I Raided the Demon’s Treasury

Chapter 31

The ‘Power of Greed’ Se-woon used had a critical weakness: it couldn’t materialize the treasures from the treasury.

As a result, the treasures he had used so far were all things that could be harnessed and applied to his body, such as martial arts manuals, magic books, and monster parts.

He intends to overcome that limitation with this contract.

‘Though lending Durandal is regrettable, it’s not as if I can perfectly wield it with my current abilities anyway.’

Even though its seal was not fully broken, Durandal was a legendary rank sword. There was a limit to the power Se-woon could extract with his current stats.

Thanks to Go Chang-seok, he had plenty of weapons to use immediately, so it was by no means a bad deal for Se-woon.

– The Constellation, ‘Bowed Raven,’ expresses great discomfort, feeling that it’s at a loss in this deal.

“I don’t want an unfair deal either. All I desire are the items displayed at the entrance of the treasury.”

– The Constellation, ‘Bowed Raven,’ ponders, recalling the treasures at the entrance.

Before his regression, Se-woon had entered Mammon’s Treasury. Even briefly, he understood its layout.

‘The rare and valuable treasures are all in the deepest part.’

The lower the treasure’s rank, the closer to the entrance it was, and the higher the rank, the deeper inside. That was how Mammon organized the treasures.

In other words, the items at the entrance of the treasury were all the ‘lowest rank treasures.’

Even though Se-woon was only lending the legendary weapon ‘Durandal,’ it wouldn’t be a bad deal for Mammon either.

Most of the lowest-rank treasures were of low rarity and often duplicated.

‘He won’t be able to refuse.’

Not long after, Mammon nodded, just as Se-woon had expected.

– The Constellation, ‘Bowed Raven,’ accepts your proposal.

In response, Se-woon took out the ‘Molar Dagger’ and created a cut on his fingertip. Red blood dripped down from the wound.

– The Constellation, ‘Bowed Raven,’ recognizes your knowledge of the Demonic Gods’ contract rituals and silently shakes its head.

Demonic Gods.

To Se-woon, they were no different from Benevolent Gods, but to other players, this wasn’t the case.

That’s why the players had devised something to prevent being deceived by Demonic Gods.

A blood contract.

Even a Demonic God couldn’t ignore the terms of a blood contract. Although it wasn’t entirely impossible to forcibly break the contract…

However, if the Blood Contract is violated, the Constellation would suffer a significant drop in rank.

The player, too, would lose their qualifications if they breached the contract according to the system.

– Blood drips from the feathers of the Constellation, ‘Bowed Raven.’

– The contract with the Constellation, ‘Bowed Raven,’ has been established.

– Through the contract with the Constellation, you now have partial access to ‘Mammon’s Treasury.’

The blood that had been flowing from Se-woon’s fingertip hovered in the air.

As the contract was established, Se-woon’s blood enveloped Durandal. Soon, the blood receded, and Durandal vanished without a trace.

Even so, Se-woon didn’t feel any regret.

More suitable items for his current level had fallen into his hands.

– Opened the (True) Treasury of Greed.

[Black Lotus Powder]

[Dew of the Elf Forest]

[Wriggling Green Net]

…

The most notable difference upon opening the treasury was the character ‘真’ (True) appended to the name.

It seemed that Mammon wanted to distinguish it from the hollowed-out treasury that Se-woon had been using, which contained only power.

‘Well, I suppose he takes great pride in his treasury.’

Although the Treasury of Greed that Se-woon possessed was gathered by Mammon himself and arguably superior to Mammon’s current treasury, it would be hard for Mammon, as the Demon God of Greed, to acknowledge that.

As Se-woon carefully examined the inventory of the treasury, he found, unfortunately, that most of the items listed were consumables.

‘It can’t be helped.’

The equipment in Mammon’s treasury was mostly high-rank, so it would be too much to expect to find gear among the treasures listed near the entrance.

Trusting in the blood contract and out of curiosity, Se-woon decided to retrieve one of the treasures.

[Dew of the Elf Forest]

Category: Potion

Rank: D

Description: Clear droplets that form on the leaves of the World Tree every morning. It contains a faint trace of the World Tree’s energy.

Abilities:

1. Blessing of Nature – Increases regeneration rate by 200% for 20 minutes.

2. Essence of the World Tree – Increases mana recovery rate by 200% for 20 minutes.

‘Nice.’

Unlike the Power of Greed powers Se-woon had used so far, the ‘Dew of the Elf Forest’ materialized in Se-woon’s hand this time.

Se-woon decided to enjoy the moment and drank it all down, feeling the refreshing energy flow down his throat.

Whoosh!

As it spread through his body, a refreshing sensation coursed all over.

The fatigue accumulated from fighting monsters and the mana used to raise the skeletons started to replenish rapidly.

– The Constellation, ‘Bowed Raven,’ warns that while it will grant access to the treasury as per the contract, it will not forgive you if you misuse its treasures.

‘Yes, yes.’

Even though these were the lowest-rank treasures in the treasury, they were still treasures personally gathered by Mammon.

While he accepted the proposal out of the desire for Durandal, he seemed uneasy about Se-woon recklessly using the treasures.

‘Not that I intended to.’

Even though they were of the lowest rank, they were still hard-to-find items in the tutorial.

Se-woon didn’t plan to use them recklessly unless absolutely necessary.

‘Before I sleep, let’s stock up on some mana.’

Hum!

The mana regenerated from the Dew of the Elf Forest began to flow towards Se-woon’s dantian and mana circles.

The last night at the camp passed quickly.

* * *

The next day.

“Let’s get this moved!”

“Wow, how did they manage to build all this so quickly?”

After finishing breakfast, the camp was bustling with activity.

The twins loaded the two wagons they had built, packing supplies such as water and food.

People wore simple gear crafted by Go Chang-seok to prepare for potential monster attacks.

“My wagon is sturdier, bring it over here!”

“No, my wagon is more sturdier!”

While Yoo Seo-ah directed people and assigned them items to pack, the twin sisters meticulously organized the loads on the wagons.

Even though they seemed playful, they were clearly making an effort to ease Yoo Seo-ah’s burden.

After loading his few belongings straightforwardly, Se-woon was about to check if Yoo Seo-ah needed help when he noticed a man lingering around the skeletons by the wagons.

‘What’s going on?’

Last night, he had used Yoo Seo-ah to dispel everyone’s fear of the skeletons, but since Se-woon hadn’t given them any commands afterward, they hadn’t moved.

With no reaction from the skeletons, people’s interest had naturally faded.

Thus, everyone’s current focus was off the skeletons, but this man was circling them, touching and observing them closely.

The man, appearing to be in his mid to late twenties, wore a dirty white coat, seemingly clinging to his last shred of pride.

‘Not someone I remember.’

This meant that he was likely someone who had lost his life before Se-woon’s regression.

The man hadn’t noticed Se-woon approaching until he accidentally bumped into him while shifting his position. Only then did he realize Se-woon’s presence and stop his observations.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I was so focused.”

“Is there a problem?”

“It’s just fascinating.”

Really, that’s it?

Se-woon turned to leave, thinking there was no need to pay attention if the man was merely curious about the skeletons.

At that moment, the man’s explanation stopped Se-woon in his tracks.

“No matter how magical this world is, it’s amazing how it can stand and move without tendons, ligaments, or muscles. Isn’t it fascinating?”

Se-woon’s eyes sparkled. He sensed potential in this man.

“So, did your observations reveal anything?”

“There are no tendons, but there seems to be some sort of black haze connecting the bones at the joints. When it moves, it uses that instead of muscles…”

The man continued his explanation, his white coat fluttering as if he had been waiting for someone to ask.

Meanwhile, Se-woon focused intently on the term ‘black haze’ the man mentioned.

‘Can he see mana?’

Though Se-woon had swiftly grasped mana using his memories from before the regression and Power of Greed, it was different for ordinary players.

Without talent, it could take months or even decades to see and feel mana.

That meant the man before him had a talent for mana.

Moreover, it was talent related to ‘dark magic.’

‘His knowledge seems quite advanced as well.’

The terms the man used weren’t ones an ordinary person would know.

The rough surfaces where tendons attach to bones, the small nerve holes in the skull, and the unique structure of the boar’s leg bones.

He even used English terms for bones, like femur and tibia.

Though he didn’t seem conscious of it himself.

“Especially the shoulder bone… Ah, I’m sorry. It’s a habit from my profession. I didn’t mean to impose in front of the person who summoned the skeleton.”

“A habit from your profession? Were you a doctor?”

“I wasn’t a full-fledged doctor. I was more interested in structure than treatment, so I was pursuing a master’s in an anatomical research lab.”

“Anatomy, huh…”

“Unfortunately, such knowledge seems rather pointless in this world. Even now, most of the treatments are handled by Ms. Ha-neul.”

Se-woon pondered as he listened to the man’s words.

While the mere ability to see mana was meaningless, if the man could sense mana, create circles, and apply his anatomical knowledge?

He might rival Kang Han-cheol or Yoo Seo-ah, or even surpass them in a different way.

“Please, take a seat here for a moment.”

“Huh? No, it’s fine. I should be helping the others…”

“Just for a moment.”

“…Alright.”

Seeing Se-woon’s serious expression, the man could no longer refuse and sat down in front of him.

Se-woon then drew the ‘Molar Dagger’ from his waist and began to inscribe a circle around the man.

Within the circle, he drew mysterious symbols.

‘This should be enough.’

Before his regression, Se-woon had wandered through various parts of the tower, allowing him to acquire a wealth of knowledge.

This was one of those pieces of knowledge—a basic magic circle primarily used by black mages to gather mana.

While a magic circle typically required a medium, this wasn’t a concern.

– Opened the (True) Treasury of Greed.

[Black Magic Stone] (黑魔石) ]

– A gem imbued with dark mana, primarily used as a magical medium by the mages of the Black Tower.

Thanks to the contract with Mammon last night, he could easily retrieve items like this.

Thud.

Se-woon inserted the black magic stone into the center of the magic circle, right in front of the man. As a result, the symbols drawn in the magic circle reacted with the black magic stone, beginning to emit a dark aura.

Humm!

“This haze is the same as the one in the skeleton!”

Confirming that the magic circle was working correctly, Se-woon moved behind the man.

Placing his hand on the man’s back, he took a quiet breath.

‘Normally, realizing mana and absorbing it to create a circle takes a long time. But with enough talent…’

Unlike other magic towers, the Black Tower values efficiency, power, and speed over stability. The ‘Black Tower’s training technique’ that Se-woon used to create circles is one such example.

Among the Black Tower’s training techniques absorbed into Se-woon’s mind were not only the creation of one’s own circles but also…

“You might feel some pain, but…”

“Excuse me?”

“If you don’t want to die, you’ll have to grit your teeth and bear it.”

Whum whum whum!

“Cough!”

There was also knowledge of forcibly generating a circle in another person.

–
(T/N) : No permission asked or explanation given LOL