Level Up Machine 059: Demon God's Armor (4)
“Is this... the royal treasury?”
Yeong-sik looked around, craning his neck as he stepped inside the royal treasury. It felt like he'd entered a dungeon—a vast cavern illuminated by a faint blue glow. Beyond the open space stood a blue door etched with intricate patterns, towering at least twenty meters high.
“Huff... huff! Cough!”
Yu-jin, who had pierced the spatial freeze barrier with a teleportation spell, clutched his chest, gasping raggedly. The agony of overflowing mana scorching his body twisted his features.
“You okay?”
Yeong-sik approached and asked. Yu-jin grimaced but nodded with effort.
“I'm fine. Just the price for forcing through the barrier.”
He swept a hand over his left chest as he spoke. Yeong-sik nodded in understanding. For breaching a place hoarding a kingdom's treasures, it was a laughably light cost.
“That said... it doesn't really feel like a treasure vault, does it?”
Yeong-sik glanced around again. It felt more like a dungeon than a vault.
Different from Han Cheol-ho's warehouse.
Comparing a single guild's storage to a kingdom's treasury was foolish, but now that they were inside, the contrast was unavoidable. Han Cheol-ho's warehouse had glittered with riches stacked everywhere the moment you entered. This place was on another level entirely.
“Truth be told, I only pinpointed the treasury's location superficially. I don't know the internal layout or where the Grace of the Archangel is kept.”
Bae Han-seong gave a wry smile.
Yu-jin eyed the massive door sharply and spoke.
“No spatial freeze here, so we can probably pass easily. But... the problem is we have no idea what's inside.”
He tapped his chin thoughtfully. Without any markings, there was nothing to infer from.
“Let's go in anyway.”
Standing around pondering wouldn't yield answers. Yeong-sik headed toward the giant door across the cavern.
“Yes, let's.”
“Gather around me. I'll blink us past the door.”
Han-seong and Yeong-sik flanked Yu-jin. A blue light emanated from Yu-jin's body, and the three melted into the air.
“Hng...”
Yeong-sik stifled a groan upon emerging beyond the door. He'd half-expected piles of gleaming treasures. Instead, there was just an empty passageway.
“This is really the royal treasury?”
“Yes, definitely. Otherwise, they wouldn't bother with a barrier that could tax even you, Yu-jin.”
“Hm. Not at all what I pictured.”
Yeong-sik scanned the passage with disappointment. They hadn't fully explored yet, but no mountains of gold were in sight, no matter where he looked.
“Haha. It's not like Han Cheol-ho's private stash. This is where they keep truly valuable items.”
“Valuable items...”
Yeong-sik's eyes lit up at Han-seong's words. The strategist continued matter-of-factly.
“S-rank rares like the Grace of the Archangel can't even be bought with gold. Having gold piles in a vault for such treasures... well, it would feel a bit low-class.”
This royal treasury wasn't a mere hoard. It was a top-secret national repository for priceless artifacts. Like not stacking cash bundles amid billions in valuables—it lacked class.
“Ugh, class schmasses. I was hoping for some gold stacks.”
Yeong-sik shrugged ruefully. He understood the logic, but the disappointment lingered.
Even if rares are a stretch, we could've hauled plenty of gold.
Rares often exceeded inventory limits, but anyone could hold up to 50,000 gold regardless. Snag that plus a few items, and it'd be billions in won.
Then I could've bought mithril galore and maxed my Manufacture skill.
Yeong-sik walked on, shaking off the thought.
Not everything goes perfectly.
Slipping into the palace like an empty house while the royal guard and police chased monsters was fortune enough. Their goal was the Grace of the Archangel anyway. Greed beyond that was what he despised in others.
Focus on recovering the Grace.
Yeong-sik pushed aside lingering greed and pressed forward.
“? Hold up.”
As they walked, Yu-jin raised a hand. Han-seong looked puzzled.
“Something wrong?”
“...There's a mana presence ahead.”
Yu-jin narrowed his eyes forward.
Then, a wall in the empty passage slid open, revealing a five-meter-tall golem. Silver-white armor covered its body, etched with magic circles. The pressure of a fully plated giant in motion was immense. Blue light flickered from its helm's visor.
The golem slammed its greatsword into the ground and intoned:
To pass beyond, present the royal seal.
“Damn. A guardian after all.”
Yu-jin scowled at the golem and began casting before it could charge, thrusting out a hand.
“Rift.”
A low skill name, and a spatial tear ripped open above the golem's head. The rift swallowed the helmed skull.
Crackle! Zzzap!
Hostile action detected. Intruders designated for elimination.
Yu-jin's ambush only dented the helm. His expression hardened.
“Not your average guardian.”
“...Can we take it with our current numbers?”
Yeong-sik asked lowly, caught off-guard by the guardian. Full Salvatore might manage, but three people? Doubtful.
Yu-jin shook his head.
“Impossible like this. Even Park Cheol-tae's party would struggle against that thing.”
He spoke calmly. His ace, Rift, ignored some defense while dealing damage. For it to barely dent the helm meant the guardian's power was overwhelming.
“...Retreat for now?”
Han-seong eyed the radiating menace.
Yu-jin shook his head again.
“Even retreating, we can't send many inside anyway.”
“Then what...”
“I'll buy time. Retrieve the Grace of the Archangel meanwhile.”
Yu-jin extended his hand toward the guardian again.
“Rift!”
Zzzap!
Intruder. Eliminate.
The guardian's gaze locked on Yu-jin. He blinked away, separating from Yeong-sik and Han-seong.
“Hurry!”
“Ngh! Just hold on a bit!”
While Yu-jin drew aggro, Yeong-sik and Han-seong dashed forward. Yeong-sik scooped up the slow-moving healer.
“Hold tight.”
“Pardon? Wha—?!”
Before flustered Han-seong could speak, fierce jet flames erupted from Yeong-sik's back.
—Fwoooosh!
“Gaaaaah!”
Yeong-sik rocketed ahead. Han-seong screamed the instant he was grabbed.
Boosting to the passage's end, Yeong-sik arrived at three items in transparent cases: a silver-white pendant radiating mystery, a longsword with a radiant golden blade, and a book emblazoned with a golden shield on its cover.
“Hah... hah. Wh-what was that?”
“Boost. Anyway, which is the Grace of the Archangel?”
Yeong-sik urgently asked, mindful of Yu-jin stalling the guardian.
“...That one.”
Yu-jin pointed to the mysterious silver pendant.
Yeong-sik nodded and slashed his Blade at the case.
Shatter!
The case exploded. Yeong-sik snatched the Grace of the Archangel.
Entity without royal seal has stolen treasure.
Royal treasury will auto-destruct in 1 minute.
Rumble!
The ground shook violently the moment Yeong-sik claimed the Grace, a clear voice echoing through the passage. Cracks spiderwebbed the walls, collapsing inward. Urgency flashed on Yeong-sik and Han-seong's faces.
One minute!
A razor-thin window. Han-seong spun.
“Run back to Yu-jin!”
“Wait.”
Yeong-sik's eyes sharpened, ignoring the retreat call.
One minute.
His mind raced. He eyed the golden longsword and shield-embossed book.
“That's enough time...!”
Yeong-sik boosted toward the book's case. His Blade shattered it at blinding speed.
Shatter!
He grabbed the book, stowing it and the pendant in his inventory. His gaze locked on the central sword case.
Last one!
Factoring escape, maybe ten seconds left. He figured he could snag the sword just barely.
Then—
What the...?
Opposite the golden sword's case, a dull black armor emerged as the wall crumbled from the self-destruct activation.
Yeong-sik hesitated at the 'hidden' black armor.
Unlike the others, it emitted no mana. Just drab armor.
No time for both. Logically, grab the mana-oozing S-rank sword.
But a strange familiarity from the black armor halted him.
Yeong-sik turned from the obvious rare, face rueful.
Rumble!
“Yeong-sik! Hurry! No time!”
Han-seong yelled desperately. The passage quaked on the verge of collapse.
Yeong-sik reached the black armor. Up close, his expression stiffened.
“What... is this?”
Despite the urgency, bewilderment escaped his lips. What he'd thought was armor... wasn't.
It was a mechanical suit, straight out of a blockbuster hero flick.