Return of the Sword God-Rank Civil Servant
Chapter 223

– Krrraaaahh!!

[The Gatekeeper of the Volcano Island uses a boss monster-level Fear.]

[Dragon Blood activates.]

[Due to the Dragon's Spirit effect of Dragon Blood, Fear is nullified.]

It used Fear the moment it appeared.

Of course, it didn’t work.

Su-ho was immune to Fear.

So, he simply looked at the creature with indifferent eyes.

The Gatekeeper of the Volcano Island.

That was the boss monster of this Volcano Island gate.

‘If it’s a gatekeeper, then it’s not exactly the master of the gate.’

If anything, it was more like a henchman.

Su-ho raised his head and checked its name card.

He already knew the name.

Even so, he confirmed it again—to check its level.

– Gatekeeper of the Volcano Island Lv.200

Wow.

Level 200?

So that’s why the entry limit was 199?

Su-ho firmly planted his foot on the side horn of Bulgasari.

This was the first time in this life he was facing a 2-star monster.

Which meant, without a doubt, the difficulty would be the highest he’d encountered so far.

‘On top of that, it’s from a Hidden Gate, and I’ve never seen anything like it before.’

He had to stay sharp.

Finally, as it fully emerged, the Gatekeeper of the Volcano Island shouted at Su-ho.

– I will never let you get near the volcano! Die, you filthy intruder!

[The Gatekeeper of the Volcano Island activates Lava Field.]

Just like during the Sylphian fight, it began with an environmental attack.

Magma began erupting from various points across Baengnokdam.

Upon seeing it, Su-ho let out a sigh.

Seawater might just be cold, but this wasn’t merely hot—it was something far worse.

Still, it was fine.

Now he had Bulgasari, who had not only flame resistance but the ‘Flame Affinity’ skill.

“Bulgasari, let’s go.”

“Bulbul!”

Understanding Su-ho’s intent, Bulgasari immediately charged toward the Gatekeeper of the Volcano Island.

Splat! Splat! Splat!

Each time Bulgasari’s heavy feet hit the ground, magma splashed around.

It was fine.

Bulgasari was immune to mere lava.

As soon as they closed the distance, Su-ho swung his sword.

[Iron Slash activates.]

He swung with all his strength.

The creature quickly assumed a defensive stance, but Su-ho’s power was greater.

As a result, he proudly severed its left arm.

Fshk!

Even though he succeeded in cutting off the arm, the Gatekeeper’s body ignited the moment Su-ho’s blade touched it.

‘Yeah, I figured you’d be like that.’

Su-ho immediately de-summoned the Blood Sword and drew a new blade.

Around that time, the Gatekeeper of the Volcano Island regenerated its body and laughed mockingly.

– Pathetic. Did you really think you could cut me down with such pitiful strength?

I know, you bastard.

You even look like a damn volcano elemental—what are you acting so smug about?

In the end, the answer was simple: Cross Slash.

[Magic Detection activates.]

Su-ho immediately used Magic Detection to locate the creature’s magic core.

Its core was centered in its chest.

‘Same as other volcano elementals.’

Now all that was left was hit-and-run tactics.

Su-ho kicked off Bulgasari again.

“Let’s go!”

“Bulbul!”

– You’re not going anywhere!

As Su-ho approached, the Gatekeeper snapped its fingers.

The Lava Field began to bubble and summoned minions.

[The Gatekeeper of the Volcano Island summons Red Volcano Elementals.]

You guys too, huh?

Just as the name implied.

But unlike the gray ash-bodied volcano elementals made from volcanic ash, these red volcano elementals had bodies formed of molten lava.

And so what?

Su-ho began slashing them down alongside Bulgasari.

[Cross Slash activates.]

[You have defeated a Red Volcano Elemental.]

[Cross Slash activates.]

[You have defeated a Red Volcano Elemental.]

[Cross Slash activates.]

[You have defeated a Red Volcano Elemental.]

......

One shot, one kill.

So what if the color and composition changed?

They were still just field monsters.

Su-ho quickly cleared the red elementals and again closed in on the Gatekeeper of the Volcano Island, swinging his blade.

[Cross Slash activates.]

Naturally, he chose Cross Slash.

He’d already confirmed the core’s location using Magic Detection.

But then—

Clang!!

The sound of metal clashing.

The skill had definitely activated.

But even though he clearly struck the inside, the Gatekeeper deflected Su-ho’s sword.

No—more precisely, he hit it, but failed to deal damage.

As Su-ho widened the distance again after the failed attack, the Gatekeeper chuckled.

– Kkkkk! How laughable!

With that, it raised its fist upward in an uppercut motion.

[The Gatekeeper of the Volcano Island uses Magma Punch.]

A lava-formed fist shot up from where Su-ho had just been.

“Damn!”

It all happened in an instant.

But thanks to Magic Detection, Su-ho had sensed the Magma Punch’s position beforehand, and with a forceful stomp using the Blood Sword, he barely escaped.

Rumble!

He successfully protected Bulgasari from the Magma Punch.

Bulgasari looked at him with eyes full of trust.

“Bulbul!”

“Don’t worry. No matter what, I’ll protect you.”

If I lose Bulgasari, who has high flame resistance, then forget clearing the gate—it’s all over.

Su-ho narrowed his eyes again.

Still... the fact that Cross Slash didn’t work.

Was the attack power insufficient?

That couldn’t be it.

His current stats were at Yellow grade, heavily buffed through blessings.

Yet it still didn’t cut.

That meant the issue was with the Cross Slash’s power itself.

‘To be exact, it’s a lack of special penetration.’

Penetration came in two types.

Normal penetration and special penetration.

Normal penetration ignored physical defense and pierced through directly, while special penetration also ignored physical defense, but instead of direct piercing, it delivered an indirect, transcendental impact.

That’s why the Blood Sword didn’t ignite.

Cross Slash, based on special penetration, didn’t actually touch the elemental’s flesh.

From that, it was clear—the reason his attacks ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) weren’t landing on the core was because he lacked special penetration.

Su-ho furrowed his brows.

‘Tch, this wasn’t part of the plan.’

From the look of it, the only way to defeat this guy was by directly striking the magic core.

But Cross Slash didn’t work, and the creature’s shell regenerated endlessly.

If he tried to go head-on, he might eventually inflict damage, but since it could use surrounding lava to recover, the longer the fight dragged on, the sooner the Blood Prison’s blood reserves would run dry.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

‘Then my most efficient weapon right now is the Guiyeong Spear...’

The 3-star Guiyeong Spear’s ability was Shadow Penetration.

With that, he could attack freely, regardless of whether the spearhead was ignited or not.

However, to use Shadow Penetration, the enemy had to be covered in shadows—an absolute requirement.

‘In that case, it’s basically unusable here.’

Because lava itself emitted red light, making shadow formation difficult.

Then only one method remained.

‘I’ll just have to find a way to win using Cross Slash.’

Su-ho raised his sword again.

Maybe... no, this might end up being the longest fight he’s had yet.

“Just... no, just this once—hang in there a little longer, Bulgasari.”

“Bulbul!”

“Let’s go!”

With the Blood Sword in hand, Su-ho once again charged at the Gatekeeper of the Volcano Island.

***

[Cross Slash activates.]

Clang!

[Cross Slash activates.]

Clang!

[Cross Slash activates.]

[You have defeated a Red Volcano Elemental.]

Shhk!

[Cloud Slash activates.]

[You have defeated a Lava Bat.]

How much time had passed?

Su-ho’s entire body was drenched in sweat.

And that wasn’t all.

While riding Bulgasari and darting around nonstop, the damned lava kept splashing everywhere, reducing the fireproof outfit he’d bought to nearly rags.

He was out of breath.

Because of the mask.

He hadn’t had a single moment to rest, swinging his sword endlessly.

The Gatekeeper of the Volcano Island, the unrelenting waves of Red Volcano Elementals, and now even Lava Bats flying at him like self-destructing guided missiles.

If his Strength stat hadn’t been in Yellow grade, he would’ve been knocked out a long time ago. That’s how long and grueling this battle had become.

– Kkkk! You keep thrashing to the end, don’t you?

If that were all, it’d be fine.

What was really draining Su-ho was the boss’s periodic mockery.

As if the attacks not landing weren’t frustrating enough, the creature’s intermittent laughter only accelerated his rising stress.

“Bulbul...”

Bulgasari was exhausted too.

Su-ho could push through, but he was most worried about Bulgasari.

Up to now, it had been sustaining itself by eating the metal it had stored, but even that was running dry.

Most of it had been consumed during its evolution earlier.

So, Su-ho had no choice but to start feeding it mana crystals.

“I’m sorry, Bulgasari. Just hang in there with this.”

“Bulbul!”

It worked.

These were no ordinary crystals—starting from at least grade A.

They were packed with magic power, and whenever Bulgasari ate one, it recovered its stamina like a charm.

But it wasn’t infinite.

Eventually, all energy is consumed.

This was a tedious fight.

Most of the A-grade mana crystals had already been used.

Now all that remained were the S-grade mana crystals obtained from boss monsters.

‘Damn, these are too valuable to use.’

Mana crystals from bosses were precious fuel for crafting high-tier items.

And now he had to burn through them just to take down one boss mob?

Grinding his teeth in frustration, Su-ho focused that rage and once again slashed at the Gatekeeper of the Volcano Island.

[Cross Slash activates.]

Clang!

Once again, the sound of metal scraping echoed.

Damn it.

Still not enough?

It was at that moment—

[Your understanding of Cross Slash has become extremely high.]

[The system is reassessing your talent.]

[Congratulations! The grade of your skill Cross Slash has been adjusted to A-grade.]

[Cross Slash (A) now strikes deeper and hits much harder.]

"Finally!"

A spark lit up in Su-ho’s eyes as he read the system alert.

At last, Cross Slash had been upgraded to A-grade.

Of course, it wasn’t like upgrading a B-grade skill to A-grade would cause dramatic changes on its own.

‘But if it upgrades from A-grade to S-grade—then it won’t just be dramatic, it’ll be absolutely fantastic!’

For this very moment, Su-ho pulled out the item he’d been saving.

Giseunhwan.

He immediately bit into the Giseunhwan.

[You have consumed Giseunhwan.]

[You absorb all technical experience stored in the Giseunhwan.]

[Please select the skill you wish to grow.]

The choice was obvious—Cross Slash.

Su-ho continued chewing Giseunhwan and fed the experience to Cross Slash.

[The technical experience from Giseunhwan is absorbed by the skill Cross Slash.]

[Absorption complete.]

[The technical experience from Giseunhwan is absorbed by the skill Cross Slash.]

[Absorption complete.]

[The technical experience from Giseunhwan is absorbed by the skill Cross Slash.]

[Absorption complete.]

......

Every time the absorption complete message appeared, Su-ho’s heart clenched tighter.

Naturally—he was running out of Giseunhwan.

‘Please, just this once!’

This was why he hadn’t used them earlier.

There were so few of them—he didn’t want to waste them on just upgrading a skill to A-grade.

That’s why he fought through it, raising Cross Slash to A-grade himself through raw combat.

And then, when he used the very last Giseunhwan—

[The technical experience from Giseunhwan is absorbed by the skill Cross Slash.]

[Absorption complete.]

[Your understanding of swordsmanship surpasses that of anyone else.]

At last, the system alert Su-ho had been waiting for appeared.

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