Return of the Sword God-Rank Civil Servant novel Chapter 279
Overwhelming firepower.
Having endured it many times against the Molten Dragon, Su-ho understood the power of Heatstorm better than anyone.
Right now, Su-ho was the sun.
With each step he took, he delivered hellish, blazing agony to his enemies, and the Lake of Serpents began to boil away—evaporating under his heat.
How many had he burned down like that?
[You have leveled up.]
[All stats have increased by 1.]
[You have acquired 1 Bonus Stat.]
He leveled up.
Even though their levels weren't displayed, the experience from these serpents was clearly enough to push him up a level.
Su-ho allocated the bonus stat to Strength, then continued forward.
Sizzle—
“Kiaaaaah!!”
[You have defeated ???.]
[You have defeated ???.]
[You have defeated ???.]
[You have defeated ???.]
...
Su-ho continued eliminating serpents as he moved deeper in.
At the same time, he never let up in his search for the Imoogi.
And finally—he saw it.
Or more precisely, he saw a presence with its reverse scale in a different location.
Su-ho canceled Heatstorm, then raised the Guiyeong Spear and hurled it.
[Javelin has been activated.]
CRACK!
Like spearing a fish, the Guiyeong Spear hit the suspected Imoogi dead-on.
And then—
“Kiaaaaaaaah!!”
The Imoogi screamed.
A deafening high-frequency screech.
Simultaneously, the surrounding serpents scattered in all directions, like eels doused in saltwater.
Then came the long-awaited message.
[A Boss Monster has appeared.]
‘Got it right.’
As the snakes scattered, the Imoogi—still impaled by the Guiyeong Spear—shot upward into the sky.
Something massive beneath the water had lifted it up.
What emerged was far larger than any serpent Su-ho had seen in this gate so far.
Larger than a python—something that brought to mind the mythical Leviathan.
‘But in the end, it’s just a glorified snake.’
Su-ho looked up to read its name.
[One Who Envied the Imoogi Lv.???]
“One Who Envied the Imoogi.”
That was its actual name.
Su-ho scoffed.
‘Seriously? It doesn’t even have a real name?’
In most runs of this gate, Players had failed because they killed the Imoogi by accident, causing the gate to collapse.
But those who succeeded in identifying the Imoogi late in the game confirmed: the boss here had no real name.
And now Su-ho saw that truth firsthand.
The serpent raised its head and wrapped the Imoogi—still impaled—with a bubble-like membrane, lifting it high into the air.
It was a bizarre sight.
You’d think a snake finding an Imoogi would kill it immediately. Instead, it protected it—covering it in a bubble as if shielding it.
And yet... its name was "One Who Envied the Imoogi."
But there was a reason for this contradiction.
Once the Imoogi grew strong enough, the serpent would devour it—
And by doing so, become the true Imoogi.
‘So basically, it's raising it as food.’
Once Players understood that, they started calling this type of monster a Water Worm—a snake neither noble nor powerful enough to be a dragon or Imoogi, and petty in heart as well.
Now, as the Water Worm lifted the Imoogi high into the sky, it turned its glowing yellow eyes on Su-ho and bared its fangs.
This wasn’t a battle worth dragging out. Better to end it all at once.
As the Eye of the Master Blacksmith activated, a grid pattern lit up over the Water Worm’s body, revealing its weak points.
Despite its massive size and different name, it was still fundamentally a snake.
And just like the others, its weak point gleamed brightly—between the eyes.
Su-ho hurled the Guiyeong Spear high into the air.
Then he activated Shadow Shift, positioning himself above the beast.
The power held within an ancient beast.
A simple description.
Its name: Spirit Core.
‘If it were held by an Imoogi, it’d be a Dragon Core.’
Despite living longer than the Imoogi, the Water Worm’s core could never become a Dragon Core.
Because it had been a snake from the start.
Su-ho held it out to the Imoogi.
At first, the creature hesitated, wary.
But after sensing its value, it cautiously swallowed the core.
And once it had gone down—
FWWOOOOOOOSH!
Light burst from the Imoogi’s body, engulfing the area.
The dream of an Imoogi who wishes to become a dragon.
If the desire is strong enough, the dream will come true—and the fulfilled dream will grant great power.
It was exactly the same item acquired by Players who had successfully cleared this gate in his past life.
Su-ho didn’t yet know how powerful it was—but he did know what it was used for.
In his past life, they’d figured it out at the Yalu River, but ultimately couldn’t collect enough of them to see results.
‘But this time will be different.’
He carefully stored it away and exited the gate.
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