SFRW-Chapter 42

Ch. 42 Sword God From The Ruined World 

Beep beep beep beep beep.  

[23.61%]  

“It’s definitely rising quickly.”  

The blonde-haired man checked the numbers on the device in his hand with satisfaction.  

Compared to when he first arrived here, the numbers had increased significantly.  

“It shouldn’t take long to reach the first target of 30 percent, but…”  

The man’s voice trailed off as his eyes narrowed.  

“Insects worse than bugs are gathering here…”  

He wanted to sweep them all away, but now wasn’t the time.  

Until he reached his first goal of 30 percent, drawing attention would do no good.  

“I can’t let this continue.”  

Muttering to himself, the blonde man began chanting in an unknown language.  

After about 30 seconds, a pitch-black circle formed beneath his feet, soon filling with strange, densely packed characters.  

Whoooooosh—!  

With vibrations strong enough to shake the ground, a massive black pillar erupted from the circle, soaring toward the sky as if to pierce it.  

Fsssssssh—!  

The black pillar then split into dozens of fragments, scattering in all directions.  

All of this happened in just 2-3 seconds.  

As if nothing had happened, the surroundings returned to their usual silence, and the blonde man vanished without a trace.  

“Hey, did you see that just now?”  

A Hero from the Brazilian Hero Association pointed toward the sky not far to the right.  

“See what?”  

At his colleague’s question, he immediately replied,  

“Just now, a black pillar shot up into the sky over there and then shattered!”  

“A black pillar?”  

His colleague looked at him blankly, not understanding. Frustrated, he began explaining in detail what he had clearly seen with his own eyes.  

“Really? I didn’t see anything.”  

No matter how much he described it, it was useless—he was the only one who had seen the black pillar.  

Eventually, the two headed to the spot where the pillar had appeared.  

“There’s nothing here?”  

At his colleague’s skeptical question, he grew even more frustrated.  

“I definitely saw it…”  

“If you weren’t imagining it, maybe you should report it.”  

“…Do you think they’ll believe me?”  

“Do you have any proof?”  

“Proof?”  

He scanned the area.  

There wasn’t a single trace to support his claim.  

With the rift zone closure operation imminent, the association was already tense.  

Causing unnecessary alarm without clear evidence would only be burdensome.  

“…I must have imagined it.”  

In the end, he decided to avoid the hassle.  

“Kassal?”  

At Hyun Joo-yeon’s words, Jung In-joo stared straight at Seo Do-jun.  

“Seo Do-jun, you have a foreign name?”  

Seo Do-jun nodded silently instead of answering.  

“Did you study abroad or something?”  

If not for his late-born half-brother, he might have.  

He could have followed the elite business path that left others in awe.  

But Seo Do-jun had been cast out before that could happen.  

“You’ve never lived abroad, but you have a foreign name… You really are unusual.”  

Jung In-joo shrugged, accepting that Seo Do-jun was just an odd person.  

“But Hyun Joo-yeon, why are you so mad?”  

“Me? What about me?”  

“Hmm… So, you’re upset because that white girl knew about Seo Do-jun’s foreign name first?”  

Jung In-joo narrowed her eyes, studying Hyun Joo-yeon before nodding as if she understood.  

“That’s it? Just because Seo Do-jun’s foreign name was—mmph!”  

Hyun Joo-yeon clamped a hand over Jung In-joo’s mouth, making her flail.  

“D-Don’t talk nonsense!”  

Hyun Joo-yeon’s ears turned red as she glanced at Seo Do-jun, but he remained expressionless, walking ahead without reaction.  

For some reason, his indifferent demeanor only made her frown harder.  

“Sigh.”  

Jung In-joo shook her head at Hyun Joo-yeon’s sigh.  

‘No wonder she’s hopeless at love! Ugh!‘  

She wanted to give advice, but love was something one had to figure out alone.  

All she could do was cheer Hyun Joo-yeon on from the sidelines.  

The eventful schedule in São Paulo had finally ended.  

As Chairman Daniel Lopes had declared, Seo Do-jun, Hyun Joo-yeon, and the Silk Flower Guild members headed toward the rift zone near Santarém without any support.  

Their mission was simple: buy time.  

While other Heroes closed rift zones elsewhere, their only task was to control the monster population in the Santarém rift zone to prevent a breach.  

Unlike Chairman Daniel Lopes, who considered this overwhelming, Seo Do-jun and his group didn’t see it as difficult—even if the goal was rift closure.  

At least, that’s what they thought.  

Until they actually began hunting in the rift zone.  

“Doesn’t this seem a bit off?”  

One of the guild members pointed at the rift zone entrance, which had turned black.  

“Black?”  

Normally, rift zone entrances were blue.  

Not that every entrance was blue—some were red or orange.  

But a black entrance? None of them had ever seen or heard of such a thing.  

“It looks like blue covered in black.”  

That was exactly it.  

It felt as if black had been layered over the original blue, making the two colors clash discordantly.  

“Have there ever been entrances with two colors?”  

Not according to any known records.  

“Maybe it’s just a unique one. Whatever.”  

So far, different-colored entrances hadn’t meant anything special.  

Besides, with an unmeasurable monster like Seo Do-jun here, what did it matter?  

The guild members dismissed it.  

“Seo Do-jun?”  

As the others entered the rift, Jung In-joo called out to Seo Do-jun, who stood frozen in place.  

The one who should have been the least concerned was instead frowning deeply.  

“What’s wrong?”  

Hyun Joo-yeon also approached, sensing something amiss.  

“Can’t you feel it?”  

At Seo Do-jun’s sudden question, Hyun Joo-yeon and Jung In-joo exchanged glances.  

‘Feel what?‘  

‘Nothing. I don’t feel anything.’  

Their silent conversation ended as Seo Do-jun stepped closer to the rift entrance.  

He could feel it clearly.  

‘The magic density is different.’  

The closer he got, the thicker the magic became.  

It was like emerald-green seawater that had only reached his ankles suddenly revealing an unfathomably dark abyss beneath.  

“We’ll know once we go in.”  

Seo Do-jun entered without hesitation.  

“I don’t get what he felt…”  

Muttering in confusion, Jung In-joo and Hyun Joo-yeon followed—and immediately sensed it.  

A suffocatingly dense magic pressing down on their entire bodies.  

And it wasn’t just them.  

Every Hero who entered a rift zone within 500 kilometers of Santarém felt the same.  

“What’s this? My body suddenly feels heavy.”  

“You too? Me as well!”  

“Wait, so it wasn’t just me?”  

“Why is this happening all of a sudden?”  

The guild members’ experiences varied.  

Some felt like gravity had increased, others as if submerged in water, and some like they were wearing multiple layers of soaked winter clothing.  

The sensations differed, but one thing was consistent:  

Their bodies were heavy.  

A weight they had never felt since awakening as Heroes.  

Seo Do-jun was no exception.  

The oppressive pressure from the excessively dense magic was unmistakable.  

‘I’ve never felt magic this concentrated, not even in the Partishua Forest…‘  

More than that, the quality of the magic was distinctly different.  

No matter how dense magic was, it shouldn’t make one’s body feel this heavy.  

magic was the energy of nature, meant to invigorate all living things.  

But this magic was different.  

‘This kind of magic…‘  

Seo Do-jun’s expression twisted.  

Tainted.  

That was the only word for it.  

Instead of revitalizing life, it felt like it was strangling it.  

And the dark, sinister aura made him question if it was even magic at all.  

He had felt it only once before.  

In the ruined world, during its final moments.  

Why was that coming to mind now, in a rift zone of a completely different dimension?  

Seo Do-jun’s eyes turned icy.  

He scanned the surroundings, focusing all his senses—but detected nothing.  

Was it just a similar situation?  

Even that thought left him unsettled.  

“Is this what you meant earlier?”  

At Hyun Joo-yeon’s question, Seo Do-jun only nodded.  

There was nothing more to explain.  

“Could there be some kind of prob—… Never mind.”  

Hyun Joo-yeon swallowed her words.  

With Seo Do-jun here, what problem could there possibly be?  

Shaking off her unease, she approached Jung In-joo.  

With practiced ease, Jung In-joo steadied the disoriented guild.  

“Think of it as this rift zone’s unique trait. There are places like this sometimes. The important thing is that Brazil couldn’t handle it alone—that’s why they asked for our help. Remember that, and stay sharp!”  

At her words, the guild members began jumping in place or stretching to adapt to the heavy atmosphere.  

Jung In-joo checked the map provided by the Brazilian Hero Association.  

“This rift zone doesn’t have a Boss Monster, but there are three sub-boss-level ones.”  

No one was surprised—they had been briefed, and they trusted Seo Do-jun.  

“We’ve fought Blue Crocos before, so I won’t explain those. The other two are Nanocheris and Belcera.”  

Nanocheris resembled the three-horned Triceratops, a favorite among children, and was commonly found in Brazil, Europe, and South America.  

Belcera, known as the Giant Spider, was typically found in Southeast Asia.  

“A single intact Nanocheris horn sells for at least 3 billion, right?”  

“And Belcera’s silk sacs are always in high demand?”  

Unlike Blue Crocos, Nanocheris and Belcera made the guild members’ mouths water.  

Nanocheris horns were highly valuable as weapon materials, while Belcera silk was prized for combat suits and textiles—each worth tens of billions.  

“Maybe I can finally make a weapon from a Nanocheris horn and a Belcera silk combat suit this time?”  

The guild members buzzed with excitement, their morale lifting as they began their hunt.  

The first monsters to appear were Black Orcs.  

Though said to be three times stronger than regular orcs, they were manageable for A-rank Heroes.  

“There’s a disgusting amount of them.”  

Even a rough estimate put their numbers over a hundred. Without Jung In-joo’s orders, the guild members instinctively formed a combat formation.  

“Leave this to us.”  

Confident, Jung In-joo called out to a guild member.  

“Cha Mi-ran!”  

Before her shout even faded, Cha Mi-ran—the guild’s only mage—unleashed a long-range attack.  

A fireball ten times the size of a basketball arced through the air before crashing into the center of the orc horde.  

BOOM!  

The explosion sent embers flying in all directions.  

A single attack like that should have killed at least four or five, with many more injured.  

But…  

“…What the hell?”  

Expectations shattered.  

Not a single Black Orc was harmed.  

Even the one hit directly only had minor scorch marks.  

“T-That’s impossible…”  

Cha Mi-ran paled, stunned that her attack had been useless.  

Meanwhile, the Black Orcs’ eyes burned red as they charged en masse.  

“Don’t panic! They’re still just Black Orcs!”  

Jung In-joo rallied the guild and rushed forward to meet them.  

CRACK!  

Her sword struck an orc’s collarbone, carving down to its abdomen.  

‘It’s resisting?‘  

Normally, the blade would have cleaved straight through.  

But this orc was different—her sword stopped dead, unable to cut further.  

SCREECH!  

The wounded orc roared and swung its crude steel sword at her head.  

Jung In-joo released her grip on her weapon, dodging smoothly before leaping up and driving her knee into its face.  

As the orc staggered, she yanked her sword free and swung again.  

SLASH!  

The orc’s head flew off, its body collapsing.  

‘They’re definitely different…‘  

Her face hardened at the realization.  

These Black Orcs were unlike any they had faced before.  

Before she could warn the others, the guild was already engaged in battle.