A Returner’s Magic Should Be Special

[You’ve secured the legacy of Awonbetz .

Awonbetz was a magician who worked hard for a very long time . He left behind all of his magic in the lab where he conducted his research .

You have effectively cleared the dungeons created by Awonbetz . ]

The dungeon attack was finally over .

As soon as the information panel that had popped up inside the dungeon started to fade, the Shadow Gate started to work again . The remaining students who participated in the Party Competition filed out of this gate .

The number of personnel remained the same as at the time the parties joined forces to form a raid . They had succeeded in clearing the dungeon without further casualty .

After the raid entered the third stage, not a single death occurred . Some were injured, but most were not seriously injured .

The professors were surprised that such a thing could really happen . The difficulty of the third stage was close to that of a Level Four Shadow World .

Those who participated in the Party Competition were excellent enough to have previously cleared Level Three Shadow Worlds . For them, a typical Level Four Shadow World was not a big deal .

However, even in the case of Level Four Shadow Worlds, the difficulty is said to be at least three or more difficulty levels higher if the relevant information is not obtained prior to tackling the Shadow World . A party can truly never be too cautious when it came to clearing Shadow Worlds, regardless of their alleged difficulty level .

“… He really saved us all . ”

“That’s impossible . How could they clear the dungeon at such a speed without any casualties?”

Many professors were left puzzled, even after witnessing this miracle with their own eyes . After all, the difficulty of the third stage was directly comparable to a Level Four Shadow World!

“I’m glad to have a student of this caliber . ”

The professors overlooking the ensuing line of people shuffling out of the shadow gate took immediate action .

Medical staff was waiting for them to arrive, and immediately began to evacuate the injured students .

“All injured students should move over here!”

“Where are you hurt?”

“There is a serious injury over there!”

“It’s a miracle this person is standing right now! Medic, emergency patient! Let’s move this boy first!”

With the injured dealt with, the professors and students that had watched the situation unfold through the judging panels proceeded to flock over to congratulate the returnees .

“Hey!”

“Are you okay?”

As Radoria emerged from the shadow gate, Red Dragon party members approached her in an attempt to cheer her up .

“I’m okay . But Patrick… ”

“I’m glad the remaining people are safe . Patrick will surely be happy to know that the rest are safe . ”

The Blue Moon party followed the Red Dragon party out of the gate .

Initially there were six of them, but only four left the gate .

Someone barged through the crowd to approach them .

“Brother . ”

It was a Pugman Nipleka . Pugman didn’t care about who saw him, instead choosing to just hug Kelt .

“Kelt, my boy… ”

“… ”

Many were surprised by this action that was very unlike the Prof . Pugman that they knew . After considering the circumstances though, it didn’t seem so odd afterall .

Except for the Duke of Nipleka, Kelt was the only remaining blood relative of Pugman . No matter how badly he appeared to treat him, he cared greatly about his brother .

Pugman freed Kelt from his embrace and then encouraged the other party members to rest .

Lastly, Desir and his party strolled out of the gate .

Everybody’s attention immediately honed in on the Desir party .

The eyes of those who had personally witnessed Desir’s ability through the panel had completely changed to how they were in the beginning . Not only his individual skill but also his masterful leadership . He was clearly the most skilled person across all grades of the Hebrion Academy .

Desir Arman, the man who led the raid and successfully allowed everyone to return safely .

However, Desir wasn’t swept away in the commotion and didn’t neglect to check the damage he had kept tally of while inside the dungeon, against what Prof . Bridgette had seen on her end outside the dungeon . He wanted to ensure that the data he had was correct .

“How many victims are there, professor?”

These were the first words that Desir spoke to Bridgette .

Bridgette sighed and solemnly replied .

“Fourteen . ”

He was only aware of nine victims .

As the number of victims was greater than what he had kept tally of, Desir’s eyes immediately sharpened .

Bridgette noticed Desir’s intention and elaborated further .

“There was a party in the Beta Class that entered the second stage . ”

It was hard to reach the second stage with the skills of typical beta class students . It would have been completely safe for them to withdraw or drop out in the first stage, but the combination of abnormal circumstances ended up making this impossible .

“Damn it . ”

Desir sighed .

‘If only I had noticed a little bit faster… ’

No abnormality had occurred in the first level where most of the dropouts occurred . Moreover, it was hard to suspect anything was wrong after they had witnessed defeated parties safely leaving the first level .

The anomalies that occurred from the second level onwards made the criminal’s purpose crystal clear .

They were aiming for the death of Alpha Class students .

It was clear that the sole purpose of the offender was just that . This time there was an exception, but usually the only parties that manage to enter the second stage are from the Alpha Class .

Then why did the criminal target the Alpha Classes?

‘The purpose of the criminal can only be those two things . ’

The first would be the removal of all talent that form the central force of the Hebrion Empire in the near future .

The Alpha Classes who participated in this party competition were the cream of the crop of the Hebrion Academy . If all of them had died, Hebrion Academy would have been in serious danger .

And the other purpose was the one possibility that Desir was most concerned about .

That is…

“How are the things going?”

As this bad feeling started to rise in Desir, he turned towards Bridgette .

“We are doing our best to find the culprit . ”

Prof . Bridgette never lied . The Hebrion Academy was investigating the manipulated stone and attempting to figure out who the culprit was based on the traces of magic that they had found .

The highest level of wizards were all mobilized, and as a result, it would not take long for the results to materialize .

“You did very well, Desir . Your efforts will forever be remembered . ”

It was Justin, the Dean of the Hebrion Academy .

He had a neutral stance that neither favored nor abhorred commoners, but after seeing Desir in action, his impression had favorably changed regarding commoners .

Justin conversed with Bridgette and Desir in an attempt to bring things to an end .

“You spent several long hours clearing this dungeon . You must be so exhausted . Why don’t you go take a rest and leave everything else for a later time? ”

Justin’s words entered one ear and went out the other . Desir continued to pivot while looking around the room .

Many officials and spectators, including various students and professors, crowded the area . The area was so crowded that the exits were even obscured .

“Yes, I will . ”

During the pandemonium, Desir managed to catch a glimpse of a professor that slipped out of the room .

***

The man swept his belongings off his desk into a trunk that he was carrying . The trunk swallowed up items that added up to be tens of times larger than what a normal trunk of that size could store .

There was no time for him to separate and orderly pack things one by one . He had to hurry . Somehow, he had to leave the academy before surveillance was intensified .

‘Crap . ’

Finally, he lifted the frame hanging by the window, pulling the paper out of the hidden space behind it and shoving it into the trunk .

Through the gap in his unbuttoned coat, was a tie loosened to the halfway point .

He looked tired and dishevelled .

But he didn’t have the luxury of time to neaten up his appearance .

His escape was urgent .

The wizards of the Hebrion Academy who were currently investigating the stone were definitely excellent . It was obvious that they would soon figure out that he was the culprit .

He couldn’t afford to be caught .

His goal had not yet been realized .

The man squeezed his hat and grabbed the doorknob with the hand that was also holding the trunk .

The door opened quickly before he even managed to turn the door handle . He was momentarily embarrassed as the door swung open and the trunk handle slipped out of his hand .

The load of items hastily shoved into his trunk erupted out, covering the floor .

The intruder looked down at the mess covering the floor before turning to look at the man blankly looking around himself .

“Where are you going so urgently, Professor?”

The voice was as familiar as it was hateful .

“I’m glad you escaped safely, Desir . ”

“I’m sorry for the concern I may have caused . ”

“I’m so happy to see that you didn’t get hurt . I was really worried about you . ”

The man referred to as a professor by Desir hastily began to clear the items littering the floor .

“Thank you for your concern . But as I can see, you have a bunch of items packed into your trunk . It seems like you are intending to go somewhere far away . ”

“Oh, Yes . I have some… something urgent to go on… a business trip . ”

The professor walked back to the door after closing the trunk . He placed his hand on Desir’s shoulder .

His was clearly signalling Desir to move out of the way .

But Desir stood fast and refused to move .

“Why did you do this, Professor Benquick?”

After Desir said this, Benquick’s face which always had a smile plastered onto it, rapidly hardened .