The Return of the EX-Class Wizard - Chapter 280

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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 280
The battlefield where the Continental Competition unfolded.
Kang Pal-do heard a new voice.
───────
You got fooled, didn’t you? Hahahaha
───────
It was a peculiar phenomenon.
What he heard was clearly a ‘voice,’ yet what his mind perceived was ‘text.’
Blue text, at that.
Kang Pal-do’s instincts flared.
‘There was an assassin!’
Among the Writers, there were two factions.
One faction treated ‘mages’ as dangerous entities that needed to be isolated or eliminated.
The other was fascinated by the strength of such ‘mages’ and offered their support and backing.
‘The Blue Writers volunteered as assassins!’
True to form for a faction supporting Choi Kang-mok!
The greatest assassination mage Kang Pal-do knew was Choi Kang-mok himself.
It seemed even Choi Kang-mok’s fans possessed considerable talent for assassination.
[The Blue Writers are suspected to have disguised themselves as the Black Writers.
Clever bastards
]
[Those fools caught in the Blue Writers’ scheme
took the bait!
]
One of Kang Pal-do’s abilities.
The System AI’s interpretive power was flawless.
A large number of blue writers who were friendly to Choi Kang-mok appeared and shouted ‘ㅋㅋㅋ’.
───────
Hahahahaha
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People across the world found this phenomenon remarkable.
What they heard was a voice, yet it registered as blue text!
───────
└You got fooled, right?
└Hey, hey, if you do it this way, you can eliminate the mage.
└Orelli who trained for 3,000 years? What’s that? Is it food?
Whoever brought Orelli here deserves mad props lol
───────
Choi Kang-mok smirked.
Only after eliminating Orelli did I realize.
Who he was.
‘He cleared the 80th Floor boss.’
Now there was no way he could spout nonsense about running away.
The System seemed to have relinquished control over the management of this round.
[American Continent Cumulative Damage: 0]
[Asian Continent Cumulative Damage: 9,000]
…
[Asian Continent Cumulative Damage: 10,000]
With King Sparock’s attack, the cumulative damage finally broke through 10,000.
[An overwhelming gap!]
[Further progression is meaningless.]
[A cold game is declared.]
The second round was a victory for the Asian Continent.

* * *
Many Americans refused to accept the results of the second round.
-What kind of defense round is this?
-Can you even call this a strategy?
-This is a cowardly tactic
The streets that had been filled with victory marches and parades until yesterday were now swarming with protesters.
The Anti-EX Faction was already gaining momentum within the United States.
Public opinion turned sharply against EX-Rank Awakeners.
Tyler, the American lord, broke into a cold sweat at this situation.
‘If this is strategy, then it’s strategy….’
Please, everyone, calm down a bit.
But there was no way he could step forward and say such things openly.
At the very least, he had to appear to criticize the EX-Rank Awakener.
“The magic and judgment method are incomprehensible. The American Continent finds this magical outcome quite regrettable.”
And he watched for reactions.
What if the EX-rank Awakener took offense?
Still, with appropriate ‘flattery’ included, wouldn’t he let it slide?
‘Fortunately, there’s no particular reaction.’
It was a blessing in disguise.
After all, the Emperor was generous when it came to magic.
‘But this isn’t enough.’
Had everyone gone mad from the intoxication of victory in the first round?
The reactions of the American citizens were far from ordinary.
Many could not accept this method and result.
‘Please, just shut up and wait a bit, you bastards!’
But there was no way to stop the protesters.
Protests spread across the United States like wildfire.
“Ah….”
There was no way out.
This really had no solution.
But I found a clue to resolution from an unexpected place.
-The Emperor’s Trumpeter releases new footage!
Kang Pal-do had released a rare strategy video.
It was footage from the past of Choi Kang-mok defeating King Sparock, a Layer 7 3rd Section monster.
In the video with appropriate dramatic editing, Choi Kang-mok defeated King Sparock with tremendous difficulty.
The System AI interpreted it this way.
[Had the mage not defeated King Sparock, the mages of the American Continent would have suffered great losses. King Sparock is a monster far too powerful for American Continent mages to handle. The mage was actually protecting them.]
The vast majority of the world had never experienced the 3rd Section.
So it was difficult to grasp just how powerful it was.
Americans especially felt this way.
-Fake footage lol what protection lol
-Now they’re uploading deepfakes too
-At least they’re ashamed
-It’s just Sparock anyway right?
Layer 7. Clearly a low layer.
The prevailing opinion was that low-layer monsters couldn’t be that strong.
At this, Kang Hye became furious.
“How can you talk when you don’t even know how strong it is!”
They always said you only see what you know.
I couldn’t contain my anger at the ignorance of people who didn’t even understand the 3rd Section.
“Brother! Aren’t you upset?”
“Not really?”
It wasn’t even related to magic.
I thoroughly beat down the nonsensical Orelli and the System as well.
And I soundly defeated the Black Writers too.
I earned recognition through an overwhelming victory.
After venting all my stress, my mind became wonderfully at ease.
“People can think that way if they don’t know.”
“Huh?”
“Mages are inherently hard to understand.”
Choi Kang-mok wasn’t an entirely rigid person.
I was rather tolerant of the public’s failure to understand mages.
“Aren’t you upset?”
“Either way, it means my magic is powerful.”
I was used to ‘baseless criticism’.
This much was nothing to worry about.
As long as it doesn’t insult magic itself, I don’t really care.
When you have plenty of leisure, you don’t get angry no matter what you hear.
In the midst of this, small fissures began appearing throughout the American Tower.

* * *
[Breaking News: King Sparock Appears on American Tower 7th Floor]
[Breaking News: Hundreds of American Awakeners Missing]
The lower floors are where countless awakeners challenge themselves.
Since it’s a safe place, some even treat it as recreation.
[Breaking News: American Tower Missing Persons Approaching One Thousand]
But now the situation had changed.
A 3rd Section monster, King Sparock, had appeared on Layer 7.
The incident escalated when several American Rankers dispatched for verification died.
And a few explorers analyzed the phenomenon.
-“It appears the System overloaded and caused a temporary error because it consumed too much Source during this Continental Competition.”
Multiple American Rankers were mobilized.
Thanks to the sacrifice of numerous casualties, pattern analysis was complete.
Still, since it was a lower floor monster, the pattern itself was monotonous.
[Breaking News: All Five American Rankers Missing]
The System showed no intention of fixing the error.
To be precise, it lacked the capacity.
It had already exhausted its power by interfering too heavily in the Continental Competition.
Orelli, who was anticlimactically defeated by Choi Kang-mok, was essentially a 3rd Section boss-class monster.
By forcibly pulling such a creature, it had already overloaded.
Tyler wanted to cry.
“At this point, the only awakener who can defeat King Sparock is….”
There is only one.
Only EX-rank Awakener Choi Kang-mok.
But I couldn’t ask for help.
It was too politically dangerous.
“…We’re screwed.”
However, fortunately, King Sparock vanished on its own.
It tore itself apart recklessly and died.
Since it was an imperfect error to begin with, it destroyed itself.
Still, they experienced the strength of a 3rd Section monster.
Those who had denied King Sparock’s power could only fall silent.
Multiple American Rankers dead. Deaths and disappearances of ordinary awakeners exceeded a thousand.
-And it wasn’t even its complete form
An Incomplete King Sparock
-When did they say Sparock was weak?
Separate from the mourning of the deceased, a new wave of public opinion began to spread.
-Wasn’t Kang Pal-do right?
-It seems the EX-rank Awakener really was protecting the Americans
What if Choi Kang-mok hadn’t defeated King Sparock in their place?
Perhaps the Continental Competition would have ended right there.
With the complete annihilation of all American Continent participants.
-Thought he was a cowardly destroyer, but he was actually a savior
-Lol so he was saving them all along?
The Emperor of the New Era cherishes the lives of his citizens.
Such narratives began spreading widely.
-Actually, he didn’t really harm civilians?
-Look at this too—even with all those Americans cursing him, he just endured it patiently
-Yeah, truly a man of great character;
-He must have been incredibly angry…
Because Choi Kang-mok was displaying his humanity and elevating his public popularity (?), the resonance was even greater.
Choi Kang-mok is human.
In a situation like this, anger is only natural.
He suppressed that anger and waited.
-He was respecting freedom of expression
-Maybe he calculated it coldly from a political standpoint.
No.
He was simply relaxed thanks to having fully relieved his stress.
-If you have that much power, calculations don’t matter—you could just act like a thug
-If it were me, I’d be a dictator
A walking one-man empire.
With that much power, he still guarantees this much freedom.
This brought even greater authority to the ‘Emperor of the New Era.’
Tyler felt both relief and fear simultaneously.
‘He’s truly terrifying.’
The Emperor of the New Era possessed overwhelming power.
With that power, crushing and ruling everyone would be the most straightforward and easiest path.
Yet he was choosing a different route.
Though it took longer and was more inconvenient, he was drawing forth the voluntary support and respect of the Arcian Empire’s people.
‘He must have highlighted his humanity for this very performance.’
A ruler nearly perfect in every aspect—no, perfectly flawless.
‘I need to time my move carefully too.’
Right now, they were shouting Anti-EX Faction.
For a brief moment, the Anti-EX Faction had tasted success.
But there was no way this could last long.
The Emperor of the New Era was already receiving the admiration of people across the world.
This incident only deepened that sentiment.
‘Perhaps this is my opportunity.’
In essence, he had become the benefactor who saved all the American representatives.
I had been ignorant until now.
That’s why I failed to show gratitude.
If I frame it that way, wouldn’t the American people look favorably upon me?
‘Yes. Let me shift my stance here!’
He publicly expressed his gratitude to EX-Rank Awakener Choi Kang-mok.
For saving American citizens from King Sparock.
Of course, he knew the truth.
The King Sparock that appeared on the American Continent was not King Sparock.
In other words, it was a ‘fake Sparock.’
It merely wore King Sparock’s appearance, but was fundamentally no different from Sparock itself.
‘What does the truth matter anyway?’
Outwardly, it was King Sparock.
-“In reverence to the EX-Rank Awakener, I hereby declare the American Continent’s forfeit of the subsequent 3rd and 4th rounds. This is the American Continent’s—no, wait.”
He nearly misspoke.
He hastily corrected himself.
“—the minimum tribute we offer to the [Mage].”
One must walk the line carefully.
Appropriate deference must be shown to the emperor of this new age.
Yet one cannot abandon the entire ‘magical exchange tournament.’
That emperor enjoys magical exchanges.
One cannot strip away all his amusement.
‘…This should be sufficient, shouldn’t it?’
Being an emperor of unparalleled political acumen, he would surely grasp my intentions precisely.

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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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