A Regressor's Bucket List

Sejong.

Even without any further explanation, it was a name every Korean would recognize.

After all, he was the fourth king of Joseon and the greatest sage-king representing Korean history.

During his 32-year reign, he left behind a vast array of achievements across various fields, including agriculture, education, welfare, music, linguistics, history, mathematics, science, and military affairs.

Among them, the creation of ‘Hangul,’ considered one of Joseon’s greatest accomplishments, made Sejong the most respected figure among Koreans to this day.

In common parlance, it was said that if you lived in South Korea and spoke Korean but didn't know him, you should be reported as a spy—that was the extent of his fame.

Well, one couldn't judge a person like ‘Sejong’ based on fame alone, but fame usually was proportional to one's deeds.

The fact that he possessed the highest level of recognition among the many monarchs who had existed on the Korean Peninsula explained a great deal.

“Welcome to the palace of Joseon.”

“…….”

“I am the monarch of the Floating Territory Joseon, Sejong.”

“…I am Seo U-jin.”

The fact that he existed in this Upper Plane was something that could be naturally inferred.

The 32nd year of his reign.

In other words, the records in the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty, which stated that he passed away at the age of 52 about 600 years ago, were not true.

…Well, strictly speaking, the term used for a king’s death, ‘Seungha’, uses the characters for ‘ascend’ and ‘distant’, so it wasn’t entirely incorrect. However, since ‘Seungha’ is generally used to mean passing away, it was a clever play on words.

‘…….’

Indeed.

The death of King Sejong the Great, as recorded in the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty, was not a fact.

Just as the literal meaning of the word ‘Seungha’ implies, he had simply experienced a transcendence of planes to the Upper Plane at a time when no one was watching.

“Seeing as you aren’t as surprised as I expected, you must have great courage.”

“…….”

“There has never been a person who showed no reaction upon seeing me until now.”

Just as he introduced himself, he reigned in the Upper Plane as a ‘monarch,’ just as he had in the Lower-Dimensional Plane.

However, while it was a single country called Joseon in the Lower-Dimensional Plane…

Here, he was the monarch of an unidentified secret organization that even the highest-ranking priests of the Order did not know the true nature of.

The monarch of ‘Floating Territory Joseon.’

This was also why Kim Sat-gat had mentioned that they had to stop by ‘for procedural reasons.’

No matter how free-spirited Kim Sat-gat was, this Floating Territory was strictly a space where a monarch existed.

Since they had entered someone else’s home, it was only natural to greet the homeowner, which was why Kim Sat-gat had to visit the palace first.

…Well.

“I do not know if you have heard, but I was the one who called you here directly.”

“…….”

“I, personally, called for you.”

Even if the arrival of the Floating Territory Joseon was a reflection of Kim Sat-gat’s will, it was only possible with Sejong’s permission.

And the fact that U-jin was specifically summoned to the Floating Territory was naturally due to Sejong’s command.

‘…I suspected as much.’

As long as the Northern Subjugation War was a trap set by Isaac Einstein, Kim Sat-gat, leading the Floating Territory Joseon, it was already a foregone conclusion.

However, there was no special reason to summon him, a mere veteran of the war, to the Floating Territory while leaving behind the representatives of the Northern Subjugation Force.

Sure, from Kim Sat-gat’s perspective, their encounter in Kunlun might have been particularly memorable, but if that were all, there would have been no need to bring U-jin up here.

The person brought up should have been Kanna Cartier, who held full authority over the Northern Subjugation Force, or Ludwig and Louis, who served as advisors, or at least Heart de Garcon, who was worthy of being delegated such authority.

Catching up with U-jin could have been done separately.

Of course, U-jin had been to the Floating Territory in his first life as well, but back then, he had visited strictly as ‘Kim Sat-gat’s’ disciple.

No matter how much stronger his influence and contribution to the Northern Subjugation Force were compared to back then, it was a bit difficult to accept that Kim Sat-gat would decide to treat U-jin as the representative of the Subjugation Force on his own discretion.

Therefore, U-jin had also vaguely guessed.

That the one who called him here was not Kim Sat-gat, but ‘Sejong,’ the master of this Floating Territory.

“…Thank you.”

Of course, just because he guessed it didn't mean it was an ordinary occurrence.

A private audience with Sejong was not something to be taken lightly.

U-jin had traversed the space of the Floating Territory enough to be familiar with it, but even in his previous life, U-jin had only been granted a private audience with Sejong once.

Even then, it wasn't a proper meeting like this; he was merely introduced as a disciple in a place where Kim Sat-gat was also present.

Regardless of anything else, he was the leader of an organization with enough power to hide its identity from the ‘Guardian Cross Order’ for hundreds of years.

Just because his name was familiar didn't mean the distance between them was negligible.

The reason U-jin could have this private audience was thanks to the series of actions he had taken so far; it would have been impossible without Sejong’s interest.

Sejong was a man who valued his time and effort above all else.

To U-jin, who nodded and expressed his gratitude, Sejong changed the subject and asked.

“Did you look around a bit on your way here? I gave instructions to show you around.”

“Ah, yes, well…”

As he replied and turned his head, Kim Sat-gat had already slipped away and disappeared.

It seemed King Sejong had given him a sign that he wanted a private conversation.

“How does it look to you?”

It was a question about the Floating Territory itself.

The tone was the same as before, but U-jin could feel something akin to ‘expectation’ in that voice.

A sort of pride.

Rather than the solemnity of a monarch of a Floating Territory, it felt like he was showing off an invention he had put a lot of effort into.

Of course, U-jin had no intention of insulting him, but he wondered if there was anyone who could look him in the eye and say it was ‘mediocre.’

“It’s nice. I haven't seen everything yet, so it’s hard to point out specifics, but…”

“How does it compare to the Lower-Dimensional Plane you were in?”

“That is, well…”

Naturally, there were pros and cons.

The Lower-Dimensional Plane was just beginning to undergo changes as mana began to flow in, so it was developing in a different direction from the Upper Plane, where the existence of mana was the default.

Strictly speaking, it was an impossible comparison.

…But he didn't intend to give a straightforward answer.

It wasn't hard to play along to this extent, and honestly, although he hadn't come with that mindset, he was currently acting in a role similar to an envoy representing the ‘Northern Subjugation Force.’

Therefore, he gave the answer the King wanted.

“Of course, this place is better.”

Well, it was a natural statement if limited to the aspect of ‘military power.’

In the Upper Plane, because the two main factions were so powerful, the Floating Territory drifted through the void while hiding its existence.

However, if it were to descend to the Lower-Dimensional Plane, the existence of Floating Territory Joseon alone would not take long to annihilate the entire human race.

In that regard, it was an undeniable fact that it was better.

Whether U-jin’s answer was satisfactory or not…

King Sejong let out a hearty laugh and began to slowly recount his story.

“Actually, I didn't intend to build such a massive thing from the beginning.”

It was the story of the Floating Territory.

This was a story that interested U-jin as well.

He had heard bits and pieces through Kim Sat-gat, but he had never heard it from Sejong himself, the founder of the Floating Territory.

The founding story of the Floating Territory told by the founder himself.

That was a quite intriguing topic.

“I have always been greedy and disliked using things belonging to others. That is why I created our own script to be independent of the Ming Dynasty and created astronomical instruments suited to our own skies.”

“…….”

“I thought the same when I first came here. Magic, in principle, is like borrowing something from another, and it didn't suit me well. So I made up my mind to create something unique and gather people.”

One might think it was a natural progression, but the idea of becoming independent from the Order was not something easily conceived.

Sejong, too, was in no different situation than other transcendents when he first arrived in the Upper Plane.

The details might have differed, but even then, the continent would have been divided into two massive groups—the Church Allied Forces and the Demon King’s Alliance—engaged in the War against Demons.

Being able to have such thoughts in that era was only possible because it was him; it wasn't something just anyone could do.

…Well, of course, what was more impressive was that he didn't stop at just thinking about it but actually executed it.

“So, I gathered talents one by one. That was the only thing I was good at, after all.”

“…….”

“Then, gradually, we were able to possess our own unique technology, and talents accumulated. I wanted to create a system to gather and protect them, but it wasn't in the form of relying on the Guardian Cross Order or the Demon King.”

The form of a guild was somewhat similar to what he was saying.

However, that, too, fell under the framework of the ‘Guardian Cross Order,’ so it didn't fully satisfy Sejong’s wish.

The conclusion he reached was this:

“So I thought. If we cannot obtain a new settlement on this land, we shall build a country in the firmament.”

“…….”

“At first, even I wondered if it would work, but as I put my head together with those I had gathered, things began to build up little by little.”

A territory floating in the sky.

A Floating Territory.

It sounded romantic, but who would actually think of realizing it?

It wasn't even public; it was a bizarre and nearly impossible task to hide its form from both factions.

To a human with common sense, whether a Hero or an ordinary person, it was an impossible feat.

If it were that easy, many sky islands would have been traversing the firmament since ancient times, not just the current Joseon.

“By building up people one by one like that, I created the Joseon of today.”

“…….”

As Sejong closed his mouth, a brief silence followed.

The context of the story was quite predictable.

The silence at this timing and in this context meant that the words to follow held the most important core.

In U-jin’s mind, he could almost hear the sentence Sejong was about to utter even without listening.

“…You must have guessed, but the reason I called you separately to tell you this story is…”

“…….”

“Because I wish for you to settle in the Floating Territory.”