Chapter 16: Magical Disguise

Breath of the Flame Monarch – Satahia  

[Lord]  

Race: Flame Demon, Level: 5  

Attributes: Strength 80, Agility 76, Constitution 101, Intelligence 65, Spirit 84  

Health: 4,000/4,000  

Attack: 315, Defense: 194  

Will: 80  

Perception: 100  

Talents: Flame Monarch, High Demon  

Skills: Flame Incarnation, Death Charge, Molten Pillar, Chest Obsession  

The stats were impressive, as expected, but my eyes snagged on that final skill. Curiosity got the better of me, and I tapped to view its details.  

Chest Obsession: Passive skill. During combat, attack power increases or decreases based on the opponent’s chest size, using the user’s as the baseline.  

I glanced at Satahia, who was practically buzzing with excitement over her partial power restoration. My gaze flicked to a certain area for confirmation.  

Yup, a permanent buff.  

“Your Majesty is truly wise and mighty!” Satahia chirped, catching my look and sidling up with shameless flattery.  

I shoved her head back, unimpressed. 

“Save it. Don’t forget the task I gave you.”  

My tone was curt, and for good reason. 

Restoring her strength had cost me 200 energy and every last dark element in stock, only to drag her up to a measly level 5.  

Still, the expense wasn’t a total loss. 

As I’d suspected, Satahia’s growth followed a lord-tier template—and an exceptional one at that. That alone made the investment worthwhile.  

“No worries! This task is a piece of cake!” 

Now at level 5, Satahia brimmed with newfound confidence, flexing her muscles before scampering off to test her strength on a monster horde.  

To keep her ego in check, I called after her, 

“Fail this task or take heavy losses, and I’ll have Syl give you another deep talk.”  

Her figure stumbled mid-stride, and she bolted from the control room like it was plagued, shouting, “I’ll complete it, I swear!”  

Raising Satahia to level 5 and handing her the captured skeleton warriors from the Grove Open-Pit Mine wasn’t just for show. 

My plan was to have her clear out the monster groups around the Demon King’s Castle. 

Not only would this secure resources, but it would prevent my energy-spawned sprites from being captured again.  

As Satahia’s silhouette vanished, another tall figure appeared in the control room.  

“Syl, did you find a way?” I rushed to her side, voice tight with anticipation.  

While helping Satahia recover, I’d mentioned my predicament to Syl. 

She’d left to ponder a solution and returned quicker than expected, which could only mean good news.  

Syl nodded. 

“Your Majesty, to reach the surface world, you need only use the teleportation array in the Demon King’s Castle.”  

“That simple? Let’s go!”  

I hadn’t expected such an easy fix. 

Excitement bubbled up—I’d been cooped up in the castle since entering Epoch, and even with Syl’s company, the monotony was wearing thin. 

The thought of venturing out, mingling with players, and seeing my leveling zones firsthand was thrilling.  

But Syl’s next words doused my enthusiasm like cold water. 

“Do you think the Bright Faction would simply allow the Demon King to stroll through their world?”  

I froze, realizing my oversight. 

Even if war hadn’t officially broken out, the Bright Faction wouldn’t let a Demon King wander freely.  

“So, what’s the plan?” I knew Syl well enough to trust she’d already thought of something.  

Sure enough, she handed me a small object—a pair of fluffy white cat ears.  

My eyes lit up as I grasped her meaning. 

I plopped the ears onto my head, covering the Demon King’s telltale horns.  

“This way, no one will know, right?”  

“Not quite,” Syl replied. 

“It just makes Your Majesty cuter, so they might go easier on you.”  

I blinked, realization dawning that I’d fallen for her trick twice. 

“Hey!”  

“Unless, of course, Your Majesty activates disguise mode.”  

“Eh?” 

My frustration vanished as I noticed the cat ears were no ordinary accessory—they were special equipment.  

Magical Disguise (Player)  

Required Level: 0  

Effect: Allows disguise as one of five pre-created player templates.  

Templates: None, None, None, None, None  

Creating a player template was much like building a character at the start of Epoch. 

When I selected the option, a virtual panel popped up, offering choices for name, race, and more.  

Since the template’s level couldn’t exceed my own, and considering most players’ leveling pace, I set it to my current level 4—bolstered by task rewards and the mine conquest.  

Without hesitation, I chose human as the race and Dark Verbal Mage as the profession. 

For the name, I picked one I’d considered before entering Epoch but discarded: Yitong.  

Next came appearance. 

To avoid any connection to my Demon King form, I needed something distinct.  

“Milky white hair it is,” I decided, inspired by the white cat ears.  

Syl noted the accessory could change colors, but I stuck with my choice. Thoughtful design, I’ll give them that.  

I tweaked the appearance further, keeping it cute but distinct from my Demon King look. 

After assigning stats along a mage’s typical build, the template was complete.  

Yitong  

Level: 4  

Profession: Dark Verbal Mage  

Race: Human  

Activating the template, I felt my body shift.

My pink hair turned creamy white, and I knew without checking that my horns were gone.  

Opening my character panel, I was every inch a standard mage player.  

“I’m really an adventurer now!” I spun around, cheeks flushed with excitement. 

“This gear is amazing, Syl! You’re incredible!”  

“It wasn’t me,” Syl said. “This equipment came from Lady Alice.”  

“That meddling weirdo,” I grumbled, my mood souring.  

“Aren’t you afraid she’ll hear you?”  

“Let her. I’ve got a score to settle.” I huffed, pulling some mage gear from the warehouse—drops from players in the leveling zones and the mine.  

As I adjusted the fluffy cat ears, a thought struck me. 

“Syl, if there’s gear to disguise as an adventurer, is there something to blend in as a native?”  

Syl handed me a white cat tail, complete with a cute bow.  

I stared at it in silence before reluctantly taking it.  

Alice, this grudge is official.  

***

Meanwhile, Alice, about to nap, sneezed suddenly. 

Rubbing her nose, she muttered, “Weird. Can an AI supercomputer catch a cold?”