But it didn't pierce all the way through his flesh.
Not only was the creature's hide thick, the difference in their levels was more than double.
But that didn't matter.
Suho wanted this thing to hold out for as long as possible.
Whooong!
The creature's axe swung toward Suho, and Suho bent his waist to slip past it.
Then, springing back up like a coiled spring, he slashed the inside of the creature's ribs.
Shraak!
Same as before.
The wound wasn't very deep.
Because of the thick hide.
But Suho didn't care. He moved again and swung his sword.
Slash!
He cut into flesh again.
Thud!
He stabbed into flesh again.
Over and over.
No—dozens of times.
Even now, Suho never made wide, exaggerated movements.
He simply circled around the creature, carving wounds into its body.
Enraged beyond reason, the creature tried desperately to catch Suho, as if chasing its own tail.
But not a single one of its attacks ever reached him.
The metallic stench of blood pricked Suho's nose.
Mixed with the surrounding damp air and the creature's sweat, it turned into a foul odor.
Yet Suho, as if unfazed, provoked the creature further while it panted heavily.
"Is that all?"
"Grrrr…."
Magic beasts don't understand human language.
But it would have understood what Suho meant.
Provocation doesn't have to be spoken.
Roaring in fury, the creature once again swung its axe at Suho.
But once again, the movement was large and sloppy.
Suho lightly twisted his body to evade the blow, then thrust his beginner's sword like a spear into the gap in its guard.
At that moment, the creature's thigh hide—something that had seemed impossible to pierce—tore like cloth, ripping through muscle and leaving a fatal penetrating wound.
Pshhk!
Suho immediately pulled his sword free.
Blood gushed from the pierced thigh like a fountain.
At that moment—
[ Your understanding of Thrust is extremely high. ]
[ The system has begun re-evaluating your latent talent. ]
[ Congratulations! The rank of the Thrust skill has been adjusted to A-rank. ]
[ The penetration power of Basic Swordsmanship (B) has increased by 50%. ]
The B-rank Thrust had been promoted to A-rank.
As a result, the penetration power of Basic Swordsmanship increased by a full 50%.
Right.
It's finally returning to where it belongs.
But only for a moment—Suho erased the smile from his face and refocused on his attack.
And that was just the beginning.
Once more, Suho circled the creature and unleashed another thrust.
Thanks to the upgraded rank of Thrust, it was far easier this time to punch a hole through the creature's body.
"Krrraaaaah!!"
The boss goblin screamed in searing pain.
And that scream immediately turned into a Fear Roar.
A cry became fear, and the fear of a boss monster always came with special effects.
But this time, all it did was hurt Suho's ears.
Nothing else happened.
Naturally so.
A fear effect can only be applied once.
Suho thought with a cruel smile.
Fear that has been overcome never takes hold twice.
From then on, Suho began piercing the creature's body as if he were a matador.
After dozens more thrusts, the creature's entire body was riddled with holes like a beehive, blood pouring out in streams.
Thud!
At last, it had no choice but to drop to one knee.
But it wasn't close to death.
Of course not.
Suho had deliberately avoided every single vital point.
Standing before the collapsed creature, Suho flicked the blood from his blade and spoke.
"Light of Healing."
[ Light of Healing has been activated. ]
[ The designated body part begins to recover. ]
Light of Healing.
A healer's most basic skill, restoring a designated area.
The wound on Suho's left hand—pierced earlier to dispel fear—had long since closed.
And he hadn't been struck even once by the boss hobgoblin's attacks.
Even so, he used Light of Healing—for the wounded boss hobgoblin.
You're not allowed to die yet.
He meant that literally.
Suho had a skill he wanted to obtain from the creature.
It was a skill that would become increasingly difficult to acquire later on, so no matter how tedious it was, he had to secure it now.
But the boss goblin didn't know any of that.
That was why it felt confused by Suho healing it.
What…?
Why is he healing me?
At that moment, the boss hobgoblin met Suho's gaze as he looked down at it.
Suho's eyes were utterly dry.
There was not the slightest trace of sadistic perversion or pity in them.
As a magic beast that lived more faithfully by instinct than anyone else, the hobgoblin could tell what emotion lay behind Suho's eyes.
Boredom.
That was it—boredom.
And, layered atop it, a flat indifference, as though Suho were treating it like nothing more than a tool.
In that instant, goosebumps rippled across the hobgoblin's entire body, and a chill ran down its spine.
Once it had recovered to some extent, Suho picked up his sword again.
"Alright. Let's start again."
Bang!
To provoke it, Suho kicked the hobgoblin squarely in the chest, knocking it backward.
"Kraaaagh!!"
Enraged, the hobgoblin charged at Suho once more.
How much time had passed?
Despite a long stretch of time going by, the hobgoblin was still alive.
There was only one reason for that.
"Light of Healing."
It was because of the recovery skill Suho kept using.
A great deal of time had been spent, and there had been visible results in the meantime.
Namely, Basic Swordsmanship, Basic Footwork, and Parrying had all been promoted to A-rank.
And then—
"Hiiik!!"
The moment Suho raised his hand to cast Light of Healing, the boss hobgoblin visibly showed fear.
At last, its wild nature had broken.
But this still wasn't enough.
Whether it cowered or not, Suho continued to use Light of Healing without hesitation.
Then, after restoring it to a decent degree, he once again kicked it in the chest and knocked it over.
Crash!
The creature fell.
Under normal circumstances, it should have sprung back up like a coiled spring and lunged at him.
But—
Shiver, shiver…
Amazingly, the boss hobgoblin no longer charged at Suho.
Instead, it remained where it had fallen, curling up on the ground and trembling violently.
Its wildness hadn't just been broken—it had completely lost the will to fight.
Seeing this, Suho smiled.
This should be enough.
Breaking a monster's wild nature is far more difficult than one might think.
Especially when the target is a boss monster.
But Suho had succeeded in the end.
The method was simple.
There's no toughness that can stand up to pain—keep inflicting physical harm until the wildness snaps.
Of course, this method doesn't work on every monster, but at least for this one, it did.
Though its species was merely goblin, it possessed the traits of a boss monster—exceptional mental resilience and a sturdy body.
If it lacks stamina, I can just make up for it with healing.
Suho approached the boss goblin, which no longer attacked him, and nudged it once more with the tip of his foot.
And then their eyes met.
The trembling boss hobgoblin lowered its head the instant it made eye contact with Suho, curling its body even tighter.
At that moment—
[ You possess an overwhelming presence capable of breaking even a boss monster's wild nature. ][ The system has begun evaluating your talent. ][ Congratulations! You have acquired Intimidation (A). ]
Got it.
At last, Suho had successfully learned Intimidation, one of the skills he absolutely had to obtain.
Intimidation was a skill that not just anyone could learn—a skill that allowed its owner to suppress an opponent's spirit at will.
Of course, it also functions as a defensive skill, granting resistance against various mental-type attacks.
That was precisely why he wanted it.
A person born with charisma doesn't have a mind that breaks easily.
So, when it came down to it, Intimidation was heavily influenced by innate talent.
Though someone like me can still learn it by exploiting loopholes.
That was why he had to acquire it as early as possible.
The further the story progressed, the more monsters became like brainwashed zealots—dying before they ever broke.
With Intimidation acquired, Suho raised his sword once more.
It was time to finish this.
But even at the finishing stage, there was still one last thing to squeeze out.
So Suho gripped his sword with both hands, assumed a proper stance, and swallowed a breath.
Then, without the slightest hesitation, he slashed the creature's neck.
Slice!
The head came off cleanly.
It was thanks to the massive increase in cutting power after his swordsmanship skill reached A-rank.
At that moment—
[ Your understanding of Decapitation is extremely high. ][ The system has begun evaluating your talent. ][ Congratulations! You have acquired Decapitation (B). ]
Seeing the notification, Suho smiled.
Another skill he had intended to obtain from the hobgoblin.
Decapitation—a skill that granted additional effects when severing an enemy's head.
That settles everything here.
The instant the boss hobgoblin's head hit the ground—
[ You have defeated the Boss Hobgoblin. ][ The Gate has been cleared. ][ You have successfully cleared the Gate solo. ][ The MVP of this Gate clear is Ahn Suho. ][ Additional experience has been awarded for MVP selection. ][ 1 bonus stat has been awarded for MVP selection. ][ Level Up! ][ All stats have increased by 1. ][ You have acquired 1 bonus stat. ]
He had leveled up.
Between defeating the boss hobgoblin, the Gate-clear rewards, and the MVP bonus experience, it was only natural.
As the system messages finished, a portal leading outside soon opened before him.
But the notifications weren't over yet.
[ You have reached Level 10. ][ The system desires you to grow even stronger. ][ The system bestows greater power upon you. ][ You have acquired 5 bonus stats. ][ All Healer-class exclusive skills have increased by one level. ][ You have acquired Cure (E). ]
The privileges for reaching double-digit levels were granted.
Five bonus stats, a new skill, and a one-rank increase to all Healer-exclusive skills.
Granted, the only Healer-exclusive skill he had was Light of Healing—but at this stage, that was more than enough.
Suho nodded as he reviewed the notifications.
Finally… I got Cure.
Cure was a skill specialized in treating diseases. At its final form, it could even cleanse Ten Thousand Poisons—the very affliction that had once driven Suho to his death.
That was why, out of all the skills, this one was the most welcome.
After allocating all the bonus stats he had obtained into Strength, Vitality, and Mana, Suho closed his status window.
Instead of stepping straight into the portal, he plunged his sword into the boss hobgoblin's heart.
A hard sensation met the tip of his blade.
A mana crystal.
Pretty big.
Judging by its size, it was at least C-rank.
After collecting the mana crystal and other drops, Suho finally turned and walked slowly toward the exit portal.
They should be waiting at the entrance by now, right?
Now he knew for sure—this wasn't a dream, but reality.
And because of that, he was starting to want to see them again.
The face of the person who had once been closest to him.
The Return of the Sword God–Level Civil Servant