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


Cowtail
Cowtail rated it
April 28, 2019
Status: v2
Could only get up to volume 2. The premise was cool. Too bad the author only used the character to lecture the reader constantly with nonsensical Chuunibyou bs, with almost no actual dungeon keeping. Many inconsistencies as well. For example,

... more>>
Spoiler

the main character supposedly wakes up in the new world amongst a bunch of corpses of presumably his troop or the results of battling against adventurers, but later on is said to have had no troops or any kind of henchmen whatsoever right from the start.

[collapse]

Things like that run rampant through it all. <<less
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Capid
Capid rated it
March 23, 2019
Status: v5 afterword
There are many ways of describing a light novel, or a webnovel, some are engaging, some are interesting, with some cool gimmick that makes them worth following. If I had to give a simple description to those who wonder about the quality of Dungeon Defense, I'd go with a single line first.

This is professional literature.

-Characters and development: OP protagonist as they come, but for the right reasons. Magical powers? Super strength? Forget it, any soldier would have an easy time killing him, but that's the thing, Dantalian will never be... more>> on the front, he's a leader, a schemer, a genius and a master strategist, able to read between the lines to get as much as possible with as little risk and effort needed. Dantalian's personality comes already shaped by the events that happened before the story and you won't see much development on this side. Expect extreme cynicism from him, his ways have a bit of poetry, but always expect a reason and evil intent.

The other characters tend to be very flawed, their personalities are distorted, many are insane, evil or too s*upid to see the big picture, and that's just perfect, they're more than their roles, they feel alive and some of them will get what they want from Dantalian, no matter what he tries. Character development is much more intense on the side characters, with many of them changing, for better or for worse.

-Action: This is not an action focused series, while there are battles, and the current events are focused on a single war, you should expect much more interesting events from political talks and heavy scheming. Do have in mind that the protagonist has negligible combat power, his main subordinates are non-combatant, and his witches are limited in number and more suited for covert operations.

-Romance: The easiest way to describe romancing in this series would be twisted, he has romantic interests, more than one, and he's sexually active, but on the other hand one of the romances was more of a diversion tactic, while the other main romance is pretty much his partner sexually assaulting him. Dantalian is not a romantic person, his background also doesn't help any bit.

-Pacing: Slow, painfully slow, if you want to read this series, take it easy, enjoy the chapters, don't come with the idea of reading everything on a single bite and then demanding more, sadly the volumes come out slowly, and the events inside said volumes also advance slowly.

Recommended for: those who want a dark read, while I wouldn't consider this story openly grimdark, it's extemely cynical and evil people are the ones who get their way over those who are pure and good. Also recommended for those who want to read good scheming and a deep plot

Not recommended for: Those who wish for a lot of action, those who wish for an heroic protagonist, those who wish for quick developments, those who wish a happy story. <<less
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NobleCrassus
NobleCrassus rated it
March 4, 2019
Status: v5 epilogue
I've read a lot of these Novels... but I've never been led around so soundly by one. Apparently chapters come long and in between, but when writing a genius genuinely it can only be expected. Writing, our hero Dantelian, a person who Artemis foul wouldn't be ashamed to call his peer, believably is no small order, and this author delivers it in droves. The author perfectly manages your expectations only to sweep them all away.

This novel quickly sheds it's isekai video game world novelty and marches grandly to stand on... more>> its own merits. This is a must read for any one who tires of the power fantasy's that plague this genre.

a perfect 5/7. <<less
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SisConEcho
SisConEcho rated it
January 25, 2019
Status: v5
The humor is dark, real dark, and there lies the charm. The translator Shalvation does a beautiful job using less common words and phrases that gives a bit of Medieval feel to the setting, and does not take away the Asian stuff which adds to the story.

Character Dev is crazy good. Do read this if ur a bit messed up in the head.
I just wish the Author would release vol 6 soon
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Pavan4321
Pavan4321 rated it
December 28, 2018
Status: v5
I thought this was going to be the novel my favorite novel but 2 things in this novel ruined my experience of this novel.

... more>>
Spoiler

1. I just cannot accept that the characters in game world as other world existences because at the start the MC was given an option to play the dungeon defense game easy or difficult. MC chooses difficult as the option. Because of this, I cannot get an idea out of my mind when I am reading I.e. If he chose easy as the option then the whole group of characters in that game world would change completely. This was a problem for me while reading the novel.

2. Many of characters in game world are coincidentally have too similar circumstances to MC (mainly the one Princess who I think is one of the main antagonist). This is starting to getting on my nerves.

[collapse]

Despite these complaints, I will agree that several interesting and clever plot points are included in this novel. <<less
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Reached_The_Apex
Reached_The_Apex rated it
October 12, 2018
Status: v5
Summary: Don't Read this if you expect dungeon building/capturing/anything related to dungeons (as of volume 5 nothing of the sorts happened). The novel so far has solely been about schemes, wars and vassal's support the MC, the MC himself is only smart/witty, but towards fighting he is very weak.

While the first volume of the novel introduced a "Dungeon System" by the time volume one has ended, there is no longer anything to do with the system ... more>>
Spoiler

Besides occasional decisions: E.G: Do you choose to give mercy or not

[collapse]
.

The novel has nothing to do with dungeons, more towards conquering and claiming, the title mislead me but I read the novel due to the characteristics shown of varying characters, if I had know about this in the start i'd of just skipped this novel. <<less
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cherryboy
cherryboy rated it
March 2, 2018
Status: v5 afterword
I love Dungeon Defense, it's a great isekai and is a lot more enjoyable than a huge majority of shitty isekai WN/LNs. It is inconsistent for the first volume mostly because it started as a web novel, turned into a light novel that failed (was canceled at vol6), and then rewrote into another light novel which is what we have now (Version 3). I'm certain a lot of the inconsistent sh*t are things carried over from the other iterations of the novel because it was heavily changed from version 1&2.... more>> The author also has a good editor now and I think that's why the story is so good.

DD is about a lazy NEET who was transported into his favorite game as one of the lowest ranked demon lords. His only goal in life was to be a lazy NEET and not work, it is also his motivation for saving the world he is in now. As you follow him on his journey you slowly learn just how much of a lunatic and disgusting schemer the guy is. He is weak/powerless but uses his wits, charisma, acting, and game knowledge to take advantage of the situations he gets put in. As much as he leads you to believe he knows everything, he doesn't. He's competitive and he gets off on authority, he does not care about social status, but he seems to care a lot about the ones close to him. I enjoy his character, it's refreshing to have a different kind of MC.

I'd highly recommend dungeon defense. It's well written, has great twists, is very entertaining, and the translations are really good. It's characters are fleshed out and it's focused on dialogue, plotting/schemes, and character relationships. There's not a lot of fights (but tons of violence), no cheat abilities, and no dumb dark revenge plot. It's mostly about broken mentally ill pe*verts dealing with pain by exploiting and dominating others. <<less
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Nyahmanya
Nyahmanya rated it
March 2, 2018
Status: --
The true nature of this novel isn't portrayed at volume 1. I myself got deluded from it.

Spoiler

It turns dark and good and it delivers! I could say it felt similar to No Game No Life with a dark twist. The writing is good, Translations spot on to the intended meaning and you won't get enough of the surprises and the machinations of the real masterminds.

[collapse]
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Ha ha ha
Ha ha ha rated it
January 8, 2018
Status: v5
Just read it. And about other reviews saying only vol 1 is good, you will get it if you keep reading till volume 4. It'll become much better trust me.

Totally about politics, mental manipulation. Though story happens in fantasy world it is not that focussed on fantasy elements (at least till vol5).
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NotCIA
NotCIA rated it
January 1, 2018
Status: v5
I'll write a better review when I finish volume 5.

Volume 1 was great, it was a masterpiece in its own way that deserves a 5 star rating. Since then it's been slowly stumbling down hill. The author doesn't try to work around "adult themes" as if they don't exist, but the author also clearly doesn't understand the difference between a "grimdark" world, and an "edgy" world. The difference can be vague at times, but that's all I can see the later volumes as- edgy and rushed. The MC has fallen... more>> into the Korean writer's trap of generic psycho-mu*derer with a f***ed up head by the end of volume 4, and I'm not sure how much better it's gonna get. The writing and TL are still superior to a lot of the stuff out there so it deserves at least a 3 star, but since the quality of V1 can't be kept up, it's no 5 star. <<less
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fir537
fir537
December 28, 2017
Status: v5
A great read. A mix of the Lazy King and a decent misguided soul. At least the MC here doesnt seem stuck in his bed unlike Sloth. Title is misleading. It refers to the game MC was playing before his transfer onto Dantalion. There is no true dungeon at all within both the game and the world.

MC is as good as a human could be. MC is also as evil as a human can be. Thus, MC is the personification of a perfect human, in my honest thoughts, that lies... more>> when he wishes to, speaks the truths when he desires to, deceive when necessary, and aid when needed. A pure human twisted by the world he was born to, a twisted human that desires to remain pure. A perfection.

Spoiler

Well some might disagree on my opinion, but that is what I consider a true human as. Not a hypocrite nor a conceited human, but one that lives by being true to oneself. A realist.

[collapse]

I do have an issue with the novel though, it is the fact that the [system] menu thing sort of disappears somewhat after the first volume. There is no more display of it in use other than the few affection stuff in the early chapters. Even the treasury/bank where the demon lord stores his wealth sort of turn to an item box type of gold pouch, when it is explicitly stated early on that he can only use it within the castle. I might be confused with the way the story is written, but it seems that everything related to the system disappears after the tutorial except the feature he chose that displays another person status. But at times (during the early chapters) the selection menu pops up, it even appears in the prologue which was supposed to happen 2 years after chapter 1. Hopefully author expands more on the system side of things, maybe giving MC some more features of the game, other than the forced objective options and status menu. Recommended to try, but some might be put off by the violence (which is simply minor imho) if they expect a flowery cheerful pinkish novel.

Spoiler

MC is a genius of sorts, he became self aware from the age of 6, killed a kidnapper by the age of 6, conducts himself as if he is an adult from the age of 6. A mature child, taught the ways of the world since a young age, grew up in a demanding disfunctional family of a rich but wayward father, a problematic mother, 6 half siblings from the father many tryst.

Story starts when the father is caught and sent to prison for sexually harassing a child (he just tapped her bu*t tho, weird law), which is pretty much impossible because he is rich, so the obvious reason would be the MC intentionally making sure his father be put in jail. After a heartwarming discussion between father and son, the father stayed in prison for the next 10 days, and died of a heart attack. No will was left, but due to MC being the only child of his legal wife, he inherits pretty much everything. Deciding it best to just stay away from everything and relax, he forsake the inheritance against the wishes of his mother and his 2nd half sister. Taking meager amount of money, he left the family house, and went away, alone.

He finally gets to play games, a luxury he was never able to gain due to being too busy. Clearing the game multiple times, he goes from a decent youth to a fatass due to only eating snacks and playing games, nothing more. Then one day, he gets a survey from the game dev, a weird list of questions of sorts. After completing the survey, he fainted and woke up as Dantalion, a rank 71/72 Demon Lord of the game he just played. The rank is based on the creation not on powers, so rank 1 is the oldest while rank 72 is the youngest. Demon Lords are created naturally by the magic powers of the world, if all demon lords die it will remove all magic from the world.

Story basically starts from here, where he starts to act to stop the end of the world. As the hero in the game, he killed all demon lords and picked up all the heroines. And the game stops there, so no clear showing of what the world is like after that. But now as the demon lord, he understands what would happen when all the demon lords is defeated, and starts to do his best to stop it from happening. Because of his upbringing, his view of the world is skewed to a certain extent. He, in simple terms, is insane. The worst type of crazy people is one who knowingly be crazy, understanding full well their own actions and its consequences. He was taught the rules and laws that govern business, its politics and the power of authority. Who is insane if not a politician.

[collapse]

The type of novel I would expect to see done by a certain shieldbro translator, but this one is korean so not possible. <<less
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naczac
naczac rated it
December 25, 2017
Status: v5 afterword
Excellent novel with captivating characters and story. The quality of translation is so high, you'll forget that the novel was not written in English. This is my most favorite novel, I can't wait to read more.
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Sanja96
Sanja96 rated it
December 21, 2017
Status: v5 afterwords
Really a great dark theme novel. And most of all translations are great, so great that if it was better it would ruin everything. Translator you are the best.
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funnyman
funnyman rated it
December 12, 2017
Status: v5 afterword
DO NOT READ THIS

You should only read this if you have run out of 3 stars novels to read, because if you read this novel early in the game, everything will be bland, life becomes a waiting game and you are always the loser.

Thou hast been warned

... more>> EDIT.

After reading the 1-2 star reviews. Just want to say that the 1st volume is just the tip of the iceberg. His personality WILL drastically change because it wasn't like that in the beginning. Game components is just for complementing the story, it's NOT the main plot itself. You can literally read about the fact that MC is a manipulating a**hole, but also in a sense that makes him a realist. <<less
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darksideskna
darksideskna rated it
November 26, 2017
Status: v5 afterward
MC is really smart from the beginning and doesn't get any help after transmigration into game except an ability check people's affection towards him for which he had to survive the tutorial so in essence he's an ordinary man who gets the status of 2nd lowest demon lord with the ability to check people's affection towards him, since he migrates into the game he already conquered, he has the foreknowledge and uses it to become rich and directs the world from it's doom by hero.

he lays low and is lazy... more>> but cunning and decisive and is surrounded by a band of misfits of demon society.

the plot starts to really develop in 4th volume. <<less
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tellmewhy
tellmewhy rated it
November 26, 2017
Status: v4
this is story where you love it or hate it. For readers who hate kind of tr*sh MC, I am sure they will hate this story. Because the MC in this story is one of the tr*shiest MC in all of the novels I read. He treat lives as toy weather it is his live or others live. He treat r*pe and other bad things as nothing but a joke and use any means necesary to reach his goals. But I find this story really good read because of the... more>> weak MC using his mere tongue to reach all his goals (not literaly lol). I hate tr*sh MC who justified all his deeds with selfrighteousness or author BS but this story tr*shy MC admited that he is tr*sh and never justified his deeds (at least untill v4 where I am curently read) so I dont really mind this tr*shy MC, I didnt like him but I didnt hate him either. 5* from me because the story really interesting imo. <<less
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Hikaroo
Hikaroo rated it
November 6, 2017
Status: v5c2
It is said that human can generally be divided into 2 broad category in all aspect of life; the rich-poor, the strong-weak, man-woman, coke-pepsi, etc. The same can be said to the reader of this novel, they can broadly be divided into 2 category, those who find 1st book to be better than the 2nd volume, and those who find the 1st book are inferior to the 2nd volume onward. If you're the former then I can say safely that this novel is not your cup of tea, however if... more>> you're the latter then welcome to the Carnival of Madness of Dungeon Defense.

But first thing first, I must say that Dungeon Defense is NOT a story about defending dungeon like it's title promised us, the origin of the name came from the anti-these of the game the world is based of which is called "Dungeon Attack." While it's true that the world are based on game and it contains game element this novel is NOT about dragged into the game world, it's part of the setting but it hardly matters so far, some people might be picky bout this so consider yourself warned. Last but not least this is not a lighthearted adventure novel like the other WN/LN/CN/KN with similar premises.

Now since I already point out what this novel is NOT about, then it is time to describe what it is about. If I had to describe it into short sentence this novel is like putting Hannibal, Joker, Kira, Moriarty and Lannister together on a stage and forcing them to perform an impromptu act. That description might exaggerate it a little, or maybe it might be an understatement, regardless know this that by common society standard the main cast of DD can be said to be 'evil' and 'mad man' thus be warned that what you read will stray greatly from 'common sense' and 'common justice' so if you think you can't stomach mad people rambling around then you better drop this series.

This is why I said at the beginning that there's people who prefer 1st volume and those who prefer 2nd volume, simply put 1st volume the protagonist still retain semblance of human, if I have to say he's still around 'Death Note' Kira which is still tolerate able for most people, but from 2nd volume onward we'll go deeper into the protagonist personality and thus the deeper we understand his abnormalities. I might further add that this is not an action novel nor a warfare one.

Now if those stuff I mention above does not deter you then you should give this novel a try, personally I enjoyed it so much but If I have to highlight the most interesting part of this novel then it'll fall to this :

  • The Interaction : I've said before that this is not an action nor a warfare novel right? So what kind of novel is this? It's simple, it's a character driven novel focused on dialog. While it's true that the highlight of character driven writing is obviously the depth of character, however the peculiarity of the character in this series are further highlighted by interaction between them, what I enjoyed in particular is how the actor interact within the story. There's a reason why I said that this is like a Drama with madman cast because the dialog are fashioned as if they're inside an act rather than proper normal everyday dialog.. Honestly it feels fresh and entertaining to read, the Protag inner commentary on the interaction spice up the great act as he dutifully play the role of the Jester of the story.. Literally and figuratively. - Bonjour!
  • Writing : Other than the peculiar way the author wrote some part of the dialog, I must also note that the author writing style are, -in my own word- beautiful. I am ashamed that I can hardly describe it but the flow of the dialog are so natural it triggers that same emotion as when I listen to my favorite music that gives me goosebumps. Now stop that rising expectation right there! This is ultimately a subjective opinion so you might not get the same impression as I was. But at least for me it's been a while since I feel so elated when reading something, , if it's on LN category then the last time was when I'm reading Spice and Wolf few years ago.
However this novel does have some part that can be criticized, the first is the lazy world building, the author for some reason took game as the setting however the game content hardly matter most of the time and when it does matter it kinda seems out of place in the big picture. Related to that the second thing that blemish this good read is that on v1 climax of the conflict the protagonist resolved it swiftly using the game information to solve the case, , it feels like Deus ex Machina to me and that way of resolving the situation kinda bug me a lot, it is a valid strategy but feels anti climatic.. Thank God it's a one time problem. <<less
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ththth12
ththth12
September 14, 2017
Status: v4 afterword
This great story is about schemes and plots of very smart characters. Almost everyone in this story is very intelligent and very twisted at the same time. This is not your typical otherworld novel. It's not about some loser getting cheats and becoming OP, it's about deliciously dark mindgames. MC uses his mind, not his muscles.

Some reviews were complaining inconsistent main character. I found it opposite. To me, he was consistent, and his development made perfect sense to me. There were many hints in his thoughts about his true character.... more>> He was only held back by social norms. When he could act without constrains of modern society and gained power, then he was finally able to live as he wanted. I guess people were expecting some kind fake 'dark' hero, who does bad things to bad people, but actually cares about others. <<less
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knighteem
knighteem rated it
September 11, 2017
Status: v4 afterword
The series is like many other world / game world transport kind of series. The backstory is good and gives a strong backbone to the story. The MC is a genius and successful, retires aft his sworn enemy, his father, died. Became a neet and enjoy his "retirement" (tho u dun know how old is the MC, I suspected its late 20's). Found an good game and mastered it 100% completion. Given a survey then thrown into that game world, 20+ years b4 the events of the game started.

Generally a... more>> dark, narcissist tone throughout the series. Death and gore is a thing. MC will lie n back stab to survive and since he know how the whole game will proceed, he takes advantages of it all. Although he plays the game as a hero, he now lives through it as a demon lord.
Spoiler

Although his actions are horrible in every way of the word, he is actually trying to save that world instead.

[collapse]

Generally its an awesome series with lots of twist n turn. Follow the bad guy, fulfilling the bad role and become the worst of the worst. <<less
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ChickenBakuba
ChickenBakuba rated it
August 31, 2017
Status: v4 afterwords
"I can smell a scent somewhere. It is the smell of fat emanating from disgusting masses of flesh. It is the smell of greed and hypocrisy."

Don't be fooled by the mediocre synopsis, it doesn't do even an iota of justice for this novel. This is a diamond amog the rough, a once-in-a-lifetime novel that could give Berserk a run for its money.

The novel is centred around conquest, but nothing you'd make it out to be. It sets of light-heartedly, with comedic dialogue. However, it pays careful attention to the development... more>> of the plot and does not neglect it in the slightest, progressing at a comfortable pace. (Genuine comedy not those stuff in generic LNs or WNs) The novel gets progressively darker, but unnoticeably as it advances at an appropriate place into the story. At the later parts of the story, the true colours of the novel are unveiled as the comedy is dissolved and replaced with plot twists and the like. It begins to take on a more serious and gore-ish tone, with graphic depictions of torture, r*pe, necrophilia and many, many others.

Each arc is brilliantly charted and plotted out by the author, seemingly keeping readers dancing in the palm of his hand. Even the slightest detail expands into a full-blown arc within a chapter. The character development is probably the best characteristic if this novel. It introduces several characters, but carefully develops every single one, especially the ones you don't expect. The use of literature and rhetorical speech also compliments the dark and main (conquest) theme of the novel subtly and correctly.

This is one of those novels which ignites a spark of primal hunger in you for more after you're completed. This is a gem, a unique drug like NGNL which will leave its marks in the halls of fame - but will never to be seen again.

For the poor, unenlightened people who have yet to experience DD, I strongly recommend you to give it a try. <<less
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