The Return of the EX-Class Wizard - Chapter 3

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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 003
[Open the EX Point Shop?]
[!Beginner-Exclusive Discount Active!]
There was no time to deliberate.
At this rate, I would simply die.
───────
[EX Point Shop]
[Floor 1]
1. Elixir – 1 Point (Limited to 1 Purchase)
───────
There was only one thing I could buy.
The contents were simple. The action was simple.
An EX on the brink of death did not hesitate.
[1 EX Point has been consumed.]
[Elixir acquired.]
A small glass vial materialized in my hand.
I twisted the cork with desperate urgency and gulped down the contents without pause.
A blue radiance enveloped Choi Kang-mok’s body.
“Ahhh.”
The purple discoloration vanished.
My shriveled organs expanded with a sensation of renewal.
Life itself returned to me.
“I nearly died.”
Five seconds more and I would have been finished.
If I hadn’t managed to open the cork.
Sprawled across the floor, I gasped for breath.
I had ventured to the very precipice of death.
And now I understood the reality with perfect clarity.
‘A slime nearly killed me. If I fought a wolf in this state?’
A mere graze would be instant death.
“Heh, hehehehe!”
Yet laughter erupted from me.
The unknown is far more terrifying.
Once you know, it becomes manageable.
“Either way, I’ve become a mage.”
I spread my fingers before me.
Within them lingered the warm, pulsing resonance of magic.
The magic I had yearned for so desperately was unmistakably in my grasp.
I had succeeded.
“Mages are naturally fragile anyway.”
That’s settled.
Self-rationalization complete.

* * *
The age of new civilization.
The most valuable word in this era was “Tower ranking”—a measure of a city’s and nation’s standing.
How many floors cleared. How high the grades achieved. How many Awakened Ones had conquered higher tiers.
This comprehensive “Tower ranking” determined a city’s, and by extension, a nation’s prestige.
What’s so good about a high Tower ranking?
Increased drop rates for mana stones. Artifact mining bonuses. Gate rewards scale accordingly.
In the old world, it would be like striking oil.
And among all these benefits,
the “first-place record” for each floor wielded the most powerful influence on Tower ranking.
───────
[Hall of Honor (Floor 1)]
[Republic of Korea]
1. -(Seoul, EX)
2. Kim Yu-jun (Busan, SS)
3. Tomato Moller (Incheon, SS)
…
───────
The world’s first EX-rank clear had emerged.
Naturally, first place.
[? There was an EX rank?]
└Didn’t know this grade existed lol
└This is literally the world’s #1 right now
└Even London couldn’t pull off an EX lmao
While rankings were officially measured only within a single nation, an EX-rank clear was different.
It signified overwhelming supremacy.
London, Madrid, Munich—the so-called “Big Three” had yet to produce an EX.
And now it had appeared in Seoul.
Online communities erupted in real-time fervor.
[Busan losers, you seeing this? This is Seoul-class power lmao]
└Seoul Guild doesn’t even know who it is, sweating bullets rn lol
└How’d they manage this? No entry records either lmao
└That EX bastard’s bound for Busan anyway lol enjoy while it lasts~
Choi Kang-mok felt a twinge of regret.
‘Magic practice might be pushing it, huh?’
I wanted to train against the dummies in front of the Tower like other Awakened Ones.
But I had to hold back.
Everyone is searching for an EX-Rank Awakened One.
If my true identity is exposed in this fragile body? I’m as good as dead.
[Seoul Lord, meticulously analyzing entry and exit records]
[Will mobilize all resources to identify the individual]
The Seoul Guild has descended into considerable chaos.
Despite claims of thorough management, they couldn’t locate the EX-Rank individual anywhere.
Lee Byung-gyu, the Seoul Lord, chose to expose the failure openly rather than conceal it.
[Seoul Lord, “I guarantee absolute safety. Please come to the Seoul Guild.”]
└Isn’t this basically admitting he failed at access control?
└Still, that’s the right call
└The Seoul Lord does his job well.
└Wait, is this Byung-gyu?
└Saw Blood Shield do well, but the eternal last-place Tower lol~
└Yeah, if he did his job right, he would’ve found the EX-Rank by now, right?
The other Lords mobilized as well.
[Busan Lord, “We possess Korea’s finest Tower expertise. We will provide optimal support to ensure seamless clearance…”]
[Incheon Lord, “We promise the highest material support…”]
All eight Lords were desperate to find the EX-Rank individual.
‘I’ll have to practice only inside the Tower for now.’
More than 23 hours remained before Tower entry.
I surveyed the world through my phone.
It was certainly chaotic.
[The eternal last-place Seoul Tower. Will new hope bloom?]
From a global perspective, Korea was a backwater.
Tier 1—the Big Three—were challenging the 49th floor.
Tier 2—the top-tier cities—were progressing through the mid-40s.
Tier 3—the upper-tier city Towers—were tackling the early-to-mid 40s.
The Busan Guild, Korea’s highest-ranked, had stalled at the 39th floor.
A prolonged standstill, as they called it.
For reference, Seoul Tower was progressing through the 33rd floor.
Being last even among Korea, a global backwater, meant the epithet “eternal last-place” wasn’t entirely undeserved.
[Seoul, will it reclaim its former glory!]
The world had grown raucous.
Choi Kang-mok lay in bed, watching the clock.
‘Still 23 hours left.’
Time crawled unbearably slowly.
23 hours had passed.

* * *
Floors 1 through 9 are known as the tutorial levels.
Literally, for beginners.
A considerate section designed to help fledgling Awakened Ones acclimate to the Tower.
‘Let me practice a bit more before heading to the second floor.’
On the second floor, horned rabbits appear.
A collision with this body would be genuinely perilous.
“The strategy for dealing with horned rabbits is….”
I must strike before they strike me.
Proper magical practice is essential in this situation.
‘I need to understand why the slime died without even being hit.’
Only then can I properly challenge the second floor.
“First, I’ll be careful of the slime’s attacks too….”
What Choi Kang-mok was attempting was ‘magical segmentation.’
I stepped back a safe distance from the slime and drew up my mana.
‘Divide the mana into two streams and cast separately from each hand.’
I’d done this before, so I managed it quickly.
This way, the damage is significantly weakened.
Originally, this method was developed for use as a restraint.
My intention was to weaken the damage and use it while observing what caused the slime to shatter.
[Skill, Energy Bolt (S) activated.]
I had no intention of hitting the slime.
First, I wanted to observe while operating the magic.
Crack!
The significantly weakened Energy Bolt stretched out in two directions.
‘Found the anomaly!’
[Slime defeated.]
[Slime defeated.]
[3/5]
The slime died again.
But I hadn’t hit it.
Soon enough, Choi Kang-mok understood the reason.
‘The answer was fragments.’
The Energy Bolt had shattered upon striking the ground, and the shards engulfed the slimes.
The slime had been killed by the magical ‘residue.’
“So that’s how you deal with horned rabbits….”
Absurd as it was, it was reality.
[Title acquired: ‘Magical Transmuter.’]
[Awakening to the subtleties of magical manipulation and manifesting magic by independently controlling its effects!]
A title that all talented mages must acquire.
Title effects manifest randomly, but most are magic-related.
‘I wish it would reduce mana consumption.’
Then I could use and practice more magic while conducting research.
[Precision Trait Acquired!]
[Magic hit rate increases significantly.]
‘…This isn’t bad either.’
The Precision trait is particularly called Tier 0 for combat mages.
It reduces the time and mental focus spent on aiming.
That means I can deploy far more magic, far more quickly.
‘I’ve figured out why the slime died.’
So then, what extent will Precision’s effect reach?
Curiosity bloomed abundantly within me.
‘Let me try shooting in the exact opposite direction from the slime.’
This time it’s truly an angle that shouldn’t connect.
[Skill Energy Bolt (S) activated.]
Crack!
[Slime defeated.]
[Slime defeated.]
The magic curved.
More precisely, it flew like a guided missile.
Excessively magnificent damage. Unnecessarily perfect accuracy.
Fortunately, there was a slime that survived….
[Slime defeated.]
Even the fragments followed it.
[Tower Floor 1 cleared.]
Fifteen years of waiting for magic, finished in five seconds.
Slimes don’t grant experience.
I didn’t even gain a level.
“….”
Choi Kang-mok felt no disappointment.
I had obtained the magic I’d dreamed of.
It would be a luxury to be disappointed simply because I couldn’t use magic well, or because I had to wait merely twenty-four more hours.
“I have plenty of time ahead.”
And plenty of tasks.
What reactions different magics trigger in specific life forms.
What shape of mana circuit suits each type of magic best.
What operational methods beyond physical form could enhance efficiency.
There were so many things I wanted to explore that they couldn’t be listed one by one.
“First, let me raise my level.”
In the early stages, simply ascending the Tower grants level increases.
No matter what you attempt, you need a solid physical foundation to pull it off.
As my level rises and I grow stronger, I’ll be able to research far more.
‘That day will surely come.’
The day when I can handle Dilknu’s magic completely and study it with composure.

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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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