The Legendary Reaper Hunter (2)
The revised ranking system under the Awakener Management Act had made it possible to more realistically and objectively quantify awakeners' abilities. And it had ignited a question that had floated around surreptitiously throughout thousands of years of human history, unchanging since time immemorial.
'So, who's the strongest?'
In truth, among the big-shot hunters who boasted about their prowess, there were those hailed as the "best." Awakener organizations and corporations also maintained their own internal rankings and matchup charts.
But rankings of awakeners' combat prowess were meaningless. An awakener's power varied wildly depending on the moment, chance, and opponent—results could differ by a mile. It was commonplace for a supposedly weaker foe to turn the tables based on circumstances and conditions.
That was why "ranking games" were just fodder for barroom banter.
Even so, no one could deny the strength of certain awakeners who were always mentioned in those discussions.
And among those powerhouse awakeners, one name circulated in hushed tones.
Ju Kang-rim couldn't help but snort at Han Min-ah's words.
"The Legendary Reaper Hunter? That's a nickname? What a hilarious one."
"Well, no one would give themselves such an embarrassing moniker, so it must've been coined by others."
"If it'd been pinned on me, I might've offed myself or gone around chopping heads to earn something like 'Head Harvester' instead. Better this way, haha."
Ju Kang-rim freely mocked the cringe-worthy nickname that was even worse than "Reaper of the Capital Region."
For the first time, he found himself approving of people's laziness in slapping nicknames together.
"Not a single word you can skip without cringing. Awakeners haven't even been around that long, and we've got 'legendary,' the overused 'reaper,' and this bizarre combo with 'hunter.' This has to be a troll nickname, right?"
"Hmm, apparently it's because this hunter hasn't shown their face publicly yet—quietly operating in the shadows. No awakener registration, no companions. Not many have properly sighted them."
"No registration, no partners, and they're a top candidate for Korea's strongest awakener? To me, it smells like a hype machine or noise marketing. Who knows—maybe a new boy idol group."
"Hm, but people talk about it pretty seriously, from what I hear."
Han Min-ah frowned slightly at Ju Kang-rim's relentless sarcasm.
But he had no choice but to laugh. It was a nickname he'd never heard even once during his hunter days in his previous life. To him, Han Min-ah must've picked up some urban legend or tall tale from some braggart.
"Don't be like that. Honestly, I think it's pretty cool. I even joined the fan club."
"Wait, what? There's a fan club? What's it called? What the hell did they do to get people talking seriously?"
"Well, their exploits are recent. It started when they wiped out a nationwide crime syndicate..."
"What, like a vigilante? Deepening my suspicions of middle-school syndrome here."
"No matter how many awakeners or hunters the criminals had, they were purged without mercy—only blood and seas of fire left behind. They even turned a drug cartel base coming up the Han River into an inferno."
"Hahaha, so it's straight-up urban legend territory?"
"No. There are plenty of eyewitness accounts. Some syndicate members survived the purge, and whenever the topic comes up, they tremble and spout words like 'reaper' or 'grim reaper.' 'Grim reaper' was too much, so it settled on 'reaper.'"
"Haha..."
"Plus, a port manager's sighting: they once leaped across the sea to board a cargo ship and take down the crime boss. That ship never made it to any port worldwide—rumors say it's drifting as a ghost ship or sank."
"..."
"And sightings pop up nationwide now and then, always leaving blood and bodies... Yoo Wol-ryeong-ssi? What's wrong?"
Yoo Wol-ryeong had her knees pulled up on the chair, face buried, shaking with laughter. Her expression was hidden, but her shoulders jerked visibly.
Ju Kang-rim always thought this grim reaper was way too vulnerable to ghost or underworld jokes.
He forced his mouth open with effort.
"Yeah. Sounds sufficient."
"You okay? You look pale."
"Too much coffee, probably."
"Yeah, your hands are shaking."
Ju Kang-rim sipped his coffee, hand trembling as he brought it to his lips. He wondered if he'd left that many traces. He'd been thorough, but piecing together minor clues could connect anything.
"Anyway, why 'Legendary Reaper Hunter' of all things? What dog—or people—came up with that malicious nickname?"
"Dunno. But from what I gather... when asked about the 'reaper's' appearance, no one remembers the face, but they wore strange traditional Korean clothing."
"..."
"Hearing that made me think they might not be all there. Y'know how we'd whisper about teachers in hanbok as wearing the 'madman's heavenly garb'? Honestly, crossed my mind they might be a concept freak."
"Traitor?"
"Ah! Not like that. But dressing that way turned them into 'Legendary Reaper' from Where Legends Are Born, and since they hunt, they tacked on 'Hunter.'"
Then Han Min-ah glanced at Ju Kang-rim as if struck by a thought.
"Come to think of it, I vaguely remember seeing you fight in hanbok at Deoksugung Palace back then..."
"Our palaces offer free entry in hanbok."
"Oh, that explains it? It was the dead of night with entry banned anyway, surrounded by zombies, no guards—and you followed the rules to the letter. Such a law-abiding spirit. For a sec, I wondered if you were the Legendary Reaper Hunter."
"Haha, no way."
"Yeah, figures. You'd hate a nickname like that enough to threaten suicide, so no chance. If you're okay with it, I can share the fan cafe link. Lemme find the address..."
"No, I'm good."
"I'll take it."
The reply came not from Ju Kang-rim, but Yoo Wol-ryeong.
Han Min-ah looked surprised but sent the link to her. She and Yoo Wol-ryeong were already friends on their phones.
Ju Kang-rim stood, feeling faint.
"Then I'll head up..."
As Ju Kang-rim rode the elevator up, Yoo Wol-ryeong slipped in at the last second.
He rubbed his brow seeing her scrolling through the "Legendary Reaper Hunter" fan cafe on Biman.
"Teasing me?"
"Checking what you overlooked, Reaper Ju Kang-rim."
"Overlooked?"
Yoo Wol-ryeong glanced at him.
"'Legendary Reaper Hunter' isn't as cool as 'Reaper of the Capital Region,' but it's meaningless anyway. Fame is just empty worldly karma. A burden you must shed."
"You were cracking up at the cafe earlier."
"Funny nickname."
"..."
"But regardless, that fan cafe warrants attention."
She tapped the operator's profile.
"You've been meticulous erasing traces, Reaper Ju Kang-rim. Can't wipe everything, but the mortician's robes have a mild cognitive impairment spell—nothing problematic."
Only then did Ju Kang-rim catch on.
His trace-erasing skills were learned hands-on under Gerald. Yet someone had pierced every trace, linking circumstances and evidence.
Under the name "Legendary Reaper Hunter."
"If they can do that, connecting it to you is simple. If word spreads the Reaper Hunter slays immortals—and that it's you—you'd be vulnerable."
Serious indeed, on reflection.
Ju Kang-rim eyed the operator's nickname: "CyberPhantomThief."
That godawful name—he pegged them as the nickname's creator. What even was "CyberPhantomThief"? Trying to say "hacker" in Korean?
In mixed feelings, he browsed the cafe's materials. She'd already started registering.
He hesitated, then hit join.
As he filled the reason, he asked, "What'd you put for join reason?"
"'The Legendary Reaper Hunter is too cool...'"
"Can I say something similar?"
"No. Suspicious."
He pondered: "'Curious who's the strongest awakener.'"
Once joined, locked boards opened. Membership under a thousand—not huge, but not small.
Seeing enthusiasts chase his traces with clues and guesses stirred complex emotions.
"CyberPhantomThief's" posts matched his actions alarmingly well.
'Maybe an immortal caught on and is tracking me.'
He felt the urgent need to meet CyberPhantomThief somehow.
Searching, he found "VIP Board"—restricted to higher ranks.
"Need to rank up for a proper look."
Yoo Wol-ryeong murmured.
"How?"
"Post Legendary Reaper Hunter-related tips on the 'Tips' board; operator verifies and promotes."
She stared pointedly at Ju Kang-rim.
"...No pics of me, right?"
"Perfect bait for CyberPhantomThief."
"...This pose okay?"
Thus, in the dead of night—no fight needed—Ju Kang-rim posed in mortician robes.
Yoo Wol-ryeong snapped away blankly, but seemed unsatisfied. Even he could tell they were ID-photo quality at best.
"No more natural poses?"
"Problem's the photographer, not me? For the tips board, needs a sneaky-candid vibe..."
He couldn't shoot himself—and wouldn't beat her anyway.
"What're you two doing?"
Han Min-ah emerged onto the rooftop.
Ju Kang-rim worried about her misreading his outfit, but too late.
Yoo Wol-ryeong replied calmly, "Taking photos."
"Huh? Midnight? In that getup?"
"No order to death portraits—best to take them often, anytime..."
"Making an intro page for Samdo Group's zombie hunting team. For images."
Ju Kang-rim cut off her absurd lie.
Han Min-ah clapped, convinced.
"Ah, like academy instructor pages. 'Zombie Head One-Shot Instructor Ju Kang-rim!' Like that?"
"...That'd mock the deceased zombies, so better hold off."
"Hm, mind if I see? I took tons of pics back in the day."