Villain Simulator, Ch 121

The office was empty; not only was Lucas nowhere to be seen, but the room seemed completely deserted.

At this hour, Jean should have been hard at work here.

"Wait, what's this?" Fischl's eyes quickly fell on a beautifully crafted game board on the desk. She moved closer, murmuring to herself, "What a gorgeous chessboard."

As a girl with a natural attraction to beautiful objects, Fischl found herself enchanted, especially by the mysterious aura surrounding the board and its pieces.

Almost instinctively, her fingers brushed against the board. In that instant, a brilliant light erupted from it, swallowing Fischl whole.

---

Meanwhile, back in the game world…

"Alright, I think I've rested enough," Lucas said, dusting the sand off himself as he stood. "Shall we continue our game?"

"Yes, we've taken enough time," Jean replied, though her mind was clearly still preoccupied with her duties back home. "I hope I don't come back to too big a pile of work."

Lucas stretched his arms, but just as he began, a flash of purple light burst above him, and suddenly, a slender young girl fell from the sky, crashing right on top of him.

"Where… am I?" Fischl muttered, looking around in confusion. "Captain Jean, Klee… what is going on?"

"We'll explain that later," came a groaning voice from beneath her. "But for now, could you please get off me?"

Only then did Fischl realize she was sitting on someone. She scrambled up, shocked, as Lucas lay on the ground with a look of exasperation. "Good thing you didn't fall a few inches over… or else…"

"My loyal retainer! At last, I've found you!" 

Fischl's face lit up as she recognized him. "I have an important mission for you!"

"Hold on a moment!" Lucas said, frowning. "How did you end up here?"

"I… I came to the Knights of Favonius looking for you," Fischl said, scratching her head. "But you weren't in the office, and when I accidentally touched the chessboard on the desk, it somehow transported me here. So… where exactly is this place?"

"Let me give you the short version," Jean said as she briefly explained what had happened.

"This place… is it really that magical?" Fischl's eyes sparkled with excitement, her inner fantasies igniting. "It's almost like the fabled realm of my homeland, the Immernachtreich!"

As soon as she spoke, the entire "scene" around them began to shift visibly.

The vast sea stretched away, transforming into endless castle walls.

The soft sand beneath their feet became a solid, stone floor.

And in the distance, what had been a mountain turned into a towering, majestic castle!

"Wow!" Klee bounced with excitement. "Fischl, you're amazing!"

"This is… strange," Jean muttered in surprise. "Fischl, did you do all this?"

"I have no idea!" Fischl looked around, equally startled. "But… it's exactly like the Immernachtreich I always imagined… I mean, my homeland."

"I get it now!" Lucas exclaimed as the realization dawned on him. "This game world was originally shaped by Klee's imagination, but once Fischl entered, it started responding to hers…"

He added, "And because Fischl's fantasy is much more intense, it's completely taken over the world, turning it into the Immernachtreich!"

"Oh-hohohoho!"

At that moment, a haughty laugh rang out from above. "So you followed me all the way here, little Amy?"

Everyone looked up, startled, to see a blonde girl floating in midair. She looked exactly like Fischl, except she wore a luxurious purple-and-blue dress with mismatched thigh-high stockings, perfectly accentuating her slender legs.

Beside her, a massive black raven circled, unmistakably Oz.

"There are two Fischls!" Klee exclaimed. "But which one's the real one?"

"Obviously, I am," the floating Fischl scoffed. "I am the true Prinzessin der Verurteilung, ruler of the Immernachtreich and rightful master of Oz. You, however, are just a pitiful wretch who refuses to face reality."

"Oz!" Fischl cried, spotting her raven companion beside the doppelganger. "Don't let her deceive you—I'm your true master!"

But Oz didn't respond. He simply perched on the shoulder of the other Fischl.

"Oz serves me, the true Prinzessin der Verurteilung," the doppelganger mocked, "not a pathetic, ordinary girl like you. Go back to your world and live as a wretched little human."

With those words, the other Fischl and Oz soared higher into the air, disappearing into the top floor of the dark castle.

"Oz!"

Fischl fell to her knees, her voice trembling as she wept. "Don't leave me… you're my only friend…"

As her tears fell, the world around them began to destabilize, like peeling plaster crumbling away from the walls.

This was a realm built on imagination, and as Fischl faced reality, her vision of it started to collapse.

"My princess!"

Just then, Lucas knelt in front of her, one knee on the ground. "Now's not the time to give in. Will you allow that impostor to steal away your kingdom, your people, and, above all, your dearest friend?"

"L-Lucas…" Fischl murmured, biting her lip.

"I'm not Lucas. I am the King of the Undead," he said, extending a hand to her. "Your loyal knight and cleric await you, ready to help you reclaim what's yours."

With a meaningful glance, he gave Jean and Klee a quick signal.

"Th-that's right!" Jean quickly caught on, bowing. "The Dandelion Knight, at your service, Your Highness."

"And Klee the Spark Knight!" Klee held up her hands. "Ready to blast all the baddies for Fischl!"

"Everyone…" Fischl looked at them, her expression filled with gratitude.

"As for my undead army," Lucas added, helping her to her feet, "we'll clear every obstacle from Your Highness's path."

"Oh-hohohohoho!"

Revitalized, Fischl rose to her feet and let out a triumphant laugh. "Indeed, I am the true Prinzessin der Verurteilung! My kingdom, my people, my castle… and Oz, I will reclaim them all!"

In front of the group, a new game prompt appeared:

[Due to the intervention of the Prinzessin der Verurteilung, Fischl, the rules have been modified.]

[New Objective: Help Fischl become the true Prinzessin der Verurteilung.]

"Look!" Klee pointed at the chessboard in surprise. "The board changed too!"

Everyone looked down, and sure enough, the game board, once filled with images of beaches and oceans, had transformed into the dark castle of Immernachtreich.

The goal now lay at the top floor of the castle, the lair of the other Fischl, the "false princess."

"Seems like even with new rules, we're still playing a board game," Lucas chuckled. "Captain Jean, would you like to roll the dice?"

"Yes," Jean nodded, casting the dice in her hand.

A roll of two and three—five spaces.

[You have reached the entrance of the Immernachtreich castle, but a fierce, two-headed ogre blocks your way…]

A towering creature materialized at the castle gates. Standing at least three or four meters high, the monster wielded a spiked club. The most terrifying part was the pair of grotesque heads on its neck, each leering with a menacing expression.

What a twist—so now they weren't even playing chess; they'd switched to a full-on D&D campaign!

Indeed, both the "two-headed ogre" with its classic Dungeons & Dragons (DND) vibe and the narration style made Lucas feel like he was immersed in a tabletop RPG campaign.

In such a game, players take on the roles of various characters, each with unique abilities, and navigate adventures within a world governed by intricate rules.

The thrill lies in the unexpected events and the immersive sense of stepping into the game. And now, Lucas and his team's castle adventure felt strikingly similar to this kind of tabletop campaign.

With a resounding "thud," the two-headed ogre hefted its weapon and began stomping towards them.

"Ginn's gonna tear you to pieces!" the left head roared. "Then hang you up to dry!"

"No way, Gark likes 'em boiled!" the right head bellowed in a deep, grumbling voice. "Your tastes are awful!"

Yes, the two heads on the ogre not only had distinct minds but could also carry on a full conversation with each other. Of course, given the ogre's naturally low intelligence, having two brains wasn't necessarily an advantage.

"What…what a scary monster!" Even the usually brave Klee cowered, hiding behind Lucas. "Daddy! Beat it!"

Without hesitation, Lucas conjured his Dragon Piercing Spear and launched it straight at the ogre's chest.

This move was strong enough to pierce even the most robust Geovishap Hatchlings, yet to his surprise, the ogre raised its spiked club and swung, effortlessly cleaving the spear in two.

"Ginn's angry now!" the left head bellowed, livid. "Ginn's gonna eat all of you!"

"If you didn't eat so much, we wouldn't be so fat," the right head grumbled.

"Everyone, be careful!" Jean, sensing the unusual strength of this new creature, braced herself for a tough battle. "I'll lead the charge!"

Previously unable to join in due to her temporarily reduced size, Jean instinctively stepped up to protect her companions now that she was back to her original form.

Just as Jean had predicted, the monster possessed formidable strength and nearly impenetrable defense. Though she struck it several times, her attacks barely scratched its thick hide.

"Ground Smash!"

The ogre slammed its club into the ground, creating a shockwave so intense that Jean lost her balance and toppled to the ground.

"Got you!"

The ogre seized the moment, raising its club high to crush Jean. But she was prepared, a swirl of Anemo energy forming beneath her, ready to propel her out of harm's way.

However, just then, everything seemed to freeze. The enormous club halted mid-swing, suspended in the air, as if time itself had stopped.

Not only that, but all movement around them ceased entirely, even Jean's own.

Then, a die appeared before her—a d20, with twenty faces, each marked with a number.

Jean wasn't entirely unfamiliar with such dice. She recalled the Tianquan of Liyue had once sent her a game called The Thousand-Year Liyue Saga, which required similar beautiful dice to determine the outcomes of events.

Next, lines of text appeared before everyone's eyes.

[In certain special circumstances in this game, a d20 will be used to determine the outcome.]

[Generally, the higher the roll, the more favorable the result. Conversely, a low roll may lead to disaster. Rolling a 20 signifies a "critical success," while a roll of 1 is a "critical failure."]

[Please roll to determine the result of the two-headed ogre's attack.]

"So, I have to entrust my fate to a single die?" Jean muttered with a frown but rolled the twenty-sided die with a mental command.

The die clattered to the ground, landing with a crisp sound—and came up 20!

[Result: Critical Success!]

As soon as the roll was confirmed, the frozen scene resumed.

The ogre's club was mere inches from striking Jean when suddenly, two enormous hands descended, catching the ogre mid-swing and pinning it down.

Even though the ogre was massive, the hands holding it made it look like a helpless chick, unable to resist.

Those hands belonged to none other than Barbara, who had returned in her gigantic form.

Having been sulking alone due to her sudden transformation, Barbara had come back just in time to see the creature "bullying" her sister. Already in a foul mood, anger surged through her.

Without a word, she seized the ogre in her hands.

"Oh…my…" Ginn's left head stammered, staring up at the giant. "You're…really tall!"

"Let go of me!" Gark's right head squirmed, struggling to break free. "I'm gonna squash that woman flat!"

"You dare lay a hand on my sister…"

Barbara's face darkened, her tone icy as she spoke through clenched teeth. "You can both… die!"

Typically, gentle Barbara would never resort to violence. However, her fury had reached a boiling point as she watched the ogre threaten Jean.

With a swift motion, Barbara closed her fists around the ogre, crushing the creature between her palms. Two anguished cries rang out before Barbara gritted her teeth and squeezed tighter.

It was like crushing a ripe tomato—"splat!"—and the ogre's cries ceased abruptly as red liquid splattered through Barbara's fingers.

"Klee, don't look." Lucas quickly covered Klee's eyes.

Barbara opened her hands, and the two-headed ogre, now reduced to a ball of mashed flesh, was casually tossed into the sea with a splash, sending up a large wave.

Then, calmly, Barbara summoned water elements to rinse the blood and remnants from her palms.

"Sister, are you okay?" Barbara knelt beside Jean, checking her over. "Did that monster hurt you?"

"I'm fine, but you…" Jean asked tentatively, "are you alright?"

After all, Jean knew Barbara as someone who wouldn't even step on an insect—yet here she was, having crushed an ogre with her bare hands. Naturally, Jean was a little concerned.

"Oh, I'm perfectly fine," Barbara sighed with relief. "Actually, I feel much better now."

So the two-headed ogre had basically become her stress toy.

"Oh, right!"

Jean suddenly remembered something. "Did everyone else see the prompts?"

The others nodded, though, aside from Lucas, they looked a bit puzzled.

D20 dice are a staple in Dungeons & Dragons campaigns, so it made sense they might not be familiar.

"Allow me to explain," Lucas began. "Back where I'm from, there's a lesser-known but very interesting game."

Holding up the game board, Lucas continued, "In this game, players each play as unique characters with different abilities. They perform actions, and the dice determine their success."

"Yes, that seems to match the prompt's instructions," Jean agreed. "But does that mean the rest of the game is just based on luck?"

"Not quite—it's also linked to our own 'attributes,'" Lucas explained. "Let's say, for example, Captain Jean has an agility stat of 10, but dodging the ogre's attack required a combined total of 20 agility points."

"So if I roll a 10 or higher…" Jean nodded, piecing it together. "Adding that to my stat gives me the 20 needed to dodge, right?"

"Exactly. But you lucked out and rolled a perfect 20, a critical success," Lucas said, nodding. "So, not only did you avoid the attack, but Barbara also took the ogre out entirely."

[You have defeated the mighty gatekeeper. The castle gates now stand open, and unknown adventures await you…]

As the narration ended, the massive castle doors slowly creaked open.

"Why bother with all that!" Lucas slapped his knee, grinning at Barbara. "Barbara, why not just knock that whole castle down?"

Indeed, with her towering form, the castle was no taller than her, and destroying it would be as easy as toppling a stack of building blocks.

"No way!" Barbara huffed. "A proper lady doesn't do such crude things!"

Not that her method of squishing the ogre was exactly "ladylike."

"It actually isn't a bad idea," Jean added thoughtfully. "It could save us a lot of trouble."

"Even you, Sister?" Barbara sighed. "Fine, I'll give it a try."

"Yes! Giant Barbara's gonna smash the castle!" Klee squealed with stars in her eyes. "I want to blow it up too!"

"Hold on, Klee." Lucas patted her head. "Barbara's bombs are a lot bigger than yours right now!"

"What are you saying?" Barbara shot him a glare, covering her backside defensively. "I can hear you!"

"Just kidding!" Lucas quickly waved it off. "Go on, knock it down! And don't worry—no one's coming to stop you!"

"Unbelievable!" Barbara cracked her knuckles and prepared to topple the castle. But just then, Fischl, who had been silent, cried out, "No… please don't!"

"Miss Fischl?" Barbara paused, recognizing the speaker. "What are you doing here?"

"That's not important right now," Fischl replied with a determined look. "Please forgive my insistence, but this castle houses the citizens and soldiers who protect the Immernachtreich. I can't… allow them to be harmed."

To the others, everything here might seem like a fantastical illusion.

But for Fischl, who had just reclaimed her self-confidence, this place was truly a part of the Immernachtreich—it was real.

Lucas, having once viewed the simulator as just a "game," completely understood how she felt.

"Fischl has a point," Lucas agreed. "Destroying the castle without reason might not be wise."

"Oh, right!" Klee nodded, eyes bright. "If we wreck it, then there won't be any fun exploring it!"

"Very well," Jean said, smiling. "It's a beautiful castle, after all. It would be a shame to ruin it."

"Thank you, everyone," Fischl said gratefully. "Fear not; this is my palace, and everything inside was designed by me. I'll show you all who truly rules here."

"Glad to hear it." Barbara relaxed and took a step back. "I was starting to worry that if I did destroy this castle, I might turn into something… weird."

After all, in most fairytales, only monsters and dragons made a habit of smashing castles.

"Now then!" Barbara suddenly remembered. "Whose turn is it to roll?"

"It's Klee's turn!" Klee beamed. "I'm so excited!"

"Hurry up!" Barbara urged her. "Once this round's over, I can go back to normal."

"Got it!"

Klee raised the dice high with a dramatic flair, as if hoping for a powerful roll. "Here we go!"

She rolled a 1 and a 2, for a total of 3 steps.

"Huh? Such a low number!"

Klee looked disappointed. If it had been two 1s, she'd at least have gotten a re-roll. But as it was, 3 was the lowest possible outcome.

[Player will swap bodies with the closest girl until two matching dice rolls are achieved.]

"Swap bodies?"

Lucas raised an eyebrow, wondering aloud, "Wait… does this mean…"

"What… what's happening?"

Klee looked at her hands in astonishment, her face full of disbelief. "I… I've turned into this little girl?"

"Wow! This is amazing!" Meanwhile, Fischl examined her now smaller form with fascination, exclaiming, "Klee's all grown up! Hooray!"

Just as the event described, Klee and Fischl had indeed swapped bodies, with Fischl closest to Klee.

"Could it be… Klee and Fischl—you two really switched bodies?" Jean seemed unable to believe her eyes. However, after all the strange things that had already happened, she couldn't deny the possibility.

"Daddy!" Klee squealed, throwing herself into Lucas's arms with a wide grin. "Do you like this version of Klee?"

Although Lucas knew the girl in his arms was really Klee, her body was Fischl's—a form older than Klee's by just a few years but still notably different. Holding Klee was one thing, but having Fischl in such close proximity left him unsure where to place his hands.

"Don't use my noble form for hugging other men!" Fischl blustered, only to pause as a realization dawned on her. "Wait a moment… Lucas… is Klee's father?"

Fischl hadn't registered this detail before, but now, with Klee calling him "Daddy" so openly, she began to question their unusually close bond. Did he already have a wife and child?

"Don't be alarmed," Jean murmured, noticing Fischl's expression and quickly explaining the situation.

After Jean's brief explanation, Fischl understood. It was a little unrealistic to assume Lucas had a daughter Klee's age.

"Klee—no, I mean Fischl—is absolutely right," Lucas said, gently pushing Klee out of his arms with a resigned smile. "Klee, you can't just hug your dad whenever you want now."

"But why not?" Klee looked up with a pout, her face full of disappointment. "Doesn't Daddy like Klee anymore?"

Lucas shook his head, saying, "It's because you're in Fischl's body now."

"But before, when Klee got big, Daddy was fine with hugging her!" Klee protested, glancing at her new form. "And Fischl's body isn't that different from Klee's."

In Klee's mind, all the girls had different "ranks" in terms of stature: Jean was top-tier, Barbara second, and she and Fischl were about the same.

"It's completely different!" Fischl huffed. "Comparing my divine form to that of a mere child is beyond absurd!"

Klee walked over to where Fischl was sitting in her own small form, scooping her up with curiosity. "So this is what it's like to hold Klee?"

"N-no, don't just pick me up like that!" Fischl felt strange seeing her own body this way. "And don't make such silly faces in my form!"

"Fischl, can you do Klee a favor?" Klee asked earnestly.

"W-what favor?" Fischl asked, puzzled.

Klee handed her over to Lucas with a serious expression, saying, "Since Klee can't hug Daddy now, please let Daddy hold Klee's body in his arms for me, okay?"

"W-why would I need to do that?" Fischl's face turned red. "And… what's even the point of it?"

"Klee's love or Klee's body—Daddy deserves at least one!" Klee declared solemnly. "Otherwise, Daddy will feel so lonely!"

At that, Fischl shot Lucas a look of disdain as though he were beneath contempt.

"Hey, don't look at me like that!" Lucas protested. "I didn't teach her to say that!"

"I… I shall accept your request," Fischl said, unexpectedly nodding. "But in return, I have demands of my own."

"No problem!" Klee nodded eagerly. "Klee will do anything you ask!"

"Firstly, your speech!" Fischl insisted. "Since you're using my body, you must refer to yourself as 'I,' 'your princess,' or 'Prinzessin der Verurteilung.' Got it?"

"Klee… No, I mean, I shall remember!" Klee said, nodding. "I am the Prinzessin der Verurteilung!"

"Not quite!" Fischl corrected her. "Your stance is all wrong. When saying that, your hand goes here, your legs bend inward just slightly, and your waist—keep it firm…"

"Uh…" Lucas coughed awkwardly. "Maybe we can save the lessons for later?"

"No, we cannot!" Fischl said firmly. "The Immernachtreich is full of my loyal subjects. Should they witness their princess in such a graceless state, it would utterly ruin my royal dignity!"

---

While Fischl instructed Klee in the art of noble posture, meanwhile, in the castle's highest tower…

This was the exclusive chamber of the true Prinzessin der Verurteilung, resembling Fischl's own room back home, though much grander.

The room held an array of "princess gowns" in various styles hanging on racks, as well as weapons collected from her expeditions across realms: the Starfall Staff that could summon meteor showers, the Heaven's Edge blade that could slice through the night, and the Shackling Ring, capable of imprisoning any target for eternity.

Unlike Amy's childhood toys, these were no imitations.

But one wall of the room held something even more unusual.

It was entirely covered in photographs.

If Lucas saw this wall, he would be utterly shocked.

Because each and every photo depicted him!

Moreover, the Lucas in these pictures looked different from the real world. He wore an ostentatious black coat with a massive cloak woven from dark feathers, his silver hair shining with a brilliant luster.

The real Lucas's face was merely pleasant-looking, but with a few small tweaks in these photos, he looked breathtakingly handsome.

The otherworldly Fischl stood before the photo wall, her gaze filled with longing and adoration.

"Soon, my Lord of the Undead, we shall be together for all eternity," she whispered, gently caressing her flushed cheek as she swayed in place. "This castle shall be the sanctuary of our love!"

With that, the alternate Fischl flung herself onto her bed, clutching an oversized body pillow emblazoned with Lucas's image and rolling around with it.

"I can't wait a second longer," she murmured, pressing a kiss to the pillow's lips with a dazed expression. "My one and only Lord of the Undead…"

Just then, a loud flutter of wings sounded as Oz flew in from the window, landing on a gleaming golden perch.

----

Author's Note: Hm well, take this long chapter anyway, I'm trying to finish this game arc... next one at 2000 p.s.

P.s Hurry up, the next simulation is going to be epic!