Return of the Sword God-Rank Civil Servant - Chapter 57
Chapter 57
And that notification appeared before Suho as well.
[ The Gate has been conquered. ]
[ The MVP of the Gate Conquest is ‘Ahn Suho.’ ]
[ Additional experience points will be awarded for being selected as MVP. ]
[ A bonus stat is provided for being selected as MVP. ]
[ For achieving a remarkable accomplishment, the system gifts you with 5 bonus stats. ]
[ Level has increased. ]
[ All stats have increased by 1. ]
[ You have acquired 1 bonus stat. ]
Suho looked at the notifications that appeared before him.
The message about his level increasing.
At a glance, it seemed no different from the usual, but this time, there was a significant difference from the previous notifications.
It was the absence of an alert about slaying the Bulgasari.
However, there was no sign of the Bulgasari nearby.
Instead, Suho shifted his gaze to a marble the size of his fist clutched in his hand.
It was the ‘Dominion Gem’ he had previously acquired from Malerion.
And astonishingly, the Bulgasari was curled up inside the orb, asleep.
“It really is possible to capture it.”
Capture… Or, to be precise, it was not exactly capturing, but ‘taming.’
A taming based on domination.
Suho recalled the final moments of his fight with the Bulgasari.
The creature had gathered all its strength and charged at Suho, while Suho faced it head-on without dodging.
Then he used Severing Steel.
The result was Suho’s victory.
His Blood Sword, imbued with the Art of Void, managed to cut the Bulgasari at a diagonal angle.
However, Suho did not kill the Bulgasari.
From the start, Suho had come here with the purpose of taming the creature.
That was why he had deliberately struck at an angle rather than directly.
Suho then infused the Dominion Gem with magic power and threw it to the ground.
Before it even touched the floor, the orb burst open with a pop, and the Bulgasari, which had been sleeping inside, was summoned.
[ Summoning the Bulgasari. ]
The summoned Bulgasari was notably smaller.
It was no wonder, as it had exhausted all the minerals it consumed in its attempt to bring down Suho.
Moreover, having been captured right after being injured, its condition was not great.
But there was no need to worry much.
In the past, things might have been different, but Suho’s current occupation was not a warrior, but a healer.
Suho reached out to the Bulgasari and activated a skill.
[ Heal is activated. ]
The light of healing, now upgraded and stronger, began rapidly restoring the Bulgasari, filled with Suho’s magic power.
The warmth of the healing skill made the Bulgasari’s eyelids flutter, and soon, it fell asleep peacefully.
Suho poured out his magic power generously, not holding back, until the creature was fully healed.
Finally, when all the Bulgasari’s wounds were healed, Suho spoke.
“Bulgasari.”
“Bul-bul.”
The Bulgasari, hearing itself being called, woke up immediately and stood upright.
The strict posture showed that it was a creature under the control of domination magic.
Suho commanded.
“Begin.”
“Bul-bul!”
Receiving Suho’s will, the Bulgasari began to move.
First, it started sweeping into its mouth all the minerals and magic stones it had been lying on like a blanket.
It was impressive.
Who would have thought that small body could hold so much?
Suho nodded as he watched the scene.
“Working well.”
Bulgasari.
A legendary spirit beast, weak to fire, that fed on metal and converted consumed minerals into power.
But when it appeared in the world as a summoned creature, people gave it another name.
‘The World’s Greatest Miner, Bulgasari.’
It was no exaggeration.
Even the land-dwelling Kobolds and mining-obsessed Dwarves couldn’t hold a candle to the Bulgasari, whose primary diet was minerals.
Suho checked the information window on the working Bulgasari.
[ Bulgasari ]
– Lv. 99
– Traits
└ ＜Dominion Gem＞＜Spirit Beast＞＜Dominated Creature＞
– Skills
└ ＜Fear＞＜Color Steel＞＜Consume Steel＞＜Expel Steel＞＜Store＞＜Super Regeneration＞＜Super Strength＞＜Super Spin＞＜Flame Resistance＞＜Earth Affinity＞
The creature’s information was densely packed.
There were no alphabet-coded categories.
Yet, as a summoned creature, the Bulgasari ranked as S-class.
The keywords ‘Spirit Beast’ and ‘Dominated Creature’ alone qualified it for an S-rank classification.
“That’s why I used the one-time Dominion Gem on the Bulgasari.”
It was exactly as it seemed.
Suho had chosen the Twisted Forest not just for Severing Steel but also for the Dominion Gem.
At this point, only the Dominion Gem could secure the Bulgasari.
Suho, watching the busy Bulgasari, thought of the player who had been its master in his past life.
He had been a player known as ‘Gaia,’ the Avatar of the Earth, and Suho vividly remembered how Gaia had used the Bulgasari and the ways in which he evolved it.
“It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say he earned the nickname Gaia thanks to the Bulgasari.”
Among the tasks Gaia most often assigned to the Bulgasari was mineral collection, and Suho followed that by ordering the Bulgasari to gather minerals.
At level 99, the Bulgasari could gather and store far more minerals than Nexus’s gathering team could dream of.
Some time later…
“Bul-bul, bul-bul.”
Having stored minerals to its limit, the Bulgasari approached Suho, its body several times larger than before, patting its belly.
Seeing this, Suho picked up the Bulgasari and activated an item skill.
[ Entering Subspace House. ]
The item skill used was Subspace House.
Suho entered it and had the Bulgasari release all the stored minerals.
The creature’s bulk shrank again, and Suho repeated the process after returning outside.
“Once I leave, that’s it. I need to make the most of it while I’m here.”
He had no intention of breaking his promise to Bae Dong-hyuk.
The Nexus gathering team had already collected everything they could.
So, anything harvested from now on was Suho’s.
Of course, he didn’t plan to report it to Bae Dong-hyuk.
After all, he had entered this place as an attacker, not as a member of the gathering team.
***
“He’s taking way too long…”
At a fork in the path.
There, Banshee’s team and the rest of the gathering team were all waiting for Suho.
It was odd.
There was an alert that the Gate had been conquered, but Suho, the MVP of the conquest, hadn’t shown up.
Anxious, Commander Ahn Seongwon voiced his thoughts.
“Could it be… something happened to him inside? Like he was injured during the raid…”
From the perspective of those waiting, it was a plausible thought.
Commander Ahn Seongwon was beginning to think they should start an internal search, and Kang Dae-han, filled with worry, cautiously offered his opinion.
“It’s not that I don’t trust the team leader, but I can’t help but be concerned… What does everyone think?”
Kang Dae-han’s gaze turned to Seo Giwon and Gu Yeonhwa.
Gu Yeonhwa was in a dilemma.
The chance was slim, but she couldn’t help but wonder: what if, against all odds, he was trapped somewhere, wedged in a crack between rocks?
At that moment, Seo Giwon spoke up.
“No, our hyungnim will return for sure.”
He meant it sincerely.
Seo Giwon believed.
To Seo Giwon, Suho was like a religion.
And as his guiding leader, he thought it was only right as a team member to believe in Suho’s words and wait, even if things went wrong.
Gu Yeonhwa nodded in agreement with Seo Giwon.
“Let’s follow the instructions and wait a little longer. After all, the Gate has been conquered.”
“…Understood.”
Gu Yeonhwa shared a similar view to Seo Giwon.
Of course, her trust in Suho wasn’t based on human-to-human belief.
So far, Suho had shown many things to prove his abilities, but this was their first time entering a Gate together.
Nonetheless, she chose to trust Suho as Banshee’s leader.
“If a former leader doesn’t trust the new one, the organization won’t hold together.”
So, even though she was as worried as Kang Dae-han and Ahn Seongwon, she decided to wait the full 12 hours Suho had requested.
After waiting for quite a while longer, with about 30 minutes remaining in the 12 hours Suho had mentioned…
Boom!
A sudden explosion.
One of the two blocked pathways collapsed.
Rustle—
As the debris completely fell away, a figure was revealed from within.
An unmistakably familiar silhouette.
Seeing it, Seo Giwon shouted.
“Hyungnim!”
“Yes, it’s me.”
The familiar silhouette to everyone.
It was Suho.
Suho appeared completely unscathed, dusting off the dirt from his clothes.
Seo Giwon was the first to rush over, fussing.
“What took you so long? Do you know how worried we were?!”
“If you were so worried, why didn’t you come looking for me?”
“You strictly ordered us not to. You have no idea how hard it was to turn down the gathering team’s search suggestion!”
Suho chuckled at Seo Giwon’s fussing.
“Well done. Keep it up from now on.”
“Yes!”
Pride radiated from Seo Giwon’s face.
Gu Yeonhwa felt the same.
Seeing Suho’s safe return, she found herself smiling as well.
Seeing her smile, Suho spoke.
“You waited well?”
“…If we can’t trust the leader, who can we trust?”
“Yes, that’s the attitude of a team member. Well done.”
“But why were you so late? You conquered the Gate over half a day ago.”
“Just some business.”
“Business?”
“Yes, something the others don’t need to know about.”
“What in the world…”
Gu Yeonhwa looked at Suho, taken aback, but Suho simply responded with a smile.
Then, he turned to Commander Ahn Seongwon and spoke to the gathering team.
“Thank you for waiting. Now, shall we all head outside?”
“Yes!”
“Sounds good!”
Suho led the conquest team towards the Gate’s exit.
***
“It’s taking far too long…”
“What’s going on?”
“The Gate’s been conquered, hasn’t it? The line has disappeared…”
“Did something happen inside?”
“Damn it, we can’t go in to check…”
The delay was making not only the internal conquest team anxious but also Nexus Guild members outside.
Initially, Suho had been finishing things swiftly, but then he was delayed, and even after the Gate was conquered, he hadn’t shown up for over six hours.
‘Could something have gone wrong…?’
Bae Dong-hyuk was particularly on edge.
Who was Suho?
The hottest star player in the country and someone the Korean Hunter Association had an eye on.
He had barely managed to build a connection with the Korean Hunter Association through Suho, so if Suho were to get seriously injured or, heaven forbid, die…
‘If it turns out that he entered this Gate because he felt sorry for me…’
Just the thought made him shudder.
At that moment.
“Huh?”
“Oh! He’s coming out!”
“What?!”
Just as Bae Dong-hyuk’s anxiety peaked, someone began emerging from the Gate.
A figure stepping out like a triumphant general.
It was Suho.
“Hunter Ahn!!”
Seeing Suho, Bae Dong-hyuk dashed out of the situation room in a hurry.