Return of the Sword God-Rank Civil Servant

Chapter 13

The examinees who had completed the practical exam emerged from their capsules.

The average time for the practical exam was roughly ten minutes per examinee.

At a glance, it seemed like a short period, but because the virtual reality program used for the practical exam could adjust the time difference with reality, the actual time the examinees experienced was closer to thirty minutes.

Of course, very few actually managed to last the full half hour.

The difficulty of the practical exam was calibrated to be extremely rigorous, ensuring it would end within twenty minutes at most.

Eventually, the examinee who had entered the capsule next to Suho stepped out.

“Eleven minutes… Definitely shorter than the previous batch.”

Watching the examinee exit the capsule, Inspector Kim shook his head inwardly.

He had been supervising practical exams for several hours, yet no one with exceptional talent had appeared.

Before admitting the next examinee, Inspector Kim turned to Inspector Park, who was stationed beside him.

“How long has it been since the one in there went in?”

“Thirty minutes.”

“…What?”

“It just passed the thirty-minute mark.”

Thirty minutes?

Was that even possible?

Startled, Inspector Kim approached Inspector Park’s capsule and checked the monitor attached to it.

Indeed, the examinee inside the capsule had been diving for over thirty minutes.

What’s more, he was fighting a horde of orcs with remarkable fervor, which prompted Inspector Kim to ask.

“A warrior? He’s fighting really well.”

“No, he’s a healer.”

“…What?”

“He’s a healer. Look.”

Inspector Park showed the examinee’s information.

It was true.

The class of the examinee, ‘Ahn Suho,’ as listed on the pad, was indeed a healer.

“B-but he’s fighting like this? And he’s a healer? Isn’t that grounds for disqualification?”

“No, of course not. He’s meeting all the conditions, so why would he be disqualified?”

At that moment, someone else responded on behalf of Inspector Park.

It was Jung Chulmin, who was participating as an inspector alongside Inspector Park.

Jung Chulmin explained further.

“For healers, the main objective is to protect the patient to the end. Look at the screen—does the examinee ever leave the patient’s side, or abandon them just to fight? He’s even healing them periodically.”

It was true.

Amidst cutting down orcs, Suho took moments to heal the patient whenever he had the chance.

Jung Chulmin spoke with a serious expression.

“There’s absolutely no reason to disqualify him when all conditions are met. The practical program isn’t even intervening, so on what grounds would we disqualify him?”

“Ah…”

Inspector Kim let out a low murmur of admiration.

Seeing his reaction, Jung Chulmin smiled and added.

“It seems the top scorer for this practical exam is already decided. So let’s just watch and see what kind of record this person sets.”

At those words, both Inspector Kim and Inspector Park could only nod.

After all, this was an unprecedented occurrence in the history of the practical exam.

* * *

“Kieeeek!”

Thud!

An orc collapsed.

He had no idea how many orcs he’d taken down by now.

Not that it mattered; he wasn’t receiving experience points or items, but Suho didn’t particularly care.

Because he was gaining something far more valuable.

[ Your understanding of Quick Draw is extremely high. ]

[ The system is reevaluating your talent. ]

[ Congratulations! The rank of your Quick Draw skill has been adjusted to Grade A. ]

[ The range and speed of Quick Draw (A) have significantly increased. ]

His Quick Draw skill rank had gone up.

And that wasn’t all.

Beheading had also risen to Grade A, and he had acquired numerous new skills—hilt strike, blade strike, ankle cut, and more—all of which he successfully elevated to A-rank.

‘What an incredible opportunity this is.’

For that reason, Suho was thrilled.

He didn’t even need to go into a Gate to restore his skills like this.

Of course, he hadn’t neglected the patient’s care in the process.

No matter how important restoring his skills was, the patient’s protection remained his top priority.

It was in the midst of this relentless slashing of orcs.

[ Your understanding of swordsmanship is greater than anyone else’s. ]

[ The system is in awe of your unique swordsmanship and has decided to fully recognize it. ]

[ Would you like to register your Basic Swordsmanship and Basic Footwork as a new swordsmanship skill? ]

[ Upon registration, a new rank will be assigned, and you can name it yourself. ]

‘Finally!’

Suho’s eyes widened at the notification.

The system had finally acknowledged his abilities entirely.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Suho replied to the system prompt. Then—

[ Please name the newly created swordsmanship. ]

The system’s question.

The answer had long been decided.

“Suho Sword.”

[ Is Suho Sword correct? ]

“Yes.”

[ Congratulations! The system acknowledges your supreme level and has created a unique swordsmanship skill just for you. ]

[ You have created a new swordsmanship skill, ‘Suho Sword (S)’. ]

[ The effects of existing Swordsmanship and Footwork skills are enhanced by 50%. ]

Seeing the system notification, Suho broke into a bright smile.

At last, he had acquired Suho Sword.

In the past, it had taken over a decade to master Suho Sword, but this time, he had achieved it in mere days.

Of course, even before officially obtaining Suho Sword, he had already been using Suho Swordsmanship through ingrained experience.

However, Suho had been so eager to acquire Suho Sword as soon as possible for another reason.

[ By achieving a monumental feat, the system rewards you with 10 bonus stat points. ]

Another notification appeared immediately.

As a reward for acquiring Suho Sword, Suho received an additional ten bonus stat points.

This was a special reward granted only when a player honed their talent to the utmost and obtained an S-rank skill—not something that appeared for S-rank skills obtained through Gate rewards or skill books.

But that wasn’t the only reward.

Soon, another notification appeared.

[ You possess a dazzling level of swordsmanship that all swordsmen admire. ]

[ The system wishes for you to continue walking the path of the sword and has decided to grant you an additional reward. ]

[ Congratulations! You have received Sword Mastery (S) from the system. ]

Sword Mastery.

It was an S-rank skill that the system bestowed upon Suho as an additional reward.

Seeing this, Suho finally smiled with satisfaction.

After all, Suho’s true objective had been Sword Mastery, not Suho Sword.

Suho checked the details of the Sword Mastery he had obtained.

[ Sword Mastery ]

– Grade: S

# A right to explore granted only to those with a high understanding of swordsmanship.

# Removes all acquisition restrictions on swordsmanship skills.

# Removes all usage restrictions on swords.

# Increases the effects of all swordsmanship skills by an additional 50%.

Suho’s lips curled into a grin as he read the information.

The reason was clear—while swordsmanship and other physical skills could be acquired through repeated actions, there were certain skills that could never be learned without a warrior class or related classes.

However, with Sword Mastery, Suho could now acquire them.

‘For a swordsman, swordsmanship is most important, but Hunter swordsmen inevitably have to prioritize skills as well.’

And it wasn’t just skills.

The same applied to swords.

Some swords could only be wielded by those with a “swordsman class,” rather than just a warrior class.

After confirming his skills, Suho closed the notification window.

Then, he looked around.

He had cut down a considerable number of orcs, but there were still plenty left in the vicinity.

But he wasn’t concerned in the least.

After all, even if this was a practical exam program, the number of orcs spawned was fixed, if he remembered correctly.

“Come.”

Having obtained what he wanted, Suho resumed his joyful massacre of the orcs.

* * *

How much time had passed since then?

As time went on, all the other inspectors began to take an interest in Suho’s capsule.

“Exam duration: three hours and two minutes?”

“Then, this person has been taking the practical exam for over three hours?”

“Wow, that’s insane.”

Suho had already become a sensation among the inspectors.

At that moment, Jung Chulmin, who had been quietly observing the capsule monitor, noticed something and his eyes gleamed.

“It’s over.”

“Really?”

“Let’s see!”

At Jung Chulmin’s words, the inspectors gathered around.

However, the system notification on the monitor was a bit strange.

[ All orcs prepared for the practical exam have been slain. ]

[ Please restart the program. ]

Instead of signaling the end of the exam, the program master was requesting a restart.

The inspectors, who had never seen such a notification before, let out low murmurs of astonishment.

“Wow…”

“He really killed them all?”

“So this is what it looks like when you kill every orc here…”

Naturally, everyone looked to Suho’s designated inspector and asked.

“What will you do?”

“You’re not actually going to restart, are you?”

“Of course not.”

At that moment, Jung Chulmin responded in place of the designated inspector, Inspector Park.

Trying to hide his excitement, Jung Chulmin spoke in a serious tone.

“This may be the first time in practical exam history, but if we force him to retake the test just because he didn’t die to the orcs, it could cause a lot of issues.”

At those words, the inspectors’ expressions grew serious before they nodded in agreement.

“Well… He didn’t commit any violations, and the patient he was supposed to protect is still alive.”

“With so many eyes watching, of course he passes. No, more than just passing, I believe we should appoint Ahn Suho as the top scorer of this practical exam. Furthermore, if he scored even the minimum on the written test, I believe he should pass as the overall top scorer. It would be great for promotion, after all. What does everyone think?”

Was it Jung Chulmin’s persuasive stance, or had everyone been won over by Suho’s overwhelming performance?

Among all the inspectors present, none objected to Jung Chulmin’s words.

Thus, a new unprecedented top scorer was born in the history of the Hunter Exam.

***

Finally, the exam ended.

Suho left the association after hearing from Jung Chulmin that he could expect good results.

But soon after he stepped out of the association, someone called out to him.

“Excuse me?”

“Yes?”

Turning around, he saw a stranger approaching him as if they knew him.

Who was this?

He didn’t remember meeting this person before.

Then, the man pulled out a business card from his pocket and handed it over.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Park Pyungsik, a scout for the Prime Guild.”

Ah.

So he was a guild scout.

And not just any guild—the Prime Guild, the second-largest guild in the industry.

It was clear why he had approached.

However, at times like this, it was only polite to feign ignorance.

Suho accepted the business card and asked.

“And?”

At his question, Park Pyungsik spoke politely.

“I’ll get straight to the point. Our Prime Guild would like to work with you, Ahn Suho. If you’re not affiliated with any guilds or in negotiations, would you be open to a conversation?”

As expected.

Suho smiled inwardly at Park Pyungsik’s guild recruitment offer.