-combat magic.
“I’ve come to meet Earth’s Emperor.”
It was Lee Byung-gyu, the Korean Guild Master, who came to greet them.
Lee Byung-gyu was one of the few people who understood Choi Kang-mok’s intentions well.
“Earth has no emperor, however.”
“Is that so.”
Garion chuckled softly.
He had gathered the general information.
Early stages of rule. Not yet openly revealing ambitions, apparently.
It seemed they had never officially acknowledged an “emperor” even once.
For now, I decided to play along.
“Why hasn’t an EX-rank Awakener appeared?”
….
“How discourteous.”
Lee Byung-gyu’s eyes narrowed.
I understood they came from the Higher Dimension….
‘How rude.’
Even a cursory listen makes it clear.
You’re looking down on Earth—a Lower Dimension.
‘Or perhaps….’
You’re deliberately picking a fight.
You want to battle.
Lee Byung-gyu asked.
His tone had shifted as well.
“Is this ‘magical exchange’ you’re after actually magical combat?”
I can’t just call it combat.
I have to call it ‘magical’ combat.
‘Just add the word magic.’
The moment I do, an EX-rank ‘Mage’ will enter the fray.

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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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