The story kicks off right after a brutal battle. Bodies are scattered everywhere, and a massive monster is roaming the battlefield. A group of warriors steps up, and of course, like most bad guys, this monster can talk without moving his lips. He mocks the humans for thinking they could ever defeat him.
We learn that Shadow Worlds are the greatest calamity humanity has ever faced, steadily covering the world in black fog. Nobody knows what’s inside, but one thing’s certain—if the fog touches land, no living creature survives. The only way to save the world? Conquer the Shadow Worlds. No pressure.
One brave hero challenges the dragon, calling him Boromir (not to be confused with the Lord of the Rings guy who can’t even survive one movie). Despite a pile of dead comrades around him, this hero boldly declares he’ll be the one to end this nightmare.
Boromir, clearly not amused, preps a fire breath. Cue “Mr. Obvious” from the squad yelling, “Here it comes!” (Thanks, man. Totally wouldn’t have noticed the giant fireball.) Luckily, Shield Guy is ready… only for the attack to vanish because our protagonist, Desir Herrman, cancels it with his spell. Poor Shield Guy finally had a chance to shine, and Desir snatched it away.
Boromir tries a stronger attack, but Desir shuts that down too. He proudly announces that his magical pattern analysis is complete—basically flexing that he’s hacked every Draconian spell in existence. With Boromir’s magic sealed, the humans launch a counterattack. Shield Guy blocks a tail swipe, the mage blasts him, and the female warrior—supercharged with the last of the mage’s mana—lands the finishing blow. Boromir screams in disbelief before crashing down.
Everyone cheers. Captain Avia gives the most inspiring speech possible—one word: “Good.” Desir, shocked but relieved, can’t believe they pulled it off. Later, while the survivors celebrate, someone notices they haven’t received orders from the higher-ups. Did they maybe kill the wrong boss? (Oops.) Mr. Obvious insists Boromir was the right one, but the group points out they should’ve been sent home by now.
Desir tries to stay positive, but the mood crashes when the mage reminds them that out of 155 million fighters, only six survived. Desir realizes just how much this cursed world has taken from him—and suddenly, the victory doesn’t feel so sweet.
After the battle, Desir Herrman and his irreplaceable friends try to recover. The group’s cheerful hippie brightens the mood, reminding everyone they just defeated Boromir. The Mage isn’t buying it—he points out that 99% of all mages died and insists they can’t ignore reality. Still, the hippie suggests they should pray first (classic move).
Desir calms everyone down, and the religious hippie compliments Shield Guy for his sweet blocking skills. Shield Guy, being humble, gives all the credit right back to Desir. The Mage, meanwhile, marvels at how Desir managed to analyze and seal Boromir’s spells with just his circle. Even he couldn’t do that! When asked why no one’s ever heard of him, Desir simply explains—it’s because he’s just a commoner. The Mage nearly cries, saying that if Desir had been at the Magic Tower, he’d have been an unstoppable beast.
The conversation shifts to their plans after returning home. Shield Guy wants to honor fallen comrades by visiting their families. The hippie—apparently the purest soul alive—plans to take care of the victims’ families and build a memorial. The Mage dreams of preventing another Shadow World from appearing, since a repeat would be humanity’s Game Over. The silent warrior who dealt the finishing blow says nothing, and Rudy straight-up ignores the question.
When asked if he’ll go back to Hebron Academy, Desir thinks of a girl he once knew—someone destined to die in battle. For now, he says, he just wants to go home.
But before they can relax, everyone suddenly senses something. The Mage is shocked—it feels like Boromir’s mana, even though they killed him. He recalls an old text: dragon hearts don’t just pump blood, they store and circulate massive amounts of mana. When a dragon dies, its heart stops, and all that stored mana explodes. Whoops.
Shield Guy steps forward again, telling the Mage he might have mentioned this little detail earlier. The Mage defends himself, saying this is literally the first time in history humans have beaten a dragon—so yeah, no handbook for this.
The sky erupts with light from Boromir’s corpse. Desir tries to stop it with a spell, but nothing works. The Mage admits it’s hopeless—they’re facing pure magic energy, and even under perfect conditions, they couldn’t contain it. The party braces for death as Desir’s life flashes before his eyes… only for him to suddenly wake up in normal clothes, somewhere completely different.
He hears applause. A woman’s voice welcomes the new students… to Hebron Academy.
Desir Herrman suddenly remembers the woman as Professor Brigitte. She explains to the new students that not everyone will be enrolled—they must first take a test, and only the top 600 will make it in. Desir knows what’s coming even before she announces it: the exam is to clear a Shadow World.
The students panic, thinking this is way too dangerous, but Brigitte calms them by explaining it’s an artificial Shadow World created just for the test. Still, Desir feels uneasy… and then she says the year is 3613. That’s three years before the war against Boromir began in 3616—a war that destroyed everything. Realizing he’s somehow in the past, Desir collapses, wondering what the point of all that suffering was. He knows it’s not a dream; the memories are far too vivid.
Before he can process it, a fiery girl storms over, introduces herself as Azest Kingscrown, and declares she’ll be his mentor. Desir recalls that she’s a prodigy of fire magic and once ranked first in the academy. Shocked to learn he’s a commoner, she bluntly reminds him that even if he passes the test, he’ll be shoved into the Beta Class—because this academy loves its discrimination. Nobles go to Alpha Class, commoners to Beta Class, talent be damned.
Inside, Azest wonders why Desir isn’t more amazed by the academy. He tries to say he’s seen a similar building before, but she scoffs—nothing like this exists. Just then, they run into Elheim Triquincy, the water mage. Azest and Elheim immediately start trading insults like kids on a playground. He mocks her height, she mocks his arrogance. She reminds him she beat him once, but he insists he let her win.
Elheim notes Desir’s polite silence but bursts out laughing when he learns Desir is a commoner. He “helpfully” warns Desir that even if he somehow passes, he’ll still end up in Beta Class—so maybe he shouldn’t bother at all. Classic jerk move.
Soon after, the students are called to begin the test. Azest is fired up, demanding Desir pass no matter what. Desir, meanwhile, grows more certain he’s in the past—and looks around anxiously, relieved that a certain someone isn’t there. But then… a familiar voice calls out.
It’s Romantica Eru. Desir is stunned; in his memories, she died, leaving him devastated. Yet here she is, alive, with no idea who he is. She scolds him for staring around like a weirdo and asks how he knows her name. Thinking fast, Desir says he saw it on the screen—they’re in the same testing group. Romantica wishes him luck and walks off, while Desir silently vows: this time, he won’t let tragedy repeat. He will rewrite history itself.
Our time-traveling hero, Desir Herrman, pulls himself together and vows never to let Romantica Eru suffer that same tragic fate again.
The first exam is held in a beginner-level Shadow World. Thankfully, the academy doesn’t want angry parents suing them, so these artificial worlds come with an emergency escape function—take too much damage, and you’re automatically pulled out. Still, Desir is surprised that students can actually get hurt at all.
Enter Elheim Triquincy, still in full “villain arc” mode. He smugly explains that attacks between participants are allowed and warns Desir that it’ll be impossible for him to pass. To rub it in, Elheim introduces the student he’s mentoring: Azest Kingscrown, a prodigy magic knight. In Desir’s memories of the future, she was a high-circle mage, master of ice, and one of his most reliable teammates. She could wield Vision Magic—normally impossible to imitate—and outclassed most pure knights with the sword. In short, she’s terrifyingly talented.
Elheim and Azest trade a few more insults (as usual, he manages to sneak in the last laugh), leaving her fuming. Azest tells Desir that his odds against a magic knight are garbage, but still urges him not to give up.
Soon, Desir’s group is called for the test. The goal is simple: reach the finish line. The catch? Only the top three pass. Anything goes—magic, interference, dirty tricks. If you take fatal damage, you’re instantly disqualified.
Desir should be focusing on the exam, but he can’t help watching Azest. In the ruined future, she was there until the bitter end. He wonders if she, too, has her past memories. She surprises him by knowing his name—but only because she checked the list beforehand. Then she roasts him for his below-average physical ability, coldly telling him he has “no future.” To top it off, she calls him out for staring at her like a creep. She assures him she won’t bother wasting time attacking weaklings anyway. Desir quickly realizes this is not yet the loyal teammate he once knew.
The race begins. Azest takes off like someone just told her the cafeteria was serving free desserts. Romantica runs after her but pauses to apologize to a tiny furball she bumps into. Desir can’t help but smile—yep, she still loves cute things. Romantica, however, has no idea what he means by “still” and wonders if this guy is hitting on her in the middle of an exam. Annoyed, she tells him to focus on the race.
Desir can’t help himself—he’s missed her too much. Romantica gets even more irritated… until Desir suddenly saves her from a random fireball. The attacker, a hot-headed student named Eggs, is furious at being interrupted and swings his fire rod again. But Romantica doesn’t need babysitting—she counters and wipes him out. His disqualification is promptly announced to everyone. Poor Eggs, scrambled right out of the test.
Romantica Eru thanks Desir Herrman for the save, then immediately gets annoyed by his “dumb” face. The two are falling behind, so Romantica decides to show her true skill and casts Arrow Sweep. Up on the sidelines, a higher-up with a ponytail nods—everything’s going smoothly—and the examiners are impressed a magic knight is competing this year. They snicker when they see a weak commoner in the same group as her, pitying the poor kid… except one inspector stares intently at Desir like she smells something interesting.
A follower of Azest thinks he can just tail her to victory, but Romantica’s powerful wind nearly pins him in place. Azest slices through the gust like it’s paper. The drooling fan ends up hugged by Mother Nature—courtesy of a giant tree—and is promptly eliminated. Another fool gets knocked out too, leaving only three participants. Romantica smiles, thinking everyone’s passing… until she notices Desir and tells him to quit. His face, she says, is the reason he should give up. (Harsh.)
She assumes he’ll quit—then he doesn’t. That drives her nuts. Furious, she vows to hurt him enough that he’ll think he’s dying, and unleashes a brutal wind strike called Venom Wind. Instead of panicking, Desir complimentingly analyzes her technique—calling out that she prioritized speed over control—and calmly suggests a tiny tweak. Romantica is stunned that he’s unhurt.
Then Desir does the impossible: he tweaks the air currents midflight and forces her attack to miss. He even uses an inverse spell, something only higher Circles can normally pull off—impossible for a lowest-Circle commoner, yet here it is. Romantica launches again; Desir redirects and neutralizes it perfectly. She begins to lose her composure, wondering if his skill actually surpasses hers. The tables have flipped—Desir grins and says, confidently, “Let’s finish this.”
Desir Herrman knows he doesn’t have time to waste—there are still plenty of rivals ahead. Romantica Eru decides to really push him, unleashing a storm of spells to see if he can inverse them all. Desir casually swats them aside, noting that while she’s strong, she’s not strong enough. If she stays like this, history will just repeat itself… and he refuses to let her meet that same tragic fate.
So, like a true boss, Desir flexes. He tells Romantica that inversing isn’t his only trick. He erases friction from his body and reveals he hasn’t even been “fighting” her at all—because the real test isn’t about magic duels, but about reaching the finish line. Fatal wounds here don’t mean death, just damage. Romantica gasps at his insane plan, but Desir? He ain’t afraid of a few scratches. He rockets himself forward with a fire spell like a human missile.
Near the goal, Azest Kingscrown enjoys her lead, but senses Desir gaining fast. She doesn’t know how he beat Romantica, but she’s not letting him pass without a fight. She unloads a barrage of linked spells—Desir coolly analyzes every strand and takes control. Azest realizes too late that he’s inverting them. Desperate, she fires off the rest before he can steal those too, but Desir redirects their trajectory like it’s child’s play.
Azest combines her magic for a massive strike, and Desir admits she’s making the right move. Unfortunately for her, our time-traveling madlad is just built different. He twists the spell mid-flight, rides the blowback, and—thanks to his no-friction trick—rockets past her like a magic bullet. Victory is announced: Desir Herrman wins. But he hardly cares; to him, this is just training. He knows he and his friends must all grow much stronger if they’re to avoid the tragedy looming ahead.
Meanwhile, in Group F, some guy with a ridiculous-looking ring wipes out a bunch of students. His name? Dante. He wins his group, then fixes a creepy smile on our heroes. Yup, trouble’s coming.
