The Return of the EX-Class Wizard - Chapter 51

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

All geographical and national names appearing in this work have no connection to reality.
The Return of an EX-Rank Mage Episode 051
The Tower conquest in South Korea had become a major issue in numerous countries.
Countless betting sites were even making predictions about which Guild would seize control of Busan Tower.
The most frequently mentioned contenders were Busan and Daegu, which was called the twin powerhouse.
Incheon, where many awakened ones had gathered due to its excellent Tower quality, was also among the candidates.
[But Seoul has an EX-rank Awakener though]
└Even if it’s a lower floor, you can’t ignore consecutive EX clears
└The lords of each city are all fired up right now
└ㅇㅇ I think we’ll get the hang of things with this. Is low-rise EX meaningful, or is high-rise just the best?
Tower conquest battles could occur in any nation.
Lords from various countries, hungry for information, were competing to collect data.
The greatest point of contention was this.
‘How much does clearing lower-floor EX-rank dungeons affect the ranking?’
And the Seoul lord received the answer to that question first.
Directly from the Tower.
It was the report that Choi Kang-mok had received.
‘Huh….’
‘Huh…?’
The report itself wasn’t difficult to understand.
The factors that had influenced this conquest battle
were organized into a statistical graph by percentage.
Monster kills, party play frequency, item acquisition….
Every single item had less than 1% influence.
They were essentially negligible.
‘The remaining 1% is the EX-rank clear.’
1%.
Even for Choi Kang-mok, this was unexpected.
Even though it was a lower-floor clear, could an EX-rank completion really contribute so little?
“Prestige damage?”
“Yeah. Prestige damage.”
Choi Kang-chul, who had been examining the documents beside him, spoke.
His face still showed incomprehension.
“This is third-party Tower conquest statistical data we secured confidentially.”
The statistics consisted of two pages total.
Both pages had nearly identical formats.
“We concluded internally that prestige damage has minimal impact. The main indicators are whether high-floor clears were achieved and their grades.”
Choi Kang-chul pointed at the data with his finger.
“But ours is a bit strange.”
“Right. Prestige damage is 98%.”
Choi Kang-chul exhaled deeply.
“Honestly, I’m starting to wonder if someone’s just messing with us.”
“Messing with us?”
“Maybe some faction trying to undermine Seoul is distorting the information… data manipulation or something like that.”
“No. That’s actually correct.”
“What?”
“My damage output is accurate.”
Choi Kang-mok shrugged his shoulders.
“I didn’t intend for it to happen this way, but that’s how it turned out.”
And he added quietly.
“Remember when those people went missing on the 7th Floor?”
“…Yeah.”
“That happened because I destroyed the 7th Floor.”
“You destroyed the 7th Floor?”
Choi Kang-chul’s eyes wavered.
The very concept of shattering the Tower was something entirely new to him.
The Tower was a structure that even missiles couldn’t penetrate.
“You’re telling me you smashed the Tower?”
“It did get patched up after that, but the damage figures should still be accurate.”
“…”
Choi Kang-chul took a moment to process everything in his mind.
Only after some time passed could he finally organize his thoughts somewhat.
“What… I mean, is your job class something like a pure damage dealer or something?”
“How did you know?”
“…”
A faint gray luminescent text began to appear above Mayo’s head.
-Witnessing the Tower crumble is quite a rare experience. This is precisely why you are so captivating.
–
Since we
began, you are the most alluring
we
have encountered 🙂

* * *
A warm breeze—no, a scorching wind swept through the Boddari Union.
[Korea-London: Full-Scale Exchange Begins!]
[Boddari Union: The Nexus of a New Trade Era?]
[Parcels Changing the World! The Inventory Ability User Rebellion!]
Kim Chul-in, the former delivery worker, stood at the center of it all.
The self-proclaimed “First Priest” of the EX Salvation Corps.
He had sent a message to the Seoul Guild.
[I was once a delivery worker and currently operate as a freelance inventory ability user.
Following the EX-rank Awakener’s breakthrough on the 20th Floor, comprehensive magical equipment setup will be necessary.
I can procure world-class items of the highest quality by traveling between British auction houses and Seoul.]

* * *
At the same moment, within the An House of the Seoul Guild.
Choi Kang-mok found himself lost in contemplation.
“I suppose it’s time to truly walk the path of magic now.”
I had achieved level 40.
From this point forward, I could truly call myself a mage.
The most crucial element remained the “Malevolent Spirit” spell.
I had already acquired “High Spirit,” a superior magic to that—but there was a problem.
───────
Required Intelligence: 40 (!Insufficient Intelligence!)
───────
That was the issue.
If I raised my intelligence to 40 at my current level, could I even handle it?
The damage increase would be beyond imagination.
‘Perhaps I should acquire a Malevolent Spirit grimoire and learn from that instead?’
I shelved High Spirit for now.
First, I would obtain a Malevolent Spirit grimoire and establish practical equipment.
With the Boddari Union, acquisition should be simple.
Choi Kang-chul spoke up.
“Just in case, I’ll secure a Malevolent Spirit grimoire. Thanks to the Boddari Union, it should be easy to obtain. You’ll be setting up other items too, right?”
“Of course.”
“Here. This is a list of artifacts from major auction houses across the world.”
“Thanks, brother.”
Thanks to the Boddari Union, I could now easily access the top artifact listings from auction houses worldwide.
The problem was that few items truly caught my eye.
Especially given that I already possessed Mayo, a legendary-tier staff.
“If there’s anything you need to buy, just let me know right away.”
“Got it.”
I don’t think I’ll need all of this.
But I didn’t say that aloud.
“I’ll look it over and contact you later.”
“Sure.”
After sending off Choi Kang-chul, Choi Kang-mok decided to meticulously examine the EX Shop first.
To extract maximum efficiency within my limited EX Points, I needed to study the inventory more carefully.
I’d already combed through everything up to the 19th Floor over a hundred times, so it was all familiar territory.
“But the 20th Floor EX Shop still hasn’t opened.”
[Updating….]
[…■■, 99%]
I’d already scanned through the 19th Floor EX Shop more than a hundred times.
There’s nothing worth buying.
[Estimated Time Remaining: 1 minute]
I clutched my racing heart and waited a bit longer.
[EX Shop – Stage 2 has opened!]
The shop underwent a subtle transformation.
[You must designate a single coordinate system for the EX Shop.]
[Once a coordinate system is fixed, it cannot be changed.]
[!Recommended Coordinate System: Mage Classification!]
“The system again….”
The system’s recommendations are generally trustworthy.
Even without that, I’d naturally choose the Mage Classification anyway.
“Confirmed for Mage Classification.”
[EX Shop Stage 2 coordinates are now fixed to Mage Classification.]
[Only mage-exclusive items can be purchased.]
───────
[EX Shop – Stage 2]
[20th Floor]
1. Random Black Rune – Updating …(Please wait a moment)
───────
‘A guaranteed black rune is certainly impressive, but….’
Black Runes are the highest grade runes in existence.
The problem is the word “random.”
The abyss system that made countless awakened ones cry out “luck is dead.”
Not all high-grade runes are equally valuable.
As an extreme example, a “Voice Rune” merely amplifies your voice.
[!First Opening Bonus for Stage 2 EX Shop!]
[!First Purchase Limited Special Price! Bargain Sale!]
[Fortune blesses your first purchase!]
[This bonus applies only to the 20th Floor and will automatically expire when the 21st Floor shop opens!]
A message appeared before the player urging the purchase of a black rune.
At this point, it was practically a divine command to buy.
───────
[EX Shop – Stage 2]
[20th Floor]
1. Black ‘?’ Rune – EX Points 30 ▶▶▶ 10
───────
“Wow, this is a bit much.”
Even Mayo, who had been performing the best so far, only cost 5 EX Points.
Invincibility also cost 5. Yet with the discount applied, this costs 10.
And it’s random?
‘At this rate, it’d be better to buy items at full price from the previous floors.’
Before that thought could even finish—
[The temporary beginner’s privilege has ended.]
[Since EX Shop Stage 2 has opened, all products are now priced at full value!]
“…Full price?”
I hurried back to the original shop.
───────
[EX Shop]
[6th Floor] [Mage Exclusive]
1. Magical Fortress Gacha Ticket – EX Points 70 (Cannot Purchase)
───────
The price was already insane, and now it’s a ‘gacha ticket’.
That meant even burning 70 EX Points might not guarantee a pull.
‘I need to buy when they’re pushing this hard.’
I never knew the beginner’s privilege could be this generous.
Bold text, bold exclamation marks, Value numbers.
It was all sincere.
‘The coin inflation is insane.’
Thanks to Blood Lineage Blessing, I currently held 38 EX Points.
‘The black rune. I should buy it, right?’
It was about time to set up my rune configuration anyway.
‘I should buy it regardless.’
The random effect was annoying, but most gacha systems randomized even the grade itself.
I’d grown too accustomed to the beginner’s privilege, but objectively speaking, this wasn’t bad at all.
‘Especially since it’s a mage-exclusive black rune.’
A gacha that even guaranteed the grade and class?
Most ordinary players would spend their entire fortune and still come up short.
[10 EX Points have been deducted.]
[Remaining EX Points: 26]
[You have obtained a Random Black Rune.]
A hexagonal gem inscribed with a ‘?’ floated into the air.
It spun.
Light flashed brilliantly.
[EX Shop Tier 2 First Purchase Bonus! Fortune smiles upon you!]
───────
[Ignore Rune]
Grade: Black
Application Range: Staff/Grimoire/Necklace/Ring – Minimum Requirements Ignored
───────
“The Ignore Rune!”
A rune with excellent versatility.
A rune embedded with the concept of ‘ignore’.
Ignoring an opponent’s attack once, or ignoring a cooldown once.
A rune that disregards certain parameters.
‘Oh?’
Fortune truly did smile upon me.
‘Can I learn Superior Spirit Summoning?’
“If I attach the rune to the grimoire….”
[Applying Ignore Rune to Superior Spirit Summoning Grimoire.]
───────
[Superior Spirit Summoning]
Grade: Legend+
Required Level: 40
(IGNORE)
Required Intelligence: 40
(IGNORE)
Attribute: Null
The spiritual power of high-tier spirits sweeps across the surroundings.
───────
I could now learn the spell while ignoring the required Intelligence stat.
My heart raced with excitement.
‘This is where true magic truly begins.’
I didn’t hesitate long.
‘I’ll learn it.’
An additional reward was granted as a result.
[Required Stats Not Met.]
[You have obtained the Title: ‘Advance Learner’.]
A title bestowed upon those who learn higher-tier skills without meeting the prerequisites.
The grade of the skill learned at the moment of title acquisition is adjusted.
[You have acquired the skill, ‘High Spirit (SSS+)’.]
‘Has the adjustment really gone this far?’
Choi Kang-mok’s fortune did not end there.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————