I Became The Tyrant Of A Defense Game [EN]: Chapter 28

Three panels with numbers from 0 to 7 rapidly rotated vertically, then stopped in order. Ting. Ting. Ting!

And the numbers that came out were… 1, 2, and 1 in order.

121 damage!

Thwack-!

The giant sewer rat, grazed by my fist, flew in the opposite direction with a tremendous sound.

“……”

I stood there, dumbfounded, with my fist still outstretched.

‘No, but usually, the hundreds digit doesn’t show up that often…’

It’s usually a crappy item that barely gets to the tens digit, mostly just ones.

How did it get to the hundreds digit and one-shot the giant sewer rat?

“Y-Your Highness? Are you alright?”

“Uh, yeah. I’m fine…”

Lucas, who had rushed over in surprise, checked my condition and let out a sigh of relief when he saw that I was unharmed.

“But what was that just now? How did you take down that monster in one hit…?”

The giant sewer rat that had been hit by my fist was a mangled mess far away.

Not only Lucas, but Damian, Jupiter, and Lily were all staring at me with wide eyes.

I was wondering how to explain that it was due to an item, but then I realized how I got this item.

And what the operating principle of this item was. Explaining all of that was overwhelming.

‘I can’t explain that I got a box in my inventory as a system reward every time I clear a stage… And that this weapon rolls a roulette to determine damage every time it’s used? How do I say that?’

So, I just made something up.

“It’s the Royal Punch.”

“Huh?”

“It’s the Royal Punch, the Royal Punch. Okay?”

“Yes…? Royal Punch…?”

“Royals can unleash super powers when they’re in an emergency… sometimes. Yeah!”

It’s a different context, but the result is similar. Just go with it.

The party members didn’t look convinced, but they let it slide when I didn’t try to explain further. I like that they’re quick on the uptake.

I cleared up the chaotic atmosphere and quickly headed to the next room.

[Dried-Up Drainage – Room 2]

– This room is empty.

The second room was completely empty. There were no monsters, no events, and no objects.

But you can’t just believe it’s empty and go on. I ordered the party members.

“There must be something hidden. Search every nook and cranny!”

The party members scattered and searched the room, half in doubt. Soon,

“Ah, there’s something here?”

Damian found something.

“Whoa, as expected of the all-seeing eye! I knew it!” [Referring to Damian’s ability to find hidden things]

I shouted and ran to Damian’s side.

There was a small camouflaged door installed on one side of the room. When we opened the door, there was a small treasure chest inside.

Damian, who had taken out the chest, smiled brightly.

“It’s a treasure chest, Your Highness!”

“Good job. But be careful, it could be a trap disguised as a treasure chest…”

Before I could finish speaking, Jupiter rushed in, snatched the treasure chest, and opened it right away.

You money-grubbing old hag! What if it was a trap!

Clunk!

Fortunately, it wasn’t a trap, but a real treasure chest. There were some jewels and gold coins inside.

“Hyaaa…”

Jupiter, who had taken out the jewels and was examining them with a soft sigh, scratched the back of her head sheepishly.

She seemed to have come to her senses when we all stared at her.

“Oh my, I’m sorry about that. I just can’t help myself when I smell money.”

It seems her ‘gold digger’ trait, which makes her open any chest she sees, had activated.

I rubbed my forehead, feeling a headache coming on. We’ll be encountering traps often in the future, how am I going to control this old woman?

“Alright, alright, I’ll return the treasure chest to Your Highness.”

Jupiter handed me the jewels and gold coins. But hey, grandma, I saw you slip a few into your pocket!

I decided to turn a blind eye, put away the jewels and gold coins, and headed to the next room.

[Dried-Up Drainage – Room 3]

– Eliminate all enemies!

– Lv.5 Giant Sewer Rat: 12

Monsters appeared in the next third room as well.

The monsters’ levels had increased, but this time, we fought without any carelessness and managed to take them all down without taking any damage.

‘I don’t want to use the Royal Punch twice!’

I thought to myself, carefully counting the number of fallen sewer rat corpses.

If possible, I don’t want to use it ever again!

“Okay, next is the last one. The boss room.”

Before entering the boss room, we took a short break to prepare.

I smiled at the party members who were sitting comfortably and eating their rations.

“If we clear this, we’ll return, so let’s all do our best.”

Everyone nodded. Lily, in particular, was very enthusiastic, nodding her head with a determined look.

She must really want to go home…

After leaving the third room and walking a little further in the sewer, a large door appeared in front of us. It was definitely the boss room.

After making eye contact with the party members, I patted Lucas’s shoulder, who was at the front. Lucas opened the door with a powerful push.

Screeeech-

The boss room door slowly opened with a metallic sound that seemed to scrape the eardrums.

***

We entered the room one by one.

It was incomparably larger than the previous rooms.

The drain pipes tangled on the walls were also large and thick, and the darkness and ominousness surrounding the room were much deeper.

Above all, the smell of blood.

As soon as we entered the room, a thick scent of blood filled the air. I unconsciously covered my nose with my hand. Ugh, what is that?

“……!”

When I held up the lantern and looked around, I finally understood the source of the blood smell.

The wide room was filled with piles of sewer rat corpses.

They were the giant sewer rats we had defeated in the previous rooms.

Even though they were rats, they were still monsters, and hundreds of them were dead.

And in the middle of the countless piles of rat corpses.

《Rats…》

A giant rat, incomparably larger than the rats we had seen so far, stood with its back to us.

《The rats… they never end…》

The giant rat held a blood-soaked sewer rat in each of its hands.

The giant rat swung its hands carelessly, and the two sewer rats it was holding were thrown far away like balls.

Thud! Thud!

New sewer rat corpses piled up on the mountain of corpses.

It seems that this super-giant rat was the one who killed the sewer rats here.

《I have to catch the rats. I have to exterminate the rats. I have to clean the rats. Keep Lake Kingdom clean. Clean. Clean!》

The nervous voice was definitely coming from the super-giant rat.

Damian, who was surprised by the sight, muttered with a sullen expression.

“The monster… is talking like a human…?”

The super-giant rat’s ears twitched at Damian’s voice.

《What is it…》

And it slowly turned around.

《Were there still rats left alive…?》

My party members gasped when they met the super-giant rat’s red glowing eyes.

It was a giant—a truly giant rat. It looked over 3m tall, and its fur, stained with the blood of its own kind, was dark red.

Its vicious teeth and claws were like blades.

“It seems that the talking rat friend over there is the boss monster here…”

At the same time as I muttered,

《There are rats, everywhere, there are rats! No matter how many I kill, rats keep coming out! You damn rats!》

The super-giant rat screamed in a frenzy.

Its already huge claws extended grotesquely, and its spiked tail scraped the floor.

The red glow in its eyes was now emitting light.

《I’ll kill them all!》

With a terrible roar, the boss monster charged towards us.

It ran on two legs like a human, and its two arms swung wildly for attack.

Ting!

The system window updated in time. I quickly checked it.

[Dried-Up Drainage – Boss Room]

– Defeat the boss!

– Lv.15 Giant Ratman

Paleig, the sewer manager.

That seems to be the ratman’s name.

‘I don’t know why a ratman has a human name, but…’

There was no time to dwell on such trivial questions.

Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!

The boss battle had begun, and the super-giant rat was quickly approaching us.

‘I need to give orders…’

I quickly organized my tactics in my head and was about to give orders to the party members.

But before I could give the order,

“Kyaaaaaa! Raaaaaaats-!”

Lily, with tears streaming down her face, unleashed a huge burst of flames, much faster than I could give any orders…

Whoosh!

The flames that Lily unleashed were the biggest I had ever seen. The heat was so intense that even my skin, which was a little far away, felt hot. Ouch, it’s hot!

Kieeeeeeek!

The ratman, who had been charging towards us, was hit directly by the pillar of fire and rolled on the floor, screaming.

“Don’t come near meeeeee!”

Lily continued to spew flames at the ratman. Whoosh, whoosh…

“……”

The rest of the party members stood awkwardly in front of the terrifying pillar of fire.

“Haa, haa, haa!”

After a while, Lily stopped the flames, panting heavily, and we could see the super-giant rat, charred black.

Kreek, kreek…

Despite taking massive damage, the boss ratman was still alive. It was still trying to get up, its red eyes still flashing.

But Jupiter was already pointing her fingertips at the ratman.

“That’s enough, take a rest.”

Yellow magic gathered at Jupiter’s fingertips.

“Good night.”

Kugwagwagwang!

A lightning bolt from the sky pierced the boss ratman’s entire body.

《I have to… clean the rats…》

The boss ratman’s face fell powerlessly to the floor as it muttered its last words.

I muttered in a daze.

“…That ended quickly.”

The boss monster was defeated so easily by the two mages’ combined attack.

As expected of an early-game monster, it had almost no magic resistance. If we had tried to defeat it with normal physical attacks, it would have been much harder.

Lily, who had confirmed the boss kill, grabbed my sleeve and tugged at it.

“We’re going home now, Your Highness?!”

“Yeah, soon… but you’re a little scary…”

“How can I not be scared when there are rat corpses everywhere?!”

But to get out of here, we have to pass through the mountain of rat corpses.

We passed the mountain of rat corpses and the boss ratman and headed to the inner part of the room.

Lily just closed her eyes tightly, and Jupiter pulled her wheelchair. Yeah, that’s better for both of them.

In the innermost part of the room, there was a large treasure chest.

Jupiter was about to rush out with her only eye sparkling, so I gave a short order.

“Lucas, hold Jupiter.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“No! I haven’t done anything yet, Your Highness! Hey, let go! You should respect your elders, Sir Lucas!”