Overlord of the Dungeon (In the System Book #4): LitRPG Series Read online

  The destroyer didn’t pose a threat, she was simply indicating her presence. A senseless gesture. The time when politics were decided by the biggest guns and carrier-based aviation was receding further and further into the past. Even before the System’s arrival, nuclear missiles meant much more, and now there was a new factor…

  We reached Tokyo in the dead of night, and anchored near Izu Oshima, the only source of light in the vicinity except for the ships themselves. The island was located at the edge of the bay and had partially survived thanks to its huge volcano. The Americans had already occupied it, creating another base to study the monster’s carcass. This was no longer my problem. We had reached our destination, and the active phase of the operation would finally begin in the morning. Compared to the already familiar portals, the days spent traveling had felt incredibly long.

  Chapter 3. Reconnaissance

  “WHAT DO YOU THINK?” Eva spun around, showing off her new threads.

  “Not bad,” I said. “Although you looked better without it.”

  The new armor given to us before we left really looked quite good. The Golden Monkey skins were beautiful anyway, and they had been treated by masters of their craft. This was despite the strict restrictions on materials. While various chemicals were used for treatment and processing, given that they would disappear during the transfer, the threads had been obtained by pulling apart some of the System items from a player’s kit. As a result, the crafted items were even recognized by Identification.

  Golden Monkey Skin Armor

  Rank: none.

  Material: skin, bones and tendons, System jacket.

  Weight: 7.3 kg.

  Description:

  A terrifying armor made from the skin of a Golden Monkey.

  Features:

  — Provokes the Golden Monkeys.

  There were also an open helmet, greaves and gloves, with similar properties. Except that bones were also used in their manufacture. Monkey skulls had been used to make the helmets.

  The skins became less durable after death, but still possessed impressive protective properties. But the leather armor weighed quite a lot, and repairing it was tricky. However, it was much easier than healing a serious wound or raising someone from the dead.

  On the other hand, these artifacts couldn’t compete with modern armor anyway, so it made sense to use them only when there was no alternative. In single-person missions, mostly. For now, they were taking up space in the System bags. Even if the new armor was practically useless for me, it strengthened the group as a whole. However, I didn’t turn down my own kit. It was made from the skin of the Monkey King and, among other things, belonged to me personally and not to the department.

  Eva put on the mask. The last piece of the new equipment, it purpose was simply to hide the player’s face. Better late than never. Publicity was a double-edged sword, everyone had friends who could see a video online, identify and share information about the ‘superhero’. Not all of us wanted to be famous.

  “Nice cosplay. Can I take a couple of pictures?”

  “Hey! Don’t even think about it!”

  Eva pointed at me with a naginata that had instantly appeared in her hand. The surge of adrenaline almost made me jump. Phew, interesting… Although I knew that she was joking, I also felt that the game could turn into an attack. Being skewered by your own girlfriend because you trusted her too much would be a dumb way to die. It’s why I never played with handcuffs.

  “I give up, I give up!” I raised my hands, automatically calculating the best way to repel a blow. I wasn’t really serious, it was also a kind of game. I’d have been very surprised if my fears had been confirmed.

  I wasn’t planning to wear a mask myself. Given my position, I couldn’t keep my identity secret for long. Fame was unavoidable. It was why I’d agreed to the proposed security measures and received a passport under a new name just before leaving. I had officially become Vasily Ivanov and had a proper cover story. I was an orphan and had finished military school.

  My true identity had died four days ago according to official documents. It was a car accident. I’d seen a recording of the funeral. Someone who looked a lot like me lay in the coffin. It was raining, as if the heavens themselves were crying and... I’m kidding, why would it rain in December? There were only snowdrifts. My gloomy parents, a few acquaintances. Close relatives from among those we could trust. They knew it was all a performance, but they played their parts quite convincingly. Well, and the rest… Not many people came to say goodbye, which hurt a little. However, the social media photos had turned out well. Now, if anyone searched for information about me, they would find evidence of my death. The will would also come into force soon, and I would remain a beggar…

  Now, even if one of my friends saw me on TV, they’d simply think that I looked like the deceased Ivan Susanin. The increase in parameters had also considerably altered my appearance: I’d lost weight, and become taller and broader in the shoulders. Those who knew more than they should had signed non-disclosure agreements, and the documents went into special storage.

  It was a pity, but I couldn’t get my parents to go through the witness protection program. They didn’t want to move and cut off the connections they’d made over their lives. At this stage, money was all I could help them with.

  For those not involved, this significant event had passed completely unnoticed.

  “Hey, you’re not listening to me!” a disgruntled voice brought me back to reality.

  * * *

  “Good morning, Senior Lieutenant!”

  “At ease,” I replied, leaving the hall where the ‘command staff’ meeting was taking place. I was sleepy, and a difficult day lay ahead. But I would manage, it wasn’t the first time after all… I’d save my Second Wind for later, too.

  Another little thing. The video I’d provided had made a strong impression on someone at the top, so I was awarded another extraordinary rank after the operation in Japan. Moreover, this was a personal decree of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief. Such a rapid career meant that I could make general by thirty, if I didn’t die first. Considering that our surnames were now officially the same, it was rather funny.

  Back to the meeting. Although Admiral Volkov was officially leading the expedition, his powers were limited to the squadron. Colonel Zubrov was in charge of the military and the rescuers, Professor Surkov was responsible for the research team, while I was managing the ‘special group’ and everything related to the System. This time, I was officially responsible not only for the combat unit, but also for the preparation and implementation of the entire operation. I had quite broad powers, which didn’t match my rather modest rank.

  It was obvious that they were trying to train me up by putting me in a leadership position, which made sense yet irritated me at the same time. On one hand, integration into the power structures was good for us, on the other hand, being a player meant that I couldn’t get away from the fighting itself, so all this official responsibility just meant extra work. Still, delegating was the first thing I’d learned, so I immediately shifted some of my responsibilities to my deputy. Khan didn’t complain. Well, and Lieutenant Ivolgin oversaw our security. Officially, he was under my command, but I suspected that he was secretly keeping an eye on me to ensure I was worthy of all this trust.

  It didn’t matter… The military council meeting was brief since the main issues had been decided on the way, and the operation began as soon as the sun came up. Although the expedition was a rescue mission first and foremost, a week has passed since the disaster, so our fleet had other goals. Many other goals…

  The science ship—if one of the trawlers assigned for this purpose could be called that—headed for the site of the Leviathan’s death. The hurricane had scattered most of the remains, but something must have remained. I couldn’t imagine any other reasons for collecting samples except purely scientific ones.

  The other trawlers deployed their nets and began combing the wate
rs of the former bay for the krakens. Firstly, to study them. Slimes didn’t need water, so they were going to be packed into containers and sent to Russia. The creatures I’d managed to drag to the base had really interested the scientists, even though they all croaked during the transfer. Perhaps some of the loot would be turned in XP, but this depended on how big the catch would be. This wasn’t a System mission after all, and the use of resources obtained here had to be coordinated. Or justified, at least...

  The military and rescuers had to arrange the evacuation of survivors, and search for the dead and material valuables. It was vital that the bodies of government members, and especially the emperor, were found. According to our intelligence, he had been in his palace, so there was a chance of finding his body and delivering it to Sapporo.

  But the first and most important part of any operation was reconnaissance. Our American allies had shared some information, since we would be coordinating our efforts, but this clearly wasn’t enough. The drones and reconnaissance helicopters soon set off towards the flooded city. I claimed a spot in one of the last ones.

  * * *

  My current position didn’t actually entail active warfare. On the contrary, I was supposed to organize everything so that I wouldn’t be on the front line myself. There was no need to inspire people by personal example. Yet there were some things I couldn’t entrust to others. The raven wouldn’t make contact with a random person, while aerial reconnaissance was a chance to get my pet back and proceed to my next goal. It’d be stupid not to use the available opportunities to the maximum, so I had set myself a lot of goals…

  The helicopter was quite cramped: three crew members and I meant there was almost no room left.

  “Shall we head straight for the tower?” Captain Vasin asked. The pilot. Funny, I’d rarely bothered to remember the names of random acquaintances in the past, yet now it was happening automatically. It really helped in everyday communication. “Or scout first?”

  Despite his higher rank, I was considered the leader in this operation, so the question wasn’t a simple courtesy.

  “Straight to the tower. We’ll reconnoiter on the way back.”

  Legion was still alive according to the interface and, since he’d managed to survive a whole week, was unlikely to die in the next half hour. But why risk it, even in this small way? The cavalry often appeared at the last possible moment in books. In real life, rescuers were much more likely to witness the sad consequences of their tardiness.

  “Got it.”

  I looked down to where one of the largest cities in the world had stood recently. The metropolis was almost entirely submerged, and only the tops of high-rise buildings protruded from the surface. According to the Americans, the average water level had risen by thirty meters. Or, perhaps, it wasn’t the water level that had risen, but the bottom had sunk? There were fewer ‘islands’ than we could have hoped for. No matter how good the Japanese were at construction, they couldn’t have foreseen such a disaster, and many buildings had simply collapsed.

  The Americans had cleared out the skyscrapers closest to the coast, taking several thousand refugees to Guam. Any new survivors would be taken there as well. One of our transport ships had unloaded part of the humanitarian aid there last night, since the supply situation was quite bad.

  As we moved further inland, we could see not only traces of people’s presence on the roofs, but sometimes the survivors themselves. Some waved their hands, trying to attract our attention, others just stared, as if no longer expecting anything. Unfortunately, our helicopter was ill suited for evacuation. Although there were transport helicopters on board, even they weren’t the best option. There were clearly tens of thousands of survivors, so there was no way we could rescue them all by air…

  The Slimes further complicated the situation. Although many creatures had died during the cataclysm, the rest had made themselves comfortable in the water and were feeding on the corpses. Some Slimes now reached five meters or more. Moreover, they grew not only in size, but also in level, using the surviving skyscrapers. It wasn’t enough to simply survive, and find water and food, it was also necessary to wait for help. For many people, the monsters had arrived first.

  “We’re almost there.”

  The Tokyo Tower appeared before us. It had weathered the storm impressively, except that it now leant slightly, and continued to tower over the city that had turned into the sea.

  “The signal is weak, but it seems to be coming from there,” said Lieutenant Novikov, the navigator.

  “Then we’re going down,” I nodded. “We need to circle the tower and conduct an external inspection. I’ll get ready in the meantime.”

  * * *

  Of course, I had gathered as much information as possible about my goal. The Tokyo Tower was three hundred and thirty-two meters tall. The design was a steel lattice towering over a four-story building, the ‘foothill town’. It housed three elevators, used to reach the main observatory, which was one hundred and fifty meters above the ground. However, it could also be reached from the roof, using the stairs. Even tourists were allowed on it on clear days.

  There was another elevator at a height of two hundred and fifty meters, leading to a second observatory, which was fully glazed. The elevators weren’t working, of course, so we’d have to climb the technical stairs, which were far from comfortable or safe. Then came another eighty meters of metal structures, which ended in a spire. In other words, even though the base was underwater, the structure was huge, and I could spend a long time searching for the raven. The Tokyo Tower was far from the highest TV tower. A second one, the Tokyo Skytree, was three hundred meters higher and to the north. Progress doesn’t stand still... But the Skytree hadn’t survived the tempest and collapsed, and was now almost entirely underwater.

  “It’s a little cold, but that’s alright...”

  I secured the safety line, opened the door and sat on the edge with my legs dangling. Naturally, I wasn’t going to jump or even slide down a rope like in some action movie. The plan was much simpler…

  “Legion!” I shouted through the loudspeaker. “Can you hear me? If you come now, I’ll give you a crystal! You have three minutes!”

  I was quite sure this would work, but the raven never showed up. This meant he couldn’t hear me or he was having trouble leaving the tower. Shit.

  “Is the beacon definitely showing that he is here?”

  “Yes,” the navigator replied. “Who exactly are we waiting for?”

  “A raven. A magical familiar, if you’ve ever read fantasy books.”

  “The world has gone crazy,” the pilot sighed. “What now? Do we go back?”

  “Not so fast… Keep circling, I will try to use one of my skills.”

  I casually tapped the bag, releasing Bri. I mentally explained the task to the ghost, without revealing its presence in any way. The wind had practically no effect on the ghost, but we circled for another fifteen minutes until Bri returned.

  * * *

  “Well?” I asked in my mind and slid the door closed. It was very windy outside, and the crew didn’t understand what we were doing here. Yet the ghost remained a secret, so I had to continue the performance. However, I also had Magical Vision, so I did conduct an inspection the entire time. I had seen something, but without much detail.

  “There are people in the upper room, boss. Many people.”

  “We can see that ourselves.” The upper observatory was glazed, but our appearance hadn’t gone unnoticed, and dozens of people were pressed up against the windows. “What about the raven, did you find him?”

  “I found the useless bird, boss! I’ll show you…”

  Judging by the images I caught, the raven had decided to wait out the difficult times as a stone statuette. It wasn’t the worst decision, since the people inside needed food and Bri had spotted bird feathers and bones. However, although he had avoided being eaten, Legion now served as a toy for the local kids. It wasn’t the most harmless acti
vity, but the stone statuette was strong enough not to be afraid for his safety.

  “How many people are there?”

  “Many! More than five!”

  “How bad is it? Do they have food? Water?”

  “Yes, boss!”

  “How much?”

  “Very little, boss!”

  I felt a flash of annoyance, but reminded myself that the ghost’s level of Intelligence was still rather low. In any case, after a brief back-and-forth, I ascertained that there was no immediate danger to their lives.

  “So, we can assume that they will last another day. What about the lower observatory?”

  “There’s a monster in there, boss. Just one, but it is very large.”