Ch.137137. Time for Those Left Behind.

After his meeting with the Crown Prince, most of Amon’s work in Joseon was completed.

Of course, Sister Squinty-Eyes was still running around handling practical matters, but at least Amon’s responsibilities were finished.

However, Amon did not immediately leave Joseon.

He wanted to remain in Joseon as if he still had business to attend to.

Particularly on certain days, he specifically requested to stay at a separate palace in Gyeongbokgung.

“Considering your meritorious deeds, that’s certainly possible…”

Thanks to the Crown Prince’s willingness to provide the separate palace, Amon was able to stay there again.

And that night, Amon achieved the purpose of his extended stay in Joseon.

“I’ve returned.”

A sea with only black waters rippling.

Amon stepped onto the black surface, searching for the man wearing the skull mask.

The man seemed completely surprised by Amon’s appearance, as if he never expected him to come here.

“…How did you get here?”

“Would you believe me if I said I used navigation?”

“What’s that?”

“Ah. You’re from the diesel punk era, right?”

“I understand diesel, but punk? What’s that?”

“Never mind. Anyway, it’s good to see you again.”

“I’m a bit confused, so I’d appreciate if you could explain what’s going on.”

“I wasn’t sure if it would work myself…”

Amon explained in detail how he had returned to this place.

“When I thought about it, you mentioned you’d been interested in me for a long time, but you only contacted me recently, right? After pondering the reason, I figured it must be related to location.”

Amon tried to recreate those conditions, and…

“That’s when I discovered it. Dragon veins? When I touched them with my ability, I could come here.”

More specifically, using Amon’s ability to see the essence, he laid a blanket over a dragon vein, found a crack in the dream, had a few scuffles with amorphous slimes on the way,

And after overcoming numerous other hardships, he finally succeeded in reaching the black sea—the boundary of the world.

Ghost (pseudonym) was first surprised by Amon’s deductive abilities, then amazed by his initiative, and finally impressed by his execution.

“So you knew about dragon veins.”

“I knew about them intellectually.”

It was something briefly mentioned in passing in the original work, and that turned out to be the answer.

Quickly finishing the less important conversation, Amon got straight to the point.

“Mr. Ghost. Now that I’ve figured out how to get here, I’ll be coming frequently.”

“This isn’t a place for casual visits.”

“I know. I’m here to lend a hand. And to gain experience at the same time.”

Amon grinned, showing the sword he had brought this time.

Then he added,

“I just found out you’re Korean.”

Ghost’s shoulders twitched.

Before he could respond, a two-headed crow descended from the sky.

Ghost instinctively targeted one of the crow’s heads and sliced it off with his sword.

As he turned to deal with the remaining head,

– SQUAWK!

Amon had already landed on the crow’s head and was driving his sword into its crown.

Amon put his weight on the sword embedded in the crown and spun his body around.

With a crunching sound, something inside the crow’s head snapped, and the crow vanished.

Ghost stared in astonishment at Amon who had just destroyed an Outer.

Amon extended the handle of his sword toward him and said,

“Let’s deal with those things first before we continue our conversation, Mr. Gil-Dong.”

“…”

How did he figure that out too?

Though he had a mountain of questions, now wasn’t the time.

A group of Outers was approaching from the direction Amon had pointed.

Ghost(?) shook his head as if to clear his thoughts and focused on the Outers.

“Instant movement?”

“I managed to learn it somehow. Though only in this place for now.”

“That’s enough. Follow me. Once you get used to it, you’ll be able to use it in reality too.”

Ghost took the lead, using instant movement to head toward the Outers beyond the horizon.

Amon took one last look at Ghost’s back, then used instant movement himself with a slight smirk.

*

After annihilating the group of Outers, the two were able to take a short break.

Ghost finally asked the questions he had been holding back.

“How did you learn about my past, and how did you figure out that instant movement technique?”

“I’ve been reviewing swordsmanship techniques from the government to refine my own skills. In the process, I also happened to learn about historical records and confidential documents…”

To understand swordsmanship, one must understand its principles, and to understand principles, one must know history.

And when you learn history, you discover the past that the government wants to hide.

“That’s where I found some rather unusual records.”

Among the sword techniques strictly guarded by the government, one particularly caught Amon’s eye.

It was a somewhat unusual technique called “The Sword That Cuts Ghosts,” designed to combat entities or spirits.

When Amon discovered this technique, he couldn’t help but be surprised.

‘Why would the sword technique of someone who was active in Europe…?’

Since Punk City 2 was set in Europe, he naturally assumed Ghost was European.

But when he found traces of him in the government’s confidential archives, Amon decided to change his previous assumption.

Ghost might not be European.

Perhaps,

“I thought there was a possibility that Ghost could be Korean.”

And by examining why those records were classified, Amon became certain.

Ghost was Korean.

“The government doesn’t want to admit that the country was once toyed with by a single person.”

Joseon has a history of being manipulated by Ghost alone.

His name at the time was Hong Gil-Dong.

He wasn’t a righteous thief; rather, he had accumulated minor misunderstandings with the government while eliminating entities in Joseon.

That story became distorted through oral tradition and fictional adaptations, and after more than 600 years, it’s now treated as legend.

“Even the Crown Prince called it a legend and told me to read it freely, which says it all.”

That’s why no one in Joseon seriously believed in Hong Gil-Dong’s existence.

“However, they did preserve the fact that there was once a sword and technique that threatened the government, separate from Gil-Dong’s story.”

The government was wary of the sword technique being recreated, yet didn’t believe it was Gil-Dong’s technique.

“It was strange.”

The fact that this sword technique belonged to Gil-Dong and that Gil-Dong was a real person could be discovered with just a little investigation by an individual like Amon.

Feeling disconnected from the reality where no one had reached this truth, Amon thought,

“I considered it some kind of cognitive distortion. You know, like how ghosts can harm people in alleys without anyone noticing.”

He believed this was being applied on a global scale.

No name, no past, nothing known.

That state matched Ghost’s current condition exactly.

That’s how Amon could be certain that Ghost was Gil-Dong.

“When I became aware of my ability to penetrate the essence, I finally made the connection between you and Gil-Dong. So, was my explanation satisfactory?”

Amon finished his explanation.

Ghost, or rather Gil-Dong, nodded.

“That’s right. Excellent deduction.”

“I just relied on my ability to figure it out, so calling it ‘deduction’ feels a bit embarrassing.”

“Still, the tenacity to discover all this deserves praise.”

Gil-Dong changed his skull mask to a jester mask.

He clasped his hands behind his back like a young master from a wealthy family, creating ripples on the black sea’s surface with each step.

“Is there anything else you’re curious about?”

“Did you ever succeed in calling your father ‘Father’ or your brother ‘Brother’ in the end?”

“…That’s from the fictional adaptation. I wasn’t an illegitimate son, nor was I a nobleman.”

“Ah. My childhood dreams.”

“And I wasn’t in Joseon for that long. I just took care of the nine-tailed fox of national ruin and twelve monsters before spending half my life in Europe.”

In other words, while the righteous thief Hong Gil-Dong in this world had similar records to the Gil-Dong Amon had heard about in his previous life,

as the protagonist of the second installment, Hong Gil-Dong was a completely different person.

The subsequent developments were facts Amon already knew.

He fought world-ending entities in Europe, ultimately saved the world, and sacrificed himself at the boundary of the world.

“Is there anything else you’re curious about?”

Amon nodded.

“I think that satisfies all my curiosity.”

“You mentioned you came here to perfect your sword skills…”

“During the day, I train with warriors arranged by my acquaintances and the government, and at night, I want to gain practical experience here.”

“You’re quite the efficient friend.”

“By the way, I think I’ve got a feel for how to come here. I can come anytime now, even without dragon veins, so I’ll be coming almost daily.”

“I was getting lonely here by myself, so that works out well.”

Afterward, the two occasionally chatted, talked about how the world had changed, and when Outers appeared, they eliminated them.

During this process, Amon gradually refined his swordsmanship with feedback from Gil-Dong.

After some time, when it was time to wake up in reality, Amon prepared to part with Gil-Dong.

“I’ll come tomorrow night.”

“I’ll be waiting.”

As he had done before, Amon soared up from the black sea to return to reality.

After seeing Amon off, Gil-Dong stood there for a while, reflecting on their conversation.

– ‘I came to train.’

Recalling those words, Gil-Dong chuckled.

“What a dishonest friend.”

If training was truly the goal, there were many better methods.

The reason he specifically chose this place was because his goal wasn’t swordsmanship.

“Did I look that lonely? There was no need for that.”

Gil-Dong muttered as if making excuses for his habit of talking to himself, developed over 600 years.

‘After 600 years…’

Although it wasn’t something he started seeking recognition for, meeting someone after 600 years…

‘It feels like being rewarded somehow.’

Beyond the mask where no human form remained,

Gil-Dong created a ripple close to a smile for the first time in ages.