I Became a Raid Boss

Edel arrived on Earth, following the open path between dimensions.

She already knew there were countless gods alongside her, and just as many diverse worlds.

However, when she first set her eyes on Earth’s appearance, she couldn’t hide her amazement.

A world so different from the Silia she created.

It wasn’t a feeling of inferiority.

She was simply surprised that it could be so different.

Having received help from the god of Earth, Edel quickly learned the ways of the world.

While humans would need hundreds or thousands of years, it wouldn’t take her that long.

When she felt like she knew enough, Edel realized.

‘This is going to be tough.’

It was true that the weapons on Earth were powerful.

But would they be effective against dimensional beings? That was the question.

Even if there was a bomb capable of turning a whole region into a sea of fire, she could never drop it on a city full of people.

Even on the premise that it could happen once or twice, if they repeated such a thing every time a dimensional being appeared, humanity would perish faster than the dimensional beings!

Is there anything more foolish than a means intended to protect the world, but instead destroying it?

And even beyond that, the weapons of Earth were fundamentally insufficient to prevent the invasion of dimensional beings.

What should she do?

As Edel pondered, something caught her eye.

A game.

Among them, a virtual reality game where a fictional world is created and enjoyed.

The moment she saw it, it felt like lightning struck her mind.

‘I’ll demote the dimensional beings into a game and make the humans of Earth kill them.’

By making the players kill the dimensional beings, she could weaken them.

Of course, what they could kill would be nothing more than weaklings, comparable to minnows or guppies, but it would buy her some time.

With the consent of the god of Earth, Edel immediately got to work.

First, she made use of the power of the dimensional beings to create virtual dimensions, or “Ga-dimensions,” disconnected from the Silia world.

What happened in these Ga-dimensions had no effect on the original dimension.

Even if powerful monsters were killed, or if people from the Silia world died.

The moment the Ga-dimension disappeared, it returned to being nothing.

They appeared to move like real creatures, but they were merely soulless shadows imitating the actions of their originals.

It was essentially a system called “Instance Dungeon.”

The Ga-dimension was a virtual dimension, quite literally.

But if nothing were left, the players would lose any sense of enjoyment, so she took measures to allow them to retain the items and experiences earned within.

Channels were also one of the systems created using dimensional disruption, similar to instance dungeons.

Edel had two main reasons for creating channels.

One was to prevent too many people from gathering, losing their enjoyment, and quitting.

The other was to deal a bigger blow to the dimensional beings.

Originally, events that occurred in the Ga-dimension had no impact on the main dimension.

However, dimensional beings were, as their name suggested, specialized creatures of dimension, and even what happened in the Ga-dimension could inflict damage on their true selves.

Instance dungeons, channels, growth, jobs, etc….

Edel sighed as she surveyed everything she had created.

‘…I wonder.’

She didn’t think this would be enough to repel the dimensional beings.

But she simply hoped it would buy her some time.

Time until the sword she had marked out was sharpened.

*

“…And that’s how it happened.”

Edel’s words concluded the long story.

She didn’t take a sip of water throughout that long tale.

Truly, gods are remarkable beings.

“…I appreciate the acknowledgment, but don’t you think the point is a bit ambiguous?”

Edel, who had been looking at me incredulously, spoke with a slightly subdued voice this time.

“It’s not that I wouldn’t care about my children’s lives. They’re my creations, after all. Of course, I wouldn’t feel that way. So I have put several safety measures in place, but… I couldn’t completely prevent things.”

“Well, for them, it’s still a game.”

“But if that hadn’t happened, many more lives would have been lost.”

Far more lives than those lost due to the accidents caused by Earthlings.

“Wasn’t there another way? Like giving temporary bodies to the Apostles, or putting the players only in the Ga-dimension instead of the original dimension?”

“Don’t you think I wouldn’t have considered it?”

Edel explained herself as if making excuses, saying this was the best she could do at the point of being eaten away.

“Anyway… I made the Ga-dimension, but there’s one soul I couldn’t copy into it. Due to crossing the dimensional barrier and enduring the vortex, it developed resistance to most dimensional pressure, so I couldn’t copy it.”

Everyone knew who that soul was, without needing to say.

I nodded to her unspoken question.

I wasn’t foolish enough not to understand that.

“That means this dimension I’m in is the original dimension.”

“Yep. That’s correct.”

“…I get that. So is that why I feel differently about the Apostles than other people? Because of my soul?”

“That could be one way to look at it. Of course, your level contributes to it, but even that level wouldn’t have been achieved without the uniqueness of your soul. Still, I was shocked to find out that the filtering wouldn’t work on you at all.”

Filtering…

So, that was it.

It was strange that no one reacted to Da-eun’s remarks.

It wasn’t that no one reacted, it was that they couldn’t.

If they couldn’t even hear her voice, let alone recognize that she was speaking, how could they respond?

“Will increasing your level remove the filtering?”

“It’s impossible to completely eliminate it, but you can lessen the effects. In reality, kids around your level are probably feeling a sense of discomfort.”

Kids around my level.

Faces flashed through my mind at high speed.

Among the faces that appeared and vanished rapidly, one lingered unusually long.

…

I crumpled my face.

Suddenly feeling bad, I changed the subject to erase the face that popped into my head.

“So, if we don’t stop the dimensional beings, Earth is in danger?”

“Why? Hearing that someone you like is in danger has got your motivation up?”

“…It’s not like that.”

Since it was a matter of life and death, there wasn’t really a choice.

That’s all there was to it.

Just like Edel had before, I muttered defensively this time.

“Did I ever act like I didn’t care if I died?”

“…Shut up.”

When I frowned, Edel chuckled and said softly.

“‘I promise I won’t leave’-”

“…?!”

Wham!

I jumped at Edel and covered her mouth.

Through the tiny palm that covered her mouth, I could see the corners of her lips forming a smile that wasn’t fully hidden.

“W-wait, h-how do you…?”

“How do I know what?”

“W-wait, how do you know that…?!”

“Oh, that?”

Edel shrugged her shoulders.

Unlike my burning insides, she appeared relaxed.

“Since my power has weakened, I can’t see everything, but I can still see what happens within the Holy Kingdom. It’s my home ground, so I should be able to do that, right?”

“…”

“Ooh, are you embarrassed? Hehe…! Don’t worry, it’s a touching scene that made me tear up a bit!”

“…Forget it.”

“Huh? What was that?”

“Forget it!!”

…Why was she even watching that!

I grasped Edel’s shoulders and shook her wildly.

But she just let her body sway with the shake, smiling innocently.

*

The moonlight poured down softly, illuminating the girl.

If it were a usual day, Da-eun would have been captivated by the dreamy scene, but not at this moment.

She felt this moment was crucial to determining her bond with Kana.

Da-eun faced Kana.

Kana faced Da-eun.

In what felt like an eternity, the girl’s lips slowly parted.

“…Dad was everything to me.”

A younger body, a different gender, a world never seen before. For the young Kana, everything was unfamiliar.

However, there was no time for Kana to leisurely adjust.

Kana’s parents viewed her not as a person but as a means to make money, so naturally, she received neither love nor care that children typically should have.

But when her parents died, Kana’s situation didn’t improve either.

It wasn’t that the ones who exploited her were gone; she still worried about surviving each day.

If she showed even the slightest hint of displeasure after being beaten, more violence would come pouring in.

If there was joy and she displayed it, hyenas might pounce.

In such circumstances, it was only natural that Kana’s demeanor had hardened.

To survive, Kana learned to suppress her emotions.

She buried her confusion from the younger body, different gender, and unfamiliar world deep within.

Then, someone, for the first time, extended a hand to Kana.

Words she had never heard before, warmth she had never felt.

There was no need to say how comforting that was for the little girl.

“I knew Dad wasn’t well.”

She knew it, but still, she hoped.

Hoping for a miracle that he would recover and they could live long together.

But Kana’s hope was crushed ruthlessly.

As Garid’s health worsened day by day, he eventually left Kana’s side.

The little bird was left alone without its nest.

“…I have nothing left.”

After all, she was merely an impurity.

With every glance she took around, confirming there was no one else like her, Kana felt in her bones that she did not truly belong to this world.

If that was to be the case, she wouldn’t leave any regrets behind.

She would remain detached and meet her end beside Garid.

“…That’s what I thought.”

Why does she keep approaching?

A single tear fell from the girl’s eye.

Her expressionless face revealed no movement, making it look even more pitiful.

Da-eun, who had been listening quietly to Kana’s words, put her hand into her embrace.

Soon, a flower appeared in her hand as she pulled it out from her embrace.

“…?”

Approaching Kana, Da-eun carefully tucked the flower into her hair.

Then she smiled gently at Kana, who was staring up in wonder, with tears streaming down her face.

“Yeah. It looks good on you.”

Such a pretty girl shouldn’t be without decorations. That’d be a loss for the entire world.

Happily nodding, she continued.

“Did you wonder why I came closer?”

The answer was simple.

Because Kana was delightful; Da-eun wanted to be friends.

She wanted to take care of her like a little sister.

But before that-

“Because Kana wanted it.”

“…I wanted it?”

“Yeah.”

What stood before Da-eun now was neither the empire’s nemesis, a swordsman capable of slaying dozens of knights with a single stroke, nor the worst raid boss.

It was a poor little girl who didn’t even know her own feelings.

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