Hearing that familiar sound, Ye Lian was suddenly struck by a sense of foreboding.
If she could, she would rather not hear it at all.
[Your Corruption Value has surpassed the human limit—reaching one million points. The pollution effect of the Nightmare Space has lost all influence on you.]
[Ding! Congratulations! You have become the first Demon Emperor of the Nightmare Space. You are now eligible to receive a title. Beginning title draw.]
As soon as the system’s voice faded, a starry night sky appeared in front of Ye Lian.
Countless stars glittered like diamonds, surrounding her like a celestial crown.
Suddenly, the starry sky began to tremble as the stars started spinning wildly.
It felt like a second had passed—and at the same time, like an entire hour.
The chaotic spinning abruptly stopped.
One particular star radiated with a brilliance unlike any other.
[Ding! Congratulations! You have drawn the title: Blessing of the Supreme Demon God. You have received the title: Moon Demon Emperor.]
[Ding! Congratulations! You are now the first among Demon Emperors. You have received rewards: [Demon God-grade Transformation Chip], [Demon God-grade Transformation Device], and [Super Lucky Pack], one of each.]
[Ding! Name and Title Display Module installed. Non-player module activated.]
[Ding! You have obtained the first-ever non-player panel in Nightmare Space.]
[Reward: 1,000,000 points of World Reputation.]
[Ding! You have gained permanent red-name status. Your fearsome name will be known far and wide.]
[Ding! A Supreme Being has taken notice of you.]
[Reward: Blessing of the Shadow Demon God.]
With that, the system announcement came to an end.
Ye Lian stood frozen in place, unsure how to even react.
***
At that very moment, every player in Nightmare Space heard the system’s voice echo in their minds.
[Ding! Global Announcement: The first Demon Emperor of Nightmare Space has been born. Title: Moon Demon Emperor.]
The moment the announcement ended, the entire Nightmare Space began to quake violently.
The gray sky turned blood red, and pitch-black lightning slithered across the heavens like a nest of enraged serpents.
The ground trembled, and wild winds howled.
Thunder cracked across the sky, and blood-red rain poured down, as if the apocalypse itself had arrived.
At that moment, every Nightmare creature—regardless of form or activity—fell to their knees.
They bowed in reverence, welcoming the birth of their new Demon Emperor.
“What… just happened?”
“An earthquake!?”
“Is this the end of the world?”
“Eww, blood-colored rain! That’s disgusting!”
“A Demon Emperor? That can’t be a good sign!”
“Could it be… the king of Nightmares?”
“This is the worst possible start to the game!”
The global announcement and the changes in the world sent shockwaves through the entire player base.
Although no one knew what exactly that newly born Demon Emperor was…
There was no doubt—she was the enemy of all players.
No, even worse…
The enemy of the world!
***
At the base of the mountain, a sea of corpses and blood.
A graceful figure stood among it all, blade in hand, looking up at the sky.
A moment of confusion flashed across her cold face, quickly turning into hatred.
The next moment, a furious roar erupted, as if it carried the hatred of the entire world.
“Yue!!!”
***
Underground river.
Ye Lian shivered as if sensing something.
“Why does it feel a little cold?”
She looked down—and realized there wasn’t a single piece of cloth on her body.
“It really changed… Why did it turn out like this?”
Her gaze lifted toward the towering World Mountain, her expression dimming.
“That damned golden slime… what the hell did it do to my body!?”
Her hands clenched tightly, her whole body trembling as she shouted.
The ground shook violently.
Rocks broke off from above and crashed into the river below, sending out heavy, echoing splashes.
The eight blue frogs nearby trembled uncontrollably, terrified.
No one knew how much time had passed before Ye Lian finally calmed down.
“At least… this only happened in the game.”
Once she realized that, her mood improved significantly.
She had played games for many years, and playing female characters wasn’t new to her.
As long as she treated this ‘transformation’ as a bug or glitch, it wasn’t that big of a deal.
‘Right…? Is it really that simple?’
For some reason, she felt uneasy.
Shaking her head, Ye Lian opened her status panel.
The first thing that appeared was a dynamic character display window.
It showed her current appearance.
Silver hair, golden eyes, skin as pale and smooth as jade.
A tall figure, long legs, curvy and seductive.
“Damn… I’m hot!” she exclaimed, a little excited while admiring her new form.
But the moment she noticed the words ‘Permanent Red Name’, her heart sank.
She clicked on it.
The details popped up on screen.
[Status: Permanent Red Name]
[Effect: All players have 100% hostility toward you. Aggro is maxed and cannot be removed.]
[Nightmare creatures feel fear toward you. Their power is weakened, your level increases, and suppression effects are enhanced.]
[Description: You are the Nightmare Emperor, enemy of the world. Upon death, all equipment will drop with 100% certainty and you cannot respawn.]
[Killers will receive the title: Legendary Hero.]
Ye Lian’s eye twitched after reading the description.
‘So basically… I’m the final boss?’
‘The biggest one at that!’
Clearly, this was not what she had signed up for.
‘I just wanted to use this game to stop the damn nightmare invasion. I never intended to become the enemy of the world!’
But it was too late now.
No matter how unwilling she was, she couldn’t undo the [Permanent Red Name].
After all, the system had already decided she would be the villain.
‘I’m just a normal beta tester… How the hell did I become the Demon Emperor in this game…’
Tftc!
lol tyftc