A Returner’s Magic Should Be Special - Chapter 6

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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 6. A Returnee’s Entrance Exam (5)

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Acceleration Magic surged through him.
The speed was extraordinary.
Wind scraped across his skin as he tore forward.
Dezir Armang rocketed toward the finish line at tremendous velocity, tearing through obstacle-laden courses as though they were beneath his notice.
Whoosh!
His body hurtled closer to the finish with every heartbeat.
The landscape before him rushed near and receded in the same breath.
Azest, who had seemed a distant speck moments before, now resolved into human form as the distance closed.
Even as she pressed ahead, Azest’s sharp instincts began to register the shift behind her.
Her keen awareness found Dezir’s position and calculated his speed; simultaneously, her mind raced through the implications.
‘A First Circle mage reaching this point means he’s already defeated a Second Circle mage. Impossible to win through raw magical power—so either the Second Circle mage was worthless, or this First Circle mage is stronger than his Circle suggests.’
The latter seemed far more likely.
Because First Circle magic alone could never produce this kind of speed. Acceleration of that caliber required at minimum Third Circle magic.
Azest’s competitive fire ignited at the sight of this unforeseen development.
She weighed Dezir’s velocity against her own running speed.
The calculation finished in an instant.
‘At this rate, he’ll overtake me in less than a minute.’
Two options crystallized in her mind.
‘First: deploy Acceleration Magic myself.’
But her judgment came swift and harsh: impossible.
Acceleration Magic belonged to Second Circle physical attributes, technically speaking.
Yet matching his speed with such magic would require time to build momentum—she couldn’t start at his velocity. He’d overtake her before the acceleration even kicked in.
‘Then I have no choice but to eliminate him here.’
It was the option with the highest probability of success.
Between Azest’s decision and her action, there was almost no gap.
The magic formula materialized. Not a single preparatory motion—no raised hand, no wind-up. The spell array blazed into formation before her at blinding speed.
‘If a First Circle mage genuinely outmatched a Second Circle mage through sheer skill, then he likely surpassed him in Computational Ability.’
Ordinarily, higher Circles meant proportionally higher Computational Ability—such a victory should be impossible. Yet if a lower-Circle mage could defeat an upper-Circle one, it would have to be through superior computation.
And her deduction proved sound.
‘So then.’
Hundreds upon hundreds of Magic Formulas unfolded.
This was magic on an entirely different scale from anything Romantica had unleashed before. Vast Mana surged and flowed, birthing a beautiful resonance.
Brilliant radiance burst forth, and elegant geometric patterns arranged themselves in layers.
The accumulated Magic Formulas formed six hundred interlocking Circles.
Casting would take eight seconds to complete.
And Azest’s spell erupted into being!
‘If he excels at computation, I’ll overwhelm that computation with sheer quantity.’

[Burst Magic Arrow.]

Magic Arrow.
A spell anyone could cast, common as rain.
Ordinarily, First Circle in power.
But in Azest’s hands, it became something else entirely.
Six hundred of them.
The Magic Arrows stacked layer upon layer, threatening to fill the entire sky.
‘About fifteen seconds elapsed. Still—this should be more than enough.’
It was finished.
That was Azest’s final calculation.
‘Truly magnificent magic, Azest. To manifest so many spells in such a fleeting moment—you possess a truly extraordinary gift.’
The thought came from Dezir’s honest heart.
Azest’s talent was undeniable. In raw Mana alone, she rivaled a Fourth Circle mage.
‘With my current Mana reserves, it’s impossible to reverse-calculate every spell in this short a timeframe.’
But.
I don’t need to reverse-calculate all of them.
Dezir’s lips curved into a smile.
“You’re still underestimating me, Azest.”
Commencing Reverse Calculation.
Eyes closed, he felt the flow of magic coursing through the arena.
His thoughts accelerated tenfold, and Dezir tore apart Azest’s Magic Formula to analyze it.
“Albatross Linked Reversal: reverse-calculation of 180 subordinate magical clauses complete. Dnerva’s Burst Point Linkage Formula interpretation integrated with the Plidneria System. Analysis of 180 linked subordinate magical clauses finished. Control of 180 Magic Arrows acquired.”
Several of the Magic Arrows hanging in midair shifted to an alien color.
The maximum number of Magic Arrows Dezir could wrest from Azest was roughly two hundred.
The greatest quantity he could secure within the remaining time.
It was only a third of the total, but enough to create a decisive variable.
Azest’s brow furrowed as she realized she’d lost control over some of the spells she’d deployed.
‘The reverse-calculation speed is off the charts. That’s a sixth Circle or higher. If he had more time, there’s a real chance he’d seize the rest of my magic.’
Azest couldn’t afford to let this drag on any longer.
She raised her arms overhead, then swept them forward.
The gesture became a signal, and hundreds of magical arrows descended upon Dezir in a torrent.
Shriek!
A bone-chilling screech tore through the air.
The arrows formed a dense, wall-like formation.
Countless deployed magical projectiles bore down like a tsunami.
Neutralizing every arrow was impossible; instead, Dezir resolved to strike down only those most threatening to him. Besides, Magic Arrows themselves are first Circle magic—a few hits wouldn’t pose serious danger.
Magic Arrows themselves are first Circle magic. Even if a few strike true, they pose no real threat.
‘Deflect only the dangerous ones, whatever it takes.’
To do this, Dezir’s mind read the trajectory of every arrow.
He gauged the direction of each shot, the wind’s bearing, and Azest’s intentions, then calculated his defensive perimeter with precision.
Using the arrows under his control, he began deflecting only those coming straight at him.
Tick-tick!
The arrows, their trajectories subtly altered, sailed past him without finding their mark.
And within the vast wall of arrows, a small corridor opened up.
“Ugh! Grrgh!”
Crack! Snap!
But his defense was far from flawless.
Dezir felt a sharp, burning pain in his shoulder and waist.
His legs, struck repeatedly, felt as if they’d been torn away.
No matter how many he deflected, seven arrows found their mark.
As a result, Dezir’s speed dropped considerably.
When her anticipated outcome—Dezir’s elimination—failed to materialize, Azest couldn’t help but falter.
She’d been absolutely certain this barrage would be enough to eliminate him.
‘I can’t panic.’
Azest steadied her breathing.
Her thoughts were glacial and swift—judgments and inferences conducted on scales smaller than a millisecond crystallized in her mind, allowing her to parse cause and effect with surgical clarity.
‘He’s subtly warping the trajectories of the most threatening arrows, carving out a corridor for himself.’
Just as Dezir had read Azest’s Magic Formula, she now perceived his breakthrough strategy.
‘Why? Because the arrows are dispersed. So the solution is?’
Azest’s eyes swept rapidly across the arena.
Twenty-one Magic Arrows remained in the air—four under Dezir’s control, seventeen under hers.
The distance between them was now less than two hundred meters.
Dezir would overtake her in roughly five seconds.
Azest shifted her Mana flow.
‘Recalculate. Reduce the number of arrows; concentrate instead on maximizing power and accuracy at any cost.’
Whooooom!
The arrows resonate.
Seven of the remaining arrows rapidly decomposed and fused into the rest.
The ten arrows that remained blazed with brilliant light—power equivalent to a second Circle spell.
“Operational configuration altered.”
Then she transformed the arrows’ mechanism of action.
Magic descended upon Dezir once more, its momentum far more menacing than before.
Boom!
Now the arrows no longer flew in a scattered spray.
They chased one another in a perfect line, streaking directly toward Dezir’s face.
Like machine-gun fire hurtling through the air.
A pin-point method — every arrow converging on a single target.
All of them bore down on Dezir with lethal intent. If he failed to deflect even one, it was over.
The force behind them even exceeded the power of the Magic Arrows Dezir himself commanded.
‘She’s using her head.’
Whoosh!
Dezir fired every remaining arrow in his arsenal straight at Azest’s incoming volley.
Four of his arrows managed to neutralize only two of hers.
Azest had eight Magic Arrows left.
Yet Dezir felt no sense of defeat creeping in.
‘You’ve miscalculated.’
Dezir locked his gaze onto the incoming magical projectiles, eyes blazing.
At the same moment, his mind began its calculations anew.
“Reverse Calculation. Seizing control of four Magic Arrows from the front.”
Dezir could claim up to two hundred arrows.
But he deliberately left himself with buffer — he hadn’t seized all of them.
Whatever countermeasure Azest employed, he wanted the margin to neutralize it completely.
‘Concentrating firepower into a single pin-point strike — that was reckless. You should have decreased the power of each individual arrow, but multiplied the count instead.’
Had she done so, Dezir would have taken a few more hits like before and been eliminated with a death ruling.
By consolidating all her arrows into one unified trajectory, she had given him exactly what he needed — a way to neutralize every last one in a single stroke.
‘A few years from now, you would have made that choice.’
And through Azest’s decision, Dezir felt it crystallize once more in his mind: among all the Returnees, he alone had come back from the future.

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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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