You should try this if you want a new reincarnation manhwa with a normal MC in an unknown world
WEBTOONSummary of the Plot So Far
Noah Vines was a beloved music teacher before he passed away.
As a ghost, he traveled through the afterlife for millennia while waiting to be reborn.
And after a mishap involving two gods, Noah accidentally possesses a recently murdered Magus Vermil, a disgraced magic professor at Arbitage Academy.
Noah takes on Vermil’s powers and more but none of his memories so he must learn about magic while simultaneously teaching a magic class.
As his understanding of magic and the world grows, so do his problems.
My Thoughts (Contains Minor Spoilers)
TL;DR The protagonist isn’t OP, there’s a hard magic system, and the manhwa has great world-building
Setting
This story doesn’t seem to be in a medieval/historical setting and is instead a fantasy with a touch of modernism.
Granted we’ve only seen Arbitage City, Arbitage Runic Academy, and Scorched Acres so far.
At the moment, it’s hard to tell if magic is common and what place magic has in society.
What we do know is it’s used in combat and for public transportation.
And there are families, like Vermil’s, who have power at least in part due to magic.
Hard Magic System
The world seems to have a hard magic system without a leveling system which is a nice change from other isekai stories.
Plus, it’s a rather unique one too.
The magic system is in the form of runes, symbols that store energy to cast specific types of magic.
Energy can be transferred to one’s runes from dead beings though the amount varies.
How that works with Noah’s resurrection ability isn’t quite clear yet though I imagine this will be explored at some point since he’s incurred some debt, so to speak.
All we know for sure is that he can’t use magic for a while after coming back.
Runes can also be combined to make new ones though the recipes are not shared by anyone as it’s customary to never show your runes to others.
Plus no one can really experiment with rune combinations because failed attempts will result in a damaged soul and inability to use magic for years.
And I find this setup so interesting because the current state of rune research is definitely being held back by all this secrecy and the penalty.
So I wonder how Noah will get around this.
Barring one rune in particular, I can see Noah sharing whatever information he learns about rune combinations with his students which might spark a change in this tradition.
Protagonist
I really feel bad for Noah and the hand he’s been dealt with.
But I also really like how he’s just a normal guy adapting to a foreign world.
He’s using his “amnesia” and teaching skills to get by and I wonder when he’s going to be found out.
Like, he’ll probably be framed based on how something is using his previous bodies.
But I also wonder about the original man, Vermil.
He has a reputation for chasing after female students which Noah has to deal with but I don’t want to write him off entirely since he was traveling solo through a dangerous area.
While the two facts aren’t related (as far as we know), a no-good man putting himself in danger for some unknown reason most likely has something going on.
Plus, being only told about past Vermil and not shown flashbacks of past Vermil makes me skeptical.
Another thing I like about Noah is his resurrection ability isn’t unlimited and even has consequences he has to work around.
While getting do-overs gives him an advantage, he still isn’t one of those protagonists handed everything he needs to succeed.
Which, more of those please.
Side Characters
Nearly every side character we’ve met so far hates Vermil based on Vermil’s previous behavior towards a student.
Though they’re easing up a bit thank to Noah/Vermil’s amnesia excuse.
We haven’t gotten much else of their personalities so far.
The characters we’ve gotten to know the most are Noah’s new students, Todd and Isabel.
And I’m guessing they’ll pave the way for Noah/Vermil’s new image in time.
Initially, like everyone else, they didn’t expect much but are starting to respect and care for him.
And I enjoy how the manhwa is handling this as their respect is coming from his character and teaching capabilities which makes them justifiably curious about his change.
Noah isn’t showing them cheats or being a genius, he’s just a good teacher.
If you’ve read this far, you should go ahead and give Return of the Runebound Professor a try.
Or you can check out my other posts through the tags below.
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