The Returner

Chapter 455: Well then, should we get started (5)

“Were you thinking of a method like this from the beginning?” (Alpha)

Yi Ji-Hyuk nodded at Alpha’s question. There was no need to answer, but conversely, there was no need to not reply, either.

“If you don’t have enough time, just stretch what little you have left.” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Alpha nodded in agreement.

He knew from Yi Ji-Hyuk’s case that different dimensions experienced different time flows.

‘But why haven’t I thought of that before?’ (Alpha)

Alpha thought of himself as a rather smart guy.

When it came to absolute intelligence and knowledge base, he was confident of not many people in the world having a better brain than him. And that confidence wasn’t born out from some misguided arrogance, either. It was proven as fact to some degree through several experimentations, after all.

However, Alpha had not thought about the time differences up until now.

‘Maybe this guy is incredibly smart?’ (Alpha)

Even if Yi Ji-Hyuk couldn’t come close to Alpha in terms of absolute intelligence, the latter still had to wonder if the former exceeded him in terms of one’s ability to sort out dangerous situations or being able to exhibit the full range of one’s strengths even under tremendous pressure.

‘Seriously, he is still someone to be wary of.’ (Alpha)

“Your expression says you’re unhappy about something?” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

“Ah, no. That’s not it.” (Alpha)

Alpha waved his hand.

“I’m merely feeling pleased after learning about a solution that exceeded my expectation, that’s all. By the way, what’s the ratio of the time difference in that other dimension?” (Alpha)

“I wonder? Maybe around 100 to 1?” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

“...That’s a lot.” (Alpha)

“I don’t think it’s quite enough, though...” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Yi Ji-Hyuk clicked his tongue.

It’d be for the best to go somewhere with the greatest difference in time flow, but even that was not as simple as it sounded. Humans could survive in some dimensions while in some others, not so much.

Even if there was a place with the time ratio of 1000:1, it’d be pointless if it didn’t come with any breathable air. He needed to find a dimension where the trainees could survive and without a native intelligent species already living there so that they could avoid running into any unnecessary troubles.

It was harder than you think to satisfy those conditions.

“Will the actual training get underway as soon as entering that Gate?” (Alpha)

“Obviously.” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

“It’s not going to be easy, is it?” (Alpha)

Yi Ji-Hyuk shrugged his shoulders.

“Who knows? I sure don’t.” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

“You don’t?” (Alpha)

“Mm, well, this thing called magic has never been what you’d call perfectly sorted out, so... it comes with some degree of built-in dangers, you see. So, trying to learn magic is kinda like you carefully checking every step of the stone bridge you wish to cross.” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

“I see.” (Alpha)

“But if you don’t have the time to check the bridge’s sturdiness, then you’ll have to cross it with all you’ve got even if it turns out to be a rotting wooden bridge or something. If your luck is bad, then you fall into the water below.” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Alpha nodded as if he understood it.

“Originally there is a safer way to master magic, but... Since we don’t have that luxury, you yourself can’t tell how difficult it will be. Is that the gist of it?” (Alpha)

“Yeah.” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

“In that case, can I opt out now?” (Alpha)

“It’ll be better for your health to crawl in there right now.” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

“Eh-whew.” (Alpha)

Alpha shook his head helplessly, then strode towards the Gate. His underlings waiting and observing began rushing inside the portal once their boss got close to them.

“Will it be alright?” (Choi Jeong-Hoon)

Choi Jeong-Hoon asked Yi Ji-Hyuk in a worried tone of voice.

“What will be?” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

“If we go in there, all points of contact to this world will get cut off, isn’t it?” (Choi Jeong-Hoon)

“Huh?” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Yi Ji-Hyuk tilted his head.

Now that he thought about it, wasn’t that true?

“The absolute worst possibility will be, us returning only to find out that this world no longer exists.” (Choi Jeong-Hoon)

“Huh, that is certainly possible.” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Yi Ji-Hyuk roughly scratched his head. He had somehow overlooked that.

“Should we, I don’t know, leave behind some kind of a way to communicate with people here?” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

“Is it possible to communicate with another dimension if we do that?” (Choi Jeong-Hoon)

“Eii, of course not.” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

...Then why did you even ask me that, you dumb*ss?! (Choi Jeong-Hoon’s inner monologue)

Choi Jeong-Hoon’s face contorted unsightly, so Yi Ji-Hyuk shrugged his shoulders.

“Well, as they say, man proposes and god disposes. We can only leave it up to fate.” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

“...........”

Choi Jeong-Hoon’s worried eyes took in the sight of all the ability users walking into the Gate.

‘This is definitely not a simple matter...’ (Choi Jeong-Hoon)

He knew it couldn’t be helped, but even then, how could he not feel anxious about completely cutting themselves off from this world and leaving it behind?

Choi Jeong-Hoon spat out a groan and pulled out his phone.

“How long will we take?” (Choi Jeong-Hoon)

“Dunno.” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

“...Excuse me?” (Choi Jeong-Hoon)

Yi Ji-Hyuk stared at Choi Jeong-Hoon with a face that said, ‘Why are you keep asking me that question?’

“This isn’t some kinda crash course to prepare yourself for the college entrance exams, you know? More than that, this isn’t one of those situations where I teach for a while and decide whether to keep training them or not.” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

“W-well, yes. That’s true.” (Choi Jeong-Hoon)

“So, whether it takes one hundred years or one thousand, we are not coming back until I think we might stand a chance.” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

“...”

Choi Jeong-Hoon’s expression hardened.

This man, he was being dead serious.

At first, it was as if he started this thing out of, ‘there’s no other way, so let me just give this a shot’ mindset, but the current Yi Ji-Hyuk gave off the impression that he had bet his everything on this gamble.

If that wasn’t it, then maybe he saw some kind of potential from the ones in here.

Whatever the case might have been, it was good to see Yi Ji-Hyuk stop being ‘who cares what happens’ to regain his impetus to act.

‘Right, this guy should’ve been like this from the beginning.’ (Choi Jeong-Hoon)

He might complain all the time, get irritated by even the smallest things and not one shred of motivation could be felt from him, but Yi Ji-Hyuk was still someone who’d definitely resolve whatever event that did happen before his nose.

So him re-discovering his old self again energised Choi Jeong-Hoon as well.

‘Dam*it, so I have been relying on him to this extent.’ (Choi Jeong-Hoon)

He realised the truth that not only did he want Yi Ji-Hyuk to take care of the situation, Choi Jeong-Hoon also had been getting a lot of mental ‘support’ from the latter up until now.

“For now, I’ll go contact the outside.” (Choi Jeong-Hoon)

“Okay.” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Yi Ji-Hyuk nodded, and Choi Jeong-Hoon stepped outside the dome with his phone.

Either because there was too much Mana filling up the interior of the structure, or maybe because the dome was used as a top-secret research facility, no cell signal could come in or out of this place.

Yi Ji-Hyuk watched Choi Jeong-Hoon going outside the dome to make a call, then turned his head back to observe the ability users entering the Gate. Before long, the NDF agents began approaching him.

“When we go inside there, are we going to do the same training as the last time?” (Kim Dah-Hyun)

Kim Dah-Hyun asked first and Yi Ji-Hyuk shook his head.

“Nah, we will go nowhere with that method. We must come up with a brand new method this time.” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

“...We’ll be half dead, then.” (Kim Dah-Hyun)

“It’d be a relief if it’s only half, though. We might really die, you know?”

The NDF agents, who didn’t even wince once during the process to sense Mana where everyone else was vomiting lumps of blood, began displaying their fear from the prospect of training under Yi Ji-Hyuk.

“Could the others be thinking that the ‘training’ they got until now was the toughest thing ever?”

“...That’s probably it?”

“It’s my fault for being born in Korea. If I was born in some other country, at least I could’ve lived a nicer life before my untimely demise.”

Yi Ji-Hyuk stared at the NDF agents making a big fuss about not much and spoke up with a pout.

“If you don’t want to, then don’t go.” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

“F*ck me, if it was that easy, I wouldn’t even say anything here.” (Seo Ah-Young)

Seo Ah-Young replied venomously.

“We’ll only end up as the stupid as*holes if we give up now after coming this far.” (Seo Ah-Young)

“In that case, go inside.” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Yi Ji-Hyuk extended his hand and pointed at the Gate.

“Fuu-woop.” (Seo Ah-Young)

Seo Ah-Young nodded her head, her eyes burning with determination.

“Fine. I’ll go in. I’m going in, but I want to ask you something before that.” (Seo Ah-Young)

“Sure.” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

“If we go in there and then make it out in one piece, can we really deal with our current situation?” (Seo Ah-Young)

“Hmm...” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Yi Ji-Hyuk stared back at her as if it was difficult to reply right away, and that prompted Seo Ah-Young to gnash her teeth.

“Here’s the thing. Let’s say after training like crazy until I’m ready to kick the bucket, I still end up not being much of a help and as some extra to a handful of the so-called destined ones. That’s the crap I don’t want to be in. If we are going to do this, then you better make us properly strong.” (Seo Ah-Young)

“But you’re going to regret it?” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

“I’ve been regretting dozens of times every single day ever since making you join the KSF!” (Seo Ah-Young)

“Kekekeke.” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Yi Ji-Hyuk smirked.

“Now that I think about it, didn’t I say it at the beginning...? That you’re going to bitterly regret hiring me.” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

“...I should’ve listened back then.” (Seo Ah-Young)

Seo Ah-Young shook her head.

“Whatever, it’s fine. It’s an undeniable fact that thanks to you, we got to protect many things up until now.” (Seo Ah-Young)

“Mm...” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

“So, please promise us this one thing.” (Seo Ah-Young)

Seo Ah-Young stared straight into Yi Ji-Hyuk’s face.

“If we endure what’s about to happen, then we will be able to protect everyone, right?” (Seo Ah-Young)

“...”

Seo Ah-Young was the least likely person to ask something like that. But hearing her say that, the reality of ‘this situation is definitely serious’ rammed home even harder than before.

What should he say here?

Yi Ji-Hyuk hated the very concept of lying to someone in order to give them hope. If he was being objective about it, then even after the ability users finished this training, it’d still be difficult to stop the demon world’s invasion.

Even then...

“...I promise.” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

...She, or the rest of the agents, probably was not asking for the truth.

Unlike the others who willingly stepped inside the Gate without knowing anything, the NSF agents had already suffered through the ‘life of hell’ in another dimension once before so in order to endure the upcoming training regime, they needed ‘something’ to hold on to.

Yi Ji-Hyuk knew this, so he had no choice but to nod his head.

“You will gain power. And depending on how you use that power, it can also become the necessary strength to save the world.” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Seo Ah-Young quietly stared at him for a moment or two, before nodding her head.

“In that case, it’s fine.” (Seo Ah-Young)

She turned around and stared at the rest of her agents.

“Anyone want to drop out?” (Seo Ah-Young)

“...”

“If there’s none, it’s fine. Let’s go. Stop whining and let’s get this thing done and over with.” (Seo Ah-Young)

With Seo Ah-Young as the lead, the NDF agents all headed towards the Gate. Yi Ji-Hyuk watched them all enter the portal and quietly closed his eyes.

‘Whether it works or not, this is our last shot.’ (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

It felt like he was risking everything on a gamble with low odds of success. If they couldn’t resolve the current situation with this, then no more time and no other possibilities existed for them.

“Dam*it.” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Yi Ji-Hyuk quickly shook off all the worrisome thoughts trying to fill up his head. He then looked at Choi Jeong-Hoon rushing over to where he was.

“What did they say?” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

“...They say they’ll hold on somehow.” (Choi Jeong-Hoon)

Choi Jeong-Hoon groaned during his reply.

“It sounded like they were in agreement that there’s no other way. They seem to have realised that we won’t be able to come up with another way if they stopped us from leaving, so they simply said we must succeed and return as soon as possible.” (Choi Jeong-Hoon)

“Who did you talk to?” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

“Christopher McLaren and Prime Minister Song.” (Choi Jeong-Hoon)

“Tsk.” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Yi Ji-Hyuk tutted loudly.

What could he say here?

It was like he was watching a scene from a sci-fi disaster movie. A do-or-die suicide squad going for that last hurrah for the sake of humanity’s future, and the remaining humans that couldn’t do anything but to believe in them? That kind of feeling?

‘Man, I hate those movies.’ (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Yi Ji-Hyuk and his deeply-irritated face began walking towards the Gate.

“Let’s go.” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

“Alright.” (Choi Jeong-Hoon)

Choi Jeong-Hoon walked behind him before cautiously opening his mouth.

“Mister Yi Ji-Hyuk?” (Choi Jeong-Hoon)

“Yes?” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

“We can do this, yes?” (Choi Jeong-Hoon)

“I don’t want to be a part of a soap opera so just go in there already. I mean, just because I say it’s going to work, you think something impossible will suddenly become doable?” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

“Even then, I’d like to hear it from you.” (Choi Jeong-Hoon)

“Even if it’s hopeless, I’ll make it happen, so go inside.” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

“...I believe in you.” (Choi Jeong-Hoon)

Yi Ji-Hyuk watched Choi Jeong-Hoon looking back at him right up until he disappeared through the Gate’s surface, then spat out a lengthy groan.

“Man, this is harder than I thought.” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

His role wasn’t about being someone that others could lean on and place their faith in. He was far more familiar with being the object of hatred and fear, after all.

Yi Ji-Hyuk quietly looked behind him.

What he was looking at wasn’t the inside of this research facility, but the world itself.

‘Hold and endure.’ (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

...Because they were definitely coming back.

He slowly stepped into another dimension as completely different types of motivation and determination from before filled his heart.

< 455. Well then, should we get started -5 > Fin.