The Return of the EX-Class Wizard - Chapter 258

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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 258
Igniasha floated upward with a gentle bob.
There was no trace of boastfulness in her demeanor.
As naturally as breathing, she called out to something in the language of spirits—a tongue no human could hear.
Choi Kang-mok watched Igniasha with curiosity.
‘Somehow, her appearance…’
Originally, she had taken the form of a small lizard.
While form wasn’t particularly important to spirits, I had assumed she preferred the lizard shape, but lately things had changed.
‘Her face has turned into a cat, hasn’t it?’
Spending so much time with Red Cat—had her tastes shifted?
Well, when you’re young, your preferences change a dozen times a day anyway.
In any case, now she had a cat’s face and a lizard’s body, which created a somewhat discordant appearance.
And the oddly discordant vibrations of sound waves.
A resonance that only a mage sensitive to the flow of mana could perceive rippled outward.
‘But will it really work?’
My trust in Igniasha wasn’t particularly thick.
She was supposedly a fragment of a god and an inherently powerful fire spirit… or so they said, but I couldn’t really feel it.
Honestly, she just felt like a chatty, adorable, and warm little furnace.
‘Huh?’
Whoosh—
A wind blew.
‘Something’ was coming.
“I have arrived.”
Igniasha gazed into empty space.
To my eyes, nothing was visible.
“Spirit Tree?”
Light Mayo and Red Cat couldn’t see the Spirit Tree either.
They could only faintly sense that ‘something’ existed before them.
It felt as though it had no physical form at all.
“It wasn’t in tree form after all.”
No response could be heard.
Igniasha was the only being here who could perceive the Spirit Tree.
Igniasha relayed the Spirit Tree’s words.
“The Spirit Tree is asking why you called for it.”
“That’s because—”
Before I could finish speaking, Igniasha continued.
“Say hello. He’s my butler. Magic is his specialty. He wants to learn correction magic. What’s that? You don’t know correction magic?”
Igniasha sighed as if exasperated.
Humans, mythic-grade artifacts, dimensional monsters, spirit trees—why did everyone know so little?
Perhaps I alone was truly worthy of being a familiar’s companion.
“A spell that produces the effect of [Seal of Justice]! What? No such spell exists, you say? And you claim no such item would exist for no reason? Ha!”
Igniasha was utterly exasperated.
This one truly knows nothing at all, does she?
“My butler is capable of wielding that very spell!”
Of course, I haven’t actually seen it used yet!

* * *
The Spirit Tree did not favor humans.
Humans were monsters who exploited pure spirits to satisfy their own selfish desires.
They were the worst among all intelligent beings who formed contracts with spirits.
I kept my distance from humans entirely.
But today was different.
A voice reached me—that of a particularly special spirit.
Answering the call and revealing myself, I found the spirit was accompanied by a human.
And they were asking for my help in learning ‘Correction Magic’.
‘I will not aid a human!’
Correction Magic was a spell that did not exist.
Even if such a thing did exist, even if it could be learned, I had no intention of helping this human.
Humans were inherently dark-hearted and consumed by greed.
Never as pure as spirits….
‘I sense purity?’
The Spirit Tree could instinctively perceive ‘purity’.
This human emanated an extraordinary purity.
‘Ah.’
Is it because of my offspring?
Because a spirit second to none in purity stands at their side?
Has their purity rubbed off on this human?
The human’s voice reached me.
“People misunderstand me, but I am a mage.”
The Spirit Tree did not comprehend others through ordinary ‘speech’.
I read the sincerity contained within their words.
I did not perceive others through ordinary ‘sight’.
I saw the true heart concealed within their form.
I perfectly distinguished between outward appearance and inner truth.
Thus, I harbored particular disdain for ‘humans’, whose outward and inner natures could not help but differ.
“I have come seeking the Spirit Tree to learn and study magic.”
Their manner was exceedingly respectful.
I felt it!
The passion for magic! The sincerity toward magic! The purity regarding magic!
“I came here believing that this place, where the Spirit Tree resides and influences the parameters, is the optimal environment for learning and studying [Correction Magic].”
The more I speak, the more waves of sincerity—no, tidal waves of it—surge toward me.
The Spirit Tree reconsidered its judgment.
This mage hadn’t been tainted by my offspring’s purity.
Rather, the mage’s purity seemed to run even deeper than my offspring’s.
No—it definitely did.
How was this possible?
Could a human truly be like this?
The Spirit Tree perceived and understood beings in a way fundamentally different from how humans did.
‘This human is….’
Born as human in species alone.
Difficult to classify as merely human.
“A spirit!”
Spirits are born everywhere.
They can transform into any form.
Just as that fire spirit had evolved from a simple flame into a lizard, then into something half-cat, half-lizard.
Spirits possess diverse attributes.
Light, darkness, earth, wind, water, fire.
Sometimes even emotions or abstract concepts themselves become spirits.
Trust, conviction, displeasure, love, hatred, and more.
“A magic spirit.”
“Pardon?”
“My dear one wearing human form. Yes, what shall I help you with?”
Igniasha’s eyes widened in shock.
“My butler was a spirit too?!”
No wonder!
I felt drawn to befriend them.

* * *
An optimal environment for mastering corrective magic.
Yet even with the perfect environment, magic could not be conjured into existence on a whim.
Even the renowned Raymond had made little progress in corrective magic research.
It was no simple task for Choi Kang-mok either.
‘Implementing the effect of the Seal of Justice through magic is genuinely difficult.’
Most spells could be grasped and replicated reasonably well with just a glance.
Corrective magic was different.
It simply wasn’t working.
‘I need to rest for a moment.’
At some point, I had gained the ability to perceive the Spirit Tree.
The Spirit Tree was an immense and verdant giant, its trunk thick and ancient.
Its stem stretched skyward in a perfectly straight line, suffused with an azure glow.
From each leaf, a soft luminescence cascaded down like stardust.
“Come here, child.”
The Spirit Tree’s voice was warm and comforting.
The moment I leaned my body against the tree and sat, my stamina was instantly restored.
‘My mind has become clear.’
The mental fog that had accumulated from wrestling with magic all day dissipated completely.
My physical strength fully recovered.
The familiar notification chimed once more.
[Mother’s Effect has been applied.]
“Thank you.”
“There’s no need for thanks. Lean against me whenever you wish. But child.”
“Yes?”
The Spirit Tree paused thoughtfully before asking.
“What is it that you carry within your bosom?”
As if addressing a son going through adolescence.
The Spirit Tree was remarkably cautious.
“Within my bosom?”
“Yes, I sense something within you—an aura quite similar to the corrective magic you seek.”
I tilted my head in confusion.
Did I have something like that?
Could it be this?
“Are you referring to this?”
It was a pen.
I had momentarily forgotten about it while so intensely focused on corrective magic.
“Hm?”
The pen had a graduated scale to check the ink level.
‘The ink is… filled to this extent?’
It was filled to an unprecedented degree.
In the past, I had been cautious even drawing a single stroke, but at this level, I felt I could write entire paragraphs.
[Exposed.]
Huh?
Something just passed by.
It went too fast for me to see.
Then, an official notification followed.
[!National Territory-Wide Alert!]
[Tower ■th Floor~70th Floor hidden ‘Story’ has been cleared.]
Only the floor numbers had changed—it was the same notification as before.
‘But what did I even do?’
It was good, but I found it somewhat puzzling.
Igniasha, perched on Choi Kang-mok’s shoulder, yawned and spoke.
“It is only natural, having received the Spirit Tree’s recognition.”
[Story Gate, ‘Spirit Tree Grove’ has been created.]
[Rewards for Tower ■~70th Floor in Korean Territory have been significantly enhanced.]
Choi Kang-mok intuited it immediately.
‘The notification was delayed.’
This 70th Floor was riddled with all manner of settings patched together haphazardly, so it seemed an error had occurred.
Then another notification followed.
[Story Gate, ‘Spirit Tree Grove’ has been cleared.]
Gate creation was fine.
But it had already been cleared.
Red Cat was utterly flabbergasted.
“We haven’t even pinpointed the Gate’s location yet?”
Overwhelmed by shock, the true manner of speech I had been concealing slipped out.
“Meow?”
Igniasha looked at Red Cat with an expression of utter disbelief.
I felt ashamed of my past, when I had revered that Red Cat as my former master.
A dark history.
Why didn’t I understand something so obvious?
“Isn’t this place the Gate?”
“?”
Right.
This entire space could be treated as a Gate.
Just as spirits could be born anywhere, Gates could be created anywhere.
Igniasha’s expression turned almost contemptuous.
“Dimensional monster. Don’t tell me it’s you.”
“!”
“Your expression makes it clear you have no idea why it was cleared.”
“Ah, I know, meow!”
“Then tell me.”
“Tell you what?”
“Why did my butler perform a
preemptive clear
in the first place!”
Still, he was my old master.
Surely he couldn’t genuinely not know? No, that can’t be it!
“….”
Red Cat squeezed out the words.
“It’s because I built a friendly relationship with the Spirit Tree.”
“Idiot.”
I decided not to treat him as my old master anymore.
Getting close to the Spirit Tree? That’s merely a consequence.
“It’s because I became a spirit.”
Igniasha simply understood.
The condition to clear the story Gate ‘Spirit Tree Grove’ was to ‘become a spirit’.
What! Why don’t you know something so obvious?
How can a dimensional monster who’s a master of settings and lore be like this?
How can my old master be like this!
“Light Mayo. You didn’t know either?”
-This mage was aware but remained silent.
-After all, humility is a fundamental virtue of a mage, you see 🙂
“So you didn’t know?”
-That is not the case.
Igniasha grew even more exasperated.
Stupid idiots!
How can a mage who pursues truth be like this?
However, Choi Kang-mok marveled.
“So that’s how it happened!”
The preemptive clear was achieved in this manner!
Thanks to Igniasha, my curiosity was quickly resolved.
Igniasha broke into a wide smile.
“A mage might not know!”
In any case, having secured a large quantity of ink through the ‘preemptive clear’, I retrieved the ‘Notebook’ for the first time in a while.
“Oh.”
The magical anomaly entity called a ‘mage’—Choi Kang-mok.
There was an interesting anecdote attached to him.
Written in blue ink.

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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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