REAPER SCANS
Legendary Returner’s Survival Guide
[Translator – TinTin ]
[Proofreader – Harley ]
Chapter 39
Lee Seongjae tightened his first.
He could obliterate them right here, right now. The Conqueror Guild boasted its own elite force. Not only Seongjae, but the Vice Guild Master beside him and several other S+ Rank Awakeners were ready.
A coordinated attack could take down Hong Hyeon and Yoon Jihoo, but the consequences would be devastating. The Conqueror Guild wouldn't just crumble, it would be erased.
The lines between the world of Awakeners and the world of ordinary people had always been carefully maintained.
A clash between the Salvation Guild and the Conqueror Guild threatened to shatter that delicate balance. The resulting chaos would be catastrophic. And unlike Song-yi, Seongjae lacked the confidence to manage the aftermath.
That was why he couldn’t stop Hyeon from delivering an ultimatum.
“Remember. You have one day.”
***
I wondered about how silent it was, watching Bin furiously scribble in his notebook.
‘It’s been 12 hours, yet he’s still going at it,’ I thought.
It was like watching a machine.
‘The artifact really lives up to its name.’
I sipped my coffee, a soft smile playing on my lips as I watched him work.
Two hours melted away before his pen finally stilled.
“Whew,” Jeong Bin stretched, and then his eyes met mine. “Oh, hey big bro. Have you been here all this time?”
I nodded. “Just had a few questions.”
They were simple curiosities.
“So, what was that thing called? Wait until free? How many chapters do you need again for that premium serialization?
“Usually around 125 chapters, or roughly five volumes. But lately, even 100 chapters, or four volumes, is enough to start premium serialization.”
“You’ve become quite the expert.”
“Editor Hyeok-jae filled me in last night over drinks. I’ve written about 100 chapters so far.”
“Impressive.”
“I have nothing to do but eat and write, so I should at least write a lot. It's all about that cash money, you know,” Bin explained.
He continued, “This is going faster than I anticipated. I’m writing over half a volume a day. We should have more than enough for premium serialization within the week. I do feel like we'll complete this pretty quickly. Is that alright with you?”
“I don’t mind. The goal is to get it out there, so the faster, the better.”
Bin’s smile faltered as something seemed to occur to him. “Oh, I wanted to ask about the characters. Are you really going to use their real names?”
“Why not?”
“Editor Hyeok-jae warned me it could cause problems, having so many real people in it.”
“Is that so?”
“Yeah. Not just company names, but politicians and chaebols too. He thought it’d definitely lead to legal issues. He requested changing the names a little, but I wanted to know what you wanted to do.”
“What do you think? Ignore him.”
“Are you sure?”
“If they purposely change even a single letter of any name—person or company—in the novel, tell them I’ll kill every single one of them.”
I was serious. If they change any of the names, I was going to kill the guy that edited the names, as well as the guy that uploaded it with verification—and anyone else involved.
There was no way I was going to let them mess with my work to save a few bucks.
There would be no mercy.
“…I’ll make sure to take care of it, so you don’t have to get involved,” Bin answered.
I nodded, then a thought struck me. “Add this at the beginning and end of every volume. ‘All events that occurred on Titan are true stories.’”
Bin blinked. “Really?”
“Yeah.”
Seeing his speechless reaction, I asked, “What? Are you scared of the fallout?”
“You read me like a book. To be frank, I am a little worried. More accurately, I’m worried about what will happen with every new chapter release.”
“Don’t worry about the future. Focus on the present. Who knows what’ll happen? It might all just blow over.”
He nodded, seemingly reassured, “Okay, big bro. I’ll do as you want. I’ll also properly pass on your message.”
“You’ve gotten quite reliable. It wasn’t long ago that you still seemed like a greenhorn.”
“…Ever since you did that thing to me, I’ve felt myself change a little.”
“Oh, really?”
“Yeah. You didn’t, like, hypnotize or mind control me, did you?”
I shook my head. “That’s amateur stuff. I wouldn’t stoop that low, reckless as I may be. You read the diary, you know.”
“Oh, do you mean the Hypnotist from the early days on Titan?”
“Yeah, that bastard caused me tons of trouble. I swore that if I ever gained power, I would never become like him. Remember that.”
“…You really did go through a lot.”
“Yeah, I wasn’t on some tropical vacation, you know. Now, hand me a Zero Cola.”
Bin, who was grabbing himself some water, also retrieved a can from the fridge and passed it to me.
“Thanks.”
“No problem. Now, about the cover. Are you sure this is what you want? A guy brushing his hair back?”
“Why not? It’s cool.”
“…They asked me why I sent your picture as the reference photo. If I sent the wrong photo by mistake. It wasn’t a mistake, was it?”
“Of course not.” I proudly declared, “I am the protagonist of Titan. It’s my story. Of course I should be on the cover.”
“That’s true. They said they’d immediately start production. The first draft should be ready by tomorrow.”
“Really? That’s fast.”
“They said revisions can be made to it, but it should only take another day, tops. Technology these days.”
I nodded. “Alright, keep up the good work.”
As I stood, Bin asked, “Are you going out again?”
“Yeah.”
“Where to this time?”
I grinned, “Switzerland.”
* * *
Reaper Scans
[Translator – TinTin ]
[Proofreader – Harley ]
Join our discord for updates on releases! https://dsc.gg/reapercomics
* * *
Finished with his ‘pleasant’ meeting at the Conqueror Guild, Hyeon returned to the restaurant where Youngsu was waiting.
Technically, it wasn't a restaurant, not in the traditional sense.
Gwanak Mountain in Seoul has many Buddhist temples. Youngsu had rented one of the many nestled there for the day to serve as a private dining hall.
That was where the meeting with the prime minister was held, and where Hyeon and Jihoo left from earlier.
Now, they were making their way back up.
As they arrived at the temple, both men frowned. The thick, metallic scent of blood hung heavy in the air.
Without hesitation, they rushed inside, throwing open the door to Youngsu's room.
Slam.
They froze.
“What about Lee Seongjae?” Youngsu asked casually, as if the scene before them was perfectly normal.
His composure was unsettlingly at odds with the gruesome reality.
A man lay slumped opposite Youngsu, a knife protruding from his chest. He was dead. His face, dignified and familiar to nearly every Korean, was unmistakable.
Choi Seok-hyun, the 24th President of South Korea.
After the 23rd President died due to a gate incident, Seok-hyun had become president and had been serving for three years now.
He faced numerous allegations, such as employment scandals, real estate corruption, and even fudging publicly reported data. Despite that, he was generally considered a capable leader, managing national affairs well.
That very same president laid dead here.
“…What the hell, bro? Why is he lying there like that?” Hyeon asked.
Unperturbed, Youngsu took a sip of his drink before answering, “He wanted too much,” his hand smeared with blood.
He then turned his head, smiling. “So I killed him, Hyeon.”
“…Why?”
“Call the prime minister back.”
“Now?”
“Yeah. Tell him if he wants his political career to end as Acting President, he has thirty minutes to get here. If he wants to be the 25th President…” Yoon Youngsu paused, checking the time. “…he has ten minutes.”
***
His plan had encountered a snag. Shi-hu originally intended to eliminate all the Apostles in South Korea, but there was an unexpected problem.
His big sister contacted him from Switzerland.
He naturally inquired about her well-being, how things were in Switzerland.
Song-yi first answered all his questions. She then asked, “So, I heard you entered an S Rank Gate in Busan. Is that true?”
He didn’t deny it. Shi-hu told Song-yi about his plans in South Korea.
He had dealt with the Apostles in Busan, and today, he planned to kill Jeong Hyoju and Jeong Seongju of the Jeongcheon Group in Seoul.
There was no reason to hide it. She was family.
“Ma Jinno was also an Apostle?”
“Why? You know him?”
“I met him once at a Korean Awakener Social. He had a rather unpleasant personality. Guess it was all an act.”
“I wouldn't go that far. The guy on Titan had a similarly rotten personality. Honestly, you could have told me they were the same person.”
As they talked, Song-yi suddenly interjected, “Could you hold off on the Jeongcheon Group for a bit?”
He was intrigued. “Why?”
“I owe Chairman Jeong Jaeseok a favor.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Also, I hold quite a bit of Jeongcheon Group stocks. Give me some time to protect my investment before the stock price plummets.”
He laughed, “Are you being serious?”
“Of course I’m serious. Do you think I invested a paltry sum in that company?”
Shi-hu wasn’t foolish. Money was money, but he suspected a deeper motive.
“What’s the real reason?”
“…You’re absolutely certain that both Jeong Seongju and Jeong Hyoju are Apostles, right?”
“Yes, I’m positive.”
“Then… could we be the ones to deal with one of them?”
‘We?’ Shi-hu paused, considering her words.
“The Salvation Guild has an SSS- Rank Awakener and two SS+ Rank Awakeners. I’d like to try taking one down with them. Would that be okay?”
Shi-hu thought about it for a moment.
He didn’t know their Apostle number or their strength, but one shouldn't expect to know every opponent's capability beforehand.
“Alright. I’ll let you take care of one of them.”
“Thanks.”
She was thanking him prematurely.
“But…” Shi-hu led on.
“But what?”
“If they’re on the level of the Karma guy we encountered in Texas, you will die. Not just you, but you and your SSS plus or minus or ultra Awakener and all the others.”
The blunt truth silenced Song-yi.
“Remember when I entered that A Rank Gate with Bin?” Shi-hu asked.
Song-yi wondered why he was bringing up an A Rank Gate.
Shi-hu continued, “I discovered something interesting. The Gate didn’t register me as a person. So…”
This was the crucial point.
“Let’s cause some trouble together.”
“…What kind of trouble?”
“Bin told me about the Solo Clear rewards. Achievement Stats, Unique Skills, bonus stats, etc. It seems to give a lot of extra goodies.”
Song-yi was familiar with those. Her Achievement Stats were over 40.
“I’m sure you’re already familiar with that. But think about it. If an A Rank Gate offers those kinds of rewards, what about an SSS Rank Gate?”
The rewards Jeong Bin received for ‘solo clearing’ the A Rank Gate were substantial. However, high-ranking Awakeners like Song-yi had already received similar rewards multiple times.
But a Unique reward from an A Rank Gate? That was unheard of.
This had occurred because of the combination of Solo Clear and Fastest Clear.
Now, what would happen if he and Song-yi cleared an SSS Rank Gate together?
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