I Raided the Demon’s Treasury

Chapter 100

– Welcome to the 2nd floor trial.

– Theme: Crossing the River

– Time Limit: 5 hours

Swooosh-

When the light faded, a refreshing river appeared before his eyes.

Though over thirty clan members were nowhere in sight, Se-woon was not flustered.

‘It’s just like before.’

A wide river, so broad that the opposite bank barely came into view. Between the banks were scattered large and small stone bridges.

As described in the theme, the trial of the 2nd floor was quite simple: just cross the river to reach the opposite side.

‘Shall we go?’

Knowing the contents of the trial, Se-woon hesitated not a moment and stepped onto the first stone bridge.

Though slippery due to the water, it was steady and stable, not wavering at all.

Tap, tap.

Without needing to use any special footwork, he moved forward lightly.

As he progressed, he could feel the water’s flow becoming swifter.

When the water rushed faster, it splashed against the rocks, creating a refreshing spray.

‘It should come out soon.’

Just as Se-woon stopped his light steps and drew out his sword, something leaped out from the turbulent waters.

A fish with sharp teeth resembling a piranha, but twice its size.

Although its size and teeth were quite menacing.

Swish-

Se-woon’s sword swung lightly, slicing the fish in half before it could even close its widely gaping mouth.

– The Constellation, ‘Hungry Prince,’ welcomed fresh fish anytime and munched the piranha whole, bones and all.

Even so, if this was all, one might say it was too easy of a trial, but this was just a teaser.

Fwooosh!

Suddenly, the endless blue water darkened as dozens of piranhas leaped out.

Though not very fast, the location was a narrow stone bridge, making it difficult to evade or launch an attack.

This was the real danger of the 2nd floor’s trial.

Being aware beforehand, Se-woon reacted immediately, but other players would panic at the sudden piranha attack.

Swish, swish-

Even with dozens of piranhas attacking, Se-woon did not move from his spot. He simply swung his sword from where he stood.

Perhaps displeased with his confident posture, piranhas rushed at Se-woon’s back, even going against the current.

No matter how swift his sword was, it couldn’t possibly fend off all of them at once.

At that moment, Se-woon’s calm aura surgering began to whir.

– According to the mysteries of the Blue Tower, the power of ‘Lightning Wave’ is enhanced.

Crack!

Electric currents of black lightning spread out from Se-woon.

Since the piranhas were soaked in water, they were highly susceptible to electric damage.

Furthermore, their threat lay in their group behavior and the geographical advantage. Individually, they were not so formidable.

This was evidenced by how the electrocuted piranhas burned away and fell into the water with their mouths open.

Before they could drift away, Se-woon stretched out his arms, activating the Power of Greed.

– The ‘Sharp Piranha’ has been devoured.

– Absorbing its nutrients increases Agility by 2.

– Absorbing its nutrients increases Agility by 0.2

…

– The Constellation, ‘Hungry Prince,’ bit into a well-cooked piranha, savoring and stripping the flesh cleanly off the bones.

– The Constellation remarked that the eyes were a particular delicacy, deeply relishing the flavor.

Since Lightning Wave was an area attack, it swept away the nearby piranhas all at once.

Once the threat was gone, Se-woon sheathed his sword and opened the clan chat to write a short message.

[Sharp Piranhas appearance around the 20th stone bridge. Exercise caution.]

Despite wanting to warn them earlier, revealing his return to the past too soon was not an option.

Thus, he entered the chat only after the piranhas had attacked.

While Se-woon quickly crossed the stone bridges, the clan chat buzzed actively.

[Baek Hyun: Ah, I just narrowly avoided disaster.]
[Han Ah-reum: Thank you, blood Wolf oppa!]
[Han Da-woon: Wow, if not for my makeshift barrier, that would’ve been dangerous!]
[Park Jung-pil: Hyuuuuuuuuuung!]

…

Each in their own way, they were overcoming the challenge.

Thanks to Se-woon’s efforts, they hadn’t been in the spotlight, but they were all fully capable players.

None would falter in this mere 2nd floor trial.

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

Crack!

Even with several more piranha attacks, they did not faze Se-woon at all.

If anything, sensing the danger of their kin’s deaths, the piranhas’ ambushes gradually lessened.

While quickly crossing the rather unexpectedly long stone bridges, Se-woon abruptly stopped.

‘It should be around here.’

Before his regression, Se-woon also attempted this trial and had activated Guidepost of the Journey. At the time, though, he was too busy fleeing from piranhas to check it.

But now, it was different.

Recalling those memories as vividly as possible, Se-woon carefully observed each stone bridge as he advanced.

And then.

“Found it.”

He had located the stone bridge that had reacted when the Guidepost of the Journey was activated.

How did he remember such a hidden piece encountered during a frantic escape?

Simple. The rock that the Guidepost of the Journey indicated was unstable, unlike the others.

It wobbled noticeably with just a single person standing on it.

The issue was not knowing what kind of hidden piece it was.

Zap!

Even after flowing electric current around, no special reaction occurred.

Even when concentrating or using detection spells, nothing unusual appeared.

Suspicious that his memory might be wrong, he considered it, but the memory of a stone bridge wobbling from fleeing piranhas remained strikingly clear in his mind.

It was this very wobbling that had put him at a crossroads between life and death back then.

A proverb flickered in Se-woon’s mind amid his contemplation:

‘Even when crossing a stone bridge, tap it first.’

Though not quite fitting the situation, why not try it out? If it doesn’t work, he could dive into the water using the ‘Mermaid’s Gills’ and breathe underwater. If needed, the ‘Merman’s Fins’ would help withstand the strong current.

‘Let’s give it a try.’

Se-woon retrieved one of the weapons he had in his pocket dimension.

A hammer. But it was not just a regular hammer; it was a battle hammer far more menacing.

Had it been a different weapon, Se-woon might’ve looked into martial arts manuals from Mammon’s treasure related to hammer techniques, but he didn’t require such skills right now.

Breathing in and swinging the hammer over his head.

“Hup!”

Then bringing it down with full force would suffice.

Clang!

The moment the hammer struck the stone, vibrations coursed from the hammer’s head through the handle.

The impact was so strong that his palm could hardly bear the buzzing.

However, it wasn’t just Se-woon who felt the impact.

The already wobbly stone couldn’t withstand the heavy blow and teetered precariously.

Se-woon quickly leaped to the next stone bridge.

‘Is this not it?’

He pondered whether diving into the riverbed was necessary when, separate from the stone’s teetering, a massive burst arose from beside it.

Splash!

As the water surged high, a gigantic creature revealed itself.

Its smooth skin without any scales typical of fish, two pairs of whiskers near its mouth, and a wide, sideways-gaping mouth.

Though this was the first time Se-woon saw a monster of this form, he recalled seeing a similar animal on Earth.

“A catfish?”

Typically known to inhabit reservoirs or lakes, the catfish here was a large aquatic creature.

The difference compared to Earth was its sheer size, which was beyond imagination.

Its mouth opened so wide that it looked capable of swallowing an entire stone bridge.

“Gwoooh!”

“Damn.”

Tap!

Fulfilling Se-woon’s ludicrous imagination, the catfish swallowed the stone bridge whole, where he had been standing, in a single gulp.

Had he moved even a second later, he would’ve ended up in the catfish’s stomach along with the stone bridge.

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

Se-woon, realizing that the creature was the hidden piece the Guidepost of the Journey had once pointed out, cast a spell.

Though he had never faced such a monster, aquatic creatures were generally weak against electric magic.

First delivering a lightning spear aimed at the being still raising its head after swallowing the stone bridge.

Zap!

Sizzling…

“Gwoooh?”

However, the outcome deviated from Se-woon’s expectations.

As soon as the lightning spear touched its head, it flowed down its black skin and dispersed outward.

Even allowing for some damage distribution, the creature, having taken a direct hit to the forehead, cast a dull glare towards Se-woon.

“Does electricity have no effect?”

“Gwoooh!”

Did fish normally make sounds like this?

Even as Se-woon pondered, the creature emitted an ear-piercing cry and slammed into the stone bridge beneath him.

That solid stone bridge momentarily trembled, tilting toward the riverbank.

‘If I’d dived in, it could’ve been dangerous.’

The creature moved effortlessly through the rough current.

In contrast, Se-woon doubted he could move freely within that water flow either.

Additionally, since electricity was ineffective, logically, the best place to fight would be atop the stone bridges, albeit inconveniently.

“Gwoooh!”

Once more, the creature leaped high and opened its mouth, intending to devour both Se-woon and the stone bridge.

Choosing not to evade, Se-woon gripped his sword tightly.

‘If electricity doesn’t work, then…’

He simply needed to cut it down with the sword.

– Through internal energy, the second form of the Blood Wolf Swordsmanship, ‘Blood Wolf Fang’, is enhanced.

– According to the mysteries of the Paragon Mental Cultivation Technique, the power of the martial arts technique is enhanced.

Swish!

Just before clashing with the creature, Se-woon leapt backward, slashing the sword horizontally in the nick of time.

The gleaming skin that didn’t even show a hint of scorch after being struck by lightning smoothly split apart.

Even though the skin was thick, the inflicted wound seemed not too severe, yet it unveiled the creature’s weakness.

“Gwoo, oooooh!”

However, although it looked dumb, the creature wasn’t outright foolish.

Realizing that Se-woon’s sword was a threat, it distanced itself while keeping its mouth wide open.

Soon after, it spat something out.

Thwack!

“Seriously, it’s using all sorts of attacks.”

The creature expelled a mass of brown mud from its mouth, likely created from the rocks it had swallowed. Se-woon couldn’t quite understand the mechanism behind it, but it didn’t look like an ordinary attack.

However, the principle behind the attack didn’t matter much at that moment. The amount of mud the creature had spat out was so vast that it could block out the sun.

Se-woon quickly moved several stone bridges, managing just in time to avoid the range of the mud.

“Gwooooh!”

The creature, sounding more like a beast than a fish, let out an ear-piercing scream.

Given its behavior, it didn’t seem likely to approach anytime soon.

“Then stay there.”

– Opened the Treasury of Greed

[ Wind Cutter ]

– An attack magic from the Green Tower that creates sharp blades of wind. Its cutting power is the most formidable among all similar spells.

“…… Gwaa?”

From Se-woon’s fingertips, a green wind started to condense.

(T/N): Even when crossing a stone bridge, tap it first = The proverb emphasizes the importance of caution and thoroughness, even in situations that seem safe, stable, or reliable. It suggests that one should double-check and verify things before taking action, regardless of how trustworthy or solid they may appear.