The Return of the EX-Class Wizard - Chapter 24

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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 024
Jo Ju-won only realized the energy bolt was real after a hole had been torn through his abdomen.
‘It wasn’t a feint?’
Still, he trusted the Hidden Boss’s physical form.
He could withstand this much.
‘I can still move….’
I couldn’t.
[Hidden Boss ‘Spider Human’ has been defeated.]
[Hidden Stage (Floor 8) has been cleared.]
It defied all logic.
The damage. The cooldown.
An alert reached Jo Ju-won.
[Challenge Failed! Your Awakener status has been revoked.]
[Injuries will not be recovered.]
[You are being ejected from the Tower.]
“■■■(How is this possible)!!!”
Accompanied by an otherworldly death cry, the Spider Human’s body turned to ash.
[Tower (Korea) Floor 8 has been cleared at EX+ rank.]
An EX+ rank evaluation, no less.
───────
[Hall of Fame (Floor 8)]
[South Korea]
1. – (Seoul, EX+)
…
───────
“Huh? What’s EX+ now?”
“Is there something above EX? That’s insane.”
The current Floor 7 Hall of Fame had been updated and now displayed ‘EX’ as the ranking.
For the public, a rank higher than EX was unprecedented.
“Now they’re just slapping a plus sign after EX.”
“What do you have to do to get EX+?”
“What’s even the difference between EX and EX+?”
[Yo, there was a Hidden Stage on Floor 8;;]
└What even is a Hidden Stage
The boss is a spider man, but in his past life he was Jo Ju-won lol
└Jo Ju-won?? Is that the Jo Ju-won from Busan Guild??
└??? What nonsense is this?
Astonishing details began to surface.
[Boss setting screenshot (image attached)]
└Huh?
└Busan Guild shadow or whatever…
└Does the shadow actually exist? Isn’t this just a conspiracy theory?
└Infiltrated Floor 8 on orders from Shin Chae-ryung, the Busan Lord…
└What is this weirdly realistic setting?
A summary of all their past actions was laid out.
Like a boss monster in a game.
└However, they were sealed by the Stage Opener and trapped forever in the Hidden Stage, apparently.
└They harbored a powerful grudge against the Hidden Stage Opener or whatever. The rest seems skippable.
└Wow, if this setting were real, wouldn’t Busan Guild be absolute garbage?
└No matter how much an EX-rank is coveted, this isn’t it
When Jo Ju-won returned to reality, his lower body was gone.
He was unconscious, his face drained of all color.
Seoul Guild members immediately called medical personnel and discreetly transported him.
Meanwhile, Busan Guild responded immediately to the conspiracy theory.
[Official Statement from Shin Chae-ryung, Busan Lord: “The Hidden Stage in question was merely generated by the Tower system and has no connection whatsoever to Busan Guild. We will take strong legal action against anyone spreading false information.”]
Busan Guild naturally denied the allegations.
They claimed the spider-human boss monster of the Hidden Stage was a virtual boss monster created by the system, and that the setting and description were arbitrarily written details.
[What’s actually real?]
└It wasn’t on Busan Guild’s official roster though?
└That’s because it’s a shadow, duh lol
└That doesn’t exist in reality… stop watching movies
└The conspiracy theories are wild lol
When Busan Guild released their official guild member roster, the situation seemed to settle.
But the situation didn’t end there.
The EX-rank Awakener’s ‘Stage Opener’ effect began to become known.
[Hidden Stages appearing in other Towers too!]
└Wait? Why is this happening?
[The EX-rank set up Hidden Stages in each Tower. Looks like they did it for all the Towers in Korea.]
└Incheon Tower got a Hidden Stage too!
└Jeju Island got one!
└Daegu too!
The Hidden Stages were distinctly different from the regular floors.

* * *
[Seriously, it’s insane lol—you revive even if you die in the Hidden Stage]
└You actually come back to life?
└For real, I thought I was dead but I survived
└When I woke up, I was back on regular Floor 8;;>
└The difficulty scaling is insane—you absolutely have to go
As Awakeners who had experienced resurrection began appearing one by one, more and more people attempted the Hidden Stage on Floor 8.
Consequently, the number of people obtaining Hidden Stage rewards increased as well.
[Eating the inner lining of a human-faced paper holder (replica) ○○ (photo attached)]
└What is that?
└It’s a potion that raises stats by 5;;>
└That’s basically the same as leveling up 5 levels lol
└Mom, I wanna be an EX-rank Awakener too!!! ×3
The inner core of the Human-Faced Beast (Replica)—a special reward from the Hidden Stage.
Rewards that increased stats by 5 each began circulating.
[Strategy cleared. I’m heading there right now]
└You too? Me as well
└I actually got it
└I’ll buy it off you—name your price
└Can’t sell it. It’s bound to the owner.
A craze swept through Korea.
It was only natural—an inner core equivalent to five level-ups was no small matter.
However, the reward came with three significant restrictions.
1. Bound item (cannot be sold or transferred).
2. Only the original recipient can consume it.
3. The consumption effect is limited to one use per person.
But the truly interesting part came next.
Why is Busan the only one without a hidden stage? Seriously?
└Looks like the EX-rank Awakener excluded Busan lol
└Then the theory about Jo Ju-won being reincarnated from Busan Guild is actually true?
└Busan Guild member: Yeah, just go to Daegu and clear it instead~
However, the world rarely works out so conveniently.
[Confirmed: Busan Guild members cannot enter the Hidden Stage;;]
└??? That’s pretty harsh
└EX-rank Awakener: Busan? You can’t come
└My friend went on an expedition to Daegu and got denied entry for real
That wasn’t even the end of it.
[Busan Guild members just gave up on the stat 5 reward and started anyway lol]
└They’re literally starting in the negative
└Busan lmao
└This is the time for Shin Chae-ryung to apologize.
When everyone else is climbing, staying in place is practically the same as falling.

* * *
I executed the boss fight flawlessly.
‘Somehow it feels like I read through a feint.’
It’s a strange feeling—knowing yet unable to evade.
Was my magic really that fast? Fast enough that I couldn’t dodge it even knowing it was coming?
‘That shouldn’t be the case, should it?’
It’s still a puzzling aspect.
Well, it doesn’t matter. The result was flawless.
‘After all, life is about real combat.’
Real combat with your life on the line sharpens your skills.
What if I’d failed to penetrate?
The shards could have scattered toward me.
‘Ugh.’
Just thinking about it makes me dizzy.
Choi Kang-mok’s true enemy was Choi Kang-mok himself.
Even a graze would be fatal.
In that desperate situation, my understanding and mastery of magic grew exponentially.
‘The penetration was perfect.’
But that wasn’t the only encouraging part.
After hitting the ceiling, the mana shards that were being fired toward me due to the precision effect.
‘That was actually the biggest problem….’
Yet Choi Kang-mok found an excellent solution.
The mana pressure from the second energy bolt that pierced through the spider-human swept away the mana shards.
Thanks to that, I suffered no damage.
‘I’ve grown.’
Somehow I feel like I’m only developing as a combat mage, but there’s no helping it.
That’s how the early stages always go.
I decided to abandon ambition until Floor 10.
‘But….’
This was where the real problem began.
‘My body feels like it’s going to fall apart.’
Growing as a mage is joyful, but the growing pains are too severe.
Choi Kang-mok could easily deduce the cause.
‘The side effects of firing energy bolts consecutively without cooldown.’
I fired shells before the barrel even cooled.
And that barrel is fragile.
There’s no way it could withstand that.
‘In the end… my body can’t hold out.’
To maintain this output any longer, willpower alone is no longer sufficient.
Damage-focused battle mages typically invest in strength and stamina as well.
Strength reinforces the physical body.
Stamina allows the body to recover rapidly.
‘First, I need recovery.’
To recover, I must increase my stamina.
At this rate, I won’t even be able to find my normal condition.
[Stamina increased by 1.]
The pain lessened slightly, but my body still felt like a lump of lead.
The dizziness was severe as well.
[Stamina increased by 1.]
[Stamina increased by 1.]
[Stamina increased by 1.]
[Stamina increased by 1.]
I poured all six remaining stat points into stamina.
Only then could I catch my breath.
───────
[Stat Window]
Strength: 10
Stamina: 16
Agility: 20
Intellect: 20
※Remaining Stats: 0
───────
‘My body still feels heavy.’
Daily activities were barely manageable now.
Tower conquest would be difficult in this condition, but I had a way around it.
“Inventory.”
The first-clear reward from completing the Hidden Stage (Floor 8).
The inner core of the Human-Faced Tree Lord caught my eye.
───────
[Inner Core of the Human-Faced Tree Lord]
The inner core of a lower-grade Human-Faced Tree Lord.
Upon consumption, all stats increase by ■.
※Consumption effect is limited to once per person.
※The stat increase applies according to the number of Towers in South Korea where Hidden Stages have been unlocked.
───────
A superior version of the inner core of the Human-Faced Tree Lord (Replica).
Until I raised my stamina, it had been tinged with ashen gray.
Something I couldn’t use due to physical and stamina limitations.
‘The color has returned.’
Until moments ago it had been ashen, but now it gleamed with a lustrous black.
Thanks to raising my stamina.
Preparations were complete.
[Opening Hidden Stage in Incheon Tower…]
[Opening Hidden Stage in Daegu Tower…]
….
[Ulsan Tower…]
[Jeju Tower…]
I had opened Hidden Stages in seven towers across Korea.
For now, I had excluded Busan.
‘What should I do about Busan?’
If I included Busan Tower, I could gain one additional point in every stat.
The number was too significant to simply exclude it out of spite.
‘Let me put it on hold for now.’

* * *
Beyond the issue of not being able to handle the magical output, there was one more problem.
While I had cleanly swept away the mana fragments, the aftermath had destroyed the recording drone meant for capturing the clear footage.
‘…I had intended to leave a warning video.’
Nothing remained.
That was somewhat disappointing.
Still, what was fortunate was that the ‘Spider-Man’ setting itself summarized the Busan Guild’s atrocities.
[Busan Lord Shin Chae-ryung, “The Busan Guild has nothing to do with this. It’s merely a tower setting. We will take strong measures against those spreading malicious rumors.”]
Han Sang-hyun, the Vice Lord of Seoul Guild, came to visit.
The purpose was straightforward.
“The Busan Lord wishes to meet with you.”
“With me?”
“Yes. They wish to negotiate.”
Choi Kang-mok laughed incredulously.
Negotiation when an apology wouldn’t even suffice?
“They say there’s been a misunderstanding.”
“Doesn’t seem like a misunderstanding to me….”
Han Sang-hyun hesitated before showing me the original text of the email sent by the Busan Lord.
[Are you truly intent on making the Busan Guild your enemy? I sincerely hope you make the right decision. Busan Tower is on the verge of clearing Floor 40. There is nothing more foolish than making Korea’s greatest guild your adversary.]
The sentiment permeated throughout the entire email.
In summary, it amounted to: ‘No matter how impressive you are, you’re still a low-level newbie, aren’t you? Don’t get cocky and let’s move past this, shall we?’
-In my judgment, this is indeed a threat.
-I will remember this.
—That… just… leaving only the feet… against the wall… hehehehe… hah…
Choi Kang-mok’s expression twisted in displeasure.
This wouldn’t do.
My mood had soured.
[Busan region is excluded from Hidden Stage application.]
[Hidden Stage will not be generated in Tower (Busan).]
As my irritation lifted.
An unexpected notification followed that even Choi Kang-mok hadn’t anticipated.
“Oh?”
My mood became exceptionally good.

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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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