Return of the Sword God-Rank Civil Servant-Chapter 347

It wasn’t a mistake.

He had seen it right.

Which is precisely why it was so hard to believe.

“This is possible?”

Seeing is believing.

Su-ho immediately tried consuming it.

[You have consumed a Colorless Stat Shard from the Mega Crusher.]

[Please select a stat to increase.]

Su-ho’s eyes widened at the notification.

He had hoped—and it was real.

He deliberately selected Strength.

[Strength increases by 1.]

And sure enough, the Strength stat actually increased by one.

“...You’ve got to be kidding me.”

Su-ho quickly opened his status window.

[An Su-ho]

– Lv: 236

– Class: Rage Crusader

– Traits▲: <New Blood> <Candidate of Heracles> <King of Ruin> <Sealed Power of the Moon> <Power of the Sun> <Power of the Moon>

– Strength (B): 79

– Mana (B): 78

– Perception (G): 72

– Leadership (N): 55

– Bonus Stats: 0

The stat had really gone up.

He couldn’t hold back his laughter.

To think a higher-grade stat shard would come with this kind of option.

Su-ho was thrilled to discover something he hadn’t known even in his past life.

“Then all of these...”

His gaze turned to the pile of stat shards.

What had once seemed like clutter now looked like gold.

But there were still experiments left to be done.

“I need to try combining the minus-stat shards too and see how they behave.”

What he had just synthesized were all Strength-type shards.

So tests remained for combining different types—Strength and Vitality, plus and minus—along with whether existing shards could be used to obtain stat shards of grade A or higher.

Of course, the plus-stat shards for Mana and Perception would be preserved as much as possible.

No reason to tamper with what’s already working.

Su-ho immediately activated the synthesis skill using the shards.

[Intermediate Synthesis activated.]

[Combining stat shards of the Mega Crusher.]

His eyes sparkled as he dove deeper into experimentation.

*

How much time had passed?

Next to him, Pi Seong-yeol was fussing over gear, but Su-ho didn’t care. He was too busy indulging his curiosity.

And from it, he obtained the following data:

Shards with different stat types can still combine into a Colorless Stat Shard.

However, plus-stat shards only combine with other plus-stat shards, and minus with minus.

Combining a plus-stat shard with a minus-stat shard yields a random result—either plus or minus.

To synthesize an A-grade shard from B-grade ones, you need a total stat value of at least 4 from the materials.

These were the four main findings.

He hadn’t managed to produce an S-grade shard.

Creating just one A-grade shard already required four times the materials, so the S-grade was out of reach for now.

“If it takes four B-grade shards just to get one colorless shard, how could I even attempt for S-grade?”

So he halted his S-grade tests after trying only with minus-stat shards.

He couldn't afford to waste valuable A-grade shards just to satisfy his curiosity.

Still, even with just these experiments, the yield was substantial.

Because by the end, Su-ho had gained 12 Strength, 21 Mana, and 18 Perception—an incredible haul.

“Can’t wait for my next visit.”

That was over 50 bonus stats. It was like leveling up 50 times in one go.

With his curiosity satisfied, all that remained was absorption.

Su-ho consumed all the stat shards. After completing the absorption, he offered a word of encouragement to Pi Seong-yeol and exited the Subspace House.

“That’s it for business in the Subspace House...”

Next, Su-ho opened his inventory to check his possessions.

“Hmm.”

There was more in there than he remembered.

Mostly crafting materials.

“I’ll sort these out slowly later...”

As he continued browsing, his eyes landed on a group of runes.

Rune of Greed, Rune of Life Evolution, Lizard Dragon’s Rune.

Su-ho focused on the Rune of Life Evolution.

[Rune of Life Evolution]

– Grade: S

– There are many mysterious runes in this world. The Rune of Life Evolution is one of them.

– It can evolve a lifeform into a higher being.

– Only usable on living creatures.

– Cannot be used on beings of too high a tier.

The Rune of Life Evolution.

He had heard about it before, but this was his first time seeing it for himself.

“They said it’s usually used on summons...”

Runes were rare to begin with. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

They only dropped from gates over level 200—and even then, mostly lower-grade ones. For an S-grade rune, the gate usually had to be in the high 300s.

Yet here was an S-grade rune from a gate in the low 200s.

Su-ho thought about which targets he could use it on.

Not on Players.

Not on civilians either.

It wasn’t just a matter of rank—it simply didn’t work.

So the likely candidates were Bulgasari and Cheolma.

But Bulgasari, aside from a few exceptions, wasn’t being leveled. And Cheolma had only just been obtained, so Su-ho didn’t yet know what benefits further upgrades would bring.

In the end, he put the rune away.

“I’m not going to gamble on something so uncertain.”

There was no need to gamble—he was already operating with peak efficiency.

Better to save it for a moment he knew was optimal.

After stowing the rune, Su-ho turned his attention to the Great Blacksmith’s artifacts.

He checked the hammer and necklace in order.

[Great Blacksmith’s Released Hammer]

– Grade: S+

– A brilliant legacy given only to the most cherished successor of the Great Blacksmith.

– To unlock the third seal of the hammer, one thousand strikes are required.

– First seal grants “Square Harvest,” which collects a clean sample of the target, and unlocks a socket to install the piece.

– Second seal grants “Square Fusion,” allowing layered synthesis of materials.

– Socket 1 – Fragment of Obsession (S) from the Chain Overseer of Suppression.

– Socket 2 – Fragment of Obsession (S) from the Chain Overseer of Suppression.

[Great Blacksmith’s Released Necklace]

– Grade: S+

– A brilliant legacy given only to the most cherished successor of the Great Blacksmith.

– To unlock the second seal of the necklace, the forge must be used 100 times.

– First seal unlocks Flame of the Golden Blacksmith (S) and Blacksmith’s Forge (S).

Su-ho skimmed the long descriptions and focused on the next unlocking conditions.

“A thousand strikes, and a hundred forge uses.”

Both would take effort.

A thousand strikes—he could just keep hitting things over time.

But the hundred forge uses?

“I’ve never even thought about blacksmithing...”

In his past life, Su-ho had met many famous blacksmiths.

They had all wanted to forge him a sword—some for him, some for his squadmates—and their sincerity was unmatched.

“And I know exactly what they made, too.”

He and his team never refused their gifts.

They understood the smiths’ heartfelt desire to help them kill even one more monster or clear one more gate—to bring the end closer.

Su-ho used every sword he was given.

Partly out of respect, but also because relying on only one sword could be dangerous in an emergency.

That was how he earned the nickname “Miscellaneous Blade.”

So originally, he’d planned to order a sword from them again.

Swordsmanship was his domain, but forging swords was not.

If that didn’t work, he would’ve raided a gate known for dropping legendary blades.

But then he unexpectedly gained the <New Blood> trait and, through Vampire Blood, acquired the [Blood Weapon]—an incomparable weapon.

Now, he had no reason to seek out blacksmiths in this life.

“And I’ve even gained a synthesis skill now.”

So—was the Blacksmith path worth investing in?

He didn’t ponder long.

If not for Blacksmith powers, he never would’ve conquered the Flame Dragon Gate.

“Yeah. For me, Blacksmithing isn’t just about crafting—it’s a way to make myself stronger.”

In that case, it was worth some investment.

Resolved, Su-ho picked up the Released Hammer.

A thousand strikes, right?

If it was just hammering, that wouldn’t take long.

And he’d already hammered things before, so it shouldn’t take much more.

“Anywhere will do, right?”

Still, he needed something to hit. After looking around, Su-ho grabbed two cushions and stacked them.

Then he began to strike.

He figured as long as he was hitting something, it would count.

But that was a big mistake.

“998... 999... 1000.”

He struck exactly a thousand times.

And nothing happened.

He hadn't miscounted.

In fact, by the time he hit the 900s, he was already getting nervous.

“Hm.”

Why didn’t anything happen?

What was the issue?

Maybe just hammering wasn’t enough?

Maybe, like Square Fusion or Square Harvest, it required a productive act?

That seemed likely.

For such a rare power, the system wasn’t going to be that easy.

“Then...”

He gave up on the hammer for now.

There was nothing more he could do at the moment.

Su-ho shifted his focus to the Blacksmith’s Necklace.

He recalled the details of the Blacksmith’s Forge.

[Blacksmith’s Forge]

– Grade: S

– A brilliant legacy given only to the most cherished successor of the Great Blacksmith.

– Summons a personal forge.

– Requires Flame of the Golden Blacksmith for full operation.

– Activated by striking the forge four times with the Great Blacksmith’s Released Hammer.

– Can melt any material. Striking the forge with the hammer separates mixed components.

The condition was 100 forge uses.

But what really caught Su-ho’s attention was the last part:

Separation of mixed materials.

It made sense—the forge's purpose was breaking down impurities.

Interestingly, the item description didn’t say it required metals like iron ore—just “materials.”

“So it doesn’t have to be metal?”

With no other references, it was frustrating.

He had no one to ask. Past or present, he was the only one with Blacksmith-type powers.

“In the end, I’ll just have to test it myself.”

Seeing is believing.

Su-ho activated the skill.

[Blacksmith’s Forge has been activated.]

A system notification.

And for the first time, the forge of the Great Blacksmith revealed itself before Su-ho.