Return of the Sword God-Rank Civil Servant - Chapter 81
Chapter 81
After the Great Cataclysm, quite a few countries had reinstated conscription.
Although most Gates couldn’t be subdued by the military, surveillance and management were still feasible.
It was similar in South Korea.
Since conscription was already in place, nothing had drastically changed, but there were new exemption provisions added to the existing system.
One of those was an exemption clause for Awakened individuals, which essentially meant that those with awakened abilities were exempted from military service.
“Since Awakened individuals could be deployed into a Gate at any moment.”
Of course, exemptions weren’t granted unconditionally.
The process was complex—they had to obtain a Hunter license, level up at least twice, and then pass a stat inspection before receiving a full exemption.
The reason for exempting them was to utilize them as Hunter resources rather than general military personnel.
“The problem was that this complicated process was added later.”
Currently, simply awakening and obtaining a Player Certificate was enough to secure an exemption from military service.
There were too many loopholes in the system because society hadn’t been stabilized for long after the Great Cataclysm.
And Hong Won-seok’s older brother, Hong Dong-seok, had exploited one of those loopholes to evade military service.
Hearing the full story, Hong Won-seok had been speechless the entire way to the Association.
“His emotions are likely all over the place.”
Of course.
Hong Won-seok hadn’t known that his brother was a military service evader.
The reason?
It was simple.
Just a lack of communication between estranged siblings.
Upon arriving at the Association, Suho saw that the place was in chaos due to the presence of both Awakened individuals and military service evaders Suho had apprehended, along with their families.
“Ah, damn it! I really am awakened!”
“Who reported me?”
“You issued me a Player Certificate! Why are you making a fuss now?”
Such audacity.
It was utter bedlam.
The Awakened individuals and civil servants were sweating from the unprecedented, large-scale incident that had erupted.
Suho, however, was calmly observing the scene.
After all, his position was still merely that of a “probationary employee.”
“Making a probationary employee handle official duties would be really crossing the line.”
Just then—
“You son of a b****!”
Out of nowhere, Hong Won-seok, who had been following Suho, suddenly charged at someone.
And that someone was none other than Hong Dong-seok.
Smack!!
A solid punch landed.
Hong Dong-seok fell, and Hong Won-seok, mounting his brother, grabbed him by the collar.
“You b******! Because of you! Because of you!”
Overwhelmed with anger and sorrow, he shook his brother mercilessly.
The civil servants intervened, pulling the two apart, and Suho shook his head as he turned away from the situation.
But at that moment, Jo Seong-gil, who had belatedly spotted Suho, urgently called out to him.
“Suho!”
“Yes?”
“Where are you going? Come and give us a hand!”
“Me? Help?”
“Who else would help? Can’t you see we’re all busy here?”
“I can see that. But I’m still a probationary employee, which means I’m not permitted to handle official duties. Plus, I’m still undergoing field evaluation.”
“What? Field evaluation? But you’re the one who brought all these people here—who cares about a field evaluation?”
But Jo Seong-gil couldn’t finish his sentence.
In fact, everything Suho said was correct.
Realizing this, Jo Seong-gil closed his mouth, and Suho gave a light nod before exiting the Department of Non-Awakened Affairs.
“As if they could make me do their work.”
They should be satisfied with the help I already gave them—what more could they want?
Suho exited the Department of Non-Awakened Affairs and got back into his car.
Now, it was really time to complete his field evaluation.
***
After driving for some time, Suho arrived at a PC cafe in Incheon.
The cafe was located on the second floor, and as soon as he entered, he was met by a thick cloud of cigarette smoke.
“There are still PC cafes that allow indoor smoking these days?”
Well.
Being this far out in the outskirts, it wasn’t even a Safe Zone, so it was understandable.
Besides, when was this place built?
After the Great Cataclysm and the rise of virtual reality, PC cafes and the online gaming industry had rapidly declined.
Naturally so.
PC games, confined to monitor screens, could never compete with virtual reality games.
Suho slowly scanned his surroundings.
There weren’t many customers.
At most, a few older men who only knew about old games.
Then, a young man caught Suho’s eye.
Suho quietly approached him and watched the game he was playing.
The game was called “Ops”—short for “Over Strike.”
It was an FPS game with a legendary status, almost a national phenomenon worldwide, from before the Great Cataclysm.
Naturally, Suho had also played it.
Suho observed the young man’s gameplay for a while before sitting beside him and launching Ops.
He entered the basic training room, controlling the characters as he reacquainted himself with the game.
After a while, the young man glanced at Suho’s screen and struck up a conversation.
“Do you play Ops?”
“Yes.”
“Did you sit next to me on purpose?”
“Yes.”
The young man smirked at Suho’s answer.
“Wow, it’s been ages since I’ve seen someone play Ops. Let’s play together. Not many people play this game anymore, so the more, the merrier.”
“Would that be alright?”
“Of course. Want to friend me? My ID is Railgun.”
“Railgun… Wait, are you the Railgun?”
“You know me?”
“How could I not? Anyone who’s played Ops knows you—the top-ranking player for years until the game went down.”
“That’s a bit embarrassing.”
“An honor, honestly. I never thought I’d get to play a game with Railgun in my lifetime.”
Railgun seemed genuinely surprised that Suho recognized him and chuckled, somewhat shyly.
Thus, the two of them enjoyed Ops together for a while.
Their skill levels were worlds apart, but in a game with so few players left, skill didn’t really matter much.
Just having someone to play with was what counted.
Perhaps because of this, the two struck up a decent rapport through some small talk.
“So, do you work here?”
“Yes. The owner’s pretty lenient, so he lets me play games when there aren’t many customers.”
“He sounds like a great guy.”
“He is. By the way, aren’t you hungry? I can treat you to a cup of ramen.”
“No need, I should be the one treating you. I’m grateful just for the company.”
“Nah, don’t mention it.”
Railgun smiled warmly as he got up and headed to the counter.
Suho followed him.
While Railgun prepared to open a cup of ramen and boil some water, Suho leaned against the counter, watching him.
“Mr. Railgun.”
“Yes?”
“Is your name Kim Kwon?”
“…What?”
“I’m from the Department of Non-Awakened Affairs at the Korean Hunter Association. My name is Ahn Suho, and I’m here to meet you, Kim Kwon. May I see your ID?”
“…”
Kim Kwon froze, his hand pausing as he shook the ramen seasoning packet.
The two locked eyes for a moment.
Finally, Kim Kwon spoke.
“How did you know?”
“I can’t tell you how I found out. Now, please show me your ID.”
“…”
Kim Kwon fell silent.
After a moment of silence, he nodded and headed to another area.
“My locker is in the staff room in the back. Just a moment.”
With that, Kim Kwon walked toward the storage area at the back of the cafe.
Or, more accurately, he pretended to head toward the storage room before breaking into a run as soon as he exited the door.
Suho sighed to himself.
“Well, of course.”
Suho began to chase him.
***
After exiting the PC cafe, Kim Kwon ran for quite some time.
Without looking back, he zigzagged through alleys, taking as complex a route as possible.
His heart felt like it was about to explode.
Surely, he’d lost him by now.
He tried to calm his shaking legs and sat down on the ground.
“Huff… huff…”
Damn.
But how did he even find me here?
Was it someone who tipped him off?
If so, who?
As he pondered Suho’s words, Kim Kwon began to suspect those around him, wondering who might have betrayed him.
It was then.
“Are you done running?”
“Huh? Huh!”
“Enough.”
Suho calmly approached Kim Kwon and gave him a light flick on the forehead.
Kim Kwon’s head tilted back, and he slumped to the ground.
“Argh…”
Dazed from the forehead flick, Kim Kwon struggled to regain his senses.
Of course he would.
It wasn’t just any flick; it was one delivered by Suho himself.
Suho asked, “Why are you trying to run? Don’t you realize this leads to summary arrest?”
“Ugh…!”
Suho knelt to match the eye level of the seated Kim Kwon and said,
“Mr. Kim Kwon. Or should I say, Mr. Kim Geon?”
“…!”
“Your reaction confirms it. Inside, this isn’t Kim Kwon but his older brother, Kim Geon, right?”
“N-no, that’s not it.”
“Not it? Who answers a question like that? Usually, people ask what you’re talking about. Anyway, it seems we need to straighten this out. Let’s go to your house first—where Kim Geon’s real body is, correct?”
“…”
Kim Kwon fell silent.
It was exactly as he suspected.
The person before him was Kim Kwon.
Or, to be precise, Kim Kwon’s body with Kim Geon’s soul.
At that moment, Kim Geon, who had been looking down as if defeated, suddenly threw a punch toward Suho.
However—
Thud!
Suho blocked the surprise attack with ease.
He crushed Kim Geon’s fist with a squeeze of his grip.
“Aaagh!”
“Get a grip. I’m here to help you. Do you really want both of you to get into trouble?”
“Aaaagh!”
“Alright, I’ll release your fist now, but you’ll come with me calmly. If you try this again, you’ll be restrained and taken in.”
Having said that, Suho released his grip.
Revealed was Kim Geon’s bruised and swollen hand, bearing the clear imprint of Suho’s fingers.
It was in bad shape.
Unsurprisingly so.
Suho had gripped his fist with full strength.
But without much concern, Suho cast a healing spell on his hand and said,
“Let’s go. To where your original body is.”
***
Suho and Kim Geon arrived at an old villa not far from the PC cafe but perched atop a rather steep hill.
Kim Geon’s residence was in a semi-basement unit.
Kim Geon opened the door and entered first, with Suho following, where he found “the real Kim Geon” lying on the living room bed.
Suho placed a finger under the nose of the seemingly lifeless Kim Geon.
He was breathing, and his pulse was steady.
Not dead, but in a comatose state.
Nodding, Suho spoke.
“May I see your ID?”
“…”
Kim Geon glanced at Suho, then silently fetched two ID cards and handed them to him.
One ID for himself, Kim Geon, and another for his younger brother, Kim Kwon.
After examining both IDs, Suho asked,
“Mr. Kim Geon, when did your younger brother awaken?”
“…Yesterday.”
“Let’s not lie. You seem to work at that PC cafe. Checking your work history will reveal when you started. Your possession ability only activates on other Players, doesn’t it?”
“…!”
Kim Geon’s eyes widened at the word “possession.”
Indeed.
Kim Geon’s characteristic was “possession.”
And he was one of the rare “possession Players” in the country, a target Suho intended to track down as part of his field evaluation.