Return of the Sword God-Rank Civil Servant novel Chapter 302

The transport was carried out by car.

Martin Park did not join them.

Because his role had ended there.

They arrived at an abandoned factory on the outskirts.

Su-ho looked around the derelict facility and asked,

"You know places like this too?"

"I had it arranged in advance."

"I see. Then shall we begin right away?"

"Ah, just a moment. Sein?"

"Yes, I’ll prepare it."

The man called Sein knelt on the floor and brought his hands together in prayer.

From him, a designated space spread out within the factory, forming a clean, unobstructed area.

"This is a skill called Valkyrie's Battlefield. Any noise or damage that occurs within the area of effect does not reach the outside."

"I see. So, what exactly do you want to confirm with me?"

"Since you’re being so open, I’ll be honest. The UN wants to see your real capabilities. It’s a bit rough, but would it be alright to verify through a mock battle?"

"A mock battle... Alright."

"Thank you. Then we’ll start with Max—"

"No. Don’t do that."

"Excuse me?"

"Don’t do that. Just come at me all at once."

"...What?"

Finn widened his eyes at Su-ho’s words.

He wondered if he had misheard.

But his hearing was fine, and Su-ho had enunciated clearly.

Su-ho’s expression remained indifferent.

Seeing that face, Finn blinked in disbelief, then let out a hollow chuckle without realizing it.

"Mr. Su-ho, are you serious?"

"I don’t joke with people I just met."

"I know you’re excellent. But if I recall correctly, your rank on the last Grand Chart update had you around level 180?"

"Does level matter that much?"

"Of course it does. While skill isn’t everything, level greatly affects a player’s power."

"Then there’s even less for you to worry about."

"What do you mean by that?"

"The chart just hasn’t been updated. Right now, I’m the highest-level player in Korea."

"You’re the highest?"

"Yes. I’m currently level 199. If the UN had arrived just a bit later, I’d probably be level 200. What a shame, right?"

"What the...?"

"Well, should I prove it at the Association?"

"..."

Faced with Su-ho’s serious expression, Finn closed his mouth.

Then, after exchanging glances with Albert and the others, he gave a nod.

"Alright, let’s do it like this."

"Do what?"

"Most of our members are in the 190s, but I’m over 200. So, I’ll sit this one out and let the others handle it."

"Is that necessary?"

"Mr. Su-ho, anything more would be reckless. We came here with good intentions, not to harm you or antagonize Korea. You might not know it yet, but there’s a vast gap between level 199 and level 200."

Finn was sincerely advising him.

And rightly so — there were fewer than twenty players worldwide who had reached level 200. Information on Two-Star players was scarce.

But that only applied to people in this timeline.

Not to Su-ho.

Su-ho nodded.

"You can call it reckless if you like. The shame of losing disgracefully will be mine. So please, join in, Mr. Finn. As you said, I don’t know much about Two-Star players. I’d like to experience their power firsthand."

"...Understood."

Finn nodded at Su-ho’s words.

He didn’t try to dissuade him a second time.

After hearing that, how could he?

He figured this might actually be a good thing.

In Finn’s mind, Su-ho was currently the most prominent player in Korea. Maybe it was time someone knocked that ego down a peg.

As the conversation ended, four UN players — excluding the praying Sein — began to spread out.

They each naturally took their positions.

‘Looks like they’ve worked as a team before.’

Regardless of level, party play is important.

In fact, the higher the level, the more critical party play becomes.

Monsters grow stronger, and gate difficulty spikes beyond imagination.

That’s why Su-ho had spent a long time clearing late-phase gates with his own raiding squad.

Even the world’s top players couldn’t simply wing it. Coordination was an entirely separate skillset.

Su-ho looked at the four players forming their formation.

Then he glanced behind him at Sein, who was still praying.

‘The one called Sein appears to be in the healer position, so I’ll ignore him... That means I just need to quickly deal with the other four.’

Su-ho reached out his hand.

A blood-red sword of suitable length surged into his grasp.

Of course, his preparations didn’t stop there.

[ 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. ]

A storm of skill effects.

The impressive display left the UN players unconsciously parting their lips in awe.

"What the..."

"How many skills is that?"

"Crazy..."

Only Finn curled the edge of his lips upward.

‘Now I see why he was so confident.’

Su-ho then hung the Blacksmith’s Hammer at his waist.

Seeing this, Finn asked,

"Are you done preparing?"

"I was going to do the rest after the match started. But if you want, I can do it now."

"Of course. Given the level and numbers advantage, we can grant that much of a handicap."

"Alright. I won’t refuse."

If they’re laying the groundwork for him, it’d be foolish to say no.

‘You’re going to regret those words.’

Su-ho smiled and activated another skill.

[ Memorize has been activated. ]

The skill activated was Memorize.

As it did, the skills stored in Memorize began to resurface.

Naturally, what he had stored was Weaken.

Su-ho applied his stored Weaken to each of the four UN players.

[ Activating stored skill from Memorize. ]

[ Weaken has been activated. ]

[ Activating stored skill from Memorize. ]

[ Weaken has been activated. ]

[ Activating stored skill from Memorize. ]

[ Weaken has been activated. ]

Even in Su-ho’s fight with the raid squad, it was that silent sniper Hex who gave him trouble from range.

So he hurled the Guiyeong Spear at the archer furthest away.

[ Throwing has been activated. ]

Shrrrkk!

The Guiyeong Spear was thrown.

And—

Crunch!

It pierced cleanly through the archer’s abdomen.

[ Shadow Pierce has been activated. ]

[ Shadow Shackles has been activated. ]

[ Shadow Bleed has been activated. ]

"Grgh!!"

"Jason!!"

So the archer’s name was Jason.

Clutching his pierced abdomen, Jason tried to move away.

But no matter how much he struggled, he couldn’t pull the spear out.

That was the stat gap — at least double — between him and Su-ho.

On top of that, he was bound by Shadow Shackles.

‘One down.’

Su-ho immediately turned to the remaining enemies.

One was chanting a spell, and Albert had drawn his sword.

"So you’re the swordsman?"

Boom!!

Su-ho once again kicked off the ground and dashed forward.

Finn quickly closed the gap and shouted,

"Don’t hold back! Go all out!"

"Roger that!"

Good.

That’s how it should’ve been from the start.

Seeing the tension bloom across Finn’s face, Su-ho felt satisfied.

At that moment—

"Frozen Crash!"

A chill burst from Finn’s body as he charged, instantly freezing his entire frame.

It lasted only a moment, but the freezing was near-instantaneous.

‘So, you’re an ice element user.’

That made Su-ho smile.

Elemental power.

A force only gained at level 200 — the pinnacle and hallmark of the second singularity.

In other words, for this tank to unleash his elemental power this early meant he acknowledged Su-ho and was now fighting seriously.

So Su-ho accepted him head-on.

Boom!!

The ice-like collision met Su-ho’s body, separated only by the sword in his hand.

Frost began to creep across Su-ho’s body.

Seeing it, Finn smiled.

Once the cold consumed him, the fight would be over.

‘He’s never experienced anything like this before.’

That’s what he thought.

But then—

[ Heatstorm has been activated. ]

Whooooshhhhh!!

A hellish blaze of searing heat.

And instantly, Finn’s ice began to melt.