Chapter 2.

Becoming the Lord (1)

Why did I have to end up inside Dark Tower of all games…?

She wasn’t just dizzy anymore—her stomach churned.

This is insane. I’m supposed to endure everything the protagonist goes through? All that suffering, all those unfair disasters?

The protagonist of Dark Tower, known simply as the Lord, wasn’t an ordinary character.

For over a thousand years, the Lord had preserved the Tower’s seal by transferring their soul and memories into successive homunculus bodies, effectively extending their lifespan indefinitely.

Then why does someone that overpowered start at Level 1?

Because disaster strikes just before the game begins.

During the reincarnation ritual, the mastermind behind everything murders the previous Lord.

The only fortunate part is that the ritual doesn’t fail completely—the reincarnation still succeeds.

Unfortunately, the new Lord awakens inside the homunculus body having lost almost all of their memories and abilities.

Even worse…

The Tower’s thousand-year seal is broken.

The main story of Dark Tower revolves around cleaning up that catastrophe and somehow restoring both the city and the Tower.

The problem is… I’ve become that new Lord.

That alone was enough to drive anyone insane.

But Dark Tower had another cruel twist.

A time limit.

According to the story, the player had ten years.

At first glance, that sounded generous.

But unless you wanted to collect the game’s signature dark fantasy bad endings, you had to conquer the Tower within five years.

Only then could you even reach the normal ending.

Wouldn’t someone with her level of experience have no trouble?

Not exactly.

The game’s balance was completely absurd.

Some classes breezed through the game effortlessly.

Others made you cry blood before you could finish.

The Mind Sorcerer belonged firmly in the second category.

How am I supposed to beat the game with this garbage class whose only talent is seducing people?!

She wanted to pull her hair out in frustration.

Unfortunately, she was too cold and dizzy to even raise her hands.

It almost felt as if the Vitality stat she’d recklessly sacrificed was whispering,

“You never appreciated me…”

And to make matters worse…

She didn’t even have time to despair.

“Who are you?”

Standing below the altar, Lohengrin looked up at her anxiously.

One hand rested on the hilt of his sword as his gaze shifted repeatedly between the corpse nailed to the monument and the woman sitting inside the homunculus chamber.

He couldn’t determine whether she truly was the new Lord…

…or merely the murderer pretending to be one.

The difficulty starts this high? Seriously?

Couldn’t the game just give her dialogue options and make the decision automatically?

For now, she’d give a simple answer.

“Who am I, you ask? Have you already forgotten this one’s name? I am Camellia.”

…Huh?

Why did that come out like that?

I was only trying to say my name was Camellia. Where did “this one” come from?

Lohengrin looked just as surprised as she was.

“My Lord…? But that body is… far too…”

His eyes lingered on her face.

What about my face? What?

Look, I understand you’re confused, but so am I!

“How insolent. You dare look upon this one with such eyes.”

Again.

Those weren’t the words she’d intended to say.

What is wrong with the way I’m talking?!

While she blinked in disbelief, a familiar pop! sounded.

A holographic window appeared before her.

It was her status screen.

Coincidentally, the first thing displayed was the Trait window she’d been tinkering with moments before.

Immortal Charm

(Passive)

Your Charm can never be reduced under any circumstances.

※ All actions are affected by Immortal Charm.

Wait… isn’t this just the trait that prevents Charm from being lowered?

Well…

Besides nullifying stat penalties, it also unlocked several special bonuses.

The most famous one was additional dialogue options.

For example:

1. It wasn’t me!

2. [Sorcerer] I swear upon my bloodline. I am not the culprit.

3. [Immortal Charm] Have you already forgotten this one’s name?

…

Wait.

Dialogue options?

That’s exactly how I just spoke…

Her eyes widened.

Don’t tell me “all actions are affected by Immortal Charm” means it permanently changes the way I talk?!

It was ridiculous.

Yet Lohengrin seemed pleased by her arrogant manner.

“…Then you truly are my Lord?”

Even his voice had become noticeably gentler.

Perhaps because he was a knight, Lohengrin admired Lords who carried themselves with authority and strength.

The more domineering the Lord acted…

…the more his affection increased.

Players had even nicknamed him the “crazy-dominant-type lover’s puppy.”

…No.

That wasn’t important right now.

Pulling herself back from her increasingly absurd train of thought, she answered.

That’s right. I’m the Lord.

What actually came out was:

“Who besides myself would dare claim ownership of this domain?”

She personally felt that was a bit excessive.

Fortunately…

It worked perfectly on Lohengrin.

He immediately dropped to one knee and bowed deeply.

“Please forgive my foolishness for failing to recognize my master, my Lord.”

As he spoke, his eyes drifted toward the previous Lord’s corpse nailed to the monument.

“If I may ask such an impertinent question… did something go wrong during the ritual?”

“It did.”

She let out a quiet sigh before continuing.

“And judging by the look of things… something has gone wrong outside as well.”

“Exactly.”

Lohengrin answered gravely.

“Monsters are pouring out from the Tower.”

He lowered his head even further.

“We required your guidance, my Lord. Though I knew it was disrespectful, I had no choice but to interrupt the ritual. Should you choose to punish me, I will accept it willingly.”

Punish you? I’d be doomed without you.

Once Lohengrin joined the party, the combat tutorial officially began.

Suppressing her nerves, she said,

“Receiving our guests takes priority. Rewards and punishments can wait.”

Almost on cue…

A deep growl echoed through the darkness.

Rather than flinching, Lohengrin immediately drew his sword and shield.

Standing before her protectively, he faced the approaching monsters.

One after another, beasts wreathed in sulfurous smoke emerged from the shadows.

Hellhounds.

Behind them stood towering demons with three pairs of horns.

Hell Sentinels.

Both monsters normally appeared around the 30th Floor of the Tower.

Lohengrin muttered in disbelief.

“How… How are the Spawn of Evil inside the city?”

Right… they came through the dimensional rift opened during the ritual or something.

The exact lore wasn’t especially important.

Although they wore the appearance of Floor 30 monsters, they were actually weakened tutorial enemies—even a Level 1 character could defeat them.

Which makes them perfect for testing something.

First, she issued an order.

“Focus on protecting me.”

Lohengrin tightened his grip on his shield.

She was just as nervous.

Can I actually cast magic?

Mind Sorcerers depended almost entirely on their spells.

Without magic, she wouldn’t even make it to the tenth floor.

Forget conquering the Tower.

The companions would probably decide she was an impostor pretending to be the Lord and stab her in the back.

Please… work.

It didn’t have to be perfect.

She only needed to be capable of using her powers.

Silently praying, she stretched out her hand toward the monsters.

“Stop.”

The moment she imagined using Dominate, something intangible flowed out from her body.

Then…

A holographic window appeared.

The familiar dice window she’d seen tens of thousands of times while playing.

[Camellia Lord uses Dominate on the Hellhound Pack and the Hell Sentinel.]

Success Required: 20

[Beginning Check!]

Inside the hologram, a twelve-sided die began rolling.

Wait…

The target number was 20, but the game was rolling a d12.

Wouldn’t that automatically fail?

Not at all.

There was a reason she’d carefully selected every trait.

[Mind Sorcerer] grants +1 d12.

[Mind Sorcerer] ignores the target’s Mental Resistance roll.

Mind Sorcerer: +6

Nephilim: +2

Immortal Charm: +2

Clear Mind: …

Ding! Ding! Ding!

One bonus after another was added.

The perfectly optimized build she’d painstakingly assembled worked together flawlessly.

Result: 22 / 20

[Critical Success!]

[Remarkable Achievement!]

She’d exceeded even the maximum required score.

Instantly…

Every monster creeping toward them froze in place as though nailed to the ground.

It worked?

Just imagining the spell was enough.

It activated exactly like it had in the game.

Then… can I use combos too?

In Dark Tower, repeatedly casting the same spell or skill increased its effectiveness.

Players strategically chained skills together into devastating combos.

Sorcerers possessed relatively few spells.

But in exchange, they could cast the same spell up to three consecutive times without spending Action Points.

They were one of the few classes capable of wiping out an entire battlefield in a single turn.

I’ve already brainwashed them once, so their Mental Resistance should now be negative…

Which meant…

She could perform that combo.

A devastating tactic only a Mind Sorcerer could use from the very beginning of the game.

No reason not to.

Without hesitation, she cast Dominate again.

“Die.”

The dice rolled once more.

Rattle…

[Beginning Check!]

Then came the cheerful sound she had been hoping for.

Ding!

[Critical Success!]