A Returner’s Magic Should Be Special - Chapter 2

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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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Episode 2. A Returner’s Entrance Examination (1)

“The heart, perhaps…….”
“The heart?”
“I read it in a book, long ago. A dragon’s heart functions like an engine—much the same as our Mana Circles. A vast engine that draws in an enormous reservoir of mana and circulates it throughout the body.”
A Mana Circle.
The organ that governs all mana, the vessel where it pools and collects.
Jord pressed on.
“Now that the dragon is dead, all the mana accumulated inside that engine has become uncontrolled. Mana flows—it’s fluid by nature, so it’ll move. The engine will overheat. When that happens…….”
“Could you explain that in simpler terms?”
Priscilla asked, her voice edged with irritation.
This time, Dezir answered.
“An overheated engine will rupture.”
“What!?”
The conclusion arrived swiftly.
The faces of the survivors drained of color.
A low rumble echoed.
Through the sudden dread, an overwhelming surge of mana flowed in all directions, its restless sound thrumming everywhere at once.
“Why didn’t we know this before we killed it?”
“……Because today marks the first time in human history that a dragon has been slain.”
Jord spoke. Despair had already settled across his features.
“What we’re witnessing is an explosion—compressed mana within the Mana Circle rupturing outward. Seven Circles…… no, this far exceeds even that. It’s a tidal wave of mana that our units of measurement cannot fathom. Without magic itself, there’s no countering it. I’m afraid you’d all do well to prepare yourselves.”
They sensed death approaching.
At a scale of mana flow like this, evasion and defense alike were impossible.
“This cannot be. Is this world truly……?”
Raphelo stood transfixed, staring into the howling storm of mana bearing down upon them.
“Our Father in heaven, we…….”
A voice lifted in prayer, only to be swallowed by the roaring torrent of mana.
In the midst of it all, Dezir gazed at the approaching calamity with somber eyes.
After countless thoughts converged, he arrived at a single conclusion.
‘So this is the end.’
He closed his eyes, feeling his hair scatter wildly in the tremendous pressure.
That was his final memory.

Chapter 1. A Returner’s Entrance Examination

Dezir Armang opened his eyes to an inexplicable flurry of activity around him.
He had barely begun to stretch when he realized something was terribly wrong.
‘Where……is this?’
Dezir lowered his outstretched arms and surveyed his surroundings. As his vision cleared, the scene of a grand hall came into focus.
First came the dazzling light of an enormous chandelier studded with dozens of sapphires. Oak tables with lustrous, antique finishes arranged around a central marble countertop. A room full of people. The sounds they made, mingled together, created an atmosphere thick with eager anticipation.
‘……I know this place.’
As Dezir wandered through the hall, his gaze fell upon a glass before him. In it, a face stared back at him—one he knew far too well.
Deep, dark eyes.
Crimson lips.
Gone was the visage scarred and ravaged; in its place stood a refined, elegant youth.
‘What……is this appearance?’
Dezir recognized the boy in the glass. It was his face as it had been during his school days.
‘But I died……didn’t I?’
Before the confusion could settle, a chime sounded, drawing him from his reverie.
With a tap-tap, a woman in formal black dress ascended the podium.
The music that had been playing ceased, and the ambient noise began to subside. When silence had fallen across the hall, she spoke.
“Welcome, Hebrion Academy applicants. I am Professor Bridgette Pahelipos.”
Dezir turned his gaze toward Bridgette. It was a scene he should not have known, yet somehow, her appearance felt familiar to him.
“I understand that students from many different nations have traveled here to Hebrion Academy, and I offer my sincere gratitude to all of you who have come so far to seek admission to our school.”
Bridgette paused to collect herself before continuing.
“However, I’m afraid not all of you can be admitted to our academy. Following tradition, you will sit for the Entrance Examination, and only the top six hundred students will be accepted. This examination that will determine the successful candidates is, simply put……”
Dezir finished the thought ahead of her.
“Clearing the Shadow World.”
“Clearing the Shadow World, exactly. But don’t let that frighten you needlessly. This Shadow World is not real—it is merely a practice Shadow World created by our academy for the Entrance Examination. For further details, please consult with your mentor, who has been assigned to assist you.”
Bridgette’s gaze swept across the assembled students.
“In the year 3613, the 172nd Entrance Examination will take place in two hours at the academy’s main building. Before the examination officially begins, I encourage you to enjoy the banquet we have prepared. We shall meet again shortly, everyone.”
Bridgette descended from the platform. Dezir muttered under his breath, as though unable to believe what he was hearing.
“The entrance ceremony at Hebrion Academy?”
Hebrion Academy.
The finest educational institution on the continent.
It was the same academy he had attended during his school years. More than ten years had passed since his graduation, yet now, witnessing this familiar entrance ceremony unfolding before him, his mind began to spiral into confusion.
‘If it’s the year 3613……’
Thirteen years. Exactly thirteen years in the past.
The Shadow Labyrinth had begun in the year 3616 by the Lowellius calendar, and he had progressed through it for ten years. Its conquest was completed in 3626. Dezir had been sent back thirteen years—to before it all began.
What Dezir felt was not joy at having survived, but a crushing guilt.
He closed his eyes.
Glimpses of those hellish years flickered through his mind. In the darkness of his memory, the crimson blood of the dead shimmered like a phantom.
In the end, they had failed to save the world.
Over ten years, one hundred and fifty million lives had been sacrificed. All of it had been for nothing.
It was a devastatingly tragic conclusion.
An undeniable truth that could neither be hidden nor denied.
And now……
Dezir Armang had been sent back thirteen years—returned to before the failure that cost the world everything.

* * *

Thirteen years into the past.
Like something out of a joke. But it was no joke to laugh at.
At first, he had thought it all a dream.
A deeply unpleasant nightmare, the sort that could visit anyone at any time.
Yet vivid memories proved beyond doubt that he had truly regressed.
The memories were too clear, too painfully real—the desperate battles, the vast ocean of magical knowledge etched into his mind.
All of these memories circled through his consciousness as irrefutable proof of his regression.
“So you’re Dezir Armang.”
Dezir looked at the girl before him. She had short hair dyed a vivid crimson, and though small in stature, her appearance held no hint of fragility. With a cheerful tone and confident eyes, she struck an impression of impressive strength and decisiveness.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Radoria Doricha. Feel free to call me Radoria. I’m a second-year student at Hebrion Academy, and I’ve been assigned as your mentor to help you through today’s Entrance Examination. I look forward to working with you.”
“The pleasure is mine.”
Even as he spoke, Dezir’s eyes studied Radoria with an expression of disbelief.
Of course, Dezir already knew exactly who Radoria Doricha was.

Radoria Doricha.
A prodigious mage who achieved the Sixth Circle through Fire Attribute Magic.
During her time at Hebrion, she had never once relinquished her position as the top-ranked student in her year.

‘But right now, she should only be at the Fourth Circle……’
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“I’m quite nervous, I must admit.”
Radoria let out a lighthearted laugh.
“There’s no need to be frightened by a simple entrance exam. The Shadow World you’ll need to Clear during the Entrance Examination is artificially constructed, after all. Naturally, it’s incomparably easier compared to the ‘real’ thing.”
“Is that so?”
“Exactly. It’s simply a test—asking whether you’re capable of participating in the actual Shadow World.”
Once the initial pleasantries were finished, Radoria began the entrance examination procedures.
As she flipped through the documents containing Dezir’s personal information, she remarked with a hint of concern.
“Hmm? You’re a commoner?”
Dezir feigned indifference and asked, “Is that a problem?”
“If you’re a commoner, things will be harder. Even if you pass, you’ll automatically be placed in the Beta division. That class doesn’t receive much attention or proper instruction within the academy……”
The academy operated fundamentally along two class divisions.

The Alpha Circle, comprising the noble mainstream, and the Beta Circle, comprising the common
folk.
“Well, that’s only relevant once you’ve passed the entrance examination, anyway.”
With that, Radoria brought the conversation to a close, and silence settled between them.
They began walking down a long corridor, Radoria leading the way while Dezir followed behind.
After perhaps ten minutes of walking, Radoria broke the silence, as though the quiet had begun to weary her.
“By the way, I forgot to ask—do you know what the Shadow World is?”
“I have some idea.”
Radoria’s eyes narrowed slightly, her expression skeptical.
“Are you sure you actually understand it? Make certain you do. Before you can enter the Shadow World, you must know everything about it perfectly. Even though it’s an examination version of the Shadow World, the realm itself is fundamentally a dangerous place.”
Dezir nodded at Radoria’s warning.
“Then Dezir, I’ll ask you a few questions to verify. Is that alright?”
She posed a question without preamble.
“What is the Shadow World?”
He could hardly claim ignorance.
Dezir cleared his throat and began his explanation.

The Shadow World.
It is the most catastrophic threat humanity has ever faced—a sort of parallel dimension that emerges on a yearly cycle. Like rooms placed on either side of an infinite corridor, countless parallel worlds exist, each with its own distinct cosmology.
Those cosmologies are echoes of the past. Depending on the world-setting that serves as the backdrop, the danger level varies enormously.
Some Shadow Worlds are mild, while others are extraordinarily perilous. The Mage Society has categorized Shadow Worlds into ten danger tiers, and based on these classifications, one can estimate the number of deaths within each Shadow World.
The most defining characteristic of the Shadow World is that it relentlessly encroaches upon our realm.
Encroached land becomes shrouded in black fog, and what becomes of that land remains unknown.
Only one thing is certain: no living creature has ever entered that land and returned alive.
In other words, it is a place where no living thing can survive.
And that is precisely why humanity must confront the Shadow World.

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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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