How a legendary returner lives

Lee Seong-jae clenched his fist.

To be honest, he could bury them right here.

The Conqueror Guild also has its elite forces. Not just Seong-jae, but also the deputy guild master who’s glaring over there, and the other S+ ranked awakened ones.

If they all attacked at once, it would be possible to kill Hong Hyun and Yoon Ji-hoo right here.

However, if that happened, the Conqueror Guild would collapse that very day.

Not just collapse, but vanish without a trace.

The worlds of awakened ones and ordinary people had always been thoroughly separated, for the most part.

If the Salvation Guild and the Conqueror Guild fought, that boundary would be shattered. The damage would be immense. Afterward, unlike Jin Song-i, Seong-jae was not confident in handling the aftermath.

So.

“Remember this. You have exactly one day.”

Hong Hyun’s words couldn’t be stopped.

***

It was quiet.

Looking at Jeong Bin furiously scribbling away in his notebook, I thought.

‘It’s already been 12 hours, but his posture hasn’t even wavered.’

It was like watching a machine.

It was amazing.

‘An artifact is truly an artifact.’

I smiled softly as I sipped my coffee.

I just sat there, watching Jeong Bin write.

Two more hours passed.

The pen stopped.

“Phew.”

Jeong Bin stretched and then noticed me. Our eyes met.

“Ah, hyung? Have you been here the whole time?”

I nodded.

“I had a few questions.”

They were simple questions.

“So, is it free if we just wait? How much content do we need for a paid series?”

“Usually, about 125 episodes, which is 5 volumes. But these days, starting with 100 episodes, around 4 volumes, is fine for a paid series.”

“You’re becoming an expert.”

“I was talking to Team Leader Kwon Hyeok-jae yesterday while drinking. Got all sorts of info. And the amount I’ve written so far is about 100 episodes.”

“That’s a lot.”

“If writing is the only thing I have to do after eating, then of course I need to write a lot. It’s all money.”

Most importantly,

“My speed is faster than I thought. I’m writing almost half a volume a day, so I should have enough material for a paid series by this week. No, I think the whole thing might wrap up quickly. Is that okay?”

“I don’t mind. The goal is to get it out to the world, so the faster, the better.”

While Jeong Bin laughed, he suddenly seemed to remember something and asked me.

“Ah, also. I had a question too. About the characters in the story. Are you going to keep using real names like this?”

“Why?”

“Team Leader Kwon Hyeok-jae was saying it might cause trouble because too many real people are being mentioned.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Not just company names, but also politicians and conglomerates. He says it might cause problems later. He wants you to change the names as much as possible. What do you think?”

“What should I do? Ignore it.”

“Really?”

“If anyone touches the names of the characters or companies in Titan, even one letter, tell them I’ll kill anyone related to it. No exceptions.”

I was serious. I fully meant it. If someone changes the names in my work, or uploads it without checking, I’ll kill whoever is involved. Do they think they can mess with my work over a few bucks?

I have no intention of going easy on them.

“I’ll handle it on my side.”

Jeong Bin nodded, then an interesting thought came to me.

“Add this to the beginning and end of the story: ‘Everything that happened in Titan is based on real events.'”

Jeong Bin blinked.

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

Jeong Bin paused for a moment, then looked at me.

“Why? Are you scared of what will happen after the story is finished?”

“You’re spooky. I’m just a little worried. What really worries me is what will happen when the story is published.”

“You don’t need to worry about the future. Focus on the present. The world’s unpredictable, right? It could just pass by.”

Understanding, he nodded.

“Yeah, hyung. I’ll do it. And don’t worry, I’ll relay everything you said properly.”

“You’ve really grown up. Not long ago, you seemed like a kid.”

“…Ever since that day you did something for me, I feel like I’ve changed a bit.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Not like you used mind control or hypnosis or anything, right?”

I shook my head.

“That’s something low-level people do. No matter how reckless I get, I wouldn’t do that. You’ve seen it in my diary, so you should know.”

“Ah, the hypnotist from the beginning of Titan?”

“Yeah, that guy gave me a lot of trouble. I swore that if I gained power, I wouldn’t be like him. Just keep that in mind.”

“…You really went through a lot in the past.”

“Do you think I just had fun? And give me a Zero Cola.”

As Jeong Bin pulled out a drink from the fridge, he handed me a can.

“Thanks.”

“No problem. By the way, about the cover. The one where the man is sweeping his hair back… are you really going with that?”

“Why? It looks cool.”

“…But why did you send a picture of yourself as the model? They were asking if it was sent by mistake. It’s not a mistake, right?”

“Of course not.”

I was confident.

“The protagonist of Titan is me. It’s my story, so of course, I should be on the cover.”

“That’s true. Well, production is already underway, and they’re sending the first edition by tomorrow.”

“Really? That’s fast.”

“They’ll make any revisions if needed, and it’ll only take about a day. The world is so advanced now.”

I was somewhat convinced.

“Then good luck.”

As I stood up, Jeong Bin asked me.

“Where are you going now?”

“Ah.”

“Where to this time?”

Said with a smile.

“Switzerland.”

Please provide the text you would like to have translated.

After finishing a pleasant meeting at the Conqueror Guild, Honghyun headed back to the restaurant where Yoon Youngsoo was.

No, that’s not it.

Strictly speaking, it wasn’t a restaurant. There are many temples on Gwanaksan Mountain in Seoul.

They rented out one of those temples entirely. A temple that serves as a restaurant for just one day.

Earlier, the Prime Minister returned home from there, and Hong Hyun and Yoon Jihoo went down.

And then Honghyun and Yoon Jihoo headed back to the temple.

The two people who arrived at the temple furrowed their brows simultaneously.

There was a smell.

The strong smell of blood.

The two of them immediately took their places without a moment’s thought. After entering the temple, they opened the door to the room where Yoon Young-soo was.

Suddenly.

And then it just stopped.

“How about Lee Seong-jae?”

Yoon Young-soo’s attitude, asking as if nothing had happened, was very unbalanced compared to the current situation.

It was simple.

There was a person collapsed in the seat opposite Yoon Young-soo.

He had a knife stuck in his heart, and it was clear to anyone that he was dead.

His face was very dignified. There are hardly any people in South Korea who don’t know his face.

The 24th President of the Republic of Korea, Choi Seok-hyun.

In the meantime, there was an incident where the 23rd president was swept away by a gate and died, causing a disruption in the timeline, but it has now been three years since the current president took office.

Unlike most presidents, President Choi Seok-hyun, who had various allegations against him ranging from employment recruitment corruption to real estate fraud and statistical manipulation, was still considered to manage the state affairs well. Now, he was dead.

“……Hyung, what is this?” Why is that guy acting like that over there?

Yoon Young-soo, as if it were no big deal, took a sip from the glass with his blood-stained hand and said lightly.

“You’re asking for too much.”

Yoon Young-soo turned his head.

With a smile, Yoon Young-soo said.

“So I killed him.” Hyuna.”

“……Why?”

“Prime Minister, call him back.”

“Now?”

“Uh.” If you’re going to end your political career as acting president, get over here in 30 minutes. If you want to become the 25th president.”

After pausing for a moment, Yoon Young-soo checked the time and continued speaking.

“Tell him to get here in 10 minutes.”

Please provide the text you would like to have translated.

Should I say the plan went awry?

Originally, Jin Si-hu intended to kill all the apostles of South Korea.

However, a problem arose in the middle.

I received a message from my sister who was in Switzerland.

I naturally asked how they were doing, if they were okay, and how things were going in Switzerland.

Jinsong asked like this after answering everything.

-By the way, I heard you went into an S-rank gate in Busan. Is that true?

I did not deny it.

Jin Sihoo told Jin Songyi about the things he planned to do in South Korea. First, I organized the apostles in Busan, and then I mentioned that I plan to kill Jung Hyo-joo and Jung Sung-joo of the Jungcheon Group in Seoul today.

There was no reason to hide it. Because we’re family.

-Majino? Was that person an apostle?

“Why?” Do you know them?

I saw him once at the Korean Awakeners’ Association meeting hosted by the Korean Awakeners’ Association before. His personality was quite nasty, so I guess it was all just an act.

“It’s not just a concept; their personalities are so similar that you could almost say they’re the same person. He was like that in Titan too.”

Jinsong, who was having a conversation, suddenly spoke up.

-But could we not touch the Jeongcheon Group for a little while longer?

I was curious about the reason.

“Why?”

I once received help from Chairman Jeong Jae-seok in the past.

“Really?”

-Yeah. And I own some shares of the Jeongcheon Group. Give me some time to defend before the stock price drops.

I ended up laughing.

“Are you serious?”

-Of course, I’m sincere. Do you think the money that went in there was just a hundred or two hundred won?

Jin Sihoo was not a fool. Money is money, but could it really be because of that money?

No way.

“What is it, the real reason?”

-…First of all, it’s certain that Jeong Seong-ju and Jeong Hyo-ju are both Sado, right?

“Uh, for sure.”

-So, can we take on one of them?

I hesitated for a moment.

Us?

The Salvation Guild has one SSS-rank Awakened and two SS+-rank Awakened. I want to try teaming up with them once, would that be okay?

I thought for a moment.

I don’t even know which number apostle it is. It’s very uncertain how much power they have, but honestly, what kind of fight is it if you keep weighing the enemy’s strength over and over again?

It’s impossible to fully understand the strength of all the enemies you’ll face in life.

“Got it.” Do it that way. I’ll give one of them to your sister.

-Thank you.

It’s too early to be grateful.

“By the way.”

-So what?

“If the Karma guy I saw in Texas before is at that level, you’re dead.” Not just you, but all the other awakened ones, including that SSS minus or plus awakened one.

It was a stark truth, so Jinsong kept his mouth shut.

“I went into an A-rank gate with Jungbin before.”

Jinsong suddenly wondered why an A-rank gate was appearing.

Jin Sihoo continues speaking.

“I found out something interesting back then.”

-What is that?

“The gate didn’t recognize me as a person.” So.

So. This next part was important.

“Let’s cause some trouble together.”

-…What accident?

“I heard from Jeongbin that there’s a lot of extra rewards, like achievements stats increasing as a solo clear reward, and additional stats for unique skills, and so on.”

Jinsong also knows about that part.

Without going far, Jin Song-i’s achievement stat is over 40 right now.

You probably have a rough idea of what it feels like, right? But, think carefully. If the reward for an A-rank gate is that much, then how much would it be for an SSS-rank gate?

There’s nothing surprising about it.

The reward Jungbin received for clearing the A-rank gate was undoubtedly enormous.

However, those who fall under the category of unique awakened ones are people who have already experienced such rewards multiple times.

But, getting a unique reward from an A-rank gate?

This is a case that has never been reported in the industry before.

Solo clear, shortest clear time.

This incident occurred because these two overlapped, and what if Jin Song-i and Jin Si-hoo were to clear the SSS-grade gate by themselves?

Oh