SFRW-Chapter 19

Ch. 19 Sword God From The Ruined World

Casserian was never an aggressive monster.  

It lived solely to protect its own territory, to the point where one could even call it docile.  

However, the flip side of thoroughly defending its territory meant that it showed absolutely no mercy or forgiveness to any intruders.  

Casserian grew enraged when an unfamiliar presence invaded its peaceful domain.  

It’s only happiness was sleeping undisturbed, free from any interference, and it instinctively knew that it had to make the intruder pay dearly to prevent such disruptions in the future.  

This was a warning—a stern one.  

A powerful warning never to trespass into its territory, not even by mistake.  

Kwaooooooooooh!  

Casserian let out a long, mournful cry, unfurling its hunched body and spreading its wings wide.  

It stretched its neck upward toward the sky, awakening the powerful force of wind inherent within its body.  

In an instant, the flow of the surrounding wind turned sharp and violent.  

The Emperor of the Sky.  

Casserian dared to consider itself the Emperor of the Sky.  

Of course, whether other powerful flying monsters would acknowledge it as such was debatable.  

“So it really was a Casserian.”  

Seo Do-jun gazed at the Casserian exuding murderous intent toward him, his expression tinged with nostalgia.  

He already knew, but the monsters on Earth bore the same names as those from his ruined world.  

All because of a special machine called the magic stone Analyzer.  

Magic stones were, in essence, a monster’s ID.  

In his ruined world, whenever a monster was hunted, its magic stone could be analyzed to identify whose it was.  

Earth was no different.  

Though Earth lacked Great Scholars or Archmages like his world, its advanced scientific civilization had invented the magic stone Analyzer, allowing people to learn a monster’s name from the data it output.  

To Seo Do-jun, Casserian was a rather special monster.  

Casserian Le Vandeyan.  

Interestingly, if you removed just the ‘Le’ from its true name in the ruined world, it matched the monster’s name on Earth: Casserian.  

Of course, it wasn’t special just because of the name.  

The real reason Casserian was special to Seo Do-jun was—  

“It was an excellent means of transportation and a combat species.”  

Casserian’s flight capabilities were truly exceptional.  

Moreover, there were hardly any flying monsters powerful enough to subdue a Casserian, making it possible to dominate the skies with swift mobility and superior combat prowess.  

On Earth, however, with the existence of far more comfortable and relatively fast airplanes, the value of Casserian as a means of transportation was questionable.  

“Feeding and maintaining such a massive creature wouldn’t be easy either.”  

In his ruined world, he wouldn’t have hesitated to tame a Casserian.  

But on Earth, the environment was different, and the aftermath of taming one would be too troublesome to handle, so Seo Do-jun decided to simply regard it as a monster carrying an mythic-grade magic stone.  

Kwaooooooooooh!  

Even as Casserian roared ferociously at him, Seo Do-jun didn’t so much as blink.  

Casserian might be an incredibly dangerous boss monster on Earth, but—  

“Where does a fledgling like you get off…?”  

Seo Do-jun casually threw a punch.  

A surge of deep blue magic shot from his fist like a whirlwind of fire, striking Casserian’s right wing head-on.  

Kwa-drrdddddk!  

From its large feathers to its hide and bones, everything was horrifically burned and torn apart.  

A hole larger than an average adult’s torso was blasted through Casserian’s right wing, completely disabling it.  

Kwaaaaauuuuuuuh!  

Casserian let out a scream-like cry, flapping its remaining wing wildly.  

Feathers shot out like blades, and small whirlwinds surged toward Seo Do-jun as if trying to shred him apart.  

A faint smile touched Seo Do-jun’s lips at Casserian’s attack.  

In the past, this was the same attack that had turned ground monsters into mere lumps of meat under his command.  

Seo Do-jun raised his hand lightly, forming a magic barrier.  

The same magic barrier that had steadfastly protected the World Tree from the attacks of hundreds of Vulkena.  

And after absorbing hundreds of Eternal Embers, his magic had grown even stronger.  

There was no way an attack from a mere Casserian could leave a mark.  

Casserian’s feathers turned to ash upon colliding with Seo Do-jun’s deep blue magic barrier, and the fierce whirlwinds that could demolish buildings dissipated powerlessly.  

“If you receive something, you should return it.”  

Seo Do-jun threw another punch.  

Kwa-drrdddddk!  

Following the right wing, the left wing was also pierced with a gaping hole.  

Now deprived of its most threatening ability—flight—Casserian’s heightened senses were rendered useless by extreme fear and pain.  

The only advantage left was its sturdy endurance, backed by formidable defense.  

But Seo Do-jun’s overwhelming attack power, capable of piercing wings with a single punch, made the outcome of this battle a foregone conclusion.  

Casserian, which should have torn the intruder to shreds, instead curled up pathetically, its head buried in the ground, weeping before Seo Do-jun’s overwhelming might.  

It was an instinctive act of survival, and Seo Do-jun knew better than anyone that this was the perfect moment to thoroughly break and tame the magnificent flying beast.  

Yet, without a second’s hesitation, Seo Do-jun delivered another punch.  

Puh-uck!  

Casserian’s head exploded, and its massive body slumped lifelessly.  

“I assume you understand you contributed nothing?”  

Seo Do-jun spoke to Hyun Joo-yeon, who was staring at him dumbfounded, drool dripping from her mouth.  

Having just witnessed Seo Do-jun hunt the boss monster of a rift zone without breaking a sweat, she could only stand there, looking utterly disheveled—the most unbecoming sight of her life.  

***  

“Damn it! Park Hae-yeol looks like a complete mess!”  

Park Hae-yeol, a towering man in his late thirties standing over 190 cm with a rugged, muscular build, kicked a boulder in frustration, his voice seething with irritation.  

Boom!  

The boulder, larger than most cars, shattered into fragments that scattered in all directions.  

“Calm down. As the saying goes, A frog that crouches long jumps far. The more you endure this hardship, Guild Master, the more you’ll undoubtedly become one of the world’s most respected Heroes.”  

“…That’s how it should be. That’s how I’ll pay back those who looked down on me!”  

“Exactly. Another saying goes, Forget favors, but never forget grudges. The more you accumulate, the more explosive your retaliation will be when the time comes. When that day arrives, everyone will kneel before you.”  

The sweet flattery eased Park Hae-yeol’s expression slightly.  

Park Hae-yeol, one of only seven S-rank Heroes in South Korea.  

Just three years ago, he had been the Guild Master of Sweet Life, one of the largest Hero guilds, lacking nothing in both quality and quantity.  

But a single mistake had sent him plummeting to rock bottom.  

“If only I hadn’t been so reckless trying to hunt that damn monster Casserian…”  

Though revenge was sweet, Park Hae-yeol wished he could go back in time and slap some sense into his past self for daring to challenge Casserian alone.  

Of course, that was impossible, which only made him angrier at himself.  

“But no one knows Casserian’s strategy better than you, Guild Master. If you endure this time, I’m certain you’ll become the only Hero in the world capable of hunting Casserian with the smallest team. Perhaps the Hero Association might even grant you exclusive rights to Casserian hunts.”  

“Exclusive rights to Casserian? Hmm…”  

The thought alone brought a smile to Park Hae-yeol’s face for the first time.  

“Well, no Hero in the world knows Casserian better than me.”  

If he emphasized this point, the Hero Association might seriously consider granting him exclusive rights.  

Hunting Casserian safely required at least three S-rank Heroes.  

But which guild had three S-rank Heroes to spare?  

At best, guilds would have to form alliances or hire unaffiliated S-rank Heroes as mercenaries—costing billions of won.  

Hiring S-rank Heroes just to obtain a 10-billion-won magic stone wasn’t cost-effective.  

Thus, Park Hae-yeol was confident that if he could gather 300 A-rank Heroes to support him—the only Hero with unique insights into Casserian—he could successfully hunt it.  

Of course, assembling such a force would require enormous funding and time.  

But if he secured exclusive rights, he could easily recoup the investment.  

While all monsters carried magic stones, the drop rate wasn’t high.  

Boss monsters, however, were different—they dropped a magic stone 100% of the time.  

An mythic-grade magic stone from Casserian started at 10 billion won, making it one of the highest-grade stones in existence.  

Though Sweet Life Guild had suffered catastrophic losses and barely broke even by selling one for 13 billion, if Park Hae-yeol could secure exclusive rights to hunt Casserian every three months…  

The profits would snowball over time.  

And then, life would truly be sweet, just like the guild’s name.  

However—  

“When the hell am I supposed to assemble a Casserian raid team? Damn it!”  

The plan was grand, but its feasibility was questionable at best, making it a torturous hope.  

“Still, I’m the only one who can reliably take down that monstrous bird. Someday, my plan will come to fruition.”  

As Park Hae-yeol smirked triumphantly, one had to wonder—did he even know?  

That somewhere out there, a man had just hunted Casserian bare-handed, without anyone’s help.  

***  

The mythic-grade magic stone dug out from the shattered skull of Casserian emitted a dazzlingly intense light, its size larger than a basketball.  

Magic stones were a new energy source that contributed to Earth’s civilization, with limitless applications.  

Most importantly, the energy condensed within them caused no environmental pollution or hazards, making them treasures in the eyes of scientists.  

Seo Do-jun carelessly stuffed the 10-billion-won stone into his backpack, showing no sign of joy.  

“You don’t need to guide me anymore. I’ll move on my own from now.”  

Entering rift zones was difficult, but leaving was easy.  

Seo Do-jun slung his backpack over his shoulder, ready to hunt other monsters.  

“Aren’t you taking Casserian’s byproducts?”  

Though it was a boss monster, unlike others, its byproducts weren’t valuable enough for high-grade equipment.  

At best, its beak, claws, and feathers had auxiliary uses, while the rest were only good for research.  

Knowing this, Seo Do-jun replied, 

“Rather than wasting time dismantling it, hunting another monster for its magic stone is far more efficient.”  

Hyun Joo-yeon had no rebuttal.  

Given Seo Do-jun’s prowess, he was right.  

“You can keep the byproducts. Consider it your guide fee.”  

With that, Seo Do-jun vanished without a trace.  

Left alone, Hyun Joo-yeon could only stare at Casserian’s corpse in disbelief.  

“Me… An S-rank Hero…”  

Her sense of identity was in shambles.