How a legendary returner lives

Jeong Song had her own words to say.

“If you’re so upset, why didn’t you solo-clear it yourself? I heard you made a request but didn’t show up, Jamie Wilson. Could it be…”

“Could it be what?”

“Were you scared?”

“…What?”

“I heard the gate level kept rising. Were you scared of that level? Isn’t that the case?”

“You damn bitch…”

Jamie Wilson stood up suddenly, while Jeong Song remained seated, crossing her legs, the contrast between them stark.

Jeong Song smiled.

“Don’t worry. It was actually a measurement error.”

“…What?”

“I’ll just tell you now since there’s an interview scheduled later. That gate was actually an SS-level gate. It had about fifty Ghost Kings and one Ghost Emperor. Compared to the Baekdu Mountain gate we cleared about two years ago, it was basically nothing.”

“….”

“So, you were scared of such a gate? I’m really disappointed.”

Mana burst from Jamie Wilson’s body. The air trembled. Jeong Song didn’t stay still either. Two spheres appeared around her body, three on the ceiling above, and one exactly 6 meters behind Jamie Wilson, for a total of six spheres.

“Shall we try it here?” she said.

Jamie Wilson wasn’t intimidated.

Naturally, neither was Jeong Song. While she might have had a high chance of losing in the past, that was history. Things were different now.

Jeong Song was confident. If they fought now, she would definitely win.

She always thought to herself,

“Why did someone like you have to be born in America?”

“What?”

“You’re rude and call yourself a liberal, but your actions are just like those of a communist. You don’t know respect, and you don’t know manners. Do you realize you’re tarnishing the honor of the United States?”

Other Awakened Ones were watching the situation with interest. Among them, there was one man who was sending a particularly peculiar gaze—an East Asian man with a long scar on his cheek.

He was Lee Kang, a Chinese Awakened with a level of 680.

He was the highest-level Awakened currently on Earth.

Lee Kang watched the confrontation between Jeong Song and Jamie Wilson while sending a message via his watch.

A reply came soon.

“Just watch.”

It sounded like an order. After reading the message, Lee Kang turned off his watch.

The situation became increasingly tense, and just as the two were about to attack each other…

“Alright, alright, everyone calm down.”

It was Santiago Munez, the association president, who stepped between them.

He spoke to them with a friendly smile.

“The whole world is watching this. I know you two don’t get along, but if you fight here, won’t both of your positions become very difficult? No, not just yours, but mine too, and it will be awkward for all the heroes here. So let’s all calm down for now.”

Santiago was a giant with influence across the country. No matter how much they clashed, they had the sense to hold back.

If they fought here, the aftermath would be beyond imagination.

Eventually, both Jeong Song and Jamie Wilson withdrew their energy.

Santiago clapped his hands.

“Now, how about a constructive conversation?”

***

I arrived in Cheongju.

I had mentioned before that the world had indeed improved. Areas like Gyeongbuk’s Gyeongju, which had suffered immense damage from gate breaks in the past, were no longer included in the gate safety zones.

The criteria for becoming a gate safety zone is based on how many S-level and SS-level Awakened ones are present in the city, and these safety zones are highly interconnected.

Seoul is a safety zone, and Cheongju is one too.

It only takes about 30 minutes by bus to travel between these two cities.

Upon arriving in Cheongju, I immediately grabbed a taxi.

“Hello. Where to?”

“To Mokryeon Park, please.”

Mokryeon Park is a park cemetery located in Cheongju.

The scenery passed by quickly.

Time passed.

When was it?

Was it when I first entered high school?

At that time, my mentor, who was also my life’s benefactor, passed away.

I was too immature back then. To be honest, I didn’t understand.

I looked up at the name on the columbarium.

Jo Ae-Hyun.

It was written like this.

He was a frail person.

Occasionally, he would collapse at his seat or stumble while walking.

I didn’t realize the seriousness of it at all.

Was it two months before he passed?

By then, the teacher had late-stage cancer.

Without my knowing, he had been coughing up blood, receiving treatment at the hospital.

But after hearing the doctor’s words that there was no hope, he stopped going to the hospital and instead focused on taking care of me and my sister.

The teacher said:

“I don’t know what kind of people you two will become when you grow up, or what kind of life you’ll lead, but I hope you always do what you think is right.”

“No matter how much the world turns its back on you, or how many hardships and adversities you face, you can still make it. And just as you think of me, I hope you also become another version of me for someone else.”

He gave us many good pieces of advice.

Once again, I say it—this person was, no, is, my life’s mentor.

I heard he was an orphan. He had been married once, but shortly after, his husband passed away, and he lived alone until he found me and my sister. I believed it was fate that brought us together.

And speaking of fate, the reason I survived in Titan was also because of the teachings of this person.

I learned from him the unyielding beliefs, and the will that can never be broken.

“…I’ll come again, Teacher.”

With that, I bowed right there.

Let me be clear: in my life, both on Titan and on Earth, I’ve never bowed to anyone. Not to those called kings on Titan, or emperors, lords of a tribe, ancient beings, or anyone else. I’ve never bent my knee to anyone.

It’s not that Jin Taeseop hated me for no reason.

This was the first time.

I remained bowed for a while before slowly rising to my feet.

I had a place to go.

***

The second capital of South Korea, Busan.

There was no need to elaborate.

Busan is large. The area’s size is very important when it comes to gate occurrences. There are countless gates that appear in Busan, and the guild that is most prominent there is the ‘Gwanganri Madmen’ guild, which is known for having SS+ level Awakened.

As expected from the guild’s name, made up of madmen, this guild was scheduled to clear an S-level gate in Busan today.

As the gate safety management department and police controlled the area, the elite of Gwanganri Madmen arrived at the location.

Jeong Junho, the guild’s middle manager and vice-master, had been noticing something odd about the guild master recently.

What could it be?

“Master, are you alright?”

The guild master, who had named the guild ‘Gwanganri Madmen,’ was truly a madman.

His name was Ma Jinno.

There were rumors that the guild was named after him, but that wasn’t the case. It was just that he was a madman even beyond his name, so the guild ended up with such a name.

He was always smiling, and if anyone tried to stop him, whether they were public officials or anyone else, he’d make a mess of them—truly a person without a care. But today, Ma Jinno answered with a very calm expression.

“What?”

“…Recently, it seems like you’ve become quieter. If something’s going on personally… is there anything I can do to help?”

Ma Jinno shook his head.

“No. Don’t worry, let’s just clear the gate.”

“Understood.”

Just as they were about to enter the gate, everyone stopped in place.

A man had set up a chair in front of the gate and was sitting down.

The man smiled as though he had been waiting for someone.

“Jinno, you’ve come?”

Since Ma Jinno was at the back, he couldn’t see the man’s face or body shape clearly.

His brow furrowed.

Who the hell did he think he was?

The vice-master, who stepped forward ahead of the guild master, halted in his tracks.

“Let’s not waste time. Jeong Honam, Lim Gyeongtae, you’re all from Busan, right? Bring them all here.”

The man stood up and continued his speech.

“Everyone else, leave. Police, civilians, Awakened—everyone.”

“….”

“Jinno, I’ll wait. Get in touch.”

Ma Jinno responded with a look of confusion, as though he didn’t understand what was going on.

“I… don’t know what you’re talking about. More importantly, who are you, and what are you doing here? Do you not recognize Jeong Song?”

“It’s not quite like that.”

“If you’re a third-rate writer, act like one and go to Seoul and write garbage.”

Since we’re on the topic…

“Do you know that you guys appear in that garbage?”

“…Stop playing games and get out. This isn’t a place for someone like you.”

This was the true nature of Ma Jinno, the so-called madman. He had always been like this.

Finally, the vice-master felt relieved. Everything was fine. Our master was alright.

At that moment, Jin Sihoo let out a bitter laugh.

“Hyung, you’re setting up the stage for us, but why is your tongue so long?”

“…”

“Don’t talk nonsense. Go in first and bring all the reapers in Busan. I’ll be waiting.”

Jin Sihoo left those words behind and disappeared into the gate.

Everyone gasped.

Jin Sihoo was a non-awakened. Was he seriously going to enter an S-level gate? Was he crazy?

Only one person remained with a stiff expression.

Ma Jinno, the guild master of Gwanganri Madmen.

He immediately turned on his watch.

***

Inside the gate, everything seemed normal.

There was sky, there was land, and there were strange buildings in the distance, with odd creatures that resembled beastmen surrounding the area.

Just to be sure, I asked these beastman-like creatures a question.

“The head of a dog, the body of a human, you guys look a bit like the Storm Tribe from Titan, but what should I call you?”

They didn’t speak much.

“According to the will of the gods.”

I was a bit surprised.

“You speak Korean. Who’s the god you believe in? Jesus? Buddha?”

They didn’t respond.

By the way, it’s said that when you enter a gate, you can naturally understand the language of the monsters.

Their species and such are all different, but depending on the race, it’s translated to the appropriate language. If you’re Korean, it’s Korean; if you’re American, it’s American English; if you’re British, it’s British English; if you’re Japanese, it’s Japanese; if you’re an Indian fluent in English, it’s in Indian languages, or the common Hindi.

It’s said to be the influence of the gate, but from what I’ve heard, even though you can understand them, long conversations aren’t possible.

Because.

Something like this would happen.

There were about 50 of them, roughly.

Their levels were similar to A-ranked Awakened.

Before I knew it, they had gotten close to me and started wielding their weapons.

Halberds, spears, swords, daggers.

They were all different.

I hesitated for a moment.

Should I kill them?

I usually try not to get my hands dirty with blood.

Of course, it’s undeniable that I’ve been out killing Apostles up until now, but this situation is different.

Those were people I sought out to kill because I had a reason, but this time, I entered this place myself.

Unlike my sister or other Awakened, I hadn’t yet seen the monsters inside the gate as ‘enemies.’

It might seem complacent, but what else can I do? That’s just my perspective.

“Tsk.”

I clicked my tongue lightly.

It was the same as when I killed the golems before. I couldn’t help it.

I extended my hand.

KWA-BOOM!!