Return of the Sword God-Rank Civil Servant novel Chapter 109

Pi Seong-yeol asked, "What is it?"

"I’ll handle the task you’ve assigned without any mistakes. However, alongside that, could you allow me to take the evaluation for the Special Division as originally planned?"

"What?"

The expression on Pi Seong-yeol’s face was one of utter bewilderment.

But Su-ho was dead serious.

‘I don’t want this coming back to bite me later.’

Pi Seong-yeol was someone Su-ho intended to bring down eventually. Dealing with someone who had nothing to lose was always both frightening and bothersome.

‘Not scary, but definitely bothersome,’ Su-ho thought.

That was why he wanted to take the evaluation properly. Of course, there was another reason as well.

‘I don’t need anyone pulling strings to get me a perfect score. I can achieve that on my own.’

Su-ho wanted to claim the title of the first and youngest perfect scorer without Pi Seong-yeol’s taint on his record.

Then, it happened.

"Hahaha!"

Pi Seong-yeol burst into laughter, his voice echoing through the room.

Looking at Su-ho with an amused smirk, he said, "Wow, kid. You’re crazier than I thought."

"Ha ha... My apologies. I just can’t pass up the opportunity for a perfect score," Su-ho replied with a sheepish grin.

"Fine, I’ll allow it. But only the written test. I left out the practical evaluation deliberately because of the Son Baek-geum case. I don’t want to waste time on redundant work."

"Thank you. In that case, I’d like to take the written test today before heading out to deal with the Son Baek-geum matter."

Su-ho was completely serious. After all, how hard could a written test be?

But to Pi Seong-yeol, it sounded a bit different.

"This kid... You think the Special Division’s written test is like any other? Sure, I know you’ve aced every test up until now, but do you realize how much harder ours is? And you want to take it today?"

"I’ll give it a try."

"Confidence or just foolishness..."

Pi Seong-yeol glanced at Su-ho, intrigued. Suddenly, an idea popped into his mind. Smirking, he pulled out a stack of papers from his desk drawer.

"Alright, I’ll play along. Let’s see this so-called perfect score in real time. I’ll bring the test paper shortly. In the meantime, go through these. Consider it study material."

No senior could resist a junior’s bold challenge, and Pi Seong-yeol was no exception. On the contrary, he found this quite entertaining.

Su-ho started reading the provided material. A short while later, Pi Seong-yeol returned, test papers in hand.

"Need more time?"

"No, I’ve read enough."

"You lunatic. Listen, I’m telling you, our test isn’t easy. Don’t ruin your perfect record just to show off. You can back out now."

"I can do this."

"Fine, fine. A man’s gotta have guts, I suppose."

Under Pi Seong-yeol’s watchful eye, Su-ho began tackling the test with swift precision.

Before long, he put down his pen and said, "I’m finished. But you didn’t give me an OMR card."

"Forget it. I’ll grade it myself."

Pi Seong-yeol started grading the test, flipping through the pages one by one.

Scratch, scratch. The sound of his pen filled the room as he checked answers. Eventually, he flipped back to the first page, then slapped the papers down on the desk with a loud thud.

Looking up at Su-ho, he stared in silence.

Su-ho merely curled the corner of his lips slightly, waiting for Pi Seong-yeol to speak.

Finally, the senior couldn’t hold back a chuckle. "You crazy bastard. You actually did it?"

"Thank you. It was only possible because you gave me easy questions."

"Sure, sure... I’ll make sure this score is officially recorded. Don’t worry about that. Anything else you need?"

"No, sir."

"Good. And don’t ask later either. Just go do your work."

"Understood. Thank you."

"Alright, good job."

Hearing the word "perfect score," Su-ho allowed himself a faint smile. He bowed politely before leaving the office.

After Su-ho left, Pi Seong-yeol stared at the closed door for a moment, then pulled out a cigarette and lit it.

"Haah..." He exhaled, watching the smoke dissipate into the air.

He gazed at the faint traces of smoke and muttered under his breath, "Crazy bastard..."

Crazy bastard. That was all he could say.

Was it admiration for Su-ho’s perfect score? No, it wasn’t just that.

The lack of an OMR card wasn’t an oversight. The questions Su-ho had answered weren’t the official written test for the Special Division.

They were the "special problems" Pi Seong-yeol had designed himself—questions meant to weed out the truly exceptional from the merely competent.

Pi Seong-yeol narrowed his eyes as he reviewed the answers again.

‘He solved them all... perfectly.’

Even scoring full marks on what was essentially a bar exam-level difficulty.

"A blade that sharp can be dangerous..."

He frowned slightly, taking another drag of his cigarette, before a faint smile crept onto his lips.

***

As soon as Su-ho left the room, he couldn’t help but think, "Smoking indoors? Seriously? What century are we living in?"

Smoking had never agreed with him, whether in this life or his past one. Sure, Awakened individuals weren’t significantly affected by things like nicotine or sugars, but that didn’t make the pungent stench of cigarettes any less unpleasant.

Shaking off the irritation, Su-ho walked away from the Special Division’s offices. Once he was far enough, he pulled out his phone and made a call.

“Ah, yes, Hunter Ahn,” answered Park Gyu-min on the other end of the line.

“Are you busy right now?” Su-ho asked.

“Not particularly. What’s on your mind?”

“I just met with Director Pi Seong-yeol.”

Hearing Pi Seong-yeol’s name, Park Gyu-min straightened his posture instinctively. “And?”

“He said I only have the Special Division training left, and he’s willing to mark me with perfect scores on both the written and practical evaluations. But there’s a catch—he wants me to handle a task in return.”

“A task?”

“He wants me to retrieve some records connected to you from Son Baek-geum. So, I need to ask—what exactly is your current relationship with Son Baek-geum?”

“Well... that’s...”

Su-ho frowned at the timid tone in Park’s voice. Seriously? The vice president of the Association can’t handle one thug?

Hah... Frustration welled up in Su-ho.

No wonder the quality of this country’s public servants and hunters is so abysmal.

"I never had high expectations for him in the first place. If you don’t expect much, you won’t be disappointed, and if you’re not disappointed, there’s no reason to get angry."

Peymond Plaza, Gangnam.