The Return of the EX-Class Wizard - Chapter 53

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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 053
‘So this is navigation magic.’
It didn’t exist back when I was a first-generation Awakener.
A map seemed to inscribe itself directly into my mind.
Arrows materialized before my eyes as if augmented reality navigation had unfolded.
‘It’s a bit distracting to the vision, but….’
I was told it would feel natural once I grew accustomed to it.
‘She certainly handles magic far more intricately than I do.’
The magic she wielded possessed a different caliber of technique and refinement.
Even if given the same grimoire, could I apply it this way right now?
‘Probably not.’
A twinge of envy stirred within me.
She would be able to reach countless domains of magic, not just in combat.
There was no need to rush.
‘I have opportunity and time on my side.’
Magic had returned to me, after all.
[Entering Seoul Tower, 21st Floor.]
A colossal stone wall loomed before me.
At first glance, it was unmistakably a ‘labyrinth’.
“This is my first time here too.”
[Challenge: Reach the End Point of the 21st Floor!]
Massive stone walls blocked every direction.
Walls that stretched to the heavens themselves. Even flight magic was sealed.
No matter how high one climbed, the wall offered no visible end.
“Huh?”
But this…
“It’s a Pocket Dimension?”
Everything I’d been practicing up until now was manipulating Pocket Dimensions.
By the 20th Floor, I’d reached near completion in that skill.
I’d succeeded in identifying the circuits that composed a Pocket Dimension and disrupting them with considerable precision.
“Is this luck?”
I’d practiced understanding structures extensively on the 20th Floor.
And now the navigation magic was proving invaluably helpful.
Goosebumps rose across my arms.
“Navigation magic that reveals the destination.”
I could project and visualize this entire labyrinth.
Far more detailed than what I’d seen on the 20th Floor.
A three-dimensional virtual map drew itself in my mind.
I sat down and crossed my legs into a lotus position.
‘A Pocket Dimension is another world governed by entirely different laws.’
I could feel it.
The 20th Floor was actually a higher-grade pocket dimension.
It wasn’t at the level where laws had been implemented like the 20th Floor.
This place was simply a world where physical structures had been erected.
‘But the circuit exists. If so, destruction should be possible.’
There was one core circuit.
Its length was approximately 700 meters.
An invisible virtual circuit stretched out before my eyes.
‘Should I strike it and break it sideways?’
The circuit felt like a piece of dried grass.
Would it be better to snap it horizontally?
Or would it be better to pierce through it vertically?
Naturally, piercing through vertically would be dozens, hundreds of times more difficult.
‘But I think it’s possible.’
Choi Kang-mok had to choose one option here.
Energy Bolt?
Or the newly learned High Spirit Magic?
‘Unfortunately, High Spirit Magic is area-of-effect magic.’
It was still difficult to handle properly.
When cutting paper, you need scissors, not a cannon.
‘I’ve been continuously practicing imbuing Energy Bolt with penetration properties.’
My deliberation was brief.
I rose from my position and moved away from the stone wall.
‘I did well to set up the distance beforehand.’
I would strike from as far away as possible.
Magical common sense dictated that as ‘distance’ increased, penetrating power also increased.
‘I’ve practiced penetration countless times.’
It was time to reap the fruits of that practice.
[Skill, Energy Bolt (S) is being used.]

* * *
Christine sat on the sofa, examining the documents before her.
The optimal strategies for floors 21 through 25 had already been made public.
So far, the London Guild’s approach remained the world’s finest.
“Let’s see… Smith cleared it in just over 12 minutes.”
Among the top-tier players, the time differences were negligible.
Smith’s record stood at 12 minutes and 1 second.
The world’s elite rankers clustered around 12 minutes 2 to 3 seconds.
“EX-rank Awakener is a mage, so clearing in the late 12-minute range would be respectable.”
Mages faced considerable disadvantages when clearing floors 21 through 25.
Flight magic was impossible. Teleportation came with severe restrictions.
Ultimately, they had to traverse on foot—a burden for mages whose physical prowess lagged behind.
“With navigation assistance provided, maybe they’ll manage the late 12-minute range?”

* * *
At that very moment.
Choi Kang-mok unleashed an Energy Bolt.
Crackle!
I was confident.
Two ashen Energy Bolts erupted from Choi Kang-mok’s hands, merging in mid-air.
‘Perfect.’
This was the realm of compression.
The Energy Bolts, doubled in power by the 2x multiplier talisman, had been condensed into a single form.
The fruits of countless hours of practice finally bore their radiance.
Boom!
The gray sphere slammed against the stone wall.
The entire 21st floor trembled, the labyrinth lurching violently.
Debris scattered; walls fractured.
-A beautiful application of magic.
-This is Mayo, engaging.
-Beautiful?! What’s beautiful about this?! Just blow it up!! Smash it to pieces!! Destroy it all!! All of it!! Every last bit!!! This still isn’t enough!! More!! More!! More!!!
Mayo darted between the boulders.
Emerald mana threads erupted, obliterating stone.
Choi Kang-mok maintained his concentration.
‘Shape the mana pressure as sharply as possible.’
I honed the mana pressure into a spear form, driving it into the invisible ‘circuit’ before me.
‘Piercing through…’
I succeeded.
Though it was closer to annihilation than piercing.
The phantom Small World circuit touched by the mana pressure crumbled to dust.
The straight-line circuit evaporated in an instant.
In any case, it was a penetration.
Rumble—!
The labyrinth crumbled in a heartbeat, and dust billowed upward.
Small stones that failed to intercept scattered into the air, but they couldn’t breach my shield.
The navigation spell indicated the direction.
Left.
‘Hmm.’
As I turned my head, a golden magic circle bloomed just a few steps ahead.
Light seeped through. The 21st Floor’s exit. The end point.
Choi Kang-mok stood upon the end point.
[You have cleared the 21st Floor.]
[EX-rank Clear achieved!]
───────
[Hall of Fame (21st Floor)]
[World] [Personal]
1. -(South Korea, EX)
…
───────
World rank updated to 1st place.
But the notifications were far from over.

* * *
Approximately three minutes had passed since Choi Kang-mok entered the Seoul Tower.
Christine’s phone rang.
[Breaking News: Seoul Tower 21st Floor Cleared at EX-Rank!]
“Huh?”
That shouldn’t be possible.
Was my navigation really that good?
But then, another notification chimed.
[!National Announcement: South Korea!]
[Seoul Tower 22nd Floor has been cleared at EX-Rank.]
“What?”
[!Continental Regional Announcement!]
[Seoul Tower 23rd Floor has been cleared at EX-Rank.]
The phone slipped from her grasp.
Thud.
Its edge struck her toe with full force.
“Ow!”
She clutched her foot and muttered to herself.
“No matter how extraordinary my magic is, this doesn’t make sense.”
Then came the final notification, shaking the entire world.
[!Global Announcement!]
[Seoul Tower 24th Floor has been cleared at EX-Rank.]
She could no longer form any words.
‘He didn’t even exit?’
Four floors cleared at EX-Rank in a single entry?
Three minutes since entering.
That was the time it took to break the record on all four floors.
At that moment, Choi Kang-mok emerged, enveloped in white light.
Not a single bead of sweat on him.
Just the serene expression of someone who had cleared the dungeon.

* * *
It was a result that even I hadn’t anticipated.
The moment I destroyed the Small World circuit on the 21st Floor, floors 22 through 24 were instantly recognized as cleared.
All the same EX-rank grade.
Thanks to receiving four grades in a single clear, I obtained a new title as well.
[You have acquired the title ‘High-Pass Player’.]
[You are granted random stats equal to the Hall of Fame’s 1st place ‘Consecutive Record’.]
[Stats automatically increase.]
For reference, I had just achieved 24 consecutive EX-rank clears.
In that moment, I found myself thinking something unbecoming of a mage.
‘Anything but Intelligence!’
Even if I had prayed desperately for Intelligence to increase, it wouldn’t have been enough.
I, a mage, had entertained such an embarrassing thought.
Fortunately (?) what was selected was the ‘Strength’ stat.
[Strength increases by 24.]
I collapsed onto the floor.
[You acquire 100,000,000 Dia.]
….
[You acquire 100,000,000 Dia.]
[You acquire 1 EX Point.]
….
[You acquire 1 EX Point.]
A total of 800 million Dia and 8 EX Points acquired.
I had conquered four floors in a single clear.

* * *
[Four Floors Cleared in an Instant!]
“World ranking again? Hitting #1 again lol”
└(photo) 2nd to 10th place are all Explorers/Archers
└Only two in the top 20 in Asia, and one of them is overwhelmingly 1st lol
└lol wait, an interceptor tank but has agility too?
└Damage, tanking, agility, evasion, tracking—all equipped… what is this guy
└Just a jack-of-all-trades lol
Jack-of-all-trades.
An Awakener with average stats—neither this nor that.
Generally treated as a ‘preview of obsolescence’.
At first, it’s fine.
But as you ascend higher, unspecialized performance becomes a bottleneck.
[Jack-of-all-trades only matters below the 30th Floor.]
└Yeah, once you pass 30, you really hit your limit
└I heard that when clearing the 10th Floor too
└Heard it at the 15th Floor as well~
└When clearing the 20th Floor they said “novels and reality are different”
└Even at 100 floors they’ll probably say “but isn’t this guy just a jack-of-all-trades?” lol
While the entire world buzzed with excitement over the EX-rank Awakener’s ‘high-pass clear’, some cautiously ventured their opinions.
[Ah but when you watch overpowered protagonist stories, sometimes the main character destroys the maze and goes “yep~ cleared~” right?]
└lol that’s fiction~ not reality
└You haven’t been to the 21st Floor, have you? It’s called a maze but it’s basically a fortress
└No, it’s literally just stone walls. Seriously, just looking at the walls makes you dizzy
└Saying “destroy the maze” after seeing the 21st Floor’s walls is pure delusion
└Non-Awakened weaklings who haven’t even seen the 21st Floor, come on over~
Various online communities were heating up intensely.
Then another shocking piece of news struck the world.
[Huh? Seoul Tower got a high-pass benefit?]
└What’s that?
└High-pass benefit?
└Seoul Tower again?
└Our top has no miscellaneous characters, no special benefits, no nothing.

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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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