Return of the Sword God-Rank Civil Servant novel Chapter 210

The past, the present, and the future.

It all sounded so vague.

Unable to grasp what he meant, Ki Jun-seo asked,

“I’m a little slow, so... would you mind explaining it in more detail?”

“Of course. But before that, there’s something I’d like to ask you, Jun-seo. You’re currently affiliated with the Tamna Guild, right?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“Then let me ask you—do you think you’re being treated fairly for your abilities within Tamna?”

“Uh...”

Jun-seo rolled his eyes briefly before answering.

“...Maybe?”

“Why do you say that?”

“Well, I might be living rough right now, but still... my sister is being taken care of by two of the best healers in the country, you know?”

The best healers in the country.

Right.

You could look at it that way.

After all, those two were indeed the highest-level healers in Korea.

But Su-ho shook his head and asked another question.

“Jun-seo, could I take a look at your monthly salary deposits?”

“Just a moment.”

When he pulled out his phone and showed the deposit history, Su-ho frowned.

Each month, the amount deposited into Jun-seo’s account was somewhere between 200,000 to 300,000 won.

That was because 99% of his salary was pre-deducted for hospital fees.

But the key point wasn’t the 99%.

It was the actual amount he was being paid.

‘If that’s 1%, then his base salary would be around 30 million won.’

Thirty million won a month.

For someone ranked in the country’s top ten, 30 million won per month?

That was just laughable.

Jun-seo scratched his head awkwardly.

“Like I said earlier, about 99% of my salary is deducted for my sister’s hospital bills. Actually, it’s more like 100%, and I’m even paying extra, but the hyungs cut me a break and give me 1% in cash. I repay the rest through other means.”

“You mean... working on Udo Island is one of those other means?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“And one of them includes... handing over your experience points?”

“...Yes, that’s correct.”

Jun-seo gave an awkward smile at the mention of experience point extortion.

Experience tax.

It was exactly what it sounded like.

Seo Do-il and Moon Hye-hyun were receiving experience points instead of money from Ki Jun-seo.

Put simply, it was power-leveling.

This allowed them to level up without even setting foot inside a gate—just sit back and let the XP roll in.

‘And that was the decisive reason for Jun-seo’s slow growth.’

Among the current top ten on the Grand Chart, only two weren’t in the 190s level range.

Su-ho and Jun-seo.

Su-ho was leveling rapidly and was soon to hit 200.

But Jun-seo wasn’t.

That was because most of the experience he earned was going straight into the pockets of Seo Do-il and Moon Hye-hyun.

Not that he didn’t gain any.

In terms of ratio, it was about 1:9.

How was he supposed to level up properly with that?

‘Originally, this kind of system would’ve been impossible.’

Even though the Great Cataclysm made the world resemble a game system, this wasn’t a game.

But Seo Do-il had items that made it possible.

‘Bastards. As if taking all the loot wasn’t enough, they were stealing his XP too.’

No wonder people said he was being treated like a slave.

While working on Udo, Jun-seo hunted the monsters that poured out of the gate and gave all the loot to Seo Do-il and Moon Hye-hyun.

And we’re not talking about clearing the gate.

Just cleaning up the overflow monsters.

That meant they could endlessly harvest magic stones and XP from a single gate.

And yet, they weren’t satisfied with just the loot—they were draining his XP too.

Su-ho let out a sigh, then made a call.

The person who picked up was Kim I-gang, the manager from Nexus.

Su-ho briefly explained how Ki Jun-seo had been treated and exploited all this time.

A moment later, curses erupted from the other end of the line.

– “What the fuck? Are those assholes insane? Do they have any idea how much Ki Jun-seo is worth? Instead of nurturing him, they pull this kind of bullshit...!”

“I agree. That’s why I’m calling. Can you send me a breakdown of what kind of treatment Jun-seo would’ve received under minimum conditions if he had been in a proper guild this whole time?”

– “Minimum? Got it. One sec!”

Kim I-gang’s lips curled into a smirk as he spoke.

He wasn’t stupid—he knew exactly what Su-ho was about to do.

It didn’t take long for the reply to come through.

A text arrived with the minimum compensation breakdown, and Su-ho showed the screen to Jun-seo.

“What’s this?”

“This is the kind of compensation you’d have received if you’d been part of a legitimate guild, Jun-seo. Including care for your sister.”

“...Huh?”

“It’s hard to # Nоvеlight # believe, I know. But this is the reality. Those two might be the highest-ranked healers in the country, but that’s just because they have high levels—not because they’re actually better at healing.”

“What do you mean by that...?”