Return of the Sword God-Rank Civil Servant
Chapter 217

That sensation.

That feeling.

The sword had landed cleanly.

Su-ho twisted the deeply embedded blade half a turn clockwise before pulling it out.

Twisting after stabbing was a habit etched into him like a callus.

Because that was how you inflicted the maximum amount of damage.

Sure enough, the moment the enemy was struck, its body immediately hardened.

Using the now-hardened creature as a stepping stone, Su-ho launched himself upward once more.

Then he slashed again—this time aiming directly for the crown of its head.

A vertical slash.

But even in that moment, the creature seemed to snap back to awareness, activating an evasive skill and allowing Su-ho’s body to slip past it.

Shhhh!

His blade sliced through empty air as Su-ho fell downward.

Yet Su-ho was smiling.

Even if that second hit didn’t land, the first thrust had been more than satisfying.

Twisting his body mid-fall, Su-ho adjusted his trajectory.

Then he activated one of his Mirror Soldiers to create a foothold in midair, landing safely.

After the clean landing, Su-ho looked up.

Around him, the lower-tier wind spirits had mostly been cleared out.

Not that it mattered much.

Spirits adhered to a strict hierarchy—so as long as the right conditions were met, a higher-tier spirit could summon countless lower-tier ones.

Meaning, no matter how many were defeated right now, it wouldn’t change much in the grand scheme.

At that moment, Su-ho and Sуlphian locked eyes.

Sуlphian’s expression was unreadable.

It had passed beyond rage—cold and eerily still.

Then it began.

[ Half Sуlphian feels immense anger toward you. ]

[ Half Sуlphian is awakening. ]

[ Half Sуlphian’s power increases drastically. ]

The second phase had begun.

As the system notifications flared, a gale surged outward around them.

Fwoooosh!

The wind was on an entirely different scale now compared to anything before.

Sуlphian wasn’t even a mid-tier spirit yet, but as a boss monster, it was granted privileges that allowed it to wield power like this.

Still, the wind—it was too strong.

The sea water pooled on the stone pillars began to churn, rising into waves.

Swooosh! Splash! Swoosh! Splash!

What began as swells quickly became crashing waves, slamming into the stone spires.

Right.

No matter how rough it got, those waves wouldn’t destroy the pillars... right?

If they did, this would turn into a disaster.

But ominous premonitions always came true—suddenly, rain began to fall.

Swaaah!

Out of nowhere, a downpour.

And not just a drizzle or a light rain.

It was a full-on deluge.

Heavy enough to sting when it hit bare skin.

And as the rain fell, the tide began to rise rapidly alongside the waves.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”

No wonder every raid party sent here got wiped out.

According to the Tamra Guild’s records, past raiding parties had successfully pushed the boss into its second phase.

But almost all of them were destroyed in that phase.

The first reason was exactly this: the environmental hazards.

‘Rain, gales, rising sea level... What’s the difference between this and a typhoon?’

A typhoon is terrifying in itself, but the rain and wind are the most obstructive parts.

Heavy wind and rain hinder communication, and prolonged exposure drenches the body, reducing mobility.

And the waves—like deer darting across a highway at night—they introduced chaotic, unpredictable variables.

Luckily for Su-ho, he wasn’t in a party.

He didn’t have to worry about coordinating or protecting anyone.

His only partner was a Mirror Soldier, and those could receive orders mentally, no need for verbal communication.

Same for the rain.

Su-ho’s current stats were more than enough to thrive even in a 2-star gate.

So unless the falling rain had some special debuff effect, getting soaked wouldn’t fatigue him.

But the real problem lay elsewhere.

Fwoooosh!

Sуlphian began to glow.

Where its aura once shimmered with a bright emerald hue, it now darkened into a deeper, heavier shade.

Of course, it wasn’t just the color that changed.

[ Sуlphian absorbs the wind to recover. ]

A new system alert.

This—this was what made the Marado Gate so hard to clear. The most infuriating part of the second phase.

Self-recovery.

And not just any recovery—wind-based regeneration.

‘Sure, it still consumes mana, so it’s not infinite...’

But it was more than enough to frustrate challengers.

On top of that, entering phase two had boosted its overall stats—and all the health chipped away in phase one had already been restored.

“Haa.”

Su-ho exhaled.

Right.

Now it was a real fight.

Everything up to this point had just been prep work.

He gripped his Blood Sword again.

Swoosh! Crash!

The rain poured down.

The waves surged higher.

The sea level kept rising.

After a moment of stillness, Sуlphian raised a hand.

[ Sуlphian uses Wind Orbs. ]

The Wind Orbs activated.

Tiny, swirling vortexes began to form around Sуlphian—dozens of them.

Just a glance told Su-ho there were at least a hundred.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”

Boss monster or not, was it overflowing with mana or something?

Just as he grumbled, the Wind Orbs shot toward him.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

God, look at that destructive power.

Terrifying.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

Getting hit by one of those would rip off a chunk of flesh like getting mauled by a bear.

So he dodged them—his life on the line.

But then—

Fwooooosh!!

As he leapt to another pillar to avoid the Wind Orbs, a gust of wind slammed into him midair, throwing his body off balance.

He nearly slipped and fell into the ocean.

Barely landing on the next pillar, Su-ho’s brow furrowed deeply.

‘This is getting annoying.’

The wind speed was messing with his movement.

Maybe that’s why?

A few of his Mirror Soldiers had already been swept away by the wind and waves, forcefully unsummoned.

He needed a countermeasure.

A way to deal with this first major obstacle.

That’s when it hit him.

‘Wait—why didn’t I think of that sooner?’

The idea came out of nowhere—something perfect for this situation.

How could he have forgotten?

With a solution in mind, Su-ho immediately unsummoned all the Mirror Soldiers.

Then, after securing his footing, he used the Blood Spear to launch himself into the sky.

– Tch!

Watching that, Sуlphian clenched its teeth and launched dozens more Wind Orbs at him.

A clear message: “I won’t fall for the same trick again.”

But the Blood Spear ascended faster than the Wind Orbs could catch up.

A wind serpent surged up after him—this one even larger and more ferocious than before.

Didn’t matter.

Su-ho thickened the Blood Spear’s body again and withstood the attack.

That didn’t mean the Blood Spear was invincible, of course.

Every time the wind serpent and Wind Orbs struck it, chunks of blood and mana were shaved off.

Still—it was fine.

He wasn’t planning to stay up here long anyway.

And then—

BOOM!!

A massive explosion.

Far more powerful than anything before.

But once the smoke cleared...

– ...?

...there was nothing.

Sуlphian turned its head.

Where was he?

Even if Su-ho was gone, the Blood Spear should’ve been left behind.

Then, as if by instinct, Sуlphian looked up and twisted its body.

Last time, Su-ho had attacked from above around this moment.

But—

– ...?

It bent its body in a hurry—but there was nothing.

The sky was empty.

No shadow overhead. No movement. No presence.

Pitter-patter...

Only the downpour it had summoned was falling from above.

So then...

Where did he go?

Su-ho had vanished.

***

[ You have entered the Pocket-Dimension House. ]

With the system alert, Su-ho stepped into the Pocket-Dimension House.

It was just in time.

Sylphian’s wind serpent in the second phase was truly overwhelming.

‘I nearly ran out of stored blood.’

Blood Weapon wasn’t unlimited.

It was created by combining the user’s mana with blood stored in the Blood Crystal.

Meaning, if either mana or blood ran out, the skill would fail.

That’s why he pulled out this card—his Pocket-Dimension House.

Su-ho opened the exit to the Pocket-Dimension House and looked out at the bewildered Sylphian.

‘No way it expected this.’

The reason he’d once been able to bring down a Tower Dragon that no one else had ever defeated was thanks to this very Pocket-Dimension House.

No one could enter unless granted permission by the owner.

After finishing his recovery, Su-ho drew his Blood Spear and began prepping for the next round.

[ Holy Enchant activated. ]

First, Holy Enchant.

A plain Blood Spear wouldn’t do any damage to that thing.

And before using the next skill, Su-ho recalled the details of what he was about to activate.

[ Mark of Agony ]

– Rank: F

Crusader-exclusive skill.

When this mark is applied to a weapon, any target struck remains in the "Mark of Agony" state until the caster releases it.

Targets affected by the Mark of Agony cannot regenerate health or physically recover in any form.

Each time the mark suppresses a healing attempt, the caster consumes mana equal to 120% of the amount ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) that was to be healed.

If the caster’s mana is fully depleted, all Marks of Agony are automatically removed.

The skill he intended to follow Holy Enchant with—

Its name was Mark of Agony, the second class-exclusive Crusader skill Su-ho had gained upon reaching level 150.

Su-ho smirked as he reviewed the details.

This was exactly why Crusaders were considered leagues beyond Clerics or Paladins in power.

‘Clerics buff others. Paladins buff themselves. But Crusaders can both empower themselves and weaken others.’

Even among combat classes, Crusaders naturally stood above Paladins.

But that was also why the conditions to become a Crusader were far more demanding.

‘On the surface, the Mark of Agony looks amazing. But...’

At F-rank, the Mark of Agony consumed mana equal to 120% of the target’s potential healing every single time it activated.

And Sylphian’s regeneration, as Su-ho had just witnessed, was absurdly strong.

‘If I use the Mark of Agony in its current state, I’ll run out of mana before anything else.’

Even with his mana stat in the Yellow tier.

So Su-ho pulled out his second card.

The Skill Enhancement Pill.

‘I’ll upgrade the Mark of Agony right here, right now.’

He had more than enough of them.

Even after ranking up Recovery, he still had plenty left.

Smirking, Su-ho began consuming the Skill Enhancement Pills he had prepared.

Naturally, the skill he was targeting was the Mark of Agony.

System messages began flooding his vision.

[ Skill EXP from the enhancement pill is absorbed by the Mark of Agony. ]

[ Absorption complete. ]

[ Skill EXP from the enhancement pill is absorbed by the Mark of Agony. ]

[ Absorption complete. ]

[ Skill EXP from the enhancement pill is absorbed by the Mark of Agony. ]

[ Absorption complete. ]

......

And at last—

[ The Mark of Agony has reached full experience. ]

[ The Mark of Agony has leveled up. ]

[ Congratulations! The Mark of Agony has been upgraded to A-Rank. ]

Su-ho had successfully evolved the Mark of Agony from F-Rank to A-Rank.

He immediately checked the updated details of his newly enhanced skill.