RD | Chapter 2

Ian had three skills, and usually, a character’s unique skill was listed first. So, this punk’s unique skill was <Purification>.

Doesn’t it sound like a fancy skill? And honestly, it was pretty useful—later on.

The problem was surviving the trash-tier difficulty in the beginning with a skill that only became useful later in the game.

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What did this game even expect from beginners?

The other two skills, <Horsemanship> and <Archery>, were tied to his reputation as [Extravagant]. In simple terms, it meant he was some spoiled brat who spent his days hunting and playing around.

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Well, fine. This guy doesn’t listen to orders, and his skills are practically useless, but…

There was still a way to make even this piece of trash obey.

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The [Forced Command] feature.

Using it instantly raised your tyrant reputation points, but honestly, could his reputation even get any worse?

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Jeong Yiwon was quickly drawn into the dream of <Reverse Dungeon>. Dreams were meant to be a realm of the impossible, with crises that were often as ridiculously vivid as those in reality.

Like a true efficiency-focused Korean gamer, Yiwon didn’t hesitate to use the <Forced Command> system.

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<Forced Command>. But the command menu didn’t appear.

“…?”

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All he could see was the status window, dungeon management window, and a quest window.

Was this some kind of joke?

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Jeong Yiwon wondered if he had to give the commands directly himself. He tried calling up the command menu again, but nothing happened.

It seemed like that was the case. A poorly crafted dream, trying too hard to be immersive. He glared at the empty air for a moment, then turned to the people sobbing on the ground.

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“Hey. Stop crying and get up, will you? Are you planning to die here?”

“We’re doomed!”

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“We’ve been abandoned with this bastard!”

“….”

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Unbelievable.

No matter how bad things got, wasn’t this guy still a prince? Did they really think it was okay to call him a bastard to his face? Their lives must have been so perilous that they didn’t even care anymore.

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Yiwon turned to the only person who seemed remotely capable of communication—a man in a robe who was watching Ian with a deeply troubled expression.

“No one seems to move willingly, but if you give the command, I’ll try my best to unite them.”

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“Who are you?”

There was only one character who spoke to Ian during this phase of the route. Yiwon figured this guy was probably him, but he decided to ask just to be sure.

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The man looked startled, his expression twisting with fear as he answered.

“Lord Ian. Why are you speaking formally? I’m the mage, Sema. I introduced myself yesterday.”

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That expression seemed to say, Has this bastard finally lost his mind?

Not that Yiwon cared. He had something to check.

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Ding!

“At least this works.”

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The mage barely finished his introduction before the status window popped up.

That was how it worked in the game too. To check someone’s status window, you had to let them introduce themselves first.

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Apparently, that hadn’t changed.

The mage’s status window read as follows:

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[Character]
‘Incompetent’ Sema (★★★☆☆)

[Reputation]
Incompetent, Mage, Clumsy, Weak-hearted

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[Skills]
Water Ball: LV.2
Liquid Property Manipulation: LV.2

This was the mage the king had assigned to Ian. Well, “assigned” was generous—more like discarded.

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When you’re running away with people, a lot of resources are needed. Every additional mouth to feed drains your supplies faster, and every extra person slows your movement.

The king clearly intended to leave behind his useless illegitimate son along with these extra mouths to serve as bait and lighten his load.

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This entire setup was the perfect Ian tutorial. Yiwon suddenly remembered all the salty beginner complaints flooding the game reviews about how they died here.

Idiotic developers.

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Jeong Yiwon turned to Sema and asked, “How do you plan to get these people to move?”

“Well, I—I’m somewhat friendly with them, so they might listen to me more than Lord Ian….”

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Wow, they’ll definitely listen, Yiwon thought sarcastically, immediately abandoning any sliver of hope.

“Forget it. Just splash some water on them.”

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“Huh?”

“Throw a Water Ball at them. Snap them out of it. They’re all sitting there in a daze.”

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“B-but it’ll hurt if they get hit!”

Sema looked shocked. But the completion rate of his spells was barely 50%. A level 2 <Water Ball> would have its power halved on impact.

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Would it even sting?

Yiwon frowned, irritated. “Are they going to die if they get hit?”

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“Well, no, but…”

“If your magic was painful enough to hurt people, the king would’ve kept you around.”

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“W-what?!”

Yiwon realized Sema had completely misunderstood and corrected himself. “I mean, His Majesty would’ve kept you.”

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Even then, Sema’s expression didn’t relax.

“But, Lord Ian! No matter how angry you are, I can’t obey an order to attack an ally!”

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It looked like he’d mustered up every ounce of courage he had to say that.

How high did this guy think of his magic? At your level, it’s not even an attack to begin with, buddy.

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And then—

Piuuung!

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Once again, the sound of something cutting through the air echoed, followed by a bang as red light painted the sky.

The enemies were closing in—closer than before.

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There was no time to wait for this idiot’s magic. Without further thought, Jeong Yiwon notched an arrow onto his bow and aimed at Sema’s throat.

Can I even notch an arrow properly?

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He’d been curious about that as he moved, but Ian’s skill Archery seemed to assist Yiwon’s hands, correcting his movements like a bonus stat in action.

The arrow aimed precisely at Sema’s Adam’s apple.

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Perfect.

“…!”

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Friendly, huh?

If someone’s life is threatened, they’ll at least look over here.

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Sure enough, the sobbing crowd froze in fear, their eyes locking on Yiwon.

“W-what are you doing?!”

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“Move to the front! That’s an order!”

As the arrowhead pressed closer to Sema’s throat, gasps and panic squeals erupted from all around.

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The person in question, Sema, didn’t even dare to breathe.

Jeong Yiwon herded them into the cave directly in front of them—a prime defensive position in Ian’s route.

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It was a dungeon.

—

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[The people are afraid of you.]

[The people think of you as a tyrant!]

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—

Ding, ding!

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The status messages popped up relentlessly. Yiwon pretended not to see them.

This is insane.

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He sighed heavily.

This was why Ian’s route was hopeless. No matter what you did, you couldn’t improve your reputation.

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Even if you managed to hold the defense for now, a long-term negative reputation wouldn’t help. People would rather run away than live under the oppression of a tyrant.

But now wasn’t the time to worry about that.

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—

[You have discovered an unclaimed dungeon.]
[Would you like to become the dungeon’s owner?]

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[Yes / No]

—

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Obviously, ‘Yes.’

“Eek!”

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“Oh.”

Yiwon, gesturing mid-air to confirm, almost stabbed Sema for real.

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[The people are terrified of you.]
[The people are now certain you are a tyrant!]
[Title Change: ‘Bastard’ has been changed to ‘Tyrant.’]

[Character] ‘Tyrant’ Ian (★★★★☆)

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Ah, damn it….

Should he care about this? Probably not.

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But seriously, was [Tyrant] a worse title than [Bastard]? The former didn’t get ignored, at least, unlike the latter.

Yiwon couldn’t help but wonder.

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“Split into groups of ten. We don’t have much time, so listen carefully. I’ll explain what we need to do next.”

“Y-yes, sir!”

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The people responded like peasants addressing a tyrant.

 

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Unlike peasants, that is, since they were actually peasants.

….

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Anyway, Jeong Yiwon started issuing commands.

Soon after the instructed groups scattered to their tasks, only Yiwon and Sema remained at the cave entrance.

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“Sema.”

“Y-yes?!”

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“Sorry. I wasn’t actually going to stab you.” Yiwon reached out and rubbed the mage’s neck awkwardly, trying to make him look as sorry as possible.

He couldn’t afford to make an enemy of the mage. Even if everyone else abandoned him, keeping this mage around was crucial to survival.

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Despite his low success rate and poor spell completion, this mage had one extremely valuable skill.

In Ian’s route, this mage was essential for early survival.

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And Sema had a unique trait that couldn’t be ignored.

Didn’t it show up in his status window?

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‘Weak-hearted Sema.’

This guy was a pushover, as clearly advertised.

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Sema blinked his wide eyes and, to Yiwon’s surprise, responded, “Oh, really?! I-I thought you were going to skewer me for sure. I mean, I’m so useless, so it wouldn’t have been a surprise…. Haha….”

Yiwon stared at him blankly, unsure what to make of his bizarrely low self-esteem. Has this guy been insulted his entire life? Why was he smiling at someone who’d nearly killed him?

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Nonetheless , since it wasn’t a disadvantage, Yiwon took the opportunity to play along.

“What are you talking about? You’re the precious mage His Majesty assigned to protect me. All our lives depend on you.”

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“W-what?! Me?!”

“Yeah. I’m counting on you.”

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“Wh-what do I have to do? Can I even do it?!”

Yiwon hadn’t even explained anything yet, but Sema was already panicking. Someone had definitely been gaslighting him daily.

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In the game, this guy followed orders without any of this unnecessary chatter. But since there wasn’t a Forced Command option here, Yiwon had to endure the conversation.

“Of course you can. You’re the only one who can.”

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“M-me?!”

“Yeah. Can you lower your voice now?”

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“Y-yes sir.”

Sema lowered his voice and squeezed his eyes shut. He clutched at his robe as if preparing for a heart attack, making Yiwon wonder if the guy was about to collapse.

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But then Sema opened his eyes and, with a solemn expression, said, “I-I’m ready now. Please tell me what to do.”

Does this guy even need mental prep just to listen?

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Yiwon bit back a comment and continued. “You’re a water mage, right?”

“Yes. But my water magic isn’t offensive! I can’t even kill a fly with it!” Was that supposed to be a brag?

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“Good. We don’t need to kill flies. I already know what your magic can do.”

“H-how do you know that?! You didn’t even remember my name earlier! Oh, has my name become famous already? Actually, Lord Ian, I’m the most incompetent mage in the royal palace, as you probably already know!”

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“Yes, I know. Say one more word, and we’ll test that incompetence.” Sema promptly shut his mouth.

“You don’t need to attack with water. Look around. We’re in a cave.” Yiwon patiently explained.

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“…?”

When Sema stared at him blankly, Yiwon pointed upward. “What do you see up there?”

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“Stalactites?”

“What’s dripping from them?”

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“Water droplets?”

“And what’s flowing on the ground?”

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“Water…?” Exactly.

What Yiwon needed wasn’t offensive water magic.

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The skill Sema had to use was <Liquid Property Manipulation>.