I Raided the Demon’s Treasury

Chapter 36

“For goblins, this is impressively built.”

Se-woon climbed up the back of the watchtower.

Despite the lack of reliable handholds, he possessed the abilities of the ‘Bala’tan Cliff’s Mandrill.’ Having scaled the treacherous cliffside there, this was a simple task.

Once he reached the top of the watchtower,

Sslash, thud!

Thunk.

With movements that had become quite familiar, Se-woon silenced the lives of two goblins standing guard on the watchtower.

The precise strike to the neck ensured both died without making a sound.

After using the Power of Gluttony to dispose of the bodies, Se-woon calmly surveyed his surroundings.

‘Everything is going according to plan.’

The goblins were bustling around frantically, as if their feet were on fire.

Well, given that the goblins on the outskirts had been dealt with and an explosion had occurred right in front of the village, their chaotic response was understandable.

What Se-woon was looking for amid the chaos was a place that seemed less busy.

In such critical situations, the most important locations in the village wouldn’t become less guarded—they’d be fortified even further.

Then, Se-woon caught the barely audible sound of what seemed out of place in the goblin village.

“P-please save me!”

“Ugh…”

“Damn it…”

Human voices.

Following the source of the noise, Se-woon saw a crudely constructed wooden prison on one side of the village. Inside, there appeared to be about ten people locked up.

‘These must be people who started the tutorial around here.’

As previously mentioned, the tutorial wasn’t only for Se-woon’s camp.

Countless beings from across the vast area of the tutorial were partaking in this brutal competition.

Judging by the atmosphere, it seemed like these individuals, much like Se-woon’s camp, had been forcibly thrust into participation.

‘I can’t free them right now.’

Releasing them at this moment would be akin to a suicidal act. It would lead to a painful end not only for Se-woon but for those people as well.

Now was a time for rational thought.

If it was possible to save them while clearing the dungeon, he would, but in the worst-case scenario, he might have to leave them behind.

While contemplating,

‘Found it.’

Se-woon identified several locations that appeared to be points of interest.

An ornamented cabin resembling a palace and a rectangular building that seemed to be a warehouse.

Even without direct confirmation, Se-woon’s experience in dungeon raids from before his regression allowed him to guess the nature of these structures with ease.

‘The decorated one is likely where the chieftain resides, and the other is a warehouse.’

Goblins aren’t complicated.

If they had lower intelligence, all the buildings might look similar, making deduction difficult. However, when dealing with creatures of modest intelligence, reasoning becomes much more straightforward.

If his goal was merely dungeon conquest, infiltrating the large cabin and defeating the boss monster would be the priority, but…

Se-woon moved towards the warehouse.

His motives for sneaking in without simply burning down the forest were to gain something beyond mere experience points or merit points.

“Kiek, kreiek!”

Se-woon slipped past the busy goblins, each occupied for their reasons.

Thanks to his adept stealth techniques and the chaotic situation, no one noticed his presence.

Unlike the open plains outside, the village had a variety of structures making it ideal for hiding.

In the blink of an eye, Se-woon reached the building that appeared to be the warehouse.

‘Whatever’s inside, their guard is thorough.’

The goblins here wielded well-maintained weapons, unlike the crude ones he’d seen outside. They seemed well-trained, maintaining their posts despite the surrounding commotion.

Unless someone burrowed underground or descended from the sky, these goblins seemed to have no blind spots.

However, for Se-woon, creating opportunities rather than finding them was key.

‘Ember of Kasha.’

Whoosh!

“Kiek?!”

One goblin staggered backward in panic at the sudden appearance of flames before it.

The reaction was so intense that the guards’ attention momentarily fixed on it.

However, the flame vanished just as quickly as it appeared. The goblin became the target of ridicule from its fellows.

Despite its frantic attempts to explain, no one listened.

Meanwhile,

‘Easy.’

Se-woon had already slipped past the guards and arrived at the warehouse door.

Lacking a proper lock, the entrance was merely barred with thick wooden planks, moving them aside was simpler than dealing with goblins.

Carefully opening the door to avoid making noise, Se-woon confirmed his expectations: the warehouse was filled with all sorts of supplies.

– The Constellation, ‘Hungry Prince,’ is greatly disappointed, saying there’s nothing to eat.

As soon as Se-woon stepped in, he was greeted by various weapons including swords and shields—cold weapons, which were known to be hard to come by in the early stages of the tutorial.

At first glance, the assortment seemed quite usable.

Additionally, beside them were piles of unidentifiable ores, possibly scavenged from various places.

It was almost like a lesser version of ‘Mammon’s Treasury.’

– The Constellation, ‘Bowed Raven,’ frowns and says not to dare compare this insignificant and worthless storage to its own.

Well, to correct that, it was more like an extremely inferior version.

‘I need to collect everything here.’

Cold weapons made of iron were valuable in the early part of the tutorial. Moreover, such a variety of equipment matched well with Se-woon’s ability, ‘The Power of Gluttony.’

The problem? The warehouse was bigger than expected.

Unlike in games, there was no inventory to magically store items in the Tower, making it impossible for one person to carry all these items by themselves.

That was, until just recently.

– Opened the (True) Treasury of Greed.

[ Subspace Pouch ]

– A pouch created in the Colorless Tower, imbued with space magic, capable of containing an area as large as a small warehouse.

Se-woon didn’t use his own abilities but retrieved a small pouch from the actual treasury that Mammon possessed.

He then took a longsword from in front of him and pushed it into the pouch opening.

Ordinarily, the bottom of the pouch would have torn apart.

Swish!

The longsword slid into the pouch as if by magic.

The same went for the other equipments.

Whether it was a sword, spear, or shield, the pouch absorbed the items as if it were connected to another world.

‘Well, that’s not entirely wrong.’

The Subspace Pouch.

In the Tower, it was known as the ‘Infinite Pouch.’

It was highly prized for its utility among players and sold for an enormous amount of money.

Obtaining such an item for free was an excellent deal, far better than merely lending Durandal.

“All the equipment is packed.”

Se-woon turned his head.

Given its size, the warehouse didn’t just store weapons; there were also jewels, preserved food, and various other items.

Since there was still ample space in the Subspace Pouch, he swept everything inside without hesitation.

While doing so, a blue gemstone caught his eye.

“Mana Stone?”

The gem glowed with a brilliant aura. It was clearly filled with mana.

Although it didn’t seem of the highest quality, it was still usable.

Moreover, there were far more of them than he had expected.

A rough estimate put the number at over a hundred.

No matter where they had been sourced from, to Se-woon, these were the most valuable items in the entire warehouse.

‘The applications of mana stones are practically infinite.’

Just like the black mana stone he had used on Baek Hyun earlier, he could absorb mana from these, engrave various spells on them, or imbue equipment with magical power.

At that moment, a plan formed in Se-woon’s mind.

‘With this method…’

Originally, he had planned to defeat the boss monster, then either escape during the ensuing chaos or set the village on fire. However, with these mana stones, he could execute a far better ‘plan.’

One of Se-woon’s mottos:

Think briefly, act quickly.

Having looted all the items in the warehouse, Se-woon set his body in motion to implement his new plan.

* * *

The largest and most ornate cabin in the goblin village.

This was the residence of ‘Kokongkak,’ the chieftain who governed thousands of goblins in the village.

Today, the chieftain was in a particularly foul mood.

“Kirik! Have you still not found it?”

“Kik…”

“Useless creatures!”

Smack!

The thick club wielded by Kokongkak smashed brutally into the goblin’s head.

Such immense brute strength.

He was a hobgoblin, chosen to be king from birth. His height and build were comparable to an average orc, and his strength was unbelievably powerful for a goblin.

“Kirik…”

“Kiiik…”

Truly a tyrant.

Watching their comrade’s head explode, the goblins in front of Kokongkak trembled in fear.

Results or loyalty were irrelevant. If he was in a bad mood or displeased, anyone could meet the same fate.

In human society, such tyranny might quickly lead to rebellion, but it was different in a goblin village.

A society where only strength mattered, where rule by fear was an excellent political tool.

“Get out! Find that intruder, now!”

“Kirik!”

“And you! Bring me the youngest human. I need to eat.”

“Kek! Kerik!”

Humans were among Kokongkak’s favorite meals.

Regardless of their diet, with little muscle, tender skin, and no smell, they made an ideal meal.

Recently, he’d been lucky enough to capture about ten of those humans.

Thinking about eating a human, Kokongkak’s rage eased slightly as he sat on his throne.

“Kirik! Those idiots. They are simply beneath me.”

“You can say that again.”

“Right? Of course, this body is… Wh-what?”

Stab!

“Guh!”

A sudden attack.

Kokongkak rolled away urgently at the sharp sensation in his neck.

Though he narrowly avoided death, his carotid artery had been cut, and green blood spurted out like a fountain. If he had been just a bit slower, his spinal cord would have snapped.

Applying pressure to the wound, Kokongkak looked up.

There stood a human in crimson armor, shaking the green blood off a dagger.

“As expected of a Named Monster. Your reflexes are fast.”

“Kirik! Who are you?!”

Kokongkak shouted furiously.

He hadn’t sensed any presence. The human seemed to have materialized out of thin air.

The attack was so precise that it sliced his neck without any resistance.

Kokongkak, who had ruled over others from birth and never felt threatened, was now experiencing a life-threatening crisis, making his fur stand on end.

Instincts screamed at him to flee, and his pounding heart made it hard to stem the bleeding.

“Well, explaining to you seems like a waste of time.”

As the human approached, Kokongkak instinctively stepped back, raising his voice in desperation.

He could sense it instinctively. He couldn’t win against this human one-on-one.

But wasn’t this the heart of the village he ruled?

“Guards! You worthless beings, get here now!”

“You’re too late.”

“What?”

Despite the fact that hundreds, maybe thousands, of goblins would soon swarm in, the man’s face showed no signs of worry.

Then, the man made a peculiar motion.

He raised his left hand, which wasn’t holding the dagger, and snapped his fingers.

Just as the snapping sound reached Kokongkak’s ears…

BOOOM!!

Rumble!

KRRRRAK!!

A deafening explosion thundered behind Kokongkak, threatening to burst his eardrums.

The intense heat and blast of air threw his body back, causing him to roll clumsily across the ground.

Failing to maintain pressure on his wound, green blood gushed out.

Clenching his trembling hands tightly, he turned to look behind.

“M-My village!”

The goblin village had turned into a fiery hellscape.