Return of the Sword God-Rank Civil Servant

Chapter 102

“See you tomorrow.”

“Yes, sir. Thank you for the ride.”

By the time they were returning to Seoul, it was already around quitting time.

After dropping Suho off at home, Jung Chulmin returned to the association alone.

Suho could have just gone straight home, but as his handler, Jung Chulmin had various follow-up tasks to manage.

Understanding this, Suho simply watched as Jung Chulmin’s car faded into the distance.

“Well, I suppose it’s time for me to get moving too.”

While he had already given an order to Jo Jin-hwi, there were still many others he needed to contact.

Most notably, Park Gyu-min and Pi Seongyeol.

Though he had grown close to Jung Chulmin, making a call in front of him still felt a bit awkward.

Suho first dialed Pi Seongyeol.

– Oh, hey, junior. What’s up?

“Senior, I’m calling to report something.”

– What is it?

“While undergoing a field evaluation for the Gate Management Department today…”

Suho gave Pi Seongyeol a brief summary.

He explained that he had cleared a Sealed Gate and why such an incident had occurred.

After listening to the explanation, Pi Seongyeol chuckled.

– Impressive. Isn’t this your third Sealed Gate already?

“Yes, that’s right.”

– You’re something else. Nice work; couldn’t have been helped in that situation, right? You didn’t get hurt, did you?

“I’m fine. I’ve taken care of all the injuries myself.”

– Haha, it’s nice to have a swordsman who can also heal. Alright, noted.

“Yes, sir.”

Pi Seongyeol didn’t make much of the fact that Suho had cleared a Sealed Gate.

All he did was give a brief word of praise.

It made sense.

To him, the Sealed Gate clearance wasn’t particularly significant.

Suho understood that well, but since he had been instructed to report even minor details, he did as asked.

After all, if something like this slipped under the radar, it could lead to nitpicking later on.

“The sort of person who’d get upset about being the last to know something everyone else already knew.”

That was exactly the kind of person Pi Seongyeol was.

Suho then called Park Gyu-min.

– Ah, Hunter Ahn. What’s the matter?

“I wanted to inform you of something.”

Suho relayed the same details he had given to Pi Seongyeol.

– A Sealed Gate?

“Yes, I assume by now the military has been informed, and in a few days, they’ll begin the disassembly work on the square.”

– Well, this is… So, is there anything else I should know?

“There is. Up until now, I was just reporting, but now I have an actual request.”

Hearing that Suho had a request, Park Gyu-min became tense.

Suho continued.

“Well… Vice President, you’re aware that there’s been talk about me being part of ‘Royal’ within the organization, right? And that I’ll start at the Assistant Team Leader level once my training period is over, with a high likelihood of being assigned to the Special Department.”

– It’d be stranger if I didn’t know. Why bring it up?

“I was wondering if you were alright with me joining the Special Department, Vice President.”

– …What are you trying to say?

“I think it’s about time we start keeping Pi Seongyeol’s influence in check. He’s been openly saying he’d take me into the Special Department, and everyone’s afraid to speak up because they’re all watching his reaction.”

– That’s true, but how exactly do you plan to curb Director Pi’s influence?

“I plan to leak information to the media about the existence of ‘Royal’ within the association and stir up speculation regarding the Special Department. ‘Royal’ itself is a term for unfair appointments, so if this reaches the public, people will naturally think that the Special Department is involved in power-driven favoritism.”

After a brief pause, Park Gyu-min responded thoughtfully.

– I see. Even though it’s perfectly natural for a top-performing individual to be assigned to a good department, if you frame it as part of ‘Royal,’ it’s bound to look negative. But would Pi Seongyeol even care about public opinion? I doubt he’d pay any attention.

Pi Seongyeol was exactly that type of person.

He was filled with elitism and had a tendency to look down on most people as if they were mere livestock.

Suho nodded.

“Pi Seongyeol won’t care, but the Association President will.”

– “Ah!”

Park Gyu-min let out an exclamation.

He wasn’t a complete fool.

Once the Association President came into the discussion, he quickly grasped Suho’s approach to holding Pi Seongyeol in check.

– So, all I need to do is nudge the Association President into assigning you somewhere other than the Special Department?

“Close. But please assign me to the Gate Department. If you were to place me in the Management or Awakening Departments, which are within your influence, Pi Seongyeol would immediately suspect you as the cause of all this trouble, which could create difficulties. You haven’t fully consolidated your own position yet, have you?”

– Hmm, that’s true… But isn’t the Gate Department within Pi Seongyeol’s territory? Assigning you there only to later recall you to the Special Department once things settle down, does it really make sense to go to all this trouble?

“There’s a point to it. The ‘Royal’ controversy we’ll ignite now will serve as the foundation for restraining Pi Seongyeol’s power. Besides, I have my own reasons for requesting the Gate Department. There’s something I need to do there.”

– Something you need to do?

“There is. But I didn’t just bring this up because of a mere assignment to the Gate Department; rather, this is about you slowly building influence by staying close to the Association President.”

– Building influence close to the Association President?

“There’s a factional divide in the association between your group and Director Pi Seongyeol’s group, while the Association President remains neutral.”

– That’s right.

“However, once the ‘Royal’ controversy erupts, the Association President won’t be able to stay uninvolved. He needs to move up to a position above that of the Korean Hunter Association’s president, and he won’t tolerate unnecessary noise along the way.”

A reasonable argument.

Having never considered borrowing the Association President’s power, Park Gyu-min’s eyes widened in realization.

– So?

“That’s why, starting with the ‘Royal’ controversy, you should position yourself as a loyal advisor to the Association President. Right now, you’re merely someone indulging his whims. While that position might be pleasing to someone in power, it doesn’t come across as particularly competent.”

– Ahem… That is…

“Forget that. To truly gain influence, you need to become someone useful to the Association President. So start pushing initiatives that could benefit him. That way, he’ll naturally come to support you. And, of course, I’ll prepare those beneficial proposals for you.”

Though Park Gyu-min might work on consolidating his position, Suho didn’t believe he would be able to surpass Pi Seongyeol.

“Someone born with a different potential altogether will only shatter the smaller vessel by fighting against it.”

So, he planned to make full use of the Association President.

Of course, he didn’t intend to use the President simply to benefit Park Gyu-min alone.

Suho continued speaking.

“Vice President, do you know the easiest way to gain popularity and power?”

– What is it?

“It’s by leeching off a star. Stick close to a popular star and act in ways that the star’s fans will appreciate. The fans will naturally start to have a favorable opinion of you as well.”

– The popular star you’re talking about… is that you?

“Yes, think of it like a politician’s campaign. Ultimately, that’s all about popularity too, isn’t it?”

Whether by appointment or election, popularity always has a significant impact on the results.

The Association President surely knew this, so if the Vice President proposed riding on Suho’s popularity for political gain, Jang Kyunghwan, who cared deeply about his future, would inevitably support Suho following Park Gyu-min’s advice.

“If that happens, my influence will grow, as will Park Gyu-min’s, allowing us to gradually start reforming the Association from the inside.”

In Suho’s plan, Park Gyu-min was an essential figure.

After all, even if Suho’s promotions came rapidly, as someone still in his early twenties, he was a long way from reaching the upper echelons of the Association.

The same applied to Jung Chulmin.

Therefore, the best approach for achieving results quickly was to make use of the current infrastructure.

“Punish and discard them if needed, but until then, use them efficiently.”

Upon hearing Suho’s explanation, Park Gyu-min nodded vigorously.

– Understood. So what kind of proposals are you planning? If you tell me in advance, I can start preparing the groundwork little by little.

“I’ll tell you when the time comes. For now, just focus on preparing for the Royal controversy I mentioned. I’ll be in touch.”

Having finished his business, Suho ended the call.

Though Park Gyu-min had asked to hear the proposals in advance, Suho had intentionally withheld them.

The reason was simple.

He didn’t fully trust Park Gyu-min’s capabilities.

“Even giving him one task at a time feels risky, so there’s no need to give him advance notice.”

A slip-up—especially a verbal slip-up—could happen anywhere at any time.

With the call completed, Suho finally began heading home.

***

– [Exclusive] Sword God Ahn Suho Clears Third Sealed Gate!

That evening.

As planned, Jo Jin-hwi sent out the signal for Suho’s Sealed Gate conquest.

– Wow, seriously? Cleared another Sealed Gate?

– Is this guy insane?

– Unbelievable, especially while he’s still in training, and yet he cleared another Gate?

– Does this even make sense?

– Ahn Suho! Ahn Suho! Ahn Suho! Ahn Suho! Ahn Suho! Ahn Suho! Ahn Suho! Ahn Suho! Ahn Suho! Ahn Suho! Ahn Suho! Ahn Suho! Ahn Suho! Ahn Suho! Ahn Suho! Ahn Suho! Ahn Suho!

– Mom, I want to grow up to be the Sword God! Mom, I want to grow up to be the Sword God! Mom, I want to grow up to be the Sword God! Mom, I want to grow up to be the Sword God! Mom, I want to grow up to be the Sword God!

– It’s not easy to pull this off; this is truly incredible.

– So he faced the monster lion in the Iron Valley? How did he manage that?

└ Didn’t he just use his sword? He’s the Sword God.

└ No, no, don’t you know the monster lion’s traits? That thing’s practically invincible.

└ Yeah, it’s insane. Someone I know went in for the raid and barely escaped after their weapon got destroyed.

└ But he still did it, didn’t he?

└ Is the Sword God using some kind of titanium sword?

└ So what kind of sword does the Sword God use?

└ Routine inspection?

└ Emergency inspection?

└ Extended inspection?

└ Stop overdoing it.

Naturally, the reaction was intense.

Suho’s fanbase was already growing, but apart from that, his third Sealed Gate clearance was something that the general public found genuinely remarkable.

Other news outlets began eagerly picking up Jo Jin-hwi’s article, and soon, the entire nation was buzzing with Suho’s story.

Seo Giwon, who was reading the news, spoke to Suho.

“Wow, hyung. This article is generating a huge reaction.”

“Yeah, I’m really grateful.”

“But how did you actually take down that monster lion? I heard the elite raid team couldn’t even leave a scratch on it.”

“How do you think I took it down?”

“Well, since it’s you, hyung, I’d say you defeated it with some amazing swordsmanship. Whoosh, whoosh!”

“No, I didn’t use a sword this time.”

“What? Then how?”

“I used a rear naked choke.”

“…What?”

“I took it down with a rear naked choke.”

“Rear naked choke…? You mean, like, that move where you choke it from behind?”

“Yeah, I couldn’t hurt it with strikes, so I decided to go for a ground fight.”

“…?”

“I’m serious.”

“…You’re kidding?”

Seo Giwon, who had initially thought it was a joke, stared at Suho in disbelief when he realized Suho was dead serious.

Who would think to use a rear naked choke on a boss monster in a Sealed Gate?

Just then—

“Team Leader!!”

Thud, thud, thud, thud!

Loud footsteps.

It was Nam Haewon hurrying down from the second floor.

With dark circles under his eyes, Nam Haewon ran up to Suho.

Then, with a look of utmost pride, he held something out to him.

“It’s finished!”

“Oh, could it be?”

“Yes, it is what you think! The Slime Stone is complete!”

What Nam Haewon held in his hands.

It was the final form of the Slime Stone, completed after sacrificing several nights’ sleep along with his health.