Return of the Sword God-Rank Civil Servant

Chapter 28

With his berserk transformation, the Ghost Shadow Spear embedded in the creature’s shadow sprang out roughly.

At the same moment, the creature’s head, which had been rolling on the ground, flew back and attached itself to its original body like a magnet.

Suho immediately put distance between them.

‘It’s finally starting.’

The berserk prince.

This was not an unexpected scenario.

It was a predetermined sequence.

This was the creature’s Phase 2.

“I will… never… ever forgive you…!”

A spine-chilling echo.

An overwhelmingly stronger magic than before surged from him.

At the same time, Blood Scream was scattered in all directions, right as Suho blocked it.

“Enraged Cursed Prince Lv.80.”

The creature’s name and level had changed.

Level 80.

If not for the Blood Golem and the Centennial Bat, the level gap would have been over 30 by now.

Suho immediately drew his Pure Silver Spear.

[ The Holy Power activates. ]

A Holy Enchantment covered the Pure Silver Spear.

Upon reaching level 50, rather than learning a new skill, all of Suho’s healing skills had been upgraded to A-grade.

Without hesitation, Suho threw the Pure Silver Spear at the creature.

[ Throwing Spear activates. ]

Shwing!!

The A-grade spear shot through the air toward the creature.

The Cursed Prince swung his arm, summoning a blood-red whip to deflect the Pure Silver Spear.

“I will… never… ever forgive you…!”

The prince, with blood-red tears flowing, cursed aloud.

The blood-red whip he summoned was the Cursed Prince’s Blood Weapon.

‘Looks like an ordinary weapon won’t do.’

Even with the Pure Silver Spear, reinforced with an A-grade Holy Enchantment, it had been easily deflected.

That was fine.

Suho now had his own Blood Weapon, just like the creature.

Suho raised his hand and activated his skill.

[ Blood Weapon activates. ]

Whoosh!

Blood flowed from Suho’s hand, forming into a long sword.

The sword’s design resembled the beloved sword Suho had wielded until his final moments.

Suho decided to call this the Blood Sword.

‘The power and durability of the Blood Weapon depend on my stats.’

In other words, Suho’s current Blood Weapon was likely around Red-grade.

With this, he thought it would be enough to confront the Cursed Prince.

If he had only one Red stat, it might be uncertain, but Suho had three Red stats, and with the prince’s level below 100, the balance was manageable.

As Suho took his stance, the enraged prince swung his whip at him.

Whoosh!

The blood whip tore through the air.

Just as it was about to strike Suho, he took two steps forward and wrapped the Blood Sword around the whip.

Then, he tugged on the now-taut whip.

[ The Holy Power activates. ]

With Holy Enchantment applied to the Blood Sword, the end of the prince’s whip began to burn and break apart.

The Cursed Prince’s eyes widened at the sight.

Suho’s lips curled upward.

“So, the quality of the weapon really matters, huh?”

It was the expected result, given that Suho’s weapon alone was imbued with Holy Power at a similar grade to the Blood Weapon.

Confirming his advantage, Suho closed the distance to the Cursed Prince without hesitation.

“Where do you think you’re going?!”

Blood Scream poured out in torrents.

However, Suho swung the Blood Sword wide, blocking all of the creature’s attacks before narrowing the blade once again.

“This works.”

“…!!”

Suho had received numerous tips on using Blood Weapons from the Blood Emperor.

One of those tips was the versatility of the Blood Weapon; it could be reshaped in real-time rather than remaining in a fixed form.

Returning the Blood Sword to its original form, Suho swung it in a circle to build momentum.

Slash!

With the added speed, the blade succeeded in slicing off one of the prince’s arms.

“Graaaahhh!!”

The prince screamed.

Simultaneously, a faster and more abundant stream of Blood Scream poured from his body than before.

‘Damn!’

Suho attempted to widen the Blood Sword, but the Blood Scream was quicker.

Countless needles of Blood Scream embedded themselves in Suho’s body. However—

‘…Huh?’

It was… surprisingly bearable… or rather, it didn’t hurt?

It wasn’t just a bluff.

It was true.

At most, it felt like small, prickling thorns.

‘Why is this?’

Was it because of his high Stamina stat?

Definitely not.

Even with a high Stamina stat, it only affected his absolute HP and recovery ability.

Sure, it slightly reinforced his skin, muscles, and bones, but it wasn’t anything dramatic. That’s why equipment was still essential.

But this time, he truly didn’t feel any pain.

Why?

Just then, one skill came to Suho’s mind.

‘Oh, it must be because of Dragon Skin.’

The Dragon Skin ability had manifested when the second seal of Dragon Blood was unlocked.

Dragon Skin literally granted him the skin of a dragon.

‘To think it would be this effective.’

Of course, it wasn’t true dragon skin, but he knew his body was strengthened.

Far more than before.

Could that be why?

Thanks to this, Suho felt he could face the creature with greater ease.

Suho raised the Blood Sword high and activated a skill.

[ The Holy Power activates. ]

And then—

[ Decapitate activates. ]

Slash!

Without hesitation, Suho swung the sword down.

A long cut appeared on the prince’s neck, and unable to withstand Suho’s blow, he plummeted downward once again.

Not missing this chance, Suho kicked the prince’s head with all his strength.

Then, summoning the Ghost Shadow Spear, he hurled it at the prince’s head, pinning it to his shadow.

Crash!

The Ghost Shadow Spear embedded itself firmly in the creature’s shadow.

[ Shadow Binding activates. ]

[ Shadow Bleed activates. ]

“Graaaahhh!!”

The Cursed Prince screamed in agony.

At the same time, the body separated from its head started flailing its claws wildly.

Slash!

Though it had entered Phase 2, wouldn’t the head be easy enough to handle if it was floundering around after losing its body?

Suho began dismembering the creature’s body piece by piece.

“Ugh… grraaa…!”

The more Suho cut up the creature’s body, the louder its head, bound by the Shadow Bind, howled in pain.

But even so, all it could manage was a faint moan, unable to even move its lips.

Thud!

The dismembered body fell to the ground.

A large amount of blood gushed from the fallen body, soaking the floor.

All that remained was to destroy the creature’s head.

However, Suho didn’t immediately crush the head but extended his hand toward the fallen corpse.

[ Blood Drain activates. ]

As Blood Drain activated, the pooled blood on the ground began to flow into Suho’s hand as if drawn by a vacuum.

Just as the Blood Emperor had said.

Though Vampires commonly drank blood through their mouths, when it became a skill, Blood Drain allowed one to absorb another’s blood without using the mouth.

[ The absorbed blood is stored in the Blood Orb. ]

As he began absorbing the blood, a translucent glass-like orb appeared in Suho’s vision, and blood began to swirl inside it.

It was a Blood Orb that only Suho could see.

‘So, this is how I check it.’

It was somewhat reminiscent of a lich’s life vessel.

As Suho continued to absorb the blood, the Cursed Prince’s convulsions grew more violent.

The prince could feel it, too.

He knew that his precious blood was being drained in real time.

But Suho, ignoring the creature’s thrashing, absorbed every drop of its blood until none remained.

Once the absorption was complete, Suho lifted the prince’s now frail head, which seemed barely able to struggle anymore.

“You…!”

It was a strange sight.

The Cursed Prince, now drained of nearly all his blood, looked almost like a mummy.

Suho summoned the Ghost Shadow Spear.

Then, he coated it with Holy Power and tossed the prince’s head into the air.

He then threw the spear at the airborne head.

Crunch!

Unlike the first time, when the spear had been deflected, the prince’s head, now weakened, was pierced through as easily as tofu and pinned to the wall.

The head quivered for a moment before going limp.

Then, a series of system notifications flooded in.

[ You have defeated the Cursed Prince. ]

[ The Gate has been conquered. ]

[ The MVP of the Gate conquest is ‘Ahn Suho.’ ]

[ Additional experience points are awarded for being selected as the MVP. ]

[ 1 bonus stat is awarded for MVP selection. ]

[ The Hidden Gate has been conquered. ]

[ You successfully conquered the Hidden Gate alone. ]

[ For achieving an extraordinary feat, the system grants you 5 bonus stats. ]

[ Your level has increased. ]

[ All stats have increased by 1. ]

[ You have acquired 1 bonus stat. ]

These notifications were distinctly different from those in the Tower of Challenge.

In addition, his level had increased by one.

It was natural.

The Cursed Prince’s level was close to 80, after all.

Finally, the Shadow Devourer option of the Ghost Shadow Spear began to activate.

[ Ghost Shadow Spear reacts to the Cursed Prince’s shadow. ]

[ Ghost Shadow Spear absorbs the shadow of the Cursed Prince. ]

[ Ghost Shadow Spear has been strengthened. ]

[ Ghost Shadow Spear has completely absorbed the shadow of the Cursed Prince. ]

The Cursed Prince had been a formidable opponent, yet even his power wasn’t enough to unlock the next stage.

But that was fine.

There were still plenty of others in the world to feed to the Ghost Shadow Spear.

Soon, a portal leading back outside appeared before him.

However, Suho was still waiting for something.

Then, it happened.

[ The system has completed its evaluation of you. ]

[ The system has analyzed your talent in detail and decided to grant you a suitable trait. ]

[ You have mastered ‘New Blood.’ ]

[ You have acquired a unique trait, one of a kind in the world. ]

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

Finally.

He had gained a trait.

But…

‘New Blood? What does that mean?’

New Blood.

It was a term he’d never heard before.

It was true.

Even after scouring the entire Library of Memories, he had never encountered the term New Blood.

Still, he had a good feeling about it.

The system had recognized New Blood as a great achievement.

‘There’s no such thing as a “great achievement” with a negative meaning. A great achievement, as recognized by the system, must be something worthy of admiration by all.’

With a racing heart, Suho went to check the information on New Blood.

No, he was just about to when—

[ Due to the effect of New Blood, the seal on Vampirism is lifted. ]

[ Skill information is updated. ]

[ You have acquired Vampire Blood. ]

‘Huh?’

The seal on Vampire Blood, which Suho had been trying to acquire, had been lifted.