I Raided the Demon’s Treasury

Chapter 104

In the end, they chose the left path, as Se-woon had suggested.

Go Changseok was puzzled, but knowing the path Se-woon had taken so far, he followed this choice without comment.

“It seems like the monsters are getting fewer. Are we sure we’re going the right way?”

“Well, that’s not necessarily bad. It means we can finish the trial sooner.”

“Hm, you say that, but you’re pretty sure this isn’t the exit, right?”

Before the fork, swarms of monsters had charged at them relentlessly, but now, the only thing ahead was a dull, dark passage stretching on without interruption.

With no monsters in sight, go Chang-seok naturally began to observe the surroundings. He then suddenly noticed something strange and tilted his head.

“This cave feels a bit odd.”

“What’s odd about it?”

“I thought it was just a regular cave, but the more I look, the more unnatural things seem.”

Go Chang-seok pointed at the ceiling of the cave.

The ceiling looked unnaturally smooth, as though someone had polished it.

If someone unfamiliar with caves had seen it, they might have tilted their head in confusion. But Se-woon understood what Go Chang-seok meant in no time.

“If it were a naturally formed cave, there would normally be stalactites or stalagmites, but here, there’s nothing.”

“That’s true.”

“Even if this cave was formed by wind or erosion instead of water, it still feels odd.”

“You seem to know a lot about caves.”

There were various monsters in the Tower, and most of the monsters that appeared in this cave were insect-type monsters.

So, perhaps this cave could be a burrow made by some monster.

However, even then, Se-woon couldn’t think of a monster that fit that description.

The one at the end of this path also wasn’t a monster that would make such a burrow.

As they continued, remaining alert, Se-woon stopped walking and signaled Go Chang-seok.

“… Is there something? I don’t see anything.”

“Look closely here.”

“Even if you say that, I don’t see anything… Hmm?”

In the light of magic, something glimmered ahead.

A thin thread. It was so thin that, unless you looked carefully, it was nearly impossible to spot even if light was cast on it.

“Isn’t this a spider web?”

“It seems like it.”

From here on, it’s the real deal.

Before the regression, Se-woon had come to this point following the Guidepost of the Journey, only to touch the spider web without knowing what would happen and later get chased by the monster that appeared.

At that time, he had discovered “it,” but because of the monster, he couldn’t even attempt to open it and had to escape.

But now, things were different. Now, he had the confidence to face the monster and open it.

“What are you going to do? It seems impossible to avoid all these dense webs and keep moving forward.”

“We don’t have to bother avoiding the webs.”

“Then?”

Whoosh!

A red spark flickered on Se-woon’s hand.

– Opened the Treasury of Greed

[ Inferno ]

– A magic from the Red Tower, also known as the ‘flamethrower,’ which releases a high-temperature flame in a straight line.

“We’ll just make them come out first.”

Whoosh!

The red flames swept through the front.

No matter how tough and strong the spider webs were, they would be nothing but ash in front of a 4th Circle fire magic.

Though he was hesitant to use fire magic in the enclosed space of the cave, he didn’t want to waste time here.

If the oxygen runs low, he could always bring in more with magic from behind.

It was a reckless method, but with exceptional skill backing it up, it would work.

“Kieeek-!!”

It was the fastest and most effective method.

As the flames burned the spider webs and advanced without hesitation, a strange scream echoed from the depths of the cave.

Unlike the trivial threats of the monsters encountered earlier, this scream was so eerie that it sent chills down the skin.

Soon after, a heavy vibration was felt from the ground.

“It’s coming.”

“Kieeek!”

So fast did it come that within seconds of the scream, it revealed itself.

“I feel like I’ve stepped into a movie.”

The creature crawled up the wall with eight legs, its eight single eyes glowing.

The small flames left on its fine hairs were still burning, but it didn’t seem to have suffered any serious wounds, as if its outer shell had some magical resistance.

It immediately showed its venomous fangs to the intruders who dared to set fire to its web.

Having already recognized Se-woon and Go Chang-seok as enemies, there was no hesitation in the confrontation.

Boom!

“I’ll block the attack!”

Go Chang-seok had already drawn his Tower shield, which was hanging on his back, and grabbed his battle hammer.

The moment he saw the spider, he realized that his strength alone wouldn’t be enough to deal damage.

Quick decision-making. That alone showed he was more than capable, even compared to many warrior-rank players.

“Thank you.”

Se-woon didn’t waste that brief moment.

As the spider hesitated with its fangs blocked, Se-woon quickly drew Durandal and swung it at its first leg.

Swoosh!

He expected it to be severed in one strike, but the exoskeleton was so tough that the sword only embedded halfway.

Though this was enough to cripple the leg, Se-woon had no intention of stopping there.

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

Slash!

“Kieeek!”

A red aura surged around Durandal, and the spider’s leg was cleanly sliced off.

The spider staggered back, seemingly flustered, as its eight eyes began to roll.

It had rushed at the intruder, enraged by the burning of its web, but realized the situation was far from normal.

“My hand is still numb, even though I blocked it. This seems stronger than those boss monsters from the Tutorial, doesn’t it?”

“The Tutorial was just that, a Tutorial.”

The spider seemed to have finished its pondering, lifting its head as if to inhale.

Its abdomen swelled rapidly, and soon, large clumps of white spider silk shot out from its mouth.

Se-woon tightened his grip on Durandal with one hand while using the other to cast magic.

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

Crash!

With the enhancement from the Black Tower’s mysteries, the flames burned a dark crimson.

At a glance, it resembled the black magic ‘Dark Flare,’ but as a higher-circle spell, it boasted far greater firepower.

The spider’s web, which it spat out, was nothing more than food for Inferno.

In the meantime…

“Kieeek!”

The spider charged at Se-woon, cutting through the flames.

It seemed to move with the certainty that the web would catch fire, probably because it had already been hit by magic deep inside the cave, allowing it to predict Se-woon’s attack.

The spider likely thought it could block the flames with its exoskeleton.

But…

“This time’s different, right?”

The spider recalled the flames from before, which had been weaker and farther away from Se-woon, but now the situation was entirely different.

The distance was shorter, and the heat was at its maximum, further amplified by the Black Tower’s mysteries.

Sizz-

The spider’s fur, which had been rushing toward Se-woon, burned completely.

The flames didn’t stop there; they began to consume the spider’s entire body.

Its legs melted, and its thick body charred black and shriveled.

Se-woon and the spider were only 5 meters apart.

For the spider, it seemed like just a few steps would bring it close enough to strike, but…

“Kieee-”

It extended its long front legs, but ultimately, the spider failed to reach Se-woon and met its end.

The temperature in the cave spiked rapidly due to the magic’s aftermath.

If Se-woon had been with anyone other than Go Chang-seok, breathing in this heat would have been a struggle.

“That’s an immense heat. It feels even hotter than the forge’s flames.”

The battle ended much earlier than expected.

Before his regression, this monster had been strong enough that even a decent weapon would have failed to land a scratch on it.

“Well, at level 5 circles, it would be considered quite skilled even in the middle floors.”

Having used that magic in the 4th-floor trial, no matter how strong the monster was, it stood no chance against Se-woon.

– The ‘Cave King Spider’ has been devoured.

– Absorbing its nutrients increases Intelligence by 8 and Agility by 3.

– The Constellation, ‘Hungry Prince,’ is satisfied with the well-cooked meal.

To cool down and extinguish the flames, Se-woon summoned wind forward.

After things settled a bit, they immediately continued along the path.

The walls of the cave were blackened by the fire, but there was no issue with movement.

When they reached the end of the cave…

“It seems this was the spider’s lair.”

“So it seems.”

There were signs of melted spider webs and skeletons of monster corpses everywhere.

The problem was that there was no more path ahead.

“Hmm, it’s a shame, but it seems like your choice was wrong this time. Let’s head back.”

“Wait a moment.”

Whooosh!

Se-woon used his searching skill to sense the surrounding mana.

Before his regression, he could just follow the path marked by the journey’s guide, but now that wasn’t an option.

Soon, he discovered a suspicious point.

“Hmm? What are you doing…?”

Bang!

Se-woon took out the hammer he had used to strike the stone bridge during the 2nd-floor trial and hit the wall with it.

The black soot peeled off, and dust fell from the ceiling.

With only three directions blocked and no way forward except where they came from, the sound of the impact reverberated in their ears.

“Wait, if the cave collapses like this!”

Bang!

Go Chang-seok tried to stop him, but Se-woon once again boldly swung the hammer.

Cracks formed around the impact point, spreading like spider webs.

Se-woon, thinking he was almost done, poured his internal energy into the hammer for the final blow.

With a screeching sound, the cracks deepened, and soon, the stone fragments couldn’t hold and fell to the ground.

Go Chang-seok, fearing the cave might collapse, panicked, but the feared situation didn’t occur.

Instead.

“Is that…?”

“It seems we have indeed found the right path.”

Through the broken walls appeared…

– You have completed the Hidden Quest, ‘Hidden Door.’

– Additional points have been awarded for the trial, ‘Passing through the Cave.’

A smooth wall, resembling a door, appeared.

The door was not only hidden inside the cave’s walls but also sealed tightly with a steadfast lock as if it were rejecting any intrusion.

The lock had a golden beetle design, and a massive power emanated from it.

Had the key been hidden as a hidden piece Se-woon couldn’t find on his way here? Or had this place never been meant to be opened?

Se-woon struck the lock with Durandal, but the lock glimmered with golden light, repelling his attack.

A perfect seal that rejected any form of contact.

Any other player would have surely given up and retreated at this point. After all, there would be no way to open the door, and any regret would be futile.

However, Se-woon was different.

‘Finally, I can test this.’

A beautiful key appeared from the subspace pouch.

It was the ‘Small Key’ that Se-woon had obtained as a reward for ranking 1st in the Tutorial’s points ranking.

No details had been revealed when examining the item info.

Finally, there was an opportunity to test its purpose.