The Return of the EX-Class Wizard - Chapter 65

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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 065
I had been consistently practicing scroll crafting recently.
My hand movements were sharp, and my practical instincts had grown even keener.
“Well, the reason Floor 52 is so troublesome is because of the [Crimson Mist].”
Currently, only Real Madrid Guild has succeeded in clearing Floor 52 worldwide.
It’s because of the crimson mist that blankets the entire 52nd floor.
It infiltrates a player’s mind the moment they enter, and seals away all offensive skill usage.
“Because of the panic effect, all attack skills are completely blocked.”
But what if I could make that crimson mist recognize itself as an impurity?
If cleansing became possible?
The entire difficulty of the Tower would change.
Not just Floor 52, but the entire upper floors with similar mechanics would be affected.
The 30s, known as the Flame Zone. The 40s, known as the Water Tier. Perhaps even?
“Hmm.”
It was an attractive proposal even for me.
Besides, creating these scrolls required the help of Emily, the master craftsman from London.
Magic fragments with that peculiar nature could only be contained in the special blank scrolls she created.
If London took the initiative first, it wouldn’t be bad for me either.
I smiled broadly.
‘A Pocket Dimension scroll, huh.’
It was truly a challenge befitting a mage.
There was no reason to hesitate at such an opportunity.
“Let’s do it.”
Floor 4 (Reconstruction) of Seoul Tower was the perfect place for scroll crafting.
I’d been comfortable crafting Energy Bolt fragment scrolls there so far, and it was a safe location in case of any accidents.
[Entering Seoul Tower Floor 4 (Reconstruction).]
And shortly after.
[Exiting Seoul Tower Floor 4 (Reconstruction).]
A brief stay.
Christine, watching my early exit, offered comfort as if it were nothing unusual.
“It was never going to work on the first try anyway.”
A Pocket Dimension is an ability beyond magic itself.
The authority to implement new laws.
There’s no way artificially converting that into a scroll would be easy.
“Don’t be disappointed. No matter how talented you are, you can’t be satisfied on the first bite.”
In Christine’s eyes, I was impatient.
As a senior, she felt the need to soothe the anxious heart of her junior.
Hadn’t I reacted quite defensively just now?
Despite already doing more than enough as a mage.
“Strongtree. Just because someone takes off first doesn’t mean they necessarily fly the farthest….”
“Here.”
“Hm?”
It was a scroll.
Had I made another Energy Bolt Scroll while I was at it, disappointed as I was?
“It’s not an Energy Bolt Scroll?”
“I named it [Prime Groom Material].”
“What is that anachronistic naming sense?”
“Mayo wanted it.”
Christine blinked at the scroll for a long moment as she took it.
───────
[Prime Groom Material]
A scroll imbued with ■■, one of the authority categories of the Pocket Dimension ■■.
Expiration: 23:58:22
───────
To be precise, it was a scroll imbued with “convenience,” one of the authority categories of the Pocket Dimension Mayo.
For security reasons, Mayo’s convenience has been ■■.
“It was easy to make.”
After handling Dilknu’s magic, working with Mayo felt effortless.
At least I didn’t have to stake my life on it.
Besides, with Mayo’s assistance, scroll creation was something I could do with my eyes closed.
“But since it’s not my own magic, there seem to be limitations.”
It could be a lack of scroll-crafting skill, or perhaps a low level.
Or maybe the blank scroll Emily made simply underperformed.
The exact reason was difficult to pinpoint, but there was one constraint regardless.
“It’ll be destroyed after 24 hours.”
Christine pondered this.
‘Can that really be called a limitation?’
London and Seoul were already connected anyway.
A single scroll could be delivered in mere seconds with the system in place.
There was plenty of time to use it within 24 hours.
“Stabilization was the hardest part. I had to use EX Coins just to maintain it at this level.”
Only then was a scroll capable of lasting 24 hours finally born.
“Let me test it myself first.”
Christine rushed to Seoul Tower.
She immediately challenged Floor 26.
[You have cleared Seoul Tower Floor 26.]
“Insane….”
In mere seconds, she’d eliminated every sand mole.
Her experience spoke volumes.
If this had been her first attempt, a top-2 world ranking would have been guaranteed.

* * *
European public opinion had recently shifted toward an overwhelmingly favorable stance toward Real Madrid.
Particularly within Spain itself, confidence and support for Real Madrid had exploded.
With Real Madrid at its center, guilds from every Spanish city were uniting as one.
A transition from the age of city-states to the age of nations.
Spain was riding this wave first and fastest of all.
An entire nation carrying the identity of ‘Spain’ in their hearts.
The era had begun where people united once more under the banner of nationhood.
“The Barcelona Guild is likely to break through Floor 52 within two days.”
“I heard all Spanish guilds could break through Floor 52 within a month.”
[Breaking News: Barcelona Tower Floor 52 Conquered]
└Two days? Lol, one second is enough
└Top 1-20 in the global individual rankings are all Spanish? Is this real?
Of course it was.
Only Spain had succeeded in clearing Floor 52.
└I already screenshotted it. Gotta brag to my descendants
└The return of the golden age!
[At this point, isn’t the term ‘Big Three Guilds’ already outdated?]
└Now it’s ‘Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Munich’
└What’s the Labyrinth? Even if it exists, nobody can use it anyway
└London? They just bowed their heads to Korea and now have nothing left
└Direction matters more than effort
As Spain rose, mockery directed at London began to intensify.
Even public opinion within England itself was turning its back.
[How much longer must we remain on Floor 51?]
└It’s been over two weeks since Real Madrid cleared Floor 52
└We used to trade places with London back then
└But ever since Christine went to Korea, our forces have collapsed
└Conclusion: This is what happens when you rely on Korea
└They called her the First Emperor? First Emperor? First Emperor?
Meanwhile, Germany’s Bayern Munich Guild also succeeded in conquering Floor 52.
The status of London, one of the world’s Big Three Guilds, plummeted in an instant.
[London’s Lord Foster must take responsibility]
└Munich surpassed us, Barcelona surpassed us
└Give back the title of world’s Big Three Guild
└And Foster still sits there posturing?
But right then, London succeeded in conquering Floor 52.
The results were beyond anyone’s expectations.
───────
[Hall of Fame -52nd Floor]
[World] [Individual]
1. Christine (England, SSS+)
2. Robert (England, SSS)
3. Ian (England, SSS)
…
9. Henry (England, SSS)
10. Edward (England, SSS)
[1] [2] [3] …
───────
The world rankings, page one.
Positions one through ten in the individual rankings—all of them from England.
More precisely, they were all players belonging to the London Guild.
└SSS+? What even is that lol
└We haven’t even finished mapping the dungeon and they’re already like this?
└Real Madrid: “We were supposed to be number one…” (collapses)
For reference, Bessius at 11th place, Real Madrid’s flagship player, had cleared it at A-rank.
Tal at 13th place, Munich’s top ranker, had cleared it at B+-rank.
Looking purely at the numbers and grades, they weren’t even in the same league.
[England >>>>>>>>>>>>> Spain > Germany]
└What does it matter if they cleared it fast? Their grades are just A and B tier
└London must have had a plan all along
└Where did all those people who were criticizing Foster go?
[All top 30 are from England lmaooo]
└Truly the world’s top 3 guild
└Spain’s players are staying silent now lololol
└Munich’s also gone quiet
The international competition for the Tower intensified rapidly.
What had been a simple guild rivalry was now evolving into an all-out confrontation where national pride hung in the balance.

* * *
London had disclosed part of their conquest strategy.
The crucial element was their use of a scroll that neutralized the phantom fog.
While the scroll’s detailed specifications remained undisclosed, they made it abundantly clear that its origin lay in Seoul, crafted by an EX-Awakener.
That announcement triggered two simultaneous reactions.
Praise for “outstanding diplomacy” and criticism for “relying too heavily on Korea.”
Regardless, judged by present circumstances alone, it was a tremendous success.
Real Madrid’s lord, Antonio, clenched his fists tightly.
“Parasitic bastards.”
Guilds that clung to the EX-Awakener, feeding off his strength.
Accomplishing nothing through their own efforts, they were now stealing glory with Seoul’s assistance.
That was all Antonio could see when he looked at them.
For now, they could celebrate.
But what of the future?
How long could they truly endure with such dependence on an EX-Awakener?
They looked like fools rushing toward fire while carrying kindling.
“I need to uncover the precise strategy.”
A single scroll could not account for the results they had achieved.
Clearly, there existed some additional critical variable somewhere.
Without discovering it, Spain would inevitably fall behind.
“Is there no way?”
Now that Joshua, their exceptional spy, had vanished, infiltrating London to extract intelligence had become nearly impossible.
“There is a vice-lord in London harboring discontent, my lord.”
“Who?”
“Catherine.”

* * *
Catherine was an awakener of noble birth and one of the vice-lords of the London Guild.
At the same time, she was someone who had grown increasingly uncomfortable with London’s recent course of action.
‘What are we lacking?’
Why were they adopting such a submissive posture toward Seoul, a peripheral city in East Asia that might well be a fraud?
Things had shifted somewhat after the conquest of Floor 52.
‘It’s true that the EX-rank awakener and Seoul’s power are formidable.’
But that didn’t mean they could entrust everything to them.
London—no, England itself possessed world-class potential.
The current structure of dependence on an EX-rank awakener was merely eroding England’s autonomy and standing.
‘Even if it takes longer, we must grow through our own strength.’
They were certainly receiving assistance now.
But there was no guarantee it would last forever.
Above all, her pride was wounded.
In the Tower civilization era, England had once again risen to the center of the world stage.
That honor could not be preserved by relying on external aid as they were doing now.
She had met secretly with someone from Antonio’s faction, the lord of Real Madrid.
Through a communication artifact, she spoke directly with Antonio, the Real Madrid lord.
The two quickly found common ground.
The core issue was singular: all of Western Europe could no longer be manipulated by the EX-rank awakener.
-Real Madrid requests the video of the Floor 52 conquest.
“It’s difficult for us to hand over the video directly.”
But she could explain the contents verbally.
The vice-lords had witnessed the Floor 52 conquest video with their own eyes, after all.
“Immediately after using the scroll, the blood mist vanished in an instant. The Blood Bird that had been crouching within was exposed, and eliminating it became remarkably easy. Once the mist disappeared, it was just a weak bird. Like a mole-rat, really.”
Antonio fell silent for a moment.
-How unfortunate. I thought we were of the same mind.
“Pardon?”
-If you truly have no intention of sharing the strategy, simply say so. Are you testing us? Did Foster put you up to this?
“I’ve only spoken the truth.”
Antonio refused to continue the conversation.
He had concluded that Catherine was not being cooperative.
Antonio’s expression darkened as he severed the communication artifact’s connection.
“What do they take us for?”
Real Madrid was a world-class guild.
As such, they didn’t believe in absurd notions like “just one scroll and boom!”
Perhaps for lower floors, but this was Floor 52.
From the perspective of someone who had personally conquered Floor 52, a “scroll boom” at the 50s was simply impossible.
“A complete waste of time.”
He felt uneasy, as though only his true intentions had been exposed.
Around that time, news from Korea struck the world.
[Breaking News] Seoul Guild Unveils Floor 26 Clear Footage!
And simultaneously,
[Breaking News] London Guild Releases Partial Floor 52 Clear Footage!
Videos from both guilds were made public.

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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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