The Return of the EX-Class Wizard - Chapter 93

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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 093
A lustrous, deep black gleam.
The texture felt familiar.
‘Where have I seen this material before?’
───────
[Settings Safe]
───────
Owen’s expression twisted in frustration.
“Damn it. Of all things, this one.”
“What is it?”
“A safe made from [Unbreakable Stone]. We typically add only small quantities when alloying materials for storing very important items—but look at this.”
He pointed to the safe door and the protruding handle.
“The entire door panel is solid. You can feel the malice in the design—they made it absolutely impossible to break.”
Still, Owen remained confident.
“But don’t worry. Even if I can’t break something hard, there’s no reason I can’t open it.”
Delicate, intricate unlocking magic.
That was the pride of an intermediate-rank mage.
Hardness always yields to gentleness.
‘This time I’ll show them what I’m really made of. The contract renewal depends on it.’
Then Choi Kang-mok spoke.
“Would it be alright if I gave it a try?”
“The employer?”
Owen nearly said something instinctively.
‘You probably can’t do that, can you?’
“Your mana is specialized for combat, after all….”
Detection magic covered a wide area, so forcing mana through could work somehow,
but unlocking was the opposite.
It required delicate, careful control of mana.
“You see, that is to say, unlocking magic is….”
Choi Kang-mok spoke.
“I’d just appreciate it if you could guide my magic fragments to the opposite side.”
“Understood.”
Owen decided to hold his tongue.
If that’s what the employer wanted, then so be it.
He was a mage with excellent social skills.
‘Energy Bolt?’
Owen tilted his head in confusion.
Transforming Energy Bolt like a key to unlock it?
‘It’s certainly creative….’
Crash!
The door exploded outward in a violent blast.
Owen hastily twisted the trajectory, snatching at the magical fragments as they scattered.
‘I can’t guide them on my own!’
Each fragment was a bomb unto itself.
All I could do was subtly deflect their paths to prevent them from ricocheting wildly.
Owen came to a realization.
‘This isn’t purely my ability.’
The Research Institute director was controlling more than seventy percent of it.
He was a man who had handled magical fragments with meticulous precision for countless years.
‘Manipulating Energy Bolt magical fragments—that’s truly first-rate. Remarkable!’
The result was shocking.
The vault door, unmistakably forged from ‘unbreakable stone’.
Now it was riddled with holes like a honeycomb.
Choi Kang-mok smiled.
“Heh heh.”
Magic truly is a matter of constant practice.
“This time… the structure remains intact, Mage Owen.”
“…I see.”
Could you even call it remaining?
It was more like a phantom of the original structure.
It was as precarious as an abandoned building you wouldn’t dare touch for fear it would collapse.
“Moreover, it was finished quite safely.”
Since it hadn’t shattered into countless pieces, there was no shrapnel damage.
Though Owen had provided assistance, what mattered most was that Choi Kang-mok had succeeded in controlling his power.
“It seems I’ve reduced the damage considerably compared to before.”
Which meant he had grown more adept at precise control.
It was a day where growth was tangibly felt.
Thud!
The stone door fell away.
Then came a sharp crash—the door scattered like breaking glass.
Owen tilted his head in confusion.
“There’s a clanging sound?”
“Isn’t there supposed to be?”
Owen hurriedly gathered up the fragments.
“There shouldn’t be. No, this shouldn’t break like this…”
He laughed nervously, shaking his head.
In all his years as a mage, he had never witnessed ‘unbreakable stone’ being obliterated by an Energy Bolt.
In that moment, a blasphemous thought crossed his mind.
‘Can this even be called magic?’
From a pure mage’s perspective, this was less magic and more akin to raw violence.
A spell developed to an extraordinary degree purely for destruction.
From the perspective of a pure mage, it was heretical.
‘…Oh my, what an impious thought!’
Preconceptions obstruct growth.
Owen shook his head and gathered his thoughts.
“It seems the employer’s magic has altered the very nature of the metal itself.”
Owen’s eyes gleamed with interest.
Research would definitely be necessary.
“But this is….”
A brilliant light began pouring out from within the safe.
[A sealed setting has been unlocked.]
[(Forced) update is in progress…]
A notification reached Choi Kang-mok.
[You have obtained the title ‘Archaeologist of the Ancient Era’!]

* * *
Choi Kang-mok scanned the notification window with a slightly uneasy expression.
──────────────
[Title: Archaeologist of the Ancient Era]
A title bestowed upon one who first discovers ruins that exist only in legend, and brings the traces of forgotten magic back into the world.
Your pioneering has opened a path for the great magic of the past to shine once more.
──────────────
“Ah….”
I understand now.
“I’ve pulled forward a future update!”
In other words, this is future content.
Future content that should have occurred hundreds of years from now has been brought forward to the present.
‘At minimum, it’s a setting from 100 years in the future.’
This region originally had a setting that prevented strongholds from being generated for 100 years.
That setting has been nullified.
And as if centuries had passed, the world was responding.
[The convictions of countless mages who once fought against an evil sorcerer who sought to destroy the world are awakening anew.]
Light bloomed from the ruins.
Like a swarm of fireflies taking flight.
Brilliant lights scattered and dispersed like falling cherry blossoms, quietly breaking apart.
‘…I become a doomsday mage just from using one high-ranking spirit once?’
It felt oddly bitter.
To be branded as a nihilist, of all things.
[The title ‘Archaeologist of the Ancient Era’ resonates with the convictions of the past.]
[Stronghold declaration is now possible.]
───────
1. Magic School (Reconstruction)
───────
But then.
[Unique History Confirmed: ‘Director of Aila Advanced Magic Research Institute’]
[Additional stronghold creation possible.]
───────
2.
!
2. Aila Advanced Magic Research Institute Branch
!
───────
“A red exclamation mark in bold text?”
A familiar marker.
As I’d experienced with Mayo and others, this was something I had to proceed with unconditionally.
[Stronghold ‘Aila Advanced Magic Research Institute Branch’ has been created.]

* * *
The Magic School had already vanished.
A new building now stood where the ruins had been.
[Research Institute → Warp → Branch Transfer Available]
└Tons of combat mage exclusive quests here, for real
└This is basically the ‘combat mage headquarters’
└If you want to raise a mage, you gotta come here lol
Recently, the necessity of combat mages has been emerging among the rankers.
The general public was gradually becoming aware of this fact as well.
[Didn’t the admin push an update telling us to raise some ‘combat mages’?]
└They’re just dumping rare spell books
└There’s even a class change quest lol
└Magic School? That’s outdated now
A second golden age had arrived in old Shenyang.
Mages began traveling between Pyongyang and Shenyang, performing countless quests and developing themselves as mages.
[???: Shenyang is a garbage map lol]
└Current expression: face like you just ate shit lol
└EX already knew about this…
└EX said he didn’t know anything about it.
└The Shenyang occupation was also a plot thread payoff wow lol
A massive wave of change swept through the entire magic community.
[I’m a British mage and I’m heading to Korea tomorrow lol]
└Saudi mage 222
└American Mage 333
└I’m genuinely jealous of this….
To enter the Aila Advanced Magic Research Institute and its Branch, one must be a ‘mage belonging to the South Korean territory’.
In other words, only mages who awakened in South Korea or received permission from the Seoul Guild and EX-rank awakeners to enter Korea are eligible.
[At this point, for mages, being Korean-born is a ‘privilege’]
└Real talk lol, a paradise nation for mages only
└Miner: Are you only jealous of mages?
└Ordinary person: …can I join too?
└Isn’t this just the Korean Dream coming true?
Public opinion was intense, and expert analyses poured in.
-Shenyang was always a valuable region. The EX-rank awakener grasped this first.
-The perception of ‘worthlessness’ was merely a frame China brought upon itself.
-All of this is a sophisticated strategy by the EX-rank awakener and the Seoul Guild.
Of course, it wasn’t.
It just happened to turn out this way.
In any case, Choi Kang-mok entered the Aila Advanced Magic Research Institute Branch.
The scale was smaller than the main building, but the overall structure was remarkably similar.
[Confirming access history of Main Building 4th Floor.]
[Branch 3rd Floor is automatically unlocked.]
[Aila Advanced Magic Research Institute Branch 3rd Floor has been opened.]
As the institute director, the tasks to be done were similar.
[(Combat) Mage recruitment—would you like to proceed?]
[Recruitible Mages: Apprentice, Novice, Intermediate]
Compared to the main building, which could recruit up to Advanced and Professor-rank mages, it was slightly disappointing.
Still, I immediately began mass recruitment.
[Employment limit reached!]
▶ Apprentice (30/30)
▶ Novice (15/15)
▶ Intermediate (5/5)
Daily personnel costs alone amounted to approximately 1.5 billion Dia.
It wasn’t a small sum, but I didn’t regret it at all.
‘I need to build up my combat mage pool.’
I was currently growing like a combat mage.
The more combat mages there were, the more strategies and guides related to them would emerge.
I could leverage the power of collective intelligence.
By the way, I had acquired approximately 1 trillion Dia from the territorial conquest broadcast against Lee Tae-gwang.
Plenty of money.
[!Employment limit reached for the first time!]
[Daily Advanced Mage invitations are now available.]
[Daily Advanced Mage invitation fee: 500 million]
It was more expensive than a full-time position, but the text was bold.
I had to take this.
[Inviting a Daily Advanced Mage.]
“Delighted to see you again.”
“…Professor Raymond?”
“Here, I’m an Advanced Mage.”
It turned out that while he held a professorial rank in general magic, his expertise in combat magic was only advanced level.
“Combat magic isn’t really my specialty, after all.”
“I see.”
It was a reasonable explanation.
Excellence in magical theory didn’t necessarily translate to excellence in combat magic.
“Still, advanced level is quite substantial, isn’t it?”
“Nothing particularly impressive. Anyway, since I’ve been invited as a daily lecturer, there’s only so much I can do. Complex matters are out of the question, let me see.”
He unfolded a Quest list to show me.
“You can choose and learn one of three combat magic spells.”
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[Available Quest List]
1. ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓
2. ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓
3. ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓
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“The list looks strange.”
“Hmm? Ah. There’s some kind of interference wave in place.”
Fortunately, it meant that Professor Raymond wasn’t merely a mage specialized in combat.
“Can you resolve it?”
“Of course I can!”
A spark of interest ignited in Professor Raymond’s eyes.
Research like this seemed far more engaging than being hired as a combat magic instructor.
“Let me head back to the main building and conduct some research. It won’t take more than a few days!”
[The Advanced Combat Mage withdraws from employment.]
[The invitation fee is refunded.]
[+500,000,000 Diamonds]
Professor Raymond began chanting a teleportation spell on his own terms.
“Professor! What about the Quest!”
“Accept it at the main building! I’ll be in touch!”
A new mouth appeared on his cheek, allowing him to speak and cast magic simultaneously.
Truly professorial caliber.
[The corresponding Quest has been cancelled—]
“The Quest is being cancelled?”
“Don’t worry!”
[The Quest has been cancelled.]
[The Quest has been…]
[The Quest has been cancelled]
[!The Quest will be maintained!]
I stared at the spot where he had vanished so anticlimactically.
“…Now that’s a true mage.”
Interfering with the system on a whim, no less.
Truly professor-grade.
“The Quest remains, the money’s been refunded….”
I just need to go to the main building and accept it.
And in a refined version at that.
Plus, it’s free.
“…That’s sweet, isn’t it?”

* * *
The newly established branch of the Advanced Research Institute in (Old) Shenyang.
The community was in an uproar of debate over that place, which had begun to be called a combat mage training facility.
[Isn’t this just luck?]
└Building a branch through luck? lol
└Is luck really planned out that meticulously?
└Are you unawakened? lol Say something that makes sense
└Even with extremely tight planning it’s hard….
And at that very moment.
“I got lucky.”
“Yeah.”
That’s what my older brother would say.
I no longer fully trusted Choi Kang-mok.
Luck, he says.
He accomplishes the impossible with such composure, and then just calls it ‘luck’.
“When luck continues like that, it becomes skill. Excessive modesty is poison.”
Kang Hye glanced at Choi Kang-mok with a slight smile, then let out a soft laugh.
“Did something good happen?”
“Yeah.”
The combat magic Quest is still in progress.
That’s a future reward, but right now there’s the satisfaction of ongoing progress.
“I learned a lot from Mage Owen.”
“A lot?”
I continued my explanation enthusiastically.
“The way he sets up imaginary enemies when guiding magic fragments. And the way he imbues those enemies with ‘hostility’. He was setting up imaginary enemies and targeting them.”
“Didn’t you do something similar? You also set up imaginary enemies in empty space and marked them with red dots to guide mana fragments, didn’t you?”
“That was barely the first step.”
Owen’s method was the perfected form.
It wasn’t simply ‘designating coordinates’.
It was imbuing the target with ’emotion’.
“If you set a virtual target as an entity with hostility, the magic fragments become far easier to guide.”
“Emotion-based mana guidance, something like that?”
Kang Hye felt slightly confused.
From what she heard, it seemed like he was just observing from the sidelines—was that really teaching?
Still, as long as her brother was pleased, that was enough.
“It’s probably thanks to becoming accustomed to Mayo’s friend-or-foe identification ability.”
-Then the distinction has become completely ingrained now. Magic, enemies, and…
us
.
-If I’ve been of some help, I’d be delighted.
“When actual hostility exists, the guidance becomes even more precise.”
“Wow, I see. So such magnificent enlightenment arrives in this way—truly remarkable, isn’t it?”
My heart raced with exhilaration.
Scattered experiences and concepts wove together, and a profound awakening descended upon me.
Magic fragment guidance.
I felt as though I could perform it far more skillfully now.
“I want to practice immediately.”
I wanted to experience it firsthand with my own body.
In times like these, entering the 4th Floor for practical training is the best approach.
But life, as it always does—
“Kang-mok, I need you to check something.”
Choi Kang-chul came rushing over breathlessly.

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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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