Chapter 40 - Everyone Else is a Returnee

­I Also Do 2nd Job Advancement – 1

Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport, Arizona. Yu IlHan stood up as if bouncing up the moment the airplane landed.

“What’s the location of the troll dungeon?”

[It’s the Grand Canyon.]

“Ah, shit.”

His bad premonition just increased by a level! They said that they didn’t come here to play so he could only believe in that for now.

Yu IlHan left the terminal while sighing and started moving. Only the pouring sun rays were consoling his heart.

As always, he wore a leather jacket and jeans, covered his face with a mask and ran assiduously.

As his physical ability had increased due to leveling up, his running was comparable to a sports car. Of course, as always, no one could find him.

While running assiduously, Yu IlHan reconfirmed the evolution criteria for the Resting skill.

[Sleeping 2nd class monster’s hearts 0/500]

[Troll’s blood 0/500 liters]

[Good sleep 100/100 hours](E/N: Confirmed, IlHan is a Snorlax)

[3rd class monster’s magic stone 1/1]

There were two criteria left to evolve the skill. These were: the troll’s blood he could get from the dungeon he was heading to now and the hearts of sleeping 2nd class monsters. Yu IlHan confirmed with Erta.

“You’re sure that the trolls are 2nd class, right?”

[Although there are various types of trolls, in the dungeon I told you, there are definitely 2nd class trolls appearing. …… You, are trying to finish the quest in one go, aren’t you?]

“Of course, why do you think I made a new weapon?”

Wasn’t it to acquire enough strength to kill a 2nd class monster in one go!?

[Trolls definitely are monsters that sleep a lot. Instead, their senses are quite sensitive, but since you have the ability known as ‘concealment’ you don’t apply in that case. Then the problem is.]

“The problem is?”

Erta spoke like it was nothing.

[I don’t think there would be 500 trolls in the dungeon we’re going to, though?]

“No, you angel!”

Although the Grand Canyon was known for its magnificent scenery and geological value, what it’s even more known for is its enormous size.

Standing at the entrance of the South Rim, Yu IlHan gaped in shock when he saw the endlessly wide rift.

“Oh, my god. I thought it would be like summoner’s rift.”

[You lived on Earth for 1,000 years. Haven’t you been here? What were you doing?]

“Wow, it really is amazing……”

Yu IlHan wasn’t listening to her. No matter how the situation on Earth was now stabilized, as there were no people who thought to travel around for tourism right now, so despite its fame, the Grand Canyon was empty, and as such, this scenery was for Yu IlHan alone.

“It’s really fortunate.”

Seeing that Yu IlHan was rejoicing from the bottom of his heart, Erta didn’t feel that bad. The fact that his eyes were glowing felt a bit proud of her.

Was this how a parent felt, teaching their child? When she, who misunderstood her own feelings by a large amount, was about to speak, Yu IlHan’s words continued.

“If it wasn’t for Erta, I would have gotten lost in this wide place looking for a single dungeon…….”

[I hate myself for agreeing with you, even for a moment.]

Yu IlHan ran across the rift with Erta on his head. If he couldn’t control the weight of the Cross Bag, he would have made a big dent in this beautiful mother nature, so solving the weight problem for the previous quest was a truly wise thing.

While running through the rift, which was literally unexplored, Yu IlHan thought about how large the Grand Canyon was, and how nature was being preserved, and what would be in this kind of environment. There was only one conclusion.

“I feel like there would be monsters even though this isn’t a dungeon.”

[There’s one right there.]

That really had a point which made one think up of field hunting in games. What was especially similar was that monsters would appear occasionally over a wide area, and one had to run around all over the place in order to hunt.

It even made one wonder if they were doing a running competition or a hunt!

Of course, as Yu IlHan’s original aim wasn’t a field hunt, he was running towards the dungeon in a straight line without minding where the monsters were, so there was no loss for him.

There are only two kinds of monsters which do not get caught by the Trap of Destruction. Smart ones, and lucky ones, and their common point was that they couldn’t see through concealment skills. In other words, they were very good experience providers for Yu IlHan.

[You have earned 333,395 experience.]

[You have earned the record of Lv 53 Sand Scorpion.]

Yu IlHan grumbled while piercing a scorpion with a light brown armor in a surprise attack.

“Why are sand scorpions appearing in a place without sand?”

[Starfish don’t live on stars, though.] (T/N: This is originally a Korean pun, ‘Dolgorae’(dolphins) live in places without ‘dol’(stone), starfish is the closest I can think of…)

“Go apologize to every starfish(dolphins) in the world!”

He avoided the ones he thought he could not kill in one blow and killed the ones he could without restraint while proceeding through the rift.

He got off the developed tourism route and was going to his destination in a straight line.

Erta thought that Yu IlHan was overwhelmed by the miracle of mother nature, but Yu IlHan ignored everything on his path to his destination and was only running.

[Don’t you feel anything after you saw this grand scenery]

“I do. It’s fortunate that you’re here.”

[!@#$%.]

Erta bit her tongue since her heart pounded due to Yu IlHan’s words for a brief moment, but annoyance welled up in her heart after she figured out what he meant.(E/N: Smooth IlHan, smooth)

As Yu IlHan stopped in place at that moment, she was shocked since she thought that Yu IlHan found out what she was thinking.

[N, no! Whatever you say, my heart won’t even flinch! I’m a higher existence!]

“This is a dungeon, right?”

Of course, Yu IlHan didn’t even notice that she had spoken something, much less figuring out her heart.

However, she couldn’t ask him for responsibility, since the scene they were confronting was that amazing.

[……What, is this?]

“Don’t ask me, you higher existence.”

That was a huge vortex. He might have thought that this was normal if he hadn’t seen a dungeon entrance before, but as he had experience in cleaning the Metal Heart dungeon, the vortex with a diameter of 7m in the middle of the Grand Canyon was not normal no matter how he looked at it.

[It definitely isn’t a normal dungeon. I definitely remember hearing from the other angels that this was a normal troll dungeon when I asked for opinions on your reward.]

“Why do strange things happen wherever I go? Was I K*nd*ch* H*j*m* in my past life?”

[It’s better than a human without the ability to solve this meeting this situation. Wait a moment. I need to observe it for a bit.]

Erta got off his head while sighing. Although she did run around in panic, in fact, she knew what was happening to a certain extent.

[I think this occurred due to two Traps of Destruction being too close to each other. In such cases, the dungeon will expand rapidly due to supersaturation of mana. Not to mention the gathered monsters, if something goes wrong, the unbalanced dungeon might collapse and affect reality. However, it isn’t an Overflow so do be rest assured.]

As it was the angels who oversaw the process with the Traps of Destruction, this was a very rare occasion.

However, he didn’t feel anything new since there were several ‘rare’ situations that have occurred on Earth.

“So that’s why the dungeon’s scale is so large?”

[It’s not only that. It’s highly possible that there are other monsters than trolls in this dungeon. Although it’s easy for monsters of different species to fight each other, they do get along well if there is a definite enemy called humans. No matter how it’s those ignorant trolls…… As this place is Earth, where everything is strange including you, it’s better to be careful.]

Yu IlHan retorted.

“Shorten it, Erta. You can do it.”

[……The situation is that there are 2 field bosses.]

“Good, much more direct.”

[I really think you’re taming me……]

Yu IlHan ignored Erta’s grumbles and confirmed the level requirement for the dungeon on top of the vortex-shaped gate.

Unlike the frightening scale of the vortex, the level limit was very low – It was only Lv40.

[That’s fortunate. It seems the monsters gathered are weaker than trolls.]

“What if there are no trolls?”

[Then we can just leave. The only other entities that dungeons block entrance to those not meeting the level requirements re monsters. Moreover.]

After patting her chest, Erta spoke confidently.

[You didn’t forget who you’re with right now, did you?]

“That’s why I’m worried.”

[You really are too much at times! Although it poked where it hurts so I can’t retort but please be restrained with your words!]

While imagining a more ‘wild’ dungeon than the one he had predicted, Yu IlHan decided to hone his mind.

It was very important to evolve the Resting skill. Not only was it the skill with the highest possibility to evolve amongst the other skills which looked like nonsense, wasn’t it a very difficult skill to learn and raise its level to the point that Erta was surprised by it?

His senses were whispering to him. That although he would definitely meet another pain-in-the-back matter in this dungeon, he wouldn’t regret it if he evolved the Resting skill!

“No pain, no gain.”

Erta clung on to Yu IlHan’s hair. He firmly gripped the Death god’s Black Spear he took out from the Cross Bag and walked into the vortex confidently.

The dungeon’s insides was a highland. After realizing that, the ‘quite sentimental’ higher existence, Erta grumbled quietly.

[The background became ordinary.]

“Wow, there really are trolls.”

In contrast, Yu IlHan didn’t mind something like a dungeon’s background and started looking for monsters.

Although it was quite ironic that he found one immediately since the monsters had no intention of hiding.

Although no one taught him that it was a troll, Yu IlHan figured out at a glance. An enormous body and a saggy, gray skin; ugly appearance and two arms and legs like a human all told him that it was a troll that he read from books.

However, there was an absolute characteristic which overwhelmed all the other characteristics.

{Trrroooooooollllllllllllll Resssssttttttttttsssssssss……}

The troll lied on its back on a tree which was even bigger than its body and was closing its eyes while muttering something utterly ridiculous.

Seeing something that he might see with an old man in a market bench or pavilion, Yu IlHan spoke in exclamation.

“Amazing, it speaks English!”

[That’s not the important thing. No, well, it is important.]

Not all monsters spoke monster-speak. It was the same with the mutant Flame Lizard monsters in LA, and it was also the case with the trolls right now. They were granted a part of a record the moment they appear on Earth.

In that process, some monsters might acquire a special strength, and might be restrained. They might become an entity to make up the dungeon or might become a leader to lead the group.

Some said that it was the mutation or stealing of records, and some said it was a whim of the Akashic Record, but as Yu IlHan would react the same way no matter how she said it, Erta just explained it like this.

[It’s crammed knowledge. How is it? Direct, right?]

“Good, much more dir……whoa!?”

[But why aren’t you killing it? That’s no difficult opponent.]

“I’m waiting for it to sleep. Can’t you tell?”

[It’s sleeping, though?]

“Nonsense, it just rested on the tree saying it would rest……”

Yu IlHan turned his head to the troll while smiling when he heard Erta’s short reply, and shouted in shock at the fact that the troll was really sleeping.

“That ability is a secret technique of the Resting skill, falling asleep in 3 seconds……!?”

[That’s because most trolls have learned the Resting skill.]

Moreover, Yu IlHan falling asleep within 3 seconds after getting on to bed was a secret technique? Erta acquired the most useless knowledge in the world.

Meanwhile, Yu IlHan gripped the spear firmly, and checked his armor just in case, and quietly approached the troll seeing under the tree.

The so-sensitive troll was sleeping well while snoring loudly even though Yu IlHan was right in front of its nose. It was probably sleeping so well since it believed in its danger detection ability so much.

As such, it would be hunted by Yu IlHan.

With a cruel smirk, Yu IlHan swung the spear to cut off its head.

[You have earned 560,705 experience.]

[You have earned the record of Lv 72 Highland Troll.]

Despite the fact that it wasn’t a critical hit, due to the effects of a surprise attack, he could hunt a monster over level 70 with a single strike.

Even though he hadn’t even got his 2nd job!

[Sleeping 2nd class monster’s hearts 1/500]

[Troll’s blood 3/500 liters]

“This is easy.”

[For you, it is.]

Yu IlHan put the heart he pulled out from the troll and the blood he extracted with a syringe in a special container and put it inside his Cross Bag.

Although the fact that he could only extract 3 liters of blood from one troll bothered him, as he had to hunt 500 trolls, it didn’t really matter that much.

“Good. This means that I will have over 1000 liters of troll blood after I kill 500 of them, right? I feel reassured even now!”

[I beg you to drink the blood where others can’t see you.]

Yu IlHan’s troll hunt smoothly started like that. As all trolls had a max level Resting skill, it wouldn’t be that difficult for Yu IlHan to fulfill the requirements of the Resting skill!

Meanwhile, after 3 days had passed since Yu IlHan and Erta entered the dungeon, in front of the vortex gate were another two humans and one angel.

“Wow, It’s a ginormous dungeon but the level restriction is only 50?”

[Be careful, Na YuNa. We don’t know what may happen inside the dungeon.]

“Let’s go it. I also want to get the scorpion poison and go back to Korea fast.”

“This is a dungeon date!”

“Didn’t I say to look for another man?”

[You guys don’t even listen to me, do you……?]

These people who were entering the vortex with a tension no less than that of Yu IlHan and Erta, were, obviously, the Korean man and woman that Yu IlHan hated so much.

Author’s notes

The Grand Canyon! I want to go once, but as I have no experience in going there, the lacking descriptions within the chapter are from photos T^T

No, you angel! : A parody of a famous translated subtitles of a famous movie, Green Lantern. (T/N: Apparently, someone translated ‘no evil shall escape my sight’ as ‘no, you devil’)

Summoner’s rift: Welcome to the Summoner’s Rift.(E/N: Ew League)

Field hunt: something you get sad while doing it.

K*nd*ch* H*j*m*: The Kindaichi Case Files. Along with Conan, he’s famous for murder crimes occurring wherever he goes.

Translator’s notes

Enjoy~!