I Became the Tyrant of a Defense Game [EN]: Chapter 503

504. [Free Exploration] Kill Me

When is the most frequent time to get a game over in this game?

Based on 742 attempts, with 741 failures, I’d say.

The most common time for the game to crash is, of course, the very beginning.

Early on, tough enemies appear, bad luck and mistakes pile up, key heroes fall, and damage accumulates.

In the early game, when all resources are scarce, even a small loss can trigger a huge snowball effect. That’s why the most game overs happen in the very early stages.

So, after getting past the very beginning.

When is the next most common time to get a game over?

‘Around the time the front lines stabilize.’

It’s when awakened heroes join the party, end-game gear starts to drop, and various resources begin to flow organically.

It’s around the time you start to think you can handle any crisis that comes your way.

Right now—late in the second year, early in the third year.

This is when the game is most likely to crash.

It’s because of the most fatal mistake of all—’complacency.’

Even awakened and fully geared heroes can die if surrounded by a large number of monsters.

Even fully upgraded ramparts will crumble before a wave of siege monsters.

A little complacency, thinking everything is fine, can ruin the game in an instant. As the commander of the front lines, I must never let my guard down, not even for a moment.

…That’s why I’m so frustrated right now.

‘I wasn’t complacent at all!’

I brought the elite party, and I was always prepared for any eventuality.

Especially since experience has taught me that the late second year to early third year is the most common time to become complacent.

I had even considered the possibility of being attacked by monsters.

How many Nightmare Legion commanders have I encountered in this darkness? I had escape plans prepared for them.

But… what is this?

The torches and lanterns all went out at once. Okay, that could happen.

But the [Blue Flame Torch] I was holding is a special torch with an option that it never goes out.

No matter how strong the wind, no matter how much water it gets, the fire never goes out.

But the light disappeared.

Or rather, to be precise, the fire didn’t go out—it was more like the torch itself was destroyed.

The concept of ‘darkness’ enveloped us, and all items that could emit light were rendered useless.

In an instant, a viscous darkness poured in. I shouted urgently.

“Everyone, use whatever means you have to create light!”

Before I could even finish speaking, my quick-witted party members were already using their own methods to create light.

*Whoosh!*

Lukas drew his sword of light, and Evangeline summoned the fire spirit enchanted on her spear.

Junior sparked lightning, and muzzle flashes erupted from Damian’s gun.

But—it was too late.

The party members, each flashing their own light, were already swept away by the darkness that had poured in. The darkness surged like a river overflowing its banks, throwing us around.

And it covered even the faint lights emitted by the party members.

The party members shouted something to me. But I couldn’t hear them anymore.

I was swallowed by the torrent of darkness.

***

*Scritch. Scritch. Scritch.*

The sound of insects gnawing on something.

It’s a familiar sound made by the darkness that covers this Lake Kingdom.

The sound grew louder. As I listened, the insect sounds took the form of words. They amplified in my ears, becoming clearer.

Die.

Fail.

Crash.

Diefailcrashdiefailcrashdiefailcrashdiefailcrashdiefailcrashdiefailcrashdiefailcrashdiefailcrashdiefailcrashdiefailcrash.

“…”

I remember hearing these cursed words.

In the first year, when facing the Vampire King. When I entered the shortcut, ‘The Path of the Defeated’… that’s when I heard this voice.

‘I’m not dying, you bastards.’

I don’t know who is spewing these curses.

But I gritted my teeth and repeated inwardly.

‘I won’t fail, and I won’t crash.’

With just this level of curse.

With just this level of darkness.

If they thought they could stop me, us, with this, then that’s a pathetic attempt, isn’t it?

I’ve fought hellish battles against all sorts of tangible threats. The depth of the struggles I’ve endured is far too great to kneel before such intangible fear.

*Hwaaaah!*

I felt my inner mental barrier activate, neutralizing the pouring curses.

My passive skill, [Indomitable Commander], was an overpowered skill that shone even brighter as the game progressed.

It was completely blocking mental attacks that could come at any time.

But, even if I’m okay… will my party members be okay?

I didn’t have time to worry about that. I realized that I was sitting somewhere.

In the pitch-black darkness. Even though my eyes were wide open, I couldn’t see anything.

But because of that, my hearing became extremely sensitive—

*Tap. Tap. Tap.*

I could clearly hear footsteps approaching from afar.

I glared in the direction of the footsteps.

Soon, the footsteps stopped nearby. And then.

《Do you know where the darkness that has fallen over this Lake Kingdom comes from?》

A cool, clear, and slightly cracked voice of a young woman was heard.

I replied irritably.

“Now, are we even importing darkness? If it’s darkness that’s fallen over the Lake Kingdom, then it’s from this area, right? Is it more expensive if it’s imported darkness?”

Then, the unseen opponent’s voice chuckled softly.

《If it were ordinary darkness, you would be right. Darkness is, after all, simply the absence of light.》

“…”

《But the darkness here is not such a simple thing. It’s the result of a curse, a tangible evil.》

The approaching footsteps sounded like they were sitting down somewhere in front of me.

《Well, if you want to put it that way, you could say it’s imported. It’s not from this world.》

“…?”

I was taken aback. Was my joke actually true? They import darkness too?

‘Ugh, seriously! Lately, these incomprehensible setting explanations keep popping up!’

I don’t care about the settings! Just let me clear the game!

《This otherworldy darkness is very interested in you, player. Just like I’m interested in you.》

The voice chuckled.

《So, from now on, try to manage your light better. Otherwise, you’ll end up like this again… captured by someone with impure intentions.》

“…”

《Ah, just a moment. May I light up?》

The opponent in the darkness said that, then rummaged through their belongings…

*Tap. Tap. Tap.*

*Chik-*

A match was lit.

In the pitch-black darkness, the small match flame felt almost like a firework. The opponent slowly lit the end of a long pipe with the dazzling match flame.

“…”

I stared silently at the opponent, who was leisurely lighting their cigarette and tamping down the tobacco. Thanks to the bright match flame, I could see their appearance clearly.

They wore a wide-sleeved robe, a small beaded crown, and their face was covered by a large talisman attached to the crown.

An undead who had lived seeking eternal life. A Lich Archmage.

The third-ranked Legion Commander, the Magic Emperor—Baekya, was there.

Soon, Baekya finished tamping the tobacco in their pipe and prepared to smoke, then grabbed the talisman covering their face with their fingertips.

《Excuse me. I can’t keep my face covered while I’m smoking.》

Then, they removed the talisman.

Underneath the talisman, a pale, moonlit, bluish face was revealed.

A Jiangshi [a type of Chinese hopping vampire or zombie].

A high-ranking undead created by Eastern sorcery.

Even though it was a corpse, their face was surprisingly beautiful… if not for the blue complexion, you could believe they were alive.

Baekya then took off the crown they were wearing.

As the beaded decorations and the angular hat disappeared, a neatly tied braid flowed down their back.

《Hah!》

With a more relaxed expression, Baekya put the pipe in their mouth, slowly inhaled, and then slowly exhaled.

The tobacco, which seemed to have magical additives, had a strangely sweet scent.

With a languid face, Baekya continued to smoke contentedly, then exclaimed, “Ah!” Their cat-like, three-white eyes narrowed.

《Sorry. I’m late with the introduction. I’m Baekya.》

“I know.”

《Have you already met another me, player?》

Baekya smiled slyly at me. The red makeup around their eyes was annoying… more than that, do Jiangshi even smile like that these days?

“…”

I thought of the other Baekya I had met before.

The undead Lich, Baekya, realized the limitations of the physical body after seeking eternal life.

So, instead of a body that would eventually disappear, they wanted to achieve eternal life by putting their consciousness, which had been converted into data, into a mechanical device.

The research was successful, and Baekya succeeded in digitizing their consciousness and putting it into the machine in the magic tower.

But at that moment, a problem arose.

The Baekya of the material world (this bastard in front of me), who had continued their research in the body of a Jiangshi.

The Baekya of the cyber world (that bastard in the magic tower), who had obtained an immortal spirit as they had wished.

One consciousness had been divided into two identical entities.

According to the original agreement, the Baekya of the material world should have committed suicide to maintain the uniqueness of their existence… but the Baekya of the material world refused to die.

Actually, when you think about it, it’s natural. A Lich is an undead mage who has escaped from death.

Even if another me becomes immortal, there’s no reason for ‘me’ to die.

So, the two Baekyas parted ways, and the Baekya of the material world joined the Demon King’s forces, becoming a Nightmare Legion Commander.

The Baekya of the cyber world still guards their magic tower and continues their research there.

I met the Baekya of the cyber world first, and I promised to cooperate with that skeleton in the monitor.

In exchange for receiving various help from them, I agreed to kill the Baekya of the material world right in front of me.

In this situation, the Baekya of the material world had approached me.

‘…Ugh, damn it, it’s confusing because the two of them have the same name.’

Couldn’t one of them be renamed to something like Blackya? Or maybe Soyya.

It’s getting confusing for me, being stuck between two people with the same identity?

《Hoo…》

Baekya, who had exhaled a long puff of smoke again, gestured with their chin.

《So, how was it when you met? The me trapped in the magic tower?》

“At least they didn’t smell like cigarettes.”

I waved my hand dismissively to disperse the smoke coming towards me.

“Weren’t you trying to become a Lich to live forever? But is it okay to smoke like that? Statistically, smokers die earlier than non-smokers, you know?”

《Why would I avoid smoking when I have a body that doesn’t die or rot? It’s more beneficial to do all the bad things I couldn’t easily do when I was alive.》

The next moment, Baekya snapped their fingers. *Snap!*

Immediately, flames rose in a row next to them. When I looked over there, there was a long table, and all the dozens of candles on the table were lit at once.

On the table were unheard-of delicacies and all sorts of luxurious liquor bottles that I had never seen before.

When Baekya gestured again, one of the liquor bottles floated into the air and filled two crystal glasses next to it.

Baekya, who had picked up the crystal glass that had flown over, sent one glass towards me.

《Would you like a drink? I think we’ll have a more honest conversation if we do.》

“I don’t have any honest conversations to have with you.”

《That’s disappointing. You had all sorts of conversations with the other me.》

Baekya grumbled and took a refreshing gulp of the liquor.

《Kya~! That’s good! This Lake Kingdom is amazing when it comes to liquor, if nothing else.》

“…”

Baekya poured liquor into their stomach and continued to puff on their cigarette. They also ate the snacks on the table with relish.

It’s getting further and further from what I imagined.

They’re supposed to be an undead archmage seeking eternal life. I thought they would have a more religious ascetic feel.

But why are they so serious about things like smoking and eating, which are things that real humans would be obsessed with?

《I didn’t even look at things like this before. I didn’t care about the pleasures of the body. I was only focused on magical research.》

Baekya mumbled, licking the fruit on the table with their long tongue.

《But then, after finishing my eternal life research, the moment I copied my consciousness into the cyber world.》

“…”

《The moment I witnessed that ‘that guy,’ who was a copy of me, had reached the ideal world I had spent my entire life building.》

The expression on Baekya’s face, as they devoured the food and liquor on the table, was not one of satisfaction with the meal.

《The moment I was left alone in this reality, unable to go to the immortal world, I realized it.》

It was a sense of loss.

It was close to an eternal, unfillable hunger.

《Everything I’ve done my whole life was just a sacrifice for ‘someone else,’ not me.》

“…”

《In that ideal world, that guy who copied me told me to commit suicide. That’s when I decided.》

Baekya grinned.

《Screw that, I’m going to live as I please.》

“…”

《Don’t be ridiculous. Why should I sacrifice myself? I’m the one who has suffered through this long life, and I’m the one who did this damn eternal life research. That guy was just lucky enough to be copied!》

Darkness rose like a mist around them as they snarled fiercely.

After a moment, the real Baekya glanced at me and smiled again.

《Well, by now you’ve probably figured out why I brought you here and am telling you this story.》

“…Yeah.”

The reason they’re not attacking me and just rambling on like this is probably because they want to ask me for the same thing that the other Baekya asked me for.

That is—

《Kill the other me.》

As expected, that’s it.

The two Lich mages, who had been copied and split, wanted the same thing from me.

To kill the other version of themselves.

I crossed my legs and asked slowly.

“What reason do I have to do that?”

《If you do that, I will rebel against the Demon King.》

“…What?”

I frowned. Baekya placed their hand on their chest and continued.

《I, the third-ranked Legion Commander, the Magic Emperor Baekya… and the entire Lich Legion under my command. I will rebel against the Demon King and strike him down. And I will fight alongside you.》

Baekya narrowed their characteristic three-white eyes even more.

《Above all, I have the means to kill that Demon King.》

“…!”

《How about it?》

The sly smile on the Jiangshi’s pale face grew even deeper.

《Isn’t it a pretty good offer?》