Return of the Sword God-Rank Civil Servant novel Chapter 267

The next day.

Su-ho sent out a confirmation message to the 150 applicants who had passed the first document screening.

The reactions from those who received the message varied widely, but the sentiment was the same.

"Yahoo!"

"Yes!!"

"Heh heh heh, come on, if I didn't make it, who would?"

"Ha... seriously, what a relief."

The next test proceeded without delay.

The second round was a practical examination.

It consisted of several stages and was held at Nexus Academy. Thankfully, the Nexus side had lent out one of their student-use fields in its entirety.

Thanks to that, Su-ho had access to a field spanning hundreds of pyeong, and he could customize it however he liked.

Setting up the test site wasn’t difficult either.

Su-ho had his clone soldiers, practically unlimited manpower, and the materials needed for environmental setup were supplied by Union.

"Is this the place?"

"Huh, this really is Nexus Academy?"

"Wow... I guess this is what you get when it’s a special recruitment exam for the Special Division. The scale of this test site is no joke."

"No kidding, compared to the Hunter License Exam..."

One by one, the applicants began gathering at the location indicated in the message.

Finding the place wasn’t hard.

From the entrance of Nexus Academy, people in suits, masks, and sunglasses—Special Division types—were stationed in a long line.

These people were all Su-ho.

More precisely, they were his clone soldiers.

Since Su-ho had taken full charge of this test, he hadn’t requested additional personnel support.

“With troop formation techniques, even a hundred people are trivial, so why bother?”

Requesting support meant filling out paperwork and dealing with a lot of hassle.

Much easier to just spend some mana and handle it all himself.

So, he dressed the clones in identical suits, masks, and sunglasses.

That alone was enough to keep people from recognizing them.

Su-ho stood on the platform at the starting point of the track, quietly waiting for the applicants to gather.

And when the scheduled time arrived, he closed the gates without the slightest hesitation.

"Wait, hold on!"

"I was just coming in—how can you just shut the door?!"

"Someone’s still out here!!"

As the gate shut, a few people who had been walking leisurely rushed forward and pounded on the door in panic.

But Su-ho didn’t respond at all.

And the applicants who had arrived on time began murmuring at Su-ho’s decisiveness.

"Wow... he really shut the door right on time, even though people were mid-entry?"

"That’s seriously cold."

"Cold? They should’ve gotten here earlier. Anyone dragging their feet and just barely making it on time isn’t normal."

"It’s a matter of mindset."

"Still, there should be some flexibility..."

"You must have lived an easy life. Flexibility? Do Gates ever give you flexibility?"

"What did you say?"

"Everyone, silence!!"

A voice rang out, crisp and commanding.

It was Su-ho.

Instantly, the entire test site went as silent as if a bucket of ice water had been dumped over it.

Su-ho addressed the murmuring crowd of applicants.

"Nice to meet you. I’m An Su-ho, the examiner in charge of this Special Division recruitment test. Before explaining the second test, let me make one thing clear: this exam isn’t just for hiring members of the Special Division—it’s for selecting people who will work directly with me. So on a day as important as this, anyone who treats the schedule so casually... no matter how high your level or how good your abilities are, I have no intention of selecting you."

He then pointed toward the closed gate.

"If my way of thinking doesn’t suit you, you’re free to leave right now. I need teammates who can sync with me—not whiny little brats."

It was a warning.

One that could feel a bit harsh.

But—

"......"

"......"

"......"

No one said a word.

No one objected.

They all agreed with Su-ho’s words.

They had to.

They were the ones at a disadvantage—not Su-ho.

And among those present, not a single one had come just because they were vaguely interested in the Special Division.

Everyone here was here because of Su-ho.

That was why he could speak like this.

Su-ho nodded as he looked over the silent applicants.

"Then I’ll assume everyone here agrees with my way of thinking. From now on, the second round of the Special Division recruitment test will begin. We plan to recruit evenly from Grades 9 to 6, and—there is no fixed number of successful candidates."

"...Huh?"

"Really?"

"That explains why the notice didn’t mention how many people would be accepted...!"

As Su-ho spoke, the murmuring resumed.

Some even clenched their fists in joy.

To their ears, “no fixed number” meant “we’ll take ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) as many as we can.”

But Su-ho inwardly clicked his tongue at those reactions.

Tsk tsk, why are they happy about that?

Not having a fixed number also meant that he could choose no one if he wanted.

And they were smiling?

Su-ho took special note of those who kept their expressions composed and tension high.

Then he opened his mouth again.

"Test assistant, step forward."

One of his clone soldiers walked forward.

Su-ho spoke.

"Then let’s begin the first test. It’s a stamina test. Follow the assistant in front of you. There’s no time limit. The test ends when the last person collapses from exhaustion."

"Excuse me?"

"What did you just say?"

"Begin."

As soon as the words left Su-ho’s mouth, the clone soldier took off running.

The first test was exactly what it sounded like: a stamina test.

They had to keep running until every single one of them collapsed.

Hearing that, the applicants scrambled to follow the assistant.

The course was basic.

Just a fixed area that they had to keep circling, like a track.

Su-ho stood quietly on the platform, observing them.

Over a hundred applicants.

He did a quick headcount—five people hadn’t made it in because of tardiness.

Which meant 147 were participating in the first test.

Fortunately, everyone Su-ho had been keeping an eye on was included.

Including the Banshees.

‘Seriously, I even included outfit guidelines, so what’s with these clowns showing up like that?’

"But isn’t this totally unfair?"

"You saw it, right? They dropped to the back on purpose."

"If they pass like this, it’s seriously unjust."

"We should file a complaint."

The new dropouts began rallying with the previous ones, trying to stir discontent.

But—

"Ah, yeah."

"Sure."

"Got it."

To their surprise, the new dropouts didn’t side with them at all.

A while later, even the front group began to lose people.

Again, the same attempt was made.

"Nice work."

"But doesn’t this feel wrong?"

"Seriously, there’s a real problem—"

And then—

"God, will you just shut the fuck up already?"

One of the latest dropouts snapped.

"What?"

"Excuse me?"

"What did you say?"

The grumblers were caught off guard.

The man didn’t back down.

"What, so what now? You want to go complain? You failed because you suck, and now you’re getting political? Wanna die?"

"No, that’s not what we meant—!"

"Shut your damn mouths, you morons. If you’re incompetent, blame yourselves. Don’t start your political crap already. I hate trash like you the most. You want your mouths cut off?"

The others went silent.

Su-ho smirked.

‘At least one guy’s thinking straight.’

Even if his words were a bit extreme.

Time passed.

And then an amusing sight emerged.

Those who had dropped to the back to conserve stamina actually collapsed before the front runners.

As they exited the track, earlier dropouts glared at them.

But the rearguard didn’t even acknowledge them—just sat far apart in silence. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

Now, only two people remained.

Su-ho looked at them and couldn’t help but smile.

‘Didn’t expect those two to last.’

The final two.

Both were more than familiar to Su-ho.

One was Kim Geon, whom he had appointed as the new team leader of the Banshees.

The other—Park Yong, infamously known in his previous life as the "Mad Sword."

At that moment—

"Hah..."

One person finally dropped out.

It was none other than Kim Geon.

And shortly after he dropped, Park Yong came to a stop as well.

"Hoooo..."

He stopped running—and stared straight at Su-ho.