The Return of the EX-Class Wizard - Chapter 52

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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 052
The Seoul Guild faced a single, paramount challenge in these times.
How to properly support an EX-rank Awakener.
The EX Floor, the conquest of Busan Tower, the Golden Labyrinth.
He stood at the epicenter of every transformation sweeping across South Korea.
EX-rank Awakener Choi Kang-mok.
He was a man who could walk into any guild whenever he wished.
The Seoul Guild’s conclusion was unanimous.
They would mobilize their full strength at the organizational level.
The Seoul Guild established a dedicated department.
The EX-rank Awakener Support Team, with Choi Kang-chul appointed as its captain.
Han Sang-hyun extended his hand.
“Congratulations on your promotion to captain.”
“Thank you. I’m quite embarrassed, honestly. There are so many accomplished seniors above me….”
Choi Kang-chul was still young.
He hadn’t accumulated the career necessary to earn a captain’s rank.
“Yet none of those accomplished seniors managed to bring an EX-rank Awakener into the Seoul Guild.”
“Well….”
Truthfully, this was thanks to blood relations.
Without that connection, could he have ever recruited an EX-rank Awakener to the Seoul Guild?
“Get your head straight. In this age of Tower civilization, blood relations are a form of ability.”
The EX-rank Awakener’s older brother.
He was practically a core executive of the Seoul Guild.
“Don’t be intimidated. The Guild Master has entrusted personnel decisions entirely to you. Pick your team members yourself.”
“I’ll do my best.”
He himself felt unqualified for this position.
Yet there was one reason he accepted it.
To properly support his younger brother.
Because he could serve Choi Kang-mok better than anyone else.
He immediately mobilized his intelligence network and successfully located the First Priest of the EX Salvation Corps, conducting an interview.
“We revere EX-nim as our messiah.”
Fanaticism dripped from every word.
“That person opened an entirely new world for me.”
“So you’re also an executive of the Boddari Union?”
“A side job. My true identity is the First Priest of the EX Salvation Corps.”
Kim Chul-in, a former delivery worker.
He continued his praises of Choi Kang-mok.
“Sometimes, I felt utterly worthless.”
After conducting the interview, I understood.
‘This man’s madness is genuine.’
Choi Kang-chul extended his hand.
“Would you work with us for the EX-rank Awakener?”
“Of course! It’s an honor!”
He hadn’t even asked about the basic contract terms.
His eyes gleamed with intensity.
“I’ll give it my all.”
That gaze was genuine.
It was the eyes of someone who had rediscovered the reason to live.

* * *
Kim Chul-in devoted himself to collecting items for the EX-rank Awakener, traveling between Seoul and London day after day.
The fact that the EX-rank Awakener’s class was a mage was classified information not disclosed to the public.
The Seoul Guild was randomly collecting items from all professions to conceal this.
But his mission was crystal clear.
‘Mage-related items—top priority acquisition.’
England was different.
The market scale, the quality, even the caliber of the players—everything was on a different level from Korea.
‘Truly… a world-class advanced nation.’
It was then that Kim Chul-in discovered a particular marketplace.
‘The Hardcore Play Club?’
An auction market with an unusual name.
Here, Kim Chul-in found several cursed runes.
‘And they’re even red runes?’
Red runes—rarely seen even in Korea.
Yet they circulated freely here.
He wasn’t sure why, but this marketplace had a considerable number of cursed runes with the ‘actual damage reduction’ option.
‘There was an order to unconditionally acquire all damage reduction-related items.’
Logical reasoning wasn’t necessary.
Work for the EX-rank Awakener required no understanding.
Only action.
‘Runes that inflict no actual damage but still cause pain.’
This marketplace had quite a few of those.

* * *
Seoul Guild Headquarters.
I accepted the Curse Rune.
Christine approached me.
“A Curse Rune?”
“Yeah.”
Christine knew what was troubling me.
She had grasped it clearly through our magical exchange.
“I don’t think a Rune alone will be enough to control it.”
“….”
“Unless it were a Black Rune, that is.”
“Be quiet.”
I could sense it too, more or less.
“But we’re mages, aren’t we?”
“That’s right.”
Mages are beings who operate on the premise of miracles.
A 1% probability, 0.1% hope.
Those who believe in such threadbare possibilities.
My expression grew serious.
“Of course, a Rune alone will be difficult.”
Three Curse Runes.
The options were largely similar.
Curse Runes that inflicted minimal pain while drastically reducing damage.
“But if I combine them with the mana circuit application you taught me….”
“Hey, Strongtree.”
Christine’s expression also turned serious.
As a mage, she had to be clear about this.
“I didn’t teach you that.”
“Huh?”
“You learned it yourself.”
Christine’s pride as an Archmage wouldn’t allow her to claim credit for merely offering a few words.
“But you did provide the key insight.”
“If that counts as providing insight, then I’d be a teacher to all mankind. Nope. Absolutely not. Don’t go around saying you learned from me.”
In any case, I set up the three Curse Runes.
Thanks to Kang Hye, I could freely enter Floors 1 through 10 anytime.
“I’m going to the Tower for a bit.”
“…Alright.”
Christine watched the empty space where I had vanished through the Tower entrance, smacking her lips.
“That’s seriously an overpowered skill.”
Being able to enter the Tower from anywhere.
It was the most coveted skill among EX-rank Awakeners.
I sat on the sofa, waiting for Choi Kang-mok to return.
“Hm? You’re back already? What’s wrong? You look terrible.”
Choi Kang-mok returned drenched in cold sweat.
His condition was clearly abnormal.

* * *
After exiting the Tower, Choi Kang-mok lay sprawled on the floor, his expression contorted.
“Damn it.”
“What happened?”
He pulled three runes from his inventory
and tossed them onto the floor with a flick. They were all shattered.
“What? They’re completely destroyed?”
“When you exceed the damage mitigation threshold by a certain degree—”
Choi Kang-mok shuddered, as if reluctant to relive the memory.
He hadn’t anticipated this.
“A reversal effect occurs instead.”
“A reversal effect?”
“The damage increases.”
And the rune, stripped of its curse’s essence, shatters completely.
Christine let out a wry smile.
“Oh, that’s new information. So? Did you nearly die? From the look of you, it must have been quite dangerous.”
“Why do you look so pleased?”
“Because people learn the most when they’re staring death in the face, don’t they? So? Did you learn anything?”
I did learn one thing.
That trying to control Dilknu’s damage through shoddy curse runes and pure theory could backfire spectacularly.
“To go far, you have to walk slowly.”
I’m only a 20th Floor clear player for now.
Time is what I need. Little by little, slowly.
If I continue walking this path of a mage, one day I’ll be able to master Dilknu’s damage.

* * *
The Golden Labyrinth in Seoul sent shockwaves through the global Orb market.
[South Korea Emerges as World’s Largest Orb Exporter!]
[Economic Impact? Estimated in the Trillions of Won]
Most Awakeners ranked below level 40.
Their abilities and equipment pale in comparison to the world’s elite players.
But numbers tell a different story.
An overwhelming volume of Awakeners were harvesting countless Orbs from the Golden Labyrinth.
Meanwhile, the world’s top-tier Awakeners faced a chronic shortage of Orbs.
[Seoul Takes Over Busan, Surpasses Incheon to Claim ‘Korea’s #1 Guild’ Crown!]
[Seoul Guild, What Changed?]
└Only one thing changed
└They recruited an EX-rank Awakener lol
“Looks like the world is just a luck-based game now lol”
└One good choice and boom?
However, most foreign guilds couldn’t establish direct trade with Korea.
England became the intermediary hub.
[Korean Orbs’ First Destination: London!]
[Guilds Worldwide Begin Negotiations with London]
Britain too began reaping substantial economic benefits.
The early days of Tower Civilization 2.0, where borders opened anew.
At least for now, Korea and England appeared to be the architects of this new world.

* * *
My attempt to configure runes related to damage mitigation had failed.
Instead, I purchased different red runes.
Christine agreed with my rune configuration.
“Range increase setup. Not bad at all.”
My damage output was far too potent.
It was best to strike from as great a distance as possible.
Christine gently ran her fingers across my robe.
“This robe is the Spinkias Robe we gave you.”
Right.
The Spinkias Robe.
It raised health and strength by five each and came with a blink option, making it difficult to find a replacement.
“Most of your other settings are range increases too? You do know that up to the 20th Floor is a labyrinth map, right?”
“I know.”
Floors 21 through 25 were labyrinth-type challenge zones.
Route recognition, movement skills, and agility were the keys to success.
Most of the labyrinth maps had already been mapped out.
All I had to do was memorize them and navigate through.
“Should I cast a navigation spell for you?”
“…You know how to do that?”
On the 21st Floor, one of two labyrinth maps appeared at random.
Memorizing the entire map before attempting the 21st Floor was advantageous for clearing it.
“…You know how to do that?”
“Haven’t you seen the Hall of Fame for the 21st Floor? Four of the top ten are from the London Guild.”
“You’re saying that’s all thanks to your navigation spell?”
“That’s right. I’ll guide you along the optimal path.”
That tone of hers was irritating.
You only handle damage output? You can’t do this, can you?
That was exactly the look in her eyes.
I felt a slight sense of inferiority, but I had to accept help when it was offered.
“…Cast it for me.”
“Fine. Watch closely. The magnificent magic of a disciple who surpassed her master.”
Christine had no way of knowing.
The shocking future that awaited her.

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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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