SFRW-Chapter 51

Ch. 51 Sword God From The Ruined World   

“Is Eun-young doing well?”  

Hyun Joo-yeon asked, even though she had just watched Seo Do-jun talking to Eun-young on the phone.  

“Her voice sounds fine.”  

A warm smile settled on Seo Do-jun’s face, which usually carried the cold, expressionless demeanor of a city man.  

Hyun Joo-yeon stared at him blankly, taken aback by the terrifying affection Seo Do-jun showed when it came to his family.  

“Does Stone MAN distribute magic stone powder too?”  

At Seo Do-jun’s question, Hyun Joo-yeon snapped back to attention and asked in return.  

“Magic stone powder? Are you talking about grinding magic stones into powder?”  

When Seo Do-jun nodded as if it were obvious, Hyun Joo-yeon shook her head.  

“Generally, magic stones aren’t ground into powder. It’s said that turning them into powder reduces their efficiency. Well, there are still people like Kerzman who grind them up to inhale like drugs… But why do you need magic stone powder?”  

“I have a use for it.”  

Hyun Joo-yeon wanted to ask what exactly he intended to use it for, but the atmosphere around Seo Do-jun made it clear he wouldn’t answer, so she couldn’t bring herself to ask.  

“But are you really going to take 50 million dollars for each rift zone you close?”  

50 million dollars per rift zone.  

It might seem excessive, but considering the damage that would result from an uncontrolled rift zone leading to a monster wave, it was hard to call it an unreasonable amount.  

Just looking at England made the answer obvious.  

How much property damage had England suffered from monster waves?  

An astronomical amount.  

No matter how few major cities there were near Santarém, stopping a monster wave once it started was never easy, and the resulting damage would only increase exponentially over time.  

Moreover, Brazil had more rift zones than other countries, which meant more Gates, and they earned enormous sums every year from monster byproducts like magic stones.  

Even setting aside urban damage, refusing Seo Do-jun’s offer just to save 50 million dollars when the rift zones and gates themselves were at risk would be nothing short of foolish.  

Of course, the fact that there wasn’t just one or two rift zones was a problem. But worrying about that was solely the responsibility of the Brazilian Hero Association and the government.  

As the party involved, Seo Do-jun had no reason to concern himself with it.  

“Why would I bring it up if I wasn’t going to take it?”  

“What are you going to do with that much money?”  

“I need to build a house first.”  

“A house?”  

Hyun Joo-yeon couldn’t understand what kind of house would require tens of billions—no, possibly even more—dollars to build.  

“From now on, rift zone closures will be split two-to-one.”  

At Hyun Joo-yeon’s questioning look, Seo Do-jun explained simply.  

“We’ll close one rift zone together, and while you and the guild members rest, I’ll close two by myself. Of course, the compensation for the jointly closed rift zone will be divided equally per head.”  

Under Seo Do-jun’s gaze, which seemed to ask if she had any complaints, Hyun Joo-yeon blinked in surprise.  

“You were planning to share the rift zone closure compensation?”  

“We came all the way to Brazil—we should at least take that much.”  

At Seo Do-jun’s reply, Hyun Joo-yeon could already picture how delighted the members of the Silk Flower Guild would be.  

Chairman Daniel Lopes returned after finishing discussions with the Brazilian government.  

The result was that they would accept Seo Do-jun’s demands as he wanted.  

The Brazilian government had initially opposed it, but Chairman Lopes’s influence was too strong, and the implicit threat that they had no idea what might happen without Seo Do-jun left the government officials with no choice but to accept his terms.  

However.  

“You’ll have to sign a non-disclosure agreement.”  

Yes, they could give him the money.  

But they wanted to hide the fact that the Brazilian Hero Association and government were so incompetent that they had to rely on a single Hero.  

“What if I refuse?”  

At Seo Do-jun’s blunt retort, Chairman Lopes’s face flushed red.  

He hadn’t expected Seo Do-jun to outright reject it so quickly.  

“W-well, we can only agree to your demands if you…”  

“Are you confident you can handle it without me?”  

Chairman Lopes had no response and could only press his lips together tightly.  

Seeing this, Seo Do-jun let out a quiet laugh and continued.  

“Fine, I’ll sign it. But the money must be transferred immediately. If it’s even an hour late… I’ll walk away right then and there. And of course, I’ll reveal every detail of our dealings, so you’d better be prepared.”  

“If that’s all, then there’s no need to worry. The moment we confirm that a rift zone has been closed, the compensation will be paid immediately.”  

And so, Seo Do-jun signed the non-disclosure agreement.  

“When do you plan to start closing the rift zones?”  

Chairman Lopes’s inner thoughts were that he wanted Seo Do-jun to start as soon as possible, even a day earlier if he could.  

Fortunately, Seo Do-jun felt the same way about that part.  

“We’ll start right away today.”  

True to his word, Seo Do-jun immediately got to work.  

While Seo Do-jun went ahead to close one rift zone on his own, Hyun Joo-yeon and Jung Injoo decided to gather the Silk Flower Guild members and meet at the entrance of another rift zone.  

Having absorbed the power of subspace, Seo Do-jun was unstoppable.  

The power of subspace alone was a fearsome weapon.  

Grrroooaaar!  

A massive one-eyed giant, resembling a cyclops and standing fifteen meters tall, charged at Seo Do-jun—only to collapse face-first as its lower half disappeared.  

Its lower body had been cleanly severed by the subspace Seo Do-jun had created.  

Confused and unable to comprehend what had happened, the monster’s head was then crushed as another subspace opened above it, dropping the severed lower half right on top of it.  

Just the power of subspace alone could be called nothing less than the absolute domain of a god.  

But with such immense power came limitations.  

First, containing a living being—whether whole or in part—within subspace consumed five times more magic than containing an inanimate object of the same size.  

Even for Seo Do-jun, constantly relying solely on subspace to deal with monsters wasn’t easy once the magic cost piled up.  

Second, using subspace on moving creatures or objects required several times more mental energy than using it on stationary targets.  

Subspace was essentially another space that opened within the existing space.  

Opening subspace to store objects wasn’t particularly difficult, but predicting the movement of monsters and opening subspace at the precise moment needed to hunt them was anything but simple.  

Of course, it was possible to use subspace like a trap.  

But given the nature of subspace, it was clearly visible to the naked eye, making it ineffective as a trap. Additionally, since it was impossible to create more than one subspace at a time, expecting significant results from it was unrealistic.  

Lastly, the greatest limitation of subspace was its range.  

The maximum distance at which subspace could be created was a mere five meters.  

Unless it was an urgent situation, recklessly using subspace power to hunt monsters wasn’t particularly efficient.  

‘After all, subspace’s greatest value lies in its use as portable storage.’  

Though he occasionally used it as a last-resort weapon, Seo Do-jun didn’t consider himself weak enough to need to rely on subspace power.  

After crushing the head of the one-eyed giant monster that had been pinned under its own severed lower half, Seo Do-jun continued hunting monsters at a rapid pace.  

All the while, he didn’t neglect his thorough investigation of dark magic.  

***

Beep! Beep! Beep!  

“Rift Zone BA008 has been closed!”  

The team leader of the Manaus Rift Monitoring Center subtly glanced over his shoulder.  

Seated behind him was none other than Chairman Daniel Lopes, a true heavyweight referred to as the de facto king of Brazil.  

“…Huh.”  

At the news that the rift zone had been closed, Chairman Lopes let out a short exclamation before checking his watch.  

“Did he close the rift zone in just eight hours?”  

This was something unheard of until now.  

He already knew Seo Do-jun had single-handedly closed two rift zones, but seeing him close another one in just eight hours made it hard to believe this was reality.  

“Transfer the payment.”  

At Chairman Lopes’s words, the aide standing beside him immediately transferred 50 million dollars to Seo Do-jun’s account.  

The money had already been prepared in full.  

However, they hadn’t expected the rift zone to be closed this quickly.  

If Seo Do-jun really closed all the rift zones altered by dark magic…  

Closing just twenty-four rift zones would net him a staggering 1.2 billion dollars.  

While 1.2 billion dollars might not sound like much, it was an astronomical sum for an individual to receive as compensation.  

“We can’t let him take all of it.”  

Chairman Lopes bit his lower lip firmly before speaking to his aide with resolve.  

“Recall all S-rank Heroes from every country who are currently resting. And gather as many A-rank Heroes as possible.”  

“What do you plan to do?”  

“We’ll form a Special Team. We can’t let that bastard Seo Do-jun take everything for himself.”  

He had already discussed this with the Brazilian government.  

Assemble elite Heroes from various nations into a single Special Team.  

Then have them close the rift zones.  

The compensation had already been set at 10 million dollars per closure.  

Compared to the 50 million dollars going to Seo Do-jun, it might seem absurdly low, but since they had signed non-disclosure agreements, Chairman Lopes believed there wouldn’t be any major issues as long as everyone kept quiet.  

Even if it got out, what was there to worry about?  

Demanding equal treatment to Seo Do-jun, who was single-handedly closing rift zones, would be laughable in itself, so he was prepared to act even more shamelessly if necessary.  

From now on, it was a race against time.  

Seo Do-jun closing rift zones versus the Special Team closing rift zones.  

Given that Seo Do-jun had closed a rift zone in just eight hours, Chairman Lopes realistically didn’t expect the Special Team to close more than ten.  

“Seven to eight.”  

That would be enough.  

The money saved alone would amount to roughly 280 to 320 million dollars.  

“Just how did South Korea manage to raise such a monster?”  

Seo Do-jun was someone he wanted by his side more than dozens of S-rank Heroes.  

“Can I keep him by my side with money?”  

If so, how much would he need to offer?  

Chairman Daniel Lopes began calculating fervently in his head.  

***

The promised compensation was transferred immediately each time Seo Do-jun closed a rift zone.  

By the time he closed the fourth rift zone, Seo Do-jun heard from Jung Injoo that Chairman Daniel Lopes had organized something called a ‘Special Team.’  

“It’s less about competition and more about… being stingy with money, I guess. I heard they’re offering 10 million dollars per dungeon closure on their side.”  

As she spoke, Injoo was carefully gauging Seo Do-jun’s reaction.  

“Better than doing nothing.”  

“Huh? Oh! R-right! As expected of you, Seo Do-jun!”  

Seo Do-jun was sincere.  

He could roughly guess what Chairman Lopes was thinking in forming the Special Team, but since it wasn’t an attempt to stab him in the back, he considered it Lopes doing his best in his own way.  

Besides, he already had more than enough money.  

Honestly, at this point, earning more money felt meaningless—he was that well-off.  

Since he had been closing rift zones quickly without hesitation, he had already acquired everything on his shopping list.  

From Blue Croco hearts to Belcera threads, Twin head Ogre spines, Jerk eyes, Phera wing scales, and even Terra Waka seeds—he had obtained everything he had planned to get before coming to Brazil.  

Of course, the greatest harvest was Achromos’ subspace.  

With everything he wanted acquired and more than enough money earned, Seo Do-jun wanted to return to South Korea as soon as possible.  

‘It’s not like South Korea will remain safe forever.’  

Just as Brazil’s rift zones had suddenly changed, there was no telling when or how South Korea’s rift zones might transform. So Seo Do-jun planned to hurry and build a house where Eun-young and his grandmother could live safely.  

‘I have enough magic stones, so I should buy land as soon as I return.’  

Seo Do-jun steadily laid out his plans.  

“Ah… There’s one thing I still have to do before that.”  

Something he had momentarily forgotten due to the dark magic incident.  

Something he absolutely had to finish before returning to South Korea.  

Seo Do-jun’s expression turned cold once again.