SFRW-Chapter 121

Ch. 121 Sword God From The Ruined World

As expected, when Seo Do-jun entered the gate, he couldn’t exit and instead encountered Pentagos blocking the way out.  

The sight of over 700 trolls and werewolves would make anyone freeze in shock for a moment, but Seo Do-jun was different.  

They were just trolls and werewolves.  

No matter how much Pentagos possessed them and enhanced their abilities, they couldn’t surpass being merely ‘just that’.  

The trolls and werewolves, excited at the sight of Seo Do-jun, rushed at him all at once.  

Unlike the Pentagos that had already escaped the gate, the roars of these creatures—still trapped inside—were even more savage and vicious.  

But.  

Vandeyan Family Swordsmanship  

First Form: Killida Milagro Rucl!  

—The Miracle Wrought by Dots—

Seo Do-jun drew his sword from subspace and slashed through the air. Wherever his sword passed, crimson dots appeared, covering the hundreds of trolls and werewolves—and just like that, the situation was over.  

A single attack to end it all.  

Not only were the hundreds of trolls and werewolves annihilated, but even the Pentagos possessing their bodies were destroyed.  

Of course, not all Pentagos were eliminated.  

Exactly ten remained.  

Despite the severe damage, the Pentagos, desperate to find new hosts, were left precisely ten in number.  

Seo Do-jun took out a Soul Gem from subspace.  

Pentagos were also among the monsters that could bind souls and exploit them at will.  

In particular, Pentagos had a high degree of utility.  

‘If I attach them to Kang Young-pyo and just track down Vaitel’s whereabouts…’  

That would be the end of it.  

‘The chances of Vaitel being stronger than me in this situation aren’t high.’  

In the ruined world, Seo Do-jun had been stronger than Vaitel. And now, Seo Do-jun was even stronger than before.  

Given Earth’s circumstances, it should have been impossible for him to grow this strong, but luck had been on his side in many ways.  

Meeting the World Tree, absorbing the Eternal Ember and Laroc’s Egg, even taking in the magic stored in Avarr’s Soul Stone—  

Above all, fully absorbing Avarr’s magic was Seo Do-jun’s greatest stroke of luck.  

‘Vaitel will be shocked when he sees me.’  

How could Vaitel possibly predict that Seo Do-jun had grown even stronger in an environment far harsher than the ruined world?  

Just imagining the moment he’d face Vaitel made Seo Do-jun want to laugh already.  

With that thought, Seo Do-jun sealed the ten Pentagos into a single Soul Gem.  

The Pentagos trapped inside would now obey Seo Do-jun’s will, sustained by his magic.  

‘If sacrificing one Soul Gem means capturing Vaitel, it’s more than worth it.’  

Now, Seo Do-jun only had three Soul Gems left.  

It would’ve been nice to obtain more, but since there was no guarantee of such luck again, he resolved to use the remaining three even more sparingly.  

After collecting all the magic stones scattered among the monsters’ corpses, Seo Do-jun located and destroyed the gate’s core.  

Once he stepped outside the gate—  

“Did you agree to take Hainan?”  

“Have you finished negotiations with China?”  

Hyun Joo-yeon and Gloria immediately bombarded him with questions.  

“I will unconditionally follow the Guild Master’s decision.”  

The loyal voice of Shinjo, declaring he would trust and follow Seo Do-jun no matter what, left Seo Do-jun dumbfounded.  

“You’re out!”  

Hong Zi-xian greeted him with a grin so wide it looked like his face might split.  

It was obvious what nonsense Hong Zi-xian must have spouted.  

Fortunately—if it could be called that—his ramblings hadn’t reached the reporters, so the situation could be resolved easily.  

Of course, Hong Zi-xian continued to pester Seo Do-jun with his nonsense.  

“If you don’t like Hainan, just name anything else! As long as we can serve Hero Seo Do-jun and the Casserian Guild, we’ll accept any condition!”  

How could someone who wasn’t even the Association Chairman—just a former Hero executive—make such extravagant promises?  

The answer was simple.  

“Well, it’s Hong Zi-xian we’re talking about. His father is Hong Jin-pyeong, after all.”  

“Hong Jin-pyeong?”  

“The Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission. You didn’t know?”  

Hong Zi-xian’s father was the Vice Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party’s Central Military Commission. With that immense backing, Hong Zi-xian had secured a high-ranking position in the Chinese Hero Association.  

Frankly, his abilities weren’t anything special, but his connections were so overwhelming that he was even considered a candidate for the next Association Chairman.  

With that kind of influence, Hong Zi-xian could confidently promise Seo Do-jun anything he wanted.  

“If he could bring the Casserian Guild to China, he probably thought he could even make his father the country’s leader, didn’t he?”  

Hyun Joo-yeon’s assumption was spot-on.  

And the value of the Casserian Guild was more than enough to make that possible.  

“It’s a good thing we turned down the banquet.”  

At Gloria’s words, Hyun Joo-yeon nodded.  

If they hadn’t refused Hong Zi-xian’s offer of a grand banquet as thanks for closing the Terracotta Gate, they would’ve been bombarded with endless speculation. Just thinking about it made her head throb.  

‘Well, it’s not like Seo Do-jun would’ve been swayed no matter how much Hong Zi-xian tried.’  

Having wrapped up the Terracotta Gate incident more easily than expected, Seo Do-jun’s group boarded a plane back to Seoul in comfort.  

And in that short time, thanks to the exploits of Hyun Joo-yeon, Gloria, and Shinjo, the entire world had been turned upside down—a perfectly natural outcome.  

***

Comments Section:  

“The rumors are true—joining the Casserian Guild really turns your life around! Just look at Hyun Joo-yeon at the Terracotta Gate—she’s practically South Korea’s top Hero now! (Except for Seo Do-jun, of course!)”  

└“Agreed! She’s not the same Hyun Joo-yeon from before! Every time she swings her sword, dozens of terracotta soldiers explode—gave me chills for real!”  

└“No amount of drugs could make someone that strong. How the hell did she change so much in such a short time after training with Seo Do-jun?”  

└“There are rumors that Seo Do-jun can awaken ordinary people and even carry S-rank Heroes by the collar if he wants. Seems legit!”  

└“Stop overhyping him! What, is Seo Do-jun a god now? Turning ordinary people into S-rank Heroes? Get real!”  

└“There are still corrupted non-believers of Seo Do-jun! May monsters tear your limbs apart!”  

└“I think Gloria was even more insane than Hyun Joo-yeon! How many monsters did she shred with a single arrow? Lost count!”  

└“When Gloria drew her bow, she outshone every sexy star out there. I’d kill for a poster of that.”  

└“Gloria’s sex appeal is on a whole other level—untouchable!”  

└“Seo Do-jun has both Hyun Joo-yeon and Gloria in his hands! So jealous! He must’ve saved a country—no, the entire planet—in his past life!”  

└“The Japanese monkeys are busy worshipping Shinjo now, huh?”  

└“Even the ones who called him a traitor have flipped. They’re treating him like a god now.”  

└“Still just Seo Do-jun’s lackey, though!”  

└“If Shinjo’s a god, then Seo Do-jun is the creator who made him. LOL.”  

└“Shinjo, who used to cower before Kowabiru, became a completely different person after meeting Seo Do-jun. Is this the ‘de-Japanization’ effect?”  

└“Seeing this, the rumors about Seo Do-jun turning lives around don’t seem exaggerated at all!”  

***

Editing Room Scene:  

“Wow… This is insane.”  

Park Chul couldn’t stop exclaiming in awe as he edited footage of the Casserian Guild’s ‘Big Three’ (as the internet was already calling them) in action at the Terracotta Gate.  

Even though he’d watched it multiple times and was in the middle of editing, he couldn’t hold back his amazement at every moment.  

“But is it really true that meeting our Guild Master turns your life around?”  

Park Young-gi, editing alongside him, asked with a serious face.  

“How can you even ask that?”  

“Right? I mean, no matter how amazing the Guild Master is, how could he—Ow! Why’d you hit me?!”  

Thwack!  

“Go look in the mirror first before saying crap like that!”  

“What’s wrong with how I look?”  

“Your entire outfit is covered in luxury brands! Who do you think made that possible? It’s all thanks to Seo Do-jun! How dare you?! If you hadn’t met Seo Do-jun could you have lived like this?”  

Though Park Young-gi spent all day staring at a computer in the editing room, everything on him—from his designer glasses to his shirt, belt, pants, even his slippers—was luxury brands he could’ve never dreamed of before.  

“What’s with the gold necklace and bracelet, kid? You used to hate flashy stuff!”  

“My mom said wearing gold is good for your health…”  

“Bullshit.”  

Park Chul snorted and glared at him.  

“Don’t get cocky just because you’ve got some money now. Learn from me. Look how frugal I am!”  

Unlike Park Young-gi, who was decked out in luxury, Park Chul looked the same as always.  

“That’s because you invested in—”  

“Shut up!”  

Dodging a flying mouse, Park Young-gi fled the editing room.  

“Dammit… I never thought human Park Chul would fall for meme stocks…”  

Park Chul’s eyes welled up with tears.  

The video he edited through those tears was officially uploaded.  

[Casserian Guild’s Big Three! Hyun Joo-yeon’s Highlights! NO. 1]  

The battle footage from the Terracotta Gate was split into separate videos for Hyun Joo-yeon, Gloria, and Shinjo.  

Unsurprisingly, the reactions were explosive.  

Amid the frenzy, one man silently replayed the Big Three’s videos on loop.  

“…Life reversal.”  

Most ordinary people dream of turning their lives around.  

Unless born with extraordinary luck, most are destined to live mundane lives within their given circumstances.  

That’s why people pin their hopes on lotteries with massive jackpots.  

Since the advent of the rift era, awakening as a Hero became humanity’s lottery.  

The higher the rank, the bigger the jackpot—skyrocketing beyond imagination.  

“Choi Kang-soo!”  

A rough voice called his name, making the man frown.  

“What?”  

“Did you call President Park Sung-wook? Why hasn’t the delivery arrived yet? You forgot again, didn’t you?”  

“…Ah.”  

He had completely forgotten to make the call. Scrunching his face, he turned away.  

“You useless brat! All you do is stare at your phone all day! What the hell do you even do? Can’t even make a damn call right? If you’re gonna be like this, just get out!”  

His father, Choi Cheol-gwan, glared at him in frustration, barely containing his anger.  

“Fine, I won’t come then! Damn it! Who’d want to do this crap anyway? I quit! Handle it yourself!”  

Slamming the door open, Choi Kang-soo stormed out.  

Choi Cheol-gwan sighed deeply, watching his son leave.  

“When will that boy ever grow up?”  

Having lost his wife early and raised his son alone, Choi Cheol-gwan blamed himself for failing to properly raise him while working day and night to make ends meet.  

His son wasn’t academically gifted nor exceptionally skilled at anything. He’d hoped to pass down the family business so Choi Kang-soo could at least earn a living, but even that hadn’t worked out.  

Realizing three years ago that his son wasn’t cut out for blacksmithing, Choi Cheol-gwan could only worry about Choi Kang-soo’s future.  

He had enough money to leave behind, but what good was wealth without character?  

Believing in living honestly and diligently, Choi Cheol-gwan was deeply troubled by his son’s lack of direction and motivation.  

“He’s my only son… I can’t just abandon him.”  

With another heavy sigh, Choi Cheol-gwan pulled out his phone.  

“President Park Sung-wook? It’s me. My son forgot to call. I need that order urgently…”  

After hanging up, Choi Cheol-gwan stared at the empty space where his son had been.  

Leaving things as they were would mean dying with regrets over failing to raise his son right.  

He didn’t care about being criticized himself, but he couldn’t let Choi Kang-soo continue like this.  

After a moment of contemplation, Choi Cheol-gwan made another call.  

-Vice President Choi Cheol-gwan?  

“I hate to impose, but there’s something I’d like to ask of you.”  

-If it’s your request, of course. Shall I come to your office?  

“No, I’ll come to you. The one asking should make the effort. Besides, the item I requested is nearly finished. I’ll stop by tomorrow.”  

-Then let’s have lunch together.  

“Sounds good. Sorry for taking up your time.”  

-Not at all.  

Ending the call, Choi Cheol-gwan’s expression grew even heavier.  

No father’s heart could feel light when seeking help for his child.  

***

The Next Day:  

Over lunch, Seo Do-jun and Choi Cheol-gwan had a serious discussion.  

As the one making the request, Choi Cheol-gwan kept sighing and apologizing, visibly ashamed.  

Seo Do-jun reassured him, saying it was fine and to leave it to him. With somewhat lighter steps, Choi Cheol-gwan left.  

That evening.  

“…Why’d you call me?”  

Choi Kang-soo stood slouched, glaring discontentedly at Seo Do-jun.  

“Let’s go somewhere, Uncle.”  

“…Who’s your uncle?!”  

His weak protest fell on deaf ears. Seo Do-jun wasn’t having it.