I Possessed a Game Where I Die If I Don’t Clear the Tower - Chapter 4

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 4. I Became a Lord (3)
Can the most popular character be the hidden mastermind?
Surprisingly, yes.
Zehar Al Rashid isn’t an ordinary villain—he’s one with a tragic backstory.
His true identity is a Transcendent who created The Tower alongside the First Lord.
He was the First Lord’s partner and closest friend, perhaps even closer than that.
So why did Zehar Al Rashid nail the Previous Lord to a tombstone?
‘Because the Previous Lord was a fake.’
During countless cycles of reincarnation in homunculus bodies, the First Lord’s soul gradually shattered.
When it became unbearable, he chose to seal his soul temporarily to recover even slightly.
To hide this truth and fill the vacancy, they created the Previous Lord.
A homunculus with neither the First Lord’s soul nor memories—merely a convincing facade.
A counterfeit designed to be replaceable at any moment.
‘A dark fantasy staple: anyone called fake or replacement inevitably strives to become real.’
The Previous Lord was no exception.
The homunculus, desperate to be genuine rather than a replacement, shattered the sealed First Lord’s soul into fragments.
That wasn’t enough—he tried to steal the administrator’s position by channeling the fragmented soul’s power into The Tower itself.
But before his consciousness could fully materialize, Zehar Al Rashid discovered him, and the enraged Transcendent murdered him.
Half-mad with grief, Zehar Al Rashid didn’t stop there.
He gathered every scrap of power sealing The Tower and performed a grand ritual to resurrect the First Lord.
‘And that’s how the protagonist was born—the new lord’s setting.’
Of course, the new lord couldn’t be called ‘real’ either. She was merely a ‘fake’—housing only the largest fragment of the First Lord’s soul.
A Transcendent who unsealed The Tower and became the source of the world’s destruction, all for this half-formed being.
A mad mastermind, yet simultaneously a victim.
The most trustworthy ally and the most dangerous one.
That is Zehar Al Rashid.
A character embodying every element of an irresistibly popular archetype.
And because of all this….
‘He’s the biggest obstacle in the early game.’
Early-game Zehar Al Rashid is unhinged, so one wrong dialogue choice triggers an immediate bad ending where he cries out, “My lord would never be like this!”
What would happen if he discovered she wasn’t a fragment of the First Lord’s soul at all, but rather a half-employed game addict from South Korea?
‘What else? I’d be dead.’
She steadied her nerves.
“I’m exhausted.”
She made sure to withdraw her hand from his grip before it could tremble visibly.
“Unless it’s urgent, let’s discuss it tomorrow. I need rest.”
“…Very well. You’ve only just awakened, so confusion and fatigue are natural.”
Despite her obvious deflection, Zehar Al Rashid remained unfailingly courteous.
He stepped back, explained how to summon a maid if needed by pulling the bell cord, and then departed.
Only long after the heavy oak door closed did she collapse onto the bed with a strangled gasp.
‘Phew, I dodged one bad ending route.’
If I raised Zehar Al Rashid’s affection while he was in that unstable state by saying “Yes! I’ll trust only you no matter what!” the hidden mastermind would lock me away in isolation—a straight shot to the bad ending.
What good is a well-written character if they’re impossible to handle?
Damn dark fantasy.
Not a single easy one among them.
‘Alright, let me organize my thoughts.’
I sat on the bed with my legs folded, calmly reviewing my current situation.
First, I’ve possessed the protagonist—the Lord—of the game The Darkness Tower.
Second, the character I created is a disaster build.
Third, even with this disaster build, if I don’t conquer The Tower, the world ends.
‘This is truly hopeless.’
Conquering The Tower as a Mind Sorcerer on hardcore difficulty?
To be honest, it’s nearly impossible.
To conquer The Tower, I need to gather as many companion characters as possible.
That way, I can run a stable party and respond to emergencies if they arise.
But a Mind Sorcerer can’t do that.
It’s a spell that makes allies disappear when used.
Because it’s a mental magic spell.
So what if I just don’t use mental magic?
Sorcerers are a type of psychic who can’t learn other magic.
It’s a one-trick brainwashing build.
‘I could brainwash all my allies or fill the party with homunculi like I did in the game, but…’
That would be far too unstable.
If even one ally gets hit with a dispel spell by an enemy, the entire party collapses.
If I only drag homunculi around, my reputation plummets instantly, leading to rebellion or external interference that ruins the conquest.
Since save-loading isn’t possible, I can’t run such an unstable build.
‘But abandoning The Tower conquest is out of the question.’
Fail to seal The Tower and die, going to hell.
Become a sacrifice to the evil god.
Become a brain in a vat.
These are the “mild” bad endings in this game.
I have to try everything possible. No, I must.
Companions?
I’ll scrape together whatever I can.
The Darkness Tower has an enormous pool of companion characters.
Rarely, there are characters who don’t react strongly to mental magic or don’t care about it.
Criminals, madmen, characters with such twisted stories that even the hidden mastermind would back off—difficult to handle in many ways, but they exist.
So I’ll recruit everyone except those who lead straight to bad endings the moment they join.
Gold grinding, which I avoided during gameplay for fun,
*
Glitch
(Non-fatal bugs like wall-clipping and field-clipping that can be exploited for speedrun strategies)
, box-breaking exploits included.
Every strategy I’d only theorized about due to system limitations—I’ll attempt them all.
There’s no time for hesitation.
I’ll survive first, worry later.
With unwavering resolve, I lifted my head.
The glass window across from the bed came into view.
Thanks to the darkness outside, the transparent pane mirrored like glass, reflecting the exquisitely beautiful face that was now mine.
I still couldn’t quite grow accustomed to it, yet I stared intently at this face that now belonged to me.
And I affirmed it like a vow.
From this moment on, I am Camilia.
Camilia, Lord of the cursed city Nidst.
I will absolutely survive and witness the true ending….
The next day dawned.
Barely bothering with grooming, I headed straight to the office.
Naturally, Rohengreen Ashen, the Knight Commander, and Zehar Al Rashid, the Chancellor, were waiting for me.
A silver-haired knight who looked like the very embodiment of integrity.
A black-haired mage who seemed like the personification of allure.
They were such a pleasing sight that the dreary office felt bright, yet I gave neither of them my attention.
Both Rohengreen Ashen and Zehar Al Rashid were essential characters.
I couldn’t afford to lose either one.
‘If I carelessly raise their affection and they end up turning on each other, the Tower conquest fails that very day.’
Only loyalty.
I’m aiming for loyalty alone!
With firm resolve, I stood before the expansive window that dominated one side of the office.
The first thing that caught my eye was The Tower, positioned at the center of my domain.
Surrounded by a blood-red hemispherical barrier and constantly struck by lightning—it was clearly not in a normal state.
I’d seen this sight countless times in the game, but facing it in reality, the impact was far from trivial.
Noticing that my gaze had fixed upon The Tower, Zehar Al Rashid, who’d been watching carefully, opened his mouth with caution.
“Yesterday, your lordship’s condition was poor, so I was unable to report this, but The Tower’s state is more precarious than anticipated.”
So saying, Zehar Al Rashid explained.
The seal on the first floor has been compromised, and monsters are pouring out endlessly.
A defensive barrier has been erected, but at best it will hold for two days.
Within that time, I must devise a solution for The Tower.
“You need not worry. Just as you have returned, The Tower too will soon return to its original state. All that’s needed is to reactivate the sealing formation inside The Tower.”
Zehar Al Rashid’s words were correct.
If I reactivate the sealing formation, monsters won’t pour out, and the primordial evil sealed in ancient times won’t break free.
The problem is that only the ‘Lord’ can manipulate the seal, so I have no choice but to make the journey myself.
A full ninety-nine times over.
‘What a damn annoying game….’
Just remembering it made my head spin, but it was something I had to do anyway.
I asked in a composed tone.
“What about the territory residents?”
Zehar Al Rashid answered as if he’d been waiting for the question.
The moment monsters began pouring out, he deployed a barrier to minimize damage.
“Still, to be safe, I’ve sent everyone to the Shelter and stationed guards near the barrier in case of emergencies.”
“And the adventurers?”
The ancient evil was sealed, or so they said—but The Tower was a dungeon.
An unconquered dungeon that had stood firm in one place for over a thousand years.
Adventurers seeking fortune and fame flowed endlessly into this place, and the territory survived on their patronage.
For running the city, adventurers were just as vital as the residents themselves.
Unlike when he’d explained the situation with the residents, Zehar’s voice grew noticeably darker.
“…The situation is not favorable. Because the barrier was deployed so hastily, most of the adventurers inside The Tower couldn’t escape outside.”
It wasn’t surprising since I already knew this fact.
“What about the remaining adventurers?”
“Many don’t understand the situation. The protests from the Adventurer Guild Master and other renowned adventurers are particularly severe….”
Rohengreen Ashen interjected abruptly, as if he thought Zehar’s explanation was insufficient.
“It’s not that they don’t understand the situation—they’re frustrated because a barrier and waiting won’t solve this problem.”
“Ashen.”
Zehar called his name as if telling him not to speak unnecessarily.
Rohengreen ignored him and continued.
“My Lord, monsters are literally pouring out. We must repair the seal as quickly as possible. Ideally, right now.”
Zehar glared at Rohengreen in rebuttal.
“You haven’t even recovered yet. What if something goes wrong because you rush?”
“Will waiting two more days improve the situation? Monsters are being born even as we speak.”
“Which is precisely why we must be more careful. We don’t even know the state inside The Tower—I can’t send you there. I’m opposed.”
‘Hmm, they certainly know how to argue.’
This level of bickering was nothing surprising.
The Darkness Tower was a game packed with characters so assertive they could frustrate even the most patient player.
Companions fought whenever they felt like it, and they constantly presented the protagonist lord with ‘you or me’ scenarios.
When it got severe, one would kill the other and desert the party.
Or they’d stab the protagonist while saying ‘This is all your fault, my Lord!’
The method to prevent such insane situations was surprisingly simple.
Strike first, win always.
I would become the crazy one in this territory.
How dare you raise your voice without my permission?
Want to see your lord lose her mind!?
“Enough.”
Camilia wielded ‘Dominate’ without hesitation.
The result was nothing short of a resounding success.
Both Zehar Al Rashid and Rohengreen Ashen fell silent, as if they’d never raised their voices at all.
She kept her gaze fixed on the world beyond as she continued.
‘I don’t listen to people worse at games than me. I know the Tower’s strategy better than anyone.’
“How presumptuous of you to speak without permission. Such insolence.”
‘Dark Tower hardcore mode—most clears domestically. Hardcore speedrun—world record holder. Hardcore solo clear—world’s first achievement. A true master of masters. That’s me.’
“The Tower falls under my purview. How it shall be conquered is mine alone to decide.”
Thank goodness for ‘Immortal Charm’—the trait that flawlessly translates a gamer’s nonsense into proper lordly speech.
Grateful for her characteristic, Camilia turned her gaze to the two men and made her declaration.
‘I’ll carry you through this, so just trust me and follow.’
“There is nothing to fear, nothing to worry about. You need only follow my lead.”
‘Or else you’re not getting into the party?’
“Do you understand?”
[Rohengreen Ashen’s loyalty increases.]
[Zehar Al Rashid’s loyalty increases.]
Perfect. That’s how it should be.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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