Angel stood frozen, eyes wide as he stared at the golden system panel hovering before him like a divine revelation. He blinked rapidly, wiped his eyes, then slapped himself across the cheeks—once, twice, thrice. The sting of each slap was real. So was the luminous interface before him.
He slowly turned his head, heart pounding. Behind him, Rachel lay unconscious on the ground, her chest rising and falling gently. At least she was alive.
> [The 12th Wave will begin shortly. Good luck.]
"Just how many waves does this damn gate have!?" Angel growled inwardly. His voice quivered with a mix of fear and frustration.
"Master, can you stand?" Cerios's calm, deep voice rang beside him.
"Huh? Oh… y-yeah," Angel muttered, snapping out of his daze and staggering to his feet.
Cerios—his loyal summoned knight, clad in obsidian armor adorned with celestial runes—glanced toward the distant treeline. "I sense multiple presences approaching. I can handle myself, but I won't be able to protect both you and that woman alone."
Angel clenched his fists. Cerios was right. A tower defense wasn't meant to be soloed—not even with a seven-star unit. In every game he had played, it was clear: you needed layered defenses. The strategy was simple—place units with overlapping coverage to prevent breaches. Seven unit slots meant seven opportunities to plug a gap. If one failed, the next would eliminate the threat.
"System, open!" he commanded mentally.
> [Status Panel]
Strength: 56
Agility: 45
Durability: 50
Intellect: 40
Luck: 30
Skills: Assimilation, Summon, Crimson Moon, Basic Swordsmanship, Basic Bowmanship, Basic Spearmanship
His stats weren't bad, but certainly not enough to solo a black-grade gate. What mattered now was how he used them.
"My lord," Cerios said, tone grim. "They're coming."
"I know," Angel responded. "Skill: Summon!"
> [Summon (E-Rank) – Active]
A ruler is nothing without his subjects. You can summon E-rank units with a chance to summon a higher-ranked entity.
Cost: 100 Gold
Uses Left: 7
Cooldown: 24 Hours
A magic circle burst into existence before him, brilliant and complex, inscribed with symbols of unknown origin. Angel stepped forward and laid his palm on it.
> [Medas – E-Rank | Type: Air | Attribute: Holy] has been summoned. Keep or reroll?]
A holy-attribute air unit? Angel mused. That was lucky. Air types specialized in ranged attacks—perfect for supporting from a distance. More importantly, holy units had increased effectiveness against dark-attribute foes.
> [Monsters have spawned.]
"Medas!" Angel cried, pointing toward the battlefield. "Appear before me and slay your foes!"
A golden portal opened atop the withered branches of a dead tree. From it descended a majestic figure—an archer clad in glimmering white armor with a radiant halo above his head, wielding a bow etched with divine sigils. The archer drew an arrow, aimed, and released it. The first wave of monsters fell like paper before a flame.
"Some of them have passed the archer's range!" Cerios warned, stepping forward. "Master, stay behind me!"
But Angel did the opposite.
"Cerios, my loyal servant," he said calmly, walking to his side. "May I borrow your body for a moment?"
"My body has always been yours to command," Cerios replied without hesitation.
"Thank you."
> [Assimilation Skill Activated: Target – Cerios. Duration: 24 hours. Can be canceled at any time.]
Angel's mind fused with Cerios's. He felt it immediately—a torrent of mana surged through him, overflowing in every limb. His vision sharpened. Every movement felt effortless. The knight's instincts, discipline, and… battle lust flooded into him.
"So this is what it's like…" Angel whispered, staring at his armored hands.
The monsters charged forward—beasts twisted by darkness and rage, screeching as they trampled the earth. But inside Cerios, Angel didn't feel fear. He felt exhilaration. Cerios's battle trait—reckless courage—merged with his thoughts, consuming all hesitation.
"COME!" he roared, voice echoing like thunder across the field.
Angel charged. Every swing of Cerios's sword cleaved through monsters like butter. Holy light flickered with each strike, and the corrupted beasts shrieked as they perished. Behind him, Medas continued to rain arrows from his perch, thinning the second wave before they ever touched the earth.
Rachel stirred from her unconsciousness. She gasped and sat up, eyes wide as she took in the scene. She saw two figures—one, an armored warrior bathing the field in blood and steel, the other, a radiant archer standing upon a tree, raining death from above. But she didn't see Angel anywhere.
Angel—drunk on Cerios's exhilaration—slashed his way to the origin point, the corrupted stone gate that birthed the waves of monsters. One thought echoed in his mind, overpowering everything:
Destroy.
With a mighty cry, he raised his blade and brought it down in a single devastating arc.
> [Monster Spawn Point has been destroyed. Mission forcibly ended. Rewards will be halved due to early termination.]
The system window faded. Angel felt his consciousness being pulled back into his own body. As he stumbled slightly, the battlefield grew silent. Cerios and Medas stood before him, faintly shimmering, their forms beginning to vanish.
"Master," Cerios said, kneeling. "May we meet again when fate allows."
"Glory to the goddess Gaia," Medas declared, his voice like the chime of a cathedral bell.
"Yeah," Angel whispered. "Let's meet again—but next time, bring everyone."
As the gate crumbled behind them, light poured through. Reporters and Hunter Association officials were gathered just beyond the perimeter, stunned to see anyone come out alive.
Angel and Rachel stepped out, greeted by a flurry of flashes and shouted questions.
"What did you see inside the gate?"
"What kind of mission was it?"
"How did a porter and a support class survive a black-grade dungeon!?"
Rachel, still dazed, fielded most of the questions. Her answer was consistent, if not entirely truthful.
"A man in a black coat and red hair appeared… He saved us. He killed the monsters and summoned a holy archer that supported us from afar."
That night, Angel returned to his small apartment. Alone, he opened the system panel again. Despite everything, it still felt unreal.
He clicked on the Unit Inventory tab. Both Cerios and Medas were displayed within, though greyed out.
> [Summon cooldown: 23h 59m remaining.]
He sighed, then smiled. He hadn't just survived—he'd conquered, in his own way.
Curious, he explored the other tabs. One caught his attention: Skin Rolls. Apparently, he could obtain alternate unit appearances using rare materials—materials only obtainable from bosses, and only at a low drop rate.
Tough… but not impossible.
He chuckled softly, then turned to the window. The moonlight spilled across his room like a quiet blessing.
This was no longer the story of a porter.
This was the beginning of a ruler's tale.