The Return of the EX-Class Wizard - Chapter 289

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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 289
Kang Hye, the master of the Gate, had come to understand.
Ah, the superiority or inferiority of offensive magic wasn’t what mattered.
What truly mattered was ‘faith’ itself.
“See, brother?”
Kang Hye broke into a radiant smile.
The palm where the nail had been driven through healed of its own accord.
She chided him with a grin.
“I asked you to trust me just once—is that really so difficult?”
“This is absurd.”
[To the ‘believer’ who overcame the trial…]
[To the ‘mage’ who overcame the trial…]
“If the roles were reversed, could you have done it?”
“I could have.”
“If you’d misfired even slightly, I’d be dead?”
“But you’re not dead, are you?”
There wasn’t a single flicker of doubt in Kang Hye’s eyes.
“You told me to trust you, didn’t you?”
….
“Then I trust you.”
Choi Kang-mok could only shrug.
Throughout life, I’ve encountered various madmen, but Kang Hye seems to be at the pinnacle.
‘Well, it doesn’t matter.’
Even if she’s slightly unhinged, as long as it doesn’t impede living in this world, that’s enough.
And if it does cause problems, I can simply eliminate them.
[I bestow upon the ‘mage’ the authority he most desires.]
A Gate where spacetime had been warped.
Particularly, it was a place where time had been twisted extensively.
This environment was manifested because Kang Hye understood Choi Kang-mok’s deepest longing well.
“Brother. You’ve always envied time magic, haven’t you?”
“Yeah… I have.”
Choi Kang-mok’s body trembled slightly.
Though I couldn’t express it precisely, this space seemed to be inscribing time magic into my very being.
‘Wait, is this even magic?’
I’m not sure.
I feel as though I can manipulate time.
It was something beyond magic—some form of authority that transcended it.
“How you refine and master this ability is now your responsibility.”
Kang Pal-do turned the broadcast back on.
[…the mage succeeded in clearing the Gate in an instant through ‘faith’ imbued with authority beyond magic…]
The AI, which had withdrawn on its own, reappeared once more and continued its “Ode to the Mage.”
Then it zoomed in on Raymond’s face.
[His mentor Raymond is shedding tears of emotion.]
“Perhaps my disciple’s magic may one day surpass my own!”
Some mages fear their disciples surpassing them.
But Raymond was not one of them.
“I can smell the scent of time emanating from my disciple!!”
A sensation only mages capable of wielding temporal magic could perceive!
One could feel it merely by looking.
Right now, Choi Kang-mok was a mass of temporal authority itself.
Raymond unfurled eight luminous wings.
[That magic mimics the disciple ‘Mage’s’ Light, but rendered more ornately—an empty decoration. Born from the simple notion that eight wings are more beautiful than six, this childish spell is…]
-The AI’s evaluation is savage lol lol lol lol lol
-It roasts everyone except EX-rank Awakeners lol lol
-lol lol lol lol lol lol lol but what’s happening?
-Why did he suddenly turn into a dragon?
[Raymond, transformed into a massive lizard, is breathing fire from his mouth…]
Kang Pal-do’s expression hardened.
Raymond seemed to have lost his mind.
[
breathing fire
unleashing a breath attack. Transformation into a dragon-kin. This is evaluated as a secondary combat technique chosen by non-combat mages when they cannot grow stronger on their own.]
-???
-A sudden attack?
-Why?
Choi Kang-mok watched the incoming dragon.
He already knew it was Raymond’s transformed state.
He had seen the breath attack coming.
‘As expected of my mentor.’
-(Mayo) : How audacious. To dare use offensive magic against the ‘Mage.’
-(Light) : Come on! Destruction! Break it! Smash it to pieces!! I won’t hold back!! Because I am strong!!
-(Mayo) : Shall we intercept?
-(Light) : Let’s intercept!!
Choi Kang-mok shook his head.
‘No.’
Though I occasionally doubted his qualities as a mentor, ultimately a mentor remained a mentor.
An attack at this moment?
‘It’s to help me internalize the temporal authority I’ve just mastered.’
Choi Kang-mok’s eyes grew serious.
This was a true “magical exchange match.”
Kang Hye, the master of the Gate, adjusted the space to accommodate him.
‘Sturdy. Don’t let it shatter!’
Kang Hye’s heart raced with excitement.
This place had become her brother’s playground.
She felt joy at being able to provide such a wonderful space.
‘So he can unleash his maximum output without restraint.’
She didn’t entertain doubts about whether that was realistically possible.
‘I am the master of this space.’
At least within this domain.
And if it was for her brother’s sake.
It would be more than possible.
“Brother, this place is safe.”
Debris won’t scatter into the real world.
“You can go all out.”
Kang Pal-do, who had launched a drone from a distance, let out an exclamation of awe.
“What the—!”
They seemed thrilled with each other.
But Kang Pal-do was different.
More terrified than ever before.
A sense of danger crashed over him like a tidal wave.
“Who said anything about maximum output?!”
I need to escape from here fast….
“What the—!!”
But escape was impossible.
I couldn’t even tell what kind of space this was.
Not a single ant could slip through the gaps.
The space was perfectly sealed, completely severed from the original world.
“…This is bad. Where can I hide?”
No.
Even if I hide, will I survive?
In a space where the ‘Mage’s’ maximum output is being unleashed?

* * *
Choi Kang-mok watched the incoming breath attack.
He could have intercepted or defended with a shield, but he chose otherwise.
‘What matters now is time magic.’
In truth, since he didn’t understand the principles of magic, calling it magic was somewhat ambiguous.
But Choi Kang-mok decided to believe in it as magic.
Magic is the collective term for countless miracles.
Some miracles manifest through willpower alone.
‘The sense of time.’
This space was teaching him.
The concept of time itself.
‘Reverse it.’
The target was Raymond.
More precisely, the breath being unleashed.
‘I don’t understand the mathematical calculations.’
That was something to analyze later.
Choi Kang-mok swung his staff.
[Observe the flames rushing toward the mage. This is reverse playback. The miracle of reverse playback unfolds before our very eyes.]
-?
-???
-????
The chat window filled with question marks.
The breath was indeed being sucked back into Raymond’s maw.
And then came silence.
Cracks had formed across Raymond’s scales.
“Hahahaha!”
Raymond laughed loudly.
“Can you explain the phenomenon occurring in this master’s body right now?”
“I’ve induced a temporal reversal phenomenon in your world, Master!”
Choi Kang-mok’s body trembled violently.
Time magic. He’d wanted to attempt it for so long, and he’d truly succeeded.
He’d rewound the breath.
“And temporal distortion has occurred. It’s placing strain on your body, Master.”
“Correct!”
The time surrounding Raymond twisted, placing stress upon his body.
“I shall correct it once more.”
Raymond uttered words in an incomprehensible language.
“Master, what does that formula mean?”
“It means nothing!”
“Pardon?”
“But it’s not cool! It’s like dragon-tongue magic.”
…Ah.
There truly is no end to learning.
Raymond was right.
Not every modifier needs to carry meaning.
In fact, it resembled dragon-tongue magic and was quite cool….
‘Hmm?’
Dragon-tongue magic?
Perhaps so.
‘Could the temporal magic I’ve just unleashed be called dragon-tongue magic?’
I couldn’t know for certain whether dragons actually existed.
Yet according to various communities, the pinnacle of all magic ultimately boiled down to dragon-tongue magic.
Intuition and instinct. Miracles wrought by willpower alone!
“Now I understand why you transformed into a dragon, Master! You were teaching me that my magic approaches dragon-tongue magic!”
No!
First, because dragons are cool.
Second, because transforming into a dragon is the most powerful combat magic Raymond can wield.
“Heh heh, my disciple learns well indeed.”
“It’s thanks to your teachings, Master.”
“That’s only natural—hardly worth mentioning!”
Even as we conversed, Choi Kang-mok elevated his breathing.
‘More!’
Raymond was correcting time.
Aligning the distorted temporal axis.
In opposition, Choi Kang-mok accelerated the temporal distortion even further.
‘Until the transformation breaks!’
Our bodies would suffer greatly, but I didn’t care.
After all, certain magical exchanges sometimes inflict physical damage!
Raymond fell silent.
‘The reverse playback is accelerating!’
Beyond what correction could handle.
His magical circuits burned entirely, his head felt ready to burst, yet he couldn’t stop.
‘My teachings are truly remarkable!’
At this rate, the transformation might actually break….
‘It broke!’
Raymond’s transformation shattered.
“Ugh!”
The one who cried out was actually Choi Kang-mok.
Choi Kang-mok coughed blood.
Just as Raymond had overextended himself, Choi Kang-mok had given everything as well.
“I have succeeded, Master.”
“Magic beyond negation. You have entered the realm of nullification that invalidates transformation itself. Congratulations, my disciple!”
Making transformation itself as though it never existed.
“I am also grateful that you deliberately induced combat conditions.”
Choi Kang-mok now acknowledged it himself.
The situation where he could grow fastest was ‘combat’.
“Hehe, it was all part of the teaching.”
Choi Kang-mok’s face was deathly pale.
Though Raymond’s body bore massive cracks in places, Choi Kang-mok appeared to be in worse condition.
-So Raymond won then?
-Kang Pal-do got scared lol
-What, nothing happened
-I got nervous for nothing too
“As your master, I shall impart one final lesson to my disciple.”
“I am listening.”
“You lack illusory magic, my disciple.”
Raymond stood before Choi Kang-mok, who was half-kneeling.
“People will surely misunderstand. They will say I won.”
On the surface, it appeared that way.
“But I am dying right now!”
To be precise, Choi Kang-mok was severely wounded.
Raymond was mortally wounded.
“Without proper treatment, I will be destroyed within three minutes!”
-?
-??
-He looks really happy though?
“You must learn to embellish your magic more. That is the final lesson I give you.”
“….”
-Why does this sound like a deathbed confession?
-Nah lol, a deathbed confession?
Something felt increasingly strange about the atmosphere.
-Wait a minute
-Is this a prank?
Raymond’s arm fell off.
Like a dried mud figure crumbling to pieces.
Before long, massive black cracks consumed his entire body.
“I was already in this state! I merely disguised my condition with illusory magic!”
Raymond felt relieved.
He seemed to have imparted a good final lesson.
Now the ‘Mage’ would become an even greater mage and spread magic throughout the world.
And beyond that, even the ‘faith’ itself!
“I have fulfilled my duty. To have imparted wisdom to my disciple—that has been the greatest and most beautiful honor of my life. I am grateful to you, my disciple.”
Raymond’s body began to crumble like dust.
-??
-Is this real???
-Something feels really off about this atmosphere
-Is Raymond really dying?
Then, something extraordinary began to unfold.

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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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