NOVEL NEXT Chapter 0
There is a game called ‘Million Dungeon Lord.’
Shortened, it’s referred to as ‘MilDon.’
Overall, it’s a typical dungeon defense game where the user, as the Dungeon Lord and a Demon Lord Candidate, defends a dungeon.
Although there’s a unique element where the user’s avatar fights directly on the front lines, the actual player controls mostly revolve around summoning Summons, making or purchasing traps, and configuring the Dungeon. In the wave defense stages, direct manipulation is impossible.
Even the configuration of the Dungeon can be set up to progress automatically with just some guidelines, making it feel like about 80% of the experience is akin to bonsai gardening games.
By spending resources, users can also customize their avatars, and occasionally, they can summon special characters, making it an ordinary freemium game.
To be honest, it wasn’t a particularly entertaining game.
– Not even a million players? Can’t even reach a thousand including NPCs?
– Characters are pretty, but this game is just… there’s really nothing to do.
– After achieving a thousand hours with unlimited content, it seems there’s almost nothing left to do?
I heard such sentiments among the few remaining veterans, not even casual players.
However, bonsai games aren’t played for pure enjoyment, right? They’re a way to spend a brief moment amidst a busy life.
Like the veteran players, I often referred to this game as a trash game, but to me, it was still engaging enough to keep me around.
‘Isn’t it fine that it didn’t gain popularity?’
So I played for about three years, enjoying the game only when I wanted to see my avatar after it became a Demon Lord… or rather, I let it sit there.
“Thank you. Demon Lord ‘Libertus!’
We would like to inform you that you have achieved 10,000 hours of gameplay!”
‘Ah, here we go again.’
So when such a message came, I didn’t suspect anything either.
I’d received messages like this at 100 hours, 200, 500, and even a thousand hours with bonus gifts.
But when I hit 2,000 or 5,000 hours, I thought it was weird they didn’t come then, so I assumed it would show up at 10,000.
“To the esteemed Demon Lord who has flourished together with dungeons in our ‘Million Dungeon Lord’ world over a long time, here are the gifts…”
This special gift was a form of cash-like rewards for paid items, which I welcomed.
The game’s gacha was pretty generous, so there wasn’t much burden, but who doesn’t like free stuff?
Thus, the moment I opened the message, I felt that pleasant anticipation wouldn’t disappear.
“… And lastly, as a special gift for reaching 10,000 hours, we grant you the ‘Free Customization License’ to design your own Demon Lord, along with an ‘Alpha Test Participation Ticket’ to enjoy the upcoming ‘Million Dungeon Lord 2’ in advance!”
“Wow.”
Until I saw this message.
Though it wasn’t a particularly entertaining game, it never raised issues with service or in-game purchases, and there weren’t any server management problems, so I had no bad memories associated with it.
After enjoying it for three years alongside my daily life, the bond I formed only grew stronger.
It was exciting news that rekindled my motivation.
“The form of the Demon Lord you design here will also carry over as a Demon Lord Candidate in the sequel, so decide wisely!”
So, I decided to reference my favorite characters from animations and various 2D games, aiming to design the prettiest avatar possible.
Since female characters are the norm in game avatars.
‘It’s 3D… Are they really trying to pull this off? I just hope they don’t abruptly shut down the server again.’
It wasn’t a trash game, but neither could it be called a divine one, so there’s no way it opted for lavish 3D graphics.
Still, the hint of potential 3D design in the sequel was enough to ignite the enthusiasm buried within me.
Perhaps they’ve seen more revenue than expected.
I had thought I’d long since fallen out of touch due to my busy life, but it seems that wasn’t entirely the case.
In the end, I spent all my free time on customization on my day off.
“… Dammit.”
Of course, if I’d known it would be like this, I would never have done it.
“Can someone explain why this is happening to me…?”
Being sucked into the game world.
Something I thought only happened in novels was actually happening to me.
Transmigration to another world.
And in the form of the character I just customized.
So, in a woman’s form, no less.