Chapter 27: 702nd Wave (1)
“Good, preparations are done.”
I sat on the floor of the one-room and brushed my hands off—tap tap.
On my right was a pack of Doggy Coffee Milk, said to have maximum caffeine content.
On my left were sandwiches and hamburgers for quick eating.
On the bed, I placed peppermint gum to prevent any drowsiness.
With this, all preparations were complete.
“Now, shall I prepare the other side?”
After taking a few sips of the coffee milk, I lightly touched my earlobe.
[Would you like to start playing 「Stop Monsters with Monsters」?]
A message window that only appears when the Wave warning notification pops up.
[Synchronizing with 「Stop Monsters with Monsters」.]
I touched my earlobe again.
Along with the familiar message, the Status Window in front of me transformed into a dot screen and expanded like a 32-inch monitor.
At the same time, a sensation swept over me—as if my joints were bound by sticky spiderwebs.
“First, the deployable Monsters.”
[Checking the current Monster forces defending the Dream Lord’s Castle.]
3 Goblin Fighters, Gono, Odolf, Zen Karuk.
And 20 Lizardmen captured from the Garden of Mind.
A total of 26 Monsters could be deployed.
It was a much better situation than the 701st Wave.
“This time, I can clear it the proper way.”
Unlike before, I wouldn’t have to rely purely on grit.
“The system also feels strangely more generous than before.”
During the 701st Wave, the alarm rang just before the invasion.
But now, it was providing information with nearly 1 hour and 30 minutes left.
Normally, shouldn’t the tutorial be generous and then become ruthless afterward?
And then, another surprising message appeared.
[As the sole player, a special benefit is granted.]
“Oh!”
A benefit—nice!
The last Wave’s benefit gave 1 defensive structure and 1 equipable item.
So this time—
[Temporarily, an ‘Item Peddler’ will appear in this Wave. Consumable items can be purchased from the Item Peddler, and items can be used during the Wave.]
“Ohho.”
An Item Peddler, huh.
Immediately after, a bearded dwarf wearing a turban appeared next to the Lord in the Audience Chamber.
When I tapped the dot with my finger, the dwarf shouted “Thank you!” and gave a thumbs-up.
A list of purchasable items appeared.
Most were useless junk.
But of course, there was something eye-catching.
[Energy Bar for Monsters 1 Set (25 pieces)]
[An energy bar loved by everyone—from Kobolds to Evil Spirits. Probably!]
[Slightly restores the health and energy of hired Monsters. ※ Must be fed manually!]
“There wasn’t a recovery item during defense in MonMonMak.”
No exact numbers were shown, but it should be at least 10%.
But suddenly, a sense of unease crept in.
This was too generous.
If this were the MonMonMak I knew, there had to be a reason.
As if reading my thoughts, a message appeared.
[Would you like to check Wave information?]
“Check.”
[The 702nd Monster Wave consists of 1200 Monsters.]
“What?”
1200?
That’s 20 times more than the 60 from the 701st Wave.
Even with the overpowered trio of Gono, Odolf, and Zen Karuk—
Even if they fought like armies alone, this number was impossible.
But the notifications didn’t stop.
[Wave information is limited. Instead of exact Monster details, Star Ratings will be displayed.]
Yeah, this is the trash game I know.
[The 702nd Wave includes 1 Seven-Star Monster and 1199 Two-Star Monsters.]
“…Hm?”
Only 1 Seven-Star out of 1200?
I narrowed my eyes.
I’d seen this before.
A wave composed like this.
As I traced back my memory—
A grin spread across my face.
“Right. There was a perfect counter for them.”
I tapped the dot window and checked the 2 tickets I had saved.
[Special Space Development Ticket ×1]
[Premium Draw Ticket ×1]
Rewards from defeating Zen Karuk.
I chose the Special Space Development Ticket.
[Special Space Development Ticket—Consumes Gold to instantly construct a special room.]
This was a combination of instant completion and trap construction.
“Check constructable list.”
[Checking constructable list.]
Spike Trap Room—200 Gold
Moving Wall—200 Gold
Tentacle Trap—300 Gold
Crude Shelter—300 Gold
Crude Blessing Spring—550 Gold
…
Railgun Charging Room—360000 Gold
Lord’s Training Room—370000 Gold
Lord’s Hobby Room—1000000 Gold
Most were over 500 Gold.
‘Still, this one isn’t expensive.’
Luckily, what I needed wasn’t absurdly expensive.
Current funds: about 1000 Gold.
No shortage.
[Purchased Light and Salt Room Construction Ticket for 200 Gold.]
I built the Light and Salt Room right behind the main gate.
So that all Monsters must pass through it before splitting into 4 paths.
[Constructing Light and Salt Room.]
After clank clank sounds of tools—
A glowing square room appeared.
“Next, barracks for each path…”
[Barracks installed on each path.]
“And one more in front of the Audience Chamber.”
The structure of the Castle quickly changed.
1 Special Room, 4 Barracks, and a defensive line.
“That handles the Two-Star mobs. The problem is the Seven-Star.”
Seven-Star = near S-Rank.
And I already knew what it was.
“If I could see stats or levels…”
I muttered.
This version didn’t show stats.
Meaning—
Only experience and instinct.
And my instinct said—
‘That Seven-Star Monster is too much.’
“Hey, Sage, what do we do?”
Float—
The Sage stared at me.
This wasn’t a normal game.
One mistake = death.
Thunk!
“Hmm?”
The Sage bumped into a corner of the screen.
I followed its hint and smiled.
“Right. There’s only one way.”
I forgot the core of this trash game.
[Move to Premium Draw?]
“Yeah… let’s draw.”
In the end—
Everything comes down to Item Power.
***
[702nd Monster Wave has begun!]
I gulped my coffee milk.
Monsters flooded in.
[600 Skeleton Soldiers, 400 Skeleton Archers, 199 Skeleton Knights, 1 Special Hero.]
“Undead… as expected.”
Clatter—crack—
The gate broke.
But I calmly chewed gum.
“Don’t worry, Sage.”
These aren’t the problem.
Soon—
[Skeleton Soldier received Blessing of Light and Salt. It is Undead. Receives penalty.]
Normally a buff room.
But—
[500 Undead entered. Damage taken by Undead increased by 500%.]
A hidden mechanic.
Buff → Debuff.
Except—
[Special Hero resisted.]
“Of course.”
Still—
Perfect for 1199 Two-Star Undead.
[Wave splits into 4 paths.]
Each path:
Odolf, Zen Karuk, Gono, Lizardmen.
[Odolf casts Enlightenment Club!]
[Zen Karuk casts Tears of the Ancient God!]
[Gono casts Raven’s Wingbeat!]
[Lizardmen cast Trikeon Defense Formation!]
The numbers dropped rapidly.
Thump thump!
The Sage signaled urgently.
“Ah, that one?”
I looked.
The boss.
[Undead Lich Iramatus]
A crowned skeleton with a purple staff.
“Yeah… a Lich.”
[Warning! Iramatus casts Undead Resurrection!]
Purple mist spread.
Monster count: 980 → 1200.
“Of course you’d pull that.”
I immediately tapped the peddler.
“Buy items.”
[Purchased Energy Bar Set.]
I dragged and fed each Monster manually.
They looked reluctant.
…Seriously?
Still—
[Odolf recovered.]
[Zen Karuk recovered.]
The tide turned again.
Monster count dropped faster.
“Good…”
I smirked at the Lich.
“Let’s see who lasts longer.”
Time for some fun grinding.