SFRW-Chapter 7

Ch. 7 Sword God From The Ruined World

“Come in!”  

The door opened, and a group of men—so burly they seemed downright vicious—poured into the president’s office.  

And he’s still smiling?  

Hwang Chang-seop frowned as he watched Seo Do-jun, who remained faintly smiling even as his subordinates entered the room.  

“Th-that bastard… He’s a complete monster. We couldn’t even lay a finger on him…”  

The excuse came from a subordinate who had been sent to collect overdue interest, only to get beaten to a pulp and robbed instead. But Hwang Chang-seop didn’t pay it much mind.  

If the other party had awakened as a Hero, such a thing was entirely possible. In fact, there had been a couple of similar cases before.  

At best, he’d be a D-rank.

Hwang Chang-seop didn’t think much of Seo Do-jun’s awakening.  

Among those who awakened as Heroes, 60% were D-rank, and another 30% were F-rank. Only the remaining 10% awakened as C-rank or higher—maybe even B-rank.  

Even then, the probability of reaching B-rank was less than 1%, and A-rank was a mere 0.1% within that group. Naturally, no one awakened as S-rank from the start.  

So, even if Seo Do-jun had awakened as a Hero, Hwang Chang-seop assumed he couldn’t be higher than D-rank.  

“This punk?”  

A thug whose face screamed ‘I’m a gangster’ growled at Seo Do-jun.  

Given that Hwang Chang-seop himself had risen from the streets, and his seemingly legitimate capital business was actually a predatory loan operation, most of his employees were thugs.  

Of course, some of them had awakened as Heroes.  

“Take him outside and persuade him properly. He’s a valuable customer with a lot of debt to repay, so make sure he can still work.”  

“Why not just sell his organs?”  

“I told you—he’s a valuable customer. And he doesn’t want that yet, so just rough him up a little.”  

Hwang Chang-seop stood up as if he had somewhere to be and slipped on his coat.  

Just as he was about to leave the office, Seo Do-jun flicked a cushion at him.  

“Cancel your plans. You’re not going anywhere.”  

“You little brat! How dare you speak so rudely to the boss?!”  

The thug who had been growling at Seo Do-jun suddenly threw a punch.  

Seo Do-jun caught the flying fist effortlessly.  

“…Huh?!”  

The man panicked and tried to pull his hand back.  

CRACK!  

“AAARGH!”  

Seo Do-jun crushed the man’s fist in his grip.  

“Sit down. This won’t take long.”  

Hwang Chang-seop’s knees went weak at the icy tone, and he swallowed dryly without realizing it.  

“So, are you gonna do it or not?”  

At Seo Do-jun’s question, Hwang Chang-seop, now kneeling, glanced behind him.  

It had taken less than three minutes for all nine of his subordinates to collapse, groaning in pain.  

And some of them had even awakened as Heroes.  

Not only that—the three minutes weren’t spent exchanging blows. It was the time it took for Seo Do-jun to break all nine men’s ankles and elbows.  

What a ruthless bastard.

Even Hwang Chang-seop, who had clawed his way up from the bottom with his fists, shuddered at Seo Do-jun’s cold, brutal efficiency.  

This kid… He’s not from this world, is he?

No matter how deep Hwang Chang-seop was in the underworld, he had never met someone who could dislocate ankles and snap elbows without blinking—not like Seo Do-jun.  

That kind of ruthlessness only came from surviving unimaginable hardship and brutality.  

And Seo Do-jun had lived it.  

What the hell happened inside that Gate? How can a person change this much?

One thing was clear: Seo Do-jun had gone through something extreme—something ordinary people could never endure—and come out changed.  

That was what made him terrifying.  

People who had truly seen the abyss carried an eerie weight in every word and action.  

“…I-I’ll do it.”  

“I want it flawless. No loose ends.”  

A Dark Knight’s license had to be airtight by nature.  

But meeting all the conditions was never easy.  

At the very least, Seo Do-jun’s age and gender had to match. Ideally, even his physique should be somewhat similar to avoid suspicion.  

“Bring it to my place by tomorrow morning.”  

“By tomorrow morning? That’s—”  

“What, can’t you do it? Need me to help you?”  

Under Seo Do-jun’s frigid gaze, Hwang Chang-seop had no choice but to agree.  

“Tomorrow morning it is. If it’s past noon, you’ll see me again. And then—”  

CRUNCH!  

Seo Do-jun crushed a thick steel table with his bare hands.  

Even for a Hero, crushing thick steel with sheer grip strength was no easy feat. It shouldn’t have been possible without a strength-related trait.  

He’s not D-rank! C-rank? No! Maybe this bastard… Is B-rank?!

Sometimes, ordinary people awakened inside Gates or rift zones.  

It wasn’t common, but those who did often gained far greater power and abilities than those forcibly awakened through magic stones.  

That was why so many recklessly charged into Gates, hoping to awaken—but most ended up dead or crippled for life, doomed to hospitals.  

The government strictly regulated it, but what could they really do?  

Even now, countless people challenged Gates in hopes of awakening. At some point, people had started mockingly calling them ‘Suicide Lottery Groups’.  

And it seemed Seo Do-jun had won that lottery.  

Not the kind where dozens won every week—but the kind where one person took the jackpot accumulated over months.  

“Now, about what you said earlier.”  

“What?”  

“You said you didn’t want my organs.”  

Hwang Chang-seop’s expression stiffened slightly, but he quickly played dumb.  

“Organs are a last resort. I meant for you to work off your debt first.”  

Seo Do-jun smirked.  

“Was it Hong Hee-ju’s idea?”  

“…Hong Hee-ju? Who’s that? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”  

Seo Do-jun grabbed Hwang Chang-seop’s ear.  

“AAAH! Wh-what are you doing?!”  

“What’s the point of ears that don’t listen? Let me tear them off cleanly.”  

Seeing that Seo Do-jun was serious, Hwang Chang-seop screamed in panic.  

“Y-yes! Fine! It was her! That woman Hong Hee-ju! She said she wanted you to kill yourself drowning in debt! She told me to do it! AAAH! Let go! Please let go!”  

Seo Do-jun released Hwang Chang-seop’s ear and asked again.  

“Suicide? Then why lock me in a Gate?”  

Hwang Chang-seop, now terrified, stared at Seo Do-jun as blood trickled from his torn ear.  

This wasn’t an empty threat—Seo Do-jun might have actually ripped his ear off.  

That realization made him even more afraid, and he vowed not to lie again.  

“Lock you in a Gate? I don’t know anything about that! I swear! I only knew you went to a Gate to earn money! This is the first I’ve heard about Hong Hee-ju locking you in one! Believe me! I still need my money back, right? Why would I agree to kill you for no payoff?!”  

Driven by extreme fear, Hwang Chang-seop spilled everything honestly.  

Even Seo Do-jun could tell Hwang Chang-seop had nothing to do with the Gate incident.  

“Kang Cheol-woo—the bastard who took me to the Gate. Bring me his info tomorrow too.”  

“Y-yes, got it.”  

“If tomorrow morning passes, I’ll assume you really didn’t understand me. And I’ll start by tearing off those useless ears. Be on time.”  

With that, Seo Do-jun left the office. Hwang Chang-seop finally collapsed as if his legs had given out.  

“Boss… KYAAAH!”  

A female employee who opened the door screamed at the wrecked office.  

“Shut up! Call Manager Kim, now!”  

Hwang Chang-seop realized he had very little time to prepare everything Seo Do-jun wanted by tomorrow morning.  

The next day, just past 9 AM, Seo Do-jun met one of Hwang Chang-seop’s employees.  

“The boss asked me to deliver this!”  

The employee, though he had never seen Seo Do-jun before, was extremely polite—likely due to strict warnings.  

“Tell him I’ll visit again soon.”  

“Yes, sir! Have a good day!”  

After a deep bow, the employee left. Seo Do-jun sat at the front gate and checked the items Hwang had sent.  

First, the Dark Knight ID.  

Hero licenses came in two types.  

One was a tattoo embedded on the body—convenient for proving identity anytime, anywhere, but a hassle to reapply if the tattoo was damaged.  

Still, many Heroes opted for tattoos on their arms, legs, or torso. Some even flaunted them.  

The other type was an ID card.  

More common, but it had to be carried at all times. Losing it meant a tedious reissuance process, and if someone misused it, the owner was partially responsible.  

Naturally, Hwang Chang-seop had sent the second type—an ID card.  

It listed the name, rank, birthdate, Hero registration number, and unique identifier.  

The name was Lee Dae-seop, age 23—same as Seo Do-jun. The Hero registration number was an 11-digit code mixed with three letters, and the unique identifier was five digits mixed with alphabets.  

“B-rank?”  

Seo Do-jun considered going back to demand an A-rank Dark Knight ID but decided it wasn’t worth the trouble.  

Sure, B-rank was Hwang Chang-seop’s way of showing effort, but Seo Do-jun didn’t care.  

He pocketed the license and pulled out a file.  

Kang Cheol-woo.  

The man who had taken Seo Do-jun to the Gate and abandoned him there.  

A new form of murder called ‘Gate Killing’. 

“A B-rank Hero.”  

Seo Do-jun slowly read through the detailed file on Kang Cheol-woo.  

***

Yeouido-dong, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul – Bam Island  

Originally just a small mound of dirt, over time, soil accumulated and trees took root, turning it into a small island famous as a migratory bird stop.  

But after a rift appeared, the birds stopped coming.  

Even after being stabilized as a Gate, it remained an unwelcoming, dead hunting ground for Heroes.  

[Bam Island Gate-2]  

Rank: B  

Scale: D  

Terrain: Tunnel  

Recommended: A. No parties larger than 1 allowed.  

Just the notice made it clear why Heroes avoided this place.  

Despite being a B-rank Gate, the recommended rank was A-rank.  

One of Bam Island Gate’s unique traits was that it only allowed solo play—because the terrain was a tunnel, the most avoided Gate type.  

When stabilizing rift zones into Gates, over 90% retained their original terrain.  

But Bam Island Gate was an exception.  

Originally, the rift zone had been an island.  

But when it became a Gate, it transformed into a tunnel.  

Not only was this rare—it was the worst possible outcome.  

BEEP!  

[Hero license confirmed. Your rank is below the recommended level. Proceed with caution.]  

Ignoring the warning, Seo Do-jun stepped inside.  

The moment he crossed the Gate, pitch-black darkness swallowed him whole.  

The reason for stabilizing rift zones into Gates was to safely harvest monster byproducts and magic stones.  

Yet, tunnel-type rift zones were rarely stabilized—because hunting alone in total darkness was near-impossible.  

On top of that, Bam Island Gate’s scale (D) was no joke for solo hunting.  

If luck was bad, you could face hundreds of monsters in a cramped, lightless tunnel.  

“I like it.”  

In the darkness, Seo Do-jun smiled.