Simply put, Gaebang was the name of a sect made up of beggars.In most wuxia novels, they symbolized the pinnacle of information power. But how they were described in Methods of Annihilation—I had no way of knowing.So, on the way to Seoul Station, I kept switching the skill Methods of Survival in a Ruined World on and off.[Exclusive Skill, ‘Three Ways to Survive in a Ruined World’, has been deactivated.][Exclusive Skill, ‘Three Ways to Survive in a Ruined World’, has been activated.]You never know. If I kept doing it, maybe the skill would eventually respond.After repeating the same motion who knows how many times—[Exclusive Skill, ‘Three Ways to Survive in a Ruined World’, is getting annoyed.]Finally, a reaction.A strange one, but still.「…In its early days, Gaebang was one of the Nine Great Schools and a powerful sect, but after being swept into the scenario domain of , its influence declined…」Even details about Gaebang were beginning to spill from Methods of Annihilation.It sounded irritable, but better than silence.「Through ’s system, new masters rapidly learned the essentials of martial arts and quickly dominated Murim. Gaebang, unable to keep up with the competition, was naturally pushed aside like the backflow of the Yangtze River.」Well, that much I already knew.The story went on.「Once ruling as part of the Nine Great Schools of the First Murim, Gaebang was eventually forced to move to the Second Murim, then to the Third Murim, with several secret tales attached to this decline.」Like moving from a big house to a smaller one.I kept reading.「Before the move to the Second Murim, the Dragon-Headed Leader and Elder Sagol of Gaebang swore to engrave the true spirit of Zhongyuan in their new stronghold, gathering beggars in renewed resolve. If not for the appearance that day of a ‘Little Master’—if only the Gatekeeper, Samgyeolgae of Gaebang, hadn’t insulted that master’s height—their opening ceremony might have ended peacefully.」A little master?「That day, the entire sect of Gaebang had their bellies opened by the Paradox’s White Mask, Kirios Rodgraim. The surviving Dragon-Headed Leader and Elder Sagol fled in haste to the Third Murim, clutching their spilled guts.」…And the story didn’t end there.「Later, the Dragon-Headed Leader and Sagol reestablished their ruined sect in the Third Murim. Shocked by their defeat to Kirios, they abandoned even the orthodox path and attempted to restart as a demonic sect. Had the Heaven-Splitting Sword Saint not begun his ‘Extermination of Evil Sword March’ in the Third Murim, they might have become a tolerable demonic faction.」Extermination of Evil Sword March.Even the name sounded terrifying.At this point, Gaebang was starting to feel less like a villain and more like a pitiful sect.Summed up: in the Second Murim they were destroyed by Kirios, in the Third Murim by the Heaven-Splitting Sword Saint…After that, there were no records of what became of them.I toggled the skill again, hoping for more.Then—「Prodded by Kim Namwoon, Yoo Joonghyuk answered irritably, “If you want to know more, figure it out yourself.”」A random line popped up.What the hell?Was it broken?“What’s wrong?”My expression must have twisted, because Jung Heewon looked at me with concern.“Nothing,” I said quickly.Still, I couldn’t help thinking: maybe the Gaebang here was connected to the Gaebang of Murim.Structurally, it made little sense for genuine Murim warriors to appear here—but if their descendants or affiliated constellations existed, then…I glanced at the soldiers trailing us, and the children slung across their backs.My eyes fixed especially on the mole-faced boy.If his father was the Gaebang Branch Master, then why was he so terrified?“Seoul Station is in sight.”Well, we’d find out soon enough.***Go Jangwon sat on the landing of Seoul Station’s stairs. Looking at the beggars arrayed before him, he wondered how his life had ended up like this.He was twenty-three.His hobbies: reading wuxia webtoons.He had a girl he liked.Just weeks ago, that’s what described him.He’d taken a leave of absence to enlist, and was agonizing over whether to confess to his crush of three years, a fellow student in his department.—Oh, I like webtoons too. What do you read?—I like webnovels more than webtoons.—Webnovels?—Do you know Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint?That was how he ended up reading the novel.—Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint?—Yeah, I’ve read it eight times.To have even one more conversation with the girl he liked, he dove into it.He binge-read ORV from chapter 1 to 551 just a week before enlistment, then went to bed giddy, fantasizing about confessing with one of its lines the next day. He had even picked the line:“Yeongin. We can be together. You know it.”Then, when he opened his eyes again, he was already in the army.—Aaaaahhhh!Screams and monster roars echoed everywhere.Go Jangwon cried, trembled, and barely survived by recalling the novel’s contents.—Dad, where are you going? Dad!He abandoned the boy calling him Dad.He felt guilt, yes, but also resentment.He had woken up to find himself not just in the army, but in the body of a man in his fifties, and even a father.—Die!Enemies targeted him, monsters leapt out.Even saving himself was overwhelming.The only saving grace was his knowledge of the novel.Repeating its lines, he scraped by.People nearby began following him, and the body’s military connections worked in his favor.Thanks to that, he—a conscript’s soul—became a commander.—We have to find Kim Dokja.From the moment he realized he had transmigrated, his goal had been singular: meet Kim Dokja.Only then could he escape this story.Return to reality.So he spread rumors that he knew the future.If he did, Kim Dokja would surely come find him.—You know the future?But those who came weren’t Kim Dokja.They were a group who introduced themselves as Gaebang.ORV wasn’t even a wuxia novel—so what the hell was Gaebang? Before he realized it, his soldiers were massacred by Gaebang’s masters.It was then he learned how terrifying a cudgel could be.A beggar, holding a bloodied staff, put his hand on Jangwon’s shoulder and declared his new allegiance.—From now on, you’re Gaebang’s strategist.And that was where Omniscient Go Jangwon’s Viewpoint began.“So… so the soldiers took Wonsik. The sniper too. They’re on their way here now.”The beggar trembling before him stammered.Looking at him, Go Jangwon felt like a stock villain from a stock story.Villains like this always ended up beheaded by Kim Dokja or Yoo Joonghyuk.But for now, he could do nothing.One wrong move, and he’d be killed by the Gaebang Master before he ever met Kim Dokja.“Wonsik… you mean the Master’s son?”“Y-yes!”“That damned brat.”Go Jangwon thought of the disobedient mole-faced boy.Come to think of it, he too had a son. Not truly, but the son of the man he possessed—Warrant Officer Jung Munho.What happened to him?Guilt surged as he remembered the boy clinging to him, crying.He shouldn’t have turned away.Then came the beggars’ shout from the entrance of Seoul Station.“They’re here!”He could guess who.Most likely Sergeant Kim and the remnants of his unit.Kidnapping the Master’s son was probably done in anger—they were likely coming to apologize.Soon enough, familiar soldiers appeared.“Warrant Officer Jung!”“Sergeant Kim.”As expected.Go Jangwon—no, Jung Munho—put on a solemn officer’s face.“It’s been a while.”“Are you alright? We heard you’d been captured by Gaebang—”“I’m fine. More importantly—do you have the Master’s son?”“Y-yes.”“Then return him and surrender. Quickly.”“What?”“If the Master gets angry, it’ll be terrible. You’ve seen it yourself. Men who fly through the sky, beat people like dogs. They’re not ones we can handle.”Sergeant Kim stammered.“Y-you didn’t… join them, did you?”Jung Munho nodded heavily.“Yes. Before it’s too late, join us. I’ve even prepared a place for you.”“But… how could you…”“We have to live first, don’t we? The President, the Prime Minister—they’re all dead. Don’t waste your patriotism. Survive here, with me.”“And why are you even talking like that!”“My speech—”Let’s see you not change after three days of torture by Murim masters, you bastard—he was about to say, when someone else stepped forward.A striking woman with long hair and a blade at her hip.The moment he saw her, something ached deep in his chest. His body remembered her.“Dad. What ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) are you doing here?”And on her back was the boy who had once called him Dad.His stomach churned, his head spun.What should he say?Was he Go Jangwon the Reader, or Jung Munho the Character?Why did they call him Dad, why did he feel guilty?“What’s going on there?”From inside Seoul Station, a group of beggars emerged. Spotting the one at the lead, Jung Munho sprang up.He couldn’t let Sergeant Kim’s men meet them.“Heewon-ssi. Wait.”Then, a man stepped forward.A man in a white coat, smiling oddly. The moment Jung Munho saw his eyes, he remembered his crush Yeongin, remembered the novel she loved, remembered the figure on its cover.“Hello there. You’re Heewon-ssi’s father, right?”The voice, the manner, the smile—Just as he’d imagined.Jung Munho stood slack-jawed, listening.“If the Gaebang Master’s inside, could you pass on a message?”No doubt.“Tell him a disciple of the White Mask has come.”The one he had waited for—Kim Dokja—had finally come to Gaebang.

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