Everyone Else is a Returnee

Chapter 53: I Carry – 1

(T/N: The ‘carry’ in the title refers to the game type carrying)

All the things related to the Abandoned World were not told to anyone else other than the ones in the dungeon at that time. People considered that Earth was now going back on the right path, and were making rules befitting of the new world, one by one.

As the government had already claimed, they made an official ability user organization and even named it ‘Suppression’ (T/N: Original is ‘Han’ool’, but I don’t know what that means, some search led me to the word ‘universe’ but I don’t think it fits here), but apart from the military soldiers who had high potential, there weren’t that many who wanted to belong to ‘Suppression’ amongst the civilians.

It was good that they were treated as civil servants (T/N: Civil servants are the dream of every single job-seeker in Korea, not sure about other countries), but as they were restricted in their actions, they could not level up as they wanted, and even if they fought monsters, it wasn’t like they would own all the monster byproducts, and that didn’t mean that they were safer than other ability users.

Decisively, the Korean won wasn’t an attractive currency now. The government had set the direction wrong.

The government tried to provide the people belonging to ‘Suppression’ benefits such as transport and lodging, and at the same time, give some penalties to the ones who don’t belong to it, that was their worst choice possible. When the public criticized the government in regards to dungeon entrance and exchanging of monster byproducts, the people started thinking of leaving Korea.

There were many countries that wanted talented people. There were also several countries that knew how much profit they would receive just with a strong person in their country. They, in contrast to Korea, provided lax restrictions and stronger benefits and snatched the exceptional ability users.

The Korean government, which realized the fact that relying on patriotism was wrong, a little too late, also started benchmarking the ways that other countries managed their ability users, and exactly 75 days after the Great Cataclysm, a new ability user organization was raised in the republic of Korea.

That was the birth of the Korean Special Ability Management Bureau.

It wasn’t only Yu IlHan on Earth who could mana craft and give birth to artifacts. Also, as people excluding Yu IlHan could regularly go to other worlds, they can acquire artifacts from there as well.

The Korean government bought a lot of large-scale artifacts like what other organizations in other countries did. This was the artifact to judge the user’s job, and measure the amount of mana.

The Special Ability Management Bureau used those two as a standard to divide the ranks of the ability users from A to F, and gave the ability users from A to D ranks some amount of money, more than pocket money, but less than a salary, according to their ranks.

As almost all the people in Korea were ability users, even excluding F and E ranks who did not even acquire their first class, it could be said to be an enormous investment.

Of course, it wouldn’t just end with giving out the money, and they gave out communication devices according to the ranks of the ability users. It was to request help from the ability users to confront monsters matching their ability, if a monster appears outside the dungeon.

Accepting the request wasn’t compulsory, and people even received rewards if they accepted. Of course, if they kept ignoring the requests, their ‘salary’ would not be supplied anymore.

The people, who thought that there was no reason to refuse if it’s such a little amount of interference, finally checked their ability in the Special Ability Management Bureau.

The control of ability users that other countries didn’t even try. The Korean government only could set up a trade-relationship between them after they painfully realized that they couldn’t forcibly control them.

Meanwhile, the business companies were much wiser than the government. They used an enormous sum and comfort as compensation to invite ability users and made a group. They didn’t only look at fighting power. Smithing or mana crafting, searching, etc – They welcomed ability users from many different fields.

They researched into the special currencies and materials that could be acquired from other worlds and checked if there was any way to apply it to business on Earth. They held conferences after conferences in order to find out how to use the dungeons on Earth to acquire profit; and to discuss which business they should decrease and which they should invest in.

As new materials appeared on Earth, almost all production industry became active, and even amongst those, architecture, which was strongly supported by the government, became a hot issue. First, big businesses and the government buildings changed their appearance.

The law, the society, the buildings, the people – all things changed to fit a new society. These kind of things were occurring not just in Korea, but in every parts of the world. The history of humanity had started progressing again.

Excluding Yu IlHan, that is.

[IlHan, aren’t you gonna check your ability?](Lita)

“Make me able to wield mana, then I’ll do it.”

[Such ranks for ability users are meaningless for Yu IlHan. He could just use concealment to bypass the places that require such things.](Erta)

“Like I said, if I become able to use mana, then such things won’t have to happen!”

The petite version Lita and Erta teased Yu IlHan side by side, on Yu IlHan’s head. Yu IlHan grumbled a lot, but as they were so cute doing that, even Yu IlHan did not realize that he was being teased.

Yu IlHan was currently watching an interview of the first man to be judged as an A rank within the country, on TV. Coincidentally, Yu IlHan remembered meeting that person.

[Mr. Do Woojoon. You’ve received the first A rank in Korea. How do you feel?]

[Not that good. Since I know that there are stronger ones above me. Empress and Sungdaein Bolt. The two must be going ahead of me right now.] (T/N: Does anyone remember this guy? This guy was from when MC killed a 2nd class bear. Also, I don’t remember this guy appearing again after this.)

Yu IlHan spat out the coffee he was drinking. To think there was still a person who called him by that nickname!

[I’m not planning to be satisfied and stay in the A rank. I only just finished my 2nd class advancement. People at my level are everywhere in other worlds as well. Moreover, as higher-tier monsters are appearing on Earth right now, we cannot be careless or stop progressing.]

Even so, he was reasonable with his words. Yu IlHan was slightly worried since he saw the first signs of a hero complex, but if it didn’t relate to him, then he couldn’t care less.

[Many things that did not occur in other worlds are occurring here in Korea. We cannot be relieved with the dungeons. We need to be aware that crisis can occur whenever, in a form that we’re not expecting.]

Yu IlHan thought the same. Even though humanity had learnt the world-adaptation manual in other worlds, the things occurring on Earth right now were full of the unknown, and the one to solve them is the dropout Yu IlHan!

That’s why Yu IlHan is so tired. Life was truly unfair.

Moreover, seeing that a man saying such things had appeared on TV, he thought that something big will happen soon and turned off the TV.

“I want to learn to wield mana faster. Did the efficiency really increase by 2 times?”

[Can’t you feel mana squirming in your body? It should be no joke since two angels are attached to you.](Lita)

[Even if you put out an arm and attempt to summon the Dark Flame Dragon, you cannot use mana. That moment would come by itself, naturally, so you don’t need to worry so much.](Erta)

Yu IlHan quietly retracted his arm. It wasn’t that he couldn’t feel mana. As he was completely aware of his physical body, he could feel the seed of mana which sprouted in his heart, since the Great Cataclysm.

The problem was using it. Even though he could feel mana was squirming, and moving around in his body, he could not move it by his will.

Like how the wingless humans do not immediately become capable of flight after they’re given a pair of wings, Yu IlHan also had a hard time adapting to mana.

According to Erta’s words, he would be able to use it in at most 5 months from now. So he just needed to endure until then.

“Fuu, that’s long. I think I’ll definitely go to another Abandoned World two or three times before that.”

[Don’t make such unpleasant predictions!](Erta)

At that time when Erta screamed, Lita carefully suggested.

[If it doesn’t work, should we attach ourselves to each other even more?](Lita)

“More, how?”

[So my IlHan doesn’t know yet. But that’s alright. This noona knows a lit%$#$%^&.]

At that moment Erta blocked Lita’s mouth. (T/N: More like, Erta cockblocked MC)

[Yu IlHan, do not mind it much. It’s just that Lita had joked around since you were so dejected.](Erta)

[#$%, @$*@&!]

While the thousand-year virgin Yu IlHan was tilting his head as he could not realize it, Erta whispered to Lita using the angel’s ring with a frown on her face.

[A higher existence must not get into a relationship with a lower existence!](Erta)

[It’s alright. It’s not crime if I don’t get found out!](Lita)

[Should I report to the higher-ups? You didn’t forget how you were able to come back down on Earth right!](Erta)

[Kuhk, you viper! Do you think I don’t know what you’re thinking?[(Lita)

[Hmph, I’m just following the law. The law!](Erta)

Yu IlHan, who did not know what kind of frightening words were passed between the angels, was earnestly checking what he needed to do in the future.

He completely finished making things with the items he acquired in the dungeon, made up for the 2 months he was apart from Lita, and also got rid of his fatigue.

Yu IlHan, who was a pervert for liking work more than rolling around in bed, was organizing the things he needed to do in the future, one by one.

“I should earn some money first.”

[I thought you had no material desires.]

“I want to expand the workshop, and seeing as I’m with the two of you, it’ll be better if I become independent from my parents, and to do that, I need money.”

Although he thought about independence deeply, he thought that living with his parents in the same house would instead make them more uncomfortable since his living pattern would become different.

He had already talked this over with his parents. Yu IlHan offered his parents to go to a bigger and wider house, but the two didn’t seem to care.

Well, even though Yu IlHan had suggested his father to stop his work, showing him the money he earned nonchalantly, his father did not flinch. Since it wasn’t good to interfere with their views on life too much, Yu IlHan gave up around there.

“Next, it is also something I can do parallel to the first objective, but I need to spread some good quality armor and weapons on the market.”

[So you’re saying that you’ll upgrade their gears while earning money.]

“Yeah. Honestly, the quality of the things that the people are wearing now are too low. They’re just trash.”

This was the moment where the rewards that people of Earth acquired after completing difficult quests in other worlds, were treated as trash. Well, to Yu IlHan, who became proficient in smithing and other techniques in making armor and weapons, they could only be seen as such.

Of course, the reason Yu IlHan is trying to upgrade the level of gear of the people was extremely simple. It was because he was annoyed that he alone had to solve the crisis in Korea, or on Earth.

Although it was true that everywhere Yu IlHan went were either dangerous or will become dangerous, with the current levels of the people, just another shadow leopard would cause tens or hundreds of human damage.

That weak shadow leopard was like that, and if Reta Kar’iha suddenly appeared in the middle of the capital? Yu IlHan thought that about 100,000 would suffer.

“Even if I mass produce the ones on the level on the leather armor I used before, and sell them to ‘Suppression’, the country’s fighting power would increase by at least 20%”

The reason he mentioned ‘Suppression’ was simple. First, ‘Suppression’ was the busiest in moving around to protect the safety of the people, and second, they were practically the most pitiful people in Korea right now.

As for how pitiful they were, they stepped out grandly, but as they were forgotten by all, they had no fame nor power, and were directly subordinate to the country, and didn’t even have a good fighting power and their work conditions were not good as well, and as the Special Ability Mangement Bureau appeared, they became even more forgotten, but the country was not planning to let them go.

As such, all normal ability users belonging to ‘Suppression’ ran away to other countries, and in the end, military solider ability users, who could not get out if they wanted to, were left. If the work conditions became even worse than now, they they might probably risk it all and run away to foreign countires.

People called ‘Suppression’, ‘Depression’. (T/N: That’s why I used ‘Suppression’). That was because all the people belonging to Suppression were always making faces as if they were about to die. Although it was unknown who called that first, it was a truly marvelous naming.

As such, Yu IlHan wanted to help them. Although he wasn’t planning to give them out for free, if they are ones that are ignored and be rejected by others, then they were sufficiently qualified to be helped out by him.

[20%, you say?](Erta)

“Yeah.”

Of course, if someone who did not know him heard that, then that person would say his pride had become arrogance and was piercing through the skies, but Erta and Lita, who were well aware of Yu IlHan’s ability, shook their heads.

[I say 50%, though?](Lita)

[If we give them basic weapons, then it would increase by 70%.](Erta)

“You’re good at joking.”

Concluding with a single sentence, Yu IlHan thought of another person to give a weapon to.

“Then next is the Empress.”

[Why does that woman come up here?](Erta)

[Huh? Woman?](Lita)

Not sensing the rebellious tone that was in Erta’s voice, Yu IlHan continued speaking.

“Her weapon looked quite weak. Not to mention her armor. I think she will fly all over the place if I give her a good one.”

[I don’t think there will come a time where she would be in danger.](Erta)

“But like this, she wouldn’t become of help at crucial times. She’s out of gas after a single strike.”

The strongest of Korea, and one that is receiving attention from the whole world. There was a person who said that such a person wasn’t of help, right in this place. Following that, Erta could not deny his words and ended up nodding her head.

[That’s true.](Erta)

[Wait, a woman? What woman?]

“Should I try contacting her?”

Yu IlHan would show frightening activeness once he decided on something. He kept aside ‘Suppression’ since there was no way for him to contact them, but when he decided that he would sell an item to the Empress, he stood up straight away.

While Erta clicked her tongue and Lita was frowning, when Yu IlHan’s phone rang 3 times, Kang MiRae accepted the call.

-It has been a while. What is it?

A cool voice which makes the listener calm down. Yu IlHan, who knew that she becomes high in fighting, found such a gap interesting and took out the main topic immediately.

“A weapon, do you have any thoughts in buying any?”

[A weapon you say... Did you acquire a mage-specific artifact or something?]

“As you probably know from my equipment when you saw me last time, I have quite a good relationship with someone who makes good gear.”

The sadness of making a non-existent acquaintance is only known to those who did it. The feeling of tragedy and despair that one would not be able to go any lower as a human!

The lie right now was to hide his exceptional ability, but even so, it had an impact on his heart.

The Empress reacted soon.

[However, I’m using a rare-rank weapon right now, as well.]

“Unique or above for both weapon and armor. And if I could bring out your characteristics, miss Kang MiRae, then what do you think?”

The Empress replied immediately.

[Can I request you of YuNa’s and my brother’s? If it’s compensation I will bring out anything.]

This was the moment where the trade became bigger than he expected.

Author’s notes

Do you remember Do WooJoon? He’s the leader of the party that appeared after MC killed the giant bear under Bukhan-san.

There was a time I believed that even a spark would come out from my palm...

Guardian Erta.

Gear upgrade of humanity plan, starts now!

Translator’s notes

Regular chap.