The Returner - Chapter 353: There is no place for you during this operation, Mister Yi Ji-Hyuk (3)

Enemy of the world, cursed by all, Kim Sungchul goes on a quest to prevent the ‘prophecy of the end’ from coming to pass.

But no matter how much he raised his strength, there were still some things he could not achieve with physical strength alone.

Resolving to obtain the power of magic, he goes into hiding to learn magic from his most hated of enemies, The Mages.

In the world of cultivation, countless tales follow righteous protagonists, fated heroes blessed by destiny, or those chosen by heaven to walk the path of immortality.But what of those who stand in their way?What of the villains? The so-called obstacles to the hero’s journey—do they not bleed, dream, and struggle as well?Xiao Ning was never meant to succeed.From the very beginning, the Grand Dao wove him as a stepping stone—a necessary sacrifice to elevate another. His path, like that of all designated ‘villains,’ was doomed to failure by design.But what happens when that design is defied?After death, Xiao Ning awakens—not in the cycle of reincarnation, but in the cold silence beyond it. There, he is offered the Eternal Paradox Codex—a forbidden artifact containing the hidden truths of the Grand Dao System itself.Rules. Loopholes. Vulnerabilities.Knowledge not meant for those like him.With this power, Xiao Ning is granted a single, impossible choice: accept oblivion, or step outside the Grand Dao entirely—to abandon fate, sever karma, and cultivate a path unbound by heaven or law.It is Xiao Ning’s journey, from ashes to something beyond comprehension.Not to become an Immortal among men.But something even the heavens dare not bind.If fate is a chain…Then let him forge his own path in the void beyond.Welcome to this humble tale.The cultivation world is vast and unkind.Let us begin again—on our terms.

The Yanhuang Ancient Domain, vast without end, gave birth to many Celestials and Demons of antiquity tore Heaven and Earth apart and surpassed the control of the 3 Realms and 5 Elements over the endless years it has existed. Numerous Gods, more than ten thousand races, and humans born with a God class body have also come out from the Domain, traveling through the nether, warping Yin and Yang, omnipotent.

15 years ago the world discovered magic as well as mythical beings (basically beings from various legends) in another dimension. Humankind learned to summon these dangerous mythical beings and use their power to great effect. Seven countries formed contracts with these “mythical beings” and gained their allegiance as a result. The mythical beings will choose their summoners on their 14th birthday and give them a stigma. Schools have been set up to train summoners and magical swordsman (basically bodyguards that give the summoners time to cast their spell) as a result.

15 years later after the finding of magic Kazuki Hayashizaki is chosen as a summoner and given a stigma to indicate that. This is surprising since males aren’t chosen as summoners due to their low amount of mana compared to females. As the first male to be a summoner Kazuki is under a lot of scrutiny by almost everyone.

To complicate matters his sister (who’s a magical swordsman) is against him going into summoner school to train there as a summoner. Because summoners and magical swordsman have a cat mouse thing going on where summoners look down on magical swordsman as inferior so his sister naturally is against him going there. She’ll stop him even if it means going to war.

Kazuki however is determined to thrive in summoner school and has already determined to give it his all. Even if he’s the lowest ranked student (ranked E) and his fellow students intend to demean him he’ll prove himself as the strongest summoner.