How a legendary returner lives

At that moment, Yoon Youngsoo’s mind was occupied with thoughts of Jin Sihoo.

He was certainly strong. There was a high probability that he could save Jin Songyi right now. Moreover, through this process, he could also assess his abilities.

It was a two-in-one situation, and just thinking about it made him furrow his brows.

He shook his head.

Not yet.

Compared to when they cleared the Baekdusan Gate, the level of Awakeners had grown exponentially. Jin Songyi was no exception.

With her current abilities, Jin Songyi could definitely clear an SS-rank gate. It wasn’t yet time to inform Jin Sihoo. Yoon Youngsoo spoke.

“Prepare a plane. One that can fly straight to the U.S.”

– Yes.

Just as the call was about to end.

– Uh… Please, wait a moment, Director.

“What is it?”

– The gate’s… measurement value has risen further.

Yoon Youngsoo swallowed hard.

What was happening?

He asked as calmly as possible.

“How much?”

– 48,000… It’s exactly 10 times the fluctuation measurement from before.

Yoon Youngsoo immediately stood up from his seat.

No gate had ever reached such a number before.

If they were to measure it, would it be SSS-rank?

Just as he thought this.

– Director… This is strange. The value is rising even further from 48,000. It’s still… increasing.

That was enough.

No, anything beyond that was unnecessary.

“Disconnect. I’ll call you back.”

Yoon Youngsoo hung up the phone and took a deep breath.

There was no more time to think.

Something could be happening inside the gate even now. He couldn’t even imagine it.

48,000… a value that equaled the level of an SSS-rank gate, and it was still rising? What was going on?

There was no need to speak further.

In the blink of an eye, if Jin Songyi were to die, he wouldn’t be able to live in this world any longer.

Yoon Youngsoo immediately dialed a number. The moment the call went through, he asked.

“Where are you?”

* * *

It was a rather ambiguous issue.

When the task you’re trying to solve has spread widely across the world, it is usually referred to as a “big problem” or “a cause.”

Is it right to sacrifice something small for the greater cause?

Like what happened recently, if a battle were fought in the middle of a city, the damage would be unimaginable. In Kim Minjae’s case, they might be able to isolate the area, but it didn’t sit well with him.

A gate is, strictly speaking, an isolated space. It doesn’t matter what happens within it. Who cares if the land is destroyed?

Could it be that I, leading them into the gate and killing them, will never happen again?

Not likely. At least a few more times such things will occur.

So, I need to figure out how much power the gate can accommodate. I’ve already done so with A-rank. S-rank, SS-rank, and even higher—SSS-rank.

I need to clear them once. Then I can safely deal with the doppelgangers.

There is an S-rank gate nearby.

But that gate belongs to another guild. They’ve used various resources—money, connections, whatever—to clear it.

Intercepting it now doesn’t feel right.

I’m not that much of a scoundrel.

I’ll clear the gate later.

With that thought, I started walking.

It felt light.

Could I say I was going for a walk?

I walked for about two hours. The world had changed a lot. There were so many people.

‘Cheongju has grown.’

There weren’t this many people in the past.

Then I started feeling a little hungry.

I was still hungry. I had eaten pork belly, but it wasn’t enough.

It was time to go home. Maybe have some chicken when I get there. Just as I was thinking that.

My phone vibrated in my pocket.

It was the watch that Yoon Youngsoo had handed me.

The same one that had been used by the 200th Apostle impersonating me. Why was it ringing?

Was it a call from someone?

I was about to ignore it but hesitated when I saw the caller’s name.

It was unexpected. How long had it been since we last parted?

It hadn’t even been an hour since I came from Gyeongbuk to Cheongju.

I pressed the call button.

And his tone startled me.

– Where are you?

He sounded extremely urgent.

What was going on?

“I’m on my way home. Why?”

– Do you remember what you said before? You told me to contact you if something happened to the Master.

“I remember.”

– The Master is in danger right now.

“…”

– The gate the Master entered has caused a fluctuation. The measurement is at an all-time high. It’s still rising in real-time.

I thought for a moment and then asked.

“Where is it?”

I didn’t care how the gate had changed or what was inside. There was only one thing that mattered. The fact that my sister was in danger.

– It’s in Texas, USA. We are currently looking for an Awakener who can teleport directly to the U.S. We should have one within five minutes. I’ll head to the place where Jin Sihoo is residing.

I shook my head. Five minutes was too long.

“Watch carefully and just adjust the direction.”

– …What?

“If it’s the U.S., I need to head east from here, right?”

– …Yes.

I planted my feet firmly.

Boom—!!

A tremendous sound erupted, and my body shot forward instantly.

– W… What is this?

The surrounding environment changed in real-time.

I was now in the sea.

I was stepping on the ocean, moving forward.

Each place I stepped caused enormous explosions, as if an underwater volcano was erupting.

– …Could that be the ‘Sendai Tower’?

“What’s the Sendai Tower?”

– …Eight years ago, a B-rank gate appeared in Sendai, Japan. The gate caused a breach, and Japan mobilized its military to exterminate all the monsters in Sendai. They built a tower to commemorate that. I just saw it, and now you’re in the Pacific. The control center must be in chaos right now.

As I said earlier, five minutes was too long. If I exert all my power, it wouldn’t take me five minutes to circle the Earth.

I poured mana into my legs.

The ground folded. Countless pieces of land appeared as dots in my vision. They compressed and expanded.

I lightly planted my feet.

My body pierced through the space.

In Titan, they called this technique “Shortening the Distance.”

– …The signal keeps cutting off, but it should be fine. Please continue. I will guide you.

I planted my feet again.

Chapter 5

Thus, I set foot on American soil.

It was my first overseas trip without a passport.

***

The structure inside was very simple.

After passing through the gate and entering, the first thing you realize is that this place is a cave.

Right in front of me was a huge entrance.

It was through this entrance that I arrived here, and there were no other entrances. In other words, if one entrance is completely blocked, no harm will come to others.

A wave of black mana stretched toward Jin Song-yi ahead. She reached out her hand.

A massive curtain unfolded right in front of her.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

A series of nearly ten waves slammed against the curtain, but the curtain remained intact.

This was Jin Song-yi’s signature skill, Great Wall.

It was an SS-level, legendary skill.

This wasn’t something a ghost could break through.

Jin Song-yi’s eyes gleamed.

Usually, gates have boss monsters.

This place, where ghosts appeared, was no exception.

Here, the Ghost King existed. Normally, only one would appear, but due to the situation, there would be at least ten.

They were attacking now. Their officially known skill was Dark Wave.

Jin Song-yi wasn’t scared. On the contrary, she was relaxed. After retracting the Great Wall, she slowly put her hands in her pockets. Five spheres appeared around her.

Her gaze swept around. The number of ghosts was exactly 829.

There were 11 Ghost Kings.

Immediately, a Light Sphere began to glow.

The whole thing happened in the blink of an eye.

With a terrifying sound, the 829 ghosts were shredded.

The 11 Ghost Kings were no exception.

The difference was that while regular ghosts vanished like shredded cloth, the Ghost Kings’ bodies—blood, bones, and even organs—were torn apart in mid-air.

Normally, ghosts have no form. But the Kings were different. The Kings had bodies—some with the body of an orc, others with human-like forms, and so on.

According to known information, the Ghost Kings could completely possess another’s body.

Unlike regular ghosts, who lure people with dreams or voices, this was a unique trait of the Ghost Kings.

And that wasn’t all.

Once again, the space in front of her rippled.

More ghosts appeared.

The number was roughly over a thousand.

Jin Song-yi frowned. Too many. Where were they hiding?

She straightened her back.

The spheres surrounded her.

Ghosts and Ghost Kings flying from afar flinched. I had estimated over a thousand, but the exact number didn’t matter.

Boom!

Five beams of light instantly sliced through the ghosts. Each Light Sphere amplified its mana and exploded everything it touched. This was Jin Song-yi’s hidden trump card.

With a ringing sound, her level increased.

Five times.

Considering how difficult it was to level up, this was a significant increase.

After cutting through all the ghosts in front of her, Jin Song-yi subtly closed one eye. She whispered softly to herself.

Far Sight.

Far Sight was a skill that created a third eye elsewhere, allowing the user to see far distances. It was a skill Jin Song-yi frequently used.

Her closed eye brightened. What appeared before her were awakeners stationed in front of the gate, looking anxious.

They’re safe. That put her mind at ease.

With that, Jin Song-yi opened her eyes and focused on the situation at hand.

Or rather, she tried to focus.

She didn’t know when the monster wave would end. She had to kill all the approaching ghosts. And, as expected, more ghosts and Ghost Kings appeared.

“…”

She couldn’t speak.

The reason was simple. The monsters were just standing there.

Normally, this would have shocked her.

But that wasn’t why Jin Song-yi was truly surprised.

Right in front of her.

About 50 cm away. A man stood there.

She knew exactly who he was.

There was no way she couldn’t know.

He had entered the gate with her.

John Marcel.

He was now in the center of the monsters, looking completely relaxed.

“Jin Song-yi, I’ll ask exactly three questions.”

“…What? In this situation?”

“Sorry, but I’ll be the one asking the questions. You just answer. No need to waste time. Now, my question is simple. First, ‘Where is Jin Si-hoo?’”

Jin Song-yi’s brow furrowed. Jin Si-hoo?

“No, that’s not how I should ask. Let me rephrase. ‘Where is the 200th Apostle?’”