In the Castellan Ruins, the battle had reached its final closing stage.
The kobolds were crying out in total breakdown. Some even threw down their weapons on the spot, falling to their knees with a thud, raising both paws high in surrender to the players.
Seeing this, the players froze in unison.
“Holy shit?! These mobs can actually surrender?!”
“Pfft... This kobold's bow is more proper than when I pray to Confucius before an exam.”
“Look at its eyes, it's about to cry—wait, is it actually crying? Tears are coming out?!”
“Hiss... Holy crap, the AI emotions are way too advanced... If I didn't know this was a game, I'd almost feel bad.”
“Feel bad? Well, if you don't want this kobold, I'll take it!”
“Cough, cough... Just kidding! How could I feel bad? EXP is far too important.”
The surrendering kobolds: “...”
They stared at the grinning humans in sheer terror, their minds going completely blank.
The kobolds' surrender didn't earn them any mercy; in fact, some players were downright dissatisfied.
If you stop fighting, what am I supposed to do? Get up and keep fighting!
And so, under the terrified gazes of the kobolds, the players grinned maliciously and jested among themselves as they turned them into fat, juicy chunks of EXP.
As for the gear the kobolds dropped on the ground, they simply snatched it right up.
Just convenient, really.
Through this day of questing and fighting, the players also discovered something: monsters in this game didn't respawn.
Consequently, the players went completely wild. Eyes red with excitement, they scattered everywhere to scramble for the last few remaining kobolds in the corners of the ruins, terrified that being a step late meant missing out on EXP.
Crisp system chimes continually sounded in the players' ears, notifying them of EXP earned from killing kobolds.
As for the kobolds that managed to flee, West would appear instantly and swiftly dispatch them, ensuring not a single survivor was left behind.
Finally, the system chime for completing the main quest sounded:
【Ding—】
【Completed Main Quest: Our Home】
【EXP +1000】
【Merit Points +500】
【Obtained Limited-Edition Exclusive Title: Kobold Slaughterer】
“Holy crap?! A limited-edition exclusive title!”
“'Kobold Slaughterer'? That sounds pretty badass!”
“I have a title now too!”
Once the title rewards were distributed, several players immediately equipped them:
“Hahaha! It's actually a gold title!”
“We hit the jackpot this time!”
...
Time slipped by quietly.
The sun over Starfall Forest had completely sunk below the horizon, the sky transitioning from orange-red to deep blue as scattered starlight began to twinkle across the night canvas.
The main quest was successfully finished, and the players came away with heavy pockets.
A whole day of monster grinding, slaying the hidden boss, and summoning the Goddess to defeat a world boss added up to a mountain of quest rewards and EXP.
Furthermore, players not only earned EXP from ordinary kobolds, but occasionally received extra Merit Points, and even dropped a few Resurrection Coins from time to time.
Thus, despite fighting all day long, most players remained highly excited and full of energy, showing not a trace of exhaustion.
However, compared to grinding mobs for EXP, what excited them most and filled them with anticipation was the upcoming level up and class change!
At this moment, inside the Temple of Light.
The hall was already packed to the brim with players eager to change their classes.
Rowdy chatter, shouts, cheers, and complaints blended together, echoing throughout the entire temple.
Saintess Lilith stood off to the side trying her best to maintain order, reminding the God-Chosen Ones to keep quiet, though virtually no player was listening to her.
Facing this, Lilith felt somewhat helpless.
“God-Chosen Ones, the Temple of Light is a sacred place for prayer and offerings to Her Grace the Goddess. Please remain quiet and refrain from shouting.”
The players agreed in record time:
“Sure thing, Miss Lilith!”
“No problem, Saintess cutie!”
Yet the very next second, they were back to arguing heatedly with those beside them: “What class are you choosing? I'm definitely going Mage! Just imagine how cool it'll be when I'm high level and wipe out an entire horde of mobs with an AoE spell!”
“Get outta here! Knights are a man's true romance!”
Lilith: “...”
She let out a soft sigh, ultimately choosing to compromise.
Oh well, let them be, as long as the God-Chosen Ones don't do anything disrespectful toward Her Grace the Goddess's statue.
“Miss Lilith.”
Just then, a familiar voice sounded in Lilith's ear.
Turning her head, she saw Nan Cheng and Bruce entering the temple.
“Nan Cheng?”
She nodded slightly, giving a gentle, subtle smile.
“Have you completed the quest Her Grace assigned to you?”
“Yes, Miss Lilith. We didn't fail our mission; every last kobold has been purged.”
Nan Cheng bowed slightly, his attitude respectful and dignified, his demeanor calm and composed.
Seeing this, Bruce immediately felt unresigned.
Taking a step forward, he puffed out his chest and leaned his face toward Lilith, speaking with proud excitement—looking for all the world like a Husky:
“Saintess cutie! What about me? I contributed massively too! I picked up and personally handed over the quest item! I finished the quest as well! Quick, compliment me!”
Having said that, he stared intently with eyes full of high expectation, waiting for praise.
“Oh.”
Lilith glanced at him, speaking in a flat tone.
Bruce: “...”
His face instantly froze, and his shoulders slumped completely.
“J-Just... just an 'Oh'?!”
“Mm.”
“...Saintess cutie, you're biased! That was totally not how you treated Brother Cheng just now!”
“What attitude?”
Bruce: “...”
Suppressing a laugh, Nan Cheng patted Bruce on the shoulder.
The brief episode between them passed quickly.
Before long, more than half of the players in the temple had completed their class changes.
Extremely thrilled and excited, the players who had successfully changed classes stretched their limbs as they headed out of the temple, eager to test out their new skills.
At the same time, many players enthusiastically discussed things like “Merit Points,” “equipment,” and “skills.”
Soon, the previously crowded temple became much sparser.
The actions of the other players naturally fell into Nan Cheng's sight.
His expression was somewhat excited, but he quickly took a deep breath to calm his nerves. Then, he walked directly up to the goddess statue, dropped to one knee as instructed by the class change tutorial, and read aloud word by word while looking at the guide:
“Praise Light, praise Life, praise the great Ruler of Angels, Lord of Humanity—Her Grace Iluvia Devilitafil.”
The moment the words left his mouth, a translucent golden panel popped up before him, accompanied by a crisp system chime:
【Ding—】
【You have met the requirements for a class change】
【Begin class change?】
【Yes / No】
“Yes.”
Nan Cheng tapped confirm without hesitation.
【Initiating class change ceremony】
【Detected Primary Path: Freelancer】
【Please select your main class】
【Knight】
【Mage】
【Priest】
【Assassin】
【Ranger】
“Hiss... All five of these classes sound pretty great.”
Nan Cheng immediately found himself indecisive.
“Knight should be Strength-oriented, Assassin and Ranger belong to Agility, while Mage and Priest are Intelligence?”
Which one to choose?
However, he didn't dwell on it for long. After pondering for a moment, he made up his mind.
“Hmm... For my main class, I'll go with Mage, even though I actually wanted to pick Knight more.”
Nan Cheng recalled the recent experience of all the players teaming up to raid the boss. His individual damage output wasn't high; instead, he spent most of his time standing in the back row analyzing the battlefield, organizing personnel, and basically directing the entire fight.
In a sense, he was already acting like a tactical commander.
If he continued along this path, choosing Knight as a commander's main class was clearly ill-suited. As a ranged damage-dealer, a Mage offered a far broader field of view, allowing him to monitor battlefield dynamics at any time and maintain better strategic perspective.
Furthermore, the boss battle made Nan Cheng realize that team battle commands like this would likely become increasingly frequent in the future. Fighting solo was certainly exhilarating, but uniting all the players into a cohesive force held far greater power.
Therefore, considering all factors, Mage was the most suitable choice for his main class.
As for changing to Knight...
Though he had to admit, Knights were definitely cooler.
Heavy armor, longswords, shields, charging on horseback—what guy hadn't dreamed of that?
“Looks like I'll have to wait until level 40 to consider that.”
Nan Cheng whispered to himself.
No longer hesitating, he confirmed directly:
“Class change: Mage.”
【You have successfully chosen your primary class path: Mage】
【Class change will cost 5,000 EXP】
【Confirm class change?】
“Yes.”
5,000 EXP was instantly deducted from his system panel.
Immediately after, a gentle, sacred light poured down from the statue, enveloping him completely.
The light felt warm and soft, as if he were being gently wrapped inside a down duvet.
Nan Cheng could feel it clearly—
His strength was rising.
His body was growing lighter.
Some barrier inside his body was pushed open, like a long-locked door finally swinging wide to reveal an endless expanse beyond.
He clenched his fist.
If he were to face his past self right now... he felt like he could take on a hundred of them.
No exaggeration, he really could beat a hundred.
【Ding—】
【Class change successful】
Rate on N.U.
