Chapter 54
A Portrayal of The Average Hero
"One here, one there, oh, one off in that corner would be good too…"
I tapped at the menu over and over as I placed a series of traps throughout the castle . I was remodelling and transforming the it into an impregnable fortress that none would ever conquer . A good number of the traps I set were ones provided by the dungeon, but that wasn't all . I also made use of a few of tricks and devices I came up with on my own .
My focus, which had lasted quite a while, was suddenly interrupted by the map . It popped out of nowhere and shoved itself in my face . All my attention was immediately drawn the blinking red blip currently located at the very edge of my territory .
The dungeon had once again been subject to an invasion . I promptly tapped the blip in order to get the map to show a few more details, only to find that the humans had changed their approach .
***
General Information
Name: Nell
Race: Human
Class: Hero
Level: 42
HP: 2120/2120
MP: 6981/6981
Strength: 519
Stamina: 652
Agility: 817
Magic: 704
Dexterity: 987
Luck: 1245
Unique Skills
Barrier Magic
Fast Feet
Skills
Holy Magic V
Sword Arts IV
Enemy Search II
Crisis Detection IV
Titles
Master of the Holy Blade
She Who is Easily Swept Along By the Flow
***
They humans had acted again . But this time, they'd sent only a single individual: a hero .
"Huh… so heroes really do exist . "
The heroes stats clearly deviated far from the norm . She was much more powerful than all the other humans that had ever entered the dungeon . Her skills looked fairly solid as well . Her holy magic was a cut above the rest; it was already level five . As a demon lord, and thereby some sort of unholy creation, I was almost certain that a textbox would appear below me and claim that the attack was "super effective" the moment I was struck by any sort of holy spell . [1]
Wait, does is that a whole thousand luck? Holy shit . God damn . That hero needs to go hit up a casino or something .
"Still though, a hero…? Talk about lame . " I laughed dryly as I began to grumble and complain .
The hero was slowly but surely moving deeper into my territory, so I made use of the many evil eyes I had strewn throughout my territory and began to observe her . Her advance was cautious, and the girl herself almost seemed kind of timid . Her hair was cut short and styled like a bob, so at first glance, I'd almost thought that she was male, but her figure was clearly that of a girl's .
It was clear that the humans had sent her as an alternative to yet another army . They'd chosen to go with quality over quantity because the opposite approach had failed .
Holy shit, are the humans retarded? Did they really not think to send anyone else with her at all? What the hell are their higher ups thinking?
I almost wanted to sigh as I realized that the girl was truly all by her lonesome . She didn't have a party, nor any other sort of support .
Like seriously, what the hell? Is this supposed to be one of those historical dramas where a battle is decided by a duel between a pair of generals? Or maybe some sort of masochistic nuzlocke? Like, why? Just why? Whoever sent her here has to be short a few brain cells .
Though I was sure that there was some underlying reason that the hero was here all by herself, I still couldn't help but find it stupid, in part because I was never really one to like heroes to begin with . I'd always found the very concept of a hero to be ridiculous .
Heroes were, in essence, people out to save the world . They obey orders and fight on many a battlefield all under the guise of carrying out some sort of epic quest . They save all the people they come across almost as if it were a mechanical response hardcoded into their systems .
To be frank, I found heroism absolutely fucking ridiculous . I didn't see the point in spending my life serving the general populace .
I very much preferred being a demon lord . Because unlike heroes, demon lords were free . I didn't have to bend to the whims of another . I could openly detest those that I hated, seek revenge whenever I desired it, expand my territory as I wished, and effectively live however I pleased . I was the only thing holding myself back, and I was the only thing that could stop myself from living a life free of regrets . I knew that living however I pleased was sure to inconvenience other people, but that was fine . I would much rather cause trouble than lament my own decisions .
There was no denying that I was a self-centered prick, but it was also precisely because I was so selfish that I didn't mind casting my humanity aside . Though my race had changed, I was still me . I didn't particularly care how I looked so long as the essence that made up my being remained unchanged .
Actually… I take that back . I'd probably panic if I ended up becoming something that didn't even look remotely human . At the very least, I'd like to have a somewhat humanoid silhouette .
It was likely precisely that part of my mentality that led the dungeon to believe that I was suited to becoming a demon lord .
Anyway, if it's a fight the hero wants, then it'll be a fight she gets . The castle's a bit shy of complete, but it still does have a good number of traps, and nasty ones too . Might as well have her give them a bit of a test run . Anyway, I better go tell everyone to hide before she gets here .
I spread my wings, leapt out the castle, and began gliding towards the courtyard, where all the dungeon's other residents had gathered for some sort of tea party .
"Hey! Listen up!"
I yelled to grab their attention as I used my wings to slowly descend . The second pair I'd gotten had boosted my control . I was now much more stable and could both position myself in midair and land as softly as I wanted, wherever I wanted . I no longer had to freefall and plunge myself into the earth to come to a stop .
That said, I often did so regardless when I went hunting with Rir . My high altitude strikes were not only effective, but also thrilling and fun to use, to I decided to keep using them even though they'd become less of a necessity .
“What is it, Yuki?”
“How about not trying to touch my wings the moment you see them…”
I couldn't help but smile wryly as Lefi dashed up to me and began feeling me up . There wasn't really much of a point in stopping her, as she probably wouldn't listen to me, so I began to talk while letting her do as she pleased .
"A hero's entered the dungeon . You guys might want to head back over to the true throne room and hang around there for a bit while I handle things . "
"Oh gawd! Didja just say a hero, Master!?" The first to react was Lyuu . Her face immediately contorted in displeasure .
"I'm guessing you know what heroes are then?"
"'Course I do!" said Lyuu . "They're cold blooded murderers, and strong as heck too! Most of 'em get trained when they're just kids, so they all kinda think it's right to kill us non-humans on sight . "
"I see…" I said as I narrowed my gaze .
Lyuu's interpretation made plenty of sense . It was only natural for those that opposed humanity to think of their heroes as the stuff of nightmares .
I remember hearing something like that in my previous life too . A hero in one country could be classified a criminalized mass murderer in another, and for the exact same deeds at that .
"Yeah, so one of those uh 'cold blooded murderers' is headed right for us . I should be able to get rid of them without too much issue, but you still might want to get out of here just in case . "
“Okay!” replied Illuna .
“A hero? How curious . I am feeling rather tempted to to ask for the permission to observe it," added Leila .
"T-That ain't much of a good idea, Leila . Y'know, curiosity killed the cat 'n stuff . "
Illuna and the maids entered a hidden door located in one of the courtyard's corners and retreated to the true throne room . Of course, I wasn't stupid enough to place a door that would put the dungeon's residents, myself included, in danger . The door in the courtyard was one of the many anywh*re doors I'd set up around the castle's grounds .
I used to be the one that could select and modify the door's destination, but leveling the dungeon had caused that to change . Anyone could have the ability redirect the door so long as I permitted them to do so .
In other words, the doors served as portals that could take the dungeon's residents almost wherever they wanted . They were extremely convenient .
“And you are sure that you need not my aid?" said Lefi . Unlike the other three, she had stayed behind .
“Nah, don’t worry about it . This is pretty much the perfect chance for me to test the castle’s defenses . You might as well sit back, find yourself a snack, watch as I wrap everything up . ”
“Very well… But do not forget that I am more than willing to offer you my assistance if need be . ”
“Yeah, I know . Don’t worry, I’ll ask you for help if I really need it . I think I’ll be fine though, all I’m planning to do is activate a few traps while sitting around in the throne room . I doubt I’ll be in any real danger," I said with a smile .
And so, Lefi and I returned to the throne room as I prepared to engage the hero .
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