Return of the Sword God-Rank Civil Servant novel Chapter 153

"Am I seeing this right?"

Su-ho was truly covered in blood and wounds, no mistake about it.

"An Pro-nim!!"

A shocked Jo Jin-hwi ran toward him.

The other soldiers, stunned by Su-ho’s rare wounds, stood frozen, their mouths agape.

Jo Jin-hwi, genuinely astonished, asked,

"What, what’s all this blood? Are you okay?"

"Ah, yeah, it’s fine. But first, let’s take some photos."

"Photos?"

"You need to write a special feature."

"A special feature? ...Ah!"

Only then did Jo Jin-hwi’s mind catch up, and everything started making sense.

With a smile, he lifted his camera.

"Okay, let’s start shooting."

The constant click of the shutter and the flashes from the camera filled the air.

The soldiers didn’t know what was going on, but for now, they stood quietly, observing the two.

Meanwhile, Jo Jin-hwi relentlessly snapped photos, while Su-ho acted more fatigued than ever.

When Jo Jin-hwi gave the signal that he was done, Su-ho took out the Giant Mimic’s magic stone from his inventory and held it up.

"This is the magic stone I extracted from the super-large Giant Mimic, the boss of the Dark Gorge."

"Wow? So, this must be at least 1-star, right?"

"Correct. And it's a trophy that needs to be returned to the government."

"Ah! Okay! Returning the trophy, got it!"

Hearing the mention of the returnable trophy, Jo Jin-hwi became excited and started snapping even more pictures.

As a journalist preparing a special feature, he knew all too well what this meant.

After enough pictures of the magic stone were taken, Su-ho pulled out a pile of swords from his inventory.

But none of the swords were intact.

All of them were chipped, some with broken blades, others with cracked hilts.

The signs of fierce battles were clear.

Anyone could tell these swords had been used in combat.

And there were so many of them.

There had to be more than forty swords.

Jo Jin-hwi asked,

"Pro-nim, what are these?"

"These are the swords I used during the Gate raid. Forty-two of them. The boss monster was the super-large Giant Mimic, and we had to fight it inside a steel mass, so it was quite a hassle."

"Ah, that’s why the swords are in such bad shape?"

"Yeah, thanks to that, this raid is going to be a huge loss. Even cheap swords aren’t usually used for a 1-star Gate raid. Of course, if we sell the magic stone, it’ll be fine... but as you know, I don’t own the rights to the Gate trophies, do I?"

Jo Jin-hwi’s lips pursed as he listened to Su-ho’s well-reasoned explanation.

He thought he had prepared plenty of material for the special feature, but hearing from a current civil servant Hunter—especially one at the level of a Sword Saint—performing like this was bound to cause a huge ripple effect.

After snapping several more photos of the broken swords, Jo Jin-hwi grinned and said,

"I can already picture it. First, we’ll use your injury photos to grab attention, then report on the news of the Sword Saint clearing a sealed Gate, and finally highlight the issues with the loot and the raid costs. That will definitely make a splash."

"Then, would it be okay if I post the injury photos?"

"An Pro-nim?"

"I just thought of a good way to do it. Of course, you can post the ones taken in front of the portal at the right moment, Reporter-nim."

"Oh? I’m really looking forward to hearing what you’ve got in mind. Let’s go with that timing for the first photo, and would you mind keeping these swords for me? I’d love to take them, but as you know, I’m an unawakened civilian and don’t have an inventory."

"Of course. I’ll pack them up and send them to the station."

"Hehe, as expected, An Pro-nim."

After the photoshoot, Su-ho walked over to the soldiers who had been silently watching from afar.

He then approached Major Kim Seung-ho and gave a light bow.

"The Gate has been completely cleared. You can start the withdrawal operations."

"Ah, yes! But are you sure you’re okay? You look really bad."

"Oh, this?"

In response to Kim Seung-ho’s concern, Su-ho used Heal on the wound on his left arm.

The wound healed cleanly, and Su-ho wiped away the scab to reveal the now-perfectly healed injury.

"I'm fine. I have self-healing, so it's all good. Take care now."

"Ah..."

Kim Seung-ho was left speechless by Su-ho’s cool demeanor.

But with the self-healing, what more could he say?

After getting into his car, Su-ho called Jeong Cheol-min.

– Oh, Su-ho.

"I just finished clearing the Dark Gorge Gate."

– Really?! Are you hurt at all?

"I’ve got a few scratches, but nothing I can't heal on my own. More importantly, I was thinking of heading back right away to write the report... Would you mind having a quick meeting about this?"

– A meeting? You just cleared a Gate, and now you want to talk about a meeting? You can do that tomorrow! Just rest up at home!

"No, I can rest while driving. I’ll be there soon, so let’s meet later."

– Haha, you crazy guy... Fine, see you soon!

What boss would turn down a competent subordinate asking to discuss work?

Of course, an incompetent and foolish boss might have refused, but Jeong Cheol-min was neither incompetent nor foolish.

Vroom!

Su-ho’s car sped off toward Daheon-hyeop.

***

At the entrance to Daheon-hyeop, Su-ho deliberately parked his car in the outdoor parking lot.

Normally, he would have parked in the underground staff lot to avoid people, but today, his purpose was different.

As expected, several people who recognized Su-ho’s car began gathering around it.

Among them were journalists.

Even if they weren’t the target of an interview, it was standard for reporters to recognize the cars of celebrities.

In that sense, this was a rare moment.

It was a chance to capture Su-ho, a figure usually difficult to spot, stepping out of his car in such a striking scene.

‘Heh, a photo of An Su-ho is perfect for boosting views, even if there’s no substantial content. I’ll make sure to rack up those views...!’

As soon as the journalist raised the camera, their eyes widened in surprise.

"Uh, uh?"

They thought they might have seen it wrong for a moment.