When I Was Reincarnated into the World of an Ultra-Difficult Game, I Ended Up As the Sole Subordinate of the Ridiculously Strong yet Incompetent Demon Lord, Tasked with Creating a Dungeon
“Your Majesty… It’s frustrating, but we really are not strong enough…”
“…As expected, the Rush Guardian is not so easily dealt with.”
I had hoped that, like the Soul Eater, it would be some kind of special entity, with some abnormality that worked in our favor…
But no matter how many times we tried, there were no such signs.
It was, frustratingly, the Rush Guardian we knew.
“Let’s retreat. It’s not like we’re completely powerless against it.”
“I’m sorry…”
“There’s nothing to apologize for. In fact, I’m grateful that you kept trying with me.”
“We will accompany you as many times as needed, as long as it’s your command, Your Majesty.”
“I’ll be counting on you again when the time comes.”
But now is not the time to rely on their strength.
They specialize in battle and defense, but this opponent is not one that can be confronted head-on.
We’ll have to take a more indirect approach.
◇
“Hmm…”
“What’s wrong? You’re making a difficult face.”
“Pilkaya, huh? It’s about those Dark Elves, you see.”
“Oh, don’t tell me you miscalculated and wiped them all out?”
“I did not miscalculate…”
What does she think I am, this damn Four Heavenly Kings?
She’s far more lethal than I am.
…Speaking of which, what about Primilla ?
She’s the only one I can’t quite picture killing others.
“So, did something happen?”
“Not exactly a problem, but they’re still too cautious, and things aren’t going well.”
“But you’ve gotten pretty deep inside, haven’t you? You even reached the Rush Guardian earlier, right?”
“That was only because our monsters were holding back as much as possible to avoid casualties on either side.”
The monsters have gotten better at pretending to be defeated or running away.
If they were beastmen or humans, just making them think we were a little stronger would have been enough to push them into reckless exploration.
Maybe choosing Dark Elves was a mistake?
They’re exploring in decent numbers, so we do get a steady income from entry fees, but there’s no other real gain.
The moment the monsters actually start attacking, they retreat right away…
Especially since that “Queen” of theirs showed up.
Is she really the queen of the Dark Elves?
If we targeted or captured her, would they throw themselves at the dungeon in desperation?
“Should we break them by taking out the Queen…?”
If this is their strongest force, then even our current Demon Lord’s army might be able to handle them.
Maybe it’s time to eliminate one of the other races.
“Hmm… I wouldn’t recommend it.”
“You think it’s a bad idea? The Dark Elves don’t seem very numerous, and they haven’t formed alliances with other groups. Even if they fall, it wouldn’t have much impact, right?”
“Maybe not for them, but they have a bad history with the Elves. If they were to go extinct, the Elves would definitely find out.”
“Ah… and then Zino would hear about it, then it’d reach Kunimatsu and the Hero, huh?”
What a nasty chain reaction.
This really might have been a mistake.
The beastmen were better—short-tempered and eager to fight. Looking back, they were perfect for the dungeon’s test phase.
Maybe I should keep modifying the dungeon?
No… The current balance between survivors and casualties is just right.
I can’t mess with that.
“I guess we just have to wait until they lower their guard and take the long view…”
Through the shared vision, I could see another group of Dark Elves arriving today, just like before.
They were trying to break into the room guarded by the Rush Guardian.
…Too bad for them, it’s a dead end.
◇
“Well, that’s the plan, so I’ll be counting on you.”
“You sure know how to ask the impossible… Timing this right is a huge pain, you know?”
“It’s a pain, but not impossible. Isn’t that the real answer?”
“Enough with the word games… Fine, fine. It’s the Queen’s orders, so I guess we’ll give it our best shot.”
The subordinates I brought this time all specialize in teleportation magic.
To those unfamiliar with magic, they were feared as people who could teleport anywhere, anytime, at any distance.
How foolish. If teleportation magic were truly so omnipotent, we Dark Elves would have long since ended all racial conflicts.
In reality, precise coordinates must be set up, and teleportation is only possible between predetermined locations.
The larger the object being teleported, the greater the strain.
If it’s a living being, the burden increases even more.
Unfortunately, teleportation magic is only that powerful.
And yet, they were branded as dangerous individuals and eventually ended up as my subordinates.
“It is an undeniable fact that they excel in teleportation magic.
That’s why I’m done playing along with you so naively.
‘We’ll lure the Rush Guardian to its limit. The coordinates have already been set from our previous attempts. Let’s bypass that troublesome monster.’
We have to lure it as far as possible to avoid being immediately repelled after teleporting.
It would have been ideal to set the coordinates inside the room, but as I’ve said before, teleportation magic isn’t that omnipotent.
The best we could do was set the teleportation point at the spot where the Rush Guardian is usually stationed.
‘It’s coming… Now!’
Just before the barrier touched us, we teleported past the Rush Guardian, slipping right behind it.
Stay calm. The real challenge begins now.
Teleportation sickness and the strain of using the magic cause a slight state of dizziness.
The Rush Guardian quickly realizes we are behind it, turns around, and charges at us again.
‘Don’t panic… Move carefully and surely!’
Ah, this is another frustrating thing about teleportation magic.
The burden is enormous for both the caster and the one being teleported.
We should have separated the roles of the magic user and the one affected by the spell.
Ugh, no time for that now.
We’ll deal with it later. Since teleportation magic isn’t meant for combat, we hadn’t given this much thought before.
‘My Queen, we’ve made it…’
‘Yes, and I’ve closed the door. Now, it’s up to that thing.’
Barely managing to slip into the room the Guardian was protecting, we hold our breath.
Will it chase us inside and force us out? Even I don’t know.
Maybe it’s exhaustion, or maybe it’s instinct keeping us quiet.
In the eerily silent room, we remain still, tense and waiting.
Seconds pass. The heavy footsteps of the Rush Guardian stop in front of the door.
…Will it come in? No, the sound stops entirely.
Looks like we won the gamble. It’s not entering the room.
Does it refuse to enter the area it protects to avoid damaging it?
No, no time to analyze that now.
Let’s see what treasures this room holds.
‘There are five treasure chests… but nothing else of importance.’
‘I’m sure those chests hold incredible items or equipment!’
That would be the logical assumption.
Demons can’t take treasure from the chests.
Even if they threw the contents outside, the dungeon would just generate new chests.
That’s why the Demon Lord decided to guard rooms where treasure spawns.
Meaning, these chests have been left untouched for a long time, growing in value.
I can’t help but feel excited.
‘I’m opening one.’
I declare to my subordinates and lift the lid.
But instead of items or gear, a poisonous mist bursts out.
We are slowed by the poison and, in the end, are pushed out of the dungeon by the Rush Guardian…
◇
‘Oh, they opened the chest.’
‘What’s inside!? A revival potion? A revival potion!?’
‘Come on, we wouldn’t bait them with something that valuable…’
Don’t get too excited just because you heard “treasure chest.”
Has this Demon Lord been conditioned somehow…?
‘Ah… The chest released poison mist.’
Lady Fiona, who had been observing the dark elves closely, confirmed the trap’s effect.
The chests in that room had already been emptied.
However, since the boxes themselves remained, I repurposed them by stuffing them with poison mist traps.
Normally, Dungeon Master skills don’t allow placing traps in treasure chests.
So, I had to manually set a poison mist trap in a random floor, activate it, and then forcibly collect and store the mist inside the chest.
Maybe because of that crude method, the poison’s effectiveness was disappointingly weak.
‘Hmm… It doesn’t even immobilize them completely. They just walked out of the dungeon.’
‘You mean they fled desperately?’
‘Still, it didn’t work as well as hoped. If it had, we could have captured them like we did with Kazama’s group.’
‘But it’s a terrifying trap, isn’t it? Opening a chest full of excitement, only to be hit with poison instead of treasure… I’d cry if that happened to me.’
‘That’s just you, Lady Fiona.’
She protests, but honestly, she might be the only one who’d cry over that…
The treasure chest trap was a failure.
At least I learned that I should rely on Dungeon Master skills for making traps in the future.”
