The Return of the EX-Class Wizard - Chapter 30

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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 030
Lee Kang-nam spoke.
“I’m leaving. I mean it. If you need anything, don’t hesitate to call.”
Lee Kang-nam departed.
Kang Hye no longer made a fuss about it.
“That madman. He actually won?”
Just to be sure, I checked the match record.
[Mock Battle Record]
[1 Win / 0 Draw / 0 Loss]
I simply shuddered once.
A level 16 mage defeating a level 78 tank in a one-on-one duel.
No one would believe this result, but I decided to accept it as is.
“Oppa, if you win with a gap like this… what title do you get?”
There was no way there wouldn’t be a title.
Overcoming just a 5-level difference earned you ‘Mock Battle Expert’.
At 10 levels, titles like ‘Mock Battle Master’ were attached.
There were rumors that Christine had obtained ‘Mock Battle Emperor’, but it wasn’t official.
Cheating was impossible, by the way.
The system determined victory and defeat.

* * *
[!Overcome Level Gap of 50 or More!]
A perfect victory recognized by the system.
[You have acquired the title ‘Mock Battle Absolute’.]
[During mock battles, you receive an additional 10 stat points.]
Choi Kang-mok spoke briefly and calmly.
“I got 10 stat points.”
“…Wow.”
Kang Hye was momentarily at a loss for words.
Ten stat points was equivalent to a 10-level increase.
“It only applies in mock battles.”
“That’s still insane though?”
Ten stat points.
Kang Hye counted on her fingers.
“So with 5 from the Human-Face Spider’s inner core and 10 from Mock Battle Absolute, you’re effectively 15 levels higher than your actual level?”
“Oh. Didn’t I mention it?”
“What?”
“I gained 10 from the Human-Face Spider’s inner core.”
“…T-ten?”
Kang Hye blinked her eyes.
I shouldn’t be surprised. For an EX-rank Awakener, this is nothing. I’ve made that vow countless times, yet moments like these always catch me off guard.
Without meaning to, I let my shock show, but I quickly regained my composure.
“Well, yeah. Since you’re the original, you could probably handle ten or so.”
And then I thought about it.
Did a potion that raised ten stat points even exist in this world?
‘There was exactly one.’
Olivia’s Tears—a potion that raised Intelligence by ten points.
It was an item shrouded in mystery, with only rumors that it had been traded for hundreds of billions a year ago.
“Which stat did you raise?”
This was a question asked as an explorer.
Understanding an ally’s abilities thoroughly was an essential skill for any explorer.
“Ah, I shouldn’t have asked that.”
Choi Kang-mok was aiming to become a mage anyway.
“It must be Intelligence, right?”
“Intelligence went up too.”
“Huh? Um, I’m not quite following. Intelligence too?”
“Everything went up.”
“What?”
“I raised everything. All my stats.”
“…”
Kang Hye blinked again, and then finally burst out:
“You crazy bastard! Then it’s not ten, it’s forty! If you say things like that, how is anyone supposed to understand!”
Whether she was angry or delighted, I couldn’t tell.
Kang Hye’s face flushed red as she laughed with unbridled joy.

* * *
There was no need to deliberate over where to invest my first EX coin.
[‘Shield’ stat has increased to 7.]
[Remaining coins: -]
[Shield(7) Capacity: 100]
An increase in my Shield stat.
I could now constantly maintain the defensive power of a Normal-rank, level 175 tank.
‘Excellent.’
Confidence bloomed within me in many ways.
Kim Yu-jun, the assassin from Busan.
Lee Kang-nam, the tank from Daegu.
I had fought both of them and emerged victorious.
Though the road ahead remained long, I had gained a bit more magical confidence as well.
[Entering Seoul Tower 9th Floor.]
[EX-rank Clear achieved!]
Nothing could stop a mage brimming with confidence.
The 9th floor cleared in an instant.
───────
[Hall of Fame (9th Floor)]
[South Korea]
1. -(Seoul, EX)
2. Tomato Moller (Incheon, SS)
3. Lee Kang-nam (Daegu, SS)
…
───────
[Nine consecutive EX clears lol this class is insane]
└Is Seoul Tower farming real lol
└Everyone’s flocking to Seoul
└Seoul is an EX-rank Awakener city that’s what I’m saying
└Why is Busan so quiet?
└The Busan Guild members ended up giving up all 5 stats lol Busan’s lord is so incompetent
└My friend works at Busan Guild and says there’s a lot of internal dissatisfaction
└Yeah 5 stats is huge lol
└Even so, Great Busan can’t bow to tyranny lol
└I’m an EX-rank Awakener fan but I think the abuse of power crossed the line
[Next is the 10th floor lol time to choose an official job]
└What should I do?
└Shouldn’t you go tank? We’re so short on tanks
└Don’t you know the tank uselessness debate? Damage dealers are the meta these days
The higher the Tower floors, the more the tank’s presence fades.
Since the monsters’ skill damage exceeded imagination,
the prevailing strategy was to suppress them with damage before their ultimate abilities activated.
This held true for overseas raids as well.
[But honestly, clearing the 10th Floor at EX-rank seems a bit much, doesn’t it?]
└I think so too
└Yeah, that’s been the case every time so far
└Think about it seriously. The 10th Floor absolutely requires the direct approach. No tricks work
Floors 1 through 9 could be cleared using various gimmicks.
An explorer might have employed unconventional methods.
But the 10th Floor was where you had to fight the proper boss battle.
Clearing it through strange gimmicks was nearly impossible.
[Let’s calm down. Our standards have gotten way too high lately]
└There’s no city in the entire world that’s held first place consecutively through the 9th Floor
└Even Madrid’s limit is 3 consecutive floors
└? But London has 4 consecutive floors?
└Munich also has 4 consecutive. Get your facts straight
└That’s not what we’re talking about. The point is that clearing the 10th Floor at EX-rank is genuinely difficult.
And twelve hours had passed.
The long-awaited 10th Floor.
The confident mage Choi Kang-mok did not hesitate.
[Entering Seoul Tower, 10th Floor.]
The end of the tutorial.
A boss appeared on the 10th Floor.
The lower body of a horse with the torso of a human.
Approximately three meters in size.
From here on, it could truly be called a ‘monster.’
[Challenge: Defeat the 1st Section Boss, ‘Minotaur’!]
[!You may exit at any time!]
Knowing the strategy meant nothing.
Strength, stamina, speed, reflexes.
A hexagonal monster with all attributes evenly raised above a certain threshold.
Gimmicks and shortcuts were useless against it.
In the end, I had no choice but to face it head-on with the direct approach.
[!Boss battle starting in 30 seconds!]
Smaller minotaurs began spawning around the Minotaur.
Monsters bursting forth from the magic circles in succession.
Choi Kang-mok quickly gathered my mana.
The circuit of Energy Bolt ignited at my fingertips.
I had to mobilize everything I’d practiced so far.
‘Segmentation.’
The energy bolt split into two branches,
and the talisman effects overlapped to create a total of four projectiles.
Ashen mana began flowing through both my hands.
With the piercing attribute embedded within, wide-area strikes capable of tearing through space itself were possible.
‘Control the shape of the mana pressure.’
Before, I had focused on a spear—
magic that pierced a single point.
But now, spreading it wide was the priority.
Like a net. Like a trap.
I had to expand the mana pressure broadly enough to blanket the entire battlefield.
‘I’ve been practicing mana pressure control consistently.’
I trusted in my training.
In an urgent combat situation, it would be difficult, but with sufficient preparation time like now, things were different.
‘Guide the fragments as much as possible toward Minota’s main body….’
Precisely targeting each individual mob was still beyond my reach.
Rather, concentrating on a single central strike was more realistic.
Any energy that deviated from the aim could be directed upward.
Securing safety came first.
[!Boss battle starting in 20 seconds!]
I recalled the effect of the Mythic-grade magic staff, Excalion.
Theoretically, I could unleash mana without consuming any, but unfortunately, I couldn’t manage that.
The damage was so intense that my body couldn’t withstand it.
‘My goal is to use it twice in succession.’
I gave Mayo instructions.
“I’ll control it as much as possible, but if any stray mana fragments scatter….”
-Intercepting on standby.
-All scattering trajectories are being monitored.
-If within correctable angles, I will deflect them.
Trajectory monitoring was possible.
Interception was the problem.
One couldn’t punch cannonballs out of the sky with bare fists.
Slightly altering the direction was the best I could do.
Minota was not on Mayo’s radar.
-From the user’s suicidal magical operation,
we
will attempt to protect as much as possible.
[!Boss battle starting in 3 seconds!]
[!Boss battle starting in 2 seconds!]
[!Boss battle starting in 1 second!]
The long-awaited 10th Floor.
The boss battle had begun.
Thud!
Minota stomped its foot.
It was Minota’s skill, ‘Tremor’.
Ordinary mages would lose their concentration and have their spell casting interrupted.
‘Focus!’
Choi Kang-mok remained unshaken.
Intellect: 30.
While the damage increase was excessively high, my other abilities had risen dramatically as well.
[Using skill, Energy Bolt (S).]
Four shots. Energy bolts fired in rapid succession.
Minota, as if it had anticipated this, changed its movements.
The smaller Minotas advanced first.
They formed a wall to block the front, while the main body began forming mana spears from behind.
A shimmering light emanated from its body.
It was the preliminary motion of Skill 1, ‘Spear Throw’.
Whoooosh—!
The smaller Minotas couldn’t withstand the net-shaped mana pressure and were swept away.
‘Ugh.’
Choi Kang-mok was still human.
Not everything could be as consistent as a machine or AI.
‘It’s far weaker than I anticipated!’
There were moments like this occasionally.
You exert force and lift, but the object is so light that you stumble forward from the momentum.
This was exactly that moment.
The smaller Minotas were swept away by mana pressure alone.
The mana pressure hadn’t diminished at all.
‘I need to control it so the debris doesn’t scatter toward me!’
I had no capacity to worry about anything else, like zeroing out the trajectory.
Controlling it so it wouldn’t come my way was the best I could do.
In the meantime, the net-shaped mana pressure stretched toward Minota.
Minota cancelled its skill usage and instead began running to the side.
The field itself was spacious enough.
It could evade faster than the net-shaped mana pressure could spread.
Minota, having escaped the Energy Bolt’s range, charged toward Choi Kang-mok.
The boss battle modifier of the Mythic-rank staff Excalion.
[Cooldown negated!]
[Using skill, Energy Bolt (S).]
The moment Energy Bolt flew in, Minota changed direction once more.
That massive body moved with an agility that seemed impossible to believe.
Each movement was a response befitting a high-floor boss.
Minota, who had by now retreated beyond the reach of the mana pressure’s influence, let out a snort—puhihihing!—and raised its front legs.
The meaning was unmistakable.
“You’re laughing?”

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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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