Dungeon Defense - Volume 1 - Intermission

Born into a dirt poor mining family, Karl only had one chance to get ahead in life, the annual elite recruitment day. On their final day of middle school, every student in the Golden Dragon Nation was given an experimental injection to awaken their affinity with magic.

Those few who succeeded would become the Elite, the leaders and idols of the nation, blessed with incredible magical powers and respected by all. Those who did not would return to their normal lives of hard work and low wages, just doing the best they could.

But with the nation surrounded by enemies, both humans and monsters, how long would these peaceful days of magical idols last?

Follow the story of Karl as he awakens a unique power and strives to become the world's first Legendary Beast Master.

In the year 298 from the era of the gods, elementary school girls Sumi Washio, Sonoko Nogi, and Gin Minowa are tasked with an important mission. They are to become heroes and fight Vertex, a mysterious enemy that is attacking Shinju-sama, the god tree that protects Shikoku, the only area in the world that is still habitable. What they don’t know, is that this fight will cost them more than they could have ever imagined.

When Yao Shen, Patriarch of the Heavenly Sky Sect, ascends and regains memories of his past life on Planet Earth, he realizes that he can no longer allow himself to accept the cruel and violent ways of Eliria, the realm of cultivation. So he decides to change it. It was time to found a new sect. One based on the values of honor and equality over senseless violence and discrimination. A sect where all, from the mortal farmer’s son to a sect elder's daughter, were held accountable to the same rules. Welcome to the Modern Sect.

Yet again, Earthlings were summoned.A dying Time God, already half-corrupted, descended upon Earth with nothing but a single, blinking eye. No body. No mercy. Before he could explain why the other world was collapsing—or what happened—he died.The chosen were cursed.Each Earthling aged from 12 to 60 was reincarnated into another world.Each was trapped in an isolated time loop.Each was abandoned without answers.Ganesh chose to reincarnate as the weakest race imaginable: a slime.Not for survival—but because the system offered him a trait, very powerful:Eternal Mastery [Mythic].With every death, his body reset.With every loop, his masteries, learned techniques, and pain carried over.He awakened in a slime farm, where slimes were bred like cattle, harvested for food, and burned alive for amusement. He learned quickly.He died quickly.Again.And again.And again.Across loops, Ganesh experimented with his own existence—Fire Slime {Uncommon}. Water Slime {Uncommon}. Acid Slime {Uncommon}.Elemental Slime {Rare+}. Spirit Slime {Legendary}.Dragon Slime {Mythic}.Even Primordial Slime {Divine}.But strength revealed truth.Humans had erased their own history using sealed artifacts.Demons were branded as betrayers.Gods fought unholy beings elsewhere—leaving their failures behind.Beneath ruined cities and sealed fortresses, eldritch creatures waited—Rituals granted power along with a curse.Artifacts erased wills.Faith was devoured before it could bloom.And the deeper Ganesh went, the clearer it became:The world had lost hope and was corrupted with Eldritch.Even the sun and moon were taken over by Eldritch.Now, as gods fall, timelines fracture, and ancient wars resurface, Ganesh must decide—Will he save the worldOr will he follow the same path…and become something unholy himself?Dark Fantasy • Time Loop • Eldritch Horror • Progression FantasyDaily UpdatesA dark progression fantasy with time loops and psychological erosion (for readers who enjoyed the despair and repetition of Re:Zero).No one 17 and under admitted is due to gore and dark... And an important note, something happens near the end of Arc 3, this is for those who feel limitless loops have no tension....because he can still loop—but every reset tears his soul apart.The truth behind this wound is revealed near the end of Arc Three. {Read it to find out}