The Return of the EX-Class Wizard - Chapter 275

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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 275
‘Acceptance is the first step toward growth.’
Why hadn’t I managed this until now?
From the moment I learned my first spell, my foundation had always been ‘damage’.
Even my localized job title was Dil-jjik-nu.
Striking down with damage output.
It wasn’t the definition I preferred, but it was certainly my achievement in practice.
‘It’s true that my origins are disadvantageous.’
My damage output is excessively violent for handling diverse spells.
But precisely because of that, I’ve come this far.
I’ve strived and strived again to overcome the limits of magic that was far too dangerous even for myself, and I’ve reached this point.
“I’ve been thinking about this wrong all this time.”
I can’t simply deny everything.
I need to accept what deserves acceptance and move forward.
“Let me show you my foundational magic.”
Right now, I am not the boss of the 100th Floor.
I am a mage. Pure and simple.
A voice echoed through the empty air.
“As you desired.”
The Challenger’s magic was exquisite.
I still couldn’t pinpoint their exact location.
It seemed to come from above.
Yet it also seemed to come from below.
Or perhaps the voice was being transmitted from another dimension entirely.
My opponent’s magic certainly possessed an enigmatic quality.
But it didn’t matter.
“Energy Bolt.”
An Energy Bolt unfolded with mastery so complete there was no further refinement possible.
A fundamental spell applied to countless other magics.
I was deeply accustomed to its repeated manifestation for layering.
“Energy Bolt.”
I decided not to employ advanced techniques like Meteor Shower.
“Energy Bolt.”
If I am the boss of the ■■ Tower’s 100th Floor, then my opponent is the boss of Korea Tower’s Floor 90.
In other words, this is a boss battle.
I can fire Energy Bolts in nearly infinite succession.
“Energy Bolt.”
Recently, I rarely used Energy Bolt as a standalone technique.
Especially not since I learned defensive magic.
But this time is different.
“Energy Bolt.”
Time seemed to have stopped.
Under normal circumstances, I might have dismissed this as the beginning stages of time magic.
But today was different.
I focused solely on channeling Energy Bolt at maximum output.
‘Strip away all technique.’
I didn’t transform into Light’s archer form either.
Of course, elegance and finesse held their own importance.
Yet I couldn’t stray from the essence.
‘That said, all those techniques and variations weren’t meaningless.’
A new world.
New senses awakened.
The flight magic I’d been practicing all this time had heightened my spatial comprehension in peculiar ways.
Humans exist horizontally.
We walk and run.
But I now flew.
These experiences had dramatically increased my understanding of space, and that understanding revealed structure itself.
I comprehended this entire space within my mind.
‘Scatter the Energy Bolt fragments.’
Without leaving even the smallest gap.
There was no need for grandeur or flourish.
‘A mere graze is enough.’
I knew the power of this magic better than anyone.
Light sensed the danger.
-(Light): I need to run, but where? Oh, wait. I can’t run.
Light’s true nature slipped out unguarded, and it urged frantically.
-(Light): Hurry, get to that monster—no, the user!
In this moment, Light had found the safest place.
It was in my arms.
From this point forward, every space would become dangerous.
The 100th Floor’s magic-type boss was entering the ‘acknowledgment phase,’ and its magic would unfold.
-(Light): Hey! You ignorant cats!!
I hadn’t particularly liked those cats before.
But today was different.
Even dislike could become affection.
-(Light): Get over here, quick!!
Red Cat’s fur stood on end.
The dimensional beast sensed the approaching danger instinctively.
Something vast and invisible was drawing near.
I tried to grab Igniasha quickly, but—
‘Already there?’
Igniasha was already perched on Choi Kang-mok’s shoulder.
Red Cat bolted across the empty air.
She had to reach the safety of her master’s arms.
Everywhere except that spot was a danger zone.
The magical creature sensed this peril with equal precision.
“Dangerous magic is unfolding.”
The magical creature shifted into a defensive stance.
“I’ll dismantle the magic.”
He wielded intricate spellcraft with masterful precision.
That was how he had been trained.
Magic is an elevated discipline.
“The structure of magic is simple.”
I could see what that magical monster was attempting.
It would mass-produce countless energy bolts, collide them against one another, and scatter fragments everywhere.
Filling this entire space.
No path to survival existed.
This whole space would be consumed by lethal magic.
“I can even predict what form the magic will take.”
The structure is simple.
The form of the magic is predictable.
I can see it all clearly.
“Then countering it will be easy.”
He began weaving hand seals at terrifying speed, systematically erasing each energy bolt sphere as it materialized.
“I’ll dismantle all of your magic.”
Until now, no mage had ever been his equal.
In fact, his greatest strength lay in decomposing an opponent’s magic.
That was why he had always maintained superiority against mages.
Against such simplistic magic, the advantage was even more overwhelming.
“Dismantle.”
The Challenger dismantled.
“Energy bolt.”
The boss monster generated.
Initially, their speeds were evenly matched.
As the boss monster created, the Challenger destroyed.
The Challenger smirked.
“So you want a battle of endurance.”
I acknowledge the boss monster’s physical prowess.
But it seems to lack experience and wisdom as a combat mage.
“Your magic is simple, after all.”
I was the one becoming increasingly familiar with this.
I would grow accustomed even faster.
That meant an increase in my decomposition speed.
“Soon, I will become faster.”
The manifestation and decomposition of magic.
Though this tedious repetition continued, neither of us found it tedious at all.
‘This is exhilarating.’
‘Exhilarating indeed.’
Both were engulfed in a similar sensation.
In the collision of magic against magic, Choi Kang-mok felt it.
‘That Challenger is certainly superior to me as a mage.’
And therefore.
‘It seems they are deliberately throwing soliloquies at me.’
I didn’t know their true intentions.
Yet Choi Kang-mok sensed it.
Though the form itself was soliloquy….
We were conversing with each other.
And the delicate balance of power that had been locked in stalemate began to crumble bit by bit.
“The destructive power increases further from here?”
The boss monster’s destructive power, having entered the recognition phase, continued to escalate.
Could this truly still be called an energy bolt?
Should it not be designated as an entirely different, new magic—bearing only the same name and form?
Sweat poured from the Challenger’s brow like rain.
“The structure is simple, and the technique’s refinement is unremarkable.”
Yet the destructive power contained within it is excessively formidable.
Now my decomposition magic no longer reaches the energy bolt.
To be precise, my decomposition magic is destroyed before it can even act upon the energy bolt.
The Challenger attained enlightenment.
“I decompose magic.”
But you,
“You destroy magic.”
And,
“That is the ultimate efficiency!”
No complex calculations are necessary.
Refinement is a luxury.
In the blink of an eye, this space became saturated with energy bolts.
At the 100th Floor boss’s gesture, the energy bolts began colliding with one another.
The Challenger cried out in a voice brimming with rapture.
“Absolute destructive magic with no space to evade! How magnificent!!”
Colossal energy bolts battered against each other, shattering apart, their fragments scattering in all directions.
Choi Kang-mok’s eyes snapped open.
‘A new spell.’
I had merely repeated the same magic.
Yet I had entered the ‘recognition phase’, continued my magical dialogue with the Challenger, and ultimately stepped into a new realm.
Yesterday’s Choi Kang-mok and today’s Choi Kang-mok had become entirely different ‘mages’.
‘All technique stripped away.’
Magic focused solely on ‘destruction’.
Until now, I had entered combat stance countless times, but never had I concentrated so purely on destruction alone.
‘I am in danger too.’
Yet Choi Kang-mok trusted himself.
Since long ago, I had done my utmost to evade my own fragments.
Those experiences had accumulated in layers, forging me into who I am now.
‘I can protect myself.’
I had to struggle relentlessly to survive within the maelstrom of fragments I myself had created.
‘Blink.’
And invulnerability.
I endured by activating Mayo’s basic ability along with the stored invulnerability in succession.
[Wait, hold on, Boss.]
[Did the Challenger really die? You sure about that? ■.?◁…]
The 100th Floor vanished.
Erased.
[We summoned you to eliminate a madman, and now…]
From the outside, the Tower now existed only up to Floor 99.
[An even greater madman has arrived…]
Whether the Challenger lived or died remained unknown.
The ceiling and walls had all disappeared, leaving only ruins, with Choi Kang-mok standing alone.
“I must have finished him…”
I had obliterated the entire space.
Yet I felt no sensation of eliminating the Challenger.
Even the System seemed uncertain about it.
Choi Kang-mok spoke quickly.
“He must be eliminated.”
You won’t acknowledge it?
Then I’ll use correction magic.
How could anyone survive when the entire space has been erased?
When hired as a mercenary and the work is done, payment is only natural.
That is what I ‘believe’ is ‘just’.
[Damn it]
[You bastard of Korea Tower]
After the message that vanished too rapidly to comprehend, an official message followed.
[Challenge recognized as cleared.]
The System lacked the power to resist correction magic.
With the entire 100th Floor destroyed, even restoring it was overwhelming.
It grudgingly acknowledged the challenge clear.
[Phew, I survived.]
Choi Kang-mok sensed it instinctively.
I’m back on Floor 90 of the Korean Tower now.
[You have cleared the challenge.]
[Calculating clear grade.]
The 100th Floor of the other dimension’s Tower was obliterated.
But Floor 90 of the Korean Tower remained intact.
The alarm was louder and more emphatic than usual.
[Clear Grade: EX++]
The celebration burst louder than ever before.
[I’m not the only one suffering!]
[I’m not the only incompetent one!]
[You all experience this too, you crazy bastard!]
Perhaps it was because the tears(?) had flowed so profusely that they cleaned everything.
The walls of the Korean Tower gleamed.
[Floor 90 clear rewards are being granted.]

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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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