The Return of the EX-Class Wizard - Chapter 4

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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 004
Crowds swarmed around Seoul Tower.
Countless people kept their eyes fixed on the Hall of Fame at Seoul Tower.
[Surely it’s not another EX-rank, right?]
└Even so, with an EX-rank Awakening, shouldn’t they at least hit SSS to save face?
└They could be taking a break for a few days, don’t count your chickens
└Wow, why am I trembling over this? Seriously;;;
[But the rankings aren’t updating at all?]
└Looks like they haven’t even attempted it
└Maybe they got hard-countered and couldn’t clear it?
└Could it be… they killed a slime and retired?
Being good at soccer doesn’t mean you’re good at basketball.
Being good at basketball doesn’t mean you’re good at baseball.
The Tower was the same.
Achieving EX-rank on the 1st Floor didn’t mean you could achieve EX-rank on the 2nd Floor.
Clear grades varied greatly depending on the player’s abilities, class, matchups, and other factors.
[Or maybe they’re repeatedly challenging to level up]
└Slimes don’t give experience, teacher lol it’s pointless
└They probably just got scared and hid lolol
└100% they got spooked by rumors of assassins swarming
The Seoul Guild was also keeping a watchful eye and managing access.
Now they had no choice but to hunt down the EX-rank holder.
[If you kill an EX-rank, you inherit their EX status, right?]
└All assassins across the nation are headed to Seoul
└It’s surprising they’re still alive
└It’s a blessing that overseas is blocked. They only have to deal with domestic assassins
If foreign players could enter the country, world-class assassins would pour in?
For an EX-rank Awakened One, it would be a catastrophe.
[They might have gone to a Gate]
└Low-level Gates are under full surveillance right now
└Right now it’s just a waiting game;
Choi Kang-mok hadn’t set foot outside his house.
It wasn’t simply out of fear—he was recovering his magical abilities.
The only regret was that he couldn’t conduct practical training in reality.
If fragments scattered while practicing magic, people could die.
That would naturally be murder.
He wanted to passionately cast spells at training dummies and work up a magical sweat.
‘For now, let’s start with the tutorial. Magical exploration should be done step by step.’
Floors 1 through 9 of the Tower were tutorial floors.
Kindly floors designed to help fledgling Awakened Ones grow accustomed to the Tower and Gates in stages.
Once I clear up to this point, I’ll grow more accustomed to this profession.
‘When I clear the second floor, the [Stat Window] will open.’
How should I distribute my stats efficiently?
A mage should prioritize Intelligence, right? Heh, I spent the time with a trembling heart.

* * *
The Seoul Guild intensified their efforts in managing entry to the Seoul Tower.
While everyone focused on the access control records,
Choi Kang-mok used his EX-Rank Awakening privilege to enter without anyone knowing.
[You have entered Tower (Seoul) Floor 2.]
[Current Level: 1]
[Level-up cannot exceed twice the clear level of the current floor.]
‘The strategy for floor 2 is simple.’
I just need to quickly eliminate five horned rabbits.
Time efficiency directly correlates with the grade.
[Challenge: Defeat 5 horned rabbits.]
First attempt.
For now, I must focus on achieving an EX clear.
To protect this fragile body, EX points were essential.
In the distance ahead, I spotted a horned rabbit.
‘I’ll draw out the essence of Energy Bolt.’
The vivid sensation of mana flowing through my body.
I divided the mana erupting from my heart into fine segments.
‘If it splits into two, theoretically four should be possible.’
Spell segmentation.
I could accept the damage reduction.
The key was spell ‘adaptation’.
For the past 24 hours, I’d practiced ceaselessly in my mind.
‘It’s difficult.’
That’s what made it exhilarating.
[Skill Energy Bolt (S) activated.]
Four strands of Energy Bolt shot forth.
The Spell Modifier title effect (Precision) applied.
Even without precise aim, they fired toward the rabbit.
Crackle!
[Horned rabbit defeated.]
[Horned rabbit defeated.]
Two instant kills.
‘I should focus on calculating the trajectory of the fragments.’
I tried to calculate carefully, but at my current level, it was an extremely difficult task.
Just a single Magic Fragment with precise application and homing capability, yet three monsters fell instantly.
Tower Floor 2 was cleared in a spectacular explosion in just seven seconds.
[Your level has increased.]
[Current Level: 2]
At that same moment, flames erupted once more above Seoul Tower.
It was a remarkable achievement, but I’d barely gotten any magic practice in.
After all, I’d only fired a single shot.
It was disappointing, but acceptable.
‘Still, this had meaning!’
Today’s Choi Kang-mok was better than yesterday’s.
I’d succeeded in splitting the magic into four paths instead of two.
I’d achieved more refined magical control.
‘I’m even getting a bit more comfortable predicting the fragment trajectories.’
As a mage, I’d made modest progress.
[You have obtained an EX-Rank Talisman Fragment (1/5).]
[You have been awarded 1 EX Point.]
[You have been awarded 100,000,000 Dia.]
The rewards weren’t significantly different from Floor 1.
[Would you like to register a nickname in the Hall of Fame (Floor 2)?]
It was best not to do anything that might expose my identity.
‘No.’
───────
[Hall of Fame (Floor 2)]
[South Korea]
1. – (Seoul, EX)
…
───────
[Status Window activated.]
[Exiting the Tower.]
The status window activated, and I emerged from the Tower.

* * *
Outside the Tower, fireworks erupted once more.
Floor 2 EX-Rank clear. A world first.
For Seoul citizens, forever branded as perpetual last-place, this was genuinely welcome news after an eternity.
[Moving to Seoul is the answer! Going to get that EX buff!]
└Dude, it’s only floor 2 lol. Don’t get ahead of yourself.
└Lower floors mode activated!
Consecutive EX-Rank clears. But it’s only floor 2.
How many promising prospects have vanished after showing off in the lower floors?
Both cautious voices and Seoul pride raised their heads simultaneously.
[Grandfather Dangun, I always believed in you!]
└It’s not Dangun, it’s the EX god-nim
└But who is it really;; Two consecutive EX clears? Isn’t that world-breaking?
└Fluttering~ (roughly the sound of someone waving the Taegeuk flag)
└Don’t get buried in Seoul Tower, you provincial folks~
└The way those provincial bastards are sneakily trying to board Seoul buses is disgusting
└Seoul pride still existing is even more disgusting lol
Yet the Seoul Guild could not simply rejoice.
“No, what is this….”
“We managed it thoroughly this time.”
Tower entry is physics-based.
To enter secretly, one would need to be a high-level Awakened One with thief-class skills.
But the current situation involves an EX-Rank Awakened One. Moreover, low-level.
With the Seoul Guild watching with wide-open eyes, there was no physical way to enter.
Han Sang-hyun, the right hand of the Seoul Lord—vice-lord and head of the Scouting Department—cautiously theorized.
“There’s a possibility they’re an Explorer.”
“EX-Rank consecutive clears. An unprecedented method. It could be them.”
Some Explorers do manage to enter the Tower secretly through extraordinary means.
And these are consecutive EX-Rank clears.
The probability was high that there existed a revolutionary and different clear method, distinct from existing strategies.
For that to be the case, the odds of them being an Explorer were highest.
“Maintain strict Tower access control, and deploy [Radar] units capable of tracking non-ordinary Explorer-class skills.”
Meanwhile, Choi Kang-mok, the instigator(?) of this incident, found himself wrapped in mild contemplation.
───────
[Status Window]
Strength: 10
Stamina: 10
Agility: 10
Intelligence: 20
※Remaining Stats: 2
───────
The baseline initial Awakening value for all stats is 10.
Upon Awakening (Level 1), one free stat point is granted by default, with an additional point awarded for each subsequent level-up.
Everyone awakens that way.
But Choi Kang-mok was different.
‘Truly an EX-Rank Mage!’
The numbers themselves were exceptional.
Intelligence stood at 20.
It was equivalent to the initial effect of ten level-ups.
‘Naturally, a mage should dump everything into intelligence.’
A mage absolutely had to invest in intelligence.
That was my philosophy.
‘But survival is a desperately critical concern.’
I nearly died to a slime’s attack.
At this rate, I’d perish even in a collision with a child’s bicycle.
Others would walk away with minor injuries; I faced genuine death.
‘Given my class nature, strength and vitality seem meaningless for now.’
Once I’m hit, I’m done for.
Evasion was paramount.
For that, agility appeared to be the answer.
‘I’ll hold off.’
As I level up, things may change.
Other breakthroughs might emerge.
Stat points don’t disappear if I defer allocation, so I decided to observe the situation for now.
‘I’m exhausted.’
Clearing a Tower floor brings tremendous physical and mental fatigue.
It feels like a math exam and athletic competition happening simultaneously.
I closed my eyes and fell into deep sleep.
When I opened them again, twenty-four hours had passed.

* * *
The Seoul Guild players were working through the night.
Lee Byung-gyu, the Seoul Lord, had staked everything on this.
An EX-Rank Awakened One. He had to recruit and protect them at all costs.
“What about the Radars?”
“They’re working through the night, sir.”
Han Sang-hyun, Lee Byung-gyu’s right hand, continued his report.
Numerous capable Awakened Ones had gathered.
When Radar-class Awakened Ones compiled vast amounts of information, big data specialists extracted the useful intelligence from it.
The location was naturally Seoul.
They knew the place and the timing.
Compared to other guilds, the Seoul Guild held the most advantageous position.
“We’ve discovered something unusual.”
“Something unusual?”
“We’ve filtered the awakening reactions detected in Seoul… Please take a look at this candidate list.”
An organized roster.
One name stood out.
“Choi Kang-mok. Do you know of him?”
“Of course I do. A first-generation Awakened One. His alias was Strongtree.”
Strongtree. A first-generation Awakened One.
One of the earliest to clear the nineteenth floor.
Everyone had forgotten by now, but he was once a monster who single-handedly filled dozens of strategy forum threads.
There were even rumors he was the mentor of the current Archmage Christine.
“Then why?”
“We’ve detected an awakening reaction from him.”
Awakening reactions could be detected from anyone. But an awakening reaction from Strongtree?
The implications were staggering.
“Could it be… a re-awakening?”
“It’s a possibility. We’re not certain, but confirmation is necessary.”
There had never been a case of re-awakening.
The consensus was that such a thing was impossible.
Yet a thrilling sensation coursed down his spine.
‘If he had remained an Awakened One, he would be at his peak as a mage by now.’
In an era when strategies didn’t even exist.
Strongtree had held first place on most of the nineteen floors.
The intuition struck him.
Strongtree was moving again.

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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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