CH 1

How many days has it been?

Buried in a pile of dirt, I had many thoughts.

“What is this?”

Without even having a moment to rejoice in the fact that I had returned to Earth while looking at the dazzling neon sign, why do I have to be buried in this grave?

“Was the return location a military training area?”

In addition to that, there was one more thing,

“The ability to regenerate has disappeared?”

The ability that allowed him to survive in the other world has disappeared.

Thanks to the slower recovery from bombing, he had to see this unintentional grave as soon as he returned.

“Uh…does that mean what I think it means?”

The conversation with the “Goddess” suddenly came to mind.

[You have to let go of what was allowed to you.]

Perhaps the ability to regenerate was included there.

“Ugh…”

Although there was a small regret, he didn’t care much. As he had achieved a certain level, even now his body was constantly recovering.

Compared to the ability to regenerate, which could recover from having his heart torn out in an instant, it might not be enough, but it was enough to recover to a sufficient extent.

Of course, there was a problem that it took quite some time, which could be due to the aftermath of the bombing, but it could be said that the impact that occurred while crossing the dimensional storm was greater.

“what rotten luck….Should have just lived there.”

Thinking about it, there was no need to come back to Earth.

Despite that, there was no particular reason for making the decision to return like this.

[Boring]

The long war with the Demon King had ended.

And with it came an era of peace, followed by the conflicts and struggles of the newly emerged humans, and even greed that emerged from them.

The sparks of another war had begun to rise.

“It hasn’t even been half a century.”

Although it didn’t feel like a proper rest, seeing the kingdoms once again taking up their swords and going back to their old ways made him shiver.

“I don’t want to fight anymore.”

He decided to retire and escape from the tiresome war.

However, the situation did not allow for it, nor was it accepted.

Baron, the mercenary king!

If someone were to be given credit for the greatest contribution in the war against the Demon King, it would undoubtedly be him.

His presence had gathered the scattered mercenaries and united them under his command. Naturally, his existence had raised the awareness of the leaders of each country to its limit.

Since his shadow would not disappear just because he left, his retirement was not accepted.

[Join us.]

[We will give those ignorant noble pigs a taste of justice.]

[This is a struggle for true freedom!]

Despite retiring, his old colleagues kept coming to him and harassing him.

In the end, he had to choose to “return” for a true retirement.

“It’s been too long, and I tried not to come back if possible.”

He spent nearly 300 years in that world.

Despite Earth being his homeland, he had been avoiding returning due to the anxiety that the passing time might have turned it into another world.

But he had no choice but to make the inevitable decision, as the situation was forcing his old comrades to raise their swords against each other.

After finding a dragon and explaining the situation, they prepared for a massive dimension jump and were able to cross it.

In the boundaries of dimensions, he met the goddess and had a brief conversation with her.

[I respect your choice. But… avoiding fate is not an easy task.]

Suddenly, the story that the goddess left behind came to his mind. After dismissing it as a mere coincidence, he calmly checked his physical condition.

“Is it because of the dimensional storm?”

The pain he had experienced in the gap of the boundary was causing him more severe aftereffects than the sudden bombing that had struck him.

Not only had his steel-like body become as soft as mashed meat, but also his insides were a mess from the accumulated toxins as he emerged from that place.

And then he had been hit by an unexpected bombing in that state.

“My body is a complete mess.”

If it had not been for the activation of absolute defense engraved on his body, this place might have become his grave.

“If only I could have brought an artifact, it would have been helpful in this situation.”

[The only thing you can take is your body.]

Saying so the goddess he had met at the boundary had retrieved the various artifacts, including the contracted familiars and magical tools he had possessed.

He was particularly disappointed about the gold nuggets that symbolized his prosperity.

“I never thought I would become a beggar… damn it!”

His emergency funds for a comfortable and peaceful retirement had been completely emptied.

In reality, when he returned, he was not even allowed a piece of clothing for his modesty, and was practically naked.

If he had known it would turn out like this, he would have just buried his bones there.

Considering how much the dragons were afraid of him, helping him with interdimensional travel was nothing short of a miracle.

“Come to think of it, they might have tried to get rid of me from their world.”

Since he had come to this dimension, it was impossible to know what had happened.

“It’s highly possible…”

Anyway, to summarize the current situation, he was on the brink of disaster, avoiding getting into trouble but ended up eating dirt.

“Phew… first, I need to recover.”

Was it a side effect of the dimensional storm?

The recovery was slower than he thought, and he didn’t reveal himself to the world until after the bombing and precisely six months had passed.

ΔΔΔ

2020!

Just like an animation of Underdog Kid, which tells the story of a boy searching for his missing father and his space adventure, the journey to the far reaches of space did not happen.

However, in another sense, the world faces a change.

Irregulars!

Or the “dimensional rift,” a phenomenon occurring across the world and the monsters that emerge from it.

Monsters from beyond the dimensions have begun invading Earth in place of the space aliens.

It was a sudden appearance indeed.

As a result, it was difficult for countries to cope effectively, and blood was spilled on the streets beyond imagination.

As the landscape became like Abigail’s Hell, cries of despair and lamentation reached the sky, and it was at that moment,

They awakened.

[The Awakened!]

Or, perhaps they should be called superhumans or psychics, beings with extraordinary abilities, they began to develop their latent abilities in the face of the monster threat.

Their appearance was like a welcome rain after a long drought.

They held back the onslaught of monsters, protected the people, and coordinated with the military that arrived later, eventually bringing an end to the first wave of dimensional rifts.

Monsters and the awakened!

The phrase “paradigm shift” hardly seems sufficient to describe the changes that were taking place, as the world was entering a period of great upheaval.

“ho~ Did you say monsters and the awakened?”

Baek Dong-hoon, who was on his knees in response to the man’s question, vigorously nodded his swollen face. When the other person seemed to be lost in thought for a moment, he had to hold his breath and watch him without disturbing him.

‘How did I end up like this? Why?’

He recalled the situation and hurriedly replayed the events in his mind.

‘I was digging around following the radar.’

He had raised his shovel with anticipation at an unexpected signal.

‘The dimensional rift that occurred here half a year ago was undoubtedly of a significant scale.’

Because of this, the military had stationed troops in the area and conducted various investigations. Through an informant in that area, he knew that there had been quite a commotion at that time.

Because the rift was so sudden, they had used bombing to contain the situation instead of calling in the ability users.

‘Fortunately, it was in the mountains. If it had been in the city, the damage could have been enormous…’

In the first place, the possibility of bombing in the city was low.

Anyways, they didn’t manage to find anything.

Before long, the military disappeared, and when all traces of them had been wiped out, Baek Dong-hoon came here.

‘A true treasure hunter knows how to revive an extinguished flame!’

Continuing his persistent investigation, he discovered something with the radar device he had brought and enthusiastically started digging.

Clang!

‘What did I catch at the end of the shovel?’

Feeling sure of himself, he dug excitedly, and soon he was so surprised that his heart almost jumped out of his chest.

[Hey…stop! You’re digging on my head, even after the bombing. Your greetings have been so violent…stop! Beautiful, beautiful.]

It was because a man had in front of him poked his head out of the pile of dirt and was mumbling something. Actually, it was okay up to this point. Mistakes can happen in such situations. But the problem was right after that.

[Aahh-!]

He was so surprised that he screamed again and hit the shovel once more.

‘It can’t be helped!’

Who would have known that someone’s head would suddenly pop up from the ground?

‘Darn it…’

The second hit was enough to make the man turn pale and dizzy and soon the soil was flipped over and he was thrown out, and he began to vigorously beat me up.

The beating was so severe that I thought I might die, but as you can see, I was relatively fine.

And then, the question and answer session began.

“Okay. I roughly understand the story. So, the world is a total mess, right?”

Baek Dong-hoon nodded his head, then the man asked, “What year is it now?”

“…It’s 2041.”

“Hmm…”

At Baek Dong-hoon’s answer the man seemed to be lost in thought again, muttering to himself quietly while stroking his chin.

The man, Baron, was quite surprised by the unexpected story.

“Only…21 years have passed?”

Although he had spent 300 years in another world, only a fraction of that time had passed in this one.

[I’ll give you a small gift.]

She had felt sorry for only taking things away, and the goddess had pushed him into the dimensional storm, only saying.

[I hope you have a good meeting…]

Baron’s heartbeat quickened unknowingly.

“Could this be the gift? Then…”

A strange feeling ran down his spine and to the back of his neck.

[Parents!]

He hoped that he could see them again.

In fact, he didn’t necessarily have to meet them. His life in this world was not normal, and he had twisted emotional aspects in many ways.

“But as their child, I should at least show my face.”

Baron learned from Baeng Jeong-hun’s story that the world had changed greatly in many ways.

In particular, the most surprising part was the information about the “Awakened.”

There was no doubt or suspicion.

The reason why there was no doubt or suspicion was because when Baek Dong-hoon and the baron first met, there was clearly a tremendous power in Baek Dong-hoon’s clumsy movements, the shovel hitting his head had clear strength that shook his head. Having experienced it firsthand, there was no need to say more.

Furthermore, wasn’t it confirmed that Baek Dong-hoon’s strength was beyond the realm of ordinary people in the exciting beat down that followed?

It was obvious that there was an awakened individual in front of him.

At first, the baron had thought that he had crossed over to another dimension because of Baek Dong-hoon’s existence.

But hearing the Korean language mixed in with the screams gave him a glimmer of hope, and with Baek Dong-hoon’s explanation, he was able to sort out and understand the situation.

“Come to think of it…it’s not really that strange.”

Considering the dimensional rift that baron had crossed over in the first place to the other world, it was possible for the same phenomenon to occur in this world as well.

After listening to Baek Dong-hoon’s story, it felt like the time when he crossed over and the time when monsters appeared in the world coincided to some extent.

He had to understand the changes in the times a little more, but something more important had arisen now.

“First of all, my parents.”

Of course, he knew that the situation was not entirely hopeful.

“But…you never know, right?”

This time, he wanted to believe in the story of the goddess at least once.

After all, they were still his parents.

Even his worn-out emotions were hoping for a glimmer of hope.