Return of the Sword God-Rank Civil Servant

Chapter 521

Zgeok—

The sword swung slowly once again.

It was so slow you’d wonder if that even counted as swinging a sword.

It was too slow and too monotonous a pattern to even call it a sword dance, yet unbelievably, Su-ho was swinging it while thinking of it as a cut.

And as time passed.

Zgeok—

The nick that had started out smaller than a fingernail was, at some point, easily surpassing the size of a thumbnail.

After another long stretch of time like that, another groove was carved into the door.

And then, at that moment.

Cheu-geogeok—

A different sound.

At that sound, Su-ho’s motion halted for a brief instant.

At the same time, the corner of his mouth lifted.

‘Almost there.’

In his previous life, Su-ho chose the Swordsman class and walked the path of the sword for his entire life.

The trait he obtained was called the Path of the Sword.

But among all the swordsmen who walked countless paths of the sword, the only person who ever saw the end was Su-ho alone.

The realm of the Formless Sword, called SS-rank for the first time, was proof of that.

Of course, even before he reached the realm of the Formless Sword, the countless processes he went through to get here—most of those were also at a level where Su-ho was the first, or the only one to reach them.

For example, the Cross Cut was like that.

Up to Cross Cut, the principle behind Soul Cut and its prior stage, Heart Cut—other swordsmen managed to perform it somehow, or at least imitate it.

But the one who grasped the principles beyond Cross Cut, to this day, had been no one but Su-ho.

‘It couldn’t be otherwise. The principles after Cross Cut were things only I learned—things I practically created myself through my own research.’

Why had it turned out like this?

Because Su-ho loved swordsmanship too much?

No.

Amazingly, that result was for the sake of dealing with those damn gates.

Because for Su-ho, who had nothing but swordsmanship, the only thing he could do was research and hone swordsmanship.

So the door in front of him wasn’t that big of an obstacle to Su-ho either.

No, he saw it as an opportunity.

‘To think the timing to learn this would come here.’

The corner of Su-ho’s mouth rose.

If he had to create something out of nothing, maybe. But what he was doing now was something he’d researched and practiced until he was sick of it in his previous life—something he’d obtained with his own hands.

He was only recreating that as it was, so what was so hard about it?

So he drew it out through repetition.

This technique hadn’t been turned into a skill yet, but if it triggered properly even once and “happened” to land, then just like his other techniques, it would be acknowledged by the system and become a technique he could pull out and use anytime.

That was when it happened.

Zgeogeogeok!

The sword swung slowly once again.

But this time, it left a huge, heavy sword mark that was on a completely different level from everything he’d heard—and everything he’d scratched out—until now.

Su-ho’s eyes shone.

Now the summit was truly right in front of him.

He calmed his excitement and swung his sword again.

Nothing changed.

The same stance, the same power, the same trajectory.

All of it repeated several more times without a hair’s breadth of error, and at that moment.

Gagagagagagagak!!

A sound like an iron door crumpling rang out, and then a result occurred that was hard to believe had come from slowly swinging and cutting at it.

Along with that, Su-ho could finally see it again.

[ Your understanding of swordsmanship is higher than anyone else’s. ]

[ The system has acknowledged your outstanding swordsmanship and has decided to fully acknowledge your efforts. ]

[ Understanding of the Sword is activated. ]

[ Congratulations! You have mastered Slow Cut (B). ]

A reunion with a technique he’d learned in the past.

“Ah, I finally learned it.”

Swordsmanship, if you really break it down, has only two things.

Cut and thrust.

If you go a bit further, there are actions like blocking or throwing too, but in the end, cutting and thrusting are the foundation and the entirety of swordsmanship.

This isn’t a particularly difficult technique.

An act that’s too obvious.

And that’s because a weapon called a sword has technical limits in the first place.

That was why swordsmen—no, why everyone, including swordsmen—had the habit of always trying to swing a sword fast and hard, and beyond that, safely.

‘Even a being that has never swung a sword even once in their life, too.’

That was only natural.

That stronger kinetic energy produces stronger damage is something people instinctively understand, even without swinging a sword or learning it in school.

That was why the Slow Cut Su-ho had just mastered was a technique—no, a technique close to a divine art.

Su-ho swung his sword again.

[ Slow Cut is activated. ]

Gagagagagagak!!

A sword swung slowly.

Now, even without deliberately setting his stance, just swinging the sword slowly produced even stronger damage.

Because it had been skill-ified.

Of course, he still had to pay at least minimal attention.

Because the principle and secret of Slow Cut lay in the overwhelming muscle strength he had compressed into the slow cutting motion.

And finally.

Kwagwang!!

Ku-gwa-gwa-gwa-gwa-gwa!!

The door, unable to withstand the stacked damage of repeated Slow Cuts, shattered as if crumpling, and the water poured in through the opening.

“Hoo.”

Finally, the water drained.

It felt like unclogging a blocked sewer.

Su-ho took a huge breath and enjoyed the fresh air inside the sealed room like it was loot.

Inside the opened door was, sure enough, dark again.

His eyesight was good, and thanks to the vampir effect he wasn’t restricted by darkness—but even so, he couldn’t see inside.

It was probably the kind of format where it only became visible, as if being pioneered, once he stepped in.

Maybe that was why it was so absurd.

‘This is seriously ridiculous.’

A Big Gate, you said?

Then how could a Big Gate have not a single monster in it?

Sure enough, this place wasn’t like the Big Gates he’d seen and experienced in his previous life.

Of course, those complaints were complaints born of regret.

Because it felt like fighting monsters would be easier.

‘Narrow, or dark, or flooded, or all of the above.’

No matter who designed it, the structure and the difficulty are damn ridiculous.

Su-ho called Roynan with irritation.

“Hey, mutt.”

“Yes, Master. Oh...... you finally succeeded in opening it?”

Roynan making a huge fuss the moment he was summoned.

As expected, the environment changes people.

After a few humiliations, every last trace of the nobility he’d had in the High Blood days was gone.

“Shut up and get in already.”

“Yes.”

The instant he saw the new path, Roynan understood why he’d been called and went right in without talking back.

And not long after, the bastard’s thought returned.

- Master, there are no monsters inside, and it’s filled with water again. But it’s much narrower than back there. And the path slopes slightly downward.

- What’s at the end?

- It’s a dead end, and there’s something like a door.

Hearing the scouting report, Su-ho quietly closed his eyes.

This is driving me insane.

The same pattern again?

Just give me monsters already.

But as if mocking him, the gate once again presented the task of being narrow and dark and full of water.

Su-ho unsummoned Roynan and followed the path Roynan had taken.

Chalbak—

Not long after entering, he could meet the usual wall filled with water.

And just as Roynan had said, the direction of the path stretched slightly downward, and this time too it was a path where only one person could barely fit.

The ceiling was low too.

‘Perfect for getting claustrophobia.’

I’m free from mental threats like that because I have the Ring of Joy and Sorrow, but if it were other players—especially someone who had that kind of phobia—they would’ve retired a long time ago.

Su-ho went down the path almost like he was diving, and after some time he reached the dead end with the door Roynan had mentioned.

‘Wow.’

Seeing the sight, Su-ho let out a sigh.

Thanks to the vampir effect, it looked bright as if the lights were on, but the place he’d arrived at this time was so narrow it couldn’t even be compared to the place he’d been in just before.

Of course, narrowness itself wasn’t a problem.

He could still move, after all.

But the reason Su-ho thought it was a problem was that the vertical space was so tight there was no angle to swing his sword at all.

‘After all that, learning Slow Cut and breaking through, now you won’t even give me an angle to swing my blade?’

Unbelievable.

And you think I’m going to give up?

Su-ho started searching the surroundings with Night Captain’s Eyes.

Sure enough, just like before, only the door in front of him was glowing red.

‘So in the end, I have no choice but to follow where the gate leads me.’

Looks like it.

Su-ho began testing one thing after another like before.

But the result was the same.

[ You cannot enter the Subspace House. ]

Not just the Subspace House—aside from his blood sword and self-buff-type skills, nothing could be used.

Su-ho calmly looked around again and gauged the size.

Then he came to a conclusion.

‘This doesn’t feel like the last one.’

Looking at the “estimate,” it felt like if it wanted to create the worst situation, it could make it even worse.

The reason that thought came to him was, to be honest, the situation itself was annoying—but the moment he saw this place, a way to break the situation had already come to mind.

That was why he felt like this wasn’t the last.

‘Because there’s no way the system doesn’t know what I know.’

This is a gate only I can enter—put another way, it’s fair to see it as my tailor-made exclusive gate.

On top of that, it’s a Big Gate derived from a special quest, and the fact it’s wrecking me with nothing but environment without a single monster means it must have some scheme, which is why it’s only showing environments like this.

‘What’s the intent?’

Is it testing me?

All kinds of thoughts come to him.

Because if I weren’t a regressor, I’d think this whole thing was just a sequence meant to screw me over—but I’m a regressor chosen by the system.

Said another way, it means it’s not just me who came to the past.

You could say the system came too.

Of course, that’s only a guess.

Just the most plausible possibility.

Because the system is the one that made me regress.

‘The system is the Master. There’s no rule the Master can’t control.’

Put differently, the system knows everything about me.

And in a situation like that, the fact it provided a gate like this meant there was a strong possibility this place wasn’t simply meant to screw me over, but had another purpose.

For example......

As one possibility came to mind, Su-ho swallowed a hollow laugh.

‘No way.’

Of course it probably wants to screw me over too.

Because it pursues entertainment.

But what if my guess is true?

After thinking /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ for a moment, Su-ho decided that seeing once was better than hearing a hundred times, and chose to confirm it himself.

[ Blood Armory is activated. ]

Dim darkness, and water filling the entire space.

The space itself was narrow too, so he couldn’t even set a stance to cut the door.

In other words, the Slow Cut he’d just mastered had become useless.

But it was fine.

There were still techniques he hadn’t mastered yet due to time reasons, and this time too, Su-ho planned to use one of them.

Su-ho slowly extended his sword.

Tung—

The texture of the heavy door submerged in water.

Like knocking, Su-ho tapped it with the tip of the blade.

Su-ho’s eyes sank sharply.

And this time too, just like when he mastered Slow Cut, he began repeatedly thrusting his blade without a break, like fencing, repeating the same power, the same speed, the same stance.

After a long time passed like that—

[ Your understanding of swordsmanship is higher than anyone else’s. ]

The notification he’d been waiting for began to appear before Su-ho’s eyes.