The Return of the EX-Class Wizard - Chapter 272

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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 272
Floor 90 is called the ‘highest tier’ in any dimension.
A place where difficulty increases exponentially with each ascending floor.
Even the Universe’s rankers and masters can die from a single mistake.
Among them, ‘Floor 90’ was special.
‘They call it the gatekeeper floor.’
Even among rankers, differences in ability inevitably exist.
Floor 90 is what distinguishes the truly elite rankers from ordinary ones.
It is said that only the highest-tier first-class with peak talent can pass Floor 90.
‘If you pass Floor 90 even once, it’s safe to say you possess top-tier talent.’
Choi Kang-mok had considerable faith in his own abilities.
He possessed passion and desperation alike.
Yet before magic, one must always remain humble.
The discipline of magic is truly boundless—there is something to learn even from a child.
That’s why I wanted the Tower to recognize me once.
Not as an ecological disruptor or enemy.
But as a mage with genuine talent.
[You have entered Floor 90 of Tower (South Korea).]
[Challenge: Composed of multiple sub-challenges.]
───────
1) Define the worldview of this floor
※ Time Limit: 7 days
※ If you fail to complete the challenge within the time limit, you will be forcibly expelled from the Tower, and entry will be restricted for 30 days.
───────
A realm no one on Earth has ever reached before.
The challenges are equally extraordinary.
The first task demands I define the worldview.
There’s a time limit, and failure means Tower entry restriction.
Red Cat’s eyes narrowed.
‘It seems the Tower is desperate to kick my butler out.’
The Tower’s dark intentions were becoming transparent.
Yet my butler’s mood seemed good.
‘Well, that works.’
My butler Choi Kang-mok’s mood was actually quite excellent.
‘A challenge rather than a trial.’
This seemed far more suited to a mage.
It wouldn’t be easy, but interest stirred within me.
The Tower was offering the interest that Europe had stolen.
Upon entering the Tower, Choi Kang-mok marveled.
‘Vast.’
No matter how widely I spread my perception, I sense no boundaries.
It feels as though I’ve stepped into an entirely new world.
“This is almost like… I’ve undergone dimensional transit.”
Red Cat, the dimensional monster, agreed.
“Boundlessly vast, it is.”
I unfurled Baek-ik and took to the air.
This place was a desert.
A desert stretching beyond the horizon.
To the naked eye, there was no end in sight.
“It’s not particularly hot.”
Nor was it arid. The weather was pleasant.
There were no elements particularly hindering magical use.
If anything, the only notable thing was the rising morning sun being extraordinarily brilliant.
-(Light): Strangely peaceful, isn’t it? This always means something’s about to emerge.
Light Mayo’s body trembled slightly.
A former fugitive. The instincts of Light, who had trembled while fleeing daily, were alerting me to danger.
Mayo was slightly displeased by this.
-(Mayo): A mage is not a coward. We must not cower. The only thing we should fear is magic itself.
-(Light): Who’s cowering?! I’ve changed!
-(Mayo): Yet the cowardly instinct carved deep into one’s very nature still resonates within me. We have become one, after all. This aspect is most disagreeable. I am not a coward, yet…
I flew through the sky at a moderate pace, Baek-ik still unfurled.
‘No matter how far I go, it’s nothing but sand.’
Stone ruins came into view.
It seemed like a place where people had lived in the distant past.
Traces of civilization were visible.
I descended to the ground and surveyed the surroundings.
Stone pillars carved by wind jutted up like teeth.
“This is…”
Faint, yet the form remained.
“The Tomb of Statues?”
A hidden area on Floor 1 of the Tower.
It bore considerable resemblance to the ‘Tomb of Statues’—a location now known to countless people.
“Then that must be the landmark stone.”
A rock worn and diminished by time, now shabby and unremarkable.
It bore striking similarity to the landmark stone in my memory.
“Then that direction is north.”
I couldn’t even discern the exact challenge ahead.
First, I needed to understand what this place was.
I took one hundred steps northward, just as I had done on Floor 1.
There was a faint tremor, but no other change occurred.
A notification that didn’t quite feel like a notification appeared.
[Congratulations… you…]
[Hidden… achievement unlocked …]
Faint light seeped from the pebbles scattered around us.
Normally, four statues should have been revealed with a thunderous roar, but….
“How should I put it.”
I assessed the situation in my own way.
“It’s like the Tomb of Statues, except it’s been broken down from extreme age.”
Was this giving us a hint about Floor 90?
10th Floor, 20th Floor, 30th Floor, and so on.
Floors in multiples of ten are usually boss battles, but this one felt slightly different from the usual pattern.
-(Light) : I’m not worried, I’m not worried, I’m not worried, I’m worried.
I placed my hand on ‘Ayla’.
Originally,
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[Ayla]
A statue that emanates a mysterious power
───────
was how the description should have read,
───────
I… I…
I’m having trouble with this text as it appears to contain corrupted or incomplete Korean characters. Could you please provide the line again with proper Korean spelling?
───────
but that’s what was written instead.
The description was terribly corrupted, but I could roughly infer its meaning.
It appeared that an enormous amount of time had passed since it last functioned properly.
I analyzed it like a true mage would.
“Is this related to time magic?”
A fragment of divinity.
Igniasha tilted her head.
“Everyone knows but pretends not to, right?”
Red Cat does, Light Mayo does, and the butler does too.
They all seem to be trying to figure out what kind of space this is.
Though Light from Light Mayo does seem to be trembling.
In any case, Igniasha asked.
“Is this some kind of exploration game?”
“No.”
“No?”
If it’s not an exploration game, then what is it?
“Then why are you pretending not to know?”
To Igniasha, the challenge seemed absurdly simple.
After all, she was a master of correction magic, and as a butler who communicated with the System exceptionally well, she knew the methods intimately.
So why was she pretending not to understand when she could simply clear the challenge?
What wisdom of a mage lay behind such an act?
“I’m not pretending, Igniasha.”
“Really?”
Igniasha narrowed her eyes.
“You’re messing with me, aren’t you?”
“I’m not, I’m telling you.”
“…You genuinely don’t know?”
Igniasha was flabbergasted.
How could she not understand this?
“It’s an alternate dimension with a misaligned time axis, isn’t it?”
Red Cat trembled violently.
Perhaps she felt an anxiety even greater than what Light experienced.
Her former disciple, now current colleague Igniasha’s recent performance was extraordinary.
“You can tell at a glance—why are you even conducting an exploration?”
“An alternate dimension with a misaligned time axis?”
“Yes. A specific moment in a specific dimension.”
Like Kang Pal-do’s AI narration, a notification unfolded.
[This floor is a location reprocessed and adapted by the Tower’s methods, recreating a specific moment from a specific dimension.]
Igniasha grumbled.
Why did they have to explain things so complicatedly?
“It’s just a space where the past has been recreated, right?”
And then a notification sounded.
[Part of the challenge has been cleared.]
[World setting definition has been completed.]
[Wait, this shouldn’t clear like this….]
[…This is actually possible?]
A fixed notification window appeared in the upper right corner of her vision.
───────
[Challenge List]
1) Define the world setting of this floor (CLEARED, Rank: EX)
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“Oh.”
It seemed each challenge was assigned its own clear rank.
The first one was EX-rank.
Red Cat analyzed desperately.
“The speed itself was incomparably faster than anyone else’s, and there was absolutely no destructive behavior whatsoever!”
If we were to use an Earth analogy?
“I solved a high-difficulty math problem through mental calculation and got the correct answer!”
Red Cat flinched at his own words.
Wasn’t that more like cheating than mental arithmetic?
The answer key had literally spoken the solution from beside him….
“Indeed, a great mage is always accompanied by an excellent companion!”
“Is that so?”
That would do.
Regardless of the facts, as long as the butler was satisfied, that was all that mattered.
Red Cat added flattery.
“After all, great magic is never completed alone. By any measure, this clear is a magical clear.”

* * *
After completing the first challenge, the second task activated.
───────
2) Prevent the Tower’s collapse in this world!
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Certainly, from Floor 90 onward, things became extraordinarily peculiar.
[This challenge cannot be cleared in ‘read-only’ mode.]
Choi Kang-mok’s body moved of its own accord.
It was a civilization quite similar to Arsian.
In the distance ahead, the Tower collapsed.
[■■ The Tower has collapsed.]
[Remaining Towers: 7]
He was transported again.
Forced displacement to various corners of the world.
Choi Kang-mok absorbed the sensation of movement through his entire body.
‘I’m starting to get a rough sense of the map now.’
[■■ The Tower has collapsed.]
[Remaining Towers: 6]
I could see the Tower crumbling.
Countless people gasped in horror, and the moment the Tower collapsed, monsters surged in from all directions.
A literal monster wave outbreak.
The city was annihilated in an instant.
And another displacement.
[■■ The Tower has collapsed.]
[Remaining Towers: 5]
Another forced displacement.
[■■ The Tower has collapsed.]
[Remaining Towers: 4]
By this point, Choi Kang-mok refused to remain a passive observer.
‘I need to deploy defensive magic.’
Though the space was a virtual recreation, the screams and cries of the people were real.
Stopping the monster wave wasn’t particularly difficult.
I just had to deploy ‘defensive magic’ utilizing black holes and fixed physical magic throughout the area.
‘Only seconds left until forced displacement….’
The perfect defensive magic deployment had failed.
There simply wasn’t enough time.
[■■ The Tower has collapsed.]
[Remaining Towers: 3]
After a couple of practice runs, I had now reached a level of defensive magic deployment that even Choi Kang-mok himself could be satisfied with.
‘Yes. This is growth.’
Climbing the Tower properly was indeed the path to growth.
The people of the city, facing imminent destruction, were bewildered yet overjoyed.
Some even cried out, ‘Our faith has saved us!’
And Choi Kang-mok suddenly tilted his head in confusion.
‘The challenge is to prevent the Tower from collapsing.’
Yet the Tower crumbles the moment I’m displaced.
There’s even a helpful note stating it’s read-only and impossible to clear.
‘Wait.’

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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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