Chapter 126: Kobold Mage: Grr~

It's just a pity not everyone is Ji Ming; even with a profession, it wouldn't boost looks or charm.

Aside from being a bit taller, the kobold chieftain is still as ugly as the other kobolds.

Brimming with fury, it swung its staff, began chanting, magical energy surged, and a fireball gradually formed.

Just as it was about to release it, a muscular hulker rushed in within a few strikes, landing before it.

"Hey!"

With the opponent's vigorous shout, a huge force hammered the kobold chieftain's abdomen.

Now, forget about charging spells; it was knocked so hard it flew backward, nearly spitting out its own entrails.

"You ugly freak, show me your fist!"

Zhang Tu was about to rush in for a satisfying finishing blow, but the others in the squad called him back.

"Tu Ge, calm down, this looks like a mage!"

【For example, in an FPS game you keep bumping into a wooden crate. Even if you lose health or get kicked out of the game, you still try to get stuck in it】

【Rewards have been issued】

Ji Ming thought carefully and realized it was indeed so.

Ao Li gave a newly earned 100‑yuan tip, pondering how to have fun once it revives.

Although it may take a long time for the smell to dissipate, this is definitely a thoroughly exhilarating victory.

Consider it a reward from the game officials to grind‑hard players, and a pity for the poor souls.

【Turns out this ugly kobold can not only cast Fireball, but also Ice Arrow】

"Is that all? I thought it was more impressive."

Crazy!

The others showed no hint of retreat in their expressions; they even grew more excited, crowding around, clicking their tongues in wonder.

A human with a strange mark on his forehead actually scrambled to jump forward, eager to use his own body to meet the fireball.

"Thanks, friends!"

【Best of the show: Seek only death】

Seek only death: 【There's nothing unsayable, it's just this little thing】

It bared its teeth, barking repeatedly, but all it earned were the humans' amused smiles and applause.

"Huh? Then whose head is this?"

It hit the human's chest squarely, blowing his leather chest armor to pieces.

Yet the human kept enjoying it, repeatedly leaping sideways to try to bait its attacks.

One can only say humans remember the feast but not the fight; the heartless players, having just won, instantly forgot the emo of the day before yesterday.

Anger, it passed; insults, they passed; it even gave its all, unleashing two spells in a row, instantly slaying the most reckless bastard.

If the officials didn't give him a little boost, he might have scraped by in the closed beta thanks to his title, but once the open test starts he'd be quickly abandoned by the times.

But the humans before him showed no fear; instead, each one was eager to try.

"It seems releasing eighteen Fireballs and seven Ice Arrows is its limit."

"Woof!"

He sighed.

The chieftain's staff clanged to the ground, and only one sentence remained in his mind.

Perhaps because it was still testing the waters; the game hadn't shown much extraordinary content during the closed beta.

Thus, amid the kobold chieftain's terrified and slightly puzzled gaze, the players formed a circle, surrounding it in the middle.

Heart willing but strength lacking, in the realm of magic it truly had not a drop left.

【Yeah, can you tell everyone】

But...

After all, the server's been up for how long, and this bastard is still level one.

In the end, a male‑only team without any 'male‑girls' won the final victory.

【So ruthless, byd is trying every way to lure the kobold into casting Fireball, right?】

【Alright, thanks for the effort, you keep busy】

But it didn't make them wait long; a string of notifications appeared in the lower‑right corner of the screen.

Think, think (referring to attack).

【Boss, when finalizing the closed‑beta player list, did you consider their mental issues? I feel they're all nuts!】

"Hey, it seems it's already dead."

"Tch, it feels easier than the 2D mobile games I play."

It turned out the MVP's reward was a pair of silver short swords, gracefully curved, blades thin yet flexible, as sharp as surgical knives.

All the kobolds that tried to rush in to save it were easily cut down; soon, deep in the cave, only it remained.

"It's unclear whether the officials will revive the kobold chieftain, so let's take it easy."

Fireball may lack the explosive effect of Flame Burst, but it is still a genuine ball of flame.

【Hehe, the officials' nasty scheme, looks like we can't be modest next time...】

But the kobold's body ultimately has its limits!

【Congrats on the raid defeat of the large boss, receiving group reward: +50 EXP, +3 free attribute points】

As for other parts of its body, they were covered in black ash and bloody wounds, looking quite tragic.

The players, at a negligible cost, defeated the kobold that had been wildly unstoppable just two days ago.

Then he boldly showed two screenshots, one of his inventory and one of reality.

"I feel the two skills are pretty disappointing; I thought there might be some fancy tricks to watch."

"No, why did this beast stop moving?"

Ji Ming, crouching outside with Bai Yesheng to watch the live stream, felt his pupils about to burst and quickly sent a message to Yang Yue.

The players ended the discussion with regret, fell silent for a moment, and then another voice sounded.

"It doesn't matter, it's all fair competition."

The burly captain bowed and approached the Kobold Chieftain, then looked down.

As mentioned before, the players said they were divided into squads, but in fact many members overlapped and intermingled, and there was no real conflict or competition.

"Mage?"

—Finally we have a mage boss, of course we have to study it carefully.

"But for gamers, all this is normal, reasonable, even worthy of praise."

Although Zhang Tu hasn't played many games, after so many days he has been fed a lot of knowledge about fantasy worlds and MMORPGs.

"So excited, which live room is this Ao Li Ge from? I'll go over and send him some money."

"You look at me, I look at you."

"Hey, could you post a specific screenshot related to the question?"

The players didn't want this to sour the atmosphere, so each squad actually sent someone to play rock‑paper‑scissors.

Once it got started, the players present began chatting all at once.

"Maybe the developers made the Kobold Chieftain a mage just to let us see the upcoming version preview."

"So what reward does the Death God give?"

After the kobolds were cleared, the fairly sizable iron mine also fell into the players' hands.

"Yeah, we have no idea what level the mage is, but it can't run away, so let's observe it more."

In fact, this is the first true mage unit they've seen so far that they can actually fight.

"It might just be a demo. Only internal testing will reveal the details."

Human joys and sorrows don't resonate, let alone as a non‑human, the chieftain only finds them noisy.

"Just a mechanic monster; next time it'll be even simpler to fill!"

"To the NPCs in the game, these are incomprehensible, god‑defying actions."

"Looking at its twisted face, it's probably done for."

He could only sigh, lie weakly on the ground, and stare with vacant eyes at the dark rock wall ahead.

Everyone was happy anyway, except…

So it became fully enraged, swallowed a mouthful of blood, began chanting, and unleashed the most powerful fireball of its career.

…

"For example…"

After all, not everyone has the guts to die three or four hundred times over nine days, sacrificing their life for comrades to gain intel and victory.

Originally the MVP reward only included that pair of swords, but Ji Ming, seeing that a death‑seeking player was MVP, added extra rewards on the spot.

One can only say his stance is too detached, sometimes a player, sometimes an NPC, sometimes the developers, and even NPCs can be further subdivided by role and identity.

Boom!

Thus they quickly reached a consensus.

"It can be considered well‑deserved."

"Besides that, there are also 100 experience points and five free attribute points; the developers are really generous."

"Because the boss died abnormally, the MVP will be determined based on the combat contribution ranking of all participating players."

"These humans…"

"Hahaha, that Ao Li Ge is unlucky now, died right on the spot."

"How about we play rock‑paper‑scissors?"

"Woof~"

"The MVP reward is truly generous; with the group bonus they gave eight attribute points, which is decent."

The sea of perception that stored magical energy is now completely empty, and the brain that constructs magic throbs with pain.

When they checked the live stream, the Kobold Chieftain was lying on the ground slacking off, so they quickly started a poll in the public chat.

"What kind of game is this, a mental‑patient simulator?"

"Sorry, I was discussing after‑sales with a buyer and accidentally posted the wrong thread."

"For example, repeatedly saving and loading, pre‑acquiring items, tweaking quest states, trying to use game bugs for speedruns."

"Judgment complete."

Yang Yue listed many examples in one breath.

"I sent you gifts, bro, don't tease everyone."

"?"

"Woof! Woof!"

"Savior, based on my over thirty days on Earth studying high‑dimensional humans, when they think they're players they indeed act in ways that resemble mental illness."

Under such complex conditions, some places where to put one's butt may be hard to gauge.

"Impressive, Death God."

"The other party retracted a message."

"Uh, so who will take this head?"

The official's water‑spouting ability is indeed good; whether players present, players outside, or even the audience in the bullet chat all agree.

However, they were all happily watching the show, and gifts would occasionally float by.

Now the players went berserk.

「Death God？」

「Ice Arrow Skill is strong at piercing armor, Fireball Skill has area damage; later, when you unlock the mage profession and pick skills, you can refer to this. 」

That human still showed no fear, instead proudly displaying their wound to their companions.

He was studying the players' mental states, and the viewers in the live stream naturally were as well.

【For example, in a proper game, they'd pile on as many mods as cow hair, trying to make it slick, even if they had to stay up until the wee hours to resolve the ordering and conflicts.】