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Rating(4.5 / 5.0, 2917 votes)
5    81% (2365 votes)
4    6% (176 votes)
3    4% (113 votes)
2    3% (86 votes)
1    6% (177 votes)
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2016
Status in COO
Status in Country of Origin. One entry per line
5 Volumes (dropped)
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No
Completely Translated
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Release Frequency
Every 177.4 Day(s)
Activity Stats
[Graph]
Weekly Rank: #2944
Monthly Rank: #1486
All Time Rank: #333
Reading List
[Graph]
On 23781 Reading Lists
Monthly Rank: #856
All Time Rank: #14

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. Might read
  2. Readable Less Romance Story (Reasonable MC)
  3. Code's Masterpieces
  4. enjoyed my time
  5. An actual attempt at ranking

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
1234
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316 Reviews sorted by


Susken
Susken
May 31, 2017
Status: --
Ugh! How to review this?

Its one of the best novels I have read but also its not for me.

Its one of those novels that you need to read. Why do I say that? Because you will love it or hate it. There is no in between. People that give it three stars are just trying to be special snowflakes and act like a wanabe critic. No. This you will like or hate, period.

I have given it full 5/5 becaus it is briliant but its not for me. The depth of... more>> every thing in this novel is amazing the storry also. There are some game elements but they are soon forgotten and dont matter which is good. The characters oh my I can write thousands of words it wont be enough. Recomended!

Spoiler

This Novel is good but the whole story and the character developments can be summed up into one sentence. All the characters have some kind of mental disorder. Why do I say that? Well First off the mai character is I Sociopath and/or has Emotional detachment also allows acts of extreme cruelty, such as torture and abuse, supported by the decision to not connect emphatically with the person concerned. And the other characters are also crazy as hell and have that something about them. If you read it when Dantalian and his secretary convey their love for each other but the definition of love for the two of them has a really different meaning witch is strange and disturbing but also refreshing I cant really explain it you just need to read it and when you do you will Know if you like it or not. Personally I dont like it but it is one amazing piece of literature.

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Epholos
Epholos rated it
March 22, 2017
Status: v3 afterword
The Novel is almost entirely focused on conversations and outsmarting the opponent, so if you are looking for something action filled this novel won't be for you. On the other hand it is excellently written, something I rarely come across in the vast sea of mediocre to subpar novels I normally see on this site. And while this novel too has some obvious issues, like the main characters personality shifting at the beginning of the story and the ability he chose at the start not only being pointless considering his... more>> ability to manipulate people but also barely being used and even when used it is in the most obvious way possible.

For now it is still the best Korean Novel I red so far. <<less
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ruferto
ruferto
March 19, 2017
Status: v2c4
Amazing novel with excellent character development and philosophical & psychological themes. Chapters are long but it doesn't have the wordy feel of other novels I've read that seem to be going for word count. At the end of volume 2 now, I love the main characters so far. Looking fwd for more.
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juniorjawz
juniorjawz rated it
February 20, 2017
Status: v4 afterword
This review is mostly based through the "Volume 2" review. (Slight spoil ahead)

If chapter 2 feels off to you....
Spoiler

Remember that it's still Dantalian. Only that the story telling style has changed. Disbelief sets in quite quickly here from Vol 1.

If you need to refresh your memory on his personality and character, just read back his story about him on Earth. Do remember that he has done bad things before he even entered the new world.

Next, His actions. Keep in mind that he has already known the future of the 'story' but does not mention much that what he is doing is simply him going with his decision based on the game. He never explains (which throws off many people) but it is up to us readers Whether to believe in whatever he is doing or not.
It may feel wrong to you

And even if you do not like Volume 2. Do believe me when I say Vol 3 becomes good again...

And Vol 4.. Vol 4 is just 10/10 in my opinion. Really takes the cake in making this a true rare psycho novel I've read.

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Leinn
Leinn rated it
December 19, 2016
Status: v5 afterword
This novel is amazing !

If you like dark psychological with romance (no ntr), genius enemy like no others, villain MC with 200 IQ, uniquue character personality and development, an interesting fantasy story with twist and scheme. Then this novel is for you
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slay_mithos
slay_mithos rated it
October 9, 2016
Status: v1 afterword
Just finished the first volume, and I have to say that I am fairly impressed by this one.

The story does seem to have a clear plan and clear steps, making it cohesive and properly structured, to the point where it could nearly rival with those I call "proper authors" (no insult intended, it's just a name I give to those like Pratchett and other authors that brought out well written stories).

So far, the characters seem to have more layers than your usual light novels, the writing is making use of... more>> the Korean language properly, and the people doing the translation obviously know both Korean and English well enough to deliver it in a proper form too (this is not that common, so I have to point it out).

If I had to say why I'm giving it 4 instead of 5, it would be because full mark is only for truly exceptional novels in my book, and while this one is definitely good quality, there is still this way that the story is presented that is slightly bugging me. By that I mean that the main character is presented as one with overwhelming skills in acting and reasoning, even hinting that even the gods might not be able to contend with him purely on that.

While it's nice to not have yet an other dull MC, I think it's pushed a bit too much toward "perfection", so I'm hopping that the author will use it in later volumes as a card against the MC. <<less
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daf
October 2, 2016
Status: v3c4 part2
Awesome MC. Smart, and ruthless. Yes, he is a sociopath, but I don't care. He's badass. The fights and dialogues are epic. He's decisive and cruel. I don't care that he's not my role model. I am entertained. READ IT. NOW.
1 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
ronon
ronon
September 24, 2016
Status: v3 prologue
The first thing you need to know, is that this Novel has the best fan translation that I've seen yet. It is so good, that I would believe if you were to say it's copied from a published translated book. I have no way to stress this enough, the translator of this series is doing such an excellent job, that it would be worth picking it up just by that.

That doesn't mean the story is shallow, though. If you came here after reading light-hearted non-sensical stories where stories are made... more>> up and character development don't matter, you're in for a surprise. This one shows a very different side from what we are used to seeing, a very dark anti-hero main character, with a heavy psychotic personality, that will not stop until his goal is reached.

The settings are well constructed, the characters are properly introduced into the stories, and the most important of it all, everything that happens, happens for a reason. It is not just for shows, nor is it a ploy from the author, to make it seem like the plot is more complicated than it really is. The way the story is built makes the reader believe Dantalian is indeed a psycopath capable of scheming such grand acts.

While Volume 1 was about the introduction of the setting of the story, Volume 2 focused mainly on character development. The foreshadowing of what the MC's true colors are, is exciting. All in all, this is a great read. First class translations, along with a main character that possess a very strong personality. If you are into a story that is not all about "face-rolling" your way into a victory, then this is a series for you. <<less
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Gyratos
Gyratos rated it
September 24, 2016
Status: v3c3
Well this story is quite wonderfully laid down. From the characters to the political plots, everything is slowly and efficiently showed and explained to the reader. The main character Dantalian is one of the weakest Demon lord but crawl to rise to the peak not by brute force but with plots, honey words and brain wars. He's quite the pragmatic and crazy character but it's completely assumed and presented as a pure person of madness. Opposite to the other DL who respect the traditional law of bloodlines etc... He will... more>> search skillfull individuals (and as crazy and vicious as him) to fill the ranks of his vassals. In all honesty I would like to include a tag R-18 to this story because of all the psychological facts and matters going even to torture to break the mind...

Well all in all a dark and sordid story but very well written and translated. If you like well developped characters and story laying on the psychology and political speeches rather than muscles and action and bathing in a somewhat dark fantasy universe then it's a must to read. <<less
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pomoli
pomoli rated it
September 15, 2016
Status: v3 illustrations
The first volume was great. No, really awesome, the game mechanics, the useless father figure, the clever/lazy main character, the drawing quality... Well done.
The the second volume came out, and I was like, what the hell is wrong with the MC? Going from a likable MC to a crazy psychopath...
Like
Spoiler

patting a character head while surrendering soldiers are massacred by her order.

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Or
Spoiler

planning a genocide with another psycho character in the vol 2 ending.

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Where is the lazy, clever, and humane character I read of in the beginning? When was he swapped with a nazi?
Also, when you read volume 2, the reactions displayed in the volume 1 prologue just don't make sense.

I should mention the quality of the translation though.
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BQDJ
BQDJ
September 11, 2016
Status: v3 prologue
Amazing, truly... Too many plot twists to get bored. Too many different characters to get bland, the characters are very deep, makes it all the more interesting. The only problem that I have is that they introduced a game system where the Demon Lord can have skills but the author completely forgot about it ^^.

Well, everything is good. Nice read.
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firedrake915
firedrake915
September 3, 2016
Status: v3c1
Dungeon defence falls into the category of transfered into the game's world as a villain, and it follows the tropes of the format. The protagonist starts off in an extremely weak position, is incredibly intelligent, and the novel has a heavy focus on politics and intrigue. This intrigue is extremely well portrayed and the story itself is very dark. The characterization is done very well with the main characters having personalities that are both interestingly twisted and deep, but not without flaws. For example the MC is extremely arrogant, perhaps... more>> rightfully so, and although he is able to come to understand situations and manipulate others with extreme skill, he doesn't seem to account for his own potential failures in deduction. Although there is not enough of the story to understand all the main characters in this depth, there is great potential for this to happen in the future. The story itself follows the format of a slow buildup of the situation until it ends with a big reveal or conclusion in the last chapter, think Sherlock Holmes or other detective novels. Translation speed is fast, with no noticeable translation errors from the perspective of someone who doesn't know the original language. Chapters are long, though with the author's style it may be more enjoyable to wait for a volume to be fully translated before reading it. Overall, I found Dungon Defence to be a refreshingly deep and well written story. Also, the mc's experience with and opinion on harems is both novel and fresh in a world where a harem is almost necessary for a successful LN. <<less
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Jyindo
Jyindo
September 3, 2016
Status: v3c1
Excellent writing style a very entertaining drama/comedy.
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SteelzCloud
SteelzCloud
September 1, 2016
Status: v3 prologue
I have to say, this is one of the most original novels I have read till date. The story is good in many sense but the best part of all is how dark and smart the MC really is. The story isn't your typical dark story where r*pe and mu*der is common, instead it gives POVs of different characters from the main cast (especially the MC) to showcase how he views the world around him. The manipulation the MC uses is actually sensible rather than the gibberish most novels spout... more>> that the MC is smart only due to knowledge he knows, not how he actually tackles the problem with the same information as any other person. Most novels also go into development on the MC just to make things more interesting but this novel has almost no development of the MC and only consists of his schemes and opinions that make the story 10 times better. Chances are if you are very religious you're gonna hate it due to how deluded your views are. <<less
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HHG
HHG
August 29, 2016
Status: v3 prologue
I am actually amazed by the quality of this work.

I enjoy WN/Ln's be it CN, JP or KR. But fact is, most of them fall in a prestructured formula and become dull and easily turn dull and boring after some chapters. Only a few shine and the rest turn out mediocre.

But this is good literature. Of course, not in the level of the "true" books, classics and so on. But absolutely not cheap WN literature.

The author puts a lot of emphasis in dialogue and situational building, it has good twists... more>> and unreliable narrators. Violence and s*x are not censored in any means but the author rather reminds you of the constant existence of both in the narrative universe.

Of course this work will not be for everyone. It is dark, violent, sexual, manipulative, the focused characters present mental illnesses of their own.

But it is GOOD. You will not see the formula of power ups or willpower. The characters battle with wits and schemes. The dialogue is powerful and the soliloquy extense building. Most importantly, the characters have weaknesses. They can become careless.

But be clear, so far is a tale without heroes but only mad men and women forcing their madness over other mad men and women.

I've disliked few things, far too little to even change my judgment about this work.

It has depth and the author carries his way through swiftly.

A promising title.

I hope the current translator Shalvation is able to recruit more people to help. This LN is far too good and high in the lists to be so small.

Sidenote: The WN far strays from the LN, being almost an entire story by itself. Maybe that should get translated too? <<less
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kenneth223
kenneth223
August 29, 2016
Status: v2 afterword
Okay, I caught up to the latest translated novel and I gotta say, IT'S SO F**KING MANIPULATIVE! I actually got hype for this!

I mean, when I was reading those 2 novels, I wasn't expecting the MC to 'see' that far 10 steps ahead as he is very calculative and cunning. His personality is so dark and twisted yet at the same time kind and benevo-scratch that, he actually played me like a child who doesn't know anything and I never knew why he did those things.And it was all to get to his 'prey' FROM. THE. VERY. BEGINNING./spoiler]

*I use DD instead of the full name: Dungeon Defense

Reading the first novel, we get to see why the mc's personality became like that and it was because of his father who had 5 wives. A sack of sh*t who doesn't properly take care of his wives. Also, the first novel introduces us to the DD system. We also get to see how psychological he is towards his enemies and how he will "make use" of his vassals and his enemies towards his whim. Since he played DD, he is able to know the weaknesses of each demon lord which in turn he can basically take total control of the world.

I will leave the rest out as you have to read it in order to fully understand what kind of MC he is. If he is cunning and calculative, then he is something more... after all he 'was' the hero of DD.

Read it, explain to yourself why his personality is like that, tell yourself why he outdone us readers, and most importantly, why he wants to manipulate and take things under his 'control'.
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PajamaKiD
PajamaKiD
August 25, 2016
Status: v2 intermission
The plot is not that unique but the Character of the novel is soo unique to the core.

In Vol 1 the story is fantastic as if you are in the story itself, it like you have the feeling that you are watching all the character in this Novel as a third person

Vol 2 is not that finished but the first 3 chapter of the vol is so disappointing but when you went to the chapter 4 it is like the first 3 chapter is sacrifice to make chapter 4 crazy.... more>> Don't judge a book by mere chapter!

Translation ? -5/5
Writing ?- 5/5
Story?- 5/5
Character?-5/5
Potential?- 3/5

Why 3/5 in the potential? The story itself is very good, but I can't predict the author at all.

I been reading Novel for 2 years and this is the first time that I can't think the future events at all. We all know that there going to be a war against human and demons. We also know that there going to be an event where the MC is going to get a military consisted of ORC and Goblin but what after this? Love story, killing the hero, killing the demon lord beside himself, or make submit all the demons to him and become a demon lord? But overall I will this 5/5 because this is unique to the core I'm not saying the plot but the character are unique <<less
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XeroDK
XeroDK rated it
August 22, 2016
Status: v2c1
The protagonist is a scary dude. I feel that I really got to know him. The two main characters, Dantalian and Lapis, make a good team and I could sympathize with them. These are two well fleshed out characters for only one volume. However, the biggest strength is also the biggest weakness in this novel.

One of the main problem here is Dantalian's goal. He wants to work so he can sleep and be lazy whenever he wants. I'm sorry, but I'm quite tried of this annoying trope. THERE IS ABSOLUTELY... more>> NO WAY IN HELL THAT A PROTAGONIST THIS BRILLIANT AND CUNNING IS THIS LAZY AND UNREASONABLE. I know that it's for comedic effect... har har. I can't help but feel the novelist took a shortcut to comedy and replaced the protential character development in favor of a cheap laugh. (P.S. Though I find it amusing, I don't find it funny. More annoying than anything else.)

The other large problem the novel has is with Dantalian, again. The narrative has him as a genius strategist but so far all he did was PLAY THE DAMN GAME. This is another trope that I cannot stand and it undermines the character overall if not dealt with properly.

Spoiler

The only reason he won against the Keuncuska Firm is because he played the game, not because of his brilliance. The only reason he knew about the plague was because he knew the game's history so he could predict the future... And that was it, nothing else. Sure, it was great how he manipulated Lapis and all, but it's undermined by the fact the plan hinged on the fact he played the game beforehand.

Dantalian could've not known the specifics of the plague and done actual research, but... har har: comedy. He didn't even try and brought the most powerful organization to its knees by cheating. Har har. I'm not laughing. (faceplam*)

The even more unforgivable example of this comes to how the Walpurgis Night trial ended. Dantalian showed his brilliance in deductive reasoning and was cunning enough to completely counter the accussation thrown at him. HOWEVER, HE ONLY WON BECAUSE HE KNEW WHAT HE COULDN'T HAVE KNOWN. I know, I know that many people would still find this funny and satisfactory but it leaves a bad taste in my mouth because he could've easily just deduced it without cheating by questioning the behavior of the vampire-possessed witch. But the story didn't go that way and a wasted opportunity.

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There are also some unexplained stuff that really should've been explained or hinted at.

Behind this frustration is because I really did enjoy the read and I want to enjoy it more. But if this story continues down this road, I don't know if I should even bother. <<less
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Amoki
Amoki rated it
January 13, 2024
Status: --
It's quite good but by the 4th volume I was getting quite tired of the endless descriptions of scenes. I understand the author is trying to set a mood and a tone for a scene but when in excess it simply makes me want to skip past everything and only read the dialogue. It's a shame that the light novel didn't finish because the web novel seems to be much worse.
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MIHAWKBLACKYORU
MIHAWKBLACKYORU rated it
July 7, 2023
Status: v4 prologue
This novel really has one of the s*upidest MC in volume 1 the story the pacing the interactions was really good and I enjoyed it but after volume 2 I was like waste of time to read the reason I liked this novel because MC was ruthless and maintained his demeanor and relationship at a correct place but afterwards he is like fully addicted to his women which made me is he really a cold protagonist ... more>>
Spoiler

in one arc where the first heroine was dissatisfied with his affection towards her and told him that she like authority over love and MC realising his mistake also says the same and after saying this they started to like each other more

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I was like what the... If you really love authority over your romance then you should never try to gain her affection it was the cringest dialogue I ever heard <<less
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