Chapter 1

The Returning Archmage Is a Max-Level Player Chapter 1

The stars flowed beneath his feet.

Beyond the Milky Way, winding like a river, countless cross-sections of worlds were embedded like shards of crystal.

A place containing a view as though one were looking down upon all creation from the throne of a god.

Six shadows stood in that space, a place where only those called heroes or saviors were permitted to set foot.

“...Are you really going back?”

The first to speak was Ernst, the Holy King of Arcadia.

Even on the fiercest battlefields, Ernst’s eyes had never wavered, yet now they looked this way with the anxious gaze of a child.

“Yeah. I have to go back. There are things that are incredibly precious to me...”

At the sight of the Archmage, Kim Dohyun, smiling softly, Kazan folded his thick arms and spoke.

The Lord of Strife, the great barbarian warrior who used to burst into hearty laughter even on battlefields where life and death hung in the balance, was speaking in an unusually subdued voice.

“So what, we’re not precious to you?”

A sly smile hung on Kazan’s face, but his eyes were not smiling.

“You’re incredibly precious.”

Kim Dohyun answered without hesitation.

“But you guys will be fine without me.”

Ernst had the people of Arcadia, who followed him as though he were a god.

Kazan had his clansmen on the northern plains of the Voldrak Continent, waiting for his return.

The same was true for the other heroes.

“Thorgen. You have tons of disciples at your workshop. And in Serea’s case... there are the spirits protecting the forest.”

They all had places to return to.

Of course, if a companion who had survived countless brushes with death alongside them suddenly disappeared, they would feel an emptiness.

But they were people called saviors in their respective worlds.

“You’ll all fill the space I leave behind soon enough.”

Kim Dohyun nodded as he spoke with certainty.

And yet.

No one gave him a proper answer.

They merely turned their gazes toward the same place.

Toward the woman standing alone at the farthest edge, apart from every one of the six heroes.

Isabel.

A half-dragon and Sword Saint.

The only being in Kalhenbrock to have claimed the title of Sword Saint.

Ernst, one of the heroes who had been looking at her, cautiously offered his opinion.

“Ahem... Personally, I think that would be close to impossible.”

He understood why Thorgen, known as the Meister, would say such a thing.

It was because Isabel was not particularly sociable.

It was not that she had a bad personality.

Strangely enough, however, whenever they gathered in this Sanctuary, she never mingled with the other heroes.

Even during the grand celebration after every battle had ended, Isabel had always remained one step behind.

Kim Dohyun was the only person with whom she held ordinary, everyday conversations.

Was that why?

Feeling a slight sense of responsibility, Kim Dohyun looked at Ernst, the most accommodating of them all, and made a request.

“Take care of Isabel for me.”

“...”

“She’s a little prickly, but it’s not like she’s impossible to deal with. If you actually talk to her, I’m sure she’ll be able to get along with you guys too.”

Ernst let out a heavy sigh.

“Sociability...”

Thorgen gave a hollow laugh.

“That isn’t what we’re worried about.”

“Then what?”

No answer came to the question.

Instead, a voice sounded from behind him.

“I’ll ask you one last time.”

Isabel, who had somehow approached directly behind the heroes, quietly stared at Kim Dohyun with her blue eyes.

“This is my first time cutting this deeply into space-time. I can’t guarantee it’ll succeed.”

Her tone was somewhat stiff, but the end of her voice was trembling ever so slightly.

“You know there could be all kinds of unforeseen variables. Are you still okay with that?”

“Yeah. I trust you, Isabel.”

Isabel was strong.

Not merely powerful.

The title of Sword Saint was no empty name.

Her sword cut through the laws of physics, severed causality, and split the very source of existence.

Cutting through the boundary of space-time might be a “first” for her, but it would not be “impossible.”

‘And the same goes for me.’

When it came to magic, he was confident.

He had even engraved magic circles across his body like brands, making every possible preparation.

The instant Isabel’s strike cleaved through the dimensional wall, his magic would sustain the opening and connect the path.

It was something where they could not afford to miss even the briefest instant, but they had coordinated through countless battles already, so there would be no mistake.

A faint sigh escaped Isabel’s lips.

“Haa... You know better than I do, but crossing space-time comes at an enormous price.”

“It’s fine.”

“You’ll lose everything.”

Her blue eyes seemed to pierce straight through Kim Dohyun.

“Don’t you regret everything you’ve built up until now?”

Power. Honor. Praise. Everything he had struggled so hard to achieve.

But those vain things were not what Kim Dohyun thought of.

“...If I’m being honest.”

Kim Dohyun turned his gaze toward the heroes.

No.

Toward his companions.

‘Isabel. Ernst. Kazan. Thorgen. Serea.’

And with each person his gaze landed upon, memories of the battlefield surfaced.

Nights when they had entrusted their backs to one another. Dawns when they had shared blood. Moments at death’s door when they had trusted and relied upon one another.

“I’m going to miss it like hell.”

He spoke without hiding anything.

“Especially knowing that I’ll never see you guys again. That’s what I’ll regret most.”

Bitterness seemed to bloom at the corners of Kim Dohyun’s mouth before his expression slowly hardened.

“But. I have no regrets.”

He had left no regrets in this world.

He had always done the best he could.

He had never run from an enemy before him, nor abandoned the companions standing behind him.

But Earth was different.

‘Family.’

Exhausted by the hopeless circumstances his family had been trapped in, he had often vented irritation bordering on childish tantrums at his parents.

No, at times, he had treated them harshly and hurt them.

Even though his parents must have been more exhausted and frustrated than anyone else.

‘Maybe that’s why I was punished.’

Even at twenty-five, as an adult, he had behaved no differently from an immature child.

In fact, fifty years ago, on the day he had first fallen onto the continent of Rodinia, he had stormed out of the house after taking all his irritation out on his parents.

That was why.

He had so many regrets.

He wished he had spoken warmly instead of snapping at them.

He wished he had tried to understand his parents’ feelings.

He wished he had tried to have a heartfelt conversation with them.

Even if only to rid himself of these emotions buried deep within his heart.

“The past. The mistakes I made when I was immature. I want to set all of them right.”

At Kim Dohyun’s words, Isabel’s brow furrowed.

“...Idiot.”

Her low mutter drifted along the breeze.

“An idiot who only knows magic.”

Beneath the light reflected from the stars, Isabel’s expression was difficult to make out.

All he could see was her shaking her head once.

“Fine.”

Isabel nodded and reached a hand into the air, causing the mana in the atmosphere to surge.

“Do whatever you want.”

At the same time, the magic circles engraved throughout the Sanctuary began radiating blue light.

The six heroes stood atop the circular formation. Powers of different colors rose from each of their bodies.

The Holy King’s white radiance, the Lord of Strife’s lightning, the Meister’s flames, and the Forest Sage’s green brilliance.

The powers that had each saved a world once flowed through the magic circle and converged into one, gathering in Isabel’s grasp and forging a single sword.

“Hup...”

Isabel drew in a deep breath and raised the sword.

Then brought it down.

At that moment.

Crack-

The world tore apart.

Space split as though screaming, and an enormous fissure opened between the stars.

A completely different scene was visible beyond the gap.

Concrete buildings. Streetlights. The sound of cars.

Earth.

The moment he confirmed it with his own eyes.

Wooooong-!

A tremendous force of attraction surged from beyond the fissure.

The restorative force of torn space-time attempting to mend itself. That force began pulling Kim Dohyun, who stood inside the fissure, toward the other side.

The starlight beneath his feet faded.

A cluster of light blooming from the tips of his feet quickly climbed to his waist, rapidly swallowing his body.

‘Faster than I expected.’

There was no time.

Even as the light consumed him, Kim Dohyun turned his head.

He met the heroes’ eyes.

To leave them with a final farewell.

The first person he looked toward was the Holy King, Ernst.

“Ernst. Thanks to your light, I was able to keep from losing my way even in the darkness.”

The second person Kim Dohyun looked toward was the Lord of Strife, Kazan.

“Kazan. Whenever you stood at the front and opened the way, I felt safer than I ever did anywhere else.”

Next, his gaze moved toward the Meister, Thorgen, and the Forest Sage, Serea.

“Thorgen. Serea. Without your support, we never would have won the war.”

Finally, the last place Kim Dohyun’s gaze turned was.

“Isabel. Thank you. Truly.”

Even at his words of gratitude, her blue eyes remained calm and seemingly devoid of emotion, but Kim Dohyun paid it little mind and continued.

“If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have been able to endure it.”

The gap in space-time pulled Kim Dohyun inward.

“To me. You are.”

With almost nothing left of Kim Dohyun’s form, his lips slowly moved.

“My best friend, and...”

Before Kim Dohyun could finish his final words, his body vanished from the world.

And so.

Silence settled over the Sanctuary where only the heroes remained.

The dimensional gap was still open. However, the edges of the fissure were slowly repairing themselves, as though being stitched together with thread.

“...Isabel.”

Even at Serea’s cautious call, Isabel’s blue eyes did not so much as twitch.

She merely stared blankly in the direction where the gap in space-time was disappearing.

“Are you really okay with not following him?”

Isabel furrowed her brow and turned her gaze toward Serea.

“Why would I follow him?”

As always, Isabel’s voice was cold.

“What good could possibly come from following an idiot like that?”

Isabel snorted, wearing an expression as though the very idea were absurd.

On the surface, she looked as though she had no lingering attachment whatsoever.

But she could not completely hide the tremor in her eyes.

Meanwhile.

The gap in space-time continued repairing itself without pause.

The enormous fissure that had cut through the starlight had already narrowed until barely a single person could pass through it. The view of Earth beyond the gap grew increasingly faint.

“There isn’t much time.”

Ernst’s voice was low and firm.

It could have sounded somewhat forceful, but what lay within it was not an order or advice, but sincere concern.

“If you let this chance pass, you may never see Kim Dohyun again for the rest of your life. Are you all right with that?”

Isabel did not answer.

She only bit hard on her lower lip and stared at the narrowing gap in space-time.

Of course, even at that moment, the gap in space-time continued rapidly repairing itself.

The self-restoration of the torn world. The fissure narrowed densely like stitches, while the light beyond the gap grew thinner.

“Oh dear... Are we too late?”

Thorgen muttered to himself.

“She simply isn’t honest enough with herself.”

Kazan looked at Isabel with somewhat bitter eyes.

No, it was not only Kazan.

Every hero gathered there wore the same expression.

Regret, sorrow, and an emotion that no words could properly convey hung over their faces.

Just then.

“Argh! Seriously!”

Isabel’s irritated voice rang throughout the Sanctuary.

At the same time.

A powerful force erupted beneath her feet, sending out a massive shock wave as Isabel’s body shot forward.

“It’s dangerous!”

Serea urgently reached out a hand.

“Isabel! Right now...!”

“Stop!”

Ernst and Kazan shouted after her.

But Isabel did not stop.

The gap in space-time had narrowed to the width of a thread. It was already far too narrow for a person to pass through, and along its edges, the world’s self-restoring force had become sharp blades seeking to reject the intruder.

Anything caught between them would be annihilated. The person who knew that better than anyone was Isabel herself, who had personally cut open the fissure.

Even so.

Isabel did not hesitate.

She threw herself toward the narrowing gap, and final words spilled from her lips.

“Kim Dohyun, you goddamn bastard-!”

The fissure swallowed Isabel.

And closed.

The wound that had existed between the stars disappeared without a trace.

As though nothing had ever happened from the very beginning.

The gap in space-time, the Earth beyond it, and Isabel’s body that had leaped inside.

All of it.

Silence settled over the Sanctuary once more.

The remaining heroes could not say a word.

They merely stared wide-eyed at the empty space.

The Returning Archmage Is a Max-Level Player

Author │

So Haehyeon

Publisher │

Choi Wonyoung

Head of Editorial Department │

Lee Hojun

Editor │

Choi Jonggeon

E-book │

Park Hansol

Published by │

D&C Media Co., Ltd.

Registration │

April 25, 2012, No. 20-260

Address │

1301-8, Kolon Digital Tower Billant 1, 30 Digital-ro 32-gil, Guro-gu, Seoul

Main Telephone │

(02)333-2513 Fax (02)333-2514

Email │

papy_dnc@dncmedia.co.kr

Website │

blog.naver.com/gnpdl7

UCI G720:N+A092-20261014099

*This book was published by D&C Media Co., Ltd. (Papyrus) under a contract with the copyright holder, and its contents may not be used in any form or by any means without permission from the company and the author.