Yes, a Dog-Headed Kobold.
Mo Tan could swear he hadn't mistaken it; the Goblin scurrying on its short legs not far away was gleefully dragging a Dog-Headed Kobold towards them, its raised wrench gleaming in the surrounding mist.
Perhaps because he was running a bit too fast, this Goblin, who looked somewhat advanced in age, even stumbled halfway, then immediately got up and continued to trot, pulling the Dog-Headed Kobold by its tail, all under Mo Tan's astonished gaze…
'I don't know why, but I suddenly have a very ominous Premonition!!!'
Cordova, half-lying on the ground in standby mode, sent Mo Tan a message. The latter, combining it with the situation before him, had no choice but to reach a very helpless conclusion…
He seemed to have predicted correctly.
"Lu Wei, sir~" Feimigeer lay lazily on the ground, grinning: "You really don't need to be so anxious. Cordova just ran out of energy; there's no danger."
The Goblin who had just run up to the two rolled his eyes at Feimigeer: "Nonsense, do I need you to tell me if this guy is in danger? I'm just bringing his backup body over and collecting some experimental data along the way."
This Goblin, whom Feimigeer called Lu Wei, sir, looked quite old. His pale green skin was wrinkled, his sparse hair and equally sparse short beard were already white, and his exquisitely made dark blue robe was covered in grease and stains, making him look nothing like a being that could be called 'sir' by an adult dragon.
"So, you're the one those guys mentioned earlier?" The old Goblin looked at Mo Tan, his brows furrowing into many wrinkles, and mumbled in confusion: "A Half-Dragon, physical quality slightly stronger than an untrained commoner, combat power almost zero, looks just so-so, nothing outstanding about him at all. Did you really activate the Revelation Crystal?"
Mo Tan didn't mind the other party's impolite words, just nodded kindly: "It seems so, yes, because at that time, among the people present, only I hadn't touched that crystal. As for why exactly, I…"
"Of course you don't know. Even I can't fathom the slightest mystery of the Revelation Crystal." The other party impatiently shook his head, interrupting him, then pointed at himself with the wrench: "My name is Lu Wei · Feizierban, Chief Designer of Tian Zhu Mountain Rune Body Creations, Cordova's creator. Nothing else to report."
Mo Tan bowed slightly in greeting: "Mo, Half-Dragon, currently barely a knight."
Lu Wei's slightly peculiar personality didn't make him uncomfortable; on the contrary, Mo Tan had a good impression of this messy Chief Designer~
In any era, there will always be a group of people who possess authoritative expertise and achievements in certain fields but are unwilling to waste time on training their social and interpersonal skills. Instead of learning how to appear more presentable, they prefer to dedicate their energy to creating miracles.
These eccentrics may not fare well and may encounter various avoidable difficulties, but history is Justice; it faithfully records the value represented by those names and does not care how undignified they may be.
Mo Tan felt that Lu Wei · Feizierban before him was such a person…
Clearly, Cordova is a miracle. Well, in every way, he's a miracle~
Although this miracle suddenly ran out of power not long ago…
"Knight?" Lu Wei's eyes suddenly lit up, then he nodded at Mo Tan: "I'll show you something good later. For now, I need to deal with Cordova first…"
With that, he dragged the Dog-Headed Kobold directly past Mo Tan, came before Cordova, who was still in an OTZ pose, and began to mumble softly.
Mo Tan turned his head and saw that the Dog-Headed Kobold with a candle on its head, an oil lamp in its mouth, and a pickaxe on its waist was not a living creature. Although at first glance it indeed looked like a genuine Dog-Headed Kobold, upon closer inspection, one could still discern that it was not a true living being.
Under its tightly closed small eyes, a faint blue light shimmered…
The exposed skin beneath the miner's uniform wasn't very natural. Although the dark brown complexion and the wrinkles on it were very realistic, it still gave a faint sense of incongruity, just like Cordova, who was clearly a humanoid creature but could still be recognized as not a normal life form at a glance…
【And there's a subtle seam on its chest, but covering it with a lot of body hair is just too…】
Mo Tan was somewhat speechless. He could almost guess what Lu Wei intended to do, as the latter's previous remark, 'I've prepared a body for you,' had left a deep impression.
The ominous Premonition in Cordova's heart, currently in power-off standby, began to intensify. Although his field of vision was extremely narrow due to maintaining the OTZ pose, he had heard Lu Wei's words crystal clear.
'Brother, please make a judgment based on the current situation. Should I die to prove my point?'
Mo Tan read the message Cordova had just sent and, driven by his conscience, chose silence.
"Tsk tsk, let me see~" Lu Wei mumbled as he circled Cordova, poking him with the wrench in his hand, which glowed with at least a '12+' light effect: "Energy dissipation exceeds expected values by 30%, while the recorded effective utilization rate is somewhat lower than expected. The reason for the abnormally high compatibility has still not been found, and the Rune Body has already suffered wear and tear without a single Rune having been activated…"
Although he was complaining almost non-stop, Lu Wei's expression was exceptionally joyful, with a hint of fanaticism in his eyes. The wrench in his hand almost played 'Flight of the Bumblebee' on Cordova's body~ It was nearly creating Reflections~
Finally, after circling Cordova two or three times, Lu Wei clapped his hands and came to a conclusion: "As expected, it's kidney deficiency!!"
'MMP! Tell him, I said MMP!!!'
Cordova, whose hearing was unaffected but who couldn't protest due to being out of power, began to spam Mo Tan's message bar frantically!
"Hey, you~" Lu Wei glanced at Mo Tan: "The person who should be picking you up probably hasn't finished their meeting yet. Help me out first."
Helping others is a good thing, and Mo Tan naturally had no objections, so he walked over to Lu Wei and asked: "Is there anything I can do?"
【You have triggered a quest: Activate Alpha Dog 014. Quest Reward: Optional 100 EXP, Lu Wei · Feizierban Favorability 1%】
He didn't expect this to be a quest. Although 100 EXP wasn't much, the favorability of this Chief Designer of Tian Zhu Mountain Rune Body Creations would definitely not be worthless.
Of course, even without these quest rewards, Mo Tan would still be very happy to help~
"I need to transfer Cordova's main consciousness to the backup body now." Lu Wei pointed at the Dog-Headed Kobold lying on the ground in a 'wood' shape, explaining: "The backup body is very fragile. If I let Feimigeer help, there's a high chance of damage. And I'll be personally performing the transfer work later, so the task of stabilizing the backup body is up to you."
Doesn't sound too difficult~
"Alright, now, move Alpha Dog over and pose it in the same way Cordova is now." Lu Wei quickly instructed, simultaneously walking to Cordova's side and poking a wrench into a seam near his neck with practiced ease…
Meanwhile, Mo Tan picked up the Dog-Headed Kobold body named 'Alpha Dog' and placed it in front of Cordova, beginning to pose it.
'Hey! What's going on?! What's Alpha Dog?! What does that old scoundrel want to do to me?!' Cordova, unable to struggle, quickly sent Mo Tan a message, asking. Being poked in the neck didn't hurt much, because in the design of this body, there was no 'pain' sensation at all.
Mo Tan, while posing the backup body into an OTZ position, replied somewhat helplessly: 'You should be able to hear Mr. Lu Wei's words, right? As for Alpha Dog… well, he's quite handsome.'
Yes, quite handsome… if compared horizontally within the Dog-Headed Kobold race…
Cordova fell silent, because besides silence, there was nothing else he could do. After all, complaining was one thing, but even if Lu Wei gave him a particularly ugly backup body, he couldn't just not use it.
"No need to be too precise, just roughly similar will do. Bring Alpha Dog closer, align that candle with Cordova's head." Lu Wei instructed Mo Tan, then gently tapped the wrench still inserted in Cordova's neck twice, muttering something.
A thin light screen gradually unfolded before Lu Wei, and Cordova's previously dim eyes lit up once more.
"Rune Body disconnect, release concept lock, reduce synchronization rate." Lu Wei mumbled rapidly at the light screen before him, while tightly gripping the wrench: "Main consciousness detachment preparation, activate self-test Rune, Rune Body lock down."
Five seconds later, Cordova suddenly felt himself in complete darkness. Even his vision and hearing had disappeared, and he couldn't even send messages anymore.
However, a certain someone wasn't particularly alarmed. Firstly, he had basically seen all sorts of major storms, and secondly, he felt that Lu Wei wouldn't let him mess up. That eccentric old Goblin would never risk the only successfully activated 'artificial soul.'
Mo Tan had also finished adjusting 'Alpha Dog''s pose. Under Lu Wei's instruction, the posed Dog-Headed Kobold and Cordova were now in an 'STOOTZ' state.
【Why do I suddenly feel a sense of déjà vu, like a wedding bow…】
Mo Tan shook his head vigorously, feeling that if he continued to imagine, his worldview would surely suffer some kind of tragedy.
"Ready to establish connection." Lu Wei pulled out the wrench, then re-inserted it into the Dog-Headed Kobold's back, grinning: "Activate Rune Body—Alpha Dog, open concept lock, prepare to receive main consciousness."
Mo Tan hesitated, looking at the two STOOTZ-shaped bodies before him…
Turned around, closed his eyes…
Lu Wei was now in a state of intense fanaticism. His gaze darted back and forth between Alpha Dog and Cordova. A few seconds later, a colorful halo lit up from Cordova's brow and gradually began to spread towards the candle on the opposite Dog-Headed Kobold's head…
After a while, Cordova's body suddenly flopped to the ground, and then…
'Poof'~
The candle on the Dog-Headed Kobold's head suddenly ignited!
The next moment, he suddenly opened his bright, sharp, glowing, pea-sized eyes!
Thirty seconds later, a sharp and shrill roar echoed across the Observer Platform…
"MMP! Did you hear that? I said MMP!!!"
…
Cordova — Alpha Dog 014 Mode
Race: Rune Body Creation
Gender: Male
Level: None
Alignment: Good Neutral
Talents:
Don't Take My Candle: When your candle burns out or is taken away, you will die instantly. (Alpha Dog Mode Exclusive)
【Note: We all know that Dog-Headed Kobolds enter a berserk state when their candles are taken away, but when you, as an Alpha Dog, lose your candle, it is equivalent to losing your life】
Protect the Candle: When someone attempts to take the candle from your head, your attack power will increase tenfold for five seconds. (Alpha Dog Mode Exclusive)
【Note: It needs to be emphasized here that your attack power is: extremely weak (i.e., 1)】
Burning: The candle on your head burns constantly. You will die instantly when it burns out.
【Note: External battery】
Chosen One's Pseudo: You are just a Dog-Headed Kobold. (Alpha Dog Mode Exclusive)
【Note: At least for now, your death is irrelevant】
Transcendence: Your attributes are fixed, you cannot level up, you cannot accept regular quests, you cannot use any regular equipment with additional attributes, you cannot learn any skills.
【Note: It's good enough, what more do you want?】
Basic Attributes: Strength 2, Agility 2, Wisdom 2, Constitution 2
Civilization Attributes: Eloquence 1, Charm -233, Knowledge 90, Leadership 1
Combat Attributes:
Hidden Danger of Soul Fusion: Your soul is not fully compatible with your body, therefore, the negative effects of psychic spells on you are increased by 25%
Hidden Danger of Loss: Your power comes from pre-injected energy, and is therefore limited. Be sure to return to Tian Zhu Mountain before your energy runs out!
Soul-Bound Equipment: executor's staff (cannot lift), Worn Pickaxe
…
Cordova looked at the Reflection beneath his feet on the platform and felt very hurt.
Mo Tan chuckled dryly and spread his hands: "This should only be temporary, right?"
Lu Wei held a crystal tablet, constantly recording things on it, occasionally glancing at the candle on Cordova's head.
Feimigeer… had fallen off the platform while laughing maniacally just now and hadn't climbed back up yet.
"Master Lu Wei! What in the world is this?!" Cordova gritted his teeth, pointing at his dog face, his large buck teeth grinding. He looked up at the old Goblin, who was probably shorter than Shuang Ye, his eyes almost popping out.
Lu Wei glanced at him, answering distractedly: "A backup body custom-made for you."
"Custom-made…" The candle on Cordova's head burned fiercely: "A Dog-Headed Kobold?!"
"It's an Alpha Dog." Lu Wei corrected: "If you're not satisfied, I also made a backup. Want to switch?"
Isn't that obvious?!
"Switch!" Cordova immediately shouted: "I'll switch to anything!!"
"It's a female Alpha Dog though~"
"….."
"Still switching?"
"….."
"Cordova?"
"MMP! Did you hear that? I said MMP!!!"
Chapter 74: End
