How a legendary returner lives

I was at a loss as to where to go.

I thought of orphanages and places like that, but I didn’t know what to do or how to go about it.

What was strange was that I knew. My sister and I were young back then. We were just kids.

Although I didn’t say it, my sister and I had moved around many places, just like a military family. We had lived in Cheongju and attended Gagyeong Elementary School at the time. Even though my sister and I were of different ages, we had the same teacher, and I remembered her.

It was Ms. Jo Ae-Hyun from Gagyeong Elementary School.

I contacted her, and she pitied our situation.

She used her own money to rent a room for us and helped us until my sister and I were independent.

What was funny was that my father, Jin Tae-Seop, didn’t seem to be looking for my sister and me.

I didn’t know why. Maybe some kind of grant had come through.

Anyway, my sister and I lived alone, and my sister focused on studying while I worked.

Newspaper delivery, milk delivery—since I felt responsible for my sister, I supported her.

My sister met my expectations. She studied well and had good grades. She got into a good university and became a good person.

I will never forget what my sister said to me after she entered college.

“Si-Hoo, now that I’m in college, you should go too. I’ll support you now.”

“What about the tuition?”

“I got a scholarship.”

My sister smiled like the happiest person in the world.

“I want you to be happy.”

From that day on, my sister started supporting me, and within a year, I passed the GED.

And then.

I fell into Titan.

No matter how I tried to think positively, no matter how broadly I thought about it, I truly didn’t understand why Jin Tae-Seop, the man standing in front of me, was still alive.

What the hell.

“Why are you still not dead?”

“…Let’s talk about this after you let go.”

I furrowed my brow.

Then I noticed the clothes and accessories Jin Tae-Seop was wearing. My eyesight wasn’t that good, but I knew the difference between luxury items and regular knockoffs.

Everything he was wearing was definitely luxury. His ring had a large diamond, and a gold necklace hung around his neck.

By the way, I could sense a magical aura coming from the ring and the necklace.

They were probably enchanted artifacts.

“You’re looking much better than when you used to just gamble away everything.”

“…What?”

I let go of his face.

Cough, cough. Jin Tae-Seop was coughing and brushing off his clothes, letting out a deep sigh.

“Ha, Si-Hoo. What’s going on all of a sudden? Just yesterday, we were eating and laughing together like normal, but now you’re like a different person.”

I stayed silent.

“You’re so different from your rude sister. Did she say something to you?”

“What?”

“From your face, I can tell. Yes, I was getting money from your sister. Was that what made you so angry? I’m your father. What’s wrong with getting a little pocket money from my child? You ungrateful brat.”

As he spoke, Jin Tae-Seop’s anger seemed to rise, and he quickly became agitated.

“You were always rude. You hit your father with a bat when you were a kid. You smacked me with a soju bottle, you bastard.”

I did hit him with a soju bottle and a bat. It was true. Then, Jin Tae-Seop swung his hand at me. His hand slapped my cheek. *Slap*.

There was no pain, no feeling of being slapped. I just smirked.

“Is this a gift?”

“…What?”

“I was getting bored. No matter how many gates or apostles appeared, they didn’t impress me. But you’re different.”

“…What are you talking about?”

Jin Tae-Seop couldn’t continue his sentence.

I didn’t feel the need to think much. I didn’t feel the need to talk long.

I just needed to do what I couldn’t do before.

Whether my sister stopped me, or anyone else, it didn’t matter. No one could stop me from what I intended to do.

I grabbed Jin Tae-Seop’s face. *Crunch*.

With a *crack*, his face contorted. His teeth popped out, and his jaw twisted. I could see a window on the side of his face. I walked toward the window.

His expression was filled with confusion and fear. Watching those emotions cover his face was quite something.

I threw him toward the window.

Time seemed to slow down.

And then.

*BAMMMMM!!!*

A loud crash echoed.

I pulled out a cigarette and lit it, taking a drag.

I lowered my gaze. Jin Tae-Seop was buried in the ground. We were on the 26th floor.

Normally, a person would die falling from the 26th floor. Artifacts and magic didn’t matter. I’d already broken everything before throwing him.

It had been a while since I felt such a sensation in my body.

It was enjoyable.

And so, I laughed.

* * *

Yoon Young-Soo, upon confirming the body, didn’t hesitate to leave.

His gaze shifted toward the window where Jin Si-Hoo was.

He had landed there. Jin Si-Hoo, smoking a cigarette, smiled and asked.

“You got here quickly.”

“…Jin Si-Hoo, what… what did you just do?”

Jin Si-Hoo tilted his head, as if he couldn’t understand.

Ah.

Was that it?

“Oh, I’m sorry. I’ve lived in so many places for so long that I forgot basic common sense. It’s true that smoking on the apartment stairs is not allowed, right?”

The cigarette suddenly flared up in a burst of flames, turning to ash. As it disappeared, Yoon Young-Soo shuddered.

He had misjudged the situation.

Jin Si-Hoo was strong. He was strong enough to play with Cheol-Gang Jin Song-I. The process of gaining such power must have been anything but smooth.

It naturally follows.

How likely is it that someone who has striven for that kind of power could live like an ordinary person?

If they worked hard and hid it, it might be possible. But fundamentally, they would not be the same as an ordinary person. Their foundation would be twisted.

Jin Si-Hoo, as strong as he was, was dangerous.

Look at him now. He may be considered a failure, but he was still, in his own way, a father. And now, he had thrown that father out of the 26th-floor apartment window.

There was no need to look further. Jin Tae-Seop was dead.

And yet, the one who killed Jin Tae-Seop, Jin Si-Hoo, was now casually talking about smoking on the stairs as if it were the only mistake he made.

In broad daylight, someone who killed their own blood acting so nonchalantly was hard to comprehend.

It was difficult.

This man was very difficult.

“…Was the death of Jin Tae-Seop your own will, Jin Si-Hoo?”

Jin Si-Hoo laughed in disbelief, as if the question was absurd.

“Then whose will would it be?”

“…”

“Ah, now that you mention it, that guy said something interesting. He said he gave me money. What is this about?”

“…”

“Answer me.”

Yoon Young-Soo reflexively answered.

“It was the doppelganger that was acting in place of Jin Si-Hoo, and the master was giving the living expenses.”

He couldn’t explain it properly. He was simply overwhelmed. There was a strong, ominous feeling that something bad would happen if he didn’t answer Jin Si-Hoo’s question.

That feeling was so strong that he answered instinctively. Jin Si-Hoo let out a small sigh. He then lightly touched Yoon Young-Soo’s shoulder.

Yoon Young-Soo immediately felt all the tension in his body melt away. He felt much more relaxed.

Wow.

This man… is he really a monster?

“I’m sorry. I can be a bit unpredictable sometimes. Please take a deep breath and speak slowly.”

Jin Si-Hoo smiled gently, though his smile was somewhat intimidating. Yoon Young-Soo made an effort to remain calm.

When Jin Tae-Seop began to rise to fame, he approached Jin Song-I.

Jin Song-I didn’t abandon Jin Tae-Seop. Despite everything, he was still family, so she gave him a house, money, and even bought him a car.

But, as the saying goes, you can’t change a dog’s habits. Everything he was given, he gambled away. Over time, the losses began to outweigh the things he had received, which led to a strange situation. Meanwhile, Jin Song-I…

As mentioned earlier, she was weak when it came to family.

She made a lot of money, so she kept giving him money, but Jin Tae-Seop kept losing it all in gambling.

At the same time, he even approached the 200th apostle, who was pretending to be Jin Si-Hoo, and extorted money from them. Jin Song-I was broad-shouldered.

She had many burdens, and she carried all of them alone.

There were many people who followed Yoon Young-Soo and her, but no matter how much they tried to make it look good, they were still ‘others.’

It’s not for nothing that the saying “blood is thicker than water” exists.

Having heard the whole story, Jin Si-Hoo sighed with an emotionless face.

To this, Yoon Young-Soo said,

“I’ll handle that.”

“What do you mean by ‘that’?”

“Jin Tae-Seop, the dead one.”

Jin Si-Hoo asked,

“How will you handle it?”

“I’ll handle it as an accidental death.”

Jin Si-Hoo laughed. Look at that.

“It seems you’ve done this kind of thing before.”

Yoon Young-Soo, who had been quietly staring outside, spoke up without hesitation.

“You may not know, but the master has a very soft heart. He’s merciless to monsters, but he shows too much weakness when it comes to people.”

“Mm.”

“Many people have tried to interfere with such a master. The master prefers to handle these people through legal procedures, but I do not.”

“…”

“Someone has to do it, and I’ve always done what I needed to do.”

“Interesting. You seem to have a decisive personality.”

“As I’ve said before, I’ll do whatever it takes to achieve my goals. Of course.”

“Of course?”

“If the legitimate way is the most efficient, I’ll go down that path. But if not…”

“If not?”

“I’ll pursue efficiency through the illegitimate way. Because that’s the best option.”

Jin Si-Hoo genuinely thought that Yoon Young-Soo was a good man.

There was something about him they could connect on.

“Just convince the master. I’ll handle the rest. Leave the laptop and the main unit here. I’ll take care of everything needed.”

Then.

Yoon Young-Soo took a wallet from his coat and handed it to me.

“This is the wallet that the doppelganger used. It has the ID, driver’s license, some cash, and a debit card. Just in case, I also sent the doppelganger’s account number and password to your email. It’s the one I gave you before.”

He smiled as he received the wallet.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

With that, I left the apartment.

I immediately took out my watch and made a call.

To my sister.

– What’s going on? I thought you still had some time before going to Korea…

“Jin Tae-Seop is dead.”

– …What?

“He was thrown from the 26th floor of the apartment. There’s no way he survived. So, I’m asking—what have you been doing all this time without killing him?”

* * *

In a suite room in Texas.

Jin Song-I was quietly assessing her own physical condition.

She calmly opened her status screen.

[Name: Jin Song-I] [Occupation: Guild Master of Salvation Guild] [*Title: Light Magician] [Level: 595] [Current Rank: SSS-] [Potential Rank: *Undecided] [Achievements: 45] [Stats] [Strength: S+] [Agility: SS+] [Intelligence: SS] [Stamina: SS] [Mana (Internal Power): ??] [Remaining Stat Points: 25]

The hologram that appeared before her showed quite a difference from before.

To be precise, only one thing had changed, but that one thing was monumental.

The Mana stat had turned into a question mark.

She had leveled up, so she still had remaining stat points, but this… It was not something that could simply be raised by a single point.

As the rank increases, the required remaining stat points skyrocketed.

To raise from S+ to SS-, at least 200 remaining stat points were needed. Right now, the number of points seemed almost meaningless.

Jin Song-I could feel the changes in her body as well, reflecting the shift in her status screen. She quietly snapped her fingers.

Six orbs appeared around her.

But that wasn’t the end of it.

There seemed to be more coming.

Jin Song-I sent her will out.

Two more orbs appeared in the air.

How was she supposed to explain this?

Si-Hoo hadn’t done anything significant.

She had merely tapped her body.

Yet, her body had become more sensitive to mana.

It had become easier to feel the mana, and her control over it was more free.

There had been a wall blocking the space, but it now felt like that wall had crumbled.

“Just how strong is Si-Hoo…?”