Return of the Sword God-Rank Civil Servant novel Chapter 689

At Su-ho's groan, the Lord of Ten Thousand Gold City laughed.

"You're lacking spirit."

"I'm sorry."

"Isn't your talent making the impossible possible? No one's chasing you, so since you're here, make sure you fully grasp it before you leave."

"Yes, understood."

"Before that."

The Lord of Ten Thousand Gold City snapped his fingers.

A portal appeared in front of him, and he said,

"Before you begin training in the Blacksmith Style, go take care of the Mega Crusher matter first."

"Right now?"

"As a blacksmith, I'm someone who values efficiency. If what I know is correct, then progressing the Mega Crusher matter first and training in the Blacksmith Style afterward will benefit you more, both in terms of time and results."

"Ah, yes! Understood."

Grateful for his consideration, Su-ho bowed deeply before stepping into the portal.

Soon after Su-ho disappeared, the Lord of Ten Thousand Gold City looked at the spot where he had vanished and chuckled.

***

When Su-ho emerged from the portal, he found himself in the living room.

Jack was eating pizza there.

- What, you're done already?

"No, not that. Something came up that I need to take care of first."

- What kind of thing?

"Turns out I had another overdue quest. Anyway, see you later."

- Sure.

Without even looking over, Jack casually waved a hand in farewell.

Su-ho likewise didn't look back as he opened the Subspace House and entered.

[ Entering the Subspace House. ]

It had been a while since he'd come inside.

Aside from special circumstances, he rarely had any reason to come here, so he hadn't paid much attention to it.

But he still remembered perfectly well how to use it.

When he snapped his fingers, Su-ho's location shifted to where Pi Seong-yeol was.

However, the moment he arrived in front of Pi Seong-yeol, he flinched in surprise.

Pi Seong-yeol, reduced to skin and bones, was lying sprawled out flat with his tongue hanging out.

What the hell?

Is he dead?

And from starvation?

That'd be a problem.

With trembling eyes, Su-ho approached and placed a hand beneath his nose.

Damn.

He wasn't breathing.

Startled, Su-ho hurriedly shook him awake.

"Hey, hey! Why are you dead?! Wake up!"

But there was no response.

When Su-ho pulled up his shirt, the Mega Crusher was still attached.

What about the items?

All those cursed items that had once been piled up were gone as well.

Instead, stat fragments were scattered around.

Proof that he'd been working hard.

At that moment, Su-ho remembered something Pi Seong-yeol had said.

At some point, dismantling items had made it so he no longer became hungry even without eating or drinking.

But there were no items left around him anymore.

Which meant?

Su-ho opened his inventory.

Then he took out the first item he could grab and brought it close to the Mega Crusher.

Nothing happened.

It remained silent.

For a very brief moment.

Then.

GRRRK- GRRRRK-

It sounded like some old, dust-covered piece of machinery that had been left abandoned in storage was beginning to move.

It was the Mega Crusher.

The Mega Crusher suddenly activated and began reacting to the item Su-ho had brought near it.

GRRRRRR-

Like a shredder pulling in paper, the Mega Crusher began gnawing away at the item.

At the same time, Pi Seong-yeol's body began trembling, and not long after—

"Ah......."

His voice sounded like dry firewood scraping together.

At last, Pi Seong-yeol woke up.

"Y-You're here......."

The moment he opened his eyes and saw Su-ho, Pi Seong-yeol suddenly began crying.

He looked deeply moved.

He squeezed out tears for a while, then finally managed to sit up, wiped his eyes, and spoke.

"I...... I really...... thought I was going to be forgotten like this...... Ughh......."

Pi Seong-yeol sobbed miserably.

Those tears came from a mixture of emotions.

Terror, fear, loneliness, resentment, and relief at having finally been found again.

Su-ho let out a hollow laugh and said,

"Why would I forget you? I'm going to torment you until the day I die."

"Right......."

"More importantly, why were you unconscious? You weren't even breathing."

"That...... judging from what I can tell, I think the Mega Crusher simply shut me down completely, like turning off the power."

"The Mega Crusher? Turned off your power? What are you talking about?"

"Well......."

Pi Seong-yeol explained.

In summary, this was what had happened.

Because dismantling items with the Mega Crusher could substitute for eating and drinking, at some point Pi Seong-yeol had simply continued dismantling items without emotion.

But after the stockpile that had seemed endless finally disappeared, the Mega Crusher began tormenting him with extreme hunger and pain.

When that condition dragged on for too long, the Mega Crusher apparently sensed danger to its host and forcibly shut off his consciousness itself.

"You're not some machine...... Earlier you weren't even breathing, so I seriously thought you were dead. You're saying it has a function like that?"

"Yes. I didn't know either, but I found out this time."

That was a relief.

Su-ho really had been worried that Pi Seong-yeol had died.

Of course, it wasn't concern for Pi Seong-yeol himself.

The Mega Crusher required a host, and it was an item that could only be used while inflicting pain on that host.