Return of the Sword God-Rank Civil Servant novel Chapter 48

Seogiwon, clearly stunned, asked,

“A computer virus? You’re saying I’m supposed to level up using a computer virus?”

“Yeah.”

Suho said it as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

It was exactly as he said.

Suho was planning to level Seogiwon up using a computer virus that he had prepared himself.

Suho continued explaining.

“I told you earlier, right? This is different from virtual reality. This place affects the real world. If you die or get hurt here, it’ll have consequences in the real world. You’ve experienced that, haven’t you?”

Seogiwon quickly nodded, saying,

“So, the computer virus could kill me?”

“Exactly. The virus was created with the goal of either destroying or hacking the target. So, you’ll have to fight these guys with your life on the line.”

“Me?”

“Yeah, who else is going to fight them? Don’t worry, I’ll be drawing aggro with you.”

Suho opened his inventory and handed Seogiwon a spear, one that he had purchased earlier.

“Can you handle a spear?”

“I can use it a little.”

“I thought so. For beginners, a spear is easier to handle than a sword. By the way, what class are you?”

“A mage.”

Suho asked even though he already knew the answer.

It made the conversation feel more natural.

Suho nodded and said,

“Then you can use the spear as a defensive tool. I’ll tank up front, and you can shoot magic from the back and get the feel of things again. It’s been a while since you’ve hunted, right?”

Suho had no intention of making Seogiwon rush things or push himself too hard.

For him, the most important thing wasn’t just rapid leveling but helping Seogiwon recover the skills he had forgotten after being locked away for half a year.

Was it because of this?

Seogiwon, clearly moved by Suho’s words, replied,

“Okay, I understand. And thank you, Hyung.”

“No need to thank me. Alright, let’s open the door.”

Suho nodded and opened the door marked "Free File Cleaner."

Surprisingly, the door opened smoothly, and it didn’t seem like it contained any virus at all.

Seogiwon quietly remarked,

“Well, as expected of a virus... the name is quite fitting.”

“Free cleaners are perfect for hiding viruses.”

As they entered, they found themselves in a space resembling a restaurant counter, with an attendant standing behind the counter.

When the two entered, the attendant spoke,

“Welcome, are you here to use the free file cleaner?”

The attendant was a woman, dressed neatly and looking very trustworthy.

However, instead of answering, Suho chuckled and said to Seogiwon,

“Doesn’t it look convincing?”

“Yeah, I almost answered.”

Neither of them responded.

Why? It was simple.

As soon as they answered that question, the door they had opened would automatically open, releasing the viruses hidden inside the file into Jo Jin-hwi’s laptop.

For example, the attendant there was like an auto-responder programmed into a file-clicking program that asks the user questions.

- Would you like to run the file cleaner?

That’s why they didn’t answer.

They didn’t have to worry about the attendant’s gaze either, because she wasn’t really a living person. She was just a shell of a program.

Seogiwon nodded and said,

“This is my first time seeing a file with a hidden virus. I didn’t expect the inside to be like this.”

“What about the digital wallets? You’ve only been hacking cryptocurrency wallets so far, right?”

“There are firewalls and encryption programs installed there, but structurally, it’s similar to this place. If you enter normally, the program will accept you, and you just input the password... so instead of going through the front door, I attacked the building’s outer wall to steal the cryptocurrency. The outer wall was thick, so it was a bit difficult.”

That’s why Seogiwon hadn’t been caught by the cryptocurrency exchange.

When the sudden external attack happened, the exchange kept running antivirus programs, but it wasn’t a hack or virus infiltration. From the program’s point of view, Seogiwon was an irregular presence, appearing in an unexpected way and destroying the exchange’s program.

Suho asked,

“So, what did you use to break in?”

“I used the magic skills I had learned before. At first, I tried using a pickaxe and hammer, but using magic skills turned out to be the most efficient way.”

“Interesting.”

“I thought it was interesting too, at first.”

Suho nodded as he looked around.

Then he spotted an entrance that clearly looked suspicious.

There was no door.

It was just an open space that resembled a door.

Suho walked toward it.

The attendant didn’t stop them.

She wasn’t a real attendant, but an auto-programmed shell.

As he approached and peeked inside,

“Wow.”

Suho could see it.

Beyond the dark entrance was a vast space.

And inside, he saw zombies—no, computer viruses that resembled zombies—wandering around aimlessly with vacant eyes.

Their heads had labels like this written above them:

- Kkdokmshp Lv.??

Viruses whose names and levels were unknown.

Their names were like that because they were viruses.

But their levels were somewhat predictable.

According to Seogiwon’s autobiography, they had levels similar to the first person they encountered.

Seogiwon, who had just entered, was horrified when he saw the endless swarm of them.

“Aren’t there too many?”

“Viruses are like that. They were originally created to destroy other people’s computers, so they should be as numerous as insects.”

“Do we have to defeat all of them?”

“No, this is more like a field than a dungeon in a game. We can leave this place, but they can’t. Remember how we didn’t answer the attendant’s question?”

“Ah...”

“So, if you feel like you’re going to die, you can run toward the exit. If you fail to escape, you’ll die. So stay sharp.”

Suho activated his skill.

[ Blood Weapon is activated. ]

A blood sword materialized in his hand.

Suho, holding the blood sword, said,

“I’ll draw their attention, so you just stay near the exit and shoot your magic. If it feels like you’re going to die, just run for the exit.”

“What about you?”

“I’ll manage to escape. By the way, these viruses won’t respawn once they’re killed. So once we take them all down, the game’s over. And since they’re viruses, there’s nothing to gather from them, just kill them.”

“Ah...”

“Let’s start. Focus.”

“Okay!”

The hunt began.

Swoosh!

Suho’s sword swung toward the virus zombies.

***

How much time had passed?