The Return of the EX-Class Wizard - Chapter 267

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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 267
Red Cat grew troubled.
‘Master?’
This was a different dynamic than before.
Raymond and Professor Pease had both positioned themselves as ‘masters’ and approached me on those terms.
Yet despite that, Raymond lacked any real aptitude for teaching, and while Pease was better than Raymond, he too fell short of what one would expect from a ‘magic master’.
But Salia was the opposite.
Instead of claiming the role of master, she had chosen to be my ‘disciple’ and began following me.
I found that title and attitude quite burdensome, and yet….
‘I rather liked it?’
As if it were proof of being a proper mage.
I was quite pleased with it.
The very fact that an African ‘orthodox mage’ would choose to become my disciple seemed to bring me considerable joy.
“I view this as a preemptive clear as well, Master.”
After acknowledging me as her master, her demeanor became remarkably refined.
She carried herself with the careful reverence one would show toward a peerless master.
I didn’t dislike Salia for it.
Red Cat despised this dynamic.
An ambush in the form of Igniasha, an outright sycophant in Light Mayo, and now Salia clinging to him as well?
‘I should be his official companion cat.’
The competition seemed far from easy.
Moreover, by human standards, Salia appeared quite beautiful.
‘Come to think of it, there was that crazy woman who proclaimed herself empress!’
The Chinese Continental Lord Lin Zhiwei suddenly came to mind.
Earth females—I simply didn’t care for them.
Seeing Salia’s beauty only made me more anxious.
Still, Lin Zhiwei possessed an Eastern beauty I was accustomed to, whereas Salia had an entirely exotic appearance.
The conversation between my butler and Salia carried a warm atmosphere.
I asked in return.
“A preemptive clear?”
“Your magic magically devastated the 70th Floor, didn’t it, Master?”
‘Magically’, she said.
Certainly an accurate perspective.
“It did.”
“So the Tower is pouring all its resources—both material and immaterial wealth—into restoring the 70th Floor.”
According to Salia’s interpretation, this meant the challenges on the 80th Floor tier hadn’t been properly completed.
“I suspect the [Continental Championship] itself is a scheme by the Tower to buy time. A distraction to divert your attention, Master.”
Salia pointed out one additional fact.
“After all, the champion is already decided.”
First place was predetermined.
The gold medal is essentially already decided.
Even Europe and the Americas dare not aim for gold.
The remaining continents are locked in fierce competition for silver and bronze.
“The system must know that too. That’s probably why it introduced the medal system, isn’t it?”
Salia’s gaze shifted to my record window.
It was beautiful.
What more needed to be said?
More victories than battles fought.
A flawless record of zero losses and zero defeats.
While it might be a stretch to call it the ideal of a mage, it was undoubtedly the ideal of an Awakened One.
“Seeing how beautifully they crafted these medals with no actual effect, and then introduced a ‘Ban’ system that seemed to target you precisely—designed to make you resist the ban. It all points to one thing.”
Synthesizing the situation, I arrived at a single conclusion: it was all aggro.
“They were trying to divert attention that way and focus on Tower restoration.”
No matter how much they could claim damages.
The restoration itself had to be handled by the system.
I knew from attempting partial restoration myself that it required an enormous amount of resources.
I spoke up.
“That’s a fresh perspective, but… did they not know I would attempt to climb the Tower?”
Right now, we’re all desperately trying to stab each other in the back.
I doubt the system would arrange things so carelessly.
Salia smiled broadly.
“Normally, a sane person wouldn’t pursue both Tower climbing and continental competitions simultaneously. Even I put everything on hold for Tower and Labyrinth exploration.”
Though Salia was certainly a genius born of Africa, she still belonged to a far more ordinary category compared to me.
“Of course, I don’t mean you’re insane, Master.”
Pride filled Salia’s face.
Not even a full day had passed since taking me as her teacher, yet it felt as though she had served me for years.
A talent so extraordinary that she didn’t even dare to think of catching up.
Before she could even reach out, the distance itself made the genius so tangible that she surrendered deep in her heart.
Unconsciously, she chose awe over despair.
“I mean you’re not ordinary. In other words, a genius mage.”
….
The corner of my mouth twitched slightly.
This wasn’t flattery.
Salia’s words carried sincerity.
Perhaps because she’s a genius mage, she recognizes mages.
Bessius could learn a thing or two from this.
“Getting back to the main point, not just me but all of Africa’s representatives have stopped pursuing Tower exploration. I suspect the other continents are doing the same.”
It was true.
Most continental representatives had halted their Tower exploration.
Mental and physical stamina management was more important than anything else.
Since I was representing a continent, I had to uphold its honor no matter what.
Choi Kang-mok grinned widely.
“So if I keep destroying the 70th Floor….”
Would that amount to continuously using preemptive clear magic?
Would this work all the way to the 100th Floor?
Salia spoke brightly, as if she had read every thought in Choi Kang-mok’s mind.
“Perhaps that’s exactly what preemptive clear magic is?”
“Is that so?”
Light Mayo fell silent for a moment.
-(Light) : This female is no ordinary threat.
-(Mayo) : The appearance of yet another mage is hardly welcome. I believed two mages—the user and myself—were sufficient.
Light Mayo and Red Cat locked eyes.
They hadn’t spoken directly, but their thoughts aligned.
Red Cat let out a meow.
‘We must temporarily cease our rivalry and form an alliance!’
The competitor was far too powerful.
I considered whether to form an alliance with Igniasha as well….
But Igniasha was playing with a cat toy.
…She didn’t seem like she’d be much help.

* * *
Choi Kang-mok’s progress was distinctly different from the other representatives.
Haha, everyone else is taking a break for the continental tournament, but you’re already climbing 5 floors.
They’re all EX-rank lol, not even surprising anymore.
-Stamina management? What’s that?
-This is also a display of imperial might
Whereas previously only such opinions dominated, now different voices had emerged.
As a wizard, I’ll demonstrate my magical power.
-What’s strange about a mage using magic to climb the Tower?
-Practicing magic is more important than some continental tournament (clearing the 85th Floor at EX-rank)
For Choi Kang-mok, this was a most welcome shift.
When one quietly pursued magic, people who understood one’s true intentions would eventually appear.
However, the situation did not unfold entirely favorably.
[!World Announcement!]
An emergency maintenance notice.
Entry to all Towers across Earth’s dimension had become impossible.
[Due to recovery efforts from excessive destruction at a specific Tower, entry to all Towers within the dimension is temporarily suspended.]
[Estimated maintenance and recovery time: approximately 30 days.]
Red Cat understood immediately.
“The system created a mess, but….”
I attempted to redirect Choi Kang-mok’s attention by initiating a continental competition, but the effort failed.
Having taken the full brunt of that backlash, the system itself seemed to struggle with operating the Tower.
“The butler’s destructive power… no.”
Destructive power is correct.
But watching Salia taught me otherwise.
“Her magical power seems far too overwhelming.”
Even accounting for that, the system’s announcement was petty.
Without explicitly naming who was responsible, anyone could see it was targeting a single individual.
In any case, this plunged the entire Earth into a state of emergency.
[Breaking News: Tower Civilization Temporarily Halted, Global Power Supply Disruption Inevitable…]
[Warnings from Numerous Scholars: Over-reliance on the Tower Could Trigger Catastrophe…]
Earth’s civilization operated on byproducts obtained from the Tower.
To compare it to a previous era, it was nearly equivalent to shutting down all foundational infrastructure worldwide—every power plant, every facility.
Extreme chaos descended.
Naturally, criticism of the EX-Rank Awakener erupted.
-Isn’t this going too far?
-Should’ve shown restraint;;>
-What good comes from destroying the Tower…
This was especially severe in the United States.
Tyler, who had displaced Malcolm—the representative pro-Korea faction leader—and seized the position of American Grand Lord, sensed an opportunity.
‘An excellent chance to further consolidate public opinion within America.’
Outwardly the quintessential anti-Korea faction representative, he inflamed criticism of the EX-Rank Awakener even further.
[Tyler: “A tragic outcome born from one individual’s excessive monopoly of the system. While I acknowledge magic’s greatness, such excessive violence will ultimately destroy the entire Earth.”]
He wasn’t unafraid of Choi Kang-mok.
To be precise, he feared Choi Kang-mok intensely.
Precisely because of this, he studied and analyzed Choi Kang-mok all the more meticulously.
‘As long as I don’t touch his pride as a mage, he’s relatively docile.’
He would never touch magic itself.
He had made certain to speak of magic itself as something great.
‘At this level, assassination magic shouldn’t come flying at me.’
Instead, he seized this opportunity to demonstrate America’s resilience and strength.
He consolidated domestic public opinion.
[Tyler: “America is the only nation capable of sustaining itself for over thirty days without Tower Civilization.”]
America was one of the few nations capable of self-sufficiency without Tower Civilization.
Legacies of the old era remained intact—firepower, nuclear power plants, and more.
Vast granaries harvested enormous quantities of grain and fruit.
[Tyler: “America will not abandon its allies and will fulfill its humanitarian and moral responsibilities.”]
Make America great again.
American hearts beat with tremendous fervor.
Had they not been pushed from their position as overwhelmingly dominant power—first by Europe, recently by a small nation called Korea?
[Tyler, “If necessary, we can also provide food aid to South Korea….”]
A nation ruled by an emperor, no less.
He made it clear that even the world’s strongest nation at this moment—Korea—could receive assistance.
-Even rotten fish is better than nothing lol Long live the United States
-Food aid already starting in various places
-Is the US brothers’ stockpiled mana stone reserves real?
-America is hiding its true strength
While the United States continued its precarious balancing act, carefully gauging Choi Kang-mok’s reaction, Africa made a distinctly different choice after observing America’s moves.
[Joint Statement from the 26 African Continental Lords, “The emperor of this new age who brought calamity must take responsibility for this crisis.”]
It was what would later be known as Africa’s sudden acceleration incident.

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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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