Chapter 10
Chapter 10 - First Boss Battle: Hobgoblin General
“Start the stream,” Mei said without hesitation.
Stream Starting in… 3… 2… 1…
Livestream started!
Current Title: First Boss Battle in Impossible Difficulty Tutorial!! (REAL!) (NOT CLICKBAIT!)
Change Title?
“Nah, that title is great!”
Adam blinked, staring at the floating text. “It is…? Are you sure?”
“I’d click,” Mei said with a casual shrug.
Adam opened his mouth to argue, then closed it.
…Yeah, he’d probably click too.
“Where’s the boss?” he asked, scanning the burning remains of the camp. “Is it the Goblin King? Can we even take on a boss right now…?”
“It’s there,” Mei said, pointing toward the camp’s entrance.
Adam followed her finger.
A large figure stepped through the smoke.
It was a goblin, but far bigger than the others. Roughly the size of a human, with a broader frame and thicker limbs. Its presence alone felt heavier, more oppressive.
Two goblins followed close behind, each mounted on a wolf. Unlike the others they had fought, these were properly equipped. Leather armor fitted snugly around their bodies, and polished steel swords gleamed in their hands.
“That’s… a Hobgoblin?” Adam muttered.
He had seen one before in a player’s livestream. They were stronger, faster, and far deadlier than normal goblins. Even a regular Hobgoblin in a Normal difficulty tutorial was a serious threat.
This one?
It was a boss in the Impossible difficulty tutorial.
Adam didn’t like where this was going.
Floating name tags appeared above their heads.
Hobgoblin General (Mini-Boss) - Lv. 21
Elite Wolf Riders - Lv. 15
Adam let out a small breath when he saw the words Mini-Boss.
Not a full boss.
That was… something.
Still, it didn’t make things easy.
“Aww… it’s just a mini-boss,” Mei said, visibly disappointed. “I was hoping for the Goblin King.”
“Let’s focus on surviving this first,” Adam replied. “Then we can talk about fighting a Goblin King.”
“Oka—huh?”
“What?”
“Look! We have a viewer!”
Mei pointed up excitedly.
Another screen had appeared above them.
Viewers: 1
Mei immediately waved both hands toward the sky like she was greeting someone across the street.
“Hi, hi! Welcome to our first stream!” she said brightly. “I’m Mei, and this is Adam! We’re about to beat the snot out of this mini-boss, so watch closely, okay?”
She pointed toward the Hobgoblin General with a confident grin.
A second screen appeared beneath the viewer count.
xYzXyZ: Is this really the Impossible difficulty tutorial…? :Sus:
Mei nodded enthusiastically, almost bouncing in place.
“It really is!”
Viewers: 3
“Oh! More viewers! Hii~!”
SeeCuteGirl-iClick: Cute girl spotted!! :GachiHYPER:
Adam frowned. “How do you ban someone…?”
SeeCuteGirl-iClick: :NOOO:
SeeCuteGirl-iClick: Tell me he isn’t your boyfriend
“Yup! This is my boyfriend, Adam!” Mei said cheerfully.
SeeCuteGirl-iClick: :PlzNo:
ladiesman217: :peepoLeave:
Viewers: 2
“Eh?” Mei tilted her head. “Why’d they leave?”
“Mei,” Adam said, more serious now, “we don’t have time to mess around. They’re here.”
He pointed forward.
The Hobgoblin General and its two wolf riders had crossed the camp and now stood at its center, illuminated by the flickering firelight.
Watching them.
“Oh… okay,” Mei said, her excitement dimming slightly as she glanced back at the dwindling viewer count.
Still, she tightened her grip on her gun.
The fight was about to start.
— — —
“Bro, bro! Check this stream out!”
A male university student leaned over and tapped his desk mate on the shoulder.
The other looked up from his phone, pulling out one of his AirPods. “Huh? What?”
“Just look!”
He shoved his phone in front of him. On the screen, a livestream was already playing.
First Boss Battle in Impossible Difficulty Tutorial!!! (REAL!) (NOT CLICKBAIT!)
The desk mate frowned.
“The hell is this?”
“It’s a livestream.”
“…I see that,” he said slowly. “I mean, why are you showing me this?”
“Bro, it’s Impossible difficulty.”
That made him pause.
“…Wait, seriously?” He leaned in closer. “Someone actually chose that? They just threw their life away. Why would I want to watch something that depressing?”
“It’s not depressing,” the first boy insisted. “Look at the hot girl!”
The second boy squinted at the screen, then leaned in further.
“…Oh. Yeah, okay. She’s pretty.” His eyebrows rose slightly. “Japanese? A gal? Damn. And look at how she moves, she’s definitely trained. Martial arts or something.”
His gaze shifted.
“Her teammate’s a mage?” he added, confused. “What’s up with his build? Aren’t mages supposed to be skinny or overweight? This dude’s built as fuck.”
“Forget that,” the first boy said, nudging him. “Look at her weapon.”
“Huh?” He focused again. “Wait… is that a pistol?”
“Right?! Since when were modern weapons allowed in the tutorial?”
The second boy frowned, thinking. “Hidden class, maybe? If I was on PC, I could check with the extension.”
“What are you two yelling about?”
The pretty girl sitting next to them turned, clearly annoyed.
They waved her off quickly. “Nothing, nothing. Don’t worry about it.”
That only made her more curious.
She stood up and leaned over their shoulders, peeking at the phone screen.
“Is that a tutorial livestream…?”
At first, she didn’t care. But then she noticed the players.
Her eyes widened.
“Eh? Eh?! That girl is so pretty!” she said, her tone instantly changing. “Wow… and the guy too. He’s no joke. What a hottie!”
The two boys exchanged a look and rolled their eyes.
She was known for this. A total stickler for looks. She had rejected every guy who had confessed to her, including both of them.
Still, she had the right to be picky. She was easily the prettiest girl in their university, maybe even across neighboring schools.
But even she had to admit it.
The girl in the stream was on another level.
And the guy?
He looked like a celebrity, only more fit. Honestly, he was even better looking than her favorite K-pop idol.
“Hold on,” she said suddenly.
Before either of them could respond, she turned and hurried back to her desk, pulling out her laptop.
A moment later, she returned and shoved it toward the first boy.
“Here. Pull the stream up for me.”
The boy blinked at the hot pink laptop, momentarily stunned. “…Uh. Could you unlock it?”
“Oh, right. Don’t look at my password.”
Both boys immediately turned their heads away.
She unlocked it quickly, then pulled out her phone and sent the stream link into her group chat.
“Girls, check out this total hottie. God, I could eat him up! [Link]”
She paused, staring at the message.
Then, deciding that wasn’t enough, she copied the link again and shared it in her favorite idol’s fan group.
If they weren’t watching this yet, they were about to be.
— — —
Mei weaved between snapping wolf jaws and flashing steel.
The two Elite Wolf Riders pressed her from both sides, their mounts lunging in tight coordination. Claws tore through the air where she had been a moment before, swords cutting down in quick, practiced arcs.
She moved like she was dancing.
Each step was precise, fluid, almost effortless. She slipped through their attacks with the grace of a world-class performer, her body turning just enough to avoid each strike without wasting motion.
Raising her pistol, she fired at one of the riders.
The glowing purple bullet struck true.
And did almost nothing.
The thick leather armor absorbed the impact like kevlar, the energy dispersing across its surface.
Mei clicked her tongue.
“Of course.”
She immediately switched, channeling a stronger skill. The next bullet glowed brighter, thrumming with power.
She fired.
The wolf beneath the rider reacted instantly.
[Wild Instincts]
Using instincts honed through life in the wilderness, dodge all incoming attacks for 3 seconds.
The mount twisted sharply, leaping aside with unnatural precision. The shot missed completely.
“Guess they’re elites for a reason,” Mei muttered.
“Roots!” Adam called out, trying something new.
Green vines burst from the ground beneath the wolves, snapping upward in a sudden surge. But the timing was off. The mounts were already moving, their instincts carrying them cleanly out of reach.
It didn’t help that Adam barely understood the spell yet.
The vines flailed awkwardly, grasping at empty air before withering back into the soil.
“What do you mean I suck?!”
The words slipped out before he realized it.
Adam had made the mistake of glancing at the chat.
Just a quick look.
Just long enough to see someone calling him trash.
“Eh…?”
He blinked, staring at the flood of messages.
“What?” Mei called, ducking under a sword swing.
“Um… I’m not sure,” Adam said, still distracted. “We suddenly have over a hundred viewers, but… their names are kind of… unique. And they’re saying weird things. Like, what’s an oppa? They keep spamming it.”
“…Huh?”
Mei disengaged briefly, flipping back to create some distance. She spared a quick glance upward.
Viewers: 103
HanWoolOppa#1Fan: I’ve decided, I’m switching. Mage-oppa is my new Oppa!
HottieHunter: OMG so hot! 🤤💦
iLikeHandsomeGuys: Handsome, take your shirt off! 😚
iLikeHandsomeGuys: Please? 🙏
HottieHunter: Take the shirt off! Take the shirt off! Take the shirt off!
OppaOppaOppa: Where is the idiot that said my Oppa sucked?! 🔪
SweetSarah: God, are you bitches in heat or something? @HottieHunter @iLikeHandsomeGuys
“What the f—?”
Mei’s attention slipped for half a second.
That was all it took.
One of the wolf riders lunged, blade flashing toward her side. She twisted away just in time, but the edge still nicked her hand.
A thin line of blood appeared.
Her eye twitched.
Not from the pain.
From the chat.
“Where did all these girls come from?”
Adam gave a helpless shrug.
“You really don’t know what oppa means?”
He shook his head. “Sounds familiar, but I can’t place it.”
OppaOppaOppa: My Oppa is so cute! He doesn’t even know. Don’t worry, I’ll teach you. Oppa means you’re my boyfriend!
HottieHunter: No, no! He’s our boyfriend! We should share. Look at him, there’s more than enough to go around!
“Uh… sorry, but I’m taken,” Adam said.
He glanced at Mei.
Her expression had gone cold.
“And she doesn’t like sharing.”
“Damn right I don’t,” Mei snapped, firing a quick shot to force the riders back. “He’s mine. Only mine. So shoo.”
ILoveAllTheOppas: This is my first time seeing a white guy hotter than my oppas…
SeeCuteGirl-iClick: I left for two seconds. Where did all these K-pop fans come from? :monkaS:
xYzXyZ: …
The chat kept scrolling, barely acknowledging Mei.
She scowled, tightening her grip on her pistol.
“Whatever. We can’t do anything about it. Focus on the fight,” Adam said.
Luckily, the Hobgoblin General still hadn’t moved.
It stood at the back of the camp, watching.
Waiting.
Letting its subordinates handle things.
But that wouldn’t last forever.
GodGamerKyle: Why don’t you cast [Meteor] or something? This mage kinda ass. :peepoNoob:
OppaOppaOppa: (Replying to @GodGamerKyle) shut your ass up ugly nerd! Don’t talk to Oppa like that!
GodGamerKyle: are you really talking to me like that? Mods! Ban this crazy chick!
GodGamerKyle: :ModCheck:
SeeCuteGirl-iClick: :peepoRoit: 
“Hey… xYzXyZ,” Adam said, glancing at the chaos. “You want to be a mod?”
Their first viewer seemed like the only normal one.
xYzXyZ: ???
OppaOppaOppa: mod me Oppa!
HottieHunter: I don’t know what a mod is, but you can do whatever you want to me!
xYzXyZ: yea… mod me
“Make xYzXyZ a channel moderator.”
Viewer xYzXyZ has been made a channel moderator
xYzXyZ: /Mute User:OppaOppaOppa, Time: 120 seconds
(Bot): OppaOppaOppa has been muted for 2 minutes
xYzXyZ: please behave yourselves. And don’t call people names
Adam nodded to himself.
Good choice.
“Adam!” Mei shouted. “Quit messing with the chat and help me!”
He snapped his attention back to the fight.
Mei was being boxed in again. The two wolf riders moved in tandem, their mounts circling as they pressed her from both sides.
Every time she tried to attack, they either triggered their skill to dodge or struck together to disrupt her rhythm.
They weren’t just strong.
They were coordinated.
“Alright…” Adam muttered, gripping his staff tighter as an idea formed. “Let’s try something new.”
He took a breath.
“Reverse shield.”