SFRW-Chapter 113

Ch. 113 Sword God From The Ruined World

“I’m going to Seoul!”  

Though he felt guilty toward his comrades of five years, Kang Cheon-wuk knew this was right. This was truly the path he needed to take.  

“I’m going too!”  

“…Why you?”  

“Why are you acting like this, Uncle? We’re comrades who’ve survived life-and-death battles together! Of course we should go to Seoul together!”  

“I’m never coming back.”  

“A real man doesn’t look back! Let’s go! I’ll lead the way!”  

Striding forward without hesitation, Shin Min-gi marched ahead as if to prove there were no backward steps on a man’s path. Watching him leave Busan so resolutely, Kang Cheon-wuk exhaled deeply and turned his back on his hometown where he was born and raised.  

***

“How’s your body holding up?”  

“I’m fine!”  

“Thanks to you saving my life, these wounds are nothing!”  

Shin Min-gi proudly swung his bandaged arm around—  

“…You’re bleeding.”  

Seeing blood seep through the bandages, Hyun Joo-yeon shook her head while Jung In-joo giggled.  

“Huh? Oh… why’s it… But it really doesn’t hurt! I’m completely fi— Guhk!”  

When Seo Do-jun lightly pressed the wound, Shin Min-gi bit his lip hard, sweating bullets as he suppressed a groan.  

“May I see the injury?”  

Shin Min-gi waved his hands frantically, insisting he was fine—  

“Wow… you’re really reckless. The stitches tore open when you swung your arm earlier! Ugh… we’ll have to treat this again.”  

Jung In-joo clicked her tongue after examining the wound.  

The saying ‘ignorance is bliss’ might apply—better this than a big guy whining—but such recklessness wasn’t admirable either.  

“…I’m fine.”  

Though he kept insisting, Shin Min-gi’s face turned sunset-red. Even he felt embarrassed.  

“Didn’t the healers treat you?”  

While not top-tier, proper healing should have prevented such slow recovery.  

“We got treatment, but we weren’t the only injured,” Kang Cheon-wuk answered for him.  

With limited healers prioritizing critical cases, they’d only received basic care. Still, it was enough for them to walk steadily.  

“This ointment will heal you quickly.”  

Seo Do-jun scooped grayish salve from a glass jar and applied it thickly to Shin Min-gi’s wound.  

“I’m really fi— Guhhhhh!”  

Shin Min-gi’s face twisted grotesquely from the searing pain.  

“Endure it briefly.”  

Whether acknowledging the pain or not, Seo Do-jun bandaged the wound after applying the salve.  

“Huh? It’s… incredibly cool now.”  

The burning pain vanished as if it never existed, replaced by soothing relief. Shin Min-gi brightened instantly.  

“You’ll be fully recovered in about a day.”  

“A day?”  

Even with a Hero’s regeneration, Shin Min-gi’s wounds should have taken a month to heal partially, leaving lifelong scars. To him, these scars were medals of honor—proof of saving children.  

“Let’s treat all your other injuries too.”  

Without hesitation, Shin Min-gi ripped off his shirt, revealing a body wrapped in bandages—a complete mess.  

Knowing how each wound was earned, Seo Do-jun, Hyun Joo-yeon, and Jung In-joo didn’t flinch. The treatment was simple: gray salve and fresh bandages.  

After a minute of burning pain, the same cooling relief followed.  

“This is weirdly addictive,” Shin Min-gi mused, grinning awkwardly.  

The salve—a mix of Arachne shell powder and common petroleum jelly—was undeniably effective.  

“Hero Kang Cheon-wuk, no injuries?”  

Kang Cheon-wuk vehemently declined, but—  

“Uncle! Don’t refuse treatment!”  

“Hey! You little—!”  

Shin Min-gi forcibly stripped Kang Cheon-wuk’s shirt off.  

As Seo Do-jun applied the salve:  

“GAAAH! Fucking hell… S-sorry.”  

Kang Cheon-wuk spat curses from the pain—like being branded—then immediately bowed in apology.  

Seo Do-jun dismissed it and treated every visible wound while Kang Cheon-wuk clenched his jaw, stifling more curses.  

Only after sweating through the ordeal did Kang Cheon-wuk understand Shin Min-gi’s words.  

The searing pain gave way to cool, refreshing relief—strange yet addictive.  

‘These wounds will heal in a day?’  

Could he believe that?  

Though skeptical, this was Seo Do-jun speaking. Even if it didn’t work, so what? They hadn’t come here for medical treatment anyway.  

Exchanging glances with Shin Min-gi, Kang Cheon-wuk knelt before Seo Do-jun.  

“Hero Seo Do-jun! I wish to join the Casserian Guild! From the moment you saved my life in Busan, I vowed to live for you!”  

Before anyone could react—  

“Busan man Shin Min-gi! Same as Uncle Kang Cheon-wuk! I pledge the rest of my life to you! Please accept us!”  

Their determination was absolute—they wouldn’t budge until accepted.  

Seo Do-jun nodded without argument.  

The guild needed more hands for its missions, and he recognized their worth.  

But…  

“…An exam?”  

Kang Cheon-wuk and Shin Min-gi’s faces twisted comically.  

The grueling Casserian Guild entrance test was world-famous.  

Yet they’d hoped—since their savior was involved—maybe an exception…  

“Clear this up: without passing the test, you can’t join.”  

Seo Do-jun’s ironclad refusal made them shut their eyes tightly.  

We MUST pass!  

They steeled themselves, praying to every god imaginable.  

But…  

“Fuck… what kind of dogshit test is this?!”  

“Uncle… I don’t understand any of this…”  

Sitting side by side for the exam, their faces were portraits of despair.  

Watching them, Joo-yeon approached Seo Do-jun.  

“Will they pass?”  

She hoped they would. Knowing their Heroic actions during the Toam Gate disaster, they were invaluable talents.  

With Seo Do-jun declaring war on global elites, the guild needed every capable member.  

And these two had come willingly—how could they not be endearing?  

“Probably.”  

“You think they’ll pass?”  

Seo Do-jun had never been this optimistic about applicants before.  

“Possibly.”  

His smile made Joo-yeon doubt her eyes.  

What does he see in them?  

Apart from ex-Silk Flower guild members, every applicant had failed so far.  

What made Seo Do-jun so confident?  

“Uncle, I think we…”  

“Fuck… we can’t even go back to Busan like this… What do we do?”  

For a moment, Kang Cheon-wuk considered camping outside the guild until accepted.  

But astonishingly—  

“Both of you passed! With exceptional scores!”  

“…Passed?”  

“Uncle!”  

Staring at each other in disbelief, they embraced.  

After feeling utterly hopeless, how had they passed?!  

“Congratulations. I look forward to working with you.”  

Only after Seo Do-jun’s formal greeting did it sink in—they were Casserian Guild members now.  

The first new recruits since the guild’s founding.  

And—  

“We can’t let such a story go untold!”  

PR director Park Chul began packaging their tale into an inspirational narrative.  

Soon, a video featuring Kang Cheon-wuk and Shin Min-gi’s Heroics went global.  

Teachers and villagers gave tearful testimonies about how the duo saved children during the Toam Gate disaster.  

The highlight? Anonymous footage of them holding off dozens of Twin-Headed Black Orcs alone.  

Their desperate, sacrificial battle gripped viewers, and when Seo Do-jun arrived to rescue them, audiences cheered involuntarily.  

A true Heroes’ tale.  

The explosive popularity of Kang Cheon-wuk and Shin Min-gi—worthy of the title ‘Heroes’—was no exaggeration.  

Media outlets clamored for interviews, but mysteriously, the two never left the guild after joining.  

They were devoting every moment to Magic Heart Method training—the essential process for becoming true Heroes.  

***

“Uncle, this is amazing!”  

“I know. It’s… haah, I’m trying not to swear.”  

“Kkhhkk!”  

“Don’t laugh, bastard.”  

“That’s swearing too, Uncle.”  

“It’s an expression of affection! Anyway, let’s never get humiliated by Orcs again.”  

“Of course!”  

Learning the Magic Heart Method opened a new world. They trained relentlessly, even cutting sleep to catch up with senior members.  

***

Meanwhile…  

“Who does he think he is, declaring he’ll close Gates?”  

“Does he fancy himself world president after his stunts in the U.S. and Brazil?”  

“Seo Do-jun’s bad enough, but that old fool Na Tae-hwang backing him is worse.”  

“Gate industries are Earth’s future—and he wants to kill that? Madman.”  

“Will we just take this? He might start closing domestic Gates next.”  

“Speaking of which, that ‘Gate Closer’ is causing headaches… Could it be Seo Do-jun?”  

“Unlikely. His alibis during the closures are solid.”  

“Regardless, we need to stop him. South Korea’s economy will collapse otherwise.”  

“Let’s oust Na Tae-hwang too. That old man’s overstayed his welcome.”  

“True. Without him, things would’ve been smoother.”  

“So how do we take down both?”  

“Public opinion. We need to shatter Seo Do-jun’s saintly image.”  

“And the easiest way?”  

“Money. Nothing works better.”  

“Tax issues should do it. Even ‘National Heroes’ get hated for that.”  

“Tax exemptions worked in the U.S. and Canada, but we need more.”  

“Like what?”  

“Hit South Koreans’ biggest sore spot—especially the elderly.”  

“Didn’t Seo Do-jun skip his stepmother’s funeral?”  

“Paint him as unfilial?”  

“Tax evasion and filial impiety… Kuhahaha! Perfect for toppling a ‘National Hero’!”