I Raided the Demon’s Treasury

Chapter 50

An expansive room appeared capable of comfortably holding dozens of people. Interestingly, its walls were covered with monitors.

Aside from the floor, the room was entirely lined with monitors displaying live broadcasts of numerous players’ battles.

“Damn, this tutorial seems especially busy.”

Sitting among the multitude of monitors, sipping a pitch-black coffee, was a man.

He was none other than Tuning, the supervisor of the tutorial.

“Why did all the promising ones have to come in at once? Couldn’t they just spread out two or three per tutorial so they naturally take the top spots?”

The tutorial supervisor’s job was simple.

Observe the progress of the tutorial and keep records.

Since the direction of the tutorial was predetermined by the system, there was little he needed to intervene in.

The problem was the number of participants.

Even if it was just observation and recording, the number of players participating in the tutorial could reach thousands or tens of thousands at once.

To observe and record all of that.

Every day he requested more help from his superiors, but every day they shook their heads, citing a shortage of staff.

So, Tuning was understandably frustrated.

“At least, once this tutorial is over, the number of players will significantly decrease.”

The third chapter of the tutorial.

It’s a trial designed to halve the number of players.

After that, the workload would become considerably lighter, so Tuning was gritting his teeth, telling himself to “hold on just a little longer.”

With the sight of battles flashing across the monitors, he continued his tireless work.

Just then.

Ring ring—

One of the dozens of phones on Tuning’s desk began to ring loudly.

Being called during such a busy moment made Tuning’s expression sour.

“What is it?”

“Team leader! Did you see this?”

“What the hell are you talking about? Of course, I’m monitoring all the promising ones. As expected, most of them are hunting players, so what’s the problem?”

“Not that, but the Starving Ogres!”

“Starving Ogres? What about them?”

Starving Ogres.

They were monsters deployed to prevent players from endlessly extending the tutorial by avoiding combat.

The moment he heard that name, a chill ran down Tuning’s spine.

‘Come to think of it…’

He hadn’t seen them.

Most of the promising players were under his direct surveillance, and among them, he hadn’t seen any Starving Ogres.

Is that even possible?

“What happened…?”

“What number!”

“B7-75!”

Static!

Tuning frantically switched the monitor.

And there he saw what he had been missing—Starving Ogres in massive quantities.

Not one or two, but dozens of them, lying dead.

All the Starving Ogres had been defeated, littering the ground as lifeless corpses.

“What the hell happened here?”

“This is the work of players Jung Se-woon and Kang Han-cheol!”

“Wait, those names sound familiar…”

Tuning racked his memory.

Jung Se-woon.

Recently, quite a few Constellations had inquired about a player by that name.

At the time, there was no substantial information available on him, so he had brushed it off.

Now, that very player was causing an unbelievable commotion.

“Team leader, at this rate, the tutorial period might be extended significantly…”

“Is that the issue here?”

“What do you mean?”

“Didn’t you read the manual? If many players are still around and over 90% of the Starving Ogres are destroyed…”

Buzz!

Before Tuning could finish speaking, several monitors trembled violently as if affected by static.

And then, finally…

“That creature appears…”

ROOOAR!!

On the central screen, a monster with two heads roared ferociously.

Tuning’s face turned pale as he witnessed the emergence of this terrifying entity, knowing full well what it signified.

The hidden boss, a terror even among the Starving Ogres, had been brought forth.

* * *

“What is that…?”

Hidden conditions, the Leader of the Starving Ogres—these were all new to Se-woon as well.

“What’s going on?”

“I don’t know either.”

“Hearing ‘I don’t know’ from you is surprising.”

For the first time, Kang Han-cheol witnessed Se-woon looking genuinely flustered.

Meanwhile, the system quickly carried out the summoning process.

ROOOAR!!

A deafening roar filled the air, loud enough to make their eardrums ache.

At that moment, every player fighting in the field halted their movements.

The pressure from the roar was that overwhelming.

And finally, with a burst through the pile of Ogre corpses before Se-woon’s eyes, the system announced the arrival of the Ogre leader, Krak Katlak.

“Why… have you not brought the food!”

“Hungry! Hungry! Hungry!”

The enormous figure, roughly 6 meters tall, rivaled the giants said to exist on the upper floors of the tower. Its body was covered in scars, marks of its rise to becoming the leader.

Unlike the other Ogres, it wielded well-crafted iron weapons in both hands. But the most distinctive feature was the two heads on its shoulders.

‘Twin-headed Ogre.’

A rare mutation among Ogres.

Not only did it have two heads, but its physical abilities and intelligence were also known to be roughly double those of a regular Ogre.

The one fortunate thing was that one of its heads seemed partially crushed and didn’t function properly, repeatedly uttering the same words.

Even so, the aura emanating from its body was so intense that it seemed to weigh down the very air around them.

And it wasn’t just this monster that appeared.

From every corner, other players and summoned entities began to gather, drawn by the chaos and the overwhelming power of Krak Katlak.

Se-woon and Kang Han-cheol readied themselves for the battle ahead, knowing that this would be unlike any opponent they had faced before.

“We are… sorry.”

“We have caused… you worry.”

Four Ogres appeared around Krak Katlak.

They didn’t seem too different from the other Starving Ogres, but their intelligence appeared to be above average.

They were likely the bodyguards of the Ogre leader.

“Se-woon, what are we going to do?”

“Well, of course…”

Se-woon quickly calculated his options.

This was a hidden piece even he was unaware of.

If Se-woon didn’t know about it, that meant it was a hidden piece no one had discovered until the tower fell.

Originally, he had planned to hunt the Starving Ogres, collect points, and leave.

“We’re taking it down.”

“Understood.”

With a hidden piece appearing right before his eyes, the thought of running away out of fear didn’t even cross his mind.

In fact, he welcomed it.

A hidden piece so rare that even he didn’t know about it meant that the rewards would be immense.

Ignoring everything else, even using the Power of Gluttony on it alone would significantly increase his strength stat.

The problem was that even for Se-woon, handling both the boss monster and its bodyguard monsters would be difficult.

“I’ll take care of the smaller ones.”

“Are you sure?”

“Honestly, I feel bad for not being able to help with the big one.”

“No need to feel bad. That’s plenty.”

The smaller ones.

Of course, they were about 2 meters smaller than the Ogre leader, but that was a statement only Kang Han-cheol could make.

When he first saw the Starving Ogres, Kang Han-cheol was full of confidence, but seeing the leader, he must have felt the difference in power.

Seeing his trembling fists as he stood beside him, it was clear he was suppressing his frustration.

“If you understand, hurry and bring the food!”

“Bring it! Bring it! Bring it!”

“We will… comply.”

The four Ogres started to approach.

Well, there were only Se-woon and Kang Han-cheol moving in the vicinity, so it was a natural progression.

Retrieving the no longer needed “Geryon’s Ox,” they both started walking towards the Ogres.

As the tense atmosphere swirled around them…

Leap!

Se-woon swiftly leaped and passed between the four Ogres.

With an agility stat nearing 100, it was enough to fluster the Ogres. As they reached out their arms, determined not to let him slip away…

Boom!

Crack!

“I’ll handle you all.”

“Human…”

Kang Han-cheol slammed the ground, creating a chaotic terrain, blocking the Ogres from turning towards Se-woon.

Thus, Se-woon could proceed straight towards the Ogre leader without interference.

“You dare, as mere food… challenge the predator!”

“Food! Food! Food!”

Facing the charging Se-woon, the Ogre leader raised his right axe.

The size, speed, and power were different, but the pattern remained the same.

Se-woon skillfully leaped to avoid the axe and landed on the thick forearm of the Ogre, which was much bulkier than an ordinary Ogre’s.

Without hesitation, he struck at the wrist tendons with his Molar Dagger.

Clang!

“Damn it.”

A completely unexpected sound hit his ears.

Clang.

It was like striking iron.

As proof, the spot where Se-woon struck bore only a small scratch, failing to even cut through the leather.

“Small, fast food, annoying!”

“Annoying! Annoying! Annoying!”

Normally, at this point, the Ogre should drop its weapon, and Se-woon would use the opening to go for a vital spot. However, with his attack failing, his attack pattern was disrupted.

He quickly jumped off to avoid being grabbed by the Ogre, who was retracting its arm to swallow him.

As expected, the other axe swung towards him.

Whoosh!

Still airborne, there was no way to dodge.

Se-woon urgently rotated his circle to project a shield in front of him.

However…

Clang!

“Argh!”

The wide shield Se-woon was using was designed to block broad attacks like arrows, not heavy strikes like this one.

In truth, even if he had deployed a shield meant for close combat, it likely wouldn’t have been able to block that axe.

Had he not angled his shield slightly to deflect the edge of the axe, he would have been split in half by now.

“Stop bothering me and just get in my mouth.”

“Get in! Get in! Get in!”

The Ogre charged towards Se-woon.

Observing the Ogre running with the axe gripped tightly, it appeared it had realized there was no need to swing full force.

– According to the mysteries of the Black Tower, the power of ‘Chain Lightning’ is enhanced.

Crack!

He used magic to buy even a moment’s respite, but rather than causing any stun, it barely made the Ogre blink.

– According to the mysteries of the Black Tower, the power of ‘Frozen Wave’ is enhanced.

Sizzle!

So, he switched tactics and sent out ice magic.

The chill spread, and the ground started to freeze, causing the Ogre to hesitate slightly.

Crunch!

But the Ogre broke through the ice with sheer strength and continued advancing.

Truly a monstrous being.

However, this bought Se-woon a precious sliver of time.

Time enough to open Mammon’s Treasury and retrieve a new artifact.

– Opened the Treasury of Greed.

[ Dark Flare ]

– A signature attack spell used by the mages of the Black Tower, unleashing flames of darkness to engulf the enemy.

Whoosh!

“Graaaah!”

“Black! It hurts! It’s hot!”

Black flames clung to the Ogre’s body.

No matter how tough and durable its hide was, it meant nothing before the dark flames.

The Ogre rolled desperately on the ground trying to extinguish the fire, but it was futile.

Dark Flare, being a spell from the Black Tower, leaned more towards the element of darkness rather than mere fire.

As long as the user’s mana supported it, it wouldn’t easily be put out.

Moreover…

– According to the mysteries of the Black Tower, the power of ‘Dark Flare’ is enhanced.

Two of Se-woon’s circles were made of the Black Tower’s dark mana.

Thus, the potency of Dark Flare was magnified, making it the most powerful attack Se-woon could use.

The problem was…

“Ugh…”

The mana consumption.

Like all Black Tower spells, its immense power required tremendous amounts of mana.

Using it for just over ten seconds had nearly drained Se-woon’s mana circles completely.

As his mana depleted, the ever-burning flames extinguished as if they were never there.

“Mere food… dares! How dare you! Graaah!”

“It hurts! It hurts! It hurts too much! I will kill you!”

“Definitely a monster.”

Despite giving his all, seeing the Ogre rise again made it clear that it hadn’t taken lethal damage.

Burns covered its body, yet the muscles underneath continued to pulse unscathed.

This proved that neither physical nor magical attacks were effective.

A despairing situation.

Yet, because of this, Se-woon realized:

“Alright, I can experiment on you then.”

It was time to try an attack he had always considered but never had the opportunity to use.