I Raided the Demon’s Treasury

Chapter 90

The moment Se-woon exited the base, he sprinted in the direction opposite the village.

The first floor of the tower.

It was an expansive field, so vast that it was hard to believe it was inside a building.

Then again, he had no choice but to accept it as reality the moment he entered the first floor and looked up.

If this were truly indoors, the existence of an endless horizon and a blue sky would have been nonsensical.

Tat, tatatat!

The white skeletal frame of the wolf Se-woon was riding—a Skeleton Wolf—dashed swiftly across the grasslands.

He had considered borrowing Jeokrang from Park Jung-pil, but decided against relying on him constantly, so he created a new skeleton wolf through Baek-hyun.

Thanks to his contract with a Constellation, he possessed a subspace capable of storing an almost infinite number of corpses.

Furthermore, likely due to the enhancement process he referred to as ‘Reinforcement,’ the skeleton he received boasted far superior strength compared to a typical wolf.

‘Almost there.’

Thanks to the Skeleton Wolf’s rapid mobility, Se-woon managed to reach his desired destination just before sunset.

[ Shimmering Hill ]

Even among ordinary fields, there were certain areas with designated names like this.

Such places often held some kind of value, even if not as significant as a hidden dungeon.

Whether it was a hidden dungeon, a chance to obtain special items, or something similar.

‘When I first discovered this place, I almost lost myself for a moment.’

Contrary to its name, the Shimmering Hill appeared utterly ordinary.

However, its true nature revealed itself after sunset.

Just as the sun dipped behind him, painting the sky red, an anomaly began to unfold on the hill before him.

Srrr—

The grass and petals filling the hill shimmered with a soft blue light.

Amid them, tiny lights detached themselves, floating into the air like fireflies.

The lights moved in unique patterns, creating intricate embroidery in the air, while the flowers seemed to bloom fully as if smiling in response.

This was the true meaning of Shimmering Hill.

Although Se-woon thought he had grown indifferent to it, knowing what to expect, he still found himself mesmerized by the dreamlike atmosphere.

‘The presence of spirits means the mana concentration here is high.’

The tiny lights dancing in the air were, in fact, spirits.

Even so, they were not even low-grade spirits and had yet to develop intelligence.

The abundance of these spirits signified that mana was plentiful in the area, making it an ideal training ground for accumulating mana.

This was why Se-woon had thought of herbs and sprinted all the way here.

– Opened the Treasury of Greed.

[ Inas’s Botany Compendium ]

– A compendium written by Inas, once hailed as the continent’s greatest botanist. It not only catalogs discovered plants but also provides detailed methods for distinguishing their traits.

Se-woon, despite being a renowned adventurer, had almost no knowledge of plants.

Thus, the moment he set foot on the hill, he activated the Power of Greed.

As a result, an array of botanical knowledge flooded into his mind, transforming the scene before his eyes into something entirely new.

‘These glowing flowers—they don’t shine simply because there’s a lot of mana here.’

Previously, he had passed them by without much thought, assuming the glow was just due to the abundant mana. Now, with his newfound knowledge, he realized that the shimmering petals were specialized organs designed to absorb and store mana.

The small blades of grass growing nearby, curled tightly like buds, seemed to be perfect resting spots for the spirits.

As he observed them, he began to understand.

This place wasn’t just abundant in mana—it was radiant because the plants here had evolved to coexist harmoniously with mana.

‘If refined properly, I could even create mana potions.’

Se-woon carefully began collecting the glowing flowers.

The compendium didn’t merely list plant types and identification methods; it also detailed harvesting techniques.

Se-woon, meticulously digging up the plants without damaging their roots, looked every bit like a renowned botanist at work.

‘This one seems to have hemostatic properties. And this… it looks like a poisonous plant, but it could still be useful if I bring it along.’

He was cautious in his selection, ensuring not to ruin the hill’s natural state.

Perhaps due to the high mana concentration, as Se-woon had suspected, this place boasted a greater variety and quality of herbs compared to other areas.

As the sun sank fully beneath the horizon and the sky turned pitch dark, the glowing petals and spirits illuminated the surroundings, making it unnecessary for his Eyes of the Night Owl ability to activate.

How much time had passed like this?

Straightening his stiff back, he noticed that the moon was now directly overhead.

A quick check of his subspace revealed that he had gathered a substantial amount of herbs.

‘This should be enough.’

There was still about a month left to spare.

If what he brought back turned out to be insufficient, he could return or share the location so others could collect it themselves.

‘Now, it’s time to properly search for a training spot.’

While the mana distribution across the hill was generally high, there were areas with more mana and others with less.

If he were to choose, finding the spot with the densest mana concentration would be ideal.

‘Search.’

Wooong!

A ripple of mana spread outward from Se-woon.

The Searching detection spell, which Se-woon had learned to trace the remnants of past players, utilized mana to locate traces. By adjusting its application, it could also be used to analyze mana distribution.

‘It looks even more beautiful like this.’

– The Constellation, ‘Bowed Raven,’ nods approvingly, expressing a desire to store this place in their personal treasury if possible.

Even Mammon acknowledged the beauty of the scene.

The landscape of this hill was truly a treasure in its own right.

As if entranced, Se-woon began walking through the hill, following the ripples of mana.

His steps naturally carried him toward the highest point of the hill.

‘So, it’s there after all?’

– The Constellation, ‘Serpent of Envy,’ quietly marvels at the breathtaking view of the earthly scenery.

Atop the hill, a single tree stood, radiating a brilliance that far surpassed the glow of the surrounding petals.

Its majestic appearance made it seem almost like a divine tree (Shinsu), even drawing admiration from Leviathan.

However…

‘Something’s off.’

The light emanating from the tree was uneven, with noticeable gaps as if pieces were missing, like a partially eaten apple.

While its external appearance seemed intact, the lack of mana made the irregularities invisible in the past.

The traces were so subtle that, without the Searching spell, even now, Se-woon might not have noticed them.

Upon closer inspection, the situation appeared even more dire.

‘I couldn’t tell from afar, but it’s withering.’

Parts of the tree where mana had drained were blackened and discolored, and the roots looked desiccated.

Looking up, Se-woon noticed that amidst the seemingly lush canopy, several branches were bare and brittle.

The tree’s wounds had been concealed by its radiant light.

As Se-woon carefully examined the tree’s condition, he became certain.

‘This is the work of a monster.’

The tower was home to many monsters, some of which, like this one, consumed mana to survive.

The damage to the tree was definitely caused by one of those creatures.

Having planned to train at the spot with the highest mana distribution, Se-woon immediately thought of a way to deal with the monster.

He could use a lure to attract the monster or wait for it to appear on its own, but since he had already reached his training spot, he didn’t want to waste any unnecessary time.

Once he had made up his mind, dark lightning began to gather in his palm.

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

He carefully controlled the lightning in his hand, just as he had when he used Searching to spread mana waves—delicate and precise.

He adjusted the range to avoid damaging the tree or the surrounding nature.

Once he had carefully restrained the surge of electricity that seemed eager to break free, he clenched his fist.

Pazzzzzz!

The black lightning expanded outward, sweeping across a wide area.

Although the power was amplified by the Black Tower’s mystique, it was more of a detection tool than an offensive attack.

At the same time,

“Grk!”

A faint, almost imperceptible groan reached his ears.

So faint, in fact, that a normal person would have missed it, blending into the sound of the wind.

But Se-woon’s hearing, enhanced by the Kobold’s Keen Ear, couldn’t be fooled.

Drawing his sword, Se-woon immediately struck in the direction from which the sound had come.

Thud—

The silence that followed was heavy.

There was no sensation transmitted from the sword buried deep in the ground, and no further sounds of the monster’s groaning reached his ears.

But Se-woon had already anticipated this.

Monsters that preyed on mana, like the one attacking the tree, usually took on the form of spirits.

He was well aware that conventional physical attacks would be ineffective against them.

So…

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

Crackle!

“Bluugh! Chiiit-”

Using his sword, Durandal, as a conductor, Se-woon sent a current into the ground.

Immediately, the monster responded.

From deep within the earth, the faint shape of a ghostly monster began to rise.

“Blurry Bugs. So it’s them.”

The creature appeared to be some kind of gigantic beetle’s ghost.

Perhaps due to the previous attack from Se-woon, its left exoskeleton had been scorched black.

Moreover, Se-woon referred to them as “them” for a reason.

Blurry Bugs were not solitary; they lived in swarms.

As proof of that, more and more Blurry Bugs began to reveal themselves.

Crick-

Tick, tsk-tsk-

From the ground, inside the tree, and even from the sky, the Blurry Bugs began to manifest—there were not just beetles, but dragonflies, mantises, centipedes, and other creatures in various forms.

‘As expected, it’s the Tower.’

These monsters were never meant to exist on the first floor of the Tower.

They were immune to physical attacks, making them nearly invincible on a floor where few players could handle mana.

To hide such creatures here, even in a Hidden Piece, was a statement of disregard for the players.

“Chit!”

“Dduk, ddu-duhk-”

Once the swarm gathered, the monsters charged at Se-woon as if waiting for the opportunity.

They weren’t going to let the intruder who had injured their kind and threatened their territory escape unpunished.

Perhaps it was because no one on the first floor had been able to harm them until now?

There was no trace of fear in their eyes.

But this time, they had chosen the wrong opponent.

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

Black flames appeared on Se-woon’s hand, and they defied the very concept of fire by aggressively absorbing the surrounding light.

With the abundant sparkles in the air, Dark Flare bloomed unusually brightly.

“Before training, how about I expend a little mana?”

Ka-rrrk!

Usually, due to the immense mana consumption, Se-woon had to use this spell sparingly, but now there was no need to hold back.

The black flames, consuming all of Se-woon’s mana at a level equivalent to a 3-circle master, expanded menacingly like a ravenous beast.

Only then did the approaching insects hesitate, trying to pull back, but the black flames were already preparing to devour them with gaping dark jaws