Return of the Sword God-Rank Civil Servant novel Chapter 249

‘A new gate?’

It really was.

That gate hadn’t been there when he first entered the Kaesong Industrial Complex.

Not to mention, it wasn’t in his memories from his previous life either.

He had already confirmed the location of all the gates before entering this place.

So for a new one to appear now, there was only one explanation.

‘My actions triggered a new variable.’

And the source of that variable likely stemmed from his conquest of the Anvil Gates.

Su-ho’s lips curled up.

‘Then of course I’m the one who should clear it.’

He had planned to return to Seoul.

He had already taken everything the Kaesong Industrial Complex had to offer, so it was time to prepare his next move.

But how could he say no to a bonus gift from the system?

Su-ho immediately mounted Bulgasari.

“Let’s go, Bulgasari.”

“Bul-bul!”

Dudududududu!

Bulgasari sprinted forward.

As they headed toward the center of the complex, Agwis came swarming.

Dodging them left and right, Su-ho drew closer to the center, and finally confirmed what he’d seen.

A new gate really had appeared right in the center of the complex.

And it was sitting directly on top of the shattered statue of the Kim father-and-son duo.

‘After the Great Shift, it didn’t take long for North Korea to descend into a revolutionary atmosphere.’

It was a country that never had much patriotism to begin with.

But when power beyond even the People’s Army was given to the people, those who had long been dissatisfied inevitably began to foster a desire for revolution.

That’s why the North Korean leadership started massacring awakened citizens.

‘The People's Massacre. That was the path to their downfall.’

Shaking his head, Su-ho stepped into the gate.

[ Entering the Gate. ]

[ Retrieving Gate information. ]

[ The Howling Forge ]

– Entry Conditions: Successor of Yajang Style, at least two Orange stats.

– Maximum Entry: 1 person.

Su-ho smirked after reading the gate information.

‘I knew it.’

This gate was clearly made for him.

Proof? The entry condition explicitly listed “Successor of Yajang Style.”

[ Entering The Howling Forge. ]

The scenery changed.

After flashing black, the scene stabilized—and it was in front of a door.

But the door had no handle.

Instead, there was a small anvil placed in front of it.

Seeing the anvil, Su-ho instinctively thought of the hammer.

‘Didn’t expect to use this right away.’

He pulled the Sealed Hammer from his inventory.

And recalled the phrase from its description.

To unlock the first seal of the hammer, ten strikes are required.

He had planned to try it later at home, maybe by pounding the floor or something—but who knew there’d be a dedicated anvil for it?

Without hesitation, Su-ho struck the anvil.

Kang!

As the hammer hit, a faint glow began to rise from the anvil.

He had guessed right.

He continued striking the anvil.

Kang! Kang! Kang! Kang!

Then it happened.

Kugugugu!

As he pounded, the floor began to tremble.

Su-ho paused momentarily but resumed hammering.

And finally, after the tenth strike—

[ The Anvil of the Great Yajang responds to your hammering. ]

A system notification.

At the same time, the door began to open.

Screeeech—

With a deep rumble, the door creaked open.

And the moment it did, an intense heat rushed out and enveloped Su-ho.

The heat reached not just his face, but deep into his respiratory system.

At the same time, he heard a bubbling sound.

‘This must be...’

Right.

The name of this gate was The Howling Forge.

Beneath the grid-patterned floor stretched across the field, molten lava boiled and churned.

At the center of that field stood clumps of iron pillars, clustered together like a pile of clay slapped together by a child.

Su-ho crossed the narrow grid paths and reached the space between the pillars, inspecting them.

‘Looks like a pile of stone cairns you’d find stacked on a mountain trail.’

Except instead of stacked stones, these were clumped masses of all kinds of metal fused into one.

So were they all just scrap metal?

One might think that, but judging by their appearance, they didn’t seem like mere junk.

Some of them glittered like gold; others had the refined sheen of silver.

But what drew Su-ho’s attention more than these mountains of scrap were the anvil placed at the center of them.

‘There’s another one here.’

It was the exact same shape as the one in front of the gate’s entrance.

As he had that thought, a system notification appeared before him.

[ The Sealed Hammer of the Great Yajang responds to your hammering. ]

[ The first seal has been partially released. ]

[ A quest has been triggered. ]

The seal had partially been released.

Simultaneously, a quest had begun, and Su-ho quickly checked the quest details.

[ The Territorial Nature of the Nameless Forgemasters ]

– Grade: S

The nameless Forgemasters do not welcome your intrusion into their forge.

However, due to an absolute promise, they cannot completely ignore your presence.

If you wish to gain what you seek here, pass their trials and earn your reward based on the recognition you receive.

The quest name was The Territorial Nature of the Nameless Forgemasters.

After reading the description, Su-ho nodded.

‘So the rewards are given based on performance.’

That meant he had to aim for the best result.

Then—

[ The Nameless Forgemasters shake their heads at your dumbfounded expression. ]

[ The Nameless Forgemasters want you to prove you possess at least minimal talent. ]

[ Find the pure iron hidden within the scrap heaps and prove your talent to the Forgemasters. ]

[ Only «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» hammering is acknowledged as a valid method of extraction. ]

Su-ho narrowed his eyes.

‘These little bastards?’

All he’d done was look around, and they called him dumbfounded?

Anyway, extract pure iron?

He looked over at the scrap heaps.

The system called them heaps of junk.

And at a glance, they were taller than Su-ho himself.

And now he had to extract pure iron from those?

How much time had passed?

Su-ho’s clothing had become noticeably lighter.

The extreme heat, along with the continuous hammering, had drenched him in sweat.

He’d lost count of how many strikes he’d made.

Still, it wasn’t for nothing.

The previously random-colored scrap heap had begun to glow red-hot.

A result of the friction from his hammering.

“Hoo.”

After a brief rest, Su-ho struck again.

That was when it happened.

Kang!

Juh-geok!

The scrap heap cracked.

It was a small fracture, but like slicing meat from a carcass, he chipped away a fist-sized fragment from the heap.

‘It’s starting.’

Brushing the chunk aside, Su-ho swung again.

After several more strikes—

Juh-geok!

Another fragment fell off.

He felt a rush of exhilaration.

Kang!

Another few swings.

Kang!

Another fist-sized piece flew free.

It rolled along the floor and dropped into the molten lava through the grid gap.

Sploosh!

But Su-ho didn’t care.

His goal was the single object hidden within the massive heap.

He kept chipping away, carving the scrap heap with only his hammer like a sculptor.

Kang! Juh-geok!

Kang! Ji-geok!

Kang! Juh-jeok!

Once he started peeling off the layers, the momentum carried him, cutting deep into the heap.

But it wasn’t like making a hole in sand.

The heap was solid.

So he carefully trimmed from the outside in.

And finally, when all the unnecessary outer layers were cleared and he reached his target—

“There you are.”

Standing tall like an Olympic torch, the object emerged.

It didn’t look much different from the rest of the scrap.

But Su-ho, with Mana Detection, knew for certain.

Grabbing the piece, he raised his hammer and struck at the base still fused with junk.

Kang!

And with that, the object he’d aimed for came loose, landing in his hand.

But then—he hit a snag.

‘Now what?’

He’d successfully gathered the pure iron.

But how was he supposed to verify it?

At that moment, the anvil at the center of the scrap heap began to glow faintly.

‘Don’t tell me...’

As if drawn by instinct, Su-ho approached the anvil and placed the extracted metal on it.

Then—

Fwoosh!

[ The Nameless Forgemasters nod in approval. ]