Return of the Sword God-Rank Civil Servant-Chapter 461
[ You enter the Gate. ]
Right after entering the Gate, Su-ho tensed up.
The Gate’s rank itself was 2-star, but its entry conditions were the highest among any 2-star Gates he had entered so far.
On top of that, the opponent was Hera.
For reasons unknown, she hated Su-ho that much, so the odds were high that the moment he entered the Gate, spears and blades would rain down on him.
However, contrary to his expectations, what Su-ho saw as soon as he entered the Gate were lush green plants, the friendly chirping of birds, and, at the center of it all, a neatly shaped temple.
‘A temple?’
Given the context, the temple in front of his eyes was highly likely to be Hera’s original temple that he had seen half-destroyed outside.
“Hm.”
A brief moment of thought. And then—
[ Blood Armory is activated. ]
[ Blessing is activated. ]
[ Holy Enchant is activated. ]
[ Mana Detection is activated. ]
[ Endurance is activated. ]
[ Enhancement is activated. ]
[ Blacksmith’s Eye is activated. ]
[ Sword Aura is activated. ]
Su-ho immediately armed himself with his own buffs.
‘Who knows what might happen the moment I go in.’
Firmly gripping his Blood Sword as well, Su-ho finally entered the temple.
The inside of the temple was cleaner than he had expected.
It even felt holy.
When he went deeper inside the temple, he saw the back of some woman.
She was wearing a robe pulled over her head and sitting in front of a bonfire, and Su-ho cautiously called out to her.
“Excuse me?”
“...I have been waiting.”
At Su-ho’s call, the woman quietly stood up from her seat and turned her body.
He could not see her face.
The deeply pulled-down hood covered almost everything except her mouth.
The woman spoke.
“It is an honor to meet you. I am the priest serving the goddess and at the same time the oracle who conveys the goddess’s words.”
“I see. Then does that mean I can meet the goddess now?”
“Would you wait for just a moment?”
After finishing her words, the oracle briefly composed herself and then brought together her slender hands.
Then, a light that looked holy began to gather around the oracle.
Flaaash!
With a light like a camera flash, the robe covering the oracle’s face was blown off in one go.
As the deep robe fell away, the oracle’s long hair spilled out and fluttered like water plants.
The oracle’s eyes were not human eyes but were filled with pure white flashes like those of a transcendent being.
Soon, her body began to float lightly, and it was right after her toes rose a few handspans off the ground.
[ ■■ manifests. ]
Su-ho’s eyes widened at the system notification.
Manifest, huh?
Could it be Hera, directly?
Of course, there was nothing that explicitly said ■■ was Hera.
But this was Hera’s temple, and this Gate had been reached through Hera’s temple, so no matter who looked at it, ■■ could only be Hera.
Finding the unexpected development interesting, Su-ho waited for her to speak first.
And at last, Hera, having manifested by using the oracle’s body as a vessel, began to speak out loud herself.
- Lunatic.
‘Well, well?’
At the sudden curse flung out of nowhere, Su-ho felt dumbfounded.
However, apart from that, the voice that echoed as if speaking from within a cave exuded a strange sense of holiness.
Swallowing down his bewilderment, Su-ho spoke.
“Why am I a lunatic?”
- Because you came looking for me in person, that’s why you’re a lunatic. Where do you think this place is that you dare to come here?
“I thought you were going to say something grand... Anyway, can you really pretend not to know like this? When you know perfectly well why I came.”
- Do I have to know?
“It would be better if you did, you know? Otherwise, you’ll just have to sit and watch as I become Hercules without any trouble.”
- What?
At Su-ho’s provocation, Hera, enraged without realizing it, floated the oracle’s body a little higher.
But Su-ho continued talking, unconcerned.
“I’m speaking frankly here. You’ve been watching all along, so you know well. That I am currently the most outstanding Player on Earth. And that no matter what tricks you pull, they won’t work on me.”
- .......
Hera’s brow narrowed.
His tone was a bit rough and provocative, but nothing he had said was wrong.
And while Hera certainly had a fair share of jealousy and envy, she was not stupid.
No, if anything, she was wise.
Hera swallowed her anger and spoke.
- So, what is it you want from me?
“I have something I would like to propose.”
- A proposal?
“Yes. From what I know, I have about nine tasks left to complete. They are things I could resolve one by one as the time comes, but I have more to do than I thought. So I’d like to make you a proposal. Please, by means of this Gate I’ve entered now, let me carry out the remaining tasks all at once.”
At Su-ho’s brazen demand, the oracle’s brow furrowed endlessly.
- Unbelievable. I’m sure of it. You really are a crazy human. Just like that guy.
“That guy” was probably referring to Hercules.
In the current situation, the only one Hera had grounds to keep cursing was that person... no, that god.
Su-ho spoke, unfazed.
“It won’t be a bad deal for you either. No, it will actually be beneficial. This time, I’m the one who proposed it first, and because of that, the tasks can be carried out all at once, so you’ll be able to adjust the system and difficulty legally.”
Su-ho calmly explained what he wanted, and Hera listened to it without getting agitated.
And when Su-ho finished speaking, Hera’s eyes narrowed into thin slits.
It was because what he said made sense.
It was just that the one saying it was Su-ho, so even if he was right, she hated it.
After a brief moment of thought, Hera answered.
- You’re full of confidence.
“If you take away my confidence, there’s nothing left. You’ve seen it yourself, haven’t you?”
- That’s exactly why I like you even less.
“Yes, I’m sure. But you know, I’ve been wondering about this for a while. Why do you hate me that much? When you get down to it, I’m not even the real Hercules, I’m just some candidate inheriting his power.”
He had been curious anyway.
The fact that Hera hated Hercules was a famously well-known story.
But that was Hera’s personal feeling toward Hercules, and there was no way to know why that hostility had spilled over onto other Players.
This was all just a game created by the system, after all.
At those words, Hera answered irritably.
- And why should I tell you about my deep-rooted hatred toward that guy? Don’t get cocky and know your place.
“Honestly... fine. So, what do you think of my proposal?”
- I’ll accept it. As it is, your progress had been seriously getting on my nerves.
“Then please get permission from the system for me. I don’t have the authority to do that.”
- I was going to do that anyway. However, there is a condition.
“What is it?”
- The rewards you would have received each time you cleared a task, I will give them all at once after you have completed every task.
“Huh? Why?”
- You came to me for your convenience, so you should at least accept this much, shouldn’t you?
‘Wow, for someone called a god, she’s really petty.’
No, strictly speaking she wasn’t a god but a Transcendent, was she?
Still, what she said had a point, so he answered that he would agree.
“Understood.”
- Good. But you will have to be prepared. If you fail even one of the tasks, you will lose everything.
“You don’t have to worry about that.”
At Su-ho’s answer, Hera closed the oracle’s eyes instead of replying.
And after a short silence—
[ The system accepts your proposal. ]
[ Under balanced adjustment, the conditions for the tasks the Hercules Candidate must undergo will be flexibly modified. ]
The system’s permission was granted.
At the same time, the oracle’s closed eyelids lifted, and that unique gleam shone out again.
- I’ll make you regret having the gall to spit out such a proposal to me.
‘Wow, look at that, venom again the moment she opens her eyes.’
Su-ho clicked his tongue inwardly but behaved with proper courtesy outwardly.
After all, the one bankrolling things right now was Hera.
“As you wish. So, what should I do now?”
- All the trials will be given to you here.
[ ■■ gives you the remaining tasks. ]
[ ■■’s tasks begin. ]
After Hera’s short warning, radiance surged in an instant along with the system notifications.
Su-ho reflexively closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, he was no longer inside Hera’s temple but in the middle of a rocky field.
It was then.
[ ■■’s 4th task begins. ]
[ A boss monster appears. ]
The system suddenly issued a warning and at the same time announced the appearance of a boss monster.
‘The 4th task?’
Seeing the notification, Su-ho traced back the past with his fingers and soon curled up the corners of his mouth.
‘I took care of the lion, the Hydra, and the deer, so the 4th one fits.’
And the 4th task that Su-ho remembered was to capture alive the Erymanthos boar that Artemis had sent down to the mortal world.
‘If we’re going by the original tale, I should capture the boar alive, but do I really have to capture it?’
It was then.
- Giweeeeeeeek!
[ The Guardian of Erymanthos becomes enraged. ]
[ The Guardian of Erymanthos uses ruler-grade Fear. ]
[ Dragon Blood is activated. ]
[ Due to the Dragon Mind effect of Dragon Blood, the Fear is not applied. ]
[ Due to the effect of ruler-grade Fear, all buff effects on Players are removed. ]
A high-pitched cry.
At the same time, all of his buffs were dispelled.
“This is driving me crazy.”
Thud!
Along with the ruler-grade Fear, the Erymanthos boar... no, the Guardian of Erymanthos revealed itself.
The thing appeared in all its imposing glory at the highest point of the rocky field, and its size was not that of an ordinary boar but that of a boar almost as big as a house.
- Guardian of Erymanthos Lv.???
Naturally, its level was not displayed.
However, it had been produced through coordination with the system, and since the Gate’s entry level was 275, it was certain that it was at least higher than 275.
Su-ho drew his Blood Sword and laughed.
“Yeah, it’s better if it’s higher level than me.”
He didn’t think he would lose.
In that case, he might as well at least collect some experience.
On top of that, seeing how they pulled out a boss monster right away even though this was only the 4th task, it looked like all the remaining tasks would be filled with boss monsters.
‘Anyone can tell the clear rewards are going to be sweet!’
Su-ho immediately cast his own buffs and prepared to fight the Guardian of Erymanthos.
Thud!
[ Blessing is activated. ]
[ Holy Enchant is activated. ]
[ Mana Detection is activated. ]
[ Endurance is activated. ]
[ Enhancement is activated. ]
[ Blacksmith’s Eye is activated. ]
[ Sword Aura is activated. ]
Fwooooosh!
Skill effects surged around him.
At the same time, the Guardian of Erymanthos began to charge toward Su-ho.
[ The Guardian of Erymanthos uses Moonlight Dash. ]
‘Moonlight Dash?’
‘What, is it because Artemis sent it that it’s got a moon attribute?’
‘Unbelievable.’
‘In that case, I’ll respond in kind and use one enemy to defeat another.’
Su-ho hurled a black spear at the creature.
It was the Guiyeong Spear.
“Go, Guiyeong!”
“Woof!!”
At its master’s call, Guiyeong rushed straight at the oncoming Guardian of Erymanthos.
Kraaaash!!
The two divine beasts collided.
A roar like that of trucks slamming into each other rang out.
“Nice!”
“Woooof!!”
The Guiyeong Spear’s unique options did not activate.
There was no shadow covering the boar.
However, just stopping its charge was already more than enough of an achievement.
Su-ho immediately gripped his Blood Sword.
Then, he moved straight to the front of the boar whose charge had been blocked.
[ Shadow Movement is activated. ]
- Oink?
“Oink, my ass!”
[ Weakening is activated. ]
[ Seal of Pain is activated. ]
[ Enrage is activated. ]
[ Blessing of Rage is activated. ]
[ Curse of Rage is activated. ]
One after another, he slammed a full set of five debuffs onto it.
Then, without the slightest hesitation, he swung his Blood Sword, which was now engulfed in blue light and pure white radiance.
[ Enhancement is activated. ]
[ Diamond Cutter is activated. ]
[ Enhancement is applied. ]
[ The power of Diamond Cutter becomes even stronger. ]
Slice!
Light flashed brilliantly.
And then—
[ You have successfully slain the Guardian of Erymanthos. ]
[ You have leveled up. ]
[ All stats have increased by 1. ]
[ You have acquired 1 bonus stat. ]
[ You have successfully completed the 4th task. ]
Su-ho cleared the 4th task in a single blow.
Seeing the system notifications, Su-ho grinned broadly and shouted cheerfully.
“Next!”
