SFRW-Chapter 8

Ch.8 Sword God From The Ruined World

The pitch-black darkness without a single light was no obstacle for Seo Do-jun.  

Although he had lost most of the power he once wielded as the Sword God, the Kronos Magic Breathing Technique he remembered amplified his basic sensory abilities just by breathing.  

At his current level, his mastery was low, making it difficult to distinguish objects as clearly as in broad daylight, but he could still perceive the shapes and movements of anything within 50 meters.  

Seo Do-jun stepped forward without hesitation.  

Sssssss, sssssss.  

A faint sound reached Seo Do-jun’s ears.  

It was the subtle noise of something slithering across the floor, but thanks to his heightened hearing—just as sharp as his vision—he immediately sensed something approaching him quietly.  

Soon, that something came into view. 

A Black Salmo—a one-meter-long black serpent.  

The Black Salmo, a monster whose mere touch could deliver a lethal dose of venom, was one of the most feared creatures among Heroes.  

Fast, stealthy, and active only in complete darkness, it was classified as one of the most dangerous monsters, especially in tunnel-type Gates.  

The Bam Island Gate, referred to by Heroes as the Snake’s Den, lived up to its reputation.  

The Black Salmo, having stealthily closed in on Seo Do-jun, twisted its body and lunged the moment it deemed him within striking range.  

Its maw gaped open—schlick!—as inky venom dripped from its razor-sharp fangs.  

Since even a graze could induce severe paralysis, the Black Salmo only needed to land a single drop of venom to claim victory.  

But Seo Do-jun saw its movements clearly.  

He swung his fist precisely, smashing the Black Salmo’s skull mid-air.  

Crunch!  

The serpent’s head exploded on impact.  

“…Annoying poison, but if they’re all like this, hunting should be easy.”  

As he spoke, Seo Do-jun adjusted the blue waterproof liquid nitrogen gloves on his hands.  

They were his first—and only—gear for Gate hunting, purchased for a hefty 300,000 won specifically for the Bam Island Gate.  

***

Seo Do-jun’s hunt proceeded smoothly.  

The Black Salmo was terrifying because it struck stealthily in the dark and carried a paralyzing venom potent enough to kill with a mere scratch.  

But beyond that, it wasn’t particularly durable, and its offensive capabilities—excluding its venom—were hardly threatening.  

In other words, as long as one detected its approach and avoided its poison, hunting it was trivial.  

The byproducts of a Black Salmo were its venom and its hardened fangs.  

But Seo Do-jun didn’t even bother collecting them.  

Extracting venom was tedious and yielded too little, and the fangs weren’t valuable enough to justify the time. Instead, he focused on hunting as many Black Salmo as possible.  

Fortunately, magic stones could be obtained from their heads—though the drop rate was abysmal.  

“…Just over 3%, huh?”  

Seo Do-jun clicked his tongue in disappointment.  

Out of a hundred Black Salmo, only about three dropped magic stones.  

The only silver lining was that, since the Bam Island Gate was B-rank, the stones were at least mid-rank.  

Still, all the ones he’d obtained so far were only mid-rank.  

Even so, it was far more profitable than Namsan, a C-rank Gate.  

Ssssss! Sssssssss! Sssssss!  

This time, the sound of multiple Black Salmo slithering toward him made Seo Do-jun pause.  

The largest group he’d faced so far was twenty-five.  

But now, there are at least seventy.  

And—  

Sssssssssssssssssssssssss.  

From the very back of the horde came a slow, heavy dragging sound.  

“A boss?”  

In some Gates, particularly rift zones, there existed monsters with special powers or those that led their kind—referred to as Boss Monsters.  

The Bam Island Gate had one.  

Its name?  

“Giant Black Salmo, was it?”  

A ten-meter-long serpent, thicker than a grown man’s thigh, flicked its tongue in the darkness as it stared at Seo Do-jun.  

***

Karserian Le Vandean.  

The name Seo Do-jun bore in the ruined world where he was known as the Sword God.  

By Earth’s standards, he hailed from a prestigious Marquis family—one that consistently produced the continent’s finest knights.  

Raised with elite training, Karserian mastered his family’s refined magic techniques and combat arts to the point where he needed no sword to dominate his peers.  

Even before the world fell to monsters, he had hunted creatures far deadlier than himself since childhood. Fear was foreign to him.  

Crunch!  

Seo Do-jun crushed the skull of the last charging Black Salmo with his bare grip and turned his attention forward.  

No—he had long been focused on what lay ahead.  

The Giant Black Salmo coiled, its tongue flicking.  

Even as seventy of its kin were slaughtered, it hadn’t moved an inch.  

As if assessing Seo Do-jun’s strength.  

“I was twelve.”  

Seo Do-jun spoke to the beast.  

“I trained in a forest called Piavanella, south of the continent. A place so infested that the royal knights of Roelta had to purge it yearly. I survived there for six months with just a sword. A brutal training.”  

He grimaced at the memory.  

Yet it was those very trials that forged his family’s legacy—and earned him the title of Sword God.  

“I met a monster like you back then. A Kelonisnek. It was… Horrific. Its poison gave me a fever so vicious I suffered for three days.”  

Sssssssss.  

The Giant Black Salmo finally stirred, as if tired of listening.  

Its massive form slithered forward, its sheer size enough to make most men’s hearts drop.  

“During those three days of agony, I made a vow.”  

The serpent’s maw slowly parted, revealing fangs as long as a man’s forearm, glinting ominously in the dark.  

Seo Do-jun didn’t look away. Instead, he wedged a fang from a slain Black Salmo between his fingers.  

“I swore I’d never let a snake’s head taunt me again!”  

The Giant Black Salmo lunged with shocking speed, its jaws wide enough to swallow a man whole.  

But Seo Do-jun didn’t flinch.  

Dodging the venom, he slipped beneath its chin.  

His movement—smooth as ice—was reckless. One misstep, and he’d be crushed.  

Yet what followed was even more astonishing.  

Rip! Tear!  

The fang in his hand, infused with magic, tore through scales that would blunt steel.  

SCREEEEEEE!  

The beast writhed in unprecedented agony.  

Boom! Boom! Boom!  

Its thrashing shook the tunnel walls.  

But Seo Do-jun?  

He was already on its back.  

And worse—he was climbing, widening the wounds with the fang as he moved.  

The serpent slammed itself against the walls, trying to dislodge him. Useless.  

Finally, Seo Do-jun reached its head.  

The Giant Black Salmo thrashed madly, sensing doom.  

But it was too late.  

CRUNCH! CRUNCH! CRUNCH!  

Each punch shattered bone, each strike split flesh.  

Until—silence.  

“…Brought back memories.”  

Kelonisnek had died the same way.  

Back then, he’d had a proper sword.  

“If I’d recovered more of my strength or had a decent blade, this wouldn’t have been so messy.”  

He sighed at the undignified hunt.  

Thank the gods the Bam Island Gate was a tunnel. No witnesses.  

He tossed aside the fang and pried a gleaming red stone from the serpent’s skull.  

Larger than a child’s fist, its crimson glow was vivid—unlike the dull hue of low-grade magic stones.  

“This’ll fetch a good price.”  

After such a sloppy kill, it had to.  

He hesitated, then yanked out the Giant Black Salmo’s fangs too.  

“A bit short for a longsword, but with proper work, they’ll make decent blades.”  

Maybe even two.  

Lastly, he collected the three magic stones from the seventy slain Black Salmo.  

“Time to leave.”  

With the boss dead and stones in hand, he exited the Gate without regret.  

Outside, the sun had set.  

He’d entered at 10 AM—hours had passed.  

“I need to recover more strength, fast.”  

The thought of wasting so much time on a B-rank Gate made him cringe.  

At least no one on Earth knew his true self.  

If his old comrades saw him now…  

He’d have blushed to his ears in shame.