The Return of the EX-Class Wizard - Chapter 71

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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 071
[Multiple Unidentified Gates Generated Across Seoul]
[■■ Gate, Aftermath of 30 Consecutive EX-Rank Clears?]
Gates were inherently difficult to predict.
They possessed far less regularity than the Tower.
They appeared suddenly one day and vanished,
some remained fixed like mines, and rewards applied differently to each person.
As humanity entered the Tower Civilization 2.0 era, people had grown accustomed to this ‘uncertainty’ to some degree.
Even if a Gate suddenly opened in the middle of Gangnam Station’s Exit 2, people would simply think, “Ah, something appeared again,” and accept it.
But this time was different.
[Indecipherable Metaphysical Symbols Observed Above Gate]
[Seoul Guild Activates Emergency Decryption Team]
[England, Saudi Arabia, New York Deploy Joint Decryption Teams]
Gates always displayed character-like ‘names’ above them.
Until now, most had been decipherable.
They were alien, yet patterns existed.
But this time, the characters themselves were not composed of human language.
Lee Byung-gyu, the Lord of Seoul, toured the site directly and received reports.
[■■ Gate – Timer: 23:15:28]
[■■ Gate – Timer: 23:15:26]
When the Gates first generated,
the remaining time was exactly 24 hours.
Now it had decreased slightly.
“Similar timer Gate cases exist overseas as well.”
“We must consider the possibility of a Gate Break.”
Lee Byung-gyu’s brow furrowed.
Gate Break.
One of the Tower Civilization’s calamities that caused massive damage in various ways.
“Currently, we’ve identified 17 Gates, and that number just increased to 18.”
Reports poured in one after another.
Each Gate shared an identical timer.
In other words, when 24 hours passed, 20 Gates would open simultaneously.
“Has the entry mechanism been identified?”
“Not yet. There’s no response whatsoever.”
This Gate was unlike the usual ones.
Entry itself was impossible by any means.
[【Breaking News】 Seoul Enters Full Gate Break Preparedness]
[Some Subway Lines Suspended]
[Severe Congestion on Seoul Outer Ring Roads]
Great chaos erupted across Seoul.
With no knowledge of the Gate’s true nature or whether it would break, the estimated time remaining was barely twenty-three hours.
[Damn it, my parents are in Seoul right now, what do I do;;]
└This time it’s seriously not normal
└Wouldn’t it be better to go to Busan through Seoul Tower instead?
└Getting to Seoul Tower is hell too
└Twenty simultaneous breaks is too ridiculous;;
Even EX-rank Awakeners can’t block that lol
└That’s why the EX guy unnecessarily flipped Floor 30

* * *
Like Spain, China too was pursuing the goal of “one unified China.”
Binding the fragmented city-states of China into a single entity.
Since the Grand Lords were both national sovereigns and rulers, the cooperation system between lords was being established faster than anywhere else in the world.
At the center of this was the Beijing Guild, and they had established a strategic alliance with Spain’s Real Madrid.
Antonio of Real Madrid and Beijing’s Lord Zhang Ping met in secret.
Antonio spoke first.
“The day will come when you’ll have to beg for Novaeight.”
Novaeight is essential for the scrolls that Emily creates.
That’s already confirmed information.
Antonio drove the point home smoothly.
“For EX-rank Awakeners, Novaeight is a core strategic asset.”
All of Western Europe hinges on a single scroll from an EX-rank Awakener.
It’s no exaggeration to say that Europe’s current ranking structure is determined by whether scrolls are used.
“The influence of scrolls alone is changing the Tower ranking order. National rankings are being manipulated through loopholes as well.”
Certain national players were monopolizing Tower rankings.
An EX-rank Awakener.
A single existence was causing the world order to fluctuate abnormally.
“The Seoul Guild has approached us multiple times.”
“Play it cool. Maintain the most favorable attitude possible.”
“Of course.”
Real Madrid had already grasped the EX-rank Awakener’s identity to some extent.
Antonio could also decide the timing of when to hand over that information.
“If you use Novaeight as bait, they’ll have no choice but to open their borders.”
The border between China and South Korea opening?
What came next depended on Beijing’s decision.
Eliminating the EX-rank Awakener and inheriting the EX-rank was one method.
Or actively joining hands with the EX-rank Awakener was another method.
But Antonio knew.
‘Zhang Ping isn’t a man who’d be satisfied with this.’
He would seize the EX-rank Awakening by any means necessary.
Through him, they were hoping to elevate themselves to China’s second-in-command.
A man brimming with greed and ambition.
“We’ll open the borders soon.”
For now, they were refusing, but without Novaeight, there were no EX-rank scrolls.
Without scrolls, diplomatic influence couldn’t be maintained either.
The clock was already ticking.
Conveniently, welcome news had arrived from Korea.
“Simultaneous Gate appearances?”
The justification was perfect.
It was a neighboring nation, after all.
[Beijing Guild, “Seoul faces an emergency. Beijing stands ready to shoulder this burden together….”]
Now Beijing’s top-ranked hunters had the pretext to mobilize toward Seoul.
Tokyo moved as well.
[Tokyo Guild, “Gate structure analysis and exploration personnel, security maintenance forces standing by.”]
[Japanese Warlord, “Elite-tier players prepared for deployment to Korea.”]
All of it meant opening Korea’s borders.

* * *
After clearing Floor 30, Choi Kang-mok took a brief rest before checking his phone.
‘Could this be because of me?’
Kang Hye had already left to gather information.
[Is this seriously happening? (photo)]
└Seoul Tower queue is insane fr (photo)
└Can’t even see where it ends
└Is Gate Break real? They say an entire city gets wiped out
└Yeah, it happened before. Records say a whole metropolis disappeared
└? Thousands of people from a single Break?
Twenty Gates had been discovered this time.
And more could appear.
If a Gate Break occurred, the damage would be incalculable.
[There’s one right in the middle of Gangnam. If it ruptures, we’re seriously screwed]
└Can’t they just clear it fast?
└The problem is they can’t even enter it
Even the Gate’s name interpretation is beyond them. Right now the decryption team is a three-nation coalition lolol
└But those characters look genuinely terrifying. Is this SCP?
Various online communities were ablaze with discussion.
Gate photos were being uploaded in real time.
Mayo, who had examined the photos with me, floated closer.
-It’s a hydra’s nest, sir.
-The mother, though… disappeared long ago.
I ate the mother fish.
The sensation still lingers on my tongue.
“Hmm?”
At this point in time, there existed someone—or rather, an artifact—capable of interpreting the name of a Gate that no one else had been able to decipher.
-These are characters from a dimension that no longer exists.
–
We
can read them. I’m delighted to read them aloud for you.
“What about this one?”
-The Corridor of the Crimson Wolf.
“And this?”
-The Starlight Sanctuary. This one is beautiful. Excellent for photographs. It was quite popular as a tourist destination.
-The Mechanical Fortress. Nothing good remains, only difficulties. Perhaps that’s why so many challenged it regardless. To repeat meaningless despair.
The knowledge level of the Mythic-rank artifact Mayo exceeded expectations.
-The Vanished Laboratory.
-There are no records. As if it never existed.
-Then, to refute the premise that it never existed, we must prove its existence!
-The Vanished Laboratory. That it vanished means,
it must have existed at least once!!!
Mayo, scanning through the photographs, displayed [!!!] marks above her head.
“Why are you like that?”
-A high-grade mining Gate.
-If ore veins remain, we should enter.
-Mining is… one of the most fundamental desires for mages, after all.
And shortly thereafter, the London Explorer’s Association released official analysis materials.
[It appears the Gates share a common entry condition.]
[There is a very high possibility that a ‘key-shaped item’ is required.]
Choi Kang-mok opened his inventory.
───────
[■■ Key]
A key whose purpose is unknown
───────
This couldn’t possibly be a coincidence.
“It’s because of me.”
Clearing Floor 30 had left my body exhausted, but I couldn’t afford to remain idle here.
If a true Gate Break occurred, thousands—perhaps tens of thousands—of people would suffer severe injuries or death.
I couldn’t prevent every catastrophe, but there was no reason to deliberately ignore what I could prevent.

* * *
Gangnam Station.
The streets that were always teeming with crowds were now suffocatingly silent.
The Seoul Guild had implemented emergency lockdown procedures.
Most citizens had already evacuated from the surrounding area.
Instead of the crowded subway entrance, Choi Kang-mok emerged onto the empty road.
“Oppa, you’re not pushing yourself too hard, are you?”
Even with the Polymorph mask, it wasn’t perfect.
Kang Hye felt uneasy about Choi Kang-mok taking direct action like this.
The entire world was searching for the EX-rank Awakener.
She had to consider whether exposing his identity was truly the right move.
“It’s fine.”
Right now, moving was more important than hiding.
Lee Byung-gyu, the Seoul Lord, came rushing over breathlessly.
“I…”
Being outside seemed to make the form of address awkward.
Calling him “EX-rank Awakener” or using his real name both felt uncomfortable.
“It’s fine. There’s no surveillance equipment around here.”
Even if there were, I could trace it back and destroy it.
-Master Mayo, I’ve removed all listening devices.
-Someone
us
eavesdropping on us isn’t very pleasant, after all.
Though she could be annoying at times, she was certainly competent.
These days, she was even showing a bit more restraint than before.
‘If things go well, I should give her plenty of EX Coins as a reward.’
I stood before the Gate.
Lee Byung-gyu lowered his voice and spoke.
“We’re currently collecting key-shaped items nationwide, but we haven’t made any progress yet.”
“I see.”
Choi Kang-mok stood before the Gate.
In my hand was the ■■ Key.
───────
[■■ Key]
A key whose purpose is unknown
───────
As the hand holding the key drew closer to the Gate.
A faint outline of light that was normally invisible began to emerge.
A keyhole.
To anyone’s eyes, it was clearly “the place meant only for this key.”
“Of course, it’s difficult now. But the Seoul Guild will do our best.”
Click!
[Mining Gate (Advanced, Gangnam, Unselected)]
[Entry conditions have been satisfied.]
[Will you enter?]
The entry mechanism had been unlocked.

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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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