Return of the Sword God-Rank Civil Servant-Chapter 210

The past, the present, and the future.

It all sounded so vague.

Unable to grasp what he meant, Ki Jun-seo asked,

“I’m a little slow, so... would you mind explaining it in more detail?”

“Of course. But before that, there’s something I’d like to ask you, Jun-seo. You’re currently affiliated with the Tamna Guild, right?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“Then let me ask you—do you think you’re being treated fairly for your abilities within Tamna?”

“Uh...”

Jun-seo rolled his eyes briefly before answering.

“...Maybe?”

“Why do you say that?”

“Well, I might be living rough right now, but still... my sister is being taken care of by two of the best healers in the country, you know?”

The best healers in the country.

Right.

You could look at it that way.

After all, those two were indeed the highest-level healers in Korea.

But Su-ho shook his head and asked another question.

“Jun-seo, could I take a look at your monthly salary deposits?”

“Just a moment.”

When he pulled out his phone and showed the deposit history, Su-ho frowned.

Each month, the amount deposited into Jun-seo’s account was somewhere between 200,000 to 300,000 won.

That was because 99% of his salary was pre-deducted for hospital fees.

But the key point wasn’t the 99%.

It was the actual amount he was being paid.

‘If that’s 1%, then his base salary would be around 30 million won.’

Thirty million won a month.

For someone ranked in the country’s top ten, 30 million won per month?

That was just laughable.

Jun-seo scratched his head awkwardly.

“Like I said earlier, about 99% of my salary is deducted for my sister’s hospital bills. Actually, it’s more like 100%, and I’m even paying extra, but the hyungs cut me a break and give me 1% in cash. I repay the rest through other means.”

“You mean... working on Udo Island is one of those other means?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“And one of them includes... handing over your experience points?”

“...Yes, that’s correct.”

Jun-seo gave an awkward smile at the mention of experience point extortion.

Experience tax.

It was exactly what it sounded like.

Seo Do-il and Moon Hye-hyun were receiving experience points instead of money from Ki Jun-seo.

Put simply, it was power-leveling.

This allowed them to level up without even setting foot inside a gate—just sit back and let the XP roll in.

‘And that was the decisive reason for Jun-seo’s slow growth.’

Among the current top ten on the Grand Chart, only two weren’t in the 190s level range.

Su-ho and Jun-seo.

Su-ho was leveling rapidly and was soon to hit 200.

But Jun-seo wasn’t.

That was because most of the experience he earned was going straight into the pockets of Seo Do-il and Moon Hye-hyun.

Not that he didn’t gain any.

In terms of ratio, it was about 1:9.

How was he supposed to level up properly with that?

‘Originally, this kind of system would’ve been impossible.’

Even though the Great Cataclysm made the world resemble a game system, this wasn’t a game.

But Seo Do-il had items that made it possible.

‘Bastards. As if taking all the loot wasn’t enough, they were stealing his XP too.’

No wonder people said he was being treated like a slave.

While working on Udo, Jun-seo hunted the monsters that poured out of the gate and gave all the loot to Seo Do-il and Moon Hye-hyun.

And we’re not talking about clearing the gate.

Just cleaning up the overflow monsters.

That meant they could endlessly harvest magic stones and XP from a single gate.

And yet, they weren’t satisfied with just the loot—they were draining his XP too.

Su-ho let out a sigh, then made a call.

The person who picked up was Kim I-gang, the manager from Nexus.

Su-ho briefly explained how Ki Jun-seo had been treated and exploited all this time.

A moment later, curses erupted from the other end of the line.

– “What the fuck? Are those assholes insane? Do they have any idea how much Ki Jun-seo is worth? Instead of nurturing him, they pull this kind of bullshit...!”

“I agree. That’s why I’m calling. Can you send me a breakdown of what kind of treatment Jun-seo would’ve received under minimum conditions if he had been in a proper guild this whole time?”

– “Minimum? Got it. One sec!”

Kim I-gang’s lips curled into a smirk as he spoke.

He wasn’t stupid—he knew exactly what Su-ho was about to do.

It didn’t take long for the reply to come through.

A text arrived with the minimum compensation breakdown, and Su-ho showed the screen to Jun-seo.

“What’s this?”

“This is the kind of compensation you’d have received if you’d been part of a legitimate guild, Jun-seo. Including care for your sister.”

“...Huh?”

“It’s hard to # Nоvеlight # believe, I know. But this is the reality. Those two might be the highest-ranked healers in the country, but that’s just because they have high levels—not because they’re actually better at healing.”

“What do you mean by that...?”

Jun-seo trailed off.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

Because on the screen Su-ho showed him, it said his expected monthly take-home salary was more than ten times what he was currently receiving.

And that included the cost of his sister’s care.

Su-ho put his phone away and said,

“Jun-seo, you’ve been conned. This is why they say the beginning is important.”

“......”

Jun-seo fell silent.

He had nothing to say.

Su-ho continued,

“But that doesn’t mean I’m blaming you. The fault lies with the scammers, not the one who got scammed. You’re just someone kind enough to feel grateful that your sister was being cared for.”

“...Yeah, that’s right.”

“That’s why you need to start letting go of the past. Your sister’s been cured now, so what really matters is how you live from here on out.”

That was exactly it.

Su-ho had no intention of blaming Ki Jun-seo for his naivety.

As he’d already said, it was the perpetrators who were at fault—not the victim.

‘In that sense, people sometimes say the most ridiculous things. Like, “How dumb do you have to be to fall for a scam like that?”’

But no one truly knows unless they’ve actually lived it.

Everyone has their own circumstances—how could anyone always make cold, rational decisions?

At Su-ho’s comforting words, Ki Jun-seo bit his lip and nodded.

“...Yes, you’re right. From now on, I need to live properly—for my sister’s sake. I can’t let her live in a container like I did.”

“Good decision. Then let me introduce you to a proper guild. One that will truly care for you and Gi So-yeon, without exploiting you in any way, and pay you fair compensation.”

“You’ll do that for me?”

“Yes, I will. Ah, but of course, I’m not forcing anything. The choice is yours, Jun-seo. I’m just giving advice and recommendations.”

“I’ll do it.”

“...Pardon?”

“I’ll absolutely do it. You’re the person who cured my sister—if you tell me to go somewhere, I’ll follow you no matter what. Even if it turns out to be another Tamna.”

“No need to go that far... Ahem, I think you need to work on staying a bit calmer, Jun-seo. You trust people too easily.”

“Haha, well... If there’s one thing about me, it’s that I always repay kindness.”

“Anyway, I understand how you feel. Then tomorrow, I’ll introduce you to someone. The guild I’ll recommend is Nexus. It’s where I was affiliated too, so you can trust them. And...”

Su-ho glanced at Jun-seo’s worn-out clothes before continuing.

“I’ll also make sure you’re properly compensated for all the exploitation you’ve suffered. Seo Do-il and Moon Hye-hyun won’t be seeing the light of day ever again. Aside from what they did to you, they committed too many other crimes.”

“Too many other crimes...”

At those words, a mix of emotions surfaced on Jun-seo’s face.

Yeah.

It made sense.

To Jun-seo, those two were probably saviors. He must have a lot of fond memories with them too.

“And one more thing—please don’t say things like, ‘Out of consideration for the past, I don’t want to press charges.’ Think carefully. If you forgive them like that, how heartbroken do you think your sister would be?”

“...Ah!”

When Su-ho brought up his sister, Jun-seo’s expression changed instantly.

To him, his sister was everything.

There’s no way he could ever do something that would hurt her.

Thanks to that, a firm resolve quickly formed on Jun-seo’s face.

“...Understood. I’ll do whatever you say. It’s shameless of me, but please help me. I’ll repay this debt no matter what.”

“What matters is your will and making the right choice. That’s enough for me. Then let’s talk more tomorrow. Tonight, you should spend time with your sister.”

At Su-ho’s consideration, Jun-seo lowered his head.

“Thank you. You didn’t have to... but thank you for being so considerate.”

“Not at all. I’m sure there’s a lot you want to talk about with her. Tomorrow, we’ll take care of everything—guild contacts and all the messy stuff. Oh, and...”

Su-ho made a circle with his thumb and index finger as he added,

“You still have that, right?”

“That?”

“The Ring of Sacrifice.”

The Ring of Sacrifice—an item Seo Do-il had given him that allowed experience point siphoning.

“Oh, yes! Should I give it to you?”

“Yes, give it to me for now. If that ring is listed as Seo Do-il’s property, it’ll end up confiscated by the government anyway. Oh, and make sure you absorb all the stored experience first.”

“Got it.”

Jun-seo absorbed all the stored experience in the Ring of Sacrifice and handed the ring to Su-ho.

Checking the item info, it was indeed the Ring of Sacrifice he was familiar with.

Su-ho smiled as he took the ring.

“Then I’ll see you tomorrow. Here’s my card—just send me a text and I’ll get back to you.”

“Yes, thank you.”

With that, Su-ho wrapped up the conversation and said goodbye to Jun-seo before leaving the hospital.

Then he got into his car.

‘Now then, time to go raid Sipil-do (十一島).’

Sipil-do (十一島) referred to the eleven islands under Tamna’s domain.

Now, since one had been sealed, people called it Sip-do (十島)—Ten Islands. But the original name was Sipil-do.

Among them were:

Udo, Daryeodo, Biyangdo, Chagwido, Gapado, Marado, Saeseom, Beomseom, Munseom, Seopseom, and Jigwido—these were the eleven islands controlled by Tamna.

‘And one of those was designated a sealed gate.’

That’s why it’s now referred to as Ten Islands.

But those in the know still called them Sipil-do.

No one believed that a gate being sealed made it any less part of Tamna’s domain.

‘First, I’ll start with Udo.’

Vrooom!

Su-ho’s car sped off toward Udo once again.