The Return of the EX-Class Wizard - Chapter 89

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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 089
One second.
Two seconds.
Three seconds.
Time ticked away relentlessly.
The Labyrinth Warrior’s global notification remained silent.
The skip function hadn’t activated.
Kang Hye wasn’t particularly disappointed by this fact.
Rather, she nodded in approval.
‘Right. Even though I’m on my brother’s side, clearing it with skip again feels a bit off.’
From here on, the clear would proceed legitimately, and she’d finally get the chance to witness Choi Kang-mok’s true strength in conquering the Labyrinth.
How would the world-class Tower-clearing Choi Kang-mok perform in clearing the Labyrinth?
She was genuinely curious.
Tick, tick.
The sound of the second hand moving became distinctly audible.
After about five seconds passed, finally a notification appeared.
[Labyrinth Warrior Global Notification!]
[Labyrinth Stage 11 has been cleared at EX-Rank.]
‘Huh?’
Was it a skip? Or a legitimate clear?
Five seconds was ambiguous.
Too long to call it a skip, yet absurdly fast to call it orthodox.
Another five seconds later.
[Labyrinth Stage 12 has been cleared at EX-Rank.]
Five seconds after that.
“Exactly five-second intervals?”
[Labyrinth Stage 13 has been cleared at EX-Rank.]
[Labyrinth Stage 14 has been cleared at EX-Rank.]
Kang Hye realized everything as if all the puzzle pieces had fallen into place.
“This is a skip.”
But it was different from before.
Whether he’d developed a ‘conscience’ compared to Floors 1-10,
this time the skip came with a five-second delay attached.
“Sigh… really. Should I call this a sign of conscience?”
How would Shenyang interpret this situation?
They’d declared a state of emergency, proclaimed total war, and yet the EX-Awakened individual they’d designated as their enemy was simply playing around in the Labyrinth with skips?
And at EX-Rank, no less?
‘No, Shenyang doesn’t know about skips.’
Shenyang? What’s that? We’re just clearing the Labyrinth, la-di-da~☆
The likelihood of it appearing that way was far beyond 99.9 percent.
[Labyrinth Stage 19 has been cleared at EX-rank.]
“Even if I were Shenyang, this would absolutely infuriate me.”
It wasn’t mere disrespect.
It was mockery, humiliation, and an insult that transcended a declaration of war.
Kang Hye laughed with a twisted grin.
“Feels damn good, doesn’t it?”
Kang Hye’s smile turned crooked and defiant.
I had stepped into forbidden territory.

* * *
Just as Kang Hye anticipated, the Shenyang Lord’s Forces erupted in fury.
“This bastard…!”
“He’s mocking us?”
“If only the border were open!”
An EX-Awakened flaunting themselves behind a national boundary was utterly shameless.
That single line of demarcation protected him perfectly.
Without the border, elite assassins would have already been deployed to slit his throat by now.
“Besides, the ones he eliminated were already considered obsolete by North Korea.”
“He’s intoxicated by a minor victory. His mind has completely unraveled.”
Rage shook through the entire Lord’s Forces.
Yet amid it all, Xi Yun struggled to maintain composure.
“Calm yourselves. This happened immediately after the declaration of war. As you’ve likely surmised… he is one who relishes displays of power.”
An EX-Awakened.
To flaunt that title to its fullest,
he was clearing the Labyrinth even now, putting on a show for the entire world.
“Clearing the Labyrinth during total war? And at EX-rank, no less?”
That wasn’t a statement—it was a message.
‘No matter what you do, I have leisure to spare.’
Xi Yun’s blood boiled, yet he forced himself to maintain a rational tone.
“Ostentation and bluster always come with inefficiency. And that inefficiency creates openings for us to exploit.”
The problem was the difficulty in obtaining accurate intelligence.
The border remained sealed, and the Boddari Union continued mixing nonsense with false information, creating confusion.
“It’s not confirmed, but reports indicate the interval between stage clears has grown longer than before.”
In other words, it had become more difficult.
No matter how much of an EX-Awakened one is, pushing through every EX clear inevitably demands tremendous expenditure.
It’s inefficient.
Reckless play always leaves aftereffects.
“We’ve bought ourselves time.”
Xi Yun’s lips slowly curved upward.
“His stamina, mana, condition—all of it will definitely waver. We’ve gained the luxury of preparing more carefully, more meticulously.”
Infiltrate China and destroy the Magic School in the process?
Realistically impossible.
Unlike some nations, the Towers aren’t even connected here.
Xi Yun was certain of one thing: this was an opportunity.
And he believed in Shenyang’s depths.
The city’s foundation and power were not something that could be toppled by a rookie who had just begun to rise.

* * *
Christine had been profoundly shaken at the Ayla Advanced Research Institute.
She’d abstained from food and drink for hours.
There were three mages in that place.
Professor Raymond, who willingly sacrificed efficiency for elegance.
Choi Kang-mok, who genuinely admired that inefficiency.
And herself, watching it all unfold beside them—a mere novice.
‘I need to abandon this excessive efficiency.’
Certain inefficiencies, paradoxically, lead to magnificent results.
Elizabeth I’s mad investment in the navy.
The expensive, seemingly useless machines of the Industrial Revolution’s dawn that ultimately transformed the world.
Everyone mocked them as inefficient at first.
But that inefficiency became history.
This revelation was nothing short of a personal industrial revolution for Christine—a complete overhaul of her life.
With her job rank elevated and magical comprehension soaring, everything felt clearer now.
‘Strongtree is definitely my mentor.’
A simple statement.
Even his unintentional actions were inspiring her profoundly.
Whenever curiosity about Choi Kang-mok arose, she became compelled to unravel it—an obsession she couldn’t escape.
The moment Choi Kang-mok had exited the Labyrinth.
Christine hurried back to their hideout and asked him.
“Strongtree, there’s something I’m really curious about.”
“Yeah, go ahead.”
“You skipped all the way to Stage 20 again, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Five-second interval skips? Am I right?”
“Yeah.”
It was just a simple confirmation at first.
The real question came next.
“But here’s the thing. If you cleared ten consecutive EX stages, shouldn’t the Special Stage have opened? Why didn’t it this time?”
Christine’s eyes gleamed with intensity.
Was this another paradox of inefficiency?
What concept was he about to shatter this time?
I clenched my fists, waiting for my master’s answer.
“Oh, that?”
Choi Kang-mok answered cleanly.
“The system hasn’t updated.”
“…What?”
“The system can’t keep up with my magical clearing speed.”
Christine fell silent.
A pure English person might have struggled to understand, but Christine had already grown quite familiar with Korean culture.
She thought she grasped it somewhat.
“But what about the Shenyang situation?”
Was attacking the Magic School just a bluff?
In fact, many people were judging it as such.
“I’m heading out now.”
“Right now?”
“Yeah.”
“Immediately after clearing the Labyrinth?”
“Yeah. Since it was a skip clear, I’m not even tired.”
“Even so, you should rest a bit….”
Choi Kang-mok smiled faintly.
“They’re probably completely off their guard right about now.”

* * *
Entering China was never a simple matter.
Shenyang had raised its guard to the maximum, worried that the EX-awakened or Seoul Guild might make a move.
But that didn’t mean it was completely impossible.
With full support from Seoul Guild and Boddari Union, Choi Kang-mok successfully entered Shenyang.
Moreover, thanks to the recent streak of ten consecutive EX-rank clears, Shenyang’s tension had noticeably relaxed.
Wearing a polymorph mask to change his appearance, he quietly settled into a hotel near the Magic School.
-They’re merely feigning vigilance. They believe in it. ‘Surely, he won’t actually come?’ …Such expectations. How dangerous.
-Carelessness is always the root cause of ruin.
Mayo’s observation was precise.
Those who insisted that an EX-awakened, hunted by assassins worldwide, would never cross South Korea’s borders emerged, and their opinion became mainstream.
-They’re spouting nonsense about a coward who can’t do anything without border protection.
-I think we should make them understand.
-A proper adult, a true expert, should know how to take responsibility for their words.
I sensed subtle anger emanating from Mayo.
However, Choi Kang-mok didn’t move hastily. He stayed for several days, continuing his reconnaissance of the surroundings.
I focused on completing the mental map and understanding Shenyang’s physical and geographical structure.
Meanwhile, interest in the clash between the EX-awakened and Shenyang began to fade.
[What’s this, they say the famous feast has nothing to eat?]
└EX is all talk, no action lol
└Why declare war if you’re just going to talk about it?
└The academic consensus is that he’s still bedridden
└I’ll catch a disease waiting for this
[Destroying the Magic School? Yeah right lol]
└Probably holed up in his room right now, trying to manage the situation
└His mouth is a tiger, but his body is a chick
└Can’t leave Korea—that’s the national rule lol
└EX? Confirmed international coward
Around that time, Choi Kang-mok concentrated his mind and murmured to himself.
“I have grown.”
Compared to Professor Raymond, I still had far to go.
But a true mage doesn’t fight others—they fight yesterday’s self.
“I conquered the Labyrinth.”
And in the process, I was mistaken for creating a meteor shower spell.
That was certainly a misunderstanding, but the outward appearance was indeed quite similar to a meteor shower.
More importantly, that entire process had honed my ability to perceive magical structure and redesign it as a mage.
“Now I can see it.”
Like on Floor 25.
From a distance, the entire structure materializes in my mind.
Not with mere eyes, but with a mage’s senses.
Back then, the boss was the enemy. This time, the Magic School is the enemy.
‘This time… let me attempt something more sophisticated.’
It was time to prove my evolved magic in actual combat.
[Skill, Energy Bolt (S) activated.]
Two energy bolts shot skyward.
Under the influence of the 2x multiplier talisman, each traced its own trajectory as it rose.
Flash! A brilliant light burst as the two bolts collided precisely.
Boom!
In that instant, one became the propellant and the other became the warhead.
An experiment adding rocket principles to magic.
Fragments poured toward Shenyang Magic School at tremendous velocity.
[This is a facility that cannot be attacked under normal circumstances.]
The notification reached the Shenyang Lord who managed the city.
“Surely he didn’t overlook something this basic?”
Hub facilities cannot be damaged by ordinary magic.
‘Abyss’ and similar special artifacts are required.
“He was more foolish than I thought.”
There was no way a simple attack would work.

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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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