Return of the Sword God-Rank Civil Servant-Chapter 471

Su-ho, flustered, immediately checked his status window.

[ An Su-ho ]

Lv : 287

Class : Rage Crusader

Rank : Middle Player

Traits : < Newblood >< Hercules >< King of Ruination >< Grid’s Partner >< Sun-Moon Body >

Herculean Strength (P) : 18

True Mana (S) : 46

Senses (P) : 3

Command (N) : 106

Bonus Stats : 12

“Mm.”

His Fairy Power really had disappeared, merged with mana, and given birth to a stat called True Mana.

The stat fusion thing had happened before with Herculean Strength too, so it looked like it was going to happen fairly often.

‘It really does seem like it’s the Newblood trait.’

Was that why?

The corner of Su-ho’s mouth crooked upward.

If you looked at it, fused stats had better efficiency and effects than before.

So with a bit of anticipation, he checked the information on the True Mana stat.

[ True Mana ]

Rank : S+

# All power originates from mana, but depending on who accepts and uses mana—and how—its nature and its names split apart.

# True Mana is the power born when two altered types of mana are merged into one.

# But that doesn’t mean True Mana is a completely new power. Just as countless rivers ultimately gather into a single sea, True Mana is merely countless altered manas being combined back into one.

# Therefore, the owner of True Mana will continue to be able to accept and take in other altered manas without end, and each time, they will become stronger by another step.

“.......”

He checked the information on True Mana with light expectations.

But the more he read about True Mana, the more serious Su-ho’s expression became.

Then, by the time he reached the last line, the corner of his mouth rose again.

“This is...”

This was totally insane.

Thinking about it, it made sense.

Herculean Strength was S-rank, but True Mana was S+ rank.

‘Probably because it has growth potential.’

Was that why?

Unlike Herculean Strength, there wasn’t an immediate, visible effect like “double,” but True Mana felt far more valuable than Herculean Strength.

‘It probably really is more valuable.’

The possibilities of Newblood were endless.

Next, Su-ho checked the information on Fairy Blood.

[ Fairy Blood ]

Rank : S+

# A bloodline said to be passed down only through the Queen Family, who were called the first and greatest fairies.

# Lv.1 - Fairy # Nоvеlight # Blood : Fairy Power (S)

# Lv.2 - [ ??? ] : Locked.

└ Unlock Conditions

① Reach Level 300.

② Unknown.

# Lv.3......

The first authority of Fairy Blood was Fairy Blood, and its option was granting Fairy Power.

‘But because of Newblood, it became True Mana.’

Still, what caught his eye more than that was the revised description of Fairy Blood.

‘A bloodline said to be passed down only through the Queen Family, who were called the first and greatest fairies.’

Looking back, it really was like that.

Dragon Blood was the bloodline of a great dragon, Vampire Blood was the pure bloodline of the Royal Vampyr—an original vampire—and the bloodline of giants was a pure lineage said to be passed down only through the primordial giants.

And now, this Fairy Blood he’d obtained was the bloodline of the Queen Family, who were called the first and greatest fairies.

‘Everything that enters my body turns into something good.’

All of it was thanks to the power Newblood had.

And he liked that.

Because it made him look forward to what came next.

‘So dragons, vampires, giants, fairies... What’s next?’

He’d probably only find out once he hit Level 300.

Su-ho invested all of the bonus stats he’d obtained into True Mana.

“Alright, then now...”

He’d achieved his initial objective, so it was time to check the bonus he’d never even expected.

Su-ho checked the Plague Fairy Queen’s spoils again—the one covered in question marks.

[ ???’s ??? ]

Rank : ???

# A ??? that holds the power of ???.

# To release ???’s ???, the mana of the fairy race is required.

Right.

He hadn’t been able to touch it earlier, but now he could release it.

Because his mana was no longer ordinary mana—it had become True Mana that carried the nature of Fairy Power.

Su-ho immediately began injecting mana into the obsidian-like spoil.

Hwi-ooo!

As soon as he started injecting mana, True Mana burst from Su-ho’s body and began getting absorbed into the Queen’s spoil.

The True Mana that poured out was a much deeper blue than his old mana.

‘Maybe because it has “True” in front of the name, it feels a lot deeper and heavier.’

That was when it happened.

Hwaaaak!

Not long after he injected True Mana, the thing began to shine brightly.

[ Conditions have been met. ]

[ Item information will be altered. ]

[ Seal of Corruption ]

Rank : S

# A fairy-race seal that holds the power of corruption.

# Upon use, you can obtain the power of corruption—one of the countless powers possessed by the fairy race.

“......What is this?”

A Seal of Corruption?

As Su-ho read the description, his brow furrowed.

The power of corruption?

There was a power like that?

No—forget that. What kind of fairy uses the power of corruption?

But the moment he raised the question, he had no choice but to accept it.

Because the Fairy Queen he’d taken down was the Queen of the Plague Fairies.

“So it’s like... an Essence of Plague, if you translate it that way...”

Seriously. This was absurd.

After obtaining Fairy Blood, before Fairy Blood had been released, he’d actually had a thought like that.

If he gained the fairy race’s power, wouldn’t it be something clear and pure?

But maybe because the Queen’s bloodstone he’d taken was from a plague fairy... how was the first power he ended up encountering the power of corruption?

“......”

For a while, Su-ho stared at the Seal of Corruption in silence.

Going by the item description, it didn’t seem like there was any problem.

‘But it feels nasty.’

An indescribable, ominous presence.

And ominous premonitions were usually right.

After thinking for a moment, Su-ho decided to ask his excellent partner for help.

“Grid.”

- Yeah.

His excellent partner, Grid.

At Su-ho’s call, he appeared in a flash.

“You were watching, right?”

- Yeah, I was watching.

“Then what do you think?”

- About what?

“What do you mean, about what? The Seal of Corruption. You know what this is.”

- I do. It’s something that lets you obtain the power of corruption.

“If I learn it, will there be any real problems?”

- What problems would there be? You’d just learn the power of corruption.

“Hey, you... You know what I’m getting at.”

- I don’t, you bastard. I may be watching you from your side, but that doesn’t mean I can see your status window or system notifications too. So if you’re going to ask, ask what you’re actually curious about.

“Don’t tell me you’re going to treat this like a ‘deal’ too.”

- Hey, seriously... Didn’t you say you’d keep it reasonable?

“Yeah. You’ve finally grown up.”

Repetitive education really was important.

With that in mind, Su-ho started asking more specifically.

“I got the Queen Family’s bloodline—supposedly the most noble among the fairy race’s bloodlines—through my trait effect. And my mana stat and my Fairy Power stat merged into a True Mana stat. And if I meet a few conditions, it seems like at the next stage, I’ll be able to obtain an even nobler, even more incredible fairy-race power, right?”

- And? 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

“And if I learn the power of corruption right now, it could twist the expectations I’ve got going, couldn’t it? That’s what I’m worried about.”

- Hm... So you’re saying you’re worried because corruption feels kind of dirty?

“If I put it bluntly, yeah. I won’t deny it. I mean, the name is literally ‘corruption.’”

- What a strange thing to worry about.

“So? Your answer?”

- Fine. Then to answer your question...

At Su-ho’s question, Grid stroked his chin.

Then, after thinking for a long time, he nodded.

- There won’t be any problem like what you’re worried about.

“Why?”

- I think it’s stupid to worry about something like that in the first place just because of the name. Because a seal is something extremely noble.

“Noble?”

- How much do you know about sorcery?

“Not much.”

- Then I can see why you’d say that. So, to kindly explain this time... First, sorcery is like talent. The scale of your power is decided from the moment you’re born. That’s why most fairies go their whole lives only able to use attribute-less, no-attribute sorcery. But if you obtain a seal, the story changes.

Pointing at the Seal of Corruption, Grid continued.

- A seal is, for humans, like a clan’s secret art or a transmitted technique. Only a small number of powerful fairies got to enjoy a special “essence” of power, and they pass it on to a close fairy in the form of a seal. And you—just because the name has ‘corruption’ in it—don’t even understand how special the Seal of Corruption is, and you’re making weird worries.

“Ah...”

- In that sense, you’re lucky, partner. You’ve already obtained various attribute powers through Eclipse. And in the middle of that, you’ve even obtained a curse-adjacent power like corruption, so you’ve actually filled in what you were lacking. Well? Do you still have the same worries?

“No. Listening to you, I’m honestly embarrassed I worried about something like that. Thanks for the advice, partner.”

- Don’t mention it. So are you learning the power of corruption now?

“Yeah. I’m going to learn it right away.”

Bolstered by Grid’s advice, Su-ho immediately used the Seal of Corruption.

[ You have used the Seal of Corruption. ]

[ Conditions have been met. ]

[ You are learning the power of corruption. ]

[ Congratulations! You have mastered Corruption Sorcery (S). ]

[ You are the first to master fairy-race sorcery. ]

[ You have achieved a great feat, and the system gifts you 10 bonus stats. ]

As soon as he used the Seal of Corruption, he mastered the power of corruption, called Corruption Sorcery.

And because he was the first to master fairy-race sorcery, he got 10 bonus stats as a bonus.

In a good mood, Su-ho immediately checked the information on Corruption Sorcery.

[ Corruption Sorcery ]

Rank : S

# Some fairies researched the power to corrupt targets for a long time, and at last succeeded in creating their own secret art.

# Corruption Sorcery focuses on weakening a target—whether living or non-living—in a negative and harmful direction in any form, and ultimately has the purpose of placing a curse that is close to death.

# The power of corruption is greatly influenced by Fairy Power and the fairy’s mind, and the form of corruption is realized as fully as possible in the form the fairy imagines.

# Therefore, Corruption Sorcery, encompassing all sorceries, possesses the strongest power closest to death, but due to its uniquely dark and negative ideology, it is sometimes rejected by other fairies.

Su-ho checked the information with a smile.

But just as he was finishing, he saw the last line, and his expression stiffened in an instant.

Keeping his eyes fixed on the Corruption Sorcery window, Su-ho called Grid.

“...Grid?”

- Hm?

“Can you stack sorcery? Like, can you learn other sorceries too?”

- No. A fairy’s seal is noble—once you learn one seal, you can’t learn another seal.

“......But the skill description says corruption fairies get rejected by other fairies.”

- Ah, that’s true. Not just rejected—they’re basically hated. But is that really that important? What matters is that you get stronger anyway, right?

“.......”

Su-ho quietly closed his eyes.

And the sigh rising up inside him was a bonus.