My 26-square-meter studio apartment was a mess.
The beautiful silver-haired woman, who looked utterly out of place there, crunched on something as she spoke.
“My goodness. Such an exquisite harmony of sweetness and bitterness. As expected of Lord Lucifer. To think that even these humble refreshments possess such an aesthetic.”
I had only tossed her some leftover instant coffee mix from the house, yet her tongue worked remarkably well.
She was not even mixing it with water and drinking it properly. She had simply poured the powder straight into her mouth and sat there grinding it between her teeth.
Honestly, I wanted to say something, but I decided to play along for now. Otherwise, she might strangle me again.
“It takes character to recognize an object’s worth. As expected of you, Hert.”
“I still have much to learn. I have not yet fully discerned Lord Lucifer’s intentions.”
That brat, Hertiya.
After saying that, she surveyed my twenty-six-square-meter studio apartment.
It seemed that she could not understand why the great Lord Lucifer was living in a place like this.
Still, I could not exactly tell her outright that I did not earn much.
She regarded Lucifer as something close to a god, after all.
“Lord Lucifer. Where exactly is this place? And this room, which resembles a beast’s den…….”
What an ungrateful brat!
How could she call my luxurious twenty-six-square-meter studio apartment—a home I had secured by desperately saving a meager salary for a twenty-million-won deposit and five hundred thousand won in monthly rent—a beast’s den!
Compared with Pandemonium, Lucifer’s palace in the game, it was admittedly a little smaller… but it was still my own cozy home!
“…This is a dimension that I will rule anew.”
“As expected! It was another world.”
“And this is my new residence.”
“…?”
Oh no. Hertiya appeared to be experiencing cognitive dissonance.
As if she had lost the ability to speak, she merely opened and closed her mouth.
“What do you mean by that?! Such a space is not even fit for a dog, yet it is Lord Lucifer’s residence?!”
Hertiya raised her voice.
I was worried about my home’s dignity after that shocking insult, but if I picked a fight over it, she might come for my throat again.
I had to say something to smooth it over.
“It is for your safety.”
“What do you mean by, ah……!”
Hertiya began to cry out, then sighed as though she had realized something.
“…Did you already know that I—no, that we had lost our power?”
I had only said whatever came to mind. Just how far had she thought this through?
“For our growth… you deliberately took on the appearance of one who is weak.”
All right. I would go with that.
“That is correct.”
“…I am sorry. My inadequacy has become a burden to Lord Lucifer. Moreover, I even laid my hands upon your sacred person…….”
“Pay it no mind.”
“Ah, how magnanimous you are! I, Hertiya, am once again in awe of my master’s grace!”
Ugh. The more I spoke with Hertiya, the more my toes curled.
Twenty-eight-year-old O Hyeon-woo possessed a far too delicate sensibility to play the role of his past self.
However, I had to endure it.
《Be careful! End-rank summons can attack their summoner at any time.》
《However, if the summoner dies, the summon that attacked them will also disappear.》
Judging from the System’s belated advice, the moment my cloying speech and manner slipped, my thin neck would snap like a straw.
I looked at the madwoman before me and recalled her profile for a moment.
Hertiya, the Witch of the End.
The Queen of the Shadow Elves and one of the worst villains in the story.
She was the one responsible for burning the World Tree, which the elves cherished more dearly than their own lives.
There was a reason for that, and it was related to her race.
The elves were a race that valued life and worshipped harmony as their highest ideal.
Yet there was one race they particularly despised: the Shadow Elves, their sister race.
Shadow Elves had been treated like slaves in elven society.
Hertiya had always found that hypocrisy revolting.
Then came the event that caused the resentment she had held to explode.
Her children were chosen as sacrifices for the World Tree.
The World Tree was the source of the elves’ power.
As it grew old, the elves’ power naturally began to weaken as well.
To prolong the old World Tree’s life, the elves began offering young elves as sacrifices.
And they chose only the Shadow Elves whom they had treated with such contempt.
She despaired.
The Elven King, the leader of the Shadow Elves, and even the World Tree all considered the sacrifice of young lives natural.
Worse still, far from feeling any shame over it, they adorned the practice with all manner of flowery language, calling it a ‘glorious return,’ and deceived the children with their serpent tongues.
Enraged, Hertiya resisted with all her strength, but her children were ultimately offered as sacrifices to the World Tree.
Unable to bear the grief and rage, she decided to become evil herself.
So she did.
She killed the King of the Shadow Elves and usurped the throne.
After becoming queen, she started a war, burned the World Tree, slaughtered countless weakened elves, and absorbed their power.
Thus was born Legend Seven’s worst villainess.
Hertiya, the Witch of the End.
When you heard her story, there was room to sympathize with her. However, standing before a monstrous villainess who had slaughtered tens of millions, I did not have the nerve to say—
‘Ha ha, I am sorry. Lucifer was merely a cringeworthy persona I acted out when I was immature, and I am just an ordinary civilian.’
“Do you feel lighter now?”
“Hm… If anything, I feel even more burdened. I must serve you in this weakened body, my master.”
Hertiya set down the coffee stick she had been holding and rose to her feet.
Then she bowed her head to me once more.
“Master. Please lead us once again. Then I shall surely recover the power I have lost and attend you faithfully.”
She had lost her abilities.
Naturally, that would be the case.
They said that when the game became reality, the data of all existing summons had been reset.
If anything, it was stranger that she had retained her memories of Lucifer. I could only assume that it was an effect of the perk.
Still, even though she had lost her strength, she was a villain with monstrous potential.
Since I had gained this power, it would be more constructive to consider how to raise her well.
After organizing my thoughts, I checked Hertiya’s abilities first.
【Hertiya, the Witch of the End】
Element: Darkness
Level: 1
Rank: End
Class: Mage
[Stats]
Attack 8
Defense 8
Vitality 38
Speed 20
Critical Rate 15%
Critical Damage 15
Effect Hit 0
Effect Resistance 0
[Unique Skill]
Skill 1 <Hertiya’s Reason>
Description: When battle begins, the Speed of all summons other than Hertiya is set 20% lower than Hertiya’s.
Her level had returned to 1, and all her abilities had been reset.
However, her ‘core skill’ remained.
Only one of her Unique Skills was unlocked for now, but if I steadily raised her and unlocked every skill, she would be able to become the Witch of the End once more.
‘As expected of the leader of the Seven Deadly Sins I chose.’
The Seven Deadly Sins.
It was the name I had given to the seven villains I had recruited.
‘Honestly… my heart is racing. I want to test her immediately.’
Someone might say that I was making too much of a fuss over a single passive skill.
However, any Adventurer who had played Legend Seven knew.
They knew just how broken that ability was.
‘Good. Strike while the iron is hot. Let us begin immediately.’
After gathering my thoughts, I looked Hertiya straight in the eye and spoke.
“Hert. First, I need to check your abilities.”
“It is an honor. Whose throat do you desire?”
I did not particularly desire anyone’s throat, but there was a process that every newly awakened Adventurer had to go through.
《Would you like to enter the Tutorial Dungeon?》
《YES or No》
“Follow me. I shall prepare a stage befitting you.”
“Wherever you go, my master, I will follow you to the ends of the world.”
When I pressed the entry button in the message window, our figures soon vanished from the studio apartment.
***
《You have entered Tutorial Dungeon—Forgotten Ruins.》
《Adventurers cannot die in the Tutorial Dungeon.》
《Defend the ruins from the goblins attempting to destroy them for ten minutes!》
《You will be defeated if the ruins are completely destroyed.》
《If you defeat the Goblin Chieftain, the dungeon will be cleared immediately.》
“It has been a while since I was here.”
The moment I entered the Tutorial Dungeon, I was greeted by half-collapsed ruins.
They were roughly the size of a school athletic field.
《Before proceeding with battle, form a summon team!》
Legend Seven required five team members in total.
Four summons that fought on the main team, and one substitute member.
Of course, it would have been ideal to fill every slot, but unfortunately, I only had one summon at the moment.
《Hertiya, the Witch of the End, has been assigned to Team 1.》
However, I was not worried.
Hertiya could clear this dungeon alone.
“Hert.”
“Yes, my master.”
“Prepare yourself.”
“If that is your will, my master.”
Hertiya moved gracefully as she loosened her muscles.
“Haaah—”
Rewards in Legend Seven’s dungeons varied based on clear time and the details of the clear.
The first time I played this game, my clear time had exceeded ten minutes.
However, this time would be different.
《Would you like to proceed with the dungeon?》
Because I had Hertiya.
《YES》
《The Tutorial Dungeon will now begin.》
《Dungeon Timer 00:01》
***
Hertiya slowly surveyed her surroundings and walked forward.
Her gaze remained fixed on the Goblin Chieftain at the center of the ruins.
There was no hesitation in her steps.
The goblins gnashed their teeth and watched her warily, yet not one of them rushed at her.
Click. Click.
Hertiya slowly approached the chieftain.
Only the sound of her high heels striking the ground echoed through the ruins.
Yet neither the nearby goblins nor their chieftain showed any sign of moving.
No, they could not move.
Her skill, ‘Hertiya’s Reason,’ did not permit it.
‘As expected, Hertiya’s skill works in reality as well!’
Hertiya’s Reason.
At first glance, its effect was difficult to understand: every summon’s Speed, except Hertiya’s, was fixed at 20% lower than hers.
However, what that meant was—
‘Unconditional first strike.’
When Legend Seven was still a game, players had trembled at the strength of Hertiya, who appeared as the first boss.
Since it was a turn-based game, the advantage of moving first was absolute.
In fact, the battle against her was an unavoidable defeat event.
Players barely survived their encounter with Hertiya and fled, realizing firsthand how powerful the villains were.
However, now that it was reality, her power went beyond being formidable. It was a disaster-level threat.
O Hyeon-woo’s heart pounded fiercely.
Real combat held countless variables that could not be compared to a game.
Yet with Hertiya’s skill, it was truly possible to control innumerable variables.
Until she acted, no enemy could move.
This was the true nature of Hertiya, the Witch of the End.
“Heh heh.”
Standing before the chieftain, Hertiya raised one corner of her mouth in a chilling smile.
At that moment, the Goblin Chieftain’s entire body froze.
Fear seeped into his bones.
“My goodness, you are frightened.”
She gently caressed the chieftain’s face.
Her cold fingertips brushed over his skin.
The Goblin Chieftain opened his mouth despite himself.
He wanted to close it by force, but his body would not obey him.
“Shh—Your pain will not last long.”
There was mockery in her smile.
A small sphere of magic formed at Hertiya’s fingertips.
She let it slide into the chieftain’s mouth.
The moment Hertiya slowly closed the chieftain’s mouth.
BOOM!
With a powerful explosion, the Goblin Chieftain vanished in a mist of blood.
《Critical hit!》
《You struck an unguarded enemy’s vital point. Massive additional damage!》
SPLATTER.
The sound of bloody chunks striking the ground echoed.
Every goblin nearby froze.
There was no longer any will to fight in their eyes.
Hertiya looked down at her blood-splattered shoes and frowned.
“Oh dear… Blood has stained my clothes. It seems I have grown dull as well.”
SNAP!
Purple flames that flared from a snap of her fingers cleanly burned away the filth on her body.
Having tidied herself up, she turned around with relaxed steps, as though nothing had happened, and looked at Lucifer.
“Forgive me, noble one. I have shown you an inelegant sight.”
Along with Hertiya’s radiant smile, a message window flickered before O Hyeon-woo.
《You have cleared the Tutorial Dungeon!》
《An unbelievable record!》
《Time taken: 0 minutes 34 seconds》
《You have claimed first place in the Clear Time Rankings.》
《Clear Rank: ‘SSS’》
《You have set a new Clear Rank record.》
‘!!’
I had set two records in the tutorial alone.
This was like giving wings to a tiger.
《Clear Rank rewards are being provided.》
《You have received a Heroic Summoning Ticket.》
‘A Heroic Summoning Ticket!’
A Heroic Summoning Ticket was a ticket that could produce a summon ranging from Rare to Legendary rank.
It was a fairly high-rank summoning ticket. I had never imagined that I could receive one as a tutorial reward.
Moreover, the ranking reward still remained.
《Clear Time Ranking record reward is being provided.》
《You have received a Heroic Summon Selection Ticket.》
‘This is insane. A Heroic Selection Ticket too!’
This was an enormous reward that could not be compared to an ordinary summoning ticket.
It was an extremely valuable item that let me choose and summon the Heroic-rank summon I wanted.
Using superhuman mental strength, O Hyeon-woo forced down the corners of his mouth that wanted to rise and barely maintained his dignity as Lucifer.
‘In that case, I will need to rethink my growth route.’