SFRW-Chapter 122

Ch. 122 Sword God From The Ruined World

“Where are we going?”  

In response to Choi Kang-soo’s question, Seo Do-jun remained silent, gripping the steering wheel.  

Choi Kang-soo wanted to yell ‘What the hell are you doing?’ but remembering how this Hero had once given him a painful knuckle sandwich, he couldn’t afford to lose his temper.  

Gritting his teeth to suppress his anger, Choi Kang-soo had no choice but to sit quietly in Seo Do-jun’s car.  

When the car entered the highway, Choi Kang-soo’s face twisted in frustration – he’d assumed they were just going somewhere in Seoul or its suburbs.  

“What the hell? I have plans tonight!”  

“Cancel them.”  

At Seo Do-jun’s firm reply, Choi Kang-soo’s eyes bulged with anger.  

“You… you…!”  

His barely contained rage surged again, but when Seo Do-jun glanced at him, Choi Kang-soo could only turn his head away.  

‘Damn bastard! This is kidnapping! Kidnapping!’  

For a moment he considered calling the police, but doubted they’d believe him.  

“Shit! Today was so important…”  

He’d spent two months wooing a woman for a fancy dinner date.  

Seo Do-jun had ruined everything, making Choi Kang-soo feel resentful enough to kill.  

Reluctantly, Choi Kang-soo sent her a long message about an emergency forcing him to postpone.  

The icy reply came 10 minutes later: “Don’t contact me again.”  

“FUCK!” Choi Kang-soo exploded. “You ruined this! Do you know how much I spent courting her? You’re responsible for this!”  

A knuckle sandwich from Seo Do-jun silenced him.  

“Sleep if you’re going to be noisy.”  

With one hit, Choi Kang-soo was knocked out, restoring peace in the car.  

The vehicle sped down the highway.  

“Wake up.”  

“Ugh…”  

Rubbing his throbbing head, Choi Kang-soo noticed their dark surroundings.  

“Where the hell…”  

“Get out.”  

Seo Do-jun exited first, followed by Choi Kang-soo moving as slowly as a lazy donkey.  

“You dream of being a Hero?”  

“…Well, doesn’t everyone?”  

At their age, finding someone who didn’t dream of awakening as a Hero was harder.  

“Let me show you reality. Put this on.”  

Seo Do-jun tossed combat gear from the trunk.  

“You think I’d be scared? Don’t make me laugh.”  

Choi Kang-soo dressed expertly – helping his father had given him plenty of practice.  

“So what Gate is this?”  

Looking around, he couldn’t recognize the unfamiliar location.  

“A Gate? You think you could taste reality there?”  

Seo Do-jun walked ahead. When Choi Kang-soo hesitated upon learning it wasn’t a Gate, Seo Do-jun looked back.  

“Scared because it’s not a Gate? Want to turn back now?”  

Going back would mean never speaking of Heroic dreams again – just preparing to inherit his father’s business.  

“Who’s scared?!” Choi Kang-soo shouted, stepping forward.  

They entered a rift zone.  

“Final warning. You won’t die. But you’ll experience unprecedented terror – maybe lifelong trauma.”  

Choi Kang-soo’s eyes shook like an earthquake at this ultimatum.  

Many suffered trauma from monster encounters, some unable to function normally.  

‘If I get traumatized, I might live like trash forever…’  

But maybe – just maybe – he’d awaken as a Hero!  

Rift zones had much higher awakening rates than gates, and with Seo Do-jun present, safety wasn’t a concern.  

Though afraid of trauma, Choi Kang-soo couldn’t pass up this life opportunity.  

“L-lead the way!”  

Seo Do-jun silently observed him. Honestly, he hoped Choi Kang-soo would quit here.  

Choi Kang-soo’s father wanted him to abandon foolish dreams for an ordinary life.  

Seo Do-jun had made time to bring Choi Kang-soo here to repay his debts to Mr. Choi Cheol-gwan.  

“No regrets?”  

“N-none!”  

At Choi Kang-soo’s stubbornness, Seo Do-jun reluctantly led him into the rift zone.  

* * *  

They entered the Namwon Rift Zone, classified as intensity level 3.  

Among South Korea’s top five most brutal rift zones, its harsh environment housed monsters most Heroes avoided.  

‘So annoying!’  

Choi Kang-soo’s face showed pure frustration.  

The swamp sucked at his calves with each step. Rotting stenches assaulted his nose.  

‘That Hero who wanted cooling in combat gear wasn’t crazy!’  

Sweat poured under the humid conditions and heavy gear.  

But worse than the environment were the mosquitoes and ants swarming him relentlessly.  

After just an hour, Choi Kang-soo wanted to flee.  

‘Why bring me to this hellhole?!’  

He blamed Seo Do-jun – clearly trying to break his spirit.  

‘Think I’ll quit that easily?’  

Choi Kang-soo stubbornly resolved to endure.  

“Stay alert.”  

As Seo Do-jun warned, Choi Kang-soo noticed fist-sized black wasps approaching.  

Cleebies – monsters that could fire dozens of paralyzing venomous stingers before devouring victims alive.  

“AH! Fuck! That hurts!”  

Though Seo Do-jun’s sword sliced through dozens, some stings got through Choi Kang-soo’s armor.  

Swelling rapidly from the neurotoxin, his lips puffed up grotesquely.  

“Want to turn back now?”  

“N-no way!” Choi Kang-soo insisted through distorted speech.  

His ordeal continued:  

– Screaming when a thigh-sized centipede attacked  

– Falling backward from a two-headed swamp snake  

– Facing 2-meter dragonflies, cyclopean spiders, and man-sized steel-chewing caterpillars  

Each new horror made Choi Kang-soo long for home.  

‘Damn…I underestimated this.’  

Helping his father with monster byproducts had made him complacent.  

He’d dreamed of Heroic glory without understanding the terrifying reality.  

‘If I just awaken, these will be nothing!’  

Choi Kang-soo clung to Seo Do-jun’s back.  

Seeing Choi Kang-soo’s stubbornness despite the harassment, Seo Do-jun decided stronger measures were needed.  

‘I hope after today he’ll learn his father’s craft.’  

This was sincere – Mr. Choi Cheol-gwan’s skills deserved an heir.  

But fate had other plans.  

“Why’s it holding its own head?!”  

Choi Kang-soo trembled before Dullahans – true predators of Namwon.  

Over 2 meters tall, muscular undead warriors dragging bastard swords while cradling their severed heads.  

Ten appeared simultaneously.  

That Choi Kang-soo hadn’t wet himself was commendable.  

“This is just the beginning. The reality of your Heroic dreams.”  

Seo Do-jun engaged in deliberately prolonged combat while minor monsters harassed Choi Kang-soo.  

‘Should be appearing soon…’  

Seo Do-jun’s eyes sharpened as he carefully managed Choi Kang-soo’s exposure.  

A bloodcurdling shriek erupted.  

“Eargh!”  

Choi Kang-soo covered his ears from the piercing sound.  

Next came vampires – not the elegant kind, but snake-faced monstrosities with rotting skin, stinking claws, and black venom.  

A hundred appeared.  

“AHHH! DO SOMETHING! WE’LL DIE!”  

Despite knowing Seo Do-jun was the world’s strongest Hero from countless videos, Choi Kang-soo felt no security in this living nightmare.  

“Don’t distract me!” Seo Do-jun shouted with feigned stress.  

“Fuck! Why start what you can’t finish?!”  

Choi Kang-soo rolled his eyes nervously, watching for any approaching monsters.  

‘This should shatter his illusions.’  

Seo Do-jun believed Choi Kang-soo’s trembling legs meant no more Heroic nonsense.  

Learning metalworking from his father would be far better.  

As Seo Do-jun prepared to end the charade before Choi Kang-soo did something stupid—  

The space quaked violently as if from an earthquake.  

The first double-rift phenomenon within a rift zone had begun.  

More precisely…  

[40.01%]  

“Crossed 40 percent,” muttered Vaitel in Russia’s freezing winds, praying no idiot like Avarr would emerge this time.