Chapter 21 - Everyone Else is a Returnee

You Want to Hunt With Me!? (1)

As he was already wearing armor, there was nothing else he needed to prepare. Just that he did some maintenance on his steel spear while he was borrowing the anvil and the hammer. Although he didn’t show it, he was worried that the spear may have been damaged during the fight with the Brown Big Bear yesterday.

Erta also didn’t say anything about it. Wouldn’t it turn into a huge incident if his spear broke in the middle of combat? Warriors should always take good care of their weapons. Although Yu IlHan didn’t really know about that, as he wasn’t a warrior, he didn’t want to go through the trouble of making another spear.

Because he had the Eternal Flame and max level blacksmithing, he was able to finish repairing the weapon in just a few minutes. The result that popped up was this:

[Fatally Sharp Steel Spear]

[Rank – Unique]

[Attack Power – 1,100]

[Durabiliity – 715/715]

[Option – 20% increase of critical hit chance]

[A miracle made by human with solely the use of technique and effort and without the help of mana. Thanks to being maintained by top class tools, its stats improved.]

“……”

What? The attack power increased by 300 just by reparing it!? Moreover, it was only blacksmithing, but there were both alpha and beta options. As he was the one to strike the steel, Yu IlHan knew more than anyone how amazing this feat was.

Although he knew that this wasn’t the time for this, Yu IlHan looked at the anvil and hammer alternatively before quietly making a request to Erta.

“Gimme this.”

[No.]

Thanks to spending a few days time with Yu IlHan, Erta’s retorts towards Yu IlHan became quite considerable. At her clear cut words, Yu IlHan gave up getting new tools and had to leave the workshop with Erta, who became palm-sized and nestled on top of his head.

“What did you become human sized for?”

[I was doing other work as a human. Now, I’m back to being your support again.]

“You differentiate so meticulously, eh……”

After lightly waving his hand towards the Eternal Flame, which flickered as if seeing him off, he went outside, where the noise become louder by a level. He could even hear a building collapsing with a boom!

There was no need for him to put any effort into searching it. He just needed to run towards where the dust cloud could be seen. As he neared, the sounds of guns, helicopters, explosions, and collapses resounded louder as if they were trying to make him deaf.

[KuuuOOhhhoohhhh!]

At that place was a huge lepoard. A leopard bigger than the brown bear that he had defeated the day before!

The moment Yu IlHan arrived at the scene, it was swinging its front paw to strike a helicopter from the top of a high-rise building down. It was as if watching a monster movie, but this was reality.

And even at this time, the soldiers, who were confronting this crisis were desperately fighting.

“RPG, even the RPG isn’t working!”

“F*ck, those with advanced jobs go and stab with a knife or something!”

“This is a highly populated area, we know! However, this needs a missile, or else at this rate, the Blue House will be penetrated, the Blue House!” (T/N: Blue House is the Korean equivalent of the White House)

Yu IlHan didn’t have that much trust in the strong friends until now, but he couldn’t not be surprised after seeing that even field-grade officers were at the front lines. Although, it may just be that the situation was more serious than he thought it was.

“It’s coming, it’s coming this way!”

“Escape! Scatter!”

It wasn’t only the soldiers who were there. A few armed ability users, and some people who had advanced to their 1st jobs were attacking the leopard with their weapons.

Even though they could pile up experience and record in other worlds, they had clearly given that up and were remaining on Earth, fighting against a monster which had a strength above that of 2nd class. Yu IlHan couldn’t just laugh at them for being foolish.

Yes, they were in the right. No matter how strong they could become in other worlds, if Earth, if the country they lived in, turned into ruins, then wouldn’t it all be meaningless?

They knew that, so they put their lives on the line. Despite the fact that they didn’t have the confidence to defeat that monster. Despite the fact that they could die in a single attack of its paw.

He somehow felt pathetic for sharpening his spear in order to defeat the monster for sure.

Although his self-guilt disappeared as he knew that he might be in danger if the steel spear broke in the fight due to not maintaining it, in its place, feelings of wanting to help them as soon as possible welled up inside his heart.

Although I don’t have any thoughts on putting my life on the line for others, if others can live if I just work a little harder, then I’ll gladly put in that effort. – This was Yu IlHan’s motto.

“Heh!”

With a strange shout, Yu IlHan started running. He ran on the collapsing concrete with each step, pushing the gear inside his heart up by one.

The leather armor covering his body didn’t hinder him. Instead, it was as if it was pushing him forward by helping the wind.

The surrounding objects, the commanders who were urgently calling somewhere, the soldiers who were flicked away by the leopard, they were all passed by.

Nobody noticed him.

He had no intention to have anyone notice him.

‘I want to use mana quickly.’

After he had surpassed the limits of humans with training in the one thousand years of his life, he was never disappointed in his own body while moving. However, now that he was taking several seconds to approach that monster even at his full speed, he felt unsatisfied.

If I had learned mana, I could enhance my physical abilities. If I had magic, then I would be able to call wind to fly in the sky. – He thought.

The leopard started dashing. After swiping two armored vehicles and swatting a bomb onto the ground to make it explode, it smashed against a high-rise building again. Some ability users attacked it and were in turn also attacked.

It was fortunate that the ability users attacking with long-ranged magic were alright. However, the people who were trying to wound it in close combat were all tattered. There might even be those who had died.

[It’s clearly stronger than the Brown Big Bear. Such a pity, Yu IlHan.]

“……”

Erta lightly mentioned the joke Yu IlHan had said a few minutes ago, but right now, Yu IlHan, who never forgot to make jokes, ignored her and kept running while squeezing out all the strength of his muscles to produce a speed that surpassed the limits of stats.

The moment he neared the leopard, he kicked off the ground and jumped high while confirming its position. He kicked off the wall of a nearby building to jump high, and kicked off the wall of the opposite building to jump even higher. After repeating that several times, he was several tens of meters in the air. Even so, nobody noticed him.

He was never so thankfulthat his presence was weak until now. Yu IlHan muttered while holding the spear with both of his hands.

He changed his trajectory by kicking off the wall of a high-rise building nearing him. This was the last. While quickly moving through the air, the figure of the leopard became larger and larger.

Was it unsatisfied even after destroying so many buildings? It was holding up a military vehicle with soldiers inside, with its front paw.

The soldiers had resolved themselves for death as they threw grenades into its wide open mouth, but even that didn’t give it a fatal wound. Well, even Yu IlHan had the confidence to not get wounded by grenades, so it would be strange if the leopard got injured from that.

While falling towards his target in midair, Yu IlHan pulled back the spear with all his strength.

The leopard’s huge face was getting nearer and nearer, opening its mouth to swallow the vehicle whole. At that moment, the figure of Yu IlHan was rellected in its two yellow eyes.

Yu IlHan struck the spear into left eye with all his strength.

[Critical Hit!]

[KraAHHaRRAAAaa!]

It was a scream that made world tremble. Its eye bursted with a rupturing soun, the fluids covering Yu IlHan’s entire body.

With that, his presence appeared in the world. This was a moment when the atmosphere of the warzone changed.

“Sungdaein Bolt……!”

“He’s changed but it’s him for sure. It’s Sungdaein Bolt!”

“He didn’t go to another world.”

“Fuck, we’re saved now……!”

The leopard which was clinging onto a building wall couldn’t withstand the pain and slid down. The fact that it didn’t let go of the military vehicle even while it was sliding was truly frightening.

Yu IlHan was holding onto the spear that had been embedded into its eye, only swiftly pulling it out and jumping down when it had let go of the military vehicle.

As a result, the half-pulled out steel spear slid down its face, following Yu IlHan and inflicting a large wound which covered its face from the eye to the chin.

[KuhooOooooo!]

It moved its feet while twisting its body, but Yu IlHan was already out of its range. Moreover, while it couldn’t come to its senses due to losing one eye, bullets and magic hit its body from all directions. Although small, there must have had been some damage.

Meanwhile, Yu IlHan landed, creating a footprint on the bumper of the military vehicle which was falling to the ground helplessly. Immediately, he lightly swung the spear to slice off the vehicle’s roof and hugged the two soldiers who were obediently waiting for death with one arm before jumping off the vehicle.

Despite the fact that he was still several tens of meters in the air, his actions had no hesitation.

“What level are you!?”

“I’m 3!”

“I’m 2!”

“If you don’t want to die then hold me tight!”

After the soldiers hugged him, which made him uncomfortable, he landed on the ground with a booming noise.

Although the already cracked concrete floor split apart completely due to the crash, he only felt his legs go numb.

After landing, he freed the soldiers. They were looking at Yu IlHan as if gazing towards a hero, but Yu IlHan had only saved them because he didn’t want to see people dying in front of his eyes. There was no reason he wouldn’t save them if he could do so.

“Run.”

However, it wasn’t like he could explain that to the soldiers in detail. Yu IlHan, who became awkward, left behind one word before kicking off the ground again. The leopard that had fell onto the ground had its eyes glued on Yu IlHan.

One eye was pouring out blood, while the other eye was looking at him with the desire to kill.

Well, it had taken the most damage from him, so it was obvious that he would become its target. That monster was not as stupid as the brown bear to forget the situation due to pain, so it seemed like it wouldn’t let Yu IlHan go back into concealment.

However, that didn’t matter. It was an opponent that he could defeat head on.

He increased his running speed while smirking a little.

“So cool……!”

“The leopard’s aggro is all on Sungdaein Bolt! We need to attack now!”

“Everyone use magic! Aim for that blasted eye!”

The majority of the people here had probably met for the first time today, and were rolling around in the same battlefield. Despite that, they were matching their breathing with only the desire to kill the leopard in their heads. The desires stacked on top of each other to transform into a sharp blade.

Of course, this was only possible as Yu IlHan appeared to allow them time to breath, but the effect was larger than Yu IlHan had thought.

[KkrrrrrRRRrrr!]

The leopard’s growling sounds towards the humans became more frequent as attacks continued to hit it. It flinched and was unable to move its body as it wanted. It was because all the people were aiming their attacks at its blasted eye, following someone’s words.

And at that moment, the final strike came. When a blueish white colored compressed lightning struck its eyes, a devastating amount of blood bursted out from its wound again!

“It’s the Empreess!”

“Even the Empress is here! We’re really saved now!”

[KuAaaaAaaa! KyaKuraKaaaaaa!]

Even while it was growling in weird pronounciations after getting struck by lightning, it still didn’t turn its gaze away from Yu IlHan and kicked off the ground.

Was it planning to crash head on at full speed? This was what he wanted. Yu IlHan also pulled the spear he was holding, back a little in a slanted position and increased his speed.

“Uooooooooooooh!”

While he was running, there was something that automatically began to boil in his heart. He didn’t hold that in and spat it out as he pulled the spear back even more. There was just 100 meters between him and the leopard. That became 50 meters in a blink of an eye, and under breath’s time, it turned to zero.

The leopard swung its paw as it threw its body. At the attack, from which he could feel that its desire to trample him flat no matter the cost, Yu IlHan also reacted in a similar manner.

Before its front paw attacked him, he had held up the spear and smashed it onto the ground, flying up from the rebound!

However, immediately after that, he smashed into the leopard’s face.

“No!”

“What do we do if Sungdaein bolt dies! ……But isn’t it a bit strange?”

“……What was it that covered his body?”

The shock was large. He felt as if his inner organs were all displaced for a moment. His entire body ached and went numb.

However, the expected death by being crushed by the leopard didn’t happen.

[KhkkkkkraaaaaAaaaa!]

Because there was a countless number of bone blades inbetween Yu IlHan and the leopard, that had received the shock in his stead, the leopard ended up being stabbed in the face.

While trying his best to hold back his nauseousness, Yu IlHan spoke out with a nasal voice.

“……See. It did its job as soon as I made it.”

[I will say just three words. You look hideous.]

He used the leopard’s smash against it and damaged it, but currently, his figure was like a frog flattened by a car – even 1000 years of love would vaporize if seen. It was very fortunate that Rita wasn’t here.

Yu IlHan thought while putting the bone blades back into his armor.

One must not try to look cool or otherwise, they will end up appearing like a fool.

Author’s notes

The romanized leopard roar following the bear

The hedgehog attacking with all its body

Translator’s notes

Yeah, that’s right leopard roars were in alphabets in the raw. (hence you see capital letters in the middle of them). Am I going to be able to stock some chapters now?