The Return of the EX-Class Wizard - Chapter 223

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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 223
-“I simply wanted to blow off some steam, and it worked out well.”
Surely not?
The most important reason was….
Just wanting to vent frustration?
“Is close combat more effective for stress relief?”
“Precisely. For a mage, stress is the greatest danger. Sometimes, managing that stress is crucial.”
Choi Kang-chul could only regard Raymond with an awkward expression.
How could this be!
‘He understands my brother better than I do!’
He grasped his younger brother’s heart far more deeply than I ever could.
I should have understood the nature of mages more thoroughly.
‘I was only thinking in terms of political strategy.’
My brother is a mage before he is anything else.
Managing a contracted mage’s stress was certainly the team leader’s responsibility.
‘I should strive to think more like a mage.’
It seemed I had much to learn.
He prided himself as a genius teacher… and it appeared he wasn’t wrong.
“I learn much from you.”
“I expected as much.”
Raymond was pleased.
Whether elder or younger brother, they absorbed everything he taught them (though he’d never actually taught them) with remarkable eagerness.
“But are you certain?”
Raymond shifted his gaze toward Choi Kang-mok.
As a teacher, he needed to point out his student’s slight shortcomings.
“That magnificent staff gleaming so brilliantly was screaming for help.”
“Pardon?”
Choi Kang-mok was startled.
Now that he thought about it, despite using physical force conversion magic extensively, the staff’s durability had held up remarkably well.
“You can hear it screaming?”
Truly a magical professor!
He had reached the level of perceiving an artifact’s voice.
Choi Kang-mok, who couldn’t hear a sound, felt envious in his heart.
“Even now, it’s begging for mercy.”
“I still have much to learn.”
“Of course, you could defeat them without a staff….”
“You’re too kind.”
“I’m not being kind.”
“How could a mage engage in close combat without a staff?”
….
Raymond paused for a moment.
No, if they’re just disciples, I could simply beat them with my fists, right?
‘Or I could land a few Blinks and then thrash them with a club instead of a staff!’
My disciples’ physical abilities had already grown formidable enough to withstand my magic.
“True. A mage can’t function without a staff. I was only joking.”
“Yes.”
Red Cat’s eyes sparkled.
So this mad professor could actually display that level of social grace.
Not quite like Mayo, that sycophant, but he seemed to be shaping up as a potential candidate for one.
“Professor, you certainly do tell good jokes.”
“…Haha! In any case, don’t worry. Truth pierces through all things.”
My disciples’ bodies were honed to their absolute limits.
They grew stronger with each breakthrough beyond their boundaries.
The Lucky Mine was no different.
The quality of survival-specialized luck improved with each passing day.
“By properly blending Lucky Mine with the Unbreakable Rock for reinforcement, we should be able to handle this dimensional tournament without difficulty.”
Then, a voice was heard for a moment.
-Make me a body that can’t even die?
-Just kill me instead!
-You wicked mages!
I lifted my head abruptly.
“Huh? I thought I heard a voice just now…”
I stared at the staff, which gleamed with a shimmering light.
Whether it was an illusion or not, the staff seemed to tremble once.
“…Did I mishear?”
In any case, the dimensional tournament was decided.
A 12v12 tag-team tournament mock battle.
Earth’s representatives had been selected.
The Englishwoman, who had secretly been anticipating Earth’s representative selection.
Christine felt wronged.
“Wait, is this for real?”
The results of Earth’s representative selection were shocking.

* * *
Christine and Bessius were active members of the Crbe Alliance.
With Raymond’s recent joining, they had become the Rek-Be Alliance.
[Entering the 4th Floor of the Aila Advanced Research Institute.]
Only those who had acquired special credentials could enter the 4th Floor.
Christine, a member of the Rek-Be Alliance, was able to enter the 4th Floor.
“Professor Raymond!”
“What is it?”
“Have you seen the Earth representative selection results?”
“I have. I’m the mediator, after all.”
“But only Choi Kang-mok’s name was listed?”
“That’s correct.”
Raymond looked at Christine with eyes that seemed to question what was strange about that.
“That means it’s 1 versus 12, doesn’t it?”
“So?”
….
Christine was momentarily at a loss for words.
But I’m the second-greatest mage on Earth.
They’re leaving me out?
“Why? I could at least be used as a stamina substitute, couldn’t I?”
Why not?
We could fight 12 versus 12, so why insist on 1 versus 12?
“Tsk.”
Raymond clicked his tongue.
“Do you still not understand my student’s magic?”
How could anyone possibly—
—defeat my student?
“…But it’s a tag match, isn’t it?”
If it were a team battle, she could understand to some degree.
Choi Kang-mok’s magic was far too violent.
Even allies would be injured.
If they were lucky, they’d merely be wounded—usually they’d be killed or annihilated.
“But it’s an individual match, so why would you…”
“Tsk.”
Raymond let out a deep sigh.
How could anyone possibly defeat my student in combat?
“Do you truly believe the individual match setting will actually protect the spectators?”
….
Christine’s mind went blank.
“He destroys the settings too?”
“You don’t think you can break it?”
It should be impossible to break something unbreakable—that’s common sense, isn’t it?
I wanted to say it, but I couldn’t.
When it comes to Choi Kang-mok specifically, breaking things seems more like common sense.
‘He shattered a curse, destroyed the Dragon Palace… oh!’
Now that I thought about it, Kang Pal-do had once been caught in the aftermath of Choi Kang-mok’s magic.
Even though he was a ‘Streamer’—protected from external environmental forces.
Raymond made no effort to hide his exasperation as he spoke.
“And there’s something truly important.”
“What is it?”
He’s asking me back?
The more we talk, the more frustrated I become.
If they were my disciples, they’d understand without me saying a word.
Even someone like Choi Kang-chul would grasp it.
“You’re not being awarded the Earth Medal, are you?”
“!”
A magnificent medal bestowed upon the ‘Dimensional Representative’ who participates in the first-ever Dimensional War.
It was an extraordinarily prestigious honor.
Just imagining it made my heart race.
“Surely not…!”
But could you monopolize it?
Not twelve recipients, but only one?
Christine swallowed hard.
‘I couldn’t resist that either.’
Now I could finally understand.
Of course there were various reasons, but the desire for ‘the Earth Medal for myself alone’ was undoubtedly the primary one.
Raymond nodded at last.
“I really do teach well, don’t I…”
“Wait, Professor. What is that in the darkness over there?”
Far ahead.
In a space where darkness shouldn’t exist, a thick shadow lay sprawled.
“Professor, isn’t that a human hand?”
A human hand jutted out, thrashing about.
“Ah, don’t mind it. It’s just an ordinary mine.”

* * *
Kang Pal-do screamed at the top of his lungs.
“Raymond, you bastard! Kill me!”
A darkness that devoured the mind.
Within that terrible agony, Kang Pal-do wailed.
Voices kept echoing from within the darkness.
-What, he’s still not dead?
Remarkably, Kang Pal-do did not die.
Most mines would have exploded or collapsed by now!
-It seems his survival-specialized luck is evolving into ‘survival’ itself. Fascinating. The mysteries of the mines are wondrous.
Just as Choi Kang-mok pushed himself to the brink and grew through his own will.
Kang Pal-do also pushed himself to the brink and grew through external circumstances.
-The more you extract, the higher the quality becomes.
At those words, Kang Pal-do stopped cursing.
My quality is improving?
Should I endure just a bit longer?
“Well then, let us begin the extraction.”
“Wait. Just a little more.”
“Oh, your mind is still intact. I can increase the intensity further.”
Christine trembled violently.
‘What on earth is that darkness magic?’
Despite the considerable distance, her entire body shook.
Different in nature from Choi Kang-mok’s violent damage, but nonetheless an ominous and dreadful aura emanated from it.
An ordinary person who approached would be in serious trouble.
“Well then, let us begin the extraction.”
“More!”
“Well then, let us begin the extraction.”
“J-just a little more!”
After some time had passed.
The extraction truly began.
Christine’s face went pale.
Extraction—she’d only heard of it in words, never seen it firsthand before.
‘Wait, why is he transforming his arm into a chainsaw?!’
Is that what extraction is?
‘What a terrifying transformation spell.’
The chainsaw whirred loudly as it began the extraction.
The extraction proceeded on a cleanly prepared operating table, but…
‘Why is he climbing up there on his own?’
Why is he smiling contentedly?
Christine felt as though her mind was becoming corrupted.
But I steadied my resolve.
‘To reach Choi Kang-mok, I need to push myself to this extent.’
In any case, the Lucky Mine was successfully excavated.
Brilliant golden light flooded the 4th Floor.
Raymond chuckled softly.
“With this, I can certainly reinforce the staff sufficiently.”
And so Choi Kang-mok’s staff was enhanced.
[You have been selected as Earth’s representative.]
[Earth’s first representative!]
[The Earth Medal is bestowed upon you.]
Choi Kang-mok examined the mock battle record window with a deeply satisfied expression.
The ‘Earth Medal’ was on an entirely different level from Bronze, Gold, or Platinum.
‘It’s not merely a border effect!’
Simply viewing the mock battle record automatically activates the medal.
A radiant medal gleaming with azure light.
───────
[Earth’s First Representative]
───────
First.
And Earth’s sole representative.
[!Special condition satisfied!]
[You have been selected as Earth’s sole representative.]
I alone am Earth’s representative.
With that came special privileges.
[You may designate one national territory to subjugate and bring under your domain.]
[The chosen national territory will be incorporated into the Korean Territory.]
It wasn’t an entirely satisfying privilege.
-This feels like some sort of system scheme.
-If I use this privilege, I’ll be mistaken for an emperor again, not a mage.
Mayo materialized before me.
-I, Mayo, vouch for this.
-The user is a mage, not some emperor.
-There’s no need to be swayed by such a cheap trick. Of course, you won’t be swayed at all.
Choi Kang-mok nodded.
Perhaps the Writers had orchestrated another cheap scheme.
Their crude narrative automatically surfaced in my mind.
───────
Magical Anomaly: I’m a mage.
???: No, you’re an emperor.
Magical Anomaly: I said I’m a mage.
???: And this still isn’t enough?
───────
‘I won’t be swayed by mere rumors.’
Choi Kang-mok shrugged his shoulders.
Conquering a nation was merely a trivial matter.
I wouldn’t need it for some time.
Yet this radiant medal captivated me.
Every time I conducted a mock battle, this magnificent medal would surface in my mind, setting the mage’s heart ablaze.
[Please select the name of the recipient to be engraved upon the medal.]
I could engrave a name on the back of the medal.
I could choose my real name or designate my Hall of Fame nickname.
Red Cat stepped forward.
[
Mage
]
It was Earth’s sole Earth medal engraved with “Mage.”
As Choi Kang-mok chuckled unknowingly.
Kang Pal-do arrived.
It was to secure the broadcast rights for the upcoming Dimensional Championship.
“Hey, Choi Kang-mok. If I get exclusive broadcast rights… Huh? What’s that?”
Kang Pal-do’s eyes widened in astonishment.
He could see it too.
The Earth medal gleaming in brilliant blue!
“Damn, that’s incredible.”
Choi Kang-mok became even more pleased.
“You think so too?”

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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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