I Raided the Demon’s Treasury

Chapter 105

– The Constellation, “Bowed Raven,” showed interest.

In fact, it was partly a gamble.

Even though Se-woon was a regressor, the Master Key was an item that only circulated as a rumor.

He had no idea what it looked like, nor could he be certain that the Master Key even existed.

And now, the time had finally come to confirm the identity of the “Small Key.”

“A beautiful key. But doesn’t it seem completely mismatched in size?”

The lock was the size of an adult male’s head. In comparison, the key Se-woon was holding was small enough to fit the size of his pinky finger, living up to the name “Small Key.”

Considering the principle of a key, the size difference seemed illogical.

However, Se-woon inserted the key into the lock’s keyhole.

And then.

A grin appeared on Se-woon’s face.

The moment the key was inserted, despite the size difference, he felt as if the key was fitting perfectly.

Immediately, he moved his wrist, and a click! sounded as something aligned.

“Oooh, how amazing!”

As if it were a given, the lock opened.

The sound of the ground and ceiling seams scraping and creaking as the door opened indicated just how long it had been closed.

– The Constellation, “Bowed Raven,” opens its eyes wide..

– The Constellation, “Bowed Raven,” exclaims that if it’s that key, it could open countless treasuries sleeping in the tower.

– The Constellation, “Bowed Raven,” begins to think of where the key might be used.

When the door opened, a reddish light, not light magic, flowed out.

Looking inside, several torches hanging on the wall flickered, illuminating the space.

The state of the door suggested it hadn’t been maintained in a long time, but seeing the torches still lit, it seemed like they had some kind of magical treatment.

“Could a monster come out of there?”

“I don’t think so.”

Before the regression, Se-woon, being a famous explorer, had discovered countless hidden spaces.

Just by glancing around, he could tell that this room had been someone’s residence.

And usually, it’s extremely rare to place traps or guards in a residence.

Therefore, Se-woon, with only minimal caution, stepped into the room without hesitation.

‘This place…’

What kind of person had lived here?

Looking around, various insect specimens, such as butterfly wings and beetle shells, were displayed.

On what looked like an experimental table, the decaying corpses of monsters were rotting, and the bookshelf was filled with books written in incomprehensible words.

“Oh! Ore! Could that be the reward?”

Go-Chang-Seok’s eyes sparkled as he looked at the ores piled up in the corner of the room.

They were excellent ores unmatched by their surroundings, but Se-woon suspected they weren’t the reward.

He first pulled out one of the books, but it was written in a language that even Se-woon’s knowledge couldn’t interpret.

Having mastered most of the languages in the tower, Se-woon couldn’t help but feel bewildered.

At that moment, Mammon, who had been showing interest in the key, sent a message.

– The Constellation, ‘Bowed Raven,’ smiles quietly, saying it’s been a long time since seeing the language of the Verhel Continent.

Mammon, who usually showed no interest unless it was the treasure he desired, for some reason gave Se-woon a hint without asking for anything in return.

It was a bit strange, but for Se-woon, he gratefully took the hint.

‘Verhel Continent?’

It was a name he didn’t remember from his memories before the regression.

However, after the regression, it was a name he had heard.

Why?

– Opened the Treasury of Greed

[ History of the Verhel Continent ]

– Once the most beautiful place, but the Verhel Continent fell into ruin due to the great war. A historical account of the Verhel Continent.

The list of treasures Se-woon had looked through every night, searching for the right one to use in the needed situations, contained the name of the Verhel Continent.

Se-woon didn’t know why this was in Mammon’s treasury, but he immediately decided to use it.

As soon as he did, the knowledge of the long-fallen continent flooded into his mind.

The twelve races living in harmony with nature, the demon gods and celestial gods they worshipped, the spread of war due to conflicts, and more.

‘If it’s a demon god, then is it Mammon?’

Various bits of knowledge came to mind, but Se-woon quickly shook his head.

Although he had used the historical text, what he really needed wasn’t the history of a continent he knew nothing about.

‘I see it.’

Immediately, the language of the Verhel Continent appeared before him.

As expected, as soon as he used the treasure, the difficult-to-read text in the book started to gradually become clear.

[Insect Breeding Techniques]

[Growth Accelerant]

[The Leader of the Colony]

[The Rising Sun God]
…

Most of the content was about insects.

Without even needing to look at the book’s contents, Se-woon could tell the occupation of the person who had lived here.

An insect breeder.

For reasons unknown, it seemed this person had been collecting and breeding various insects here.

As he pulled out a few books, he noticed a small drawer beneath the bookshelf.

It also had a small keyhole.

Click.

The key in Se-woon’s hand, having already shown the power of the Master Key, opened the drawer effortlessly without any resistance.

“This is…?”

[ Stone Flute ]

Category: Instrument

Rank: B-

Description: An instrument specially crafted to summon something (usable in the 5th floor trial)

Ability: ??

A stone-made instrument.

Se-woon wondered what this could be used for, but as soon as he read the item description, he immediately understood.

‘It’s a quest item.’

Such quest items could rarely be found during trials.

If used properly, they could yield significantly higher rewards or allow one to pass through special branching points, giving them an advantage over other players.

Based on the occupant’s occupation and the books, whatever the stone flute summons would likely be some kind of insect. Se-woon thought it might be a hidden boss monster on the 5th floor.

“Did you find anything?”

“Ah, yes. What about you, Elder?”

“Hehe, I found some quite useful ores. I’m already itching to make a new piece with them.”

“Then, let’s head out.”

Having found the hidden piece, there was no reason to stay any longer.

With a satisfied expression, Se-woon placed the Stone Flute into his spatial pouch and left the room with Go Chang-seok.

* * *

Knowing the exit’s location meant that leaving the hidden room posed no problem.

While monster attacks continued, they were no match for Se-woon and Go Chang-seok.

Se-woon even went straight ahead, sparing no mana or internal energy, allowing them to reach the cave’s end swiftly.

– You have successfully completed the the 4th floor trial “Passing through the Cave”

– Calculating merit points…

– Time remaining: 7 hours 52 minutes

– Number of monsters hunted: 103

– Completed Hidden Quest, ‘Hidden Door.’

…

– Merit points gained based on performance are distributed.

– Total accumulated merit points: 254,500 points.

– Congratulations! You have passed the the 4th floor trial ranking 1st.

– You have received a reward of 100,000 points.

It seemed no player had yet entered the hidden door, even if they had found it. Earning more merit points than expected, Se-woon claimed the 1st rank with pride.

“Heh heh, to think it’s first rank. That’s impressive.”

“What about you, elder?”

“Although I’m not in the rankings like you, I also received ample merit points. Frankly, I didn’t do much, so don’t worry about it.”

“If you ever need anything, feel free to ask. I’ll support you.”

“Heh heh, thank you for just saying so.”

At the end of the cave.

Before ascending to the next floor, Se-woon repositioned himself and activated both his dantian and circle simultaneously.

After leisurely recovering all his mana, he turned his head and saw Go Chang-seok cleaning his equipment.

The hammer, as well as the shield and armor, were all stained with the insects’ fluids, so it seemed to be taking a bit of time.

“Oh, I’ll take care of mine.”

“Are you trying to take away the one thing this old man enjoys?”

“Haha… Alright, I’ll leave it to you then.”

“Oh, I’ve thought it before, but this is truly an excellent weapon.”

As Go Chang-seok took hold of the Durandal, his eyes sparkled.

While he was tidying up his gear, Se-woon opened the clan chat.

As time passed, messages from those who had completed the trial began to appear.

[Park Jung-pil: Hyuuuuuuung!]

[Han Ah-reum: Ah, I almost died because of this oppa! He told me to follow him and went ahead, then he touched a spiderweb, and when the spider appeared, he ran away, leaving me behind!]

[Park Jung-pil: No, that’s not it…!]

[Han Ah-reum: What’s not true! If I didn’t block that path, we both would’ve been dead!]

[Park Jung-pil: I’m sorryyyyy…]

[Han Da-woon: I saw that spider too!]

[Han Ah-reum: Did you block the path too?]

[Han Da-woon: No, Han-cheol oppa just stomped on the bug and killed it.]

[Han Ah-reum: Ah, the difference in teammates!]

This trial had a higher difficulty compared to the 3rd floor.

If you found the correct path, there wouldn’t be a problem, but if you took the wrong one, you’d inevitably encounter spiders.

Even without that, the first fork wasn’t the only one.

Se-woon had managed to find the right path using his senses, but after that, there were more than three other forks.

From his memories before the regression, there were strong enemies or traps in those places too, not just spiders.

So, he expected some damage would occur.

[Lee Il-jung: We would’ve been in real danger without the medicine. Ha-neul, thank you so much.]

[Jang Do-young: I survived thanks to those medicines too!]

[Lee Ha-neul: That’s a relief! I’ll try to make more next time!]

Maybe due to the medicines Lee Ha-neul distributed, some expressed difficulties, but no one showed signs of significant injuries.

However, there were those who were worried about the next trial due to the increasing difficulty.

‘Well, the difficulty of the next trial does increase significantly.’

Se-woon, of course, actively sought strong monsters to fight, but the others didn’t need to do that.

The trials were all about crossing rivers, climbing mountains, and passing through caves, so even if they encountered a strong monster, they could just run away.

But the next trial was different.

The trial itself was about fighting monsters, so even if it was scary, they had to pick up their weapons.

In that sense, it was a good reaction for people to worry and feel tense about the next trial.

It would be better than pretending everything was fine and getting caught off guard.

“Alright, it’s done! The venom hardened, so it took longer than expected.”

“It looks brand new.”

“Heh heh, it should be, at the very least.”

The Durandal Se-woon received from Go Chang-seok was shining brightly.

It wasn’t just the parts that had venom on them that were fixed; even the blade and the handle had been cleaned, making it feel as new as when it was first crafted.

When Se-woon lightly swung it, perhaps due to his perception, the sword felt lighter than before.

“Should we go right away?”

“Yes. Let’s finish resting after the next trial.”

“I don’t mind. I’ve just been following you, so it doesn’t feel that hard.”

“Then let’s go right away.”

“Alright. I’m eager to get to the next level and play with the ores we found earlier.”

Se-woon and Go Chang-seok both selected the next floor at the same time.

The next floor was the last floor of the current theme.

Once they completed the trial of the 5th floor, they would finally be able to enjoy a proper rest with the clan members.