1. Good News (1)
1. Good News (1)
It wasn't that there was any particular fate tying me to my original world.
I had fought with my family and cut ties, and it had already been ten years since I'd been in a relationship—ever since I became an adult, I hadn't had one at all.
A life with no stimulation, no interests, no hobbies. Yet even so, I was slowly building up my funds, envisioning a stable retirement.
I'd actually worked hard at investments and side gigs, earning enough to scrape by until I grew old and died alone.
I was working like an ant, thinking I'd earn just a little more to live comfortably, and then...
"Damn it... care to explain why this is happening to me..."
And so, the sense of loss from losing all of that was, honestly, no joke.
To the point where I couldn't do anything for a while and just sat still, and after that, I denied reality, shouting things like 'log out' and searching for an interface.
Only then did I find the courage—no, not courage, but a driving force—to face what had appeared before my eyes.
『Welcome, Demon Lord Candidate! Congratulations on entering the world of 'Dungeon Lord'! I am this dungeon's lord, an assistant here to help the new monarch.』
"As if I'm supposed to think that's really a pleasure... and you've even changed my name at some point."
What happened, happened.
If I wanted to change anything, I had no choice but to do what I could right now, give it my all, and creatively find another way forward.
The truth I'd felt most keenly from living in the modern world somehow forced my body to move.
Sarak.
I casually swept the hair that had flowed over my shoulders and framed my face back with my hand, and I realized I'd already grown accustomed to the gesture.
I'd never been conscious of it, but apparently, I adapt pretty quickly.
『Would you like to proceed with the tutorial?』
『Confirm / Cancel』
Or maybe this 'System' had done something to me.
Anyway, the tutorial.
It had rewards that lowered the initial entry barrier, so I couldn't skip it entirely.
『First, the 'Stat...'』
"Status Window."
『Name - Libertas...』
After pressing 'Confirm' and charging forward to breeze through the tutorial, I hesitated for a moment, my momentum deflated.
Because my current appearance was reflected in its entirety in the status window.
I'd customized my appearance, but I hadn't been able to see it until I bought a mirror—or so I'd thought.
'Small.'
My current self was much shorter and smaller than my original self in both height and build.
It was only natural, since I had designed a female character to my tastes. Sure, there are people out there who like women nearly 180 cm tall, but I'm not one of them.
I liked women with a petite figure.
And now, that had become my own body.
God damn it.
Sarak sarak.
I zoomed in on my appearance in the status window.
Fiddling with my hair, which I'd touched lightly earlier and whose texture I'd already grown accustomed to.
'Looking at it this way, she's kind of cute.'
My glossy black hair reached down to my waist in the back, to my back and chest on the sides, and to the sides of my neck on top.
It was a layered cut with wavy hair, and perhaps it was the power of customization, but there wasn't a single split end or stray hair visible.
"..."
Beneath it, a pair of vivid violet eyes, shadowed by slightly deep-set eyelids, looked back at me from the center of skin so pale it was almost white.
Not bluish-purple, not indigo, and not magenta, but a violet with a completely cold feeling, staring directly at me, giving me a slightly eerie sensation.
Thankfully, my base appearance had a somewhat delicate impression.
Though right now, maybe because I was on edge, my eyes were set a bit sharply.
'This is the first time in my life I've seen violet eyes.'
I'd heard there weren't even a thousand people on Earth with violet eyes, so maybe it was only natural.
Even if they existed, violet eyes were said to appear in people with albinism, a congenital condition, and those individuals weren't generally very healthy.
Pale skin, black hair, violet eyes, and a somewhat delicate impression with a slender build.
And the last thing I saw.
'Gothic Lolita... why on earth did I pick clothes like this?'
I knew why.
A cold but fragile dark princess.
It was the base concept I had created in a sudden fit of chuunibyou madness while customizing.
Judging by how comfortable my body felt, it wouldn't be as uncomfortable as a real Gothic Lolita dress. Still, a voluminous black dress that looked incredibly difficult to manage and hard to put on and take off was wrapped around my body.
As I said, it was a relief that it wasn't uncomfortable to move in, but I might be a bit worried about it later on.
I wouldn't be able to lie down on a bed like this, would I?
Maybe I needed to hurry up and find a servant familiar with professional knowledge.
Of course, right now I had to proceed with the tutorial.
『And then 'Dun...'』
"Dungeon Information."
『'Auth...'』
"Authority Information."
『Sto, 'Stor...'』
"Storage."
After that, I tore through the tutorial before any other prompts could even pop up.
All the functions were just as I remembered them, so it was no trouble at all.
The only differences were that I had to call out windows by voice instead of pressing keyboard buttons, and that the buttons for functions not yet unlocked weren't visible, so I had to rely on my memory.
In addition, I checked to see if there were any major differences from what I knew.
The messages kept getting cut off, so it felt like the voice was becoming a bit hesitant, but I paid it no mind.
"No major differences... huh."
The result was a little disappointing.
The entry barrier for this game wasn't very high, but the 'First Wave' that came around the middle of the tutorial had not been easy.
Because it gave you just one kind of basic unit, and you had to use that unit, the dungeon's basic traps, and, if possible, wild monsters lured in from outside, to take down the first wave of adventurers.
Using only a single beginner unit and the avatar of a user who hadn't acquired any authority or skills yet—since it was the first part.
'It'll be random... if I could choose, I'd hope for a Slime.'
If you were unlucky, you'd get a wild dog or a zombie; if you were lucky, you'd get a slime.
They were still basic units, so no matter how strong they were, they couldn't beat a single person armed with a sword. But if a slime came out, that was really good luck.
It was weak enough to burst from a single spell, but wizards almost never appeared in the first wave, and slimes took almost no damage from slashing or cutting attacks.
It wasn't impossible with a goblin either, but if I had the choice...
But then something I hadn't expected appeared.
『Alpha Tester Bonus! Your first summon can be set to any type of creature you desire, and a small benefit will be granted to summons of the same species as the one you choose!』
"...Here?"
I hadn't expected any bonuses to arrive upon entering this world, but even if I had, I thought they'd come when I started the main game.
This changed things.
I only said I'd prefer a slime if it was going to be random anyway. If I could choose directly, I could just pick a path that suited my taste and the knowledge I possessed.
『Goblin』
『Shade』
『Kobold』
『Skeleton』
『Zombie』
『Ghost』
『Slime』
『Gremlin』
Greenskin, Corrupted Spirit, Werebeast, three types of Undead, Monster, and Demon basic units.
They were weak because they were basic units, but each one had its own unique characteristics nonetheless.
'These ones are expensive and eat a lot, but each individual is strong.'
Corrupted Spirits and Demons cost a lot to summon and have high upkeep. Instead, as you go into the later stages, powerful mutant variants or elite individuals tend to appear in greater numbers compared to the total population.
Both are highly intelligent from the start and follow strategic directives well, but Corrupted Spirits have more firepower, while Demons are trickier.
'These guys eat a lot, but they work as hard as they eat.'
Greenskins and Werebeasts have very low summoning costs but high upkeep.
You have to actively lure hostile targets from the outside into the dungeon, but in return, you can summon large numbers and overwhelm most enemies in an instant.
Greenskins cost a bit more, so you can summon slightly fewer, but they're a bit stronger to compensate.
Werebeasts are loyal and cost extremely little, so you can control many at once.
'These are the ones you die to if you don't know them.'
The Monster tree starting with Slimes and the Spectral Undead tree starting with Ghosts are ones that have at least one way to seize victory through cunning stratagems.
Just as slimes are nearly immune to physical attacks, the Spectral Undead have Specters that can absorb magical attacks and fire them back.
There are also ghosts that hide underground and attack, or giant rats that spray odorless, colorless poison and melt their targets before eating them.
They're tricky to handle, but the returns are high.
'Things that don't eat, but are hard to get and tenacious.'
The other two Undead types each have the drawback of requiring a 'corpse' to summon and having high summoning costs, but in return, their upkeep was incredibly low.
Even repairing damaged units or strengthening them could be done through corpses, so it was practically like they had no upkeep at all.
The remaining costs could be used to strengthen the dungeon or the Demon Lord Candidate, and since Undead themselves didn't vanish until completely destroyed, they were suited for tenaciously surviving.
Skeletons were strong in group tactics, and each individual zombie was sturdy.
'But... in any case, my choice has already been decided.'
The first unit was the identity of the Demon Lord in question and their direction of growth.
For example, if a slime came out, it was easy to survive the very early stages, but the mid-game became difficult, and the late game settled into a manageable 'Monster Lord' tech tree.
The basic units of the three Undead types were each paths towards different directions: 'Necromancer', 'Vampire', and 'Dream Demon'.
It didn't mean you decided the Demon Lord Candidate's development direction based on the unit that randomly appeared; it meant your class was fixed.
Back when it was a game, I'd even done rerolls to pick a character that suited my taste.
And that taste was...
『Skeleton』
The Necromancer.
...Though, it had been a bit hard to make this choice without hesitation.
Because, after all, this world was reality, or something that seemed just like reality.
If I chose Undead, it meant I would have to live while looking at those corpses, at least for the foreseeable future, didn't it? The 2D deformed sprites I was used to would be completely different from a real monster right before my eyes.
If I chose a living creature like a Beast, Werebeast, or Demon, it felt like I could at least make something like a pet to soothe my loneliness.
Greenskin? Monster? Those were never my taste to begin with.
The zombie path to Vampire was decent enough, but becoming a succubus from a ghost... I couldn't even imagine what kind of erotic developments that would lead to, so absolutely not.
On top of that...
'If it's Undead, I know them inside and out.'
Given that the most important 'survival' was at stake, choosing what I was best at was the natural thing to do.
Farewell, spirits that might have been cute. Demons that might have been gentlemanly.
Of course, it wasn't a permanent goodbye, since I could bring in summons from other types later if needed.
『You have chosen Skeleton, the 'Undead - Skull' class. Your future path as a Dungeon Lord will be fixed as 'Necromancer'. Do you wish to confirm this decision?』
『Confirm / Cancel』
"Confirm."
Dae-eng—!
To steel my resolve, I deliberately spoke the word out loud and pressed 'Confirm'.
The summoning began with a sound like a great bell tolling.