SFRW-Chapter 1

Ch.1 Sword God From The Ruined World

Seoul, Yongsan-gu, Namsan.  

A date spot for couples and a famous family outing destination—a landmark of Seoul.  

But now, it was no longer a place for dates or family outings.  

<Entry prohibited for civilians beyond this point.>  

The red letters were strikingly eye-catching.  

Behind the signs, placed at regular intervals, stretched a vivid red barrier about 20 meters high, running along the path.  

The red barrier was a ‘seal’, and following it would eventually lead to a massive oval-shaped ‘Gate’.

[Namsan Gate-8]  

Rank: C  

Scale: D  

Terrain: Mountainous  

Recommended: C, minimum 3 personnel

In front of the Gate, plain and unfriendly letters were displayed.  

And standing before it was a priest.  

Beep!  

[Please scan your Hero registration number and unique identification number. If you do not possess a license, you may enter it manually.]  

As the man attempted to enter the Gate, a mechanical voice declared entry prohibited, and a steel barrier descended.  

The man stared quietly at the thick steel barrier—several dozen centimeters in width—before decisively stepping forward.  

Bang!  

Beep!  

[Warning! Barrier has been damaged. Control center personnel have been dispatched. Please comply with their instructions.]  

Despite the blaring alarm, the man ignored it, shoving aside the mangled steel barrier and stepping into the Gate.  

Beep!  

[Danger! An unregistered Hero has forcibly entered the Gate.]  

The mechanical voice continued blaring.  

Inside the Gate, the man gazed silently at the scene before him.  

An ordinary mountain trail stretched ahead.  

Though he knew he had entered an entirely different space through the Gate, the scenery felt no different from any other part of Namsan.  

It was as if an identical environment and path existed somewhere else on the mountain, leaving no sense of dissonance.  

After briefly surveying his surroundings, he began ascending the trail.  

“Hey, young man!”  

Not far up the path, someone called out to him.  

“Are you lost or something?”  

A man in his early 40s, with a kindly expression, looked around and, seeing no one else with the young man, asked the question.  

In contrast, the older man was accompanied by three others—two men and a woman.  

“Brother, look at his outfit.”  

“Right. He doesn’t look like a Hero… Even though porter attire is pretty flexible these days, that’s just…”  

The man frowned, clicking his tongue as if he’d seen something distasteful.  

A sleeveless cotton T-shirt and shorts were hard enough to tolerate, but the biggest issue was the slippers.  

Even on well-maintained paths, porters often had to run around, making slippers unforgivable in the eyes of any Hero.  

If a short-tempered Hero saw him, he’d likely get slapped or kicked before even entering the Gate.  

“And what’s with that bag? Ugh.”  

If combat suits and weapons were essentials for Heroes, then backpacks were essentials for porters.  

Most porters who entered Gates alongside Heroes carried high-end backpacking bags.  

The stronger and more physically capable ones carried large-capacity backpacks to haul as much as possible, but even the less capable ones at least had functional backpacking bags.  

Yet, the man before them had a shabby backpack slung carelessly over his shoulder, looking like something he’d picked up off the street.  

No matter how charitable they tried to be, there was nothing redeeming about it.  

“Maybe he’s a clueless porter abandoned by the Heroes he came with?”  

“No way, even so…”  

While they whispered among themselves, the man finally spoke.  

“Is there a problem?”  

His indifferent tone made the older man and his companions frown.  

“See? I told you he was abandoned!”  

One of the younger men grimaced, but the older man raised a hand to stop him.  

“I don’t know what’s going on, but since we’re on our way out, you should come with us.”  

Even a stabilized Gate was an extremely dangerous place for a porter without a Hero.  

The older man extended a helping hand in good faith, but—  

“I get what you’re saying, but I just got here.”  

The man’s reply made the situation clear.  

He had entered the Gate alone from the start.  

And in that incomprehensible outfit.  

The older man clicked his tongue.

“I’ve seen plenty like you. I get why you’d enter a Gate, but trying to hunt based on what you’ve seen on TV or the internet is suicide. First, go through the proper certification process to get a Hero license, complete basic training and simulated combat tests, and then come back. And Namsan Gate is C-rank. If you’re just starting, you should begin with an F-rank Gate—”  

“I appreciate the thought, but I’m not grateful.”  

The man dismissed the advice and strode up the mountain path.  

“Wow… What kind of crazy bastard is this?”  

“Uncle, don’t stop me this time. I’ll go teach him a proper lesson.”  

The younger man moved to follow, but the older man blocked him.  

“Forget it. If he’s going to ignore warnings like that, he’ll have to learn the hard way. He’ll soon realize a Gate is nothing like what he’s seen on TV or the internet.”  

The older man’s stern expression showed he was angrier than anyone else.  

“What if he dies? It’s unsettling to just let him go when we know he’ll die.”  

The woman’s expression was uneasy.  

Truthfully, she wasn’t so much worried about the man as she was about the hassle if something happened and the control center found out they hadn’t stopped him.  

The older man shook his head.  

“If he’s an unauthorized intruder, the control center will send agents soon. As long as he doesn’t charge at monsters like a madman, he won’t die. Don’t worry about it.”  

“Right, Yeon-ji. This is a C-rank Gate—if he sees a monster, he’ll freeze and hide somewhere.”  

“I’ve heard online about idiots who think they can fight and enter Gates without a license to hunt monsters, only to die… But I never thought I’d see one in person.”  

“Guys like that deserve whatever happens to them.”  

“If he just gets hurt, he’s lucky enough. Let’s just go.”  

The older man led the group out of the Gate.  

Meanwhile, the man who had ignored their advice continued up the trail and soon encountered a monster.  

A murky green body.  

A large face with upward-curving tusks.  

A bipedal, upright-walking monster.  

Squeak! Squeak!  

An orc—the most common monster in a C-rank Gate.  

With a crude, rusted sword in hand, the orc possessed strength over ten times that of a human. It’s tough skin made it nearly impervious to ordinary blades, rendering it a monster no normal person could face.  

‘It’s exactly the same.’  

The man’s gaze darkened as he stared at the orc.  

“Ten years.”  

As he muttered to himself, the orc’s red eyes gleamed menacingly.  

Squeak! Squeak! Grunt! Grunt!  

The orc shrieked in excitement.  

For an ordinary person, the sight alone would be terrifying enough to freeze them in place. But the man remained unfazed, simply watching.  

The orc charged.  

Thud! Thud!  

As it barreled forward, it swung its sword.  

The blade tore through the air with a sharp whistle.  

Yet the man didn’t even blink.  

With a slight movement, he dodged the strike and simultaneously drove his fist into the orc’s chest.  

Crunch!  

A single punch caved in the orc’s chest.  

The monster’s eyes rolled back as it collapsed.  

The man hesitated briefly before picking up the sword the orc had dropped and began dissecting the corpse.  

From the body, he retrieved a red stone the size of a child’s fist.  

This, too, was all too familiar.  

“…Low-grade magic stone.”  

Something he wouldn’t have even glanced at in the past.  

After staring at the bloodstained stone for a moment, he placed it in his backpack.  

The mountain trek continued.  

Battles with monsters.  

Acquiring magic stones.  

The man moved relentlessly, hunting monsters and collecting stones.  

How much time had passed?  

By the time his backpack had grown noticeably heavy—  

“Over here!”  

A man’s voice rang out from nearby.  

Soon, figures in black-and-white combat suits appeared before him.  

“We’re from the Gate Control Center. Show us your Hero license.”  

At their demand, the man silently scanned the group surrounding him.  

Seeing his lack of response, one agent spoke with a knowing expression.  

“If you’re an unregistered Hero, you’ll need to come with us to the control center. Refusal to comply may result in physical restraint, and any injuries sustained during resistance will be solely your responsibility. Please cooperate peacefully.”  

Though they issued the warning, the man had already destroyed the Gate’s barrier to force entry. A physical confrontation seemed unavoidable.  

An agent stepped forward, holding out handcuffs.  

“Sir, please extend your hands in front of you and cooperate.”  

Despite the calm and polite tone—  

“Don’t bother me. Just leave.”  

The man’s low voice carried a warning.  

But the agent, used to such situations, pressed on.  

“I’ll repeat: Extend your hands and cooperate. You are currently trespassing. Resolving this peacefully at the control center is in your best interest. Stay still. I’m just going to—”  

Crack!  

As the agent reached for his arm, the man seized his wrist.  

The control center agent, clad in a combat suit, froze, unable to move. The others tensed, raising their weapons.  

Shhk!  

The agents swiftly drew collapsible batons.  

The batons emitted a faint blue glow—magic weapons of the 4th grade.  

Capable of turning an orc into minced meat in an instant, they were lethal enough to shatter bones with even a glancing blow to an unarmored civilian.  

Yet the man remained unfazed.  

“Last warning. Walk away, and no one gets hurt.”