Chapter 3
Getting a Grasp of the Status Quo — Part 2
General Information
Name: Yuki
Race: Archdemon
Cla.s.s: Demon Lord
Level: 1
HP: 2100/2100
MP: 6700/6700
Strength: 651
Stamina: 685
Agility: 550
Magic: 897
Dexterity: 1250
Luck: 70
Skill Points: 5
Unique Skills
Magic Eye
Translation
Skills
Item Box
a.n.a.lyze Lv . 1
t.i.tles
Demon Lord from Another World
DP: 1000
***
I blinked a few times in surprise as I continued looking over my status page . I’d apparently not only lost my humanity, but also became a Demon Lord . Confusion coursed through my mind, but only for a moment . The w*kipedia-like database implanted in my head promptly answered all my concerns and informed me that a Demon Lord was in fact not an evil ruler that propagated a doctrine of violence and conquest, but rather just a term used to describe an individual in charge of a dungeon . For all intents and purposes, demon lord and dungeon master were synonymous .
My name was Yuki . It was basically the exact same as the name I used to have prior to my death, save for the fact that it was written in katakana as opposed to kanji . [1] The loss of the kanji that denoted my first name made it feel even more girly than it already had . [2] That said, my first name was faring better than my last name, which’d flat out been deleted .
I didn’t really have anything to compare my stats to, so I couldn’t really gauge how good they were . But in any case, my luck looked ridiculously low, which did make sense given the accidental nature of my death . What I couldn’t make sense of was my dexterity . I didn’t ever do anything that required me to develop precision or finesse . I was never into the arts .
After I was done checking out my stats, I moved on and started examining my skills . I swiped my finger across each item in turn in order to get a better grasp of my own abilities .
Of the four I had, three were pretty intuitive given their names . a.n.a.lyze allowed me to inspect something and determine its stats . Leveling it up would increase the level of detail displayed . Item Box allowed me to store items in a dimensional rift whose size was relative to my max MP . Translation allowed me to remain both conversational and literate even though I’d been whisked away to another world . My last and least intuitive skill, magic eye, was innate to my race . Apparently, it allowed me to see magical power . I couldn’t actually tell whether or not it was of any use . As far as I was concerned, magic was still pretty much a foreign concept .
Each skill had a level a.s.sociated with it, ranging from one to ten . Skill points could be used to bolster skill levels, with higher leveled skills requiring more points .
The second last part of my status page was a section containing t.i.tles . At the moment, I had just one, Demon Lord from Another World . It’s description read as follows: A t.i.tle granted to an individual originating from outside this world . Those that bear this t.i.tle will automatically obtain the translation skill .
“I guess that doubles down and confirms that this really is another world…” I muttered .
I was done looking through my stat page, so I dismissed it and tapped the DP Catalogue b.u.t.ton . The menu switched to another screen, one displaying a list of items . Each was accompanied by a number, their cost in DP . The list contained all the typical things you’d expect to see in a fantasy-based JRPG: swords, s.h.i.+elds, staves, armour, and the whole shebang . But that wasn’t all . It also contained a wide variety of non-fantastical items . I could choose to purchase cups, toothbrushes, food, and all my other everyday necessities as well . There were even consoles and games, but their prices were exorbitant and way beyond what I could afford .
The DP Catalogue, as a whole, seemed really convenient . It looked like my purchases would get delivered to me the moment I made the exchange .
Browsing the catalogue kind of reminds me of online shopping . The whole system feels kinda out of place given the fantasy-esque setting, but hey, it’s convenient, so I’m not complaining .
All in all, it seemed like there were two different types of items . There were the items from this world, which, in general, tended to be less expensive, and the items from my world, which were precisely the opposite . It was almost as if the latter group of items were only present and purchasable because I knew they existed . They seemed too inconsistent and out of place to be there for any other reason .
The third function I checked was the gacha function . It seemed that I could choose between four different gachas, with their prices being: 100 DP, 1000 DP, 10000DP, and 100000 DP respectively . There didn’t seem to be a list of prizes anywhere . I’d have to go in blind if I wanted to try my luck .
The final menu b.u.t.ton, the “Dungeon” b.u.t.ton, took me to a page that had a ton of options pertaining to the dungeon’s core functions . It allowed me to add to the number of floors, increase the size of the dungeon’s domain, summon monsters, and much more . There was far too much information for me to take it all in at once, so I decided to refrain from checking out the details for the time being .
It seemed that the dungeon itself was a living thing, a species of organism often born in places with a high concentration of magical particles . Like many other organisms, dungeons were born weak and frail . They were incredible easy to destroy early on in their infancy .
Humans were particularly well known for their dungeon-crus.h.i.+ng antics . Their attacks were heavily driven by greed . Or at least what I a.s.sumed to be greed . The dungeon’s core, the rainbow-like orb that served as its heart, looked like it could fetch a pretty penny on the market .
Unfortunately, humans weren’t the only creatures that attacked dungeons . Monsters, members of this world’s wildlife, did as well . Dungeon cores were rich in mana, and thus, the monsters’ instincts drove them to hunt them .
In other words, dungeons had enemies on all sides .
Everyone and everything was hostile .
And it was for that reason that dungeons summoned demon lords, guardians that could protect them from the harsh environments in which they were born . Dungeons concentrated their magical energies in their demon lords and allowed them to become much more powerful than ever before . In exchange, the demon lords protected the dungeons and bolstered their chances of survival .
It was a picture perfect example of a symbiotic relations.h.i.+p .
Most dungeons obtained their demon lords by drawing in nearby monsters and rebirthing them . My dungeon, however, had been born in an area with an abnormally high concentration of magical particles . It was much more powerful than its peers . It invested nearly all of its energy into summoning a being more suited to the role: me . It’d selected me even though I’d already died in another world and become nothing more than just a soul .
Wait, that means the dungeon thinks that I’m much more suited to being a demon lord than all the other candidates it came across? The h.e.l.l!? Makes me think I’m evil incarnate or something . Feels bad man .
My race had been altered because the dungeon believed that I would be able to do my job better as an archdemon . The change had only been made possible by my soul’s affinities . I was apparently just innately suited to being an archdemon .
Uh… Alright, let’s chalk that up to the fact that I used to play an archdemon in that one MMO I really liked .
…
Okay, yeah no . That’s total bulls.h.i.+t and I know it .
I sighed . I didn’t quite feel like contemplating my own moral alignment, so I let my mind wander . The first thing it latched back onto was my stats . To reiterate, I had no idea how powerful I was relative to everything else . The world I’d been reincarnated in was filled with violence . It lacked the peace that my old world had basically bathed in . Monsters roamed the land, fighting and killing for the sake of self preservation . Wars and other armed conflicts were the norm . Surviving was going to be tough if I was too weak .
After another moment’s worth of contemplation, I turned my gaze towards the dungeon core .
It and I had become two parts of a whole . It played a heavy hand in maintaining the vessel that functioned as my body . If it were to be destroyed, then I was sure to follow . And because I’d become both the owner and manager of most of its resources, it too would weaken, dwindle away, and die if I were to lose my life .
Neither the dungeon nor I could survive without the other .
It’d become my second heart, and I’d become its second body .
Though I did resent it for summoning me into a world completely filled with barbaric brutality, I was still plenty grateful that it’d given me a second shot at life .
I decided that I would live it out however I wanted, enjoying my days as they pa.s.sed, that I wouldn’t waste the opportunity I’d been granted .
And that, for my own sake, I would protect the dungeon’s core .
It’d given me another chance . Defending it was well worth my time .
I let a bit of a smile show up on my face as I used a bit of DP to purchase a mirror . I needed to check myself over so I could evaluate precisely what becoming an archdemon had entailed .
***
[1] Katakana is the j.a.panese alphabet normally used for when you’re just trying to sound out a word . It is seen most commonly when j.a.panese people try to use foreign words in text . Kanji is Chinese hanzi characters used in a j.a.panese context . While it’s possible to guess some of their p.r.o.nounciations based off precedent, it’s much, much more difficult if not often impossible .
[2] Yuki is typically a girl’s name . The old spelling of his name was likely something that had manly kanji in it . Note that Yuki is different from Yuuki, which is typically a boy’s name .