Return of the Sword God-Rank Civil Servant-Chapter 366

The creature’s hide split open and venom spilled outward.

Through that gap Su-ho emerged.

At the same time, the corner of his lips curled up.

“Whew, finally out.”

He had intended to finish the fight in one blow by attacking from inside, but an unexpected variable appeared.

Still, he resolved it in the end.

Seeing Su-ho’s triumphant expression, Hera’s face was filled with incomprehension.

No matter how she looked, Su-ho showed no signs of being poisoned.

‘How...?’

But before her curiosity could be answered, Su-ho’s counterattack began.

He charged again.

What he held in his hand was a black spear.

The Guiyeong Spear.

[ Shadow Pierce is activated. ]

[ Shadow Shackles are activated. ]

[ Shadow Bleed is activated. ]

Thrust!

He deliberately aimed at a spot beneath shadow.

The moment it pierced, multiple effects were triggered.

But against Hera’s Yamata-no-Orochi, Guiyeong Spear did not deal that much damage.

Groooaaaarrr!!

With a roar, Yamata-no-Orochi snapped the Guiyeong Spear in two.

Yet Su-ho’s face still brimmed with composure.

Hera did not miss his expression.

Why?

Why was he smiling like that?

An ominous feeling.

And ominous feelings usually proved true.

Hera’s curiosity was soon satisfied.

[ Yamata-no-Orochi of the Red Net has been poisoned. ]

The system alert appeared.

It announced that Yamata-no-Orochi had been poisoned.

Seeing it, Su-ho’s lips curled upward once more.

And Hera’s eyes widened to their limits.

‘How!’

The secret lay in the Poison Dragon.

Su-ho recalled its information.

[ Snake that Eats Poison ]

Rank : S+

# The snakes born from a single head in legend all possessed great power.

# The snake that eats poison answers the call of its master.

# The snake that eats poison devours all poisons given by its master.

# The snake that eats poison can never fail to digest any poison.

# The snake that eats poison combines what it devours to create an entirely new kind of poison.

# The snake that eats poison can only create poison equal in amount to what it consumed.

The greatest strength of the Poison Dragon was that it could digest any poison.

So the moment Su-ho formed his plan, he had the Poison Dragon devour the Red Net venom that had seeped into his system.

Of course, feeding that venom to the dragon didn’t mean immediate detoxification.

Originally, to neutralize venom already spread through the bloodstream, one would have to drain every drop of blood in the body.

But once the dragon digested the venom and created a new poison, the story changed.

The poison it produced could, when ingested again, act as an antidote.

Moreover, the new poison was a blend of others, making it a higher-grade toxin.

Of course, it took time.

Since it was stronger than Endo’s poison, it had taken a full day.

But in the end it worked.

Su-ho ingested the new poison created by the dragon, triggering a new poisoning effect. Then, by ingesting it again, he succeeded in complete detoxification.

Now it was time to strike back.

For that he chose Guiyeong Spear.

No matter how much divine protection the monster enjoyed, beneath shadows Guiyeong Spear pierced all things equally.

Which meant—he had thrown it knowing it would break, simply to use its piercing effect to inject the new poison.

Realizing the truth too late, Hera’s face turned bright red.

‘How dare you...! A lowly thing dares...!’

She had been thoroughly outmaneuvered.

But at this moment, she could do nothing.

Yamata-no-Orochi of the Red Net was a special monster created for the Twelve Labors.

There was no such thing as a second phase.

And besides, she had secretly infused it with her power outside the system’s notice.

That was why its internal walls had hardened.

But since this wasn’t an agreement with the system, further interference risked being detected.

So Hera could do nothing more.

Still, how had he managed to split that hardened flesh?

She had specifically reinforced only the internal walls.

The method was surprisingly simple.

He had used the claws of the Monster Lion.

The first labor’s Monster Lion had been so tough even Su-ho’s sword couldn’t pierce its hide.

But against its own claws it had been infinitely vulnerable. Those claws now proved effective against Yamata-no-Orochi, the second labor.

And more.

Among its nine heads, the leader head set aflame by Mini Breath still burned.

Su-ho’s fire was overwhelming, and Hera’s blessing of regeneration only served as endless fuel.

But now that too was finished.

Su-ho raised his sword again.

[ Rage Mode is activated. ]

During his time in Subspace House enduring poison, his Rage gauge had filled.

Now it was truly time to end everything.

With weakening skills applied and the monster already poisoned with the new toxin, Yamata-no-Orochi could no longer hold out.

Slash! Fwoooosh!

His sword cut, flames burst.

The ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) weakened heads and tails could no longer chase him.

After several repetitions of this,

Boom!

The nine blazing heads—no longer even recognizable as heads—collapsed together.

The once bright-red body was covered in wounds, its skin blackened with rot from poison.

[ You have defeated Yamata-no-Orochi of the Red Net. ]

[ Level up. ]

[ All stats increase by 1. ]

[ You have acquired 1 bonus stat. ]

At last the Hydra fell.

And his level rose. And then—

[ Magic stat has reached 100. ]

[ Magic stat grows further. ]

[ Congratulations! Magic stat rank has advanced to Navy grade! ]

[ You are the first player to obtain a Navy stat. ]

[ For achieving a great feat, the system grants you 10 bonus stats. ]

As his level rose, all stats increased by 1, raising his Magic from 99 to 100, evolving it to Navy grade.

Su-ho checked his status window.

[ Ahn Su-ho ]

Lv : 237

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) : 91

Magic (N) : 1

Perception (G) : 91

Leadership (N) : 56

Bonus Stats : 32

The bonus stats from Gi Seung-ok remained intact.

And with the first Navy stat achieved, he received 10 more.

But he postponed distributing them.

That wasn’t the priority now.

“......”

Su-ho furrowed his brow.

The system alert he awaited did not appear.

What he wanted wasn’t the message about defeating Yamata-no-Orochi or leveling up.

He lifted his head toward the sky.

Then, with utmost formality, he spoke. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

“Isn’t it time you acknowledged me?”

No one was around.

It could have been mistaken for a monologue.

But Su-ho was clearly speaking to someone.

That someone was Hera.

He recalled the quest’s description.

[ Incomplete Recognition ]

Rank : S

# The second labor is resumed, having received only half recognition among the Twelve Labors.

# As this labor was proposed by ■■ and permitted by ???, the old Legendary Gate has been adapted, altering the boss monster Yamata-no-Orochi to fit the labor.

# Defeat the altered Yamata-no-Orochi and obtain full recognition from ■■.

The true objective wasn’t simply clearing a Gate.

Nor was it merely slaying Yamata-no-Orochi of the Red Net.

The real goal was to obtain recognition from ■■... the transcendent presumed to be Hera.

That was why he voiced protest to a transcendent he had never met.

Because if the quest was to earn her recognition, surely she was watching.

And his guess was correct.

Hera bit her lip.

This lowly being not only overcame her sorcery, but even dared to speak so arrogantly?

Then—

[ ??? is watching you. ]

An alert appeared before Hera.

The system.

Seeing it, Hera bit her lip again.

‘Damn it.’

The system was both law and overseer.

A god beyond all, invincible.

So not even she could oppose it.

Still frowning, she kept her promise.

[ ■■ grants you full recognition for defeating Yamata-no-Orochi of the Red Net. ]

[ Quest completed. ]

At last he had been acknowledged.

With Hera’s recognition granted, the system resumed its part.

[ You have cleared the second labor among the Twelve Heroic Labors. ]

[ The system grants you qualification to wield the power of Heracles. ]

[ Trait information is updated. ]

[ For achieving a great feat, the system grants you 10 bonus stats. ]

The alerts continued.

But Su-ho raised his eyebrows at the last.

‘Wait, I got bonus stats last time too, and again this time?’

Not bad.

That was enough reward.

Su-ho curled his lips and checked the updated Candidate of Heracles trait.

[ Candidate of Heracles ]

# ①×××× × ××××× ×

# One who has obtained the minimum qualification to seize the power of the hero Heracles.

# Among the candidates, only the first to complete the Twelve Labors will become the true Heracles.

① While possessing this trait, barehand, sword, blunt, and bow attacks gain +100% damage.

② While possessing this trait, fire affinity rises by 100%, poison resistance and bodily regeneration increase dramatically.

The sealed options were poison resistance and regeneration.

It was information he already knew, nothing new.

Closing the info window, Su-ho looked at the fallen Yamata-no-Orochi.

The reason he had come here was because there was something he had to obtain.

But Hera’s sudden interference had delayed that.

Su-ho approached its corpse.

Activating Mana Perception, he examined its tails.

After scrutinizing them for a long while, a smile formed on his lips.

‘There it is!’

Had it been missing, he would have lodged a formal complaint with the system.

Selecting one tail via Mana Perception, Su-ho approached and drew his blood sword.

He split the charred, dead tail open, and from within he finally uncovered something long and hard, bone-like but absolutely not bone.

When Su-ho laid his hand on it, the massive object shrank as if by magic until it fit perfectly in his grip as a sword.

As he pulled it from the monster’s tail, the weapon gleamed brilliantly in the light.

Incredibly, untouched by poison or blood, it was none other than the divine sword—“Kusanagi no Tsurugi.”