I Became The Tyrant Of A Defense Game [EN]: Chapter 156

“Well, it’s up to the nightmare. It might lend you its power quietly, or… it might devour the user.”

“……!”

Startled, I quickly opened the system window to check Damian’s equipped gear. No way!

[Black Queen (SSR) Lv.55]

– Category: Magic Gun

– Attack Power: 225-250

– Durability: 7/7

– Magazine Capacity: 7/7

– Fires cursed bullets, instantly killing enemies with a certain probability. The probability increases in proportion to weapon proficiency.

– ??? (Unlocked based on the number of enemies killed with this weapon)

“Hah, haaa…”

These question mark options seem to be related to that ‘nightmare,’ but thankfully, they haven’t been unlocked yet, probably because I haven’t killed enough enemies.

‘I just thought they were additional options, but these question marks meant that!’

I should only use the Black Queen three more times and then stop.

I need to see what options unlock before deciding how to use it further.

‘I almost caused a big problem for Damian without knowing.’

Again, the Nightmare Slayer equipment group didn’t even exist in the game.

I never imagined it would be a weapon with such risks.

No wonder it felt overpowered to use at this point; it was hiding such a demerit…

Kellybay chuckled at me as I was grinding my teeth and lost in thought.

“So, are you not going to make it?”

“Huh?”

“Selen Dion’s magic core. Are you just going to leave it without making any equipment?”

“……”

No.

I can’t do that.

“Please make it.”

The Black Queen is a powerful balance breaker that can change the tide of battle.

If it’s a weapon of the same caliber, I should make it first and then think about it.

Even if I only use it until those question mark options unlock, it’s still a definite win.

“Alright, alright. Good thinking.”

Kellybay grinned and tapped the magic core of Selen Dion with his hand.

“You shouldn’t be dominated by a weapon. You should be able to dominate the weapon. If you don’t have the capacity for that, you can’t even handle a Nightmare Slayer in the first place.”

“Does that mean…?”

“If you’ve been handling the Nightmare Slayer well so far, it means you can handle it just fine even after feeding it enough blood and the nightmare awakens.”

“……”

“Kid. Weapons are dangerous by nature. They have blades and spit fire to take lives, so how could they not be dangerous? Nightmare Slayers are just a bit more dangerous because they’re powerful. To put it in perspective, it’s like having one more blade attached?”

So, the awakening of the nightmare isn’t necessarily just a demerit.

Instead of just increasing the risk, the power might actually increase… I might be able to expect such a case.

“Enough with the rambling. So, what kind of weapon should I make with this magic core?”

That was decided from the start.

I gave Damian, who killed the Black Spider Queen, a weapon made from the Black Spider Queen’s magic core.

Then, the weapon made from Selen Dion’s magic core should naturally go to the one who killed Selen Dion.

‘Junior.’

I repeated the name of the mage who played the biggest role in the battle against Selen Dion, and then I said to Kellybay.

“I need mage equipment.”

***

For now, I only commissioned Kellybay to make that piece of equipment, and I decided to keep the rest of the magic cores for later.

Because it’s a weapon made from Selen Dion’s magic core, Kellybay said he had a lot to think about and locked himself in the smithy.

Well, just make it well.

Late at night on the same day. My room.

I was sitting still on the bed, wearing my pajamas.

In front of me were 15 boxes lined up.

Five R-grade, seven SR-grade, and three SSR-grade.

In the game, getting 10 SSR-grade boxes in one playthrough was considered a lot, but I got three at once.

However, even though it’s been three days since the stage ended, I still haven’t opened these boxes.

It’s not for any particular reason.

These boxes didn’t feel like mere spoils of war from killing monsters.

They felt like mementos left behind by my dead comrades. It was as if the faces of the dead were flickering in each box.

I couldn’t bring myself to open them. So, I kept putting it off until the very last moment.

“……Hoo.”

But if these are truly mementos left by my comrades, then I should open them and check their contents even more.

It’s their achievement, built with their lives.

I can’t just let them gather dust in the corner of my inventory.

Clenching my fist and steeling my heart, I began to open the boxes one by one.

First, the five R-grade boxes.

I opened each box carefully and preciously.

Potions and R-grade magic cores came out of the R-grade boxes, and I neatly organized them in my inventory.

Next, the seven SR-grade reward boxes.

There were a whopping seven boxes with a guaranteed minimum of SR-grade. Again, I carefully opened each box one by one.

Flash! Flash-!

And as a result,

[Rewards]

– Standard High-Grade Magic Core (SR)

– Cloak of the Secret Dawn (SR)

– Pants of the Secret Dawn (SR)

– Gloves of the Secret Dawn (SR)

– Boots of the Secret Dawn (SR)

– Start Over From the Beginning! (SSR)

A lot of stuff came out.

“Holy shit?! What is this?!”

I was so flustered that I blurted out a curse word without realizing it. What the heck?!

Two SR-grade magic cores, and the other five were all complete items. And one of them is SSR. What the…?!?

‘Calm, calm down.’

First, I checked the clothes, gloves, and boots piled up on the bed.

Checking the options, it’s true. It’s the [Secret Dawn] set, one of the best equipment for melee assassin classes!

It’s a cloth armor set consisting of a top, pants, gloves, and shoes.

Each piece of equipment is not bad, but the set effect is incredibly good.

> Set Effect: Secret Dawn (4/4)

– When all sets are equipped, you become completely undetectable by enemies for 10 seconds each time you kill an enemy. (This effect is triggered only once every 10 minutes)

In the game, it was automatic stealth every time you killed an enemy, once every three turns.

Cut one down and go into stealth, wait in hiding, and when three turns passed, cut another one down… I used to repeat that endlessly.

‘But for a complete set of four parts to drop at once, not just one part? What the heck is going on?’

I was dumbfounded as I examined the equipment in my hand.

Come to think of it, the Screaming set also kept coming out one by one, and I ended up collecting them all.

Is there some kind of system correction that collects set items?

‘Something… it’s too much at once, so it’s suspicious.’

…Still, good is good, so I should use it since it came out.

The problem is that there isn’t even a melee dealer, let alone an assassin, in my party.

If Dion were alive, I might have given it to him, but that’s a pointless thought.

“Ugh, who should use it…?”

After thinking about it, I decided to give it to Damian for now.

As a rear-line sniper, the set option doesn’t mean much, but if he’s targeted by enemies, he can use this option to secure an escape route.

It’s good to think of it as having insurance.

I neatly folded the clothes, gloves, and boots and put them aside. Then, I looked at the next item that came out.

[Start Over From the Beginning! (SSR)]

It’s a golden metal plate about the size of my upper body.

It’s also a familiar item. No, it’s not an item… it’s a defense artifact.

“A complete artifact from a box, the probability of that is also ridiculously low.”

Artifacts are much more expensive than the equipment that characters wear, just in terms of unit price.

I’m grateful if it comes out of a box.

This artifact has an effect that is true to its name.

It forcibly teleports the enemies reflected on this metal plate to the wave start point – that is, to the southern field far from the Crossroad Castle walls.

It’s a defense game.

The goal is to stop the monsters that are attacking and trying to climb over the castle walls.

It’s an incredibly good artifact because it can send the monsters that have been approaching while being hammered by our firepower back to the wave start point. It’s not an SSR grade for nothing.

‘The drawbacks are also clear, so I didn’t really use it when playing the game…’

First of all, it can only send away the enemies reflected on the metal plate, which is at most about 10. And the number of uses is once per defense battle.

This alone is not a bad effect, but the problem is the production cost. SSR-grade defense artifacts are priceless.

In the end, it’s an artifact that only buys time, not actually defeating the enemy, so it was hard to bear the astronomical production costs.

Even without the hellish iron man mode, this game is ridiculously tight.

But that’s the case when I pay to produce it. If it’s given for free, I’m infinitely grateful. I’ll be able to use it effectively.

‘Thank you, thank you…’

I bowed to the air for no reason and placed this defense artifact neatly next to me.

Next is the last, three SSR-grade boxes. It can be said that this is the main game of today’s box opening.

I was going to open them quietly, but I thought that it wouldn’t be respectful to the SSR boxes, so I opened them with a small shout.

“Did a complete item drop-?!”

Flash!

A dazzling golden light burst out from inside the box. What dropped?!

And what came out of the box was… a large piece of cloth.

“Huh? What is this?”

[Fragment of the Great Commander’s Flag] (1/5)

– One of the five pieces of the exclusive equipment [Great Commander’s Flag (EX)] for the character ‘Ash’.

– When all five pieces are collected, it will be completed into one flag.

“……?”

I blinked slowly, not understanding the situation for a moment. What is this supposed to mean?

So… it’s my exclusive equipment. And it’s now divided into five parts, and one of those parts came out…?!?

Ding!

At that moment, a system window appeared in front of me.

[Exclusive Equipment Crafting Quest: Character ‘Ash’]

– Collect the fragments of the Great Commander’s Flag. (1/5)

“……”

No, wait a minute. Damn it, wait a minute.

It’s good that I found out I have exclusive equipment.

It’s not bad that the crafting quest popped up. But what? Fragments? Fragment farming?

“Are you telling me to get all of this from reward boxes with luck?!

And four more times in the future? To get something that only drops from SSR boxes four more times? Are you kidding me, you bastards? How am I supposed to collect all of this with luck?!

Most exclusive equipment is usually tied to the character’s story narrative, so there is usually a clear farming location.

But this idiot character, Kim Ash, has to get even that with luck.

‘It seems like there might be a system correction like the set items that came out so far…’

I gritted my teeth and put the flag fragment into my inventory. Alright, let’s open the rest of the boxes and think about it.

I opened the second SSR-grade box in one go.

“Did a complete item drop-?!”

Flash!

What came out of the box along with the golden light was… a black cloak with a luxurious sheen.

“Oh?!”

It looks useful? What is it!

[Cloak of Invisibility (SSR) Lv.1]

– Category: Auxiliary Equipment

– Defense: 0

– Durability: 3/3

– When worn while undetected by enemies, enters Lv.3 stealth.

– Stealth can be broken by higher-level detection magic, sixth sense, etc.

– When stealth is broken, the attention of all enemies within a 15m radius is focused.

“What is this…?”

It’s equipment I’ve never seen before. I know it’s that cloak of invisibility that appears in every famous fantasy… I guess.

Reading the description, it doesn’t seem like it’s for use in combat situations. Did they give it to me for more peacetime use?

After thinking about it, I took it for myself for now.

I could give it to Damian along with the [Secret Dawn] set and turn him into a stealth character, but it’s better for me to try out items with high variability like this first.

“Okay, that’s enough, the last one!”

I neatly folded the cloak of invisibility and put it in my inventory.

I opened the last box. SSR God! Please give me something really good this time!

“Please-!”

Flash!

And what came out of the box along with the golden light was… a smooth, beautiful, and large longsword.

[Karma Eater (SSR)]

I couldn’t help but scream.

“It droppeddddddddd?!”