SFRW-Chapter 151

Ch. 151 Sword God From The Ruined World

The water spirit, Shuma.  

Seo Do-jun silently observed the seahorse-like water spirit staring back at him from Eun-young’s palm.  

In the ruined world, those who could summon spirits—spirit mages—were far rarer than ordinary mages.  

This was inevitable.  

While anyone with moderate talent and effort could become a knight (a profession with virtually no barriers to entry), becoming a mage required genius-level talent and innate luck.  

As for spirit mages?  

“Fate.”  

Becoming a spirit mage was at least ten times harder than becoming a mage—perhaps even more.  

One needed a robust physique, magic control, and spirit affinity just to meet the basic requirements.  

But meeting these conditions didn’t guarantee becoming a spirit mage.  

These were merely the prerequisites for spirits to reveal themselves to humans.  

In other words, spirit mages weren’t born by human will, but by the spirits’ choice.  

Thus, the water spirit now summoned on Eun-young’s palm had voluntarily appeared before her.  

And once manifested, it would never leave her side until her death.  

‘Why Eun-young of all people?’  

Seo Do-jun glared at the water spirit with terrifying intensity.  

“Huh? Shuma, why are you shaking?”  

Noticing the spirit trembling under Seo Do-jun’s pressure, Eun-young protectively cupped her hands around it.  

Relenting, Seo Do-jun eased his glare—though his eyes remained sharp.  

‘She can’t wield its power yet, but…’  

To use a spirit’s power, one must physically merge with it—similar to the shamanic tribes’ possession rituals.  

This required both a durable body and magic control.  

The process was so demanding that only the fated could become spirit mages, but their power matched the difficulty.  

The strongest spirit mage Seo Do-jun had known, Loen, commanded four elemental spirits simultaneously, rivaling archmages in might—casting fire and lightning with mere gestures.  

Seo Do-jun studied Eun-young, who smiled obliviously at her new companion. His jaw tightened.  

‘Was this my fault?’  

He’d only wanted her to grow strong.  

Under the guise of meditation, he’d trained her in magic cultivation. Under the pretense of self-defense, he’d taught martial arts.  

‘If only she’d been talentless…’  

But Eun-young was both gifted and diligent.  

“You’re doing great! Keep it up!”  

“Mr. Seo Do-jun, Eun-young’s a natural! She absorbs everything we teach!”  

“Kassal! She’s definitely a genius!”  

“It’s astonishing. I couldn’t learn this quickly as a child.”  

Whether taught by Seo Do-jun or Casserian Guild’s elite, Eun-young mastered everything with alarming speed.  

While this had delighted him before…  

‘A spirit? Now?’  

“Using a spirit’s power isn’t hard once summoned. Continuous summoning deepens your bond until you naturally synchronize. Then, you’ll wield its power unaided.”  

The words of a former spirit mage comrade echoed in Seo Do-jun’s mind.  

Eun-young would inevitably awaken to this power.  

Given her personality, she might even rush to help others in danger—just like him and his guild.  

This terrified him.  

‘I can’t let her face those horrors.’  

She was still a child. No matter what crises befell Earth, he’d prevent her from fighting monsters.  

“Eun-young.”  

“Yeah?”  

“About that…”  

Would she obey if he forbade summoning?  

Yes—she always listened. But would that solve anything?  

With her bond to Shuma strengthening daily, could he sever their growing connection?  

Spirits had names—’Shuma’ was likely the name it had given her itself.  

“Brother, what’s wrong?”  

Meeting her guileless gaze, Seo Do-jun couldn’t bring himself to forbid it.  

Instead, he said:  

“Don’t summon Shuma too often. And don’t show others.”  

“Why?”  

“People might think it’s strange. You’re the only one with a friend like Shuma, right? I’m worried they’d treat you differently.”  

“Strangely?”  

Nodding half-understanding, Eun-young still asked hopefully:  

“Can I play with Shuma when alone?”  

“…Not for too long.”  

Limiting summoning duration to delay her power awakening was his only compromise.  

After reassuring her for thirty minutes, Seo Do-jun left, grimly acknowledging Earth’s changing reality.  

‘If spirits can manifest…’  

“The synchronization rate keeps rising. Even now.”  

Vaitel’s warning resurfaced. Rising synchronization had made spirits possible. What other changes would come?  

“…Here too, you’ll lose everything without saving anyone.”  

Vaitel had been certain of Earth’s doom.  

“We’ll see.”  

Since learning escape was impossible, Seo Do-jun had resolved: This time, I’ll protect them all.  

***

Overworked  

Seo Do-jun’s days demanded three bodies.  

Personal training. Guild member instruction. Black Tiger rider drills.  

Monitoring Eun-young’s spirit bond. Guild and Association duties.  

He operated on 2-3 hours of sleep daily. While his body endured, mental exhaustion mounted.  

“Aren’t you overdoing it?” Gloria asked worriedly.  

Seo Do-jun smiled faintly—one of his few emotional expressions nowadays.  

Unlike his initial stoicism, he now showed bare-minimum warmth to family and guild members.  

“How are your parents adjusting?”  

“Better than in America, thanks to you.” Gloria’s loving gaze made him avert his eyes.  

Fortunately, she understood his boundaries and waited patiently.  

“Guild Master!”  

A panting guild member interrupted—urgent summons from the Association.  

Seo Do-jun knew instantly: The peace has broken.  

***

Indonesia: The Watcher’s Rage  

S-rank Hero Soliaman seethed at his monotonous rift-watch duty.  

“Damn it! How long must I babysit this hole?!”  

After the primitive tribe’s massacre of hundreds of A-ranks, S-ranks were stationed as sentinels.  

But why him indefinitely?  

“Those cowards!”  

The Association had promised duty rotation once tensions eased. Empty words.  

His peers blamed him for ‘provoking’ Seo Do-jun during the Black Tiger dispute, making him the perfect scapegoat.  

“Should I defect? Join Casserian?”  

Family ties rooted him to Indonesia.  

“Next time, I’m letting patriots die first!”  

As he kicked dirt angrily, something emerged from the rift.  

Thud. Thud.  

A 2-meter-tall giant, muscles like a strongman champion, stepped forward.  

Tattoos of unknown symbols covered his body. A spear in one hand, round shield on the other wrist.  

Soliaman instinctively retreated as prickling energy assaulted his senses.  

This being radiated apex predator dominance. Despite being an S-rank, he felt like a rabbit before a wolf.  

“W-who…?”  

“□□□□□□□□□□,” the stranger spoke incomprehensibly.  

Then—  

“…Where is this world’s king?”  

In perfect Indonesian.  

“You… speak?!”  

“Are you a warrior?”  

“I… suppose.”  

The giant’s face twisted in disbelief.  

“You? Defeat my warriors? Impossible! Tell me—who killed them?!”  

As his voice rose, a magic storm erupted.  

Swish! Crash!  

Like blades, it shredded everything—including Soliaman.  

“Guh…! H-how…?”  

Collapsing in a bloodied heap, only one person came to mind:  

Seo Do-jun.  

With Soliaman’s last breath, the giant scowled at the corpse.  

“…Find the king. Find my brothers’ killer. Then trample this world.”  

At his command, tribesmen poured from the rift.  

Simultaneously, across 100 global rifts, sealed Gates burst open—releasing countless primitive warriors.