Because there were simply too many players in Novice Village, Mage's Hut had been set up as an independent plane.
Pushing open the heavy oak door, Su Yu entered and found only the white-bearded old mage inside.
"Shopkeeper, I want to buy magic potions."
Su Yu tapped on the table.
At that moment, the old mage was using a crucible to fiddle with a pot of green liquid.
Hearing Su Yu, he glanced up at him, then turned away and said coldly:
"Go on, get out of here! Is this a place for you? Even my cheapest potion costs at least 5 Psionic Coins. Can you afford that? Newcomers should honestly do quests and clear monsters. Don't bite off more than you can chew!"
The NPCs in Evolution had highly advanced AI, and each possessed an independent personality.
Seeing Su Yu's Novice Robe and staff, the old mage assumed he was broke and had no intention of paying him any attention.
Su Yu smiled.
Rather than arguing, he materialized the Psionic Coins from his backpack.
Clatter! Clatter! Clatter!
Crystal-clear Psionic Coins poured out, covering the entire wooden table.
There had to be several thousand at a glance!
Hearing the sound, the old mage turned around.
The moment he saw the table full of Psionic Coins, his hand mixing the potion froze, and his eyes went wide.
What was going on? Why was this novice mage so rich?
As a level 30 mage who also worked as an alchemist, even he would struggle to casually produce this much money!
His attitude immediately took a complete one-eighty.
"Hehe, little brother, that was all a misunderstanding! What do you need? My stock is the most complete!"
The old mage put on a friendly face and sidled up to Su Yu.
Staring at the Psionic Coins spread across the table, he eagerly rubbed his hands together.
The old mage's sudden change of face reminded Su Yu of an old saying: "Arrogant at first, respectful afterward—thinking of it makes one laugh."
Still, he had no intention of stooping to an NPC's level.
After taking the "exchange list" handed over by the old mage, Su Yu began checking off items.
"300 Minor Mana Potions, 100 Minor Wisdom Potions, 300 Fireball Magic Scrolls, and 100 Ice Arrow Magic Scrolls."
Each backpack stack had a maximum limit of 100.
So Su Yu bought the potions and magic scrolls in stacks of 100, stuffing as many groups as he could into his backpack until it could hold no more.
As for potions that restored health, Su Yu did not buy a single one. The monsters in Novice Village moved clumsily, so Health Potions would be useless and would only take up backpack slots.
Seeing Su Yu purchase so many valuable items at once, the old mage ran back and forth fetching goods with a bowed head and bent waist, completely stripped of his earlier arrogance.
This shopping trip cost Su Yu a total of 30,000 Psionic Coins. Even if all the players in Novice Village pooled their money together, they might not be able to scrape up that much.
Yet he did not even blink. As soon as the transaction was complete, he headed outside.
Seeing Su Yu about to leave, the old mage hurriedly waved to stop him. "Wait a moment, little brother!"
"Something else?" Su Yu turned back.
"Hehe, it's like this." The old mage immediately explained, "I can see that you have exceptional talent, with elements swirling around you. You are a rare magical prodigy—"
"Get to the point."
"Fine. I want to ask whether you would be willing to join the organization I belong to—the Scholar's Sanctuary. The Scholar's Sanctuary is one of the greatest powers on the entire continent! Other mages would fight tooth and nail just to get in!"
The old mage's face was filled with an enthusiastic smile.
After seeing Su Yu casually spend tens of thousands of Psionic Coins in such a short time, he knew Su Yu had to be extremely wealthy!
If he recruited such a rich person into the organization, his superiors would reward him handsomely as well.
"Ding! You have triggered the hidden excellent quest: Join the Scholar's Sanctuary." "Quest requirement: Accept the request of the mage Pism and join the Scholar's Sanctuary." "Quest reward: Scholar's Sanctuary Invitation x1, Experience Points x200."
There were all kinds of large and small organizations across the Forgotten Continent, and players could choose one to join.
Su Yu knew of the Scholar's Sanctuary. Joining it would indeed bring quite a few benefits.
In his previous life, a player had to reach level 20 and complete over thirty rounds of quests before earning the Scholar's Sanctuary's recognition and being allowed to join.
But Su Yu was not satisfied.
The corner of his lips curled up. "Do you think I don't know? The Scholar's Sanctuary is only a third-rate organization on the continent. It is far inferior to first-rate powers like Silver Pine Spire and the Elemental Dome!"
Su Yu did not accept the quest and turned to walk out of the hut.
The old mage Pism was completely stunned. How did this novice mage know about Silver Pine Spire and the Elemental Dome? How could a newcomer possess so much knowledge?
Still, he knew Su Yu would not be easy to fool.
Seeing that Su Yu had already stepped one foot over the threshold, the old mage hurriedly tried to stop him again.
"Wait! I'm not finished! I'm willing to trade you something good that I've treasured for many years!"
"Ding! Quest changed. You have triggered the hidden rare quest: Join the Scholar's Sanctuary (Modified)." "Quest requirement: Submit Silver Snake Gall, a material dropped by the level 5 boss Silver Snake Leader." "Quest reward: Scholar's Sanctuary Invitation x1, Skill Scroll: Chain Lightning (Excellent) x1, Experience Points x500."
Seeing the Chain Lightning Skill Scroll among the rewards, Su Yu paused.
Chain Lightning was an area-of-effect skill, and such skills were extremely scarce during the novice stage.
If he remembered correctly, in his previous life, one had to trigger the hidden quest here with the old mage and complete thirty rounds of high-difficulty quests to obtain the Chain Lightning Skill Scroll.
Now, all he needed to do was hand over Silver Snake Gall?
The old mage also said ingratiatingly:
"You're so rich. You only need to buy a Silver Snake Gall from an adventurer later. This quest shouldn't be difficult for you, right?"
But as he spoke, the old mage began to feel that something was off.
No, wait!
I was clearly inviting him to join the organization, something that would benefit both of us. How had it turned into me begging him?
Su Yu smiled. "Since that's the case, I'll reluctantly agree. Wait for my good news!"
Su Yu accepted the quest and strode out of Magic Hut.
Although the Scholar's Sanctuary was only a third-rate continental organization, it was very enlightened and open-minded. There were no obstacles to leaving after joining, making it a suitable place to settle down in the early stages.
Moreover, obtaining an area-of-effect skill early on would be of immense help to him. Su Yu was very satisfied.
Before you continue