Return of the Sword God-Rank Civil Servant

Chapter 87

Nam Haewon waved his card and spoke.

“What good is money? With this, there’s no need to carry around a bag and tire my arm.”

“Heh, really… Yeah, you’re something else.”

“Wow, Haewon-hyung, your mindset is amazing. I need to learn that.”

“What do you mean learn? Does that look like a healthy spending habit to you?”

“Still, it’s money he earned to spend. It’s not like he used it poorly. Isn’t that pretty reasonable?”

“… Is it?”

Well, I suppose that’s fair enough.

With Seo Giwon’s supportive comment, Nam Haewon sat at the table with a proud look.

“It’s money I earned, so I can spend it however I want, right? Besides, I’ve always wanted to take a trip like this. Do you know how hard life has been in that dingy place in Yeongdeungpo?”

“Well, that’s true. Sure, do whatever you want. But let’s eat first.”

“Wow, thank you for the meal.”

With a joyful expression, Nam Haewon started eating.

By the way, his face looked surprisingly better since I last saw him.

Suho spoke.

“But your face really looks good. No joke, it seems like even the texture of your skin is clearer.”

“Maybe it’s because I haven’t been stressed. They say the biggest enemies of skin aging are UV rays and stress.”

“Hmm, there’s some truth to that. So, is your rest over now?”

“Yes, completely over. I feel like I’ve gotten all my travel desires out of the way by going around the whole country this time.”

“Where left the deepest impression?”

“Busan.”

“Dunkin Donuts?”

“Is that joke from the Stone Age? They said it closed down after a gate incident.”

“Oh, is that so? Well, what then? Rice soup?”

“Rice soup was great, but surprisingly, they have awesome snack food places there.”

“Snack food? There’s snack food everywhere in Seoul.”

“Busan’s a little different. They have amazing tteokbokki and kimbap spots there. Maybe it’s the Busan pride mixing in, but it was really delicious.”

“This guy! You just finished treatment for addiction and now you’re going on about pride?”

“Oh, come on, that’s not funny. I mean the vibe, the atmosphere!”

“Sorry. So what will you do now? Got any next plans?”

“Not sure? I was going to think about that after the trip. Plus, there’s no need to make any more Mangi Series.”

The anti-drug Mangi Series developed because of the Changshik Gang.

Now that all of the Changshik Gang’s victims had been rescued, there was no longer a need to produce it.

At that moment, Seo Giwon, who had been listening quietly, smiled slyly and spoke.

“Hyungnim, so does that mean I can take Haewon-hyung to that place now?”

That place.

He must be referring to the Digitization Dungeon.

Since his addiction treatment was complete, and the Changshik Gang’s victim rescue was done, it was indeed time to level up as Seo Giwon mentioned.

But Suho shook his head.

“No, Haewon still has one more thing to do with me.”

“One more thing?”

“What is it?”

In response to their questions, Suho took a big bite of his pizza and spoke.

“Clothes-making.”

“Clothes?”

“I’m all thumbs with stuff like that.”

“It’s clothing, but not the type you’re thinking of. It’s clothing that only you can make.”

“Is there such clothing?”

“There is. So let’s eat first.”

“Yes, understood.”

Nam Haewon stacked two slices of pizza, dipped them generously in garlic sauce, and took a big bite.

***

After the meal, Suho carried the boxes that had just arrived upstairs to Nam Haewon’s lab.

Looking at the boxes piling up in his lab, Nam Haewon asked.

“Team Leader… what’s all this?”

“I told you, we’re making clothes.”

“All this?”

“The actual piece we’re making is just one. These are all materials for that one piece.”

“What exactly are you trying to make…? Is it really clothing?”

“Of course, would I make fake clothes?”

At Suho’s words, Nam Haewon opened one of the delivered boxes, furrowing his brow as he looked inside.

“What’s this? You said we’re making clothes, but these are just stones?”

“They’re not stones, they’re Slime Stones.”

“Slime Stones?”

“You don’t know?”

“No, I do know, but…”

Slime Stones.

They were fragments that only occurred in Slime monsters, pieces that detached from the main body and hardened into stone when they reacted to magic.

Slime Stones didn’t have any special functions on their own.

A Slime Stone was merely a hardened part of Slime’s body.

But for what they were about to make, it played a very important role.

Nam Haewon picked up a Slime Stone and held it up to the light, saying.

“So these are real Slime Stones… But from what I know, Slime Stones are such low-grade materials that people wouldn’t take them even if they were free. Do we really need them to make clothes?”

“I wouldn’t have bought them if they weren’t necessary.”

“How exactly are they needed?”

“These will serve as the fabric for the clothes. So from now on, you’ll be combining all these into one lump.”

“All of this?”

Nam Haewon’s eyes widened at Suho’s words.

That was understandable, considering the boxes already stacked against one wall of the lab, and there were still more being brought in.

But Suho seemed unconcerned and said casually.

“Don’t worry. It won’t grow any bigger in size. Instead, the item’s properties will change. Anyway, I’m counting on you. It needs to be synthesized rather than combined, to avoid any failures and ensure a solid result.”

“Sigh… Isn’t this a bit much? They’re still coming in.”

“We may need more later if there’s a shortage, so think of it as a positive. You have to level up anyway. If synthesis alone gives you experience points, where else could you find such an easy hunting ground?”

“That’s true… but… What will you be doing in the meantime, Team Leader?”

“I’ll be off gathering other materials. The Slime Stones are the only ones we could buy.”

“Phew… Got it. But what is this final item?”

“You’ll understand once you start synthesizing it. The moment it can’t be combined further, it’s complete.”

“What does that mean… Are you serious?”

“Of course. Anyway, take care of it. Thanks.”

After entrusting the task to Nam Haewon, Suho headed to the underground parking lot of his house.

Vroom!

Suho’s car smoothly exited the parking lot.

***

After driving for quite a while, he arrived at a quiet village on the outskirts of Gyeonggi Province.

Suho parked his car in a suitable spot and headed towards his intended destination.

‘There it is.’

The place Suho arrived at was a residence surrounded by low stone walls.

Typical of the countryside, it had wide yards and a sizable distance from its neighbors, who were few and far between.

The space itself seemed used as a warehouse.

[ Monochrome Solitude has been activated. ]

Suho activated Monochrome Solitude, erasing his presence completely.

Then, he entered the yard.

The yard was silent.

There was no dog guarding the house, and the main room’s lights were off, suggesting the owner had gone to sleep early.

After surveying the surroundings, Suho began quietly looking around the yard’s interior.

‘This is the right place.’

The house Suho entered resembled the old Dongmyo market, filled with armor reminiscent of medieval Europe, Buddha statues, and ceramics, a bizarre assortment of items that might look like junk to the untrained eye.

But he had come to the right place.

This was one of the locations where civilians had suffered from items known as ‘Cursed Items.’

Suho quietly activated a skill.

[ Mana Detection has been activated. ]

Once Mana Detection was activated, it began detecting the magical fluctuations nearby.

Suho slowly moved his gaze around.

Among the countless knick-knacks, he spotted one item that emitted a faint, suspiciously red aura.

It was a half-seated Buddha statue.

It looked like the Gilt-bronze Maitreya Bodhisattva, but it definitely wasn’t the Gilt-bronze Maitreya Bodhisattva.

It emitted a small, ominous energy that only Suho could detect. Suho carefully lifted it and began moving it to a different location.

“……”

The Buddha statue remained silent as if it was trying to hide its presence.

Finally, when he reached a secluded spot, Suho placed the statue on the ground and summoned his Blood Sword.

[ Blood Weapon has been activated. ]

The Blood Sword, which clung to his hand like mist, glowed intensely red under the moonlight.

Without hesitation, Suho swung his sword at the Buddha statue.

Swish!

Half of the statue’s body split in two.

And then.

Hisssss—

As the statue split, a red mist began seeping out from it.

— Kieeee…

An eerie metallic shriek that sounded like something from a horror movie.

The mist grew denser, seeping back into the statue’s halves, binding them together like a blood-red gelatinous substance.

Crunch— Snap!

The broken half of the Buddha statue, which had been dragged along the ground, clung back as if it had never been damaged.

At that moment, the previously ordinary Buddha statue’s eyes turned red, and it began to move as if it had a mind of its own.

“Looks like I found it.”

The identity of what moved the Buddha statue.

It was called a ‘Parasite Spirit,’ an entity sealed within an item known as the ‘Soul Gem’ that trapped souls.

‘There were occasional unexplained deaths here, and the culprit turned out to be the Soul Gem, a cursed item.’

The Soul Gem, an item that captured souls, specifically entrapped evil spirits.

However, after being sealed for a long time, the evil spirit came to consider the Soul Gem its home, lying dormant most of the time but attacking intruders who damaged the Soul Gem, thus earning its reputation as a cursed item.

‘It’s like a hermit crab.’

Cases of damage caused by the Parasite Spirit were only discovered much later.

This was because the Parasite Spirits would repair their Soul Gems with the energy from the intruders they killed, then lie dormant once again.

Before long, the Parasite Spirit-imbued Buddha statue evolved into a warrior.

It assumed a combat stance, seemingly ready to charge at Suho.

But.

[ Severing Steel has been activated. ]

Swish!

Suho swung his sword before it could attack.

The Buddha statue, or rather the thing that used to be a Buddha statue, was cleanly sliced in half.

This time, he had cleaved it vertically rather than diagonally, and the bisected statue quivered on the ground before emitting red smoke once more.

But this time, the red smoke surged towards Suho instead of the broken statue.

With its Soul Gem destroyed, it sought to take over a new host.

Whoosh!!

[ The Parasite Spirit is infiltrating your mind. ]

[ The Parasite Spirit is taking over your body and attempting to destroy your mind. ]

The spirit, now like mist, instantly entered Suho’s body, intending to ravage his insides.

Or at least, it would have.

[ Dragon’s Blood is activated. ]

[ Due to the Dragon Armor’s Draconic Endurance effect, mental corruption does not proceed. ]

If it weren’t for Suho’s unique trait.

— …!

The Parasite Spirit began to panic.

It had never encountered a power like this in all its existence.

But the power of Dragon’s Blood didn’t stop there.

[ Due to the Dragon Armor’s Draconic Endurance effect, the Parasite Spirit is being purified. ]

[ Due to the Dragon Armor’s Draconic Endurance effect, the Parasite Spirit is being absorbed. ]

The activation of Dragon’s Grace.

It purified and absorbed the Parasite Spirit trapped in the Soul Gem.

[ Due to the Dragon Armor’s Draconic Endurance effect, the Parasite Spirit has been completely purified. ]

[ There is nothing to learn from the absorbed Parasite Spirit. ]

[ With the purification of the Parasite Spirit, the item information has changed. ]

[ You have obtained the Liberated Soul Gem. ]

Having obtained the Liberated Soul Gem, Suho smiled.