Return of the Sword God-Rank Civil Servant novel Chapter 152

Kang! Kang!

The sound of metal scraping.

Su-ho's blood sword struck the super-large Giant Mimic.

Though the stat difference was vast, the steel mass of the super-large Giant Mimic didn’t even receive a scratch.

Yet, Su-ho showed no concern and continued to swing his sword.

– .......

The super-large Giant Mimic remained silent.

Normally, mimics strike when their opponents show weakness or when they are tired.

But even when it was struck again and again, not even a scratch appeared. Was there any reason for it to tire first?

None.

The super-large Giant Mimic thought this way.

It had always been this way, and it intended to continue.

It certainly thought so.

Until the pain came.

Sting!

– ......?

The Mimic's eyes widened.

It was a sting.

It was certainly a sting.

The Mimic inspected its body within the steel mass.

And it found it.

A faint but small scratch.

That was when it happened.

Sting!

Another sting.

Right where the first scratch had appeared.

The Mimic's eyes widened.

It wasn’t a coincidence.

This was clear damage.

Then, suddenly, it dawned on the Mimic.

Why is it so quiet?

The sound of metal scraping, which had been audible just moments ago, was gone.

By the time that thought crossed its mind.

Screech!

Sharp cutting sound.

At the same time, the Mimic's eyes grew as large as plates.

The sharp cutting sound was coming from its own body.

At the same time, a sharp pain flared up, and blood began to spread within the steel mass.

In that moment, a laugh was heard from outside.

“Yeah! This is it!”

The laugh was that of the challenger.

Ah!

This was that bastard’s doing!

Realization dawned, and as the Mimic's senses shifted toward the challenger.

Screech!!

– Kreeeek!!

The Mimic couldn’t help but scream.

The moment the Mimic’s senses focused on the challenger, as if by magic, part of its body cracked open.

Blood gushed from the cracked body, and realizing that this was the challenger's attack, the Mimic surged upward, like a dragon leaping, breaking through its steel shell.

– Khuuuhh!!

The roar of the super-large Giant Mimic.

A mixture of pain and a growl, it was so intense it seemed ready to burst every eardrum in the area.

[ The super-large Giant Mimic is using a boss monster-level Fear. ]

[ Dragon's Blood is activated. ]

[ Due to the effect of the Dragon's Spirit from Dragon's Blood, the Fear effect does not apply. ]

However, Su-ho was the exception.

Thus, Su-ho stood firm and once again swung his sword.

Not at the exposed Mimic but still at the steel mass.

And the moment Su-ho’s sword swung, as if by magic, the Mimic’s skin was cut beyond the steel mass.

That was when the long-awaited system notification appeared before Su-ho’s eyes.

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

[ The system recognizes your exceptional swordsmanship and fully acknowledges your effort. ]

[ Understanding of the Sword has activated. ]

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

Cross Cut.

The four characters made Su-ho’s lips curl up to his ears.

‘Finally!’

He had succeeded in learning the Cross Cut at last.

The Cross Cut, literally skipping the front part of the target and cutting the rear, was a swordsmanship technique with an effect that ignored defenses.

In other words, with proper distance control, it could ignore almost any thickness of armor and still land a cut.

‘To survive as a swordsman, it’s a stage that must be reached.’

The Cross Cut was a technique that was practically impossible in reality.

But since the system had appeared, and with consistent effort and faith in his technique, and as long as a skill existed in the system, it could be learned.

And so he had learned it.

From the Cross Cut stage, swordsmen who previously only slashed and thrust began to grow into something special.

‘And for me, it's the foundation of that technique.’

Of course, all of this was possible because Su-ho possessed Understanding of the Sword.

Without the option of "unlimited acquisition of all swordsmanship skills" that came with Understanding of the Sword, no matter how much he practiced, Su-ho, as a healer, wouldn’t have been able to learn the Cross Cut.

For that reason, Su-ho swung his sword with joy.

[ Cross Cut has activated. ]

Screech!

After officially acquiring the Cross Cut, Su-ho poured his will into his sword swing, and the Cross Cut was instantly triggered.

With the heavy sensation of the cut at the tip of his sword, Su-ho smiled again.

‘This is the joy of mastering a skill.’

It takes time to master, but once learned, it can be used as naturally as breathing.

At that moment, the Mimic’s attack came rushing toward Su-ho.

Boom!!

The body of the Mimic had many similarities to slime.

Its gelatinous body, without separate limbs, could stretch out tentacle-like appendages to attack.

But unlike slime, it hid its head inside, and like a growing head, it could suddenly extend and bite with sharp teeth or swallow whole.

Just like now.

– KWAaaak!!

Boom!!

The Giant Mimic's head slammed into the spot where Su-ho had been.

But, despite its size, Su-ho was not the type to fall for such a simple attack.

Su-ho quickly moved out of position and swung his sword toward the Mimic’s extended head.

[ Cross Cut has activated. ]

Screech!

When using the Cross Cut, it's best to cut as deeply as possible.

That way, the sword reaches the innermost parts of the internal organs and delivers the greatest damage.

The same applied when facing the Giant Mimic.

The Cross Cut, which caused internal damage rather than external, could cause direct wounds to the internal organs, making it highly effective against weaknesses vulnerable to pain.

– Khuuuhh!!

[ All stats have increased by 1. ]

[ You have gained 1 bonus stat point. ]

As the Giant Mimic died, system notifications flooded in.

Su-ho had intended to let it land one more hit, but the previous attack had looked painful.

So, he just let it die.

But he had no regrets.

Thanks to it, he had finally learned the Cross Cut.

‘I intentionally caused the injury, but it wasn’t to get hurt or die.’

Su-ho threw his Guiyeong Spear at the dead Mimic and fed it its shadow.

[ Guiyeong Spear reacts to the super-large Giant Mimic’s shadow. ]

[ Guiyeong Spear absorbs the super-large Giant Mimic’s shadow. ]

Normally, Su-ho would have used the Guiyeong Spear’s shadow-piercing option.

That would have made capturing the Mimic easier.

But he had held back because of the Cross Cut, and instead, he fed the Mimic’s shadow to the spear.

[ Guiyeong Spear is enhanced. ]

[ Guiyeong Spear has fully absorbed the super-large Giant Mimic’s shadow. ]

No change was observed.

It seemed the experience wasn’t quite enough yet.

Su-ho nodded, retrieved the Guiyeong Spear, and extended his hand toward the Mimic.

He aimed to collect its blood.

However,

[ Cannot absorb blood. ]

The skill didn’t activate.

The reason was simple—Mimics didn’t have blood to speak of.

‘As expected.’

It was disappointing, but there was nothing to be done about it.

Instead, Su-ho harvested the magic stone from the Giant Mimic.

A large magic stone from a boss monster.

Naturally, it was a 1-star, S-rank magic stone.

‘This should be enough for a decoy.’

Su-ho smiled and collected it.

Then, after distributing his bonus stat to mana, he took out a large pile of steel swords that he had bought earlier.

There were at least forty or so.

Su-ho picked up one of them.

‘Shall we begin?’

Clang!

Su-ho swung the steel sword at the dead Giant Mimic’s shell.

As the Gate line collapsed, all the soldiers, including Major Kim Seung-ho, began to panic.

Except for one.

That person was Jo Jin-hwi.

The completely calm Jo Jin-hwi smiled to himself as he muttered.

"Just like I thought, it’s always impressive when it's him."

A sealed gate was typically treated like a disaster.

Even when Jo Jin-hwi wrote his articles, he’d referred to it as something inevitable.

But after spending time around Su-ho, sealed gates didn’t feel quite so terrifying anymore.

Even after emerging from a gate, Su-ho seemed perfectly fine, without a scratch—he made it seem like going to the neighborhood store.

When Su-ho finally emerged, Jo Jin-hwi approached with a drink he had prepared.

But upon seeing Su-ho, Jo Jin-hwi was shocked.

"Ah, An Su-ho?!"

The reason for Jo Jin-hwi’s shock was simple.

Su-ho emerged from the gate, covered in blood and wounds.