The Return of the EX-Class Wizard - Chapter 42

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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 042
Talismans are items favored by all players.
They lack the impact of runes, but having one is far better than having none.
In certain special cases, they can exhibit remarkable effects.
For instance, like Choi Kang-mok’s ‘Double Multiplier Talisman’ or ‘Damage Increase Talisman’.
It was simply that Choi Kang-mok had no personal need for them.
“The last two I got weren’t very good.”
The probability of drawing a quality talisman is extremely low.
After clearing the 15th floor, the odds of getting something good on the third synthesis? Incredibly slim.
Yet every player harbors the same thought.
This time, something good will definitely come out.
And occasionally, such wishes come true.
“This time, I actually pulled something really good.”
Choi Kang-mok drew out a single card and showed it to me.
A faint silvery aura shimmered across the card’s surface.
───────
[Side Effect Removal Talisman]
Eliminates side effects caused by consecutive tower climbing.
※Limited to Floors 1-30
※Natural stamina depletion is not classified as a side effect.
───────
Kang Hye’s eyebrows shot up the moment she saw the card.
“…Whoa.”
An effect summarized in just a few lines. Yet its implications were staggering.
“In theory, you could now clear 30 floors consecutively?”
“That’s right.”
At those words, Kang Hye went blank for a moment, then
quickly brought the omija tea she was holding to her lips.
“Cough, cough!”
“What are you doing?”
“It wasn’t for you, oppa! It was for me! I’m serious!”
Kang Hye examined the talisman with curiosity and tilted her head.
“But oppa.”
“What?”
“Is this really the best one you could get?”
“Hm?”
“When I think about it, the Double Multiplier Talisman and the Damage Increase Talisman seem way more broken. By conventional standards, anyway.”
In a sense, she had a point.

* * *
From the 11th to 15th floors, relatively ordinary golems had appeared.
These were sometimes called worker golems.
But starting from the 16th floor, the atmosphere shifted.
Armed soldier golems.
Heavily equipped with shields and weapons, they were entities with the concept of combat.
However, this change posed no threat to me whatsoever.
[Activating skill: Energy Bolt (S).]
Crack!
The problem wasn’t the golems.
The problem was my own mana fragments.
That’s when I understood.
‘I’m abandoning the damage amplification talisman.’
The damage amplification was at an unmanageable level.
My body would shatter before I could even cast a spell.
[Bronze Golem Soldier defeated.]
[Seoul Tower 16th Floor cleared.]
───────
[Hall of Fame 16th Floor]
[South Korea]
1. -(Seoul, EX)
…
───────
And then came the update to the World tab.
EX was imprinted once more.
───────
[Hall of Fame 16th Floor]
[World] [Personal]
1. -(South Korea, EX)
…
───────
As the world rankings continued to update, more and more people began to believe in the existence of the EX-rank Awakener.
[South Korea is an EX-rank Awakener nation]
└National pride feels good
That’s crazy, for real lol
└The executives are working overtime now
└That’s incredible
└What are those so-called experts doing who said it would collapse at the 15th floor?
And one hour later.
I entered the 17th floor.
[You have entered Floor 17 of Seoul Tower.]
A Sapphire Golem.
It was at least 1.5 times larger than the one I’d seen on Floor 13.
Wielding an enormous shield, a faint blue light emanated from its eyes.
‘Will this one attempt self-destruction as well?’
It didn’t matter.
My title, ‘Golem Layer Conqueror’, granted me complete immunity to all self-destructive attacks from golem-type creatures.
I didn’t need to concern myself with its mechanics—only focus on the magic itself.
‘My magic is evolving.’
The first magical research project, ‘Compression’, was now nearly complete.
The goal was to crush high-density mana and imbue it with the ‘Penetration’ attribute.
‘High-density magic piercing through the golem’s armor and burrowing within.’
I was advancing to the next stage.
‘Shape manipulation of mana pressure.’
Mana pressure. Invisible, yet undeniably real—that force.
I would hone it into a sharp arrowhead.
Once achieved, the mana pressure itself would possess the Penetration attribute.
‘And that would lead to a safer form of non-contact destruction.’
Two energy bolts materialized at my fingertips.
To the naked eye, merely two small spheres.
But within them lurked an oceanic pressure, immense and suffocating.
Shaped like spears—sharp and deadly.
‘Perfect aim.’
Two colossal invisible spears before my eyes.
There was no need to even fire the energy bolts.
The moment I finished casting with both hands.
The Sapphire Golem Soldier was already crumbling.
Groooaaah—!
The golem soldier took a single step forward.
Whoooosh—!
Mana pressure swept across the golem soldier.
[You have defeated the Sapphire Golem Soldier.]
Not a single fragment of mana debris scattered in my direction.
Mayo’s interception system didn’t activate.
It was remarkable magical growth.
-This level of control is unprecedented in the user’s records.
-Without question… it was beautiful.
[Fundamental Destruction has been initiated.]
Followed by an explosion ten thousand times more powerful.
Boom—!
A tremendous explosion erupted.
I had gained some breathing room.
I was even prepared to activate Invincibility if things went south, but there was no need.
Thanks to the Golem Layer Conqueror title effect, I emerged unscathed from the explosion.
My shield didn’t even crack.
I had become a mage who could now ignore a golem’s self-destruction.
It felt satisfying.
I could tangibly feel my growth.
The clear rank was naturally EX.
───────
[Hall of Fame (17th Floor)]
[World] [Personal]
1. -(South Korea, EX)
───────
Consecutive world first place.
Just one hour later.
[Seoul Tower 18th Floor has been cleared.]
───────
[Hall of Fame (18th Floor)]
[World] [Personal]
1. -(South Korea, EX)
───────
People were losing sleep left and right.
Breaking news alerts from various channels kept ringing incessantly.
[Lmao they went all the way to 18th floor]
└Is this some kind of national-level hidden camera prank?
└Seriously, is this brainwashing?
└”National pride overdose alert”
└At least it would make sense if there was a manipulation ability user
The lords of each guild felt the heat closing in.
“Looks like Seoul is going to take the Busan Tower after all.”
“We’ll have to see who comes out on top.”
“It’s hard to say how much impact consecutive EX clears on lower floors will have….”
[Breaking News] Gwangju Lord announces withdrawal from Tower competition]
[Breaking News] Daejeon Lord vows to do their best to the end]
[Jeju Lord: “Never cared about it in the first place”]
[Daegu Lord: “Planning to maintain friendly relations with Seoul”]
Essentially, all guilds except Incheon had virtually given up on the Tower competition.
Even by their assessment, eight consecutive EX-rank clears seemed a bit excessive.
I was dominating the world rankings and setting new records in Tower civilization.
And then, an hour later.
[Breaking News: 19th Floor EX-Rank Clear!]
[Where will EX-rank Awakener’s rampage end!]
[EX-rank Awakener’s dedicated play for Seoul?]
───────
[Hall of Fame 19th Floor]
[World] [Personal]
1. -(South Korea, EX)
───────
Worried about my health, Choi Kang-chul hurried to find me at home.
“Hey, Kang-mok. You doing okay?”
“Yeah.”
I quietly pulled out a talisman and showed it to him.
Only then did my brother nod in understanding.
“…So you had something like this.”
The effect was absurdly broken.
Either way, the result was good, so we decided to move on.
“You’re going to Floor 20, right?”
“Yeah. In an hour.”
“You’re really sure about this? Your stamina?”
“I’m a bit tired, but I think I can handle it up to Floor 20. I’ll clear Floor 20 and then rest.”
“Alright. And this.”
Choi Kang-chul carefully pulled something from his bag.
It was a stone tablet that felt substantial in weight.
Its surface was engraved with an intricate five-pointed star magic circle, and at each vertex sat a magic stone brimming with elemental essence.
The magic circle alone made my fingertips tingle just from looking at it.
I immediately showed interest.
“Oh. That’s quite high-quality.”
I brought my fingertips toward the stone tablet.
Mana spread like electricity around the magic stones.
My fingertips tingled at the light touch.
It was the kind of sensation that made a mage’s heart race.
“Yeah. It was made by a craftsman from the London Guild.”
“So? What is this?”
“Floor 20, the Shaman. You remember, right?”
“…How could I forget.”
My eyes narrowed.
Something deep inside me pulled taut with a dull ache.
The Floor 20 boss that had turned me into an Unawakenned.
‘Fifteen years ago. That bastard who made me a failure.’
Fire, water, wind, darkness, light.
Each phase possessed its own unique magic and patterns.
Five phases. The order is randomized. And scattered throughout, ‘Awakening Nullification Incantations’ rain down.
This boss was once called the Wall of Lamentation.
“Five-phase composition, randomized order.”
“The rewards change depending on the order. You know that, right?”
“Yeah.”
Fire-Water-Wind-Darkness-Light: Atungus’s Spear
Water-Light-Darkness-Wind-Fire: Ladyom’s Bow
Clear in this order and normal-tier items appear.
But if you repeat the attributes, things change.
Fire-Water-Light-Light-Light: Kaimion Prayer Book (Unique)
Light-Light-Light-Light-Light: Kaimion Holy Water (Legendary)
Darkness-Darkness-Darkness-Darkness-Darkness: Grimoire—Evil Spirit (Legendary)
Choi Kang-chul tapped the magic circle lightly.
As a clear, weighty metallic tone rang out, the five mana stones on the slate simultaneously emitted a soft glow.
That light spread like ripples, then scattered.
“This slate forces the sorcerer’s attribute.”
Choi Kang-chul tapped the magic circle with his fingertip.
A sharp ping sounded as the mana stone resonated.
“Forces the sorcerer’s attribute?”
“Yeah. In whatever order you want.”
I could force the sorcerer’s attribute in any sequence I desired.
“If you wanted, five consecutive darkness phases. Clear that, and you’d obtain the legendary-tier grimoire [Evil Spirit].”
The reason Choi Kang-chul had sought out this slate.
Its purpose was unmistakably clear.
And I grasped his intention immediately.
‘The 20th Floor boss battle. It’s not just a simple boss fight for me.’
I drew in a breath.
A grimoire? Of course I coveted it.
But it was something weightier than mere greed.
Fifteen years ago.
This was the place where I would confront the memory that had shattered my younger self.
A deeper chapter—one that would erase the stigma of being cast aside.
‘Energy Bolt has become quite familiar to my hands.’
I’d laid a solid foundation in the basics.
Now it was time to advance to the next spell.
Time to step into the realm of advanced magic.
And this place was precisely where that journey began.
The cursed 20th Floor that had broken me fifteen years ago.
‘That alone would be meaningful enough.’
A dull ache settled in my chest.
Choi Kang-chul continued.
“Spellbooks. You need them, right?”
“Yeah. I was already thinking about Evil Spirit magic for my next spell anyway.”
Evil Spirit magic was remarkably common for a Legendary-grade spell.
With enough money, it was obtainable.
The reason became clear.
“It was because of London.”
“Right.”
By forcing attributes with stone tablets, you could reliably extract Legendary spellbooks.
“What about Kamiyon’s Holy Water?”
Choi Kang-chul nodded.
“Exactly.”
“I see.”
Choi Kang-mok’s heart raced.
Re-awakening. A return as a mage.
Re-challenge. A reunion with terrible memories.
The path forward now was to overcome.
“Pass along my thanks.”
One hour later.
Choi Kang-mok entered the long-awaited 20th Floor.

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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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