Chapter 103

The moment Park Chan-woo saw the message that the “Ahheta’s Hidden Treasure Vault” had appeared after the contribution tally—

Thud!

…A “door” fell before him.

A black door, just large enough for one adult to fit through.

No other distinguishing features, but beyond it had to be the Hidden Treasure Vault.

Creak!

Without hesitation, Park Chan-woo opened the door and stepped inside.

Not a moment’s thought wasted.

‘It’s been a long time coming.’

This Second Night had felt especially long.

Not in terms of hours, but in terms of mental strain.

Since the Second Night began, Park Chan-woo hadn’t slept a wink.

And not just that—

He had carved paths where none existed, cleared trials, and spent enormous physical and mental strength to kill Khan.

Then, with his last ounce of will, he’d cleared the remaining quests to gather contribution points.

The fact that he hadn’t collapsed yet was a miracle.

‘I’m not passing out when I’ve made it this far.’

Everything up to now had been for this one moment.

He had done everything possible to make Ahheta scream in frustration.

Even if he couldn’t bankrupt him outright, this was the perfect chance to take what Ahheta valued most.

Thanks to that, he had forced open the tightly hidden Hidden Treasure Vault.

He held on.

He had to.

Even if he felt like dying, even if he felt like he was losing his mind, he endured by sheer will.

He refocused his thoughts.

‘Ahheta’s a collector of treasures.’

Among the Creators, Ahheta was known to have amassed the most treasures.

For him to go so far as to hide something meant it was of incredible value.

If other Creators would covet it enough for him to hide it, it had to be irresistible.

Truth be told, Park Chan-woo had only learned of the Hidden Treasure Vault’s existence now.

So of course he was excited.

“…Hmmm.”

Looking inside the doorway, Park Chan-woo let out a low sound.

A vast, endless space.

Inside, countless “treasures” were piled together.

Tens of thousands… maybe more.

Too many to count, stacked like mountains.

And none of them ordinary.

‘At least Legendary grade…!’

He was stunned.

His composure slipped, and his eyes shook slightly.

Sell what was here, and he could buy the world.

He might even bankrupt the Devil Merchants.

That was how immense these treasures were—enough to trip over with every step.

Ahheta had hidden all of this away.

‘Do I pick just one from these?’

But of course, there were “rules.”

He looked up.

Near the ceiling hung a sign, and on it, the rules were written.

《Time limit: 3 hours.》

《The entrant may select only one treasure.》

《Observation is not allowed.》

《All magic use is forbidden here.》

《Equipment and tools are also “unusable.”》

《If more than one treasure is chosen, the “exit door” will vanish.》

《The chosen treasure will be automatically completed as “exclusive equipment.”》

《All materials and coins required for the exclusive equipment will be provided by Ahheta.》

It was long-winded, but it boiled down to this—

‘Pick just one to take with you?’

Don’t get greedy.

Rely solely on your eyes.

In exchange, the chosen treasure would be completed as “exclusive equipment.”

Exclusive equipment—gear made specifically for one person.

Naturally, it wasn’t something that could be made right now.

Its name was one that wouldn’t appear until far in the future.

Whatever he picked, there’d be no regrets.

But—

‘The real treasure’s hidden.’

Overwhelming treasures and trial-like rules.

He immediately saw why they existed.

…There was something he wanted to hide.

Even if someone entered, they’d be unable to take it.

No magic, no weapons, no tools allowed.

If he went this far to hide it, just what kind of treasure was it?

It was intriguing.

Park Chan-woo walked forward slowly, stroking his chin.

He turned his head, scanning the treasures scattered around.

‘Some I know, some I don’t.’

First, he eliminated the ones he knew.

He doubted Ahheta would build a Hidden Vault of this scale to hide something familiar.

Somewhere here was something to rival, or surpass, the [Star of Arrogance] he’d obtained climbing the Tower of Arrogance.

‘Something not yet seen in The Abyss. A rare artifact that could even be recorded in the Mystery Codex—something impossible to obtain through normal means.’

So it had to be something unknown to him.

Park Chan-woo, who had reached level 99 in the past and researched The Abyss endlessly, had to find something mysterious and divine he’d never seen before.

This was the “Hidden” Vault.

True to its name, the real prize would be hidden.

He had to find Ahheta’s genuine treasure.

Within 3 hours.

Using nothing but his eyes and wits.

…Oh, and one more thing—

‘Mana wave.’

Objects and creatures of The Abyss possessed what was called a “mana wave.”

Here, “wave” was a bit different from “pattern.”

Mana patterns represented the being itself, following inherent rules, hidden deep within.

A “wave” was the outward force that pushed away other things.

It was the force that allowed a being to exist as itself.

If something lacked a mana wave, it couldn’t push away others—and if it couldn’t, it would simply vanish.

Death in The Abyss happened this way.

When something turned to dust, it was because it had completely lost its mana wave at the moment of death.

When dying, the mana wave dissipated.

‘Mana waves are the force that lets us exist in The Abyss. If they vanish, we’re corroded by The Abyss’s poison and crumble to dust.’

This was also why only Abyss equipment could kill Abyss monsters.

Earth’s items had no mana wave.

Only awakened humans entering The Abyss gained one.

This knowledge was the result of long research.

Scholars who learned this much wondered—

“If we could awaken Earth’s items to have mana waves, could we use them in The Abyss?”

Earth’s weapons were powerful.

Guns, bombs, and nukes—more powerful than most magic, and not requiring mana.

But even nuking The Abyss did nothing.

Because nukes had no mana wave.

Without a way to awaken a nuke, it could never affect The Abyss’s ecology or creatures.

So the theory remained a theory.

After all, no one knew how all of humanity had first awakened.

But—

Park Chan-woo had once dug deeper into mana waves.

…Or more accurately—

He could instinctively sense mana waves.

One of the qualities of the “Archmage” the God of Offerings had spoken of was precisely this.

‘The stronger the mana wave, the higher the rank and class.’

Obvious enough—

Stronger beings in The Abyss emitted stronger mana waves.

But there was only one way to know the strength of a mana wave—

‘You have to touch it directly.’

Physical contact was the only way to gauge its thickness and force.

He’d used mana waves before.

‘…When Khan tore Ajos apart, I checked his mana wave.’

It was thanks to mana waves that he’d found Khan’s weakness.

When Khan tore apart Ajos—

The moment Khan’s hand touched Ajos, Park Chan-woo sensed the mana wave Khan emitted.

It was the same as the wave he felt from Khan’s Palace beneath his feet.

That’s how he knew—

Khan’s Palace was Khan’s weakness.

‘There’s no time to touch them all.’

The problem was the sheer number.

Without magic or summons, he’d have to check every treasure in here himself.

Looking around, there had to be about a hundred thousand.

How could he possibly check them all in 3 hours?

Kyuu?

Then—

Boksil popped out of his arms.

‘No rule about pets.’

He realized there was nothing in the rules about pets.

But he doubted Boksil could really help here.

Kyuuu!

Boksil stretched like a waking cat.

Then, the fluffy ball of fur left his side and began darting between the treasures.

Sssk!

Ssssssk!

It moved at incredible speed—too fast to follow with the eye—checking all the treasures.

“What are you doing?”

Ignoring the question, Boksil roamed between the treasure piles for a good ten minutes.

Thud!

Rumble—!

Now enormous, Boksil returned and dropped a pile of treasures at his feet.

Then it looked him in the eye—

Kyuu!

Crying out confidently.

What was it saying?

No—what had it done?

What Boksil had just done was…

‘…No way?’

Park Chan-woo touched each treasure Boksil had brought.

And then—

Grin!

Looking at Boksil, he smiled broadly.

“Boksil, you really are a lucky charm.”

Kyuu!

Praised, Boksil hopped around joyfully.

Rolling here and there, expressing its delight.

He wanted to praise it more, but now was the time to focus on these treasures.

Every one of them had strong mana waves.

The Hidden Treasure Vault was divided into about 10 sections, each with around 10,000 treasures stacked tightly.

Boksil had searched an entire section in 10 minutes—

And brought back only those with the strongest mana waves.

Whether it was due to his influence or not, Boksil could clearly sense mana waves to some degree.

And with its small size and great speed—

‘…It’s possible.’

Park Chan-woo clenched his fist.

Now there was a real chance to find all of Ahheta’s hidden treasures—

Or “treasures.”