Return of the Sword God-Rank Civil Servant-Chapter 374

[ Level has risen. ]

[ All stats have increased by 1. ]

[ You have acquired 1 bonus stat. ]

Shuten-doji’s death.

At the same time, his level rose.

Instead of checking his status window, Su-ho summoned the Guiyeong Spear and drove it into the creature’s body.

[ The Guiyeong Spear reacts to Shuten-doji’s shadow. ]

[ The Guiyeong Spear absorbs Shuten-doji’s shadow. ]

Su-ho immediately used Bloody Hand on the thing.

[ Bloody Hand is activated. ]

Shuaaa!

As Bloody Hand activated, multiple energies were drawn out of its body.

Mostly yokai power.

However, because mana and yokai power are different fields, they could not be stored in the Great Blood Orb.

Blood was the same.

As a Great Evil Spirit, it had no blood.

Instead, he could get something else.

[ Successfully copied the target’s “Heat-Transmuting Blade.” ]

[ There are already five copied abilities in the Great Blood Orb. ]

[ To copy “Heat-Transmuting Blade,” you must remove one of the abilities already copied. ]

[ Remove a previously copied ability? ]

It was the creature’s unique ability.

What had been copied was the Heat-Transmuting Blade it had spammed at the end.

“Hm.”

Su-ho stroked his chin and looked over the list of skills copied into the Great Blood Orb.

Memorize

Intermediate Synthesis

Wave Smite

Ultra-Strong Electromagnetic Pulse

Foxfire

If he had to pick candidates among these, they would be Intermediate Synthesis and Ultra-Strong Electromagnetic Pulse.

Because he could reacquire them anytime.

After a brief hesitation, Su-ho decided to delete Ultra-Strong Electromagnetic Pulse.

[ “Ultra-Strong Electromagnetic Pulse” has been removed. ]

[ “Heat-Transmuting Blade” has been copied. ]

It was a bit of a shame to lose the Electromagnetic Pulse.

But what was even more disappointing was that the copied ability was Heat-Transmuting Blade.

“It would’ve been better if something like a Great Evil Spirit’s power had copied over.”

That would have meant one more self-buff skill for him.

[ The Mountain Lord has been defeated. ]

[ You have received the mountain’s approval. ]

Next came the notice for the Mountain Lord’s defeat.

[ The Guiyeong Spear has completely absorbed Shuten-doji’s shadow. ]

[ The Guiyeong Spear is strengthened. ]

The Guiyeong Spear had perfectly absorbed even Shuten-doji’s shadow.

Even so, Su-ho still didn’t take his eyes off the spot where Shuten-doji had been.

Because Shuten-doji’s real highlight came after this.

Shrrrk!

With even its shadow sucked away, Shuten-doji’s flesh vanished.

But one thing remained there to the very end.

It was the sword Shuten-doji had been holding.

Su-ho approached Shuten-doji’s sword.

The blade was still as enormous as when it was used in Great Evil Spirit mode.

However, the moment Su-ho put his hand on the sword—

[ Qualification confirmed. ]

[ Conditions fulfilled. ]

[ The sword’s information is updating. ]

Shuaaa!

With a few lines of alerts, smoke curled from spots along the blade, and in an instant it shrank to a size that fit perfectly in Su-ho’s grip.

Lifting it and tilting it into the clear sunlight, Su-ho let out a low exclamation.

“So I get Dojigiri Yasutsuna—one of the Five Heavenly Swords—like this.”

Dojigiri Yasutsuna is famed as one of Japan’s Five Heavenly Swords, and legend says Minamoto no Yorimitsu beheaded Shuten-doji with it.

Su-ho immediately checked Dojigiri Yasutsuna’s information.

[ Dojigiri Yasutsuna ]

Grade: S

# One of Japan’s Five Heavenly Swords.

# The legendary sword said to have cut down Shuten-doji.

# There is a legend that when all Five Heavenly Swords are gathered, they become a single blade.

Dojigiri Yasutsuna is a sword with the legend of slaying Shuten-doji, but as an item, the Dojigiri Yasutsuna was born out of Shuten-doji.

Of course, that doesn’t mean Shuten-doji used it.

It’s simply that Shuten-doji was designated as the monster that drops Dojigiri Yasutsuna.

Su-ho stowed it away.

Its use was already decided.

Then the surrounding scenery returned to the familiar, clammy mists.

One stone cairn remained.

“Only one of the Three Great Evil Spirits left.”

Su-ho kicked the last stone cairn and toppled it.

Shrrruck!

As the cairn collapsed, a new path opened behind it.

Without hesitation, Su-ho stepped onto it again.

Once more the fog peeled away and his view shifted; this time he was standing on a vast plain.

The sky was clear and the mountains and rivers were green.

And beneath that, surprisingly, the final of the Three Great Evil Spirits—the protagonist of this stage—was sitting on a tree stump waiting for Su-ho.

- You’ve come.

At Su-ho’s appearance, he let out an “oof—” as he rose to his feet.

Surprisingly, he was a handsome man.

He stood tall, around 190 centimeters.

He wore the characteristic armor of a Japanese samurai, without a helmet.

But the most striking thing of all was the three swords at his waist.

Smiling affably, he raised a hand to Su-ho and spoke.

- Nice to meet you. I’m Otakemaru, master of Mount Suzuka.

At his polite greeting, Su-ho couldn’t help but let out a snort.

Just as he’d heard, the man was a splendidly dashing fellow.

However, unlike his debonair impression, his level was brutally high.

- Otakemaru Lv.255

Level 255.

Considering Shuten-doji had been 245, that was ten higher.

“Now that’s a decent level gap.”

Su-ho’s current level was 239.

The gap was starting to resemble the level gaps from the days he ran 1-star gates.

Not that he felt fear or anything like that.

For Su-ho, level was merely a yardstick for the amount of EXP.

Smiling, Su-ho said,

“Yeah, nice to meet you. I’m Ahn Su-ho.”

- Oh, spirited, aren’t you? By the way, which number cairn am I? Don’t tell me the first? That’d be rotten luck.

“Don’t worry, you’re the third.”

- What? Wow... you’re pretty strong, huh? If I’m the third, that means the drunk and the fox up front are already dead.

“That’s right. Which is why you’re the third.”

- Haha, impressive. Those guys are weaker than me, sure, but they’re not the sort to die that easily. Well, anyway, since I’m the last runner, I’ll show some skill as the gatekeeper of the Bewildering Mountain.

Otakemaru was a curious one.

As if he knew everything about the Bewildering Mountain, he welcomed Su-ho like an NPC in a game; Su-ho wasn’t surprised by his behavior, and rather enjoyed the fellow’s glibness.

He already knew how Otakemaru tended to act.

Clasping a blood sword he’d summoned, Su-ho spoke.

“Those at your waist—are those the famous Three Ren?”

- Three Ren?

“The three blades you’ve got. They’re quite famous among people. Their names are Daitoren, Shotoren, and Kenmyoren, right? That’s why they’re called the Three Ren.”

- Ahh, that’s what you meant—how folks call my beloved swords. Haha! Yes, these are my treasures, the Three Ren.

At that moment—

Thunk!

A hand shot out from his waist and grabbed one of the Three Ren.

Then, like a relay runner snatching a baton, it drew the blade and began to flee from Otakemaru.

- H-hey, what the—!

As the flustered Otakemaru moved to chase the hand in midair, that hand from the void formed into the shape of a person from the wrist outward in an instant.

The owner of the wrist was none other than ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) Su-ho.

- H-hey, you—!

The man who had been exchanging greetings right in front of him suddenly bolted off with one of the swords at his waist—Otakemaru couldn’t help but be thrown into confusion.

Seeing his reaction, Su-ho beamed and stepped into the Subspace House.

[ Entering the Subspace House. ]

Su-ho vanished into the Subspace House.

The portal winked out a heartbeat later, and Otakemaru, deeply flustered, stared for a time at the spot where Su-ho had disappeared, then shifted his gaze to the Su-ho who had been exchanging greetings with him.

Otakemaru locked eyes with Su-ho.

But the stare didn’t last.

Pop!

No wonder—because the Su-ho he’d been eye-to-eye with vanished with a pop.

The one he was looking at had been a decoy clone.

- .......

Now there was no Su-ho left on the field.

Otakemaru was so dumbfounded he couldn’t say a word.

And after that brief silence came an uncontrollable fury.

- You son of a—!!

Rrrumble! Boom-boom!!

Thunder roared.

As veins bulged on Otakemaru’s brow and his fury exploded, the sky darkened in an instant; storm clouds gathered, and a gale lashed the plain with thunder and driving rain.

- I’ll kill you! I’ll kill you without fail!!

There was no trace now of the earlier debonair man.

No—there was nothing human at all.

On rain-lashed Mount Suzuka, a man who had become a samurai monster was howling in rage.

Meanwhile, watching that spectacle, Su-ho grinned broadly.

“Wow, this actually works.”

It had truly been by a hair’s breadth.

He’d heard the guy’s aura sense was razor-sharp, and worried he might fail; but as they say, greetings are when you’re most off guard. While the man was relaxing in arrogance, Su-ho had used Disguise to get behind him.

Su-ho checked the information on one of Otakemaru’s Three Ren that had fallen into his hand.

[ Kenmyoren ]

Grade: S

# One of the three treasured blades of the Great Evil Spirit Otakemaru.

# Steeped in powerful thoughtform and Otakemaru’s yokai power; ordinary people cannot use it.

Simple information.

The item description even kindly came with a warning label telling him never to use it.

Which is why Su-ho had no intention of using Kenmyoren.

Not because of the warning.

He hadn’t stolen a blade to use it in the first place—he’d stolen it to keep it far away from the man.

Why separate him from his blades?

Because if Otakemaru held all three swords, he became virtually invincible—nearly impregnable.

It was true.

The moment Otakemaru entered his second phase, “Great Evil Transfiguration (Dae-ak-hwan),” if he had one blade he gained 33% reduction to physical and special damage; with two blades, 66%; with three blades, 99%, plus 300% bodily regeneration.

The Otakemaru of the legends that inspired him was the same.

Otakemaru’s body was like steel; with divine power he could shroud mountains in stormclouds, and command tempests and thunder.

Not only that—if he held his three cherished swords at once, he became an undying being who could never die.

Thus, to defeat him, Suzuka Gozen first seized two of Otakemaru’s treasured blades, and only then managed to bring him down.

“Ninety-nine percent is a bit much even for me.”

In his past life’s raid party, they dried Otakemaru out over a very long time with Suzuki’s deadly poison.

They had failed to take his swords.

So it took forever, and that was when Suzuki rose to become Japan’s number one Player.

But Su-ho had no intention of spending that kind of time.

Time, after all, was money.

Leaving Kenmyoren inside the Subspace House, Su-ho stepped back out through the door.

Kwarrrung!

As he exited the portal, Otakemaru’s storm of rage crashed down over him.

And beneath the flashing bolts, having caught Su-ho’s scent, Otakemaru glared at him with the most terrifying ghost’s face in the world.

With Daitoren and Shotoren in his two hands.

Seeing him, Su-ho also slowly drew his own blood sword.

Flash!

Lightning split the air between the two.