SFRW-Chapter 77

Ch. 77 Sword God From The Ruined World 

“A massive flying monster appeared in the skies over Seoul, sending the city’s residents into a panic. The monster, identified as Casserian, is known to be a Boss Monster from the Chuncheon Rift Zone… Many citizens expressed concerns that this might signal the start of a monster wave in a completely different form than before. However, it was surprisingly revealed that this monster was the first in the world to be successfully tamed, and the Hero controlling Casserian was none other than Hero Seo Do-jun. Both the Hero Association and the government….”  

The world had been turned upside down once again.  

The fact that someone had succeeded in taming a monster—something no Hero anywhere in the world had achieved—inevitably drew disbelief and shock toward Seoul.  

The Hero Association was overwhelmed with calls from Hero Associations worldwide, and even Chairman Na Tae-hwang was so busy explaining the situation to the directors of the Global Hero Association Federation that he didn’t even have time to go to the bathroom.  

Seo Do-jun, who had caused this situation, was also flooded with calls to the point where his phone was on the verge of catching fire.  

He ignored most of them, but he had to answer a few from certain individuals.  

“Is it really true that anyone can tame a monster now?”  

In response to Gloria’s question, Seo Do-jun answered yes.  

Of course, several conditions had to be met.  

The human must possess overwhelming power to subdue the monster.  

The monster must have at least minimal intelligence to submit to a human.  

The monster must not be so aggressive that its fighting instincts outweigh its survival instincts.  

Among other strict conditions, taming was possible—but fundamentally, the answer to Gloria’s question, ‘Can anyone tame a monster?’ was undeniably ‘Yes’.  

“Is Casserian really safe?”  

Gloria’s questions were endless.  

Seo Do-jun made up his mind.  

He needed to hold an official press conference to address everyone’s curiosity at once, so he wouldn’t have to answer individually anymore.  

And as soon as possible.  

With the help of the Hero Association and the government, Seo Do-jun held a live press conference that evening.  

Naturally, footage of the conference was broadcast worldwide in real time.  

From start to finish, A to Z.  

Seo Do-jun meticulously answered every possible question people could have, and his demeanor was so unfamiliar that even those who knew him well found it strange.  

“Kyahahaha! Look at Seo Do-jun’s face!”  

Jung In-joo clutched her stomach, laughing uncontrollably at Seo Do-jun’s expression on TV.  

His face during the interview was truly a sight to behold.  

His expression was blank, his pupils staring into the distance as if his soul had left his body, yet his mouth kept answering every question mechanically, like an automated phone system.  

It was unlikely anyone would ever hold such a soulless press conference again.  

“He must be really fed up.”  

Hyun Joo-yeon also found Seo Do-jun’s unfamiliar appearance amusing, but she couldn’t help but wonder how much harassment he must have endured to end up like that.  

“Of course. It’s not just anything—he tamed a monster. People must’ve been pestering him nonstop with questions. But still… that look on his face is just too funny! Kyahahaha!”  

Unable to hold back, Jung In-joo flopped onto the floor laughing again.  

Hyun Joo-yeon scolded her for overreacting, but even she had to admit it was objectively hilarious.  

The press conference, which lasted nearly four hours, finally ended.  

No matter how much someone craved attention, answering hundreds of questions was nothing short of grueling labor.  

Of course, the reporters bombarding Seo Do-jun with even more questions as he hurriedly left the venue were having the time of their lives.  

Still, the press conference gave Seo Do-jun some breathing room.  

Though he would never regain the same freedom as before.  

“You’re coming? Here?”  

“I want to see it for myself. And… Kassal, I want to see you too.”  

Even at Gloria’s straightforward admission, Seo Do-jun frowned.  

Hero Association Chairmen from various countries were already requesting permission to see the tamed Casserian with their own eyes, and now Gloria wanted to visit too.  

Seo Do-jun seriously considered lying and saying Casserian had died from failed taming side effects.  

“Can I come?”  

He couldn’t refuse Gloria—not after everything she had done for him in the U.S.  

“…Fine.”  

When he reluctantly agreed, Gloria cheered in delight.  

“I expected this, but… maybe I should’ve just used all the Soul Gems to create a Death Knight guardian force instead?”  

If only Soul Gems weren’t limited, Seo Do-jun would’ve swung his sword without hesitation at Casserian, who was now peacefully sleeping in the Guardian’s lair.  

***

Chaos Around Seo Do-jun’s Property Due to Casserian  

The area around Seo Do-jun’s private estate was pure chaos.  

Reporters from both domestic and international outlets rushed in, armed with cutting-edge equipment to capture even a single extra shot of Casserian quietly staying in its lair.  

Heroes, Association officials, and government representatives from various countries lurked around, their gazes a mix of curiosity and greed.  

As a result—  

“Construction has been halted?”  

Seo Do-jun frowned as Park Sung-wook suddenly visited him.  

“The situation makes it difficult to proceed. Traffic is paralyzed, and most importantly… the construction workers are too anxious.”  

Even if Casserian remained docile in its lair, the aura of a Boss Monster was too much for even seasoned Heroes to handle.  

And the construction workers, all ordinary civilians with little to no experience seeing monsters up close, couldn’t possibly work under these conditions.  

“Understood.”  

Taming Casserian so hastily because of Vaitel had been a mistake.  

Knowing he was the only one who could resolve this, Seo Do-jun reassured Park Sung-wook that construction would resume tomorrow and sent him away.  

Once Park Sung-wook left, Seo Do-jun immediately headed out.  

Getting into his parked car, he made a call.  

“What is it?”  

The voice on the other end sounded exhausted.  

It was Chairman Na Tae-hwang, who had been busier than ever due to Seo Do-jun’s sudden taming of Casserian.  

“I have a question.”  

“A question…? Go ahead.”  

“Who owns the lands where monster waves couldn’t be stopped?”  

“Well, naturally…”  

Na Tae-hwang paused.  

Who did own them?  

If a country’s government still functioned, the land remained under its jurisdiction. But what about places where the government had completely collapsed?  

“Which land are you referring to, exactly?”  

“Islands in the Pacific—for example, is Guam still considered U.S. territory?”  

The iconic Western Pacific resort, once a tourist hotspot, had been overrun by monsters for six years now.  

Initially, the U.S. had tried to reclaim Guam but ultimately failed.  

Now, while nominally still U.S. territory, it was effectively abandoned.  

“Why the sudden interest in Guam?”  

“I was wondering if I could claim it if I cleared out the monsters.”  

“What?”  

Even if it was abandoned land, would the U.S. really allow it?  

Na Tae-hwang couldn’t hide his disbelief.  

Seo Do-jun wasn’t just being greedy.  

Now that he knew of Vaitel’s existence—and the possibility that Earth might follow the same path to ruin as his original world—he felt the need to clear out monsters occupying key areas.  

But doing so without compensation wasn’t ideal, so he decided to negotiate for land in exchange.  

“In return, I’ll clear out another troublesome area for the U.S., like Guam.”  

“Hmm… I’ll discuss it with the U.S. side first.”  

After hanging up, Seo Do-jun immediately called Gloria and explained the same proposal.  

“Honestly, it’s not a bad offer. But whether the U.S. would easily give up its territory… I’m not sure. Still, it’s worth considering, so I’ll advocate for it positively.”  

With Gloria’s support, things might go smoother.  

Ending the call, Seo Do-jun parked his car on the congested road near Park Sung-wook’s construction site.  

“Any other time, they’d be running away.”  

Clicking his tongue, Seo Do-jun headed straight for Casserian’s lair.  

Within minutes, Casserian’s deafening roar echoed in all directions.  

“KWAOOOOOO—!”  

The crowd that had gathered to see the monster dropped to the ground, covering their ears in terror.  

Casserian, soaring into the sky, tried to assert its dominance over the fearful humans below—until Seo Do-jun smacked its head.  

“THWACK!”  

“Kyuuuu…”  

Whimpering like a scolded puppy, Casserian began flying southeast as reporters and onlookers frantically captured the moment.  

***

Rift Zones Aren’t Limited to Populated Cities  

Rift zones didn’t only appear in densely populated cities.  

They could emerge on uninhabited islands as well.  

The only places they didn’t form were the sky and the open sea.  

Because of this, when a rift zone appeared on a remote island, the damage was catastrophic.  

Without proper early response, many escalated into full-blown monster waves.  

If the island was close to land or if monsters could escape, efforts were made to eliminate them and seal the rift. Otherwise, the island was abandoned.  

Over a dozen such islands had been abandoned worldwide.  

“…Swarming like ants.”  

From high above, Seo Do-jun observed the hordes of monsters covering Guam.  

For the U.S., losing Guam had been a devastating blow.  

When rift zones appeared simultaneously in both Hawaii and Guam, the lack of manpower forced them to abandon Guam to focus on Hawaii and the mainland.  

They had planned to reclaim it later, but—  

“Six waves, was it?”  

Guam had suffered six consecutive monster waves, leaving the entire island overrun.  

The only silver lining was that the monsters were land-bound, trapped on the island—but to Seo Do-jun, that didn’t seem safe at all.  

“The commonality between monsters and humans is their survival instinct. And the most fatal advantage of that instinct is evolution. The reason humans have maintained superiority over monsters is our superior reproductive instinct and our ability to compensate for physical weaknesses with intelligence, allowing rapid evolution. What’s my point? Impatient, aren’t you? Don’t assume monsters will stay the same forever! Do you think the orcs from a hundred—no, a thousand years ago are the same as now? Absolutely not! Orcs have been evolving in their own way. And the stronger a monster’s survival instinct, the faster it evolves. Meaning, the monsters we face now will only get harder to deal with over time.”  

Monsters evolved.  

Seo Do-jun recalled Ryuntna’s words.  

At the time, he had dismissed it, thinking it didn’t matter if monsters evolved in a world already overrun by them.  

But now—  

“Look at that.”  

Among the hordes occupying Guam, one type stood out.  

Indilos—monsters resembling rhinos, with massive horns and crimson hides.  

Their terrifying strengths were their lightning-fast charges and devastating piercing power, capable of breaking even high-level mage barriers.  

Their iron-like hides made them nearly impervious to conventional weapons.  

In Seo Do-jun’s ruined world, a few hundred charging Indilos could flatten entire cities.  

Their only weaknesses were their poor vision (due to having only one eye) and the fact that they could only charge on solid ground.  

But now—  

“Wing bones?”  

Surprisingly, small bony protrusions had begun forming on the Indilos’ backs.  

Something he had never seen in his original world.  

Which meant—  

“Being trapped on a small island has triggered their evolution?”  

Of course, it was only a minor change.  

No one knew how long it would take for them to truly develop flight.  

But to Seo Do-jun, this was undeniable proof of evolution.  

Earth’s Heroes were making a grave mistake.  

They assumed that simply containing monsters in one place was enough.