Return of the Sword God-Rank Civil Servant

Chapter 134

“Ugh… Kugh…”

Gong Dawon, wounded by the sword, curled up on the ground, groaning in pain.

Suho watched the scene for a moment.

He was observing Gong Dawon’s wound.

“You’re making a fuss… It’s not even a deep cut.”

It was true.

He had been precise in controlling his strength.

Yet Gong Dawon panted as if he were on the verge of death, and Suho used a skill on him.

[Heal activated.]

Hwaaak!

As Suho used Heal, a bright light enveloped Gong Dawon.

At the same time, it began restoring his health and healing his wounds.

Suho spoke as he cast Heal.

“It’s not that deep, so stop overreacting.”

“Ugh… Wh-why… are you doing this to me…?”

“Mr. Gong Dawon, you know better why this is happening, don’t you?”

“N-no, I don’t know…! I really don’t know anything…!”

Even with his wound healed, Gong Dawon huddled up, trembling.

Suho looked down at him with a complicated expression.

His name was Gong Dawon.

He was a 1-star necromancer player with a level exceeding 100, a person who would later be famous as the ‘Lord of Gwangju’ or ‘Necromancer of Gwangju.’

But he had an even more fitting nickname—‘Paranoid Necromancer.’

Suho recalled the information he’d read about Gong Dawon in the Library of Memories.

“They said he used to be normal until he suffered a severe head injury in a Gate.”

It was true.

He had heard that Gong Dawon’s mind was affected after a heavy blow to the back of his head during combat, and now seeing him in person, the extent seemed severe.

“Such a pity. Mental illness is something I can’t cure, even with my current powers.”

According to the records, Gong Dawon suffered from a severe delusional disorder.

For instance, he believed that everyone in the world was out to harm him.

Because of that, he had grown fearful and had retreated to Gwangju, where he used his abilities to build a fortress and lived in hiding.

Of course, from this perspective alone, it wasn’t necessarily a big problem.

To ordinary people, he would seem like just another hunter who retired due to injury and one of many people in modern society with a mild mental disorder.

However, the issue lay in the powers he used.

“Summoning undead spirits might be one thing, but the ‘Rising Series,’ which uses real corpses, is one of the banned skills in our country.”

The Rising Series.

It wasn’t a skill that summoned demons from the underworld with the sorcerer’s mana but instead turned actual corpses into skeletons and zombies.

This skill was banned under the current law in Korea.

Of course, using it in combat inside a Gate was permissible.

Since a Gate is considered a war zone, many things are allowed there.

But using it outside a Gate was strictly forbidden.

The use of actual corpses was seen as a violation of human dignity.

“Gwangju… I heard there were a lot of unclaimed bodies left due to a massive Gate incident a while back.”

Was it a coincidence that Gong Dawon chose Gwangju out of all places?

Well, it didn’t really matter.

What mattered was that he was using unidentified bodies outside a Gate, turning them into his own minions.

Of course, Suho’s reason for seeking out Gong Dawon wasn’t to hold him accountable.

Suho had come solely for his unique quest.

Suho spoke.

“Mr. Gong Dawon, do you happen to have a ‘Bone Dragon’ among the undead you command?”

“A-a Bone Dragon?”

“Yes, a Bone Dragon.”

“N-no… I don’t have something that powerful…”

“Then, do you have any beast-type skeletons?”

“If it’s a b-beast-type… y-yes, I do.”

“Please show me.”

“W-why?”

“If not, I’ll kill you, Mr. Gong Dawon.”

“Ah, ah…!”

Dealing with someone with a mental illness might seem challenging.

But handling Gong Dawon, who suffered from delusional disorder, was actually quite simple.

After all, he had isolated himself in the mountains of Gwangju, building a fortress to protect himself from perceived threats, so with a threat from someone vastly stronger, he’d have no choice but to comply out of fear for his life.

At Suho’s calm threat, Gong Dawon began trembling and pulled out beast-type skeletons stored in his subspace.

“Hm.”

The beast-type skeletons.

There were many types.

From wolves to tigers and even elephants.

He seemed to have raided a zoo.

Suho nodded as he examined them.

“Among the skeletons you have, which is the hardest to control?”

“T-that one…”

In response to Suho’s question, Gong Dawon pointed to one of the skeletons.

It was about the size of an elephant, and Suho instantly recognized what it had been.

“A troll?”

“Y-yes…”

Suho nodded in satisfaction upon seeing the troll skeleton.

That would be more than enough.

Suho spoke.

“Mr. Gong Dawon.”

“Y-yes?”

“It’d be better if you got some rest for a while.”

Suho struck the back of his neck, knocking him out.

As the caster lost consciousness, all the skills he had been using were canceled, and the skeletons reverted to their original bone forms.

Leaving the unconscious Gong Dawon where he was, Suho moved toward the window, which was covered by a curtain.

He opened the window wide and looked out over the mountain outside.

“Hm.”

After a moment of thought, Suho made a phone call.

*

“Mm…”

How long had he been unconscious?

Gong Dawon slowly began to regain consciousness.

But the moment he did, Suho’s face, the one who had attacked him, came to mind.

“N-no!”

As Gong Dawon recalled Suho’s face, his breathing grew rapid, and his blood pressure spiked.

A cascade of thoughts convinced him that Suho was going to kill him, causing intense stress.

But at that moment.

“…Huh?”

Like air being let out of a balloon, his anxiety suddenly dissipated.

At the same time, his mind felt clear.

An experience unlike anything he had felt before.

As if he had taken a tranquilizer, his mood became calm in an instant, leaving Gong Dawon blinking in surprise.

“W-what? How…?”

“Are you feeling a bit calmer now?”

“Huh? Y-yes?”

Turning toward the voice, he saw Suho standing there.

Seeing Suho triggered the cascade of anxious thoughts again, causing his breathing and blood pressure to spike.

Seeing this, Suho used an item.

[The Ring of Emotions reacts to the strongest emotion of the target.]

[The absorbable emotion is ‘Black’.]

[Absorbing the target’s emotions.]

The item he used was the Ring of Emotions.

As soon as Gong Dawon began to have a fit, Suho used the Ring of Emotions to extract all the negative energy, Black.

“It really is a mental illness. I just extracted high-level Black a moment ago, yet now he’s filled up with more high-level Black again.”

He was grateful to have the Ring of Emotions.

Without it, the best he could have done during Gong Dawon’s fit would have been to knock him out by striking his neck.

Suho looked him in the eyes and said.

“How about it, are you feeling calmer now?”

“Y-yes…! B-but how…? I feel strangely relaxed all of a sudden…”

“I just did a little something to help. More importantly, I have a personal request for you, Mr. Gong Dawon. Will you hear me out?”

“A… request?”

“Yes, I need to take down a Bone Dragon for certain reasons. So, Mr. Gong Dawon, I’d like you to make a Bone Dragon.”

“…What?”

It wasn’t a joke.

He was serious.

And for a good reason; among the conditions for unlocking the third authority of Dragon’s Blood in Suho’s trait quest was ‘Defeat a Bone Dragon.’

“But realistically, how would I come across a Bone Dragon?”

A Bone Dragon.

He had seen one in his life, once.

But its level was in the hundreds, and he only saw it in the latter part of the Great Upheaval.

And now he was expected to capture something like that?

Absolutely not.

“The system doesn’t give players quests they can’t complete.”

The system might seem ruthless, but it’s actually cleverly fair, providing only challenges that players could overcome.

So, the approach to this quest would greatly affect its difficulty based on how it was interpreted.

“And I know exactly what the system intends.”

Gong Dawon spoke, his tone tinged with disbelief.

“H-how could I make a Bone Dragon?”

“Why couldn’t you? You’re a necromancer player, Mr. Gong Dawon.”

“B-but that’s… I-I can’t! Even Daniel, the world’s number one necromancer, has never even seen a Bone Dragon, much less created one. How could I make one?”

“You’re a 1-star player. If you can control a troll skeleton, you can definitely do it.”

“B-but how?”

“You don’t need a real dragon. Just use a subspecies.”

“W-what?”

“Take a look around you.”

At Suho’s words, Gong Dawon finally raised his head and looked around.

And his eyes widened in shock.

“H-how…?”

“Do you recognize those?”

“A-are those… drakes? H-how… did you get drakes? And not just one or two?!”

Gong Dawon was stunned.

And for good reason.

All around him were the corpses of drakes that Suho had personally hunted down.

They weren’t from the black market.

They were inside a Gate.

A Gate that Choi Yoon had located for them.

Suho had placed Gong Dawon into his subspace house, entering the drake Gate that Choi Yoon had found.

Before Gong Dawon awoke, he had cleared the Gate to the brink of conquest, setting up the optimal crafting environment for him.

Suho spoke.

“It’s no surprise. Since you’ve made a troll skeleton before, creating a Bone Drake should be easy.”

“B-but… that’s a Bone Drake, not a Bone Dragon, isn’t it?”

“True, it’s not a Bone Dragon. But if you use your ‘Bone Reconstruction’ and ‘Species Evolution’ skills, you might not make a real one, but you could make a decent imitation of a Bone Dragon. That would be enough for me.”

“Is… that possible?”

“You’ll see for yourself. I guarantee the result.”

“A-are you trying to torment me until I die?!”

Gong Dawon’s sudden outburst at the absurd request.

But Suho calmly used the ring again.

[The Ring of Emotions reacts to the strongest emotion of the target.]

[The absorbable emotion is ‘Black’.]

[Absorbing the target’s emotions.]

Gong Dawon, as if by magic, settled down.

Suho, touching the ring, asked.

“Can you do it?”

“I’ll… I’ll try.”

“Good, then let’s work hard together.”

Suho patted Gong Dawon’s shoulder and smiled warmly.