REAPER SCANS
Legendary Returner’s Survival Guide
[Translator – TinTin ]
[Proofreader – Harley ]
Chapter 43
The camera director chimed in, “I also think it’s insane. I can't believe their audacity. You know how the Awakener Association created and distributed the gate detection devices, right?”
“I do,” Natalie answered.
“Lately, there have been multiple malfunctions. Some are speculating that they’re trying to cover it all up by taking a gamble. You know, those conspiracy theories? The ones about them manipulating Gate Values to funnel gates toward certain guilds.”
It was nothing new.
A guild’s eligibility to bid on a gate depended on the gate’s Rank and the detection device’s assigned value.
If someone could artificially control those values, the device itself would become a weapon.
“Should we investigate?” Natalie’s eyes lit up, but the director shook his head.
“Like I said, it’s just a conspiracy theory. Several reporters have already tried and given up. Don’t waste your time.”
Natalie shrugged.
Then, slowly, she turned her head toward the Uyuni Salt Flat, and the enormous, shimmering form beside it—the SSS Rank Gate.
She froze. Her entire body locked up.
What was this?
“…Why is it doing that?”
Following Natalie’s gaze, the director turned and checked the gate.
“What the…? Why did it stop?”
The gate had stopped shimmering, meaning someone must have gone inside.
But how?
The director quickly stood up and checked the camera. Because it had been recording, he could instantly review the footage.
His expression hardened.
“Well? What is it? Did you see anyone?” Natalie asked.
“…No. There’s nothing. The Gate just stopped on its own.”
“How does that make sense?”
“…You’re right. It doesn’t.”
Everyone present stared blankly at the gate.
Those watching on TV did the same.
Around the world, everyone stared, bewildered, at the gate that had ceased its shimmering.
* * *
Folding space was a more accurate description than folding the ground.
Shi-hu stopped near the Bolivia Gate, then grabbed his sister’s head with one hand and her waist with the other.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“Holding you. Otherwise, you’ll break your neck and back.”
He was serious.
And just like that, Shi-hu launched himself from the ground.
Fwoop.
A faint sound echoed as Song-yi’s vision blurred and the world shifted around her.
In the blink of an eye, she was inside the gate.
As Shi-hu released her, a delayed wave of pain washed over Song-yi.
There was a stinging sensation on her skin, like her body hadn't adapted to the sheer velocity.
He was already so far beyond human limitation.
Despite being a transcendent, officially recognized by the System as beyond her own species, Song-yi felt pain from a single movement of her younger brother.
Haah.
“…Nothing surprises me anymore,” she muttered.
Shi-hu didn’t respond. He just smiled.
The two of them looked around.
The first thing of notice was the massive waterfall before their eyes.
They were in a forest.
The air was cool, as if it were autumn.
As Shi-hu surveyed their surroundings, Song-yi focused on a point in the air.
She didn’t hear her brother ask what she was looking at.
Understandably.
[Phase 1.
Bhavacakra(Wheel of Life): The Three Poisons - Raga(Greed)
Rank: SSS
Time Limit: 72 Hours
Upon failure, this gate will immediately explode.]
This was very different.
She had seen various gates with time limits, but never one so short as 72 hours.
They usually allowed at least 100 hours or more, yet the highest-ranked gate to date—SSS Rank—had only 72 hours to clear it?
She was speechless. But that wasn’t all.
If she failed to clear the gate, the gate would explode? What kind of devastation would the explosion of an SSS Rank Gate cause?
Bolivia could be wiped off the map.
And Phase 1? What did that even mean?
Song-yi was certain she was seeing that term for the first time.
If it had ended there, she could have dismissed it as just an unusual gate, nothing more.
But there was a reason she couldn’t.
[Bonus rewards available upon clear.]
This message had derailed her.
The details were as follows:
[If cleared with 10 or more hours remaining, ‘1 person’ in the world will awaken as a Unique Awakener.
If cleared with 20 or more hours remaining, ‘2 people’ in the world will awaken as a Unique Awakener.
If cleared with 30 or more hours remaining, ‘3 people’ in the world will awaken as a Unique Awakener.
If cleared with 40 or more hours…
If cleared with 50 or more hours…
If cleared with 60 or more hours…
If cleared with 70 or more hours remaining, ‘7 people’ in the world will awaken as a Unique Awakener.]
“…What in the world is this?”
This was unprecedented.
Depending on the clear time, Unique Awakeners would appear in the world?
It was beyond absurd and unlike any gate she had encountered before.
And there was more. Another significant difference.
[Clear Condition: Locate and eliminate Raga of the Three Poisons within the gate.
Awakeners entering the gate will be provided with a bracelet. Equip the bracelet within 30 seconds. Failure to equip the bracelet will result in immediate death.
Awakeners who equip the bracelet will receive a blessing.
This blessing allows you to avoid Raga’s pursuit and will block ‘one’ attack from Raga.
Upon gate clear, Star #2403 will enter Phase 2.
Good luck.]
She reread the message from beginning to end.
This wasn’t just strange. It was fundamentally different. Unlike any gate before.
“What’s going on? And what’s with that bracelet?”
At her brother’s words, Song-yi looked up. A single bracelet was descending from the air.
She couldn’t ignore the message that told her that she had to equip it within 30 seconds or she would die instantly.
After securing the bracelet on her wrist, she relayed everything in front of her eyes to her little brother.
“Phase 1? Time limit? Are they all like this?”
“Absolutely not. This is a first, even for me. I’m not sure what entering the next phase means. But the biggest problem is…”
“The part about new Unique Awakeners appearing?”
“Yeah.”
“Too bad. We could have taken the credit.”
If only they weren’t here in secret.
They would clear it regardless, and as a result, the number of Unique Awakeners in the world would increase.
But they couldn’t announce it.
Shi-hu didn’t seem to care, but Song-yi did.
“Unique Awakeners are special. Whether they want it or not, they possess power far beyond ordinary Awakeners. But will they all turn out to be stable individuals?”
Shi-hu crossed his arms and listened closely.
“A Unique Awakener is a valuable asset, one that should be nurtured at the national level. But if their personality is twisted, it becomes a serious problem. More importantly…”
This was the most crucial point.
“The increase in Unique Awakeners suggests to me that the difficulty of gates will also escalate… Or instead of higher levels, perhaps entirely different kinds of gates will emerge…”
Song-yi’s concern grew, but Shi-hu remained unconcerned.
He tried to calm her down. “Don’t overthink it. Let’s focus on the task at hand. What’s the point of worrying before we even begin?”
“…Sorry.”
However, Song-yi had a point.
Shi-hu hadn’t been back on Earth long, so he wasn’t invested in gates or related matters.
However, those who had lived through the changes since the Great Calamity, like Song-yi, had witnessed the world transforming moment by moment.
Anyone in her position would have reacted similarly.
But there was also another point of contention.
“So it was true,” Song-yi commented.
“What is?”
“That the gate doesn’t recognize you.”
No bracelet descended for Shi-hu.
It intrigued her. Why didn’t the Gate recognize him?
Was he too strong? Because he was a transcendent?
Or was it because he was a transcendent of an even higher order?
There was no way to know yet.
Only questions remained.
“Let’s find this Poison Raga or whatever,” Shi-hu said before smirking.
“Why are you smiling?” Song-yi asked.
“I just said let’s find it, but I don’t think we need to,” he said while looking up. “I think it’s right there.”
It was the sky.
A sky filled with clouds, devoid of sun or anything else.
“Try shooting your light sphere thingy up there.”
Song-yi summoned her sphere. Larger and brighter than before, it pulsed with power.
Before it could unleash its beam towards the sky…
“Oofta,” Shi-hu said while taking a step back.
Something fell from the sky.
KA-BOOOOOOM—!!
With a deafening blast, Song-yi was thrown back far away.
* * *
Reaper Scans
[Translator – TinTin ]
[Proofreader – Harley ]
Join our discord for updates on releases! https://dsc.gg/reapercomics
* * *
I glanced up.
A hole torn in the sky came into view. And beyond it, I could see an excessively dark, incredibly unpleasant space. Or rather, I sensed it.
The immediate area was incredibly peaceful. Calm, beautiful, a picturesque scene that soothed the mind.
It was nothing special, though, because it was all an illusion.
Judging by the artificial flow of mana, it felt like a barrier, likely one with a calming effect.
So why was this barrier created?
“This is rather unpleasant.”
Powerful beings often disguised their ugly desires with good intentions, and the world beyond those clouds was utterly repulsive.
Beneath that repulsive world, they crafted this picturesque scenery, casting a spell of tranquility.
It was only natural that such manipulation would feel unpleasant.
I subtly drew upon the energy inside my body.
Rumble.
With a low vibration, shattered mana fragments cascaded around me.
My composure returned. I looked up again and took another step back.
Boom—!!
A light beam obliterated the spot where I had just been standing.
I turned my head towards my sister, who had managed to dodge the second attack.
Standing beside me, she raised her arm, showing the bracelet crumbling away.
“Relying on trinkets like that will only hinder you,” I told her.
She immediately responded, “I’ve never once relied on items. I just…”
“Just what?”
“…use them when necessary.”
It was a good mindset.
“Should I handle this alone? Or do you wanna do it together?” she asked.
Before that…
“We need to decide on a clear time. This gate can create Unique Awakeners. How many do you want?”
My sister answered without hesitation, “Seven.”
Whether the new Awakeners would be psychopaths, weaklings, or fools was a secondary concern. Ultimately, the more Unique Awakeners, the better.
Despite everything, my sister cared about the world.
I glanced at my watch.
2:23 PM.
“I’ll give you an hour. Do your best.”
My sister kicked off from the ground and soared toward the cloud-filled sky.
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