Return of the Sword God-Rank Civil Servant-Chapter 162

Su-ho laughed as he read the system notification.

Not only had he successfully obtained The Talent of Atonement, but he had also received 10 bonus stat points as a reward for creating it.

"Looks like I was the first to craft it again."

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Whenever someone obtained an item for the first time, the system recognized it as a Great Achievement.

And the reward was always 10 bonus stats.

Satisfied, Su-ho checked the item’s details.

"Check The Talent of Atonement."

[ The Talent of Atonement ]

– Grade: S

The Talent of Atonement grants the user the ability to redistribute their stats by sacrificing an equivalent amount of points.

The required stat cost is deducted separately from each redistributed stat.

Su-ho grinned as he reviewed the information.

"Perfect. With this, I won’t have to delay getting the Unified Stat Bonus ever again."

Without hesitation, he opened his status window.

[ An Su-ho ]

– Level: 112

– Class: Crusader

– Traits: <New Blood> <Hercules Candidate>

– Strength (O): 38

– Stamina (O): 14

– Magic Power (O): 31

– Perception (R): 77

– Bonus Stats: 10

He had 10 bonus stats.

But since they would be essential for the Unified Stat Bonus, he left them untouched.

Holding The Talent of Atonement, which resembled a handheld bell, Su-ho gave it a shake.

The item’s effect activated.

[ The Talent of Atonement is now active. ]

As the bell rang, golden threads burst from it, wrapping around the floating status window.

A system prompt appeared.

[ Select the stats you wish to redistribute. ]

[ Strength (O): 38 ]

[ Stamina (O): 14 ]

[ Magic Power (O): 31 ]

[ Perception (R): 77 ]

Su-ho thought for a moment before selecting two stats.

[ You have chosen Strength and Magic Power. ]

[ As a cost for redistribution, 1 point will be deducted from Strength and Magic Power. ]

[ You have gained 65 bonus stat points. ]

With the selection complete, 1 point was deducted from both Strength and Magic Power.

As a result, those two stats were reduced to 1, and the remaining difference was converted into bonus stat points.

Su-ho checked his updated status window.

"Check status window."

[ An Su-ho ]

– Level: 112

– Class: Crusader

– Traits: <New Blood> <Hercules Candidate>

– Strength (O): 1

– /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ Stamina (O): 14

– Magic Power (O): 1

– Perception (R): 77

– Bonus Stats: 75

Seeing the newly adjusted stats, Su-ho chuckled.

"This really is a broken system."

Losing 2 stat points as a cost was slightly unfortunate, but—

Considering the Unified Stat Bonus he would receive, it was well worth it.

After a quick calculation, he began distributing his bonus stats.

"First, I’ll raise Perception to 99..."

He allocated points into Perception, bringing it up to 99.

This left him with 53 bonus stat points.

Next, he added 13 points each to Strength and Magic Power, raising them to 14.

With that, 27 bonus stat points remained.

Finally, he evenly distributed 9 points each into Strength, Stamina, and Magic Power, bringing them all to 23.

"Check status window."

[ An Su-ho ]

– Level: 112

– Class: Crusader

– Traits: <New Blood> <Hercules Candidate>

– Strength (O): 23

– Stamina (O): 23

– Magic Power (O): 23

– Perception (R): 99

– Bonus Stats: 0

His stats were now cleanly unified.

Seeing the results, Su-ho felt a slight pang of regret.

"Damn. If I had just 2 more bonus stats, I could activate the Unified Stat Bonus right now."

Still, it wasn’t a big deal.

Once he leveled up just one more time, his stats would automatically unify, granting him huge stat boosts.

"Alright. That means my next step is grinding Sealed Gates for experience."

The timing was perfect.

Now that he had full clearance for Sealed Gates, he could storm through them without restriction under the guise of a project.

But everything had to be done in order.

He was about to start reviewing the list of planned Sealed Gates when—

Bzzzzt!

His phone rang.

Su-ho frowned when he saw the caller ID.

"Pi Seong-yeol?"

"Why the hell is he calling me?"

It was unexpected.

And he couldn’t predict the reason.

Still, ignoring it wasn’t an option.

So, he answered.

"Yes, senior?"

A rough, gruff voice came through the receiver.

– "Ah, Su-ho. It’s been a while since I heard your voice."

"Haha, yeah. I should’ve reached out more often. My apologies."

– "No, no. You’ve been busy. I can tell just by watching."

"Oh, not at all. You must be way busier than me, senior. But what’s the occasion?"

– "Ah, nothing much. Just calling to keep a promise."

"A promise?"

– "Yeah. Remember? I told you I’d definitely bring you into the Special Division."

Oh. That promise?

Right. He had said that.

But now? At this timing?

Su-ho narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Ah, yes. You did say that. Are you saying you’re bringing me in now?"

No way.

He really hoped that wasn’t the case.

He had only just started making proper use of his position as a deputy team leader.

Getting transferred now would be way too soon.

Of course, Pi Seong-yeol had the power to make it happen.

All he had to do was fabricate an excuse.

Which was why Su-ho was slightly concerned.

He had only just secured full Sealed Gate access.

"If I have to transfer, I should at least squeeze every last benefit out of this role before I go."

Su-ho waited for a response.

Then, Pi Seong-yeol chuckled.

– "Haha, trust me, I wish I could. But no, it won’t be immediate. Instead, I want to speed up the process. Let’s work on a few joint operations first."

"Joint operations?"

– "Think of it as groundwork. Thanks to you, the public image of our division has never been better. If we can attach your name to some Special Division operations and get media coverage, we’ll have the perfect excuse to officially transfer you in. Neat, huh?"

"Ah..."

Su-ho’s eyes narrowed further.

Of course.

That made sense.

Hearing Pi Seong-yeol’s explanation, Su-ho smirked.

As long as he wasn’t being transferred immediately, it didn’t matter.

"If I trigger the redevelopment gates while working on this ‘groundwork,’ I won’t even need to move to the Special Division."

With that in mind, Su-ho responded smoothly.

"Yes, that sounds perfect. As expected of you, senior. If you need anything, just give the order. I’ll handle any task you throw at me."

– "Haha, that’s why I like you. I’ve already picked out a few cases that’d be great for some image-boosting media coverage. I’ll send the files over—should be easy work, just catching some criminals. Shouldn’t take you long."

"Understood. Should I contact you immediately after apprehending the targets?"

– "Yeah, call me directly. I’ll take care of the rest."

"Got it. Thank you, senior."

– "Alright, I’m looking forward to it."

With that, the call ended.

Moments later, files started arriving on Su-ho’s phone.

"Tsk, busy work at a time like this? I was just about to start grinding Sealed Gates."

Grumbling to himself, Su-ho opened the files.

As he skimmed through the cases, his gaze stopped at a particular name.

"Oh?"

A familiar name.

Su-ho immediately searched through the Library of Memories.

And when he confirmed that the name matched a record in his memories, he let out a chuckle.

"Well, well... Didn’t expect to run into him at this timing."

He hadn’t originally planned to deal with this individual.

But fate had brought them together again.

"Guess you could call this destiny?"

Without hesitation, Su-ho headed for the garage.

There was an old saying—Strike while the iron is hot.

And if this was how things had played out, it was best to deal with it immediately.

"Besides, there’s a gate I was planning to clear in that area anyway."

As he made his way to the garage, he called Jeong Cheol-min.

After all, he needed to report the situation.

Su-ho’s destination was Incheon Port.

As he drove through the ruins of the port, nostalgia set in.

"This place used to be full of people."

Incheon Port.

More specifically, Wolmido—a place that held fond memories of Su-ho’s family.

Which made its current state all the more tragic.

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In the past, Wolmido had been a bustling tourist spot, a playground for Seoul’s residents.

But after experiencing multiple Gate Shocks, it had become nothing more than a dead zone.

Su-ho parked his car in a concealed spot and activated a skill.

[ Monochrome Solitude is now active. ]

His target’s primary area of activity was Incheon Port—so naturally, that was where he had come.

Now, all that was left was to search the area.

But honestly, he wasn’t worried.

Pi Seong-yeol had practically handed this case to him on a silver platter.

"Let’s begin."

Blending into the shadows, Su-ho began his investigation.

By nightfall, activity finally began.

Several unfamiliar trucks rolled into Wolmido.

Bright floodlights switched on, illuminating the area and the parked vehicles.

At the same time, a ship arrived at the port.

And as if on cue, two groups of people separated and formed two distinct sides.

There were a lot of people.

At the very least, dozens.

Then, the side doors of the truck cargo bays lifted.

The contents were finally revealed.

Inside the trucks—

Animals.

But not just any animals.

Every single one was either a nationally protected species or an endangered animal.

One of the men who had arrived by ship took a long drag from his cigarette before speaking.

"Well, damn. You weren’t kidding, ‘Noah.’ You really brought a whole damn ark again."

His accent was odd.

Listening closely, Su-ho recognized it—Joseonjok.

To this, the man referred to as Noah responded.

"This isn’t my first time in this business. This much is nothing. But honestly, it’s getting harder to find stock these days. I might need to adjust our trade volume soon."

"Haha! Come on, Teacher No, why the complaints? It’s not like I’m underpaying you. Let’s just keep this partnership rolling."

"I’m just stating facts. Anyway, let’s check the goods first."

"Sounds good. Man... Every time I see your shipments, I’m amazed. How the hell do you get them to stay so damn quiet?"

It was true.

Despite the sheer number of animals loaded onto the five trucks, not a single one made a sound.

They weren’t asleep.

Nor had their vocal cords been removed.

It was as if they had collectively decided to remain silent.

And then—

A voice interrupted.

"They’re quiet because you scammed them, obviously."

"What the hell?"

The man called Noah turned toward the speaker.

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And there stood Su-ho.