Chapter 74: Players ≈ Cannon Fodder Pocket Monsters
CLANG... CLANG...
With every step Li Miao took, his heavy armor scraped and clanged together.
When he reached the Spirit Candle, he glanced at the other players around him, let his smile fade, and took off his Law Knight’s Helmet.
Then, with a mere thought, his body began to shrink, along with the Law Knight Armor he wore.
[You have chosen to expend Physical Strength to return to your original size]
[Your Power has slightly decreased. Your Constitution has moderately decreased.]
"Holy crap, he can shrink too?"
"No changing sizes wherever you please!"
This process left the fledgling players beside him completely stunned.
Hearing this, Li Miao smiled faintly.
"What’s up? You guys are crowding around me, is there something you want to know? Go on, ask away."
"Look at Brother Miao, putting on an act. I bet he was just grinning from ear to ear a second ago," a player teased.
"Hehe." Li Miao wasn’t embarrassed at all. He just chuckled.
"Hurry up and tell us how you did it! How can you get bigger?"
"Spill it!"
A crowd of players urged him on expectantly.
Li Miao dropped the cool act and began to explain everything to them.
...
Not long after, the Spirit Candle Forum exploded, with players both in and out of the game going wild.
"You can even change your appearance after a special Warfire Fire Ignition!"
"This is how it should be, goddammit! Who says we Small Candles have to be all dry, skinny, and tiny?"
"Bigger is stronger! Stronger is bigger!"
"Don’t be so absolute about it. Didn’t Brother Miao say that big has its advantages, and small has its merits?"
"So, you want the big one or the small one?"
"The big one."
"...All players who are fans of tanky Knights will remember this day! Brothers! Cheer! Let’s hear it!"
"I hereby swear to offer my life and loyalty to the Gulard Law!"
"Weak-ass Mages, not even a dog would play one!"
The Knight players were ecstatic.
Ever since the Wooden Staff was introduced, many players had chosen to invest in Spirit to play as Mages, and it was true that Mages had an objective advantage.
But now... the tables have turned!
A Greatsword in one hand, a Shield in the other, and a full suit of armor—you just can’t be stopped!
Add to that a tall physique, cool Combat Skills, and the high margin for error from a large Blood Volume, and choosing a Knight can be summed up in one word: solid!
Of course, where some rejoiced, others despaired.
"Looking down on Mages? You’re getting way too cocky from one dungeon bonus. I hope you all have the same smug look on your faces when the Spirit Candle drops a Grand Mage boss one day!"
"Yeah, shut it, you Low IQ Knights!"
"The wheel of fortune turns; don’t bully the Mages for being down on their luck!"
The Mage players were indignant, feeling that these Low IQ Knights had gotten a taste of a dungeon bonus and were letting it go to their heads.
...
Watching these players argue so heatedly, Luo Ge shook his head and let out a wry laugh.
’A simple change in body size is enough to get them this excited...’
’What they don’t realize is that while the Candle Spirit Body is convenient, its actual stats are completely inferior to the native life forms of this world.’
’This much is clear just by comparing Li Miao to a Law Knight.’
’Same Level, same Tier.’
’Before he got the special Warfire, a Law Knight could take him down in just three hits. If it used a Skill, it would be two and a half hits at most...’
’But for him to take down a Law Knight, it would be a long, drawn-out grind.’
’Even with the special Warfire and the size change, Li Miao only got a significant boost to his main Attributes, narrowing the gap slightly. He’s still worlds apart from an original Law Knight.’
’A situation like this would be completely unreasonable if it occurred between two members of the same species in a normal world.’
’The reason it happens is, of course, due to how the Spirit Candle shapes the Candle Spirit Body.’
’They can be resurrected, don’t need to eat, consume few resources... fundamentally, they’re designed to be cannon fodder.’
’They can only have five Skill Slots, just like a Pocket Monster...’
’After all, if their Skills could be upgraded without limit, it would be a huge burden on the Spirit Candle. In the late game, the amount of Wax Oil consumed would be astronomical.’
’And they haven’t even discovered this yet, because not a single player has learned five Skills...’
’But that should happen soon. When it does, the players will have a demand for it.’
’And that’s when I’ll make my money.’
’So, all in all, Players ≈ Cannon Fodder Pocket Monsters.’
Of course, Luo Ge wasn’t included in this; he was using a modifier.
The players were completely unaware of this.
Because in their eyes, this was just how games were.
’Hmm... some people’s Weapons are starting to show signs of damage...’
’I should find a chance to build the Sin Furnace.’
’Exile Island can also be anchored, but it seems to be different from Candle Island...’
Luo Ge began to think about what he needed to do next.
...
The powerful Effect of the Law Knight’s Fire Seed naturally sparked a craze among the newbie players, who all rushed to head for Exile Island.
Even before this, after Storyteller’s experience-grinding guide came out, the newbies had already been getting restless.
Now, the appearance of the Law Knight’s Fire Seed made them unwilling to stay on Candle Island for even a second longer.
Of course, Brother Yu was an exception.
"You can’t even fish over there. What’s there to be so excited about..."
Watching the new players head out to sea one after another, Brother Yu couldn’t help but mutter to himself.
He had gathered enough Wax Oil and come right back.
Candle Island might not have anything special, but the fishing was great!
At this stage, the main bait Brother Yu used was still Sand Worm Bait.
The bait from the Near-Sea Cave was useful, but it stank, and its effect wasn’t as good as Sand Worm Bait.
So, the poor Beach Sand Worm King had already been slaughtered by Brother Yu an untold number of times...
...
Meanwhile, the duo of Mushroom and Niuniu had also arrived before the fortress to challenge the Law Knight.
But their strategies were completely different.
Mushroom’s class was Close Combat Mage. Although he had both ranged and close-quarters attack methods, his lack of the Constitution Attribute gave him an extremely low margin for error. A moment of carelessness and he was toast. He had already died quite a few times.
This gave Mushroom a headache, but it also made him consider other ideas, like... applying a debuff to the Law Knight.
It wasn’t that he had planned to do this from the start.
The reason he thought of it was because he had initially wanted to buff himself, but after rummaging through his inventory in the Spirit Candle, he tragically discovered he barely had anything left.
All that was left were some fish he’d caught that applied debuffs.
For example, the [Explosive Blowfish].
[Explosive Blowfish]
[Type: Consumable]
[Effect: Squeeze it, and it will explode upon being thrown, inflicting the "Poisoned" Effect on nearby creatures for a period of time.]
[Explanation: If you insist on eating it yourself, well, we can’t stop you.]
’I hope an old trick like poisoning it still works...’
With that thought, Mushroom began a new round of battle.
And then...
He found out why the Law Knight had never used its [Law Oath] Skill before...
"Holy crap! It can remove debuffs too?"
Mushroom wanted to cry but had no tears left.
The old trick didn’t work, which meant he had no choice but to go back to the painful grind...