SFRW-Chapter 11

Ch.11 Sword God From The Ruined World

The rift zone.  

A dimensional gap where space and time are distorted.  

That was Seo Do-jun’s understanding of it.  

It was the scientific consensus, and so far, the most plausible theory.  

The important thing was that the concept of time in the rift zone was entirely different from Earth’s, and its environment was also completely dissimilar.  

Because of this, stabilizing a rift zone into a gate required synchronizing time and environmental conditions with Earth, making it an extremely difficult and arduous task.  

In any case, Seo Do-jun’s first impression upon entering the rift zone for the first time was…  

“…The Partishua Forest?”  

He couldn’t believe it.  

The sight before him was unmistakably a place he could never forget, no matter how hard he tried.  

His own ruined world.  

Specifically, the place where he had spent his teenage years.  

It was undeniably the Partishua Forest of the Karlen Empire.  

“H-how… How is this… Possible?”  

Seo Do-jun’s voice trembled, his face contorted almost grotesquely with emotion.  

His fists clenched so tightly that his knuckles turned white, and an unbearable rage flickered in his eyes.  

***  

“Awakened?”  

“Yes. He hasn’t registered with the Hero Association yet, but it’s confirmed that he awakened during the last gate incident.”  

At Director Lee’s answer, Hong Hee-ju’s face twisted in disgust.  

“That trash actually awakened as a hero?”  

The fact that something that should never have happened had occurred made her blood boil.  

Seo Do-jun, who should have lived a life worse than an insect’s.  

Hong Hee-ju had orchestrated his life to be so miserable and pitiful that he would think of hanging himself over twelve times a day.  

In the end, she couldn’t even wait for him to give up on life himself—her impatience had driven her to take matters into her own hands.  

So the idea that Seo Do-jun had awakened as a hero was something she absolutely refused to accept.  

“What the hell did Kang Cheol-woo even do?!”  

The more she thought about it, the more infuriated she became, her anger spilling over.  

“He should’ve just killed that bastard himself! Why make things so complicated?! And then take the money? Director Lee! Make sure Kang Cheol-woo gets this message: If he doesn’t kill Seo Do-jun, he’ll pay back ten times what he took!”  

Director Lee responded calmly, as if there was no need to worry.  

“I don’t think we need to contact Kang Cheol-woo.”  

“What do you mean?”  

“A new rift zone has formed in Mapo, and it’s right where Seo Do-jun lives.”  

“What does that have to do with anything?”  

At Hong Hee-ju’s irritable retort, Director Lee quickly explained.  

“Seo Do-jun entered that rift. This was confirmed through the Hero Association. It’ll be announced to the media soon.”  

“Seo Do-jun went into a new rift?”  

“It’s confirmed. Internally, the association has already determined that the chances of him coming back alive are practically zero.”  

“So that means we’ll never have to see that trash again, right?”  

“That’s correct.”  

At Director Lee’s confident reply, Hong Hee-ju’s expression brightened.  

“Still, just in case, keep an eye on things until we’re absolutely sure.”  

“Understood.”  

“Finally, I can breathe easy.”  

A cheerful hum escaped Hong Hee-ju’s lips.  

***  

Seo Do-jun walked slowly through the forest.  

Though his trembling and rage had subsided, he couldn’t remain as composed as usual.  

He had doubted his own eyes, but there was no mistaking it—the place he had entered through the rift zone was the Partishua Forest.  

The shape of the forest, the trees and plants that grew there, the wind, the dense magic in the air, even the shape of the sky and clouds—everything was identical.  

This was the very forest he had sought out to maximize his magic cultivation, so he knew it better than anyone.  

“Just as I thought.”  

At the center of the forest stood the World Tree, just as majestic as he remembered, towering into the sky as if piercing the heavens. It was the same tree under which he had lived, eaten, and slept for five long years.  

The flow of pure, condensed magic radiating from the World Tree was exactly as it had been back then.  

It was incomparable to the turbid, meager magic of Earth.  

If he had to quantify the difference…  

It was about a hundredfold.  

Seo Do-jun reached out toward the World Tree, feeling once again its rough yet comforting texture.  

“…It’s been a while.”  

That was how he greeted the World Tree.  

During the monster invasion, the Partishua Forest and the World Tree had been the first to be destroyed.  

That was how significant the World Tree had been in Seo Do-jun’s ruined world.  

When the World Tree burned, the flow of magic was disrupted, and countless lifeforms lost their strength as if by some unspoken pact.  

The damage suffered by nature-aligned races and creatures was beyond imagination.  

“If the World Tree had remained intact… This world wouldn’t have collapsed so rapidly.”  

Even Ryuntna, one of the continent’s most renowned scholars and supreme experts, had believed that the absence of the World Tree was the reason the world fell into such powerless ruin.  

Seo Do-jun placed his hand on the World Tree and closed his eyes.  

As he began breathing using his magic cultivation technique, an astonishing amount of magic surged into his body.  

Even compared to his teenage years, the quantity was several times greater.  

This was only natural.  

The level of his breathing control and depth had drastically improved since his days as a knight compared to when he was called the Sword God. Though his body had changed, the efficiency of his absorption had increased exponentially.  

A faint smile appeared on Seo Do-jun’s lips at the overwhelming abundance of magic—so much that it felt almost excessive.  

‘I can recover magic quickly here.’  

For Seo Do-jun, magic itself was power.  

Of course, to wield it freely, his body needed to be equally strengthened in balance. But since magic was the scarcest resource on Earth, he couldn’t afford to waste this opportunity.  

With each inhale and exhale, magic rapidly filled and condensed within his body.  

This cycle continued without pause.  

***  

Seo Do-jun devoted himself entirely to his breathing, without rest.  

A full day passed, then two, then ten—time flew by.  

Lost in his cultivation, Seo Do-jun even forgot to eat or drink. But eventually, he opened his eyes.  

The magic condensed around the World Tree had begun to shake unnaturally.  

Because of this, the unstable magic made it difficult for Seo Do-jun to absorb it properly, forcing him to stop.  

Thick darkness.  

Unbeknownst to him, darkness had fallen over the Partishua Forest.  

Before entering the rift zone, he would’ve only been able to see clearly up to 50 meters. But after ten days, he had changed completely.  

His vision pierced through the darkness, his surroundings crystal clear.  

And within that darkness, he could detect fast-moving figures.  

Slithering between the trees, swarming toward the World Tree.  

The moment Seo Do-jun recognized them, his eyes gleamed with murderous intent.  

“…Vulkena.”  

The creatures that had burned the World Tree of his ruined world to ashes.  

Monsters with flames that never extinguished—so powerful they were said to incinerate anything they touched.  

Seo Do-jun had witnessed countless times how the World Tree, along with countless people and creatures, had been horrifically burned to death by them.  

He glared at the hundreds of Vulkena closing in from all directions.  

Kkeeeeek! Kkekekekekeek!  

Moving like charred lumps of coal in the darkness, the Vulkena spotted Seo Do-jun and immediately ignited their bodies in roaring flames.  

Flame-shaped heads, three slitted eyes, and gaping mouths.  

Their stature was taller than the average adult, with emaciated, humanoid forms.  

The most effective attacks against Vulkena, who wielded blue fireballs, were water or earth-based. But in the past, Seo Do-jun had slaughtered hundreds of them with nothing but a single sword.  

If only he had a sword now.  

Regret was overshadowed by frustration, but for now, he had no choice but to face hundreds of Vulkena bare-handed.  

“This time…”  

He would protect it.  

In his ruined world, he had failed to protect the World Tree.  

He knew this place was just the inside of a rift, that it held no real significance.  

But even so, he vowed that this time, he would defend it.  

“I’ll smash every last one of you… Until none remain.”  

Though Seo Do-jun was called the Sword God, lacking a sword didn’t make him weak.  

Especially not after absorbing an immense amount of magic over the past ten days beside the World Tree, making it his own.  

Just how powerful was he now?  

Kwoong!  

Seo Do-jun stomped his right foot into the ground with tremendous force.  

Simultaneously, an enormous surge of magic erupted from his body, forming a dome-like barrier around him, solidly protecting an area with an 80-meter radius.  

This was a pure magic barrier—something only the most refined magic could achieve.  

“Hah!”  

The sudden expenditure of such a vast amount of magic made Seo Do-jun’s head spin momentarily.  

Compared to his past strength, this was less than half.  

But it was more than enough.  

After all, his opponents were just Vulkena.  

Kkekekekekek!  

The Vulkena shrieked at the sudden dome barrier, hurling the fireballs in their hands.  

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!  

Hundreds of fireballs pounded against the magic barrier, but not even a scratch appeared.  

Meanwhile, Seo Do-jun shook off his dizziness and began to move.  

With the World Tree—his top priority—now completely safe, all he had to do was hunt down the Vulkena.  

As he stepped out of the magic barrier, the nearest Vulkena rushed at him.  

Seo Do-jun threw a single punch toward the five charging monsters.  

A violent storm of magic erupted from his fist.  

Splat! Splat! Splat! Splat! Splat!  

The five Vulkena were obliterated without a trace, swept away by the magic storm.  

Only two red magic stones remained in their place.  

“No Eternal Embers?”  

In his ruined world, killing Vulkena had a fairly high chance of yielding Eternal Embers.  

He had hoped for them, but it was too early to be disappointed.  

After all, hundreds of Vulkena still glared at him with murderous intent.  

“I’ll find out once I kill them all.”  

At Seo Do-jun’s icy voice, the hundreds of Vulkena unleashed a simultaneous assault, howling as they attacked.