Return of the Sword God-Rank Civil Servant

Chapter 2

Right.

Was there anyone in this world who understood vertical slashing as well as I did?

In a way, this phenomenon was only natural.

The system that enveloped the world might look like a villain or an evil game assistant at first glance, but it surprisingly demonstrated a high level of understanding and fairness when it came to granting rewards based on individual talent.

In other words, as long as one had a deep understanding of a technique, the system would recognize it as a skill.

‘That’s the reason I was able to wield the Formless Sword.’

I hadn’t reached the realm of Unity with the Sword by acquiring some special skill.

Since choosing the path of the sword, I had trained in swordsmanship every single day without rest to become stronger.

As a result, not only did I become the world’s greatest swordsman, but I also achieved the system’s recognition, reaching Unity with the Sword and mastering the Formless Sword as a skill.

However, I was slightly disappointed by the system’s rating.

For someone once called the Sword God, the skill grade granted to me by the system was merely B.

Of course, I understood.

‘It’s not like you can judge everything after just one demonstration.’

This was especially true for physical skills.

No matter how outstanding a talent someone possessed, the system typically didn’t recognize an initial skill at a grade higher than B.

There were exceptions, of course, particularly for unique or special skills.

But for basic skills, B-grade recognition was the norm.

So if I wanted a higher grade, I’d need to prove it accordingly.

After all, there’s such a thing as beginner’s luck.

I continued by swinging the rod horizontally to slash the monsters beside me.

[ You have a high understanding of horizontal slashing. ]

[ The system is now assessing your talent. ]

[ Congratulations! You have mastered Horizontal Slash (B). ]

After Vertical Slash, I obtained the Horizontal Slash skill.

Again, the grade was B.

I then thrust the sword forward like a spear.

[ You have a high understanding of thrusting. ]

[ The system is now assessing your talent. ]

[ Congratulations! You have mastered Thrust (B). ]

Thrusting was no different.

This time, I swung the rod diagonally.

[ You have a high understanding of diagonal slashing. ]

[ The system is now assessing your talent. ]

[ Congratulations! You have mastered Diagonal Slash (B). ]

Every time I swung the sword, a new skill appeared.

Yes.

This was indeed the world I knew.

Then it happened.

[ You have a high overall understanding of swordsmanship. ]

[ The skills Vertical Slash, Horizontal Slash, Diagonal Slash, and Thrust have been integrated into “Basic Swordsmanship.” ]

[ Congratulations! You have mastered Basic Swordsmanship (B). ]

Having learned the three types of slashing and thrusting as skills, they were then consolidated into one skill called “Basic Swordsmanship.”

It was a natural progression.

The system had a rule: when certain skills converged, it would automatically integrate them to enhance efficiency.

But again, the grade was B.

Still, this was preferable.

It was easier to level up a single consolidated skill than multiple fragmented ones.

‘Basic Swordsmanship, huh…’

Seeing the name Basic Swordsmanship brought a faint smile to my face as it reminded me of the past.

After all, even renowned swordsmen had started with Basic Swordsmanship before developing their own unique sword techniques.

In that sense, the swordsmanship I once used was named “Suho Sword” after myself.

Naturally, I intended to recreate Suho Sword this time as well.

‘Actually, I don’t even need to create it. My swordsmanship is already Suho Sword itself.’

I swung my sword a few more times, quickly finishing off the goblins.

Then, a new system notification appeared.

[ Your level has increased. ]

[ All stats have increased by 1. ]

[ You have received 1 bonus stat point. ]

I had leveled up.

Despite not even choosing a class yet, I had gained a level.

The firefighter beside me, looking bewildered, asked.

“A-are you a player?”

“Not yet.”

“What?”

I ignored the firefighter’s follow-up question.

I didn’t bother looting the goblin corpses for spoils.

Right now, such things didn’t matter to me.

Instead, I recalled the class selection window I’d postponed earlier.

[ Please choose the type of power you wish to pursue. ]

[ Warrior ]

[ Mage ]

[ Archer ]

[ Healer ]

The class selection window appeared before me.

As was revealed later on, it was possible to delay choosing a class.

There were no system penalties for not making an immediate selection.

So, in the future, it became common practice to take an aptitude test provided by the association before choosing a class.

Of course, I had initially chosen Warrior, then advanced to Swordsman, eventually reaching the Sword God’s level, so I’d chosen a path that suited me from the beginning.

That’s why I’d tried to select Warrior earlier.

It was a path I’d already walked, and I felt confident I could grow faster than anyone else.

But then, I shook my head.

No matter how familiar the path, I knew all too well, in the crucial moments, just how powerless and weak the title of Sword God could be.

‘If only I could have healed the All Poison…’

Since I’d consumed Venom’s heart—the ultimate in poison immunity—I’d thought deadly toxins could no longer be an obstacle for me.

But to think Suzuki’s All Poison would surpass my immunity.

Because of that, my eyes kept drifting toward Healer.

‘What if I could become a healer greater than Isabella?’

Of course, the general perception was that healers were weak.

They didn’t have many offensive skills, and most of their abilities revolved around healing, defense, and buffs.

But just now, while fighting the goblins, I’d effortlessly acquired swordsmanship skills.

Thanks to the system’s fair assessment of my abilities.

That made me consider this.

If I could acquire swordsmanship skills in this way, did I really need to choose the Warrior path again?

The answer was no.

‘Skills acquired based on talent can be freely used regardless of class, just as I acquired swordsmanship skills just now.’

However, most abilities possessed by healers were obtained purely with the system’s help, not through talent alone.

No matter how devout someone was, they couldn’t heal a patient with mere prayer.

With that in mind, I finally made my decision.

[ You have chosen the path of a Healer. ]

[ Do you truly wish to walk the path of a Healer? ]

To the system’s question, I nodded.

Immediately, light enveloped me.

[ You are now a Healer. ]

[ You have received 5 bonus stat points. ]

[ You have acquired Light of Healing (F). ]

[ Congratulations on becoming a true player. ]

[ The system wishes to offer you a small gift. ]

[ Choose a weapon from the system’s armory. ]

At last, I had become a Healer.

At the same time, the system opened its armory to provide a welcome gift.

Naturally, I chose a sword.

I selected a longsword with an appropriate length and weight.

[ You have obtained the Beginner’s Sword. ]

I didn’t need to check its details.

It would have the lowest attack power and durability, no doubt.

Still, it was better than a metal rod.

I proceeded to check my status window.

“Status window.”

[ Ahn Suho ]

– Lv: 2

– Class: Healer

– Strength: 2

– Stamina: 2

– Mana: 2

– Perception: 2

– Bonus stat points: 6

I looked at my meager status window.

Having returned to the past, this was only natural.

After a brief moment of consideration, I distributed my stat points, adding 2 each to Strength, Stamina, and Mana.

The reason I allocated bonus points to Mana was simple.

‘After all, healing skills are based on Mana.’

People generally referred to Healer skills as holy arts, while Mage skills were called magic.

But the true name of holy arts, as displayed by the system, was Divine Magic.

So they were influenced by Mana.

Most Healers invested the majority of their acquired stat points into Mana.

After all, the other stats would increase by one with each level up.

But I didn’t do that.

‘For me, healing is only a secondary tool; my primary focus is still swordsmanship.’

Of course, once I developed as a Healer, I’d eventually be able to compensate for low Stamina and Strength with various buff skills.

But that was for later.

Even as a Sword God from the future, I needed a basic level of stats to exhibit the strength of my prime.

After distributing my stats, I approached the firefighter, who was staring at me in a daze.

“It’s going to hurt a bit, so bear with it.”

“What? Gah!”

Without hesitation, I pulled the arrow from the firefighter’s body.

Blood spurted from the wound, and I immediately used Light of Healing on the injury.

[ Using Light of Healing. ]

[ The targeted area is beginning to heal. ]

Light of Healing.

A basic skill that any Healer possessed.

That didn’t mean it would become obsolete at higher levels.

Most skills were simple to describe but possessed powerful, intuitive effects.

For example, there was Isabella’s “Light of the Holy Spirit.”

‘That skill, too, started as Light of Healing.’

Finally, as the firefighter’s wound healed, he looked at me with a dazed expression and asked.

“Are you… even a Healer?”

“Now, I am.”

“What?”

“Well then, take care.”

I’d healed his wounds, so there was no more time to linger with the firefighter.

Without hesitation, I turned and looked at the Gate portal in the middle of the Sindorim Station intersection.

Goblins were still roaming around, and it seemed like the Hunter players hadn’t arrived yet.

I considered it a good opportunity.

With unpredicted Gates, if the timing was right, one could enter first.

‘If my memory is correct, I should be able to clear it at my current level.’

For unexplored Gates, one could often gauge the environment and difficulty based on the monsters spilling out.

Of course, I knew exactly what kind of Gate this was.

In the past, I’d nearly lost my life to this very Gate.

That’s why I’d decided to handle it personally this time.

In a way, this Gate was like an enemy that had almost claimed my life.

Slashing down the approaching goblins, I stepped into the Gate portal.

[ Entering the Gate. ]

[ Retrieving Gate information. ]

[ Green Red ]

– Entry requirements: Unknown.

– Maximum number of participants: Unknown.

A brief system notification.

That was all the information provided.

Since no one had entered this uncharted Gate, it hadn’t revealed any details to the players.

For that reason, most avoided entering unexplored Gates.

Going in blindly could lead to an encounter with an unexpectedly high difficulty, and result in immediate death.

Finally, as I stepped inside, the Gate portal closed.

Now, there were only two ways to reopen it.

Either the player inside would die, or they would clear the Gate.

But I had no thought of dying.

Whether this was a dream or reality—wherever this place was.