REAPER SCANS
Legendary Returner’s Survival Guide
[Translator – TinTin ]
[Proofreader – Harley ]
Chapter 4
It was obvious.
The System only wanted ‘Awakeners’ to ‘clear the gates’, and they could only use ‘weapons and armor permitted by the System.’
It made sense, then, for those in charge to control the gates. Even if everyone was an Awakener, they couldn't let just anyone through.
That was why they created a law to track which Awakeners entered which gates.
Awakeners were issued government-issued watches. They had to activate them before entering, after entering, and after Clearing.
Through these watches, each country managed the gates and Awakeners within their territories.
Remembering all of that, Bin had a realization and his stomach dropped as he was exiting the gate. He was about to be in a very difficult situation.
“So, what happened? The Mobile Special Gate Detector says it was an A rank. Did you somehow clear it by yourself?” asked Ji Changsu, the captain of Gate Safety Management Team 1.
As a civilian, Shi-hu was fine being clueless, but the same wasn’t the case for Bin.
Bin was not only an Awakener, but he was part of the Gate Safety Management Team. No matter how suddenly a gate appeared, no matter how quickly he was sucked in, he had a duty to activate his watch.
“You know what? Whatever. Hand over your watch logs. It should have video records and whatnot. Come to think of it, you didn’t even submit your location when you entered. You’re sloppy even for a newbie,” the captain reprimanded Bin.
Bin glanced at Shi-hu, who was standing nearby with his arms crossed.
It was just an instinctive reflex, but Shi-hu took the glance as a sign. Without anyone noticing, he subtly flicked his finger.
Fizzle.
Smoke began billowing out of Bin’s watch.
Bin and Changsu were both surprised by what was going on.
“What’s happening? What’s wrong with your watch?” Changsu asked.
Though low in rank, Bin was not a man without quick wit.
Without missing a beat, he said, “Well… my watch broke when I suddenly entered the gate.”
“…Broke?”
“Yes. I tried to make it work and do something, but I was surprised. The gate…”
“What about it…?”
“It was indeed an F rank gate.”
“…What?”
The lie, once it began, soon became its own strange source of confidence.
Bin continued with a confident expression on his face, asking, “Did you say it was an A rank gate?”
“…That’s right.”
“This gate did cause multiple false alarms. Maybe that somehow caused a misreading.”
Ji Changsu’s expression changed subtly. He thought, ‘What a punk…’
“You’re not bullshitting me right now, are you?” the captain asked Bin.
“Captain, I’m not stupid enough to lie about something like this. And as you know, I’m a B rank Awakener. If that gate really was an A rank, would I be able to clear it in just five minutes?”
From the perspective of those who didn’t know the situation, he was right.
Bin was a B rank Awakener. A B rank Awakener clearing an A rank gate in five minutes? And without a scratch on him?
That was crazy talk.
“So it really was goblins?” the captain asked.
“Yes. It was just an ordinary gate with one Goblin Lord and fifteen Goblins.”
“Haah… Yeah, I guess that makes sense. That’s why I told you to be careful. You’re such a clumsy mess. How did you, as a Gate Safety Management Officer, get swept into a gate? How can you call yourself a B rank special recruit? It’s not like it’s the early days of the Great Calamity or something.”
“…I’m sorry, captain.”
“That’s fine. No need for an apology. Go home early today and get some rest.”
“…Pardon?”
“Isn’t today your birthday? We were going to have a surprise birthday party at a Korean barbeque restaurant later, but I don’t think it’s right to do that today. We’ll postpone it to tomorrow, so just go home. I’ll take care of what happened today.”
Bin was surprised. Was that the kind of person Ji Changsu was? Bin felt an emotional kinship towards him.
‘Maybe I misjudged the captain. There’s no way I’m about to refuse this offer.’ Bin thought to himself.
He bowed his head and thanked Changsu, “Thank you, captain!”
“Just go already. And before you go, take care of the guy who got swept into the gate with you. There’s nothing to investigate, so just take him home. As for the report, you can half-ass it. I’ll make it work.”
“Captain…”
“Stop staring and go.”
“Yes, sir!”
And so Bin left work with Shi-hu tagging along.
* * *
Reaper Scans
[Translator – TinTin ]
[Proofreader – Harley ]
Join our discord for updates on releases! https://dsc.gg/reapercomics
* * *
“You’re pretty quick on the uptake,” Shi-hu remarked.
Bin felt a bit of guilt from Shi-hu’s words.
“But it was an unavoidable situation. You know?”
“I don’t know,” Shi-hu said innocently.
Or at least, that’s what Shi-hu said. However, Bin knew the truth. Though Bin was the one who pulled the trigger, it was Shi-hu who set the stage for him.
Shi-hu might not know much about the current world, but he was at least perceptive.
Earlier, there were exactly twenty-five Golem Summoners in that gate. Not only were all twenty-five individuals stronger than Bin, but even the Golems they commanded were stronger than him.
Also, Bin didn’t mention it, but that mountain itself was also a Golem.
If Bin were to claim that he killed all of them alone, it would only complicate matters. Shi-hu read the situation and reacted in his own way, and Bin simply followed suit.
Now, Bin finally asked the question he’d been meaning to ask. “What’s it that you want?”
To the silently smiling Shi-hu, Bin added, “You must have followed me all the way home because you want something. No, before that, I’m really curious about how you destroyed my watch. It won’t even turn on now.”
“I just lightly detonated the small amount of mana inside the watch.”
“…”
“What’s wrong? Can’t you do that?”
“No, I can’t. In fact, it’s surprising to me that there’s someone who can do that. Especially since you’re not even an Awakener.”
Bin’s current mental state was simple: pure confusion.
The man in front of him introduced himself as Jin Shi-hu, who went missing in 2024. However, the real Jin Shi-hu had never gone missing and still existed in the present world.
Not only that, but he was also a famous novelist and streamer.
One could think maybe they just had the same name, but no. The man in front of him claimed he was the younger brother of ‘Jin Song-yi’, one of the best Awakeners in the world. It was the same identity as the streamer who was live when they entered the gate.
None of it made sense.
The Shi-hu in front of him and the novelist Shi-hu… One of them was definitely lying. And if the Shi-hu in front of him was the one lying, then that was another problem entirely.
Because no matter how you looked at it, he was no ordinary person.
He wasn’t in the Awakener Database nor did the System even recognize him as a ‘person’.
However, his fingerprints matched Jin Shi-hu’s.
That made things a little scary for Bin.
Of course, Bin ended up receiving his help. Not only that, but with that help, he received a special reward.
He never dreamed he’d receive something like that. It was as if he’d gotten a glimpse of the world in which the top Awakeners lived.
It was a favor that was priceless.
Still, Bin wanted to repay Shi-hu somehow. That would put his mind at ease. That was why, when Shi-hu had asked if he could walk with Bin to his house, Bin said yes without pushback.
Bin asked again, “Why did you want to come here with me?”
Shi-hu tried to shift the subject, saying, “You know, you’re a pretty funny guy. Weren’t you the one who said you’d walk me home? But now that we’re outside, you’re wiping your hands clean from the matter.”
“…Wiping my hands clean? Don’t put it that way. That’s a little harsh.”
Shi-hu chuckled and continued, “I think things are pretty messed up right now.”
“…So?”
“I need some time to think.”
“…”
“Also, I have things to look into. By the way, I thought I saw you receive something like a reward earlier. Am I right?”
“…Yes, that’s right.”
“You got something good thanks to me. You know what they say about our country being the courteous country of the East, right?”
Bin let out a sigh.
Shi-hu continued, “First…”
“First?”
“First, let’s eat. I want to taste some Earth food for the first time in a long time. Is there a place around here that makes good Kimchi Stew?”
* * *
He was a busy man. He was also a very disciplined man.
6:00 AM. That was the time he woke up.
As soon as he woke up, he would take off his pajamas, change into his training clothes, and go for a run outside. The distance was exactly 10 kilometers. It was a course with a clear view of the Han River, a course he had planned himself.
After finishing his jog, he would come back home and check his schedule. If it was a streaming day, he would stream, and afterward, he would write.
He usually ate breakfast alone. If he had plans to meet someone, he would have lunch or dinner with them.
When he had writer’s block, he would exercise again, hitting the sandbag or running.
He was a man who divided his day into pieces as efficiently as possible. Despite being a novelist, he was also a perfectionist who thoroughly managed his physical condition.
After finishing his daily workout, he picked up his watch to check his schedule for the day.
That was when a message arrived.
[You know Casa Pia Restaurant, right?]
It was a famous restaurant in the Sajik-ro area of Seoul. There was no way he wouldn’t know of it.
The man checked the sender. It was his big sister.
The man immediately replied.
[Yeah, why?]
[Let’s have dinner together. It’s been a while.]
[Dinner?]
[You said you wanted to meet Ron Wesley.]
Ron Wesley. He was an American Sci-fi and Fantasy novelist, screenwriter, and TV producer.
His ‘The Burning Lake’ series was a global hit, and the drama adaptation of the work swept awards at award ceremonies. He was one of the hottest writers of the current generation.
He was also notoriously difficult to get a hold of, yet his sister had just name-dropped him.
[We’re having dinner together, so come by. You said you wanted to meet him.]
[OMG! \(˃ ᵕ ˂)/]
[It’s at 6PM. But you’re dead to me if you’re late.]
[You’re the best, sis! ദ്ദി(｡•̀ ,<)~✩‧]
He even used emoticons to express his excitement because his sister was doing him a big favor.
There was no further reply from her. They were going to meet later for dinner anyway.
It looked like he would have to change his schedule for the day.
‘Ron Wesley…’ That was all he could think about.
He had been telling everyone around him, including on his streams, that it was one of his life wishes to meet Ron Wesley and have a deep conversation about Wesley’s work.
It was a meeting he had longed for, but he had an indifferent expression on his face.
He turned his head, gazing at the sky.
He—no, Shi-hu—had a languid expression on his face, mixed with a hint of extreme arrogance. He looked like he was loathing the present moment. It was an expression that was unimaginable from the person who had just used an excited emoticon in a message.
He let out a short sigh, saying, “…I’m getting real sick of this.”
Anyone who knew Shi-hu would have been surprised if they had seen his expression. After all, he was a man who had never shown such an expression to anyone before.
The world had changed. The big world had changed, and the small world had changed, but those who knew of both changes were rare.
Shi-hu got up from his seat.
‘This and that are separate matters. There is work to be done, and until then, I have to faithfully ‘execute’ that work.’
Suddenly, Shi-hu checked the date.
May 5, 2034.
His expression brightened back up.
“There’s one month left.”
Only one more month until that day.
Shi-hu—no, the Doppelganger—finally smiled brightly.
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