Return of the Sword God-Rank Civil Servant-Chapter 447

“...!”

Su-ho’s eyes widened.

It had begun, the hatching.

At the same time, it was not some artificial pounding, but Su-ho’s actual heart that began to pound.

‘For the dragon’s Authority to awaken so suddenly.’

It was truly a timing he had never imagined.

Maybe that was why.

Without realizing it, the corners of Su-ho’s mouth lifted.

‘Looks like the First Big Gate is going to be the true turning point of my power.’

He had come in thinking he would just sweep it away quickly, but inside, he had harvested gains beyond imagination.

Su-ho calmly looked around.

Bulgasari was rolling around by itself, waiting for Su-ho’s command, and Girard’s severed Fingers had vanished without a trace.

The holes that had been pouring out sand were quiet as well.

Instead, a single portal, wavering in black, had newly appeared and was undulating alone.

Its identity was the entrance leading to the Boss Room.

Seeing that, Su-ho thought.

‘Right, once I go past that, the highlight of this Big Gate will begin.’

That was why it was waiting quietly for him.

Because only this very moment would be the last resting time he could take before fighting the boss battle.

In that case, there was no need to rush.

He already thoroughly knew the strategy for the boss battle of the First Big Gate

‘Then that means that right now is the quietest time I’ll have, where nothing will disturb me.’

Once he cleared the Big Gate and went back out, there would again be a mountain of things he had to deal with.

He would have to say countless things about clearing the Big Gate.

To Su-ho, those were scarier and more annoying than the Big Gate’s boss.

So Su-ho turned his head and first looked at Bulgasari.

“Bulgasari.”

“Bulbul.”

“You worked hard.”

“Bul!”

“I’ll let you feast once we get out.”

“Buul~!”

After Su-ho dismissed Bulgasari, who answered vigorously, he once again opened his status window.

[ An Su-ho ]

Lv: 270

Class: Rage Crusader

Grade: Middle Player

Traits: <New Blood><Candidate of Heracles><King of Destroyed Nations><Power of the Sun><Power of the Moon><Guest of Grid>

Strength (N): 63

Mana (S): 1

Senses (B): 65

Command (N): 89

Bonus stats: 50

Su-ho narrowed his eyes as he looked at his status window.

Fifty bonus stat points.

And °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° the only Silver-color stat.

In that case, the answer was already decided.

‘Invest everything into the Silver stat.’

It was the moment he thought that and was about to allocate bonus stat points into Mana.

[ You cannot add bonus stat points. ]

[ To allocate bonus stat points to a Silver-color stat, you need at least two or more Purple-color stats. ]

“...What?”

Su-ho’s eyes narrowed as he read the notification.

His mouth dropped open along with them.

No, how can this be a thing?

They’re my bonus stats, you know?

But the system was firm.

No matter how many times he tried to add stats again—

[ You cannot add bonus stat points. ]

[ To allocate bonus stat points to a Silver-color stat, you need at least two or more Purple-color stats. ]

The system firmly blocked any further allocation of bonus stat points into the Silver stat.

“Ha, unbelievable...”

He was disappointed.

It wasn’t any other stat but the Silver stat; if he invested everything, it would become 51 in an instant, and then he had thought he would soon be able to achieve another color promotion.

But the system did not set up the board that generously.

With regret, Su-ho squeezed his eyes shut and puckered his expression, then soon afterward raised the Navy-color Strength stat to Purple.

[ The Strength stat has become 100. ]

[ The Strength stat grows one step further. ]

[ Congratulations! The Strength stat’s level has risen and become Purple grade! ]

He used 37 bonus stat points to make the Strength stat Purple-color.

He had hoped that maybe this, too, would become a special achievement, but there was no change at all.

Su-ho was about to allocate the remaining 13 bonus stat points all into Strength, then stopped his hand.

‘It said you need two Purple stats to raise the Silver stat, didn’t it?’

Then there was no need to raise Strength any further.

After investing the remaining 13 bonus stat points into Senses, Su-ho refreshed the status window.

[ An Su-ho ]

Lv: 270

Class: Rage Crusader

Grade: Middle Player

Traits: <New Blood><Candidate of Heracles><King of Destroyed Nations><Power of the Sun><Power of the Moon><Guest of Grid>

Strength (P): 1

Mana (S): 1

Senses (B): 78

Command (N): 89

Bonus stats: 0

‘Right, for now I’ll be satisfied with this.’

Think of it as one step back for the sake of two steps forward.

After closing the status window, Su-ho hesitated for a moment in thought, then summoned Grid.

“Grid.”

[ Guest of Grid is activated. ]

[ Grid responds to your call. ]

- Right, I’m here.

The moment he was called, Grid appeared, summoned as if he had been waiting.

Seeing the guy’s face that looked somewhat rushed, Su-ho let out a small laugh.

“You look a bit rushed, don’t you?”

- Hehe, do I? But I can’t help it.

“Because you were watching everything?”

- Yeah! I’m always watching your every single move! So here’s the thing, you’re really an incredible guy. I knew you were already amazing, but I had no idea you were this insanely amazing!

Grid, uncharacteristically, poured out praise.

Well, I was always kind of outstanding.

But seeing Grid making such a fuss like this, it seemed the achievements he had just made really were that great.

‘Well, that’s exactly why I called Grid.’

Su-ho asked.

“Thanks for the compliments, but let’s stop with the flattery here. Why do you think I suddenly called you?”

- Heh heh, obvious. You’re curious about the new powers and qualifications you got, right?

“Correct. You’re a being who even gets direct permissions from the system. So, since you were watching everything, explain it to me. No, first explain the Silver stat. I get that Silver comes after Purple, but what comes after that? And what’s the last color in the stat levels?”

Questions poured out in a rush.

The reason Su-ho had called Grid was for these things.

At this point, the only being who could satisfy Su-ho’s curiosity was Grid.

At that question, Grid smiled in a greasy way.

- Hoho, is this perhaps a trade proposal?

“A trade?”

This bastard, huh?

At the word “trade,” Su-ho raised one corner of his mouth in a sneer.

“So this is how you come out? You trying to cut ties with me now or what?”

- Ahem, ahem, that’s not it. It’s just that I’m a Great Demon of Greed, so I want to be faithful to the basics...

“What the fuck. Forget it. Let’s say this conversation never happened. And I’ll never call you again. I’ve never seen a human—no, a demon—this bad at business.”

- W-w-wait!

“Yeah, fuck off.”

When Su-ho flipped him off and started toward the black portal where the boss battle would open, the startled Grid hurriedly ran in front of Su-ho, spread his arms wide, and blocked him.

- Hey now, why are you being like this? Isn’t it overreacting a bit to one little joke?

“A joke? You’re calling that just now a joke?”

- Yeah, of course it was a joke. A slightly demonic joke, you might say? A Demon Realm-style joke?

“What the fuck, I don’t care if it’s Demon Realm style or demonic humor, both sides have to find it funny for it to be a joke. Is this how you manage regulars—no, VVIPs?”

- Okay, okay, I get it, I get it, I’m sorry. I’m really sorry. I messed up. So how about you let it go now. You’ve got a lot of things you’re curious about.

“Then show some sincerity.”

- What kind of sincerity?

“Raise the trait grade. You’re not about to say that the only contract grade related to you is ‘Guest of Grid,’ right?”

- ...

Grid’s mouth closed.

Then he let out a hollow laugh and spoke.

- How the hell do you even know about stuff like that?

“Very well. So, your answer?”

- ...All right, fine.

“Should’ve done that from the start.”

Su-ho laughed inwardly.

Angry?

To be honest, he wasn’t.

He had just grabbed onto a pretext and acted oversensitive.

That way, he could squeeze something more out of him.

He didn’t think it was going too far.

The other party wasn’t a human but a demon.

No, whether the other party was human or demon, Su-ho had no intention of playing friendship games with Grid.

With Grid, he intended to maintain a thoroughly give-and-take, clearly businesslike partner relationship.

‘No, even if the other party were human, if the in-game roles are divided into Player and NPC, this is the right way to act.’

Did I come back in time and grind myself into the dirt like a dog just to talk about love and friendship?

One of the key points of a long marathon is not forgetting that this is a desperate run.

Soon, Grid began to manipulate the system.

[ The Great Demon of Greed clicks his tongue at your greed. ]

[ The Great Demon of Greed fully acknowledges you. ]

[ The Great Demon of Greed classifies your existence differently. ]

[ The trait information of 'Guest of Grid' is altered. ]

[ You have become 'Grid’s Precious Guest'. ]

[ You have received recognition from a Great Demon for the first time. ]

[ For achieving a great feat, the system presents you with 10 bonus stat points. ]

The grade had gone up.

But what was this?

Precious Guest?

Seeing the altered trait information, Su-ho furrowed his brow.

“What is this, you kidding me right now?”

- What? Why? I raised the trait grade just like you wanted, didn’t I?

“Unbelievable...”

A dry laugh.

Then, clicking his tongue, he spoke with his brow still furrowed.

“Grid, let’s speak plainly.”

- About what?

“I was already a precious guest to you. In terms of grade, I was a VIP among VIPs, a VVIP. You can’t argue with that, can you?”

- Argue... I can’t.

“And have you no shame? A Great Demon can only form a relationship with exactly one Player out of all Players, and right now you’re in a partnership with the single greatest and strongest Player existing on Earth. On top of that, I even brought you Lust’s Rune not long ago.”

- W-well, yeah...?

“And even then I’m only your ‘Precious Guest’?”

- ...

Grid fell silent.

Every single word was so on point that he had nothing to say.

As Grid kept his mouth shut, Su-ho pressed him.

“Answer me. Even after all that, I’m only a precious guest? You’re not planning to become Demon King? You don’t need the rest of the Seven Deadly Sins’ runes?”

- All right, fine. Fine. I’ll raise it more, okay? But seriously, how do you even know all this stuff?

“Does that matter? You’d better carry yourself properly. I’ve already given you Lust’s Rune and become the first Middle Player, proving my value. Meaning, I can live without you now, but you’re stuck in a state where you’ve got nobody but me. So...”

- Okay, okay, I said okay! Geez, you really don’t get tired of bragging about how great you are, huh.

At Su-ho’s relentless barrage of facts, Grid adjusted the system again.

[ The Great Demon of Greed not only clicks his tongue at your greed but even feels admiration. ]

[ The Great Demon of Greed has become completely fed up with you. ]

[ The Great Demon of Greed classifies your existence differently. ]

[ The trait information of 'Grid’s Precious Guest' is altered. ]

[ You have become 'Grid’s Partner'. ]

[ You have once again received recognition from a Great Demon and succeeded in raising your rank. ]

[ For achieving a great feat, the system presents you with 10 bonus stat points. ]

Seeing the system notifications, Su-ho’s expression brightened.