SWRV70Je

1Volume 1
2A RETURNERS M AGIC SHOULD BE SPECIAL
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5Original Work By: Yook So-Nan (유소난)
6Please support the Author by purchasing the Official Release (KR Raws)
7Translated By: 100 White Salts Translations
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10Returner’s Magic - Volume 1
11Chapter 1. Prologue. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
12Chapter 2. The Returner’s Entrance Exam (1). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
13Chapter 3. The Returner’s Entrance Exam (2). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22
14Chapter 4. The Returner’s Entrance Exam (3). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31
15Chapter 5. The Returner’s Entrance Exam (4). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42
16Chapter 6. The Returner’s Entrance Exam (5). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .52
17Chapter 7. The Returner’s Entrance Exam (6). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .58
18Chapter 8. School Life! (1). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .68
19Chapter 9. School Life! (2). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .76
20Chapter 10. School Life (3). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
21Chapter 11. School Life (4). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
22Chapter 12. Little Bird (1). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
23Chapter 13. Little Bird (2). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
24Chapter 14. Little Bird (3). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
25Chapter 15. The Returner’s Promotion Battle (1). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .130
26Chapter 16. The Returner’s Promotion Battle (2). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .137
27Chapter 17. The Returner’s Promotion Battle (3). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .144
28Chapter 18. The Returner’s Promotion Battle (4). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .152
29Chapter 19. The Returner’s Promotion Battle (5). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .160
30Chapter 20. The Returner’s Promotion Battle (6). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
31Chapter 21. Showdown (1). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174
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35Chapter 22. Showdown (2). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .181
36Chapter 23. Showdown (3). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
37Chapter 24. Showdown (4). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
38Credits. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .205
39Afterword. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
40Disclaimer: This PDF contains both original artwork by our team and official
41artwork from the light novel. We don’t claim any ownership over this official
42artwork, but are adding it for the convenience of our readers.
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46Chapter 1 - Prologue
47It had once been a lively city. Yet, now its ruins were strewn before him,
48shattered to the point of no return. Prehenople, which had once been known as
49“the most beautiful city” for three generations, was now nothing more than a
50dismal shell of its former self.
51Desir took a deep breath and shifted his gaze towards the gargantuan figure in
52front of him.
53Meteor Rank, the Dragon of Destruction - Boromir Napolitan.
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60The massive Hellfire magic above Desir blazed like the sun. The dragon,
61Boromir Napolitan, glared menacingly at the 100 humans gathered before him.
62"Mere humans would DARE to stand against ME ?” The dragon’s deep voice
63bellowed toward them, capable of overwhelming others through its sheer
64power.
65Even then, not a single one of the people present lost their resolve.
66Desir spoke, his voice determined, “This is the end, Napolitan.”
67This place was the end of Hell, the end of his suffering within the Shadow
68Labyrinth. The Shadow World had presented humanity with this final
69labyrinth. Inside the labyrinth, Desir Arman had witnessed countless deaths,
70losing friends and loved ones, all in the hope of reaching this point.
71Friends with whom he had spent his school days, a classmate he’d had a crush
72on, and juniors who had tried their very best to follow him.
73While Desir was not familiar with every person in the Shadow Labyrinth, he
74was at the very least acquainted with them.
75The battlefield had claimed each and every one of their lives. Night after night,
76the Shadow Army poured forth endlessly. Day after day, untold scores of
77people died.
78Amidst the neverending slaughter, those lucky enough to survive would recite
79the names of the dead, and continue their struggle for survival. After 10 years
80of repeating this cycle of carnage, there were only 100 survivors remaining.
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84A single cry echoed from the group, renewing the fighting spirit of these few
85survivors. “We will slay you, here and now!” the lone voice roared. “Finally, we
86will put an end to this Hell!”
87Boromir Napolitan’s [Fire Breath] , which had once annihilated an entire
88civilization, marked the beginning of their final tribulation.
89It was a battle of epic proportions; truly an event which rivaled any previous
90legends of old. Hundreds of Draconic spells rained down upon them as the
91survivors fought back desperately. Prehenople was once the jewel of this
92desert. Now, its remnants were ravaged further by the dragon’s ceaseless
93barrage, returning the city to the sands from whence it came.
94The Earth was split asunder as the Heavens were torn apart. Defensive spells
95which had been boasted of as impenetrable, shattered like glass, and precious
96one-of-a-kind artifacts were destroyed as if they were no more than a child’s
97toy. Even those who had overcome innumerable life-or-death situations
98succumbed to the dragon’s overwhelming strength.
99As their battle dragged on, the survivors found themselves at an even greater
100disadvantage. Despite this bleak reality, no one wavered, no one gave up. They
101remained steadfast through sheer determination. They all knew that this was
102it, there was nowhere to fall back to if they failed here. If they could not slay
103the dragon before them, the world would come to an end.
104Therefore, they readily gave everything they had to defeat this powerful foe.
105Fueled by their sense of duty, they would fight to the last man. Perhaps it was
106this unyielding spirit which called forth a miracle.
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110In the heat of battle, Desir yelled out to his allies, “The analysis of the first
111spell, [Absolute Zero] , is complete. Attempting to block it using the Ilone
112System.” Desir shifted his weight to his left leg and dashed towards safety. “I'll
113be able to seal it in 8 minutes!”
114One of the frontliners let out a hope-filled cry, “The bone armor is completely
115destroyed! Focus on attacking its back!”
116“You maggots!” The dragon used its strongest spell, a spell powerful enough to
117be considered its final trump card.
118With the release of its spell, an enormous explosion blasted the surroundings.
119The burst of magic crashed down upon the ground, waves of energy billowing
120out like a tsunami. However, the force of the attack was significantly weaker
121than before.
122Finally, the once impregnable dragon had slowly been weakened. It was
123time—Desir knew it was now or never.
124“The analysis of the thirteenth spell is complete,” Desir’s voice rang out.
125“ [Solar Storm] is completely sealed!”
126“Incoming breath attack from the front! Mages!” Zod commanded, “Try your
127best to disperse it! Frontliners, retreat to a blind spot or to the side!”
128Like that, the dragon’s attacks were effectively blocked. At the same time,
129Desir analyzed the Dragonic magic patterns by the tens of thousands.
130One by one, all of the dragon’s powerful spells were sealed as the mages
131devised a defensive formula to stop any remaining attacks.
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135Slowly but surely, the dragon’s offensive abilities declined. Horrified, the
136dragon gave an anguished wail, “H-How could I lose to mere humans!?”
137“The analysis of the final magic pattern is complete!” Desir yelled hastily. “All
138of the Draconic spells are now sealed!”
139With a triumphant shout, Raphaello gave the command they’d all been
140yearning for. “Attackers to the front, slay the dragon!”
141“No!” Napolitan cried. “This can’t be happening!” He had looked down on the
142humans. Compared to him, they were dust to be blown away by a mere flap of
143his wings. Yet, against all odds, their spells had brought him to this helpless
144state.
145Finally— after so much sacrifice and loss, after a world’s worth of blood had
146been spilled— humanity stood on the cusp of victory.
147It took but a few moments longer.
148And then there it was: miserably, the Dragon of Destruction collapsed to the
149ground, defeated at last.
150With that, everything was over.
151Or so they thought…
152***
153As they realized they had won, relief washed over the survivors. Though they
154had emerged victorious, only six of them had survived the battle. With
155glee-filled expressions, they gawked at the dragon’s corpse sprawled out in
156front of them. They could barely believe it.
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160Memories of the past decade flashed through their minds. They had lived, day
161to day, with one foot in the grave at all times. They had overcome thousands of
162life-or-death situations and watched their close friends die one by one.
163Yet, through it all, they had managed to stay alive.
164Indeed, disbelief and shock tainted them all. “Are we finally able to leave this
165godforsaken place?” one of them asked in a daze.
166Around them, the landscape lay decimated with debris strewn about. Everyone
167collapsed (like puppets whose strings had been cut), their bodies landing on
168the wreckage at their feet. Exhaustion overwhelmed them.
169“Good work, everyone,” The Knight of Light, Raphaello, praised. “We actually
170did it; we’ve saved the world.”
171Donaif, a warrior of the northern savages, was covered from head to toe in
172gold jewelry. With halting speech, as he wasn’t familiar with the official
173language, he spoke, “But why isn’t there a pop-up?.... The clear message…. Was
174it not?.... This Shadow World’s objective….. to slay the dragon.”
175“Hm, I'm not sure either,” Raphaello said. “It’s usually the case that once the
176mission is cleared, we’re able to return to our own world immediately. But this
177place doesn’t seem to follow the normal rules of the Shadow World, so it’s
178difficult to say what could happen.” He considered for a moment. “ I think it’s
179best that we wait a bit.”
180The Great Sage Zod, wearing a blue hood and holding a staff, contemplated
181drearily. “Only six out of 150 million people survived. That’s a survival rate of
182about 0.000004 percent. What terrible odds.”
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186Hearing that, anger surged in the Pure White Saint Priscilla’s chest. “Stop
187doing useless calculations. They won’t bring back the dead.”
188Zod began to justify his previous statement, “After any incident, especially one
189like this,” his voice droned condescendingly. “It’s always important to organize
190things. Particularly, if over 99% of all mages on the entire continent are dead.”
191Desir Arman, who had been watching the Sage and the Saint bicker, decided to
192make it end. Interrupting the two, he said, “In any case, it doesn’t change the
193fact that we saved the world.”
194Just then, the reality of the situation slowly dawned on them. The survivors
195felt the muscles in their bodies loosen, their hearts relax. With that, they
196started to discuss the battle with each other.
197Amongst the discussion, the Spellsword of the Dawn, Ajest, sat away from the
198rest. She didn’t say a word but simply listened to their stories.
199“It would have been really hard if you weren’t here for us, Raphaello,” Priscilla
200said.
201Raphaello waved his hands in modesty. “No, no. As a Paladin, I just fulfilled
202my duty to protect everyone. Sir Desir played a bigger role than me.”
203Desir, who had been staring at the ground this entire time, looked up. As their
204eyes met, Raphaello smiled.
205“Right…” Donaif said. “This would have been impossible to clear… Without
206you, Desir.”
207Naturally, Donaif agreed; he had received help from Desir twice during their
208time in the Shadow World.
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212Zod, ever gloomy, spoke. “To be honest, I thought you would have been long
213dead by now.” He cast his gaze onto Desir, “Even if you had received help from
214artifacts, it’s difficult for me to believe that a 3rd circle mage could analyze
215Draconic magic and seal it. Even I, as a 7th circle mage, cannot succeed in the
216reverse analysis of Draconic magic like that. How come you’re only a 3rd circle
217mage with so much talent?” He narrowed his eyes. “ Is there any special
218reason?”
219Everyone stared at Desir, silence expanded between them.
220Finally, Desir spoke. “As a commoner, I never received a proper education. The
221Academy drew a line between nobles and commoners. Because of that, it
222became impossible for any of us to become stronger. We could have saved
223countless. Without such plain bigotry, we could have won long ago. With a lot
224less sacrifice.”
225“…That's too bad,” Zod said. “If only we’d had more people like you in the
226Tower of Magic, then your talent wouldn’t have been wasted for so long.”
227“Let’s stop talking about the boring past,” Raphaello said. With one hand, he
228covered his face from the sunlight and surveyed the survivors. “We’re the
229heroes who saved the world. When we return, we’ll certainly receive a grand
230welcome home. But after all of that, what will everyone do after we get back?”
231Donaif, who was now sitting across from Raphaello, spoke first. “I’m going to
232stop by… The homes of my fallen comrades… And return… Their belongings…
233To remember their honorable deaths… Forever.”
234The barbarian had hundreds of pieces of jewelry. Each piece had a different
235initial engraved on it, in remembrance of his fallen brethren from the North.
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239While Desir was lost in thought, Priscilla spoke up. "I'll be returning to the
240Western Kingdom to comfort the families of the deceased soldiers. I must take
241responsibility for their livelihood. For everyone that lost their lives here, I'll
242build a memorial tower or a shrine in their honor. I'm sure it'll make them
243happy.”
244“I’ll just continue my research, but I’ll shift my field of study to the Shadow
245World,” Zod said. “If another Shadow Labyrinth of this scale were to appear
246again, it would definitely be the end of the world. We don’t have the troops,
247the resources, nor the time to prepare again, so I’ll do my best to prevent
248recurrence of a Shadow Labyrinth.”
249As soon as Zod finished speaking, Raphaello looked at Ajest, who still hadn’t
250said a single word.
251“What will you be doing Lady Ajest?” He asked.
252Silence followed Raphaello’s question.
253With a blank expression, Ajest stared at Raphaello for some time and turned
254away.
255With an awkward smile, Raphaello’s gaze landed on Desir. “What about you,
256Sir Desir? I’m certain that you’ll be welcomed anywhere you go! You can go to
257the Western Kingdom, or our Kingdom, or even Sir Zod’s Tower of Magic. Or
258maybe you’re planning to return to Hebrion Academy?”
259Taking a moment to mull over the question, Desir began to speak. “I—”
260Without warning, a powerful surge of mana roared forth, setting the
261previously carefree survivors on edge.
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265“Did we miss something!?” Zod exclaimed.
266“W-Wait a minute!” Priscilla screamed. “Didn’t we clear this Shadow
267Labyrinth? I thought the objective was to slay the dragon!”
268Shocked, Donaif said, “Did we not… Completely kill… The dragon?”
269“That’s not possible!” Zod yelled. “I definitely confirmed its death!”
270Their cries of disbelief melded together into a swirling storm of confusion.
271While everyone continued to panic, Zod spoke up again in an unexpectedly low
272voice.
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276Chapter 2 - The Returner’s Entrance Exam (1)
277“The heart..?” Zod mumbled to himself.
278Confused by his ramblings, someone asked, “What do you mean by the heart?”
279“I read about it in a book many many years ago,” Zod said. “A dragon’s heart
280acts like an engine for magic—just like our mana circles. It’s an enormous
281magic engine that sucks in the surrounding mana.”
282Mana circles. Mana was absorbed into mana circles so that it could be
283controlled and used. This was elementary knowledge for a mage.
284Zod continued, “The dragon’s dead, which means there’s nothing controlling
285the mana accumulated inside its heart now. Since mana is very fluid, it’s
286continued to flow around, which has resulted in this ‘engine’ overheating. If
287this continues—”
288“I don’t understand what you’re saying!” Priscilla interrupted. “Say it in
289simpler terms!”
290Desir spoke up, reaching the conclusion quickly. “The overheating engine is
291about to explode.”
292“WHAAAT?!?!?” Priscilla shrieked in a shrill voice.
293A terrible rumbling arose from the body, punctuating Desir’s words. The
294uncontrollable mana overflowed, overwhelming everyone present, and causing
295their faces to turn deathly pale.
296“Why didn’t we know about this before we killed it?”
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300Zod’s usual empty eyes gleamed with despair. He spoke in a dead and
301monotonous voice, “...Because...this is the first time humanity has ever
302defeated a dragon.
303“An explosion caused by the pressure of the mana contained within the mana
304circle… This kind of phenomenon would be equivalent to 7th circle magic…
305“No, even that’s too low of an estimate. This amount of mana is beyond the
306reckoning of mortals. Also, if it’s pure mana rather than magic, it’s not
307something we can ‘hijack.’
308“...I think it’s time we prepared...”
309The looming inevitability cast a pall over the survivors, like a bitter, black
310cloud. It was as Zod said. A mana explosion of this scale was impossible to
311dodge, impossible to block.
312“I...I can’t believe it. The world is really...right now…” Raphaello turned to face
313the gathering mana-storm with a thousand-yard stare.
314“Our Father who art in heaven...” Priscilla’s quiet prayer was drowned out by
315the coming storm.
316Desir stood at the center of the group, his face strained with pain and despair.
317The disaster unfolded before him, and a hundred thoughts raced through his
318mind. The magic surged outward, but only one thought stood out.
319‘Is this the end?’
320He closed his eyes, as he felt the wicked wind slash across his face.
321That was his final memory.
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325Desir Arman opened his eyes, staring at his outstretched hand.
326‘Wait.’
327Something was amiss.
328‘Where am I?’
329Voices, chattering in excitement, filled the air. He lowered his hand and
330surveyed his surroundings. A massive chandelier, gilded with tens of
331sapphires, lit the room. Hundreds of students dressed in black uniforms sat at
332dozens of oak tables surrounding an antique stone shrine.
333As Desir glanced around in confusion, he realized, ‘...this looks familiar...’
334Looking down, there was a glass cup in front of him. A young boy, eerily
335familiar, stared back in confusion. He had deep black eyes and bright red lips.
336His face wasn’t quite handsome, but he had a bit of a childish charm to him.
337‘Wait, this is...’ Gone were the scar-covered cheeks and rugged skin. A fair,
338somewhat effeminate school-aged child greeted him. He was his adolescent
339self again.
340‘What’s going on...? I definitely died back there...’
341He sat, confusion and doubt racing through his mind, until a sudden ringing
342disrupted his thoughts.
343The ringing of a bell attracted everyone’s attention back to the front. A
344beautiful young woman dressed in a professor’s black uniform smiled as she
345ascended the stage. As the music ceased and chatter died down, the woman
346began speaking.
347“Pleased to meet you, applicants of Hebrion Academy. I am Professor Brigitte.”
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351Desir stared at the woman intensely. It should have been the first time Desir
352was seeing her face, but instead, she seemed strangely familiar.
353“I know that many of you have come to Hebrion Academy from many different
354countries. I sincerely thank every one of you for having made this long journey
355to attend our school.”
356She paused and drew a deep breath before continuing.
357“However, I regretfully inform you all that not everyone who has come here
358will be admitted to our academy. As is tradition, everyone will be required to
359take our entrance examination, the results of which will determine who is
360admitted. Only 600 of you will be admitted to Hebrion. We will be testing you,
361of course—”
362“By asking you to clear a Shadow World,” Desir muttered under his breath as
363Professor Brigitte spoke.
364“--by asking you to clear a Shadow World,” she said. “Do not be nervous; while
365this examination is similar to a real Shadow World, this one is not real. This
366Shadow World has been specially constructed for the purposes of this exam.
367For more details, I ask that you ask your mentors when you meet them.”
368Brigitte looked at the students with a serious expression.
369“Year 3613, the 172nd entrance examination will begin in 2 hours in the main
370hall of the Academy. In the meantime, please enjoy the banquet we have
371prepared for you. I will see everyone again soon.” Brigitte walked down from
372the platform as she finished her speech.
373The students collectively broke out in applause—all except for Desir who
374looked down in disbelief.
375‘Hebrion Academy entrance examination?’
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379Hebrion Academy was the top magic academy in the entire continent. Desir
380was an alumnus. He had graduated from Hebrion 10 years ago.
381Yet, now, somehow, he was again at the precipice of entering Hebrion
382Academy. His mind swirled with confusion. ‘If it’s 3613...’
383Then he had been flung 13 years into the past. The Shadow Labyrinth had
384appeared in the year Lowellius 3616, and he had lived in the hellish nightmare
385for 10 years, from 3616 to 3626.
386Desir closed his eyes as felt the enormity of it all. Conflicting emotions raced
387through his heart: pangs of guilt pierced through the happiness he felt for
388coming back to this point.
389An eternity of suffering and torture. The blood of his friends who died and the
390tears he shed. All of it was for nothing. They failed to save the world.
39110 years of suffering and 150 million dead— all for nothing. It was unavoidable,
392undeniably a disaster.
393And yet, somehow...
394Desir Arman had returned 13 years into the past from that doomed future. It
395was like a joke—a cruel, twisted joke.
396At first, Desir had simply thought that, perhaps, it had all been a dream; a
397particularly horrid nightmare that he had just awoken from. But the vivid
398memories were all too real. He couldn’t have called it a dream, with all the
399desperate fights and the vast array of magic knowledge he had gained buried
400in his mind. All these memories flowing through his head were far too realistic
401for a dream.
402"You're Desir Arman, aren't you?"
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406A young girl appeared in front of Desir, snapping him from his contemplation.
407She wore her red hair in a short bob, and, despite her short stature, her steely
408eyes gave off an aura of great confidence and will.
409“Nice to meet you!” she said cheerfully. “I’m Radoria Von Dorich, but you can
410call me Radoria. I’m a second-year student of Hebrion Academy, and I’ll be
411your mentor for the entrance examination today. I look forward to working
412with you!”
413“Ah, please look after me.” Even though his voice came out naturally, Desir felt
414an unnatural discomfort as he stared at Radoria.
415This was the same Radoria Von Dorich he had met in his past life. Radoria Von
416Dorich was a genius, a fire mage capable of 6th circle magic. She held the
417number 1 rank of her year for her entire time at Hebrion.
418“What are you thinking so much about?” she asked.
419“Oh, I’m feeling pretty nervous,” he answered.
420Radoria giggled. “There’s no need to get scared over the entrance exam. The
421Shadow World they use is specially made; it’s incomparable to a real Shadow
422World in difficulty.”
423“Is that so?”
424“It’s still an exam, though. Like, ‘can you really go fight against the Shadow
425Worlds?’ kinda thing.”
426Introductions more or less complete, Radoria started her preparations for the
427entrance exam. She flicked through her documents on Desir, and then paused
428and looked up. “Huh? You’re a commoner?”
429Desir replied in a lackadaisical manner as if the question was irrelevant. “Is
430there a problem?”
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434“Well, if you’re a commoner, you’re probably going to experience some
435hardship, I guess? Even if you pass, they’ll put you into the Beta class. They
436don’t really care for commoner half of Hebrion; they won’t give you a proper
437education there.”
438This unexpected return to the past made a crucial fact slip his mind. Despite
439being the foremost magic academy on the continent, Hebrion was harshly
440segregated into two halves: the nobles of Alpha class, and the commoners of
441Beta class.
442“Well, it’ll only matter if you pass your exam.” Radoria then lead Desir down a
443long corridor.
444After 10 minutes, as if the long silence had bothered her, Radoria spoke again.
445“Oh, I forgot to ask before. Do you know what a Shadow World is?”
446“More or less.”
447Radoria furrowed her brows in suspicion. “Do you really know though? To join
448the effort against the Shadow Worlds, you need to have perfect knowledge of
449what they are. Even if this is just an examination-specific Shadow World,
450Shadow Worlds are still inherently dangerous you know.”
451Desir simply nodded at Radoria’s explanation.
452She let out a small huff. “Alright, if you’re so confident then, why don’t I test
453you with a few questions?”
454“Okay.”
455“First question,” Radoria’s voice held a clear note of mockery. “What is a
456Shadow World?”
457Desir cleared his throat and began speaking:
458“Shadow Worlds.
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462“They occur each year, and they are the most dangerous phenomenon
463mankind has ever seen. Like an infinitely long corridor with countless rooms
464on each side; there are countless worlds, each with their own bizarre set of
465rules.
466“These worlds are a glimpse into the past, and each world has its own risks.
467While some Shadow Worlds are weak, others can be extremely dangerous. The
468Magic Society determines the power (and implicitly, the danger) of a Shadow
469World, and assigns it one of 10 classes. It’s usually possible to estimate the
470number of deaths likely to occur by knowing the class of a Shadow World.
471“Without a doubt, however, the most dangerous characteristic of a Shadow
472World is its potential for an ‘Encroachment’ event to occur. Encroached land is
473smothered in a thick, black fog, and it becomes impossible to know what’s
474happening inside. Only one thing is certain: no living being has ever entered
475encroached land and returned alive. It is simply a place where life cannot exist.
476“This is why humanity must fight against the Shadow Worlds.”
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480Chapter 3 - The Returner’s Entrance Exam (2)
481Desir had given a flawless explanation—his description sounded like it was
482straight from a textbook.
483Not to be outdone, Radoria held up two fingers. “There are two organizations
484that manage the Shadow World. The first is the Western Kingdom, and the
485second is our Hebrion Academy. The two are at odds—after all, both parties
486want the magic cores that come from the Shadow World. And, as students of
487Hebrion Academy, we naturally participate in the two-party race for magic
488cores... well, there are other factions, like the “outsiders,” but you don’t need to
489know about that.”
490Radoria continued, “And you know about ‘clearing’ the Shadow World, right?”
491“Of course—that’s common knowledge.” To Desir, describing the Shadow
492World was second nature, and so he went on to explain:
493“In a sense, the Shadow World was a universe that ran parallel to our own—the
494events that occured in the real world’s past would also eventually occur in the
495Shadow World. And during that process, the Shadow World would continually
496threaten to erode our world. There is only one way to stop that from
497happening:
498“The ‘Clearing.’
499“To put it simply, ‘clearing’ the Shadow World prevents it from encroaching
500upon our reality. If the event of a given Shadow World is based off of a past
501war in our world—the ‘background’—and the victory of that war consisted in
502demoralizing the enemy, then the ‘clearing’ would involve defeating the enemy
503in the exact same manner—this would be the Shadow World’s ‘objective.’ Every
504Shadow World has its own background and objective, and completing that
505objective ‘clears’ the Shadow World.
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509“The goal, then, is to clear all the Shadow Worlds that appear. And the two
510rival organizations, Western Kingdoms and Hebrion Academy, stand at the
511forefront of this movement.”
512Radoria wore an amused expression, “Not bad. I guess I don’t have to worry
513about explaining things to you.”
514As the pair talked, they arrived at their destination: an extravagant,
515awe-inducing structure shining under the sunlight, the main building of
516Hebrion Academy. Radoria flashed her ID at the entrance.
517| Student Identity Pass Confirmed. Welcome, 4th Circle Mage, Radoria Von
518Dorich.
519With an electronic voice, the door opened, and the pair stepped into the main
520building. They were greeted by a grand hall—the building’s enormous interior
521was just as splendid as its exterior. Countless students and faculty walked in
522and out of the innumerable corridors in the main hall, electrifying the
523atmosphere. Desir looked around the area, nostalgia gripping him.
524“You don’t look that surprised.” Radoria had expected more of a reaction out of
525Desir, so his nonchalant attitude sparked her curiosity.
526With a somewhat dismissive tone, Desir said, “Yeah, I’ve seen something
527similar in the past.”
528More accurately, he had seen this exact building.
529The pair began making their way up a winding staircase. Though the
530complicated layout of the corridors almost resembled a maze, Radoria
531confidently led the two through the various hallways. While following his
532companion, Desir passed by a number of people, most of whom he recognized.
533Their familiar faces warmed Desir’s heart, but he concealed his emotions and
534quietly walked behind Radoria.
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538Suddenly, a tall, handsome man and a girl who looked about the same age as
539Desir approached the pair. When Radoria saw them, she halted in her tracks.
540“Do you know them?” Desir asked.
541“Yeah. Elheim. He’s a real scumbag.”
542Desir remembered that name. Elheim. He was the polar opposite of Radoria.
543Elheim was a water-attribute mage, and Radoria was a fire-attribute mage.
544And like their magical elements, their personalities clashed violently.
545Obviously, they did not get along.
546Feigning ignorance, Desir commented, “You must really dislike that man.”
547“Oh, yeah. He’s one of those water-attribute mages,” Radoria said. “He’s real
548arrogant, too. And I hate the way he speaks. He’s like a damn cockroach.”
549After Desir and Radoria’s brief exchange, Elheim—a young man with blue,
550bobbed hair, with arrogant eyes and a stuck-up nose—walked up to Radoria.
551His voice laced with derision, Elheim commented, “Oi, Radoria. You just got
552here? I guess having short legs makes you walk slower, huh?”
553Without losing her composure, the young fire-attribute mage retorted, “Grow
554up, Elheim. Do you kiss your mother with that mouth?”
555Elheim scoffed in response, “Such crude speech. As expected of a crude
556fire-attribute mage.”
557“I’m surprised you have the balls to mouth off less than a month after getting
558trounced by this ‘crude fire-attribute mage.’” Radoria jeered.
559Elheim rolled his eyes. “You still can’t tell the difference between defeating
560someone, and them going easy on you? No wonder you have such a long way to
561go.”
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565Radoria sneered. “I sure hope you weren’t trying—if that was all you got, then
566you really should consider dropping out.”
567The tension in the air was potent. Desir could almost feel the sparks flying
568between the two bantering mages—he unconsciously took a step back. As
569Radoria and Elheim got more and more in each other’s faces, the mood
570gradually turned heavier and more strained.
571Finally, realizing that he wouldn’t win just through a contest of words, Elheim
572shifted his attention to Desir. “Are you this vulgar girl’s mentee?”
573“Yes, that is correct.” Desir answered respectfully.
574Surprised, Elheim said, “Well, you certainly have better manners than Radoria.
575What’s your name?”
576“Desir Arman.”
577“Hmm, Desir Arman. Let’s see…” Elheim took out his tablet and entered Desir’s
578name.
579In just a few seconds, all of Desir’s information appeared on the screen. As
580Elheim read the data, the corners of his mouth rising ever so slightly.
581“What’s this? He’s just a commoner?” Elheim smirked. “Well, I guess it fits that
582you’re mentoring a pathetic commoner.”
583Radoria scrunched her face.
584Elheim looked up to the ceiling with amusement. “Honestly. This contest won’t
585even be close.”
586“...Contest? What do you mean, ‘contest?’” Radoria asked.
587As if he had waited for the question, Elheim responded, “What? Did you not
588even check the group lists?”
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592He indifferently flipped his tablet toward Radoria. “We’re in the same group.”
593Desir and Radoria quickly read through the list of names:
594[D Group Members]
595Treveurie Tigus
596Romantica Eru
597Ajest Kingscrown
598Desir Arman
599Elheim stared at Desir with a condescending gaze—it was like he was looking
600at a rotten fish. “There’s no way your mentee will survive with this lineup.”
601Radoria spoke up, seemingly unperturbed. “I wonder about that. Even if you’re
602in our group, that doesn’t mean that we’ll fail. In fact, we just might win.”
603“Don’t make me laugh. You don’t even have a chance.” Then Elheim raised his
604voice, and declared with confidence: “MY mentee is a spellsword.”
605Radoria’s eyes widened in shock. “S-spellsword? You’re lying.”
606Spellsword.
607Those who were innately talented in both magic and swordsmanship. This title
608was reserved for geniuses blessed by the heavens. They were on a whole
609different level than the mages who simply used magic—it didn’t matter if
610combat occured at close or long-range. These specialists could fight on all
611fronts. And as to be expected, these exceptional talents only numbered in the
612single digits worldwide.
613And Elheim just said that his mentee was one of those single digits—an
614unrivalled genius. Radoria could not believe it.
615With a conceited facial expression, Elheim taunted his stunned rival. “You can
616check it if you don’t believe me.”
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620After a brief moment of hesitation, Radoria took out her tablet. She addressed
621Elheim’s mentee who had remained silent the entire time, “What’s your
622name?”
623“Ajest Kingscrown.” The girl spoke with a dour and ice-cold voice.
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630Radoria entered the name into the tablet. When the information popped up,
631Radoria quickly scanned the results.
632<Ajest Kingscrown>
633| Twin-attribute spellsword. Shows excellent talent with both ice—and
634lightning—attribute magic. 3rd circle mage. Swordsmanship exceeds the
635level of a pawn-rank swordsman.
636“My god…”
637Radoria’s jaw dropped. She thought Elheim had been bluffing—but here was
638the truth right in front of her eyes.
639With smug assurance, Elheim piped up, “Where did that fire from earlier go,
640Radoria?”
641Radoria, for once, was at a loss for words.
642The victorious water-attribute mage strolled past the dumbfounded woman.
643When he reached Desir, Elheim stopped for a brief moment.
644“Oh, and you. This is a warning.” He leaned in close to Desir’s face, glaring at
645the young man with an attitude of pompous superiority. It was a perfect
646example of a noble looking down upon a commoner. “Even if you’re lucky,
647you’ll just end up in Beta. Just give up on the entrance exams—that’s your best
648bet.”
649| The D Group’s Entrance Exam will soon begin! D Group’s Shadow World is
650currently being selected. Please wait.
651An electronic voice rang out. Desir stood in the middle of the waiting room—a
652Shadow Gate, boasting one of the most advanced designs, loomed in front of
653him. The steel outline of the gate was inscribed with hundreds of runes. With a
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657magic core in its center, thousands of synthesized magic circles decorated the
658face of the gate. It could almost pass as a work of art.
659‘Is this what it looked like?’ Desir leaned left and right while inspecting the gate.
660An annoyed voice spoke to him, “Could you just stand still? You’re
661embarrassing us.”
662Desir turned towards the voice. There were three other students with him, all
663of whom would also be taking the test. Two of them were giving off an
664unmistakable air of hostility toward Desir—Ajest, on the other hand, was
665silently cleaning her sword.
666The girl who had lectured Desir was named Romantica. She didn’t know Desir
667at all—but Desir knew all about her.
668Romantica Eru.
669She had been a 4th circle wind-attribute mage, known for defeating her
670enemies with her specialty: chantless magic. Hers was one of the more brilliant
671minds among all wind-attribute mages. With her talent, she could have risen
672much higher—had she not died an untimely death.
673‘But as of right now, she’s a 2nd circle, right?’ Not wanting to antagonize the
674competitors so early on, Desir decided to just apologize graciously, “Sorry,
675guys. It’s my first time seeing something amazing like this.”
676Romantica had hoped to get a rise out of Desir, but when he didn’t react the
677way she had hoped, she just sighed and said, “Now that I think about it, they
678did say there was a commoner hick in our group.”
679“What? We’re going to test with someone like that?” The swordsman,
680Treveurie Tigus, stared at Desir with disgust.
681But Desir had already stopped paying attention to them.
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685Chapter 4 - The Returner’s Entrance Exam (3)
686Romantica and Treveurie were relieved by Desir’s presence; a commoner
687couldn’t even be considered competition.
688“Since he’s a commoner, I doubt he’s even received a proper education.”
689Romantica remarked. “I won’t complain though, it just means one less
690opponent for me. I was a bit worried about the spellsword in our group, but
691him being here makes everything easier.”
692Treveurie chuckled in response, “Seeing what we’re up against, I think the real
693struggle will be between you and me. What do you think Romantica?”
694Romantica nodded. “You’re probably right; let’s have a good competition.”
695Both of them enthusiastically shook hands, treating the test as if it was a game
696between two friends. While Romantica and Treveurie continued to talk with
697one another, Desir and Ajest silently observed their surroundings.
698Besides their group, the loud waiting room was filled with the chattering of
699fellow students, all anticipating the start of their own exams. After some time,
700an announcement resounded.
701| The group entrance examination event has been decided. The following
702information present the event’s details.
703| Class 10 Shadow World: Ernste Plains Race
704| The condition for clearing this Shadow World is to be the first person to cross
705the finish line. The position of the finish line is 8 kilometers away from the
706starting point. The use of magic is permitted; therefore, attacks between
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710participants are also permitted. The Student Safety System has been activated
711for this exam, and pain will be suppressed by 80%. If a student wishes to
712forfeit at any time during the exam, they must simply verbally announce their
713resignation. Upon said verbal resignation, they will be expelled from the
714Shadow World. In the event of a fatal injury or attack, the receiving student
715will likewise be expelled from the Shadow World. Rankings from first to
716fourth place will be assessed at the end of the exam.
717Romantica and Treveurie perused the information regarding the Shadow
718World they would soon enter.
719“Man, I’m glad it’s just running,” Treveurie said. “I heard that Group 8 has to
720deal with trolls.”
721“It’s basically just a race isn’t it? Do we even have to fight each other?”
722Romantica asked.
723Desir and Ajest still waited in silence as they had been before the
724announcement, a bubble of empty space around them. Ajest sat down and
725swept down the length of her scabbard with her finger while Desir stood a
726away from the boisterous crowd, leisurely leaning against the wall. Soon, the
727dull mechanical voice of the announcement returned:
728| The gate will soon open. Participants, please line up in front of the gate in an
729orderly fashion, and be prepared to register yourselves.
730The participants in Group 0 lined up in front of the gate. Soon after, the gate
731opened, and a bright light shone through. As the students walked through the
732gate, they were completely engulfed within the light, and their figures
733disappeared without a trace.
734| Entering the Shadow World Ernste Plains Race.
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738Soon after entering the gate, Desir was transported into the artificial Shadow
739World. Checking his surroundings, he and the other three students stood in
740the middle of a large plain. The green grass and vibrant blue sky stretched
741before him. The flowers bloomed all around him, and an an enormous river
742ran through the middle of the field, giving this Shadow World the feeling of an
743idealistic Spring day. The warm air blew at his hair, and the sun kissed his skin
744with warmth. This place was the embodiment of serenity.
745| The race will start in three minutes. Participants, please stand behind the
746starting line.
747Hearing the announcement, Desir looked down at his feet, and sure enough,
748there was a starting line on the ground. The four of them got into their
749positions behind the starting line in the order of Group 0’s participant list.
750By pure chance, Desir and Ajest stood beside each other. Compared to his
751previously cool attitude, Desir felt extremely awkward standing so close to her.
752He was staring at Ajest with an inquisitive look, when her head suddenly
753snapped towards him, her eyes meeting his gaze.
754He greeted her with an awkward expression, unsure of what to say. “H-hi?” He
755mumbled nervously.
756Ajest didn’t react in the slightest. Her face remained expressionless, as if she
757was wearing a mask. Her gaze quickly swept over Desir with a dull look, and
758she turned away just as quickly as she’d turned towards him.
759As Desir lowered his eyes in embarrassment, he noticed an unusual, yet all too
760familiar, weapon at Ajest’s waist. It was a one-handed sword that seemed to be
761a mix between a broadsword and a two-handed longsword. As his gaze moved
762back up, a hundred shimmering golden hairs waved in the breeze before his
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766eyes. Seeing her face was as cold as it had been before, Desir thought that
767rather than coming off as bashful, she was more like the personification of a
768frigid blade.
769‘Come to think of it, was she like this back then, too?’
7706th circle ice attribute spellsword and holder of one of the strongest
771spellswords, the Queen-rank swordwoman— Ajest Zedga F. Kingscrown. She
772led the front line ahead of everyone. The Goddess of the Battlefield. And part
773of The Shadow Labyrinth expedition team and one of the last six people to die.
774Undoubtedly, she was a callous woman at that time.
775“You,” Ajest proclaimed.
776Desir’s heart jolted, and he needlessly cowered. Judging from the way
777participants continued to talk on the other side, it seemed that they couldn’t
778hear this conversation.
779“You’re weak,” she said.
780Although it was a very sudden personal attack, Desir answered casually. “I
781know.”
782“No, you don’t know.” She said in a way only Ajest could. “You’re weak. The
783lowest-rank spell level. Physical ability is below average. No matter how high
784you take it, class 6 Shadow Worlds are the limit.”
785He already knew all of this. So, of course, she’d have to point it all out.
786Their eyes met.
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793An odd current ran between Desir and Ajest, making the air around them
794extremely tense. Desir knew this atmosphere very well. It was a situation he
795had experienced several times in his previous life. It was like the calm before
796the storm. The twitching of gunpowder just before it burst.
797Desir tensed. ‘You want to fight me here right now?’
798“You can relax,” Ajest said. “I’m not thinking of attacking you like what the
799mentor said.”
800Desir raised his eyebrows, taken aback. “Why is that?” he asked.
801Ajest’s long eyelashes fluttered slightly in the wind. She shifted her attention
802and looked straight ahead, clearly stating that her business with him was over.
803Imperiously, she said, “I don’t have a hobby of attacking people as weak as
804you.”
805Desir smiled bitterly. That, too, was also very much like her.
806The sound of an alarm rang out.
807| The race starts in ten seconds. Participants, please prepare.
808Desir took a deep, steadying breath and then let it out slowly.
809| Race, start!
810The participants listed during the announcement surged forward at once. In
811this race, physical ability was paramount. So, it came as no surprise when
812Ajest Kingscrown and Treveurie Tigus immediately took the lead.
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816Of course, mages didn’t excel at such physical pursuits. As such, it also came as
817no surprise that Desir and Romantica were eating the dust from Ajest and
818Treveurie’s feet.
819With their physical prowess and swiftness, it didn’t even take five minutes for
820the difference between the two courses to emerge. Desir and Romantica lagged
821far behind. So far behind, the dust had already settled in front of them.
822Coincidentally, when it came to speed, there was hardly any difference
823between Desir and Romantica.
824“With all that pretending to be good,” Desir panted for breath. “This is what
825you are in the end.”
826Romantica scowled. “Why don’t you focus on the event?” She refused to let it
827be known that her pride was even a little bit wounded.
828“Even if I focus on the event,” Desir gasped. “At this rate. We both. Are going to
829be. Eliminated.” He took another big heave of air. “Is what I’m saying.”
830Romantica had nothing left to say. Because it was an accurate point. What was
831worse, she was already beginning to breathe roughly. At this rate, catching up
832was out of the question.
833“Well, you don’t look any better than I do,” she said.
834“Please,” he wheezed. “Just… shut up. Please.”
835Romantica glared at Desir like he was some sort of bad-luck charm, hoping
836he’d somehow magically disappear. But every time she looked back at him, he
837was still staring at her—and it made her more and more anxious.
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841She couldn’t take it. “Ugh!” ‘ This whole thing is annoying’ she thought. So she
842yelled at Desir. “Why the hell are you making that kind of annoying face?”
843“Well,” Desir quipped. “I just thought this wouldn’t be a big deal for a 2nd
844circle mage.”
845Romantica’s eyebrow twitched. He had just dismissed her skills… this
846commoner had just insulted her!
847‘THIS bastard has the nerve!?!?’ Romantica’s chest burst with fury.
848“FINE,” she exclaimed. “You asked for it. I was waiting for just the right
849moment.” Romantica thrust her arms in front of her, and the wind’s current
850began to subtly shift. “Open your eyes and take a good look. A commoner like
851you will never reach the level of a 2nd circle mage.”
852Romantica released her magic power, and concentrated on the forest far ahead
853of them.
854A high-speed incantation rushed from her mouth:
855[ Sweep the Air! ]
856Her spell manifested itself and shot in the direction of the forest—towards
857where Treveurie Tigus and Ajest Kingscrown competed against each other.
858***
859‘At this rate, isn’t this an easy victory?’ The Pawn-rank swordsman, Treveurie
860Tigus, had already convinced himself that he had won. After all, the figures of
861Romantica and Desir had long since disappeared behind them, and the gap
862wouldn’t diminish unless he decided to take a nap.
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866The corners of his mouth curled upwards. ‘Those guys back there are mages.
867We’re clearly superior when it comes to physical ability. This exam favored us,
868swordsmen, from the start.’
869Treveurie looked towards Ajest, who was keeping pace with him. Her ability
870surprised him—he had risen to join the elite group of Pawn-rank swordsmen,
871who his peers called “geniuses.” He was confident that, among those of his age,
872there were only a few other people faster than him.
873‘I didn’t think I would find someone on my level.’ Treveurie chastised himself for
874slightly underestimating his opponent.
875Treveurie looked back, wondering where the rest of the participants were
876located.
877Right at that moment, the wind’s direction changed and whooshed passed his
878face, the sound roaring in his ears.
879An extremely powerful gale tore through the azure sky. The trees in the forest
880buckled and shrieked under the force of the wind.
881“Wa-wait!” Treveurie yelled.
882The wind’s overwhelming force pressured him back. He quickly drew his
883sword and stabbed it into the ground before he could be blown away—the
884sheer force of the wind felt like it would tear Treveurie’s limbs from his body.
885‘It can’t be… magic? But with this power—it has to be Romantica!’ It took all of
886Treveurie’s strength to hang on for dear life.
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890‘My armor weighs nearly 100 kilograms. You can’t send me flying. If I just keep a
891firm grip on my sword, I’m not going anywhere!’
892But he still had to use all of his strength to struggle against the wind. He used
893every trick he knew in order to endure for even a bit longer. And then, finally,
894while straining against the never-ending wind, the swordsman found his
895footing. He shook off the initial embarrassment and started to think through
896the current predicament.
897Treveurie had been correct. It would be impossible to send him flying. If
898Romantica had intended on sending him flying with wind pressure alone, she
899would definitely have failed.
900‘What were you hoping to do to me with this pathetic level of magic?’ Treveurie
901smirked. ‘This lousy spell is unbecoming of a 2nd circle mage.’ He lifted his head
902and looked ahead with renewed determination.
903But what he saw made his eyes widen.
904“Wha—what is that!”
905Ajest, the lead runner, had advanced even further. She had drawn her sword
906from its scabbard and pressed on, slashing the gale in front of her as she
907moved. Her movements—swift but almost desperate—made it seem like she
908was trying to blast through that area as quickly as possible.
909The sight of Ajest piercing through the typhoon-like wind amazed Treveurie.
910The swordswoman sliced through the wind as if it was cloth. She certainly
911deserved his respect.
912But the swordsman couldn’t figure out why Ajest was trying so hard. “Why?
913You’re just gonna get tired... it would be much better to go after the wind—”
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917His attention was forced towards the massive trees in front of him, swaying
918precariously in the wind—the roots of the trees didn’t seem particularly deep,
919and as the fierce wind blew, they quivered ominously.
920“Wa-wait!”
921With a deafening roar, a tree was ripped out at its roots.
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925Chapter 5 - The Returner’s Entrance Exam (4)
926“They were aiming for this from the start...!” Treveurie looked around,
927desperately searching, to no avail, for a solution. Ajest was already long gone.
928A terrible sound of wood twisting and tearing filled his ears as the trees in the
929forest were ripped out by their roots. Clumps of dirt flew about in every
930direction as the massive trees began swirling about in the wind. To his rage
931and horror, Treveurie was right in their path.
932“Fuck!”
933A terrifying, flying forest filled Treveurie’s eyes. Worse, he had no doubt that
934the moment he let go of his sword to dodge them, he would get swept up by the
935magic currents as well.
936He cursed at the top of his lungs. “Damn you! ROMANTICAAAA-!”
937His voice was abruptly cut off and a heavy slam echoed through the forest.
938| Treveurie Tigus has been struck with lethal force and has been eliminated
939from the Shadow World. There are three participants remaining.
940The announcement rang out across the once-forested wasteland. Romantica
941looked across the space with a smug expression. “Hmm, seems like the
942spellsword survived. How unfortunate.”
943She turned to Desir, her every word bursting with pride. “Now, this is the
944power of a 2nd circle mage. Feeling honored yet?”
945Desir smiled back at Romantica, and said, “It was definitely quite creative, that
946the true attack wasn’t the wind itself, but the flying trees. The accuracy left
947something to be desired, but the power was quite high.”
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951Romantica smiled, seemingly pleased with the compliment. She spoke with
952pride in her voice. “Now it’s your turn.”
953“My turn?” Desir asked, his voice tinged with confusion.
954Hands on her hips, Romantica explained, “Your turn to be eliminated. It is a
955competition after all. It’s always better to take out the other competitors. But
956since I’m so nice, I’ll bestow some mercy upon you, Mr. Commoner... I’ll give
957you the chance to resign. There’s no need for you to suffer, is there?”
958As she spoke, Romantica snuck a gleeful glance at Desir’s face. Any normal
959human would’ve shown a response; but, strangely, it appeared as if Desir
960wasn’t at all intimidated by the overwhelming difference in power.
961“Sorry, but I refuse.” he said calmly. His voice was strangely relaxed.
962Romantica’s mood soured. There was no mistaking it: he was looking down on
963her.
964“Hmpf. Have it your way.” She responded, her tone filled with contempt.
965“Don’t blame me if this hurts: remember, I gave you a chance.”
966Romantica held out her hands towards Desir as her magic filled the air. Dozens
967of magic circles filled with different shapes and dizzying magic formulas
968erupted around her. The wind in front of her began spinning into a circular
969shape as the flow of mana seized control of the very atmosphere. A violent gale
970whipped towards Desir. Romantica had put just as much power as her previous
971spell into this new one. She shouted over the noise, “They just said you can’t
972die in this entrance exam Shadow World, right? Well, I’m casting my magic for
973real now, so just try your best to endure it.”
974[Wind Strike!]
9752nd circle attack spell: Wind Strike. It compressed the wind into a bullet and
976shot it towards the target area, where it would explode and devastate the
977target. The bullet was strong enough to easily pulverize a boulder. Romantica
978pointed it straight at Desir.
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982Dirt flew into the air, clouding his vision as the bullet raced towards him.
983Romantica’s hair billowed behind her as the shockwave reached back to her.
984Romantica felt a smile tugging at her lips. She’d won, clearly. “This is a 2nd
985circle spell at point blank range. Even if you were an entire level higher than
986me, you wouldn’t be able to block this.”
987Her satisfaction quickly turned to shock as she heard the unmistakable sound
988of footsteps behind her. She whipped around and her jaw fell in astonishment.
989Desir had somehow emerged, nearly unscathed, out of that thick cloud of dust,
990and was running straight at her. “Wa, wait..!”
991She could hardly find the words to speak in her shock. Meanwhile, as if totally
992oblivious, Desir was calmly speaking under his breath, to nobody in particular,
993“Shooting straight after the compression...seems like you sacrificed finer
994control over the magic bullet for more overall power. Well, this, and the one
995from before both aren’t too shabby for a 2nd circle mage.”
996‘For a 2nd circle? Did I mishear this guy? What in the world is he muttering about?’
997Confusion coursed through Romantica’s mind.
998Desir continued, “But because you prioritized speed so much, you lost too
999much control over the air currents. The accuracy falls far too much if you do
1000that. I only altered the trajectory a tiny bit, and it missed me completely.”
1001As Desir continued mumbling, Romantica finally came to her senses. She
1002asked, with a deflated expression on her face, “You, you, what did you just do?”
1003Her head was completely blank. She couldn’t, for the life of her, comprehend
1004what had just happened.
1005“Magic Hijack.”
1006“What?”
1007“I hijacked your spell.”
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1011‘My spell was hijacked? By a commoner, at that?’ Romantica narrowed her eyes in
1012fury and screamed, “Don’t screw with me!”
1013As Romantica ground her pace down to a halt, she spun around, arranging
1014bright, shining magic formulas in front of herself. “I can’t lose to the likes of
1015you! You can’t be anything more than a 1st circle!” she screamed.
1016Magic formulas formed again. That terrifyingly powerful magic was beginning
1017to assemble itself once more. The wind proceeded to pick up and soon enough
1018it was raging around all of them. As the spell formed, the noise that was
1019brought forth resembled a swirling wind.
1020[Wind Venom!]
1021Wind Venom, a 2nd circle attack spell. It was the strongest single-target attack
1022spell Romantica could cast. A long and chain-shaped wind which was
1023recognizably sharper than an edge of a blade had shot out of her hands.
1024Almost languidly, Desir spoke. “Watch and learn closely this time.” He waved
1025his hands around lazily as he saw the spell flying towards him.
1026At that moment, Romantica felt the air currents slipping out of her control.
1027She was surprised, but that was it. The few currents she’d lost control over
1028were nothing compared to the whole. “I’ll admit, it’s incredible that you can
1029disrupt my mana considering you’re nothing but a 1st circle mage. But isn’t
1030that still pointless?” she asked.
1031“Watch closely. If I take these points in these air currents you’ve formed and
1032give them a slight push……”
1033The currents had only slightly twisted yet it had created devastating after
1034effects.
1035A terrible shockwave was discharged in the wind.
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1039The air twisted and the winds’ trajectory was torn apart. Her magic wasn’t
1040even able to touch Desir instead plunging into the ground harmlessly.
1041“Impossible!” Romantica paled as she saw her magic get canceled out right in
1042front of her eyes. Her magic had contained several hundred times more mana
1043than the small amount he had to pay to analyze it.
1044This was the difference in skill. Desir had outclassed Romantica purely in
1045magic skill. She’d pretty much lost already.
1046Desir spoke again. “I’d like to end things here and now. I have someone I
1047absolutely want to defeat even more than you.” Desir started picking up speed
1048as he ran towards Romantica.
1049Romantica came to her senses as she saw him rapidly approaching. “You...you
1050still can’t win against me!” she desperately shouted as she shuddered. “You
1051can’t use magic after all, can you? But I can! I can still bring you down as long
1052as I keep attacking you!” This was her last hope. It wasn’t over just yet.
1053Desir smiled as she uttered that sentence. “Romantica, there’s three things you
1054missed.” Desir raised three fingers. He continued as he lowered one finger,
1055“First, I may be helplessly weak, but I can still use magic.”
1056Magic formulas appeared in front of him one by one. His magic may be dreary
1057and impure just like his unstable mana circle but it was definitely still magic.
1058Desir lowered a second finger. “Second, your target wasn’t even me from the
1059start.”
1060As soon as the magic activated, the completed magic formulas appeared right
1061in front of their eyes. Desir began chanting.
1062[Sled on ice.] [The power to slide forward endlessly.]
1063[Grease.]
10641st circle physical type spell, Grease.
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1068It simply removed friction and was one of the simplest, most basic spells. The
1069mana cost implicated with activating such a spell was so insignificant that
1070even a 1st circle mage like Desir could easily use it without worrying about his
1071mana count.
1072“Damn it!” Romantica cursed. This was his plan all along! If she fell down here,
1073she would definitely fall behind. Romantica instantly lowered her center of
1074gravity in a desperate attempt to avoid slipping.
1075‘It’s…… not slippery?’ To her surprise, nothing happened.
1076Desir lowered the third finger. “Third, it seems you forgot, but this Shadow
1077World isn’t a magic competition, but a race.”
1078At that moment, he cast another spell.
1079[Fireball.]
10801st circle attack spell.
1081A simple, basic spell that created a ball of flame in front of the caster.
1082‘No way! He’s capable of multi-casting?” Romantica was in shock. Multi-casting
1083was only supposed to be possible for top-class mages. Casting two spells at the
1084same time required acute concentration and calculation ability. “Incredible.
1085But that’s all there is to it. You won’t be able to take me down with the likes of
1086a Fireball, you do know that right?”
1087As Romantica looked at him with a bewildered expression, Desir asked her,
1088“Here’s a question, Romantica. Where did I use my first spell, ‘Grease’?”
1089“......”
1090Desir answered rhetorically, “The answer is: myself and as a result, my body is
1091completely frictionless now.”
1092Romantica didn’t get it. She asked, dumbfounded, “So what?”
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1096Desir shook his head. “Romantica, you learned about the law of action and
1097reaction, right?”
1098“Of course!”
1099Romantica exclaimed. It was a very simple law, at that. If you push something,
1100you get pushed back. A simple concept.
1101“If someone pushed me from behind, what would happen to me?” Desir asked.
1102“You’d get pushed forward, of course.”
1103“Then what if someone shoves me with significant force from behind? For
1104example, an impact as strong as a bomb?”
1105Romantica turned her gaze towards Desir. She noticed a Fireball as big as a
1106basketball flaming next to him. “You, you gotta be kidding me……”
1107As she stammered in disbelief, Desir nodded and said calmly, “I’m going to use
1108the force generated by the Fireball.”
1109“You’re insane!” Romantica swore despite herself. What sort of idiotic and
1110unreasonable idea was this!
1111“Calculating my bodily reaction to the Fireball’s explosive force, my maximum
1112speed will reach a peak of about 327 kilometers per hour. It'll be a piece of cake
1113to catch up to Ajest all the way at the front, considering the likeliness of
1114maintaining this speed until the end.”
1115Romantica’s face was visibly paling as she stammered out, “There’s no way
1116you’ll be safe like that! No, if you hit something at that speed, you’ll die long
1117before you can react to it!”
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1121Desir answered with the same overwhelming calm he had shown the whole
1122time. “But Romantica, you said yourself just a moment ago.” He laughed softly,
1123as he continued, “We can’t die in this Shadow World, so we are free to use all
1124our power. That goes for me as well.”
1125Romantica’s eyes opened wide.
1126Suddenly, Desir’s Fireball exploded.
1127Accompanying the loud sound of the explosion was Desir who got instantly
1128propelled forward. He was so fast that getting a glimpse of him was tough.
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1135Romantica was the only one left now.
1136As Desir disappeared from view, she stopped running. She had realized
1137running was utterly meaningless at this point. “What……” Romantica looked in
1138the direction Desir had been launched to and muttered to herself in the
1139desolate calm, “Where in the world did that lunatic pop out from?”
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1143Chapter 6 - The Returner’s Entrance Exam (5)
1144Accelerating.
1145Moving at an extreme speed.
1146The wind whipping past his skin.
1147Desir was blazing forward at incredible speed. He rocketed through the course,
1148deftly avoiding all the obstacles in his way.
1149As the various environments of the Shadow World flashed in and out of view,
1150Desir approached the finish line at breakneck speed. Ajest, who’d looked as
1151small as a dot before, slowly came into view.
1152Even with her tremendous lead, Ajest had kept her wits about her. With her
1153sharp instincts, she had already sensed Desir’s location, estimated his speed,
1154and quickly evaluated the state of affairs. ‘The fact that the 1st circle mage came
1155this far means that he must have already defeated the 2nd circle mage. It should have
1156been impossible for him to win with magic power, so that leaves two possibilities:
1157either the 2nd circle mage is worthless, or the 1st circle mage is more powerful than
1158the average for his circle.’
1159The latter seemed much more likely—no one could generate that amount of
1160momentum with mere 1st circle magic. This level of acceleration required 3rd
1161circle magic at the very least.
1162This situation completely defied common sense.
1163While looking back at Desir—the source of Ajest’s vexation—her chest started
1164burning with curiosity and a competitive fire. In an instant, she calculated and
1165compared Desir’s speed against her own. ‘At this rate, he’ll surpass me in less
1166than a minute.’
1167She weighed two potential solutions: ‘First, use acceleration magic on myself as
1168well.’
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1172But she immediately discarded that idea. Even though acceleration magic was
1173a 2nd circle physical-type magic, she would need too much time to reach
1174Desir’s velocity. After all, the gap between their current speed was
1175insurmountable—even with the help of magic, Desir would definitely overtake
1176her before she could accelerate enough.
1177‘That means I have to eliminate him right here.’
1178That was the better plan, and Ajest didn’t hesitate for even a moment before
1179executing it. Magic power emanated from the spellsword, and several magic
1180formulas arranged themselves in front of her in the blink of an eye—and she
1181hadn’t even held her hands out. ‘If a 1st circle defeated a 2nd circle in skill, he
1182most likely did it through analysis.’
1183Normally, a mage’s ability to analyze an opponent’s spells rose with his or her
1184circle, so that scenario wouldn’t normally happen. But the only possible way
1185for a lower-circle mage to defeat an enemy of a higher circle was through
1186analysis. Of course, though she didn’t know it, her conclusion was spot-on. ‘If
1187that’s the case...’
1188[I release a cry of sorrow toward my enemies.]
1189[I am the spirit of water. The strongest shield, and the strongest sword.]
1190Hundreds of magic formulas—her magic was on an entirely different level
1191from Romantica’s spell. A beautiful melody rang out in the vast flow of magic
1192power, and six hundred magic circles took shape in the air.
1193[This body is an ocean. Unshaking before countless trespassers. A shower of
1194raindrops.]
1195[I am a wall of flame. The greatest wave, rains of falling flame.]
1196It only took Ajest Kingscrown eight seconds to cast her array of magic. ‘If your
1197analysis ability is great, then I’ll make my spells even greater.’
1198[Prey of Magic Arrow.]
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1202Magic Arrow. It was a spell almost anyone could use—after all, it was only 1st
1203circle-level magic. But the magic that Ajest wielded was another story: she had
1204manifested at least 600 arrows, and they filled the sky above the spellsword.
1205‘I used about 15 seconds. But this should be enough.’ This attack would end it: that
1206was Ajest’s conclusion.
1207Desir gaped at the number of magic arrows poised to strike him down.
1208‘Amazing. As expected of you, Ajest. Casting so many spells in this short period, you
1209truly possess an incredible talent.’ That was his honest opinion; no one could
1210question Ajest’s skill. Her sheer number of arrows could match the power of a
12114th circle mage.
1212‘It’s impossible to hijack so many spells in this short time.’ But Desir knew that
1213there was no need to hijack them all. A playful smirk danced on his mouth.
1214“You’re still looking down on me, Ajest.”
1215[Commence analysis.]
1216Desir closed his eyes and felt the flow of the mana surrounding him. Desir’s
1217thoughts accelerated dozens of times over as he categorized and analyzed
1218Ajest’s magic formulas. “Albatross’s Embrace, analyzing 180 linked lower
1219magic runes. Complete. Translating Dnerva’s power dampening formula
1220interconnected with the Flidneria system. Hijacking 180 linked lower magic
1221runes. Complete.”
1222A significant amount of the Magic Arrows floating in the air changed color.
1223With the time he had, the maximum number of Magic Arrows Desir could
1224hijack from Ajest was around 200—but even though that was only a third of
1225the sum total, that number was more than enough.
1226Ajest frowned, realizing she’d lost control over some of her magic. ‘His analysis
1227speed is abnormally high… at the level of a 6th circle mage, at least. It’s highly
1228probable that he’ll hijack the rest if given enough time.’
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1232Ajest had no more time to spare. She raised her arms upward, then pointed
1233forward—and at her signal, hundreds of Magic Arrows showered towards
1234Desir.
1235The terrifying sound of hundreds of shrieking arrows echoed through the
1236Shadow World. Ajest’s magical formation created what looked like a tidal
1237wave, threatening to drown its adversary. But Desir stood resolutely in the
1238wave’s center, and yelled, “Trajectory adjustment!”
1239It was impossible to nullify every single arrow, so Desir decided to knock away
1240only the most dangerous ones instead. Magic Arrow was still only a 1st circle
1241spell, so one or two of them didn’t pose much of a threat. ‘At the very least, I’ll
1242deflect the most dangerous arrows.’
1243Desir read the velocity of the arrows, the wind, and Ajest’s intentions—and
1244taking all that data, he deduced where each hostile arrow would land. Then he
1245used the arrows he’d taken control over to knock away the lethal ones.
1246Their flight subtly diverted, a number of arrows simply flew past Desir. In this
1247way, he created a path for himself through the gigantic hail of arrows.
1248“Ugh…” But his plan wasn’t flawless.
1249Sharp pain pulsed through Desir’s arms, shoulders, and legs, as stray arrows
1250managed to land a hit on the mage. Even with his best effort, a few arrows still
1251made it past his defense—and the pain slowed Desir down significantly.
1252Ajest was dumbfounded—she had failed to eliminate this measly 1st circle
1253mage. She expected her attack to swiftly eliminate Desir, but… how was he still
1254alive?
1255‘I can’t afford to panic.’ Ajest calmed her breath and gathered her thoughts,
1256returning herself to a state cool-headedness. Once she had gotten rid of her
1257panicked emotions, she calmly read the situation in front of her—and the
1258whole process took her less than a second. ‘He’s making a path by altering the
1259trajectories of the most dangerous arrows.’
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1263Just like Desir had read her magic formulas, Ajest read through his plan. ‘The
1264reason? The arrows were destroyed. The solution?...’
1265Ajest’s eyes shot back and forth. 21 Magic Arrows remained in the air. Desir
1266had four, she had 17. And there were less than 200 meters left between
1267them—he would overtake her within five seconds.
1268Ajest manipulated her mana. ‘Change calculation. Lower the number of arrows,
1269prioritize power and accuracy.’
1270The arrows resonated with her overwhelming magic power. Seven of her
1271remaining 17 arrows lost their form and fused with the rest. Now
1272strengthened, a searing light beamed from the remaining 10 arrows. Each
1273arrow’s individual power was comparable to a 2nd circle spell.
1274Then she adapted her pattern of attack: “Changing operation method.”
1275The arrows repositioned in the air as if waiting for their commander’s signal.
1276They lined up, head to tail, and arced towards Desir in a single file—much like
1277machine gun fire concentrating on a single point. This time, the arrows hit
1278with much more force than before.
1279With the new arrow formation, Desir knew that if he failed to knock even one
1280of them away, it would be the end. Their power far exceeded the Magic Arrows
1281Desir controlled. ‘She’s using her head.’
1282Desir shot all of his arrows forward to intercept Ajest’s attack. Using four
1283arrows, he was able to nullify two of hers. But Ajest still had eight Magic
1284Arrows left.
1285However, Desir still had no intention of losing. ‘You used your head… but you
1286came up with the wrong answer.’
1287Desir gazed at the incoming arrows, as he began running through more mental
1288calculations. “Hijack. Acquired control of four Magic Arrows.”
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1292Desir had the capacity to hijack up to 200 arrows before—he’d intentionally
1293left some leeway at the start, not using up all 200. This was his buffer room, so
1294he could negate anything Ajest threw at him.
1295‘Deciding to concentrate every arrow onto the same point was too reckless. You
1296should have doubled down on your strategy and increased the number of arrows,
1297even if the power took a hit.’ If she had done so, Desir would have been
1298skewered, judged dead, and disqualified. But thanks to Ajest gathering all the
1299arrows into one spot, Desir could wipe them all out in one fell swoop.
1300‘If this was a few years later, you would have found the right answer.’ Judging from
1301Ajest’s tactic, Desir confirmed once more that he was the only one who had
1302returned from the future.
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1306Chapter 7 - The Returner’s Entrance Exam (6)
1307The possibility that Ajest had also returned to the past—that the spellsword
1308was facing a similar situation to his—had crossed Desir’s mind.
1309If that had happened, hypothetically, the Ajest he knew would have shrewdly
1310hidden that fact from others and played along as the 'present' her. Desir sought
1311to find out the truth through their battle.
1312And now, he had confirmed that this Ajest had not come from the future.
1313This Ajest was very young. Her prowess in magical warfare, her ability to form
1314counterattacks—she was strong, but her abilities and experience were
1315incomparable to the Ajest he knew.
1316Desir hijacked the Magic Arrow in front of Ajest’s massive assault. “Trajectory
1317adjustment!”
1318Desir turned his arrow around to collide with the next one in line—and each
1319one of Ajest’s lethal arrows rammed into each other, exploding on impact.
1320'Tsk.’ Ajest went to draw her sword when she realized what was happening…
1321but she reacted too slowly.
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1328By the time she unsheathed her sword halfway, Desir had already passed
1329her—and now he stood, looking at her with amusement, from the finish line.
1330| The clear-objectives of the Shadow World have been met.
1331| The Shadow World will be terminated.
1332| Please wait while the entrance exam results are calculated.
1333***
1334"As expected, the same thing happened again."
1335An icy aura rose from below the stone-paved floor of Hebrion Academy.
1336Somewhere deep within the recesses of the school, a group of people had
1337gathered. Most were professors of Hebrion Academy—some hailed from the
1338Western Kingdom.
1339Hebrion's Dean, Justin, stood at the head of the table—he grasped a gavel in his
1340hand and started at the parchment in front of him.
1341"So far, no commoners have been selected to enter the Alpha Class." The
1342Swordsmanship professor, Kellivan, briefly summarised the outcome of the
1343entrance exam up until that point.
1344A decent number of the present individuals demonstrated their enthusiastic
1345approval—in particular, Head Professor Pugman vigorously nodded his head.
1346"Of course that’s the case. The Alpha Class only has places for the glorious
1347nobility. It is not for the likes of commoners that are incapable of receiving a
1348proper education."
1349Professor Pugman, intoxicated by the pleasure of his own words, was unaware
1350of Professor Brigette’s face stiffening across from him. "Those commoners
1351should thank us for even being admitted to Hebrion Academy in the first
1352place."
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1356Justin pounded his gavel. "All quiet. This is the final student for consideration."
1357The dean read aloud the document before him. "1st circle mage, Desir Arman"
1358The members of the audience murmured between themselves. "Ah, this is that
1359student...."
1360"The one that bested the Spellsword..."
1361Justin interrupted their musings with a question. "From what I hear, this
1362student is a 'recommended commoner.' Who recommended this student’s entry
1363into Hebrion?"
1364A hand rose from among the professors: Magical Science Professor Brigitte. "I
1365gave the recommendation for that child."
1366"On what grounds?"
1367"He has studied magic theory for a long time and his willingness to study has
1368remained strong. As such, I wholeheartedly recommend him. I very nearly
1369took him in as my personal assistant instead of admitting him as a normal
1370student."
1371"How did you come to know this child?"
1372"I met him by accident in an orphanage from the ruined country of Eolleta."
1373"Eolleta.. that is..."
1374"Yes, Dean, it is indeed the place that you are thinking of."
1375"Ahem." Justin cleared his throat.
1376He turned to the supervisor. "What were the results of his pre-test?"
1377"Magic aptitude, D-rank. Though we gave him the rank of 1st circle mage, it
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1381seems that was only a tentative rank, to meet the bare minimum requirements.
1382His mana is very unstable and impure. By all accounts, he seems like a
1383completely talentless student."
1384"Is that how you see it? Please take a look at this. Assistant, if you could play
1385the video." At Justin's request, his attending assistant placed a crystal ball on
1386the center table.
1387As the attendant injected the crystal ball with magic energy, the ball emitted a
1388short fizzle, and a video began playing in the air.
1389It was a recording of Group D’s entrance exam—everyone concentrated on the
1390video as it played from start to finish.
1391…….
1392…….
1393…….
1394| The clear-objectives of the Shadow World have been met.
1395| The Shadow World will be terminated.
1396When the video ended, everyone in the room wore expressions of surprise.
1397Even some of the Magical Science Professors stood with their mouths agape,
1398while others were cleaning their glasses multiple times as if they had seen
1399something wrong.
1400Even professors who didn’t specialize in magic could tell that Desir’s display
1401was exceptional.
1402Justin broke the silence. "Now. What are your thoughts?"
1403A professor in the crowd raised his hand and queried. "This is amazing and
1404all... but is something like this even possible?"
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1408A 2nd-year Magical Sciences Professor answered: "No. That should have been
1409impossible for even a 3rd circle mage. That grease magic can only be utilized
1410across a flat plane, so you can’t apply it to a three-dimensional object. Perhaps
1411he is modifying the magic algorithm.... but if he did that, then that child must
1412possess incredible analytical skills."
1413The Tacticians Professor spoke with his hands on his head. "His battle sense
1414and use of psychological warfare were excellent. He conserved his own
1415strength to surprise his opponent at the end—his strategic prowess was
1416exceptional."
1417"I agree, it’s as if he were a veteran who had spent his whole life on the
1418battlefield. I’m no expert on magical combat, but his tactics were impeccable.
1419It’s like he had complete control of the flow of battle."
1420"To think that there was someone among the commoners with this level of
1421training... I don’t know what to say."
1422"Of course he’ll be admitted to Hebrion. But why did you ask us to discuss it,
1423instead of just declaring the decision, Dean-nim?"
1424"That is because after seeing the video, Professor Brigitte advocated for this
1425student to be placed into the Alpha Class."
1426"......!" It was like someone had just thrown cold water had been thrown on the
1427group. The electric atmosphere had been replaced by a chilly silence.
1428After what seemed like hours, one professor raised their hand to speak.
1429"Esteemed Dean-nim."
1430It was Head Professor Pugman.
1431"As you know, there are regulations in place for this sort of thing. Rules dictate
1432that class placement is based on skill. Here, we place the best students in the
1433Alpha Class, and the less experienced in the Beta Class. By differentiating
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1437these students, we allow them to receive an education best suited to their
1438skill."
1439Justin leered at Professor Pugman. "What are you trying to say."
1440"To enter the Alpha Class, a student must demonstrate exceptional skill.
1441Objectively, only 2nd circle mages and above have a shot at it. As a 1st circle
1442mage, Desir does not possess the requisite magical repertoire. I think it is still
1443too early for him to be admitted to the Alpha Class."
1444"Hmm....."
1445"That’s a good point."
1446Here and there, different voices spoke up in agreement.
1447But none of those affirming voices belonged to Brigitte. "How funny, Professor
1448Pugman."
1449All eyes in the room zeroed in on Brigitte. "Even after defeating the 3rd circle
1450spellsword, Ajest Kingscrown, you assert this child is inferior just because he’s
1451a 1st circle mage. That stinks of a repulsive personal bias."
1452"A 1st circle mage has their limits! No matter how much good their calculative
1453skills are there is a limit to their development in magic!" Pugman protested.
1454"Quit looking for excuses. You have a different motivation."
1455A different motivation.
1456Brigette knew that different motivation all too well.
1457"You're only against this because he is a commoner. Isn't that right? Professor
1458Pugman Pasehl Napoleka."
1459Pugman shook his head. "You’re mistaken. I solemnly swear that when
1460considering this case, unrelated factors such as identity did not unduly
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1464influence my opinion."
1465"My oh my, is that so? Just a moment ago, you were bragging that the Alpha
1466Class has no place for the likes of commoners—and now you claim to make a
1467fair and unbiased decision without consideration to identity?"
1468Pugman and Brigette’s confrontation had presented a quandary before the
1469committee.
1470Professor Brigitte was one of less than 10 people on the continent to have—as a
1471commoner—risen to the level of a 5th circle mage.
1472Pugman Pasehl Napoleka was the heir to the title Duke of Napoleka, a family
1473second only to the Royal family itself.
1474Their arguments represented a fundamental clash of values.
1475The sound of Justin's gavel brought the argument to pause.
1476The Dean spoke with a grave tone. "There will be silence. Time is wasted on
1477arguments. Let us decide on the matter. We will now judge whether student
1478Desir is to be admitted to the Alpha Class or not."
1479It was the final judgement—everything was to be decided here.
1480Brigette cast her vote in support while Pugman casually cast his for the
1481opposition, as though there was nothing more to see.
1482Justin tallied and announced the results. 18 votes in support, 22 against.
1483"1st circle mage, Desir Arman. By rights, he should be admitted to the Alpha
1484Class. However, because Professor Pugman believes his circle is too low, he is
1485to be admitted to the Beta Class."
1486Justin inserted Desir's application into the box labeled 'Accepted'.
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1490"Of course, for a commoner....."
1491"No matter how impressive his skills are, being admitted to the Alpha Class
1492straight out of the entrance exam is.... absurd.”
1493Brigitte protested the outcome. "Dean-nim! If you were aware of what goes on
1494in the Beta Class, you would never make that decision!"
1495"The decision was made by a majority vote. I cannot overturn it." Justin rose
1496from his seat, indicating that he would entertain no more arguments.
1497"If he is as exceptional as you have said he is, he will prove himself during the
1498Promotion Exam. If he really possesses those skills—as you claim he does—that
1499should be a simple matter, no?"
1500"H-however..." Brigitte stuttered.
1501"Enough, let's see ourselves out."
1502At a wave of the Dean's hand, the room’s torchlights extinguished themselves.
1503As though the darkness itself had closed her mouth, Brigitte fell silent.
1504And like that, the meeting adjourned.
1505March had arrived, heralding the spring season. The willow trees had turned
1506green, and the blooming forsythias gave off a warm glow.
1507The results of Hebrion’s entrance exams were to be released today.
1508In the middle of a corridor in the academy stood a bulletin board. Upon that
1509bulletin board were the names of all the prospects who were admitted to the
1510academy, as well as the classes to which they had been assigned.
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1514The first half listed the students admitted to the Alpha Class, the second half
1515listed those in the Beta Class. Desir found his own name exactly where he had
1516expected to find it. "Just as I thought."
1517The academy had assigned him to the Beta Class, despite the fact that he had
1518beaten Ajest and secured 1st place. Though he knew it was bound to happen,
1519confirming it with his own eyes left him with a bit of a heavy heart.
1520"As expected—they didn’t disappoint me."
1521Beta and Alpha.
1522Hebrion's split its students into these two halves. The system was intended to
1523allow students to receive the education best suited to their skill level.
1524With each student being assigned to the class most appropriate for them, this
1525individualized method of admission resulted in the best-possible learning
1526outcomes for all the students.
1527No... ‘should have’ resulted...
1528Desir grit his teeth. ‘But now, that honorable intention is nowhere to be seen.’
1529In the beginning, Hebrion had successfully implemented that system. But now,
1530so long after its inception, things were different.
1531Technically, Hebrion Academy still placed the most skilled students in the
1532Alpha class. But most of those students were nobles who had been
1533systematically trained from the beginning of their education.
1534That’s why the Alpha Class had an aristocratic, superiority-obsessed air to it.
1535And in that sort of atmosphere, a commoner with the appropriate skills would
1536sometimes rightly qualify for the Alpha Class—but they would always be
1537pushed back into the Beta Class.
1538Just like they had done to Desir.
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1542Chapter 8— School Life! (1)
1543‘And thus, this is why students who were sent to the Beta Class are unable to
1544properly grow,’ Desir thought.
1545Alpha Class students received excellent lessons from the faculty’s most
1546brilliant professors. As such, the faculty, carefully and with great passion,
1547nurtured the Alpha Class and ensured they received the best attention the
1548professors could offer. With this, their talents would surely awaken. They
1549would inevitably become excellent combatants that would conquer the Shadow
1550Worlds.
1551Yet Beta Class was the complete opposite.
1552It was mostly composed of commoners who lacked any kind of support. Care
1553and passion was not pointed towards the students of the Beta Class as almost
1554none of the lectures had proper professors assigned to them. Because of this, it
1555was extremely difficult for these students to reach their full potential.
1556Desir smiled bitterly. ‘Even in my past life, I was a Beta Class student.’
1557Desir had been born as a commoner. So, of course, due to his social status, he
1558had been assigned to the Beta Class. And without proper education, it had
1559been impossible for him to improve. So, when he’d first entered the Shadow
1560Labyrinth, he had only been a 1st circle mage.
1561‘In an environment like this, many talented people were buried. The system was at
1562fault. If it weren’t for a system like this, Beta Class students would have been able to
1563become stronger. They wouldn’t all have been massacred so easily, nor so quickly.’
1564Yet, the only person who had survived to the end as a Beta Class student was
1565Desir. Being reminded of such end results, Desir decided on one goal in his
1566heart. ‘I will make sure the most talented students in the Beta Class will be promoted
1567to Alpha Class.’
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1571In the past, Desir had failed to clear the Shadow Labyrinth. But there were
1572many hidden gems in the Hebrion Academy. And he knew that if he was able
1573to properly nurture them and guide them to their best potential, then it
1574wouldn’t be impossible to clear the Shadow Labyrinth. ‘To do that,’ he thought.
1575‘I must move together with them. In other words, I’ll create a party.’
1576He would find the ones with the most potential based on his past life
1577experience and knowledge. He would find these hidden gems, convince them
1578to join his party, and then he would ensure their promotion into the Alpha
1579Class. And he knew who the first gem would be: Romantica Eru, the Wind
1580Mage who had taken the entrance exam with him. She was the esteemed
1581daughter of Baron Eru and was called the Tempest Sage. Her specialty was
1582chant-less magic. In the past, she’d also been a veteran mage who’d survived in
1583the Shadow Labyrinth for 8 years.
1584And Desir was determined to win her over and make her his first party
1585member—to ensure she advanced from Beta to Alpha class, thus increasing her
1586power for the future.
1587***
1588A girl with clean, lustrous hair cascading down her shoulders sat at a desk in a
1589lecture room.. Her snow-white skin clashed with her red cheeks. And her
1590usually bright coral green eyes exuded a gloomy darkness.
1591“To think I would end up in Beta Class,” she sighed.
1592The ancient clock on the wall screeched with every movement the minute
1593hand made. The lecture room’s damp atmosphere, creaking chairs that gave off
1594a rotting cucumber smell, and marked up desks with gashes carved into them
1595only proved to make the girl’s shoulders slump even more.
1596It was truly a horrifying scene.
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1600Romantica could not believe this was a classroom. At that moment, a shadow
1601loomed over her open book.
1602“Hello. Are you Romantica Eru of the Eru Barony?”
1603Romantica raised her head. Three people stood before her, wearing the shiny
1604blue badge on their right chests, which represented the Alpha Class.
1605The person who’d spoken was the tallest person amongst the three. With thick
1606eyebrows and thick lips, he exuded a heroic aura.
1607“You know my name, but you haven’t introduced yourself yet,” she said.
1608“Pardon me.” He sat down across from her. “My name is Doneta Hadun. I’m a
1609new student just like you…and I’m currently looking for a new party member.”
1610He spoke very politely, the dulcet tone of his voice flowing between them, so
1611different from the atmosphere of the room.
1612“I hope you find a good party member who suits you,” Romantica said.
1613“I hope so, too. That’s why I came here,” Doneta said.
1614“Do you have some business with me?” she asked.
1615“I wanted to meet you, but it was difficult to do so. As you know, the lecture
1616rooms for Beta Class and Alpha Class are quite far apart.”
1617‘ In more ways than one.’ “Well, yeah,” she said.
1618“I heard you are an exceptional Wind Mage. Furthermore, I heard your family
1619has the title of Baron. For an exceptional Mage with noble status to end up as a
1620Beta Class student, the academy must have made a mistake.”
1621A stiff smile stretched across Romatica’s face. The awkward moment spread
1622out before her, as she tried to maintain her poker face. “Well, even the
1623academy professors are people, too. They’re bound to make mistakes.”
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1627“Oh, right. However, it’s still unacceptable for the academy to assign you into
1628this group of garbage commoners. They must apologize to you. How dare they
1629assign a noble like us to this foul smelling lecture room…” With a look of
1630disdain, Doneta surveyed the moist and dank lecture room. There were a few
1631people who glared at Doneta for insulting commoners; however, upon eye
1632contact, they quickly turned their heads away.
1633The Hadun family was well known. There were almost no commoners willing
1634to fight against such a large noble family.
1635“These insects.” Doneta’s chilling voice gave the other students goosebumps.
1636The sincere and respectful attitude he’d had towards Romantica was nowhere
1637to be seen, as if it had been merely a dream or a passing breeze. He continued
1638to look around the Beta Class, scrunching his face in pure disgust.
1639“So what do you want to talk about?” Romantica’s smile trembled ever so
1640slightly.
1641Doneta turned back to look at Romantica. Without noticing her, he said, “I’ll
1642get to the point. I recently joined the Blue Moon party where Senior Elheim is
1643the leader. And I decided that you, who are exceptionally skilled, should join
1644our party.” Doneta’s voice was firm.
1645“The Blue Moon party?” Romantica tried to remember. She had a gut feeling.
1646“It’s the school’s greatest party.” Doneta said. Romantica now realized that she
1647had just received an offer to join one of the largest Alpha Class parties. It
1648wasn’t an easy opportunity to get and rarely would anyone see this kind of gift
1649fall into their laps like this. Romantica opened her mouth to say something,
1650but Doneta grabbed her hand.
1651“For recommending you into this party, I hope that we could start dating.”
1652After a brief moment of silence, Romantica looked at Doneta in disbelief.
1653“…What?”
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1657“I said I wish we could start dating.”
1658So, she hadn’t heard him wrong. “Have we met before?” Romantica asked.
1659“At the entrance exam’s banquet hall. It was love at first sight, Romantica.”
1660She forced Doneta to let go of her hand.
1661“There are no reasons for you to decline, Romantica.”
1662“I just need some time to think about it.”
1663Doneta’s face wore a dumbfounded expression. “Why?”
1664“I need some time to think.”
1665“Of course, but…this is—”
1666Romantica’s green eyes, which looked like the wind itself, glittered sweetly at
1667Doneta. “You should give this lady some time to think. If you truly are a polite
1668gentleman.”
1669A polite gentleman.
1670Hearing those words, Doneta leaned back. “Ah, of course. Also…” Doneta stood
1671from his seat.
1672As Romantica was about to stand up, too, Doneta took something from his
1673pocket and spread his palm towards Romantica. It was a wooden dagger. “I
1674hope you would accept this from me.”
1675A finely detailed and colorful pattern was etched into it. For a dagger, it was
1676too thick. It looked almost like a box that was shaped as a dagger.
1677Romantica thought she could open the lid and her thoughts were correct.
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1681“It’s a tradition followed in my Kingdom’s military where we gift this Kemubin
1682to the person we love.” Pushing the groove of the handle with his fingers, the
1683knife and the handle separated with a click. At the same time, a smooth golden
1684chain necklace trickled down from inside the dagger.
1685Doneta gave the necklace to Romantica.
1686But, she shook her hands to politely decline. “This is too much.”
1687“You don’t have to feel pressured.” After lightly bidding his farewell, Doneta
1688headed towards the exit.
1689As soon as Romantica saw him leave, she went limp. She felt like a tempest had
1690passed by. But without even a moment’s reprieve, another person approached
1691her from behind and stopped at her side.
1692“You surely are popular, Romantica.”
1693“Kya!” She yelped. With a crash, Romantica’s chair fell back. She had been lost
1694in thought, so she did not notice another person’s presence from behind her. It
1695was her bad habit to yell when she was taken by surprise.
1696As if untouched by this scene, Desir Arman nonchalantly sat next to her. “I
1697greeted you five times, but you wouldn’t respond. So, I decided to personally
1698come to you.”
1699Embarrassed, Romantica quickly pulled her chair back to its original spot and
1700settled back into her seat.
1701“We first met at the entrance exam. So, I guess it’s been two days since we’ve
1702met?” Desir said.
1703“What do you want from me?” Romantica cleared her throat, her face pinched
1704with annoyance.
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1708Naturally, Desir was unfazed by it. “I came here to invite you into my party.”
1709Party invitation.
1710She responded back, uninterested. “I have nothing to talk to you about any
1711party.”
1712“Are you declining my invitation because you don’t want to date me? Don’t
1713worry. I won’t ask you to date me.”
1714Romantica scoffed. “Enough with the lame jokes. I’m not in the mood.”
1715“If I ask for a reason, would you answer me?” Desir asked.
1716Romantica sighed. Opening her palm, she showed him the golden chain. “You
1717see?”
1718For the first time, Desir lost his usual calm composure as one of his eyes
1719slightly widened. The lights of the dim, magical lamp flickered, dyeing
1720Romantica’s hair a bright red.
1721She blew out a breath. “If you were me, which party would you choose? One of
1722the largest Alpha Class parties where I’m guaranteed success, or a no-name
1723Beta Class party?”
1724Desir knew how sweet Doneta’s offer sounded to her. The Blue Moon party was
1725one of the few powerful guilds in the academy. Party activities were the main
1726focus of Hebrion Academy, making the offer even more charming.
1727She couldn’t decline. There was no reason to decline.
1728But Desir knew one more thing: choosing The Blue Moon party would be the
1729worst life decision she could possibly make.
1730“But you still haven’t decided yet, Romantica.” Desir’s voice was certain.
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1734“That’s because…I needed some time to think. But thinking about it now, I
1735made a bad call. Doneta was right. From the beginning, my answer was already
1736determined. I can’t think of a reason to decline his offer.”
1737“Even if you have to date him?” he asked.
1738“It’s actually more beneficial for me to go out with the Hadun family’s child as
1739a condition to join the best party.”
1740“That’s quite cold and calculating.” Desir said.
1741Despite Desir’s sarcasm, Romantica’s decision did not change. Rather than
1742being shaken, it seemed like her conviction became stronger. “Since we’re done
1743talking, can you leave?”
1744‘I guess it can’t be helped.’ Desir reached into his pocket, feeling as if he was
1745pulling out a knife, but his hand only held a slip of paper. A letter. Calmly,
1746Desir passed the letter to Romantica.
1747However, Romantica tried to get rid of the letter without reading it.
1748But then Desir spoke. “Best to dispose of that quickly. Though, you should be
1749more careful with it since it contains all of your secrets.”
1750Startled by his sudden declaration, Romantica looked back and forth between
1751the letter and Desir, now unsure of what to do. Her previous haughty attitude
1752had vanished, and Romantica sat frozen in place.
1753Raising his eyebrows, Desir simply urged her on.
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1757Chapter 9 - School Life! (2)
1758Slowly opening the letter, her eyes began scanning the lines of text filling the
1759page. As she digested the words before her, Romantica’s eyes widened. She
1760whipped her gaze to meet Desir’s. Confronted with the seemingly impossible,
1761she read the letter again in its entirety. And then her gaze darted back to Desir,
1762her eyes opened even further. In denial, she scrutinized the letter once more,
1763as if she was willing the contents contained within to change through the act
1764of rereading. But the words on the page simply stared back at her, defiant.
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1771The details were all there. Written out with intimate precision. The naked
1772truth of why Romantica Eru had actually been assigned to the Beta Class.
1773As she read down the contents for the third time, she shuddered. As she
1774reached the final sentence of the letter, she found herself frantically ripping
1775the entire letter into shreds.
1776Her trembling eyes met Desir’s carefree gaze for a final time, and the two
1777stared at each other in silence. The air was thick with tension, and with each
1778breath Romantica felt like she was slowly suffocating.
1779Suddenly, Desir leaned towards her, causing Romantica to jump in fright. “Do
1780you want to talk to me now?” His calm voice matched his lackadaisical
1781expression.
1782Romantica could not say no. Afraid that someone might hear, she whispered,
1783“How… how did you… how do you know about this?” Her shaky voiced had
1784been drained of all the vigour it previously possessed.
1785“I don’t think I’m obligated to tell you,” Desir answered.
1786Hearing that, Romantica’s mouth went dry. She knew that, in this moment,
1787Desir held all the cards. “Have you told anyone else?” she quickly asked; her
1788question sounding more like a single word than an entire sentence.
1789Desir shook his head. “No, but most of the professors are already aware. How
1790else could you have been assigned here?”
1791“B-but, this place is hundreds of kilometers away from the Prilecha Kingdom!”
1792Romantica exclaimed in disbelief.
1793Desir chuckled at her naivety. “You’ve sorely underestimated the intelligence
1794gathering network of Hebrion Academy.”
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1798Self-assured as he was, Doneta had been mistaken about the reason why
1799Romantica was assigned to the Beta Class. The entrance exams and its
1800participants were subject to much closer scrutiny than most students were
1801aware of. Even the most closely guarded secrets of one’s past was bound to
1802come to light eventually. And at this current moment Romantica’s own secret
1803past was streaming forth from the lips of a man who she barely knew.
1804“Years ago, a humble merchant family amassed a substantial fortune through
1805conducting business in the Prilecha Kingdom. That commoner family then
1806bribed a struggling baron in the south for his title and thus came to inhabit the
1807Von Eru Castle. This happened when you were 4, right? Your family bought
1808their way into nobility. Even if you claim that you’re a noble, there’s no
1809denying that you were born a commoner,” Desir finished summarizing the
1810contents of the letter with a satisfied smile.
1811“You...!” Romantica desperately fumbled to find the words that matched her
1812tumultuous emotions.
1813Desir leaned forward conspiratorially. “We were both born commoners. Even if
1814you’re a high-and-mighty noble now, don’t you think it’s awfully pompous to
1815not want to be in the same party as a commoner?”
1816“That's…!” Righteous indignation turned to ashes in her mouth as Romantica
1817realized he was right.
1818Desir’s knowledge of Romantica’s most intimate secret was only natural.
1819Romantica Eru was a Beta Class member who had weathered eight long years
1820in the Shadow Labyrinth. One of Desir’s closest companions. As his teammate,
1821Romantica often told him about her past. After all, with the spectre of death
1822lurking behind every blind corner, what is there left to hide? Knowing this,
1823each of them treasured the opportunity to live on in the memories of their
1824allies. And in return, they all listened carefully to one another’s tales. Desir
1825was no exception. He remembered all their names, their faces, and their
1826stories. As such, it was easy for Desir to recall his memories of Romantica Eru.
1827Romantica Eru.
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1831The daughter of Baron Eru who had paid his way into nobility.
1832The little girl who paid for her father’s decision with a lonely childhood.
1833Desir continued, “You know, the Blue Moon Party’s assigned professor is
1834Professor Nifleka. One of the few professors who knows about your little
1835secret. The man loathes commoners. If you end up in his party, he’s not going
1836to just roll over and do nothing.”
1837“...Doneta will protect me,” Romantica weakly protested, gaze lowered to the
1838floor.
1839Desir raised an eyebrow. “Did you see the way he looked at commoners? Are
1840you sure about that?”
1841To Desir, Romantica’s current thoughts were as transparent as glass.
1842Romantica, born a commoner, was keenly aware of how Doneta viewed
1843commoners. The way he stared as if looking over lowly livestock. She was
1844overcome with fear at the thought of him looking at her the same way should
1845she ever be found out. She had tried to convince herself that her fear was
1846unfounded. But now, it was threatening to become reality.
1847Desir began picking up the scattered pieces of paper from the floor. “So what
1848will you do?”
1849“You really think a party created out of blackmail is going to be any good?”
1850Romantica sputtered, knowing full well she wasn’t in any position to negotiate.
1851“You’re right,” said Desir. “How about this? I’ll add a condition. One month.
1852Party up with me for just one month. If you still feel the same way after, then
1853you can leave.”
1854One month.
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1858‘ I guess it could be worse, ’ Romantica thought. After holding out for a month, if
1859she didn’t like it, she could leave. Romantica started to hold out a hand when
1860something crossed her mind, ‘Hold on. I was just thinking that it wasn’t a bad deal
1861compared to the alternative of joining the party indefinitely, but I’m still being
1862coerced into an arrangement I don’t want, aren’t I?’
1863Perhaps this man’s tactical prowess extended beyond the confines of a
1864battlefield.
1865Desir held out a hand. Romantica crossed her arms and returned the gesture
1866with a hard stare, but despite her best efforts, she couldn’t find anything other
1867than innocence in his expression. She let out a deep sigh. “You know, you came
1868off as a real scumbag during the entrance exams.”
1869“I know,” Desir responded, somehow sounding even more cheerful than usual.
1870The bastard.
1871Romantica grabbed Desir’s hand and shook it.
1872Breakfast tasted terrible. There had been only two options. Bread stale enough
1873to dig a grave with and a watery soup sprinkled with tiny scraps of boiled
1874lamb. Romantica was almost dumbfounded. That was when it truly dawned on
1875her: this was the Beta Class.
1876She did not enter the academy to be treated like this. This was going too far.
1877She was well aware that the two classes were treated differently, but to think it
1878was to this extent! From what she’d gathered, the Alpha Class enjoyed
1879luxurious buffet-style dining for all their meals. Just thinking about it made
1880her become angry, but not angry enough to starve.
1881With strenuous effort, Romantica broke a piece of bread in half with her
1882hands. It came apart with the dull sound of a slab of granite splitting in two.
1883She couldn’t help but wonder if they really were actually being fed rocks. But a
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1887look across the table at Desir quickly dispelled such notions. His plates were
1888already empty. Romantica asked in disbelief, “How can you eat this?”
1889Desir paused to finish chewing before he responded, “Why not? It’s better than
1890orc meat.”
1891Romantica furrowed her brows. “That’s a figure of speech, right? Orcs have
1892been extinct for a long time.”
1893Desir shrugged. He pointed to the bread and soup in front of Romantica. “If it’s
1894too hard to eat, dip the bread in the soup.”
1895Romantica did as he said. The bread became softer, and with some effort, she
1896was able to get it down. As she ate the bread and looked at Desir sitting in
1897front of her, it finally hit her that they were in the same party. ‘Right…’
1898Technically, ‘will’ be in the same party. After all, they weren’t ‘official’ yet. The
1899minimum requirement for a party was three people. But right now, the
1900members only included this bastard and her...
1901According to him, they hadn’t even found a professor who was willing to be
1902assigned to the party. Nothing about this shitty party was in any way proper.
1903And she was in it. “I think I’m done eating.”
1904Having lost her appetite, Romantica put down her spoon. When they came out
1905of the cafeteria, Romantica's face was darkened with dismay. She made sure to
1906keep a steady distance behind Desir as they walked.
1907Desir broke the silence, “Don’t worry, we won’t have any problems setting up
1908the party.”
1909But the look of concern did not leave Romantica’s face. “You… you do know
1910how hard it is to create a party, right?”
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1914There were two conditions to creating a party. A roster of at least three people
1915and an assigned professor. Setting aside the problem of the professor for now,
1916they still needed another member to meet the headcount requirement.
1917“There are already a few prominent parties in the Beta Class. All the new
1918students will want to go to those, you know? Nobody’s going to bat an eye at a
1919newbie party like this one,” Romantica spat into the cold night air. “Say
1920something! You-”
1921Desir cut her off with a grin, “At first, you were going on and on about how
1922bad this party was. Now, you’re concerned we won’t be able to get it off the
1923ground. I knew you’d come around.”
1924Romantica reeled. “W-w-w-what?! I just thought about what an annoying
1925month it’s going to be if this party fails… So I’m just looking out for number
1926one, got it?!”
1927It was hard not to find Romantica’s child-like embarrassment at something so
1928trivial to be anything but endearing.
1929Desir explained as he continued walking, “I told you, there won’t be any
1930problems. I already know a professor that’ll take care of the party
1931authorization. And for the third member, I already have someone in mind who
1932hasn’t joined a party yet. We just have to convince them.”
1933At those words, Romantica puffed up her cheeks in muted frustration, “You
1934should’ve told me all of that from the beginning!”
1935Replaying Desir’s nonchalant revelation in her mind, Romantica couldn’t help
1936but feel as if she was being teased. Everytime she spoke with him, it felt like
1937conversing with a snake.
1938The pair branched off of the path leading away from the cafeteria and started
1939heading toward the training hall. The path became much wider. Romantica
1940caught up to Desir and asked, “So, who’s this kid you have in mind?”
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1944Desir replied, “Pram Schneizer.”
1945The sun was shining brightly in the sky. The first thing they noticed when they
1946entered the glass-roofed Beta Class training hall was the state of disrepair it
1947was in. Signs indicating lack of care or proper maintenance were everywhere
1948they looked. The wooden bleachers had several holes large enough for careless
1949students to fall right through them, and one of the load-bearing pillars had
1950deteriorated to the point of needing some hastily applied magic support to
1951prop it up. Everything about the training hall was worn down.
1952Today, it was the location where the Alpha and Beta Class were holding a joint
1953sparring session. Once the class began, the students split off to find opponents
1954to spar with. The observing crowd was split in exactly two groups. The first
1955was the students of the Beta Class. Ordinary in appearance and plain in attire,
1956they were the students that would normally be using this training hall. To
1957them, the state of the room was nothing out of the ordinary.
1958To the other group, the inadequacies of the facility were apparent enough to be
1959jarring. These were the students of the Alpha Class, easily identified by their
1960fine clothing and imperious air. They made no attempt to hide their disdain for
1961the class’s choice of location.
1962“This really is a disgusting place.”
1963“The facilities are pathetic.”
1964They looked around in disgust, wrinkling their noses as if encountering some
1965foul stench, and continued to pile on the insults.
1966“I’m not really a fan either,” said Romantica, as she took a seat next to Desir on
1967the benches in front of the bleachers.
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1971They were waiting for their turn. Because there were more students than
1972available room, they had to wait until the others were finished to use the
1973training hall.
1974“There’s no grass. No protective magic walls. It doesn’t look like anyone’s been
1975taking care of the place at all. There’s mud everywhere. Not to mention, it’s so
1976small that we have to take turns to even use it. This is one of the reasons why I
1977wanted to advance to the Alpha Class.”
1978Even though she complained, she knew that there was no point. The midday
1979sun was hot on her skin. She held a hand above her eyes and looked over the
1980crowd on the floor of the training hall.
1981“So that person is here? Pram something-or-whatever?”
1982The one called Pram Schneizer. Desir remembered that name clearly. He was a
1983Beta Class member who had lasted nine years in the Shadow Labyrinth.
1984Pram’s specialty was leveraging the keen point and agility of a rapier to
1985produce flurries of potent thrusting stabs. Combining his prodigious knack for
1986swordsmanship and incredible effort, his skills with a rapier were truly
1987mighty. Just on the basis of his piercing stabs, he was a top-tier, formidable
1988swordsman.
1989Desir continued to scan the pairs of students in the training hall. “He’s a
1990swordsman of incredible ability. Likely the strongest in the Beta Class.”
1991Romantica tried to downplay her growing curiosity. “Hmm, I want to see that.”
1992Desir pointed towards somewhere close to the center of the hall. “Oh, he’s
1993right there.”
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1997Chapter 10 - School Life! (3)
1998Pram Schneizer was lightly stretching his body in the gymnasium. He gave the
1999impression of being very young, his face gave off a slender look. His rather
2000feminine eyebrows and long eyelashes only accented his beauty.
2001“What is that adorable little thing?!” Romantica exclaimed.
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2008Desir agreed with her, “Pram sure has a cute side to him.”
2009Romantica violently shook her head left and right. “A cute side? That's wrong!
2010It's not a side, he's adorableness incarnate! How come I didn't know there was
2011a kid like that here?” Romantica spouted nonsense. “He’s so cute! Super cute! I
2012want one. Where can I get myself one? I’ll use my entire fortune if I have to!”
2013Her attitude resembled that of a spoiled brat who had caught a glimpse of
2014something she desperately wanted. Desir shook his head in disappointment.
2015In a spar, lethal weapons weren't allowed. Instead, the sparring hall would
2016provide dozens of various wooden weapons ranging from rapiers,
2017broadswords, claymores and others. Anybody wanting to spar was obliged to
2018choose from those provided weapons upon entering the sparring stage.
2019There existed six sparring stages. Pram was assigned to the fourth stage.
2020Before he entered the stage, he stopped right in front of the collection of
2021wooden weapons. Going from left to right, the size and weight of the weapons
2022increased. Pram hesitated for a moment before reaching out to his right. He
2023grabbed the weapon and held it up. It was a wide bladed greatsword.
2024Desir’s eyes narrowed. “A greatsword…?” Desir spoke anxiously.
2025Romantica clapped and leaned forward. “The best swordsman of Beta Class.
2026I’m looking forward to this.”
2027Pram’s opponent was a knight from the Alpha Class.
2028Percival Ahsegunits.
2029Having learned swordsmanship from an official knight, he was a strong
2030opponent to say the least. He had pulled his sword out, which was attached to
2031his waist by a scabbard. The sword looked to be a wooden broadsword, a mix
2032between a longsword and a shortsword. Percival stared at Pram with a
2033menacing and savage look. Pram put his right hand on his chest and lowered
2034his head as to greet his opponent in a respectful bow.
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2038“Beta Class. I’m Pram Schneizer.”
2039“I have no need to introduce myself to some filthy Beta Class.”
2040While both were fixated on each other, the referee lowered his flag
2041announcing the start of the battle.
2042“Hiyat!”
2043The first one to move was Pram. He charged at his opponent, keeping his
2044intimidating greatsword close. As he got near his opponent, he rapidly
2045unleashed a strong and horizontal slash upon Percival. Percival was forced to
2046block this attack with his sword.
2047As both of the wooden swords clashed, the noise brought about by such a
2048collision emphasized the strength of both warriors.
2049Percival succeeded in blocking Pram's attack yet the shock that was caused by
2050their clash left Percival's face briefly stiffened. Pram noticed and took full
2051advantage of such a brief opening. He continued to press into his opponent,
2052unleashing a barrage of heavy swings. Even as Percival matched each of Pram's
2053attacks, he desperately tried to create some distance between them to
2054counterattack, yet to no avail. Pram was dead set on giving him no room to
2055breathe. He had succeeded in pushing Percival all the way to the edge of the
2056stage.
2057Desir observed the fight with a darkened expression. This wasn't the Pram he
2058had expected. Pram's strength didn't lie in his usage of the greatsword. All his
2059movements were simple and blunt. As a matter of fact, Pram should've been
2060using a rapier, a weapon which perfectly matched his style of fast and accurate
2061swordsmanship, not something as dull as a greatsword. At this point, Desir
2062wondered,
2063‘Why isn’t he using a rapier?’ Desir’s worries soon became reality.
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2067The spar was straightforward. Pram swung his sword around without giving it
2068much thought while Percival simply blocked all his incoming attacks. Even
2069though it all looked simple, swinging such a large sword was draining Pram's
2070stamina.
2071Percival opportunistically leapt forward and began to furiously attack Pram. In
2072an instant, the flow of the battle had flipped in Percival's favor. Pram fell back
2073and almost collapsed, distraught by the sudden change in Percival's stance.
2074Percival's attacks were overwhelmingly strong and accurate, giving Pram no
2075room to readjust his defense. As expected, Pram's lack of expertise in
2076greatswords would be the end of him. After blocking multiple attacks, Pram's
2077stamina was completely depleted. As he brought up his greatsword to block an
2078incoming attack, he twisted his right wrist.
2079“Kuaaap!”
2080In a battle between swordsmen, a brief opening was of utmost importance.
2081This held true especially if one was being barraged by attacks. Percival gave of
2082a fierce roar as he leapt in, striking the side of the awkwardly held greatsword.
2083Pram's wrist couldn't withstand the impact and was forced to let go of the
2084heavy weapon. “Kuok!”
2085The wooden greatsword flew into the air. It spun around a few times and
2086landed back on the ground pathetically.
2087The victor was decided.
2088Pram had lost.
2089As Pram stared down his weapon, he let out a sigh and bowed his head. “I lost.”
2090Contrary to Desir’s expectations, the battle ended rather plainly. Romantica
2091put on an incredulous expression, “I'm pretty sure you mentioned that that kid
2092called Pram was a strong swordsman, didn't you? What kind of swordsman
2093gets tired while swinging a sword? Not even a beginner makes such a mistake.”
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2097“Yeah…” Desir unknowingly responded.
2098Romantica placed a hand on her chin. The excitement in her green eyes was all
2099but gone.
2100“He's cute and all, but that has nothing to do with his combat abilities. If he
2101stays like that, it'll be useless to recruit him to our party. Why don't we find
2102another student?” Romantica’s words reflected the reality of the situation.
2103A party was better off without having any weak members. They would only
2104serve as deadweight, dragging the party down instead of lifting it up.
2105If Desir didn't already know Pram's future, he would've surely followed
2106Romantica's advice. Staring at Pram, Desir suddenly got up from his seat and
2107shouted toward Percival. “Enough!”
2108A fight between both of them had broken out. Pram was on the ground while
2109Percival was stood up in front of him, holding up a fist. Percival had instigated
2110this fight by throwing the first punch. He turned his head over to where the
2111noise came from and noticed Desir approaching him.
2112Percival chuckled. “Ha.” His chuckle was filled with ridicule.
2113He pointed his wooden sword at Pram and spoke “If you don’t want to end up
2114like him, you better scram.”
2115Desir sighed. The world has its fair share of people who solve everything with
2116violence.
2117“Why are you doing this?”
2118Percival did not reply. In that moment, Pram got up from the ground. His
2119tattered robe was stained with dirt. He rubbed his reddened cheek and spoke,
2120“Damn, Alpha Class sure are something. Did it anger you that you got pushed
2121around by a Beta Class, even for just a moment?"
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2125The boy was right on the mark.
2126He was a bit too right.
2127Percival's eyes lit up in anger as he swung his wooden sword.
2128The wooden sword rapidly flew towards Pram’s head with the full intent of
2129annihilating it. Pram, unable to do anything, reflexively closed his eyes.
2130He heard the striking sound, but when he realized he didn't feel a sliver of
2131pain, he slowly opened his eyes. At first, he only noticed fragments of wood
2132scattered in the air and drops of blood falling to the ground. Yet it only took
2133him less than a second to notice a broken wooden sword and Desir's arms,
2134which had blocked the attack directed at Pram’s head.
2135Desir spoke with an unexpectedly calm voice. “You were ‘really’ going to hit
2136him.”
2137Desir’s right hand was clenched in a fist. Percival could not believe his eyes.
2138‘He blocked that?’
2139It was an incredibly fast strike. It was done in the heat of the moment and
2140purely out of anger. But having swung the weapon with all his mustered up
2141strength, the thought that it could have been blocked hadn't even crossed
2142Percival's mind. A single droplet of cold sweat ran down Percival's spine. “S-so
2143what?”
2144Desir inhaled a deep breath then proceeded to stare down Percival. Percival
2145felt like Desir's penetrating gaze were a dark abyss that could swallow him
2146whole. “The battle is over. You won. What else do you want?”
2147Desir’s eyes were completely devoid of any emotion. No anger, no fear, no
2148irritation was shown. He was just plainly staring at Percival. Without Percival
2149having realized it, Desir emanated an incomprehensible and strange
2150atmosphere that left him dumbfounded and without breath. Percival had felt
2151something like this before. He recalled a time when he was very young. The
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2155knowledgeable veteran general who had taught him everything would stare at
2156Percival with the same eyes each time he made a mistake.
2157“Be thankful that a professor isn’t here right now. If a professor saw your
2158conduct just now-” Desir exclaimed.
2159“Don’t you lecture me.” Percival snapped back.
2160Percival rapidly turned around and left to go somewhere else. As though he did
2161not want to stay in that place a second longer, Percival left Desir's sight with a
2162half run.
2163***
2164Desir's arm had taken a serious beating. The spot where he had blocked the
2165wooden sword was swollen, and the area around the wound had turned black
2166and red with bruising. It was a silver lining that his bone hadn't been broken.
2167The wood splinters were removed, and his wound was carefully disinfected
2168and bandaged.
2169“Your wound hurts a lot, right?” Pram asked, concerned.
2170After moving to the infirmary, Pram had begun providing first-aid to Desir. He
2171carefully wrapped bandages around the wound, making sure they would not
2172unravel. For some odd reason, the ends of the bandages were tied into a
2173ribbon. Desir had to hold back laughter at that fact. It truly was a meticulous
2174handiwork.
2175“I’m really sorry.” Pram was on the verge of tears.
2176He blankly stared at Desir’s arm wrapped in bandages. Even now, blood was
2177seeping through the wrappings.
2178“I am truly sorry. Life is going to be a lot tougher with a wounded right arm
2179like yours.”
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2183“It’s alright. I was the one who decided to intervene.”
2184“No, no. This was all my fault. If I don’t take responsibility-”
2185“I told you, it’s fine.”
2186“Well, if you say so…”
2187Even as he said that, Pram remained restless.
2188“Seriously, don’t worry about it.” said Desir, trying to appease Pram’s worries.
2189“But…”
2190Pram took a seat next to Desir and cast a downtrodden glance.
2191“You've made yourself an enemy in Alpha Class just to help someone you
2192didn’t know.”
2193“I was well aware of that as soon as I decided to step in.”
2194When Desir said that, Pram raised his head. His eyes were filled with surprise
2195and awe. “A-anyways, thank you. I’ll never forget this.”
2196“It was nothing.”
2197“Ah!”
2198Pram suddenly realized something.
2199“Now that I think about it, we’ve just been calling each other ‘you’.”
2200A light hearted laughter was exchanged between the pair. Pram pointed to
2201himself and spoke, “I’m Pram Schneizer.”
2202“Desir Arman. Nice to meet you, Mr. Schneizer.”
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2206“There’s no need to address me with such formality.”
2207“Hmm, if that’s the case…Schneizer?”
2208Pram shook his head. “No, no. Just call me Pram. You can just speak casually
2209with me.”
2210Desir spoke defeatedly, “Alright, Pram. Does that work?”
2211Pram's face lit up as soon as he heard Desir concede. He truly was happy.
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2215Chapter 11 - School Life! (4)
2216As long as Pram approved, Desir was happy with it. At the same time, Desir
2217noticed that Pram’s face had become unnaturally red. Unable to understand
2218why, Desir decided to ignore it and continued speaking, his tone belying his
2219embarrassment. “You don’t have to speak to me so politely, you know?”
2220Pram’s own face showed a steely determination as he responded, “No, no, it’s
2221fine, Mr. Desir. This is more comfortable to me.”
2222“We’re the same age; ‘mister’ is a bit much, don’t you think?”
2223“No, really it’s fine. I want to call you Mr. Desir,” Pram insisted. He appeared
2224bizarrely resolute. Desir sighed a little inside, but, ultimately, decided to drop
2225the topic. He could let Pram speak how he wished.
2226“Oh? It’s this late already?” blurted Desir in surprise. He had been so caught up
2227in the conversation that he hadn’t realized that the clock was already pointing
2228at 1. It was lunch time.
2229Having finished the first aid, Desir got up to move, but as he opened the door
2230to leave, Pram suddenly moved in front of Desir and lowered his head. “Thank
2231you for today, truly. I’ll never forget this debt.”
2232“I only did what anyone would do in that situation,” Desir responded.
2233They left the infirmary together, and Pram spoke up again. “If there’s anything
2234I can do to help, please tell me. You can ask me any time you’d like.”
2235Desir’s brows suddenly furrowed. “Anything you can do to help...”
2236Noticing Desir’s suddenly serious expression, Pram pressed, “Anything at all!”
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2240‘Anything?’ Desir’s eyes flashed. “Then, Pram, if you haven’t applied to a party
2241yet, would you join mine?”
2242Pram’s eyes jumped in surprise, before his face broke into a wide smile of pure
2243delight. “Of course, Mr. Desir!”
2244And with that, Desir completed his party.
2245Desir, Romantica, and Pram walked across the long, empty corridor, before
2246coming to a stop in front of an elegant wooden door. An engraved plaque on
2247the door read, ‘Brigitte de Fahellibos.’
2248The door swung open, into a spacious and well-organized room, elegantly
2249decorated. Atop a small table near the center, four tea cups were neatly sat, as
2250if the professor had been expecting them.
2251As the three entered the room, Professor Brigitte spoke. "I'm afraid you've
2252called to meet at a busy time."
2253Desir, Romantica, and Pram sat opposite Brigitte. Desir bowed his head as he
2254spoke. “Thank you for giving us the time, when you’re so busy.”
2255Brigitte positively beamed at Desir’s words. “It’s alright. There’s nothing to
2256worry about,” she responded. She took a sip from her cup.
2257Desir looked up, examining the familiar figure closely. She was a classic model
2258of beauty and grace, with beautiful, pure eyes, and flawless white skin. Today,
2259she wore a simple but elegant dress, perfectly complemented with a number of
2260classy accessories. Clearly, her fashion sense was excellent. Desir knew
2261Professor Brigitte well; when he was still an orphan, she had recommended
2262him to Hebrion Academy. If it hadn’t been for her, Desir would have spent his
2263entire life at the orphanage, destitute. Ever since that day, he had remained
2264deeply, sincerely grateful for her.
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2268Brigitte placed her teacup back down. “You were truly amazing at the entrance
2269exam, Desir.” She continued, “I’ve never seen you do that before, you know?”
2270Desir blushed as he responded, “Haha, is that so?”
2271“Certainly. That day was the first time I’ve ever seen such skillful application
2272of magic from you.”
2273“...It really wasn’t that much.”
2274“You’re humbling yourself too much,” Brigitte insisted. “You won against the
2275much favored Ajest, after all.” Brigitte flashed a wide smile at Desir as she
2276continued, “Remembering how hopeless you were when I was first teaching
2277you, I do feel quite betrayed at seeing how brilliant your magic is, huhuhu.”
2278Desir froze, speechless, as a chill ran down his spine.
2279Seeing this, Brigitte spoke up again. “It was a joke. Drink, before the tea cools.
2280It took quite a bit of effort to get these leaves imported from Heidna.”
2281“...Yes.” Desir raised his cup. His hands were still shaking violently.
2282Romantica looked at him while snickering quietly. She hadn’t expected there
2283was someone who could win against Desir with words.
2284Her teacup now half empty, Brigitte gazed intently at the group. A mysterious
2285light flickering across her eyes as she asked, “So these are the party members
2286you’ve found?”
2287Without another word, Brigitte examined Romantica, Pram, and Desir one by
2288one, only speaking again once she was satisfied. “What’s your reason for
2289creating a party, Desir?”
2290Of course, she was asking for the party’s objective. Their goal was something
2291that Desir saw clearly in his mind. In fact, he had created this very party for
2292that single reason.
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2296With fire in his eyes, Desir said, “My goal is to move up to the Alpha Class
2297through the promotion battle.”
2298Brigitte raised an eyebrow in mild surprise. “That’s going to be difficult you
2299know?”
2300“Oh, I know.” Desir replied, his voice carrying an air of confidence.
2301Pram, who had simply been listening in a daze, shakily raised his hand. When
2302Brigitte finally looked at him, he spoke, “What do you mean by ‘moving up to
2303the Alpha Class’?”
2304“Ah, it seems you haven’t been officially informed yet,” said Brigitte, “Our
2305academy employs a system of advancement known as the ‘promotion battles’.”
2306Promotion battles were what decided the Hebrion students’ rankings each
2307year. Not only were these battles a tradition of Hebrion Academy, they also
2308acted as the students’ midterm exams.
2309The promotion battles started with a tournament phase, from which the top 30
2310participants were selected. These 30 students would enter an artificial Class 5
2311Shadow World and take part in a battle royale between one another, which
2312would decide their final ranks. The main goal of everyone in this stage was to
2313be one of the last people remaining, as the top 9 survivors received the title of
2314‘Single Ranker’.
2315Brigitte continued her explanation, “What Desir means by ‘promotion’ isn’t
2316only entering the Alpha Class, but also receiving the Single Ranker title
2317through the tournament.” She turned back towards Desir, and asked, “Am I
2318correct, Desir?”
2319Desir nodded in affirmation. “Yes, you’re right.”
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2323“What!? What are you talking about!” Romantica, who had been listening
2324silently, shot up from her seat. “Forget being in the top 9. There’s no way we
2325could even place in the top 30 of the tournament. And even if we did, any Beta
2326Class parties would be targeted by everyone else immediately!”
2327“She’s right you know.” Brigitte agreed, nodding. “It’s obvious who will be in
2328the top 30. The majority of them will be elites, all in large parties. Last year,
2329there was the Blue Moon party with 15 members, the Red Dragon party with 9,
2330and the remaining 6 were all from other Alpha Class parties. Not a single
2331student from the Beta Class has ever placed in the top 30 in this academy’s
2332history.”
2333Now with a better understanding of what Desir’s plan entailed, Pram spoke
2334warily, “So obviously, there’s no way the Alpha Class will go easy on anyone
2335from Beta Class, and they’ll likely even target us.”
2336“That is correct.” Desir said.
2337The weak would always be targeted first. Furthermore, everyone in Desir’s
2338party was from the Beta Class. Even if they all somehow managed to make it
2339into the top 30, they would be a huge disadvantage number-wise.
2340But despite these overwhelmingly terrible odds, Desir looked confident.
2341“That’s why it’s all the more important that we aim for becoming Single
2342Rankers.”
2343Currently, the Beta Class was nothing more than a collection of trash in the
2344academy’s eyes. Beta Class students were all commoners, meaning that the
2345professors and Alpha Class students held them in contempt. Their future was
2346apparent. The Beta Class students would lose any and all motivation sooner or
2347later, and would eventually give up on graduating. The students who were seen
2348only as trash would become exactly that. But what if it didn’t have to be that
2349way.
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2353Desir spoke with a smile. “Think about it, professor. If the Beta Class who are
2354thought of as trash wins Single Ranker titles for everyone in a 3-man party,
2355how would people react?”
2356“That is....” Brigitte’s was unable to answer Desir, falling silent as the
2357implications of his plans dawned on her.
2358Desir continued, “‘The Beta Class is talentless, so I refuse to teach them.’
2359Opinions such as these would become mere excuses, and the truth would
2360become apparent. The Beta Class will finally be able to remove their shackles
2361of inferiority.”
2362Steam rose from their cups, the tea within still warm, and its fragrance filled
2363the room.
2364Desir gulped nervously. Other than the occasional blink, Professor Brigitte sat
2365as still as a statue, contemplating Desir’s words quietly.
2366As the three students held their breath in silence, Brigitte finally spoke,
2367“Alright then, I’ll authorize the creation of your party.”
2368A sigh of relief escaped Desir. “Thank you, professor.”
2369However, before Desir could fully relax, Brigitte continued. “But before that,
2370there’s something I must be sure of.” Brigitte looked at Pram and Romantica. “I
2371need to hear Pram and Romantica’s consent.”
2372Pram and Romantica each took a deep breath; they both understood the
2373weight their decision would carry.
2374Brigitte looked at the two of them sternly. “You must be absolutely certain
2375before giving me an answer. Joining Desir’s party also means agreeing with
2376Desir’s ideals. In other words, you’re throwing in your lot with him. You must
2377obey your party leader’s commands, and follow his instructions at all times. To
2378join this party under these constraints, what matters most of all is your own
2379determination.”
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2383Pram showed no hesitation in reaching his decision. “I will apply to join Mr.
2384Desir’s party.”
2385Brigitte passed a paper over to Pram. “Then please sign this contract.”
2386The pen moved without reserve, and Brigitte picked up the completed
2387contract.
2388While quickly checking the contract in her hands, Brigitte said, “Now there’s
2389only one person left.”
2390With that, everyone’s gaze fell on a single person in the room.
2391Romantica was holding her chin, lost in thought. She was currently holding a
2392heated internal debate. Was it really possible to enter the Alpha Class this
2393way? To reach the top 9 in the academy that gathered the greatest talents from
2394around world. She was only a 2nd circle mage. The spellsword Ajest included,
2395there were surely much more than 9 people who were easily stronger than her.
2396To be honest, Romantica thought that even the notion of entering the Alpha
2397Class was little more than a pipe dream. ‘That is… if I were alone.’
2398Romantica looked at Desir. What she saw was a man with overflowing
2399confidence. His look was one that said ‘there’s no way I could possibly lose’. It
2400was as if defeat had never even crossed his mind. Looking at him, she recalled
2401the time when he’d taken control of her magic. It was truly a creative, even
2402ingenious, way to use magic. It was the first time Romantica felt like she’d
2403caught a glimpse of an unreachable level. Her horizons were expanded that
2404day, and she had decided to never allow herself to become conceited again.
2405Romantica thought for certain that if it were Desir… if it were him, she felt he
2406could create something incredible.
2407“...Whew.” Romantica sighed deeply and turned to Brigitte. “Where do I sign?”
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2411The main building, located in the center of the academy’s campus, was split
2412into six unique sectors, and the distance between each sector was so great that
2413magic-powered buses were necessary for transportation between them. Each
2414sector was named after the purpose it served. The area containing the
2415dormitories was called the Residential Sector, and the area that conducted
2416magical research or research on Shadow Worlds was called the Research
2417Sector; the other four sectors were named in a similar fashion.
2418| This stop is the Training Sector.
2419Desir, Romantica, and Pram got off the bus. In front of the station stood an
2420ivory-colored marble statue of a swordsman. Behind it stood large buildings
2421boasting an incredible height, rising far up into the sky. Walking side by side,
2422Desir’s group entered the training center.
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2426Chapter 12 - Little Bird (1)
2427Just like its exterior, the interior of Hebrion Academy showed off the school’s
2428opulence. This was especially evident in its training center: the grandiose
2429recreational area was home to both a track-and-field section and an
2430aquatic-training section.
2431The track-and-field section featured an enormous running track as its
2432centerpiece. Other specialty facilities surrounded the circuit, such as practice
2433arenas, simulation training areas and fitness gyms staffed by personal trainers.
2434The academy had also spared no expense on its aquatic area, which showcased
2435an olympic pool with over 30 lanes and many other arenas to prepare students
2436for underwater battles.
2437And between the two training centers, a grand tower stood imposingly—a
2438training facility for student mages, according to Desir’s guidebook.
2439The tower had a total of five floors, each one dedicated to training a specific
2440attribute. And, like the training centers below, each floor housed a number of
2441different training areas.
2442Hebrion Academy’s massive training section could easily accommodate the
2443entire student population at the same time. The sheer grandeur of the facility
2444took Romantica’s breath away.
2445Anyone would feel honored to train with such amazing amenities. No other
2446place in the world boasted such a collection of top-tier facilities.
2447"If I could just access these training areas, I would swear loyalty to Hebrion
2448Academy forever. I mean it.” Of course, Romantica meant unrestricted access of
2449those facilities. After all...
2450For Alpha Class use only.
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2454That sign, posted above the entrance to those luxurious training facilities,
2455spoke to the reality of the situation: blatant discrimination in treatment
2456between the Alpha Class and the Beta Class.
2457The trio moved on, leaving the Alpha Class training area behind them.
2458After climbing a winding staircase, they reached the shabby and dingy Beta
2459Class training facility, at the very top of the training area. By size and
2460convenience of access, the Beta Class facility couldn’t compare to the Alpha
2461Class’s—it looked like an old attic.
2462The rusty door, left unoiled for an untold amount of time, creaked
2463unpleasantly as it opened. The sight was enough to destroy all their
2464motivation.
2465“...Unbelievable.”
2466“This isn’t even comparable.”
2467Layers of dust swirled up as the trio entered the room, and their noses met a
2468rotten smell.
2469"Ahhhhh!" Pram’s outburst rang through the room.
2470Romantica was already on-edge, and almost yelled, "What's wrong?"
2471"S-something just ran across my foot and skittered away!"
2472As soon as Romantica heard Pram’s answer, she hurriedly turned the lights
2473on... but whatever Pram felt had already disappeared. Relying on the dull,
2474flickering light Romantica peered around nervously. Then, she noticed a small
2475mouse hole in the wall. She screamed as though the grim reaper himself had
2476come. "Desir, we need to get out of here right now."
2477"There aren’t any other training facilities we can use, Romantica."
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2481"I absolutely cannot ever train here! I hate mice!"
2482"Let's look on the bright side." Desir rubbed his hands together. "No one ever
2483comes here, except for us. Again, this is the best training area for us."
2484Romantica uneasily began to inch away towards the exit, but Desir was one
2485step faster. Desir blocked the door—Romantica’s only way out.
2486"Lets clean this place up and use it as our office." Desir grinned at Romantica.
2487"Y-you're joking? Please tell me you're joking? Please?"
2488"We're going to become an amazing party here."
2489"Look at this place! Look at this absolute mess of a place! It’s a rat’s nest!"
2490*click* At that moment, the light that had struggled to stay on went out.
2491Romantica inched towards the light switch to try to turn the light back on...
2492but before she could, a flood of red eyes appeared in the darkness.
2493"Oh..." It took a full three seconds for the dire situation to register in
2494Romantica’s head.
2495“Squeak.” Rodent and human squared off against each other in an interspecies
2496stare-off. And as expected, the rodents achieved the victory! “Squeeeeek!” A
2497swarm of angry rats charged at the humans.
2498"KYAAAAAAAAAA!" An ear-splitting scream rang out, and Romantica flew
2499into the air and latched onto Desir. The girl had gone hysterical, and her whole
2500body was shaking like a leaf.
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2507As the light blinked back on and the darkness retreated, the army of mice
2508skittered away.
2509Desir blinked. “Lots of rats, huh?”
2510“Squeeeeaaaak….”
2511Though the rodents had disappeared, Romantica had no intention of letting go
2512of Desir. She channeled even more strength into her arms and legs and
2513clambered even further up Desir’s body, as if touching the ground would kill
2514her.
2515Desir sighed as he looked at Romantica’s face, milliseconds away from bursting
2516into tears. "Fine."
2517"We're leaving? From here? Right now?" Romantica's face lit up in an
2518instant—a small sliver of hope had pierced the heavy clouds of despair.
2519Romantica gripped that small hope with everything she had and looked at
2520Desir with puppy-dog eyes, hoping beyond hope that he would fulfill her wish.
2521But that desperate hope would be short lived. "I'll block the mouse holes, and
2522I'll leave the sweeping to you."
2523"Then we..."
2524"Then we're going to clean this place and use it."
2525Romantica’s eyes darkened in despair.
2526***
2527Six hours later, the Beta Class training room looked totally different. The fully
2528recharged magic light cast a bright gleam across the room, reflecting off the
2529spotless, almost mirror-like floor.
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2533Desir, with a satisfied face, looked around the room, then at his cleaning
2534crew—everyone wore a similar expression. "Well done, you all worked hard."
2535"Wow!"
2536"Whoaa..."
2537Without any further words, they all collapsed in exhaustion and relief on the
2538floor. Just the cleaning process alone would have sufficed for their first
2539physical training session. But unfortunately, Desir had other plans.
2540"Ok, we'll rest for 30 minutes, and then we begin training."
2541"Whaaaaat!?!" Romantica exclaimed in exasperation. "We cleaned everything
2542today, let's just call it here!"
2543Desir shook his head. "Romantica, you haven't forgotten what Professor
2544Brigitte said when you joined this party, have you?"
2545"That’s....." Romantica grimaced, recalling Professor Brigitte’s warning.
2546“You must be absolutely certain before giving me an answer. Joining Desir’s party
2547also means agreeing with Desir’s ideals. In other words, you’re throwing in your lot
2548with him. You must obey your party leader’s commands, and follow his instructions
2549at all times. To join this party under these constraints, what matters most of all is
2550your own determination.”
2551The professor’s words had contained no ambiguity. Desir continued, "And I
2552also have the contract that you signed..."
2553"I get it! Alright! Fine! I’ll just do it." Nothing but a series of hardships. Little
2554by little, Romantica began to secretly regret her decision to join this party.
2555***
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2559Thirty minutes later, Desir kicked off Romantica’s training by bringing out a
2560blue ball. "First of all, we’ll have you work on your casting speed."
2561"My casting speed is already plenty fast! You saw it during the entrance exam."
2562Romantica took pride in her renowned casting speed—a remarkable talent for
2563a wind-attribute mage.
2564Desir agreed with her… to an extent. "Truth be told, your level of speed is
2565pretty good—if you were just a regular mage off the street. But within the
2566Alpha Class, your skills are just so-so."
2567The top-tier students from around the world gathered in the Alpha Class, so its
2568members would naturally progress leaps and bounds faster than the
2569commoners in the Beta Class.
2570Nobles received the best training and tutoring from a young age, so their
2571power levels couldn’t even be compared to that of the commoners. Thankfully,
2572Romantica had received some of that education herself, so she had some skill
2573to show for it. But still..
2574"We’ll be fighting them with a disadvantage. Even if we were on their level, we
2575would still have difficulty competing against them—we’ll have to get your
2576skills up to par."
2577Romantica raised her eyebrow. "But how are you going to raise our skills in
2578such a short time?"
2579"It's simple. You develop a new ability."
2580"A new ability?"
2581"You’ll be learning chantless casting."
2582Instead of processing mana through a spoken formula, “chantless casting”
2583utilised one's senses to manipulate and shape the mana, thus manifesting the
2584spell.
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2588Desire knew the Romantica from his previous life very well. She had already
2589specialized in speed-chanting, and the danger of the Shadow World pushed her
2590to constantly hone her skills and discover new talents.
2591Her efforts had given rise to chantless casting, an ingenious new method of
2592releasing magic without ever having to speak.
2593But the Romantica of his previous life had spent an unimaginable amount of
2594time and effort developing that method—Desir would help the present
2595Romantica develop those skills in a much shorter span of time.
2596"That impossible!" But as for right now, that was Romantica’s immediate
2597reaction.
2598Desir had expected as much. "No, it's possible. You just feel like it’s impossible."
2599"I told you I can't!"
2600"If you can't, then you can just stay in the Beta Class, eating stale bread."
2601The thought of the stale bread broke the stubborn stalemate.
2602“...you're not lying, right?" She knew as long as she was part of this party, she
2603would have to follow Desir’s directives. Romantica sighed.
2604"...Alright. Let's give it a try."
2605Desir smiled. "Great. Here, watch this ball."
2606Desir placed the ball at Romantica's feet, then proceeded to draw two circles
2607on the ground using a pen: one around the ball, and another five meters away
2608from her. "Try moving the ball from that circle to this circle over here."
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2612Romantica placed the ball down and tried to push the ball across, but Desir
2613interrupted her. "No physical contact. You are not to move from where you are
2614now. And, of course, you can’t speak. Use nothing but air currents to push the
2615ball."
2616Air current manipulation.
2617Trying to control the air’s current was like a human trying to flap a pair of
2618wings. It wasn't just exercising one of the body's five senses—rather, it was an
2619entirely new, unfamiliar limb.
2620It was obviously difficult. However, if a mage could master air current
2621manipulation, they were well on their way to learning chantless casting for 1st
2622circle spells.
2623Romantica focused her mind and stared down at the ball. But how was she
2624supposed to create a current without chanting a spell? "Hnnngggggg......."
2625As he observed Romantica’s efforts, Desir spoke up. "Romantica, do you
2626remember what you felt when we were cleaning?"
2627'Remember what!?' Romantica grew frustrated, both by her current inability to
2628move the ball, and by the memory of their slave-like labor. There had been so
2629much to clean up, they could only barely finish the task with the help of magic.
2630"You may have utilized spells at the time, but you definitely should have felt
2631something else—like you were moving with the wind. Remember that feeling.
2632That feeling of sweeping away the dust. Think of the ball as the dust."
2633Romantica blinked, glared down at the ball, and refocused. ‘Think of the ball as
2634the dust…’
2635Romantica applied Desir’s advice, and the ball budged from its spot for the
2636first time. Though it had inched in the wrong direction, the fact that it had
2637moved at all was worthy of praise.
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2641Desir patted Romantica's shoulder. "Your first steps are good. Keep at it."
2642Her first praise.
2643Romantica forcibly choked down the cheer forming in her throat and
2644continued to practice.
2645"Right, next is Pram's training." Desir turned towards Pram, who had moved
2646some distance away so as to not interrupt Romantica.
2647Pram looked up at the approaching Desir, eyes brimming with expectation.
2648However, that expectation was to be betrayed—Desir had no intention of
2649training Pram.
2650The reason was simple.
2651"Truth be told, I have nothing to teach you."
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2655Chapter 13 - Little Bird (2)
2656“Really? How come?”, asked Pram.
2657“You’re already a fully-fledged swordsman—you know all the basics, have
2658great senses, and your flow isn’t bad,” noted Desir. “You are apt at finding a
2659flaw in your opponent’s stance, and would not have any problems going to the
2660promotion battle right now. Even the Alpha Class has few people matching
2661your skills.”
2662Desir recalled Pram from his memories. His gallant figure charged into the
2663heart of the enemy, holding only a silver rapier. The sliver of a sword raced
2664across the battlefield, striking at the speed of lightning. A true King-rank
2665swordsman and living legend amongst the survivors.
2666But that was in the future.
2667Desir remarked, “Of course, that would require you to relinquish the
2668greatsword in exchange for a rapier.”
2669Pram failed to meet Desir’s eyes as he gripped the greatsword tightly. He
2670became silent and discovered a newfound interest in the floorboards.
2671Desir noticed his reluctance and simply asked, “Why won’t you use the rapier,
2672Pram?”
2673“Must you ask?” whined Pram.
2674“This concerns the overall strength of the party, so yes,” said Desir.
2675Pram lowered his greatsword. Their eyes met. Desir saw a touch of
2676vulnerability in Pram’s eyes. “Then… could you come with me?”
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2680The overcast sky gave hints of dusk approaching. Rain was sure to come in the
2681next few hours, but none of that compared to Pram’s appearance. His face
2682darkened with each word:
2683“I didn’t know my father.
2684“It’s not because he died when I was young. He was a noble, and my mother
2685was a commoner. I was a bastard, simple as that. Even so, we used to be pretty
2686well-off.
2687“Thinking back, I think he provided for us. My mother didn’t even know how
2688to stitch.”
2689Pram unlocked the door to his dormitory, and let Desir in.
2690“Every night before we slept, she would always tell me about what a wonderful
2691person he was. She was so proud of him,” explained Pram. With each word,
2692loneliness crept onto Pram’s face. Soon, there was none of the bright-eyed boy
2693who stood in front of him just a few hours earlier. Desir waited patiently in the
2694living room as Pram went to retrieve a leather sheath. As Desir received the
2695guard, he inspected the weapon—inside was a rapier.
2696The grip was made of a high quality oak. There was some unintelligible
2697scribbling on the handle, but most shocking was the weight. It was incredibly
2698light for a sword, to the point where it would be impossible to use the weight
2699of the sword in his attacks.
2700“When I was 6, my mother told me that my father left this rapier for us,” said
2701Pram. “That was why I learned the sword—to become proficient enough that
2702my father would have nothing but pride for me when we finally met,” Pram
2703claimed with sparkling eyes. “My mother was always worried about it. I think
2704she never wanted me to meet my father.”
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2708Pram gave Desir a bittersweet smile as he reminisced. “My mother never told
2709me his name—not even once. Instead, she always told me that I should never
2710go looking for my father. I get it—I really do. There’s no way that a highborn
2711noble family would accept a bastard. She never told me his name, even on her
2712deathbed.”
2713A bastard was a disgrace; in the case of Pram, he wasn’t even the son of a
2714concubine. If a commoner appeared at a noble’s doorstep and said he was a
2715bastard, the result was obvious. She kept her silence to protect her son.
2716Regardless, Pram wanted to know his father’s name. Despite his mother’s
2717concerns, he always wanted to meet his father.
2718“Call it curiosity. Isn’t it just human to want to meet your father?” asked Pram.
2719“That’s why I came here - with so many nobles gathered, I would definitely be
2720able to find a clue to my father’s whereabouts.”
2721Desir nodded in agreement.
2722“I had the rapier inspected as soon as I got here—my only lead. With weapons
2723from all around the world gathered here, there had to be somebody who could
2724give me a clue based on this rapier.” Pram’s eyes hardened.
2725Desir inspected the blade. Although the handle was extremely high quality, the
2726blade itself was worthless. The silver plating had worn off, and revealed a
2727rusted iron within. It resembled a toy more than a weapon.
2728“The result is in your hands. It’s made of a cheap iron that could be from
2729anywhere. The only thing that my father left my mother was a worthless iron
2730sword,” said Pram softly. He looked close to tears as he spoke. Desir could tell
2731those weren’t tears of anguish, but of betrayal.
2732“I can’t bear it. I can’t bear that after all these years I wishing to meet my
2733father, all he left for us was this worthless thing . That’s my reason. I will never
2734use the rapier again,” croaked Pram.
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2738Pram retrieved the rapier from Desir, and threw it to the side in frustration.
2739The greatsword cut through the air with a powerful slash. Pram was practicing
2740his swings. The most fundamental move—an important step to understanding
2741the sword.
2742Desir watched his display with apprehension. ‘It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to
2743say that Pram has no talent for the greatsword… it would be pointless to even teach
2744him.’
2745The greatsword was not designed for accuracy, but for its crushing weight.
2746Utilizing the slow and destructive strength of the broad weapon required
2747training to handle its hefty weight. Pram’s physique did not meet any of the
2748conditions in training with the greatsword, but were rather optimized for a
2749rapier.
2750Much of this was due to habit—based on Pram’s story, he trained with the
2751rapier for at least 10 years. If he had switched to the greatsword recently after
2752he had the rapier appraised, he had been using the greatsword for less than
2753two weeks. It would take many times more than that to break his ingrained
2754habits.
2755Desir sighed at the thought. Everything would be resolved if Pram simply
2756picked up the rapier, but he was taciturn in his answer. Desir was frustrated,
2757but did understand Pram’s feelings. If he were Pram, he would likely do the
2758same thing.
2759‘It’s still too early to give up.’
2760Desir hung on to one major flaw in Pram’s story—something that didn’t add up
2761that even Pram couldn’t know about. His future.
2762‘In my past life, he used the rapier.’
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2766Pram Schneizer and his rapier were inseparable. That was a fact. Through his
2767honed skills, he gained accolades and found himself at the apex of the blade,
2768even being named Sword Master. His future was completely different, and in
2769that was where Desir found his clue.
2770‘There must be a clue. Something that shook his heart and made him take up the
2771rapier again.’ Desir walked up to Pram and cleared his throat to get his
2772attention. ‘With that, there’s only one thing it could be — his father’s heirloom.’
2773Pram stopped his swinging and turned to face his party member.
2774“Sorry for getting in the way of your training,” said Desir sheepishly.
2775“What’s the matter?” responded Pram.
2776“That sword you showed me yesterday—could you let me see it one more
2777time?” asked Desir.
2778Pram’s ever gentle expression froze at the mention of the weapon. His face was
2779marked with anxiety.
2780Desir tried to appeal to Pram. “I know it is rude of me to ask this, but could
2781you please do me a favour and show it to me one more time?”
2782“Even if you say that, it’s impossible,” replied Pram bluntly.
2783Pram raised his head. The next four words that came out of his mouth were
2784completely out of Desir’s expectations.
2785“I’ve already sold it.”
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2789| This stop is the Business Sector.
2790Stepping off the bus, they were enamoured by the sight of a wide avenue lined
2791with thousands of street lights. The hustle and bustle of the street vendors as
2792they bartered with the city folk was lively. The crossroads, plaza, and even the
2793alleys were filled to the brim with shops as far as the eye can see. This sector
2794was the only area in Hebrion Academy open to the public. People from across
2795the world would come to inspect their wares, and the crowded streets left
2796barely any space to move, save for a few small gaps.
2797“Can I ask you one thing? Why did you sell your sword?” questioned Desir.
2798Passing by a smith’s stall with swords on display, Pram examined the swords
2799available. “It became clear to me during our talk, Mr. Desir. That sword was of
2800no help to me,” said Pram politely.
2801Desir realized that he had changed the future—Pram may never use the rapier
2802ever again in his life. He shook his head to get rid of the thought.
2803‘It’s not too late. The most important thing now is to find a reason for Pram to use
2804the rapier.’
2805The two students entered an alley, covered in a shadow cast by the nearby
2806roofs. As they travelled deeper into the alleyway, fewer and fewer stalls
2807propped themselves out for display. Eventually, the two made their way to a
2808large, imposing building in the distance.
2809“I can’t see why there’s a store all the way out here,” said Desir with a tinge of
2810doubt.
2811Pram responded, “They said they also purchase illegal goods. That’s probably
2812why.”
2813The building was adorned with marble, with a simple sign written in Common
2814in front of the door.
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2818Ujukun’s Antique Shop. The most trusted shop in Hebrion Academy for
2819antique appraisals and purchases. Do not touch unsold items. No refunds even
2820if you change your mind. No refunds for damaged items. No refunds under any
2821circumstances.
2822Desir frowned. There was another line obscured when Desir originally read the
2823sign.
2824Top-class security always present. Cannot guarantee the lives of thieves.
2825“Looks hard-fisted,” said Desir. He fanned himself with his hands as he read
2826over the sign again, ensuring that he didn’t miss any additional information.
2827“Are you planning on going in?” Pram asked.
2828“Yes,” said Desir.
2829“I’ll say it as many times as you want—I will not use that rapier,” said Pram
2830crassly.
2831As Desir entered the shop, Pram followed in resignation. After they passed
2832through a narrow hallway, they came to a stop in a beautiful passageway with
2833a glittering chandelier descending from the center of the ceiling. At the end of
2834the hall, an imposing steel door laid shut. Pram rapped against the door using
2835the steel knocker fashioned in the shape of a wolf.
2836Moments later, a man emerged from inside. His stature was much taller than
2837the average man, looking to be one of the northern barbarians—a giant. As
2838Pram and Desir entered, the door was slammed shut behind them. A roar
2839echoed across the hall as the steel door was closed yet again. Silence filled the
2840hall.
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2844Chapter 14 - Little Bird (3)
2845“...It’s a bit cramped,” mumbled Desir. Past the iron doors, the walkway was
2846extremely narrow. Where they were standing, there was barely enough space
2847for one person to squeeze through. More accurately speaking, the room itself
2848was spacious, but they had little room available to them. The display shelves
2849around the room were all blocked off by wire screens. “It can’t be helped,
2850security-wise,” Desir said.
2851Beyond the barbed wire, a wooden display stood in front of a keen-eyed
2852merchant, who introduced himself as Ujukun. His eyes were very thin and
2853slender, and accented by a few strands of greying hair. Wrinkles covered his
2854bespectacled face, giving him the appearance of an old man. The merchant’s
2855hands rested on the counter, and his fingers rapped in anticipation of his new
2856customers.
2857“Judging by the entrance, you seem quite concerned about security,” remarked
2858Desir.
2859“You can never be too careful,” Ujukun responded. “Naturally, plenty of
2860thieves tend to come by.” Ujukun pushed his glasses up and stopped tapping on
2861the counter. A silence filled the air as Ujukun sized up the young man sitting in
2862front of him. ‘ He’s going to be a difficult one,’ the merchant thought. His eyes
2863lazily moved over to the other boy and he quickly recognized the face.
2864“Weren’t you here about two days ago? Do you have something else to sell to
2865me?”
2866“On the contrary, he’s here to see what he’s sold,” explained Desir. The
2867merchant’s expression turned sour, before Desir added “Of course, this isn’t for
2868a refund. We will be purchasing it back.”
2869At those words, Ujukun’s face lit back up and he was ready for business. “If
2870that’s the case, you should have told me earlier.” He entered the storeroom
2871behind him. It felt like an eternity until the merchant returned with the sword.
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2875The silver paint on the sword flaked off, revealing years of rust underneath.
2876Ujukun placed the sword on the counter.
2877“It’s a heavily rusted useless sword,” explained Ujukun.
2878“The price is 90 bronze pieces?” asked Desir.
2879“If it were a sword, you would be correct. However, this is not a sword—for a
2880rapier, it is a bit large and light,” said Ujukun with a delighted grin on his face.
2881At this point, Desir recalled something—the gift Romantica received from
2882Doneta appeared in his mind.
2883“...Kemubin?” guessed Desir.
2884Ujukin calmly explained, “That’s right. Not a sword, but a kind of Kemubin. In
2885the empty space within this sword, a swordsman from a warrior’s lineage
2886would place something inside as a gift to their lover.” As Ujukun confirmed
2887Desir’s assumptions, Pram began to shudder. He hadn’t realized this when he’d
2888sold the sword. He broke out in a cold sweat as Ujukun continued.
2889“The price will be 40 silver pieces,” said the merchant confidently. This was
2890the cost of living for a month for a Hebrion Academy student.
2891Pram was unable to stay silent any longer. He yelled, “You never told me any of
2892this when I sold it to you!”
2893Ujukun smiled at the boisterous youth, before responding. “I never lied to you.
2894You came to sell me a sword , so I appraised your sale as a sword . Of course,
2895when you look at this rusted scrap of iron, it’s completely worthless as a
2896sword.”
2897Pram clenched his fists and gritted his teeth. He was furious, and started
2898spewing insults at the old man.
2899“Enough,” said Desir as he grabbed Pram by the shoulder and cut him off.
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2903“The price has gone up a lot since it was sold,” said Desir.
2904Ujukun furrowed his brow and responded with his own justification. “40
2905silvers is cheap. If I knew how to open this Kemubin, I would have charged you
290680 silvers.”
2907Even high-grade Kemubin would rarely cost more 10 silvers, unless they were
2908specifically laced in pure gold. No matter how they looked at it, there was no
2909way this item should be worth 40 silvers.
2910‘This sword is definitely the reason Pram wields a rapier .’ Desir thought about it
2911hard but quickly made a decision. If Pram once again picked up the rapier, 40
2912silvers was a price more than worth paying. “I’ll buy it.”
2913“Mr. Desir!” Pram was reluctant to have Desir pay the cost of his mistake.
2914Desir ignored Pram’s cry and took out his wallet. He counted out the silver
2915pieces and pushed them towards Ujukun.
2916The merchant gazed greedily at the coins in front of him. “38, 39, 40. It’s all
2917there. Take it.”
2918Simultaneously, the steel door opened and the Kemubin was laid in front of
2919Desir’s eyes. He raised the Kemubin and swung it around lightly. As expected,
2920this is far lighter than you’d think. Desir paused and gave it another thought. Is it
2921possible that the Kemubin is empty? Why is the handle in such good quality but the
2922rest of the sword worthless?
2923The young man could’ve wrap his head around the Kemubin. The sword Pram
2924wields in the future had the exact same handle as this. Desir shifted his attention
2925to the handle. He glanced at it from different angles, felt the contours and
2926looked at it intently. The handle was extremely high quality. The rusted iron
2927blade didn’t match the intricate handle whatsoever.
2928As Desir ran his hands down the spine of the blade, he continued searching for
2929any sort of switch. As he felt around the edges of the handle, a smile appeared
2930on his face. ‘Found it.’
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2934There was a small indentation on the sword handle—it was carefully hidden by
2935the design of the blade. Looking at it, it appeared to be a simple black line
2936blended in with the wood grain. If Desir hadn’t seen Doneta’s Kemubin, he
2937would have never been able to find it. Desir offered the Kemubin to his fellow
2938student. “Take hold of the sword, Pram.”
2939Pram was speechless. “Wha…But...”
2940“Do you see the indentation on the handle? Insert your fingernail and lower it
2941like so,” Desir insisted.
2942“Mr. Desir. I won’t use this sword,” replied Pram. Flashbacks of betrayal welled
2943up from inside Pram. He couldn’t—no. He wouldn’t let his father’s legacy hurt
2944him again.
2945“Pram, this isn’t the sword as you knew it. It was simply a Kemubin,” said
2946Desir, encouraging Pram to take a closer look.
2947“Even so, it’s useless. It’s just an empty Kemubin,” retorted Pram. Taking the
2948Kemubin from Desir, Pram raised the sword up. He had this sword for years,
2949and he knew. It was simply iron and nothing more. Pram looked at Desir
2950apologetically. “It’s unfortunate that you spent 40 silvers for nothing, Mr.
2951Desir.”
2952“If that Kemubin was empty, you would be correct. However, the situation is a
2953little different from that,” smirked Desir.
2954“This sword, Kemubin or not, has nothing else in it. It only weighs so much as
2955the iron sword and the wooden handle.” Pram frowned. Desir wasn’t making
2956any sense.
2957“It’s just that you can’t feel it. The item inside has no weight,” explained Desir.
2958Pram looked at Desir with doubt, as if he was going crazy. His expression was
2959earnest, but his words sounded like a joke. “There is no such thing,” answered
2960Pram. He wasn’t sure if he was answering Desir or trying to convince himself.
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2964“If you’re having doubts, why not open it for yourself?” questioned Desir. Pram
2965bit his lip. A pregnant pause filled the air. Desir did his best to reassure him.
2966“Listen to me, Pram. Trust me.”
2967After a moment’s hesitation, Pram inserted his fingernail into the indentation.
2968The sound of metal fixtures clicking into place rang in the storeroom. At the
2969same time, the handle loosed itself from the previous iron blade. Now freed
2970from its rusted prison, a sword emerged from the Kemubin, giving a
2971luminescent glow.
2972“Blanchume,” muttered Desir.
2973“B-Blanchume?! That’s impossible!” exclaimed Ujukun.
2974Blanchume was precious. Swordsmen from all over the world heard legends of
2975the mystical metal and coveted its existence. Weapons and armor forged from
2976this metal were unbreakable. In addition to that, Blanchume was nearly
2977weightless. It was because of that Pram thought that the Kemubin was simply
2978empty.
2979Pram didn’t dare take his eyes from the luminescent glow of the rapier. He
2980never would’ve thought that the tattered, rusted sword would metamorphose
2981into a brillant sword that veterans with dozens of years’ experience on him
2982would covet. He didn’t dare say a word at the fear of it all being a dream.
2983In that Shadow Labyrinth, this is the exact sword that Pram used . At the same time
2984Desir was satisfied with his decision, an eerie silence set off inside the shop.
2985You could cut the atmosphere with a knife. “Open the door—we’re leaving,”
2986commanded Desir. Their business with Ujukun has finished.
2987At that moment, the giant’s sword crashed upon Desir’s head. The cold steel
2988was inches away from taking his life. “That’s dirty of you,” chuckled Desir.
2989“Hand over that sword,” demanded Ujukun.
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2993Desir wanted to laugh at the merchant’s avarice. “Don’t make excuses now that
2994we’re done. What you sold was a Kemubin. I paid the price. Our transaction
2995has finished,” said Desir curtly.
2996Ujukun’s face grimaced at the thought of losing such a priceless item. “If I
2997knew it was Blanchume, I never would have sold it,” explained Ujukun.
2998“If my friend knew it was a Kemubin, he never would have sold it either,”
2999retorted Desir. Based on the tone in Ujukun’s voice, the time of pleasantries
3000was over. “It’s exactly as you did,” continued Desir. He glared right at the
3001merchant, who couldn’t meet his eyes. Ujukun couldn’t respond to that. He
3002was outwitted by his own logic.
3003As Desir took another step towards the door, the giant raised his glaive to
3004Desir’ neck. The giant opened his mouth for the first time. “Owner...said...stop.
3005You. Will stop.”
3006“…You’re really going to push it this far?” asked Desir.
3007“You should do this while I ask nicely,” said Ujukun. All of his mercantile
3008charisma drained out of him as he slowly unlocked a set of iron bars directly
3009behind him. As he moved behind the bars separating him from the two youths,
3010he set his gaze on the boy who sold him the Kemubin. Although he was capable
3011of thinking rationally, Ujukun turned a blind eye to the events unfolding soon
3012in lieu of his avarice. He would go to these lengths for an item made of
3013Blanchume.
3014Desir scratched his head. ‘…Well, I did reveal that it was made of Blanchume in
3015front of him, but I didn’t expect this to happen.’
3016Ujukun’s eyes turned cold as he made a motion of slitting his throat with his
3017hand. The loyal barbarian did not hesitate. He took large strides towards Desir
3018and it didn’t take long before he enveloped his entire field of view. However,
3019after 5 steps the giant had to stop. Pram stood stoically in his path.
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3023“I don’t want to fight, but if you come any closer...” said Pram. He raised his
3024rapier in perfect form, prepared to lunge at a moment’s notice. His hips were
3025low, and every muscle in his body was poised, ready to respond. Pram’s small
3026frame was in distinct contrast to his explosive aura. His lips were pursed,
3027analyzing the giant’s movements. “…Then not even I will forgive you.”
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3034At the sound of the threat from the little boy, the giant roared in displeasure.
3035The giant’s muscles bulged as he swung his weapon. The glaive and rapier
3036clashed head on. “Oraaaaa!” screamed the giant. As he feinted a swing of the
3037sword, he let loose a fist at Pram from the other side. He fought like a true
3038swordsman of the North, blending together true swordsmanship and brawling.
3039Pram found himself backed up against the wall. Without hesitation, Pram
3040rolled to the side and evaded the attack.
3041The wooden wall crumbled under the weight of the giant’s fist. The barbarian
3042spat in annoyance as he shook off the splinters embedded in his left arm. If
3043Pram hadn’t moved immediately, his head would have shattered like a
3044watermelon. The behemoth let out a guttural cry. He unleashed a frenzy of
3045strikes at Pram. The student, now equipped with his legendary rapier, was on
3046his back foot in lieu of the reckless barrage.
3047Swords clashed in the storeroom, one side with unbridled fury and the other
3048with confident vigor. The hulking figure showed no signs of stopping his
3049assault, and the rapier could only just parry the attacks. Pram dodged the
3050glaive by the skin of his teeth. A split second of indecision was all it would take
3051to signal his end. As the battle ensued, Pram began to dodge, roll, and parry all
3052of the incoming attacks.
3053The giant became tense. With the current pace, he would undoubtedly lose the
3054duel. His attacks became more vicious and frightening. When Pram tried to
3055side step the next attack, the enemy narrowed the distance with a single
3056stride—the distance was too short.
3057The glaive swung down like a guillotine. A vertical strike with nowhere to go.
3058“Kuarrrgh!” The hulking figure roared in triumph.
3059The ferocious blow landed on Pram’s body.
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3063Chapter 15 - The Returner’s Promotion Battle (1)
3064But nothing happened. The barbarian felt no resistance as the glaive
3065completed its sweeping downwards arc. The only thing he had struck was air.
3066“Gruuh…?” The barbarian stared quizzically at Pram. He hadn’t cut so much as
3067a single hair on his head. A glint of silver was now jutting out from the wooden
3068wall behind Pram. Something sharp with the silhouette of a crescent curve.
3069The barbarian snapped his neck down to look at the glaive in his hands.
3070Except, it wasn’t a glaive anymore—the blade was cut clean off. He was left
3071with a wooden rod.
3072Pram raised his rapier. “Shall we go again?”
3073The barbarian flung the wooden handle aside and closed the distance with a
3074swing of his fist. In an instant, his knuckles were close enough to obscure
3075Pram’s entire head from view. Pram wove to the side, letting the punch rocket
3076past him like a battering ram, and seamlessly vaulted into the air with a
3077backflip. With all the grace of a seasoned acrobat, he landed behind the
3078bewildered giant, and followed up with a swing of his rapier.
3079The giant spun around and raised an arm to block the blow with his gauntlet,
3080but Pram’s rapier drew a perfect arc around his guard, and thrust into the pit
3081of his stomach. The now hapless giant tried to retreat, but Pram was faster.
3082The rapier plunged into the barbarian’s solar plexus. Tough as his body may
3083have been, it was a decisive blow to a vulnerable weak point. The giant’s body
3084quavered, his legs gave out from under him, and he collapsed into a crumpled
3085heap.
3086Desir nodded silently, as if confirming something he’d already known. “Looks
3087like it’s over.”
3088“Nonsense,” screeched Ujukun. “That door is made of Kichlean steel. There’s
3089only one person here who can open it, and I’m pretty sure he’s in no condition
3090to do so.” Kichlean steel was famed for its unyielding tensile strength. It was
3091also proportionately heavy. A door of this size would likely require the
3092strained efforts of half a dozen men to even budge. “Which means you’re stuck
3093here until my guards arrive,” cackled Ujukun.
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3097“Oh, I don’t know about that.” The Blanchume rapier streaked through the air,
3098making short work of the door’s hinges. The door flattened with a thunderous
3099crash. Apparently, even Kichlean steel was no match for Blanchume. As the
3100pair made their exit, Desir turned to the dazed Ujukun. “Looks like it’s
3101definitely over now, doesn’t it?”
3102They’d only been running for a few minutes but Desir was already out of
3103breath.
3104“Alright, I think we’ve lost them. I really need to exercise some more. I can’t
3105believe I’m this weak…” Desir muttered between stilted breaths. Though, his
3106lack of breath did little to damper is cheerful voice. “Good thing we got the
3107sword back, right?”
3108While nodding, Pram moved his hand to the rapier at his waist without even
3109realizing it. The pale rapier glittered like starlight, or even moonlight. He
3110pulled out the sword, and couldn’t feel the slightest weight. A truly incredible
3111feeling.
3112“So you’ve decided to use the rapier?” Desir said, recalling how Pram had
3113fought with the rapier a few minutes before.
3114He’d held the rapier, and subdued the barbarian giant with overwhelming
3115skill. The fact that Pram had took up the rapier again was especially
3116meaningful to Desir.
3117“The situation was too urgent so I had no choice, but…” Pram was still
3118hesitating. He eventually let out a sigh. “Why would my father hide something
3119like this in that old, worn-down Kemubin?”
3120That was the cause of this entire ridiculous incident. If he’d made it obvious
3121from the start that it was in fact a Kemubin, Pram would never have had any
3122reason to resent his father.
3123“Your father made a wise choice, Pram.”
3124Pram raised his head at Desir’s words.
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3128“A Blanchume sword is an incredible thing. Imagine if word got out that you
3129owned it. Over a hundred people just like Ujukun would have come to hound
3130you,” explained Desir.
3131“But there was still a chance I would never have found out,” said Pram.
3132“He left it behind because he thought you’d figure it out eventually,” said Desir
3133assuredly. Pram’s father always believed that Pram would realize, as long as he
3134kept carrying the rapier around.
3135“How can you be so sure?” asked Pram.
3136Desir grabbed the rapier, and pointed at the grip. Pram looked at it. On the
3137Kemubin that had the shape of an old, worn sword, there were written some
3138unreadable words. The reason they were unreadable was because they were
3139incomplete. When the Blanchume was revealed and the rapier showed its true
3140form, the words on the grip took shape. It looked like there was a hidden
3141mechanism on the grip as well as the blade.
3142Pram read the words slowly.
3143Do not lose your way, my little bird.
3144The Alpha Class’s private restaurant was on a high floor, the view overlooking
3145Hebrion Academy. A cold breeze blew in from the open window. A colorless
3146night view lay outside. The stars shone solemnly in the deep dark.
3147Romantica shuddered in the cold.
3148“Here’s your order, madam,” said the waiter.
3149The lights glittered yellow and the waiters moved between the tables like birds
3150flying in and out of their nests. The menu was seafood—a salt-grilled fish and a
3151crab gratin were laid in front of Romantica, and she thanked the waiter with a
3152smile.
3153“The Alpha Class meals are so much better, right?” said Doneta Hadun, seated
3154across from her.
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3158She hadn’t known that he’d arrived. She guessed he’d come while she was
3159looking out the window. There was nothing strange about the fact that he was
3160there. In fact, what was strange was the fact that she was here. Without the
3161man sitting across from her, she could never have even set foot in this place.
3162“At long last. I’ve wanted to see you all this time,” said Doneta warmly.
3163“I see,” responded Romantica curtly. Romantica waited for Doneta’s food to
3164come out. A moment later, Doneta’s food was laid in front of him, and they
3165both raised their forks. The grilled fish tasted good, and the gratin was slightly
3166greasy, but its flavor was exquisite. The two of them didn’t say anything for a
3167while, savoring the food.
3168“So, what did you want to talk about?” asked Doneta.
3169There was no reason to hesitate. Romantica placed a wooden dagger on the
3170table. It was decorated with all sorts of ornaments. Romantica explained
3171herself, “I came to return this.”
3172Doneta pushed up his glasses and looked at the Kemubin as if it were his first
3173time seeing it. Romantica pushed the Kemubin toward him. Doneta showed no
3174reaction for a moment. No rage, no annoyance. He merely collected his breath,
3175and pondered why he had gotten rejected. Only a third-rate noble would show
3176his emotions on his face. “I thought there was no reason for you to refuse-”
3177“You thought.” Romantica looked at Doneta with her wind-touched green eyes.
3178Doneta’s heart started racing as he looked back at her gaze. “If you’re perhaps
3179uncomfortable with dating me, you don’t have to worry about that.”
3180“I did hesitate for that reason at the beginning. But it’s not because of that,”
3181said Romantica.
3182“You mean there’s another reason?” asked Doneta.
3183Romantica nodded. “I joined a nameless party in the Beta Class.”
3184“Beta Class…” Doneta looked at her with disbelief. He mumbled to himself, as
3185though he couldn’t even understand what he had just heard. “Beta Class, you
3186say…”
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3190“Yes. A commoner’s party. The people you regard as trash,” said Romantica.
3191Doneta slammed his fork on the table. Everything had grown cold. The air
3192blowing in from the window, the soup on the table, the atmosphere between
3193them. “I don’t understand. Did you get blackmailed?”
3194“Maybe…” Romantica shook her head. “No, this was my decision.”
3195“Then you weren’t thinking rationally,” said Doneta. He opened the Kemubin.
3196A golden necklace slid out into Doneta’s palm like a snake.
3197“I don’t have any regrets,” said Romantica. She stared at Doneta with renewed
3198vigor.
3199“Don’t be hasty. There’s still time,” smiled Doneta.
3200Romantica took a deep breath. “I’m not taking back my decision.” Doneta’s lips
3201were upturned, but he wasn’t smiling. Romantica did the same. “I honestly
3202think I made the right choice. I didn’t want to join that party at first, but I
3203changed my mind as time went on. This party is fun. The leader trains us
3204diligently. My skills are improving quickly thanks to him.” With each word,
3205Romantica became more sure that she made the correct choice.
3206“If it’s improving your skills, our party can do that as well,” refuted Doneta.
3207“Of course, that’s only one of the reasons. Doneta, do you remember how you
3208told me the Beta Class were all worthless commoners, nothing but trash?”
3209asked Romantica.
3210Doneta paused. “I don’t see why you’re bringing that up.”
3211“The reason,” explained Romantica. She breathed in deeply filled up her lungs.
3212Glittering red snake eyes stared back at her. She breathed out, and said the
3213words that sealed her fate. “...is that I’m a commoner.”
3214Doneta slammed his fork down into the table. A sharp clang slammed into
3215Doneta’s eardrums. All of the concern and affection washed off of his face. A
3216slight look of scorn could be seen on his face. Romantica could no longer find
3217the slightest affection in his eyes.
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3221“Hm.” He let out a slight cough. In a split second, he regained his poker face
3222after realizing his mistake, but it was too late. His feelings toward commoners
3223was close to physical repulsion, and he couldn’t contain it immediately. Just as
3224somebody wouldn’t need a reason to hate cockroaches, he didn’t need a reason
3225to hate commoners. A look of panic showed on his face—he looked desperate.
3226“That’s a lie.”
3227“Your reason for thinking that?” asked Romantica.
3228“If you were truly a commoner, you would have kept your mouth shut and
3229joined my party. That would be the only way a commoner like you could have
3230entered the Alpha Class,” explained Doneta.
3231“That’s right,” Romantica admitted it. “But when they found out I was a
3232commoner, at least they didn’t look at me like you.” Doneta was right—if she
3233joined the Blue Moon Party, she would have an easy time entering the Alpha
3234Class. In contrast, Desir instead invited her to his party even though he knew
3235she was a commoner. There was no discrimination. She didn’t have to lie, or
3236fear that she would be outed for being a commoner.
3237“I see.” Doneta opened his mouth. “Of course. You’re all the same trash, after
3238all.” His bitter tone was reflected in his demeanor.
3239“Trash… you’ve got that right,” said Romantica. Her voice carried the same
3240bitterness as Doneta’s, as she answered him, her voice filled with remorse.
3241“Nobles will always hate commoners. They hate and despise them as if they’re
3242biological enemies. I know very well why you nobles can’t stand commoners.
3243“It’s the same reason Hebrion Academy is an aristocracy instead of a
3244meritocracy—the same reason why Alpha and Beta aren’t divided based on
3245rank, but status. The reason is that you nobles are afraid of the birth of a new
3246Republic.”
3247“...Watch your mouth.” Doneta whispered back immediately. His eyes shifted
3248side to side and he looked around to make sure nobody was paying attention.
3249Romantica ignored him and laid the final nail in the coffin. “Times have
3250changed. The Shadow Worlds have toppled the balance. Anyone strong enough
3251can acquire magic crystals. You’re all living in a castle of sand and it’s
3252crumbling.”
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3256Her voice now reinvigorated, Romantica said, “You live in constant fear, not
3257knowing when everything will collapse.”
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3261Chapter 16 - The Returner’s Promotion Battle (2)
3262In the past there had a group who had revolted against the Kingdom, under the
3263name of ‘Republic’. They had rallied support through a common ideology: ‘The
3264Kingdom is a crumbling sandcastle and the nobles are its inhabitants’.
3265Doneta closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them slowly. “So you’ll
3266create another Republic. That’s what you’re trying to say?”
3267“If I wanted to lose my head, then maybe I’d try that.” Romantica shrugged. “I
3268was only talking about you people who scorn the commoners. You nobles who
3269still fear them, even after more than 10 years since the Republic’s destruction.”
3270“Don’t pretend like you actually understand. If you knew what really happened
3271back then, on that day, you would never say that.” Doneta gazed at Romantica.
3272No, he was looking through her, as if she were a window to the past. “12 years
3273ago, a commoner student of Hebrion Academy struck the spark that lit the fire
3274of revolution among the commoners, and raised up an army of rebels to
3275destroy the Kingdom. They called themselves the Republic.”
3276Yes, the rebel leader had been a graduate of the greatest academy on the
3277continent, Hebrion.
3278The Republic grew rapidly, and their advance was merciless; they ravaged
3279every place they passed through.
3280“As the Republic and the Kingdom fought, the country became divided, and
3281countless people were driven to ruin.” As he continued to speak, Doneta’s tone
3282became more aggravated. “Even the nobles were no exception; many families
3283fell during that time.”
3284In the end, they were almost able to take the capital, where the great royal
3285palace stood. But they defeated by the King’s forces, putting an end to the
3286commoner uprising.
3287Doneta clenched his fist, his voice now seething with rage. “Most of the Hadun
3288family, my parents included, died that day the Republic attacked the capital.
3289Beheaded by the guillotine to the cheers of thousands. I still can’t forget the
3290look they gave me, their gazes remained locked to mine the entire time, until
3291their heads were lopped off.”
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3295“It’s not just me, you know.” Doneta’s voice became calmer, and he looked
3296Romantica in the eye. “There are so many among the nobles will never forget.
3297To this day, the dregs of the Republic still remain, which means we cannot
3298trust the commoners.”
3299Romantica grimaced, as she finally glimpsed the depths of Doneta’s hatred.
3300“You can’t judge the whole based on the actions of a few. That's just irrational.”
3301Doneta narrowed his eyes at Romantica’s words. “Of course not all of the
3302commoners were part of the revolutionary army. But the revolutionary army
3303was comprised solely of commoners.”
3304Romantica sighed, she realized there was no point in talking anymore. They
3305were enemies now, and nothing she said was going to change that. “Good,
3306plenty of reason for us to be enemies. The nobles hate the commoners, and the
3307commoners don’t want to be discriminated against, that’s all there is to it.
3308We’re trying to enter the Alpha Class, and you’re trying to stop us.”
3309The Alpha Class, no commoner had joined their ranks for the last 12 years. It
3310had become a symbol of the nobility.
3311Romantica rose from her seat. “I’ll wait for the day we meet in the Shadow
3312World.”
3313“You won’t make it.” Doneta’s eyes flashed menacingly. “How could
3314commoners like you make it through the tournament? None of you will.”
3315Romantica smirked. “Really now? I wonder?”
3316Shards of glass exploded across the room. Ajest watched indifferently as black
3317ink slowly spread over the floor. Professor Nifleka didn’t bother hiding his
3318anger. He crumpled the newspaper in his hands and threw it at the students in
3319a rage; Ajest caught it as she was the closest.
3320For the first time in 17 years, Beta Class students are in the top 30! On May
33211st, these students will enter a Class 5 Shadow World to decide who amongst
3322them is the strongest.
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3326As critics question the fairness of the Alpha and Beta division standards, the
3327academy’s board of directors refute…
3328Public opinion in the Kingdom sways towards the Republic’s ideals that the
3329monarchy is a relic of the past. The academy entrance committee in charge of
3330the class of the 46th year states that hasty judgments should not…
3331“These Beta Class trash dare to…!” The atmosphere in the Blue Moon party
3332office felt heavy. The students standing in front of Professor Nifleka all stood
3333frozen. Getting on his nerves would have dire consequences on their future in
3334the academy. His anger towards the Beta Class students gave them all the more
3335reason to be careful.
3336There were nine students in total in the office, with Ajest at their head. Twelve
3337students should have been present, as there were exactly twelve students
3338among the 1st years who had joined the Blue Moon party. If it weren’t for that
3339nameless party from the Beta Class, they would have all made it through the
3340tournament
3341Professor Nifleka’s rage would not subside. “They would dare to mock the
3342sanctity of the Alpha Class!”
3343Nifleka slammed his fist down with all his might, and his desk shook as if it
3344were about to break. Pugman Nifleka was the director of the Blue Moon party,
3345the greatest and most famous party in Hebrion Academy. He expected nothing
3346but perfection from the members of such a prestigious party, and this
3347unexpected failure had focused his rage entirely onto one person.
3348The student who had stolen a prospective Blue Moon party member from
3349them. The same student who was in the Beta Class, but was aiming for the
3350Alpha Class. The student who had stood out so much in the entrance exam.
3351Professor Nifleka said the student’s name, his voice oozing with bloodlust.
3352“Desir Arman!”
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3356Desir’s name echoed throughout the room. Pugman was in a rage, his eyes
3357were bloodshot, and veins pulsed on his neck. “To think we have to take this
3358humiliation from that bitch because of him.”
3359There was only one person in the entire academy who Pugman would call
3360‘bitch’. Professor Brigitte Redwen, the target of his long-standing hatred.
3361“...” Ajest stared at Professor Nifleka indifferently. Even the director’s rage was
3362of no concern to her. In fact, this situation was to her benefit.
3363Ajest focused on a single thing Nifleka had said. She whispered it to herself
3364after tuning out the raging professor. “Desir Arman…”
3365A wave of heat swept across her body. Her heart began beating strongly, as if it
3366were trying to break out of her chest. Ajest forcibly held still her shaking
3367hands.
3368She hadn’t forgotten it even once. How could she? She still couldn’t let go of
3369the bitter taste of her first defeat. Desir Arman had won against her, and that
3370fact had been engraved into her mind. The memory of her loss had at some
3371point morphed into a burning desire to win. But Desir had been assigned to the
3372Beta Class, and her hopes of a rematch had only grown further away. She’d
3373started to think she’d never meet him again.
3374‘Desir is coming.’ A light flashed across her previously ice-cold eyes. He had
3375returned to her. He had overcome all the odds and would come fight her once
3376more. ‘I can finally fight against him again.’
3377While Ajest was lost in thought, Nifleka continued on. “It’s still fine. All that’s
3378left for us to do is to stop those insects from becoming Single Rankers. Our
3379Blue Moon party will henceforth use any method at our disposal to eliminate
3380Desir Arman’s party. Your final ranks don’t matter, as long as they fail.”
3381Nifleka wouldn’t stop at mere threats. “So, with that out of the way, let's move
3382on. Now that I think about it, we haven’t chosen a leader yet.” Nifleka looked
3383over the party for a moment. His eyes stopped on Ajest. ”You’ve fought Desir
3384before, haven’t you?”
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3388Ajest finally spoke, “Yes.” The professor’s question had dragged her back to
3389reality.
3390Nifleka’s gaze sharpened. “Then you should more or less know how to deal
3391with him already.”
3392Ajest nodded. “I’ve thought of a few methods.”
3393Ajest was someone who excelled in every field. When someone as skilled as her
3394said she had a method to deal with Desir Arman, Nifleka’s eyes shone with
3395glee. “Good, that’s more than enough. Ajest Kingscrown, I appoint you as the
3396leader of the Blue Moon party’s 1st year group.”
3397Selecting the group leader so hastily was shocking to the students present, but
3398not a single one of them objected.
3399Ajest Kingscrown: a Spellsword, a Pawn-rank knight, and a 3rd circle mage on
3400top of that. Peerless in politics, history, and every other field; she was the
3401subject of awe and admiration. It was only natural that nobody would doubt
3402her abilities.
3403Professor Nifleka looked upon Ajest with a smile. “Do your utmost to eliminate
3404Desir Arman’s party.”
3405His words clearly had a more insidious undertone, but Ajest Kingscrown was
3406happy nonetheless. She would absolutely beat Desir this time around. The
3407situation was similar to when she was with Elheim, but now Ajest
3408Kingscrown’s mindset was completely different. She no longer thought of
3409Desir as a weakling; instead, he had become someone she had to
3410unquestionably defeat.
3411He had become her rival.
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3415Desir spoke, smiling from ear to ear. “First, I want to congratulate both of you
3416for a job well done. At this rate, we’ll pass the final stage of the tournament
3417with flying colors.”
3418Still smiling, Desir dropped a small stack of books on the table, causing dust to
3419fly everywhere. There were three books. An incident timeline, the structure of
3420the Privius Clock Tower, and finally an analysis of the creation of the Republic
3421in 1218. Each book was large and thick with pages.
3422“What is all this?” Romantica asked.
3423Even though it was the lounge, it was still disrespectful to make such loud
3424noises in a library. Pram raised a finger to his lips to shush her. Romantica
3425flinched, but her stubborn nature wouldn’t let her admit she was in the wrong,
3426so she snorted in reply.
3427Desir spoke, wearing his usual enigmatic smile. “Starting today, we won’t be
3428training anymore.”
3429Romantica and Pram went wide-eyed at Desir’s words. This was the first time
3430they’d ever skipped training since the formation of their party. But of course,
3431Desir had no intention of letting them rest. “We’re going to study history
3432today.”
3433“Huuh? History?” Romantica frowned. She wasn’t pleased. Not pleased at all.
3434Suddenly studying history? ‘What kind of stupid idea is this’ , she wondered.
3435Desir chuckled. “It’s actually very important. It’s because we need to learn the
3436original history of the Class 5 Shadow World we’re entering.”
3437Class 5 Shadow Worlds always required proper planning.
3438Class 7s had simple objectives, such as travelling from point A to point B or
3439gathering objects.
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3443From Class 6 and onwards, the Shadow Worlds became fashioned after
3444historical events and settings. For example, traveling with a knight, or
3445guarding a caravan in a time period before the invention of modern vehicles,
3446when trade relied upon such archaic methods of transportation.
3447Understanding and preparing for the time period was one of the most crucial
3448elements in clearing a Shadow World. Class 5 Shadow Worlds were all copies
3449of certain historical events, most of them important enough to be recorded in
3450the history books.
3451Desir stroked his hand across the cover of the history book. “By clearing a
3452Shadow World, we can obtain magic crystals. This magic crystal contains all
3453the information about the Shadow World it comes from. The Shadow World
3454being used in this promotion battle will be one such reproduction of an already
3455cleared Shadow World.”
3456Desir continued, “That means the conditions can be controlled. Safeguards are
3457an example of this.”
3458Pram nodded his head in understanding. “You’re talking about the Shadow
3459World we went through during the entrance exam.”
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3463Chapter 17 - The Returner’s Promotion Battle (3)
3464Desir continued. “Even though we can manipulate it in various ways, we can’t
3465change the fundamental properties of the Shadow World, such as its historical
3466events or the clear objective. That’s why we have to study history.” This was
3467why the study of history in this world was so abnormally advanced, to the
3468extent where there were specialized teams of historians dedicated only to
3469studying the Shadow Worlds.
3470“So what you’re saying is…” said Romantica, “these books are references for
3471the Shadow World of the promotion battle?”
3472“Precisely,” answered Desir.
3473Romantica glared at the disgustingly large pile of paper before her. She didn’t
3474know if she would be able to get through it all even if she pulled three
3475back-to-back all-nighters. “You’re certain that this is relevant to our
3476promotion battle?” Romantica’s question was blunt, to the point.
3477Desir responded calmly. “No.”
3478“So…”
3479Desir spoke sternly. “No objections, Romantica.”
3480“Ugh.” Romantica threw her hands in the air in protest, but there was no way
3481Desir would change his mind.
3482“These are the historical events that I feel are most likely to appear in the
3483exam. If you don’t agree with my methods, you can instead try reading every
3484history book in this library.” It was a joke, but for Romantica it was no
3485different than a threat. Desir watched sympathetically as Romantica cringed
3486and shuddered.
3487‘I didn’t want to be this harsh, but…’ Desir sighed. He had no other choice. After
3488all, he couldn’t exactly tell them that he came from the future and knew
3489exactly which Shadow World would appear. Desir ordered them to get started.
3490“Read all the history books I picked out and write a short essay summarizing
3491their events.”
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3495“Aaaaargh!” Romantica slumped back on her chair, unable to prevent the cry
3496of agony from escaping her lips.
3497Romantica closed her eyes and whimpered. Then she focused, gathering
3498unpleasant memories together and releasing it all with a breath. Desir was
3499truly exceptional at tormenting people. This was no different than torture.
3500“That guy is definitely a sadist,” she muttered.
3501Pram turned a page. He looked up from his book, which was already read
3502halfway. “He’s doing this to help us.”
3503“Well, duh,” retorted Romantica. It was the fact that Desir was doing this for
3504them that was annoying her. It made her not want to defy him. When she was
3505with him, Romantica forgot that she was a noble, even though that was was
3506the reason she had decided to stay with the team originally.
3507Romantica leafed through a book, but couldn’t process anything she read. It
3508was impossible for her to study in this situation. She closed the book and
3509looked around. Desir was focusing intensely on his book.
3510Romantica leaned over and whispered softly so that Desir couldn’t hear.
3511“Pram.”
3512“Yes?”, he whispered back.
3513“I can’t help but notice that you’ve been a bit more attached to Desir recently.”
3514Her voice sounded slightly accusatory.
3515“Huh? What are you talking about?” Pram looked at her quizzically.
3516Romantica narrowed her eyes. “It’s weird, that’s all. You two look so friendly
3517now. Did you go and hang out without me?”
3518Pram tried to avoid the subject. “Ah, who knows? It wasn’t really hanging
3519out…”
3520“Where did you go without me? Wait, are you wearing different clothes? Did
3521you two go out on a date or something?” teased Romantica.
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3525Pram flinched and turned to focus on his book. “Hmm, so this happened in
35261417. I should remember this.”
3527“Hey, don’t ignore me. I’m on to you.” Romantica’s tone was light as she
3528playfully reached over to tickle Pram.
3529Pram desperately tried not to make a sound, covering his mouth with hand
3530while trying to wriggle out of the way. As they messed around, Pram’s elbow
3531accidentally bumped the desk and a precariously placed book fell on the floor
3532loudly.
3533“Stop playing around and start studying.” Desir was stern as he spoke to his
3534party members.
3535“Sorry, Mr. Desir.”
3536“Sorry~”
3537Romantica bent down to pick up the book, but an elegant looking hand got to
3538it first. As her eyes looked up, she traced the hand back to its owner. Once she
3539saw who it was, she gasped in shock. Standing before her was a goddess of
3540beauty with eyes cold enough to shatter ice. Her platinum blonde hair swayed
3541gracefully by her waist.
3542“Ajest… Kingscrown.” Romantica’s eyes immediately fell upon the Blue Moon
3543crest on Ajest’s chest. The Blue Moon party. Their enemies.
3544As Ajest looked around the room, Romantica spoke coldly. “What are you
3545doing here?”
3546Ajest did not react to her at all. As if to say ‘I have no interest in you,’ she
3547walked brusquely past Romantica and sat across the table from Desir. It was as
3548if the only thing she was interested in was Desir Arman.
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3555“It’s been a while.” She said, emotionless as always.
3556Desir answered her with his usual lackadaisical tone. “So it has.”
3557This was true—as the two had not met again since the entrance exam, this was
3558their first encounter in two months. Two months. For some, this was a long
3559time, whilst for others it was short. Regardless, it was long enough to decide
3560one’s affiliation.
3561“The Blue Moon party. You chose well. It’s very fitting for you.” complimented
3562Desir.
3563“What’s fitting?” Ajest responded with doubt.
3564“That you and the party both stand at the top.” Desir had nothing but praise
3565for Ajest.
3566“Not anymore, unfortunately.” Ajest paused for a moment before elaborating,
3567“After all, you’re here, Desir Arman.” Desir put his book down and rested his
3568chin on his hand. Ajest’s implication was clear: You brought me down.
3569“I heard you passed the tournament.” Her voice contained a tinge of
3570excitement, something unusual for Ajest.
3571“We did. We were lucky,” said Desir.
3572Ajest was dissatisfied with his answer. “You can hardly say that you were lucky
3573when your specialty is analysis. Well, no matter.”
3574By passing the tournament, Desir’s party moved into the top 30 of Hebrion
3575Academy, which meant that they had earned the right to participate in the
3576promotion battle.
3577“So when we next meet…” Desir’s question was abruptly cut short by Ajest. “It
3578will be on the battlefield. In the Shadow World.”
3579Desir followed Ajest’s train of thought. He was certain what was coming next.
3580There was only one reason for Ajest to visit them. “Have you come to declare
3581war?”
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3585Ajest was silent, as if she was at a loss for words after having her intent clearly
3586read. “That’s your personality right? Paying respects to your opponents and
3587declaring war before the battle?”
3588Ajest met Desir’s eyes. The two stared at each other intensely, trying to fathom
3589each other’s thoughts.
3590“You’ve recognized me as your rival,” Desir stated. He was confident this was
3591the case.
3592Desir got her, but Ajest couldn’t read anything from Desir’s eyes. It had been
3593like that from the start. His smiling face was so strangely serene, without a
3594hint of uncertainty. Reading his thoughts was impossible. It was the
3595expression of an experienced politician.
3596“You know me too well, Desir Arman,” Ajest relented. “It is as you say. I think
3597of you as my rival.”
3598“It’s an honor.”
3599“To disregard you before was my error. A misjudgment. I apologize for that,”
3600Ajest bowed her head, her voice steeled with resolve. As she looked back up,
3601her bright platinum blonde hair swayed. She was truly beautiful enough to
3602make one speechless. Her elegant, delicate appearance was more becoming of
3603a charming princess than a battleworn knight.
3604But she was indeed a knight, and a flawless one at that. From her perpetually
3605restrained attitude and speech to her abnormally incredible talent.
3606“Still, I have no intention of losing to you. I’ll use all my strength to defeat you.
3607That is all.” A slight tremor in her voice betrayed her competitive spirit. Her
3608drive to win against others, to rise up while breaking her enemies apart. That
3609was the driving force behind her growth, her strength.
3610Acknowledging her feelings, Desir secretly felt happy. ‘Things are going
3611according to plan.’
3612He had been planning it from the start. In the entrance exam, he’d revealed
3613much more of his strength than necessary. He had defeated Ajest Kingscrown,
3614the clear favorite, in an overwhelming fashion. He could say that he’d done it
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3618in an attempt to enter the Alpha Class, but Desir had already known that, as a
3619commoner, he would be assigned to the Beta Class.
3620No—the main reason was Ajest Kingscrown. By defeating her, his plan was to
3621make himself her target. The mighty spellsword. The woman standing at the
3622top in the Shadow Labyrinth. Desir would gladly become her rival if it meant
3623that she would become stronger. No, she absolutely had to. ‘Because you’re the
3624key to clearing the Shadow Labyrinth.’
3625Desir’s eyes were looking far into the future, as always. Looking at the big
3626picture. This woman was the shining ray of hope in Desir’s plans. “I look
3627forward to an honorable duel, Ajest Kingscrown.”
3628The cheers were so loud that they could have blown apart the main building of
3629Hebrion Academy. There was a magic-strengthened metal frame supporting a
3630gigantic panel that covered the ceiling. The panel shone down on the main
3631building, over 10,000 spectators, around 200 professors and supervisors, and
3632the 30 participants of the promotion battle.
3633Spectator seating wrapped around the Shadow Gate like a coliseum. The
3634interior of the building was no different than an arena. This was intentional, as
3635the interior was recently remodelled to resemble an arena for this special day.
3636Many kinds of people gathered in the audience. Aside from the expected
3637students and professors, there were many visitors from all over the world.
3638Ticket prices were expensive, but just the name of Hebrion Academy’s
3639promotion battle was enough to sell out the seats.
3640It was a highly entertaining spectacle after all. In the safety of the modified
3641Shadow World, boys and girls would kill and be killed in order to move up in
3642the ranks. Additionally, these were the top students of Hebrion Academy. They
3643would surely display skills worthy of the greatest school in the world.
3644Spectators were looking forward to a high-level battle. The promotion battle
3645was one of the biggest money makers for Hebrion Academy.
3646“Let’s go over our roles,” Desir turned to Romantica first, “Romantica, you’re
3647our sniper. Use detection magic from long range and take out enemies one by
3648one.”
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3652“...I’m not sure if sniping will work on Alpha Class students,” she answered
3653nervously.
3654“Don’t worry. That’s why we practiced, right?” Desir gave her clear
3655instructions and helped her calm down. “Take as long as you need when using
3656detection magic, but as soon as you locate an enemy, immediately cast your
3657sniping magic. Even if they’re Alpha Class, they’ll go down if they can’t react
3658fast enough.”
3659“Okay, but I still have a problem.” Romantica said. “This is my first time using
3660long-range sniping magic. I don’t know how much power to use.”
3661Desir smiled, he had already expected her to get cold feet. “Remember the ball
3662you practiced with? It was about as tough as a person’s head.”
3663Romantica’s eyes widened. She had spent countless hours getting accustomed
3664to the level of power required to destroy those balls with her ranged attacks.
3665“Ah, so that’s why…”
3666Desir already had this in mind. He’d been set on her role from the beginning.
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3670Chapter 18 - The Returner’s Promotion Battle (4)
3671Desir walked past Romantica and headed towards Pram.
3672“What’s my role, Mr. Desir?” asked Pram, with an oddly expectant light in his
3673eyes.
3674Desir paused as he said, “Pram, the role I’d like you to take is…‘damage dealer.’
3675But to better fit our party composition, let’s call your role ‘half-damage’.”
3676“Half-damage…” Pram repeated, as if trying to engrave the words into his
3677memory.
3678“You’ll need to protect us. We’re mages, so we’re very vulnerable to melee
3679attacks. Your role as our sole melee attacker is very important.”
3680“I’ll do my best!” Pram exclaimed, as he saluted playfully.
3681Desir couldn’t help but smile, seeing how insanely cute he was, and Pram
3682smiled back at him.
3683Romantica piped up as she observed the exchange. “Desir, what will your role
3684be?”
3685“Hmm. My role is…‘anti-mage.’ Well, to put it simply...” He paused, as he
3686pondered his choice of words, before finally speaking, “A playmaker, I guess?”
3687It was time. An announcement blared out.
3688| The Shadow Gate is opening. Students, please proceed into the Shadow Gate.
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3692Desir took a step forward. The Shadow Gate bulged outward, enveloping him
3693in a blinding light. He closed his eyes reflexively.
3694When they opened again, the scenery had changed completely. Birds chirped
3695noisily around him, and a gentle, soothing fall scent drifted up from the fallen
3696leaves crumpled underfoot. The location was a forest, and the time was 11 AM.
3697Desir took a deep breath as another announcement sounded out.
3698[Objective: Locate the enemy’s base.]
3699[Failure condition (an unknown input has been entered): Participants in
3700this world cannot die. Upon taking lethal damage, the failure condition
3701will be met, and you will be ejected from the Shadow World.]
3702| You are a soldier. You have received information on the location of the hostile
3703forces’ base. As a soldier of the allied forces, you must find the hostile forces’
3704base. Pain limit is reduced to 20%.
3705He looked around, but couldn’t see either Pram or Romantica. As expected, the
370630 participants had all started in different, randomized locations.
3707“Lucky for me.”
3708Desir sensed the flow of magic power behind him simultaneous to the sneering
3709voice. He ducked, as an Ice Bolt flew over his head and stabbed deep into a tree
3710with a thunderous crack, chilling the air around him. He turned to see a girl,
3711around the same age as himself, smiling maliciously.
3712“Lucky I found you so quickly, that is.”
3713Desir arched an eyebrow in response. “Was I that famous?”
3714“...Not in a good way.” A pulse of magical energy radiated from her as formulas
3715appeared in front of her. In response, Desir began casting his own spell.
3716“I’m Desir Arman, party nameless,” he said, almost casually.
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3720“Lapras. Blue Moon party.”
3721Their spells shot forward simultaneously.
3722[The throne of ice sinks into a freezing cold.]
3723[Ice Blast!]
3724Lapras’s spell was Ice Blast, a higher tiered version of Ice Bolt. It was a spell
3725produced by encasing an Ice Bolt in an orb of ice, before shattering the orb and
3726releasing the bolt again.
3727The orb shot towards Desir, leaving forsty air in its wake.
3728[The road of flame burns stronger than any other.]
3729[Fire Road.]
3730Fire Road. A 1st circle flame spell that shot a ray of condensed heat. Desir had
3731expertly predicted the trajectory of the Ice Blast, and released the Fire Road
3732directly into its path.
3733But Lapras wasn't done yet.
3734[Aqua Wave!]
3735A stream of water shot up, rising nearly 2 meters into the air before washing
3736over the Ice Blast. With a dull sputtering and a burst of steam, the Fire Road
3737disappeared as it struck the water. At the same time, what remained of the
3738water froze from the bitter cold of the Ice Blast, forming a pillar of gleaming
3739ice that held the orb in place.
3740Desir looked at Lapras, who smirked as she looked back.
3741With a horrible crinkling, the ice pillar shattered like a sheet of glass as the Ice
3742Bolt encased within the Ice Blast exploded outward. Shards of ice sprayed
3743wildly in all directions, shredding everything they touched.
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3747Several shards tore into Desir, and he staggered under the weight of the
3748impact.
3749Without hesitation, Lapras continued her assault. Countless ice fragments
3750slicing through the air froze in place, as if time itself had been suspended.
3751Then, in synchrony, they gathered around Desir, surrounding him in a
3752whirlwind of ice knives.
3753A terrifying rending roared through the air as magnificent, ancient trees were
3754reduced to sawdust in an instant. Around him, birds flew into the sky in panic.
3755Dust kicked into the air, before being blown away by the intense force. From
3756outside this trap of ice, Lapras looked on triumphantly. Her voice carried
3757confidence in every word. “Any last words?”
3758“Hmm, not a bad idea,” replied Desir lackadaisically, as if he were a professor
3759lecturing a student.
3760“Hmph.” Lapras snorted at his response. She raised one hand slowly into the
3761air and squeezed it into a fist.
3762The whirlwind of ice began closing in on Desir. For an instant, he felt a slight
3763tugging as the shards of ice reached his coat, before being freed again as the
3764edges of his coat were instantly disintegrated, disappearing without a trace.
3765“You just had a bad matchup,” continued Desir, seemingly undeterred. He
3766spread his hands. The ice shards that were inches from tearing him into pieces
3767stopped and began gathering in front of Desir.
3768Lapras’ eyes widened in shock as she watched each of those thousands of tiny
3769fragments fall out of her control, and gather in front of Desir, like iron dust
3770pulled by a magnet, until a single, perfect ball of ice floated in front of him.
3771“That’s....!” she sputtered.
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3775“Watch and learn.” Calmly, Desir raised his right hand, letting the fist sized
3776orb hover inches above his palm. Without hesitation, he grabbed it and threw
3777it at Lapras.
3778The orb flew across the air before it split apart into an incredible number of
3779Ice Bolts flinging in every direction. It was the most powerful ice projectile
3780spell in existence: Ice Orb.
3781Before Lapras could react, dozens of Ice Bolts burst into existence and impaled
3782her all over her body.
3783“KUUAAAA-!” She shrieked in pain as her body was struck again and again -
3784And then, as the fifth Ice Bolt struck, the screaming stopped as she
3785disappeared and her body fell to a pile of ash.
3786| A contestant has been eliminated. 29 contestants remain.
3787Romantica felt her mana surge as she created the formula.
3788[The wind lies in my embrace, becomes the eyes and ears of the hawk as it
3789hunts its prey on the ground.]
3790A detection spell formula formed in front of her. It was a 2nd circle spell, but,
3791depending on how much she wanted to boost the range, the mana
3792consumption could rise to that of a 3rd circle spell. Since the moment
3793Romantica had entered the Shadow World, she had been casting this detection
3794spell without regard for her mana.
3795[Detect.]
3796A heavy wind radiated from Romantica’s position, and everything the wind
3797felt was transmitted to Romantica; trees, rocks, and, most importantly, living
3798creatures. She could sense five people within 1 kilometer so far.
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3802The spell hadn’t even been completed, but Romantica didn’t hesitate in the
3803slightest as she instantly shot a Wind Bullet at the nearest target.
3804Chantless, ultra long-range sniping. There was almost no delay between the
3805detection and the shot. She hadn’t liked it at first, but the chantless magic
3806Desir had taught her to use was definitely bearing fruit.
3807The bullet tore through the air. She had little problem controlling the power;
3808after all, the ball she’d been training with this whole time had been around the
3809same strength as a human head, so all she had to do was match that same level
3810of power.
3811She heard the slightest thump , before an announcement sounded.
3812| A contestant has been eliminated. 26 contestants remain.
3813“Okay, that wasn't him,” she vocalized, before preparing to cast her detection
3814magic again.
3815“Is the search for Mr. Desir going well?” interrupted Pram, who stuck tightly to
3816Romantica. Fortunately for the two of them, Romantica and Pram had ended
3817up with fairly close starting locations. Romantica had found Pram the first
3818time she’d cast her detection magic, and now, there was only one member of
3819their party left to find.
3820“Not yet. But we’ll find him soon,” assured Romantica. Once again, the heavy
3821wind spread from Romantica, transmitting what it felt back. There were four
3822living creatures, in total, within range. She raised her hand and a bullet formed
3823in front of her. Once again, she fired and began counting down the seconds
3824until the inevitable. “3...2...1.”
3825She waited for a moment, but the expected announcement never came.
3826Instead, she felt the bullet slip out of her control before dissipating into a light
3827breeze that blew back past her cheek. Romantica grinned as she spoke. “Found
3828him.”
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3832“Found what?” called an unexpected voice from behind the pair. They whipped
3833around to see a two man group, comprised of a swordsman and a mage.
3834“You’re broadcasting your own location by flinging around detection magic
3835like that, you know,” said the mage, haughtily.
3836Romantica smirked at the mage’s mocking attitude. “Even if you know...”
3837“I wonder why you’re so sure you can take us down,” finished Pram, as he
3838drew his rapier.
3839“Stop spouting bull...” the swordsman started. He had just grabbed the handle
3840of his blade as he spoke, but before he could finish his word, Pram had already
3841closed the distance. In an instant, the rapier pierced through the swordsman’s
3842heart. “Huh..?”
3843Simultaneously, Romantica fired a bullet at the totally unprepared mage
3844standing behind him. It was perfect coordination. Both bodies vanished into a
3845pile of white dust.
3846| 2 contestants have been eliminated. 24 contestants remain.
3847“Now then, should we go find our stupid party leader?” Romantica asked
3848rhetorically as she stretched her shoulders.
3849Dark clouds rolled across the sky as an ominous rumbling rang out through
3850the air. The light breeze from before had quickly grown into a powerful gale,
3851and the temperature had begun plummeting rapidly. Rain was all but
3852inevitable.
3853“I took out two people by myself,” Romantica preened as she looked at Desir
3854with a smug expression on her face, her arms folded across her chest.
3855Desir smiled and patted her head. “Looks like you haven’t been slacking off on
3856your practice.”
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3860Romantica looked up at Desir, annoyed. “Wa-wait! Don’t touch someone’s head
3861without getting permission!”
3862Desir hurriedly retracted his hand. He had pet her head without thinking
3863because of how cute she looked, but wisely withdrew.
3864“Mr. Desir!” Out of nowhere, Pram slipped in between Romantica and Desir
3865like a ghost. “I took out someone too!” He quickly moved Desir’s hand on top of
3866his own head, and stood quietly, patiently waiting.
3867Romantica looked at them as if she were annoyed, and turned away.
3868“Stupid Desir.”
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3872Chapter 19 - The Returner’s Promotion Battle (5)
3873In any case, they managed to accomplish their first goal—get the party
3874together. Unfortunately, they had been fighting the entire time, and were
3875exhausted. After casting detection magic constantly, Romantica was looking
3876much worse for wear. Desir motioned towards a tree stump and spoke. “For
3877now, let’s rest.” The party cleared out the fallen leaves and sat down.
3878After sitting down, each of them opened up the packets supplied by the
3879academy—inside were two energy bars and a bottle of water. Desir took out an
3880energy bar and started eating. He grimaced in response to the taste, but it was
3881no time to be picky.
3882His eyes wandered over to Romantica. She went through her energy bar
3883slowly, melting it in her mouth. The girl who always grumbled about hard food
3884was nowhere to be found. Pram also noticed this sudden change and stopped
3885eating.
3886Romantica, noticing their stares, stopped eating in embarrassment. “What are
3887you looking at?” she asked.
3888“Are you alright, Miss Romantica?” questioned Pram.
3889“Mm? What are you talking about?”
3890Desir had a knowing smile on his face. “Looks like you’re completely used to it
3891now. There shouldn’t be any problems even if we leave you in the Beta Class
3892now.”
3893“Don’t be ridiculous!” exclaimed Romantica. She threw her food packet at
3894Desir.
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3898Desir deftly caught the packet, and buried the remainder of the party’s packets
3899to hide their tracks. After they finished eating, they enjoyed their momentary
3900break before returning back to reality. Desir grabbed a stick and took this
3901opportunity to explain his plans:
3902“There are two ways for us to enter the Alpha Class. First, we are among the
3903last 9 survivors. Second, we clear the Shadow World’s quest and take 1 st place.”
3904As Desir explained their goals, the wind bit into their skin and the drizzle
3905coated the plains. Romantica, intently listening, offered her own rebuttal. “But
3906you said the second way was impossible.”
3907Desir quietly drew 30 lines on the ground, before crossing out 4 of them.
3908“Correct. With our power, it would be difficult to do so whilst taking attacks
3909from the other parties at the same time. It really is impossible,” explained
3910Desir. Pram and Romantica nodded in response. “But… think of what our
3911objectives are. Our objective isn’t 1 st place, but 9 th place or higher. So our most
3912important objective is to eliminate the competition.” Desir crossed out more
3913lines on the ground, one by one. “24 people remain. As each party is working
3914on the quest, they will undoubtedly get into fights with each other. If we take
3915that opportunity to eliminate 15 people, it won’t be that difficult to enter the
3916top 9.”
3917The stick stopped drawing, and 9 lines remained on the ground. Desir circled 3
3918of them. “If we think about it like this, our goal isn’t as hard as it seems.”
3919Pram nodded in agreement. “I see—so that’s the plan.”
3920A torrent of rain washed over the land. The sound of raindrops pattered
3921against the leaves and resounded across the entire forest. Their party was truly
3922lucky—they’d found a place to rest where they could avoid most of the rain.
3923Unfortunately, that was where their luck ended.
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3927A clear bell rang out and the party all turned towards the northeast
3928simultaneously. The peals could be heard over the rain. “Romantica, what time
3929is it?” asked Desir.
3930“1 o’clock,” responded Romantica.
3931It was starting. An announcement played in Desir’s ears.
3932| The time has come to test your knowledge. The Privius Clock Tower has been
3933activated—it creates a demon once every hour.
3934| The clock strikes 1, and the sin of cunning crawls out from the depths of hell.
3935The Killdra Mouse has been summoned.
3936| The quest has begun.
3937[Survival: Demons live in the forest. Survive and defeat the demons.]
3938“Kiaaaaaaaak-!” A sharp cry rang out, followed by dozens of similar screams in
3939response. The first cry alone would make anybody’s heart palpitate and shoot
3940right out of their chest, but the chorus of monsters would make a person’s
3941heart stop.
3942“Everyone, get back.” Desir ordered the team and hesitantly rose up. The
3943leaf-covered dirt shifted, thumping up from the ground. It looked like the
3944spirits in the dirt were dancing with the raindrops.
3945“Eugh, the smell!” Romantica complained as she pinched her nose. She’d
3946smelled this before—the smell of rotten meat and blood, pungent enough to
3947paralyze a person’s sense of smell. She tried to recall the smell. It was
3948definitely when they were cleaning the training ground… A shiver ran down
3949her spine. “By the first demon, they can’t mean...”
3950“Squeak-!” A red blur burst out of the rumbling dirt.
3951Romantica held her shaking hands together and screamed. “Rats!”
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3955It was a rat with jagged teeth, covered with red flesh. It looked as if a child had
3956molded it out of clay. The slow contractions of its stomach matched its
3957heartbeat. An exoskeleton covered its entire body, starting from the two horns
3958sprouting on its forehead. ‘Demon’ was the only word Romantica could muster
3959to describe the creature.
3960| Your prior knowledge has revealed the identity of this monster. Killdra
3961Mouse. 2-star demon. This monster commands countless rats, consuming
3962human flesh. After determining a target, it never gives up on its prey.
3963“Squeaaaaak-!” The Killdra Mouse cried out, and its ear-splitting scream
3964reverberated across the forest. Tremors broke out yet again, the ground
3965bursting at the seams trying to contain the pressure. The bulging ground
3966exploded, and black creatures emerged from the dark crevasse.
3967Rats. Thousands of rats swarmed out from the hole, and they squirmed and
3968scurried like one massive organism.
3969Romantica’s face was pale, and she was frozen in place. Her breathing became
3970heavy, and she had no idea what to do. Desir pulled sharply on Romantica’s
3971arm, and turned around to run away. The tidal wave of rats crashed in the
3972direction of their party.
3973The squealing rats’ cries pounded against Romantica’s eardrums. She trembled
3974in terror. “I’m going crazy. I’m going crazy. I’m going to go crazy!” If she got
3975swept up by these rats, she might really go insane.
3976They kept running, but the plague of rats were incredibly fast. If they slowed
3977down for even a second, the slew of rats would consume them.
3978“Huk...huk!” The wind bit at their skin, and the crunch of the leaves rang with
3979each step. Trees flew in and out of their peripheral vision as they desperately
3980tried to get away. With each tree that they passed, a booming sound rang out
3981behind them. If they looked back, they could see the tree ground into dust by
3982the black swarm.
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3986[Blow Wind!]
3987Romantica flung a spell at the mess of rats, but it had very little effect. For
3988every rat blown away by the spell, a dozen rats came to take their place. The
3989current situation was extremely bad for the three of them. The ground was
3990slippery, and the densely packed trees made getting away several times more
3991difficult. The group was losing their breath, and growing more exhausted with
3992each passing second. On the other hand, the rats continued barrelling down on
3993them, with no sign of stopping.
3994“We’re blocked off!” said Pram. An enormous tree appeared their path, fallen
3995on its side. Fragments of ice glittered on its stump. Desir immediately
3996recognized this tree.
3997‘The tree that fell during my fight with Lapras. Of all times, why now!’ Desir
3998estimated it to be 1 meter tall. Pram didn’t hesitate, vaulting over the tree and
3999landing lightly on the other side. The problem was Desir and Romantica, who
4000were mages. Desir let go of Romantica’s hand—it would only impede their
4001movement. They had to run as fast as possible to make it past.
4002“3… 2...” Each second was precious. They sprinted to the foot of the tree and
4003Desir contracted his leg muscles with all of his strength.
4004“1…now!” Desir kicked off the ground, and flew in the air until he landed on
4005the other side. Looking to his side, Romantica landed face-first in a puddle.
4006She’d caught her leg on the tree as she jumped. The last hint of reason fell
4007away as Romantica felt an imminent sense of foreboding looming over her.
4008With a thunderous slam, the giant tree exploded into pieces, as the wave of
4009rats rushed forward. The party was barely three steps ahead of the rats.
4010“We’re going to get caught!” Romantica shrieked.
4011Desir had to quickly come up with a solution. “It’ll be over if we kill the Killdra
4012Mouse!”
4013“And where’s that!” shouted Romantica.
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4017“In the swarm of rats!” said Desir.
4018“You idiot! How are you going to kill a rat in THAT?” retorted Romantica.
4019The monster’s main body—it was definitely possible to find it in the swarm. It
4020had an unusual form, so they would be able to tell the Killdra Mouse apart
4021from the other rats. Unfortunately, because it was buried in the wave, it was
4022impossible to aim an attack at the main body alone.
4023‘ But what if we can draw the Killdra Mouse out?’
4024The squirming rodents were nipping at their heels, and there was no time left
4025to run. There were even rats scrambling over the backs of the swarm to make
4026headway for fresh meat. Some of the rats climbed onto the party’s shoulders
4027and began gnawing into their skin.
4028They was no time. Desir breathed out deeply. ‘ I have to draw the Killdra Mouse
4029out from the swarm.’ He’d use it. The reason the monster was chasing them. Just
4030before the rat wave reached them, Desir bit down on his thumb, and blood
4031spurted out of his finger. Immediately, he thrust out his finger and a stream of
4032blood flew across the air.
4033A figure rocketed out of the wave, careening at the glistening red liquid—a red
4034rat, covered in a black exoskeleton.
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4038Chapter 20 - The Returner’s Promotion Battle (6)
4039The Killdra Mouse leaped into the air with its mouth wide open, trying not to
4040miss even a drop of Desir’s blood.
4041[Wind Bullet.]
4042Romantica seized the opportunity. Wordlessly, she quickly formed a Wind
4043Bullet and shot it straight into the mouse’s belly. A large crack sounded—but
4044there was something off about the sound.
4045The exoskeleton covering the rat’s body had definitely broken, but the mouse
4046hadn’t died. Either the exoskeleton was stronger than she’d thought, or her
4047nerves had broken her concentration. Either way, the plan had failed. The
4048Killdra Mouse fell back down and retreated into the torrent of rats. It was
4049impossible to get to it now.
4050Suddenly, Pram sped past Romantica.
4051“Pram!?”
4052Faster than Romantica or Desir could react, Pram dove into the rolling mass of
4053rats, and thousands of rodents immediately began ravaging Pram’s skin. But it
4054wasn't enough to break Pram’s concentration.
4055The Killdra Mouse couldn’t pass up the smell of blood. It moved quickly
4056through the swarm. With his keen eyesight, Pram spotted the demon as it
4057made its way towards him. “Haap!” He stabbed at it, his sword splitting the
4058wave of rats like a beam.
4059“Squeeee… eeeeak.” A silver light pierced through the dark mass of rodents.
4060The grotesque sound of skewered flesh echoed out. The Killdra Mouse, pierced
4061by Pram’s rapier, shivered and went limp. The rodent swarm, which had
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4065previously operated like a well-oiled machine, suddenly devolved into an
4066incoherent mess. “Squeak? Squeeeak?”
4067As if they’d just woken from a dream, the rats looked around for a moment,
4068dazed. But when their eyes landed on the gigantic humans next to them, they
4069scattered back into the forest like a retreating tide.
4070| Survival quest complete. You have defeated the Killdra Mouse. Survival
4071success.
4072“It’s over.” Pram breathed out and collapsed on the spot.
4073Desir flicked away the remaining rats clambering on Pram’s shoulders. “Good
4074job, Pram.”
4075“This much... is nothing.”
4076Everything had returned to normal, as if nothing had even happened. The
4077ear-splitting sound of rats was nowhere to be heard. The rain, indifferent to
4078the fierce battle that had just taken place, poured relentlessly on their faces
4079and bodies.
4080“Cold.” Romantica muttered, her entire body soaked to the bone. She looked
4081like a soggy rat.
4082Desir smiled, and pointed northwest. “It should be a bit better over there.” The
4083thunder rumbled, and the clock tower, far to the northwest, cast a long shadow
4084on the ground.
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4091| The quest objective has been revealed. You already possess knowledge of this
4092place. The quest description has been altered to account for this.
4093| The Privius Clock Tower is a large-scale magic device containing the highest
4094level of dark magic. Each hour, it will summon a demon that can summon
4095other demons. The summoned demons will each have unique characteristics
4096depending on when they are summoned.
4097| The final quest has been revealed.
4098[Quest objective: Stop the clock tower.]
4099| At the top of the clock tower lies the clock’s power source. Destroy the power
4100source, and the clock tower will stop.
4101The sharp ring of a sword slash rang out, and the frozen Killdra Mouse
4102shattered into pieces. Blood and meat danced together in a macabre waltz as
4103its corpse fell to the ground. Ajest, cold and indifferent, flicked the blood off
4104her sword.
4105| You have defeated the Killdra Mouse. Survival success.
4106The rats had been surrounding the Blue Moon party, pushing in from all sides.
4107But after the boss rodent perished, they stopped in their tracks, and soon
4108scattered; their cowardly natures restored themselves after being freed from
4109the control of the Killdra Mouse.
4110“We’re alive!” “We won!” Excited cheers rang out from the group.
4111Ajest looked around. There had been ten party members, including herself.
4112That number had been reduced to eight. ‘Two eliminated.’
4113Overall, out of the 30 participants in this quest, over 10 had been
4114eliminated—more than a third. The Blue Moon party had put up a decent
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4118fight... but Ajest’s mood had soured, though nobody noticed the change in her
4119emotions because of her indifferent expression.
4120Percival walked toward Ajest. “We have the lead now. Almost half of the 18
4121survivors are in our party.” Mathematically, the remaining survivors could
4122only be small parties of three to five people. “Once we take care of the other
4123parties, we’re guaranteed to rank first.”
4124The rain was still falling. The water soaked their bodies, washing away the
4125sweat. It was a refreshing feeling after their long fight against the rats. Ajest’s
4126silver hair blew in the wind. It was a weak north wind, blowing in with the
4127rain. One couldn’t even feel it without paying attention.
4128At that moment, Ajest’s eyes flashed open.
4129[Telbricsa’s shield of ice protect us.]
4130Magic formulas formed in front of Ajest at an incredible speed. Within a
4131matter of seconds, a transparent pillar of ice emerged in front of Percival. As
4132soon as it reached full height, the ice pillar shattered and fell over.
4133“Wha, what was that just now?” Percival’s voice shook.
4134“Sniper.” There was no trace of any emotion in her voice, but Ajest also felt
4135some shock. It was because there was barely any gap between the detection
4136magic—the wind—and the snipe. If she hadn’t noticed the detection magic,
4137Percival would have been eliminated right there.
4138‘There shouldn’t be any mages here capable of casting this quickly…’ More
4139accurately, there was nobody with that level of skill among the freshmen,
4140herself excluded. Regardless of her expectations, the important thing was that
4141a high-level wind mage was targeting them. And no matter how skilled her
4142Alpha Class teammates were, a sniper of this level was incredibly dangerous.
4143Ajest commanded the party members standing behind her. “Enemy. Tankers in
4144front. Wind mages, disrupt the air currents.”
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4148Her team moved into the defensive formation, following Ajest’s orders. The
4149tankers stood in front, shields out. The mages stood behind them, disrupting
4150the air and preparing to counterattack.
4151...But no more attacks came. The enemy had likely realized that sniping was
4152pointless without the element of surprise. So Ajest’s party kept waiting, but to
4153no avail.
4154“Leader? They’re not sniping us…”
4155“Hold formation.”
4156They couldn’t release the formation just because the enemy had stopped
4157sniping. The sniper would blow away their heads if the Blue Moon party
4158lowered their guard for even a second.
4159“Do not relax. Advance north.” Ajest pointed in the direction the bullet had
4160come from.
4161“Mages capable of casting detection spells, cast them every 100 meters.”
4162The Blue Moon party advanced, their nerves stretched tight. The rain fell, the
4163wind howled. For the vulnerable party, the weather conditions couldn’t be any
4164worse.
4165Ajest bit her lip. ‘I’ve failed.’
4166From the third floor of the clock tower, Romantica looked out the window at
4167the forest below, eyes furrowed in frustration. Desir stood next to her. “It
4168doesn’t matter. I didn’t expect the snipe to work as long as Ajest was there.”
4169“What? You told me to snipe them knowing it wouldn’t work?” Romantica
4170scowled and puffed up her cheeks.
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4174“Yes. To tell them that we have a sniper on our side. They’ll have to spend
4175every moment looking out for a snipe as they move, and they’ll have to
4176constantly use detection magic to prepare for it. That alone should be a huge
4177mental burden for them.”
4178Romantica released the air from her cheeks, but she still wasn't convinced.
4179“Since the snipe failed, they’ve found our location.”
4180“And that is the core of the plan.”
4181Romantica raised an eyebrow. “What?”
4182Desir spoke again. “Snipe every party, not just the Blue Moon party. Let them
4183know our location.”
4184Romantica’s shrill voice berated him. “Did you hit your head?” Desir smiled in
4185response.
4186Their objective was to lower the number of survivors below ten, whatever it
4187took. Of course, since the Blue Moon party held the majority, it was impossible
4188to avoid an eventual conflict with them. There was no way his group could win
4189against the Blue Moon party in a direct confrontation. “But a melee’s a
4190different story.”
4191“A melee?”
4192“We make every party fight at the same time, right here, in this clock tower.”
4193That was the best option for their party, considering their small number.
4194“Right now, the Blue Moon party has an absolute advantage. But what would
4195happen if every party gathers here? There’s no way the other survivors will
4196fight each other when there’s such a powerful group sitting right there. They’ll
4197team up against the overwhelming enemy.”
4198Desir paused to breathe, then continued. “When that melee happens, we’ll
4199balance them out. We’ll take out any enemies if we have the chance. If we see
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4203one side winning, we’ll tip the scales toward the other side. We’ll slowly reduce
4204the number of survivors down to nine.”
4205“In other words, we make them work for us,” Pram concluded.
4206“How scummy of you, Desir.”
4207Desir raised an eyebrow at Romantica’s insult, and spoke with a smirk. “What
4208matters is that we win, right?”
4209Pram folded his arms. “But if we use that strategy, it’ll be so unfair for the
4210other parties. After coming all the way here while defending themselves at the
4211same time, they’ll be stuck in a huge melee. It’ll truly be hell for them.”
4212“Wouldn’t it be heaven for us?” A peculiar twinkle flashed in Desir’s eyes.
4213Romantica shivered. He was a master at tormenting others. A demon in human
4214form.
4215Desir clapped his hands. “Well, that’s just the way it is. Our job right now is
4216simple: keep sniping every party to tell them our location. Tell them their
4217enemies are right here, in this clock tower.”
4218Romantica moved to the window. She spoke as she cast her detection magic
4219silently. “I don’t know if they’ll come even if I keep shooting them like this.”
4220“What other choice do they have? This place is the quest objective.”
4221After all, everyone had to come to Privius Clock Tower to clear the quest.
4222Desir’s party was simply reminding them of that fact, with bullets instead of
4223words.
4224“Now, let the mud fight begin.” Desir clapped.
4225The sound of a bullet was lost in the wind.
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4229Chapter 21 - Showdown (1)
4230| The final quest has been revealed.
4231[Quest objective: Stop the clock tower.]
4232| At the top of the clock tower lies the power source of the clock. Destroy the
4233power source, and the clock tower will stop.
4234The door creaked behind them as the Blue Moon party entered the clock tower.
4235To their surprise, what greeted them was no sound of ticking gears, or
4236multitude of traps set for intruders.
4237Instead, six survivors stood in a loose semi-circle, chattering furiously
4238amongst themselves. But as they saw Ajest cross into the tower, the tense
4239conversation rapidly ceased. A silence fell over the tower as all eyes were
4240turned towards her.
4241Ajest looked around carefully. “2 eliminated,” she said softly, to nobody in
4242particular. There were 16 remaining survivors; of them 13 were standing here.
4243However, it was also clear that the wind mage wasn’t among the 13. Ajest was
4244now certain that the sniper belonged to Desir’s party.
4245A soft breeze blew through the room, momentarily interrupting the mounting
4246tension. Before the Blue Moon party had entered, the other two, more medium
4247sized parties, had been sizing each other up. They had similar strength and
4248similar numbers; consequently, it would hardly have been strange if a fight
4249broke out right then and there.
4250However, the appearance of the Blue Moon party considerably changed the
4251situation. The Blue Moon party had the most survivors; the other parties’
4252leaders weren’t idiots, and it was bluntly obvious that, as smaller parties,
4253infighting amongst themselves would only be detrimental.
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4257The two parties exchanged nervous glances. Then, without a word, they moved
4258in unison to block the Blue Moon party’s path.
4259“All members, form ranks.” Ajest’s dispassionate voice rang out, and the party
4260moved in unison. 3 tankers moved to the front immediately; behind them
4261stood 2 knights with their swords drawn and ready. A lone mage stood at the
4262back, and magic formulas quickly filled the air in front of them. Their
4263matching uniforms and neat, crisp movements gave them a
4264near-overwhelming presence.
4265But the other survivors had, after all, also made it all the way to the end, and
4266now they too quickly moved into their own formation. 2 members with shields
4267moved to the front, with a knight just behind them. Then, behind that, stood 2
4268archers, with bowstrings drawn, and 1 mage of their own.
4269Both parties eyed each other cautiously, each waiting for the other to move.
4270The tension was so thick one could almost cut it with a knife.
4271Ajest pulled out her sword. A blue light shined from its blade.
4272A voice rang out from the impromptu party alliance. “The sniper was in the
4273Blue Moon party, as expected.” The man who spoke began walking towards the
4274Blue Moon party. 1st year, rank 2. Gabriel Ijente. 3rd circle fire mage.
4275Ajest raised an eyebrow in response, and asked, “...you were also getting sniped
4276at?”
4277“Cut the crap. Only the Blue Moon party could possibly have a sniper of that
4278caliber.”
4279Ajest narrowed her eyes. It wasn’t because of anything Gabriel had just said,
4280but rather, she now realized. ‘We weren’t the only ones Desir Arman was sniping.’
4281He had clearly found the clock tower first. But instead of continuing the quest,
4282he had instead elected to gather every other party. ‘Does he think he can snipe us
4283all down? But that doesn’t make sense. He wouldn’t give up his enormous lead on the
4284quest progression for such a reckless plan.’
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4288Ajest blinked slowly as comprehension dawned on her. “Clearing the quest
4289wasn’t his objective,” she thought aloud.
4290Ijente frowned. “What are you talking about?”
4291Without a word in response, Ajest took a step forward. Her eyes were already
4292behind him.
4293He blinked. She disappeared. A cloud of dust exploded from where she had
4294stood. In an instant, Ajest’s sword was past him.
4295There was no warning. Ijente turned to look down at his body. As he did, he
4296faded into tiny motes of light.
4297| A contestant has been eliminated. 15 contestants remain.
4298“Aahhh! The party leader died!”
4299“Everyone, charge!” The screams ran out from panicked students.
4300Ajest calmly surveyed her charging opponents, and flicked her sword in her
4301hand. ‘5 people...and spectators.’ She looked up. She couldn’t see deep into the
4302dark tower, but it didn’t matter. She knew they had to be there. “All members,
4303stop Desir’s party’s sniper,” she ordered as she pointed at the stairs.
4304“All members!? What about these guys right here?” Percival replied,
4305incredulous at the absurd order.
4306She looked back over the other survivors. Without hesitation, she cooly
4307responded, “I’ll take out the five of them myself.”
4308“All—all five!? By yourself?” he spit out in disbelief.
4309Ajest never answered him. She had already entered the fight.
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4313A low, whining creak came from the rusted hinges of the door as it swung
4314open.
4315A silhouette illuminated against the open doorway. As the figure silently drew
4316closer, it came into view. It was a girl, wearing a strange leather coat
4317embedded with metal plating. Blood ran down the side of body, leaving a trail
4318of droplets as she walked. She held a blade in her hand. Blue light glowed
4319along its edge. Her long, platinum hair was unmarked by blood, striking a
4320sharp contrast as it flowed behind her.
4321She examined the three of them as she approached, like a lion stalking its
4322quarry. Instinctively, his party members shifted back behind him.
4323“A pointless scheme.” Her voice was ice cold.
4324Desir’s face froze at the criticism. “It would have worked if not for you.”
4325He meant it, truly. After all, his opponent was Ajest Kingscrown. She was the
4326strongest spellsword in all of Hebrion, and one of the six who had survived to
4327the very end. When they’d all united under the Expedition’s banner, she had
4328been the commander, so gifted was she in battle.
4329Desir had expected her to figure out his plans, to some extent, anyways—it
4330wasn’t as if his plans had been suddenly, unexpectedly seen through. Rather,
4331he had made quite the serious miscalculation. “To think that you would take
4332out every remaining survivor by yourself,” he said softly, in admiring tones.
4333The fight that Desir had wanted had happened. But Ajest had given him no
4334room to interfere. The entirety of the Blue Moon party, minus Ajest, had
4335masterfully obstructed Desir’s party while Ajest single-handedly humiliated
4336the other survivors. They could do nothing but watch as she subdued them,
4337took them hostage, and dragged them to a safe area.
4338“While we kept your party from doing anything, our party captured the
4339remaining survivors. There’s still over 10 alive,” Ajest stated coldly. Clearly,
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4343there would be no way to even touch the 10 downstairs without going through
4344Ajest first. Their plan had been utterly ruined. They had one choice left.
4345“The only thing left is a head-to-head fight.”
4346Romantica and Pram stood by Desir’s side. Percival and Doneta stood behind
4347Ajest. Light fell in from a single, tiny window at the far end of the corridor,
4348illuminating the two groups in a pale, weak light. Each faced the other
4349wordlessly, straining to read their thoughts from movements of their
4350silhouettes. The sound of titanic gears grinding as they moved past each other
4351echoed through the narrow corridor.
4352“Your party and mine. Defeat me and prove that you’re worthy of the title of
4353Single Ranker, Desir Arman!”
4354The gears stopped. Ajest began moving. Magic power swirled around her as
4355her mana gathered and condensed, taking shape.
4356Desir immediately began his analysis. He had the ability to deduce what spell
4357would be cast just by looking at the casting process, before the spell was even
4358complete.
4359[Frozen Jail.]
4360Pillars of ice, elaborately engraved, rose out of the ground, emanating a deep
4361chill through the air. But Desir’s party felt nothing.
4362“Hijack complete,” he announced triumphantly. Under Desir’s control, the
4363magic couldn’t affect his party’s surroundings.
4364With a hiss, the pillars disappeared into a thick vapor, as Ajest immediately
4365ended the spell in response. The dense fog filled the corridor, blocking
4366everyone’s view.
4367“They’re coming!” Pram shouted as he stepped forward and swung his rapier.
4368He felt it land. At the same time, he twisted his head to the right. A sword
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4372sliced neatly through the space where his head had just been. The fog scattered
4373in the wind, revealing Doneta. Without missing a step, Pram saw Doneta’s
4374improper stance and thrust the rapier at his stomach.
4375“Oof!” Doneta grunted in pain as he twisted back. Romantica immediately
4376followed up, sending her spell screaming towards him.
4377[Wind Strike!]
4378The bullet of compressed air exploded, but there was no announcement.
4379Instead, a gigantic shield appeared out of the dispersing fog. Percival’s
4380sneering face appeared behind the lowered shield. “Weak as shit for a 2nd
4381circle spell,” he spit at Romantica contemptuously.
4382“I’m exhausted after sniping so much, you moron!” Romantica shouted back in
4383a fit.
4384The fog returned, filling the space between them again and erasing them from
4385each others’ vision. Doneta whispered to Percival, “that swordsman...looks
4386strong. Be careful.”
4387Percival scoffed. “You’re just weak, you idiot.” He’d faced Pram once before.
4388According to his memory, Pram wasn’t a particularly skilled swordsman. His
4389sword was a bit fast for Beta Class, but that was it. Pram was hopeless; he’d
4390exhaust himself soon after the fight began.
4391He charged. “Eat this!” He swung his sword at Pram, but, surprisingly, sliced
4392only thin air. “What?” Percival stopped, bewildered, as he realized he couldn’t
4393see anything in the fog. He looked back, just in case, and was nearly hit as he
4394barely managed to parry Pram’s surprise attack. He ground his teeth. “You
4395cheap bastard.”
4396“You did it first.”
4397The echo of steel on steel rang out through the tower.
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4401Born and raised in the north, Percival’s sword style was wild and savage. He
4402preferred to use his strength to simply beat into his opponent, without giving
4403them a moment’s rest and wear them down over time. The Pawn-rank
4404swordsman’s talent was just starting to bloom and his sword was already
4405fierce. He attacked at an oppressive speed. At the same time, he protected
4406himself with his shield as he advanced, like a towering mountain.
4407Pram was a speed-focused swordsman, much like Percival. Unfortunately, he
4408had neither the strength nor the force Percival did, which meant, in theory,
4409that he would be hard pressed to gain an advantage in this fight.
4410Indeed, to everyone else, it appeared like Pram was getting pushed back. But,
4411to Percival’s growing discomfort, it soon became clear it was quite the
4412opposite. Each of Pram’s movements were calculated. At every moment, he
4413would dodge or parry Percival’s blade with the smallest movement possible,
4414keeping his positioning tight and constantly looking for openings.
4415He kept his distance, and warded his opponent off with only the tip of his
4416sword as he danced gracefully around the room. At this rate, the longer the
4417fight drew out, the more Pram would be at an advantage.
4418Pram was well aware of his limits. He avoided letting the duel turn into a
4419contest of strength, and attacked Percival’s openings whenever he could.
4420Slowly, almost imperceptibly, Percival felt his sword getting pushed back. It
4421was clear that he would lose if this kept up.
4422Backed against a wall, Percival made a desperate gamble. He threw his shield
4423at Pram.
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4427Chapter 22: Showdown (2)
4428At that range, even Pram couldn’t avoid it. He collapsed as the shield slammed
4429into his body.
4430He shook his head in an attempt to reorient himself, and searched around
4431frantically for Percival’s location.
4432It was too late. Percival covered the distance rapidly. Pram’s entire body
4433reverberated as the two swords met. The duel had turned suddenly against
4434Pram; it was no longer a contest of skill, but now of strength, one where
4435Percival dictated the flow.
4436Pram’s hands trembled as he held off Percival’s blade. Sensing the opportunity,
4437Percival pushed forward, forcing strength into his blade. Pram felt his arms
4438giving way.
4439But Pram still had a few tricks up his sleeve. Suddenly, he shifted the angle of
4440his rapier, subtly manipulating the point of contact to let Percival’s sword
4441glide down the blade. Percival’s strength worked against him as he suddenly
4442found the resistance lighten. He stumbled as momentum carried his body
4443forward.
4444It was too much of an opportunity to present someone of Pram’s skill. Like a
4445lightning bolt, his rapier thrust forward into Percival’s shoulder, and the
4446Blanchume tore through the steel chestplate like a hot knife through butter,
4447splattering blood through the air.
4448Staggered by the pain, Percival instinctively rolled back several times, rapidly
4449making distance between himself and Pram, before barely standing back on
4450his feet.
4451‘I was injured?’ He blinked repeatedly as he stared at his shoulder in shock and
4452confusion. The attack was hardly enough to incapacitate him; it was
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4456impressive, but some shoulder pain was the extent of its damage. No, it wasn’t
4457merely the attack that had him reeling. Mere weeks ago, he had been clearly
4458superior to Pram in skill. But just from that one exchange, one thing was
4459obvious: Pram totally outclassed Percival. “Y-you! The hell happened to you?”
4460he shouted at Pram, incredulously.
4461“To what might you be referring?”
4462“How did you change so much in just a few weeks?”
4463“Is there a reason I should tell you such a thing?” replied Pram, with a
4464mischievous smile across his face.
4465Percival scowled at Pram’s non-answer, and he cursed under his breath. It was
4466clear that he could no longer take Pram so lightly. Rushing in would almost
4467certainly result in his defeat. Unable to hide his intense frustration, he
4468shouted, “Dammit! What the fuck is Hadun doing right now!? FUCK!”
4469***
4470Doneta drew his sword and held it out in front of him. It was meaningless. The
4471whole area around him was covered in a thick fog that made it impossible for
4472him to find Romantica. “Are fogs normally this thick?” he asked aloud, before
4473shaking his head. ‘Of course not.’ No, according to Doneta’s memory, the fog
4474should simply have lifted after the first strike, but, instead, it had seemed to
4475only be getting thicker and thicker over time. “Hmph. You’re quite clever
4476utilizing the fog like this,” he said, seemingly to nobody.
4477It was clear what was happening. The fog was being held in place—indeed,
4478more than that, magically enhanced, entirely intentionally. Unfortunately,
4479even if that was the case, there was little Doneta could do about it, which
4480meant...
4481He staggered as yet another wind bullet slammed into him, but endured the
4482throbbing pain on his hand and kept a firm grasp on his sword.
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4486It was a truly bizarre situation. He had no idea where Romantica was
4487hiding—in contrast, she clearly knew exactly where he was all the time, and
4488was wasting no time using the information disparity to rain magic upon him
4489with impunity. To top it all off, whenever he chased down where the attack
4490came from, it was clear that Romantica had already disappeared to another
4491spot to continue her merciless barrage.
4492‘Is she detecting my movement through the wind? ...Damn mages.’ Doneta felt that
4493it was almost certain that a mage would be able to, which would explain his
4494current predicament. It was quite the exhausting situation, having to simply
4495sit and take the enemy’s attacks.
4496“Well, it seems like they’re using their heads, but that won’t be enough.”
4497Doneta stood up straight, and tapped the golden necklace he was wearing with
4498a slight smirk. In an instant, the fog cleared.
4499"That necklace... it was an artifact?" Romantica asked in shock.
4500Artifacts. Items imbued with magic power. Compared to a regular item, it
4501would be many times more expensive.
4502"I told you that you'd regret it didn't I?" Doneta asked smugly. He raised his
4503hand and aimed the ring on his thumb towards Romantica. She quickly
4504realized that the necklace wasn’t the only artifact he possessed.
4505[Fire Ring.]
45062nd circle fire magic.
4507A ring of fire formed beneath Romantica’s feet for a moment, before a wave of
4508heat shot upwards, pinning her within the circle. She was trapped.
4509Doneta raised his blade and held it inches from her face. She simply shrugged
4510her shoulders in response. “Well, I guess I do regret it a little,” she said calmly.
4511“It’s too late to regret it now,” replied Doneta harshly.
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4515Romantica glanced to his left for a moment, “Well, it’s also too late to dodge
4516too.”
4517“What?” Doneta quickly turned to look where Romantica’s eyes were looking.
4518A giant boulder, rapidly growing in size, filled his field of view.
4519“Keuuk-!” He grunted in pain as the massive rock slammed into his body and
4520lifted him into the air, sending him flying.
4521Slowly, as the dust settled, he rose to his feet, brushing off the rubble. He
4522looked down at himself and felt a surge of rage. His appearance had been
4523completely ruined. The immaculate clothes he wore were torn and covered in
4524dust. They belonged more on a homeless person than a noble. His coat was
4525shredded so badly it wasn’t even worth wearing. “You fucking Beta Class
4526bitch!!” he shrieked in impotent rage.
4527“You did well buying time,” said Desir as he stood in front of Romantica.
4528She hesitated before she replied. “...If I had enough mana I would have won.”
4529“Please go support Pram from his side.”
4530“Got it.” She nodded in affirmation and ran to Pram’s side.
4531Doneta felt his anger surging as he watched Romantica. “You dare!” At that
4532moment, a grey-brown ring on his finger glowed with a bright light.
4533[Breath of Earth!]
4534A 2nd circle earth spell, which could both bind and attack the enemy.
4535The floor broke apart and shot up in Romantica’s direction. Desir quickly
4536interjected his body between them. The rocks fell upon him, entombing him
4537within. Doneta approached the pile and swung his sword into it.
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4541He winced, unexpectedly, as he felt his hands go numb for a moment. “What?”
4542he asked in total confusion. Somehow, he wasn’t able to cut through. The
4543simple earth that surrounded Desir had become as hard as steel.
4544“Don’t use magic against him!” The voice came from behind the bewildered
4545Doneta. A silhouette flew past him in a blur.
4546In an instant, Ajest swooped down upon Desir. For a moment, it almost
4547appeared as if she had disappeared into the rock. But then the rocks parted,
4548and Ajest flew past.
4549She turned back, just as Desir rose from the rock and rubble. As their eyes met,
4550Desir opened his mouth.
4551[Stone Break.]
4552The earth exploded outward. The explosion rocked the tower and sent Ajest
4553flying with its shockwave. From where Desir stood, fragments of dirt flew
4554towards Ajest like shrapnel.
4555She dodged the shots and executed a perfect backflip to land gracefully. Then
4556she nearly jumped in shock as the earth beneath her fingers melted and
4557encased her wrist. She felt near bone-crushing pressure on her wrist.
4558[Winter Fist.]
4559Ice spread rapidly from her hand to the surrounding earth. She smashed the
4560now brittle dirt against a wall, and the frozen pieces fell to the floor.
4561She bit her lip in frustration. At the same time, she began deploying her magic.
4562Desir did the same.
4563A massive spear of ice formed in front of Ajest, looming ominously with its tip
4564pointed at Desir’s throat. Then, in an instant, it melted into a puddle. Sparks of
4565fire raced across the ground, licking at the combatants’ feet, and were
4566extinguished as the stone floor turned in on itself. Water rushed forward,
4567185
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4570threatening to drown everyone in the tower, before suddenly turning into
4571nothing but a fine vapour. Back and forth, magic exploded into existence and
4572dissipated into nothingness.
4573Ajest was being pushed back. She felt a slight twinge of surprise—not at the
4574result, but at how readily she seemed to accept it.
4575It made sense to her now. It was never a matter of power; Ajest’s mana far
4576exceeded Desir’s own. She possessed skills seen only once every hundred
4577years; she held a power none could keep up with. If they both cast the same
4578Fireball, Ajest’s would have had twice the power. If it was an ice attribute spell,
4579it would’ve been three times the power.
4580But in magic combat, the winner was not merely the one who possessed
4581greater mana and wielded stronger magic. Tactical awareness, understanding
4582battle conditions, speed, suitability—indeed, at the simplest level, magic
4583combat was perhaps best understood as a high level psychological fight. Being
4584able to read the opponent’s intentions, develop a countermeasure, and quickly
4585execute it—all these were more important than simple magic power output.
4586And, as much as Ajest hated it, as much as she wanted to beat Desir straight up
4587in a magic duel, she had no option now but to admit the sorry truth: in this
4588psychological fight, Ajest was completely outmatched. There was absolutely no
4589way she could beat Desir in a magic duel.
4590Her magic had been repeatedly totally countered by far weaker magic. Her
4591simpler spells were constantly hijacked, and her more complex spells were
4592were rendered irrelevant. Desir was reading her like a book, and effortlessly
4593dragging her into his pace.
4594That overwhelming difference in experience became his spear and shield itself.
4595It loomed over Ajest like an insurmountable wall.
4596‘It doesn’t make any sense.’ Ajest’s mind swirled in confusion. No matter how she
4597broke it down, there was no way Desir wasn’t of similar age to herself. The gap
4598in experience was incomprehensible. ‘Just who is he? What is his identity?’
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4602She paused and stepped back to gather her wits and refocus.
4603Doneta, who had been watching the duel unfold from the sidelines, suddenly
4604interjected, “Party leader! Let me help you!”
4605Ajest shook her head in response. “No. This is my fight, do not interfere.”
4606“But...!”
4607“Just go and help Percival.”
4608“Percival? That fight should’ve ended...” Doneta’s voice trailed off as he
4609realized, shockingly, that it somehow hadn’t. Contrary to expectation, the duel
4610between Percival and Pram was still dragging out. Indeed, Doneta realized in
4611horrified shock, Percival was somehow losing. Pram’s sword was repeatedly
4612violating Percival’s being.
4613“Romantica’s mana is nearly drained. For all intents and purposes, she’s out of
4614power. Join Percival and eliminate both of them, quickly,” Ajest commanded in
4615an icy tone that left no room for argument.
4616Without hesitation, Doneta immediately headed towards Percival and joined
4617the fray. Pram, who had been closing in on victory, saw the opportunity slip
4618away before him with the relatively healthy Doneta joining the melee. It was
4619now Pram and Romantica dueling Percival and Doneta in pairs.
4620“Upset?” asked Desir.
4621Ajest paused before she answered. “To speak the truth...yes.” She nodded, and
4622continued, “To be honest, it’s not a very pleasant feeling to lose to someone
4623without even a thousandth of my magic power. Would it make sense to you if
4624you lost to an ant in arm wrestling?”
4625“Well, I think I can grasp your feelings.”
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4629“I’ve decided I cannot defeat you in a contest of magic. There’s nothing else I
4630can do now.” As she spoke, she shook the red glow off her right arm, letting her
4631mana subside. Her grip fell upon the sword at her waist.
4632A shrill whistling cut through the air as Ajest lunged towards Desir with the
4633point of her sword aimed at his chest.
4634“Seems like you really want to win against me.” Magic formulas filled the air in
4635front of Desir as he readied himself.
4636[Balance.]
4637[Strength.]
4638[Vision.]
4639[Magic Bestowment: Hardening.]
46404 spells cast in an instant. Desir followed up by drawing the short sword at his
4641waist.
4642The echo of steel on steel reverberated through the air as Desir parried Ajest’s
4643blow. The ground beneath Desir cracked and shook from the force, as if an
4644earthquake had struck the tower.
4645Ajest’s eyes widened in shock. “You blocked...?”
4646“Why? Did you think that just because I’m a mage, I would be weak in close
4647quarters combat?” replied Desir calmly.
4648Her lips twisted in distaste, and she shoved Desir back forcefully. A loud
4649thump accompanied a cloud of dust where he hit the far wall.
4650He rose, slowly, and dusted himself off, seemingly uninjured.
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4654Chapter 23 - Showdown (3)
4655Ajest’s eyes narrowed and she bit her lip. “So you’re prepared for close combat
4656as well.”
4657“Sure, but with my magic power, 5 minutes is my limit,” Desir admitted with a
4658smile.
4659Ajest wasn’t naive enough to trust somebody revealing their weakness, but she
4660didn’t doubt his honesty. Desir’s mana was being expended at a visible rate.
4661Hearing those words, Ajest approached without pause.
4662Outside of expectations, Desir faced the prodigy’s sword head-on. Ajest had
4663the lead in the head-to-head melee, but Desir was holding on. He read the
4664trajectories of her swings, and led his sword in advance to parry. Even with his
4665body strengthened with magic, he straddled the line between life and death,
4666each blow heavier than the next.
4667“Aren’t you… having fun, Ajest?” said Desir, as he received the third strike.
4668A look of confusion appeared on Ajest’s face as they dueled. “Fun?”
4669“Of course. You’ve always reigned from the top. You’ve probably never met
4670anyone who could be your equal.” Desir parried another blow and pushed Ajest
4671back. “With all of your being, you hate losing. Isn’t that right, Ajest
4672Kingscrown?”
4673Desir knew this woman very well. The future commander Ajest Kingscrown
4674hated losing. Beneath her icy surface, she honed her talents and refused to let
4675anybody surpass her. The entire time, she led a lonely life on her throne,
4676without a single person able to match her in combat. ‘ This time, things will be
4677different.’
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4681Desir pointed at himself. “You want to defeat me, right? To use everything at
4682your disposal and beat me down. That’s why you came to me to declare war
4683and led me into this duel—so I wouldn’t be able to avoid this fight. Ultimately,
4684that’s what you’re aiming for. Now that you’ve accomplished that, you’re
4685having fun. Am I right?”
4686Ajest was speechless—she was seen through completely, even though she
4687wasn’t wholly aware of it herself. She gathered her thoughts and replied. “I
4688admit it. I want to win against you with all of my strength. You are
4689correct—you could say I’m enjoying this, but what’s the point of all this talk?
4690What is the point in making me admit this? How does this have anything to do
4691with our fight?”
4692“Because I plan to respond to your spirit in kind.” Desir Arman spoke to his
4693ally from his past life—the apex of humanity. “Don’t hold back.”
4694At the top of the clock tower, they stood in a plain white room, ornamented
4695with a singular pillar that bisected the room. Ajest and Desir stood apart on
4696top of the space, 80 meters in a standoff. Magic began to surround the ice
4697queen as she channeled her trump card.
4698[Frozen Throne.]
4699A throne of ice emerged in the center of the room. Hexagonal pillars of ice
4700burst out from the ground and shot up to the ceiling of the clock tower. A
4701frigid air exuded from the pillars of ice, covering the room with a layer of frost.
4702The frost grew at a visible pace, eventually forming a grand hall, with an
4703intricate chandelier and windows adorning the lavish room.
4704[Frozen Palace.]
4705The magic continued to grow, transporting the top of the clock tower back to
4706the Ice Age. Desir looked around to find that the ice formed into architecture
4707befitting the northerners, with sculptures lining the interior. The beautiful
4708room would have been gorgeous to explore if they weren’t in the middle of a
4709fight.
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4713“In this space, a mage is able to use an unlimited number of spells without
4714calculation. My ice magic has no limits in this space,” said Ajest. Hundreds of
4715magic circles formed in the air, clustered so tightly that Desir could barely see
4716through them. All of them were directly right at him.
4717‘ An area with access to magic without limits...’ The Frozen Palace formed with a
4718single throne of ice at its core. This was her palace, and the throne from which
4719she ruled. ‘ The signature spell of Queen Ajest.’ Frozen Throne was one of her
4720signature spells even in the future—she was using everything she had against
4721Desir in this fight. ‘But she still hasn’t caught on.’
4722Desir raised his hand. This wasn’t a fight Ajest could win with pure numbers
4723alone. The countless spells trained on his person broke. Each of the magic
4724formulas shattered into pieces and the residual magic fell away like snow.
4725Desir looked smug as he awaited Ajest’s next move. It didn’t take long. The
4726prodigy readied another set of spells at Desir.
4727“Even if it’s you, you won’t be able to keep pouring out these spells,” casually
4728reminded Desir.
4729The infinite calculation space. As long as she succeeded in creating her Frozen
4730Palace, she could use as many spells as she would like without casting. This
4731was far past the level of double or triple casting—as Desir could see in front of
4732his eyes, hundreds of spells were being casted all at once. It sounded
4733impressive, but it had one fatal flaw—the mana expenditure was colossal.
4734Sustaining the field itself would run an average mage dry within 3 seconds.
4735Even Ajest Kingscrown had a limit—Desir was aiming for exactly that window.
4736***
4737In the meantime, Ajest was preparing her third round of spells. Her magic
4738didn’t have any effect on Desir, but she didn’t falter. She had known from the
4739start that it was impossible to fight Desir using magic. All of her spells would
4740be hijacked. No matter how carefully crafted they were, it wouldn’t take much
4741more than a wave of his hand for them to dissipate. He was on a different level.
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4745Even in her Frozen Throne, she was unable to land a single hit on Desir. Her
4746abundant stores of mana, which were near full at the beginning of the battle,
4747had dropped to below 10 percent. Anybody else would think that it was a waste
4748to cast any more spells. Ajest felt differently.
4749She was stalling for time. Each spell projected and flying through the air
4750created time for Ajest to think. As she constructed her spells, she analyzed her
4751probability of winning, combing through each minute detail. Her thoughts
4752kept coming back to one thing: ‘Why am I losing in magic?’
4753The problem was the formulas. Desir had seen through every single one,
4754leaving her no way to land a hit. If they were casting the same spells, there was
4755no way she would lose. Her magic power was far superior, but that meant
4756nothing in the face of his hijacking. She took a good look at her opponent. If
4757she could cast a spell he couldn’t hijack, he wouldn’t be able to fight back. That
4758would be turning point in this battle. The main question—how could she solve
4759this problem?
4760Ajest looked at the hundreds of ice spells being dismantled in front of her eyes,
4761and took a deep breath. She had no time left to hesitate. ‘What if it’s not in the
4762form of a spell?’ she thought. She drew her sword. Initially, she planned on
4763taking him on with only her sword, but that was pointless—Desir could
4764counter that.
4765Swordsmanship and magic power was her forte, and the one thing she had
4766over Desir in spades. She would have to use these together in tandem to take
4767down the man in front of her. In that moment, Ajest had an idea. ‘Combine the
4768sword and magic simultaneously.’
4769This was past the level of enchanting the sword with magic. She would have to
4770infuse the magic into the sword itself. The second she used a magic formula, it
4771would be hijacked. She needed raw magic power.
4772Magic Sword. Intertwining swordsmanship and magic, this was Ajest’s answer
4773to her opponent.
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4777Her sword became enveloped in a blue light.
4778***
4779Magic pulsed in ripples from the sword. The magic resonated with the
4780chambers of the Frozen Palace. Desir heard this sound many times before. ‘It
4781can’t be… she managed to manifest Magic Sword all by herself!? ’ Desir’s eyes
4782widened at the discovery.
4783Magic Sword was the ultimate magic for a spellsword. The meshing and
4784perfect balance of magic and swordsmanship. Ajest had thought of it and made
4785it a reality. Her desire to defeat the man in front of her, spurred on by her
4786talent, allowed her to understand this new magic. In his past life, it had taken
4787her another 10 years to grasp the concept. ‘Truly incredible.’
4788Desir was in awe. During his moment of contemplation, Ajest Kingscrown
4789dashed forward. The frigid palace crumbled as Ajest poured the rest of her
4790magic into Magic Sword. She would bet everything on this final move.
4791[Magic Sword: Ice Wave.]
4792The gleaming silver sword drew closer, and a storm of freezing air whipped
4793across the room. Each movement of the sword froze the air. The current Desir
4794had no way of blocking her attack with his magic. He could tell just by looking
4795at it. A Magic Sword, formed with raw magic power, could not be hijacked.
4796Even if he strengthened his body to the limit to block the sword itself, the
4797magic stored within would wreak havoc on his body.
4798Ajest’s eyes asked the same question: ‘Can you counter this?’
4799Desir raised his hands without a reply. The shortsword he was holding spun
4800away as it dropped to the floor. The chandelier on the ceiling began falling as
4801well. Time slowed for the two as they reached the penultimate stages of their
4802duel. Ajest’s sword moved extremely slowly, and finally reached Desir’s neck.
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4809A drop of blood fell from his neck, like a single drop of wine tainting a pure
4810white lace. The blood trickled as it fell, freezing black.
4811As it happened, Ajest could see Desir’s expression. His face showed none of the
4812emotions she expected. No sorrow of defeat. No fear of overwhelming
4813strength. No disappointment of loss. It was a smile of victory. The sword
4814slowed further, and as if time stopped, the sword froze in place.
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4821Everything faded away.
4822| Shadow World clear! The demon summoning formation at the top of the
4823clock tower has been hijacked, taking irreparable damage. Quest complete.
4824| The ranks from 1 st place to 30 th place have been decided based on
4825contribution to the quest and number of eliminations.
4826[1 st Place: Desir Arman]
4827[2 nd Place: Ajest Kingscrown]
4828[3 rd Place: Pram Schneizer]
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4832Chapter 24 - Showdown (4)
4833It was May, and the sun-kissed showers of Spring were fading. It was almost
4834time for the songs of love.
4835Small flowers kissed the entrance of Hebrion Academy, branching out from
4836trees that contained limitless vitality inside. This was an annual tradition of
4837Hebrion Academy. Romantica’s eyes sparkled at the sight of the breathtaking
4838greenery lining their school. She had a spring in her step as she danced
4839through the corridor. “Buckthorn trees.”
4840“The flowers of the buckthorn tree symbolize progress,” added Pram. It was
4841unusual of him to comment.
4842This was a historical tradition originating from the school’s founding
4843principal, Eiricquel Hebrion. It was a prayer for the growth of Hebrion
4844Academy and its students. Today, the students rarely cared about the founding
4845principal’s wishes—they were just here to enjoy the scenery. As the pair
4846strolled under the trees, they lost track of time, awed by the gorgeous
4847landscape around them. Eventually, the sound of falling raindrops rang across
4848the leaves. “It looks like it’s about to rain,” said Pram.
4849***
4850Rain began to pour down from the overcast sky. It rained all across Hebrion
4851Academy and the skies became murky. Romantica paused and pursed her lips.
4852“I don’t want to get my clothes wet,” complained Romantica as the rain rode
4853down the hem of her string-spun clothes. The rain flowed between the grooves
4854in the strings like a river. The downpour quickly drenched the uniforms of
4855Romantica and Pram. Despite that, they didn’t mind one bit.
4856“It rained like this back in the Shadow World, right?” reminisced Romantica.
4857“It was colder and more unpleasant back then.”
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4861The two of them knowingly smiled at each other and covered up with their
4862jackets. “The rain hasn’t changed—it’s just that our situation’s different.”
4863Romantica took the lead as the two of them travelled to Starling dormitory,
4864home of their fearless leader.
4865As they walked into the lobby, Romantica took the initiative to dry herself
4866with magic. The Starling dormitory lobby was almost empty, likely due to the
4867rain. Desir Arman sat in the center of the lobby, waiting for them to arrive. He
4868wasn’t alone.
4869Sitting across from him was a beautiful girl with platinum blonde hair. Strands
4870of gold woven with silver—the color of the southern lions. The mere sight of it
4871made her peers sing praises of her name. The silver-haired spellsword, Ajest
4872Zedga F. Kingscrown. There were in middle of a heated conversation.
4873“It was already past 2 o’clock by then. It was past the time for the 2 o’clock
4874demon to appear. The gears of the clock tower should have stopped by then,”
4875explained Desir. “My hijacking only works on spells cast through a formula.
4876The demon summoning device in Privius Clock Tower appears to have been
4877built on an advanced magic formula. It was only because of this that it was
4878possible to hijack it.”
4879“I see. I do recall the sound of the gears stopping at some point. I hadn’t
4880realized that.” The hint was there—she merely didn’t put it to good use. She
4881was deep in thought as she collected her thoughts.
4882“Drawing me into close combat wasn’t a bad choice, but you should always
4883keep the battlefield in mind. We were in a Shadow World—not taking the
4884objectives into account was your downfall.”
4885Ajest’s shoulders slumped as she took it all in. She had been goaded into her
4886every move. “So you always had your eyes set on the big picture, instead of
4887only focusing on our fight,” said Ajest bluntly.
4888“Well, maybe you’re right.”
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4892Ajest grew quiet, and reflected over the course of events that took place in the
4893Shadow World. She closed her eyes, and organized her thoughts and said three
4894simple words to Desir. “I lost. Decisively.”
4895Desir waved his hand and dismissed Ajest’s thoughts. “You’re going too far. I
4896can brag, but there was luck involved. If my analysis was a bit slower, or your
4897blade a bit faster...”
4898“Then we would have avenged Mr. Desir,” said Pram. The pair interrupted the
4899conversation and separated the two of them. “By that point, we’d essentially
4900won our part of the battle,” added Romantica.
4901Desir grinned at the arrival of his party members. “You guys came.”
4902The group of four crowded around a table and sat down. Romantica looked
4903moody as she glanced at Ajest and spoke directly to Desir. “Weren’t we the
4904only ones meeting you here?”
4905“Ajest’s only here for a moment. She had a few questions about our fight.”
4906“Even so, she’s an enemy—right? We almost lost because of her. Don’t you
4907think you’re be a little too calm?” Romantica’s eyes darted from Desir to Ajest.
4908“If that was all it took for you to lose, then you weren’t even worthy of
4909entering Alpha class,” said Ajest.
4910Romantica’s eyed flared. “What?!” The regal Ajest gave Romantica a casual
4911glance and said no more. Catching a whiff of the arising conflict, Desir
4912hurriedly added some choice words to the conversation. “Ajest is just trying to
4913say that we deserved it, seeing as how we passed the exam and have been
4914promoted to the Alpha class.” He scratched his head and gave Romantica a
4915slight smile.
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4919“What—that’s what that meant?” Romantica crossed her arms, putting on airs.
4920“Well… I supposed if you’re going so far to say something like that, then so be
4921it.”
4922“Honestly, we wouldn’t have been able to win without Romantica’s sniping.
4923Thanks, Romantica.”
4924“W-wha? Thanks? Mm… well, you didn’t need to thank me or anything...”
4925Romantica turned beet red and started twiddling her fingers in
4926embarrassment at Desir’s thanks.
4927“And me? Mr. Desir, what about me?” Pram’s eyes gleamed in anticipation.
4928“You did well too, Pram.” Desir patted Pram’s head as the latter hugged Desir’s
4929waist. Pram clung to Desir like a puppy and pushed his head into Desir’s palm.
4930Ajest watched the scene unfold from behind them. “This means we’re taking a
4931break from training now...right?” Romantica looked apprehensive as she
4932looked over to see Desir’s response.
4933“On whose authority? Training happens every day,” said Desir with a stern
4934appearance.
4935“W-what? No! We barely got out of the promotion battle yesterday! This is too
4936much!”
4937“Did you forget exactly what won us the promotion battle yesterday?”
4938“Even so… tch!”
4939The conversation turned into a noisy ruckus as Romantica and Desir bantered
4940back and forth. Seeing the break in conversation, Ajest stood up from the table
4941and announced her leave. Pram tried to cover up his laughter at the scene of
4942his fellow party members, before seeing Ajest. “Hm? You’re leaving already?”
4943Ajest took a good look at the rest of the group, before wordlessly holding up
4944her Identity Pass. Blue Moon Party’s insignia displayed on the display. A party
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4948summons. They couldn’t make her stay any longer. As she started walking to
4949the door, she paused before turning around and looked at Desir. She seemed
4950hesitant, a far cry from the ice queen they normally associated with her.
4951“Desir, I have a… a request.” Her eyes looked intently at Desir, as if searching
4952for the answer without need to ask her question. “I know this is shameless, but
4953may I join your training sessions?”
4954Romantica and Pram stood stunned at the request. Desir nodded cheerfully at
4955Ajest. “Every morning at 6 o’clock sharp, and after class. We meet at the
4956Training Sector’s entrance.” The door creaked open and the sound of rain
4957poured into the lobby. Ajest opened her mouth slightly, then closed it again. A
4958whisper of a smile showed up on her face as she turned back around, and
4959stepped out of Starling dormitory. The door closed, and the sound of rain died
4960down.
4961Thank you.
4962***
4963“So what are we going to do now, Mr. Desir?” Pram asked. “Now that we’ve
4964been promoted to Alpha Class, are we done with the pa—“
4965“Of course not.” Desir was resolute. “The discrimination against the Beta Class
4966still exists. We’re going to create a path for all of the talent in Beta Class.”
4967“What a wonderful plan!”
4968“What a pain in the neck...”
4969The responses from his fellow party members were very different. Desir teased
4970“Then, Miss Romantica, are you leaving the party?”
4971“Wh-wha? Who’s leaving? I’m just saying it’s a hassle! Obviously I’m going to
4972help!”
4973“If it’s ever too much, you can always quit. Hehe,” said Pram.
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4977Desir sat back down and leaned into his chair, watching the two of them argue.
4978‘ I shouldn’t forget my real objective.’
4979He needed to handle the looming threat of the Shadow Labyrinth. Entering the
4980Alpha Class was the first step. After gathering more party members and
4981helping them grow, they would methodically clear away the Shadow Worlds,
4982reducing casualties as much as possible. When the true threat known as the
4983Shadow Labyrinth appeared, the party he trained would become the key to
4984clearing it. As Desir became embroiled in his thoughts, he heard a familiar
4985voice chime in.
4986“I see you’re all here.”
4987Professor Brigitte stepped into the lobby and sat down in front of the three
4988students. She surveyed the members with a mild expression.
4989“I have some very important news for everyone here.” Brigitte raised her
4990finger, and waves of mana exuded from her body. A chocolate cake appeared
4991from thin air and landed on the table. It was a huge cake—large enough to
4992cover the whole table. The decorations adorning the cake were exquisite.
4993Romantica did her best not to drool all over the table. She recognized the cake
4994immediately.
4995“Beswald Bakery’s specialty cake!?”
4996Beswald Bakery is a famous bakery whose prices made your eyes pop out of
4997their sockets. Only then did Desir and Pram catch on. “Isn’t this a bit much?”
4998asked Desir.
4999The professor laughed joyfully at Desir’s question. “Not at all. Seeing that
5000pig-headed noble so humiliated is well worth it.”
5001“Pig-headed?” Desir inquired about exactly who Brigitte was referring to,
5002when she pulled him into a tight hug. Her arms were trembling and her cheeks
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5006flush with excitement. Desir was shocked by the current state of events and he
5007tried to reel back in confusion. “Professor?!”
5008“Wh-what are you doing!” Romantica blurted out.
5009In quick succession, Pram also whined. “Wait your turn!”
5010Despite the protest of Pram and Romantica, Brigitte hugged Desir even more
5011tightly. “Well done. You’ve done it.”
5012“You mean...”
5013She held up three Alpha Class badges, and the three youths were ecstatic. They
5014jumped in the air and were wild with joy.
5015“Congratulations. You have been formalized as Single Rankers of the 217 th
5016class.”
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5020Credits
5021Translators:
5022Billy Stevens
5023Geass606
5024Natural Rice
5025Neria
5026Notalk
5027Null
5028Rewriters:
5029Aster0x
5030Galachad
5031Monkixote
5032MrScaryMuffin
5033Nyamh
5034Slimicee
5035WorstAsianNA
5036Wynn
5037Formatters:
5038Belkalon
5039Hiiro
5040RadRzRg
5041Artwork:
5042Joshua
5043205
5044Slimicee back again with another Staff Message.
5045It’s been over a month since we started working on
5046A Returner’s Magic Should Be Special, and what a ride it’s been! Thanks to all
5047of our readers and Discord members for sticking with us through thick and thin.
5048Our entire staff is very thankful for your continued support, and simply that all of
5049you enjoy reading our work. I’m hopeful that everyone reading this message has
5050finished reading through Volume 1 of Returner’s Magic, and that this PDF was to
5051your liking. We hope to continue releasing PDFs of this quality or better into the
5052future, so stay tuned for that! As always, 100 White Salts will continue our mission
5053of producing quality, westernized light/web novels for the community. See yah
5054next time.
5055STAFF M ESSAGE
5056I want to thank everyone for their support, you have all been a great source of motivation.
5057I especially want to thank our Patreon Donors for their contributions to our group!
5058I can only hope that every one of you will continue to enjoy our work as much as we do!
5059A special thanks to:
5060Doom
5061Iplop
5062Jessica
5063Madness
5064Samael
5065Amianonymousenough
5066Deth ??????
5067Perv’s hihj[REEKsect]
5068Xela
5069SPECIAL THANKS
5070LINK START
5071Help keep us fed!
5072Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/slimicee
5073Subscribe and learn more about this series from us.
5074Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/ReturnersMagic/
5075Join the community and give 100WS a shout out!
5076Discord: https://discord.gg/wX53986