Episode 4.

   5.

   

   The earth had definitely taken a strange turn, but it was still the return I’d been looking forward to, the reunion I’d wanted so badly.

   With only a vague idea of what was to come, I spent time with my family without much thought.

   I soothed Si Yeon, who was crying again after waking up from a nap, and I called my grandmother to tell her that her grandson was back.

   Speaking of grandma, of all the things that happened yesterday, I was most embarrassed by her reaction.

   

   -You rotten bastard. You should have called me as soon as you got back.

   

   She acted as if I hadn’t died, just gone away for a while.

   That puzzled me so much that I asked In Wook about it, and he told me that his grandmother often dreamed of me.

   In her dreams, she would see me walking silently on the horizon with no end in sight, and sometimes she would dream that I was fighting winged monsters.

   She believed that I would definitely come back alive.

   Anyone else would have dismissed it as just a dream, but my grandmother is quite sensitive to such things.

   It’s a miracle, if you will.

   I’ll have to ask her about it when I get in touch with her.

   The dream stories she told me were all about things that happened to me in Eden.

   Anyway.

   My grandmother said that the one who would come back was just the one who came back, and that he would return home after he finished his journey.

   After that, I had a late-night chicken dinner with Si Yeon and In Wook, and ended my first day back very happily.

   And now, the next morning.

   “Brother, let’s order tteokbokki later today. Okay?”

   “Promise.”

   “Okay! I know a place that makes really good tteokbokki, so we’ll go out and eat later. I’ll see you then!”

   “Bye.”

I smiled as I watched the back of Si Yeon’s head as she walked to school.

   She was crying all day, but she was definitely better than yesterday.

   My sweet little girl.

   Originally, I was going to walk her to school today, but she refused.

   I promised her that I would take her to the cram school later and then buy her something delicious.

   With In Wook’s money, of course.

   “Did you say school starts today?”

   In Wook asked as he watched Si Yeon walk to school next to me.

   “Yeah, they said so, and they’re picking me up at 10:00.”

   “If it’s for the plan you said yesterday, I think you’ll have to get reclassified again…… But is there an actual system?”

   “There is.”

   I’m so frustrated.

   I said, and quickly pulled up the interface of the system I’d been working with for 10 years.

   『Kim Shi Yu』

   Religion: Limenism

   Titles: Black Pope and 32 others

   -Detailed Abilities.

   *Currently synchronizing.

   *Data from <Dimension: Eden> is undergoing primary synchronization. Estimated time: Unknown

   *Synchronization time may be reduced by unforeseen variables.

   

   Originally, it was supposed to list my skills and other attributes, but for some reason it still doesn’t display properly.

   But the fact that I have a message window popping up in front of me means that my system is working.

   I can’t even show this to In Wook.

   Did I look pretty frustrated?

   In Wook, who was looking at me, scratched his head as if to say something cool and continued.

   “It’s not that I don’t believe you, but the magic detector didn’t detect any magic power from you, right?”

   “Is magic that important?”

   “Of course it matters. There are only two things that make a player a player. Magic and systems. I’ve heard it’s the same for most returnees.”

   “Who told you that?”

   “From players I’m close with. I’m pretty well connected in that area, even if it looks like this. I’m pretty close with the guy in that video you watched yesterday. I don’t know about you, but he’s in the top 100 players in Korea. He’s an A-list hunter who’s more than an S-class player.”

   In Wook is referring to the main character in the video he was editing yesterday.

   He was explaining how to kill monsters like orcs on screen.

I listened to In Wook’s words.

   “It was horrendous…….”

   “What?”

   “Oh, my mistake.”

   I unintentionally spoke my mind.

   I mean, it was nothing, really, from what I could see, and his swordsmanship was worse than that of a terminal paladin of my order.

   But judging by the way In Wook’s expression quickly hardened at my words, I guess they’re closer than I thought.

   At times like this, it’s best to change the subject quickly.

   “I saw yesterday that he has a lot of subscribers. Can you introduce me to him later if you have time?”

   “Did you really mean what you said yesterday and not just joke?”

   “There are exactly 89 days left.”

   “To what?”

   “Life on Earth, starting from zero.”

   What I had talked to In Wook about last night was about evangelization.

   The way to gain followers on Earth is obviously different from Eden.

   And I don’t know how far the system’s definition of “believer” goes.

   But I can be sure of one thing.

   The first thing you need to grow your church is fame.

Either the religion itself becomes famous, or someone in the religion becomes famous.

   The Cult of Limen in Eden actually became famous in the latter way.

   In the name of Limen, they’ve been killing demons and demons and demons, and their numbers have grown.

   And I don’t think it will be much different on Earth.

   Moreover, unlike Eden, where the only media favorable to the expansion of the church was the evangelists, there is a wide variety of media on Earth.

   Broadcasting, newspapers, etc.

Out of everything, mass media is what I was interested in.

   “Trust your brother to introduce me to him. He’s not losing anything, is he?”

   “…… Really, you’re going to do a MyTube?”

   “Uh-huh. I’m not saying I’m going to do a MyTube, I’m saying I’m going to do an online worship service on MyTube.”

   It was MyTube.

   By the way, In Wook is also working as an editor for MyTube. He is also recognized for his skills.

   Why take the long way around when you can take the easy way?

   I chuckled and looked at In Wook, who looked at me and sighed.

   He soon gave a small nod of his head and said.

   “……First, let’s get you player-certified. I’m not sure about my returnee rank, but I’m pretty sure I won’t be able to certify you with your rank…….”

“Can’t you get me reclassified?”

   “What?”

“Why not?”

All you have to do is get reclassified.

   Isn’t that right?

   

   6.

   

   “This is an operational area, so we ask that the trainees remain where they are.”

   “We’ve still got some time before the site leader arrives, so you’re welcome to greet each other. I think you’ll find it easier to think of them as your coworkers for the week.”

I nodded grimly as I looked at the staff from the Ministry of Ability Management who were eagerly relaying information in front of me.

   I arrived here at 10:00 a.m. in the car of a staff member from the Office of Student Affairs who picked me up.

   I honestly thought I was going to be bored in a school-like setting because it was a returnee adjustment program.

   But I arrived at Yeouido Hangang Park, where wyverns were flying around.

   The first place I encountered yesterday, having just crossed over from Eden.

   Of course, things didn’t seem as chaotic as yesterday.

   Soldiers in military uniforms were walking around, and there were also people carrying swords, spears, and other weapons.

   It was still an awkward scene for me, but at least it felt like the situation was under control, unlike yesterday.

   The way people were moving around without panicking, it was clear that they were used to this kind of situation.

   It’s a world where wyverns appear in the middle of Seoul…….

   What a world.

   “Hmph. Nice to meet you.”

   As I was people-watching without saying a word, a man walked up to me with a stiff smile.

I snapped my head around at the words and looked at the greeter.

   And there he stood, a swordsman straight out of a martial arts drama.

   A real swordsman, reminiscent of an extra in a martial arts drama.

   “Have you returned from another world as well? I’m so glad to meet you. Let’s make a name for ourselves. My name is Oh Hyun-taek, a young apprentice of the Southern Palace, and I look forward to serving you for the next week.”

   I forced a smile as I ran my fingers through my hair, which was starting to get a little sticky.

   ……Yes, it doesn’t have to be fantasy world returnees.

   There are worlds that borrow from fantasy worlds, so why not a martial arts world?

Earth is already sufficiently diverse.

   Adding another flavor to the mix won’t bring it back to normal. Let’s just humbly accept the situation.

   “Nice to meet you, I’m Shi Yu Kim.”

   “May I call you Warrior Kim?”

   “As you wish.”

   “Thank you. Warrior Kim!”

As he said that, he bowed his head once again with his arms crossed.

I’m going to go crazy.

   How the hell am I supposed to react to this?

“After spending twenty years in that world, it’s hard to adjust to Earth. The world I came from is called…….”

   “Murim?”

   “Oh, you guessed right. Do you know about Murim? Haha! It was a world called Zhongyuan…….”

   He rambles on for a while after that.

   He goes on to ramble on about how he was a recognized master in the Murim.

   By the way, he was also classified as a regular rank. He was classified as a regular because his inner strength was destroyed during the dimensional shift.

   After finishing his story, Mr. Oh patted his chest and said to me.

   “Haha! But the internal force isn’t everything to a martial artist. Warrior Kim, don’t worry. Although my inner qigong has been destroyed, my outer qigong has been cultivated very firmly, so I should be able to easily slice through any monster that appears on Earth.”

   “I see.”

   “By the way, what did Kim Dae Hyeop do before you returned…….?”

“Oh, me, I was the Pope.”

   I replied dryly, glancing around once more at his words.

   There were five people who seemed to be returnees, including me and Mr. Lee Oh Hyun-taek.

   It was as if they had deliberately gathered only the weaker returnees, and none of them looked threatening.

   It’s clear that the Ministry is confident in their magic detectors.

   It seems to have filtered out everyone but me.

   “Okay, focus, please.”

   While I was talking to Oh Hyun-taek and exploring for a while, Mr. Dong Shik, the man who had investigated me yesterday, appeared in front of us.

   He quickly gathered us into a circle and soon began talking to us with a gentle smile.

“My name is Kim Dong Shik, and I’m in charge of your adaptation program for the week. Normally, the training would be held in the department’s building, but a rare opportunity arose.”

   Mr. Dong Shik said so and pointed his finger toward the Han River.

   Behind a translucent barrier, a purple ash cloud was rising, and in the sky was the same black hole I had seen yesterday.

   Of course, the hole seemed smaller than yesterday.

“The phenomenon you are seeing is an anomaly called <Chaos Gate>. Monsters categorized as demonic species appear, and are categorized as extra large, large, medium, or small depending on the size of the gate. In the case of this C-42 gate you’re looking at, it’s categorized as a medium-sized gate, and it’s currently in a lull…….”

   The returnees were still listening to Mr. Dong Shik’s kind explanation.

   Wooooooooo!

   “Wasn’t it ……?”

   Along with Dong Shik’s puzzled expression, a new message window suddenly appeared in front of their eyes.

   

   [The Causality of <Dimension: Earth> wants to properly grasp the power you possess].

   [A sudden quest is coming!]

   [Measurement]

   Type: Surge

   Description: The system has determined that there are insufficient clues to quantify your power, so it will rely on the Causality to gather data. Stop the Chaos Gate’s runaway.

   Conditions: Seal the Chaosgate in front of you

   Reward: ???

   

   And a moment later.

   Kwowwwwwwwww!

   Keeeeeeeeeeeeee-!

   The wyverns’ screams began to echo through the silent sky.

Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!

   With a loud siren, soldiers and other combat troops began to quickly form up in formation.

   

“Forming an anti-air defense network!”   

“Players with ranged attacks, please prioritize intercepting any wyverns that try to escape the circle!”

   An extremely chaotic situation.

Keeeeeeeeeeeeee-!

   Even though the defense troops quickly formed an anti-air defense net, a single wyvern broke through it, and soon the wyvern started flying towards us without any hesitation.

   

Seeing that, Dong Shik turned around and shouted at us.   

“Run…….”

   Without any hesitation, I blocked Dong Shik’s way as he tried to run away.

   “Mr. Dong Shik. Can I ask you something?”

   “In this, this situation?”

   “I think I’ve been misclassified, how can I get a reclassification review?”

   “Why the hell would you ask that now…….”

   While Dong Shik was making a dumbfounded face, a wyvern flew at me with its gaping maw open, and I lightly punched it in the head with my right fist.

   Then.

   Keeeeeee-!

   Kwaaaaaaah!

   With a wyvern’s terminal scream, its skull pierced the asphalt floor, and its massive body went limp at the same time.

   “Hmph.”

   I turned to Dong Shik as I stepped around the neck of the wyvern, which didn’t even move and said.

   “So, I’d like to get a reclassification review, because I think I’ve been misclassified?”

   “……Regular reclassification reviews are only done when a very special case is…… or…….”

“Okay.”

   “……Yes?”

   A special case.

   Well, it’s not that hard.

   I said quietly, rising from my seat.

   “I’m going to give you the benefit of the doubt, and you can decide if it’s a special case or not.”