Everyone Else is a Returnee
chapter-14

I Make Them (1)

[They’re Executors.]

“I vaguely expected that.”

The 5-person group of men and women shattered the half-frozen situation made by Yu IlHan’s fight. The soldiers came to themselves and the leader (who was a major) tapped his cheeks twice lightly and turned his head towards them.

“The monster was exterminated.”

“Exterminated? I heard it was a 2nd class monster though…… Oh.”

The man who looked like the leader of the group retorted while looking around and found Yu IlHan. This was only possible because Yu IlHan was in the middle of dismantling the bear.

“Sungdaein Bolt?”

“It’s him! It’s the Ir*nm*n mask!”

“Wow, then he really finished that bear alone? No way! Just what kind of arcane magic did he learn to get so strong?” (T/N: ‘Vision’ last time was actually arcane magic… I think…)

Yu IlHan didn’t like the group a lot when he saw that they were whispering to each other while evaluating him, but they were Executors who had the same objectives as him. There was no need to antagonize them for naught.

He ignored the five and started moving again. It would take a lot of time to dismantle the huge bear so there was no need to waste time on useless staring cont……

When he thought to that point, the huge bear corpse started decreasing in size. To Yu IlHan, who was shocked, Erta naturally explained.

[You didn’t know? It had a Giantification skill. If its real body was 7m tall, then it would have been much stronger.]

“There are all sorts of skills, eh…?”

Honestly, Yu IlHan was delighted that the size of the bear had decreased as he had nothing to use all that bear leather for anyway. So, he waited silently for its body to decrease, and in the end, he started dismantling the bear that had been reduced to a size slightly less than 3m.

“H, hey. Sungdaein Bolt?”

“You’re really strong! Did you really get your 2nd job? Did you perhaps find a dungeon?”

“Hey, if a person’s talking to you, then ans……”

To a loner like Yu IlHan, such outgoing and grouped people were people who he was uncomfortable with. Therefore, he perfectly ignored the Executors who approached him and quietly wielded his spear.

“He doesn’t seem to have any intentions on confronting us. Give it up.”

“Tch, such a disgusting individual.”

“Why, isn’t he cool? He looks like a solitary gourmet.”

“Wow, this woman’s preferences are really something, alright!?”

They tried to converse with Yu IlHan a few more times, but after they found out that he had no intentions on conversing, they clicked their tongues and turned away.

“It doesn’t seem like there is anything we can do here. Let’s go.”

“There was a request for support in other regions, can we request……?”

“Of course!”

It was a truly amazing communication ability. If it was Yu IlHan, he would’ve failed at the greeting stage, because his counterpart wouldn’t be able to find him.

However, whether they went or not, another line flew towards Yu IlHan, who was dismantling the bear. It was the leader who went ‘Sungdaein Bolt?’ in surprise when he first saw him.

“My name is Do WooJun. Looking at that bear, it looks like I will lose to you in the ‘first quest’ , but I will show you that I will surpass you. You should remember my name.”

“……What will you do after surpassing me?”

From an outsider’s basic mentality, he didn’t want to mix words with insiders when possible, but as Yu IlHan didn’t understand what Do WooJun was saying, he ended up speaking that line.

Do WooJun momentarily stood still as he was surprised that Yu IlHan had replied, but eventually, he spoke while looking at him.

“The living and breathing world is urging me. Akashic Record, the record of power of all existences! Our strengths are expressed in levels, and we can grow however much we want on the condition that we put effort in. Meaning that the strongest will be revealed clearly! So I will stand on a higher place than anyone in the future.”

“……”

It was a more childish reason than he thought so Yu IlHan lost his motivation to even reply. How could such a futile and foolish resolve exist?

However, as Yu IlHan knew very well that he had to respect others to receive respect, he tried his best to not to tackle him. As a result, he ended up just going back to dismantling.

“How could you ask and just ignore me…… Well, fine. We’ll see each other soon.”

Do WooJun licked his lips as if disappointed, but he lead his group and left that place.

It seemed that his sense of rivalry was boiling up after he saw Yu IlHan defeating the bear alone, but honestly, boiling something like that next to him just made Yu IlHan hot and annoyed.

In the first place, Yu IlHan didn’t like the word ‘rivalry’. Just how could one compete with another person shoulder to shoulder!? No, before that, how could Yu IlHan stand shoulder to shoulder with another person when there was no person to do that with in the first place?

Is a rival really necessary for improvement? That was called ‘lack of tenacity’. Wasn’t it enough to just quietly put effort alone if you wanted to improve yourself!?

Whether it was studying alone at home, or practicing Vale Tudo with a sandbag like Yu IlHan, it was all possible, but why would you drag another person in and embarrass yourself!?

If one couldn’t improve oneself just because there was no one to compete with, then would you be able call it your ‘own ability’ even when it’s an ability you improved just because of the existence of a rival? What meaning is there to an ability that only improves and is measured when compared!?

What is the purpose of an ability that only has meaning when it surpasses another person!?

How dare he compare with others when he didn’t even win against his own physical body? If he wanted to surpass something, wouldn’t he have to think about surpassing his own self first!?

How could he neglect something so much when even Yu IlHan could not say that he did it even with 1000 years of effort? And what? He will become the strongest? He will stand on a higher place than anyone? It was all laughable!

Like that, Yu IlHan spouted out the rage of a loner in an unfair and twisted way. Only inside his mind though.

[……Yu IlHan? Aren’t you a bit too excited?]

“No, I’m extremly calm.”

Erta’s call returned Yu IlHan back to reality. He pouted his lips as he retorted at Erta and finished dismantling the body.

Disappointingly, the brown bear didn’t have a magic stone, but the quality of its leather was great. If it was processed well, then he would be able to make an armor that could withstand machine guns easily.

“Excuse me… Sir Sungdaein Bolt……?”

“I’m not selling.”

He was now used to preventing the approach of the ‘strong friends’. However, as if he had heard the matter between Yu IlHan and second lieutenant Han YeoRang, and other military platoons, the government, and the major slowly and carefully approached Yu IlHan.

“I heard you were looking for strong monsters to hunt, no? If so, then we can give you the information.”

“Just the information?”

“Yes.”

Just where did his figure saying ‘bite on a knife and charge’ disappear to… the major offered him a proposal with a truly amiable voice.

“We want to get over this predicament with the least amount of damage possible. Of course it would be a lie to say that we don’t want the body, but I’m saying that the lives of the people are more important. So if you want, I would like to share the positions of the appearances of the monsters……”

“…….”

“Although the government is spouting bullshit about wanting to gather ability users to make a group or something, I’m honestly skeptical about it. They aren’t even hiding their intentions to control other people. Personally, I understand that you don’t want to get mixed with the government and the military. And so, I’m proposing this to you…….How is it?”

It was a reasonable proposal. The country was drawing a large and unrealistic picture, but this major was speaking to him with the realistic thought of having to get over this predicament as the basis.

Yu IlHan hesitated, but honestly, it wasn’t something he should hesitate about. Anyway, there would be soldiers where monsters are rampaging around, so if that was true, wouldn’t it be better to earn information from them and go directly rather than wasting time searching the internet?

“Tell me.”

“Fuu. Thank you for helping.”

The major, Yun DaeHan sighed in relief from the bottom of his heart and bowed his head to Yu IlHan.

He had eyes.

A person that attacked and killed a 2nd classs monster in just 3 strikes despite the fact that it hadn’t been many days since the Great Cataclysm. Currently, Yu IlHan was a person who he couldn’t touch with personal arms. Would he really just stop at there? No way. He didn’t know, but he guessed that Yu IlHan would probably grow up to be an ability user that represents Korea.

Yun DaeHan had learnt a lot of things while he was in another world. He saw the scene where individual power surpassed that of a country’s and saw a scene where a single monster destroyed a country.

These told him the fact that existing logic could not lead the military, country, and society after the Great Cataclysm. It was also because of this that he proposed such an offer to Yu IlHan despite having to go against orders which told him to be forceful.

Trying to control a dangerous power may result in mutual destruction. Just why is there a need to clutch at them in their palms and control them? If the opponent was someone who could be talked to, then you should look for a way to profit mutually. Like now.

While he may have been a bit violent towards his subordinate, he was a wise soldier. Due to his actions, Yu IlHan didn’t have to antagonize the military, and there was room for conversation.

Yun DaeHan did more than enough by setting up a positive relationship with Yu IlHan, who would grow into an exceptional ability user in the future.

Despite the fact that Yu IlHan had read all of his inner thoughts.

“For the current military, stopping them is the best we can do. Before more people go through suffering…… Please.”

“Ok.”

Yu IlHan skillfully wrapped the bear bones in the bear leather and hugged it. Then he lightly ignored the gazes of the soldiers mixed with admiration, envy, fear, and etc., and left that place. The fact that he didn’t need to use the flash app made him feel complicated.

[That human will live for a long time.]

“I don’t want to see him frequently. That person values me too highly.”

[Just what can be done towards that self-depreciation…… Anyway, let’s go to the next place! Run faster!]

Thanks to the military’s cooperation, Yu IlHan was able to exterminate three more hordes of monsters that day. Amongst them, there weren’t any that were stronger than the Direwolf, much less the brown bear, and thanks to that, he only levelled up once, becoming level 24.

Instead, he made a lot of profit. He had sold all the monster byproducts to military personnel in cash, except the magic stone, as he was sufficient with just the byproducts from the wolf horde and the bear.

As a result, a slightly shocking amount of money was now in his hands. In words, it was a sum close to 1 billion won (≈ 8.7 million USD).

“I will have enough left over after making a workshop! Shall we go sign a contract right away!?”

[It’s not wise to use such an enormous amount cash just after you’ve earned it. What are you planning to do if you get traced?]

“Ah……”

[…..So I will use magic to erase the contractor’s memories for you as a special service just this time. If I use this, it will be done in one go.]

“Good!”

As expected, an angel’s magic was the world’s best.

Although he was scolded by his mother who said ‘where did you go when it’s so dangerous’ when he went back home at night, everything else went smoothly. Yu IlHan went to sleep while thinking that everything will turn out well starting tomorrow.

And when the sun rose the next day.

The same text could be seen on all of humanity’s eyes after they woke up.

[The severed connetion with the other world will be restored! From now, you’ll be able to take quests and receive suitable rewards in the other world you were summoned to!]

Like that, Yu IlHan became a loner again.

Author’s notes

There are returnees who think like that (Do WooJun)

And there are people who think tlike that (Yun DaeHan)

And there is a dropout who think like that – was what I was trying to show you in this chapter.

For your refrence, you can’t accept Yu IlHan’s soliloquy so seriously! It’s an extremly personal thought which contains IlHan’s resentment of not being able to find a rival as other people didn’t recognize him! T^T

The start of a new chapter! Humanity (excluding Yu IlHan) has received a fast-growth quest. The thing that God does is like a game developer trying to make game full of bugs normal by continuous patches! Don’t tell me there are other problems from this….? T, Tree of… @#%!!

Anyway, what will happen to the dropout Yu IlHan!? Will he just eat popcorn at home!?

Translator’s notes

LOL, loner life begins again…

Was ToS really full of bugs at the start? Maybe it’s just the Korean version… (I don’t play it)