I Raided the Demon’s Treasury

Chapter 79

“Thanks for guiding me, Shax.”

“Think nothing of it. I only feel sorry that this is all I can do for someone ascending the tower on our behalf.”

“For the sake of the merfolk…”

Se-woon nodded silently.

From the perspective of the merfolk, it was reasonable to misunderstand his intentions. After all, the only thing Se-woon had requested from Leviathan was the “Power of Envy.” He hadn’t asked for any other treasure or support.

But for Se-woon, it was simply one of the steps in preparing for the Divine-Demonic War. At best, it was a fortunate overlap of interests.

“You should go back now. From here on, I’ll proceed on my own.”

“Then I hope we’ll meet again inside the tower.”

With a splash, Shax dove sharply back into the ocean, his blue fins cutting through the water. There was no hint of suspicion toward Se-woon in Shax’s demeanor. If anything, it was more akin to respect. Since Leviathan acknowledged Se-woon and bestowed his power, Shax’s admiration had only grown clearer.

“Hoo… ha…”

Se-woon spread his arms wide and exhaled deeply.

Now that he’d emerged from the ocean, the gills on his neck, along with the fins and webbing on his body, had disappeared. While breathing through gills hadn’t been unpleasant, the fresh air on land was unbeatable.

As he looked around, there were only remnants of the tutorial as he had expected. There were no players or monsters in sight.

“Shall we get going then?”

The time had finally come to claim the rewards from sweeping up various hidden pieces in the tutorial. He was now set to receive the reward for ranking first in individual merits.

* * *

It had already been quite a while since the tutorial ended.

All the players who had successfully passed the fifth chapter earned their rewards and ascended the tower.

Se-woon’s clan, too, had followed Yoo Seo-ah’s lead and climbed the tower after waiting overnight.

Following his direction seemed to be the right thing to do rather than waiting blindly.

In the place where all the players had disappeared.

“I’m bored!”

“Riel, not going in?”

“Not going in?”

“Waiting for someone?”

An elf was leaning against a tree.

With her gentle green hair resembling leaves and shining emerald eyes.

An elf who had achieved second place in the personal merit ranking for this tutorial and contracted with the Constellation, “Fifth Day.”

Riel Refrain.

“Remember? The human we met when we faced Drakan.”

“Of course!”

“Remember!”

“He was a human with a good scent!”

“A bad dragon!”

“I’m waiting for that human.”

Jeong Se-woon.

She vividly remembered those three syllables, but she didn’t mention Se-woon’s name.

She didn’t want the spirits to know she was concerned about him.

Maybe, she didn’t want to admit it herself.

“I like him!”

“I like him too!”

“Riel, do you like that human?”

“Not at all!”

“Riel is angry!”

“Angry!”

“Cute!”

“Ugh, bad dragon!”

Fortunately, the spirits also didn’t dislike Se-woon. In fact, until now, they had either hidden behind Riel or shown hostility towards humans, making this the first time they showed favor.

It was a perplexing situation for her.

After all,

‘Before I ascend the tower, I’ll issue a challenge.’

The reason Riel was waiting for Se-woon at that place was solely to face off with him.

It was Se-woon who took the first rank spot, a position she thought was hers.

As soon as the tutorial ended, Se-woon disappeared to the sea without leaving room for conversation.

Seizing upon the power of her kin embedded in the seed of the World Tree, she crushed her goal of always holding the top spot.

Of course, she didn’t just wait at the tower entrance doing nothing.

Within that time, she’d communed with the spirits, increased her spiritual power, and continued to refine her combat skills for a duel with Se-woon.

Her mana became more refined, and her spirit magic grew more dazzling.

More than anything…

‘With this, I can’t lose.’

The staff clutched in her hand.

Thanks to the “Branch of Yggdrasil,” obtained as a reward for ranking second in the tutorial, her combat strength became significantly more powerful.

Initially, she had struggled to handle that power but now had fully acclimated to the strength of Yggdrasil.

– The Constellation, “Fifth Day,” advises you that there is no reason to see him as an enemy.

“……Thank you, Goddess. But I want to confirm once. If he is really stronger than me. If he truly deserves the first rank.”

In reality, she already knew logically.

The prowess Se-woon showed against the chapter five boss monster, Sea Drake, Drakan, had reached a level unattainable by tutorial players.

However, she couldn’t admit it. No, she mustn’t admit it.

As the last survivor crossing over with the hopes and expectations of her kind from a destroyed world,

She couldn’t settle for a second-place position from the start.

After finishing her training today, while leaning against a tree trunk, enjoying the cool breeze,

“Hey, you haven’t gone in yet?”

“……I’ve been waiting.”

“For me?”

“Yes.”

Watching Se-woon, who appeared like a ghost right before her, deceiving the elf’s sensitive ears.

Riel Refrain, she quietly rose from her spot, supporting herself with her staff.

* * *

‘Waiting for me?’

Having spent quite some time since the tutorial ended, he naturally assumed there would be no players left. However, upon reaching the tower entrance, there was an elf resting under the tree’s shade.

Her light green hair wavered in the gentle breeze, offering a picturesque view, but as soon as she saw Se-woon, her demeanor entirely shifted.

Even merely holding her staff, she seemed like a knight issuing a duel challenge with a sword.

‘Could it be that she’s upset about being second place?’

Before his regression, he rarely clashed with her, so he didn’t know much about the player called Riel.

He had only heard rumors that she climbed the tower to find the “Eternal Flower Garden.”

Unfortunately, before Se-woon’s regression, she never found the Eternal Flower Garden. She merely disappeared amidst unsettling rumors.

However, given her demeanor while facing off against Drakan, the only reason she would wait for Se-woon was due to not achieving first place.

Whether it was due to competitiveness or envy, it would be because of that reason.

– The Constellation, “Serpent of Envy,” shakes its head saying it’s too pure a gaze for jealousy.

The Serpent of Envy.

A Demon God of Envy, Leviathan, with whom he struck a contract in the deep sea.

In the deep sea, without the system’s assistance, sharing a vision or sending messages was impossible, but thanks to the orb imbued with Leviathan’s power, limited vision sharing and communication became possible.

‘So, it’s competition, then.’

He had planned to see his clan members who were likely worried about him as soon as possible, but now an unexpected obstacle had arisen.

He thought about persuading her, but given her stance, it didn’t seem like she would back down easily.

After all, she had waited here since the tutorial ended just to confront him.

“I think I understand the situation, but I should at least ask your reason, right?”

Se-woon drew a plain-looking sword from his waist as he asked.

After numerous battles, he had worn out most of his weapons and had few left.

In contrast, the weapon she held looked immensely powerful at first glance.

It was impossible to find such a staff in the tutorial. Moreover, it was a staff unfamiliar to him, even when fighting against Drakan.

So, that means…

‘A reward for ranking second, I see.’

Meaning she already received the tutorial’s reward.

With the amount of time that had passed, it was only natural. She likely not only acquired the weapon but had grown familiar with its use.

“Prove to me that you deserve the first rank.”

“Why should I?”

“Because you used me to attack the boss monster.”

“Rather than using, it was cooperation. Didn’t you receive your share of contribution points, too?”

“If I had defeated it alone, I would have reached first rank, not you.”

“Would you really? Could you have defeated it alone in the first place?”

“That…”

Riel was at a loss for words.

Even if she didn’t answer, Se-woon knew.

Before regression, it was true that she had defeated Drakan and achieved first rank, but that was only because she’d used the fortress as a shield and collaborated with numerous other players to deliver a decisive blow to Drakan.

Solo, even for her, hunting Drakan was impossible.

“Well, I don’t mind.”

He was well aware she was being unreasonable.

But upon reconsideration, there was no reason to refuse a sparring match. Se-woon also had a power he wanted to test before entering the tower.

“I’ll accept your sparring challenge.”

“Silph.”

“Yes!”

A white breeze wrapped around her legs.

It was an appearance Se-woon was familiar with. It was the spirit possession he had seen when facing Drakan.

Taat!

With that, she quickly sprang forward.

Although he hadn’t anticipated her, as a spirit mage, to charge first, he didn’t plan to retreat.

Se-woon stepped forward confidently, blocking her staff with his sword.

Perrung!

“Sorry!”

“Let’s play! Let’s play!”

“Long time no see!”

However, her assault wasn’t merely swinging her staff.

The flame embedded in her staff burst forth, enveloping Se-woon, and simultaneously, sharp-tipped rocks, powered by the earth spirit, projected from all sides.

If his step had been a moment delayed, he would have inevitably fallen into the pit.

“This is more than I expected.”

She wasn’t this strong when facing Drakan.

He had known her potential through pre-regression knowledge, but it wasn’t strength she should have at this point in time.

Cha-aaah!

Around Se-woon, sprays of water swirled, hindering his movement and vision. Meanwhile, rocks, shaped like sharp spikes, fired from all directions.

Not only were they fired, but seemingly borrowing the power of the fire spirit’s explosion, they possessed tremendous speed.

Kang, kaang!

Se-woon deftly twisted his sword, deflecting her attack, but there was a separate issue.

The weapon itself.

Blocking rocks imbued with spirit power had left Se-woon’s weapon in poor condition.

Despite this, he didn’t open Mammon’s treasury.

The goal now wasn’t to use a potent treasure to blast her away but to experiment with a new power.

“You won’t be able to block this!”

Kugugu!

Glancing up due to the sudden shadow cast over his surroundings, a massive rock filled his vision.

It seemed that the previous attacks were merely feints preparing for this strike.

Though evading the attack zone seemed wise, sharp rocks still persisted in flying around from all directions.

After deflecting the rocks and emerging from the water sprays, she consistently hurled her staff with explosive flames.

Just as a massive rock was about to fall upon Se-woon without a moment to counteract.

Cheok-

“This is a bit too dangerous.”

As the enormous rock split into two, showcasing a sharp cross-section.

Casually emerging from the dust, Se-woon wielded a sword with a golden hilt.

– The Constellation, “Bowed Raven,” couldn’t suppress its look of regret.

The Sword that Split the Rock, Durandal.

The work was finally completed, and Mammon returned Durandal to Se-woon.

“That sword…”

“I assume you won’t call it cheating? You’re wielding such a weapon yourself.”

Se-woon casually mentioned as he extended his opposite hand towards Riel.

Thus, the orb buzzing in his possession surged with blue energy into Se-woon’s hand.

– The gaze of Envy begins to focus on ‘Riel Lefrain.’

The power of Leviathan, the Demon God of Envy.

This was the true beginning of the battle.

—
(T/N): I’ll take back what I said in the last chapter haha. These words will remain the same.

> Demonic gods
> Divine gods
> Godly power