RD | Chapter 3

The trackers of the Warikka tribe puffed up their scale-covered skin.

Their heads resembled those of fish, with gills on their necks. Their lower bodies were covered in scales, but unlike fish, they had a pair of legs. Long fingers and toes were webbed, creating a splashing sound with every step they took. In the water, they were unrivaled warriors. However, their strength did not diminish on land.

They were monsters—born warriors and relentless hunters. Their insatiable desire for blood and dark energy made them perfectly suited to evolve from mere beasts into demonic beings.

When they spotted the fleeing humans, they puffed their skin with joy. Their scales parted, revealing the blood gleaming beneath, a testament to their happiness.

Their reddened skin glistened.

Human blood.

The negative energy born from human despair.

Dark energy. By consuming it, they would grow stronger.

That was the ultimate goal of all monsters.

The Demon Realm was a world of the strong.

With humanity wiped out and the Middle Realm swallowed by the Demon Realm, humans, reduced to mere prey, needed to understand their fate.

As the Warikka tracker puffed up its skin, the scales trembled and began to breathe.

Humans were nearby.

Found them!

The tracker tilted its head back, releasing blood in excitement. The blood that burst forth from its cracked scales shot into the air and exploded in the void.

Other members of the Warikka tribe, drenched in the splattered blood, shared in the joy while their skin gleaming red.

There—they’re in that cave.

The foolish prey had scurried into a place where escape was impossible.

Fifteen Warikka trackers entered the dark cave, puffing up their skins as they absorbed the cave’s moisture.

This battleground was perfect for them.

The lingering dampness in the cave clung to their skin, rejuvenating the once-dried scales with newfound vitality.

“Ahhh! They’re here!”

“Run! Hurry!”

The scent of fear led the humans to scream as they fled.

Splash, splash, splash!

The Warikka trackers slammed their webbed feet against the ground, pursuing their prey. It seemed the humans had initially tried to resist with branches, which they now discarded in panic. As expected, humans were helpless. Monsters, who despised the weak, considered it only natural for humans to be relegated to prey.

Absorbing the moisture with their entire bodies, the trackers ran. As soon as they entered the first clearing beyond the long tunnel of the cave…

Screeeeech?!

They let out an odd cry. The ground beneath them gave way.

It was a pitfall, though it barely counted as one. The depth was no more than ankle-high.

Screee!

Ignoring the pathetic trap, they trampled over it. No, it wasn’t a trap. The cowardly prey had merely thrashed about to buy themselves a few more moments of life.

If only the humans used the branches they’d carried to stab the trackers thats stuck in the ankle-deep pit, things might have been different. But true to their instincts, the humans fled instead. Even if they had attacked with branches, the moist, slippery skin of the trackers would have deflected the blows. Humans should never have fled into the cave. Facing the trackers in a dry environment would have been their best chance.

The scent of humans grew stronger, stinging their nostrils.

The cave had ended. The prey had nowhere left to run.

Gathered together, the prey clung to the wall without any sign of resistance.

The lead Warikka tracker spewed blood, signaling an attack.

At that moment…

“Please!”

With a desperate scream, the trackers felt their bodies grow heavy.

What was this?

Slip—

One of the Warikka warriors lost balance, unable to plant its foot properly.

Thud!

It fell. The trackers, mid-charge, couldn’t avoid the sudden obstacle in the narrow dungeon corridor and toppled over each other.

“Waaaah!”

“Throw it now!”

From above, the humans hurled branches at them.

The lead Warikka tracker sneered at the foolishness of their prey. Such weapons wouldn’t work. The trackers began regaining their balance, readying themselves for a second charge.

Suddenly, an arrow whistled through the air.

Though it flew fast, it lacked power and simply plopped onto the ground.

Screee! Screee!

The trackers mocked the humans’ final, pathetic resistance, but heat radiated from the object attached to the arrow causing flames to ignite. Fire grew and crawled from the cave floor up the trackers’ bodies in an instant.

…

The Warikka warriors burned without even a single scream. The moisture they absorbed turned out to be from the puddles in the cave, stretching all the way to the final chamber where the humans had fled.

In that last chamber, Sema was casting a <Liquid Property Transformation> spell. It was a magic that performed poorly under pressure and, but after all, changing water into oil was a difficult transformation.

The magician had succeeded in transforming the water into oil after hundreds of attempts.

And that was precisely what his master had intended.

“The slow success of magic.”

If the magician was skilled enough to transform water into oil in one go, the monsters would have realized that what clung to their bodies wasn’t water.

Ian had been observing as each use of <Liquid Property Transformation> gradually altered the moisture in the cave.

“Liquid Property Transformation! Ah! Liquid Property Transformation! Agh?!”

Ding!
[Progress of Property Change: 1%]

Ding!
[Progress of Property Change: 2%]

By slowly altering the properties of the liquid, the monsters eagerly absorbed the cave’s moisture without realizing something strange settled on their skin.

‘And the trap.’

From the beginning, Ian had no expectation that the humans would fight back against the monsters. No matter how terrifying a tyrant might be, wasn’t it natural for the immediate threat of a monster to spark greater fear?

Instead of issuing useless commands like “Fight back,” Ian gave simple, clear instructions, “Dig traps. They don’t need to be deep. Just enough to buy time.”

‘There’s no time anyway.’

“Is… is that really enough?”

Someone gathered enough courage to ask. Even amidst their fear, they were sharp enough to understand that shallow ankle-deep traps wouldn’t seriously harm monsters.

Ian lacked manpower. In the original game tutorial for Ian’s route, the only recruitable character was the three-star hero, the “incompetent” Sema. But here….

‘Maybe?’

“What’s your name?”

“S-Sorry! I’ll follow your orders!”

Ian suppressed a sigh and tried again.

“Tell me your name. That’s an order.”

“I-I’m Peter! Sorry, sir!”

‘Tyrant mode is oddly satisfying.’

Ian paused to think for a moment.

Ding!
[Character]
Peter the Farmer (★★☆☆☆)

[Reputation]
Farmer, Cheerful

[Skills]
Farming: LV.7

‘Level 7 Farming!’

Ian clenched his fist in triumph.

He was right. In the game, you could only interact with characters who initiated dialogue first. However, in this “tutorial,” Ian could directly ask for a character’s name.

The status window gleamed, registering the two-star hero Peter the Farmer into Ian’s Dungeon.

‘You can recruit subordinates here!’

More importantly, the cheerful trait was invaluable.

‘It helps maintain morale in the dungeon.’

Cheerful characters were naturally less prone to despair. Although Peter had been despairing just moments ago….

‘…Well.’

In any case, Ian ordered Peter to lead the others in digging the ankle traps. These traps slowed the monsters’ advance, creating crucial moments of delay. Every second counted—both for Sema’s magic and Ian’s archery skills, which were frankly terrible.

‘What did he even do during his hunting trips instead of leveling up his archery?’

Admiring Ian’s astonishing incompetence, he practiced shooting arrows. Even with skill bonuses, Ian’s archery was laughable. The only thing the bonuses seemed to enhance was the way he nocked the arrow.

The arrows didn’t fly straight but wobbled and fell to the ground. Forget hitting the wall—they couldn’t even make contact, let alone embed themselves.

“……”

The people who returned from digging traps glanced at Ian with puzzled looks, but he stoically continued his practice.

‘It doesn’t matter if they fall to the ground. I just need to increase the range.’

Eventually, this paid off.

Ding!
[Dungeon Defense Success!]

[Achievements]
Deaths:
Warikka Tracker ×1

Warikka Warrior ×10

Injuries:
Warikka Warrior ×4

[Outstanding Achievement!]
[Your reputation has increased.]

[Character]
Ian the Tyrant (★★★★☆)

[Reputation]
Tyrant, Bastard, Playboy, Lavish, Hedonist, Strategist (+NEW)