Shadow Realms are something of a trigger for Desir Herrman. That's understandable – before his return to his high school-equivalent life, he watched everyone he loved die in one before ultimately succumbing himself. He would be justified in freaking out when he and his team end up in one that recreates a famous story from history, but instead his trauma manifests in a laser-focus on getting them all out. Given that he's not sure where Romantica has landed, that's a bit tricky, but volume four sees him ably navigating this world and figuring out what needs to be done.

Of course, the rest of his team, especially Romantica, are no slouches, either, thanks in large part to Desir's rigorous training back at Hebrion Academy. But as they all play their parts, it's easy to see that Romantica's and Azest's backgrounds also contribute to their successes, particularly Romantica's. She ends up as a merchant in the Shadow Realm, and as you may recall, that's her family's business. While Desir's role involves strategic (over)thinking and Azest's relies on integrity, Romantica's part is all about not only finding her party members but also carefully reading the news and the markets so that she can be prepared to meet the moment. Azest may be the literal knight, but it's Romantica who rides to the rescue, surprising even Desir with her intelligence and smooth plays. It's a great moment for her as a character and helps to show why she's the person Desir is most invested in saving this time around.

If you're noticing a distinct lack of Pram in all of this, that's a feature of these volumes. He's present, and he does have a few moments, mostly in volumes five and six, but as the second male lead in a sonyeon (shounen) story, he's relegated to the background a lot. While I can't say that he's ever been a character with a lot of promise, this does feel like a problem, especially since Azest is still a bit lacking in the personality department. It's as if the original author, Usonan, wanted to write only about Desir and Romantica, but felt they had to add more characters.

This feels likely to be a bit more of a problem with the introduction of Outer, a group of villains, in volume five. Their entry on the scene, coming directly after Desir sees how some Shadow Realms exist to not replicate the past, but to show how a few different decisions could have led to a better outcome for the entire world, feels very deliberate. They are the embodiment of the rage regular people feel when things go south due to the actions of the powerful few. Even though the only member of Desir's party who is nobility is Azest, Outer detests them all as Hebrion students. One specific member of the group, a crow mask-wearing, scarred man known only as “Crow Mask,” appears to be particularly angry with Hebrion, painting it as a bastion of snobbery where those not of noble status are treated as second-class citizens.

That makes him an interesting villain because we know that he's right: Hebrion is a bastion of snobbery where those not of noble status are treated as second-class citizens. The difference between him and Desir is that Desir is trying to work within the system, while Crow Mask wants to burn it down. This is where the lessons learned in the Shadow Realm could come into play. Desir saw first-hand (and in fact had to actively work towards) how a small adjustment can change the course of history. Because he encouraged a ruler to do something different, there was a better outcome in the Shadow Realm than in the real world. The question now raised with Crow Mask is whether or not he can truly apply that to his second loop. Granted, this is the very thing he's been working towards all along, but Crow Mask's burning hatred of Hebrion is a lesson in why things need to change that everyone, not just our time-regressed hero, can see. He's an example Desir can hold up and that his party can use the skills they honed in the Shadow Realm on…assuming they can get close to him, since he uses a very high-level spell in volume six.

A Returner's Magic Should Be Special has a lot to work with, and most of the time, it does it decently well. Transitions between story arcs aren't very smooth, which is a major problem this time around, and Desir himself feels a bit stagnant as a character. Artistic issues from the first three books persist, particularly around the way fabric works and in terms of perspective. But the story is still interesting enough to at least merit reading it at the library. It may be one of the okay-est titles I'm reading, but there's enough to keep me coming back each time a new volume is released.