Return of the Sword God-Rank Civil Servant novel Chapter 686

For a moment, Su-ho wondered if he had seen it wrong.

But the more moves they played, the more certain he became.

Ah, this man was really terrible at Go.

At first, because the old man had snow-white hair and long eyebrows, Su-ho had assumed he must be some hidden master.

At the very least, he had expected him to be around semi-professional level.

But this wasn't even middle- or high-school club level.

'I only learned Go because of a Gate raid in the past, so it's not like I'm especially good either.......'

Even taking that into account, the old man was simply far too bad.

In the end, unable to endure it any longer, the old man threw down his stones.

"Let's take a walk."

"Ah, yes."

Su-ho quickly fell into step beside him.

The old man remained silent for quite some time.

Naturally so.

Originally, he had planned to defeat Su-ho at Go, then begin the conversation with a benevolent smile.

But Su-ho had been far better than expected, completely ruining that plan.

After they had walked for quite a while, the old man's irritation finally subsided a little, and he spoke.

"Why are you so late?"

"I'm sorry."

"No reason?"

"I'm sorry. I won't make excuses."

"......."

At the words that he would not make excuses, the old man fell silent again.

He had intended to scold him at least a little if Su-ho offered any kind of excuse, but when Su-ho responded like that, there was nothing left to say.

Besides, from the old man's perspective, Su-ho had never actually been in much of a hurry.

He had been watching Su-ho all along, so he knew perfectly well there had been no need for Su-ho to come to him first.

That was why he had only called him now, when the Trait Quest was nearing its final stages.

Because once Su-ho completed the Fairy Blood as well, it was obvious that he would truly become busy.

After walking for a while longer, the old man spoke.

"I'm the last one now, aren't I?"

"If you mean as a succession patron, yes."

"They call me the Lord of Ten Thousand Gold City. Ten Thousand Gold City is the name of the forge you saw when you first arrived."

The Lord of Ten Thousand Gold City.

It was the name of ■■■■, the master of the Blacksmith Style whom Su-ho had wondered about for so long.

He immediately greeted him properly.

"I'm An Su-ho."

"Right. Next, you're going to meet the fairies, aren't you?"

"Yes, that's right."

"The reason I called you now is because I thought that if I didn't do it now, there wouldn't be time later. So I hurriedly summoned you while I still could."

"Thank you for taking that into consideration."

"You're my one and only successor. Of course I should. Which brings me to this—why do you think I offered you the position of my successor?"

At the Lord of Ten Thousand Gold City's question, Su-ho fell into thought for a moment.

His connection with the Blacksmith Style had begun in North Korea.

The Anvil Gate located in the Kaesong Industrial Complex.

The only reason he had gone there in the first place was to find the hidden piece concealed inside the Anvil Gate.

And after clearing the entire Gate, he learned for the first time that it was possible to have multiple Transcendents as succession patrons.

So he had accepted without hesitation.

He had not known who the Lord of Ten Thousand Gold City really was, but more was always better, and both then and now, Su-ho wanted as much power as he could get.

'Simply put, I only accepted the position of successor because I wanted to become stronger.'

Because of that, he had never once considered things from the succession patron's perspective.

He had never thought there was any need to.

He had simply assumed the man had taken a liking to him and therefore offered him the position.

But now that he was actually being asked, he found himself curious.

After all, Sword Demon, Spear Venerable, and Shiva were all beings connected to martial arts.

Since Su-ho pursued strength, it was only natural that he would catch their attention.

But the Lord of Ten Thousand Gold City was a smith.

And what was a smith?

Someone who made things rather than fought.

Smithing was not entirely unrelated to martial arts, but neither was it a path that represented martial prowess.

After thinking it over, Su-ho finally answered with some difficulty.

"Do you perhaps need a sword?"

A smile appeared on the Lord of Ten Thousand Gold City's lips.

"What made you think that?"

"I thought back to when you chose me. But what I showed you then wasn't my ability as a smith. It was my ability as a warrior. Even so, you offered me the succession, so I guessed that perhaps what you needed wasn't an exceptional blacksmith, but an exceptional martial artist."

At Su-ho's answer, the Lord of Ten Thousand Gold City stopped walking.

Then he grinned as broadly as before and answered.

"Correct. What I needed wasn't an outstanding blacksmith, but a strong warrior. That's why I wanted you so badly, even though you had already become another Constellation's successor."

"You must have been in quite a hurry."