I Raided the Demon’s Treasury

Chapter 22

The ninth wave of the tutorial had begun.

As expected, the difficulty of the monsters increased by another level starting from the seventh wave.

Red Wolves and Red Boars with blood-red hides. Now, in front of the people in the camp, Red Monkeys with crimson fur were appearing.

“Hold the line, hold it!”

“There’s more behind us!”

These monsters hadn’t just gained superior physical capabilities.

Their size had increased, but so had the quality of their weapons; some even wielded metal weapons.

Their increased intelligence allowed them to execute basic tactics, manipulating and overwhelming the defenders.

“Protect the injured!”

“Damn it, we can’t afford to worry about the injured anymore…”

The monsters with red fur were formidable.

Moreover, the camp’s strongest asset, Se-woon, had been missing since the sixth wave.

Although Yoo Seo-ah and Kang Han-cheol had been holding their own, injuries started occurring from the seventh wave onward.

By the time the eighth wave hit, there had been no fatalities, but six people were rendered unable to fight, and others sustained various injuries.

Had the monsters assessed this situation? Several Red Monkeys lunged toward the injured.

At this rate, the injured would be helplessly slaughtered.

Then, two swords flew into the fray like the wind, sweeping through the monkey horde.

Shrrrip—

If Se-woon had seen this, he might have recalled her nickname from before his regression, “Whirlwind.” No, her current form was more fittingly described as a “Frenzied Gale.”

Her swordsmanship, wielding two swords without rest, resembled a spider navigating eight limbs through its prey.

– The Constellation, ‘Crowned Spider,’ corrects Player ‘Yoo Seo-ah’s’ posture, finding it still lacking in flair.

After every swing of her swords, two afterimages lingered.

To the Red Monkeys, it appeared as if she were wielding four swords.

Despite having proper weapons, they couldn’t withstand her assault.

However,

“Huff, huff…”

Yoo Seo-ah was also nearly exhausted.

Although others were helping, the camp’s defense relied heavily on the duo of Yoo Seo-ah and Kang Han-cheol.

Her body bore numerous injuries from battling the previous Red Wolves and Red Boars.

With increasing casualties, people’s dependency on her had skyrocketed, driving her stamina to its limit.

“Ook eek!”

Had the Red Monkeys seen her fatigue? They closed in, surrounding her, seizing the opportunity.

She attempted to swing her swords again, but her trembling hands could barely hold on.

Just as the Red Monkeys were about to swing their weapons at her,

“Haap!”

Boom!

Rumble—!!

With a thunderous shout, the ground beneath the monkeys seemed to quake as if an earthquake had struck.

Rocks sporadically shot up, and parts of the ground caved in, eliminating nearly half of the Red Monkeys.

– The Constellation, ‘Old Man Riding a Crocodile,’ gazes at the quaking ground with pleased eyes.

– The Constellation, ‘Crowned Spider,’ warns not to interfere, baring its fangs.

The man who caused the earthquake was Kang Han-cheol, one of the key figures of the camp.

Having contracted with Agares, the Grand Duke of Hell, he exhibited strength that surpassed that of ordinary humans, much like Yoo Seo-ah.

However,

“Thank you!”

“Catch your breath.”

“But, the injured…”

“If you collapse while protecting the injured, the entire camp will be wiped out.”

He wasn’t in perfect condition either.

Unlike Yoo Seo-ah, who mainly fought with agile movements, Kang Han-cheol excelled in enduring attacks with his natural physique and delivering powerful counterattacks.

Even though his combat style had changed due to the martial arts he learned from Se-woon, his agility was never high, so accumulating injuries was inevitable.

Through the torn parts of his coat, dozens of wounds could be seen.

In truth, Kang Han-cheol might have been the most severely injured in the camp.

“Can the two of us hold out?”

“We have to.”

When they managed to fend off the sixth wave without a scratch, they felt confident. Now, the path ahead seemed so uncertain that it was overwhelming.

Even if they fended off this wave, the next one seemed impossible to handle.

At this moment, only one man occupied the minds of Yoo Seo-ah and Kang Han-cheol.

Jung Se-woon.

Though others might be skeptical, Yoo Seo-ah and Kang Han-cheol firmly believed that he would return.

“Aaaaaaah!”

Meanwhile, in the distance, a man who seemed to be staggering was clutching a bunch of bananas to his chest and fleeing from the Red Monkeys.

Park Jung-pil. He was luring away part of the monkey horde.

Without his efforts, even Yoo Seo-ah and Kang Han-cheol might have already fallen to the monkeys’ concentrated attacks.

However, he too had reached his limit. Eventually, he threw the bananas and collapsed between Yoo Seo-ah and Kang Han-cheol, panting heavily.

“I’m at my limit! I can’t go any further!”

“You did well.”

“Where on earth did Hyung go? Judging by how his merit points keep increasing, he doesn’t seem to be dead!”

“Oook! Eeeek!”

“Aaargh!”

In addition to the existing Red Monkeys, those that Park Jung-pil had been luring also surrounded the three of them.

Dozens of monsters enclosed them, causing cold sweat to drip from Yoo Seo-ah’s and Kang Han-cheol’s foreheads.

Could they really fend off this attack?

With trembling hearts, they clenched their fists tightly.

“Eeeek!”

Just as the monkey horde, confident of their victory, began to move.

– The Constellation, ‘Crowned Spider,’ bows to the Demon God.

– The Constellation, ‘Old Man Riding a Crocodile,’ bows to the Demon God.

Crackle!!

A bolt of lightning spread through the Red Monkeys.

The lightning, like a snake, relentlessly chased its prey.

The electrocuted monkeys couldn’t even scream as their bodies turned pitch black from the inside out.

At that moment, Park Jung-pil’s eyes welled up as he looked toward the origin of the lightning bolt.

“Hyuuung!!”

* * *

– Opened the Treasury of Greed.

[ Chain Lightning ]

– One of the unique spells of the Purple Tower, Chain Lightning unleashes a purple lightning strike that sweeps through enemy ranks like a chain.

The purple lightning from Se-woon’s hand swept through the enemy lines.

As expected of a 2nd Circle spell, its power exceeded that of the Fireball he often used.

In an instant, around twenty Red Monkeys were charred black, and those hit by the weakened chains of lightning rolled their eyes back and passed out.

‘The situation is more severe than I thought.’

Had Se-woon not arrived in time, they might have failed the wave.

Even at a glance, there were many critically injured and incapacitated individuals, and the remaining fighters were not in good shape either.

‘No, perhaps they held out quite well under the circumstances.’

Though there were many injuries, there were no casualties.

Moreover, at a glance, the growth of Yoo Seo-ah and Kang Han-cheol was remarkable.

It was clear that most of the Red Monkeys lying dead here had fallen to their hands.

Previous waves likely proceeded similarly.

“Hyuuung!!”

‘Who knows why that guy is even here?’

Park Jung-pil. Half the reason Se-woon kept him around was to keep an eye on him, the other half was to use him as bait, yet he seemed to have proven unexpectedly useful.

Moreover,

– The Constellation, ‘Thief with the Donkey Head,’ snickers while pointing at Player ‘Park Jung-pil.’

‘Donkey Head… Balefor?’

He even had the attention of a Constellation.

Thief with the Donkey Head, Balefor.

A duke who ranked 6th among the demon lords and ruled over ten demonic legions.

Balefor also had a famous nickname.

‘It kind of suits him, doesn’t it?’

The ‘Duke of Thieves.’

Despite being a powerful demon lord ranked 6th, Balefor possessed the seemingly unhelpful ability of thievery in combat.

With Balefor’s assistance, it made sense that Park Jung-pil could evade the swift Red Monkeys for so long.

“Magic! No way!”

“He’s here! He’s arrived!”

“It’s the Blood Wolf!”

The violet lightning was so flashy that everyone quickly recognized Se-woon’s presence.

Despite having feelings of resentment for his sudden disappearance, they knew that only Se-woon could resolve the current predicament.

However—

“Blood Wolf?”

What was that about? It seemed they were referring to Se-woon, but why “Blood Wolf”?

Although players within the tower sometimes gained nicknames, he’d never heard of anyone earning one during the tutorial.

At that moment, Park Jung-pil stealthily approached Se-woon from the side.

“Hyung, do you like it?”

“…Don’t tell me, you came up with that?”

“Hehe, how did you know? Doesn’t it suit you perfectly? The wolf-hide cloak you wear, combined with the scent of blood spreads every time you swing your sword or cast a spell! It’s perfect, isn’t it?”

Se-woon frowned.

For a player, a nickname was as important as their name and was often used more frequently.

To create one without his permission…

Moreover, if other people were already calling him by that nickname, it meant that most people in the camp recognized Se-woon by the name “Blood Wolf.”

But calling everyone together to say, “Don’t call me Blood Wolf,” would be rather awkward.

Se-woon sighed lightly and spoke.

“I’ll make sure to come up with a nickname for you myself.”

“Huh? That’d be an honor for me! I’m looking forward to it, Hyung!”

Se-woon made a promise to himself to give Park Jung-pil a nickname that matched his own.

‘First…’

“Oook eek!”

The ninth monster wave.

Despite Yoo Seo-ah and Kang Han-cheol taking down a considerable number of Red Monkeys and the several dozens that had fallen to Se-woon’s magic just now, many still remained.

Perhaps due to the lightning spell he had just showcased, all the Red Monkeys around the camp had their eyes on Se-woon.

The others were too exhausted to be of any help.

‘This works out perfectly for me.’

The monkeys seemed to think they could attack him en masse since there was only one opponent, but despite their increased intelligence, a monkey was still a monkey.

They didn’t consider the magic Se-woon had just used.

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

The new mana training method jointly used had resulted in a second circle, which glowed with a dark hue thanks to the Black Tower’s principles.

Even though it’s called the Black Tower’s training method, it doesn’t force one to use only dark magic. The Dark Mana Circle exudes destructive mana, enhancing the power of the spells cast with it.

Crackle!!

The lightning extending from Se-woon’s hand turned from violet to pitch black.

Given the nature of lightning magic, evasion or defense was initially impossible.

Unless they could manipulate mana, the Red Monkeys were no match for Se-woon’s spell.

Sizzle—!

Wherever the black lightning passed, only charred corpses remained.

The increased power and speed allowed the black lightning to sweep through the entire enemy ranks in an instant.