"Status window."
[ Ahn Suho ]
Lv: 8
Class: Healer
Strength: 12
Vitality: 12
Mana: 12
Perception: 8
Bonus Stats: 0
Suho checked his status window.
Quite some time had passed since he entered the gate.
He was already level 8.
About time I meet it.
Suho knew everything about this gate.
Even so, he had deliberately delayed encountering the gate's master—the boss monster.
No matter what, absolute strength ultimately came from level, and opportunities to monopolize an unannounced gate like this were rare. When such a chance arose, it was best to level up as much as possible beforehand.
By now, however, hopgoblins were scarcely to be seen.
That was because Suho had nearly wiped them out.
After scouting the area further, Suho finally found a group of hopgoblins.
Right.
I'll use these guys as the last ones—and then call it out.
At this point, he had squeezed out as much experience as he could from this gate.
Thinking that, Suho picked up one of the swords the hopgoblins carried and aimed it at them.
Then he threw it.
[ Your understanding of throwing techniques is extremely high. ]
[ The system has begun evaluating your talent. ]
[ Congratulations! You have acquired Throwing (B). ]
At the same time, he obtained the Throwing skill.
It wasn't even surprising anymore.
Crunch!
The flying sword embedded itself squarely between the eyebrows of one of the hopgoblins.
[ You have slain a Hopgoblin. ]
The creature died instantly.
That marked the start of the fight.
Four hopgoblins remained.
They precisely pinpointed the direction the sword had come from and charged straight toward Suho.
Yes—come!
Suho didn't dodge.
He was already level 8, and he had secured nearly all the skills needed for movement and combat.
When the distance between Suho and the monsters closed to just a few steps—
Suho's figure vanished.
"Keerik?"
The hopgoblins were visibly flustered when Suho, who should have been right in front of them, disappeared.
But Suho hadn't vanished due to a stealth skill.
Shhk!
A sharp cutting sound rang out.
Startled, the hopgoblins turned their heads—but by then, it was already too late.
Using his superior footwork to get behind them, Suho swung his sword in a wide arc and began slaughtering them in an instant.
[ You have slain a Hopgoblin. ]
[ You have slain a Hopgoblin. ]
[ You have slain a Hopgoblin. ]
Because he had slit their throats precisely, three of the four died.
The remaining one, only partially cut, collapsed to the ground clutching its neck, trembling violently.
Suho kicked away the sword the fallen creature had dropped, sending it far off.
Then, pointing behind it with a jerk of his chin, he said,
"Go."
He hadn't misspoken.
Suho truly let it go.
There was only one reason.
So that it would bring its leader straight to him.
That way, there was no need to go searching for it himself. For gates without special conditions, this was an old, well-worn tactic.
At Suho's gesture, the hopgoblin hesitated for a moment, then slowly backed away—before finally turning and fleeing as fast as it could.
It'll show up soon.
After sending it off, Suho leisurely collected the magic stones.
Then, not long after—
Rrrrrrrrr!
The ground shook.
An earthquake.
No, it wasn't an earthquake.
It was the thunder of footsteps.
Footsteps created by countless goblins.
They were exactly the ones Suho had been waiting for.
How many will come, I wonder?
The master of this place—the boss monster known as the Chief Hopgoblin—true to the nature of the goblin race, always liked to move in packs.
In other words, it meant he was always accompanied by at least twenty underlings.
Before long, the bushes parted and the monsters revealed themselves.
One, two, three, four…
Counting them roughly, there were about thirty in total.
Among them was the one Suho had sent off earlier. Its wound had apparently been treated, and it was now hiding among its companions, grinning slyly.
What a cute little thing.
Suho wasn't angry.
No matter how sly a bug was, it was still just a bug.
That was why Suho's attention was elsewhere—on the Chief Hopgoblin standing arrogantly at the rear.
It was about one and a half times larger than the others.
Its level was also the highest among them.
Naturally so—it was the leader.
But Suho wasn't afraid.
Even if it was a boss monster, at the end of the day it was just a bug playing leader among other bugs.
No matter how big a bug got, it was still just a big bug.
If anything, Suho was genuinely glad to meet it.
After all, he had nearly lost his life because of this gate once before.
I almost died because of the monsters that spilled out around the gate.
Back then, Suho had been an unawakened civilian.
He had nearly been killed by the goblins that burst out of the gate.
So in a way, today's encounter was also a chance for revenge.
Suho and the hopgoblins faced each other in silence for a moment.
Then—
"Keerik!"
At the chief's cry, the goblins charged at Suho in a scattered rush.
Yes. That's how it should be.
He hadn't expected a one-on-one tournament.
They weren't knights, and expecting chivalry from monsters would have been ridiculous.
So Suho charged as well.
When facing many enemies in terrain that couldn't be used to his advantage, it was more important to close the distance quickly and seize the initiative than to try to retreat.
The moment he met the one at the very front, Suho poured the momentum of his charge straight into his blade and pierced the vanguard through the forehead.
[ You have slain a Hopgoblin. ]
With its head pierced, instant death was inevitable.
Suho immediately retrieved his sword, then used the force of pulling it free to swing the blade in all directions.
Three more that had rushed in next had their faces slashed in succession.
"Kiieeek!!"
"Keerik!"
"Kaaagh!"
He hadn't killed them outright, but he had successfully rendered them incapable of fighting.
Still, there were many goblins left.
Like blood-crazed berserkers, they swung their weapons at Suho without hesitation.
But what their attacks struck was empty air.
"Kiik?!"
He had been right there.
But he was gone.
At that moment—
"Here."
A voice came from behind them.
Before they could even realize that their backs had been taken, their bodies collapsed.
One goblin belatedly thrust its spear toward that spot, but the only thing at the tip was another ally whose movements had crossed its path.
Without realizing it, the goblin had stabbed its own comrade.
Startled, it hurriedly pulled its weapon back and swung again.
No—was about to swing.
If not for another blind attack flying in from a different direction.
"Kiak!"
"Kiiik!"
"Kiaaaagh!!"
Chaos.
A true melee.
Suho didn't move widely.
Within a confined space, he deftly shifted his footing, searching for openings in their movements.
By doing so, he turned their attacks into mistakes, luring them into stabbing one another.
Before long, another system message appeared—this time not just a kill notification.
[ Your understanding of evasive movement against enemy attacks is extremely high. ]
[ The system has begun evaluating your talent. ]
[ Congratulations! You have learned Side Step (B). ]
Side Step.
At last, the skill he had been waiting for.
Then—
[ Your overall understanding of footwork is extremely high. ]
[ Dodge and Side Step have been integrated into 'Movement Techniques.' ]
[ Congratulations! You have learned Basic Footwork (B). ]
By the system's rules, Dodge and Side Step were merged into a single skill: Basic Footwork.
Now the basics are complete.
Swordsmanship skills, footwork, and even parrying.
All the foundations for Suho's original sword style—Suho Sword—were finally in place.
All that remained was relentless effort, until the system itself acknowledged it.
Suho dismissed the notification window and shifted into a more aggressive stance.
The goblins that had been scrambling just moments ago began falling like leaves in the wind.
[ You have slain a Hopgoblin. ]
[ You have slain a Hopgoblin. ]
[ You have slain a Hopgoblin. ]
...
They had already been stabbing one another, so all that remained was cleanup.
So he finished them off quickly, aiming only for vital points.
In an instant, most of them were dealt with. Now, only one remained before Suho—the Chief Hopgoblin, still watching the situation with a stern expression.
The moment the last subordinate fell—
[ Level up! ]
[ All stats have increased by 1. ]
[ You have obtained 1 bonus stat point. ]
Another level gained.
Level 9.
As before, Suho assigned the bonus stat to Magic Power, then raised his sword toward the hopgoblin.
He flicked the blade slightly—a clear provocation.
"Keurik!"
Did it work?
The anger finally surfaced on the face of the chief, who had maintained his composure until now.
Suho checked its level.
Chief Hopgoblin Lv.20
More than double Suho's level.
So what?
Level might be a measure of strength, but that depended on the opponent.
What did levels matter when dealing with bugs?
The creature raised its prized weapon—a massive axe—and charged at Suho.
"Kuheooooong!!"
[ The Hopgoblin uses Fear. ]
[ You are afflicted with Fear. ]
[ Your body is stiffened. ]
Fear.
As monsters' levels increased, Fear became a skill even common mobs used, but in low-level zones like this, only bosses—or at least named monsters—could wield it.
Its effect was muscle stiffening, a brute-force suppression based on level and stats.
There was no way for even Suho to avoid it.
But he didn't panic.
Calmly, he raised his sword and stabbed his own palm.
Stab!
The blade pierced through his hand, and searing pain surged through his body.
[ You have broken free from the Fear status. ]
Something astonishing happened.
By stabbing his own hand, the debuff was immediately dispelled.
Suho withdrew the sword as if it were nothing.
The most effective way to break free from mental debuffs was to inflict pain on the body.
That's just common sense.
Of course, mental protection skills or related items would have been better—but Suho had only just returned to the past, penniless.
There was no way he had anything like that.
Freed from Fear, Suho smoothly evaded the chief's axe swing.
At the same time, he activated Healing Light.
[ You use Healing Light. ]
[ The designated area begins to recover. ]
The wound was on his left hand, so he cast the spell with that hand.
Mana began to drain as the injury slowly started to heal.
Since it was a penetrating wound, full recovery would take some time.
But that was fine.
That was exactly why he had invested more points into Magic Power.
Holding Healing Light in his injured hand, Suho gripped his sword with the other.
Then, using his footwork, he closed the distance in an instant—
Stab!
The tip of his blade pierced into the creature's thigh.
"Keaaargh!!"
The hopgoblin's agonized scream echoed through the area.
The Return of the Sword-God Civil Servant