Return of the Sword God-Rank Civil Servant-Chapter 198

Busy Days.

The prosecutors were fully engaged in handling the Reconstruction Gate scandal.

The Banshees were dedicating their full efforts to eliminating Awakened criminals.

And Baekgeumpa was relentlessly sweeping out ordinary gangsters.

Meanwhile, Jo Jin-hwi continued to spotlight incidents surrounding the Reconstruction Gate scandal to keep the public interest alive.

If Su-ho had it his way, he would have immediately begun reforming the Hunter Association, cutting through its corruption like a blade.

But everything had its proper process.

‘For now, I should just focus on what I can do.’

Thus, Su-ho’s choice was none other than Gate Raiding.

[ Gate Has Been Cleared. ]

[ MVP of the Raid: ‘An Su-ho’ ]

[ Additional EXP Granted for MVP Selection. ]

[ Bonus Stat +1 Acquired. ]

[ Level Up Achieved. ]

[ All Stats +1 ]

[ Additional Bonus Stat +1 Acquired. ]

"Hah..."

After slaying the boss monster, Su-ho collected its mana stone and opened his status window.

[ An Su-ho ]

Lv: 141Class: CrusaderTraits: ＜New Blood＞ ＜Hercules Candidate＞Strength (O): 91Magic (O): 71 → 73Perception (O): 59Bonus Stats: 2 → 0There wasn’t much else for him to do after setting everything in motion.

Thus, he had focused purely on leveling up.

The result?

A seven-level jump.

And with the two bonus stats he had just received, Su-ho invested them into Magic.

Then, he pondered.

‘What’s the current national Grand Ranking?’

A country’s player rankings were an important indicator.

The types of players a nation had significantly influenced its national power.

Because of this, ranking organizations existed in nearly every country.

Among them, the most reputable was Player Board, an internationally recognized ranking institution.

Player Board provided various ranking charts, but the most famous were:

The Level Chart °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° → A pure level-based ranking.The Grand Chart → A comprehensive ranking that considered achievements, influence, and level.For Su-ho, the Level Chart wasn’t particularly important.

South Korea already had a fair number of 1-Star Players.

What mattered was the Grand Chart.

That was the real ranking recognized by the world.

As soon as he exited the Gate, Su-ho pulled up the Player Board app and checked the Grand Chart.

[ This Week’s Grand Chart ]

.

.

9th Place – An Su-ho / Healer / Sword Saint

.

.

"Healer, but Sword Saint?"

Su-ho chuckled at the irony.

Every player’s name on the chart was listed alongside their class and title.

It was amusing.

His initial class was Healer, yet his title was "Sword Saint."

Who else could have such a ridiculous combination?

Probably no one but him.

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Su-ho then checked the Top 10 players.

‘As expected, no one’s reached Level 200 yet.’

He wasn’t just checking out of curiosity.

With the Reconstruction Gate scandal unfolding, the Hunter Association’s reforms nearly done, and the crime purge well underway, he needed to prepare for the next step.

In the history of the Great Cataclysm, the transition to the "Mid-Cataclysm Era" was marked by the rise of 2-Star Players.

‘Which means I need to reach Level 200 as soon as possible.’

Su-ho checked the top three ranks.

1st Place: Lv.198

2nd Place: Lv.198

3rd Place: Lv.197

"198, huh."

Even Song Kang-cheon, whom he had recently captured, had been mid-190s in level.

In other words, no one in South Korea had reached 2-Star yet.

It wasn’t because they didn’t want to.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

There was a hidden truth that most people didn’t know yet:

Once a 1-Star Player reached Level 9 of any digit, they entered a "Hell-Level Zone"—a brutal difficulty spike.

‘But once you survive that and hit 200, the power jump is beyond ridiculous.’

That was the 2nd Awakening Phenomenon.

Because of that, the current Grand Chart rankings weren’t entirely accurate.

The true Rankers hadn’t even surfaced yet.

‘Except for one.’

Among the Top 10, one name caught Su-ho’s attention.

Ki Joon-seo.

Ranked 6th, he was different from the others.

Unlike the rest, his level wasn’t in the 190s.

Su-ho knew exactly who he was.

Right now, Ki Joon-seo was just a normal mage.

But after his 2nd Awakening, he would become "The Bone Emperor"—Golje.

‘Not a Necromancer, yet he controls an army of skeleton warriors and bone weapons.’

Moreover, despite his fearsome power, his personality wasn’t twisted.

He was useful in many ways.

‘I’ll have to meet him at some point.’

One person alone couldn’t save the world.

Though Su-ho had learned not to trust people too easily, some individuals were worth investing in.

Ki Joon-seo was one of them.

After finishing his chart research, Su-ho checked his next destination.

It wasn’t anything special.

His next stop was another Gate.

Su-ho had compiled a full list of all 1-Star Gates in South Korea.

Making the list had been simple.

Currently, 1-Star Gates fell into three categories:

Privately Owned Gates → Controlled by guilds.Sealed Gates → Classified as dangerous and needing special clearances.Evaluation Gates → Newly emerged Gates awaiting assessment.There were no 2-Star Gates yet.

Well—there were, but it wasn’t time to clear them yet.

So for now, he focused on 1-Star Gates.

The ones he targeted first were Evaluation Gates.

Most Sealed Gates had already been cleared, leaving only a few.

As for Privately Owned Gates, he couldn’t touch them without permission.

‘Originally, Evaluation Gates were meant to be sold to private buyers...’

That was only because the Hunter Association had been too corrupt to handle them properly.

But things had changed now.

If the Exploration and Raid Teams were functioning properly, there was no reason to sell Gates to private entities.

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With excitement, Su-ho headed toward his next target.

***

"...Raid?"

— "Yes, that's correct."

At the Inagawa Guild Headquarters, Kenji, the sub-guild master and one of the middle bosses, furrowed his brows upon hearing his subordinate's report.

He had sent someone to track down Suiru, who had failed to return from his assignment.

But instead of locating Suiru, his subordinate had uncovered something even more shocking:

The Korean guild they had long dealt with—Raid—had been completely destroyed.

The information was confirmed.

His subordinate was currently on-site at Raid's headquarters in Euljiro.

— "The Raid headquarters is completely deserted. If there were any remaining personnel, I would’ve interrogated them, but it’s like a ghost town. We haven't been able to conduct a proper investigation yet."

"...."

Kenji's brow furrowed deeper.

Was this even possible?

It had only been a few days.

Just recently, he had been in direct contact with Song Kang-cheon, the head of Raid.

But in just a matter of days, their entire headquarters had been wiped out?

This wasn't some petty embezzlement case where a lower-tier syndicate vanished overnight.

No.

Raid was South Korea's second-largest underground guild.

Moreover, they had a blood pact with Inagawa.

There was no reason for them to suddenly disappear.

Which meant...

This wasn’t a coincidence.

Someone had deliberately destroyed them.

‘Suiru must have been taken down by the same people.’

Kenji quickly sorted through his thoughts and spoke.

"It seems like there was outside interference. Begin an immediate investigation. Money is no object—I don’t care how much it costs. Whoever did this... they need to learn what happens when they mess with the Inagawa Guild and its allies."

— "Understood."

His subordinate acknowledged the order with a deep bow.

***

Hexagon Guild Headquarters – Emergency Meeting

An urgent meeting was taking place in the Alpha Room of the Hexagon Guild.

The people seated at the table were no ordinary figures.

The Guild Master of HexagonThe Vice Guild MasterThe Chief AdministratorRank 1, Rank 3, and Rank 5 of South Korea’s Grand RankingsAfter a brief silence, Baek Do-hoon, ranked 5th, was the first to speak.

"...You're telling me 1-Star Gates are no longer appearing in auctions?"

"Yes, that’s the current situation."

"...."

The Chief Administrator quickly confirmed.

The reason for this urgent gathering?

For some unknown reason, 1-Star Gates were no longer being supplied to the market.

Well, to be precise...

1-Star Gates were still being circulated, but high-level Gates—those suitable for players nearing Level 100 and beyond—had suddenly stopped appearing.

Baek Do-hoon scoffed in disbelief.

"Wait a minute, Administrator. That makes no sense. Gates don’t just disappear. We used to get at least three or four of them a month. How do they suddenly dry up?"

"...Are you sure this isn’t just Prime snatching up the bids?"

Rank 3, Na Hyun-il, chimed in, equally skeptical.

This was a serious issue.

Typically, they cleared at least one or two Gates per month, yet now, they hadn't even seen a single one.

If this continued, it would impact their entire guild operation.

Sure, cash flow was maintained through other means, but the core of a Hunter Guild's revenue came from the high-level Gates cleared by its top players.

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Especially Hexagon, which had three of the top five ranked players in the country.

Yet all three of them were now sitting idle.

If this wasn’t a major issue, what was?

Both the Guild Master and Vice Guild Master turned their eyes to the Chief Administrator, waiting for an explanation.

After a deep sigh, the Administrator finally spoke.

"Hah... I thought something was off too, so I dug deeper. And the reason... was something I never expected."

"And what is it?"

"The Hunter Association is handling all the Gates themselves."

"...What?"

"Excuse me?"

"...?"

The entire room fell silent.

Each face was painted with confusion.

But it was true.

"At first, I kept getting generic responses—something about 'internal matters.' But after leveraging my sources, I found out the truth."

"And?"

"It turns out that Hunter An Su-ho, from the Association’s Gate Department, is clearing almost all of South Korea’s 1-Star Gates—practically by himself. That’s why there’s nothing left for auction."

"Are you kidding me?"

It was so absurd that they were left speechless.

One man was monopolizing every single 1-Star Gate in the country?

It wasn't just Hexagon—even Prime Guild was dealing with the same issue.

Prime housed Rank 2 and Rank 4 of South Korea’s Grand Rankings, and their Administrator had reported the same thing.

A stifling silence filled the room.

This was unprecedented.

But doing nothing wasn’t an option.

This wasn’t just about money.

It directly affected their ability to level up.

After much deliberation, the guild leaders all reached the same conclusion.

"We need to file an official protest."

"Agreed. We’ll demand an explanation."

At that moment, the largest guilds in Korea found themselves on the same side.