Return of the Sword God-Rank Civil Servant

Chapter 38

The Next Day at Nexus Academy.

Suho arrived about an hour earlier than the scheduled time and received a briefing about future guild activities, as well as his entry pass.

“This is a Black Card, issued only to S-rank guild members, the highest-ranking members of Nexus. Holding this card grants you access to all facilities under Nexus and exempts you from any charges. It also functions as a corporate card, so…”

As expected of Nexus.

Even though he was at the academy and not the headquarters, the work was processed smoothly.

And Kim Suae was handling it personally.

When the explanation was finished, Suho spoke.

“Then, as discussed, I’ll use the academy’s training room for a while.”

“Understood. Since it’s exclusively for S-rank, you won’t have to worry about running into others. I’ll also prepare the guest pass you requested.”

“Thank you.”

“Well… Suho?”

“Yes?”

“This is a bit off-topic, but if you’re okay with it, would you be willing to meet Hunter Kang Dae-han?”

“Hunter Kang Dae-han?”

“Yes. Ever since he found out that you were his teacher, he’s been eager to meet you. Now that you’re officially with Nexus, we thought we’d make this request.”

Ah, of course.

So he was still around.

He had been so focused on himself and the Banshees that he had momentarily forgotten.

Suho agreed willingly.

After all, that young man had the potential to become a famous tank in the future.

“I’d be honored. Let him know he can come by the training room whenever he’d like while I’m there.”

“Oh, thank you so much, Suho.”

“No problem at all.”

Guardian Kang Dae-han.

Though it would become his moniker in the future, Suho thought it best to start building rapport early since they were in the same Nexus guild.

It made no sense to waste valuable talent nearby.

With the conversation concluded, Suho headed toward the training room.

***

As expected of Nexus.

As the largest domestic organization, its exclusive S-rank training room was incomparable to that of the association.

There, as requested, multiple VR devices were installed, along with computers for analysis and various simulators.

‘Compared to what I know from the future, it’s a bit outdated, but it’s still the best setup available now.’

In particular, the virtual reality device “Infinity” was the most advanced technology of this era.

Suho recalled the operation methods of the devices from memory.

And soon, he was able to operate the machines skillfully.

Of course, it was second nature to him.

In his past life, Suho had experienced various tasks during his rotational duties at the Korean Hunter Association.

After waiting for a while, the four Banshees finally arrived in the training room.

Seeing them, Suho greeted them with a friendly smile.

“Welcome. It’s been a while.”

“Yes, well… but why did you call us here?”

Gu Yeonhwa asked, acting as the group’s spokesperson.

Her tone was still a bit sharp, despite her agreement to the proposal.

‘Still, the fact that she’s using polite language at all is something.’

Building a deeper relationship could come gradually.

Suho spoke.

“Since you accepted my proposal, we need to discuss future plans and you all could use some personal training.”

“Training?”

“First, fill this out.”

Suho handed them a tablet.

Displayed on the screen were fields to enter personal information, such as their status windows and lists of skills.

“You want us to fill out our status windows?”

“Yeah, I need to know about each of you to provide tailored training. Enter everything accurately so I can make a plan.”

“What…?”

“Why are you acting surprised now? I told you before—I’ll be joining the Special Division of the association, and while I’m there, I need people who can operate outside, as my shadows. Did you think I’d use just anyone?”

“I didn’t think that, but…”

“Then just fill it out. Only you can view your Player Information, so be as honest as possible. Trust is necessary to make this work. Didn’t I open up my secrets to you all as well?”

Though Gu Yeonhwa wanted to argue about trust when they barely knew each other, she held back.

Judging by what he had shown them so far, Suho was far more trustworthy than they were.

‘And if there’s anything to lose, it’s more on his side, since he’s the one with growing renown.’

So the four exchanged glances and then started filling out their information truthfully.

Soon, the data was gathered on an app on Suho’s phone, and he nodded as he reviewed it.

‘As expected, they’re all still under Level 50.’

That was good news.

It meant he could design their skills according to his plans.

Suho spoke.

“This is enough for now. Let’s meet in the training room. You’re familiar with the capsules from the practical exam, right? Pick one and get in. I’ve set the destination already.”

Following Suho’s instruction, they each got into a capsule.

***

Moments later, Suho and the Banshees all opened their eyes in the virtual reality Suho had configured.

They found themselves atop a mountain surrounded by blue skies and clouds. As the Banshees looked around in awe, Suho spoke.

“Welcome to Kunlun. This is where you’ll train whenever there’s time.”

Kunlun.

That was the name of this place.

It was a custom-made space that Suho had modeled after one of the gates he had conquered in the past, designed to be the training ground where the Banshees would go through grueling drills.

Gu Yeonhwa asked.

“What kind of training?”

“What do you think? Combat training. The four of you specialize in different roles and aim to be an elite terror unit. But with your current skills, you’ll be caught by the Special Division in no time. Do you think they’d be fooled by such shallow skills?”

“With a flawless plan…”

“Flawless? After getting caught by me, you’re talking about flawless? There’s no perfect crime in this world. Especially in this era of superpowers. So, while each of you should have expertise in your role, you also need to grow strong enough to defend yourselves. Better yet, strong enough to protect your teammates.”

Suho snapped his fingers.

Suddenly, numerous swords floated before them.

“Pick one. Your first objective is to master basic weapon skills and conquer your innate fears.”

“Why swords, though?”

“You know my current title, right?”

“… Sword God?”

“Good answer. With a skilled swordsmanship master in front of you, were you planning to learn something else?”

With that, Suho snapped his fingers again.

A practice sword appeared in his hand.

“That said, skill use is prohibited here. I’ve already disabled it, but I’m warning you now. So, listen up—your first goal is to try your hardest to kill me. Got it? Let’s begin.”

With those words, Suho began walking toward them slowly.

At that, the four exchanged glances and hurriedly grabbed swords.

The moment each held their swords, Suho suddenly closed the distance, crossing his steps rapidly to reach them in an instant.

Then he swung his sword.

Slash!

A sharp slicing sound.

At the same time, Kim Hyunmin and Gwak Duho’s heads flew into the air, and Gu Yeonhwa and Seo Gyowon’s eyes widened in shock.

Suho spoke.

“Is this really the time to be surprised?”

He then struck the remaining two.

Their heads rolled to the ground as well, and as soon as all four died, their corpses and blood disappeared, and they were respawned in mid-air, falling onto their backsides.

“Ouch…”

Rubbing her sore rear, Gu Yeonhwa bit her lip.

Then she quickly pulled herself up.

The others followed suit.

Suho spoke.

“It seems you’re not completely stunned, having already experienced death once during the practical test. Let’s go again.”

From then on, Suho repeatedly cut them down.

Sometimes he severed their necks, sometimes split them from the crown down, and occasionally bisected their waists or sliced off their limbs.

However, what troubled the Banshees most wasn’t the repeated deaths.

“You think you’ll get revenge with moves like that?”

“My grandma could do better than you.”

“You said you work at a delivery company, right? Why’re you moving like that? You sure you deliver parcels and not yourself, grandpa?”

“You’re a middle school teacher, but you’re slower than the students you teach?”

It was Suho’s taunting.

He was deliberately provoking them.

The goal was to stimulate their peripheral nerves so they would attack him like mad.

And, unsurprisingly, the Banshees responded with fury, lunging at him wildly.

Watching them charge like wild beasts, Suho nodded with satisfaction.

‘Yes, this level of mental toughness is essential to avoid freezing up inside a gate.’

Suho truly intended to turn the Banshees into his shadows.

But he had no intention of relegating them solely to intelligence-gathering or espionage work in the dark.

They would eventually face the Special Division and needed to be capable of clearing some gates on their own in his stead.

So Suho planned to make the Banshees into the most formidable “warriors.”

‘There’s no special method for becoming a warrior. Just grind them down until they’re made of steel.’

Hours passed this way.

Suho finally spoke.

“When the time is up, you’ll automatically log out. Keep training until then.”

Ideally, he would have liked to stay and guide them until they became true warriors.

However, he was only one person and had too many other tasks at hand.

Thus, he utilized the Infinity device.

One of the training functions of Infinity, “Motion Deep Learning,” allowed him to create a “training avatar” based on his accumulated movements within the system.

After Suho bid them farewell and logged out, a training avatar identical to Suho materialized to take his place.

The avatar raised its sword and spoke.

“What’re you looking at, you trash? If you’ve got time to stare, start fighting.”

It was a moment when the Banshees’ rage flared once more.

***

‘Alright, Banshee training should be enough for now.’

Suho had just logged out and emerged from the capsule.

Right on time, he received a call.

It was Kim Suae.

“Yes, Director.”

– Suho, I just wanted to confirm that, as mentioned, your official entry into Nexus was announced in an article about an hour ago.

“Yes, through Reporter Jo Jin-hwi?”

– Yes, he got the exclusive, and our PR team has started distributing the press release.

“That’s great. Shall we prepare the follow-up article soon?”

– Already?

“There must be quite a bit of backlash now. After the Hunter exam, I said I wanted to be a public servant Hunter, but now I’ve joined a private guild. I’m sure there’s a storm of negative comments.”

– Oh, but eventually, the public will support you, Suho. Are you really worried about public reaction?

That was exactly the plan.

For now, he hadn’t announced his intention to take the Level 5 civil service exam at the end of the year.

He had only mentioned joining Nexus for mutual interests.

Why?

There was no special reason.

To put it nicely, it was for publicity, but to put it bluntly, it was for the hype.

Whether good or bad, what Suho needed most was people’s abundant attention.

Not that he had no intention of making the announcement.

He was just waiting for the right timing.

Kim Suae asked.

– If that’s what you want, Suho, what should we prepare for the follow-up article?

“Sealed Gate challenge.”

– Pardon?

“I’m going to tackle the second Sealed Gate today.”