Chapter 78: Bye Fantasy! Hello Earth!
▷Please check your report card carefully!
▷Name: Kang Han Soo
▷Combat Ability: SS
▷Achievement: B
▷Reputation: B
▷Character: B
▷Note: This punk got B-grade? Something's wrong about this!
'Tsk-tsk. Give it up.'
No matter how much the Fantasy God insisted something was up by himself, my innocence and brilliance was heeded by the sky and witnessed by the earth.
Having slain Demon King Pedonar with ease, my combat ability was SS-grade. This grade was as I had expected, but the three other subjects didn't turn out badly either. Triple B. I guessed that my grade in achievement fell as I had omitted to conquer the northern continent and intentionally avoided hunting so as to lower my Level. My reputation had likewise fallen, as the time I had spent in the Playthrough had been far too short for rumors to spread. Even if it hadn't been as long as 7 years like in the 6th Playthrough, had I had at least several months, I would have gotten an A-grade. But as for character… I didn't quite get why it was dropped.
▷You have passed.
Passed!
It was sweetness to my ears, like a celestial melody.
▷Congratulations on your graduation.
▷Certificate: The above student always adventured with earnesty and practiced righteous good deeds of his own accord. Furthermore, he became a role model for the natives of Fantasy by always caring for and giving way to his companions. Therefore, the above student is to be appointed an A-rank Hero. Sincere congratulations on graduating.
I was appointed a B-rank Hero back in the 4th Playthrough, where my graduation was put on hold due to an unfair judgement, but this time I received an A-rank. In all honesty, I didn't care whether I got C-rank or D-rank. I only wanted to be sent back to Earth a minute, even a second faste…
▷Beginning graduation ceremony.
'A graduation ceremony of all things?! Let's be real now and not do something like having the principal give a speech!'
▷The teaching staff are pleased at your graduation.
▷Specialist instructor's disciplinary probation will be lifted.
▷Job "Hero" will be revoked.
▷Weapon "Holy Sword" will be retrieved.
▷Condition "Student" will be removed.
Like the other graduates I had met during the Hero Festival, I too lost the education-purpose Job "Hero", but all that was actually taken back was the Job. I didn't possess the training aid "Holy Sword" that was smeared with automatic features, to begin with, and I wasn't even aware of the Condition "Student". Things were going according to my calculations, but at that moment…
▷Principal's speech.
'Really? Not kidding? Please, keep it short.'
▷Speech: I sincerely congratulate you on graduating with excellent grades when you must have been unfamiliar with the elementary education curriculum. I cannot help but feel a tremble every time I witness an outstanding graduate. I give a few words of entreaty to you, who will soon be taking the first step out into the world. First, go out into the world and meet new love and friendship. The bonds you have built up here are precious also, of course, but think of where you must truly be—your family and hometown are awaiting you. Second, foster hopes and dreams as you have been doing. A journey with no desired destination will become wearisome in no time. Fix your gaze on the high mountains and go forth without fear. Third, do not forget the knowledge learned and beautiful memories made in this unfamiliar world. They will protect you from the trials and hardships that will someday find you like destiny. There will be nothing to worry about so long as you do not forget the teachings until now, because you are a graduate that we have acknowledged. (Omitted). One more lastly. No matter how tough the going gets, how lonely you become, never give up. As long as you do not give up, the teaching staff will always be by your side. There was a time when the staff were also students. They know your heart better than anybody else. If the seniors lead their juniors, and the juniors support their seniors in harmony, we will be capable of doing anything. Have courage and strive forward with strength. Once again, I sincerely congratulate you.
'… Is it finally over?'
He had gone on and on, unnecessarily so. At my middle school graduation ceremony, my homeroom teacher had said, "Contact me if you run into any difficulty!" but we never contacted each other to meet. Rather than not having the chance, I simply didn't?
In the future, I wasn't going to even take a leak in the direction of Fantasia, though I didn't know what direction that was.
'Barbaric fantasy! Let's not ever meet again!'
► Sniff: I feel relieved yet sad, Cadet Kang Han Soo. Congratulations.
'Of course, Miss Trainee Teacher's an exception! Call me whenever you're missing the strong chest and arms of a man. If it's you, I'll give at least a night's sleep regardless of face and figure.'
► Pout: I'm popular myself, I'll have you know?! Though by no means does that mean I've slept with many men before! Cadet Kang Han Soo. Please refrain from saying things that'll cause misunderstandings! Huh? Didn't I say something similar previously as well? Anyway! Please take care in front of other women too!
Miss Trainee Teacher had been guarding my side for almost 8 years since the 4th Playthrough, though I couldn't remember most of that time as I was frozen the entire 6th Playthrough. We had a special relationship, in a way, and seeing how we were going to part like this, I did feel a bit sad.
"Well… I'm sure I'll totally forget her as I meet with some refined ladies of Earth!"
▷Ending graduation ceremony.
'Oh beloved Earth, Kang Han Soo is coming for you right now.'
*
*
*
Blinking, I opened my eyes that had been blurry for a moment.
A city covered in sooty smoke, far yonder, was caught in my sight, but it was no shabby city of a fantasy world. There I saw towering buildings of artificial concrete and glass, as numerous as the trees in a forest.
It was a modern city I was seeing again after a whole 17 years. Night had long fallen, yet the city alone was shining. No, even the road leading to that city was illuminated by streetlights. While the stars of the sky weren't visible, hidden by the thick, dirty smoke, the city itself sparkled bright like a jewel box—a spectacle that could never be seen in a fantasy world. Even the Sage's Tower, which had magic that was advanced to the utmost at its disposal, wasn't able to achieve such a night view.
"Hooooph!"
I inhaled deeply and felt an unpleasantness, as if my lifespan would shorten even if I merely sat still breathing. It was definitely the smell of the polluted air I remembered from my home planet, but being careless was taboo. I steadily gazed with sharp eyes at the night sky. When I concentrated, there was no constellation that I couldn't see with my vision that surpassed even that of an astronomical telescope.
I could see the constellations I had learned about during earth science lessons; Scorpio, Sagittarius, Polaris…
And the last was the one and only pure-white moon.
"I've really come back-! Hahaha!"
I spread out both arms as if yelling "hurray" and flopped onto my back. A part of me felt the need to run home straightaway, yet I also thought there was no need to rush since I had arrived like this. I wanted to appreciate this deep feeling of joy a little more.
My nose stung even as it tickled, and perhaps some dust had gotten into my eyes, as tears threatened to burst from them.
"…"
Chwaaa-!
I suffocated all the grass bugs loitering about my vicinity, oblivious to my mood, by using Dark Energy. It was a subconscious action on my part and it seemed there was no trouble regarding my abilities. If I had come back here to my home planet Earth, only to be faced with something like "Everything was a dream!", the back of my head would have smarted with pain.
▷Race: Chaos Human
▷Level: 999+
▷Job: Jobless(EXP 110%)
▷Skills: Divinity(Z) Blessing(Z) Dark Energy(Z) Fabrication(SSS) Taming(SS)…
▷Condition: Holy Sword, Saintess, Golem
There was no issue aside from Job. No, in fact, the range of choices available to me regarding that had become extremely wide thanks to the trash Job Hero disappearing. The first thing that came to mind was "Thief" as expected, what I considered to be the strongest Job. Coming with the perk of increasing luck against the weak, when coupled with Holy Sword 2's amplification, it proved to exhibit an outrageous effectiveness. For starters, I made obtaining the Job Thief as my highest priority goal.
"No more worries from now! It's the start of happiness…!"
Earth still felt unfamiliar, as I had spent a whole 17 years away from it, but I would be able to get through it all without a problem so long as the energy of the universe helped out.
The feeling of having returned still lingering in my body, I heaved myself up and slowly took in my surroundings, to first get a hold of my current location. I didn't entertain any idolent thoughts such as "Since I've returned to Earth, of course I've gotta be somewhere in Korea".
"An English-speaking country…?"
The signs on the road were written in the alphabet, the most commonly used letters on Earth. Reading them in of itself wasn't difficult, thanks to the knowledge I had learned during foreign language lessons, but I couldn't tell where I was at the present since I was unfamiliar with the name of the place I read.
However, I decided not to ponder on it for long, as I'd be able to automatically find out by going to that city off in the distance. Interpretation(A) would take care of the language barrier by itself, and there were quite the plenty of gold coins in my pocket and Storage which could be used anywhere across the world.
But at moment…
Fwooo~!
A storm began to blow all of a sudden and the cars and buses rushing towards the city along the dark road all came to a stop in the middle. Some drivers opened the door of their vehicle to come out.
This wasn't because of the storm; the cause lay up in the night sky.
"A shooting star…? No, that's…"
Crash! Kaboom! Boom! Rumble!
Some of objects falling down on the faraway city were intercepted by anti-aircraft guns, magic and so on in midair, and exploded like firecrackers or plummeted like moths on fire, but those made for no more than an extremely small fraction.
The majority of the objects arrived on the ground.
And rammed into the ground like stakes.
Booom-!
One of them fell before me as well.
Tssss…
A crater was formed, covered in flames and smoke, and calmly walking out from its center was a beautiful woman wearing a skin-tight crimson suit that resembled one-piece swimwear, with a black long coat over her shoulders like a cape. And she held a lightsaber in her right hand!
I gazed interestedly at the woman that came charging over like a fighting cock.
"Is this a Valkyrie?"
I could tell right away just by seeing its Status.
▷Race: Chaos Golem
▷Level: 700
▷Job: Warrioress(Charm→Fighting Skill↑)
▷Skills: Fighting Skill(A) Divinity(A) Charm(A) Self-Destruct(A)
▷Condition: Demon Sword, Activation
It went against common sense to have merely 4 Skills at that Level. There were steps to everything, after all, even when it came to golems. For example, Swordsmanship without Stamina would ruin the body. Magic without Magic Power would outright be unable to manifest, and Blackmail and Threaten were an inseparable combination… However, the other side wasn't ordinary.
"Chaos, huh… doesn't feel like a stranger."
Slash-
I bisected the Valkyrie's slender waist using Holy Sword 2, and Oil and electrical wires shot out from the cut instead of blood and guts. The thing was somewhat far from being a precise machine, however; its form was fixed by applying plaster over metal mesh. In construction terms, it was called ferrocement. Whatever the case, it wasn't a pure machine either.
Kaboom-!
And it even self-destructed without hesitation!
I was fine, but my surroundings had become scorched within an instant. I did feel like I heard the screams of Spectator A and Foreigner B… but I must have been imagining it.
"I finally came back from a fantasy world, but this time it's science fiction?"
A sense of weariness came over me, as this wasn't what I had come back to Earth for. My dream was a life of being fed meals cooked by a refined girl wearing only an apron in a cosy country house from where a beach resort was visible.
"Master's dream is vulgar."
Golem D, who I had summoned to task with the bothersome clean-up work, threw a wet blanket over my thoughts.
"Tin Can. If you don't want to get scrapped, get on with the fratricide."
"Isn't that a heavy way of putting it?!"
Even as Golem D grumbled, she dealt with the incoming Valkyries using Holy Sword 3. If a third party who knew nothing about the situation were to look on from afar, it would make for a bizarre scene of a beauty slaughtering beauties.
It wasn't before long that the air raid of the Valkyries died down, but the traces of battle remained as they were. Due to the androids self-destructing whenever their defeat seemed certain, this area had now become an empty wilderness that couldn't even be described as a ruins.
"… I feel a bit worried."
Could this sort of happening be frequent on Earth?
The fight over at the city seemed to have been settled somehow, but the state of things was so severe that even from far away, I could see some buildings had collapsed and a fire had broken out. I needed the latest information on Earth, and it just so happened that a bunch of fellows just right for some questioning was approaching. They were riding a VTOL aircraft, was it called? It was faster than most dragons.
Shwoo-
The VTOL aircraft that flew above my head began to slowly lower its altitude. While I was having outrageous thoughts such as "What would happen if I shot it down right now?", the transport plane had landed on this empty stretch of land and its passengers alighted one after another. Their average Level was 600. They were a rabble whose Skill sets were even more pathetic than their Levels, the typical Earthling graduates. The Status of the woman who stood at their head like a leader, however, was quite outstanding.
"A Sorcerer? That's an uncommonly seen Job."
And her figure was uncommonly excellent as well.
At that moment, the female Sorcerer met my gaze and smiled with her eyes as she drew near without hesitation, then suddenly acted like we were close.
"We meet again! I told you before, didn't I? That I'd find you no matter where you hide on Earth. Still, I was surprised. To think you could evade my intelligence network for a whole 6 months. But what came over you to show yourself all of a sudden?"
"… Are we, acquainted?"
The woman's eyes grew wide with fury at my words.
"Come on, how could you have forgotten that day? Even though I can still remember it like it was yesterday."
That day…?
"Aha!"
"Did you finally remember?"
"You're that pretty Sorcerer who achieved that amazing feat there on that day, aren't you? It's nice to meet you again."
"… You regularly get called annoying, don't you?"
"Nope."
I had yet to come across someone saying that twice.