SFRW-Chapter 31

Ch. 31 Sword God From The Ruined World 

“I’ll accept your conditions. But you must not disclose this to anyone. If it becomes known that you’re receiving special treatment… The Association will deny any such privileges, and of course, none will exist.”  

Seo Do-jun silently stared at Na Tae-hwang as he spoke.  

He was well aware that the privilege granted to him was no small matter.  

No, he considered it an extremely unreasonable demand.  

That’s why Seo Do-jun thought the Association would never accept it.  

Still, the reason he demanded such a privilege was simple, he needed to draw a clear line between himself and the Association.  

In other words, if they wanted something from him, they would have to pay an even greater price.  

Naturally, if they refused, Seo Do-jun could cleanly sever ties with the Association.  

But against his expectations, the Association accepted his demand.  

“Is it really necessary to go this far?”  

At Seo Do-jun’s question, Na Tae-hwang let out a hollow laugh.  

“It seems you’re aware of just how unreasonable your demand was.”  

Despite deliberately exaggerating his tone to lighten the mood, Seo Do-jun’s unchanging expression made Na Tae-hwang realize once again just how difficult this man was to deal with.  

“Honestly, it was an unreasonable demand. No, it was practically unacceptable. Still, the reason I accepted was because my gut told me I shouldn’t sever ties with you like this.”  

Though he called it a ‘gut feeling’, Seo Do-jun knew exactly what he meant.  

I messed up.

He had intended it as a warning—don’t bother me—but Na Tae-hwang interpreted it differently. Regardless, since it was his own doing, Seo Do-jun had no choice but to admit he’d made a mistake.  

Moreover—  

This is reckless.  

Na Tae-hwang himself was taking the biggest risk.  

If this were discovered, he could deny it, but would it really be that easy?  

All the blame would fall on him.  

Knowing this, Seo Do-jun felt uneasy that Na Tae-hwang had still accepted his demand.  

“Satisfied?”  

At Na Tae-hwang’s question, Seo Do-jun nodded, deciding to see things through rather than take back his words.  

“Since it’s nothing else, I’ll look forward to you hunting monsters diligently and selling magic stones.”  

“I actually had some magic stones I wanted to sell. Could you handle the brokerage?”  

“Brokerage?”  

Usually, brokering magic stones meant there was enough value to spark competition among buyers—in other words, an auction. Which meant—  

“You talk as if you have an Imaginary-grade magic stone.”  

Na Tae-hwang said it offhandedly.  

Imaginary-grade magic stones could only be obtained from Boss Monsters that even S-rank Heroes couldn’t easily hunt.  

“I have two.”  

At Seo Do-jun’s casual reply, Na Tae-hwang’s expression stiffened for a moment.  

“One is Casserian’s magic stone, and the other is a Cyclops’s.”  

As he spoke, Seo Do-jun picked up the coffee on the table and took a sip.  

True to the rumors of his love for coffee, Na Tae-hwang’s brew was exceptional in aroma and taste.  

Seo Do-jun, who had grown fond of coffee while living on Earth, found it quite satisfying.  

Unlike Seo Do-jun’s enjoyment, Na Tae-hwang was doubting his own ears.  

“Did you just say… Casserian and Cyclops’s magic stones?”  

Na Tae-hwang looked at Seo Do-jun with disbelief.  

As the head of South Korea’s Hero Association, he knew the state of rift zones better than anyone in the country.  

Casserian, the Boss Monster of the Chuncheon rift zone, and Cyclops, the Boss Monster of the Paju rift zone.  

These two monsters had only been hunted once each so far.  

They were so powerful that multiple S-rank Heroes had to be deployed, but the rewards weren’t worth the effort, so they were effectively left alone.  

Fortunately, since rift zones had a limited number of Boss Monsters, leaving them wouldn’t trigger a breach.  

Thus, the Hero Association avoided unnecessary risks by not raiding them.  

But now, Seo Do-jun claimed to have hunted them? Na Tae-hwang couldn’t help but be stunned.  

“You wouldn’t lie about something so easily exposed… Did you have a guild working with you?”  

Na Tae-hwang didn’t for a second believe Seo Do-jun had hunted a Boss Monster alone.  

But Seo Do-jun wasn’t kind enough to answer Na Tae-hwang’s question directly.  

“I’ll send the magic stones by tomorrow.”  

With his business concluded, Seo Do-jun stood up as if there was no further reason to stay.  

Na Tae-hwang found it almost amusing that someone would treat him so dismissively.  

“I never thought getting an answer from you would be this difficult. Well, fine. Still, I’d like to see you often.”  

He called out to Seo Do-jun as he left the room, but there was no response.  

“Interesting.”  

Na Tae-hwang murmured to himself, inhaling the fading scent of coffee as he sank deep into thought.  

***

“When do you plan to do the job?”  

Despite Hong Hee-ju’s irritated tone, Kang Young-pyo remained unfazed.  

“I’ll do it when the time comes. Why are you so impatient?”  

“How can you say that?! You’ve already taken 30 billion as a down payment! Shouldn’t you be working already?”  

Her sharp, venomous glare made Kang Young-pyo frown and click his tongue.  

“Director Hong Hee-ju, do you even know who you’re dealing with?”  

“Hmph! You think I’d be scared just because that bastard became a Hero?”  

“Seems your information network is completely useless. Should I enlighten you?”  

At Kang Young-pyo’s mocking tone, Hong Hee-ju seethed with curses but held back, knowing better than to provoke him.  

“Do you think I came here to play word games?”  

Kang Young-pyo chuckled.  

“Hey! Do you even intend to do the job? If not, just say so now!”  

Unable to hold back any longer, Hong Hee-ju shouted. Kang Young-pyo sneered.  

“Do you really think you can solve this if I back out now?”  

“There are plenty of people who’d kill for money without a second thought.”  

“Sure. But what if that person is an S-rank Hero? Would they still risk their lives for a few bucks?”  

“What are you talking about?”  

“Director Hong Hee-ju, the man you want dead—Seo Do-jun—is an S-rank Hero. The eighth S-rank Hero in South Korea!”  

“That lowlife is an S-rank Hero?! Are you lying to me? What kind of trick is this?!”  

“Tsk tsk tsk. You still don’t get it. Director Hong Hee-ju, do I look like I’m joking? If you don’t believe me, check the news tonight. You’ll find out exactly who the eighth S-rank Hero is—the one shaking up South Korea.”  

Kang Young-pyo’s expression wasn’t cheerful either.  

After returning from England, he had spent considerable time and money gathering information on Seo Do-jun.  

He had assumed Seo Do-jun was insignificant, but Hyun Joo-yeon’s words nagged at him, so he decided to verify everything thoroughly.  

The results were shocking.  

S-rank Hero.  

“I don’t even need to get involved.”  

Now he understood what Hyun Joo-yeon had meant.  

The extent of Seo Do-jun’s power didn’t matter.  

What mattered was that he had become South Korea’s eighth S-rank Hero.  

Since even Na Tae-hwang of the Hero Association was keeping an eye on Seo Do-jun, Kang Young-pyo couldn’t act recklessly.  

In other words, Hyun Joo-yeon’s words meant even he couldn’t touch Seo Do-jun.  

“Th-That’s impossible…”  

Hong Hee-ju was half-dazed at the revelation that Seo Do-jun was an S-rank Hero.  

With what she’s done, she must be out of her mind.

Kang Young-pyo had dug up everything Hong Hee-ju had done to Seo Do-jun.  

Frankly, if he were Seo Do-jun, he would’ve crushed her skull by now.  

She had tormented Seo Do-jun relentlessly and cruelly.  

He’s definitely biding his time. Given who he is, he won’t act rashly. He’s not one to take lightly.  

Despite becoming an S-rank Hero, Seo Do-jun hadn’t made a single move against Hong Hee-ju.  

That only meant he was preparing his revenge meticulously, and Kang Young-pyo was certain dealing with him wouldn’t be easy.  

“If… If Seo Do-jun really is an S-rank Hero, what do we do?”  

Hong Hee-ju’s tone shifted to desperation.  

It was inevitable.  

No matter how powerful her background was, she couldn’t freely harm an S-rank Hero.  

“That’s why I told you to trust me and wait.”  

“If I trust and wait, can you really kill Seo Do-jun?”  

“Being an S-rank Hero doesn’t make him immortal. However—”  

Kang Young-pyo paused, his eyes narrowing like a snake’s before licking his lips.  

“It’ll cost far more than you think.”  

He had already taken 30 billion as a down payment, with another 30 billion promised.  

But even that wasn’t enough for his greed. Yet Hong Hee-ju, having lost all rational thought, nodded frantically.  

“I’ll pay! However much you need!”  

With personal assets in the hundreds of billions and future inheritance from her conglomerate family, even hundreds of billions meant nothing to her.  

If things went wrong, she could die at Seo Do-jun’s hands—or worse, her precious son and daughters, heirs to the group, could be in danger.  

“Money is one thing, but what I really want is a solid business partnership with you, Director Hong Hee-ju.”  

“Fine! Whatever! Just kill Seo Do-jun!”  

Yes, perhaps with Kang Young-pyo as her ally, Hong Hee-ju could soar even higher.  

Knock knock.  

The office door opened.  

“Guild Master, I have news.”  

Kang Young-pyo called over his subordinate, who whispered in his ear.  

His expression brightened instantly.  

“It seems heaven is on your side, Director Hong.”  

“What do you mean?”  

“A perfect opportunity to kill Seo Do-jun has just appeared.”  

***  

“Heart-fluttering.”  

Hyun Joo-yeon didn’t believe in such things.  

Even if they existed, she never thought it would happen to her.  

But then—  

“You’re going too?”  

“Let’s go together.”  

Seo Do-jun’s indifferent, offhand remark made her feel like her heart had dropped—her entire body burning up.  

To others, it might’ve been a meaningless, trivial comment.  

But Hyun Joo-yeon couldn’t sleep that night, her mind spinning with one question: Why?  

Her ordinary middle school life had been upended when rift zones appeared.  

Awakening as a Hero, she had never once been in a relationship.  

In short… A lifelong single.  

Despite having millions of male fans worldwide, she had never even been on a simple date.  

Yet now, she couldn’t get one man out of her head.  

“I’m three years older…”  

The age gap felt like a weakness to her.  

Lost in thoughts of Seo Do-jun, she spent the day in a daze.  

Even the next day, she moved like a half-conscious zombie until Jung In-joo scolded her.  

“Hyun Joo-yeon! Why are you spacing out? We need to finalize which rift zones we’re joining and notify Brazil, or they’ll keep jerking us around! Snap out of it!”  

“Sorry.”  

Hyun Joo-yeon shook her head, forcing herself to focus.  

But it lasted less than five minutes.  

Ding.  

<Seo Do-jun: Secure a rift zone near Santarém.>  

At Seo Do-jun’s message, she quickly checked the list of rift zones Brazil’s Hero Association had marked for closure.  

There were three near Santarém, all classified as Level 3—difficult to shut down.  

“Sister, what about the rift zones near Santarém?”  

Jung In-joo checked the information and grimaced.  

“This is obviously the one everyone’s avoiding. Even Brazil’s Association considers it the biggest headache… Wait, don’t tell me—”  

“Then securing it shouldn’t be too hard, right?”  

Jung In-joo looked at her like she was insane, but Hyun Joo-yeon had already made up her mind.