Tae-Sung checked BNW’s official website to check out the new content update while in the middle of his meal. It was highly unusual for the beehive to actively promote new content on their official site. After all, Hive was also known as the Indifferent Beehive. BNW was a game without patches, and they were infamous for letting the game evolve naturally, with only AI guiding it to reflect the actions of the players. However, they were actually making a big deal out of new content? This was surprising even for a veteran like Tae-Sung. “A new update...” he muttered and checked the website. [BNW! New Region, Coral, Now Open!] The announcement said... Greetings, Adventurers! The long-awaited new content has finally arrived! A new region will now be accessible with the latest content! This region is the home planet of the extraterrestrial race, the Corals. Join forces with the Marchioni Empire to fight against the invading aliens and launch a counterattack on their planet! New items! More experience points! Glory and riches await you on the battlefield! Tae-Sung was very familiar with the Coral War content. Emperor Stuttgart had sent Cain and his guildmates on an expedition to the Coral Race’s home planet. Now, that small-scale operation had turned into a full-fledged, continent-wide military recruitment. It was all because the Marchioni Empire was in bad shape. With the Holy Alliance rampaging across the world, the empire no longer had the luxury of sending its troops on an expedition to another planet. Thus, they had no choice but to enlist Adventurers to fight on their behalf, which officially opened a new region to them. “Tsk... Nothing new to me,” Tae-Sung clicked his tongue, putting his phone down and focusing on his meal. Other players were freaking out and flooding the forums with excited posts, but for Tae-Sung, there was nothing special about the new content. As one of BNW’s top players, Tae-Sung learned things months or even sometimes years ahead of other people. He had access to classified intel that regular players would never even find out on their own. Thus, most news barely fazed him. ‘I need to craft my relic first and figure out how to return to the Middle Realm.’ With that thought, Tae-Sung turned his focus back to his meal. After a well-deserved break, Tae-Sung settled into his VR capsule for the first time in a while and booted up the BNW client. [Seventh Domain of the Demon Realm: Demon Lord’s Castle] The scenery shifted before his eyes. “All hail, Demon Lord Siegfried van Proa!” The courtiers bowed in unison toward Siegfried. “Welcome back, Your Majesty.” Metatron rushed forward the moment he heard of Siegfried’s arrival. Thıs text ıs hosted at 𝔫𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔩⚫𝔣𝔦𝔯𝔢⚫𝔫𝔢𝔱 “I hope you have had a pleasant rest in your world.” Siegfried shrugged and replied, “I got some proper rest for once, and I spent time with my family, too.” “That is splendid. I do not doubt that Your Majesty has great filial devotion to your mother.” “Obviously? Hey, do you think I’d neglect her or something?” Siegfried said, narrowing his eyes. “N-No, sire! Not at all! I just meant—” “I never got the chance to properly spend time with my father before he passed so...” “Ah...” Siegfried muttered, finally understanding the meaning behind those words. Then, he smiled and said, “You little moron.” “Don’t worry about me. I take very good care of my mother and sister.” “Your mother and sister must be very proud of you, sire.” “Damn right they are.” “To be able to show such devotion to them... I truly envy you, sire.” “Hey, what good does regret do? Yeah, it’s a shame you couldn’t while he was still alive, but don’t dwell on it too much. Besides, you became the demon lord, right?” “And ever since you absorbed Dantalion’s power, you’ve gotten ridiculously strong, too.” “Yes, I did. In my current state, aside from the Demon King himself, I believe I rank within the top three in all of the Demon Realm.” “Huh? You’re not the strongest?” “There is a hierarchy among the demon lords, and the higher-ranked ones are always stronger,” Metatron replied. “Even making it into the top three is an extraordinary feat, Your Majesty.” “Well, I guess that’s good enough then.” “Also, the territories previously ruled by Dantalion and Sidon, the fifth and sixth domains, have now been officially transferred to Your Majesty’s possession.” Metatron handed Siegfried two stone tablets. These tablets were sacred artifacts that served as land deeds, and only demon lords could possess them. “What are Your Majesty’s thoughts on me acting as regent, as ruling them personally would be quite difficult for you, sire?” Siegfried was more than satisfied with Metatron’s handling of things. Managing the Proatine Kingdom was already a handful, so it would be nearly impossible for him to rule two additional territories on top of what he already had. “I’ll leave them to you.” “I will not disappoint you, sire. Also, I will arrange for the tributes to be delivered twice a year to the Proatine Kingdom.” “The Fifth and Sixth Domains of the Demon Realm are now colonies of the Proatine Kingdom, so it is only natural for them to pay tributes.” “But can resources even be transported from the Demon Realm to the Middle Realm?” “Yes, it is possible.” “The spell required for dimensional transport is highly complex, but... Your Majesty has a reliable ally who is capable of it.” “If you ask Dragon Lord Gerog, he should be able to establish a dimensional gate stable enough to transport the tributes without much trouble.” “Ah! I totally forgot about that!” “I will work hard in the Demon Realm as Your Majesty’s regent.” “I am merely doing my duty as your subject, sire.” “But what about my relic? What happened to it?” “Ah, Master Tubal-Cain has sent word that Your Majesty’s relic has been completed.” “Oh? I should go see him then.” Siegfried hurried over to Tubal-Cain’s forge without wasting another second. It was all because he needed his relic to cross over to the Middle Realm. “Hey! Take me with you!” A familiar voice suddenly called out to him. ‘Huh? What was that?’ Siegfried tilted his head in confusion before turning toward where the voice was coming from. His heart almost dropped at what he saw. And the reason was... “Hey! I can’t move on my own! Take me with you!” Demonic Cross: Hyungseokius was staring right at Siegfried in a dark corner within the throne room. Badump! Badump! Badump! Siegfried nearly had a heart attack when Demonic Cross: Hyungseokius suddenly spoke. “Hey, Han Tae-Sung! Take me with you! I can’t move a damn inch!” Chae Hyung-Seo screamed at him. It turned out that Chae Hyung-Seok was in the game all this time, waiting for Siegfried. Of course, he was still in the form of the Demonic Cross: Hyungseokius, a totem. “T-That scared the shit out of me...” Siegfried muttered, nearly collapsed on the spot as his heart pounded wildly. He was not paying attention, so when the living totem suddenly spoke, he was caught off guard and almost passed out from shock. “Take me with you, damn it. I’m bored out of my goddamn mind. I’ve been stuck here for five hours since I logged in, you know?” Chae Hyung-Seok looked visibly irritated, and rightfully so. Being turned into a totem that stood like a human scarecrow was bound to frustrate anyone. “S-Sure.” Siegfried hastily nodded and opened his inventory to store the totem, but... [Alert: The item cannot be placed in your inventory!] Despite becoming a living totem, Chae Hyung-Seok was still considered a living creature, so he couldn’t be stuffed into the inventory. “Erm... What should I do now? It says I can’t put you in my inventory,” Siegfried said, at a loss on what to do. “Do you think I’m an item or something? A piece of junk you can just stuff into your inventory?” Chae Hyung-Seok retorted. “Well, you have a point...” “Either free me or carry me. I’m sick of this crap already.” “What did you say, punk? Who do you think you’re talking to?! You’re just an employee! Show some damn respect for your boss!” “”Fuck off! I’m an employee, not a damn slave! If you’re gonna put me to work, at least let me move first! What kind of shitty working conditions is this?!” “I guess... you have a point?” Siegfried had to admit that Chae Hyung-Seok had a point. If he wanted to put him to work, the guy needed to be able to move. At the moment, he was stuck in totem form, rendering him completely immobile. “What should I do...?” Siegfried wondered. Just as he was mulling over the problem— Hamchi suddenly cut in and suggested, “Kyuuu! What’s there to think about, owner punk?! Just throw him over your shoulder and carry him!” “Kyuuu! That’s right!” “Hey, you little punk! How the hell am I supposed to carry him?!” “Then what else can you do? He won’t fit in your inventory, does he? And you can’t just leave him here, too! Kyuuu!” “Just carry him and let’s go! Kyuu!” “O-Okay, I guess I don’t have a choice.” In the end, Siegfried hoisted Chae Hyung-Seok onto his shoulder and headed toward Tubal-Cain’s forge. He sort of remembered Tubal-Cain mentioning that Chae Hyung-Seok could move freely as long as Siegfried gave him permission to do so, but Siegfried was too exhausted to focus on what Tubal-Cain was saying at that time. Thus, unsure of how to grant Chae Hyung-Seok the freedom to move around, Siegfried had no choice but to go and ask Tubal-Cain about it. ‘But seriously... I’m the boss, so why the hell am I the one carrying this bastard around?’ Siegfried grumbled inwardly while walking toward the forge. A complete role reversal... For some odd reason, Siegfried felt like things were not going the way he wanted them to go. Back at Tubal-Cain’s forge... “Welcome, Your Majesty.” Unlike before, Tubal-Cain greeted Siegfried in a respectful manner. Why the sudden change? It was all because Siegfried was now a fully-fledged demon lord. “Your sacred relic has just been completed.” “Thank you for your hard work,” Siegfried replied with a smile. Then, he added, “But, erm...” “How exactly do I let this guy move on his own?” As he spoke, Siegfried set Chae Hyung-Seok down from his shoulder and gestured toward him. “Ah, that is quite simple. Just say the words 'Release Restraint,' and he will be separated from the cross.” Siegfried immediately tried the command, “Release Restraint.” With a mechanical sound, the tightly locked shackles snapped open, and Chae Hyung-Seok was released from the Demonic Cross: Hyungseokius. “Whew! Finally! I can breathe again!” Chae Hyung-Seok let out a sigh of relief. Now that he had regained his freedom, he couldn’t help but feel relieved. “Just one thing to note. His buff abilities will weaken once he is separated from the totem. If you wish to use his buffs at maximum capacity, then it would be best to use him while he’s combined with the totem,” Tubal-Cain advised. “Got it,” Siegfried replied with a nod. “And he can be summoned from anywhere at any time just by chanting the phrase 'Grow Back Hair Hair,' so you do not have to worry about losing him.” “What...? Did you just say... Grow Back Hair Hair...?” “But why...? Why is that the summoning command?” “Well, I think he must have lost his mind during the surgery. But he kept screaming 'Grow Back Hair Hair'the entire time, so I decided to use that.” “Pfft! Bwahaha! Grow Back Hair Hair?! What the hell is that?!” Siegfried burst into laughter after hearing the origin of the bizarre summoning command. “S-Shut up! Are you laughing at me, you asshole?!” “I said don’t laugh! Stop laughing!” “Bwahaha! Do you want me to buy you some hair growth tonic?” “Kyuuu! Grow Back Hair Hair! Did you really want your hair back that badly, Chae Hyung-Seok?!” Siegfried and Hamchi had a field day making fun of Chae Hyung-Seok no matter how angry the poor bald guy was. Chae Hyung-Seok trembled in anger and wanted nothing more than to kick Siegfried in the face right now, but he did not dare do so. It was because even if he tried to do that, he would not be able to land a single hit on Siegfried. Instead, he would end up getting his face rearranged. Even though he was a high-ranking demon, there was no way he stood a chance against Siegfried, who was now officially a demon lord. Siegfried and Hamchi cackled for a long while before they finally settled down. “Here is your sacred relic, Your Majesty.” Tubal-Cain handed Siegfried the newly crafted artifact—Siegfried's sacred relic as a demon lord.