On the way back to the village, what Su Yu thought about most was how to complete the Hidden Quest and avoid one attack from the Star Forger Dragon King.
The penalty for failing the quest was no joke: permanent account deletion!
If the quest failed, Su Yu's efforts over the past three days and such a great start would all go up in smoke. He absolutely could not accept that.
"I don't have any idea how to break the deadlock yet, but I can first learn some life-saving skills for the Mage class," Su Yu suddenly thought.
In the early stages, the Mage class had three signature life-saving skills—Invisibility, Blink, and Ice Barrier.
Invisibility was useless against the Star Forger Dragon King, so there was no need to mention it for now.
Of the remaining two, Ice Barrier could not be learned in a Novice Village. He would have to reach the main city and level 20 before receiving the relevant quest.
"Looks like my only choice right now is to do the Hidden Quest for Blink. Mm, that's settled!"
Having made up his mind, Su Yu's steps became much lighter as he hurried toward Nolan Village.
But before doing that quest, he first had to turn in the quest he had already completed.
The Magic Hut at the eastern end of the village.
Su Yu opened his inventory and tossed a fist-sized Silver Snake Gall onto the wooden table before him.
"Pism, I'm here to turn in the quest."
The old mage Pism had his back to Su Yu and was fiddling with something in a crucible.
Hearing Su Yu's voice, he reluctantly turned around. "Could you not wait a little longer before turning in the quest? You interrupted my train of thought. Oh, it's you! How did you get back so quickly?"
When the old mage saw that it was Su Yu, the reluctance on his face quickly turned into ingratiation. "What are you looking to buy this time? I just got a batch of new goods."
"I'm here to turn in the quest." Su Yu interrupted him, lifting the Silver Snake Gall on the table as he spoke.
"This is..." The old mage stared at the Silver Snake Gall, which was twice the size of an ordinary one's, and his eyes widened. "This really is the Silver Snake Leader's gall! How did you do it, little brother?"
Then he looked Su Yu over. "Don't tell me you hired a large number of adventurers and piled up lives to kill the Silver Snake Leader?"
The old mage could not help sighing inwardly. Being rich is great!
"That's none of your concern. Hurry up and give me the Skill Scroll." Su Yu urged him.
"Fine." The old mage had made a fool of himself and looked somewhat embarrassed.
But he quickly took out a Skill Scroll crackling with electric arcs and a beautifully wrapped letter, then handed them to Su Yu.
"Ding! Congratulations on completing the Rare-level Hidden Quest: Join the Scholar's Sanctuary (Modified)! Rewards obtained: Scholar's Sanctuary Invitation x1, Skill Scroll: Chain Lightning (Excellent) x1, Experience Points x500." Scholar's Sanctuary Invitation: With this letter, you may join the faction Scholar's Sanctuary at any Scholar's Sanctuary branch in major cities. Chain Lightning (Excellent): Hurl a Lightning Arrow at an enemy, dealing magic damage equal to 260% Spell Power. It then leaps to nearby enemies, affecting a total of three targets. There is also a 30% chance of inflicting Paralysis on enemies for 1 second. Cooldown: 8 seconds. Cast time: 1.0 seconds. Mana cost: 20.
Su Yu directly learned the Chain Lightning Skill Scroll and upgraded it to Rare quality.
Chain Lightning (Rare): Hurl a Lightning Arrow at an enemy, dealing magic damage equal to 390% Spell Power. It then leaps to nearby enemies, affecting a total of three targets. There is also a 40% chance of inflicting Paralysis on enemies for 1 second. Cooldown: 6 seconds. Cast time: 0.5 seconds. Mana cost: 30.
Chain Lightning could attack four targets at once, making it a very decent area-of-effect skill for the early game.
After learning Chain Lightning, Su Yu's leveling speed improved considerably. At the very least, he no longer had to pick off monsters one by one.
As for the Scholar's Sanctuary Invitation, it could only be used after entering a main city, so it was useless for the time being.
Su Yu put the invitation back into his inventory and turned toward the exit.
The old mage was somewhat reluctant to see him go. "Adventurer, make sure to come often!"
"Sure." Su Yu waved behind him and stepped out of the Magic Hut.
Leaving the Magic Hut, he arrived on the bustling street packed with people.
Su Yu headed toward the western side of the village, preparing to do the Hidden Quest for the Blink Skill Scroll.
But just then, he saw five players walking toward him in a line.
There was a faintly intimidating force in the way the five walked, and nearby players instinctively took detours around them.
Yet when Su Yu saw those five, a cold glint flashed in his eyes.
Because even if the middle-aged Warrior at the front turned to ashes, Su Yu would still recognize him. It was Skycutter Sword!
Not long ago, members of the Skycutter Guild had already spread throughout every corner of Novice Village 6.
On one hand, they were investigating who had been impersonating them to collect village fees.
On the other hand, they were searching for Su Yu—the high-end player who had listed large amounts of valuable equipment and Skill Scrolls, "Kexing."
The Skycutter Guild had strength in numbers. Their investigation into the first matter had already produced some clues, and they had tentatively set their sights on the Emperor Blood God Slayer Guild.
As for the second matter, Skycutter Sword had just received intelligence that Kexing had returned to the village and entered the Magic Hut. He immediately rushed over with his men.
Su Yu narrowed his eyes and examined the five-man group from the Skycutter Guild.
Skycutter Sword, Qing Li, Overlord Tiger, Bumblebee, and Leisurely My Heart.
All five were core members of the Skycutter Guild.
Five traitors!
Su Yu suppressed the urge to one-shot Skycutter Sword with a Lightning Arrow. He remained where he was and waited quietly for the other side to speak.
Skycutter Sword's attitude was quite sincere.
When he was still three meters away from Su Yu, he extended his hand first. "Hello, little brother. I'm Skycutter Sword, president of the Skycutter Guild. You must be Kexing, right? I've come this time to sincerely invite you to join our guild."
Skycutter Sword held out his hand, wanting to shake Su Yu's.
But Su Yu did not extend his hand. Instead, he looked at him coldly. "Oh? Are you worthy?"
Su Yu's words instantly enraged the four players behind Skycutter Sword.
Overlord Tiger and Bumblebee had never agreed with their president's decision to recruit Kexing. They believed Kexing was merely an ordinary player with slightly better luck, and once everyone's levels rose, he would fade into obscurity.
Now that they saw Kexing treating them with such contempt, the two immediately grew furious.
"Hey, brat! Why don't you ask around about what kind of guild Skycutter is before spouting such nonsense?"
"We're inviting you because we think highly of you. Do you really think you're such a big deal?"
Qing Li and Leisurely My Heart said nothing, but their expressions were equally unpleasant. Clearly, they had a very poor impression of Su Yu.
Skycutter Sword was deeply calculating. He showed no displeasure at all and instead said proudly, "As for whether we're worthy or not, I believe we certainly are."
"Our Skycutter Guild is the largest guild in Demon Realm, and we hold more than half the clear records for all high-end dungeons!"
"Now that all of us have moved to Evolution, I believe it won't be long before we become the number one guild in Evolution!"
"So our guild is a perfect fit for high-end players like you. Would you consider joining us?"
Su Yu said nothing, maintaining his disdainful expression.
After Skycutter Sword finished speaking, Su Yu directly cast Chain Lightning, locking onto Overlord Tiger at the far left.
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