I Became the Tyrant of a Defense Game [EN]: Chapter 346

[Goddess Blessing] was divided into two main categories. One was simple buffs. These included things like increasing the overall stats of allies, or drastically boosting specific stats like physical or magical defense. The other category was special buffs. Though, it’s more accurate to call them special abilities rather than buffs. These included things like making a specific party tireless for an hour, increasing the power of an ally’s cannon by 1.5 times, increasing the probability of obtaining items, or increasing the hostility of allies towards a specific monster race… ‘There’s all sorts of stuff.’ I let out a sigh of admiration as I scanned the list. They all look so tempting. It’s a shame you can only use one at a time. ‘To add such a good function only now…! That lazy director!’ ‘Hiccup. The Goddess and I worked hard to make it… Please praise us…’ Well, whatever. It’s better that it’s added now than never. Let’s forget the past and think about the future. ‘By the way, how does this activate?’ ‘That’s up to the Lord’s discretion.’ ‘So, I can use it during the defense battle?’ ‘Of course. Just remember that it’s once per stage.’ Then, I can activate it a bit later depending on the opponent’s numbers. Don’t use it hastily, let’s save it as a trump card. ‘By the way, this goddess. She really exists, doesn’t she? To give us such a blessing.’ ‘Of course, she really exists. She’s my coworker.’ That’s an expression that doesn’t really fit with a god. What? A coworker? ‘Well, she’s the guardian deity of humanity, but she doesn’t have a channel to use her power in this world… so she’s doing various things through me.’ ‘Well, you say?’ ‘That’s because… she hasn’t been appointed as the god of humanity for long.’ ‘……?’ What the heck is that supposed to mean? ‘In this world, a being representing a race is given the opportunity to gain divinity,’ Aider began to explain matter-of-factly. ‘There are several cases. Usually, it’s when the members of that race unanimously recognize someone as their representative. So, most of the time, the founders of that race are enshrined as the race’s gods.’ Then, the gods of the different races that my father is fighting in the spirit realm right now. Are they the founders of each race? ‘And rarely… if there is no founder god, a great person who saved the race from a crisis is enshrined as the race’s god after death. It also requires the consent of many members of the race.’ ‘Then, the goddess is…?’ ‘Yes. She’s from this case. She is said to have saved humanity hundreds of years ago.’ It seems she did something historically great that I don’t know about. More than that, is hundreds of years not much for gods? ‘…And in a very rare case, if there is only one member of a race left in the world after all the others have died.’ Aider explained the last case with a dry smile. ‘That last being is also given the opportunity to gain divinity. It’s like a comeback match, or a protection for endangered species, it’s a bit of a bizarre concept…’ ‘…….’ I swallowed my words. Then Aider, you who introduced yourself as a god. Which of those three cases do you belong to…? ‘Anyway, you can think of the goddess as our ally.’ Aider said, spreading his arms wide. ‘She also wants the true ending. Maybe as much as we do.’ ‘…….’ I don’t know about gods or the stories above the sky. Anyway, if it helps with the strategy, I’ll gratefully accept it. ‘Tell the goddess. I’ll take the blessing she gave me as a New Year’s gift.’ I smiled brightly. ‘And tell the goddess, Happy New Year too.’ ‘…….’ Aider, who had a surprised expression for a moment, soon smiled back. ‘She’ll be very happy. I’ll be sure to tell her.’ We talked about various things after that. Especially, the main topic was about the second prince, Fernandez. It seems that the special forces attacked Crossroads this time. ‘What is Fernandez aiming for? Do you know anything?’ ‘Fernandez is a mystery to me too. He always acts to become the emperor, and he also caused a rebellion… but this time feels a bit different.’ According to Aider, he had reset this world and repeated the game countless times, but this was the first time Fernandez had sent special forces to try to surrender to the Demon King. Aider put his chin on his hand with a serious face and made a hmm- sound. ‘This game is having variables that I’ve never experienced before, like an avalanche. I can’t be sure of anything easily.’ There is one thing that is certain. On the way to the true ending, I will have to settle things with Fernandez someday. It would be nice if Larc could take care of Fernandez, but… I have a feeling that things won’t go that easily. In fact, the civil war between the two princes is said to have reached a stalemate. After discussing a few more things about city management, I finally showed Aider the terrarium I had brought. ‘And Aider. This is a blue coral I received as a gift today.’ ‘Oh, a blue coral? You got something precious.’ ‘Do you know how to raise it? I’m a complete novice in this area…’ ‘Blue corals are friends that live well with just photosynthesis, and this terrarium seems to have management magic on it.’ Aider nodded. ‘I’ll change the water and feed it sometimes. Leave it to me.’ It eats food too? I don’t know much about the ecology of corals, but Aider seems to know a lot, so I decided to leave it to him. ‘Okay. I’ll put it in my room, so please take care of it.’ I’ll watch Aider do it and learn, and then I’ll try changing the water and feeding it myself. It’s a gift from Serenade, so it would be better if I managed it myself. ‘Ah, and.’ I added to Aider, remembering something. ‘If there’s any leftover New Year’s stew I ate this morning, can you pack some for me?’ Aider tilted his head. ‘Yes? Pack it?’ *** Afternoon, past lunchtime. Lake Kingdom Dungeon. Base Camp. ‘Happy New Year~!’ I shouted as I visited with a bundle of food. As I put the food down next to the bonfire in the center of the base camp, people staying at the base camp soon gathered one by one. Kellybay, who came sniffing, opened the pot lid and exclaimed. ‘Oh! What is this, young prince?’ ‘Today is the first day of the New Year according to the human calendar. So, I brought some New Year’s food.’ ‘Hehe, has time already passed like that?’ ‘And of course, I brought some alcohol too. Want a drink?’ ‘Good! Give it to me quickly.’ Starting with Kellybay, I distributed alcohol and food to the people. When I said I would take it to the base camp and share it, Aider even cooked a new pot of stew. Thanks to that, there was enough to share. ‘Ash! Hello!’ As Verdandi and the Holy Grail Exploration Team greeted me, I took out something else I had brought. ‘Here, Verdandi. You guys… eat this too.’ ‘Oh my, what is this?’ ‘A pie with sunflower seeds and dried fruit. Lily baked it.’ It was something Lily had baked for God Hand, and when I said I was going to the base camp, God Hand asked me to deliver one. Lily had baked plenty for the Holy Grail Exploration Team in the first place. ‘Wow! A sunflower seed pie!’ The five elves, who couldn’t resist sunflower seeds, got excited and flapped their ears(!), and quickly took the pie. ‘Enjoy it… and it’s not really a substitute, but I have a small favor to ask. Is that okay?’ Verdandi, who couldn’t wait and was already munching on the pie, widened her eyes. ‘Of course! Just say the word!’ ‘…A human has entered this Lake Kingdom.’ I described Mason’s appearance. ‘I want to put a bounty on this human. If you find him, capture him if possible… or if you can’t, kill him, but I’d like you to catch him.’ Wanted: Dead or Alive. As I spoke heavily, Verdandi also nodded with a heavy face. Her cheeks were puffed up with pie, but. Is she a squirrel? ‘Okay. We’ll look for him within our search range… munch munch.’ In addition, I delivered food and alcohol to several residents of the base camp that I had met, and also announced the bounty request for Mason. Everyone readily nodded. After giving a bottle of new alcohol to Granny Coco of the Severance. I was done with my work at the base camp, so I took the teleport gate again. The destination is the 5th district, [Flaming Colosseum]. Whoosh! As I arrived, I heard the sound of a hammer hitting a stone cheerfully. Bang, bang, bang…. I saw a muscular man working hard on the restoration work on one side of the collapsed colosseum wall. I called his name. ‘Jackal!’ The surprised man turned to me. His mouth was smiling happily under the Jackal mask he was wearing. ‘Your Highness!’ It was Jackal, the NPC boss of this colosseum. He had been guarding the base camp for a while, but recently he had returned here to start the colosseum restoration work. ‘What brings you here!’ I opened the pot I was carrying to Jackal, who had jumped down. ‘You’ve been working hard. Have some food. It’s the New Year outside, so I cooked some New Year’s stew.’ ‘Wow, it’s been a while since I’ve had this… Thank you, Your Highness! I’ll enjoy it.’ Jackal, who was hungry, took the hot pot and started scooping up the stew with a ladle. It’s good to see him eating well. ‘But where did your subordinates go?’ I muttered in confusion, looking around the empty construction site. The reason Jackal returned here in the first place was because his monster subordinates had returned. That’s why he was able to start the restoration work, but now it was empty. The last time I saw them, dozens of goblins were hammering together, but now the walls were empty. ‘Well… they were with me until a few days ago.’ Jackal tore a piece of bread he had brought, soaked it in the stew, and stuffed it into his mouth, then answered while munching. ‘The Goblin God King issued a summons to all goblins… so they went back.’ ‘God King? Who is that?’ ‘The Goblin God King, Kali-Alexander. He is the god and king of the goblins.’ ‘Ah, King God Goblin!’ I snapped my fingers, remembering. The God King, meaning ‘god and king’, is ‘God King’ in English. So, the Goblin God King was a being that users mocked as ‘King God Goblin’. His name was grand, but he was the weakest of all the boss entities, which made him even more of a target of ridicule. So much so that if this guy appeared in a boss stage, it was said that you had hit the jackpot. ‘Then, is this stage going to be goblins? This is good. I’ll clear it easily.’ The boss is weak, and the goblin race’s characteristic is a numbers game, but there is a limit to the implementation of numbers in the game, so it’s only about two or three times more than other legions at most. But since the individual goblins are the weakest. In the game, the goblin legion was practically a break stage. I was relieved and smiled without realizing it. Then Jackal’s face hardened. ‘Your Highness. You don’t think the Goblin God King is an easy opponent, do you?’ ‘Huh?’ Did I show it too much? I quickly straightened my face. ‘You must never be careless. He is the one who has caused the most damage to humans among the legendary monsters here.’ Jackal seriously explained about the Goblin God King. ‘Kali-Alexander. His name is Alexander, and the prefix ‘Kali-‘ is a word that goblins attach to the god they serve.’ Hmm, there’s a god here too. ‘You can see how legendary he is to the goblins, since they give this title to a living king.’ ‘Is he that great?’ ‘He is the king who led the ‘Great Goblin Invasion’ that swallowed up the entire western continent, one-third of the world. The damage at that time was so great that the western continent has not yet recovered from the damage.’