A Returner’s Magic Should Be Special - Chapter 3

Episode 3. The Returnee’s Entrance Exam (2)

It was a precise explanation.
The textbooks described it exactly this way.
Radoria held up two fingers.
“There are two organizations that manage the Shadow World. One is the Western Kingdom Alliance, and the other is our Hebrion Empire. We’re in direct opposition with each other. We compete to Clear the Shadow World and obtain Mana Stones. And you students will participate in the Shadow World competition as members of the Hebrion Academy side. Well, there are also things called Outers, but you don’t need to know about those.”
That was roughly the structure of it.
“And you do know what a ‘Clear’ in the Shadow World means, don’t you?”
She continued.
“Of course I know that much.”

The Shadow World is a kind of parallel dimension.
That is, events that occurred in the past repeat once more in the Shadow World.
In that process, the Shadow World constantly erodes the real world, and there is only one way to stop that erosion.
Complete the Quest.
Every Shadow World has an objective, and it takes the form of a Quest. When you Clear that Quest, the Shadow World is conquered.
The world moved for the sake of conquering the Shadow Worlds.
And at the forefront of that effort were always the Western Kingdom Alliance and the Hebrion Empire.

Radoria’s expression showed pleasant surprise.
“Not bad at all. Good, there shouldn’t be any problems at this level. I can proceed with confidence.”
As they exchanged conversation, they soon arrived at their destination—the Hebrion Academy Main Building. The ornate stone structure gleamed brightly in the light.
Radoria brought her Pad to the entrance of the building.

-Student Recognition Pass confirmed. Welcome, Radoria Dorice.

The doors opened with a mechanical chime, and they stepped inside the Main Building.
The first thing that caught their eye was a grand hall. The Main Building was extraordinarily lavish and remarkably spacious.
Hundreds of corridors branching out from the central hall were enough to draw gasps of admiration from anyone who saw them.
Countless people moved through those halls, filling the place with the murmur of their voices.
Dezir looked around. His eyes were full of longing.
“You don’t seem very surprised.”
When Dezir’s reaction was unexpectedly unremarkable despite what Radoria had thought would astonish him, she looked taken aback.
Dezir spoke as if it were nothing.
“Yes, I’ve seen a similar building before.”
To be precise, it was the same building.
They began climbing a set of stairs that twisted and wound in complicated patterns. The corridor was as labyrinthine as a maze, but Radoria led the way, cutting through the tangled passages with ease.
As they walked, Dezir encountered various people. Most of their faces were familiar to him. He was very pleased to see these recognizable faces, but he said nothing and quietly followed Radoria.
Just then, a tall man and a girl about Dezir’s age approached from the opposite direction.
Radoria’s steps came to a halt.
“Do you know them?”
Dezir asked.
“Yeah. Elheim—an absolutely insufferable guy.”
At Radoria’s answer, something vaguely came to mind for Dezir.
Elheim Triquinsi.
A fourth-Circle Water Attribute Magic user, he stood in perfect opposition to Radoria.
Not only were their magical affinities contrary, their personalities clashed as well, and they had a terrible relationship.
Dezir spoke without revealing that he knew anything.
“You seem to dislike him quite a bit.”
“Absolutely detest him. He’s just a pathetic water mage. Arrogant personality, irritating way of speaking. He’s like a cockroach.”
After a brief exchange, Radoria and Elheim found themselves facing each other.
He was a man with blue bob-cut hair, arrogant eyes, and a prominent nose.
“Well, well, Radoria. Just getting here now? Does a short person move slowly too?”
A mocking tone aimed at Radoria’s small stature.
“Still as insufferable as ever, Elheim. I have no idea where you learned such a grating way of speaking.”
Radoria fired back without losing her composure.
“That’s such typical talk from a lowborn Fire Attribute Mage.”
“It’s not even been a month since you lost to that crude flame magic of mine, and your mouth won’t stop running.”
To Radoria’s retort, Elheim shook his head slowly, as if disappointed.
“Do you not understand the difference between being defeated and being shown mercy? That’s precisely why you still have so far to go.”
Radoria laughed softly and replied.
“True enough. If that skill of yours was genuine, I’d honestly recommend you withdraw. Because frankly, there’s no hope for you whatsoever.”
Crackle!
As if sparks were flying between them before his very eyes, Dezir found himself stepping backward without thinking.
Radoria and Elheim drew closer to each other, facing off. The atmosphere turned hostile in an instant.
But recognizing that he couldn’t win in a war of words, Elheim shifted his target toward Dezir.
“So, are you this brat’s mentee?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“You have better manners than Radoria, which is refreshing. What’s your name?”
“Dezir Armang.”
“Hmm. Dezir Armang, you say. Let me see….”
Elheim pulled out his Pad and entered Dezir’s name.
Within seconds, information related to him began to appear.
After confirming the name, his gaze dropped lower. Scrolling through various personal details, the corners of Elheim’s mouth gradually curled upward.
“What’s this? A commoner? So you’ve been tasked with mentoring some worthless commoner—truly, you two are perfectly matched in level.”
Radoria’s face contorted.
Elheim gazed up into empty air and spoke.
“This is ridiculous. There’s no sport in any of this.”
“Wait, what do you mean by that?”
At Radoria’s question, Elheim’s expression turned incredulous.
“What? You haven’t even checked the team composition?”
He pulled out his own Pad as he spoke.
“We’re in the same group.”
The Pad displayed a roster.
Dezir and Radoria read it.

[Group D Roster]
Trevury TIgers
Romantica Eru
Azest Kingscroun
Dezir Armang

Just as Elheim had said, they were in the same group.
“I’m going to do everything in my power to eliminate your mentee.”
Elheim stared at Dezir with a contemptuous look, as if gazing at rotting fish, his pupils gleaming with savage intent.
Radoria responded without concern.
“Well, even if you target our group, there’s no guarantee we’ll be eliminated. We might just win instead.”
“That’s nonsense. Such a thing couldn’t possibly happen.”
Elheim’s voice rose sharply.
A kind of arrogant madness flickered in his eyes.
“My mentee is a Sword Mage.”
Radoria’s eyes widened significantly.
“You’re lying.”
Sword Mage.
It was a term referring to those who possessed talent in both magic and sword technique.
They were specialists who held superiority in both close-range and long-range combat.
Beings with such extraordinary talent were naturally rare—so rare that across the entire continent, they could be counted on one hand.
Elheim was claiming that such a being was his mentee.
Radoria found it nearly impossible to believe. Elheim addressed her doubt directly.
“If you find it hard to believe, verify it yourself.”
……
After hesitating briefly, Radoria pulled out her own Pad and, speaking to Elheim’s mentee who had been silent all this while, asked:
“What’s your name?”
“Azest Kingscroun.”
The tone was distinctly clipped and cold.
Radoria entered the name into her Pad.
The moment the information displayed, Radoria’s eyes began racing across the profile.

Azest Kingscroun
A Sword Mage who demonstrates exceptional talent with Ice Magic. A Third-Circle Mage, with Sword Technique proficiency reaching the level of a Fon-ranked swordsman.

“This can’t be……”
Radoria’s mouth fell open.
She’d harbored a small hope that Elheim might be exaggerating, but that was plainly not the case.
Elheim, secure in his victory, spoke with arrogant condescension.
“Where did that earlier confidence go, Radoria?”
Radoria had nothing left to say.
Elheim passed by Radoria, lost in thought. As he passed Dezir, he paused for a moment and spoke.
“Oh, and you. Let me offer you some advice……”
Elheim drew closer to Dezir. His eyes fixed on him with unmistakable superiority.
It was the gaze of a nobleman looking down upon a commoner.
“Even if you’re fortunate enough to pass, if you end up assigned to the Beta track anyway, you might as well not attend. Frankly, withdrawing from the entrance exam is the best choice you can make.”

* * *

-We will begin the entrance exam for Group D shortly! We are currently selecting the Shadow World for Group D to proceed through. Please wait a moment.

A dull mechanical voice echoed through the room.
Dezir stood at the center of the Waiting Room. Before him lay a Shadow Gate, designed with cutting-edge precision. The steel frame of the gate was densely inscribed with hundreds of Runes.
Centered around a Mana Stone embedded at its heart, thousands of Magic Circles were arranged in a synesthetic pattern—the gate itself resembled an exquisite work of art.
‘Was it like this before?’
An irritated voice pierced through toward Dezir, who had been peering about restlessly.
“Could you just stand still? Do you want us to be embarrassed?”
Dezir turned his head toward the voice.
Besides Dezir, three other students stood before the gate—his classmates for this exam.
Except for Azest, who silently polished her sword, the other two radiated openly hostile intent toward Dezir.
The one who’d spoken to him was a girl named Romantica.
Dezir knew of her.

Romantica Eru.
A Sixth-Circle Wind Attribute Mage who wielded Wordless Magic as her specialty, sweeping away enemies with devastating force.
Among Wind Attribute Mages, she ranked as a prodigy of considerable promise.
She possessed the talent to reach even greater heights, yet she would die before her time—a mage of tragic misfortune.

‘At this point, she should be Second-Circle.’
Dezir, unwilling to provoke his competitors unnecessarily, ignored their remarks and took a seat.
When Romantica failed to get the reaction she’d been subtly probing for, she spoke with spiteful venom.
“So it’s true—we have some rural commoner in our group.”
“What, we’re actually taking the exam with that kind of person?”
Trevury Tigers, a swordsman, stared at Dezir with open disgust.
But Dezir paid them no further attention.

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