Chapter 42: The Dark Bat King Descends

A brand new day had just begun—

And already, players near Soma Town were stunned to discover massive changes within the Forest Ruins.

The zone had expanded to several times its original size.

Monster density had skyrocketed.

And even the familiar Dark Bats now came in higher levels.

More surprisingly, the area now featured entirely new monsters— a refreshing change after days of grinding against the same bat swarm pattern.

Naturally, word of these updates spread like wildfire.

Even players who had moved on to higher-level zones came back out of curiosity.

Once they saw the boosted XP and drop rates, they quickly changed their minds:

“Okay fine, this place is actually cracked.”

Just like that, the Forest Ruins—once an outdated, low-tier grind spot—saw a resurgence in popularity, even more intense than before.

The new monsters were definitely tougher, but players didn’t seem to mind.

On the contrary, the added challenge sparked renewed interest.

At most, they just muttered a few complaints and dove right back into battle.

That said, no one was stupid enough to venture into the deepest zone— the 10–15 level range, home to the terrifying Dark Totems and Dark Martyrs.

***

“So in the end, we still came crawling back, huh~?”

A cute-looking Ice Mage muttered while casting her freshly learned Frost Bind on a nearby bat.

“Shut it. Keep yapping and I’ll drag the aggro your way.”

The Rogue nearby dodged the slowed-down attack with ease, then stabbed his dagger cleanly into the bat’s fuzzy underbelly.

“As if! Ayoru would never do something so cruel—!”

“Incoming.”

“Huh—wait, I was kidding—!”

A black blur surged forward.

Panicking, the Ice Mage barely cast Repulsion Aura in time to dodge the swooping attack.

The Dark Bat was flung back—

Only to be finished off moments later by the Rogue’s surprise backstab.

As the bat collapsed, a faint grey soul wisp floated upward and vanished— a sign that a Phantom had also been killed.

The Rogue casually looted the drop and threw a glance at the mage’s puffed-up cheeks.

“Consider it reflex training,” he said coolly. “Can’t have you faceplanting outta nowhere later.”

These two were Ayoru and Mushui.

Originally, they had planned to leave the Forest Ruins behind after reaching Level 5, waiting to rendezvous with friends in higher-level zones.

But when they heard the rumors about the Ruins’ overhaul, they came back for a look.

And what they saw made them stay.

Ayoru had originally grumbled, “If I see one more Dark Bat, I’m gonna snap.”

Now?

“I wanted to refuse… but the loot was just too damn good.jpg.”

That was exactly why Mushui was teasing her.

“At this rate, we’ll hit Level 6 in no time.”

After picking up another batch of loot and materials, Ayoru glanced at her EXP bar.

If they could pull bigger pulls like before, it’d be even faster.

But now, even three Dark Bats plus one Phantom already pushed their limit.

Adding another bat? Risky.

Still, the boosted EXP gain made it totally worth the grind.

They even turned down party invites from randoms—

Ayoru insisted they were just trying to flirt.

***

“Hey Ayoru, you think there’s a chance we hit 6 before Yoyo and the others?”

While waiting on cooldowns, Mushui giggled at the thought.

“Imagine their faces. Shocked Pikachu meme.”

“Not happening.”

Ayoru said flatly. “They’ve had a head start by days.”

Even if this zone was hyper-efficient, it wouldn’t bridge the gap in time.

Besides, the Forest Ruins wasn’t the only good grind zone in the Empire.

Her friends might be grinding somewhere just as cracked.

“Yeah, true…”

Mushui nodded.

Then suddenly jumped topics again—

“Man, I can’t wait to hit 10. Then we can start doing dungeons together~!”

“Getting to 10’s not enough. We’ll need the right gear and consumables too.”

“Easy—just buy it!”

Mushui declared confidently, hands on hips like a proud wallet warrior.

Ayoru gave her a deadpan glare.

“Prices will probably double by then. You wanna be the sucker paying premium?”

“Eh? Why though?”

“Pro guilds, streamers, and studio bots are gonna flood the market—

They’re all gunning for the first dungeon clear title.”

Ayoru had raid experience before.

She remembered how every major guild would throw themselves at dungeon launches—

not just for gear, but for clout and ranking records.

In any MMO with even moderate popularity, this was the norm.

For something like Epoch, a global sensation?

It was gonna be all-out war.

Fortunately, even the lowest-level dungeon required Lv10 to enter, and there were multiple such locations.

That meant guild competition wouldn’t spill too much into casual territory—yet.

***

After their break, the girls returned to the grind.

Their HP and MP were back to normal, and they were just locking onto their next pull when—

A loud shriek echoed through the trees, followed by a wave of player screams.

Ayoru instinctively turned toward the source of the commotion.

And saw it.

A creature several times larger than any other monster they’d seen in this zone.

A Dark Bat—but massive, and unmistakably ominous.

The sheer aura it gave off sent a chill down her spine.

“Whoa… is that a boss-level Dark Bat?”

Mushui blinked in awe. “First time seeing one.”

“No… something’s off.”

Ayoru’s voice grew tense.

Without hesitation, she grabbed Mushui’s hand and turned to run.

“Move!”

Just before, she had used Inspect—

And what she saw made her blood run cold.

***

Dark Bat King [Boss] – Lv.15

HP: 6000 / 6000

***

At the same time, a few curious players had already launched attacks on the creature— believing it to be just another mini-boss.

They had no idea what they had just triggered.