Return of the Sword God-Rank Civil Servant-Chapter 214

To Su-ho’s surprise, Ki Jun-seo was already awake.

The timing was perfect—the two of them were having breakfast together in the hospital room, and surprisingly...

“Chicken?”

“Haha... So-yeon said she wanted some.”

They were eating fried chicken.

Three whole chickens, in fact.

As Ki Jun-seo gave an awkward smile, Kim I-gang gave him a thumbs-up.

“Looks great. You probably couldn’t eat what you wanted during her treatment—now’s the time to enjoy it all you want.”

“Th-thank you for understanding. But this gentleman is...?”

“My apologies for the late introduction. I’m Kim I-gang, manager from Nexus.”

He offered his business card as he introduced himself.

Kim I-gang turned out to be far more skilled at negotiations than Su-ho had expected.

Which was a relief.

‘I knew he was competent, but this is better than I imagined.’

Exactly.

If you’re going to do something, do it right.

After briefly explaining the situation to Ki Jun-seo, Su-ho left the rest in Kim I-gang’s hands.

“Don’t worry. I’ll keep you updated as things progress.”

“Thank you. Then I’ll be off.”

Su-ho gave a slight bow and left the hospital.

The building was tense.

It had only been a day, but rumors were already flying that Tamra’s guild master and vice-master had been arrested.

‘Makes sense. This hospital’s practically owned by Tamra Guild.’

Once the master and vice-master received their sentences, not just Cham Sarang Hospital but most of Tamra’s affiliated businesses in Jeju would likely collapse.

Thinking of that, Su-ho paused, then made a phone call.

– “Yes, Hunter?”

“President, is this a good time?”

– “Of course! What can I do for you?”

The person on the other end was none other than Ion, the president of the Union Guild.

Su-ho had come to a decision.

He would transfer Tamra’s assets into Union’s hands.

‘If Tamra’s holdings collapse one by one, tons of workers will lose their livelihoods overnight.’

If there’s anyone who deserves punishment, it’s the leaders—Seo Do-il and Moon Hye-hyun.

The rest were just victims of poor leadership.

He didn’t want them to suffer needlessly.

So he would replace the owners.

And the new owner would be Ion.

Why Ion?

Simple.

Union was a group Su-ho could fully control now, and Ion was a smart guy—someone he could trust to handle things properly.

After Su-ho explained the situation and his plan, Ion frowned slightly.

– “So, in summary, you want me to absorb Tamra? And make sure the business operators don’t suffer in the process?”

“Exactly.”

– “I’ll get started immediately. And thank you, truly. You’ve done so much for us again.”

As expected of Ion.

He understood that opportunities need to be seized and didn’t waste time. He immediately expressed gratitude and chose to act in his own best interest.

Su-ho liked that about him.

“Then I’ll leave this one in your hands.”

– “Yes. I’ll keep you posted with progress reports.”

After ending the call, Su-ho slipped his phone into his pocket.

‘Alright, time to clear the rest of the Eleven Islands.’

He’d been clearing islands all night, but had only managed to conquer three so far.

Still, for anyone else, it would’ve been an astonishing achievement.

Su-ho began tackling the remaining islands one by one.

***

[Gate has been cleared.]

[‘An Su-ho’ has been selected as MVP of the Gate Conquest.]

[Bonus EXP awarded for MVP selection.]

[1 Bonus Stat awarded.]

[Level Up.]

[All Stats increased by 1.]

[1 Bonus Stat acquired.]

Another boss monster fell.

It was already dawn.

The result of /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ an entire day devoted solely to clearing Gates.

After collecting shadows and loot, Su-ho exited through the portal.

He checked his status window.

[An Su-ho]

– Lv: 159

– Class: Crusader

– Traits: <New Blood> <Candidate for Hercules>

– Strength (Y): 10

– Magic (Y): 11

– Perception (O): 92

– Bonus Stats: 2

After conquering ten islands, his level had risen to 159.

In the process, his Magic stat had reached Yellow grade, nearly matching his Strength.

Su-ho assigned his 2 bonus points to Strength and closed the window.

‘Only one left now.’

Just one Gate remained.

Marado Gate—known as the most powerful among the Eleven Islands and the only sealed Gate in Jeju.

That’s why Su-ho had intentionally made Gapado the tenth island on his tour.

Marado was located directly south of Gapado.

He checked the time.

‘If I finish Marado Gate, I can have breakfast right after.’

He’d been awake for more than two days straight, but both his body and mind were sharp.

Such was the privilege of the Awakened.

After finishing his preparations, Su-ho boarded the boat he had prepared.

VROOOOM!

It wasn’t the rotten boat from Udo—this one sped rapidly toward Marado.

Originally, he wanted to take a jet ski, but the fuel capacity wasn’t enough to reach Marado, so he’d given up on that.

He was nearing the island when—

Fwoooosh!

A sudden sonic boom.

Su-ho instinctively ducked to avoid it.

‘It’s already begun.’

As soon as the sound hit, Su-ho activated Magic Detection.

[Magic Detection is activated.]

With the skill activated, invisible threats began to appear before his eyes.

The ones who had just tried to snipe him from midair—

They were Wind Spirits.

– Low-Grade Wind Spirit, Lv.172

Their level was over 170.

Indeed.

The current occupants of Marado were Spirits.

Specifically, Wind Spirits.

‘They’re classified as low-grade, but their level’s in the 170s. That’s just how Spirits are.’

People often underestimate low-grade Spirits.

But ever since the Cataclysm, the Spirits that appeared were vastly different from the weaklings in games—they were powerful. ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm

Why?

Because physical attacks didn’t work on Spirits at all.

‘They’re born from magic fused with elements. Hitting them with a sword makes as much sense as trying to stab the wind.’

Completely logical beings, in a way.

That’s why Su-ho crouched low and pushed the boat’s speed to its max.

Fwoooosh!

Another sonic boom echoed.

The Wind Spirits had locked onto his presence and started attacking.

That’s what made Wind Spirits so annoying.

Unlike Fire or Earth Spirits, which were mostly grounded, Wind Spirits hovered freely in the sky and attacked from above like living gusts.

Fwoosh! Boom! Fwoosh! Boom!

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

Low-Grade Wind Spirits rained down wind attacks with relentless precision.

They weren’t visible—but they hit like arrows or spears.

There were probably hammers and swords too, but the impact wounds were always neat and round, like something had pierced clean through.

Just then, one of the Wind Spirit’s attacks struck the boat’s engine.

“Damn!”

He’d hoped the engine would hold out, but one had found its mark.

The engine sputtered with a rattling cough and belched thick black smoke.

Water began to fill the boat.

‘Tch. I was so close.’

Su-ho measured the distance to the island.

Close enough?

Yeah.

Let’s go.

With his mind made up, Su-ho kicked off the boat and shot into the air.

[Leap is activated.]

S-rank Leap increased his jump height by 500%.

Su-ho stepped once more in midair and summoned Blood Weapon.

This time, he summoned a spear.

Gripping the Blood Spear in reverse, Su-ho extended it endlessly downward.

The tip of the Blood Spear shot toward the sea, passed the surface, and finally reached the ocean floor.

Only then did Su-ho’s body—previously descending—begin to rise, carried upward by the spear’s extension.

‘This should be good.’

After stretching the spear to a sufficient length, Su-ho adjusted his trajectory toward Marado.

As his body leaned in that direction, the Blood Spear tilted as well, guiding him downward toward the island.

His distance calculation was flawless.

Dangling from the spear’s tip, Su-ho managed to land on Marado without getting a single drop of water on him.

Just then—

BOOM!!

A loud explosion.

He turned his head to see the boat he’d ridden in erupting in a blast.

Good timing.

If he’d been even a few seconds late, he might’ve been caught in that explosion.

"But still..."

Landing on Marado without getting wet was nice and all—

But the moment he reached the shore, a massive crowd gathered to greet him.

All of them were Low-Grade Wind Spirits.

"From water to wind, huh?"

There were no choices.

In the end, he’d have to cut them all down.

And of course, he had a way to do it.

If Su-ho were a regular swordsman, his blade wouldn’t even land a scratch on Wind Spirits.

But Su-ho wasn’t a regular swordsman.

In fact, his class wasn’t even that of a swordsman.

He began casting his self-buffs.

[Blessing is activated.]

[Holy Enchant is applied.]

As both skills activated, a radiant white glow erupted, lighting up the dark island of Marado.

Yes.

It was like a lighthouse.

A new beacon rising in place of the island’s long-dead lighthouse.

And that brilliant light served as an unexpected declaration of war, shaking all of Marado and drawing the attention of every single Wind Spirit.

Fwoooosh!

Gale winds surged around him.

A single Wind Spirit might only stir a breeze, but when they gathered, they became a storm.

So when a sudden gust of wind hit, it wasn’t the ocean breeze—it was the Wind Spirits, converging en masse.

Fwoooosh!

Gale after gale swirled toward Su-ho like the winds at dawn.

With his long hair whipping violently behind him, Su-ho straightened his grip on his sword.

The Wind Spirits gathered, evolving from mere breezes to full-blown gales. But Su-ho wasn’t afraid.

Some might say that even specks of dust add up to a mountain.

But not Su-ho.

To him, specks gathered were still just specks.

That was a belief born of past experience.

Because in his past life, Su-ho had once slain a Spirit King.

He pointed his sword at the approaching Wind Spirits and spoke.

"Let’s get this over with, you windy bastards."

FWOOOOSH!!

A massive gust of wind surged straight for him.

***

“Hoo...”

The wind blew across Marado.

There wasn’t a single corpse in sight across the dark island, and yet it felt strangely filled with the stench of blood.

And standing at the center of it all—was one man.

Su-ho.

He glanced down at his tattered clothes and clicked his tongue.

“No wonder this Gate got sealed.”

Unless you were a mage or had special equipment, you couldn’t even see the Wind Spirits—let alone fight them. And there were this many?

Not to mention, it was a remote island with no immediate reinforcements.

Due to the terrain, not even a proper Square could be established here. In his past life, this place was ultimately abandoned and sealed off.

The only silver lining was that the Wind Spirits never crossed the sea to the mainland.

‘But that’s all in the past now.’

This time, he was the one to clear what no one else could.

‘Let’s see what’s inside.’

Su-ho turned toward the portal of the Marado Gate—the one no one had ever cleared—and began walking.