Everyone Else is a Returnee

Yu IlHan decided to hold back and avoid acting too grandly, even though he believed that he was substantially stronger than the people around him. He genuinely wanted the people of Earth to surpass him some day, however, it almost seemed like that day would never arrive. The gap was simply too wide.

As such, he was worried that they would lose their passion to become stronger if he acted in an overbearing fashion.

“That must never happen! I would be annoyed to death if they left everything to me.”

[You looked cool before you said that. But now… you look a little pathetic.] (Liera)

If it was before, he would have let his subordinates rampage around in his stead, but after going to an Abandoned World, even the lowest levelled one was the elven thief Phiria at level 123.

As they suffered for about three years in harsh conditions, their already exceptional skill levels became even higher, and as their equipments had undergone refurbishment under Yu IlHan’s hands, their level of equipment was almost peerless.

As such, Yu IlHan ordered his subordinates to hold back. The best was pretending to fight after charging to the enemy with the allies. They would cooperate on a low level, and help out if anyone seemed to be in danger, while cleaning up the proactive enemies. He thought that just that would help out a lot.

The only problem was that they easily obliterated half of enemy forces even while holding back.

“Eeei! Are the humans of Earth monsters!”

“Don’t fight them! One of us was ejected with a single kick just now!”

Yu IlHan and co were a typhoon that travelled at slow speeds; it was alright if they didn’t approach, but once they were caught up, it would be the end for them!

Even after all that, it wasn’t so easy to attack the other people of Earth. Not to mention the members of the Lightning God Clan, the people of Earth that had been strengthened after the many chaotic battles on Earth also fought back desperately.

“I’m sick and tired of Dungeon Waves!”

“I will become the hero of Earth!”

While Yu IlHan and co were shooting a one sided cosmic-massacre horror film on one side, the other people were shooting a war drama. Endless tears filled with both blood and sweat flooded the land, while shouts filled the air.

“We’ll break through the center now!”

“Uoooooh!”

Kang MiRae, who had leaped levels in the Abandoned World was leading them. Nothing could stop her lightning, and the magic that she had casted over a long time with Na YuNa’s buff, had enough power to blast a hole through the enemy forces.

“Insane……”

“How are we supposed to win this! Why is there so much of a difference? our world has also developed over 200 years after the first Great Cataclysm!”

The opponents lost their morale in front of her lightning. Of course, it wasn’t like there were no superhuman people that were especially stronger than others, but even those superhumans were cleaned up by Kang MiRae with Na YuNa’s buff.

As such, the result of the competition was not even worth mentioning about.

[Earth, Junior tournament top 4. 419 personnel remaining.]

The weaker participants from Earth were mercilessly ejected, and as a result, the final number of people remaining was 419. Only the elites amongst elites of Earth remained. Excluding Yu IlHan’s group, Kang MiRae, and Na YuNa, their average level was well over 90!

“We did it, top 4!”

“Can we really acquire advanced Traps of Destructions?”

“Dammit…… We actually did it!”

The heroes that succeeded in bringing Earth to solid grounds, hugged each other and cried while patting each other’s shoulders. How hard of a time did they have due to the hardcore waves on Earth? But now, they could finally, through their own power, make Earth safer!

“It’s not the end. Although we’re in the top 4 for the Junior Tournament, we still have to fight against the Senior teams so we’re top 8!”

“Yes, we must continue higher and higher!”

The people of Earth burned with passion. Yu IlHan watched that and thought that it was good that he restrained from doing too much. They weren’t weak people who were protected by others, but warriors that pioneered their own future with their own power!

Yu IlHan lightly clapped for them. And he confirmed with Spiera in a small enough voice so that they couldn’t hear him. She had just finishing the battle of Earth, and had come back to Yu IlHan.

“But even so, they’d be obliterated against the senior teams, right?”

Arrogance was simply being prideful while reality remained as such. Spiera lightly smiled and replied to Yu IlHan’s rational judgement.

[Isn’t that natural? Their lowest level is 130. Any more than this is breaking the rules so I can’t tell you anything else.] (Spiera)

Ferata definitely did indeed have an overwhelming power with overflowing numbers of 3rd class armies and 5 4th class personnel.

However, that didn’t imply that other worlds were weak like Earth. The worlds that were about to undergo their 3rd Great Cataclysms, had power that were at least half of the forces of Ferata, or more.

Thinking about the senior tournament, something tugged his mind and he asked Spiera.

“I’ll ask this just in case, but what happened to Ferata?”

[They lost. The surviving nobles and knights of the imperial capital did not participate at all, and although there was the forces of countryside nobles and forces from small countries….. they did not reach the top 4 in the end.] (Spiera)

“They didn’t participate at all……”

Well, half of them had just reached 3rd class, while the other half was still in the beginning stages, but if it was their cooperative power they showed that day, it wouldn’t have been impossible for them to reach 4th place. However, the situation of the empire wouldn’t have allowed that.

Thinking about the regrets and tears they showed that day, a slight sense of guilt flashed by his heart. However, he thought that this wasn’t even funny. Like how the survivors had no right to resent Yu IlHan, he too had no right to regret what he did back then, especially with the conviction that he held then.

He would have acted the same way even if a similar situation occurred again. As such, he decided to stop thinking about Ferata here.

There were 3 hours of rest until the finals. Yu IlHan called the group and fed them with dragon meat fries and wolf meat fries and declared.

“I think we should be more proactive from the next fight.”

“What about the ‘people’s growth’?”

Was Ericia’s question. Yu IlHan nodded, saying it was a great question, before replying.

“Did I say that I wouldn’t interfere for the Growth and free will of the people?”

“You did.”

“I lied.”

“Wao, commando!2”

Strictly speaking, it wasn’t really a lie. To be exact, he had no intention to act passively until the very end. He thought that this was around the limit for the current people of Earth. And that was after factoring in Kang MiRae and Na YuNa’s overwhelming power.

“Since they fought up to here, they should have grown plenty already. Rather than that, it’s more important that I get less work due to less Dungeon Breaks.”

If Earth was endangered even after he made the people strong and independent, there would be no point! Yu IlHan’s judgement was reasonable.

“Above all, the next guys are out of their leagues. The opponents are at least level 130 so even you guys would be kicked out if you get careless. Groups of monsters without intelligence and people who received special training are completely different in quality.

Even if they wanted to relax a little as they were confidence because they had annihilated an entire world, they couldn’t forgo Yu IlHan’s words as he had fought against much stronger enemies in Dareu, alone.

Moreover, didn’t he even obliterate half an army of enhanced humanity in another world? Judging by experience alone, there was no one who could retort to him. As such, they could only nod in seriousness.

“We know thaaat. The Abandoned World we went to had also experienced its 3rd Great Cataclysm. Of course, humanity was extinct there! Oh, this is too delishhh. Mr. IlHan, marry me!”

Even though it was Yu IlHan’s subordinates he was talking to, Na YuNa replied instead. And here he thought about why he could hear ‘wao!’s from awhile back…. Moreover, a dragon meat fry was in her mouth.

Yu IlHan mercilessly smacked her on the forehead.

“Ouch.”

“Don’t steal my kids’ food and go away.”

“Yes, Na YuNa, go away.”

Kang MiRae ate the fry that she received from Yumir and added more fuel to the fire. Yu IlHan looked at his son Yumir with a complex gaze as it was obvious that it was him who called the two girls here, before sighing and nodding.

“……There’s a lot of meat so eat comfortably.”

“Yessss!”

“Sorry for inconvenience you all the time.”

“I’ll pack some for the gulping ones over there so give it to them too. People might think that the clan master doesn’t even give them salary.”

It was a strange scene of the father’s communication skills increasing thanks to the son. The person in question, Yumir, though, seemed to be clueless. He was only eating joyfully with the others. It was the figure of a social butterfly that Yu IlHan dreamed of in his childhood!

“Dad, more!”

“…..Yes, eat a lot more. You are the only hope of the Yu family.”

Then what of Yu IlHan’s father, Yu YongHan? Yes. In fact, he was also a perfect loner that made him wonder how his mother succeeded in marrying him. Although he had no passive concealment skill!

The opponent for the quarter finals were revealed. It was a world called ‘Snuë’ in which 1,300 years had passed since their last Great Cataclysm! It was also a world that was nearing its 3rd Great Cataclysm.

The lucky two of the top 4 Junior teams seemed to have gotten each other as opponents… but Earth and another unknown world had gotten Senior teams as their opponents.

“Dammit…..”

“Although we thought that we wouldn’t have it easy, but did it still have to come to this…..!”

“How are the matches decided? Call the manager here!”

After their opponent was decided, some of the people sighed in rage, some somehow looked relieved, while some despaired and gave up, and some burned in passion. There could be so many different reactions to the same situation? Yu IlHan watched that scene as he bit on an apple for the dessert.

“Humans sure are interesting.”

[I knew you’d say that.] (Liera)

Unlike the preliminaries that took place in one stage, the finals had different environment for each match. However, that didn’t require the team to walk half the world.

Instead, the world matched their teams.

[Amazing, isn’t it? This is God’s power.] (Liera)

“It definitely is amazing. Really, quite absurd.”

A higher world, Lu Füera could change the environment, compress distance, expand space, put a target inside a barrier, and do a lot of other things according to the wills of the angels who governed the world! Anything was possible as long as it was not changing day into night.

“Angel-nims are so powerful!”

“Heaven’s Army, amazing.”

In the process of preparing for the finals, Yu IlHan and the other humans could see for themselves, the power of higher existences. He finally knew why Spiera was so confident.

“Liera, you came back alive from an environment like this?”

[You mean beyond the Wall of Chaos, right? That place isn’t as bad as there. It was the moment of proof that those perverse seeds are way inferior to God’s power! Right! So you too, IlHan, become an angel without hesitation!] (Liera)

[We welcome new angels at any time. Since we are clashing with other groups more than before, we are lacking in manpower…..] (Erta)

Now, even Erta was proactively advertising angels. Yu IlHan annoyedly pushed them away and confirmed the changed environment.

What first came to his eyes was that the lands were changing endlessly. When he looked down, they were on a giant platform, and it was flying through the air.

Oh, yes. This could be considered ‘in the air’.

[As worlds go through its 2nd and 3rd Great Cataclysms, the environment becomes more varied and more extreme. This competition is also a type of training grounds to train humans adapt to the new environments faster by making them experience such things beforehand.] (Erta)

The 419 people of Earth were getting onto different platforms each. Those platforms were nearing and distancing from each other in a range that wouldn’t make them clash, as it moved according to the air flow.

With opportune timing, even 7 year-olds could hop onto another platform, so there would be no cases of not being able to battle due to not being able to cross to other platforms.

If there was a problem, it was that there were people of other worlds in the same type of platform.

“So it’s not a many vs many battle but a numerous few vs few battles.”

The other side also seemed to have seen Yu IlHan and the other people of Earth, as they were glaring on this side. However, as the battle hadn’t begun, the ones who attacked now would be ejected.

[10 seconds until battle.]

An angel that was a judge like Spiera shot to the skies and shouted so that everyone could hear.

[8 seconds.]

Yu IlHan checked his surroundings. The other participants were clenching their teeth after confirming that the participants of Snuë were much stronger than them. It felt like morale was an all time low even before the battle.

[4 seconds.]

“Tch.”

Yu IlHan clicked his tongue. He didn’t like them giving up without even trying.

However, separate from that, he didn’t feel so good as he could foresee that they would have dejected looks back on Earth even though they had made a great achievement.

[2 seconds.]

Yu IlHan hated arrogance, but he thought that a certain amount of self-confidence was not bad. Acknowledging one’s own value was very a important part of making progress.

[Battle start.]

As such, it wouldn’t be so bad to heighten the morale of humans. Well, if they still thought that Yu IlHan belonged to ‘humanity’ that is.

“It can’t help it.”

Yu IlHan stepped forward. That, was the signal that switched his state of mind, and also a type of self-hypnotism that made him think he would be able to use his own abilities better.

“Kuhak!? What the hell are all these!”

“Throwing spears!? Just where are they falling from…… Eek, block all of them!”

Hundreds of throwing spears fell down with frightening speed in the air and attacked the Snuëans.

However, unlike the grand show, the attacks weren’t that effective. The opponent were not simple minded monsters, but 3rd class beings that grew up through numerous years of torment. And these people were strong enough to make it to the finals of the tournament!

Of course, as Yu IlHan’s spears were too fast, and very sudden, it wasn’t like there were no defeated enemies. The problem was that the spears were only a feint to hide his real attack.

As they were moving around in order to block the rain of spears, their battle formations instantly crumbled apart, and as they were too focused in the sky, there lots of openings. What Yu IlHan aimed for was those openings!

“Kahak!”

Yu IlHan swept the group after flying towards them with the wings at absurd speeds.

This place was not an Abandoned World, nor were the opponents dragons, as such, he did not receive any blessing or buff of the sort, but despite that, all opponents he attacked lost their shields in a single strike and were ejected to their own worlds.

“Kuhak!?”

“Just who…”

And a few seconds after that. Another battlefield seemed to have become a mess before calming down again. It repeated again in a few seconds in a different place, again and again. The ones watching had lost their spirits whether it was the opponents or allies, but unfortunately, that was not the end.

“Everyone charge.”

“Charge, charge!”

“We should at least defeat half what His Majesty defeats!”

Yu IlHan’s subordinates joyfully rampaged around as soon as he gave the order. Paté’s arrows were especially strong and even those higher levelled than him had a hard time blocking, and he achieved the highest rate. He did his job for getting an epic-ranked weapon!

The battle ended 15 minutes after that. The result was undeniably Earth’s victory. If the battlefield was narrower, it would have been over in half that time.

In that short amount of time, over 300 people of Earth retired and showed that a world nearing its 3rd Great Cataclysm was indeed very strong, but the people that returned to Earth were full of admiration and faith instead of despair for their own lack of power.

Admiration for the Deathgod of the battlefield that made the gap between them and the Snuëans pale in comparison!

Author’s notes

Are the people of Earth monsters! : A parody of Char Aznable’s famous line from the Gundam series, ‘Are the union’s mobile suits monsters!’ (T/N: I’m pretty sure this line is not famous in the English community. I wasn’t able to find it)

I lied : Arnold Schwarzenegger’s famous line in the movie, Commando.

Translator’s notes

Translator: Chamber

Proofreader: Koukouseidesu