Return of the Sword God-Rank Civil Servant-Chapter 423

It wasn’t a mistake.

It wasn’t edited either.

It really was Su-ho.

In the recorded footage, Su-ho endured multiple explosions with his whole body as he tried to enter the Gate portal.

Not only that, but he also demonstrated with slashes, thrusts, and various attack skills that the Gate portal could not be destroyed.

At last, after finishing his final attack, Su-ho looked toward the camera and spoke.

— As you can see, this is a Gate portal, but it’s in a state where neither entry nor destruction is possible. Furthermore, the World Mana Detection Organization, WMD, reports that an abnormal condensation of mana is occurring in Australia. Therefore, my conclusion is that this Gate portal before us appears to be the very “Big Gate” you all saw in the system notification.

Finishing his explanation, Su-ho walked up to the camera, lifted it so that his upper body filled the frame, and said:

— I’ll explain more details through another broadcast. Thank you.

That was the end of the recorded footage.

Next came the shocked reactions of the news anchor and panelists. Su-ho muted the TV with the remote and, looking at the Bureau executives, made a light shrug and eyebrow gesture.

Everyone sat dumbfounded until Charlie finally opened his mouth.

“W-what exactly is going on here?”

“As you saw.”

“S-saw what, exactly?”

“That footage just now was recorded directly by me in Australia, on my ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) way here.”

“In Australia? Directly?”

“Yes, directly. In fact, I shot that footage separately after testing various things first, to have reference material for this discussion with you all.”

“What on earth....”

“It’s all true.”

“Do you have any proof?”

“Proof, you say....”

When one of the executives demanded evidence, Su-ho let out a short laugh.

Then, wearing the most serious expression in the world, he began to speak again.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I am a civil servant Player currently serving as a Section Chief of the Special Division of the Grand Hunter Association of the Republic of Korea.”

An abrupt self-introduction.

Yet seeing how utterly serious Su-ho was, everyone kept quiet and began listening attentively.

Su-ho continued.

“After the Great Upheaval, having lost my entire family, I swore that if I ever became a Player, I would one day put an end to the Gates that took them from me. Not long after reaching adulthood, I awakened as a Player—and I became a Healer.”

Su-ho then summoned his Blood Sword and set it down on the table.

“I practiced kendo for many years. Yet even so, I chose the path of a Healer because I believed that when you’re left alone, the most important thing is to heal yourself and keep fighting. Because after losing my family and living alone, I learned there are far fewer trustworthy people in this world than you’d expect.”

Finishing his words, Su-ho swept his gaze across the Bureau executives, meeting their eyes.

Then, after taking one steady breath, he continued.

“In Korea there were many sealed Gates—Gates confined in squares according to international standards. And immediately after I joined the Grand Hunter Association, I raided all of them alone. Yes, that’s right. The truth is, I became a civil servant precisely because I could access sealed Gates more easily than any other Player.”

“What do you mean by that...?”

“It’s true. If I had wanted wealth or fame, I would’ve joined a private guild instead. You might not know this, but in Korea, even if a civil servant Player single-handedly clears sealed Gates, the compensation is miserably small. In fact, you could say it’s almost nonexistent.”

“There’s really such a country? Then what kind of conditions does the government offer when recruiting civil servant Players?”

“Haha, that’s too embarrassing to say out loud. So let me speak of something else instead. While clearing sealed Gates on my own, I discovered and raided the End Gate located in Jeju Island—and because of that, complete peace began there.”

“......!”

“An End Gate!”

“Good heavens...!”

At the words End Gate, everyone’s eyes widened.

They knew Su-ho was an extraordinary Player, but most of them only had a rough idea of who he really was.

Su-ho continued.

“I’ve raided every Gate alone until now. There was a brief period when I was affiliated with a guild, but that was only to use them strategically for economic reasons. For Gate raiding itself, I never took anyone’s help. And this was no different after I joined the Grand Hunter Association. I’ve studied on my own and cleared Gates by myself without anyone’s guidance. Because of that, I possess a lot of hidden information others don’t have.”

“What kind of information are you referring to?”

“In this case, information about the Big Gate, for example. I’ve heard that Australia, outside its three major cities, is virtually devastated. Moreover, compared to other countries, it has far more monsters and Gates, and because those Gates haven’t been cleared, the accumulated mana has caused a surge in field monsters. Even if the Peace Corps were deployed right now, tracking the Big Gate would still be difficult.”

He hit the mark.

In fact, the Peace Corps currently dispatched were too busy evacuating Australians to even search for the Big Gate.

“But I, using the information and experience I’ve gathered while raiding numerous Gates, have already located the Big Gate directly. You asked for proof? Do you think I’d come all the way to the U.N. Bureau and wave around fabricated footage as a lie? I’m a civil servant Player working for paltry pay solely to raid Gates.”

“Well, that’s....”

The executive who had demanded proof tried to speak, but Charlie stopped him and answered instead.

“I’ll apologize for that part on his behalf. It’s such an unbelievable situation that words like that slipped out.”

“I understand. I’ll accept your apology.”

“Then let me ask something else... Did you send the video material to the TV station in advance?”

“Strictly speaking, I didn’t. I asked a trustworthy journalist to distribute it for me. Thanks to that, I could use the news perfectly timed with this meeting. And as I mentioned in the footage, I plan to start full-fledged Save the World activities with the next broadcast, which will address the Big Gate in more detail. Ah, and of course, I also intend to use your support for those activities.”

“Our support? But we haven’t said anything yet....”

“Then are you saying you won’t? Or do you think you’ll still say no after I’m done talking?”

“......”

So blunt it was almost provocative—yet no one could refute it.

Su-ho went on.

“The countless sealed Gates I’ve raided, and now the discovery of the Australian Big Gate—by this point, I believe my abilities have been sufficiently proven. Therefore, any Player who values honor will surely join my cause.”

“But even if they value honor, that doesn’t guarantee all of them will be competent personnel.”

“There’s no such thing as useless personnel.”

“......What I mean is, we’re talking about capable talents who can help raid a hard Gate like the Big Gate.”

At that, Su-ho smiled.

“I don’t need that kind of help.”

“What?”

“Excuse me?”

“What do you mean by that?”

He didn’t need skilled Players for raiding hard Gates?

Everyone looked bewildered.

Of course they did.

Then what was the point of founding Save the World?

Su-ho shook his head and said,

“As I said earlier, I’ve raided countless Gates alone up to now. And that won’t change going forward. I have no intention of entrusting my back to anyone.”

“Isn’t that far too dangerous a mindset?”

“Then let me ask—do you think it becomes safe just because you go in with others?”

“That’s....”

“It’s better for me to die alone than for several to die together. And while we’re at it, do you know what an anti-personnel mine is?”

“If you mean a mine with just enough power to blow off someone’s ankle?”

“That’s right. Then do you know its purpose?”

“When someone loses an ankle, it takes another soldier to carry them, and that act makes one more soldier lose his combat function.”

“Yes, exactly. It’s a cruel truth, but that’s reality. A wounded person—someone who can’t contribute to combat—is no different from baggage. In front of an unexperienced hard Gate, everyone’s like a child. Most hard Gates that have ever been cleared were conquered gradually over time, built upon the data gathered from the sacrifices of vanguard teams. But tell me—how many Players in this world do you think have single-handedly cleared sealed Gates everyone else abandoned, or raided unattempted Gates in a single try?”

Everyone fell silent at Su-ho’s question.

He looked around the room and spoke solemnly.

“None. Not a single one. Even if you gathered every top Player from the U.S., Russia, China, and Britain, they’d all be the same. And paradoxically, I’m confident that even if all of them attacked me at once, I could defeat them all.”

“What?”

“Isn’t that too arrogant?”

“No matter how much a Player transcends human limits and uses supernatural power, fighting one versus many is a completely different kind of battle!”

Su-ho furrowed his brow.

“It’s not different. Even if a thousand chicks came at a lion, could they win? If you don’t believe me, summon your best elite Players. I’ll prove it myself.”

He spoke plainly.

That was why he could speak proudly—because it was true.

‘Even if they brought every star Player alive, could they so much as scratch me?’

Skill for skill. Sense for sense.

But above all, the most overwhelming difference was, without question, stats.

That was why he was sure.

‘They couldn’t even leave a mark, let alone a wound.’

Charlie spoke.

“Then why are you gathering Players?”

“To divide roles. When someone opens a new path at the front line, someone else must tidy up the path the pioneer opened behind them.”

“...That sounds like you just want subordinates to clean up after you.”

“Dramatically speaking, yes. But what’s wrong with that? I’ll raid the hard Gates everyone fears alone, and other Players can clear less lethal Gates, hunt field monsters, and secure civilians’ safety. Or did you expect honorable, fair, sportsmanlike conduct in a fight against an alien-like system? This is war. A war without Geneva Conventions, without mercy, without tears.”

Su-ho looked around with eyes colder and deeper than ever.

“Wake up, all of you. If you fuss over respect and procedure, you’ll all die. This isn’t business or politics—it’s a war of pure instinct, of life and survival. A war against the unknown itself, the system—something humanity has never faced before. So I’ll make sure, by any means necessary, that capable Players volunteer for Save the World of their own accord.”

Thud!

Su-ho slammed the table.

“By any means necessary. So please, the U.N. must actively help me. I’ll accomplish what the U.N. couldn’t in the past, as one individual.” 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

He straightened his back.

Then smiled and said,

“And strictly speaking, I don’t intend to take any profit from this activity. So please consider this operation as simple ‘volunteer work,’ as I mentioned earlier.”

“V-volunteer work?”

“Yes, volunteer work. So I’d be grateful if the U.N. could offer plenty of help. Ah, and of course, I won’t be asking for money, so no need to worry.”

Gulp.

At Su-ho’s smile, Charlie—and indeed every executive in the meeting room—swallowed dryly.

And before long, this information reached U.N. Secretary-General Mac Anderson through Director Charlie himself.