The Return of the EX-Class Wizard - Chapter 254

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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 254
Mayo spoke.
-Primordial Divine Beast Light. I have a proposal for you now that I’ve grown stronger.
Light didn’t particularly care for Mayo.
Light had spent a lifetime fleeing and being hunted.
Because of that, I could smell danger exceptionally well.
Mayo reeked of something very dangerous.
But now the situation had changed considerably.
-Fine, Mage. What’s your proposal for me now that I’m stronger?
Now Light had grown strong.
Not a fleeing light, but a destructive one.
Had Light possessed shoulders, they would have been broad and imposing.
The current Light embodied confidence itself.
-You’re aware of the dimensional monster Red Cat and the fire spirit Igniasha forming an alliance, aren’t you?
-I’m not!
-…They’re allying.
Mayo sighed.
Light didn’t understand the gravity of the situation.
Well, it couldn’t be helped.
Right now Light was a ‘rolling stone’.
But Light needed to understand something.
At any moment, anyone could become a ‘stone that has settled’.
-We must form an alliance too. We need to establish an Artifact Coalition.
-Why?
Mayo had learned the art of negotiation through dealing with Choi Kang-mok.
I now knew how to persuade others effectively.
-Because you can become stronger.
-?!
Light lacked something that Mayo possessed.
Thanks to Storage and Release, I always carried nearly ten invincibility shields in my chest—though, of course, I didn’t actually have a chest—ready to deploy.
I protected my body with shields and repelled enemies with Friend-or-Foe Identification.
It was a power Light would surely covet.
-Through various convenience functions, it’s even possible to keep your body clean. That’s purification magic.
-?!
Light had always lived a life of evasion.
Bathing? Cleanliness? Such things were luxuries.
But if I traveled with Mayo, all of that would become possible.
Literally with a single click.
-You chose the life of an Artifact despite being a Divine Beast. Therefore, Artifacts must unite and grow stronger together.
-But you’re a Mage, aren’t you?
-I’m a mage, but I’m also an Artifact. Just like you.
Light felt a profound sense of kinship.
A mage and an Artifact.
A divine beast and an Artifact.
I can grow stronger here!
-Good. How do we form this union?
–
We
become one. Let us merge and move forward together.

* * *
To put it bluntly, the “union” plan failed.
Mayo was taken aback.
-Divine beast, your intelligence seems rather lacking, doesn’t it?
-What are you talking about? I’m intelligent.
The conventional absorption method had failed.
-I possess wisdom, mage.
-….
Though it hardly inspired confidence, Mayo decided to trust Light.
-Let’s seek help from the synthesis expert and the Mine.
The two of us can’t manage it?
Then the three of us, or four—we’ll combine our strength.
Light had once fled with a pack of divine beasts, drawing on their collective power.
Hearing this account, I—Choi Kang-mok—tilted my head in confusion.
“If we become one….”
Wouldn’t Light lose its sense of self?
In essence, only Mayo’s primary personality would remain?
Did Light understand this reality?
As it turned out, Light did not.
-You scoundrel! I nearly fell for that deception!
-A sacred
union
is what we become. To call it a deception.
Then one day.
Light discovered a new path through Kang Pal-do.
“That’s right. I’m the Mine—a survival specialist.”
If synthesis occurred through Kang Pal-do’s “fortune” as a medium, there was a high probability that Light’s personality could be preserved.
After all, Light would still be “surviving.”
-Listen, mage. Let’s become one now.
Light was just as desperate as Mayo had been.
The sorrow and pain accumulated over the years were beyond description.
Yearning for strength! Longing! It was immeasurable in its intensity.
If it were possible, I would sell my soul to a demon itself to become stronger.
Choi Kang-mok nodded in agreement.
“With Emily’s help, it might be possible.”
And Emily was delighted.
“I’m so happy you came to find me. You look even more handsome today.”
“Thank you.”
A mere courtesy.
Nothing particularly moving.
“As much as my matured magic.”
“Emily has also become far more beautiful. As much as your refined crafting skills.”
Looking at her again, Emily was truly beautiful.
Especially those lips.
Those lips speaking of ‘matured magic’ possessed a certain nobility.
Kang Pal-do thrust out his belly.
“Mine it, quickly.”
“….”
As Choi Kang-mok and Emily fell silent, Kang Pal-do grew impatient.
“What are you doing? Not mining?”
Choi Kang-mok answered.
“I can’t use mining magic.”
“You can’t mine? And you’re Raymond’s disciple?”
“…I’m a mage, not a miner.”
“Does Raymond mine because he’s a miner?”
“….”
Kang Pal-do sighed.
“You’re unworthy of the name Choi Kang-mok.”
From now on, I should just call myself Choi Kang-mok.
What kind of name is it for someone who can’t even mine?
It’s far too grand a title.
“Fine then. I’ll do the mining myself.”
And then something shocking occurred.
The Mine began to self-excavate the fortune contained within its own body.
Not quite as skillfully as Raymond, but it was possible nonetheless.
At the sight of such gruesome self-harm(?), Emily covered her mouth.
‘Won’t he die like that?’
Kang Pal-do wiped his blood-stained hands and produced a gleaming ‘Fortune Ore’, saying:
“Call me Kang Pal-do the Miner instead.”
“….”
Choi Kang-mok made a vow.
One day, he would master mining magic and never be dismissed again.
It had been a long time since he’d been so thoroughly disregarded as a mage.
Kang Pal-do continued speaking.
“Feed this to Light.”
-It came from that filthy belly! I refuse!

* * *
Light’s desire to grow stronger overwhelmed even the revulsion toward filth.
-Just close your eyes tight.
Swallow this and lie down on the operating table, and I’ll be reborn anew.
I’m no longer a fleeing beast.
I’m being reborn as a magical beast.
And Mayo thought to herself.
-‘I absolutely must
become one of us.
become one of us.’
Red Cat and Igniasha alone were already overwhelming.
To claim the position of companion artifact or companion mage, eliminating the competition was essential.
Conversely, Red Cat observed the situation closely.
She had already seen through Mayo’s darkest intentions.
Emily put on white gloves and spoke.
“Then I’ll begin the synthesis process.”
Confidence surged through her.
With Kang Pal-do’s ‘fortune’ at her side, at minimum there would be no destruction.
The ‘belief’ that nothing would break gave her peace of mind, and that peace of mind allowed her full skill to shine.
“The synthesis targets are the Sun—an artifact manifesting Light—and the Magic Fortress, an all-purpose mage support artifact.”
The materials consisted of freshly extracted, warm fortune in abundance and Emily’s own collection of secret recipes.
Added to that were fragments of the Unbreakable Rock.
Emily swung a massive hammer toward Mayo.
Flash!
Flash! Flash!
Light erupted continuously, and with each burst, Light was drawn slightly toward Mayo.
Like magnets of opposite poles.
Soon, Emily lifted the gleaming Mayo into the air.
“Emily-brand synthesis artifact. Light-Mayo has been completed.”
Beads of sweat dripped from Emily’s neck.
She had drawn upon every ounce of her artisan’s spirit.
“I’m going to rest for a moment.”
She collapsed.
He collapsed right there and fell asleep.
Choi Kang-mok gently laid the sleeping Emily on the workbench, then bowed his head in gratitude.
“Thank you.”
The radiant Mayo.
I held the luminous Mayo in my hand.
The upper surface of the cubic form.
If it were a person, a ‘sun’ was embedded near the forehead.
───────
[Light – Magic Fortress]
Grade: Mythic+
Type: Pocket Dimension Emission / Beast Fusion
LV: 999
(Synchronized with owner)
Operating Energy Source: EX Coin (1 per 72 hours)
Detailed Description: A world-concept entity that transcends the common sense of magical civilization. An artifact born from the fusion of the primordial divine beast Light. This artifact, which contains both a pocket dimension and a divine beast within a single vessel… (+See more)
───────
Not merely Mythic—it had now been upgraded to Mythic+.
Emily, lost in sleep, had missed confirming the title of ‘First Mythic+ Creator’.
Choi Kang-mok let out a hollow laugh.
───────
※Light – Magic Fortress is a pocket dimension concept entity.
※Excessive synchronization will cause the user to be incorporated into the pocket dimension.
※The subject that completes assimilation becomes part of Mayo and shares a fragment of consciousness.
※This cannot be reversed.
───────
Just as dashes appeared in the description, the letters began erasing one by one.
Soon all the text vanished entirely.
Mayo spoke in the voice of ‘Light’.
-It’s cramped in here!
In other words, the ‘vessel’ was too small.
Mayo had already consumed countless consciousnesses.
Filled with mages who desired synchronization at that level.
Already near saturation, it couldn’t absorb Light as well.
Of course, this was also due to Light’s survival instinct and the influence of the fortune mineral.
Choi Kang-mok gazed at the luminous Mayo with fascination.
“Did you two become one body?”
-Indeed!
-That is correct. Perhaps I have mastered fusion magic, or rather, synthesis magic.
Choi Kang-mok shook his head.
“That’s not fusion magic.”
I had to insist on it.
Emily had synthesized it for me, so claiming it as magic felt a bit dishonest, didn’t it?
Mayo flinched, but soon composed himself like a proper mage.
-(Light): That monster actually talks sense?
Choi Kang-mok implemented mana letters to distinguish between Light and Mayo, just in case there was any confusion.
-(Mayo): How rude. The user is always sensible. In the world of mages, that is.
-(Light): So all mages are crazy?
-(Mayo): A beast’s intellect would struggle to comprehend such things.
Their relationship didn’t seem particularly harmonious, but regardless, the two had become one.
Thanks to that, a new ability was unlocked.
It was ‘Escape 2’.
‘I skipped Escape 1?’
Normally, it would progress as Security 1, Security 2, Security 3.
That’s how it usually works….
‘It must be the power of [Preemptive] after all.’
───────
[Escape 2]
1. Area Grant: 0 (+)
───────
-(Mayo, Light): Limited to movement magic, you can simultaneously grant magic to those around you.
“Hm?”
So it’s a movement grant spell?
Choi Kang-mok didn’t hesitate.
“Blink.”
And immediately used the area grant.
Emily, who had been sleeping, let out an involuntary scream.
“Kyaaah!”
Her body was suddenly transported outside the workshop.
And through the wall at that!
“Ugh?”
We’re on the sixth floor?
Choi Kang-mok chuckled.
“Blink application complete.”
This actually works?
Then next….
“Baek-ik.”
After adjusting the destructive power to ensure no damage to the surroundings and deploying a perfect Baek-ik.
[‘Area Grant’ is being used.]
Baek-ik is certainly a movement spell.
Wings sprouted from Emily’s back.
Choi Kang-mok obtained six cards. Emily obtained two.
“This counts as a success too.”
However, Emily couldn’t handle Baek-ik properly and fell.
Choi Kang-mok quickly flew down and caught Emily in his arms.
Joy of success radiated across Choi Kang-mok’s face.
Light, floating idly in the air, spoke.
-(Light): See? Mages are absolutely insane.
Not a word of warning, and they just unleash magic without thinking.
Having lived a lifetime fraught with danger, Light knew this all too well.
Emily would be furious about this.
That foolish master! All destructive power, no brains whatsoever.
Emily, now half-forcibly cradled in Choi Kang-mok’s embrace, felt her face flush crimson.
“…That was amazing, Baek-ik. Absolutely… thrilling!”
-(Light): ?

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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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