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


Nathanrohen
Nathanrohen rated it
July 8, 2018
Status: v5 afterword
The novel is amazing & feels like an epic story written in a form of poetry. Not only that but the amazing artwork that is displayed throughout the novel adds to poetry as the drawing of each character is phenomenal & helps with depicting the scenes. The artwork only does just that, it just helps, as the author does a great job at describing details that allows the imagination to have a feast that is normally not found elsewhere! I have fallen in love with this novel despite it having... more>> a few holes as any story might have, but it has brought me to enjoy reading as I had originally lost my urge to read books.

The way this novel has been written is again amazing, but even more so is the translator (s) as they have done an amazing job retaining how the story was written, if not even adding more to it! I will not talk about the story of novel as anything I would describe wouldn't do it justice. I can say that this book got me to think a lot & I hope it will for you as well. To describe this novel it is a psychological thriller with romance, wits & outwitting, power plays, death, wars, demons, humans, schemes, & much more! I will say you may notice the improvement of the author writing as you progress through each volume, which to me was fun to see.

Still reading this review and wondering if you should pick this novel up and enjoy it? Well the only way to really figure out if this novel is for you is to read it, imagine it, smell it, taste it, & consume the entirety of what has been given to us from the start to the end. Fair warning though, once you pick up the first volume you may never want to put it down. <<less
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Ramey
Ramey rated it
April 26, 2018
Status: v5 afterword
Its a nice story where reality hits and u see some base nature in MC that actually have an end game and other characters do actually have reasons, motives and a life.

The only draw back is unnecessary word play in an engaging story like "is he a scum because he is dantalion or he is dantalion because he is a scum either way a scum that can not be dantalion might not know how to be scum.... bla bla bla

This goes like 2/3 more lines of monolog that pulls u... more>> from the otherwise very serious and intense story <<less
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Ixcez
Ixcez rated it
March 7, 2018
Status: v4c4
Ever wondered what an MC who didn't stop at going full ret- I mean went for the full insanity route, while being fairly smart but with no real power to back them up?

Then this might be something for you. Frankly this has to be one of the best written and translated novels on here the amount of detail and language used simply sooths the mind after reading all the hogwash that kills brain cells, it is simply great.

The plot in itself is a great show at how everything is not... more>> simply black and white.

Small spoiler on overall plot and setting.

Spoiler

A fairly small spoiler, but the setting of the story is this.

The world has a number of "mana spots" that work to both give energy to the world and stabalize it. In time these mana spots gain form and come to life as "demon lords". Sadly most of them embraces their part as demon lords and do evil, well at least for the humans it's sad. An equilibrium has ruled the world since it's beginning but it is broken with the birth of humanity's invincivble hero who will set out to kill all the demon lords and save the world!

But what happens if you smash all the supporting pillars of a skyskraper? So yeah killing all the demon lords would be a nice win for the good guys but would also mean the end of the world.

Thus the MC is summoned to prevent the good guys from winning and thus kill everyone.

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All in all I think this is a great read for anyone who's not solely interested in reading about the MC going HULK SMASH on most stuff or being overpowered. I give this novel 5 potato chips mmh so crunchy <<less
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NCpower
NCpower
February 24, 2018
Status: v5 afterword
The author knows some things about human nature that are captivating.

Story: 5/5 - It's dark and I like it.

Characters: 4/5 - They are wicked, but not total lunatics. It's interesting to read about them, even though the inner thoughts go overboard sometimes.

Writing style: 5/5 - The author is doing great work, as well as the translator (Shalvation). You won't have any problems with the style of writing.
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Tykos
Tykos rated it
February 22, 2018
Status: --
This is an amazing story of an antihero who strives to send out a great message to the world:

GIT GUD, CASUL!!!!

This novel is when somebody of the PC Master Race plays Dark Souls competatively with someone who plays only candy crush saga. Like, destruction and then humiliation. A guy gets thrown into the world of one of the hardest strategy games in existence with a difficulty set on LUNATIC (that is the name of the difficulty, yeah, I know) and with avatar of the weakest demon king in the game.... more>> And just casually mindf*cks anyone who stands in his way. There are a lot of people who are saying that he turned into a total psychopath in the second volume, but actually in my opinion MC became a lot more human in the second volume. The reason for his insanity is love. MC had fallen in love, and as someone who has a yandere blood in his veins (courtesy of mother dearest), he tries his best to understand the intent of his loved one which is for him rather difficult since the emotion is alien to him and since his loved one is just as f*cked up as he is, the result is rather bloody. To those that are feint of heart dont get into this novel and keep your purity and for those who love strategies and ruthlessness hop aboard. <<less
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gahara31
gahara31 rated it
January 19, 2018
Status: v5 afterword
one thing that could describe the entire story so far is "The Character are Insane". More precisely its a boundary where obsession, madness, and morality became blur. If you like a story with a plot twist this series is worth reading.

at first you would be described with things like game story, game element and so on. Its an idea that have been used so many times and its do so in a fine way. Not really good but not bad either. After that however, it started the ground work on... more>> character development using game element as its support. As the story progress, it revolve more around the characters while the game element fade away to the point you even forget that its a story about 'thrown into game world' at first and this all happened just in 1 volume. The story then revolve around character around MC and how the MC mess with their life. <<less
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andreyjb15
andreyjb15 rated it
December 21, 2017
Status: v5 afterword
I've just finished V5. It's an amazing experience. The story is very deep, without plot armor.

The characters are also deep, each with its own story, thoughts, behavior and desires. Also, each insane in a different way. There are chapters dedicated to exploring each character's mindset.

I always liked the genius type of character. This one is certainly one of the best. And the rival it's also amazing. It's not the simple "I'm super smart so I humiliate you easily, but you see the main character cherishing the struggles and using others... more>> because he knows he is inferior in some aspects.

This light novel is also very dark, decrypting strong scenes of death, dementia, torture, a little of nsfw, despair and some more. The heroines that appear are also non-standard, really uncommon.

I also liked the unpredictability of it. The stratagems are very interesting and the reactions are so rich as well.

I strongly recommend. <<less
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lovhes
lovhes rated it
October 18, 2017
Status: v5c1
If you think you are going to read a dark edgy Isekai with cheat story, you came too a wrong story.

If anything, this is a story about a cynical intelligent person, with a... Uncommon background. He was tossed into the world by accepting that he can change the world. And boy, does he change it.

But make no mistake, this is not a curbstomp story of OP MC and his entourage of beauty. He really have to work for it, and even with some future knowledge of the game world, things...... more>> Are much deeper than it looks like on the game screen.

In shorter word, this is a incarnatied into a game world story, where the game world IS a world. Where what you see in the game is just a tiny piece of the real world.

Also, best of all, the translation is kickass. It really feels like you are reading a story as it is written. Not as a translation. Except for some really rare Korean saying. <<less
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Ginko
Ginko rated it
October 9, 2017
Status: --
Rating 4.1

The MC has an entertaining personality, a mini Lelouch vibe. Good world building and plot. I wish the character himself would actually become strong, but he relies on his knowledge, acting, and human psyche alone.

This novel has an anime sort of vibe (without the scared of women MC) - which in part removes it from your traditional Japanese, Chinese or Korean tropes.
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DarkJar001
DarkJar001 rated it
June 12, 2017
Status: v3
To quote one of the reviewer in this page, "you will love it or hate it. There is no in between." And I have to say, I fully support that statement. I can honestly say that I would've absolutely adored this series, with the awesome protagonist and the great execution, if not for one tiny little detail, the b*tches. I'm sorry if my language is rude but this might be the most simplest way I could call them, heck it's nowhere near enough. If I had give a spoiler free... more>> description of how much they deserve that title and more, let's just say I've attempted throwing this phone of mine for multiple times during reading and almost tried to stab a random female passerby with a fork. (Like, really, REALLY, close)

Of course, this might just be my repeated encounters to such characters in such great stories and my "dissatisfaction" for them (seriously, all of my most favorite novels has that one bit*h in there. It's insane!) Let's just say I continued reading this novel I'd have to go build a small dungeon in my bas**ent and chaining some women there so that whenever I get mu*derous while reading, I'll just go straight down there and stab them repeatedly. (I'm telling you, if you're like me, the female characters in this novel WILL make you have such thoughts! Truth be told, I've encountered more than enough of these types if women in my novel-reading career. The ones in thus novel just happens to press the wrong buttons on me.)

If you can get pass such adversaries, then I good for you, you get to read a good novel without a problem! <<less
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SoddenSlimeball
SoddenSlimeball rated it
June 5, 2017
Status: v4
I absolutely love this series. My only criticism for it is how it sets itself up as a game world with game mechanics integrated into it, but completely ignores that after the second volume with no mention of anything "game-y" again. While in my opinion that's a turn for the better, others may disagree. I would ask that people read at least volume 1 before making a judgement on this novel, but that's a big commitment to make. Instead, read through the initial "tutorial" after Dantalion gets dumped into the... more>> world of Dungeon Defense. That'll give a good sense of the chessmaster stuff that goes on in Dungeon Defense.

Anxiously waiting on volume 5 now (^: <<less
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aditya8795
aditya8795 rated it
May 23, 2017
Status: v4 afterword
I just binge read the series, I do not know if it was because I was reading a mind numbingly boring fight scene in a wuxia novel that I just got captivated by the started of this book that I could not stop.

I am happy to say I enjoyed all four volumes, I am waiting for more. There are some logical inconsistencies but they are minor and will not be too glaringly obvious.

The MC is a ruthless man, he has a lot characteristics that NEETs will find appealing. He is... more>> lazy does not believe labour is something can be enjoyed. He craves authority which is basically power and no one has ever had enough of that. The MC stays true to his character and is a dark guy - no kind soul here.

He is smart. I love how the author makes him really smart. He is a great orator, skillful tongue. He is a very competent person.

The translation was written by someone with a great grasp on english, kudos. Like he used the right words in places. The story uses interleaving with the viewpoint suddenly shifting etc.

The story as a whole has to do with how our MC will survive living in this game. He settles into a NEET life when he gets s**ked into the game through a survey (they don't explain this). He already played this game before so he knows a bit about what major events will happen and about the characters themselves, he is now forced to live the game as the weakest of the 72 bosses. He starts out penniless, physically weak, no subordinates. All he has is that head and... very importantly a sort of status which is legally powerful. He is revered by the commoners as he is afterall a boss.

Its deep at many places. I recommend reading it slow, its hard cause its really interesting but do try.

Eagerly waiting for the next volume. <<less
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Xcoriate
Xcoriate rated it
April 29, 2017
Status: v4 afterword
Tl;dr - Dark and delicious novel for the open but not empty minded. Heavily political plot, memorable characters, beautiful dialogue done justice by a brilliant translator (All hail Shalvation!), 2% game element.

NO SPOILERS.....I think

Here we have a rarely seen oh-no-I-got-s**ked-into-some-game novel that, by the third volume, completely disregards the game element - all you will have left is illustrations of the characters' stats and some references to the actual game before this whole thing started (just take it as symbolism for how the protagonist's has become more of a native... more>> character than a being from a different dimension). Instead of world building or action-packed journeys of item hunting and leveling up, we are pleasantly indulged with in character building. A wonderful abundance of character building indeed.

Not being a weak to strong protagonist type, he generally stays faithful to his fundamental personality and philosophy as per established in the early chapters. The drawing point of this novel is how well the author develops our understanding of the worldview and ideology of the protagonist via clever banters and monologues. Of course, this also applies to the other main players in the growing political strife that the story revolves around. The format of differing PoVs give not only a fuller perspective and insight of the characters but also an addictive immersion in the plots and psychological warfare waged. Thus I urge readers to never skim through Dungeon Defense (as the dear TL will remind you) because if you cannot fully appreciate the complexity of the underlying psychological conflicts, then there is nothing much you can gain from this piece of work (yes I am talking to you people who dropped the novel because of volume 2).

The storytelling itself is superb as well. Emotions are well-conveyed and the speech is eloquent but above all, the pace is kept suspenseful without pointless fillers. The different narrative styles and devices used (like the recounting in volume 2 and the anonymous crowd chatter) are refreshing and adds to the mood well. It is advisable to refrain from binge reading through the volumes in one go - take time to reflect and analyze each volume and you won't regret it.

The gore, s*x and profanities although mild at first does escalate quite a bit. Some descriptions may be tad sickening but not excessively so. Personally I feel that this Game of Thrones objectivity with regards to the s*x and mountains of swearing (especially by THAT particular character) adopted by the author is not really necessary. Nevertheless, they are used suitably to context and not just for pointless flavor so I guess it can be tolerated (if not craved after by certain pe*verts out there). The violent depictions though are quite important as symbolism and characterization.

If it was not made clear enough by the rants of other reviews, this is NOT a shounen novel. The premise is a competition of wits and ruthlessness where mainstream whimsical ideals of love and ethics are spat upon. The heroes, or rather the anti-heroes, wield not the invincible we-must-save-everyone! beam of nakama but cunning tricks and deceit fueled by a lust for power - their 'love for authority'. A certain depth of general knowledge and literacy is required to enjoy this since there are plenty of references (Romeo and Juliet, Plato's allegory of the cave) and expressions (crossing the Rubicon) that the translator did very well to bring over. Even the naming of the demons correspond to existing demonology. Constantly Googling while reading would be quite suffocating.

Last but not least, this is one of the best translation works I have ever seen. If not for the random Korean expressions, it would have been easy to believe that it was originally English. Immense props to Shalvation for the exceptional work and having excellent taste in novels. Oh, humankind, listen. I implore you to worship this saint.

Some thoughts on some opposing criticism:

Spoiler

Although some say that the protagonist's method/behavior has changed for the worse, it doesn't seem to me to have changed at all. Dantalion declared his priorities in volume 2 - first to live a life where he could be a bit lazy, second is authority and third Lapis Lazuli. He operated on this creed to do the least possible work towards being the master of authority in Volume 1 and this has never changed (except momentarily before his enlightenment in Vol 2) even till the end of Vol 4. He left the admin work to Lala and the spotlight on Laura while he just sat back and plotted to his pleasure. His measures always had him stay in the shadows and his plans clean cut with purpose and not just brandishing his evil. Heck he sat through a large part of the later war relaxing in prison. I believe most characters are consistent except for the damned witches. Their type of insanity is one I cannot comprehend.

Next, the heavy criticism on Volume 2 that our poor protagonist turned from a cool dark hero to a lovesick idiot. I am not sure whether we read the same volume. It was a marvelous journey detailing both Dantalion and Lala's confusion over their priorities. How both strayed from prioritizing authority due to ironically of all things, infatuation. How they were able to reconcile by redefining mainstream love into a shared love for the same thing. The birth of a twisted yet amicable, blasphemous yet beautiful solution. All of this embedded in a series of events that could've been easily misinterpreted as another common irrational love-related trouble. It was a breathtaking composition punctured by a sex-crazed drunk demon lord from the plains of Siberia. And here I thought people disliked Vol 2 because of the ending.

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Maru
Maru rated it
February 5, 2017
Status: v4 afterword
A really superb korean novel, perfect for those who love politics, manipulation, war, power/authority, and damn good plot twists. Contrary to the title itself, this is not a dungeon management novel. This is a story about ambition and the means to achieve it in a feudalistic and autocratic world. This is more in tune for mature audiences tho, so don't bring your fluffy expectations here. The characters have their own certain twisted charms on them, broken and flawed as they are, but it is exactly such characterization that certainly endears... more>> them to you as you join them book by book. Kudos to Shalvation too for the great work on this project. \O/ <<less
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Blackrabbit0634
Blackrabbit0634 rated it
December 11, 2016
Status: v3 afterword
I will finally give this a review or just a counter argument to some reviews.. Like everyone says volume 1 was amazing, then some say it goes downhill after each volume.. But I must disagree with them.. All through out this is an amazing novel if you look at it's story as a whole not just one volume.. If this were an anime vol 1 would just be 'merely' 3 episodes out of 12 the story is just in its introductory episode the characterization is still not complete so don't... more>> make a biased opinion yet..

They say that the MCs personality changed in volume 2 but I disagree, for those that says it change they are just judging it too quickly, yes starting vol 2 he becomes more psychotic but didn't you already know that since vol 1 when he didn't even care about the lives people dying from the plague? It's just that the MCs mental state was shown under different circumstances that others decide that he's just merely a 'nutcase' because they couldn't stomach what he's doing?

and yes there were many elements in the story which were added, removed & some even discarded but for me isn't it just because its still in the earlier chapter/volune, the author is still trying get a proper grasp on writing DD imo, even though I don't know if this is true but isn't this the LN version? Meaning its just a cleaner version of the WN so even if the author wants to change some things that would mean that the WN & LN would become very different.. <<less
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ProsciuttoApathy
ProsciuttoApathy
October 11, 2016
Status: v3c4 part2
It's a published light novel, and it shows which can't be said about some other light novels. Though some may be turned off by the premise and lackluster summary, it can't be said that there are many novels like it. The main character definitely isn't a hero, but none of his enemies have the moral high ground. It's a slugging match between politicians, involving misinformation and manipulation. Everyone in the story, ally or enemy has their own agenda with varying degrees of ambition. Nothing is left unused in plots, not... more>> even the main character's losses.

It may not be a master piece, but it is certainly on a different level compared to other light novels. <<less
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Recklezz
Recklezz
September 23, 2016
Status: c0
This novel is really great! It kinda has that Overlord feel, while keeping it a bit more shameless than the usual Dark Fantasy / JP light novel. These pace of this story can be considered fast and the volumes are well separated so they doesn't really overlap except for the primary plot-line. The MC is a capable, intelligent and a true psychopath! He is lazy when he can, but he will act when required, for new readers don't be bothered by the fact that the MC hinders the advancement of... more>> the story with his laziness, he makes up for it!

The romance / Harem of this story is extremely twisted and not in the sense of death or NTR, but simply the fact that the characters has a weird and special view on 'love'.

It's a fantastic read, but the only thing I will say is that it is nearly impossible to follow the pace with the titles on location/time/date before a phase-shift. Sometimes you can mess up the chronology of the story if you aren't careful. I did that in the end of the 2nd Volume!

Cheers have a good read! Oh and do keep in mind that this isn't really an action novel, I know it says so in the tags, but there truly isn't really action it is just politics and strategy! <<less
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tomtheatombomb
tomtheatombomb rated it
September 15, 2016
Status: v3 prologue
Reading this novel made me realise 2 things. That the real world is incredibly cruel and that humans are able to put incredible spins on our cruelty to make it seem heroic. This novel does the opposite, it takes the cruelty and puts it in a more negative light, really catering to the dark parts of my heart. The things that our MC does really are no different from what any government does. Torture, massacres, market manipulation, price gouging and going mad with power are everyday occurrences in real life... more>> as well as with our MC.

TLDR: Read this for your darkest, chuuniest power fantasies and revel in the darkness. Everyone is a scheming bastard. <<less
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Occulus
Occulus
September 5, 2016
Status: v3 prologue
Caution: THIS IS NOT THE STORY OF A HERO, THIS IS A STORY OF A GREAT VILLAIN

So it seems like many readers are going through this story with the flawed assumption that this is the story of a tragic hero, of a demon lord that is not truly evil despite the atrocities he carried out. These readers are wrong. Dungeon Defense is the story of a villain who enjoys toying around with humanity. Sure, he has rules that he sets and follows (like a "good" villain) as well as an... more>> understandable past that molded him this way, but make no mistake, he is a true villain. Think Lelouche from Code Geass except for if Lelouche was acting purposefully to harm all of humanity. With that fact established, I personally find the thoughts and scheming of the main character quite interesting. You can probably find more description about the plot in the other reviews. However, once again, this story is not for everyone. <<less
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JinVodka
JinVodka rated it
September 5, 2016
Status: v3c1
The story is exciting and it feel like a roller coaster of feeling. The MC is quite fun and his antics are enjoying even if it has dark hero. He is a not your typical anti-hero.

I would say he is the type manipulative type of hero who takes people as pawn. He is twisted and evil so this story is not for the kind heart because of his past he became clever but broken human.

Well they say ignorance is a bliss because the more you become aware the more twisted... more>> you become. <<less
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