Dungeon Defense
Dungeon Defense
By Yoo Heonhwa
Completed
10069 Views
46 Chapters
4.28
317 Reviews
Do you know how this world ends? Become the hero and defeat the 72 Demon Lords. The game that was boasted as the absolute hardest strategy game, 『Dungeon Attack』. I used to be the ‘hero’ that had accomplished everything in this game, but after answering a suspicious survey, I found myself in the game as the weakest Demon Lord, 「Dantalian」. With only my eloquent tongue and my memories of conquest as a hero—. In order to survive as Dantalian. I shall tear this world apart.
Chapter 1 - Volume 1
This story is so good! The main character is one of the few intelligent main characters instead of those "genius" main characters that authors love to say are intelligent but behave otherwise.
Try reading up to chapter three and see if you like it.
234
0
2023-07-11
Chapter 2 - Volume 1
This novel started with a halfway interesting concept and quickly ruined it. The MC is somewhat refreshing and original but the story itself is completely obnoxious.
In particular, the story is ruined by decision windows. Every time the author feels the MC is making an important choice a window pops up in his vision that displays his options. It's the s*upidest story device I've ever encountered in my entire life. The MC is not playing a game. He's walking around a fully realized world full of sentient beings. His options cannot be condensed into 2-3 s*upid random choices. He can do whatever the heck he wants to do! Why would the author add these ret*rded pop ups? It's dumb and reading it made me feel s*upider.
If the MC selects an option does he lose all control over his body and is he then forced to recite a prerecorded speech like in a game? If not, then what happens if he selects an option and then does the exact opposite? The author never bothers to explain this and I'm left with the impression that he is writing for people to s*upid to question it. This is just one of the issues with this novel that left me scratching my head and wondering about what the heck was going on. It swiftly became impossible for me to relate to any character as I couldn't even tell if they were real or badly scripted NPCs smacking their empty heads against game walls. Don't read this unless you possess an incredible ability to suspend your disbelief and ignore plot holes. Even then, you're probably better off reading something good.
207
0
2023-07-11
Chapter 2 - Volume 1
I started reading this series and I thought well this seems pretty cool, there is a game mechanic and the main character is interesting as it seems he only acts when forced to but when he does act miracles happen. But after reading volume 2 I am completely disappointed, the MCs personality changed almost completely, now he is spewing sh*t about authority and taking over the world by waging war and whatnot and I am like WTF when did this character development happen? Anyways the series has developed into another Japanese novel where nothing happens, the entire volume is spent talking about nonsense and unimportant things with barely any plot development, in fact after reading volume 2 I realized you could just skip the first 3 chapters and only read the last one and you would still understand the main plot perfectly. Anyways this kind of series full of inconsistencies and nonsense that you can just skip through is what I hate the most. If you like reading tons cutesy character interactions mixed with mass murder and psychopathic behavior (done by the same cutesy characters which is out of place and inconsistent in my opinion) then this shitty novel is the one for you. I also recommend most moe (lots of useless interactions as well) and cutesy horror anime such as Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni and the likes. P.S. The game mechanics that I mentioned? Forget about it, that was only in the prologue and it seems that beyond the one that lets him see other peoples affection he wont be getting anything else anytime soon.
141
0
2023-07-11
Chapter 3 - Volume 1
Cold hearted MC using prior knowledge to construct plans that play out in front of the reader like a magnificent showing at an opera. Side characters that have their own agendas and tend to be quite cunning in their own right. As the reader you can feel the satisfaction of seeing the downfall of characters that are built up only to inevitably fall into the spider's web that is the MC's machination.
It's as though he's playing in a game of wits, showing no mercy despite knowing very well that his opponent (s) came unarmed.
108
0
2023-07-11
Chapter 1 - Volume 1
I will change this review in the future but as of volume 2 I hate the story. The first volume was Amazing. The MC was semi-dark but knew where the line was. The second volume just threw it all out the window and made him a serial killer/Mentality Ill. I basically feel like cheated. Also the Translator said people are expecting this to be shounen. No, I am fine with a dark character who like to kill etc but this is FLAT out crazy/phsyco.
94
0
2023-07-11
Chapter 3 - Volume 1
The first volume was excellent and would have gotten 5 stars from me. Then in the second volume the main character out of nowhere turned into an insane clown, who'll kill people on a whim and start a war out of megalomania and pettiness. Which contradicts the "lazy protagonist type" of the 1st volume and the way he was thinking back there. I'm ok with villain protagonists, but not hypocrites and I want some likability or charisma to MCs. Psychopathy and insanity are boring, unless you pull off Joker, and this novel doesn't. It's well written and may appeal to fans of weak/manipulative MCs (like me), but MC's personality is killing all enjoyment for me.
78
0
2023-07-11
Chapter 1 - Volume 1
Nice twist on transmigrated into a demon story. The translation is also ok (with sufficient editing). Think of it as the darker version of "my death flags show no sign of ending"
74
0
2023-07-11
Chapter 1 - Volume 1
Very good KN novel, MC get ported to a game that hes beaten as the lowest rank demon lord. If you like defense games then give this novel a try, lots of twists and planning going on here.
Chapters are VERY long 7-10k words, props to the translator, he/she is putting a lot of work doing this for us readers.
63
0
2023-07-11
Chapter 3 - Volume 1
This is unfortunately a mixed review:
Volume 1 was amazing: I previously had this series rated 5 stars. If you're considering reading this series, I encourage you to do so, it is definitely worth your time. As others have mentioned, this has emotions and characters.
Volume 1 is a brilliant build up towards the first Night of Walpurgis. The author cleverly introduces characters, gives a complex and heavy past to the MC (lots of room to grow), and uses eloquence and manipulation to create a very nice climax. Volume 2 is still good. I enjoyed the use of flashbacks, the plot devices giving you hints and red herrings of where it might go, and the mellow conclusion. The introduction of romance was also working quite well.
Another thing worth noting is that this is not a hastily slapped together web novel. This is a very well planned and crafted story. Volumes 1 and 2 were obviously reviewed and edited to have great dramatic effect. The pacing is good and the story falls into place.
Our negative protagonist is hinted to be growing into his father's shoes despite the hate he held for him. He is quite obviously destined for greatness and evil, but in volume 1, there is also a very key aspect of elegance to his character. That elegance was something I really saw as integral to his personality. It explained the remarks in the prologue, complemented his physical frailty and fit well with the machinations of the nobility. Author betrays key foundations
I have a number of reasons to suspect that the author fell off his original path:
  • The game elements that were important details at the beginning - and part of his cheat skill selection, practically disappear later.
  • Related to the above, but the choices and infamy/fame. In volume 1, (even in the prologue, which is much later chronologically), the MC was obviously weary and distraught because of his infamy increasing. The choices meant something special, they were part of his internally conflicted psychology. The choices become almost inconsequential later on, having to do with his love life instead of his mental development.
  • If you read the prologue carefully, you see a very different man than the MC in later volumes. He is disappointed in Cristiane because she is selfish and shameless and doesn't have the elegance of the nobility. The whole beauty of a negative protagonist is that they are evil because they make the "right" choices. The prologue really gives that flavour and gave me false expectations.
  • The theme of authority and love of authority becomes too dominant. I liked it a lot when it initially came up. It enhanced the MC's manipulative side and explained many of his actions. But when it also (unintentionally on the author's part, from what I can tell), stabilized our MC's emotions. The beauty of this MC was his insecurities, the contradictions that made his actions interesting, the falling in his father's footsteps despite the hate he had for the man. But authority grounded him. Suddenly, the contradictions were all downplayed, he had an ideal and the power to get to it. He was no longer evil because of a mix of genius and helplessness, he was just evil because he wanted to be.
Plot becomes forced instead of crafted
Slightly, in volume 2 and much more in volume 3, we see elements destroying the appeal of the MC:
  • The colloguialness/vulgarity that gets added to his talking habits. It works well as a nice counterpoint, for sure, I applaud the author for introducing it. But a contrast is only as good as it is sparse.
  • The overemphasis of wanting to have s*x with everything, and I don't mean tasteful s*x scenes, of which there are some (I have nothing against a well done, complex interplay of romance, but there's just girls *senselessly* wanting to have s*x with him at every turn by volume 3.)
  • The ever increasing moe characterization
  • The shift between plot and character: Volume 1 was all about the plot, with the MC's cunning playing into it, twisting it, putting him on the stage as a player. We had very good secondary characters with different motives. By volume 3, it is predetermined that the MC is always going to win, there is very little that happens that is not caused by the MC's "cunning", which ends up feeling plastic.
  • The less and less apt use of evil and manipulation. The MC just becomes a symbol of evil, instead of being a character of internal conflict, striving for his twisted aesthetic. Instead, he just wants to kill humans to advance the plot.
Read it though, it's a good novel, volume 1 particularly is inspirational and I hope many more korean authors follow in this style.
62
0
2023-07-11
Chapter 3 - Volume 1
Absolutely brilliant and a true pleasure to read. Delicious scheming, verbal combat, and beautiful savagery. Humor is plentiful, but often dark and dry - as befitting the tone of the novel. Conflicts so far have been challenging and believable with satisfying resolutions. The MC is almost powerless (no relying on cheats here), but can be perfectly described as a ruthless, charming, and somewhat twisted spider.
Edit: I totally forgot to praise the translator. This is one of the BEST translations I have ever read, which is so important in this story where words are king. It almost feels like the story was originally written in English!
Edit 2: One 1 star review talks about how the MC's personality "changes" in the second volume. Without spoiling anything, this is an intentional move by the Author and is acknowledged by characters in-universe. Yes, it's jarring, but it's not a result of poor/inconsistent writing. So just stick with it if you're interested. All will be clear.
As for him being crazy and cruel, well... that's the kind of story this is. Every. Single. Character. Is. Insane - to a certain extent, and in different, wonderful ways. It's like a fun rainbow of madness
The sooner you accept that this is NOT a lovely story with about a hero and his friends, who just happen to be on the side of demons, the better. People on both sides WILL get their hands dirty with murder, torture, and war crimes. They'll play with people's lives like toys to accomplish their goals. And they'll enjoy every second. Hopefully, so will you.
57
0
2023-07-11


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