The Return of the EX-Class Wizard - Chapter 23

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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 023
Jo Ju-won’s lips curled upward.
Actually, this was perfect.
That’s what he believed.
‘Magic that deals damage like that—it can’t be real. The stamina drain must be catastrophic.’
It was clear this wasn’t normal magic.
If that were true, the backlash would defy all logic.
But the undead didn’t need to worry about such things.
“Rise!”
As he extended his hand, the scattered fragments of the ghoul trembled across the ground.
Shattered bones and flesh twisted, attempting to restore their form.
The familiar moment of resurrection, as it had always been.
But in that instant, an unfamiliar notification appeared.
[Creation of ‘Big Ghoul’ is impossible.]
“What the hell?”
Ghoul fragments were scattered everywhere.
Materials surrounded him on all sides.
Moreover, he had already prepared the special materials.
Everything was proceeding according to plan.
‘Why?’
[Damage Threshold Exceeded!]
[Fundamental destruction has occurred.]
“Damn it.”
In over a decade as a necromancer, I had never seen such a notification.
Even overseas rankers claimed they’d never encountered such a message.
This was unprecedented.
“What is this….”
Damage Threshold Exceeded. Words I’d never heard or seen before.
But what mattered now wasn’t terminology—it was the result.
The Big Ghoul I’d trusted in had truly been annihilated.
“Huh?”
Jo Ju-won’s vision tilted.
Something felt wrong.
Instinctively, he looked down.
“Hm?”
Gone.
Everything below his knees had completely vaporized.
No blood, no flesh, no bone. All of it.
“Kyaaaaaaagh!”
Pain. Agony. And terror.
[Congratulations!]
[Tower (Korea) Floor 8 has been cleared at ■■ rank.]
The notification barely registered in my consciousness.
My awareness grew increasingly dim, and the terror of death tightened around my throat like a noose.
‘This can’t be how it ends.’
An EX-rank Awakener could die here, but I could not.
‘I need to find a way.’
Despite losing my lower body, my mind remained oddly lucid.
I should have been dead, yet I clung to life.
Then—like a hand reaching out in salvation, yet somehow unsettling—a notification window appeared.
[Necromancer ‘Jo Ju-won’. Will you accept the system’s adjustment?]
The notification was silent, but it carried an eerie sensation.
It felt as though someone was whispering to me.
Die? Or become a monster?
The notification appeared again.
[Necromancer ‘Jo Ju-won’. Will you accept the system’s adjustment?]

* * *
Choi Kang-mok tilted his head in confusion.
An EX clear was an EX clear—what did ■■ rank even mean?
An unfamiliar notation.
For some reason, an ominous premonition washed over him.
[Hidden Stage (Floor 8) activation conditions have been satisfied.]
Nothing in the strategy guide mentioned this.
‘So it was real after all.’
This was the first official confirmation.
[Upon ‘Jo Ju-won’s acceptance, the boss of Floor 8 (Hidden Stage) will be generated.]
Choi Kang-mok gazed down at Jo Ju-won with an uneasy expression.
Jo Ju-won’s body had taken on an ashen hue.
An otherworldly color.
As if it belonged to no world he knew—transformed into grayscale.
[‘Jo Ju-won’ has accepted the system’s proposal.]
[You have obtained the title ‘Hidden Stage Opener’.]
And in that moment.
Jo Ju-won’s body vanished.
As if someone had cut this scene from existence itself.
In the distance ahead, a massive Iron Gate loomed into view.
Above it, a spider-shaped sculpture hung ominously.
[Hidden Stage]
A tower within the Tower had emerged.
I approached the Iron Gate.
[Will you challenge the Hidden Stage (Floor 8)?]
[Challenge Preview: Defeat the Hidden Boss, the ‘Spider Human’]
[Upon clearing the Hidden Stage (Floor 8), your clear rank will increase.]
Perhaps I could even achieve an EX+ rank or higher.
[If you forfeit the clear, your current clear rank will decrease.]
A mythic-grade staff specialized for boss battles.
My grip tightened around Excalion.
A boss fight. I couldn’t resist this.

* * *
Jo Ju-won was alive.
Or more precisely, he had been made ‘alive’.
[Boss Possession System activates.]
[The boss of the Hidden Stage (Floor 8) is being generated.]
[You are possessing the boss.]
‘What?’
He was pulled into the shimmering heat haze before him.
Soon, he could comprehend it.
‘I have a new body.’
He felt it distinctly.
An alien yet formidable power surged through his veins.
[Upon defeating the Hidden Stage opener, you will escape the Tower.]
[All injuries will be healed.]
[Awakener status will be retained.]
Conversely.
[If you die on this stage, your Awakener status will be revoked.]
[You will exit the Tower with injuries unhealed.]
Another chance had been granted.
‘This time, I will definitely defeat him.’
I had already faced him before.
‘His attack power is incomprehensible.’
It was no wonder he was called an EX-rank Awakener.
Underestimating an energy bolt would be catastrophic.
‘But as long as I don’t get hit, it doesn’t matter.’
I looked down at my lower body.
Instead of flesh, a viscous carapace.
Eight black legs writhed and pressed against the ground.
‘I’m far faster now.’
I could even climb smooth walls.
Gravity meant nothing to me as I charged forward, moving exactly as I desired.
The Hidden Boss modifier granted me several new skills.
Among them, the one that caught my attention most was ‘Binding Web’.
───────
[Binding Web]
Proficiency: 1
Launches a viscous green web toward the target.
99% chance to immobilize lower-level intruders for 3 seconds.
All movement is blocked during immobilization.
───────
A full three seconds of opportunity—if I could land the hit.
That was the crucial condition.
‘His level has to be lower than mine.’
Due to the Tower’s per-floor level cap, even at maximum he’d be level 16.
‘That’s more than enough.’
And that wasn’t all—the title effect was equally extraordinary.
[You have obtained the Title: ‘First Hidden Boss’.]
[The Title Effect ‘Near-Invincibility’ is now active.]
───────
[Near-Invincibility]
Active for 5 minutes after the boss battle begins.
Applies only within Hidden Stage (Floor 8).
This ability rivals the defensive capabilities of a mythic-grade defensive artifact.
───────
Two abilities combined. A body honed to perfection.
Claws sharpened like a master’s blade.
Experience and wisdom from battles already fought.
The Tower itself was on my side.
In other words—a foregone conclusion.
Then the door opened.
[An uninvited guest has breached the chamber.]
The Tower’s warning sounded.
A whistle announcing the beginning of the second battle.

* * *
Choi Kang-mok received a single challenge.
[Eliminate the Spider-Human.]
Jo Ju-won faced the same.
[Eliminate the Intruder.]
Jo Ju-won laughed with an eerie, unsettling cackle.
“■■■■■(Well, well. How delightful.)”
The distorted voice poured out like the cry of a beast.
Choi Kang-mok winced slightly, muttering under his breath.
“Hideous to look at, and now this voice. Absolutely revolting.”
Lower body of a spider, upper body of Jo Ju-won.
The face was identical.
“■■■■(You will surely die here).”
[In 3 minutes, the challenge of the Hidden Stage (Floor 8) will begin.]
[!Boss Battle Starting in 3 Minutes!]
In three minutes, everything would change.
Jo Ju-won leisurely flexed and folded his spider legs.
If I hadn’t known my opponent before, perhaps. But now I do.
Those pathetic-looking energy bolts are a deception.
‘Distract with energy bolts, then unleash the real attack.’
Something invisible, something EX-rank, no doubt.
Of course not.
They’re just energy bolts.
‘I’ve decoded all of his patterns.’
I won’t fall for it again.
[1 minute remains until the boss battle begins.]
[Pseudo-Invincibility will activate upon the start.]
This should be sufficient to face an EX-rank Awakener.
[!Boss Battle Starting in 30 Seconds!]
‘His attacks are simple.’
“■■■■■(The moment the boss battle starts, I’ll kill you).”

* * *
Eight spider legs scraped against the floor.
Green webbing writhed within my mandibles.
The hunt was prepared.
[!Boss Battle Starting in 10 Seconds!]
Jo Ju-won finished his preparations to move.
I trusted Pseudo-Invincibility, but there was no harm in dodging anyway.
First, I would evade.
Pseudo-Invincibility was merely insurance.
‘You have no answer for me.’
[!Boss Battle Begins!]
As expected.
The moment it started, Choi Kang-mok immediately extended his hand.
[Skill Energy Bolt (S) activated.]
‘Divide.’
Four-pronged flashes of light engulfed the space above, below, left, and right.
Jo Ju-won moved as anticipated.
‘The same tactic again.’
I shot toward the ceiling.
Eight legs danced acrobatically across the walls.
My body felt incredibly light.
‘What’s the real attack?’
The four-pronged Energy Bolt was a feint.
There was something else—the true strike.
An invisible force carrying devastating damage.
An EX-rank secret technique.
‘As I thought. He’s not aiming for a direct hit.’
Either he was too foolish to see through the deception.
Or he was underestimating me.
The ceiling was blocked.
All four directions were sealed by Energy Bolts.
‘As I fall.’
There was only one path to escape—downward.
It was actually perfect.
‘I release the webbing.’
I finished preparing to unleash the green restraining web.
Three seconds would be enough.
Energy Bolt’s cooldown hadn’t reset, so no further feints were possible now.
Everything was flawless.
I twisted my body mid-air and envisioned the trajectory of the binding webbing.
‘They probably couldn’t calculate the cooldown either.’
A common mistake among inexperienced mages.
It happened frequently in combat situations where every fraction of a second mattered.
What could be done about it?
Without experience, death was the only outcome.
Of course, that wasn’t quite right.
Thanks to the Mythic-grade staff Excalion’s effect, Choi Kang-mok’s energy bolts had no cooldown.
“■■ (Die)!”
Just before descending and unleashing the binding web.
Jo Ju-won’s legs folded sharply.
Crack!
Another ashen energy bolt erupted.
‘What?’
Cooldown nearly zero?
This made no sense.
‘Don’t panic.’
Yet he maintained his composure.
Panic in combat meant death.
‘It’s a fake anyway.’
A fake. An illusion.
There could be no cooldown.
‘I trust in Pseudo-Invulnerability and push forward.’
Ignore the fake. See the real.
I spread my entire body wide and took the energy bolt head-on—believing it false—while spewing forth the web.

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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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