I Became the Tyrant of a Defense Game [EN]: Chapter 52

Ding! Ding! Ding!

The damage slot began to spin wildly.

Watching the numbers spin, I felt a moment of unease.

Surely, it wouldn’t be a fumble here… a bad roll, would it?

‘I stepped forward because Jupiter and Damian shouldn’t get hurt, but still!’

If something went wrong and someone got injured, it was better that it be me. Even if I got hurt, I could still give instructions.

On the other hand, Jupiter and Damian had to fight in the next defense stage. They absolutely couldn’t get injured!

…That was my reasoning for stepping forward, but honestly, seeing the golem’s huge face right in front of me made me a little nervous.

It’s not going to be like a 000 or something, right? Huh? God of Dice?! Can I trust you?!

Shimmering-

Thank goodness.

Ding!

1, 2, 5!

Not bad numbers.

‘125 damage!’

More than enough!

A fierce wind enveloped my fist. I swung my fist upwards from below.

Thwack-!

The wind exploded, and the golem’s head, which had been rushing towards us, was violently thrown back.

Crack, thud!

The golem’s neck twisted in a direction impossible for a human, and the sound of something breaking echoed.

《Ah.》

The golem’s head, which had briefly shot into the air, then slammed face-first into the ground. Thud!

“Whew!”

I shook my hands.

I need to play the game by eliminating variables, not relying on these kinds of gambles.

But unavoidable situations keep happening.

As the thick dust settled, I could see the golem’s head, its armor shattered and its magic core exposed.

The golem was no longer moving. Only the single, lighthouse-like eye in the center of its head flickered faintly.

《Rain… is falling.》

Lucas, who had come to my side, reached out his hand.

“My lord, finish it.”

“Okay.”

Boss kills give a significant experience bonus.

Since my level was currently the lowest, I decided to gladly take this sure kill chance.

“Lucas, lend me your sword.”

“Yes, here it is.”

Lucas immediately lent me his sword.

Lucky Strikes had unpredictable damage, and I didn’t want to risk getting some weird number again.

It was safer to borrow a sword.

I raised the sword towards the golem’s face.

The single eye that had been shining in the golem’s face slowly closed.

《Rain, is falling, heavily.》

What is this monster talking about?

I forcefully swung the sword down.

***

After defeating the boss. While the rest of the party was collecting items from the boss’s remains.

I opened the system window and checked the clear status.

[Hidden Back Alley – Boss Room]

– Defeat the boss! (Achieved)

– Lv.20 Giant Steam Golem

– All parts of the boss have been destroyed. Complete annihilation!

‘Got the complete annihilation bonus too.’

Whew~ I whistled softly.

Actually, this golem could have been defeated more easily by just destroying the magic core in its head, which would have caused the other magic cores to explode automatically.

But I didn’t tell the party members and destroyed them one by one.

‘There’s a part destruction reward, so of course, I have to smash everything.’

Plus, I got the final hit experience. I should level up a bit.

‘This exploration is quite lucrative.’

I got all the rewards in the dungeon, and I was lucky enough to meet a merchant NPC [Non-Player Character] and get two SSR-grade [Super Super Rare] items.

Of course, I had to give them to Evangeline right away as compensation…

‘It was an expense I was going to have anyway. I just managed to cover it cheaply.’

It’s a little scary how well things are going, but good is good.

At that moment, Damian, who was searching the boss room, called out to me.

“Your Highness! There’s a treasure chest and a path over here!”

“Okay, I’ll be right there. And Lucas?”

After calling Lucas, I gestured to Jupiter.

“Hold him.”

“Yes, sir.”

Lucas grabbed Jupiter, who was about to go crazy over the treasure chest.

Jupiter struggled and shouted.

“No, I’m just going to stand still! How can you be so suspicious of this poor old man! I’ll just look, okay? Your Highness! Just look!”

Yeah, right, just look. I’d rather trust a cat with a fish.

At the very back of the warehouse, there was a door leading to the other side and a large treasure chest.

Standing in front of the treasure chest, I opened it with a flourish. Let it be something good!

A purple light emanated from the chest.

‘It’s an SR-grade [Super Rare] item!’

I reached in and checked what I had pulled out. What is this?!

[Orb of Screams (SR) Lv.30]

– Category: Magic Orb

– Attack Power: 40-45

– Durability: 15/15

– Each time you defeat an enemy in succession, the damage of the next attack increases by 5%. This effect lasts for 30 seconds.

> Set Effect: You must scream (1/3)

– If all sets are equipped, a wide-area fear status ailment is applied each time an enemy is defeated.

(Requires ‘Robe of Screams’ to activate set)

(Requires ‘Gloves of Screams’ to activate set)

“……”

A mage item appeared…

I looked down at the orb in my hand with a heavy heart, then turned my gaze to the side, where I saw Jupiter grinning. Sigh.

“Here you go.”

“Thank you!”

I tossed the orb to Jupiter, who caught it easily and immediately equipped it, looking delighted.

Well, the options suit Jupiter well. It’s a good set item for a wide-area mage who wipes out mobs at once.

I don’t know when I’ll be able to farm the other two pieces of equipment, though.

Inside the chest, there were also two standard high-grade magic cores (SR). Yay.

So, I got the boss room treasure chest, and the second area is cleared.

[Area 2: Hidden Back Alley]

– Clear Progress: Normal Room 4/4 Boss Room 1/1

– Acquired Treasure Chests: 5/5

Complete annihilation bonus and all-clear bonus. I’ve taken everything I could.

There’s nothing more to do here. I gestured towards the door behind the treasure chest.

“Let’s go. We need to hit the next checkpoint and go home.”

A look of relief crossed the faces of all the party members.

It’s understandable. This free exploration took almost a day.

If we had progressed any slower, we would have had to camp in the dungeon and explore for two days after resting. Everyone must be tired.

When we opened the door and stepped out of the warehouse, we soon came across a tall staircase.

“This is…?”

“Hmm.”

I raised my lantern towards the top of the stone stairs.

Beyond the darkness, the stairs stretched endlessly. The direction those stairs were heading was…

“It seems to be a staircase leading to the city wall.”

It was towards the city wall that surrounded the outskirts of the city.

‘We’re on the right track.’

It’s exactly as the information I’ve gathered so far.

I gestured upwards.

“Let’s go up.”

The stairs continued for a long time. As we kept climbing, Damian, who was weak, and Jupiter, who was old, gradually fell behind.

“Haa, haa…”

“Your Highness! This old man’s knees are going to break! How much further do we have to climb?”

“Just follow me a little more. We’re almost there.”

I was also covered in sweat. Why is it so high? Can’t they just shorten it with some game-like allowance?

But this was reality, and we finally reached the top of the stairs after another 10 minutes.

“Aigo, Your Highness, my back is going to break… Aigo.”

I barely made it to the top and collapsed onto the cold stone floor. It’s so damn hard.

Damian didn’t make a sound and quietly lay face down on the floor, and Jupiter slumped down next to him and put a cigarette in his mouth.

“Haa, haa, I feel like I’m going to die of heart failure soon, so I’ll have a smoke before that…”

“If you smoke in this situation, you’ll really die, grandma…”

Lucas and Evangeline also seemed tired, as they took out water bottles from their bags and drank them at the same time.

They emptied their bottles as if they had made a promise. You two are surprisingly in sync, aren’t you?

“You all did a great job. Anyway, we’ve arrived.”

I pointed ahead.

The stairs led into the inside of a watchtower, and in the spacious space inside the watchtower, there was a permanent magic stone emitting light and a familiar pile of stones.

It was a teleport gate.

“Hooray! Let’s go back quickly. Otherwise, this old body will be ruined!”

Jupiter, who was overjoyed, jumped up and ran to the teleport gate first. He’s energetic? What about the heart failure?

“As soon as I get back, I’m going to fill the bathtub with hot water and soak in it, with a glass of whiskey with ice in one hand and a cigar in the other…”

Jupiter, who was rattling off his honest desires, stopped talking.

Jupiter, standing at the end of the watchtower, was frozen stiff, looking at the other side.

The other party members, feeling puzzled, followed Jupiter and stood there. And they all froze.

“This is…”

I slowly followed behind them.

A wide city wall stretched out before us.

The width of the city wall alone was about twice the size of Crossroads, an enormous scale.

And inside that city wall, there was the Lake Kingdom.

What I had seen from the back alley before was just a small part of it.

Looking down from the high city wall, the overwhelming scale of the Lake Kingdom finally became real.

‘It’s so big that it doesn’t fit in one glance.’

I remembered the experience of going up to the observation deck of a skyscraper in Seoul and looking down at the city.

The Lake Kingdom is as big as Seoul in terms of scale. The problem is that it’s completely dead.

Originally, the entire city should be shrouded in darkness, and nothing should be visible, but the reason why the overall structure is faintly visible is one thing.

“Light…”

Damian muttered in a trembling voice.

“I can see lights all over the city.”

Like stars dotted in a cloudy night sky. The lights of the ‘checkpoints’ scattered like salt across the city were shining.

Someone had installed permanent magic stones and unquenchable fires at the crossroads and hubs throughout the city.

Thanks to that, the few living humans can roam this place.

And, the light is not just that.

“What is that? A lighthouse…?”

Evangeline pointed to the center of the city.

A faint flame was flickering from the top of a spire that stood tall in the middle of the city.

Although it was unclear due to the thick darkness, it was definitely a ‘light’.

That light was illuminating the tallest and most magnificent skyscraper located in the very center of the city.

‘The Lake Kingdom Royal Palace.’

I stared silently at the royal palace, which was flickering like fog in the pitch-black darkness.

That is the final exploration area that we must reach someday.

And the decisive battleground where the final boss fight will take place.

‘It’s going to be a lo~ng way to get there…’

I took a small breath as I looked down at the entire city.

Thinking about the vast distance from here to there made me feel dizzy.

This city has the highest central part and the lowest outer part.

And our current location is right here.

[Area 3: Outer Wall North]

Here.

The outermost part of the city. And the northernmost part.

“We came through the sewers, wandered through the back alleys, and ended up near the north gate of the city.”

After briefly summarizing the exploration so far, I smiled at the party members.

“Well, let’s think about where to go next later.”

I patted my aching back with my hand.

“Let’s go home quickly…”

It feels like the prince is the one who’s going to get a chronic illness. Aigoo.

***

[Free Exploration Ended!]

[Leveled Up Characters]

– Ash(EX) Lv.15 (↑4)

– Lucas(SSR) Lv.33 (↑2)

– Jupiter(SR) Lv.38 (↑1)

– Damian(N) Lv.27 (↑3)

– Evangeline(SSR) Lv.36 (↑1)

[Acquired Equipment]

– Spear of the Devil(SSR)

– Shield of the Giant(SSR)

– Orb of Screams(SR)

[Acquired Items]

– Standard High-Grade Magic Core(SR): 2

– Golem Legion Magic Stone: 120

– Golem Legion Armor Fragment: 32

– Blue Flame Torch

– Summon Scroll: Giant Steam Golem