This was the first time I’d left the castle since entering the game.

It might sound surprising, but the Other Side of the World wasn’t the apocalyptic nightmare most people imagined from movies and novels.

On the contrary, it wasn’t all that different from the world of light. It was just night most of the time, with only a few brief periods when the first light of day appeared.

I wasn’t particularly surprised. In my previous life, I’d already learned a little about all this from Dark Faction players on the forums.

But compared to the bustling cities in the players’ uploaded pictures, with their towering walls and buildings packed together, the Dark World here was nothing but a barren plain. With the deep night overhead, it really did feel like the end of the world.

As far as the eye could see, nothing but dilapidated ruins lingered at the edge of my vision. The only place that could even be called a building was the Demon King’s Castle where I was now—

Though it was called the Demon King’s Castle, in reality it was just a castle and a handful of other buildings. To me, it was practically an estate.

I shook my head, clearing away the stray thoughts, then recalled around two hundred Dark Bats from the monster den. After all, a Demon King couldn’t very well go into battle alone. That’d be a sorry sight, with no authority or presence at all.

Of course, I didn’t dare bring too many. If I didn’t know how strong the enemy was, rushing in could lead to heavy casualties. And these monsters weren’t dying at a leveling spot, so there’d be no energy cycle to speak of.

This monster group was fairly close to the Demon King’s Castle. With Hill guiding the way, I soon reached my destination with this hastily assembled army of Dark Bats.

The Skeleton Warrior group marked on the map was just up ahead—

A huge open-pit mine, with dozens of skeletal figures patrolling the entrance.

“Your Highness, this place might be hard to deal with.”

Hill was right. If this many Skeleton Warriors were guarding the entrance alone, it was hard to imagine how many more monsters were waiting inside.

But I wasn’t concerned. The only reason I’d come was to test the waters, not to wipe out the whole monster group.

Even if I wanted to, my small force probably wouldn’t be enough to give them a decent meal. I thought it over, then ordered some of the Dark Bats to attack.

More than eighty Dark Bats broke away from the group and swooped toward the Skeleton Warriors patrolling the mine entrance.

Maybe it all happened too suddenly. With their low intelligence, the Skeleton Warriors couldn’t react in time, and the Dark Bats easily scattered their formation.

Quite a few Skeleton Warriors lost a chunk of their health, left looking rather battered by the swift attack.

But battered was all they were.

The Dark Bats’ attack power was generally higher than that of ordinary monsters, thanks to my settings. But that only applied against monsters of the same level. Against level-five Skeleton Warriors, each Dark Bat could deal at most a dozen or so points of damage.

Meanwhile, under the Skeleton Warriors’ attacks, the Dark Bats’ already flimsy defenses were as useless as paper. Two or three hits were enough to kill them.

Compared to the stiff, clumsy Skeleton Warriors, the Dark Bats’ only real advantage was their agility. Even that didn’t help much.

So once the Skeleton Warriors struck back, more than half of the eighty-plus Dark Bats were killed in the blink of an eye, while only a dozen or so Skeleton Warriors fell.

I ordered the surviving Dark Bats to retreat. We’d already achieved our goal—

From a vast mine deep inside the open-pit complex came a strange noise. Several elite Skeleton Warriors emerged from the pitch-black depths, surrounding the Skeleton Warrior at their center.

That Skeleton Warrior looked no different from the others, but red flames burned in its eyes. Its jawbone clacked open and shut as a hoarse voice rang out.

“Intruder, who are you? Why have you come to invade our territory?”

Clearly, this was a BOSS with a degree of intelligence.

One of Era’s great charms, unlike other online games, was that most of its BOSSes had a degree of independent thought.

Players and these BOSSes weren’t necessarily enemies. Through quests or sheer luck, you could even befriend them.

Of course, that didn’t mean I’d come to make friends with it. Still, a little courtesy never hurt.

“Good evening, Mr. Skeleton—”

I paused, my gaze drifting slightly downward as I realized that title might not be quite right. And now that I thought about it, I’d never seen a freakish skeleton with an extra bone sticking out of its middle.

But I couldn’t think of anything else to call it, and decided it’d be better not to waste time making nice with this guy. Given its level of intelligence, there was no need anyway.

“Anyway, I’m here to get my people back. You captured my monsters, so hand them over.”

“What an arrogant fool. Why should we listen to you?”

Seeing that this guy had no intention of cooperating, I thought for a moment, then revealed my title as Demon King.

“Because I’m the current Demon King of the Dark Faction!”

As the words left my mouth, an invisible pressure swept over the area. A debuff appeared above every Skeleton Warrior on the other side, reducing all their stats by 5%.

Demon King’s Intimidation was a passive skill, similar to an aura, and one of the few skills I had. It was more than enough to prove who I was.

“Impossible. That kind of pressure… Could you really be…?”

The red flames in the Skeleton Warrior’s eyes contracted sharply, and its whole body took a step back.

Seeing how scared it was made me feel rather pleased with myself—

But before I could enjoy it for long, I noticed its gaze shift down a little and land on my chest. It looked puzzled.

“But why doesn’t your combat power match the legends at all?”

“…”

Before I could even wonder why combat power had anything to do with breasts, Hill helpfully explained for me.

“Because Her Highness the Demon King hasn’t developed yet.”

“There’s no need to explain such a stupid question!”

For some reason, though, the guy on the other side suddenly grew furious. “With such a flat-chested subordinate, you really must be the Demon King!”

Why would you confirm I’m the Demon King based on that? And what the hell does ‘flat-chested’ even mean?!