I Have a God Simulator

After the huge surge of Faith, Luh Yao turned his attention to the [Black Abyss].

This was the most dangerous place in the entire world, and also the Main God’s Treasure Vault, which held countless Secret Treasures.

Luh Yao had tried several times before, watching the Blood Knight grind monsters inside to level up.

But even the First Floor of the Black Abyss was fraught with danger. Level 40 Ghouls were everywhere, and Corpse Hunters appeared from time to time.

After Guer, the Blood Knight killed two more Corpse Hunters but got nothing for his trouble, and his level didn’t increase at all. Instead, he was covered in wounds from the large number of self-destructing Ghouls. His health bar was severely depleted, forcing the Blood Knight to rest frequently.

Luh Yao felt that since the Blood Knight was already level 60, it was understandable that he leveled up slowly.

But to get no equipment drops at all was unacceptable.

’That Corpse Hunter Guer had the Taunting Scissors. You’re all Corpse Hunters, yet you don’t even carry a single piece of decent equipment. You just shamelessly fight people, and when you die, you turn into black smoke and run away.’

’How dare you freeloaders fight an expert?’

’Ptui! Disgusting.’

Because there was no profit in it, Luh Yao had previously halted his plans to explore the [Black Abyss].

But times had changed.

’I’m holding a huge sum, over 25,000 Faith, and can support the Blood Knight, Necied, on the spot at any time.’

So Luh Yao prepared to do something big. He wanted the Blood Knight to venture deeper and see if he could find a decent boss to fight.

A Ghost Soul had said that all the treasures of the [Golden Field] came from here. According to what he’d learned before, the Black Abyss had a strict hierarchy. Corpse Hunters controlled small areas of Ghouls, so there had to be an even higher tier.

’The one who commands the Corpse Hunters has to have some equipment, right?’

Luh Yao prepared for the worst: even if he got nothing, he would at least explore more of the map.

...

Before pioneering the [First Floor of the Black Abyss], Luh Yao made thorough preparations.

He equipped the Blood Knight with the [Ghost White Horse], the [Head of Greed], the [Skinner’s Statue], and the [Taunting Scissors].

The [Ghost White Horse] provided 20 speed, shoring up the Blood Knight’s biggest weakness of being easily kited.

It also gave an extra 10 defense and 200 Life Value, as well as a double damage bonus on the first attack before being discovered, which was the icing on the cake.

As for the other pieces of equipment:

[Head of Greed]: +1 Morale.

[Skinner’s Statue]: +2 damage.

[Taunting Scissors]: +1 damage, +4 defense, and came with the Active Skill [Mad Taunt].

The fully-equipped Blood Knight’s stats had increased significantly.

...

Life Value: 4050/4050

Mana Value: 937/937

Damage: 127

Defense: 82

Speed: 36

...

Luh Yao fitted the Blood Knight, Necied, with all the equipment that gave combat bonuses, ensuring his main unit could both tank and deal damage.

He had also experimented and found that the [Deep Sea Lord] could fight on land.

However, when on land, it had to crawl out from under the small island it used as a shell and revert to its true form as a Red Sea Star, shrinking it to the size of a large beast.

The Deep Sea Lord moved slowly on land, with only 10 speed, and couldn’t use its strategic-level skills from the water. However, with its 3000+ health and beefy stats of 100+ attack and defense, it was more than enough to serve as a secondary tank.

With this duo of beefcakes on the job, Luh Yao felt much more secure.

If things went south, the two of them could cover each other’s retreat, making it less likely they’d be caught in extreme danger.

As the preparations were concluding, a small, unexpected event occurred.

"My lord, I request permission to participate in this operation."

Isabel knelt on one knee, volunteering for battle.

For a moment, Luh Yao didn’t know how to politely refuse.

Isabel’s potential was undeniable. But potential was still just potential; until it was realized, it remained in the realm of fantasy.

The weakest monsters on the first floor of the Abyss were level 40 Ghouls. Isabel would have an extremely difficult time even in a one-on-one fight. If she went, she would be a burden.

Luh Yao had considered letting Isabel join the party to leech experience behind the two beefcakes.

But considering the unpredictability of the Abyss, he abandoned this high-risk plan.

Then, Luh Yao had another thought.

’Isabel isn’t some reckless hothead. She probably has her reasons.’

Luh Yao typed.

—Why?

Isabel replied, "My lord, my current strength is weak, and I cannot fight directly in the [Black Abyss]. But I can support Necied and Klau."

"The Forest Sword can bless Necied and Klau, which will be beneficial to them in battle."

Luh Yao’s brain crashed for a few seconds.

’The Forest Sword... can bless the Blood Knight?’

’Does that mean the [Forest Sword] skill isn’t a single-target transformation... but a status buff?’

Luh Yao couldn’t help but curse, ’Holy shit.’

’I’d completely misunderstood the skill!’

Luh Yao thought back carefully.

In Isabel’s skill set, the first two, [Wisdom] and [Mourning Prayer], were both general-purpose abilities, not part of a purely combat-oriented skill set.

But [Forest Sword] had seemed to be about transforming into a Holy Sword and charging into enemies to slash wildly, which was completely out of place with the first two abilities.

More importantly, the effect of [Forest Sword] was that it created some Forest Elemental Creatures after a battle.

’That’s a classic Commander-in-Chief skill.’

If the Forest Sword could bless others, then everything suddenly made sense.

Isabel’s role was that of a Commander-in-Chief who directs the battle from the center.

[Wisdom] represented intelligence, command, and ability growth; [Mourning Prayer] was for gathering battlefield information; and [Forest Sword] applied a buff to the vanguard general, and after the battle, it could even replenish troops with Forest Elemental Creatures.

’That’s it.’

’Now it all makes sense!’

Luh Yao couldn’t help but slap his thigh.

He questioned Isabel in detail, and her answers confirmed his suspicions.

The only unfortunate part was that Forest Sword couldn’t be cast on a group; it could only buff a single target.

And so, the dungeon party was formed, with the Blood Knight as the main DPS, the Deep Sea Lord as the off-tank, and Isabel as support.

...

Luh Yao clicked the key in the upper-left corner, opening the golden gate on the island.

The screen immediately changed.

Text slowly appeared on the screen: [First Floor of the Black Abyss].

The simulator was pixel-art style, so even the Abyssal World was just rendered in dark, cold tones. There were no shocking visual elements, which didn’t affect Luh Yao’s viewing or control.

As soon as the dungeon party entered, they began a one-sided slaughter of the surrounding Ghouls.

The fully-equipped Blood Knight’s speed skyrocketed. He didn’t summon his white horse, but the various attribute buffs were still active. The accelerated Blood Knight not only moved extremely fast, but his attack frequency also increased dramatically, more than doubling his killing speed.

Isabel cast [Forest Sword] on the Blood Knight, and a green Holy Sword appeared, hovering over his head, giving him a green [Forest Sword] icon.

The green on the icon was slowly depleting, indicating the duration of the buff.

Luh Yao compared the stats panel and got the detailed data.

Forest Sword Lv. 1 provided a buff of +15 damage, +15 defense, and +3 speed. The combat bonus was significant.

The Deep Sea Lord also brought a small surprise.

To be on the safe side, Luh Yao controlled this giant Pai Daxing in Manual Mode.

The Deep Sea Lord used its broad body to protect Isabel, so most of the Ghouls charged at it. However, faced with its high defense of 112, these Ghouls, with only 39 damage, couldn’t even break its defense.

Their innate poison was largely ineffective against the Deep Sea Lord.

The most ridiculous thing was that around the Deep Sea Lord, many Ghouls’ bodies would suddenly swell up, looking like they were about to make a heroic sacrifice and self-destruct. But soon after, their bodies would shrink back to normal.

It looked as if the Ghouls were blowing up their bodies like balloons, only for them to inexplicably deflate, creating a rather comical scene.

Their inability to self-destruct and the frequent failure of their poison attacks were rooted in the Deep Sea Lord’s [Deterrence] ability.

...

[Deterrence]

When facing lower-level individuals, there is a certain probability of causing their abilities to fail.

...

This ability was extremely effective in actual combat, a true bane of minions.

Even the Blood Knight would lose some health to poison when facing a group of Ghouls—though it was very little. But the Deep Sea Lord was like an insurmountable mountain before the Ghouls; its health bar barely budged.

The three-person team cleared Ghouls as they advanced, killing another Corpse Hunter named Yodson, but still, no equipment dropped.

The team continued forward, and the environment ahead suddenly changed. The ground became covered in a layer of white frost.

The game’s background music suddenly shifted, becoming urgent and intense.

Luh Yao’s spirits lifted.

’The boss is finally here.’

A line of text even appeared on the screen as a notification.

[The Withered Count Selti has awakened from his slumber.]

The frost-covered ground cracked open, and a large, withered hand reached out from below. A massive, humanoid monster bound in golden chains slowly climbed out of the fissure, and a ghastly wind swirled around it.

As the Count was getting up, the Blood Knight and the Deep Sea Lord had already started their assault, causing damage numbers of –60 and –20 to constantly pop up above the boss’s head.

The Withered Count let out a roar, "Damned insects! How dare you disturb my slumber! You will all die!"

Even as it roared, damage values were still popping up over its head.

Luh Yao watched and shook his head.

’What era is this? Still pulling this kind of flashy, cliché stuff.’

’The things locked up in the Abyss really are all antiques, huh? So focused on classic entrances and dramatic poses.’