The Return of the EX-Class Wizard - Chapter 96

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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 096
Until just days ago, Kang Hye had cleared the Gaema Plateau Amusement Park Gate—notorious for dropping cursed items—countless times.
She had strived and strived to obtain cursed rewards that reduced damage, but the results were far from satisfactory.
“Damn it! My class is far too good.”
Ascending Explorer.
This exceptional class almost entirely prevented her from receiving cursed items.
“Give me some bad gear! Cursed items! Damage reduction!!!”
Despite Kang Hye’s desperate pleas, cursed items never materialized.
Yet there is always a way out, even when the sky falls.
“Huh?”
[Achievement: Accumulated Misfortune Threshold Reached!]
[You may now claim an exclusive Ascending Explorer reward]
A modest (?) achievement had brought a gift to her gift box.
───────
[Duplicate Reward Claim Ticket]
You gain the right to claim all rewards from a reward selection option.
※Usage Time Limit: 100 hours
───────
“Wow, something like this exists?”
I briefly reflected on myself for having complained that even good fortune could be a problem.
Ascending Explorer, long may you reign.
There was only one issue.
This item had a usage restriction: it must be used within 100 hours.
‘Hmm… I don’t really have a use for this, do I?’
I considered selling it,
but the face of someone came to mind.
“I should give this to Choi Kang-mok.”
Ascending Explorer had excellent synergy with the title “EX-Rank Assistant.”
When providing appropriate support to an EX-Rank Awakened One, unexpected rewards could sometimes be granted.
[100:00:00]
[99:59:59]
“100 hours should be plenty.”
Since I had entered Special Stage (2), I thought I would emerge within a few hours at most.
Or so I believed.
“Why isn’t he coming out…?”
Time passed, and time continued to pass, yet the countdown only diminished.
“Why hasn’t this madman appeared!”
More time elapsed.
The item mattered, but that wasn’t the problem now.
“Is he missing?”
[0:13:19]
Only thirteen minutes remained.
The timer no longer registered in my consciousness.
Only anxiety and impatience persisted.
“Please! Labyrinth penetration! Penetrate! Penetrate!”
I had succeeded in penetrating the Tower before.
I attempted to leverage that ability to infiltrate the Labyrinth as well, but it proved impossible.
[Penetration of Labyrinth (Seoul) Special Stage (2) has failed.]
[Penetration of Labyrinth (Seoul) Special Stage (2) has failed.]
My lips grew parched, my forehead burned, and my fingertips went rigid when suddenly—
A man burst from the Labyrinth with a smirk plastered across his face.
That infuriating smirk ignited a fury that threatened to consume me.
“You bastard…!”
But the man fled.
And then…
Stage 21 EX-Rank Clear
Stage 22 EX-Rank Clear
23, 24, 25, 26, 27…
“I’m going to kill you for real!!!”
28, 29, 30.
“…Fine. As long as you’re alive, that’s all that matters.”
The Hall of Fame’s top position was plastered entirely with that man’s name.
Kang Hye rubbed the bridge of her nose with one hand and spoke.
“I seriously have something to tell you, oppa. I’m being serious.”
Only about seven minutes remained.
“Take this quickly.”
“What is it?”
“A duplicate selection voucher.”
I had completed the Labyrinth through Stage 30.
Now I possessed the qualifications to challenge the Tower.
“Floor 31 of the Tower grants a choice reward, right? I thought you’d need it.”
“You’re giving this to me?”
“Yeah. Not because I think you’re cute or anything.”
“…I didn’t ask that.”
I hadn’t asked, yet she elaborated anyway.
Quite rapidly and at length.
“I’m an EX-Rank collaborator, so there’s a chance something incredible and amazing might happen to me, which is why I’m giving it to you. So don’t even think about refusing—just take it, you bastard.”
Floor 31 granted only a single reward in one’s entire lifetime—only once.
“You know what the Floor 31 reward is, right?”
“Yeah. You can choose between a fragment of Ignis’s heart or a phoenix feather.”
Both are bound items obtainable only on Floor 31.
The two items are known to produce formidable synergistic effects when used together.
The combination of these two items serves as a cheat key for clearing the 31st to 40th Floor section, also known as the Inferno Zone.
It was a fact revealed by Vicario, who achieved SSS-rank clears on every floor.
“You’ll be able to obtain both of those items too.”
The Floor 31 reward is granted only once in a lifetime.
Moreover, since they’re bound items, they cannot be traded.
Worldwide, only one person possessed both items.
Italy’s Holy Knight Vicario alone.
Kang Hye continued speaking.
“Thanks to Vicario having both of those items….”
“I know. Overwhelmingly first place in the Inferno Zone.”
If Floors 1 through 29 were my exclusive domain, then Floors 31 through 40 belonged to one man—Vicario.
“Oppa, we don’t have time. If you’re in good condition, we need to enter right away.”
The issue was my physical condition.
I’d been trapped in the Labyrinth for days now.
“…looks completely fine though.”
More than fine—I looked refreshed.
Whatever magical enlightenment I’d gained in that Labyrinth, my expression overflowed with composure.
Annoyingly so.
“Should I go in with you?”
“You?”
“Yeah. I’m an Ascending Explorer, remember? If I go with you, doesn’t that raise the clear rank?”
I was tempted, but I shook my head.
“Not yet, I think.”
No matter how well I’d mastered magical fragment induction,
I couldn’t risk my sister’s life on recklessness.
“Huh? ‘Not yet’ means you will soon?”
“Maybe we can go together before long.”
“Your condition really is fine, right?”
“Perfect.”
“…You’re insane.”
In any case, I entered Floor 31.

* * *
[You have entered Floor 31 of Seoul Tower.]
[Challenge: Defeat 30 Lesser Flame Giants]
The terrain shifted in an instant.
Crimson magma and lava, steam billowing from the cracks in dark red walls.
‘I can’t use Mayo’s cleansing ability here.’
Flames weren’t an ‘impurity’ in this space.
‘It’s scorching.’
In the suffocating heat.
This place was a true inferno.
“Certainly, I’d have a much better time if I had Ignis’s Heart.”
Flame resistance.
Without it, the environmental damage near the magma was severe enough to make survival difficult.
For me, protected by Mayo, it meant little.
Then, the crimson magma vent trembled.
A glowing lava mass emerged into view.
Viscous magma dripped between its fingers.
A Lesser Flame Giant.
“The 30th Floor range certainly has presence.”
They appeared one at a time for now.
But defeating them one by one would consume too much time.
The duplicate reward timer continued to tick down.
I shifted my gaze.
Toward the burning tower in the distance.
───────
[Forgotten Fire Spirit’s Stone Tower]
Once a sacred tower built by priests who served the fire spirit, it now harbors the power of an ominous curse, dominated by corrupted flame giants.
───────
“If I destroy that… they’ll all come pouring out.”
The standard strategy was to defeat 29 of them,
and destroy the stone tower while defeating the final one.
That was the orthodox method, and the safest approach.
Why destroy the stone tower at all?
Because that’s the only way to obtain the special reward of Floor 31—a fragment of Ignis’s Heart and a phoenix feather.
‘Laying down an energy field would be awkward anyway.’
It was difficult to deploy in real combat.
“First, I’ll create distance.”
Fortunately, the space was vast enough.
After creating distance, I stared at the towering stone tower.
[※Warning※ Attacking the Forgotten Fire Spirit’s Stone Tower will cause all flame giants to awaken simultaneously and go berserk.]
“Energy Bolt will suffice.”
Time was running short.
I needed to clear this quickly with what I knew best.
‘If they all rush out at once, that’s actually better.’
Sweeping them away in one go with Energy Bolt’s mana fragments would save time.
I unleashed Energy Bolt toward the burning stone tower.
[Skill Energy Bolt (S) activated.]
Crash!
The stone tower struck by Energy Bolt crumbled to dust.
“Now the flame giants should swarm out….”
[Seoul Tower Floor 31 cleared.]
[Clear Grade: EX]
“Huh?”
I exited the Tower.

* * *
Kang Hye was absolutely thrilled.
Clearing absurdly fast like always had become routine by now.
The real prize lay elsewhere.
As an Ascending Explorer, I’d finally pulled off something remarkable!
“You used the duplicate reward voucher, right?”
“No?”
“What? Why not?”
Choi Kang-mok shrugged casually.
“They just gave it to me.”
“What are you talking about?”
“When I completely destroyed the stone tower, they just gave it.”
Choi Kang-mok had discovered this strategy first.
“You mean… total destruction? Like, completely annihilating it?”
“Yeah. When I smashed it down to the very foundation, the clear and rewards both triggered simultaneously.”
Choi Kang-mok casually produced the evidence.
“Look. Ignis’s Heart Fragment and Phoenix Feather.”
Both items were clutched in his hand.
Kang Hye’s expression turned bitter.
“…Wait. Why aren’t these bound items?”
That infamous flame zone exploit.
He’d brought out tradeable items from it.
“Insane.”
Kang Hye steadied herself.
Hadn’t she sworn not to be surprised by trivial things like this anymore?
If I got surprised by something like this, I wouldn’t be worthy of being an Ascender-rank explorer.
Kang Hye smacked her lips.
“Still, it’s a shame to waste a duplicate reward voucher.”
I was hoping to establish my position as an EX-rank supporter on this opportunity,
and secure rewards too, but it feels like some of the wind got knocked out of my sails.
“Can’t be helped. All I can do is aim for the next chance.”
Then Choi Kang-mok spoke.
“Actually, it works out perfectly—I was planning to use it now.”
“…The reward voucher?”
“Yeah. I’m using it.”
What he selected was the Special Stage reward.
───────
[Reward Selection]
1. Quest Clear Voucher
2. Core of the Unbreakable Stone
───────
[Duplicate Reward Voucher is being used.]
[Quest Clear Voucher has been obtained.]
[Core of the Unbreakable Stone has been obtained.]
“Thanks to you, I got both.”
Kang Hye felt oddly moved.
The corners of her mouth naturally curved upward.
Her cheeks flushed slightly.
“This much is nothing special anyway.”
She casually rubbed her nose once.
“Next time, I’ll show you an even more amazing performance.”
A notification reached Kang Hye as well.
[Supporter Reward is activated.]
[The effect of ‘Blood Kinship Blessing’ is improved.]
───────
※Floors 1–10: Cooldown negated
※Floors 11–20: Cooldown negated
※Floors 21–30: Cooldown 1 hour
※Floors 31–40: Cooldown 2 hours
※Locked
───────
Now I could venture into the 30th floor range without difficulty.
But the real reward was something else entirely.
[When an EX-rank Awakener clears an EX-rank stage, they receive 20% of the Clear Diamonds.]
“…Brother.”
“Why? What did I do wrong this time?”
“No, that’s not it. You get 100 million diamonds every time you clear an EX-rank dungeon, right?”
“Yeah, probably?”
The reward was so trivial that I rarely bothered to check.
“Actually, Floor 30 and above give 300 million.”
“….”
A brief silence fell.
Followed by quiet mental arithmetic.
“20 percent of 300 million… 60 million.”
Kang Hye’s eyes gleamed with sudden brilliance.
“…Puhehehehe!”
“Why are you like that? You’re scaring me.”
“Promoted Awakener, I love it so much. Really, hurrah.”
Kang Hye’s eyes sparkled with avarice.
“You absolutely have to clear EX-rank dungeons. Got it? I’m rooting for you.”

* * *
Intermediate Mage Owen was these days absorbed in border research.
“Lower dimensions, I quite like them.”
The upper dimensions had already lost their borders completely.
In contrast, Earth still retained clearly defined system borders.
Now, while borders existed, was the optimal timing and environment for magical research.
Of course, leaving the Research Institute came with various penalties, but for someone who had devoted even his hair to magic, such penalties were trivial.
“The problem is, I’m short on assistants.”
Just when Professor-rank Mage Raymond was invited,
all the mage personnel got sucked into his orbit.
“Damn, I don’t have a single assistant attached to me.”
Before, I had quite a few working under me,
but now they were all busy fawning over Raymond.
“Huh?”
That was when it happened.
I sensed someone forcibly crossing through the border—a subtle, slipping sensation.
“Move carefully.”
“Remember, we have no tomorrow.”
“The fate of our homeland rests in your hands.”
Desperation thrummed through the air.
Their footsteps carried a sense of mission.
“We must leave a warning for the Korean bastards.”
“If possible, eliminate the EX-rank Awakener too….”
“No, the top priority is eliminating Seoul’s Deputy Lord.”
I didn’t know who they were or where they came from.
Owen didn’t know they were Tunnelers and Guild members sent from China.
But it didn’t matter.
“Illegal entry?”
He squinted briefly, then let out a soft chuckle.
Illegal entry? Against the law?
His eyes gleamed with sudden inspiration!
“Ille~~~~gal?”
Oh my.
This simply won’t do!
“To dare commit illegal entry into the sacred domain of our Research Institute director… Absolutely unacceptable. They must be subjected to voluntary magical labor reformation.”
As an employee, I couldn’t possibly overlook such a transgression.
Besides, we were short-handed anyway—this worked out perfectly.
“This is the magic of justice. Labor grants freedom.”
And so, the Tunnelers and several Guild members from Beijing quietly “disappeared.”
Days later, a report was transmitted to Beijing.
“It appears to be connected to an EX-Rank Awakener.”
EX-Rank Awakener Choi Kang-mok.
He had flawlessly defended against and triumphed in the first Korean assault operation.

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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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