Return of the Sword God-Rank Civil Servant novel Chapter 296

[You have leveled up.]

[All stats increased by 1.]

[You have obtained 1 bonus stat.]

Around that point, Su-ho leveled up again.

Perfect timing.

“Now I’m level 195.”

Only five levels away from 200.

But now wasn’t the time to focus on leveling.

Su-ho allocated his bonus stat to Strength, then looked at the nameplate of the boss monster that had appeared before him.

– The One Who Envied the Imoogi Lv.???

The One Who Envied the Imoogi.

As expected.

It was the same boss as back at the Lake of Serpents.

The difference here, though, was that in this Guryong Falls Gate, there were nine of them.

That’s why nine people were allowed to enter.

But at the moment, only one of the Ones Who Envied the Imoogi stood before him.

Su-ho immediately canceled [Army Tactics].

[Army Tactics has been canceled.]

Poof!

With the alert, the remaining clone soldiers vanished.

The rest of the enemies, excluding the boss monster in front of Su-ho, began to panic.

It was fine.

He had sent the clones out for that very purpose.

With the clones canceled, mana returned to him, and Su-ho immediately began applying his self-buffs.

[Blessing has been activated.]

[Holy Enchant has been activated.]

[Mana Perception has been activated.]

[Endurance has been activated.]

[Enhancement has been activated.]

[Eye of the Blacksmith has been activated.]

As the buffs began, Su-ho’s body started to glow.

Sensing something unusual, the water worm in front of him opened its jaws and charged at him.

He didn’t dodge.

Instead, Su-ho used [Heatstorm] and charged in himself.

Crash-crack-crackle!

He took the monster’s gaping maw head-on and pushed forward with his body.

He had no fear of being bitten.

Instead, he extended his blade and pierced straight through the monster’s jaw and upper palate.

Then, summoning another blood sword, he swung it without hesitation.

[Steel Severance has been activated.]

[Enhancement has been applied.]

[Steel Severance’s power has increased.]

Slice!

The monster’s snout was cleanly severed.

Despite being a boss monster, it lacked the strength one would expect from one.

It was lower-level than the water worm he had faced before.

Whooooosh!

[Heatstorm] was still active.

The intense heat seared the exposed, severed mouth and magnified the pain.

– KRRRAAAAUUUGHH!!

The monster ultimately had no choice but to retreat.

But surrender didn’t mean death.

Having reached its limit, it burrowed into the ground like a sea worm.

Su-ho floated above the water using [Cheongryubo] and looked down.

Thanks to [Mana Perception], he could track the creature’s movement.

Then something interesting happened.

The remaining Ones Who Envied the Imoogi, each lurking beneath different waterfalls, began gathering in one location beneath the ground and clustering together.

“Yeah. That’s your second phase, isn’t it.”

In North Korea, there were many special-type Gates like the Iron Horse Gate.

The Imoogi Gate, where the Ones Who Envied the Imoogi appeared, was one of those.

But unlike the Iron Horse Gate, which repeated fixed patterns, the Imoogi Gate had a wide range of behaviors.

These water worms were proof of that.

[The Ones Who Envied the Imoogi are fusing their Soul Orbs.]

Soul Orb Fusion.

That was their second phase.

Normally, this pattern would only trigger if the other eight had also been thoroughly wrecked, but it seemed the system had judged Su-ho’s skill as sufficient.

Then it happened.

RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE!!

– KIEEEEEEEE!!

– KIEEEEEEEE!!

– KIEEEEEEEE!!

Screeches echoed from every direction.

The ground trembled, and a wave of fear surged.

However, since it wasn’t a formal Fear, the effect of [Dragon Blood] didn’t activate.

At that moment, the stone walls separating the waterfalls began to collapse simultaneously.

And then—

– KIAAAAAAAAAHHHH!

As the cliffs crumbled, the fused Ones Who Envied the Imoogi finally revealed themselves from beneath the earth.

Slicing through the currents, it emerged—immense, dwarfing the original water worms.

But even more shocking than its size was its appearance.

A thick body with nine serpent heads attached.

Yes.

It resembled a Hydra from myth.

“Fitting, since I’m apparently a candidate for Hercules.”

Through the mist, its nameplate appeared.

– Avatar of Jealousy with Nine Heads Lv.???

Seeing the nine-headed serpent, Su-ho had briefly hoped it might be called “Hydra.”

But unfortunately, it bore another name.

Avatar of Jealousy with Nine Heads.

Was this some kind of Native American naming convention?

Didn’t matter.

It had nine heads, so he’d just have to cut them off nine times.

“That thing supposedly devoured a ton of players, didn’t it?”

Back when this place was discovered in his past life, countless players were sacrificed.

There were nine waterfalls, and players had foolishly tackled them one-on-one.

That was their mistake.

The correct strategy was for all nine players to challenge the nine waterfalls simultaneously.

Of course, that was according to normal player standards.

But Su-ho was no ordinary player.

So it didn’t matter.

Then—

– KIAAAAAAAAAHHH!!

– KIAAAAAAAAAHHH!!

– KIAAAAAAAAAHHH!!

......

[The Avatar of Jealousy with Nine Heads uses Boss Monster-level Fear.]

[Dragon Blood has been activated.]

[Due to the Dragon Mind effect of Dragon Blood, Fear does not apply.]

All nine heads howled simultaneously.

The Fear effect had multiplied by nine, but in the end, it was still just Fear, so Su-ho suffered no real damage.

Though, his eardrums felt like they’d burst.

[Cloud Severance’s power has increased.]

If ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ the distance is awkward, use Cloud Severance.

It was designed for long-range slashing, after all.

Now, only a few heads remained.

Su-ho fought at ease.

At least, until just moments ago.

[The Avatar of Jealousy with Nine Heads uses the power of the Soul Orb.]

System alert.

And then the monster’s body flared with light—and something unbelievable happened.

From the stumps of the severed heads, new heads regrew—just like that.

Su-ho’s eyes widened in disbelief.

He knew everything about the Imoogi Gate.

It had already been cleared in his past life.

That’s why he was able to trigger the second phase so quickly.

So he also knew all the patterns of the Avatar of Jealousy with Nine Heads.

But this—regrowing heads using the Soul Orb’s power—he’d never heard of.

“What the hell? Is there info I don’t know about?”

That couldn’t be.

Su-ho had access to most gate data because of his role in the Association.

The Grand Hunter Association was required to record all domestic Gate encounters and clear data.

And as a Special Division operative, Su-ho had reviewed all of it.

His supervisor back then, Pi Seong-yeol, was a nitpicky bastard—so studying those reports had been mandatory.

So there was no way he wouldn’t know this.

Su-ho narrowed his eyes.

“I don’t know what I missed—but I’ll just keep cutting until it dies.”

Sometimes, the simplest plan is best.

It might not be the perfect strategy, but it’s usually the first one worth trying.

Su-ho took a deep breath and charged again.

[Cloud Severance has been activated.]

[Enhancement has been applied.]

[Cloud Severance’s power has increased.]

[Cloud Severance has been activated.]

[Enhancement has been applied.]

[Cloud Severance’s power has increased.]

[Cloud Severance has been activated.]

[Enhancement has been applied.]

[Cloud Severance’s power has increased.]

He swung his blade like a madman.

Mana consumption be damned—he slashed any head that came close and closed the distance.

Eventually, he reached the monster’s body.

According to [Mana Perception], this area contained the highest concentration of mana.

“In other words, the Soul Orb—the source of its regeneration—is likely here.”

Having reached the core, Su-ho swung again.

[Cloud Severance has been activated.]

[Enhancement has been applied.]

[Cloud Severance’s power has increased.]

A massive crescent slash.

It hit cleanly.

The monster’s body was sliced open.

“Did I get it?”

At that moment—

[The Avatar of Jealousy with Nine Heads uses the power of the Soul Orb.]

System alert.

Then the monster’s body glowed again—and as if it were a lie, the cleanly split torso reformed into one whole.

Fully healed.