The ceiling broke and fell.
A large rock landed right in front of my face.
"What...!"
I quickly gained my senses.
Instinctively, I took a step back, however, with a thud, my back bumped against something. It was a wall.
Carefully looking around myself, I realized I was in a pitch black cavern.
I had gone to see a stalactite cave before during a school trip before. From what I could see, the ceiling now was 2-3 times higher than that cave. It was so high up that I could just barely see the top. I couldn't possibly imagine how faraway the dark mouth of the cave was.
"..."
I killed my breath.
Why was I here?
How did I get here?
A loud siren rang in my head. My conscience instantly went cold. Whenever I found myself in an unpredicted situation my head would cool down in order to compose myself.
It was because of the trauma I had experienced when I was young.
I had been kidnapped three times in my life. The memory from those times forced open my skull and poured in ice-cold water, as if telling me to stay on my toes.
'Do not scream', that'll only irritate the kidnappers.
'Talk to yourself quietly', you can confirm your situation this way.
Behavior procedures prepared like a manual.
Like a special forces unit listening to orders while facing terrorists, my conscience more than gladly followed the guidelines carved into my memory.
"...I was sitting in my room a moment ago... and using the computer. It was 7PM. Drank 2 cans of beer. For dinner I had cup ramen..."
Little by little, my breathing became calmer.
There was no problem with my memory.
It at least meant that this wasn't a drug induced kidnapping.
⌈There were no drugs.⌋
With just this the situation was reasonably favorable. It meant that the kidnapper had the intent to talk with me.
That's why the kidnapping when I was in my third year of elementary school was serious. The motive then was to plainly obtain my body. I had to unconditionally keep my mouth shut. No reason whatsoever...
"Okay. Next..."
I checked my senses.
In order; vision, scent, hearing, taste, and touch.
Without rushing, I had to make sure my senses were working properly.
"The location appears to be a cave. Definitely a cave. It's very dark. Doesn't seem like my vision got worse. Rock, paper, scissor..."
I moved my fingers to make the shapes.
I could see the forms properly.
Good. My vision was fine.
The problem was scent.
"...!"
A foul nauseating smell.
The smell of blood vibrated around me.
I wonder if it was because I had suddenly found myself in an unfamiliar environment, but I wasn't paying attention to the smell until now. Now that I've realized it, the revolting smell was so intense that it felt like it got past my nostril's and shook my very brain.
"This is..."
It was a scent I had smelled three or four times in my life.
A scent which I never wanted to smell again. The smell of blood and intestines.
Corpses were spread throughout the cave.
There were human corpses that were swollen as if they were drowned, bodies with slit throats, and even bodies with limbs bent in the wrong direction.
"Eugh... euuk..."
If this cave was one of those art exhibitions, then the curator would undoubtedly be an absurdly perverted sadist. As if triumphantly displaying that humans could die in this many ways. The fact that the cave was dark was the only solace since the corpses were comparatively hard to see.
"Is this place supposed to be the mystery of the human body... Damn it."
I had to get out of here quickly.
I put my right foot forward and— fell just like that.
My ankle was broken.
The entire bone was broken. It wasn't something like an adorable sprain.
"Shit."
I unintentionally let out a curse. I had to conclude that I couldn't run or walk. The pain wasn't ordinary. If the kidnapper approached now then it was impossible to escape. Perhaps they broke my ankle on purpose. Keeping safety measures. This was probably why they didn't use drugs.
"Haa."
I sat down in defeat.
I was regretfully checkmated.
Why did they kidnap someone like me, I couldn't understand.
"... I left all the fortune to my siblings. If it was two months ago then maybe, but there's no point of kidnapping me right now."
Surely they don't mean to take me as hostage and threaten my siblings.
Foolish. I don't know about someone else, but the person currently leading our household was my second half little sister. She could manage the household with composure, although not as good as I did. You'll get hurt if you underestimate my sibling just because she's young.
"Hooo..."
I could only sigh when thinking about who the culprit was.
There were plenty of people spread across the world who could want revenge against me. There were also surprisingly a lot of fellows who still had a grudge against my father as well, but wanted to let it out on me instead. That's why I wanted to wipe my hands clean of everything.
It was then that I heard a hurried voice coming from the other side of the cave.
"I found him!"
"The Demon Lord is here!"
Demon Lord.
It was a name that had absolutely no connections with me.
For some reason the voice was directed towards where I was.
I'm confused. I had been called a devil a considerable amount of times in my life, but this was the first time I had been called a Demon Lord. It might be a type of secret code.
"Stay right there!"
"We'll kill you if you move!"
The people came in like wolves.
The men were holding edged weapons like knives and axes. There's no way I couldn't be bewildered by this. I shot up both my arms.
"I surrender!"
"Get down you bastard!"
Without warning, the other man grabbed my head and slammed it to the ground. They were violent with me even though I told them that I surrendered.
"Ack..."
A rock that was lying on the ground sharply stabbed against my cheek.
"Keep your damn face down! Stay like that till we say otherwise!"
I almost let out a shout of pain, but I was able to hold it back.
Loud noises irritated kidnappers. During a kidnapping, even if you're in pain you must not scream.
3rd year of Elementary school, I didn't know anything and kept on wailing. After being beat until five of my teeth were broken, I had learned to be silent.
Silently.
Politely.
It may seem stupid, but this was the proper attitude to have towards a kidnapper.
"I caught him! Riff of Jalsen, has captured the Demon Lord!"
"Ooh. Our great and handsome captain, Riff. You aren't planning to take all the bounty on your own, are you?"
The men started chatting in excitement.
I held my breath and listened to their conversation.
"Of course not. I'll share with everyone equally. Keke."
"Look at this. This Demon Lord looks just like a caterpillar."
"Looks good with his head on the ground. Let's kill him already."
"What do you mean, kill him? There are things we still haven't asked him yet."
Someone kicked my side.
It wasn't a genuine hit but more done jokingly, regardless that alone was pretty painful.
"—but just in case, we should break him."
"Friends! Let us beat the Demon Lord into a reasonably sized pulp."
Merciless violence showered down upon me.
Ten people were kicking me. I desperately held back my screams. More than 5 minutes had passed before the kicking started to subside.
"Good good. That's enough."
"Guys. Our handsome boss said to stop."
"Keke."
The violence finally stopped.
While I was breathing roughly, one of the men spoke to me as a representative.
"Well now, honorable Demon Lord. There's one thing that we wish to ask you. Where's all the money in this castle. To tell you the truth, us village folk are in real need of money."
As expected, I was kidnapped for money.
Wait, but they've been keep using words that I'm not familiar with. This was something that I had to confirm. There was a chance that they were mistaking me for someone else.
"What do you mean by 'Demon Lord'...?"
When I opened my mouth, I let out a groan. My lips were torn.
"Good. Very good."
The man insinuated.
"Despite being hit so much, you're still able to display such a nature. An excellent stance. Keke. I don't hate that kind of thing, your honorable Demon Lord."
With a rough hand the man grabbed my hair.
"Ack..."
I was forced to raise my face.
I made eye contact with the man in front of me.
The man had bent his body forward and was looking down at me. His entire face was covered in a brown beard. A darkish mushroom that grew in a public bathroom that hadn't been cleaned for over 5 years, that was what his beard looked like. In simpler words, frighteningly dirty.
"But my friends here don't have as much patience as me."
"...what can I help you with?"
"Your honor. We don't desire to use pointless violence."
That's convincing.
"Instead of wasting each other's energy, let us trade. Tell us where the treasury is and we will not kill your honor immediately. We won't cut your arms or legs off. And, of course, we won't cut your precious horn off, either. Think carefully. In truth, we're the ones at a loss in this trade."
"Yeah, at a great loss!"
They broke out into laughter.
It was laughter of people who had a rough birth.
I waited for the mood to settle before speaking again. Always courteously. Making sure to not irritate their mood.
I asked a question.
"I'm sorry, but what do you mean by horn?"
"Aah? What are you asking."
The man placed his hand on the back of my head.
"This. I'm talking about this."
The man had grabbed something on my head. My head that should only have hair. There, something long was attached all the way to my skull.
I felt the back of my head.
There was certainly something hard there.
The shape was, as the man had said, in the shape of a horn.
"..."
This.
What could thi of my head...
Game. Tutorial. Demon Lord.
These three words pointed at one possibility.
Fortunately or unfortunately, my mind quickly came to a conclusion.
"Now. Your honor, Demon Lord Dantalian. We'll ask you only one more time."
I couldn't accept the answer.
The common sense, experience, and knowledge I had gained throughout my entire life completely denied the conclusion. However, as if laughing at my escape from reality, an alarm rang.
—Tirring~
White words appeared in mid-air.
[1. Accept adventurer captain Riff's offer.]
[2. Decline adventurer captain Riff's offer.]
"..."
I was at a lost for words.
Undeniable proof had presented itself right before me.
"Will you accept our offer? Or will you just die here. Wow. You can't get choices as clean as this. Keke. Hurry and pick, oh honorable Demon Lord."
The man gave an ill-tempered laugh. It was certain that the man couldn't see the floating words.
Is it like that
Is it like that
... is it like that.
My monologue continued and echoed in my drifting away conscience.
Like an actor who forgot his lines on stage and kept repeating his last spoken line.
I bit my lips. The taste of blood spread throughout my mouth. The vividly raw taste brought my conscience back to reality. In front of me was a barbaric man with a broad grin on his face.
Willing or not—
I'm a Demon Lord in the world of
My head went cold.
As if time was flowing slowly.
"Mr. Demon Lord's response is a bit slow."
I gazed at the man who had just spoke.
It wasn't only this man who had skipped shaving. The other people around us also had beards. It might be normal for these men to not shave.
'Their outfits are old.'
'Way too old.'
'To be precise, I'd say about 400 years old.'
Around the time Henry the IV of France fought lively against the Roman Catholics, perhaps. The clothes looked similar to the one's worn by the people during the French Wars of Religion. They were outfits that should have been sent straight to the museum, but no matter how you looked at these men they didn't look like they worked at a museum.
"Are you really planning to not answer?"
Situations that couldn't be understood until now were starting to be explained by assumptions. For example, as if a mysterious phenomenon was finally explained by the laws of physics.
"Oi, your honor Dantalian."
Demon Lord Dantalian.
These people have been calling me Dantalian.
That was the name of the Demon Lord who showed up in
There are a total of 72 Demon Lords who appear in that game. Amongst them, Dantalian was ranked 71st. He was that close to last place. Correspondingly, his level was also miserably low. In the first place, he was like a trash mob made for beginners.
Even a person playing computer games for the first time could beat him on the first run.
If I had to compare it with another game, then he was like a rabbit in the beginner field. As long as you knew how to click your mouse then you could defeat the rabbit. Dantalian was the same.
... I should also add.
After the first run, Dantalian doesn't appear at all in the game. He was removed in case that players got annoyed.
Imagine telling a level 20 warrior to 'Go back to the beginner field and hunt a rabbit'. It'd be boring. Dantalian was a rabbit that you didn't feel like fighting again.
And if I'm correct, I'm currently possessing that Dantalian.
"..."
There was a bitter taste in my mouth.
How do I get out of the evil hands of these adventurers.
I'm currently captured by humans. If this goes on I'll probably get my head cut off or be taken to the city and executed. No matter how much I strained my brain I could only think of BAD ENDS.
Even if I proclaimed 'I'm not Dantalian!', I'd be grateful if I even got a sneer in response.
I couldn't rely on Demon Lord Dantalian's ability.
Let me rephrase that.
I could only rely on my own ability in order to overcome this obstacle.
"If you're testing my patience right now..."
"The treasury is in Minlakdong." (TL note: He'll explain what this is in a short bit)
I made my resolution.
▯Adventurer, Cowardly Looter, Riff Hoffman
Empire Calender: Year 1505, Month 4, Day 4
Dantalian's Demon Lord Castle
Looter Riff.
That was my nickname.
Despite being an adventurer, I didn't hunt demons, but instead, looted other adventurers. That's how I go the nickname. Well, let them call me whatever they want.
The people who honestly hunt demons are the fools, aren't they?
The one's who live skillfully in the world are the ones who benefits.
Using common sense, people who fought monsters like orcs and goblins are idiots. I'm saying this very seriously and sincerely.
To live a not sincere life and become a corpse, or to live a sincere life and become a cowardly looter. If I had to choose between the two, then of course I'd choose the latter. Will I still choose the latter if I die and become reincarnated? I won't ever die.
Keke.
Regardless, light was finally shining down on my looter career.
Half a month ago, I obtained the map of Demon Lord Dantalian's Castle. I was lucky. There was a girl too pretty to be rotting away in some lowly village. I was going to assault her a little bit, but, while presenting me this map, she pleaded, "I'll give you this, so please spare me.". She was a girl with beautiful red hair.
Hm? Of course assaulting a virgin is wrong.
But I really like doing bad things.
I told you already.
I'm a looter.
I don't only loot the pockets of dead adventurers, but the virginity of all the young women in the world as well. Personally, I'd preferred to be called 'Virginity Looter'. Something like 'The Looter of Virginities' sounds like a cool title. It's good because it sounds romantic.
Thanks to this map, I was able to gather a bunch of random adventurers. Dantalian was one of the weakest Demon Lords and there was most likely no monsters in the castle. As long as we knew where to find him, then it'd be easy to capture him.
We used an artifact that detected magical energy to search inside of the cavern. We wandered the dark cave for about four hours, but our efforts weren't in vain. We were able to capture the Demon Lord Dantalian. Amazing! The map was real!
"Look at this. This Demon Lord looks just like a caterpillar."
My comrades were chuckling while holding the Demon Lord down.
"Looks good with his head on the ground. Let's kill him already."
"What do you mean, kill him!?"
I gave the person who spoke a vulgar look. You could gain a higher reward if you captured the Demon Lord alive. Also there was something we still hadn't asked him yet. Where the treasure was.
Gain whatever information we could get. That was common sense.
First things first, we beat the Demon Lord up and then asked him where the treasury was.
But this Demon Lord, his reaction was strange.
He'd suddenly stare at an empty space and he'd narrow his brows and lower his chin as if he was in deep thought. What is this? Is he an idiot? I vaguely thought Demon Lords were supposed to be ghastly tyrants, but what is this small fry.
Well, since he was a small fry someone like me could capture him. I have no complaints. I love small fries. I'd gladly decline Demon Lords like Barbatos or Paimon.
"Mr. Demon Lord's response is a bit slow. Are you really planning to not answer?"
I snickered and tapped the Demon Lord's cheek."
"Oi, your honor Dantalian."
It was then.
"..."
It was for a mere moment, but the Demon Lord had a dreadfully spine chilling gaze.
I blinked a couple of times and after doing so, the same minor small fry-looking Demon Lord was in front of me again.
Huh?
The atmosphere changed for a brief moment.
... was I seeing things?
Oh well. Treasure. Treasure was more important.
Let's keep pressing this Demon Lord.
Chapter 2: A Devil Steps on Stage (Part 2)
Ο
Ο
▯Weakest Demon Lord, Rank 71st, Dantalian
Empire Calendar: Year 1505, Month 4, Day 4
Dantalian's Demon Lord Castle
Ο
"The treasury is in Minlakdong."
The other party furrowed their eyebrows.
"Mayirock... what?"
"Minlakdong. It's at the Minlakdong."
I told them the location of the treasury for the second time.
Honestly, I just said the name of whatever neighborhood that came to mind.
How was I supposed to know where the treasury of the Demon Lord's castle was?
And if I sincerely answered, 'I don't know where it is', I'd probably get a blade flying my way. For now, I had to say whatever I could in order to gain their interest.
I had to carefully pay attention to the men's reactions.
"Millak, Mooirakkutoung... the damn pronunciation is strange!"
"Do you not know of it? Here, I'll write it down."
Offering to write it down, I lowered my body and wrote on the cavern floor.
I didn't have any writing utensils, but I did shed a lot of blood. Dipping my finger in my own blood, I smoothly wrote the word.
민락동
民樂洞
First line in Korean. Second line in Chinese characters.
I slightly turned my line of sight to see their reaction.
"Hey, bring the torch closer."
"I have no idea... were there letters like this?"
They faced each other and started talking.
"None of us here even know how to read."
"Yeah, but the shape is completely different."
Okay.
I generally understood the principle of the language.
I currently heard everything they said in Korean. However, when I wrote the words, they couldn't understand.
In conclusion, just because I heard everything in Korean didn't mean they also heard in Korean as well.
There were two possibilities.
One, the pronunciation was the same but the letters were different. Or two, both the pronunciation and letters were different but for some reason only I perceived everything in Korean.
Which one was the answer.
I decided to test it immediately.
"It's natural for this to be unfamiliar to you gentlemen. This is ancient demon language. In order to fully secure the treasury, I had specifically used ancient demon language to magically seal the treasure."
"Magic?"
"Yes. The vault will not open to those who do not understand the language."
The men made a commotion.
The answer was revealed by that conversation.
We were currently talking in a language completely different from Korean, in terms of both pronunciation and letters.
How do I know this? Because I had spoken in foreign languages just now.
First sentence in English, second sentence in German, third sentence in Chinese, and fourth sentence in Japanese. And yet, these men understood me fully.
I don't know by what principle, but the conversation was automatically being translated.
"Mr. Demon Lord. Do we, uh, need to understand that ancient demon language thing to open the vault?"
"Yes. Of course."
"Hmmm."
The man narrowed his brows.
— Right now this person was trying to kill me.
He promised to spare my life if I told him the location of the secret vault, but that was a big fat lie. You could tell someone was lying shamelessly by their face.
So accordingly, I had to give them a reason to keep me alive.
"Alright, honorable Demon Lord. I like this fair trade."
The man fell for my lie nicely.
"I think we can be good friends. So, where's this Mooirakkutoung, exactly?" (TL note: These guys are pronouncing it incorrectly)
"There's a secret passage where I was originally at."
"The Demon Lord's quarters? There was nothing there when we checked."
"That's not so. In my quarters, it will only recognize me and open... There's a secret passage that only opens when I place my hand on it."
"A magical device. Okay."
The man grabbed my arm and forced me up.
A horrible pain spread from my right ankle. I couldn't hold back my scream this time.
"Aaack!"
"Oh. Your leg is messed up."
The man clicked his tongue.
"New guy! You support his honor, Dantalian."
"Roger that, captain."
A young man, who I assumed to be the new guy, came over to support me. He had a dagger attached to his belt. The adventurer group captain then shouted.
"Let's get moving boys!"
The group of ten adventurers moved forward through the cave.
These men seemed to know where the Demon Lord's quarter was. I was lucky since I had no idea where it could possibly be.
If they had told me to lead them to my quarters, I'd probably have died on the spot.
A bell rang with a 'Tirring~' sound.
[1. Accept adventurer captain Riff's offer.]
[2. Decline adventurer captain Riff's offer.]
The first choice shined brightly and then new words rose up. The choice wasn't selected because I thought of selecting it, but rather, it was selected by my actual actions.
[Overcame the crisis with cunning eloquence.]
[Warning. Actions taken during the tutorial will henceforth affect your stats.]
I got passed the crisis.
In other words, it meant that if I didn't lie to them then I really would have been in a fatal situation. The unnecessary remark sent a chill down my spine.
These people were not joking around.
To live or to die. That was the question.
I barely got past the first obstacle.
By any means, I had to stay alive.
♦
The adventurer group continued to walk through the cavern.
"How about just killing him now..."
"Yeah. We aren't some group of thieves. Instead of wasting time searching for a hidden vault, we could end it here neatly..."
"I don't know about you guys, but I agree with the captain. Nothing bad about getting a bit more money..."
I could hear the adventurers talking up ahead.
I don't care if you're going to discuss whether I live or die, but could you at least speak in a voice that I couldn't hear. It's not that hard.
They have no manners.
"Hey. Even if his leg is sprained, isn't he a bit too slow?"
"Like I said. He's probably stalling."
They went as far as to flat out make sarcastic remarks.
The level of these adventurers that had captured me weren't very good.
They radiated poorness. The blade of their weapons were jagged. It was proof that they didn't properly maintain their gear. In the game's standard, they'd be ranked F. The lowest adventurer group. They were around that level.
They'd get wiped by around 20 goblins.
…Although, not being able to put under command those goblins that are spread almost everywhere, was Demon Lord Dantalian's level.
"Your honor, Demon Lord. My comrades are a bit impatient."
The man called Riff, informed me with a snicker.
I lowered my head.
"I apologize. I'll try harder to walk faster."
"A nice and fast response. That's good."
He was talking to me like I was inferior.
I had now decided. I will definitely destroy that proud face of his. I'll drag this man's face in the mud.
I won't go easy on him even if he begs for mercy later. Look forward to it, Riff.
"Us adventurers have an occupational disease. It seems they're suspicious that your honor is trying to trick us. That you're stalling for time to do something to us."
"That's impossible."
I immediately replied.
There was no gain from telling them the truth.
Now, time to start the performance.
"I used to have subordinates as well. Goblins, imps, orcs... nothing special, but they were still my precious subordinates. However, before you gentlemen, groups of adventurers had assaulted this castle three times in a row."
The edge of my eye became wet.
I had the ability to cry on command. It required a little trick. It was a special move that my little sisters had taught me.
"You gentlemen are the fourth to arrive at my castle. My subordinates are all already dead. Even the little ones that have been with me for over 30 years. All of them..."
"H-Huh?"
Riff panicked.
"Surely, your honor, you aren't crying now, are you?"
"N-No. Cry? I would never."
I spoke like a child who was desperately trying to hold back his tears.
"It's just that amongst them, there was a nanny who had taken care of me since I was a mere infant. Yes. She looked like an orc. That's because she was an orc. But she took care of me sincerely. I even called her 'mother'. A week ago, she was pierced in the chest with a spear by an adventurer and died..."
Pitiful crying echoed throughout the cave.
"Well. That, what should I say. That's quite unfortunate. You have my condolences."
"She held me until the very end. Even after being stabbed, even after shedding so much blood, she continued to hold me tightly to protect me from the falling arrows. Everyone, I can not forget the emotions I went through during that time no matter how hard I try..."
"..."
"She had wrapped both of her arms around me. I couldn't see a thing, but with a thud, her body shook. Thud thud, her body kept shaking. I didn't know what was happening at first, however, I soon found out that it was because of the arrows. Each time an arrow fell, her body would shudder. Despite that..."
Let a tear fall here once.
My act was about to reach its climax.
"Despite all that, she was looking down at me and smiling! Yes, she smiled till the very end. I wasn't sane. I thought I was going crazy. The most precious person in the world to me was dying in front of my very eyes... dying to protect me, she was even smiling... What was I supposed to say!?"
I covered my face with my hands.
Weak crying leaked from between my fingers.
"I asked if it hurt. If she was in pain, but do you know what she told me in response?"
"..."
"'I'm alright, young master'."
The air was dead silent.
The adventurers had been captivated by my story at some point and were now quiet.
My father had trained me to be an actor since I was a child.
I went through a test at one point. Go to any cafe and talk on the phone.
In truth, no sound came from the phone, but I pretended to argue with my girlfriend.
'I'm sorry. I'm sorry for everything.'
'I'll do better from now on.'
Improvised acting.
At first, the reaction from the other cafe customers was annoyance.
They were simply relaxing in a cafe and then suddenly some high school student appeared and started talking loudly on his phone. Regardless, as time past, their expressions slowly shifted. Their emotions changed.
It was sympathy.
They had experience the same thing before. They had pleaded to a loved one at a point in their life. Feeling empathy, they finally started to treat me with pity.
This was the reaction of modern people who had already experienced all kinds of stimulating romance dramas and movies.
The people of this world, who at best have only listened to the self bragging of a wandering poet, I'm sorry to say, but they were no match for me.
The fineness facial muscles
to the most detailed nuance.
Using this at my own will, I preformed passionately.
"It's okay, she said... and she died."
"..."
"Now I have nothing left. I did have two goblins, but I made them leave. I don't need them... That's why it's okay to not be suspicious of me. There's really nothing left here."
I covered my face once again and sobbed.
My acting, which could have made a French actor cry, ended here.
In this depressing atmosphere, the adventurers had started to whisper to one another.
"Hey hey. Who made the honorable Demon Lord cry?"
"I didn't know he had such circumstances either."
"I was wondering why there were no guards. Other parties had already wiped this place clean."
"So he suddenly lost everything. Tsk tsk..."
As predicted, sympathy fell upon me.
There was something I didn't predict that happened too. It was the white notice that rose up in mid-air.
[Your devilish eloquence has captivated the people.]
[Adventurer Riff's affection went up by 2.]
[Adventurer Dail's affection went up by 1.]
There was an affection system as well, huh.
That made things easier.
"I am grateful to have met you all, though."
I smiled faintly.
Giving off an atmosphere as if I had seen the sorrows and joys of life was the point.
"You didn't kill a Demon Lord like me immediately. You showed consideration to me who was seriously injured, and are even supporting me like this. This is the first time I've met adventurers as gentle as you all in the entirety of my life... I had really thought that all adventurers were villainous people like the ones who had murdered my nanny!"
That was a lie.
A flat out lie.
I knew you men were going to kill me as soon as you saw me. You probably only sheathed your weapons because you wanted the money from the treasury. A villain, as described.
However, no human could dislike being flattered. The adventurers awkwardly scratched their beards.
"No, we didn't really do that much..."
"It's because your honor cooperated so willingly."
[Adventurer Riff's affection went up by 4.]
[Adventurer Dail's affection went up by 3.]
The other 8 adventurer's affection went up as well.
Did their wariness go down? Compared to earlier, the amount of points that went up rose. My acting got through to them properly.
With a tear drenched face, I grinned broadly.
"I apologize for delaying everyone. Now, let us resume towards the vault."
"..."
It wasn't a smile out of happiness, but a forced smile to match other people. I emphasized that feeling. In order to plant the seed of guilt into them.
One of the adventurers coughed into his hand.
"Ehem. That, uh, there's no reason for us to deliberately hurry."
"That's right. The vault isn't going to grow legs and run away."
"Since his honor's foot hurts so much, let's go slowly. He did say all the other demons were gone."
The atmosphere became soft.
There was a saying that says the scariest animal on Earth were humans, but I think opposite. Humans were animals that I could feel most reassured with.
I can not trick a bear. If I encountered a wild warthog, the least a weakling like me could do was get killed.
But humans.
Humans could be deceived.
Through a performance, you could play with the hearts of others.
'Son.'
'You're more of a Devil than I am.'
My father was right.
I did not want to admit it, but I had the inborn talent to deceive people.
Personally, I didn't think it was a desirable skill. It was more appealing to sincerely gain people's trust than through lies.
That was why I avoided using deception unless I felt like my life was in danger. Something like being good at lying, it wasn't a skill worth bragging about.
It was the same now.
"Ah, but."
If these adventurers had not threaten my life.
If they had approached me with a bit more politeness.
I would not have had to bare my fangs.
"Everyone— if we take too much time, other adventurer parties may arrive."
"What?"
"As you all know, there is not even a single goblin left in my castle. As much as it is an empty castle, other adventurers will probably come for the treasure vault as well. This may trouble you all..."
The adventures gave each other unsettled looks.
There were no monsters in this castle. Even if there were some left, these men could use me, the Demon Lord, as a hostage to drive them back. However, there was something more dangerous than monster.
Other humans.
Adventurers competed against other adventurers rigorously. Treasure hidden in the Demon Lord's castle. The bounty on the Demon Lord's head... anyone would want to get their hands on these. Even if they had to kill other humans.
In
"Damn it. I didn't consider that."
"There's no certainty that other adventurers will come."
The men started to frown. They had taken in seriously my lie.
"Dumbass. Did you not hear that this place was assaulted 3 times already? Other wolves, who've heard the rumor will come."
"Not good. This is not good... We just caught the Demon Lord and you're now telling me to risk my life to fight other lively adventurers? Don't joke with me."
"Shit. Like we'd hand him over to a bunch of dogs."
These were adventurers, who had just left their hometowns for the first time to get rich quick. They couldn't contain their excitement when they were presented the opportunity to turn their lives around.
"Everyone."
I spoke in a calm voice. Their gaze naturally collected onto me.
"At this moment, other adventurers may already be approaching. How about making our way to the vault first? There's not a lot of time. We can discuss things while moving."
The men glanced at each other once more and nodded all together.
"His honor is right. Let's take the treasure first. Yeah!"
"Let's get a move on! We don't have the right to show our faces in Jalsen without a few scratches or two."
With loud voices, the adventurers resumed their march.
Good.
This was enough for now.
I gave them an agreeable suggestion. Their guard against Demon Lord Dantalian may not be completely gone, but at least they don't see me as an 'enemy' now. Their affection continued to rise. That was a good sign...
"New guy, carry his honor on your back. That'll be faster."
"Roger that, captain!"
The man lifted me up promptly.
"Ah, thank you very much."
"What do you eat normally to be so light? You look fine on the outside but it's like your insides are empty."
As if I weighed nothing, the man walked with light steps. I suddenly ended up getting a piggy back ride, but this was much better than forcing myself to walk.
I guess you could say that I got passed the second obstacle.
I was required to open the treasure vault, hence giving them a reason to keep me alive. Furthermore, I was able to raise their affection towards me, giving them the false impression that I was on their side. It was favorable. However, there were still two problems remaining.
The first problem was that I had no idea if a treasury existed at all. As soon as they find out that I lied, regardless of affection points or whatever, they'll murder me.
The other problem was getting rid of the adventurers. If I couldn't solve these two problems then my fate will always lead to death.
'Base status'
I moved my lips slightly and whispered.
Nothing happened.
Without being discouraged, I kept experimenting.
'Dungeon status, dungeon situation... Mm. Not this either, huh.'
I currently had the ability to access the game system.
It was merely an assumption, but I should be able to use the other status windows than just affection points. For example, being able to see the map of the castle. I was aiming for that.
My prediction was soon confirmed.
'Demon Lord Castle Status.'
With a 'tirring~', a sound rang in my head.
White words appeared before me.
Dantalian's Demon Lord Castle
Type: Cave
Title: None
Rank: F
Special Effect: None
Military Force: None
Citizens: None
Wealth: 100 Libra
※The castle is in ruins. Neighborhood kids refer to this place as a fun playground. This place is in danger of being conquered at any moment. Urgently open the 'Employment Tab' and hire forces.
Is that so. At the very most, this was it.
I was hoping that perhaps even a little amount of forces remained, but there really was nothing left. This really was nothing more than a kiddy playground.
I was grateful that I had any wealth at all.
'Libra' was the name of the common currency in
Right now I had 100 libra.
In other words, I was given about 50,000,000won(TL note: 43,335 USD).
How far could I get with this.
After searching through all kinds of functions in the game, I finally found what I wanted.
'Employment Tab'.
A half transparent list appeared before me.
Monster
Stamina
Attack
Defense
Price
Slime
F
F
E
4 Libra
Weak Fairy
F
E
F
8 Libra
Goblin Deserter
E
E
F
12 Libra
Weak Golem
D
D
C
20 Libra
...
So weak.
And damn expensive.
No matter how you looked at it, 200,000 won for a slime was overcharging. In this day and age, you could buy two fair cows with 200,000 won. Not calves, but cows. How could a useless slime be twice the price of a cow used for farm work?
Most likely, the price went up because of the game difficulty.
'Tsk. This messes up my plan...'
At first, I was thinking of pouring my wealth into hiring a unit of monsters. Even if I spent all my money and hired 8 goblin deserters, the chances of them winning against the adventurers was uncertain.
No, these men might be more pathetic than I think. Was it worth testing out?
'Status'.
I muttered in my mind while staring at an adventurer.
[You do not have sufficient affection with this person.]
[Only the simplest stats will be viewable.]
With the same 'tirring~' sound from before, a window appeared above the adventurer's head.
I assumably needed more affection points to see more precise information.
Name: Riff Hoffman
Stamina: E
Attack: E
Defense: E
Affection: 6
"Uhg"
I unintentionally let out a groan.
A little bit stronger than a goblin.
He was certainly weak, but that small difference was a big matter to me. The other adventurers had about the same stats. Even if I hired 8 goblins, they were far off from being able to overwhelm these adventurers.
What to do.
There was no certainty in winning or losing. Should I leave it to fate and take a gamble? To risk my life on a gamble. That wasn't my style. I preferred to raise my chances in winning before going into a fight.
As I was in deep thought.
"We're almost there!"
An adventurer shouted.
We were almost at the Demon Lord's room.
"Hah. Why is this cave so big?"
"This is your first time coming to a Demon Lord's Castle. This is nothing. Normally these castles are full of traps, so you have to tread incredibly slowly."
The adventurers were chatting rowdily.
There wasn't much time left. I had to make a decision soon.
Should I make it up by numbers and hire a lot of slimes or fairies? Or, should I hire the strongest golem and attack them by surprise? No. Both sides were far away from being 'certain victory'. If I allow myself to get in danger...
...Okay. This was the best option.
"Alright! Let's go in."
The adventurers poured into the room.
I bit my lips forcefully. Skin tore and blood flowed into my mouth.
If I had to rate my chances, then 70%. It was pathetically low for something that had my life on the line. Regardless, this was the utmost best.
I thought I was free once my father had died. I ran away hoping that I could live a peaceful life.
I got this far and you're telling me that my life was in danger again? To fall into a strange world and to tell me to die without a single clue on what's going on just because I had become a Demon Lord? Don't make me laugh!
Who cares if I'm a Demon Lord or something. If there was a fellow that was trying to end my idle life, then I'll face them with no mercy. I will live no matter what...
♦
The Demon Lord's room was a miserable wreck.
"Is there really treasure here?"
This place had most likely been plundered many times already. Be it the bed or the chairs, the wooden furniture were toppled over. It was hard to believe that there was a treasure vault in this mess.
The captain, Riff, spoke.
"Your honor. Hurry up and open up that Mooirakkutoung or whatever."
I nodded.
"Yes. Do not worry. I know that... ack!"
I fell over while getting off the new guy's back. I had twisted my ankle on purpose.
The adventurers reacted in panic.
"Ouch, are you okay?"
"Hey! Support him properly!"
"I-I'm okay. I'm alright."
I stood up by myself with trembling legs. The core point of acting was to obtain sympathy. If I borrowed another person's shoulder here, there's the danger that they might see me as an annoying wounded person.
I went to a wall while limping.
"Everyone, it is here."
"Ah? All I see is a wall."
"There's a carving here only visible to Demon Lords. If you place your hand on the carving and recite a specific spell, then the vault will open."
I lied without missing a beat.
The adventurers had intrigued expressions on their faces.
"Oh. Magic, huh."
Beginner adventurers were ignorant in regards to magic, like these adventurers who originally used to be simple farmers or lumberjacks until now. The majority of these men most likely haven't seen proper magic in their entire life. If I told them it was magic, then they'd simply nod and say "Is that so.".
I made a request while displaying a pained face.
"Everyone. I'm sorry, but please move 10 steps away from me."
"Why?"
"Only a Demon Lord can release the magic on the vault. It will never unlock if even one outsider is nearby. If a mistake were to happen, a defense mechanism could occur and you may be hurt."
"A defense mechanism, you say..."
"Worst case scenario, the treasure could be sealed forever."
The adventurer's face immediately turned grave.
As if I had just threatened to take their treasure away from these humans turned money grubbers, the effect was instant. Following my instructions, all 10 men stood in a line and backed off.
One step. Another step.
The adventurers spoke after taking exactly 10 steps.
"How is that. 10 steps, just like you asked."
"..."
These adventurers were sincere in useless places.
I was in awe, but expression wise, I continued to smile firmly.
"That's exactly 10 steps. No more and no less. There is a good chance that you all will not be affected by the magic at that range. Well done."
The adventurers grinned broadly.
"This is nothing."
"I'm a bit of a perfectionist."
I think they wholeheartedly believed that.
I'm struck with wonder whenever I meet humans as self-confident as these guys. Humans, with this kind of brain, were able to be separated from Homo sapiens sapiens.
Wouldn't this be considered a kind of miracle?
I turned my back towards them and faced the wall.
"I shall now begin casting the spell. Everyone, please be silent!"
Obviously, there was no carving on the wall. The fact that the treasury was here was a blatant lie, like I've been saying.
But there was something I did believe in.
'Demon Lord Castle's Wealth.'
White words appeared on the smooth wall.
Demon Lord Castle's WealthWithdrawal Amount: xxx LibraTotal Balance: 100 Libra※Warning. If you withdraw too much at once, you may go bankrupt.
This was one of the game functions I found earlier.
Thanks to the Demon Lord's right, I could withdraw funds wherever and whenever I wanted. It'd all be over if I took out a bunch of coins here.
However, it'd be troubling to simply hand over the money.
A small performance.
Add some spice and gift-wrapping.
Taking in a deep breath— as seriously as I could, I shouted.
"Mahabanyabaramildashimgyeong...!"
... ...
... I honestly did shout this seriously.
It was back when I wrote Minlakdong on the ground. The conversations were certainly being translated, but the adventurers could not exactly pronounce the word 'Minlakdong'. Hence, all the conversations weren't being translated cleanly.
"Gwanjajaebosal Hengshimbanyabaramildashi Jogyeonohoengaegoeng Doilchaegoaek, Sarija, Saekbeuligoen Goengbeulisaek Saekjeukshigeong Geongjeukshisaek Soosanghaengshik Yeokbooyeoshi..." (TL note: If you're genuinely curious as to what he's chanting, it's the famous 'Heart Sutra' in Manayana Buddhism. Don't expect me to translate it because even professional translators are struggling to do so.)
For example, words that couldn't be translated into this world's language; chemical formulas like H2O or professional terms like 'Deformation', could not be translated. Furthermore, words that I perceived as proper nouns weren't translated either. This was the reason why the adventurers had no idea what Minlakdong meant. Things like Mahabanyabaramildashimgyeon were the same.
Despite the fact that Minlak had the meaning of 'citizen happiness', it was not converted. Even banyabalamildashimgyeon could be interpreted, but it wasn't to these men.
The reason behind this was because I wasn't saying these words with the meaning in mind.
Thus.
"T-That's the demon language?"
"I have no idea what he's saying but it sounds menacing."
"I feel like something is making my heart tremble..."
To the adventurers, it would really seem like I was shouting an unknown incantation.
"Beobgoensang Beulsaenbeulmyeol Beulgeuboojeong Boojeunbeulgam Shigo Geongjeongmoosaek..."
While I used my mouth to keep chanting, I used my eyes to earnestly stare at the window.
I had to slowly time when to take the money out.
Demon Lord Castle's Wealth
Withdrawal Amount: 79 Libra
Total Balance: 21 Libra
※Warning. If you withdraw too much at once, you may go bankrupt.
I decided to take out about 8/10 of all I had.
It'd probably be suspicious if I withdrew a solid amount of 80, so I purposely set it to 79.
"Ajaeajae Baraajae Baraseunajae Moji Sabaha—!"
I lifted my arms up and yelled gloriously.
As I said the last line of the incantation, I thought the word 'withdraw' in my mind.
Then, silver coins formed in mid-air and fell.
"S-Silver! It's silver!"
"How much is all that!?"
"It really was magic!"
5 silver coins equalled 1 gold coin. In total, 395 silver coins rained down. The average farmer in
Meaning, this was a jackpot for the adventurers.
"Oh! Ooooooh...!"
Silver coins were forming a heaping pile on the floor.
80% of my entire fortune was pulled out in an instant.
Their bodies were probably burning up from seeing so much money rain in front of them.
"Hey. You guys haven't forgotten that we're splitting this up equally for each of us, right?"
"Of course. Whoever tries to change their word now, I'll kill you!"
The adventurers stared at the silver with bloodshot eyes.
The smell of greed flowed from their mouths.
Demon Lord Castle's Wealth
Withdrawal Amount: xx Libra
Total Balance: 21 Libra
※Warning. If you withdraw too much at once, you may go bankrupt.
The final coin dropped.
Like a bunch of wolves, the adventurers tried to rush forward.
What impatient men.
Aiming for when they took their first step— I raised my hand quickly.
"Do not approach yet! You'll be cursed!"
"C-Curse?"
Hearing the disturbing word, they came to a halt.
I fell to my knees
and as if I was under some intense pain, I started to groan.
"Gaaaah...!"
I contorted my face as much as I could.
Foam overflowed from my mouth.
The adventurers were startled by the sudden situation.
"W-What's going on!? What's going on, your honor!?"
"It's black magic! He's been cursed by black magic!"
The men stumbled back in fear.
In order to make my performance seem more real, I collided my already broken ankle on the ground. Pain vibrated through me. An agonizing scream ruptured from my lungs.
"Aack— Kuaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"
I cried out while grabbing my eye sockets. While doing so, I took a glimpse at the adventurers from between my fingers. Their faces were pale. There were even some men trying to make a run for it. My greatest performance was working.
"Oh God. That's terrible..."
"Just what's happening? Are you okay!?"
One of the braver adventureres tried to approach me, but I hurried prevented him from doing so.
"S-Stay back! This is the consequence for using black magic... If you get close, aaagh, you could be affected as well... kuh, gaah!"
"Hiiih!"
The man stopped promptly.
The adventurers had watched silver coins appear out of thin air. To them this was magic. They could do nothing but believe that whatever I told them was magic was true.
The adventurers started to mutter to each other.
"By any chance. Did he tell us to take 10 steps back... for our sake?"
"It was his chance to get rid of us..."
Yes.
This was the response I wanted.
If my plan was going to work, I had to raise their affection rate towards me as high as possible. And what would leave the strongest impression on someone?
When someone sacrifices oneself to save them.
Like right now.
"Huaaaaaaak!"
I writhed in pain more intensely.
"W-Wait. He'll die at this rate! Are you sure we shouldn't stop him!?"
"You idiot, did you not hear him say it was black magic? Have you not heard the stories of people dying by some weird curse!?"
"Dail is right. The only thing we can do is... regrettably, wait here patiently."
"Damn it."
Some of the adventurers cursed angrily.
At this point, notice windows popped up continuously.
[Your devilish performance has captivated the people.]
[Adventurer Riff's affection went up by 15.]
[Adventurer Dail's affection went up by 13.]
[Adventurer Zed's affection went up by 19.]
Perfect.
As intended, a sharp increase in affection.
With my nails, I ripped some skin off of my face. Red blood spurted out. It was incredibly painful, however this was light compared to the weight of my life. My screams continued on for a while.
Moments later.
I let out a ragged breath.
"It's, okay now... You can collect the coins now... it's fine."
"Mm."
"E-Ehem."
They're attitude had completely changed.
The wolves that desperately wanted to swallow up the coins earlier were nowhere to be seen now. The adventurers were all afraid that the coins might still be cursed.
"You go first and check."
"No no. You know the saying 'respect your elders', the oldest should go."
The men presented the chance to go first to one another, but never taking it themselves.
Having enough, the party leader stood forward.
"Screw it! You're all cowards! I don't know why you have anything down there. I should probably chop it off with my axe. You were all confident in conquering a Demon Lord's Castle, but look at you all now!"
The leader of this party, Riff, roared.
"And Dail, you one-eyed person. You've been with me for 2 years now. What are you doing hiding with those greenhorns!"
"Well, this is my first time witnessing black magic."
"Oh, look at you still making excuses. What's a fellow, who's a senior, doing cowering like a newbie!"
"Then you go first."
"Yeah. The captain should go first."
The other men nodded in agreement.
Riff twitched his nose.
"I was going to even if you didn't tell me, you cowards."
Riff walked proudly towards the pile of silver.
The adventurers whispered to one another while watching their captain march.
"He's being prideful again."
"He's got his nose bent plenty of times while acting proud, too."
"What'd you say!?"
Riff glared at them. His bear-like face looked like some vandal when he scowled. The men avoided his glare and whistled.
Riff turned back to the silver pile.
"Hoo… hoo... Here I go!"
He reached out and grabbed a coin.
It was obvious, but absolutely nothing happened. There was no black magic in the first place.
Not knowing this fact, Riff exaggeratedly laughed mockingly at the others.
"Look at that! Didn't his honor, Demon Lord, already say that there was no curse now? Idiots, I should just cut your dicks off now! Kekeke!"
"..."
The adventurers glanced at each other awkwardly.
Watching the chain of events from a distance, I couldn't help but mockingly smirk.
I wonder if it was because I had acquired enough affection, but I could see more detailed information on Riff's status window. There, I could see the mental state of Riff that he wasn't voicing.
Name: Riff Hoffman
Race: Human
Job: Lumberjack(B) Adventurer(F)
Reputation: Dust in the galaxy
Leadership: E \ Might: E \ Intelligence: F
Politics: F \ Charm: F \ Technique: E
Affection: 21
Current Mental State: 'Ah, shit. I thought my liver was going to fall out. My legs are still shaking...!'
It was a bluff.
Well done scolding your subordinates when you were also trembling in fear. The other adventurers, not having realized this, were scratching the back of their heads.
"T-Then let's go as well."
"Mm. The captain did prove it to us."
"Lesser people like us should follow his lead."
The men approached the pile carefully.
"Hah. You sorry batch of men."
Riff was sneering but he didn't try to stop the other adventurers from approaching in particular.
Following after, the other adventurers started feeling up the coins greedily. In case someone tried to take more coins than they should, the adventurers watched each other intently.
"If there's a single coin in your backpocket, I'll beat you up personally."
"Split everything equally. Don't try to be a thief!"
Quite a lot of time had passed before they had finally counted all the coins.
Riff snorted with satisfaction.
"Hu. In total there's 386 silver coins."
Huh.
I narrowed my brows a bit. I'm certain I had taken out 395 silver coins.
Where'd the remaining 9 go to.
"..."
"..."
A couple of the men were fidgeting nervously.
...So they couldn't hold back and managed to steal some. Despite the fact that they kept threatening each other, there were some people who were able to successfully steal in the end. How marvelous.
"Alright. Let's fairly split up 38 pieces each."
"Then there'll be 6 remaining. What about the change?"
"What about it? I, the captain. will take it."
Riff shamelessly declared.
The other adventurers booed and sent jeers.
"Captain was the one that said to divide equally no matter what, in the first place!"
"That's dirty. Dirty!"
"Shut up you swines! If it wasn't for me, you cowards wouldn't have approached the money at all."
"That's that and this is this!"
"What's that and what's this! Speak clearly!"
Beginner adventurer party had met internal conflict so soon.
It was like an argument between kids.
After a lively debate, it was decided that Riff would take the change.
"Tsk tsk. A bunch of narrow-minded bigots."
Riff grumbled. It seemed that he got offended that the others were so against conceding the leftover 6 pieces of silver to him, the captain. I couldn't tell who the narrow-minded person was.
Anyways, it was starting to become time.
"Everyone."
I opened my mouth.
"I'm sorry to disturb you all while you're busy, but I have something to tell you all."
"Hm? Oh, what is it?"
Their response was half-hearted. The adventurers were occupied shoving their portion of the coins into their bags or shoes. Some of them were even loosening their belts to shove the silver into their underwear. It was quite dirty.
"I apologize, but the event we had feared has occurred. Just now, other adventurer parties has invaded the castle."
"..."
Their hands froze immediately.
"What?"
"I am a Demon Lord. There's a magic system set up that notifies me whenever someone invades my castle. A moment ago, I heard a bell ring in my head."
The adventurer's eyes opened wide in panic.
"D-Demon Lord, is that true?"
"Yes. Unfortunately, this is the truth."
"Isn't there the chance that you heard wrong?"
"...Of course, there is the possibility. I too am hoping that I heard wrong. However, I've heard the same bell ring 4 times this month. To be mishearing things now is very unlikely."
I confessed to them with a sad expression.
The men were visibly shaken. While I acted, there were times that I felt like I could see other people's emotions in the shape of a thick cloud. I was touching that cloud here and there and forming it to my will.
"T-The numbers. Do you know how many people?"
"Not exactly. I could take a guess by counting the rings..."
I bit my lips, giving off the feeling that the number was hard to reveal. Seeing this, the adventurers grew more anxious.
"I don't care if it's an estimate! Just tell us how many there are!"
"...The bell rang 3 times in a row."
"What does that mean?"
"The bell rings once every 10 people who invade my castle. In other words, at the very least, 30 people has invaded."
Thirty people.
An amount of people too large for the people in front of me to handle.
The adventurers became pale.
Chapter 2: A Devil Steps on Stage (Part 3)
Ο
▯Adventurer, Cowardly Looter, Riff Hoffman
Empire Calender: Year 1505, Month 4, Day 4
Dantalian's Demon Lord Castle
Ο
I didn't like the situation at all.
According to what the Demon Lord had said, there was another group of invading adventurers in the cave. The number was at the very least, 30. This was no joke... damn it.
I had picked weaklings on purpose to bring here. People with skill demanded more money. In the case of my adventurer group, the treasure in the vault was to be split fairly, but the bounty on the Demon Lord Dantalian was all mine for the taking. If I wanted to establish this kind of agreement, I could only gather these run of the mill adventurers.
Shit. I should have just spent more money and hired skilled people. No, even if I did, 30 people was too much. They wouldn't be able to handle this amount. My insides were strangely bitter...
"We could win if we hold out in this room!"
"Are you insane. It's 30 people, thirty! We'll be overwhelmed!"
"If you're going to fight, then leave me out. I never had the hobby of killing myself. I'll get out on my own."
"Hah! This filthy coward! Finally showing your true colors!"
The men were split into two groups and arguing.
People who wanted to stay here and fight, and people who wanted to escape. They had been arguing for over 10 minutes now, but they were yet to come together like they did before.
Honestly, I didn't have a good idea either. Obviously we should run, but there was no certainty that we wouldn't meet the other adventurer party on the way out. That was the problem. Crap, what do I have to do to get out safely...
...wait.
Think about it the other way around.
If we had to face them then face them. It's fine as long as I get away safely. It's not my problem if the others live or die.
I took out a map and checked. There were 3 routes from here to the cave entrance.
I approached the Demon Lord and asked him.
"Hey, your honor. How many paths are there that leads from the castle entrance to here?"
"There are 3."
As expected, the map was accurate. Even the Demon Lord confirmed it.
"Do you know which route they're coming from?"
"I'm sorry, but I can't tell that far..."
The Demon Lord spoke with an ashamed expression.
"No, it's fine. I'm grateful you even told me about the invaders."
I lightly patted the Demon Lord's shoulder. Once doing so, he lowered his head graciously.
I said this before, but this guy really has no guts. Even though he's a Demon Lord, he's been speaking respectfully to a human like me. Does he have no pride? To say it nicely, he knows his place. What more would he get then get hit if he showed defiance. Kekeke.
At that moment, the Demon Lord looked straight at my eyes. He appeared weirdly serious so I couldn't help but become stiff in response.
"Sir Riff. I'm fated to be captured by adventurers no matter what."
"Hm? So?"
"Then, I at least wish to choose a safer path. You all did not kill me the moment you saw me. Just that alone makes me wish to be on your side. Please live, and make a wise decision."
Aha.
He was begging for me to save his life.
I started to feel familiarity with the little one in front of me. Pride wasn't needed if it meant survival. I thought so as well.
"Hehe. You sure know your stuff, your honor. Okay, don't worry. If you believe in me then you will definitely get to the city safely."
"Thank you. Thank you very much..."
It was cute because he looked like a pet, lowering his head over and over again like that.
I tapped the Demon Lord's cheek while chuckling. It was a sign of affection. It's okay to be happy.
I shouted at the men that were still arguing.
"Attention!"
They shut their mouths. I guess they realized that there was no point in fighting each other. They glared this way with bloodshot eyes.
"We're retreating."
"But captain!"
"Listen up you greenhorns. Are you not able to see properly because of the coins in your pockets? Who do you think you are? You guys only faced 2 goblins on our way here. How do you plan to face 30 adventurers with just that ability?"
I gave them a menacing look.
I've grown up being told that I had a vulgar looking face. There was no one here that was brave enough to face me properly.
"Stop dreaming. You'll die without being able to do anything."
"...but captain. There's no guarantee that things will go well if we escape."
The person to speak was the one who was silent and didn't get involved in the argument.
This bald one-eyed man was a reasonably skilled senior.
"What are you going to do if we unluckily meet the enemy? We could at least hold out here and fend them off, but there's no answer if we meet them out there."
"I know, you bastard. That's why we'll split up and go down three separate paths."
"Three separate paths?"
"There's three routes from here to the castle entrance. Pick your path and run that way."
A moment of silence passed.
The men creased their brows.
"...captain. Surely you don't mean."
"Yeah. One of the three groups will meet the enemy no matter what. However, oppositely, the other two groups will live."
"That's just an escape-goat!"
The one-eyed man retorted loudly. He must have been seriously enraged because the veins on his neck were visible. Tsk, he's a good guy but the places he got serious at made it tiring.
The other guys complained as well, saying things like "That's not right!" and "We'd rather all die together!".
A bunch of peerless fools they were. You all don't know what death means. That's why you're easily able to say that you're willing to die together.
...but there was no benefit in speaking truthfully here. Let's talk while mixing lies here and there. What? I'm only honest to myself. I never said that I was honest with other people as well, did I?
"Shut up you punks! My job is to send as many people as I can back home!"
They twitched. Would you look at that. They got scared just because I shouted a bit. There's a limit to expectations if they thought they could fight 30 people with this attitude.
"You guys all have a family, right? Man's pride? That's good. Companionship? That's also nice. But what's the point of worrying about all that if we end up dead, huh? Who's going to take responsiblity of your families?"
"..."
"What about your kids? What about the fellow village people working in the fields in our stead? What about your wives?"
A complicated silence fell upon them.
As expected, there's nothing as persuasive as family. Even though I was illiterate, I at least knew how to deal with people.
"The one's who are alive will take responsibility for the families of the one's that have fallen."
I made my words a notch softer and concluded.
"We have no more corners to back up to, you punks. Think about your families and the village. Everything else is useless. Forget it all and only think of your families..."
They lowered their heads.
Of course. If you thought with reason then my suggestion was the best. It was just the fact that they had to sacrifice someone else's life that was hard to accept. They had to cut off that part of their minds.
The adventurers separated into 3 units.
4, 3, 3 people each.
"Let's get going now."
I ordered sternly.
Which route met with the enemy, that all relied on luck. Well, if you asked if it really was entirely based on luck then that wasn't right.
I purposely placed the Demon Lord in another group. If the enemy had a magical energy detecting device then it would react to the Demon Lord. The target will naturally go to him. In other words, he worked as bait. I was good at using my head in this kind of places.
Alright. Time to genuinely run away.
Please die, my close comrades.
So that way, I can live.
▯Weakest Demon Lord, Rank 71st, Dantalian
Empire Calendar: Year 1505, Month 4, Day 4
Dantalian's Demon Lord Castle
The adventurers patted each other's shoulders lightly. They then departed down their own path out of the three.
"Go and die, you dogs."
"You'll be the one dying. I'll make sure to enjoy your wife in your stead."
The adventurers swearing at each other was simply a coping method. They knew that if their farewells were heavy then their feet would be heavy as well.
The leader of the unit I was with spoke.
"We should get going as well."
"Yeah."
I was on the back of the new guy again.
The unit I was with specially had 4 members. It was because they had extra luggage to carry, which was me. The person that was temporarily acting as leader was the one-eyed bald man. The person who refuted against Riff earlier.
"..."
"..."
Gloomy footsteps echoed throughout the cavern.
Not a single person said a word. The shadow of people reflected on the cavern wall by the torches. The shadows wavered like a mirage.
When Riff suggested to divide the group into three, I honestly wanted to run around in joy. That was the idea I was originally going to propose. I was afraid of a group of 10 adventurers together, but I didn't fear a group split up into 3's and 4's.
They were foolish.
Riff suggested to split up in order to raise his chances of survival as much as possible, however, he was mistaken from the premise. He completely believed the words of a Demon Lord. Normally, adventurers and Demon Lords were supposed to be hostile to one another, but they had easily trusted my information.
Were they being careless, or did I really appear to be that pitiful. If it was the latter, then that was a relief. It was proof that my acting skills weren't rusty yet. The price to pay for being careless shall be huge, Riff.
I stared at the empty space in front of me.
A half transparent map was being projected. Red dots had split down three separate paths and were drifting away from each other.
Amongst the functions in the system, there was the ability to see a map. Conveniently, the adventurers were displayed as red dots and even showed their current positions.
There was a thick cavern wall between each routes. There were pathways that connected the routes at a couple of places, but only I, who had the system map, knew this. The adventurers had no means of communication whatsoever.
Even if a massacre was to occur.
'Employment Tab.'
I spoke in my mind.
A ridiculously cheerful 'tirring~' sound effect rang.
For a slight moment.
It was probably for only an instant, but there was hesitation in my eyes.
The adventurers had split themselves up into 3 groups. They trusted the Demon Lord Dantalian when they should have been hostile against him. They had not only lowered their fighting prowess, but they were mentally unprepared as well.
The optimum requirement for a surprise attack.
But the reason why I was hesitating for a moment... who knows.
If I hired monsters and attacked the adventurers here, then I'd be crossing the Rubicon River(TL note: point of no return). For the adventurers to die or for myself to die. Only one of the two future existed. There was no going back.
"..."
The inside of my mouth felt dry.
It was impossible to return once I've made my decision.
I was realizing the weight of my choice.
Then, the second choice box since coming to this world had appeared.
[1. Annihilate the adventurers like this.]
[2. Be taken by the adventurers like this.]
... just as I thought. I figured out in what situations these choices appeared.
When my life was on the line, or when other people's lives were on the line. These boxes popped up in those immensely vital points, as if telling me to really think about my decision carefully.
Regardless, my obvious choice was option number 1.
A hopeful future for a Demon Lord captured by humans did not exist. Even if the adventurers decided not to kill me, it was useless. The adventurers will sell me over to the city in order to gain the bounty, and then my head will be displayed on the town square to show off to the people about how well the cutting off of my head was done.
So thus, I selected number 1.
I'll kill every last human before me.
'Hire Weak Golem.'
[You've hired a Weak Golem.]
[Would you like to summon Weak Golem?]
My entire fortune of 21 Libra shrunk down to a single Libra in an instant.
At the same moment, the cave floor was covered in light.
"H-Huuh?"
"What's going on!?"
The adventurers panicked.
The light caused by the summoning circle lit up the dark cavern entirely for a brief second. The moment everyone's gaze was focused on the circle, I bared my teeth.
CRUUUNCH! (TL note: If you know a better word to portray biting down onto something, be my guest)
It sounded like a plastic bag was being ripped. However, it was something much more raw than a plastic bag. With my teeth, I had bit down strongly onto the ear of the newbie adventurer who was carrying me.
"Kuaaaaaah!"
The adventurer cried out and flailed his body. I, who was on his back, fell to the floor. I was already preparing a safe way to fall, so the impact wasn't too big.
"J-Jack!? What happened! What's wrong!?"
"Guh, ah, ear! My ear!"
The vision that was focused on the summoning circle moved to here.
With a genuinely fearful expression, I pointed towards the other side.
"Everyone! Behind you! Look behind you!"
In the spot I was pointing at was an arm made of stone reaching out from the earth.
The stone arm grasped the ground and, like a demon coming out of Hell itself, a bulky body emerged. A disturbing 'grrrrdduh, grduh' sound resonated. It was the sound of boulders grinding against each other. The adventurers stared at the summoning magic with their mouths agape.
"M-My God..."
"Raise your shields! Take out your swords!"
The adventurers were moving about in confusion. Nevertheless, the bald one-eyed man, proving that he wasn't just the sub-captain by name, gave orders to his comrades. However, your enemy wasn't only the golem that had suddenly appeared.
"Mmmm...!?"
I jumped back onto the back of the new guy and covered his mouth. The man opened his eyes widely.
His eyes looked like they were shouting, 'What are you doing!?'.
He had a dagger on his hip that I had been eyeing since the beginning. I pulled his dagger out and brought it down on his throat. Once, twice, thrice, and finally for the fourth time. I didn't even give him the opportunity to resist.
"Eub, pbb... huppbb..."
The newbie screamed, but the sound was muffled by my hand making it only sound like a moan.
Soon the groans became bright red blood and drenched my hand stickily.
"Uuh...eub..."
I silently stared down at the new guy's eyes.
Finally, his body went limp.
This took 8 seconds.
The other adventurers had no idea that the newbie was murdered behind them.
Thus, I had committed my first murder, but I didn't have time to get sentimental. The situation was still dire. I immediately hid the dagger in my clothes and turned my head.
"∎∎∎∎∎∎—!"
Right on time, the golem had climbed out fully.
As if celebrating the fact that it had escaped from the stifling underground world, the golem raised its head and let out a long roar. The ceiling of the cave shook, making the stalactites tremble as well. Even if it was called 'weak golem', at this moment, the one dominating this space was that monster.
This was a monster.
This was a demon.
It looked so much different from humans and that atrocious outer appearance was enough to plant fear into the hearts of humans.
"Hiiiik...!"
The adventurers shrunk back. One man's arms were trembling so much that he had dropped his torch. Since the light from the summoning circle was gone, the cavern had returned back to being dark— that raised the adventurer's fears to no limit. The light from the torch gave the cave a reddish glow, giving only slight glimpses of that massive body in the distant darkness.
People who used to do farm work for a living in their hometown.
These people may have been realizing for the first time.
That adventurer was a discreditable occupation that normally faced against mythical terrors like this.
"E-Euuuuh..."
The three adventurers gathered together. This was an instinct implanted into humans, to unite together with their comrades when facing a large beast. However, in this situation that instinct had made them commit a grave mistake.
"∎∎, ∎∎∎∎∎∎∎—!"
As big as the golem was, its footsteps were slow.
If the adventurers had spread out instead of grouping together, then they may have been able to deal with the golem. But these men lacked experience. Experience of fighting various types of demons.
Like a tank, the golem advanced towards the men. Its feet came down with a thud and shook the ground. The tremors violently jolted the darkness.
The adventurers could do nothing but hold up their wooden shields. Their entire body had become rigid. They should probably be complimented for not having run away on the spot.
"T-This person is dead!"
I intensely shook the already disordered adventurers by another level. I was holding up the new guy's chest and shouting.
"He suddenly fell! It's black magic! Someone unbeknownst to me is assaulting everyone! Quickly, please get away!"
"What..."
A moment of unrest.
However, faltering for even a second while a golem was right in front of you, that was more than enough time to bring about a tragic end.
The adventurers' attention was dispersed. Aiming for that chance, the golem swung its fist. The target was the bald one-eyed man. As the person responsible for this unit, when he had heard that the new guy had died, he had turned this way for a brief second. The golem's heavy stone fist smashed into his body just like that.
There wasn't even a shout.
His skull was crushed and he was met with instant death.
The wooden shield which the village blacksmith had made was of no use.
"...... uh, aah?"
One step late, the survivors reacted.
Honestly, to say that it was a proper reaction was miserable.
One adventurer, as if giving up on all hope, fell to his knees. The other adventurer decided oppositely and was about to escape. Tossing away his torch and sword, he got rid of anything that was weighing him down and ran.
It'd be troubling if I missed one person here.
"This way! Run this way!"
"Uh, ah! Aah!"
Giving me an obscure response, the adventurer ran towards me. It was like the behavior unconsciously taken by people during a fire. When told to escape this way, they ran towards that direction recklessly.
I pulled the man close and whispered.
"Calm your breathing. Golems lack good eye-sight and hearing. If you quietly hide in the corner of the cave, then you'll be safe. You can believe me. I'm an expert on demon characteristics."
O-Okay. I understand."
"Now, follow after me and breathe slowly. One. Two. Hoo."
"Hoo... hooo."
"Good. That's it. Inhale and exhale slowly."
The adventurer settled his breathing. I grabbed his hand tightly. It was a well-known fact that people became relaxed when a professional grabbed their hand during a crisis.
"One..."
The adventurer breathed while following my command. I stealthily pulled out the dagger.
"Two..."
It was at the moment he was going to breathe out. With the blade, I slit his throat. Calm breathing could never come out of his mouth ever again. Blood filled his gullet and his breathing couldn't become words. The only sound to come out were gurgles and coughs. Shortly after, the man met death.
At about the same time the man stopped breathing in my arms, the golem had taken care of the other remaining person.
The golem simply raised its foot and stomped the last man. The human body was a lot harder than I had expected. A man's body wasn't crushed immediately.
A terrible scream came from the adventurer each time the golem's feet came down. The screams grew weaker as the stomping continued. At a certain point, the screams itself had stopped completely. Only the sound of bones breaking echoed lowly. The sticky substance attached to the golem's foot was probably the man's guts.
It was a gruesome conclusion.
"...Hoo."
I sat back against the cave wall.
Exhaustion weighed down on my entire body. The heat had yet to subside. I didn't know that warmth could be so unpleasant. On the other hand, the cold coming off the wall was good. It was the perfect temperature for me right now.
Half the temperature.
Half.
"...It's not over yet."
I muttered to myself.
I felt tired as if I had stayed up for four nights in a row. Regardless, I had several manuals carved into my skull. Carved like the ancient hieroglyphics in Egypt. The instincts, that was implanted into me since I was a child, whispered to me.
'Clean up everything.'
If you don't want your crime to be caught henceforth.
'End what you've started.'
If you don't want malice and apprehension to remain.
"..."
I calmly knitted my brows.
My pounding chest slowed down.
My breathing settled and my composure returned.
Humans were beasts of instincts.
If you create an instinct for every possible situation, then no matter when and where you are, you'll be able to cope like a beast of prey.
There was no need for trial and error.
In that sense, my father's words were correct.
In truth, I, 'whose life was in danger' responded by 'getting rid of the humans who endangered me' with no hesitation whatsoever. You could say it was thanks to that I could stay alive. (TL note: He means during the process of killing, not the instant before summoning the golem)
"At any rate, father is still…"
Even after death he was haunting me like a bothersome ghost.
I stood up and went through the pockets of the corpses. This was not stealing.
I'm only taking back what was mine. After going through all the inside pockets and shoes, my fortune went up to 34 gold coins.
It was enough to summon one more golem and a goblin as well.
"Map Window"
The inner map of the cave popped up in mid-air.
I wonder if it was because they were moving cautiously, but the other two groups hadn't gotten that far ahead. I decided to go and wait at the locations that they'll arrive at. Using a shortcut unknown to the adventurers, I got ahead of them.
♦
"Shit, why is there a monster left...!"
The second battle commenced.
The plan was very simple.
The golem was sitting in a dark corner of the tunnel. As much as its body was made of stone, in a dark tunnel, it was impossible to tell the golem apart from the other boulders. So thus, right when the adventurers were passing by, I launched a sudden attack.
The surprise attack worked nicely.
On the first hit an adventurer's head was destroyed. Another adventurer was then grasped by the golem's hand, it then crushed the body with ease.
It took merely 40 seconds for the unit of three to shrink down to only a single man standing.
"Keuuk!?"
I stabbed the back of the remaining adventurer who was focusing on only the golem.
This time it wasn't a dagger but a long sword. The blade fully pierced through his chest.
"It can't, be..."
The adventurer looked down at his chest. He had an expression on his face as if he couldn't believe that a sword was going through his chest.
The adventurer twisted his face, bright red bloodshot eyes glared at me.
"Demon Lord, you bastard... betrayed us...!"
"..."
I pulled the long sword out.
The man fell to the floor. I wonder if the blade had sliced his lungs. His last breath just now was wheezy. Like the sound of air leaking out of a punctured bicycle wheel. That was the man's last scream.
"Betrayal, huh."
You were wrong.
I never betrayed you men. On the contrary, it was the opposite. You men were the invaders and this was Dantalian's home. If you had not charged in here, then you wouldn't have had to die.
"Haah."
I went through the pockets of the corpses.
Red blood was stained on the copper and silver coins. I held these coins tightly.
As long as I was trapped in the role of the Demon Lord Dantalian, other adventurer parties will come to capture me in the future. In preparation for that day, I have to collect war funds.
Demon Lord Castle's WealthWithdrawal Amount: xx LibraTotal Balance: 58 Libra
※Warning. If you withdraw too much at once, you may go bankrupt.
I deposited the money into the castle vault.
If you included the 20 Libra that I had spent on summoning the golem, then I was almost back to having the original amount I had started with. Now everything will be over once I got rid of Riff's group. I climbed up onto the golem's shoulder and headed towards the next stage.
In a moment, I arrived at the entrance of the castle.
I made the golem lie in wait and stood in a dignified stance at the cave entrance.
Around 20 minutes passed. From the other side of the tunnel a group emerged. It was Riff's unit.
"Hm? If it isn't your honorable Demon Lord."
Riff recognized me and creased his brows.
"How come you're by yourself? Where are the others?"
I did not answer.
I wonder if they had noticed that the atmosphere was grim. The group stopped walking on their own. Well, if you had eyes then it was normal to feel like something was off. My entire body was fatigued.
"Your honor. I asked where the others are."
Riff asked again. Impatience started to show on his face. 'Everyone is alright. They left to do something real quick'. He was probably hoping for this kind of response. I cut down that hope mercilessly.
"They're dead."
"... eh?"
"They're all dead. Not just the group that was with me. Excluding your group, all seven men have died. They're probably enjoying a nice beer together in the after life."
A voice so cold came out of my mouth that it even surprised me as well. It wasn't simply cold, but a strong feeling of mockery was mixed in as well. You could tell by the contorting look on Riff's face.
"Don't tell me... the enemy attacked on both sides?"
"Sir Riff. Please stop acting the fool when you already understood what has happened. If what you said was correct, then there's no chance for me to be standing here like this."
I chuckled.
"There are no invading enemy forces anywhere in the castle. That was a lie. A big fat lie."
"What?"
"Do you still not understand? It was purely a strategy made to kill each and every one of you."
The adventurer's faces changed dramatically.
From welcoming to suspicion. From suspicion to rage.
But this wasn't enough. My goal was to raise their rage into wrath. I twisted the edges of my mouth and grinned widely.
"It's all thanks to you, Riff. I'm honestly grateful that you believed me so easily. Adventurers trusting a Demon Lord. The main character to make this unlaughable comedy a success was not me, but you."
"It was all a trick...?"
"Yes. I killed all 7 people with these hands."
I took out the dagger I had hidden within my clothes. You could see the blood distinctively on the blade.
"This person and that person were all nothing but fools. Each time I stabbed their necks with this dagger, they each reacted by opening their eyes wide. Did you all honestly believe that a Demon Lord like myself would obediently cooperate? That's why beginner adventurers who lack experience are laughable."
"..."
"The newbie's reaction was especially amazing. He looked at me and muttered 'It can't be' even though blood was pouring out of his throat. So I politely stabbed him one more time. His wife back home should be relieved. She's better off not having such a foolish hu—"
[Adventurer Riff's affection went down by 21.]
[Adventurer Zed's affection went down by 23.]
[Adventurer Zack's affection went down by 20.]
The affection of the three adventurers instantly fell to 0. And amongst those three, someone had thrown a stone at me as hard as they could. With a thuck the stone hit my forehead. The rock contained a lot of killing intent. He probably intended to finish me with that. But, unfortunately, the aim was slightly off so after scratching a bit of my forehead it had flown passed me.
"—That's not right."
I'm sorry to say, but that was your last chance to hit me. If you had tossed it a bit better I may have died. You may have received the happy ending of 'the adventurers defeated the Demon Lord'. It might have been a very slim chance but that opportunity very much existed.
"Not the side of my head, but here."
I tapped the center of my forehead with my finger.
"∎∎∎∎, ∎∎∎∎∎—!"
It was at that moment the golem attacked them from behind. The golem, that was crouched like a boulder a second ago, reached out its arms.
It was the final battle.
Please do your best to resist, Riff. You're the first human to push my head down onto the ground in the past 10 years. I've been vowing to repay you back fully for what you did for quite a while now.
▯Adventurer, Cowardly Looter, Riff Hoffman
Empire Calender: Year 1505, Month 4, Day 4
Dantalian's Demon Lord Castle
Impossible. This is impossible!
What is that man? He's giving off a completely different atmosphere compared to earlier! Where'd the man who kept lowering his head like a small fry disappear to? Who is that man over there who's grinning so shamelessly...!?
"Kuaaaaaaah!"
Shit, another one got done in.
It was especially bad that the golem had come from behind. Before we could even react someone was already dead. We tried our best to fight with just us two but... damn it.
The weakness of inexperienced adventurers was revealed here. The other remaining adventurer was getting too worked up so he wasn't able to back me up properly. This half-wit. Excitement will only become poison during combat. How has he not shoved this basic information into his skull yet!
... no. The person who brought these greenhorns to the Demon Lord's castle was me. I was blinded by greed and ended up making a mistake. At the time I didn't think it was wrong. I kept telling myself that it was a smart idea. In the end, did my foolishness bring upon this misfortune...?
The words the Demon Lord had said while he was being cynical was right. We were too careless. Shit. But I don't plan to die easily, you know!
Despite everything, I'm still a professional when it comes to surviving. I'll struggle disgracefully to the very end if I have to.
"I-I surrender!"
I tossed away my shield and sword.
The man before me uttered a "Oh?", and raised the corners of his mouth. That smile came incredibly naturally to him. That was probably his true-self; cold-blooded, merciless, and more sinister than anyone else.
"Aren't you being quite well-behaved, Captain Riff."
"I will do whatever you want if you spare my life. I-I really did not know. That your honor was such a terrifying person. Please, I beg for your forgiveness."
I did my best to display a pathetic expression.
It was obvious what was going on in your head, Demon Lord.
You had won and I had lost. The positions were suddenly switched. The Demon Lord who was pretending to be the loser until now was finally able to reverse the situation.
You're probably thrilled and excited. It's clear that you'll want to enjoy this as much as you can. To take delight in your victory by humiliating me as you please.
"I was dull and foolish. I apologize, honorable Demon Lord! Please feel pity for this lowly human and grant me mercy! I will never step foot in your honor's territory ever again...!"
I slammed my forehead against the floor repetitively.
I didn't care if this method was loud and pathetic. It was better if it was noisy. The most important part was to satisfy the other person's pride. Sure enough, the Demon Lord grinned.
"I see. If you wish to apologize then do so by cutting off your own hand."
"M-My hand?"
"Yes. Do so and I will let you live. I won't cut your arms or legs off either."
The Demon Lord chuckled.
"Think carefully. In truth, I'm the one at a loss in this trade."
It was the exact words that I had tossed in ridicule at the Demon Lord before. Those words came right back at me like an arrow. I grinded my teeth.
But this was a chance. I would be able to take out a weapon without having to worry about drawing suspicion.
"Of course. I will more than gladly cut my hand. Thank you for forgiving me. Thank you very much, honorable Demon Lord..."
I took out the dagger that was attached to my hip.
While lifting up the dagger in the air as if to bring it down onto my hand, I stood up just like that and charged at the Demon Lord.
You naively showed an opening, Demon Lord Dantalian!
"Haaaaaaaaaa!"
I ran while crying out. I'm sorry to say but I'm gifted at controlling people's psychology. It's your own fault for getting overconfident and lowering your guard just because you were so close to winning.
The Demon Lord may have been holding a long sword, but it was too late to get into a proper stance. The golem behind me probably won't make it on time. Even if the front or the back moves, I'll be the first to stab this blade into the damn Demon Lord!
I put more spirit into my body and thrust my dagger forward and—
My body staggered right before I could reach him.
"Uhiik!?"
I ended up letting out a questionable noise. My foot had suddenly stopped. When I looked down I saw a bluish slime wrapped around my right foot.
I was unable to withstand the momentum I was running with a second ago and fell forward. I groaned as I desperately tried to take my foot out of the slime. It wouldn't budge.
1 second, 2 second had passed before my mind started catching up to what had happened. Since when did he prepare something like a slime? Don't tell me, from the very beginning? Are you telling me that he knew from the start that I was pretending to surrender?
Then, something large crushed my body.
"Kuuaah!"
The golem had slammed its fist down onto my lower body. My legs were obviously destroyed and my waist along with them. I could vividly feel the sensation of my bones breaking. The intense pain made everything in front of me start to blur and fade.
Something was flowing out of me. Was it my blood? It could possibly be my innards. Whatever it was, this was my end. I had never experienced something like dying before, but for some reason I had the strong feeling of 'I will die here'.
"Damn, it..."
I vomited blood. I couldn't even muster the strength to talk. A blurry shadow came into my fading vision. The shadow moved, then, a blade stabbed into my throat.
To make sure that I was dead at this point.
Isn't that a bit too much for a life that was already destined to die?
Before everything went dark I was able to see the other person's face for just a moment. The man was looking down at me and smiling.
"—Go back to your mother's womb and learn again, amateur."
A devilish grin was there.
Is that so.
Is that what the race known as Demon Lords are.
Kuh. From the start, this was a monster that a low-class adventurer like me should have never dared to go after. It was us who were the ones being hunted, not him. I had stupidly forgotten my position on the food chain...
For an animal that was unable to recognize a predator, the only fate that laid in wait for them was death. I had vowed to never fight monsters in my life and live as a looter, but in the end I ended up facing the final of final monsters.
My vision was black. Even after death I'll probably be severely regretting my foolishness...
Ο
Ο
Ο
Ο
Ο
▯Weakest Demon Lord, Rank 71st, Dantalian
Empire Calendar: Year 1505, Month 4, Day 4
Dantalian's Demon Lord Castle
"Haaaa."
Once I made sure Riff was dead I let out a long sigh.
It was over. I toppled down and sat on the floor. It felt as if my extremely sensitive nerves had been put into a spa and were starting to melt. It was the aftereffect for running my brain on full throttle for 3 hours straight.
After receiving a mysterious survey in my email I was dropped into a different world. It was a shock that I had become a Demon Lord in a world where a hero was the protagonist, but to also discover that I was the weakest Demon Lord, Dantalian. Without being able to properly figure out what was going on, I had to face a group of adventurers and was eventually able to kill them all.
This all happened in 3 hours. It was obvious that my brain would be so exhausted. Thank you for going through the effort, my pretty brain(TL note: He says this in English). You worked to the point that some brain cells most likely evaporated.
[1. Annihilate the adventurers like this.]
[2. Be taken by the adventurers like this.]
The words that were lying in the corner of my view shined brightly.
The letters broke apart into little white particles and then formed different lines.
[A cruel and merciless decision!]
[Infamy increased slightly.]
"Not a cruel decision but a wise decision."
I blurted out in rebuttal.
Then how else was I supposed to deal with a gang of people who had invaded with the intention to kill me? Were we supposed to grab each others' hands and sing songs about how we're all one? What an unfunny joke.
[Tutorial Clear!]
The sound of a victory horn rang loudly.
A row of notification windows appeared in mid-air.
[You will receive a difficulty bonus.]
[LUNATIC— You will receive the highest bonus.]
[S-Grade privileges will be selectable.]
[Please select a privilege.]
[※Warning: The systems automatically presented during the tutorial will not be accessible after this point. If there is a system that you really want to keep then please select it in the privileges.]
That's kind of you.
So it meant that things like being able to see the Demon Lord Castle's status, seeing other people's stats, and showing your affection rate with other people were given as a service only during the tutorial.
It was a sampler. To test out all the systems first and then later decide which one you need the most.
A list of all the privileges appeared in front of me.
Nest Building Demon Lord(S) Observe the state of the castle and extend it.
Zeus's Eagle(S) No matter what terrain, be able to see a real-time map.
Cronus's Heritage(S) Every 10 years you are able to save your progress.
Aphrodite's Apostle(S) Be able to see the affection rate of other people.
Athena's Apostle(S) Your leadership ability goes up to Great Hero rank.
Ares's Apostle(S) Your might ability goes up to Great Hero rank.
Apollon's Apostle(S) Your intelligence ability goes up to Great Hero rank.
Demeter's Apostle(S) Your politics ability goes up to Great Hero rank.
Hermes's Apostle(S) Your charm ability goes up to Great Hero rank.
Hephaestus' Apostle(S) Your technique ability goes up to Great Hero rank.
Dionysus's Foot(S) All saintesses in every shrine worships you.
Poseidon's Arm(S) 50 highest-class aquatic demons obey you.
Hera's Ear(S) You can understand and use every demon language.
Hade's Eye(S) You gain an exclusive storage for your items and money.
Prometheus's Hand(S) You can hire and summon monsters whenever you desire.
"Wow. That sure is a lot..."
I looked through the list with bleary eyes.
The desire to fall over and take a nap weighed down on me heavily.
I originally wasn't a sincere human. I was someone who revered being lazy. Can't you tell by the fact that I had moved to some remote neighborhood and spent my days just playing computer games as soon as my father had passed away? I worked too much today!
"Uh, I guess… yeah. Let's go with Aphrodite's Apostle."
I spoke as if I was trying to shoo away a friend who kept bothering me.
Being able to see the cave map was probably Zeus's Eagle, being able to move money in and out of the vault whenever I wanted to was probably Hade's Eye, and being able to freely summon monsters was probably Prometheus's Hand. All of these were tempting.
However, the most cheat like skill amongst these was the ability to read other people's minds and check affection rate. To be able to read minds. If you combined my acting skills and the ability to read minds, then I didn't have to ever worry about going somewhere and starving to death.
[You have chosen a privilege.]
[Your stats will be distributed according to how you cleared the tutorial.]
Okay, okay.
Was it over now?
I was already leaning back against the golem. The golem's body was made of stone and yet it was strangely warm. It was acceptable to use as a bed.
Mr. Golem. I'm sorry but I'll be using your body as a bed for a bit.
"∎∎, ∎∎∎..."
The golem let out a soft grumble. I don't know what he had said but the meaning got across. Make use of me whenever you please, should be a decent translation of what it had said.
A demon who's gentle to their master but merciless to adventurers. How cool. I almost fell for you. The golem's body really was warm. As if sleep would envelop me immediately...
What this place was.
Why this place had a similar universe to Dungeon Attack.
How systems that normally only appeared in games appeared here.
There was no way to answer these questions in my current situation. Regardless, I can clearly state what will happen from now on.
I plan to lay around and sleep all day.
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Name: Dantalian
Race: Demon Lord
Job: Monarch(F)
Reputation: Failed Scholar
Leadership: C rank / Might: F rank / Intelligence: A rank
Politics: S rank / Charm: C rank / Technique: F rank
Title: None
Abilities: Eloquence SS, Speech S, Acting S
Skills: Aphrodite's Apostle(S)
[Achievements: 0]
.......