The Return of the EX-Class Wizard - Chapter 270

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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 270
Something unprecedented in history was unfolding within the Hall of Fame.
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[Hall of Fame – 87th Floor]
1. Mage
2. Mage
…
9. Mage
10. Mage
[1][2][3]…[10]
───────
Ranks 1 through 10.
The first tab was entirely dominated by ‘Mage’.
The second tab was no different.
[I’m scrolling through this in real-time right now]
└No matter how much I scroll, it’s nothing but mages?
└At least the top 50 are all mages
└Even rank 60
└Even rank 70
───────
[Hall of Fame – 87th Floor]
91. Mage
92. Mage
…
99. Mage
100. Mage
───────
In the end, all hundred ranks were plastered with ‘Mage’.
Haha, nothing surprises me anymore.
└??? : Wasn’t Hall of Fame registration supposed to happen only once?
└??? : This is actually possible?
The general public had reached a point where they were no longer particularly shocked.
It was more along the lines of ‘EX-rank Awakeners being EX-rank Awakeners again’.
EX-rank Awakeners had already transcended into an entirely different category of being from ordinary humans.
They had reached a state where nothing an inhuman entity did could truly surprise them anymore.
However, the ‘rankers’ were different.
They were active competitors on the front lines.
This absurd phenomenon was difficult for them to accept.
Bessius was particularly affected.
What in the world was he doing?
How is it possible for one person to monopolize ranks one through one hundred?
Does that make any sense whatsoever?
Bessius made his judgment in typical Bessius fashion.
“Choi Kang-mok. Were you conscious of me?”
“Hmm?”
“Because I declared I would master correction magic?”
It was what one might call ‘crushing the budding sprout’.
A mage’s insidious tactic—displaying such an overwhelming gap in power that it would crush any will to pursue him further!
Of course, this was the first Choi Kang-mok had heard of such a thing.
“Master correction magic?”
“Playing dumb, are we?”
No.
I genuinely didn’t know.
“Choi Kang-mok. You must certainly be viewing me as a rival.”
No.
I view you as experience from a mock battle.
“Otherwise, there would be no reason to display your power so blatantly.”
“If that’s what helps you sleep at night…”
Choi Kang-mok saw no need to correct him.
He wasn’t worth using correction magic on.
“Choi Kang-mok. Since I’ve decided to learn from your magic, there’s one thing I must ask.”
“What?”
“How did you use this wallpapering magic?”
Choi Kang-mok let out a soft chuckle.
“This is the result of correction magic.”
“The result of correction magic?”
Now that Choi Kang-mok had accepted a ‘disciple’, his mindset had shifted.
A true mage must teach with genuine sincerity.
Especially when it comes to spreading and teaching magic.
Not merely wearing the mask of a master like Raymond, nor merely playing the role of a teacher like Pease!
One must be capable of transmitting true magic.
I believe that is the true calling of a mage.
“Listen well, Bessius.”
Bessius, who had resolved to be reborn as a true mage, began to listen intently.

* * *
A day earlier.
As I cleared the Tower with unstoppable momentum, a sense of dissatisfaction crept in.
‘It was good at first….’
In a manner of speaking, I had outwitted the System.
But clearing without challenges felt hollow—no real sense of progress.
I wasn’t even investing stats immediately.
Clearing the moment I entered meant no meaningful magical growth either.
‘Wait.’
I was clearing the Tower without any sense of excitement?
No progress?
‘This….’
I could never let my guard down.
The System and the Writers were constantly watching for an opportunity to strike me from behind.
I sought a one-on-one conversation with my brother, my most reliable ally and confidant.
“It feels like they’re trying to stall me.”
“Yeah, definitely.”
Choi Kang-chul, who had watched my growth from the sidelines, understood my sentiment.
My brother was still advancing at a dazzling pace, but the deceleration in growth was undeniable.
Since mastering flight magic and healing magic, there had been no significant magical advancement.
Choi Kang-chul continued.
“Of course, even this growth rate defies imagination….”
But standards differ from person to person.
A ‘mage’ has standards befitting a mage.
“We should consider this a sophisticated strategy to push you into a slump.”
“You think so too?”
Direct confrontation wouldn’t work against them.
They had even declared the Tower off-limits, yet I broke through and cleared it anyway.
As an EX-rank, no less.
“If I were the System, it’s a method I’d definitely consider.”
I nodded in agreement.
The conversation with my brother made it clearer.
“It’s definitely the System’s scheme.”
“Will you…?”
A System Message flashed briefly before vanishing.
I really wished I had mastered time magic in moments like these.
“They’re even preventing me from reading the notifications properly.”
Once or twice could be coincidence.
But this pattern was unmistakably the System’s interference.
They were definitely hiding something crucial.
Choi Kang-mok’s conviction grew increasingly unshakeable.
[It’s not true….]
[I’m not supposed to send this, but I’m so frustrated that I’m just going to send it anyway….]
Choi Kang-mok made his decision.
He would suppress this too with Correction Magic.
How could the System deliberately target a single individual and push them into a slump?
When it should be encouraging growth instead.
Just then, Kang Hye, who had returned home, enthusiastically agreed.
“Wow, that’s clear. This is definitely slump magic. It’s targeting you specifically, oppa.”
In truth, Kang Hye didn’t believe that at all.
From her perspective, the System had already begun to overload.
‘Why else would they have banned entry to Towers worldwide?’
She had compiled information about other dimensions in her own way, and there had never been a case like this.
Earth’s System had already reached its limit.
And activating a ‘slump plan’ targeting Choi Kang-mok seemed unreasonable no matter how she thought about it.
But the facts didn’t matter.
“This is too much. Not just once or twice.”
“Right?”
Now Kang Hye understood.
One of the materials needed to complete Choi Kang-mok’s magic was ‘powerful conviction’.
With the enthusiastic agreement of both families, Choi Kang-mok obtained complete certainty and finally used Correction Magic.
Choi Kang-mok smirked.
“Correction Magic is difficult to use.”
I couldn’t concentrate.
Like when I first learned magic, my mana scattered.
If I hadn’t properly mastered damage control using Light attribute, I would have destroyed everything around me.
“The System seems to be interfering.”
[It’s not….]
[If you insist something false is true, then it won’t work….]
At that same moment.
Seoul citizens discovered water flowing down from the Tower.
“What is that?”
“Did the Water Layer burst again?”
“It seems different though?”
People thought simultaneously.
“How do I put it….”
“It almost sounds like it’s crying?”
“Come on. How could the Tower cry?”
The Tower wasn’t a living creature, so it couldn’t possibly cry.
Yet countless people felt it at the same time.
‘The Tower is weeping,’ they said.
Intrigued scientists collected and analyzed the substance, discovering it matched the properties of tears—a curious footnote to history.
Regardless, Choi Kang-mok continued employing correction magic.
The crux of his argument: ‘Appropriate compensation must be demanded for excessively constraining an individual through improper means.’
Yet the System refused to acknowledge it.
Though I couldn’t see the notification, I could sense it—the mage’s perception was keen enough.
The System was acting quite ‘aggrieved.’
‘Let’s see who wins.’
Countless attempts.
After prolonged exchanges, Choi Kang-mok succeeded with the magic.
As a result, he monopolized every rank on the 87th floor of the Hall of Fame—a stunning feat.
“In the end, truth always prevails.”
[Title ‘You Bastard’ has been granted.]
Another one slipped through.
This was getting absurd.
[Title ‘Hundred Names’ has been granted.]
Korea’s already impressive Tower quality naturally improved further.
Moreover, the title’s effect was quite appealing.
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[Hundred Names]
You have successfully inscribed one hundred names upon a single floor.
You shall be recorded as that floor’s greatest sovereign.
Effect: The Tower quality of the designated floor (87th) can be shared with one designated Tower.
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Choi Kang-mok immediately granted this effect to the Tower of the Maritime Empire Rotin.
And soon after, new notifications followed.
[!World Announcement!]
[■■The System abandons management of Earth’s dimension.]

* * *
For the first time, a notice of considerable length was posted.
Kang Hye read through the notice with a grave expression.
“To summarize… the System tried its best to maintain balance, but now it’s just giving up and withdrawing… something like that.”
There was one crucial keyword.
“The personified System is withdrawing.”
As many had suspected, the System possessed its own form of ‘personality’.
That personified System would be terminated at the end of Part One.
“From now on, it says they’ll pilot an AI system to manage things.”
Emotionally, it could no longer endure.
Therefore, an AI system would be introduced on a trial basis.
Though it wanted to quit immediately, there was still a sense of duty—so it would manage Earth alongside the AI system until the 100th floor was cleared, a sentiment that sprawled across dozens of pages.
As Kang Hye read the notice, she felt it.
“A bit like… whatever happens, happens… that kind of vibe?”
The System had given up entirely.
Anew, she felt just how monstrous her older brother truly was.
And near the final page of the notice.
There existed a ‘hidden page’ that only certain individuals could read.
[This is content readable only by those classified as associates of EX-rank Awakeners…]
A hidden notice.
Choi Kang-mok also examined the content carefully.
“It seems the personified System is making a final proposal to me.”
Though it was feigning resignation, it hadn’t completely given up yet.
It was a proposal to significantly increase the difficulty of the 90th floor boss.
“Now it’s doing it openly?”
I understood the intention.
If one sneakily and artificially adjusted the difficulty in hiding, side effects would emerge.
The quality of rewards owed to Choi Kang-mok would become excessively generous.
But if done this openly?
“It seems to want to give me fewer rewards.”
And then the next page appeared.
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[Rewards:
1. Official job title ■■■ →
‘Mage’
changed to]
2. Mage’s Medal awarded
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‘Huh?’
But the ‘Mage’s Medal’ was quite extraordinary.

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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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