Return of the Sword God-Rank Civil Servant novel Chapter 252

“I survived...”

He meant it literally.

He really survived.

Without Flame Body, it would’ve all ended at the first hourglass.

Su-ho let out a light breath.

Thanks to the skill effect, the searing heat hitting his respiratory system was now halved.

And his feet?

He had been shifting his weight back and forth from the heat just moments ago, but now with 50% flame resistance, the burning sensation on his soles turned lukewarm.

“Pfffft.”

The Flame Horse snorted.

Was it just a normal snort?

No—more like a disgruntled puff, annoyed at Su-ho’s calm demeanor.

‘What are you gonna do, laugh at me?’

With composure, Su-ho resumed watching the hourglass, waiting for all the sand to fall.

The Flame Horse stared at him briefly, then resumed its pacing.

Clop clop! Fwoosh!

Wherever it went, orange flames flared up.

So what if they did?

The flames seemed more intense than before, but with the S-rank Flame Body, it was bearable.

So he ignored the Flame Horse completely and just stared at the hourglass.

Finally, the sand in the second hourglass was fully depleted.

[ The Nameless Blacksmiths nod at your perseverance. ]

Another approving nod.

The second hourglass moved next to the first, and the third began to pour.

And then—

“Neighhhh!”

The Flame Horse cried out once again.

At the same time, its mane and skin turned yellow.

Naturally, the scattered flames also turned yellow, and the temperature spiked again.

‘Yeah, I figured you wouldn’t sit still.’

Three hourglasses left.

Meaning, only three more rounds of enduring.

‘Still manageable.’

Without Flame Body, he would’ve either given up or become steamed food by now.

Then, he heard bubbling from beneath his feet.

Bubble bubble!

It was the lava.

Ominous.

Why now, after being calm all this time?

And sure enough—his bad feeling proved accurate, as always.

Something began to emerge from the boiling lava.

They took humanoid forms and slowly climbed the walls, emerging through the iron lattice.

Su-ho squinted to check their name tags.

– Wailing Magmanum Lv.???

Wailing Magmanum.

That was their name.

“Hrrrnnn...”

“Hrrrnnn...”

“Hrrrnnn...”

Dozens of Magmanums climbed through the lattice.

Just like the Flame Horse, their levels weren’t displayed.

Were they also objects like the Flame Horse?

Their bodies glowed yellow like the surrounding fire.

Their insides resembled molten balloons, and after some thought, Su-ho gripped his Blood Sword.

‘Better to be cautious.’

Soon, the summoned Magmanums began moving toward him.

“Hrrrnnn...”

“Hrrrnnn...”

There was no hostility in their behavior.

But the closer they got, the more the temperature spiked.

Su-ho immediately activated his skills.

[ Blessing activated. ]

[ Holy Enchant activated. ]

Divine radiance enveloped his Blood Sword.

Without hesitation, he swung at them.

[ Cloud Slice activated. ]

Shhk!

A divine arc sliced through the air, severing the surrounding Magmanums.

Their heads were cleanly chopped off.

But in return, the Blood Sword caught fire.

Fwoosh!

Just like the volcano monsters from the Hallasan Gate.

‘Damn it, what a pain.’

This is why dealing with volcano types is always annoying.

Su-ho glanced at the hourglass.

Still plenty of sand left.

Then, he sensed something odd.

He had definitely split the Magmanums in two, but no system message indicating they were defeated appeared.

“Hrrnnn...”

“Hrrnnn...”

The sliced Magmanums groaned.

Like zombies, they stood back up, reattaching their split bodies and regenerating.

‘You’ve got to be kidding me.’

Apparently, they were a regenerative type, like magma-based slimes.

For enemies like this, you had to destroy the core.

Su-ho immediately activated Mana Detection.

[ Mana Detection activated. ]

As the skill triggered, he could see the flow of mana.

He scanned the enemies carefully.

But no matter how hard he looked, he couldn’t find any cores inside them.

‘What the...? Why can’t I see anything?’

Exactly that.

Mana Detection was active.

And yet no core appeared inside their bodies.

The mana pattern in their bodies was constant.

Just like the ambient objects.

‘No way...’

To confirm, Su-ho looked at the Flame Horse.

Same result. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

No core, no vital readings.

They had the classic traits of indestructible objects.

‘Unbelievable.’

That meant attacking them was pointless.

It would only be a waste of stamina.

Su-ho canceled the Blood Sword and stowed it away. The Magmanums resumed their approach.

“Hrrrnnn...”

“Hrrrnnn...”

Creepy groans.

But as soon as they got within a certain distance of Su-ho, they stopped advancing.

That told him everything.

The purpose of these enemies.

The third phase of this trial wasn’t just about increasing the base temperature—it now included the heat generated by the presence of the Magmanums.

“Sigh...”

With lava creatures right in front of him, even Flame Body wasn’t enough.

No, it now felt like it did when the skill was still B-rank.

‘I need a solution.’

At this rate, he’d burn out.

After scanning the area, Su-ho decided to use his Blood Weapon creatively.

‘Let’s go up.’

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