I Raided the Demon’s Treasury

Chapter 46

– Time remaining until “Tutorial Chapter Three – Collision”: 40 hours 20 minutes

“We’ve arrived!”

As soon as Se-woon nodded, Park Jung-pil yelled at the top of his lungs.

Finally, they had reached the end of the stage where the third tutorial would take place.

Even without Se-woon’s confirmation, everyone could easily tell that this was the end of the stage.

“Wow, this cliff is no joke. You can’t even see the bottom.”

“The slope is steep, and it looks like the entrance to hell.”

A sheer cliff loomed before them.

As Park Jung-pil mentioned, the bottom was hidden in pitch-black darkness, and sharp winds howled above.

Even with wings, it seemed impossible to cross.

Moreover, the cliff on the opposite side was even higher, hiding whatever lay beyond from view.

Well, it was a different story for Se-woon.

“Se-woon, should we set up our base here as planned?”

“If we set up our base with the cliff behind us, it will be much easier to defend.”

“True, the cliff looks impossible to fly over or climb. Except maybe for you, Se-woon.”

Se-woon shook his head.

The cliff behind them marked the boundary of the area divided by the system for the third tutorial.

As a player growing under the system’s rules, even Se-woon couldn’t cross that cliff.

And that meant:

‘We won’t have to worry about intruders.’

It was a natural fortress created by nature.

“Areum, Da-un, I’m counting on you.”

“Yes, Unnie!”

“I thought I was going to die with my hands itching!”

“It’s finally our time to shine!”

– The Constellation “Black Bird” suggests that it’s best to set up a sharp barrier to stop enemies.

– The Constellation “Giant Bird” proposes building a high watchtower.

Due to their continuous movement, the two hardly had opportunities to demonstrate their power.

At best, they managed the wagon.

Perhaps that’s why their faces were more lively than usual when their turn finally came.

The Constellations watching them seemed just as excited.

“Blood Wolf Oppa! Can we count on you for the wood again?”

“Of course.”

“Awesome!”

“I’ll come along as well.”

“Hyung, please take me with you!”

Having reached their targeted location, Se-woon cooperated actively in setting up the base.

Initially, he hadn’t planned to be this proactive. Simply establishing a foothold here was almost tantamount to passing the third chapter of the tutorial.

Most players fought at the entrance of the area and rarely engaged in a large-scale siege right here.

However, facing Pan had shifted Se-woon’s thinking.

‘Even though Pan acted impulsively, I can’t assume there are no other Constellations with malice.’

The Constellations with which Mammon had blocked communication.

Initially, Se-woon thought it was convenient not to draw unnecessary attention. However, with communication blocked, it wasn’t just the curious Constellations who could be plotting against him, but also those whose pride might have been hurt—like Pan.

The best time for them to act would be now, during the third chapter of the tutorial.

‘This stage legally encourages player-versus-player combat.’

Normally, the mission is simply to survive until half the players have been eliminated. However, for Constellations that hold a grudge against Se-woon, they might issue revelations to their clans to target him.

Se-woon’s clan was exceptionally strong by his own assessment, but it wouldn’t be wise to underestimate the power of other clans chosen by the Constellations.

And, as always, his uneasy predictions were not wrong.

* * *

[ ‘Tutorial Chapter 3 – Collision‘ begins. ]

– Survive until the number of players participating in the tutorial is halved.

– During the ‘Collision‘ phase, you can fully acquire the merit points of defeated players.

Finally, the third chapter of the tutorial had begun.

The objective was simple.

Survive.

The overly straightforward instructions left players who had just barely passed the second chapter looking bewildered.

“Are more monsters coming?”

“I don’t think so. Even the monsters over there are staying still…”

Players, recalling the first chapter of the tutorial, tightened their grip on their weapons. But the monsters showed no signs of movement.

Meanwhile, one player, staring at the last message that appeared before them, muttered quietly.

“But what does it mean to acquire the merit points of defeated players?

“That means…”

Gulp!

In an instant, players who had understood the final message felt chills running down their spines.

The sounds of gulps could be heard from all around.

No way, it can’t be. That’s impossible.

But soon enough, with a horrific scream, the inevitable happened.

“Attack!”

“Wait, who are you? Why are you attacking us?”

“You idiots, don’t you get it? With that kind of thinking, it’s no wonder less than ten of you survived.”

“We are fellow humans… Gah!”

Players—no, the clans—were at war.

Since arriving at the tutorial, they had only encountered monsters; now, upon finally meeting fellow humans, there was no time for friendly handshakes.

These were individuals who had already survived two rounds of trials, so instead of feeling a sense of camaraderie, they chose to fight for survival.

“Please, spare me! I survived until now!”

“Thank you. Because of you, I will continue to live.”

Slash!

Monsters didn’t even cross their minds.

Everyone sought out seemingly easy targets to attack in order to survive. Since only half needed to remain alive, each player believed they just had to take down one other.

The entrance of the plain quickly became soaked in red blood.

The metallic scent of blood spread through the air with the wind.

In the midst of this chaos…

A clan was moving towards the end of the plain to avoid the others, positioned quite far from the entrance.

– The Constellation “Gruff White-Haired Old Man” shouts that now is the perfect opportunity.

“If I defeat that guy, will you really grant me power?”

– The Constellation “Gruff White-Haired Old Man” frowns even more, questioning whether it expects to be made to repeat itself

“Understood. I will destroy him and his clan.”

– The Constellation “Gruff White-Haired Old Man” demands action rather than words.

The man, having finished his reply, headed towards the edge of the plain with an emotionless face.

Outwardly, he showed no reaction, but inside, where even the Constellation couldn’t see, his heart was boiling with rage.

‘I’m not some slave to be ordered around, how arrogant!’

The Constellation, Gruff White-Haired Old Man.

It had suddenly shown interest in the man’s clan during the first chapter of the tutorial.

At first, the Constellation had provided various aids, such as martial arts-related powers, so the man had followed its words as if worshipping a god. However, the Constellation’s interference grew more intense over time.

Even if he spotted a trap, he was forbidden from avoiding it. Even if he sensed a monster’s ambush, he was ordered to face it head-on.

The Constellation also meddled in every aspect of his private life.

Thanks to this, they managed to get through the tutorial, but the image of the Constellation worsened day by day, and the clan members’ stress continued to build.

‘If I can just get this power this time…!’

The man thought to himself.

This would be the last time.

For now, he needed a greater power, so he followed the orders. But at the moment of becoming stable, he planned to detach himself from the noisy Constellation.

He couldn’t voice this plan for fear of being overheard by the Constellation, but it was the shared sentiment of everyone in his clan.

‘Anyway, they’ve gone quite far.’

He had expected them to be somewhere around the middle.

Yet, they had almost reached the end of the plain.

However, something was strange.

‘There are no monsters…?’

It wasn’t just that there were no monsters on the path. Even when he scanned the surroundings broadly, not a single monster was in sight.

When he had arrived at the entrance, every area was filled with monsters.

Could it be that the deeper parts naturally have fewer monsters?

Or perhaps…

‘No way.’

The man shook his head.

That’s impossible.

Defeating all these monsters and getting to the depths? That couldn’t be possible.

In the meantime, the enemy camp came into view.

“Leader! Over there!”

“What is that?”

A fortress at the edge of the cliff.

Yes, it was a fortress.

Centered around two wagons, with sharp thorn fences rising in front and a sheer cliff at the rear.

Thanks to the high watchtower, dozens of players inside were already prepared to face any enemy.

“Constellation is that…”

– The Constellation “Gruff White-Haired Old Man” spits as it shouts, asking why you haven’t charged in yet.

The man ground his teeth.

Though he had expected it to be tough as the Constellation had mentioned from the beginning, this was beyond his expectations.

Given that they had set up a base at the edge of the region right as the third chapter of the tutorial started, their skills were already guaranteed.

At that moment.

“L-Leader! Over there!”

“Who are those guys?”

Another clan came into their view along the path to the cliff.

They naturally fell into a wary stance, but the atmosphere seemed a bit subtle.

– The Constellation “Gruff White-Haired Old Man” says to remember the saying, “The enemy of my enemy is my friend,” and demands that you cooperate with them.

The enemy of my enemy is indeed my friend.

‘This could work.’

He wasn’t sure how, but it seemed those in the fortress were despised not just by their Constellation, “Gruff White-Haired Old Man,” but by other Constellations as well.

Though initially intimidated by the fortress, this number of allies made the situation manageable.

Regaining his confidence, the man shouted to his clan members following behind him.

“Let’s push them off the cliff!”

“Uooo!”

– The Constellation “Gruff White-Haired Old Man” burns with revenge against the ones who dared to cut him off!

A thunderous cheer echoed across the plain.

However, their charge had to come to an abrupt halt.

Thunk, thunk!

“What the?”

What was happening?
The clan members who had been charging forward with great force were thrown back as if they had collided with a transparent glass wall.

However, even upon closer inspection, there was no wall to be seen.

The opposing force, which had formed an implicit alliance, seemed to sense something strange and fired a ball of flames from their hands.

Whoosh!

Boom!

Yet those too were extinguished as they hit an invisible barrier.

Only then did the man, sensing something, focus his internal energy into his eyes, revealing a colossal barrier surrounding the fortress.

It was made of mana, resembling a castle wall.

“…A barrier?”

It was indeed a barrier.

Not only had they managed to set up a fortress at the edge upon completing the second chapter of the tutorial and clearing out the remaining monsters in the meantime, but they had also installed a barrier?

No matter how you looked at it, it seemed impossible. However, for Se-woon, the owner of the fortress, there was a power that could turn the impossible into possible.

– Opened the Treasury of Greed.

[ Karmelther’s Defensive Magic Circle ]

– A simplified defensive magic circle devised by Karmelther, one of the executives of the Black Tower. While its duration isn’t long, it’s a versatile magic circle that blocks all attacks and intrusions.

Realizing this, a chill ran down the man’s spine.

Unless their opponents were fools, they would surely take advantage of their stalled advance to launch a counterattack.

And, as if to prove this point…

“Crazy!”

“What is that!”

“Run away!”

Various attacks, including arrows and magic, began to rain down from the fortress.