No response? Could the mission have gone wrong? Has history changed again?

Ryosuke stared blankly at the wide-eyed girl before him. She was undeniably beautiful—bright eyes, crimson lips, fair skin, and a cascade of golden hair that stood out vividly.

"Eh!"

Ryosuke ignored the embroidery-clad girl entirely. He turned, strode to a nearby wardrobe adorned with bear patterns, and slapped it lightly. The wardrobe toppled over with a crash, spilling out countless delicate undergarments.

"You! What shameless act is this, human!"

Ryosuke paid no heed. His gaze locked onto the hidden tunnel revealed behind the wardrobe. He tucked Fan Qiandai under his arm and charged inside.

As he vanished, his parting words echoed sharply:

"Don’t forget—you owe me thirty-eight copper coins."

The embroidered girl stood frozen, trembling from head to toe. Her slender finger pointed shakily toward where Ryosuke had disappeared. For a long while, she couldn’t utter a single word.

Just then, a magnetic voice drifted from outside the door.

"Hmm? Why’s the door open? Alice, are you there?"

Rose petals fluttered into the room. A tall, handsome man with violet hair floated in on the fragrant breeze.

"Alice! Oh, how relieved I am to see you still untouched!"

"Brother! Don’t say such lewd things! What is it?"

The violet-haired man casually pulled up a chair, propped his legs on the table, and glanced at the open tunnel.

"Oh? The secret passage is open. Naughty girl, Alice! Sneaking off to see that old hag again?"

Alice flinched as if caught red-handed and jumped to her feet.

"I didn’t visit Granny today! And don’t call her ‘old hag’! She’s the first… the first…"

Her hands clenched her skirt tightly, her voice fading to a whisper.

"I know, I know—the first human who was ever kind to you."

The violet-haired man teased, flushing Alice’s cheeks crimson.

"You know, so why say it!"

"By the way, Brother—do you know a silver-haired man? Carrying a little loli under his arm? Not bad-looking. Definitely better than you!"

"Oh? What a coincidence. I also know a silver-haired woman. Quite lovely too. Far prettier than you, little shrimp."

"Don’t call me ‘little shrimp’!"

Alice puffed out her chest stubbornly, as if trying to prove something.

"A silver-haired man, you say? As captain of this brigade, I cannot tolerate anyone in this world outshining my handsomeness."

His gaze drifted calmly to the dark tunnel entrance. A flicker of ruthlessness flashed in his eyes—gone in a blink, replaced by spring-like warmth.

"Since our princess is unharmed, this subordinate shall take his leave."

The silver-haired man bowed slightly, flashing what he thought was a charming smile. Rose petals swirled around him, and his tall figure dissolved with the blossoms.

"Show-off," Alice muttered, pouting. Her eyes drifted unconsciously to the tunnel entrance. *He must know Granny. Otherwise, how would he know she’s short on water? Maybe he’s her son? And that loli… his sister? Strange—I’ve never seen him before. How dare he make a princess owe him money! Well… since he meant well for Granny, I’ll let it slide. But to truly care for her, he must pass my test. The things in that tunnel aren’t easy to handle. Heh—he can consider it his trial! Ahhh, coming here to experience human life was truly my wisest decision! Hehe!*

Alice giggled to herself, gathering the scattered undergarments. Her figure swayed like a blooming flower.

Inside the tunnel, the path twisted and turned, yet Ryosuke never took a single wrong step.

"Haha! All those water deliveries weren’t for nothing!"

Ryosuke laughed boisterously, utterly unrefined. Poor Fan Qiandai still wore a look of utter confusion—all her questions boiled down to the miraculous nature of this "Purple Squad" leader.

How did he know the tunnel? Credit the Purple Squad’s unparalleled intelligence network.

Who could have guessed this silver-haired, scholarly man sprinting like a lovesick fool was actually a veteran noob player from another timeline centuries in the future?

"Great One! Careful! Something’s ahead! Th-this aura… at least a Fighter King’s level!"

Ryosuke ignored her, accelerating instead. Fan Qiandai felt like she was flying.

"Amazing! This stamina! This speed! This power! Impossible for anyone back then! I’m utterly hooked! Haha!"

Ryosuke’s wild laughter filled the tunnel. The ground ahead trembled. Rustling sounds swarmed from all directions toward him.

"Eeek!"

Fan Qiandai shrieked. Her magically enhanced hawk-eyes, glowing faintly orange, had already spotted the colossal shadow shaking the earth ahead.

A giant rat clad in steel armor! Behind it surged countless smaller rats—each at least the size of a human infant. The lead rat, charging fiercely, was as massive as an elephant.

"Help! I’m terrified of rats! Mama! Papa! Sisters!"

The Giant Rat King lunged, its foul-smelling maw gaping wide. Two gleaming golden fangs, sharp as battle-axes, slashed toward Ryosuke.

*Foolish human! Daring to invade my domain! Regret it in death!*

Ryosuke recognized the absurdly huge rodent—the steel-helmeted rat with golden axe-like fangs. One of the Twelve Demon Kings: the Gold-Devouring Rat King.

No time to wonder why a Demon King was here. Only two choices: one, Ryosuke’s usual tactic—bolt like hell and live to run another day.

The other? Charge forward.

The decision took an instant.

In his past life, he’d been powerless too often. Run away too often. This life—he’d live fiercely.

Fight fiercely.

Thrive fiercely.

Ryosuke threw his head back, his handsome face twisting into a snarl.

"Fan Qiandai! Screaming for heaven, earth, or family won’t save you now! Do you know what you *should* scream?!"

"Great One!" Fan Qiandai yelled without hesitation, squeezing her eyes shut, her painted brows trembling.

"I, the Great One…" Ryosuke’s right foot shot up with unstoppable force, slamming squarely under the Rat King’s jaw. A perfect size-32 shoeprint bloomed on its chin.

"AM HERE!"

*Crash!*

The Gold-Devouring Rat King flew backward, its massive body bowling over its entire rodent army into the darkness. Its two golden fangs spun through the air.

Man and loli stared, dumbfounded, at the foot still frozen mid-air. Only when the fangs clattered rhythmically to the ground did Ryosuke snap back to reality. He retracted his tingling foot, executed a flawless backflip, and landed perfectly. His secondhand spatial ring glowed as he aimed it at the fallen fangs.

"Store!"

A blue aura shot from the ring, engulfing the fangs. The treasured weapons of one of the Twelve Demon Kings—tools for murder, robbery, and survival—vanished into the light.

Ryosuke’s face flushed with excitement. He tightened his grip on Fan Qiandai under his arm and sprinted onward.

"G-great One… we haven’t even sold the last batch of gear you stored! I… I really suspect you died penniless in your past life."

Ryosuke merely smiled, his fingers brushing Fan Qiandai’s cheek with theatrical grace.

"Mmmph!" Fan Qiandai whimpered, shrinking back, her face burning as if branded.

"Little one," Ryosuke hummed suggestively, shifting his left arm back to a normal hold and accelerating again.

The tunnel, already narrow and winding, was now a chaotic mess after the Rat King’s earth-shattering crash.

Dead? Of course not. The humiliated Demon King lay against a wall, foaming at the mouth. Its offspring buried beneath it were likely peeled ten layers deep.

"Damn rat! Even leaving, it had to ‘tidy up’ for me," Ryosuke grumbled. Before him lay two paths—and a third completely blocked by a pile of rodent offspring.

His dilemma mirrored choosing between Windows 7 or XP during a system reinstall back in his old life.

*Windows 7!*

Without hesitation, Ryosuke veered left. The passage ended at an upward slope.

Light streamed in from outside. The dark, foul tunnel suddenly felt sacred.

*Yes! This is it! No mistake!*

*Granny—the water’s here!*

Ryosuke’s heart soared. He leaped from darkness into light, Fan Qiandai’s shriek ringing in his ears.

They emerged. Ryosuke collapsed onto the ground like a liberated revolutionary army, hugging Fan Qiandai and gulping fresh air. After such a relentless sprint—with a girl tucked under his arm—he deserved this rest.

*How beautiful the night sky is. Perhaps it shines brighter with a rising star like me in it.*

Fan Qiandai jabbed him rhythmically. Ryosuke frowned—interrupting his daydreams was unforgivable, even for a pretty loli.

His left hand drifted toward her chest again. But Fan Qiandai shot up like a startled rabbit, leaping from his arms.

*Ahem!*

A crisp, nightingale-like cough sounded behind him. Ryosuke’s heart hammered like a war drum.

*This isn’t right! The script said I’d emerge under a bed! How can you see stars from under a bed?!*

Only one thought filled his mind: *I took a wrong turn…*

*The script wasn’t written like this! Damn rodent! Next time I see you, I’ll stew you into rat stew to feed my stomach!*

*Could this be…?*

Ryosuke sat bolt upright. Silence pressed down—he could hear a pin drop.

Before him stood a row of pure-white steeds—"Thousand Mile Snow"—hooves planted firmly, heads held high. At their forefront stood a red-cloaked beauty: Princess Saori of the "Radiant Ten Stars."

Beside her, naturally, was her handmaiden—Xier.

And where Ryosuke now stood?

Dragon Fang Mountain.

*How did I end up HERE?! This makes no sense!*

Princess Saori’s expression clearly showed she’d witnessed Ryosuke’s earlier groping. A flicker of disdain crossed her usually impassive face.

Her army was locked in a standoff.

*Against whom?*

Ryosuke turned. His legs turned to jelly.

A colossal dragon soared in the sky, its vast wings wreathed in black flames that merged into a sea of fire. Below it stood ranks upon ranks of ironclad knights on black steeds.

This wasn’t the Iceflower Evil God Dragon leading monsters. This was the Black Emperor Demon Dragon—the strongest of the Twelve Demon Kings—commanding the elite "Ghost Armor Cavalry" of the Demon Kind!

And Ryosuke stood squarely between the two armies.

His legs trembled. Though he possessed the Iceflower Evil God Dragon’s powerful body, his heart remained human—and fragile.

Facing the Demon King leader alone, with an army of Ghost Riders? The real Iceflower Evil God Dragon might handle it. But he was a half-baked imposter—no skills, no dragon speech, no Battle Qi. Just brute strength.

"Great One! Run!" Fan Qiandai screamed, tears welling. But Ryosuke stood frozen, slow to react. By the time he snapped out of it, a black-armored rider on a flying steed loomed overhead, a shadowy lance aimed at him. Black fire burned in the hollows of its helmet—eyes that made Ryosuke’s soul quiver. He couldn’t move a muscle.

*In the end, I’m not cut out to be the ‘Great One.’ I’ve had my fun. Maybe it’s time to let go.*

*Perhaps next life, I’ll be born into a good family. Study hard. Get a stable job. Marry a kind wife—not too pretty. Have a son. And a daughter. Honor my parents. Cherish my family. A quiet life… might not be so bad.*

Ryosuke’s thoughts swirled. His eyes slowly closed.

*Maybe this was all just a dream…*

No matter how you slice it, becoming the strongest boss in gaming history is just too absurd. Maybe taking this bullet will wake me from this dream. Come to think of it, didn’t all my past nightmares end with me waking up right before death? —Right?