The Return of the EX-Class Wizard - Chapter 67

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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 067
[Clear Rank: SSS+]
I had always known a day like this would come eventually.
Clearing every floor with an EX rank was an absurd notion, after all.
But I never imagined it would be today.
Yet there was a vast chasm between intellectual understanding and the visceral reality of experience.
‘Not EX?’
My mind grasped it.
I knew I shouldn’t be disappointed.
Not S-rank, but SSS+.
And it was a result I’d achieved entirely solo.
Still, some corner of my heart felt hollow, as though I’d failed at something.
A sensation of falling from the pinnacle. The feeling of a record’s momentum shattering.
Then came an unexpected notification.
[‘Promoter’s Explorer’ effect is applied.]
───────
※Upgrades the Tower clear rank of all participants in this conquest by one tier.※
───────
“Kang Hye?”
I spun around frantically, scanning the surroundings.
Promoter’s Explorer was Kang Hye’s job class.
Kang Hye was nowhere to be seen.
[Clear rank upgraded from SSS+ ▶▶▶ EX.]
[Clear Rank: EX]
Another EX clear had been added to my record, almost by accident.
───────
[Hall of Fame – Floor 29]
[World] [Personal]
1. -(South Korea, EX)
…
───────
Twenty-nine consecutive EX-rank clears.
South Korea burned with fervent passion over this unprecedented record.

* * *
As Kang Hye watched Choi Kang-mok’s consecutive ascents through the 20th-floor range, anxiety gnawed at her.
‘Floor 29 doesn’t suit my brother well.’
Kang Hye was both an ‘Explorer of Ascension’ and an ‘EX-Rank Support.’
I wanted to help my brother. By any means necessary.
So I sought out Christine.
“Sister, Joshua infiltrated Floor 20 before, didn’t he?”
“He did…?”
“I’m not trying to expose London’s secrets. But London clearly has extensive research on Tower infiltration, right?”
“Not just us—most of the top guilds are working on it.”
From Floor 30 onward, party play is officially permitted, but Floors 1 through 29 operate on solo climbing as the standard.
Within this framework, what if one could artificially create Tower infiltration conditions?
What if high-level rankers could infiltrate the Tower and assist promising climbers?
Then one could secure top rankings in the Hall of Fame.
That’s why countless guilds spent years perfecting Tower infiltration techniques.
London was the pioneer in that field.
“I’m an Explorer, and I’ve already succeeded at Tower infiltration.”
“Already?”
Tower infiltration is theoretically possible for any Explorer to attempt.
But actual successful cases are vanishingly rare, even globally.
To do it properly requires guild-level support.
“Has Seoul Guild’s level already reached that point?”
“I did it alone.”
A lie.
Yet Christine accepted it readily.
‘She was Strongtree’s sister, after all.’
In truth, compared to the extraordinary achievements Choi Kang-mok was accomplishing, a promising Explorer’s Tower infiltration was something one could reasonably think, ‘It’s possible.’
“Could you tell me how to infiltrate Floor 29?”
“Hmm, I’m not sure about that either. I think I’d need to discuss it with the Lord. But Foster’s been busy lately, so I’m not sure if I can reach him right away.”
He was reached immediately.
-What are you saying, Christine! If she’s the sibling of an EX-Awakened, contact her at once.
“Don’t you have a meeting with the Real Madrid Lord?”
-I’ll reschedule it.
Foster postponed his meeting with the Real Madrid Lord and immediately sent a system message to Kang Hye.
But text had its limitations.
-I’ll go to Korea myself.
The journey from London to Seoul took mere seconds.
“I can assist with Floor 29 infiltration.”
To aid Tower infiltration, an ‘Infiltration Scroll’ was essential.
The higher the scroll’s grade, the greater the success rate.
“It would be even better if the person who entered had any personal belongings.”
“Thank you. I won’t forget this kindness.”
It was like Columbus’s egg.
Simple once you know it, but difficult to discover if you don’t.
“Even so, the success rate of Tower infiltration is generally around 1% at best.”
And that was limited to ‘top-tier explorers.’
But he deliberately didn’t add such remarks.
What truly mattered to Foster wasn’t whether the Tower infiltration succeeded.
It was the fact itself that he could forge a direct connection with the sibling of an EX-Awakened.
“Here’s my business card. A lord doesn’t distinguish between day and night. Please contact me anytime you need my assistance.”
Through the brief conversation, Foster became certain.
‘Indeed, it seems Floor 29 doesn’t have good compatibility with EX-Awakened.’
And this judgment wasn’t made by him alone.

* * *
Antonio, the lord of Real Madrid, had already anticipated it.
That the EX-Awakened would struggle on Floor 29.
“If what we’ve gathered about that is correct, Floor 29 will be quite a grueling challenge.”
In fact, the EX-Awakened, who had cleared floors consecutively up to Floor 28, had stopped climbing.
(In truth, he stopped because he was tired.)
“Your prediction was correct, my lord.”
“Truly, you are a lord.”
The sub-lords’ flattery continued, but Antonio paid it no particular mind.
Such information was basic knowledge that any lord would know.
“We will hold onto the 1st place on Floor 29.”
National ranking. Individual ranking.
Both are currently held by Real Madrid.
The individual ranking 1st place belongs to Real Madrid’s star player, Bessius.
This time, he planned to deploy a promising prospect who could surpass Bessius’s record.
“1st place is certainly possible.”
In just a few weeks.
Real Madrid’s strategy for conquering Floor 29 had been refined much more precisely.
Moreover, the promising prospect challenging Floor 29 this time was an archer, and according to Antonio’s judgment, had excellent compatibility with Floor 29.
“Separately from that, we must also approach the EX-Awakened.”
“Pardon?”
On the surface, we must certainly keep the EX-Awakened in check.
That’s what unites Spain.
However, we cannot simply view the EX-Awakened as a mere rival.
A clever rabbit digs multiple burrows, as they say.
Politics must always be multifaceted.
“We could help clear Floor 29, couldn’t we?”
They possessed an ‘aggro strategy’—gathering small wyverns in one place and eliminating them.
A strategy only Real Madrid had discovered so far.
It was precisely the puzzle piece an EX-Awakened needed right now.
‘Perhaps this time….’
It seemed I could sit at the negotiation table with Seoul holding a slight advantage.
As befitted Real Madrid.
As befitted the world’s greatest.

* * *
The video conference with Lee Byung-gyu, Seoul’s lord whose arrogance had grown considerably of late, proceeded swiftly.
-…This is precisely the essence of Real Madrid’s Floor 29 strategy. We can provide substantial assistance to the EX-Awakened.
Antonio wore a satisfied smile.
The fact that Lee Byung-gyu had agreed to the video conference so readily was proof that the EX-Awakened faction was also struggling with Floor 29.
‘Your expression has hardened, Lee Byung-gyu.’
Antonio saw through him instantly.
Seoul’s lord, who had ridden the explosive momentum of the EX-Awakened and climbed relentlessly upward.
‘That’s why needing someone’s help must feel unfamiliar to you. It must be uncomfortable to ask for aid.’
But that wasn’t it at all.
Lee Byung-gyu’s mind was in turmoil from the news he’d just received.
World ranking was naturally first place.
The EX-Awakened had cleared Floor 29 with an EX grade.
Individual ranking was naturally world first.
‘Again! Again we couldn’t provide any help!’
Lee Byung-gyu’s brow furrowed involuntarily.
“Damn it.”
This was all Antonio’s fault.
It was he who had suggested this conference, claiming there was a ‘revolutionary method’ for Floor 29.
So I waited needlessly, was cautious needlessly, and delayed involvement needlessly.
For Seoul’s lord, who had positioned himself as the EX-Awakened’s agent, there was no more humiliating situation than this.
Antonio, by contrast, remained unhurried.
He was savoring the psychological advantage he’d seized against Seoul after so long.
-I understand. Everyone experiences such moments. Even an EX-Awakened must face brief periods of stagnation.
It was then that Antonio received the news.
Word of the EX-Awakened’s EX-grade clear of Floor 29.
Lee Byung-gyu asked, barely concealing his displeasure.
“What’s the EX-Awakened’s matchup on Floor 29?”
“….”
Antonio’s face flushed as words abandoned him.

* * *
Inside the Tower, there was no trace of Kang Hye.
The effect of ‘Promoter’s Explorer’ had definitely activated.
‘Could it be…!’
An ominous thought flashed through my mind.
Had she been hit by the fragments?
Floor 29’s terrain was a Canyon.
It was a brutally disadvantageous environment for evading energy bolts.
I myself had barely managed to endure it by mobilizing Blink, invulnerability skills, and a fully-powered Mayo all at once.
That battlefield was literally a bullet hell.
In a space filled with energy projectiles, even a single graze meant a fatal wound.
If Kang Hye had been caught in that…?
[Exiting Floor 29 of Seoul Tower.]
The moment I exited, I searched for Kang Hye.
“Hey! Kang Hye!”
The living room.
Christine was standing awkwardly in front of the bathroom door.
“Christine, have you seen Kang Hye?”
“Well….”
Inside the bathroom.
Bleeeegh!
A sound came from within.
I rushed over and yanked the door open.
“Huh?”
Christine flinched in surprise.
The door had been completely torn off its hinges.
‘People do occasionally display superhuman strength, but….’
At that level, she’d have to be at least a warrior-class awakener, wouldn’t she?
‘I know she’s been developing diverse stat distributions….’
Just how much strength had she increased?
As a hint of doubt crept in.
Another sound came: Bleeeegh!
“Get out!”
Inside the bathroom.
Kang Hye, her face deathly pale, was fighting against nausea.
“…Are you alright?”
“Please just leave.”
Bleeeegh!
The bathroom floor was a disaster, but it was fine.
-Mayo values hygiene.
– 🙂
The cubic cube transformed into the shape of a vacuum cleaner.
Only its form had changed; its actual function remained the same.
A brilliant flash erupted from the body of the vacuum, and in an instant, the surroundings became spotless.
Kang Hye, sprawled in front of the toilet, muttered under her breath.
“I almost died there….”
A moment later.
Once she regained her composure, she wiped away the cold sweat and stood up.
“My shield is completely destroyed.”
It was a degraded-tier shield, but a shield was still a shield.
Attacks from ordinary dealers couldn’t even scratch it.
“Did you get hit by the shrapnel?”
“No, don’t you know your brother?”
Kang Hye was well aware of how dangerous the shrapnel was.
She had made thorough preparations to avoid becoming a hindrance.
She gathered the wyverns to one side and moved to the canyon on the opposite end.
She concealed herself in a position as safe as possible from the shrapnel.
“…Now that I think about it, the wyverns were being pushed to one side.”
Kang Hye had drawn the aggro instead.
“But that was your ability?”
“Yeah.”
“That’s a tank ability, isn’t it?”
Kang Hye’s gaze fell upon the shattered door frame.
“You’re not one to talk, are you?”
….
Kang Hye continued.
“It wasn’t the shrapnel that destroyed my shield and left me like this.”
“Then what?”
This was where the important part of the story began.

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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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