The Civil Servant Who Concealed Their True Strength Turns Out to be a Master of Possession - Chapter 92

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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A Civil Servant Who Hides His Strength Is Exceptionally Good at Possession – Episode 092
So this was Kang Si-bang’s statement (Age: ???, Birthplace: Incheon Dungeon, Species: Slime).
[We were living peacefully with the other slimes when those bastards suddenly invaded?! What the—!]
Could you tell me without all the profanity…?
[Especially our Great King Slime brother…]
From that point on, Kang Si-bang appeared to choke up.
Brother, huh.
Did some kind of age hierarchy exist among slimes?
Confucian slimes, I thought to myself.
[Anyway, the moment those bastards invaded, they completely demolished our dungeon and set up all sorts of things however they pleased. Then pale-faced guys, dark-skinned guys, scarred guys—all kinds of weirdly-looking humans came pouring in!]
How should I put this.
It sounded like a forced eviction incident from a redevelopment zone in the 1980s.
The natives strongly opposed the forced eviction, mercenary thugs came rushing in, and people were injured and killed by the relentless excavators—
[And then several of my younger slime siblings were brutally…]
Hearing this, I felt a wave of sympathy for Kang Si-bang.
So you were homeless.
‘Then the pale-faced guys you mentioned—they were speaking this language?’
I played some Russian for Kang Si-bang. He responded with strong affirmation.
[Yeah, those damn Russian bastards!]
Ah.
Now the picture was becoming clear.
In the original story, Go Cheol-won used his position as mayor to create unregistered illegal dungeons throughout Incheon.
And through those dungeons, he smuggled items illegally to North Korea, Russia, and other places.
However, the original story didn’t explain the exact method, but hearing that Kang Si-bang’s hometown was one of these dungeons, I could figure it out.
This bastard.
He was exploiting the local government’s greenbelt areas to use illegal smuggling dungeons in those regions.
Apparently, those dungeons had multiple entrances and exits connecting to North Korea and Russia.
I would have roughly mapped them out. To gather evidence, I infiltrated this place with Kang Si-bang.
Of course, I could have reported this to my superiors first, but that would complicate things.
They don’t know the original story.
If I reported to Kwon Ik-seong—
‘We will send an official cooperation request to the local government to verify the matter.’
That’s the kind of textbook answer I’d get.
If I reported to Pee So-won—
‘Let’s take down those smuggling bastards first. Come on.’
If I stirred up the smugglers, word could leak and I’d lose Go Cheol-won, the key figure.
And most importantly—
‘…Choi Woo-jin will get involved in this too.’
Because the dungeon where Choi Woo-jin’s parents died was near here.
In the original story, Choi Woo-jin started investigating this dungeon to get closer to the truth about his parents’ deaths.
So this matter should proceed without Choi Woo-jin’s knowledge.
If Choi Woo-jin learns too much about his parents’ case beforehand—
‘He’ll find out about my mother too.’
He might already know, but I didn’t want him to find out prematurely.
I recalled what I’d said to Lee Yu-gyeom three hours ago.
‘Still, don’t push yourself too hard.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘What you’re doing now.’
Lee Yu-gyeom fiddled quietly with the death-in-service certificate as he spoke.
‘It’s dangerous.’
I understood what lay beneath those words.
But I didn’t answer what lay beneath them.
I’m already living on borrowed time because of this damned Quest.
And there are no relationships in this world that last forever.
We learned that early.
So become stronger, Yu-gyeom.
Because I’m doing the same.
That’s what my silence meant.
[Damn! Those bastards are going in there?]
Kang Si-bang, who had already left my arms and climbed the tree, pointed out the entrance where those who had descended from the truck were entering.
“Alright. We’re going in too.”
I spoke quietly to Kang Si-bang and headed toward the dungeon entrance.
But this is… a dungeon entrance?
After confirming no one was near the truck with its headlights off, I gazed at the massive tree.
Beneath that tree stood a sign reading “Natural Monument: Dohwa-dong Zelkova Tree.”
Below it were inscribed quite grandiose words, something along these lines.
In the past, Dohwa-dong was where sailors and their families would perform rituals before this tree, praying for the safe return of their ships, and it came to be regarded as a sacred tree with miraculous power.
Thinking about the civil servant who created this and dug through records that didn’t exist, tears blurred my vision.
Regardless, this zelkova tree played a major role in designating this area as a green belt. It was judged to have historical value and significance for nature conservation.
‘It’s not wrong, but—’
The problem was that Incheon citizens didn’t know there was a massive dungeon beneath this sacred tree where slimes lived peacefully.
With a dungeon like this, if it isn’t properly managed, the local government’s Dungeon Management Department or the Hunter Management Office must conduct periodic safety inspections to prevent secondary and tertiary accidents.
If dungeon safety deteriorates, monsters can burst out from the entrance, and it can heighten the sensitivity to Dungeon Breaks in the surrounding area, causing them to occur.
That’s how people like Choi Woo-jin’s parents can die from unexpected breaks.
A sacred tree that once protected the region had now become a breeding ground for corruption and a disaster for this area.
It was truly ironic.
[Go greet them quickly.]
That’s when it happened.
Kang Si-bang said something incomprehensible.
Greet who? There’s no one here.
[This tree is our eldest brother.]
…Oh. Oh….
I see.
This Confucian slime.
Still, without hesitation, I bowed respectfully toward the silent tree.
“Hello there….”
It’s already painful enough to lose one’s home—I can’t just come and go freely through what remains of the land.
As I greeted it with that thought, a massive knot in the middle of the sacred tree’s trunk suddenly began to expand.
“…?”
I was momentarily taken aback.
Could this be a dungeon entrance?
It opens this easily?
I had asked Kang Il-yeon to craft relevant items in preparation for when a dungeon entrance might have a barrier stone installed, and I was carrying them with me.
Yet a single greeting opened the barrier stone.
[Thank you, brother!]
I watched the slime climb onto that knot while offering a greeting that seemed straight out of a noir film.
Kang Si-bang turned back to me and said.
[What are you doing, get moving, damn it!]
…I’m coming, I’m coming….
I glanced up at the sacred tree once more before bowing again respectfully.
“I’ll be back in just a moment…?”
As my words ended, the tips of the sacred tree’s branches swayed.
It must have been the wind, yet somehow it felt as though the tree had answered my words.

* * *
Upon arrival, the dungeon’s interior initially presented a dimly lit hallway, but soon opened into a cavernous structure with an expansive, hollow design.
There, a crude office building constructed from shipping containers came into view, and nearby, dense vegetation and trees flourished much like the forest above.
[That’s where I used to live. The dew there tasted amazing, man! Damn it!]
The dew you consumed… could it be…?
I swallowed that question and concealed my body within the undergrowth.
The moment I entered the dungeon, I began spotting the tops of people’s heads.
And I activated it.
Subtle Presence
The skill.
This was a ‘special’ skill I’d acquired when I possessed Kang Si-bang’s body last time.
All those expensive meals I’d fed Kang Si-bang to build rapport had finally paid off.
I knew that when the Great King Slime expanded its body, it gained a semi-transparent form, but I never expected a skill like this to exist.
This skill was specialized in concealing one’s own body.
In other words, the body becomes invisible.
However, since it didn’t eliminate one’s presence entirely, a certain degree of caution was necessary.
It was the same principle as how the Great King Slime, despite being transparent, didn’t lose its mass or tactile substance.
I watched Kang Si-bang blend seamlessly into the undergrowth without needing to conceal my own body, and spoke softly.
“That way.”
I gestured with my chin toward the containers in the back where people were moving about busily.
The covert investigation had officially begun.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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