Ch 2

Chapter 2 - The Returner’s Entrance Exam (1)

“The heart..?” Zod mumbled to himself.

Confused by his ramblings, someone asked, “What do you mean by the heart?”

“I read about it in a book many many years ago,” Zod said. “A dragon’s heart

acts like an engine for magic—just like our mana circles. It’s an enormous

magic engine that sucks in the surrounding mana.”

Mana circles. Mana was absorbed into mana circles so that it could be

controlled and used. This was elementary knowledge for a mage.

Zod continued, “The dragon’s dead, which means there’s nothing controlling

the mana accumulated inside its heart now. Since mana is very fluid, it’s

continued to flow around, which has resulted in this ‘engine’ overheating. If

this continues—”

“I don’t understand what you’re saying!” Priscilla interrupted. “Say it in

simpler terms!”

Desir spoke up, reaching the conclusion quickly. “The overheating engine is

about to explode.”

“WHAAAT?!?!?” Priscilla shrieked in a shrill voice.

A terrible rumbling arose from the body, punctuating Desir’s words. The

uncontrollable mana overflowed, overwhelming everyone present, and causing

their faces to turn deathly pale.

“Why didn’t we know about this before we killed it?”

Zod’s usual empty eyes gleamed with despair. He spoke in a dead and

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monotonous voice, “...Because...this is the first time humanity has ever defeated

a dragon.

“An explosion caused by the pressure of the mana contained within the mana

circle... This kind of phenomenon would be equivalent to 7th circle magic...

“No, even that’s too low of an estimate. This amount of mana is beyond the

reckoning of mortals. Also, if it’s pure mana rather than magic, it’s not

something we can ‘hijack.’

“...I think it’s time we prepared...”

The looming inevitability cast a pall over the survivors, like a bitter, black

cloud. It was as Zod said. A mana explosion of this scale was impossible to

dodge, impossible to block.

“I...I can’t believe it. The world is really...right now...” Raphaello turned to face

the gathering mana-storm with a thousand-yard stare.

“Our Father who art in heaven...” Priscilla’s quiet prayer was drowned out by

the coming storm.

Desir stood at the center of the group, his face strained with pain and despair.

The disaster unfolded before him, and a hundred thoughts raced through his

mind. The magic surged outward, but only one thought stood out.

‘Is this the end?’

He closed his eyes, as he felt the wicked wind slash across his face.

That was his final memory.

Desir Arman opened his eyes, staring at his outstretched hand.

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‘Wait.’

Something was amiss.

‘Where am I?’

Voices, chattering in excitement, filled the air. He lowered his hand and

surveyed his surroundings. A massive chandelier, gilded with tens of sapphires,

lit the room. Hundreds of students dressed in black uniforms sat at dozens of

oak tables surrounding an antique stone shrine.

As Desir glanced around in confusion, he realized, ‘...this looks familiar...’

Looking down, there was a glass cup in front of him. A young boy, eerily

familiar, stared back in confusion. He had deep black eyes and bright red lips.

His face wasn’t quite handsome, but he had a bit of a childish charm to him.

‘Wait, this is...’ Gone were the scar-covered cheeks and rugged skin. A fair,

somewhat effeminate school-aged child greeted him. He was his adolescent self

again.

‘What’s going on...? I definitely died back there...’

He sat, confusion and doubt racing through his mind, until a sudden ringing

disrupted his thoughts.

The ringing of a bell attracted everyone’s attention back to the front. A

beautiful young woman dressed in a professor’s black uniform smiled as she

ascended the stage. As the music ceased and chatter died down, the woman

began speaking.

“Pleased to meet you, applicants of Hebrion Academy. I am Professor Brigitte.”

Desir stared at the woman intensely. It should have been the first time Desir

was seeing her face, but instead, she seemed strangely familiar.

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“I know that many of you have come to Hebrion Academy from many different

countries. I sincerely thank every one of you for having made this long journey

to attend our school.”

She paused and drew a deep breath before continuing.

“However, I regretfully inform you all that not everyone who has come here

will be admitted to our academy. As is tradition, everyone will be required to

take our entrance examination, the results of which will determine who is

admitted. Only 600 of you will be admitted to Hebrion. We will be testing you,

of course—”

“By asking you to clear a Shadow World,” Desir muttered under his breath as

Professor Brigitte spoke.

“--by asking you to clear a Shadow World,” she said. “Do not be nervous; while

this examination is similar to a real Shadow World, this one is not real. This

Shadow World has been specially constructed for the purposes of this exam.

For more details, I ask that you ask your mentors when you meet them.”

Brigitte looked at the students with a serious expression.

“Year 3613, the 172nd entrance examination will begin in 2 hours in the main

hall of the Academy. In the meantime, please enjoy the banquet we have

prepared for you. I will see everyone again soon.” Brigitte walked down from

the platform as she finished her speech.

The students collectively broke out in applause—all except for Desir who

looked down in disbelief.

‘Hebrion Academy entrance examination?’

Hebrion Academy was the top magic academy in the entire continent. Desir

was an alumnus. He had graduated from Hebrion 10 years ago.

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Yet, now, somehow, he was again at the precipice of entering Hebrion

Academy. His mind swirled with confusion. ‘If it’s 3613...’

Then he had been flung 13 years into the past. The Shadow Labyrinth had

appeared in the year Lowellius 3616, and he had lived in the hellish nightmare

for 10 years, from 3616 to 3626.

Desir closed his eyes as felt the enormity of it all. Conflicting emotions raced

through his heart: pangs of guilt pierced through the happiness he felt for

coming back to this point.

An eternity of suffering and torture. The blood of his friends who died and the

tears he shed. All of it was for nothing. They failed to save the world.

10 years of suffering and 150 million dead— all for nothing. It was unavoidable,

undeniably a disaster.

And yet, somehow...

Desir Arman had returned 13 years into the past from that doomed future. It

was like a joke—a cruel, twisted joke.

At first, Desir had simply thought that, perhaps, it had all been a dream; a

particularly horrid nightmare that he had just awoken from. But the vivid

memories were all too real. He couldn’t have called it a dream, with all the

desperate fights and the vast array of magic knowledge he had gained buried in

his mind. All these memories flowing through his head were far too realistic for

a dream.

"You're Desir Arman, aren't you?"

A young girl appeared in front of Desir, snapping him from his contemplation.

She wore her red hair in a short bob, and, despite her short stature, her steely

eyes gave off an aura of great confidence and will.

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“Nice to meet you!” she said cheerfully. “I’m Radoria Von Dorich, but you can

call me Radoria. I’m a second-year student of Hebrion Academy, and I’ll be

your mentor for the entrance examination today. I look forward to working

with you!”

“Ah, please look after me.” Even though his voice came out naturally, Desir felt

an unnatural discomfort as he stared at Radoria.

This was the same Radoria Von Dorich he had met in his past life. Radoria Von

Dorich was a genius, a fire mage capable of 6th circle magic. She held the

number 1 rank of her year for her entire time at Hebrion.

“What are you thinking so much about?” she asked.

“Oh, I’m feeling pretty nervous,” he answered.

Radoria giggled. “There’s no need to get scared over the entrance exam. The

Shadow World they use is specially made; it’s incomparable to a real Shadow

World in difficulty.”

“Is that so?”

“It’s still an exam, though. Like, ‘can you really go fight against the Shadow

Worlds?’ kinda thing.”

Introductions more or less complete, Radoria started her preparations for the

entrance exam. She flicked through her documents on Desir, and then paused

and looked up. “Huh? You’re a commoner?”

Desir replied in a lackadaisical manner as if the question was irrelevant. “Is

there a problem?”

“Well, if you’re a commoner, you’re probably going to experience some

hardship, I guess? Even if you pass, they’ll put you into the Beta class. They

don’t really care for commoner half of Hebrion; they won’t give you a proper

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education there.”

This unexpected return to the past made a crucial fact slip his mind. Despite

being the foremost magic academy on the continent, Hebrion was harshly

segregated into two halves: the nobles of Alpha class, and the commoners of

Beta class.

“Well, it’ll only matter if you pass your exam.” Radoria then lead Desir down a

long corridor.

After 10 minutes, as if the long silence had bothered her, Radoria spoke again.

“Oh, I forgot to ask before. Do you know what a Shadow World is?”

“More or less”

Radoria furrowed her brows in suspicion. “Do you really know though? To join

the effort against the Shadow Worlds, you need to have perfect knowledge of

what they are. Even if this is just an examination-specific Shadow World,

Shadow Worlds are still inherently dangerous you know.”

Desir simply nodded at Radoria’s explanation.

She let out a small huff. “Alright, if you’re so confident then, why don’t I test

you with a few questions?”

“Okay.”

“First question,” Radoria’s voice held a clear note of mockery. “What is a

Shadow World?”

Desir cleared his throat and began speaking:

“Shadow Worlds.

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“They occur each year, and they are the most dangerous phenomenon mankind

has ever seen. Like an infinitely long corridor with countless rooms on each

side; there are countless worlds, each with their own bizarre set of rules.

“These worlds are a glimpse into the past, and each world has its own risks.

While some Shadow Worlds are weak, others can be extremely dangerous. The

Magic Society determines the power (and implicitly, the danger) of a Shadow

World, and assigns it one of 10 classes. It’s usually possible to estimate the

number of deaths likely to occur by knowing the class of a Shadow World.

“Without a doubt, however, the most dangerous characteristic of a Shadow

World is its potential for an ‘Encroachment’ event to occur. Encroached land is

smothered in a thick, black fog, and it becomes impossible to know what’s

happening inside. Only one thing is certain: no living being has ever entered

encroached land and returned alive. It is simply a place where life cannot exist.

“This is why humanity must fight against the Shadow Worlds.”