I Raided the Demon’s Treasury

Chapter 66

Tap, tap!

Se-woon swiftly weaved through the monsters.

Although he was moving in the opposite direction from where the monsters were heading, none of the monsters even grazed him, let alone collided with him.

This was thanks to the footwork technique Se-woon had recently learned—Nichugong.

That movement allowed him to slip smoothly through the monsters as if he had become a nimble eel.

Moreover, by incorporating Kilkergas’ Stealt,’ even the more perceptive monsters failed to notice Se-woon as he brushed past their legs.

Of course, among the monsters, some with heightened senses could detect Se-woon’s movements.

“Kieek?”

But even they couldn’t figure out his identity.

Right now, Se-woon was wearing a cloak drenched in blood and scales, reeking of fishy odors from hunting countless monsters.

In this chaotic battlefield, monsters that could recognize Se-woon were rare. Even if they saw him, they might dismiss him as a ‘clueless hairy crab.’

As he slipped through,

“Bloo, bloog?”

A catfish monster with long whiskers seemed to have noticed Se-woon and widened its eyes, its gills flaring.

It was probably more specialized in detection than other monsters.

The monster opened its mouth wide, likely to alert the others, but—

Thunk.

No sound came from its gaping mouth.

Se-woon had swiftly approached and plunged his dagger into the monster’s throat.

Thud.

Though their companion fell to the ground, the chaotic and disordered movement of the monster horde meant no one paid it any mind.

Thanks to that, Se-woon was able to conserve energy and comfortably infiltrate deep into the enemy formation.

‘Time to check my position.’

Even Se-woon didn’t know the exact location where the boss monster would appear.

In his previous life, Se-woon had struggled to fend off the fifth chapter’s monsters under Charles’ clan members, barely managing to hold the line.

The only information he had was that the boss monster would appear near the cliff’s edge.

Leap!

Navigating through the monsters, Se-woon leapt onto the highest-looking rock.

Some monsters glanced at him with expressions that seemed to say, ‘Why is that hairy crab climbing up there?’ but none found it suspicious.

From the top of the rock, Se-woon had a clear view of the horde of monsters climbing up the cliff.

‘It’s even more overwhelming than it looked from the walls,’ he thought.

Despite the number of monsters he had already killed, the cliff was still swarming with hundreds, possibly thousands, climbing relentlessly.

Watching from such a height, the scene grotesquely resembled a swarm of insects, making his skin crawl.

Suppressing the fishy odor that wafted from Nole’s Snub Nose, Se-woon scanned the area along the cliff.

Then, he finally spotted the boss monster.

“ROOOAAARR!!”

The Enraged Tyrant of the Sea. Sea Drake, Drakan.

It was climbing the cliff with its massive body.

Though it had the wings characteristic of draconic species on its back, it struggled to cling to the cliff with its forelegs, roaring mightily—it didn’t seem capable of flight.

This made sense, as it was a draconic species known as a ‘Drake,’ which had lost the ability to fly.

Although it resembled a dragon, it was an inferior version that couldn’t match a dragon in flight, magic, or intelligence.

Moreover, it was a ‘Sea Drake’.

Its wings were developed more like fins for swimming rather than for flying, rendering them useless on land.

However, that didn’t mean it could be ignored.

‘It’s absurdly huge.’

Even without the abilities of flight, magic, and intelligence, it retained the physical strength characteristic of dragons.

Crucially, even though it couldn’t wield mana, it could use ‘Breath,’ one of the inherent abilities of draconic species.

Those two factors alone made it a sufficiently threatening monster.

Crumble, thud!

“ROOOOAAARR!!”

The cliff crumbled under its weight, but the monster managed to scramble up by desperately clawing at the cliffside.

At its roar, the other monsters bowed their heads and made way. They knew that if they didn’t, the tyrant would trample over them.

‘Before my return, more than half of the castle collapsed before we could kill that thing.’

There was a reason for the existence of the ‘castle’ in the fifth chapter.

It was to fend off attacks using the fortifications and collectively assault the monster, making it a kind of raid boss.

In the third chapter, players were forced to fight each other, but now cooperation was essential. It was laughable, but there was no choice if survival was the goal.

Se-woon intended to hunt this monster alone before it reached the castle.

‘With Mammon’s treasures, I should be able to manage something.’

It was evident at a glance.

He couldn’t kill Drakan just by pulling out one of Mammon’s treasures and swinging it around like he had done so far.

As much as it pained him, he would have to use most of the items he currently possessed.

‘But the monster is worth that much.’

The first thing gained from hunting it would be merit points.

Even when numerous people combined their efforts to defeat it, each individual received a significant amount of merit points. How much more then, if he hunted it alone?

The difference in merit points would become overwhelmingly vast.

Secondly, the items that could be obtained from it.

Rumor had it that the player who killed the Sea Drake received a highly valuable piece of jewelry.

Additionally, all the materials obtained from it were of draconic origin, carrying immense value.

And there was more: experience points and the strength he could gain through the Power of Gluttony. There were more than enough reasons to hunt it down.

‘The problem is those monsters…’

Even Se-woon couldn’t handle the boss monster and the horde of monsters simultaneously.

While looking around for a solution,

“Kieek!”

“Khrak!”

Fwoosh!

Boom!!

On the side opposite the cliff.

In the distance, alongside the monsters’ screams, various elemental forces erupted.

Sharp winds severed the limbs of monsters, and flames scorched their flesh. The ground cracked open while rain poured down like arrows.

Compared to when Se-woon unleashed his spells, this was far more spectacular and powerful.

The term ‘natural disaster’ seemed more fitting than ever.

Even without activating ‘Eye of the Imperial Eagle,’ Se-woon knew well what was causing the natural disasters in that location.

‘Riel Refrain.’

It was her.

The one known for commanding the spirits of the four elements, beloved by nature, who, if not for Se-woon, would normally have ranked first in the tutorial merit points.

She was advancing toward the boss monster, leading her four spirits.

‘Did Riel originally seek out the boss monster?’

No.

If Se-woon’s memory was correct, she had also focused on the objective of the siege defense, protecting the castle.

When the boss monster appeared, she had cooperated with others to deliver the final blow, but she hadn’t gone out of her way to seek the boss monster.

He didn’t know what had changed…

Smirk—

‘Since it has come to this, I might as well make good use of it.’

By using her, he could confront the boss monster more comfortably.

* * *

Riel Refrain.

She had long and sharp ears reminiscent of leaves, characteristic of elves.

An elf. A being loved by nature and the last seed of the world tree from a world that had already perished.

Now, she was traversing the battlefield, teeming with monsters, alongside her four spirits.

“Bad children!”

“They polluted the water!”

“Then we must burn them!”

“Can we bury them?”

Her spirits were powerful.

Each one wielded the strength comparable to a capable mage, controlling fire, wind, water, and earth.

Moreover, when the four spirits combined their powers, the synergy they created defied the basic principles of magic.

Ordinarily, a spirit user would exhaust themselves and collapse from the overwhelming power of these spirits, but she did not falter.

Instead, she continued to channel even greater strength to support her spirits.

The reason she could do this was,

– The Constellation, ‘Fifth Day,’ looks at you with pity, wondering if you are overextending yourself.

The Constellation, ‘Fifth Day.’

It was thanks to the blessing from Freya, the Goddess of Love and Beauty.

The Blessing of Abundance.

Freya, the Goddess of Love and Beauty, was also the Goddess of Abundance.

The Power of Abundance bestowed by such a goddess granted Riel an almost infinite wellspring of mana.

Of course, even the godly powers had limits on what a player could use.

However, for a player at the tutorial level, Freya’s blessing was akin to an inexhaustible spring.

“I have no choice. To reclaim the first place, I must defeat that boss monster.”

– The Constellation, ‘Fifth Day,’ worries about you, saying you don’t have to push yourself so hard.

“No. I must go. For myself, for my clan, for the World Tree. And for the Goddess who chose me.”

– The Constellation, ‘Fifth Day,’ looks at you with a pitying expression.

After the fourth chapter of the tutorial began, she immediately checked the individual merit rankings and was shocked.

Jung Se-woon.

She didn’t know who he was, but a player with that name had surpassed her to claim the first rank.

And not by a narrow margin, but by almost 300,000 points.

‘I can’t let the first place be taken from me like this.’

Her goal was to ascend to the ‘Eternal Flower Garden’ that existed in the tower and plant the seed of the World Tree there.

To do that, she needed to become stronger than anyone else. Unyielding and unbeatable.

Only then could she plant the seed of the World Tree and revive her clan.

– The Constellation, ‘Fifth Day,’ comforts you, saying that you are already doing well enough.

“…But even the goddess is paying attention to that player.”

– The Constellation, ‘Fifth Day,’ finds your jealousy adorable and smiles softly.

As Riel steadily advanced toward the boss monster, her pace began to slow.

No matter how endlessly her mana replenished, the number of enemies was overwhelming. No matter how many she defeated, more enemies surged forward endlessly.

‘Is it impossible alone…?’

She bit her lip hard.

To reclaim the top rank, she had no choice but to hunt the boss monster. However, alone, there were limits.

She had mustered the courage to leave the castle and rush this far, only to find she couldn’t proceed any further. It was frustrating beyond measure.

At that moment,

Swoosh—

A very familiar, deeply missed energy brushed past Riel’s skin.

She thought it might be an illusion, but her spirits sensed it too.

“So refreshing!”

“So warm!”

“Who is it?”

“Who could it be?”

Following the source of the energy, she saw a human walking out from among the monsters.

Being the last seed of the World Tree, she recognized the nature of the aura emanating from the man’s body.

“How can a human use elf magic?”

The Breath of Nature. An inherent magic of the elves that revitalized forests and invigorated spirits.

And yet, this ordinary human was using such magic.

But the man didn’t answer her question.

“Isn’t getting through those monsters more important right now?”

Indeed, he was right. Thanks to the Breath of Nature, her spirits regained strength and were pushing back the monsters even more forcefully.

With his strength, reaching the boss monster didn’t seem impossible.

“For now, let’s join forces.”

“…Alright.”

Riel nodded.

For now, combining their strength was the priority.

With that thought, she channeled more mana into her spirits.

Unware that this man was Se-woon, the owner of the top rank she aimed to surpass.

– Opened the (True) Treasury of Greed.

[ Breath of Nature ]

– An inherent magic of the elves. It purifies and revitalizes forests or invigorates spirits.