Raided The God’S Warehouse [EN]: Chapter 160

The Vault of the Demon God-Episode 164 (160/675)

Episode 164

“……Be careful.”

“You too. Ah, don’t wait for me like last time. Just proceed with the trials on your own.”

“Yes, I trust you.”

Yoo Seo-ah showed a hint of disappointment, but quickly composed herself. She was now used to Se-un’s behavior.

Besides, she had been doing well in the trials without Se-un’s help until just now. So, it didn’t seem like a big problem if Se-un left.

Se-un also thought so, so he was about to leave without worry.

“Hyung-nim [term of endearment for an older brother or male friend], don’t forget it’s thanks to me, okay? If you get anything useful from there, share some with me. Hehet.”

“I got it, so you take the lead from now on.”

“Yes? No, why me…….”

“What’s your role?”

“Well, aren’t I Hyung-nim’s right-hand man!”

“Reconnaissance. Discover problems first, inform Yoo Seo-ah, and distract the monsters when they appear.”

“Hehet, that’s a bit…….”

“Should we get some education after we return?”

“I’ll do my best, Hyung-nim!”

Only after Se-un mentioned ‘education’ did Park Jung-pil step forward.

Really, he was a guy who couldn’t be controlled at all if he was let loose even a little.

Se-un could only leave after telling Yoo Seo-ah to let him know immediately if Park Jung-pil did anything stupid.

Of course, he was heading towards the Ice Castle on the snowy mountain, not the destination guided by the 18th floor’s trial.

‘Mana is still insufficient…….’

He wanted to spread Icarus’s Wings and fly away at once, but he had used up all his mana using Fire Cannon.

Rather than sitting still and recovering the mana to fly to the Ice Castle, it seemed faster to run using internal energy [cultivation technique].

Thanks to using Fire Cannon, he found out about the existence of the Ice Castle, so there were no regrets.

– The movement of Chosangbi becomes faster through internal energy.

Se-un ran on the snow with quick steps.

It wasn’t perfect yet, so footprints remained a little, but his feet didn’t sink deeper than his ankles.

The distance from the Diablo Clan quickly increased.

However, Se-un was not heading in a straight line to the Ice Castle.

“Kkeuet?”

The snowy mountain right next to the Diablo Clan’s path.

Reaching the top, a group of monsters hidden in the concave space between the snow was visible.

They looked like monkeys, with long white fur growing all over their bodies, making it seem like only their eyes were peeking out.

These were the ones responsible for the unnatural snowballs that had been rolling down since earlier.

Judging by their appearance, they didn’t seem to have strong combat power, and they seemed to have a habit of hunting creatures passing by rolling snowballs.

This was also a valid hunting method, so he couldn’t say anything to them…….

Swish.

He had no intention of passing by, leaving unnecessary worries.

In the first place, their combat ability was only at the goblin level, even though their intelligence was slightly more developed than other monsters, so before long, their blood was splattered on the snow.

– Hidden quest, ‘Small Disaster’ has been completed.

– Additional points are awarded to the trial ‘Disaster of the Snowy Field’.

Se-un, who didn’t know that killing them was a hidden quest, widened his eyes.

Such weak guys were a hidden quest.

Well, if Se-un hadn’t stopped the snowstorm and cleared the sky, it would have been impossible to find them.

He didn’t know it before the regression, but there seemed to be quite a few hidden pieces on the 18th floor.

Soon, the Fangs of Gluttony chewed and swallowed them along with the blood splattered on the snow.

Only his intelligence increased a little, and the increase in stats was extremely minimal, but…….

– The constellation, ‘Hungry Prince’ is pleased that the food here is cool and unique.

– The constellation, ‘Hungry Prince’ grabs his throbbing head and enjoys the dizzying pain.

After that, there were monsters that occasionally blocked Se-un’s path.

He thought that there were no monsters on the 18th floor based on his memories from before the regression, but that wasn’t the case.

Deviating from the path to the destination, various monsters were blocking the way.

Was it the system’s intention to only move along the path? He didn’t know the reason, but no matter what, they couldn’t stop Se-un.

No matter how much they tried to hide in the snow and launch surprise attacks, or try to crush him with their huge size, it didn’t work on Se-un.

In the end, they would only become Beelzebub’s snacks.

The distance to the snowy mountain was farther than he thought.

After crossing two more snowy mountains, and when his mana had recovered to some extent, Se-un was able to arrive in front of the Ice Castle.

“A castle with the smell of treasure wafting from it.”

The Ice Castle, when viewed up close, was much more beautiful than when viewed from afar.

The structures made of ice sparkled in the sunlight, looking like a castle made of treasure.

It was beautifully crafted in various places, and not even a speck of dirt could be seen.

‘There don’t seem to be any monsters…….’

He thought there would be at least guards or guardians, but there was no sign of anyone around.

It was like an abandoned castle.

Se-un climbed the transparent ice stairs and approached the castle gate.

The gate, also made of ice, blocked the way.

Just in case, he put his strength into pushing the door, but…….

‘Is it locked?’

The door didn’t show any movement.

Once again, he took a stance and put his strength into pushing, but the result was the same.

Of course, he could use Mammon’s Treasure to exert more strength, but seeing the door not moving at all, it didn’t seem like a structure that could be forced open with strength.

Then the only answer left was one.

‘I have to use it here too.’

The Master Key, the Small Key, obtained from the tutorial.

When he inserted the key into the hexagonal hole as beautiful as a snowflake, the unique light of orichalcum [a mythical metal], the constituent mineral of the small key, filled the inside.

The light soon turned into a chilling blue color like ice…….

Clank.

With the sound of something meshing together, the key turned.

– The 18th floor trial ‘Disaster of the Snowy Field’ has been successfully completed.

– Calculating contribution points…….

– Time remaining: 43 hours 25 minutes

– Hidden quest ‘Small Disaster’ completed.

…

– Total accumulated contribution points 175,000 points

– Congratulations! You have passed the 18th floor trial in 3rd place.

– Acquired 30,000 points as a reward.

Unfortunately, this time he had to be satisfied with 3rd place.

He didn’t arrive at the destination, but he passed the trial in a different way, but he thought it was still fast enough.

Thinking about it, if a being like Kashalakas had transformed into a dragon and crossed the snowy field, it would have been difficult to break that record.

More than that, it wasn’t the message Se-un was waiting for.

As soon as he opened the Ice Castle, the 18th floor trial ended.

That means.

– By finding the hidden crossroads, you will be connected to the trial on the next floor.

This Ice Castle was not just a simple hidden piece, but the hidden 19th floor trial itself.

* * *

“The door to the Ice Castle…… has been opened.”

“Haa……. Tuning, was it? You were right.”

The management department in charge of the snowy field theme, the trials from the 16th to the 20th floor of the tower. They were watching Se-un opening the door to the Ice Castle on the monitor and sighing.

Of course, not everyone was like that.

Se-un’s special manager, Tuning, was chuckling as if he knew Se-un would do that.

“But what kind of place is that Ice Castle? It’s not in the manual.”

“Ah, that place…….”

The management team leader of the snowy field theme looked at the monitor again and began to explain.

“It wouldn’t be in the latest manual. That place was a trial site used when the tower was in its early stages.”

“Early stages?”

“That’s right. It’s also a trial that has been closed because it doesn’t meet the current standards.”

“Why was it closed?”

“When the tower was in its early stages, the process of selecting players was completely different from now. Have you heard of that?”

“I know that. Unlike now, which values various abilities and personalities, back then, it was only about combat power…… Ah. I see.”

“That’s right. That castle is a place to test potential only related to combat. The difficulty is also on a different level than now.”

“The reason for closing it must be that.”

“If we opened such a trial now, players with talents in crafting or alchemy would be helpless.”

The early days of the tower. It was a time when very few people in the management office knew about it.

The managers who led the tower at that time have now risen to the top floors of the tower and are in positions of power.

If you had to express the tower at that time in one word, it was the dark ages.

They only selected players based on strength, and they didn’t care about players at all.

They made players duel to the death, and there were trials that required sacrificing allies.

It was the opposite of the current snowy field theme, which was about finding ‘cooperation’.

Because of that, the players who survived among those who climbed the tower in the early days all maintained their positions as rankers on the top floors of the tower.

There was no cooperation or consideration for those who survived.

All that remained was strength.

Of course, over time, the system judged that there was a limit to climbing the tower with individual strength alone, so it modified the trials and showed the current 모습 [Korean word for appearance], 모습 [Korean word for appearance].

“Then can I ask you one question?”

“Of course.”

“What is that key that the higher-ups are making such a fuss about?”

The management team leader pointed to the key that Se-un had used.

The Small Key.

It was an item given as a reward in the tutorial that even he, as the management team leader, couldn’t identify.

Se-un was just using it as a Master Key, but the team leader thought differently.

He thought that if it was just a Master Key, the higher-ups wouldn’t be so interested.

“Ah…….”

Tuning hesitated to answer for a moment.

He only learned about the key in detail recently, thanks to information from the higher-ups.

Until then, he only knew it as a ‘very important key’.

He didn’t even know why it was one of the rewards in the tutorial.

However, Tuning soon nodded as if he had made up his mind.

In the first place, there was no mention from the higher-ups to keep this fact a secret, and he didn’t think the team leader in front of him would spread the secret around.

“Actually…….”

Tuning spat out the information he knew. Of course, even that wasn’t 100% perfect information…….

“Th, is that true?”

That alone was enough to surprise the management team leader.

* * *

– Welcome to the 19th floor trial.

– Theme: Ice Castle of Trials

– Time limit: –

– You have discovered a tightly closed Ice Castle while wandering the snowy field.

– Once you step into the entrance of the Ice Castle, you will not be able to reverse the trial. Do you still want to challenge it?

Instead of a goal, a phrase warning of caution appeared in the content of the trial.

That meant that the 19th floor trial was that dangerous.

Asking that itself was the system’s consideration for Se-un. No, wasn’t it the management office’s consideration?

Of course, if he was going to turn back at the word dangerous in the first place, he wouldn’t have come all the way here.

Thud.

Se-un took his first step forward, piercing through the message.

The ice door behind him closed with a thud! And as a bright light covered his body, he could feel his body strangely lightened.

‘Are you telling me to challenge it with my bare body?’

– You have challenged the ‘Ice Castle of Trials’.

– The ‘Ice Castle of Trials’ prohibits the import of external items.

– Successfully pass the trials and reach the lord of the Ice Castle.

Not only the equipment made by Go Chang-seok, but also Durandall, Apelion, and even Taejo Muhwang’s Jeonpo [armor worn by a famous Korean king] all disappeared.

As Se-un’s preparations were completed, finally…….

“……It’s been a while since a challenger has come.”

The first trial of the 19th floor began.