X
About 35 minutes had passed since the battle began.
“KUOOOOOOO!”
Finally, Jeltona could no longer withstand the relentless barrage of Shadow Orbs and collapsed.
Thump!
Se-hyeon let out a long, heavy breath as he watched the giant fall.
“Phew, it’s over. Mana consumption was no joke this time.”
Even with the 50% reduction effect active, he had depleted nearly 70% of his total mana pool. As the combat ended, a new notification rang out.
[Jeltona, Master of the Secret Treasury, has been slain.] [The seal on the Secret Treasury has been lifted.] [The Secret Treasury will be permanently sealed in 1 hour.]
The fact that the treasury would be sealed meant that if they didn’t leave within the hour, they would be trapped forever. With only 60 minutes on the clock, Se-hyeon intended to collect the rewards and get out as quickly as possible.
“Ho. A key? This must be the key to the vault.”
Next to Jeltona’s cold corpse lay an ornate, glittering key.
“O-oh! That was truly incredible!” “Wow! It was even more amazing than the video!”
Park Sang-soo and the porters, who had been hiding, rushed forward.
“You all heard the alert—this place collapses in an hour. Let’s grab what we can and move out,” Se-hyeon said, heading toward the large door at the front.
Click!
He inserted the key and turned it to the right.
Wooooooooong!
A golden portal manifested in front of the door. It appeared to be the gateway to the actual treasury.
“Ooh! A portal? Is that the way to the treasure?” “Can we go in too?”
One of the porters curiously tried to step toward the portal. However…
“Huh? What’s this?”
The porter stopped, looking bewildered. Another porter approached him.
“What is it?” “It says I don’t have the qualification.” “Qualification? What kind?”
The other porter tried to enter as well, but the same notification rang in his ears.
“Whoa, it’s true. It says I lack the qualification.”
Park Sang-soo let out a sigh. “Haah, it’s probably because we didn’t contribute anything to defeating the owner of the vault. Everyone, drop your greed and step back.”
It wasn’t a group effort; Se-hyeon had defeated Jeltona entirely on his own. Therefore, he was the only one qualified to use the portal.
“Ah, I guess so. Haha.” “What a shame. I really wanted to see the inside of a treasure vault.”
Watching them, Se-hyeon stepped forward.
“It can’t be helped. Wait here for a moment. I’ll be right back.”
With those words, Se-hyeon entered the portal.
Vwooom!
Se-hyeon vanished into the light. Park Sang-soo turned to the porters with a grave expression.
“Listen up. Whatever Hunter Jang Se-hyeon brings out of there, don’t you dare get greedy. You know greed invites disaster, right? If things go wrong, this place will become our grave.”
In dungeons, fights often broke out over ruins or hidden pieces. In such cases, porters were usually the first to be eliminated to keep the discovery a secret.
“Haha, we know that much. We’ve been porters for a long time.” “We didn’t do anything anyway, so it’s not like we’re greedy… the problem is, what if Hunter Jang tries to… eliminate us to keep the vault a secret?”
Rather than greed, the porters were worried about their own lives.
“From what I’ve seen of Hunter Jang, as long as we don’t act out, he won’t harm us,” Park Sang-soo said confidently. He took pride in his ability to read people, and he didn’t see Se-hyeon as the type to kill innocents just to hide a secret.
Inside the treasury, Se-hyeon scanned his surroundings.
“Ho? There’s quite a lot of gold piled up. Wait… are those Mithril Ingots? Whoa!”
Alongside heaps of gold coins, rows of Mithril Ingots were neatly stacked to one side.
“These must weigh 10kg each. Twenty of them… I recall Mithril being worth significantly more than gold of the same weight.”
Mithril was a metal found only in dungeons, and modern technology had yet to replicate its properties. It was valued at more than double the price of gold.
“Just how much money is this? If I could take it all, I’d be rich in an instant.”
He couldn’t calculate the exact amount, but he knew selling these would bring him immense wealth.
“Well, I’ll figure out how to transport them in a bit. Let’s open the chest first.”
In the very center of the vault sat a magnificent chest. To Se-hyeon, the gold and mithril were just side dishes; this chest held the main course. He approached it and flipped the lid.
Click!
Inside the chest lay a single book and a crimson robe.
‘Wait! A Skill Book?’
In this world, skills were either innate, gained through growth phases, or learned through Skill Books. Most high-tier, highly efficient skills came from books. Se-hyeon picked it up and opened it.
Flip!
[You have obtained a Skill Book: Subspace. Would you like to learn it?]
Se-hyeon’s eyes widened.
‘Subspace! This is a jackpot!’
Subspace was an incredibly rare skill. There were likely fewer than ten people in the world who possessed it. Selling the book alone would net him a fortune, but Se-hyeon knew learning it was the better move. He already had enough wealth here with the gold and mithril. More importantly, Subspace would allow him to smuggle these treasures out without anyone knowing.
‘Learn!’
The book emitted a brilliant light.
Vwooooosh!
[You have learned the skill: Subspace.]
Se-hyeon immediately checked the details.
[Active] Subspace [Lv.1] Creates an intangible space usable only by the caster.
It was currently a small room-sized space, but it was only Level 1. He had heard of high-level awakeners in other countries who could store entire aircraft carriers.
‘Subspace… what an unexpected windfall. Now, what’s this robe?’
He pulled out the crimson garment.
[C-Rank] Belstian’s Magic Robe [Set]
Set Options:
Se-hyeon’s jaw dropped.
“Whoa! This is…!”
It was another piece of the Belstian set. Since he already had the gloves, wearing this robe triggered the 2-piece set bonus: a 20% reduction in mana costs.
The robe’s base stats were also incredible. Reducing physical and elemental damage by half made him significantly tankier. Combined with his gloves, his casting time reduction was now 20%—a noticeable difference.
“Haha, I never expected to find the Belstian set here. Let’s put it on.”
He donned the robe. The 2-piece set bonus immediately lit up on his status screen. Combined with the Fragment of Kartemian option, his total mana consumption was now reduced by 70%. A Shadow Orb that used to cost 50 mana now only cost 15.
“Hmm, it’s a bit flashy for daily wear. I’ll just wear it when I’m hunting.”
The design was sophisticated, but the crimson color was a bit too “adventurer-like” for a casual walk. Se-hyeon opened his newly acquired Subspace and began loading the Mithril Ingots and gold coins.
“Looks like that’s everything. Time to go.”
He finished packing and stepped back through the portal.
When Se-hyeon emerged, Park Sang-soo and the porters hurried over.
“You’re back! Oh? That’s a new robe. Did you get that inside? It suits you well.”
“Yes, it was in there,” Se-hyeon replied simply.
However, the porters looked confused. Aside from the robe, Se-hyeon seemed empty-handed. For a “Secret Treasury,” bringing out just one robe seemed underwhelming.
“Wait, is that all you got? Nothing else?” Park Sang-soo asked.
Se-hyeon smirked. “Why? Are you curious about what else was in there?”
Park Sang-soo waved his hands frantically. “Haha, no! Not at all. I just thought the reward seemed a bit thin for a vault, that’s all. No other motive!”
Se-hyeon smiled. “Let’s get out first. This place is going to close soon, so we can talk outside. Oh, you guys head out first. I need to tidy up a few things here before I leave.”
The porters didn’t ask questions. They knew that in this world, curiosity killed the porter.
“Ah, yes. We’ll wait for you at the entrance. Everyone, let’s move!”
Once they were gone, Se-hyeon walked over to Jeltona’s massive corpse.
“It’s a Boss-grade corpse and mana stone. I can’t just leave it here, but I can’t carry it out openly either. Subspace, open.”
He stored the corpse and the stone. This effectively meant he was going to keep the vault’s existence a secret.
‘To keep this secret, I’ll have to make sure those guys keep their mouths shut.’
The vault would be sealed forever in 20 minutes. If he could ensure the porters’ silence, no one would ever know what he truly found. He had decided it was better to stay low-profile; coming out with a C-rank robe was one thing, but admitting he killed a boss-level monster and hauled out 200kg of Mithril would invite unwanted attention and trouble.
“I’ll have to talk to them once we’re out.”
Se-hyeon left the chamber and met the group with about 20 minutes to spare before the final seal.
Park Sang-soo looked at him curiously. “You’re out. By any chance, the monster’s corpse…”
Se-hyeon maintained a serious expression. “I left the corpse behind.”
He had no intention of revealing Subspace to them just yet. Sensing his tone, the porters swallowed hard, their faces tight with tension.
Your next favorite story awaits! Don't miss out on Before I Ascend the Throne – click to dive in!
Read : Before I Ascend the Throne
If You Notice any translation issues or inconsistency in names, genders, or POV etc? Let us know here in the comments or on our Discord server, and we’ll fix it in current and future chapters. Thanks for helping us to improve! 🙂