SFRW-Chapter 28

Ch. 28 Sword God From The Ruined World  

“Hero Yang Chang-seop! I have a question!”  

“Go ahead.”  

“I believe you participated in the boss raid at the Paju rift zone two years ago. I’d like to know the details of what happened back then!”  

The Hero Academy was an educational institution for newly awakened Heroes. Yang Chang-seop had visited as a guest lecturer at the academy’s request to share advice based on his experience. However, the rookie Hero’s question dredged up memories that were far from pleasant, forcing Yang Chang-seop to offer an awkward smile.  

The Paju rift zone boss raid.  

It was a raid organized by the Hero Association, consisting of five S-rank Heroes and 300 A-rank Heroes. The S and A-rank Heroes were the actual combatants, but if non-combat support personnel—B and C-rank Heroes—were included, nearly 600 people had been mobilized for the operation.  

Yang Chang-seop, who had become South Korea’s fifth S-rank Hero, naturally played a pivotal role in the raid.  

“I believe the media has already covered that incident thoroughly.”  

Since it wasn’t a memory he was proud of, Yang Chang-seop wanted to avoid answering if possible.  

In response to his deflection, the young man—who couldn’t have been more than twenty—immediately countered:  

“The Paju rift zone boss raid is known as one of the top five largest boss raids in South Korea. Hearing first hand about your Heroic actions that day would be an honor for us. Don’t you all agree?”  

At the young man’s words, the other trainees erupted in applause, urging Yang Chang-seop to share his story. With the academy’s fresh-faced Heroes staring at him with eager eyes, Yang Chang-seop could no longer evade the question.  

“Fine. I’ll do my best to satisfy your curiosity.”  

Thunderous applause followed his words.  

“But first, how much do you all know about the Boss Monster of the Paju rift zone?”  

“Who doesn’t know about the Cyclops, one of the most powerful terrestrial monsters in the world?”  

At someone’s outburst, the others nodded in agreement.  

The Cyclops.  

A one-eyed giant renowned as the strongest terrestrial monster, infamous for its brutality. Its notoriety was unmatched.  

The Cyclops was a Boss Monster that appeared not only in South Korea but also in the U.S., France, and Russia, and had been hunted multiple times worldwide. Thanks to that, a quick internet search would yield plenty of information about it.  

“I see. But as someone who has hunted a Cyclops, there’s one thing I can say with certainty…”  

Yang Chang-seop paused briefly, and the audience held their breath, waiting.  

Seemingly pleased by their focus, Yang Chang-seop gave a faint smile and continued.  

“No Hero, no matter who they are, can avoid their body freezing up the moment they face a Cyclops.”  

“Even the world’s strongest Hero?”  

“Of course. There may be individual differences, but even the so-called world’s strongest Hero will freeze—if only for a few seconds—the moment they come face-to-face with a Cyclops. More precisely, the moment they’re exposed to the monster’s fear aura. And in that moment, either I or one of my fellow raiders would die without being able to do a thing. I can swear to that on my name.”  

At Yang Chang-seop’s claim that even the world’s strongest Hero would freeze, the new Heroes began imagining the terror of facing a Cyclops.  

Of course, they had no idea that there existed a being beyond common sense—one to whom Yang Chang-seop’s words did not apply.  

***

A 15-meter-tall giant monster.  

A single massive eye, glaring as if ready to shoot beams.  

The strongest terrestrial monster, the Cyclops, with two legs and two arms.  

Monster Fear.  

In English, fear refers to terror or dread, but with the prefix monster, the term had become a proper noun in its own right. Simply put, it was the overwhelming killing intent or aura emitted by certain monsters.  

Some scholars argued that it was caused by ultra-low-frequency waves emitted by monsters, but regardless of the reason, the fact remained: standing before a monster would cause a human’s body to freeze involuntarily.  

Kwaaaaaaaah!  

The Cyclops roared at Seo Do-jun.  

This was the manifestation of its Monster Fear—an absolute terror that no human could resist or escape.  

“Screaming won’t help. I can block your pitiful fear aura easily.”  

Seo Do-jun smirked at the 15-meter-tall giant bellowing savagely, as if telling it not to bother.  

The Cyclops was undoubtedly worthy of being called the strongest terrestrial monster. Even in the ruined world, the word ‘terror’ had always followed it. Countless knights, mages, warriors, and soldiers had been trampled mercilessly. Once enraged, it possessed destructive power capable of turning anything in its path—human or monster—into a lump of minced flesh.  

Yet now, this infamous Cyclops stood before Seo Do-jun with a red magic spear deeply embedded in its right collarbone, howling pathetically.  

In South Korea, the Cyclops had only been hunted once—two years ago, when the Hero Association forcibly gathered Heroes. The raid, centered around five S-rank and 300 A-rank Heroes, had been a success in terms of outcome.  

However, three of the S-rank Heroes had been severely injured, and most of the A-rank Heroes had suffered major wounds. With over 70 deaths, it had been a victory drenched in blood.  

The Cyclops could also be found in rift zones of three other countries besides South Korea. Those nations had also launched large-scale raids, suffering similarly catastrophic losses. This was precisely why the Cyclops was called the strongest terrestrial monster.  

Thanks to this, it had earned the title of a Boss Monster that couldn’t be hunted recklessly—until now.  

“Blood cells, right?”  

“The most perfect way to fuse a monster’s body parts is using the blood cells from a mutated troll king’s blood. But as a substitute, Cyclops blood cells aren’t bad either. They can bond most things as if they were originally one.”  

Seo Do-jun recalled the words of Ryuntna, his former comrade and a renowned scholar. He had requested a weapon forged from two giant black wyvern fangs, but he doubted the local craftsmanship could produce anything satisfactory.  

Since blacksmith Choi Cheol-gwan had never forged two wyvern fangs into a single sword before, Seo Do-jun had suddenly remembered his old comrade’s advice on his way home.  

The best option would have been a mutated troll king’s blood cells, but unfortunately, none had been discovered on Earth yet.  

As the next best alternative, Seo Do-jun had chosen the Cyclops, whose regenerative abilities surpassed most trolls. Since it was widely known as the Boss Monster of South Korea’s rift zone, he had checked the entry permissions and headed straight in.  

Blood cells were, in essence, the components of the Cyclops’s blood—which was exactly what Seo Do-jun needed.  

“Since I’m here, I might as well take its magic stone too.”  

Naturally, a Cyclops’s magic stone was of legendary quality—on par with a Casserian magic stone.  

Now that he had officially secured his S-rank Hero qualification, Seo Do-jun planned to sell both the Cyclops and Casserian magic stones.  

Kwaaaaaaaah!  

Unable to tolerate Seo Do-jun treating it like a gift package, the Cyclops raised its left hand high into the air.  

Kwaang!  

As the Cyclops slammed its left hand down, the ground erupted in an explosive upheaval, surging toward Seo Do-jun.  

Despite the red magic spear lodged in its right collarbone, the Cyclops demonstrated why it was called the strongest terrestrial monster, delivering a devastating attack with just one hand.  

Seo Do-jun manifested a magic sword in his right hand and drove it into the ground before him. The terrifying wave of earth split apart as if blocked by an invisible barrier, passing harmlessly to either side of him.  

Even though its attack had failed, the Cyclops didn’t stop. It uprooted an enormous tree and hurled it at Seo Do-jun.  

Dodging would have been difficult, and blocking it outright seemed nearly impossible—yet Seo Do-jun stood his ground. He pulled the magic sword from the ground and slashed a cross-shaped strike through the air.  

Ssskik!  

The tree was cleanly quartered, the pieces flying past Seo Do-jun before embedding themselves elsewhere with a thunderous crash.  

Having its attacks effortlessly thwarted twice, the Cyclops roared in even greater fury. Under normal circumstances, it would have charged without hesitation, using its overwhelming physical power to crush Seo Do-jun into a pulp.  

But the red magic spear in its collarbone was a problem.  

Seeing that the monster couldn’t use its most effective attacks, Seo Do-jun raised his sword and remarked,  

“The spear must have pierced your collarbone and reached near your heart. Must be frustrating—one reckless move, and your heart gets skewered.”  

The magic spear hadn’t dissipated because Seo Do-jun was continuously supplying it with magic. The cost was significant, but to him, restraining the Cyclops’s movements was worth it.  

However, it was time to end this.  

Maintaining this is getting tough.  

If he still had the power of his past title, the Sword God, it might have been different. But with less than half that strength now, this battle was undeniably draining.  

Seo Do-jun swung his raised sword downward at the Cyclops, which glared at him with its single, furious eye.  

A crimson crescent of magic shot from the blade’s edge.  

Shuuk!  

The Cyclops’s legs were cleanly severed.  

Next, its arms were cut off, and soon, its torso split apart—its massive frame shrinking rapidly.  

Even its formidable regenerative abilities were useless against Seo Do-jun’s red magic.  

“…Hah.”  

Seo Do-jun exhaled deeply for the first time and dispelled the magic spear embedded in the Cyclops’s collarbone.  

Freed from its shackles, the Cyclops tried to counterattack—  

Puhk!  

But the magic sword in Seo Do-jun’s hand transformed into a spear, piercing straight through its skull.  

Approaching the lifeless Cyclops, Seo Do-jun collected its blood in a large prepared vial and took its magic stone.  

“The Cyclops’s tendons, heart, and eyes… Are no longer useful.”  

Unlike the Casserian, the Cyclops’s corpse yielded several valuable materials. Its tendons, heart, and eyes were top-tier ingredients for crafting high-grade weapons, often worth more than mid-to-high-tier magic stones.  

Cartilage, claws, hide, and bones were also lucrative, but Seo Do-jun only took the most expensive parts before heading toward the rift entrance, not far from the peak where the Cyclops had resided.  

Depending on the environment, rift zones and Gates could have one, two, or even three or four entrances. The Paju rift zone had two.  

Stepping out of the rift zone, Seo Do-jun noticed the night sky had already fallen. He pulled out his phone from his pocket.  

Calls and messages that had been blocked due to being out of service range now flooded his screen.  

“Min Hong-gi?”  

There were messages and missed calls from Min Hong-gi, the Hero Association’s Deputy Director. After fiddling with his phone, Seo Do-jun dialed a number.  

[Hello?] 

“Still at work, I see. I’m on my way, so wait.”  

[Who is this? We’re closed for the day, so if it’s business, come back tomor—]

“I’ve got something urgent to deliver. Wait just an hour. Not you—the boss.”  

[Who the hell— Hey, you little—]  

Seo Do-jun ended the call, leaving Choi Kang-soo’s irritated voice behind.  

But he soon realized finding transportation near the rift zone wouldn’t be easy.  

“Should I buy a car?”  

Seo Do-jun seriously contemplated it.