A Returner’s Magic Should Be Special

“We’re going to break through . ”

Argeria decided to move forward with the appearance of the Mother Great Worm . He could not give up the attack in this way .

They decisively fell back to launch their assault .

“No matter how strong it is, there’s still only one enemy . If we do our best, we can somehow get past it . ”

He felt that they could win . They were the strongest party of Hebrion Academy, after all .

The modifier ‘strongest’ was never an exaggeration . They had two Fourth-Circle wizards and three Rook-Level knights in their party .

No other party that participated in this party competition had this much power at their disposal . This was something only the Blue Moon party could achieve .

No matter how strong the opponent was, it was just one enemy afterall, and it was against the best six people in the Academy student body .

The plan was also perfect .

While Rook-Level knights and Third-Circle wizards slow the Mother Great Worm, the two Fourth-Circle wizards, including Kelt, would unleash magic that could damage the Mother Great Worm .

It was fine if they failed to defeat it . They could just break through if they keep it preoccupied for just a few seconds as a result of their offensive .

For a party this well equipped and with a plan this fool-proof, moving on to the third stage was a guarantee .

After they re-entered the hall, they put their plan into action . They used shields to form a barrier of defense against the Mother Great Worm’s acid and the wizards used magic to damage it .

As everyone expected, the battle was proceeding smoothly .

But it was all just a delusion .

The tail of the Mother Great Worm, which was buried in the wall up until that moment, freed itself from the wall and sped towards the party .

A massive amount of dirt was flung into the air, obscuring everyone’s sight . At the same time, the Mother Great Worm’s tail struck someone in the neck .

*Thud*

Their head was flung from their body . The body fell down a bit later .

Shortly afterwards, an announcement sounded .

[Kashu Madahit is eliminated . ]

Argeria whined in complaint .

“Damn it! Such an idiot! How could we lose someone here?! ”

If just one person dropped out at the second stage, it would be very difficult to get far in the third . Without going this far though, it would be very difficult to deal with the Mother Great Worm in front of them .

The opponent in front of them was like a boss monster from a Level Three Shadow World . It was a very powerful opponent . Even as the Blue Moon party, they would need to try their absolute hardest to have a chance at beating it .

*Bam*

“Eek”

Argeria screamed as some part of the Mother Great Worm bounced off of his shield .

“Focus on your opponent first!”

Focus was the most important thing when dealing with strong monsters .

There was no way out of this now . He would be eliminated and moved to the real world . This was the reality of the situation unfolding in front of him .

Unexpectedly though, there was a voice in his ear .

“That… Look over there leader… ”

It was Kelt .

“What?”

“His body… It’s still there?”

To confirm it for himself, Argeria’s eyes turned towards the party member who had lost his head before .

“Whaaa… ”

The corpse that had lost its head had not disappeared and instead remained in the dungeon .

“It isn’t gone… ?”

The blood was vividly oozing out of the corpse that had lost its head .

Argeria was a veteran amongst veterans and immediately noticed what this meant . Not only him but the other Blue Moon party members also realized what situation they were in .

It meant that this was no longer simulated training but an actual dungeon invasion .

In this space created by the technology of the Hebrion Acedemy, death should be impossible and pain should be limited .

Argeria shook his head and tried to deny the reality he was faced with .

*Throb*

As if to immediately snap him out of it, his wrist sharply throbbed in pain . When he lifted his gloves, he saw a deep black bruise . This wound was probably caused by blocking an attack from the Mother Great Worm . There was absolutely no pain reduction in effect .

“This is… real… ”

“Kiyaa aaahhh!”

However, the Mother Great Worm in front of him wasn’t kind enough to wait until they had sorted out their thoughts . Opening its mouth wide, it charged at those who had threatened its colony .

“… ”

He thought this was a no-risk environment . He thought it was just a test . That’s why he was willing to take the risk and make such a daring assault .

However, in reality it was truly a test with consequences unlike any practice or mock battle .

If he knew that they were risking their actual lives, he would never have approached this so recklessly . He had taken dozens of precautionary measures to lower the risk of death and figure out all relevant attack patterns up until now . This was how he had survived in this dungeon so far .

But it was now too late .

Not only was it too late but the level of the enemy they were dealing with was far from normal .

“Ha”

As soon as Argeria laughed at such an incomprehensible situation, the body of Mother Great Worm swept over towards him .

*Thud*

He flew away as if swept by waves on the level of a tsunami .

“Cough”

He was in excruciating pain . Argeria coughed up several mouthfuls of blood . All he could taste and smell was blood . His right arm seemed completely broken and the pain in his abdomen was also serious .

Argeria could only tremble in the face of guaranteed death .

*Booooom*

Something was launched from behind him . It was Fourth-Circle water and electric magic . They were the most powerful spells that Fourth-Circle mages could invoke .

Magic exploded on the body of the Mother Great Worm . The magic made a loud burst and a brilliant light could be seen by all! The two Fourth-Circle magic wizards had unleashed their strongest spells .

“Kia-a-a-ak!”

The Mother Great Worm that had been aggressively attacking them so far, temporarily ceased moving .

It was clear that the magic had hit . Its body was singed all over and part of its outer carapace had even crumbled .

But that was all . It was neither decisive nor fatal . Almost as if it were human, the Mother Great Worm seemed to frown and complain about the pain but it then resumed moving faster than ever .

The Fourth-Circle spells that had just been used required a long time to prepare and using them had merely bought a short reprieve for the party .

Argeria stood up while leaning heavily on his sword . His legs shook in response .

‘However… ’

The Mother Great Worm was devastating the Blue Moon party .

It was different from when it had first encountered them .

“Was our plan too reckless to defeat such a ferocious monster?”

They were struggling but it wouldn’t last much longer . They were falling one by one .

If the front knights couldn’t stand, then the next would be the wizards . In short, the party was on the brink of a total wipe out .

“Ha”

*Clink*

The Mother Great Worm moved . Its countless legs were a thing of nightmare now . Its attacks were strong and merciless .

Forget about trying to defeat it, or even getting to the third stage . Was it even possible to survive this ordeal they had gotten themselves into?

***

“What the hell is happening?”

“Check the situation!”

The Hebrion Academy had a crisis on their hands .

This was an unprecedented event . The Party Competition, such a historical test, had malfunctioned somehow . Such a brutal massacre was by far the worst tragedy to ever occur on academy grounds .

“We have confirmed that the dropouts in the first stage are safe . ”

Those who fell in the first stage had all returned safely through the shadow gate . But none of those who dropped out after entering the second level were coming back .

As to why this had happened, the panel in front of them was clearly showing the answer . Those that hadn’t returned had all faced death in the virtual space created for the Party Competition .

There was no exception .

“Is there a problem with the configuration?”

“If so, there should have been abnormalities from the start of the first stage too . ”

The biggest problem, above all, is that most of the Alpha Class students had entered the second level . They were gradually made aware of the abnormalities, but there were also a lot of people who had not yet noticed . There was also a party currently dealing with an enemy beyond their abilities that they couldn’t afford to lose .

“This can’t be happening!”

Pugman shrieked .

The centre-most panel showed the party at the top of the leaderboard .

The Blue Moon Party .

The Mother Great Worm was flailing its legs and trampling the Blue Moon party members with its massive frame . The acid that it flung melted even rock while its hard carapace acted like an impenetrable armor .

“My brother is in there! What measures can we take… ?!”

As more than two students had died already they were in dire need of assistance . Annihilation didn’t look to be too far away .

“Check the number of students!”

“How many Alpha Class students have entered the second level?”

Prof . Bridgette calmly tried to grasp the situation . She slowly but deliberately confirmed what had happened and what information they had to work with . After arranging the information that she had, she then talked, no longer staring at the panel .

“What has happened here? Is there something wrong with the magic ore?”

The virtual Shadow World was created by extracting traces contained in the magic stone obtained by clearing a real Shadow World .

There were ways to change the various configuration settings, but considering the current situation, there was no choice but to suspect that there was a problem with the ore .

“It seems that the configuration in the stone was changed right before the Party Competition began . ”

Prof . Bridgette’s question was answered by the professor of Shadow World Studies, Pelsta .

“Someone deliberately manipulated what was set in the ore?”

“… I believe so . ”

It was the most terrifying possibility .

“Damn it!”

Prof . Bridgette bit her lips .

‘Obviously the security was multiplied several fold . Someone couldn’t just break in from the outside… ’

Her fine brows furrowed into a frown .

‘How on Earth… No, who the hell did this… ’

It was clearly an act of terrorism against Hebrion Academy .

“Is there any way to force the students to all quit?”

“No, our controls are completely unresponsive… At the moment, their only chance of survival is to clear the dungeon . ”

“So it’s just like a real Shadow World… ”

Listening to Pelstar’s despairing answer, Bridgette looked at the panel in serious contemplation .