Chapter 1 : Miracle

“No, this is ridiculous.”

Mumbling softly, I stared at the monitor. Beyond the screen, soldiers and the masses stood in formation. The memorial procession stretched all the way to the outer gates.

The old man, with white hair, lying in the coffin was my avatar and the protagonist of the game, Kan.

He was the legendary hero of the human realm, the great general of the empire, and the one who had created the myth of invincibility.

“…No way, did he die of natural causes?”

My voice trembled in disbelief.

I wondered if I was the only one to see the game end through natural death.

In the game, Kan’s age was set to 80.

It couldn’t have been a coincidence that his lifespan ended exactly at 80, so I imagined that the maximum age was set at 80 because there were no further updates or content.

This seemed like a well-founded conclusion because, even though my character had begun to show signs of aging, I had made sure to manage his stats well enough to keep them from deteriorating.

According to the game developers, once aging set in, stats were supposed to drop, and Kan was meant to die in battle. But with effort and battle strategies, I had covered up the effects, so there seemed to be no other way.

As the funeral procession continued, my achievements and the legacy of a gaming addict surged forward like the closing credits of a film.

• 282 battles in land warfare, 282 victories, undefeated
• 102 battles in naval warfare, 102 victories, undefeated
• 89 battles in siege warfare, 89 victories, undefeated
• 54 battles in defense warfare, 54 victories, undefeated
• 48 duels, 48 victories, undefeated
• Victories against stronger armies with inferior forces
• Maintained maximum loyalty from all subordinate commanders
• Mastered all types of military techniques
• Mastered all types of magical arts
• Achieved the rank of Great General…

Finally, Kan’s coffin was buried underground, and a single phrase appeared above it.

「Game Over」

“Shit.”

A curse escaped my throat before I could suppress it.

If there’s no content left, they should update the game, not just end it like this.

Just ten minutes ago, with these frail stats, I had decapitated an enemy general!

“My time, my life spent on this game, all gone, fading away like dust.”

Even during my school years, after military service, and after getting a job, I had never let go of this game. But now, I guess it was time to say goodbye.

With a tear in my eye, I moved the mouse to close the window.

“…Huh?”

A purple magic circle slowly appeared above Kan’s grave, emitting light.

My cold heart reignited with a spark of joy.

“Right! This can’t be how it ends!”

When the hidden ending appeared, I got excited like a monkey.

Until the massive light engulfed me, along with the word “Continue.”

“What the—”

I lost consciousness and was sucked into the light.

Inside a small cave, which couldn’t even be called a dungeon.

“Is this real…? This time, a good monster will appear, right…?”

Rupia, who was of the demon king bloodline, was nervously fiddling with a “gacha-based monster contract” sold by the shady black cat merchant.

The price was 10 gold per draw.

She had already drawn five times, but each time, it was a complete waste with no monsters, only empty cans.

Half of her dungeon funds were already gone.

“Of course. It’s real, I swear.”

Without revealing the 0.1% chance, the shady black cat merchant continued to lick a jelly, his tongue darting out.

“Five times in a row without getting anything… surely, it’s time for something to appear?”

“Ugh…!”

Rupia squeezed her eyes shut, and tears ran down her chubby cheeks.

With only 100 gold, there was no way she could summon a strong monster like a demon lord or a military commander.

In the end, she had no choice but to rely on the draws.

“Please… just one strong monster…!”

Rupia trembled as she placed 10 gold on the contract.

The contract swallowed the gold and began to emit a blinding light that filled the entire cave.

“…Eh?”

The shady black cat merchant was taken aback.

This was the first time the contract had reacted so intensely.

The contract drew a magic circle on the floor, and with a dense mist, it summoned a beautifully decorated coffin.

In front of it was a tombstone.

The black cat slowly read the inscription on the tombstone, which was like a warranty for the body inside the coffin.

“The legend of the human realm, the undefeated myth… Great General Kan sleeps here…?”

“Ho-ho-ho! Ho-goooook!?”

Rupia, with eyes as wide as a full moon, flapped her arms in excitement as though she was about to fly.

“No, no way.”

As the black cat muttered in disbelief, the lid of the coffin creaked open, and a skeleton slowly emerged from the mist.

The black cat screamed as if it were a nightmare.

“D-Death Knight—!”

So strong, born out of the resentment of a warrior who had not died in battle. An undead summoned under the banner of the greatest warrior the demon realm had never seen.

Its overwhelming presence was comparable to that of a dragon, the king of all monsters.

Rupia could no longer hold back and tears of joy streamed down her face.

“I did it…!”

She clasped her hands together and shouted.

“We finally have a real general in our demon army! Hooray!”

In front of her, the summoned Death Knight, Kan, was speechless, only his jaw creaking.

I had no idea how much time had passed in the game, but my body had already turned to bones.

A little girl, with adorable horns and a ragged cloak, shyly wiggled her hands and introduced herself.

“I’m Rupia Hon Derbil Balotus, of the demon lord Balotus’ bloodline…”

“…Kan.”

I respawned as a monster in a dungeon.

The girl who resurrected me said she summoned me to rebuild the crumbling dungeon.

After hearing the full story, it took me a while to calm down.

“I never thought something like this, which only happens in novels or comics, would happen to me…”

Looking at the situation, it seems like there’s no way to go back for now.

I decided to accept the reality.

“Nice to meet you, my lord.”

“Hogok! M-my lord..!”

At the word “my lord,” Rupia, with her round cheeks puffed up, was overjoyed.

“Hehehe, my lord, my lord! The legendary general of the human world is calling me ‘my lord!’”

Is this what a Demon Lord supposed to be like?

Wasn’t it supposed to be some kind of terrifying being using unimaginable magic to strike fear into mortals?

“She seems a little young.”

Since the game functions carried over when I was reincarnated, I mentally called up Rupia’s status window.

Rupia Hon Derbil Balotus

• Race: Demon
• Status: Demon Lord of the Balotus Demon Lord’s Army
• Rank: S

▶ Stat Details

• Strength: 8
• Intelligence: 9
• Magic: 1
• Dexterity: 3
• Stamina: 4

▶ Traits

• Optimism (D)
• Fussy Eater (F)
• Cuteness (F)
• Easy Target (F)

As expected, she’s ridiculously weak.

“How is she even a Demon Lord?”

More than anything, the fact that the dungeon is still operating is surprising.

I shook off my confusion and checked my own status window.

Kan

• Race: Death Knight
• Status: General of the Balotus Demon Lord’s Army
• Rank: S

▶ Stat Details

• Strength: 100
• Intelligence: 89
• Magic: 90
• Dexterity: 97
• Stamina: 99

▶ Traits

• Commander (S)
• Swordmaster (S)
• Indomitable (S)
• Grand Sorcerer (A)
• Intimidation (A)

A dazzling array of stats and skills built up over countless hours.

Moreover, there was some good news.

“Looks like the aging debuff is gone.”

The debuff that weighed me down like sandbags had vanished, and all my stats returned to their peak condition.

It seems that since I’m already dead and won’t age anymore, it disappeared.

With stats like these, even if Rupia is weak, there shouldn’t be any problem rebuilding the dungeon.

Finally, I needed to understand the situation of Rupia’s Demon Lord army and the dungeon.

“My lord, I’d like to see the dungeon’s forces. Is that possible?”

“Ah, of course! This way…”

With her ragged cloak trailing behind her, Rupia excitedly led the way like a child going on a picnic.

Monsters started appearing one by one at Rupia’s call.

Three goblins and one golem.

That was all.

“They’re loyal subordinates who stayed with me to the end when the dungeon was in danger.”

Rupia said proudly, but their condition was far from what she described.

The three goblins were either picking their noses or standing on one leg, as if wondering why they were called.

The golem, even if you tried to praise it, was just a stone that could move.

At this point, it seemed like they had nowhere else to go and were just stuck here.

Woong, woong.

Then, a sharp alarm began to ring from deep within the dungeon.

“Ugh…!”

Rupia and the three goblins were startled and quickly scattered, leaving the entrance behind.

The golem just stood there, staring blankly.

Rupia, hidden behind a rock set up like a barricade near the entrance, frantically gestured.

“General! Quickly, hide this way!”

“…What is going on?”

“Th-there are intruders in the dungeon…!”

Rupia peeked her head out from between the rocks and trembled all over.

I also held my breath, tense.

“Right after arriving, it’s an adventurer’s party… this is a disaster.”

I still wasn’t fully prepared for battle.

First, I needed to assess the strength of the intruders.

I swallowed an imaginary lump in my throat and carefully observed the shadows slowly approaching the entrance.