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chapter 02
Became the Lord (1)
Why did I have to transmigrate into Dark Tower of all things…?
It wasn’t just dizziness anymore—her stomach churned violently.
This is seriously insane. I’m supposed to endure all the suffering and unfair bullshit the protagonist goes through?
The protagonist of Dark Tower, the “Lord,” was no ordinary character.
To maintain the seal of the “Tower,” the Lord had extended their lifespan for over a thousand years by transferring their soul and memories into homunculus bodies over and over again.
So why would such an overpowered character start at Level 1?
Because everything goes wrong right before the game begins.
During the reincarnation ritual, the hidden mastermind murders the previous Lord.
The only fortunate part was that the ritual didn’t fail completely—the reincarnation still succeeded.
Unfortunately, the newly awakened Lord emerged inside the homunculus body having lost most of their memories and abilities.
And even worse, the Tower seal that had been protected for over a thousand years was broken as well.
The main story of Dark Tower was about fixing that disaster and somehow restoring both the city and the Tower to normal.
The problem is that I became that new Lord…
As if that alone wasn’t enough to drive someone crazy, Dark Tower was also a timed game.
The story gave the player ten years.
At first glance that sounded generous, but unless you wanted to collect dark-fantasy bad endings, you had to clear the Tower within five years to even reach the normal ending.
Wouldn’t it be fine since she was a veteran player who could clear the game blindfolded?
Nope.
The game’s balance was notoriously deranged. Some classes could clear it absurdly easily, while others were so terrible they’d make you cry blood before you succeeded.
And the class she picked—Mind Sorcerer—belonged firmly in the latter category.
How am I supposed to reach the ending with this trash class whose only talent is seducing characters?!
She wanted to tear at her hair in frustration, but she was too cold and dizzy to even lift her arms.
Her recklessly depleted HP almost seemed to whisper:
“You never treasured the stat known as me…”
Worse still, she didn’t even have time to despair.
“Who are you?”
Because beneath the altar stood the knight, Lohengrin, looking up at her with an uneasy expression.
One hand rested on his sword as his gaze shifted repeatedly between the corpse impaled on the monument and her sitting inside the homunculus coffin.
He was probably trying to determine whether she was truly the new Lord—or a murderer pretending to be the homunculus.
This difficulty curve is insane right from the start.
Couldn’t the game just handle this automatically with a dialogue choice?
For now, she decided to answer as normally as possible.
“Who am I, you ask? Have you forgotten the name of this body? I am Camellia.”
Huh?
Why did it come out like that?
I only meant to say that I was Camellia. What’s with the ‘this body’ nonsense?
Lohengrin looked just as startled as she felt.
“You are the Lord? But that body is… far too…”
The knight’s gaze lingered on her face.
What about her face? Why?
Look, I get your confusion, but I’m confused too, okay?
“How insolent. To dare look upon this body with such eyes.”
Again, words completely different from what she intended spilled from her mouth.
Why do I sound like this?!
While she blinked in bafflement, a holographic window popped into view with a sharp ping, as though offering an explanation.
It was the status screen.
By coincidence, the trait window she had been tinkering with right before everything happened appeared first.
[Immutable Charm]
(Passive)
Charm will never decrease under any circumstances.
※ “Immutable Charm” applies to all actions.
What? Isn’t this just the trait that prevents stat reduction?
It did more than ignore status-down effects.
Its most iconic feature was adding extra dialogue options.
- I didn’t do it!
- I swear upon the bloodline of a [Sorcerer]. I am not the culprit.
- [Immutable Charm] Have you forgotten the name of this body?
Like that.
Wait a second. Dialogue options?
The way I’m speaking right now is exactly the same as the Immutable Charm dialogue options…
She was horrified.
Did “applies to all actions” mean it forcibly altered even the way she spoke?!
Ridiculous as it was, Lohengrin seemed reassured by her arrogant attitude.
“…You truly are the Lord?”
Even his tone softened noticeably.
Maybe because he was a knight, but Lohengrin adored Lords who radiated authority and strength.
Every time the protagonist acted domineering, his affection score shot upward, earning him the nickname “rabid puppy that loves tyrants”—…no, that wasn’t important right now.
Dragging her thoughts back from that absurd tangent, she answered.
Yeah, I’m the Lord.
But what came out of her mouth was:
“Who besides me would dare claim ownership of this domain?”
From her perspective it felt overly dramatic, but thankfully it worked perfectly on Lohengrin.
He immediately dropped to one knee and bowed his head.
“Please forgive this fool for failing to recognize his master, my Lord.”
Then he glanced sideways at the corpse of the previous Lord pinned to the monument.
“If I may ask such an impertinent question… did something go wrong during the ritual?”
“Yes. Something did go wrong.”
She let out a short sigh before continuing.
“And judging by appearances, something has gone wrong outside as well.”
“Correct. Monsters are pouring out from beyond the Tower.”
Lohengrin added in a grave voice:
“We needed your wisdom, my Lord. Though I knew it was rude, I had no choice but to interrupt the ritual. I will gladly accept whatever punishment you deem fit.”
Punishment? Please. Without you I’m completely screwed from here on out.
Once Lohengrin joined the party, the combat tutorial began.
Trying not to show her nervousness, she said:
“Welcoming our guests takes priority. Rewards and punishments can wait.”
Right on cue, a low growling sound echoed through the darkness like beasts snarling.
Instead of panicking, Lohengrin instantly rose to his feet, drawing sword and shield into his hands.
Before him, creatures wreathed in sulfurous smoke slowly emerged from the shadows.
Hellhounds.
And behind them stood “Hell Wardens,” monsters bearing three pairs of horns.
Both enemies normally appeared around the 30th floor of the Tower, making Lohengrin mutter in confusion:
“What…? How are spawn of evil inside the castle?”
Something about crossing dimensions opened during the ritual, I think?
It wasn’t important.
Lore-wise they were floor-30 monsters, but mechanically they were weak enough for even Level 1 players to defeat easily.
Which makes them perfect for testing things.
First, an order to Lohengrin.
“Focus on protecting me.”
Lohengrin gripped his shield tightly.
She was just as tense.
Can I actually use magic?
Mind Sorcerers were a class heavily dependent on skills. Without magic, clearing even the 10th floor would be impossible.
Forget conquering the Tower—if she couldn’t use abilities, her companions might decide she was a fake Lord and stab her in the back.
Please work.
Even clumsy control would be enough. She just needed to use the power at all.
Almost praying internally, she stretched out her hand toward the monsters.
“Stop.”
The moment she commanded them while thinking of Domination, a formless energy drained from her body.
Then a holographic window appeared.
A dice window she had seen tens of thousands of times in the game.
[‘Camellia Lord’ uses Domination on the ‘Hunting Hound Pack’ and ‘Hell Warden’.]
Success Requirement: 20
[Beginning Judgment!]
A twelve-sided die rolled across the hologram.
A success requirement of 20 with only a d12?
Wouldn’t that guarantee failure?
No need to worry.
Traits and perks existed for a reason.
[Mind Sorcerer] perk adds 1 additional d12.
[Mind Sorcerer] perk ignores enemy resistance rolls against mental magic.
+6 from [Mind Sorcerer]
+2 from [Nephilim]
+2 from [Immutable Charm]
+…from [Clear Mind]
Ding! Ding! Ding!
The sound of bonus points stacking up was delightfully cheerful.
And thus, the perfectly optimized build created by a veteran player produced harmonious results.
Result: 22/20
[Great Success!]
[Outstanding Achievement!]
She had exceeded even the maximum possible score.
At the same time, every monster creeping toward them froze in place as if nailed to the floor.
It works?
Just thinking about the skill activated it automatically, exactly like in the game.
Then can I use combos too?
In Dark Tower, chaining the same type of magic or skill repeatedly increased damage and amplified effects, so players strategically abused “combos.”
Sorcerers had fewer spells than other classes, but could cast the same spell up to three times consecutively without consuming action points.
It was one of the few classes capable of devastating “one-shot combos.”
I already used mental domination once, so their mental resistance should be lowered now…
If so, then that combo—the one only Mind Sorcerers could use early on thanks to large-scale brainwashing—should also work.
Then there was only one thing to do.
Without hesitation, she cast Domination again and issued a command.
“Die.”
Rrrrrr.
The dice rolled once more.
[Beginning Judgment!]
Then came another cheerful ding!
[Great Success!]
