I Became the Tyrant of a Defense Game [EN]: Chapter 25

[STAGE 2]– Starts in: 9 days 20 hoursThe next stage starts in ten days, but the repairs will take two weeks plus a few more days.At this rate, the wall won’t be fully functional when the next stage begins.’All soldiers who weren’t injured will be mobilized for wall repairs starting tomorrow.’I ordered Lucas.’Make it as fast as possible.”Understood, Your Highness.’Lucas bowed his head to me.I want to keep the soldiers in top condition, but there’s no choice. We need to speed up the wall repairs even a little bit.’Come to think of it, what’s the status of the soldiers’ injuries? I didn’t get a proper report.”About 50 severely injured and 200 lightly injured. They’re all being treated at the temple.’There were hardly any fatalities among the regular soldiers. Most of the fighting ended during the ranged fire phase.But we lost four hero characters…Anyway, it’s not enough. At this rate, we’ll have to fight the next stage with insufficient forces.’Aider, what’s the situation with troop reinforcements?”Soldiers will be sent from nearby cities soon. The messenger sent to the capital should be back by tomorrow, too.”So, things will only progress by tomorrow.’While I can handle other things, troop replenishment is beyond my control.I can only hope that the reinforcements arrive safely. And I hope a lot of new mercenaries come in the remaining nine days.’Alright, Aider. Report immediately if anything happens. And Lucas? Let’s do what we can in the meantime.”What do you mean by what we can do?’Heh.I curled up the corners of my mouth and winked at Lucas.’We need to go to the dungeon.”……!”We need to go destroy the source where those monsters are pouring out from.’Lucas, looking a bit tense, asked me cautiously.’Are you going to the Black Lake using the teleport gate like last time?”Exactly, Lucas. But this time, we’re going to go directly under the lake with a party.’Under the lake.Into the heart of the swarming monsters.It was time to change the game’s genre from tower defense to dungeon offense.’Lucas! Summon the main party.’I didn’t lower my raised lips as I cracked my knuckles.’Finally, the time for adventure has come.’In other words…It was time for leveling and item farming!***I summoned the party members.They’ll rest until today, and we’ll enter the dungeon tomorrow morning. I need to get them prepared now.Soon, everyone responded to my call and gathered at the lord’s mansion where I was staying.’Good to see you all. Did you all get a good rest today?’I scanned the assembled members. Even though we drank late into the night yesterday, they all managed to show up without missing anyone.The summoned members were me, Lucas, Damian, Jupiter, and…’Why did you call me…?’…Lily.Lily, as if sensing that we were going to a dangerous place, trembled and looked around.’You clearly said that I didn’t have to go to the front lines anymore… right?”Hmm~?’Instead of answering, I just smiled at her.What can I do, Lily? You’re one of the five hero characters I can currently organize. I need you.Lily, realizing the situation from my smile, turned pale.’Y-Your Highness! I can’t walk! I’m injured! I should retire!’Lily pointed to the wheelchair she was sitting in, actively emphasizing her injuries.’I’ll only be a burden if you take me anywhere since I can’t move properly! I’ll just stay here and quietly repair artifacts! That work was really fun!”I’m so glad you like the artifact work, Lily. If it’s that fun, you can do it for a long, long time.”No, that’s not what I meant!’I might as well give her a lifetime contract.I wanted to tease the tearful Lily more, but I decided to comfort her.’Just this once, Lily. I promise I won’t take you to the front lines after this.”I think you said something similar last time?!”To protect this city, no, to protect all of humanity above this front line. We need your strength.’When I brought up the greater good, Lily couldn’t argue any further and closed her mouth.Even though she’s a mercenary who doesn’t have to care about such things.’Ugh, okay… just this once…”Thank you, Lily.’I turned my head after thanking Lily, who reluctantly agreed.’Jupiter and Damian, are you alright?’Jupiter had suffered minor injuries in the battle the day before yesterday. He’s also old, so I was worried about him.’I’m fine, Your Highness.’Jupiter tapped his forehead with his fingertip, where the bandage had been removed. It was completely healed. Good, he looks fine.’Then, Damian…’My face hardened as I looked at Damian.I didn’t notice when I glanced at him earlier, but this guy looks terrible. His eyes are sunken, and his face is pale.’Hey, Damian, are you okay? Are you sick?’Could it be a side effect of using his clairvoyance too much?’I-I’m fine, Your Highness.’Damian waved his hand, then immediately covered his mouth with his hand.’It’s just a hangover… Ugh.”……”It’s not the first time I’ve drunk, but it’s the first time I’ve drunk until I was about to die… Uuuugh.’I glared at Jupiter, who had force-fed Damian alcohol.Jupiter whistled nonchalantly, pretending not to notice. That rotten old man…’I think I’ll be fine by tomorrow. Don’t worry.”Okay. Get plenty of rest tonight.’Anyway, it seems like there won’t be any problems with deploying the 5-person party.I briefly explained to the party members.’Tomorrow, our party will be going on a bit of a long expedition.”An expedition?”Yes. I’ll tell you the details as we go tomorrow.’Instead of explaining a hundred times about how there’s a dungeon under the lake and what kind of monsters are there, it’d be easier to understand by seeing it with their own eyes.I glossed over it without explaining.’The goal is to leave tomorrow morning and return by night, but other variables may arise. We might have to camp out.”Camping out…? It seems like we’re going quite far.’Lily muttered worriedly. Well, it is far. But in a way, it’s close.’I’ll prepare all the supplies and equipment. You just need to bring your weapons and armor lightly and gather here again tomorrow morning.’I didn’t explain the specific destination, the reason for the expedition, or how we’re going. But the party members didn’t raise any particular questions.I was grateful for that. It’s the kind of thing that’s hard to explain but easy to experience.’Alright! Then, let’s disband for today. Take good care of your condition and see you tomorrow morning.”Understood, Your Highness! See you tomorrow morning.’Jupiter, who quickly saluted me, was the first to leave. He was pushing Lily’s wheelchair from behind, who was still tearful.I grabbed Damian, who was about to follow him.’Damian, just a moment.”Yes?’Damian looked at me, his pale face showing signs of a hangover.’What is it, Your Highness?”No… it’s nothing big.’Damian had reached level 20 in the last battle and was now eligible for his first job advancement. I wanted to check the results.I had already checked Damian’s growth in the system window.[Damian(N)]– Level: 20– Title: None– Job: Intermediate Healer– Strength 5, Agility 17, Intelligence 14, Stamina 8, Magic Power 12He kept using ranged weapons like cannons and bows, so his stats increased mainly in agility. As an N-grade character, his stats aren’t that great.And his skills are…[Skills]> Passive: Light of Healing> Skill 1: Light of Detoxification> Skill 2: ??? (Unlocked after 2nd job advancement)> Ultimate: ??? (Unlocked after 3rd job advancement)The passive is the Light of Healing, which is standard for healers. It allows him to heal allies with his magic power.And the first skill he gained this time is the Light of Detoxification, which heals various poison status ailments.A typical skill set for an N-grade healer.But now, Damian’s role is a sniper.There isn’t a single skill that helps with sniping. It’s better than nothing, though.’After the last battle, how are you? Is there anything different? Like your skills…’I asked Damian to check if he had properly acquired the skills.In the game, you could level up and immediately get the next skill, but I didn’t know how it would work in reality.’Yes. I was going to tell you anyway… As I continued to fight, I felt like I realized something?’Damian answered, rubbing his fingers together as if embarrassed.’I think I gained another healing skill. It’s like I instinctively know how to use it. But I haven’t actually used it yet.’So, it’s a method where you realize the next skill as your combat experience accumulates. Hmm.I patted Damian’s shoulder lightly.’That skill could save our party from death. Of course, your main job is now a sniper, but still, train to use it skillfully.”Yes, Your Highness!’I sent Damian off to rest.I waved my hand at Lucas, who had been silently standing behind me.’Lucas. You don’t have to guard me anymore today, just rest.”Yes? But…”We have to go into the monsters’ lair tomorrow. You need to protect me better tomorrow, right? Don’t be stubborn, rest and conserve your strength.’Lucas reluctantly nodded.’……I will do as you say.’Lucas also headed to his room, and now only Aider and I were left. I gestured to Aider with my chin.’Aider. Prepare the expedition supplies.”What kind of items should I prepare~?”Preserved food. Camping gear. Various potions. And…’I named the items most needed for dungeon exploration.’Lighting. Lanterns. Torches.’A pleased smile appeared on Aider’s lips. I sighed quietly and said once more.’Anything that can produce light.’***The next morning.Crossroad Lord’s Mansion. Backyard.All five party members had gathered, and I distributed equipment to each of them. It was a backpack containing food and first aid supplies.Jupiter frowned as he put on his backpack.’This feels quite serious. Where are we going?”You’ll find out soon.’I led the way to the teleport gate.Goo-goo-goong-The teleport gate activated as I placed my hand on the pile of stones in the backyard.With a strange activation sound, the stones floated into the air, spinning and forming a magical door.Jupiter, who recognized the identity of the teleport gate, seemed quite surprised.’Is this perhaps teleportation magic…? But teleportation magic was lost hundreds of years ago, how?”Ahem!’I ignored him, pretending not to hear. It’s something that will all be revealed as we explore anyway.I turned to the party members and declared.’From now on, we will use this teleport gate to go to the monsters’ base. Under the Black Lake.’Everyone was calm except for Lily, who had her mouth wide open. It seemed like they all had a hunch that we were going to a dangerous place.’There is a kingdom of monsters under the lake. We must explore that place and find out why the monsters are pouring out from there.’This is the main purpose of this game.’This is the only way to end the monster invasion forever.’Destroying the source of the monsters.It was finally time to start the second genre of this game, dungeon offense, in earnest.Everyone seemed to have a lot of questions, but I activated the teleport gate first.[Teleport Gate]– Please select a destination.> Lakeside Pier> (Unopened Area)> (Unopened Area)> ……This time, too, I’ll go to the first point, ‘Lakeside Pier’.The magical door spun around, and the teleport gate was activated. I stood in front of the gate.’This gate leads directly to that ‘lake’. I’ll brief you as we go, so follow me for now.”Your Highness! I’ll go first…”Yap!’Ignoring Lucas, who said he would go first, I jumped into the gate. It’s safe anyway!***[Now Loading… Teleporting.][Tip – Hero characters grow through leveling up. Levels can be raised by gaining experience, and experience can be gained in all kinds of battles.]Instead of this obvious stuff, can’t you give me some useful tips? Huh?I grumbled inwardly. Well, how many of the tips that appear in the tip window are actually useful?