Everyone Else is a Returnee

Yu IlHan and Yumir emptied about half of all the food available in the house before going back with icecream in their mouths.

The angels, elves, humans, and one wolf had already finished their ping pong match and were now playing a 4-player racing game on Playst*tion.

“Look at my drift skills! Yay!” (Na YuNa)

“It’s just your body that’s leaning!” (Kang MiRae)

[Kyak, a bomb!] (Liera)

[You keep covering the screen with those wings!] (Erta)

The members enjoying the game were two idiots and two retorters. The rest of the members were staring at the large screen as they moved their upper bodies along with the game, almost as if it was them who were playing it.

He could see friendship that couldn’t be created over just ten days. He found it amazing that Liera managed to join that group.

Yumir seemed like he wanted to join so he let him go, when Spiera approached him in his stead.

[It seems like there was nothing much.] (Spiera)

“Both of them were extremely normal. Fortunately.”

If any one of the two experienced a thousand years, then they should have reacted to Yu IlHan’s words in some way. Yu IlHan was sure that the two had lived ordinary lives as he had confidence in reading other people’s expressions.

[I also received reports from various angels from the two worlds that they went to. The two did indeed spend ten years with others, and they returned with the other humans. Although I can’t be sure yet, there’s a higher probability of some other element being the cause and not the genetic elements.] (Spiera)

“Right?”

Yu IlHan laughed as he nodded. Then, he realised the hidden intent in Spiera’s words and asked her while his brows were twitching.

“Why did you send me when you could do it yourself? No, well, it wasn’t for nothing since I could introduce Mir to them and I saw their face, but even so.”

[You should know very well that angels are imperfect. There may be some things that they have missed out. That’s why I wanted you to confirm for yourself.] (Spiera)

In the first place, if the angels were perfect, there was no way they would be annoyed by other transcender factions, nor would there be any traitors – Spiera added. Yu IlHan couldn’t say anything in return after all that.

“……Liera and Erta’s pride as higher angels shot through the skies when we first met, but you just acknowledge that fact…”

[There’s no progress without understanding of imperfection. Those two are also making progress as they understand that.] (Spiera)

“Yeah, you don’t say so.”

Yu IlHan muttered while watching Liera covering the screen with her wings, and Erta scolding her mercilessly.

Although he didn’t know how much progress they’ve made, from their looks now, they were hopeless. Even though they showed their smart sides in the beginning…

Although he liked their current states better, he sometimes missed their former figures. – As he was thinking that, Spiera spoke suddenly.

[Rather than that, prepare.] (Spiera)

“Prepare what?”

[The notice for the Battle of Competition went up. Just now.] (Spiera)

Yu IlHan’s movements stopped momentarily. He felt his relaxing body tensing up in an instant.

Battle of Competition. Why wouldn’t he know about that? He decimated an entire empire in another world due to that.

He had a glance at the people who were still playing the racing game and faced Spiera again.

“So you can talk about it now?”

[There’s not much time left. This will be told to all the people of Earth soon.] (Spiera)

“How many days is it?”

[In 3 hours, the stage to pick the participants will be set.] (Spiera)

Hours and not days!

“Hah, that’s quite a ‘lot of time’ you’ve given me.”

[There’s no need to hurry. Participants selection will be held over 24 hours. In New York, where the battle with the Abandoned World took place.] (Spiera)

Well, that place was the best since it was receiving the attention of everyone in this world.

[Anyone can participate if they want to bring back Traps of Destruction to Earth. Only 1 thousand individuals will gain the qualifications to participate in the competition.] (Spiera)

“One thousand……?”

Yu IlHan tilted his head. He found something strange.

If the number of participants numbered so high, was there a need to swallow Venezuela entirely? They wouldn’t need to send a force numbering millions!

[The rules of the competition differs according to the balance of forces in each world. Although the rule for this time is ‘Elite Forces Battle’, it is likely that Ferata had undergone an ‘All Out Battle’ in their 2nd Great Cataclysm.] (Spiera)

“That sounds horrible.”

That meant that the empire of Kadra may have spread their forces beyond Venezuela. Thinking about the possibility that he hadn’t prevented the invasion of Kadra empire, Yu IlHan felt the shivers.

Of course, the empire in question should currently be near extinction due to monsters….. While he was thinking about that, Spiera’s words hit his eardrums once again.

[You need to acquire a good position in this competition.] (Spiera)

“Even if you didn’t say it, I’ll do my best but…… why?”

[The Battle of Competition isn’t held that frequently. And Earth right now, is progressing at an incredible rate. I guarantee that there won’t be another Battle of Competition before Earth’s 3rd Great Cataclysm.] (Spiera)

TheBattle of Competition was held in ‘Lu Füera’, a higher world under Heaven’s Army. Naturally, no lower existence could enter that world. They could only enter that world in the Battle of Competition that was held regularly. As such, there was no way they could make an exception for Earth.

Yu IlHan’s instincts flared up after hearing that.

“A higher world huh. Now that’s making me feel worried.”

[While I understand what you’re thinking.] (Spiera)

Retorted Spiera with a smile.

[There will not be a case where other transcender factions would invade in a higher world under Heaven. That’s the same as angels invading beyond the Wall of Chaos and fighting against the main forces of the Destruction Demon Army, and coming back alive.] (Spiera)

“Hey, there’s one right there.”

[But that’s…… You’re right.] (Spiera)

To Yu IlHan who was pointing towards a cowardly angel who blocked other’s view just as her car was about to be passed by another car, Spiera could only nod.

[I’ll see to it that there will be more security in the venue.] (Spiera)

“Please. Oh, and get miss Na YuNa a proper angel. Although I don’t care about the person herself, but as it is now, miss MiRae will get caught up in it. Mir will be sad.”

[I’ll keep that in mind.] (Spiera)

Yu IlHan approached the gaming group after that. The game had just ended and punishment was being brought upon Liera.

“I win you lose you get the bap!”

“Big bap bap bap bap bap bap!”

[When’s the ‘bruise’ dammit!] (Liera) (PR:Check footnotes, its some korean batsugame)

1

It seemed that everyone hated Liera as the simple punishment song was not ending and the total amount of hits was breaking through 300 hits. As he couldn’t watch forever. Ilhan finished the game with a smack on the forehead.

“Bruise.”

[Ah, I love you, IlHan!] (Liera)

“Aaah, you didn’t even play, so you get the punishment too!” (Na YuNa)

“It’s the household owner’s right. Game’s over, and rest is over too.”

Although they might feel a little disappointed as they didn’t fill the entire 72 hours, but there was no more time to waste. Kang MiRae’s expression also changed, it seemed that she noticed that Yu IlHan was about to say something.

“In 3 hours, there will be a stage to select the participants to participate in the Battle of Competition held by Heaven’s Army. From what I’ve heard, it has a lot to do with how successfully we can endure the 2nd Great Cataclysm. The details will be explained by Erta.”

[Why am I always in charge of explanations!?…… I’ll explain only once so listen carefully! The Battle of Competition refers to……] (Erta)

Erta’s shocking revelation continued. As everyone here knew that Heaven’s Army’s job lay in Traps of Destruction, they understood quickly.

In the process, Yu IlHan found something new, which was the rules of the competition. He thought that it would be alright with destroying everything, but it didn’t seem so.

[Each participants will be given a minimum set of safety devices. The purpose of Heaven’s Army is to distribute the Traps of Destructions, not to weaken the overall power of the worlds.] (Erta)

To do that, every participant will be given a membrane of protection on top of their skin, and that protective membrane will shatter upon receiving a certain amount of damage, and eject the participant back to his or her own world. And the outcome will be decided by how many enemy participants they’ve ejected under the duration of battle, or if the enemy side was all ejected.

However, even if they won the battle, the ejected participant will not be able to participate again, so the important things lay in preserving forces as much as possible.

“What if someone attacks with a force that could shatter and kill the participant at the same time?”

[That protective membrane is the best we can do. It’s a competition to protect their own worlds, so if they aren’t prepared for such things, they shouldn’t participate in the first place.] (Erta)

“That’s quite cold of you there……”

The Battle of Competition was largely categorized into Junior and Senior, with Junior being a competition between worlds that are about to experience the 2nd Great Cataclysm, and Senior being a competition between worlds that are about to experience their third or further Great Cataclysm. The form of the competition was a winner-proceeds form, and only the 4 strongest in the Junior and the 4 strongest in the Senior, will be able to get their share of Traps of Destruction made of better materials.

“Why is it not a fair league-type competition, but a tournament one?”

[There are currently 48 worlds qualified to participate in the Junior tournament. We can’t let the strongest thousand of each world fight 47 times. They’d probably rather give up on the Traps of Destruction.] (Erta)

“That’s true…..”

If it was an All Out Battle and not an Elite Forces Battle, then the situation would probably be more serious. Everyone accepted Erta’s words.

“Top 4 of 48 worlds…..!”

Kang MiRae sighed after realizing the significance of the situation, and Na YuNa looked dejected.

“Angels only tell us things when it’s just about to arrive.”

[Well, you wouldn’t be able to do anything even if you do know beforehand.] (Liera)

“But we still wanted to know early…..!”

[That’s not all.] (Erta)

Although it would be good if it ended there, it did not. After the top 4 teams on both Junior and Senior, were selected, the classification of Junior and Senior disappeared, and the true finals will start.

This was also the reason why Ferata invaded Earth before its 3rd Great Cataclysm.

“How?”

[It’s because there are cases where the participants in the Junior tournament are stronger than the ones in the Senior tournament. However, if the competition ended while the Junior and Senior were still divided, then the Junior will have complaints right? Of course, they can also choose to give up at that point.] (Erta)

Yes, the current forces of Earth was considerably strong considering that it was nearing its 2nd Great Cataclysm. Yu IlHan would also be annoyed if he was told not to fight when there was an opportunity to gain more Advanced Traps of Destruction.

[To sum up. You just have to fight until the end and not lose.] (Erta)

“Thanks for the obvious advice.”

“……We should hurry. We need to talk with the Front Line Alliance, and we also need to negotiate with the government of various countries in order to select a balanced party, and the most high-levelled party as possible……. Oh, when does the selection end?”

[24 hours from the installation of the stage.] (Erta)

“So we need to hurry even more.”

Kang MiRae packed her stuff quickly and called somewhere with her phone. It was probably to head to America.

“I didn’t want to go back to New York for quite a while, but we’re going back immediately huh. Mr. IlHan, if it’s alright with you, let’s go together.”

“Wait, I have something to confirm.”

Yu IlHan asked Liera.

“Can monsters participate in the selection?”

[There’s no restriction in the participants selection!] (Liera)

“Good, then elves too?”

[Of course. In fact, not to mention the participants selection, the entire competition is not that strict. Monsters on human side. People from other world participating. Such things were never considered in the first place. It’s Earth that’s bad!] (Liera)

So, that was why Ferata thought about participating in the competition with human skins on! Yu IlHan retorted to Liera who was giggling.

“Such, absurd, things, are, happening, on, Earth, right, now, isn’t it.”

[Hiik.] (Liera)

Yu IlHan emphasized each word. Veins could be seen on his forehead. Liera was shocked and hiccup’ed.

“So you need to fix those rules in the future, right?”

[Yes, sir!] (Liera)

“Since we were the ones who received damage, let’s leave this competition as is, and please do so from next time.”

[We shall.] (Liera)

“Good, good girl.”

Yu IlHan was ordering around an angel. Kang MiRae and Na YuNa were looking at that scene in amazement, while Spiera and Erta were sighing.

“Then……”

“Please speak, master.”

When Yu IlHan turned his head after making Liera promise him, Ericia was there. She looked very trustworthy from how she approached him and waited for him after noticing that it was her they were talking about.

“Please call Flemir. He’ll go to New York as well.”

“Although not satisfactory in your eyes, there are many wolves that are stronger than the people of Earth. Shall I gather all of them?”

“No, just Flemir will do. Instead, pick the strong ones and let’s make them protect Seoul while we’re away.”

“Yes.”

Ericia left immediately to call Flemir and the other wolves. While Kang MiRae and Na YuNa were making relieved expressions, as they knew Flemir’s strength, the elves approached him.

“Your Majesty, shall we gather the elves? If it’s the strong warriors that have directly received training from you, they will step up in order to become your power whenever you wish!”

“The elves have it hard in Dareu. I brought the four of you since I couldn’t help it, but I cannot allow any more than that.”

Although everyone was smoothly making progress, if he took out any more, then the race may as well go extinct. He couldn’t bring them here.

Moreover, the four elves here had an average level of 130. As Pate had the highest level at 134, there was no need to call any more reinfor……

He thought up to there when something came up in his mind.

“Paté.”

“Yes.”

Yu IlHan took out the epic-ranked bow sleeping in his inventory, Deathgod’s Trajectory, and handed it to him. After looking at that, everyone’s attention was focused on it, not to mention Paté.

“Your Majesty, such a treasure……”

“How is it, you think you can use it?”

“……Although it will be very difficult. I think I can barely do it.”

The user restrictions of Deathgod’s Trajectory was a 3rd class archer main class and strength and agility over 250 each. As Paté’s stats focused on strength and agility rather than health, he could barely meet the requirements.

Yu IlHan nodded and extended his hand.

“Then give me your previous one and use that one from now on.”

“Your Majesty!”

Paté became silent. He looked really feminine with tears glistening, so Yu IlHan pushed him away. Then he spoke to the elves who were looking at him.

“If you do well, I’ll make yours too in a while.”

“If we do well…..”

“If we do well! An epic!”

The elves burned in passion after thinking that they may be able to wield epic ranked weapons in the future. Kang MiRae spoke in a vain voice after looking at that scene.

“Although I knew you could create Legend-ranked ones since I saw it… you could even make Epic-ranked ones…..?”

Living together with Yu IlHan’s subordinates for 2 years and 9 months, she now knew that they weren’t human but elves, and that the weapons Vanguard sold world wide was all created by Yu IlHan.

The legend-ranked bracelet she received from Erta before the battle, was of very high quality, and it had helped out a lot in surviving in the other world. She was surprised that he was a smith as well but….. he could make epic ranked ones too!

However, Yu IlHan only tilted his head and spoke,

“Although I can’t make them as I wish, I get one if I get lucky once in a while. I’ll give one to you too if I make one later. Mir seems to like you too.”

“Mee! What about mee! I’m also close with Mir! Mir totally likes me!”

“However, I personally don’t like you so no. Ask me again after 300 years.”

“Wao!”

He could reject her so openly! Kang MiRae made a smile while seeing that. Even though it was supposed to be something bad for her clan, she somehow felt satisfied. Her heart fluttered.

Yes. She was feeling fluffy since it looked like she was receiving special treatment.

“MiRae! You just smirked now didn’t you! If I acquire an epic one, it will be used to help you!”

“No, I didn’t smirk at all.”

While Kang MiRae was acting clueless, Yu IlHan called Mir into his arm.

“While Ericia is away calling Flemir, I’ll go to my workshop for a bit. I’ll do a final check, and make Mir’s new armor too.”

“And you can do that in that meanwhile?”

“Of course.”

Yu IlHan did indeed return Ericia and Flemir returned to the apartment. Although, he brought back something ‘he didn’t expect’ on top of Yumir’s armor.

They headed to New York along with Kang HaJin and the Lightning God clan members which Kang MiRae and the rest hadn’t seen for a long time. A strict competition to pick one thousand people of Earth, was waiting for them.

…….or so it should have been.

Author’s notes

1. Some of you may feel that the past few chapters were taking out the gas. You’re right. This chapter, links the previous incident to the next one. Ertawagon had her action as well here…. So the point is… quantity overflow again… T_T

2. (Something about Indian bap)

3. There are largely two kinds of competitions: league and tournament. League requires each team to fight against every other team, while tournament will select the winner of each match to play again, a merciless way of determining the best!

4.Just in case you ask, average level and lowest level is different!

Translator’s notes

Translator: Chamber

Proofreader: Koukouseidesu