Dungeon Defense

Description

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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’ who 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.

Associated Names
One entry per line
Deonjeon Dipenseu
ダンジョンディフェンス
던전 디펜스
Related Series
Dungeon Defense (WN) (Web Novel)
Recommendations
The Lazy King (13)
My Death Flags Show No Sign of Ending (12)
Dungeon Hunter (9)
The Second Coming of Gluttony (9)
Your and My Asylum (9)
Sevens (8)
Recommendation Lists
  1. enjoyed my time
  2. An actual attempt at ranking
  3. Novels That I Have Read Over The Years
  4. Peak Villains
  5. Op Mc / simulation systems

Latest Release

Date Group Release
11/26/17 Shalvation Translations v5 afterword
11/26/17 Shalvation Translations v5 intermission
11/23/17 Shalvation Translations v5c4
11/11/17 Shalvation Translations v5c3
10/28/17 Shalvation Translations v5c2
10/17/17 Shalvation Translations v5c1
10/09/17 Shalvation Translations v5 prologue
10/06/17 Shalvation Translations v5 illustrations
02/03/17 Shalvation Translations v4 afterword
02/03/17 Shalvation Translations v4 intermission
02/03/17 Shalvation Translations v4c5
01/29/17 Shalvation Translations v4c4
01/21/17 Shalvation Translations v4c3
01/13/17 Shalvation Translations v4c2
01/04/17 Shalvation Translations v4c1
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316 Reviews sorted by


Dusk
Dusk rated it
July 27, 2016
Status: v3c2
Before reading, I am warning to those who are..

1. Biased towards shounen hot blooded mcs,
2. Biased towards typical wimpy JP mcs,
3. Unable to handle deep plots,
4. Unable to read between the lines.
5. Expects DD's Dantalian to be a lazy sh*t who only wants to sleep and laze in the bed all day round, he has an objective for God's sake.

I am warning you that DD might not be the one you are looking for.

As long as you have experienced reading a KR novel,... more>> you will notice that they tend to have a phrase or sentences that kinda feel out of place when you translate it into english, thus resulting in a not so perfect reading experience. However, DD doesn't have a single one of them, showing just how impressive the author's writing is, which sometimes makes me wonder if this is even a translated KR novel..

Dungeon Defense is one of the front runners to me in terms of characterization and writing, especially it's deep, unique and living characters, they are something that I have only seen in very few novels and DD is the best one so far.

DD is compromised of peculiar main characters that complicates the novel's plot, their actions are sometimes hard to predict or understand, which is in fact another unique point of DD. We will probably get confused in some parts, only to have it answered in another chapter.

The story tells the tale of a human reincarnated into a game world, with him being a demon lord in the story. The MC is one of those lazy " I don't wanna get out of the bed " MCs but this is the best one I have ever read so far, the rest pales in comparison to it. Actually, the rest seemed like a 6-year old imagination compared to Dantalian's acts.

Another interesting point of DD is that Dantalian, the MC of the story, no matter how refined he seemed to be at the start, is constantly developing his character in the story, at times we may see him confused, another time we may seem him as 'mad'.

The romance is also another unique point of DD, in DD, the romance is not those served hot and warm, but rather cold and chilling. It is love, yet at the same time it might not be love. Lastly, all I can say is that don't get tricked by the low number of chapters, each of them are very long and totals to a lot of words each chapter. Rated 8.9/10, beautiful, beautiful characters. <<less
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Aoiishi
Aoiishi rated it
July 27, 2016
Status: v1c5 part2
This novel is a very interesting take on the transported to another world type of cliche. The MC is transported, but into the body of one of the villains, a Demon Lord. Not only that, he becomes one of the weakest Demon Lords. The story has game elements as this new world is actually the game that he was playing before being transported. The MC must then use his wits and to navigate himself through the game to change the ending that has happened. Unfortunately, he was thrown into the... more>> hardest mode of the game. It's a great twist on the transported to another world type of cliche. The MC is not the "OP MC" that just beats people up with his cheat abilities that were given to him. He's similar to Lelouch from Code Geass and Light from Death Note. He has to use his brains and cunning to outwit and manipulate others to gain a stronger hold for himself. Added to that is his knowledge of the game plot and we have an amazing novel. The main characters introduced so far are very interesting and I love the MC because he's silly when he's relaxing, but absolutely terrifying when he decides to "have fun" with others. Throughout the story, perspectives from characters other than the MC are also shown which fleshes out their thoughts on what is happening and how they perceive the MC and other characters giving more depth to all of the characters. Very recommended. <<less
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I your Father
I your Father rated it
July 23, 2016
Status: v1c5
I've never written a review but for this one it would be a crime to not do so. So far this novel is good, one of the best i've ever read, the MC is to my liking, intelligent, smart and cruel and merciless when it's necessary.

I can't help but recommend it and hope/pray that the translator improves his/her pace. This is my new drug and I'm addicted.
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frog
frog rated it
July 22, 2016
Status: v1c5
The story is nice, however the writing style is very dry, with short sentences. The characters are very simple minded and annoy me, and their dialogues are not very interesting. I do not like the way the schemes are revealed, as we do not see the planning process but only the final result. However, the story is okay and the schemes are not s*upid so far. It's just that I can not keep on reading this, the writing style and the characters' mentality annoy me too much.
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oblueknighto
oblueknighto rated it
July 19, 2016
Status: v1c4 part2
It was a read in between the main character's perspective and all the different antagonists perspectives. I enjoyed the assortment of gambits and tricks he used to get through each situation.
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mochispinky
mochispinky rated it
June 9, 2021
Status: c124
All was going great. Volume 1 was fantastic, but then volume 2 started. And now it left a terrible taste.

I started this book for action, an anti hero MC who level ups and is good at mind games. But in this nice mixture, the author decided to add love. Like wtf.
Spoiler

We are told, this insanely meticulous, selfish, cruel, egoistic MC had fallen in love with his vassal who is very boring, has almost zero affection for him (which btw he is aware), has never once did a single thing that deserves any kind of affection.

We are told he spent days torturing himself to understand her, and to get why she brooe up with him. This might be a normal thing but for any1 who read vol.1, this is major 180 to MC's character.

[collapse]

This guy also lets a tr*sh half demon (as per the setting) SLAP him publicly. Before that she redicules him, completely ignores the so called norms and he is fuc*ing fine with it? Its a complete collapse of the world and character setting.

Alos the system is a baffoon. It prompts random sh*t of options of no importance. But let's put that aside for a minute. Once MC chooses an option, nothing actually happens. Like are you kidding me?! What was the pointttttt? While both characters are materialistic, I feel terrible cause I have no clue on the tone of the story anymore. I wish I had stopped at vol.1. If it gets better in the later chaps, I'm not sad to miss them cause dropping this.

Its a very poorly written story and I have no clue why it has such high ratings.
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Brasdf
Brasdf rated it
January 3, 2021
Status: v5 afterword
The problem with this story is that it is on hiatus.

It has been a while since I read the story, but this is one of two stories I actually care about enough to check from time to time for updates, however, I'm not too hopeful about the future.

This story is interesting and there are several actually intelligent chacters scheming against each other. The main character isn't a very good person, but he isn't a blob without personality. He is somewhat of a sociopath, but he is self-aware and not proud... more>> of this and he has people he cherishes, you are likely to root for him. Except for the MC, there are many other unique charcters, which is great. This makes for a complex and shaded world. <<less
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KaliYuga
KaliYuga rated it
October 4, 2020
Status: --
Boring to an extent I was falling asleep. As someone who had read a lot of philosophy, I can tell you that this author literally copy pasted every single philosophical line he used is from someone else. You can research more about this, but it's also why the story stopped updating (LN at least). Now let's get onto the actual story.

1.) Erratic plot. I was cringing to death on the first chapter. I was expecting a serious, ruthless story about an MC working his way up as a demon lord,... more>> and I got a bunch of whining and self pity right on the first chapter. Then we get into the world. The "interrogation" arc was even more cringy than the first. During his "play" on the "stage", I felt like my stomach was f*cking churning. It was so cringe that I can't even imagine having the face to talk about it in public. It was just so.. Bad. Let me ask you a question. In a strong-eat-weak world where he supposedly is, why the f*ck would a high top ten tier demon lord give this little ant face? Why would they even listen to him? For "fairness?" It makes no sense nor point to be fair to those weaker to you, especially in a "ruthless" novel like this one.

2.) Plagiarism. I enjoyed the philosophical lines, but I found them quite familiar. As I read them more and separated them individually, I realized it was all plagiarised. Read Nietszche, Kant, etc, and you can find all the philosophy the author uses here. I like philosophy but when you make the entire novel copy paste quotes of classical books, it becomes boring and ridiculous. The MC has no way to be the way he is. His life, either in the first or last, is very ordinary and sheltered. Sure, his dad was a.. Harem king or something? (I cringed just typing that, holy shit). And the dad didn't care about him? Alright, cool, so? There's millions of people in the world with fathers that don't care about them or with parents that abuse them even more harshly than he was. In fact, his "abuse" was pretty ordinary and lame. It just said that the MC's father wouldn't help him if one of his wives was to kill him. Wow. Okay? How is this suffering or a tragedy? It's just a dad saying "f*ck off lmao" like I would. If I had an annoying son who thought he was smart or cool by asking personal and private questions all the time, I would beat the sh*t out of him. MC is f*cking tr*sh and his character makes no sense.

3.) Bad Goals - What exactly is the MCs goal? Is he trying to destroy the world, or take it over? It's not very defined. It would be better if it was, because we see the MC wanting "authority." Why? What's the point in having Authority? All he does is rely on other people and occasionally give a cringe speech. The MC and his two girl companions are all f*cking cringe. They want authority, but for what reason bruh.. The author doesn't tell you. How does the MC use this authority he gains? Is he politically adept? What are his goals with his newfound authority, and how does he manipulate the situation to his favor? He doesn't. It seems like he wants authority, but he already has it. He commands an army and is a demon lord. That's an authorative influence. But instead of working his way up step by step, the author simply makes him mingle and be on the same level of the top-ten demon lords as soon as the story starts. So you could say he already has immense authority. But he isn't using it. He's not good at scheming, all of his "scheming" is nothing more than using a glib tongue which I find cringe. It's not hard to manipulate idiots. Everyone in the series is f*cking ret*rded. They all think their life is hard and always make long speeches about their own inferiority and helplessness every f*cking chapter. It get's boring. And that brings us into our next point,

4.) Characters - They're dumb. Really, really illogically written. It seemed like the author wanted to write a smart MC, and he did it by making everyone else dumb. All they know how to do is cry and complain with long, lengthy three paragraph long speeches about how hard or pointless their life is. And they do it constantly, really. I don't really care. I like ruthless novels. If you think life is hard or boring, than just f*cking kill yourself already loser. Stop complaining. I was expecting a strong-eat-weak type of cultivation novel, and I got nothing but a bunch of nihilistic philosophies mashed and plagarized to shit. You didn't know the demon lords in the back were preventing you from winning? Did you really not know? It takes three seconds to figure it out. F*cking ret*rded characters. Author wants a logical and cold world but in reality he just makes it cringy. None of the characters are good at any real manipulation or scheming. It's all baby-tier. If the MC or characters were transported into a cultivation world, for, let's say Reverend Insanity, where everyone is smart, ruthless, and indifferent towards conscious life in general, they would die very very quickly. If you were in a ruthless world and you went around spewing your pseudo-philosophy and claimed your life was hard every single time, you'd die. That's it. In a cultivation world, they'd just kill you. Your philosophies, "sufferings", misgivings, do not matter at all. The characters are all passive, boring, and one dimensional.

5.) World setting - tr*sh. I couldn't even understand the terrain because everything in the world is so poorly explained. "Little detail, more cringe pseudo philosophical speeches" - The Author. If he spent half the time he spent on plagiarizing other works on giving detail to the world, that'd be pretty cool. But nope. Let's just have a bunch of characters talking about how hard their life is over and over again.

Summary: The story is illogical, bland, erratic, cringe, and boring. The five star reviews are for people who have never read real philosophy and think that this novel is a master piece because it mix mashes and literally copy pastes (literally btw) direct quotes or sayings from classical philosophical works. The story is written with a "depressing" undertone, so most people think they "relate" to it. That's why I say this world is illogical. Any world, such as a world like Dungeon Defense, where an individuals strength can directly surpass a groups, will be dog-eat-dog. This world isn't. For some reason, it devolved into wars. It seems like no one cultivates person strength, and the only time we see magic powers used in a war is when one of the female demon lords use necromancy to kill old, weak soldiers. If you're a smart person who knows how to see in between the lines and enjoys plotting, cold, calculating MCs and worlds, this novel isn't for you. It portrays itself as that, but it comes off horribly. You can see it in the reviews. I would not recommend reading this to anyone who enjoys intellectual works. If you're looking for that, try "Lord of the Mysteries", "Reverend Insanity", etc. <<less
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Zelgadis
Zelgadis rated it
January 16, 2020
Status: v4c2
Overall, I don't hate the story or characters but I don't like them either. The premise was interesting enough to cause me to read for over 3 volumes. Even the nonsense gimmick of the pop up windows whenever he makes an important choice are easy enough to overlook. That said, the game features do feel like they ruin the atmosphere a bit. I've certainly been forgiving of much worse writing practices.

However, there are two massive problems that I have found impossible to overlook.

The first is the rather specific sense of... more>> logic shared by no less than 3 mentally ill characters, none of whom, grew up together or share even a single relative. Mental illness can be caused by two things: genetic inheritance and suffered trauma. Even in a case of two people diagnosed with the same mental illness, the likelihood of two individuals developing a nearly identical set of symptoms is far fetched enough, developing a nearly identical sense of logic and values is practically impossible. While it's not unlikely for two people with the same mental illness diagnosis to have similar symptoms, having identical symptoms is nearly unheard of, since mental illness affects everyone uniquely and consequently twisting their sense of logic in different ways and to varied degrees. Two people having a nearly identical sense of logic is already infinitely improbable. Having two people with a nearly identical sense of logic, after it has been twisted by mental illness, is on the level of being straight up impossible. The fact is, mental illness is more likely to produce a more unique way of thinking than it is to create a similar way of thinking. For this alone, I request the author to go die for spreading falsehoods about mental illness, an area that already suffers horrifically from false information. I suppose I could write this off as the author's lack of imagination and inability to create characters with a diverse way of thinking but this doesn't excuse the author of such poor writing. This alone is enough for me to recommend that no one waste their time on this novel. It is garbage writing and the author is garbage for writing it.

Let's suppose that you aren't the type to be bothered by the author's incompetence over mental illness and creating characters with actual variety, there's still the second problem. The characters have a tendency to vomit out repetitive nonsense in near endless ramblings both out loud and internally. The fact the author thinks this is somehow entertaining to read is beyond me. I don't hate ramblings outright but when they get repetitive, pointless and drawn out to this degree, it's just a massive waste of time to even look at. In the most recent chapters, I found myself skipping over several paragraphs worth of nonsensical rantings and finding that not only did I not feel like I was missing out, I felt my overall experience had improved. In fact, I feel I could easily edit out about 90% of the content of each chapter and still feel like my reading experience has only improved. This is straight up bad writing. If you think my review is long winded and rambling, you'll absolutely abhor reading even a single chapter of Dungeon Defense, which ironically, has very little to do with defending a dungeon.

Oh, one more thing I feel is worth mentioning. There are countless awkward and generally unpleasant s*xual encounters that are frankly a turn off in both senses of meaning. They neither sexually excite nor add anything meaningful to the story. In fact, the romance in this novel just feels icky to read.
Spoiler

Even the supposed healthy relationship with Lala is just unpleasant.

[collapse]
Yet, it's one of the few things I could complain about that actually fit in with the story and characters.

The fact is, all of the characters are basically scum and there's no one worthwhile to root for. You find yourself just wanting to watch them all die painfully, which I guess is the point of this kind of story but there should be at least one person you want to support, even in this kind of story. This isn't my first time reading this kind of story but I hope it's my last. I just can't get along with this type of writing, no matter how interesting the premise might be. It would take some Tolkien level of writing for me to like this kind of story or at least one character likeable/relatable enough for me to be willing to support. This novel doesn't come close to fulfilling either requirement for my enjoyment.

Edit: I like Dimensionist's review better than my own. It makes my attempt at mocking the author feel like a wasted effort. I'll leave my review for the few who might find it informative or amusing. His review forced the sad realization that his writing is better than just about anything else I've read here and I've been binging the content here for a couple months now. It's frustrating that the themes/genres I want to read are written almost entirely by a bunch of half-wits with little to no writing talent. The isekai genre is such cancer that I wish I could stop myself from reading it. <<less
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Reff-q
Reff-q rated it
May 13, 2019
Status: v5 intermission
Well it a good ride for me...

This is good novel if you want out from normal isekai story.

For people who tr*sh talk MC personality, I think they can't grasp psychopath mentality, take Joker from Batman series, can anyone like him?

If you want enjoy this novel, stop thinking like brat and normal good people.
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The_Most_Generic_Name
The_Most_Generic_Name rated it
August 27, 2018
Status: v5 afterword
Purely amazing. One of the best novels I've read. No, it is the best novel I've ever read. This is the very first novel I've given 5 stars and will probably be the last. I couldn't find any faults. Absolutely none. The main character isn't a psychopath like most have said, be it a good or a bad review. The dude's thought process is clearly that of a sociopathic killer and I like it. His inner monologue, I never took seriously. Whether he took it seriously or not, the author... more>> clearly made a joke out of it. I don't understand how people couldn't understand this. The MC's laid back mode reminds me of Jack Sparrow from the Pirates of the Caribbean. Especially at the end of volume 1, when he was speaking to Lapis when drunk. Such characters I absolutely adore. And my 13 year old pants get filled with white spunk.

But I have to address reviews that say he isn't smart. UselesslyUse Is one I had a glance at. I couldn't not address it, since he has gotten some things absolutely wrong.

Spoiler

Vol1: Well, no. Although yes he used his knowledge of the future to get money. That was purely planned for money. Not fame, the fame in this case was only a side objective. He expertly framed Lapis, by having her "trick" the firm she was working at, sending her into the city where the plague starts and announcing his love for her. These were all done by him and his intelligence.

Vol2: The said misunderstanding was caused by him and him alone. He schemed the whole thing.

Vol3: After the Walpurgis Night in Vol1 there are many people who do support him, not just Barbatos. The affection of the majority rose at that meeting. Including the 5th demon lord Marbas' affection. Who is the representative of nobleness, he would've reported the attack on Dantalian's castle immediately to Dantalian because of his nature. Not to mention, those humans who attacked Dantalian was you could say sent by Barbatos to test Dantalian. So obviously, she would send him a message to test him. The rest of the volume was dedicated to the development of the new character that was introduced. A novel isn't only about one character.

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The review of Nimudash I partly agree with. Actually I agree to most of it. Just the father part and Dantalian's power part. Dantalian can only read the mind of people who's affection rose to a certain point. Which he didn't exactly work to raise nor did he need to. I always disagreed with his choice of power throughout the whole novel though.

As for his father I disagree with him completely. His father is a rotten man. Dantalian clearly disliked his mother and other mother's first. As was shown in the prologue of Vol2. He told his father to divorce his mother but the father didn't do so. The MC didn't hate his father because he married multiple women, he hated his father because his father did nothing to stop the abuse his younger siblings were receiving. The MC clearly didn't care about himself, he hated his father because of his siblings.

In Vol1 the father died in prison. He went to prison because he mol*sted a highschooler. This was enough for me to hate him to the core. Not only did he mol*st someone but that someone was underaged. The MC was totally justified to hate his father that much. Although I agree that his father had great advice and was a smart man.


Edit:

The main character is a hypocritical man. Which is absolutely on purpose. He puts forth many moral beliefs but tramples over them whenever he wishes to. This is also shown when he got a harem, even though he hated his father for getting one as well. He fell in love, even though he said that he wouldn't do so. The main character is purposefully flawed. He regards himself as higher than others, but clearly isn't. His father had told him "No matter what you choose. You will live a life harsher than I". His father already knew that the MC will have to fight his own beliefs. But what his father didn't know is that, the MC outright throws them away when he wishes to do so. He explains how he dislikes childish bodies and prefers mature women. And calls Lolita complex a mental illness. But later he scores a loli. Not only does this show his hypocrisy but also jokes about him having a mental illness. The fact that how f*cked up the MC is mentally is emphasised many times. It is his characteristic. He is coldish, analytic, intelligent, a total hypocrite and a sociopath. Tropes found in serial killers in most ficitional stories. The MC enjoys seeing people suffer and die. He isn't some edgy 14 year old, he is an absolute sociopath. A high functioning sociopath. Put such a character in a world where mu*der isn't restricted and you've got Dantalian.

The MC's hypocrisy is further emphasised in Vol2's prologue. The MC made a vow to never fall in love but he gets slapped by Lapis because he fell in love too much. Even though Lapis had become Dantalian's mistress for authority and authority only. Dantalian knew this but he still let his emotions get the better of him at times.

I do not understand how people do not realize the genius of this novel. <<less
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UselesslyUseless
UselesslyUseless rated it
July 22, 2018
Status: v3
I didn't know I was a moralf*g until I read this novel.

Also, the series doesn't portray the MC outwitting people save for the tutorial.

... more>>
Spoiler

His trump in vol 1 is from his knowledge of the most devastating disease in the history. His false flagging in comparison did nothing. Despite being heaped a ton of blame, f*ck all is done to Lapis by her superior so we could easily see that these things he did was pointless. Well, he now has his f*cktoy so that is that.

His victory in vol 2 is because they made a wrong assumption. Once again, the guy did nothing relevant to this, being handed the f*cking conclusion on a platter. He once again rely on his OOC knowledge to win. Let me reiterate: He did not win because he engineered or plotted or schemed, he did not even win because his opponent underestimate him, he won because he had the game knowledge.

Vol 3 is fully ret*rded. He would be dead if not for that loli demon sending a note, and most of the character is retelling how he get another game character over and "win" by putting her to command. Discovering the loli demon was the one who sent the letter looked like an impressive feat until you realize she is the only person in high position who have a favorable opinion of the MC.

[collapse]

All in all, this is just another LN with the MC being handed an "I win" button from the get go. Still give it 3 star for trying villain protagonist, it is not easy to write them well. <<less
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HQ
HQ rated it
April 16, 2018
Status: v5c1
I'm usually very picky about LN and WN, especially if they're isekai bullshits, but I had to register to the site just to give this masterpiece a 5* and review it. THIS is good shit.

The premises of being born into a fantasy world as a hero/demon lord isn't anything impressive or new, but the way MC achieve things and his twisted, cunning and manipulative evil mind is the cream of the series. Not only that, the whole cast and supporting characters around MC isn't just there for shown, they also... more>> have personalities, a mind of their own (for some, twisted and fearsome minds even rivals that of MC) and is actually relevant to the plot and interesting to read about.

You basically follow a pathetic/worthless guy like any other Isekai protags in real life who were reborn into another world being poor and slowly climbing up to the top. But this MC isn't dumb, nor is he a wimp who would whine all the time, and this was where he stands out from the regular Isekai MC. He is a smart and manipulative mastermind who deceives, ruins, and sways anyone who stand in his way. You watch as he ascend from the lowest pit of the hierarchy to... well, still the lowest pit since he tend to operates from the shadow, just with more authority puppets to control; you watch as everyone regards to MCs as the tr*sh of the demon society as only the smarter people and MC's defeated opponent who had became his puppets know about his fearsome side; you watch as fierce battle of wits broke out among the cast of characters who are smart and memorable and get to see some of the sickest twists ever.
The story does starts out pretty straightforward with a game-like mechanic like choice boxes and such, but later on they disappear, and it is all about battles wits and politic stuffs being done right that are actually more thrilling than fights. Also, MC's personality in the prologue doesn't mach that of himself of the later volumes.

If you're someone like me who's so tired of all the dumb worthless MCs out there who got superpower out of nothing, and wants to read something that is actually smart once in a while, this is just the cure you were looking for. THE cure.

If you're someone who's offended by what I said about all the tr*sh Isekais out there (Like SAO, Arifureta,...) and loved edgy, pathetic MCs and adores pointless violence with an adhere to justice, this story about a smart psychopath is not for you. <<less
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Syntax_Error
Syntax_Error rated it
April 15, 2018
Status: v5 afterwords
Truly, a masterpiece from head to toe

But sad to say, it's not for everybody.

That may include

People who are moral fags

People who are fainthearted

People who have 'different' tastes & preferences

And most especially, people who fail or at least have difficulty in understanding sophisticated novels such as this; hence the number of people who poorly vote this novel.

Novels have their own intended purpose. In most cases, it's entertainment but Dungeon Defense is not one of most cases because it doesn't only limit itself from entertainment as it is an art. I gave this novel flat 5 stars not because it was flawless but because it done a excellent job in becoming the novel it intended to become.

Action (4/5)

It's just like what you would expect to a novel that tap in the concept of magic as well as the culture of medieval warfare and actions. Dungeon Defense basically pales against other action novels. It has no special qualities in this aspect except for the fact that the novel is only concern in looking at actions in military and political perspectives to help narrate the progression of the story in an exciting way. The way how the novel demonstrate action in these perspectives is quite refreshing after reading too much garbage.

Drama (5/5)

Generally, reading a novel isn't enough to fully savor the flavor of a novel. The problem that some novels have can be poor narration of the emotions it carries or lack of emotion. Fortunately, Dungeon Defense is outstanding enough in both regards however, most emotions that the novel carries cannot be fully understand by some people because the personalities of most characters in the novel is not within in scope of what they understand. It's naturally to have a negative attitude towards things that are outside of your scope of understanding similar to how a person rejects romance because he cannot understand such concept. Honestly, the novel has no severe fault, it's just that it's not for everybody.

However, if the emotions that the novel carries is within the scope of your understanding then you'll enjoy a huge part of what the novel has to offer. How the novel is aesthetically written truly made it possible for an emotional response to occur unlike other novels with flat style of writing. Even how some characters narrates the story with their own touch and gives dialog in their own way leaves a good taste. Of course, all these aren't possible without good written characters. All introduced main characters have admirable personalities and ideals with admirable background that makes their characters more or less valid so far since the novel has yet to finish in narrating some of the main characters' past. Monologues of Dan is the best part of the novel.

Spoiler

Example:

Elizabeth was initially apathetic to the whole world. It was implied that she was initially apathetic due to the world sloppy difficulty for her as a competent woman. However after she felt threatened for the first time by the Dan due to his schemes, she felt a lot of mix of emotions. She felt anger, upset, and unease despite also feeling happy and thankful.

"My life has become a single bliss. At last, my tomorrow was not going to be the repetition of today, and instead, be the day after today. Today, Dantalian had already fulfilled the promise that he had made me."

- Elizabeth (Vol. 3 Ch 6)

It's the same delightful feeling One-Punch Man would get after finding an equal or stronger opponent.

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Fantasy (5/5)

If I were to judge a fantasy novel, in most case, I judge it based on how innovative it introduce new compelling plot, systems or concepts, and as well as its depths in totality. Dungeon Defense plot may have nothing innovative but how it execute it made it so that it was worth reading. Even I'm amazed on how deep it can give on little to big details that perfectly tailors the world in stunningly ways despite having a simple premise - to survive from the original fate of the world as a Demon Lord. Even more so how it delivered it.

Harem (5/5)

There's definitely harem going on around Dan but it's still in early stage because female heroines in here aren't 2 Dimensional characters whom sole purpose is to merely feel in love with the MC. In fact, they are just as dangerous as Dan himself in a way.

What mainly made me judge this as a good harem novel is because of it's capability to think outside the box. When people say harem, what always comes in mind is a man surrounded by faithful ladies who are in love with him. The novel spits on that overuse concept. In Dan's harem, multiple ladies are attracted to Dan not because of faithful love, but because of other refreshing reasons.

In harem, what bounds female characters to an alpha male is "attraction". Attraction can come in many form, and love is one of the overused form of attraction commonly use in harem media. This novel done a great job in subtly putting emphasis on the thought that harem isn't only limited to blind romance and the likes.

Spoiler

Reasons why they are attracted to Dan

Lapis - "Love for Humanity"

Barbatos - "Currently Undefined"

Paimon - "Similar Ideology"

Elizabeth - "Destiny"

Humbaba - "Thankful"

Laura - "Adopted Daughter of Dan"

Ivar - "Currently Foreshadowed Only"

*Of course you wouldn't understand much with those words alone because the depths cannot be compact in simple words.

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Horror (5/5)

If its objective is to generally scare reader in whatever necessary perspective, the novel outright did an outstanding job in instilling horror of anticipation because though it may be easy to predict the overall outcome, it's hard to predict the process as well as some miscellaneous details that may be relevant in story progression. There's also the bone chilling but exciting horror of what the psychotic Dan would do in the future.

Mature (5/5)

The novel isn't afraid to touch daring topics and situations which made me even like it more. Mature content covers everything in this novel, from odd conversations to twisted situations. Even characters are no exception. Most characters introduced in the novel are twisted in their own rights but satisfyingly defined nonetheless.

The mature content created an appeal that just perfectly suit my taste.

Spoiler

Mature Examples:

  • Dan has an assertive pe*verted nature and is, in a sense, sexually active with Lapis. He even tried to reinvent p*rnography during Vol 5.
  • Dan is really insane and twisted that is not understandable based on common sense.
  • Bartatos is also an extreme s*xual addict beast with weird "s*xual ideals" with Dan. I try not to reason with it especially since it's a habit that wasn't yet explained in the novel but I have my own theory.
  • Laura is a r*pe victim.
  • Unhesitating thoughts of mu*dering familial members such as parents by Dan, Lapis & Elizabeth.
  • The humor of the novel is mainly based on mature topics. Funny s*x jokes is one of them.
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Mystery (5/5)

Simply, an outstanding mystery novel. It shamelessly yet boldly controls and limits the information of narration of the novel through point of views (POV). Meaning, narration isn't omniscient. Though this, in return, made narration unreliable in a sense, it gave the novel a touch of mystery encouraging us readers to not only read but also interact with the novel. Interact in this context means that to examine and dwell in pass the surface of the novel and into its depths like reading foreshadowing, implications and likes.

Psychological (5/5)

The novel display enough psychological concepts which are often easily overlook and misunderstand in the novel. In this novel, psychological aspect is subtle but noticeable at most. Sometimes, it's direct like when Dan monologues the reason behind his behavior or the behavior of other characters. Sometimes, it's even more direct like when behavior is discuss in conversations. However, it also sometimes like to be more subtle than open. One example of this is Elizabeth apathetic. Another one is the effect of self-awareness. Human behavior for authority is also an example. Even the concept of insanity became the bu*t joke of the novel.

Romance (3/5)

Spoiler

You could say that this novel is also romance in it own way since Dan became genuinely in 'love' with Lapis. Obviously, it wasn't the kind of common faithful love as readers frequently encounter in novels we read. Its innovate concept of bonds and love is at most refreshing. I can't say much since harem is still in early stage and there might be future development that will change this rating. But based on what I read so far, the romance in the novel is lacking of screen time. It's not bad but not good either however that is to be expected when the novel almost intentionally treat it as side dish only.

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*Seinen more of a age rating than a genre in my context at least.

Bugs

  1. Game elements aren't frequently use anymore as the story progress.
    Spoiler

    Actually, it's obviously still being use behind the scene because that would be s*upid. But the novel decided to narrate like so to symbolize that Dan is becoming less reliant on the game elements and more reliant on his skills alone. It's suppose to give such implication but most people seem tend to think of it as a flaw. Dan few times tried to use his in-game knowledge in practical use. One was when he tried monopolizing the cure of a plague. Another was when he blackmailed Ivar as well as when he scout Laura into his legion as acting general. Beyond that, he had actively rely on his wits, intelligence and skill to survive.

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  2. Too edgy
    Spoiler

    It means you didn't understand the novel itself. I could argue but I figure it would be pointless due to a concept called qualia.

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  3. Dantalian is too unrealistic as a character.
    Spoiler

    It may seem so but the degree of his personality is also to be expected when his past is utter crap in many directions. His family was apparently practicing harem. His mother is actively participating a fight against his other half mothers for attention for his father. Between this fight, he stood while being pointlessly involve. He is forced to top his class to make his mother gain more attention from his father. He educated himself and honed his mental capability to survive his daily struggles in home and in class. He also got kidnapped frequently by men hired by his half mothers. He used to weekly go to church to pray for a God up in the sky but was left forsaken. He had no one to rely and depend on. It's obvious that that's just the novel mildly putting it in perspective. Adding that to the fact that Dan is a talented individual, if you asked me, Dan personality and capability is reasonable enough. If you doubt such talent then you should try looking at the talented people of our worlds. Beside, Dan developed in such "absurdity" because he had sharpen his talent to the fullest through mainly experiences undoubtedly. The novel may have not narrate the exact details of his past, but to allow as readers to fill in the gap with our imagination is also a narration technique used by novels in the past.

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  4. Antoganists are extremely potent.
    Spoiler

    I also agree but I think it's a little to early to dismiss it as unreasonable since it doesn't give justice for the later volumes to come that might explain or imply such development. But I have my own personal theory for such development.

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  5. Dantalian is inconsistent.
    Spoiler

    Dan had never been inconsistent. It just that, you got the wrong early impression of him. Since he was 1 years old, the thing he prioritize the most is having a life where he can be a bit lazy. Followed by this is his desire for authority since he was 6 years old. Dan would definitely prefer to shut himself in but circumstances won't allow him especially since Demon Lord are originally fated to be defeated. So what he does after Volume 1 is to actively participate a massive war and gain more authority to survive. This is the basic of the method his choose since gaining and using authority is what he is best at. He can't peacefully spent his NEET life as a Demon Lord when he knows what the Demon Lords original fate is, can he now? The wikia will also imply otherwise.

    Another thing that some people don't understand is the inconsistency that played in Volume 2. It was all due to him falling in love to Lapis. This wasn't due to common love but rather it was because of his love for his own kind. One where there is no compromise but only love, respect and admiration. It's similar to how a musician with classic taste would feel to another identical breed of musician. Only, Dan's case is much more agitated because the case isn't as simple as classic music but authority being a priority in life. Dan had never meet a woman who is also an authority sick head like him. Due to this, Dan's action became noticeable inconsistent in Volume 2 but Dan was completely oblivious with it because he was ignorant of the fact that he had already fallen in love. This was so because he was very ignorant with the concept of love until he realized it and rearrange his thoughts for safety net.

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  6. Characters introduced in the novel are mostly insane.
    Spoiler

    That is the case but it's not like the world of the novel is mainly compose of insane people. There are also some characters that are perfectly sane and I won't spoil who. It's only a matter of who the novel will give value to as an important character and introduce to the readers. It just so happen that these characters are insane. I also would like to say that there's a deep implication behind this flaw that people think of but It's just my own thought.

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  7. Pacing is bad
    Spoiler

    People think so because the novel often put seemingly pointless descriptions and due to this, the pacing of the novel slow down. Pacing is not bad, it's just intentionally slow so that the reader can fully savor the taste of events occurring within the novel. Either that or the novel was trying to imply something or aesthetically put emphasis on something. I for one enjoyed the novel in this pacing.

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MangoGuy
MangoGuy rated it
December 12, 2017
Status: v5 afterword
After completing volume 5 I think I am in a position to write a review for this one.

This is Mango approved.

Eventhough I only rated this 4/5, I still recommend this for the psychotic chaos that it brings about. I recommend it for the dark and rather devilish protagonist, and for the almost KR unique dystopian story.

First off, this barely made it to 4/5 imho. Don't get me wrong, it is a good read. Just that, the 5 volumes are not consistent in any sense what so ever. Overall, however, the... more>> story is still decently good inspite of all inconsistencies, which I feel is the hallmark of a good, ambitiously long series. Yes, ambitiously long series. For all the fast paced plot it seems to have, it is rather slow.

Due to its volume sized chunks, the story regularly drops. Often times, it is tough for it to again rise up to the same crescendo. More over, I felt that at times, the author was trying to use the psychotic card far too much. That is one of my major complaints!

When you have a psychotic story/protagonist, they have to be normal for most of the time so that the world doesn't see them as that. Of course, as in this series, you can make *pretty much* all characters to be psychotic as well. However, when you do this, there is a huge decentralization of the plot focus. Thus, for every small progress in the plot, you need to spend a LOT of time. And I don't like to read it in this particular case because of the.. lacklustre cast.

For all that people say about the cast of this novel, they are ALL psychotic, and similar at some level. This makes it quite unique, and boring as well. The author did well to focus on each of them by using the multiple pov story telling skill, and I applaud him for this. Literary wise, great! But from a reader perspective, not so great. This, as I mentioned before, causes the plot to go slowly, which is needed. unfortunately, the writer isn't able to produce 'good filler' to keep us engaged all the time.

But I gave this 4/5, that means there should be something good right? Indeed. The strategy elements and other such 'action' elements are very well done. For as long as they are, they keep you at the edge of your seat.

This is one story, which I feel would have been WAY better as a WN than an LN. The characters, for as limited they are, are given fantastic screen times and presences. The empty banter is... bad, at worst. The depictions of gore and cruelty is pretty spot on and graphic so this is NOT FOR KIDS.

On the whole, a good intelligent psychotic action drama for mature audiences that will test your patience at times, and keep you thrilled for most of the rest.

PS: The translations are fantastic, and some of the other positive comments I had about this series have already been said by others. <<less
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nontrplz
nontrplz rated it
September 20, 2017
Status: Completed
Ok, this is the first time I'm doing this so... whatever. I highly recommend this to any who like seeing main use his BRAIN, not charging into the fray and rescue a princess.

This novel is beloved because of the unique characters, not cause its plot, although the plot IS good. The protagonists are cunning, almost like they have no common-sense. Many dislike them because of this but to me, it is their characteristics that make this novel goes mad. It's true, they are cunning, they are evil, lunatic but you... more>> have to take a look at the story background. Hello, it's war time dudes, it's a war that keep going for half a millenium. How can someone survive if they believe that the world is beautiful, pinky, full of rainbows and unicorns? You have only 1 life, to protect it in an chaos world like that you have to be realistic, to do anything for authority, beacause in that world, only authority can give you the life you want, to be like them, the protagonists. The characters' plans are macnificent. They are weak, they stood at the lowest only to climb up the food chain, to be on top, not like come novels where the main just receive a god damm cheat that are freaking (f*cking) unrealistic. They are the one who did that by themselves, beacause of themselves, not using any cheat - though the main DOES have a cheat which he knows many info about the future, but he only know them through unnecessary details in the game, which mostly no ones care. They are the one who climb the tower of authority with their own strength and wisdom, and we are the one watching them do that, step by step.

To any of us who think that the choices system is s*upid: "His options cannot be condensed into 2-3 s*upid random choices", "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?", really dude? Tell me, if your choices are:

1/ Spare them
2/ Kill them

What else con you chose? If you can find another option, please tell me. And the main can not chose an option first, he did an action and then the option is chosen. All the option window in the novel are like that, to be frank, they have almost no effect on how the main choose (just "oh, your fame/infame increase a bit, huray!").

If you wish to see main char like Shiro and Sora, I'm very sorry to disappoint you. Their plans are simular, but at the same time very diffent. Their plans are both clever and effective, but while [ ] plans' are complex. many steps, Dantalian and the others' plans is a very much simple, so simple that anyone of us who all think when we read: ahh shjt, why haven't I though of that?

Although it has only been 4v and who know how many left to go (510 chap in WN... damn son, that's alot), I personal think waiting for this is worth and I believe any of you who loves seeing a smart and cunning main, a cold and unique female lead, this is the one for you

The End

P/s: I love Lala and how she think, how cunning she is to survive, to hold the authority, the right to live a life she want. Arghhh, I love seeing strongth characteristic women like that.

This is The End for real, enjoy the novel! <<less
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alexpeki
alexpeki rated it
June 21, 2017
Status: v4 afterword
Well this one is unique, MC is smart and I mean really smart (not like some other MC's that author tries to sell as smart but they are dumb as $#%^) Other characters in this novel are not dumb as well, they also have personality, and reason why they act as they do is explained as well. Other demon lords are really not your average webnovel villains that are just there for MC to kill them.

I also saw a lot of people complain about volume 2 being bellow standard of... more>> previous one, but don't let that stop you from reading this, volume 4 is amazing, there you can see greatness of this novel in full light, and its depth that can shock people when they reveal some stuff to you. You know that novel is good when author can put like entire chapter to be only one speech and its so epic that you can't skip a word of it, because it would be waste to do it, now that is quality writing right there.

Also another great aspect of this novel are illustrations that are just amazing, they are put to present big events and increase their impact, and they do it so well that you just stop there for some time and stare in illustration forgetting for a moment that you are reading novel. <<less
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shylight
shylight
March 16, 2017
Status: v4c1
If you seen any other negative review to this novel, then mine won't be that surprising. First volume is brilliant. Then it just goes downhill. The character we were presented with there disappears and is replaced with some kind of psychopath. But that could be forgiven, if he also didn't turn boring.

In the beginning we have a character that is driven and torn by his fears, desires, sensibilities... Then all of that disappears. He no longer faces moral dilemmas because he no longer have any morals. Who knows where have... more>> they disappeared. He no longer tries to act out of self-preservation because he's obviously way too brilliant to fail. Spoiler alert: he's not. Half of the sh*t he recklessly does is moronic and could easily lead to his death if not for dumb luck.

I loved volume 1, I slogged through volumes 2 and 3, and I'm not sure if I have it in me to read volume 4. <<less
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Phr33k
Phr33k rated it
February 7, 2017
Status: v4 afterword
This is hands down one of the best translated novels out there. As opposed to what the prologue and chapter 1 of the first volume suggests, the story is not about the typical MC floundering about building a dungeon, but instead one of politics and wars. In my opinion, the plot is above average, as is the world building. The characters are all psychopathic in one way or another, and are extremely interesting to read (although I do wish for more sane people to show up for more character diversity).... more>> So why am I giving this story a rating of 5? The answer lies in Shalvation, the translator for this series. Quite frankly out of all the translated novels out there, this is by far the one that is the most beautifully written. I don't just mean that there are very little grammar and spelling mistakes (which is also true), but that the alliteration, metaphors, similes, etc, are utilized wonderfully. Whilst I am sure that Yoo Heonhwa wrote his novel well, I cannot comment because I don't know Korean. However what I can say is that Shalvation did a brilliant job translating this novel. I take my hat off to him. <<less
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vaendryl
vaendryl rated it
January 11, 2017
Status: v4c1
Oddly, this novel isn't about dungeons at all. Let alone defending them.

This novel is code grass meets overlord. The MC is weak as balls but manipulates everyone. He's also completely insane, like actually most characters are in this novel.

It's dark and humourous. Cynical and light-hearted. Nihilistic and compelling. Broken and fulfilling.

Read this, if only because it's something really different in the isekai genre.
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