Triggering the Hidden Quest, the Old Mage's Invitation

Because there were simply too many players in the Novice Village, the mage's hut had been set up as an independent plane.

Pushing open the heavy oak door and stepping inside, the room held only the white-bearded Old Mage.

"Boss, I want to buy some magic potions."

Su Yu knocked on the table.

At that moment, the Old Mage was busy tinkering with a cauldron full of green solution.

Hearing Su Yu's words, he looked up and swept a glance over Su Yu, then turned his head away and said coldly:

"Shoo, shoo! Is this the place for you? Even my cheapest potion costs at least five Psionic Coins—can you afford that? A newcomer should just focus on doing quests and clearing monsters, not reach for the stars!"

In Evolution, NPCs had very high AI and each had their own independent personality.

Seeing the Novice Robe and staff on Su Yu, the Old Mage took him for a poor wretch and decided not to bother with him.

Su Yu smiled.

He didn't bother to refute aloud. Instead, he materialized the Psionic Coins from his backpack.

Clatter, clatter, clatter!

Crystalline Psionic Coins poured out, covering the entire wooden table.

At a glance, there were at least several thousand!

Hearing the sound, the Old Mage turned his head.

Seeing the table full of Psionic Coins, his hands, which had been mixing potions, froze on the spot, and his eyes went wide.

What's going on? Why is this novice mage so rich?

Even as a level 30 mage and part-time alchemist, he could hardly pull out this much money so easily!

So his attitude did a complete 180-degree turn:

"Hehe, little brother, that was all a misunderstanding! What do you need? My goods are the most complete around!"

The Old Mage switched to a fawning demeanor and sidled up to Su Yu.

Staring at the table full of Psionic Coins, he rubbed his hands eagerly.

The Old Mage's "face-changing" reminded Su Yu of an old saying: "First arrogant, then deferential—thinking on it makes one laugh."

But he wouldn't stoop to an NPC's level.

Taking the "exchange list" the Old Mage handed over, Su Yu began checking items on it:

"[Minor Mana Potion] 300 bottles, [Minor Wisdom Potion] 100 bottles, [Fireball] magic scrolls 300 sheets, [Ice Arrow] magic scrolls 100 sheets."

The stacking limit per group in the backpack was 100.

So Su Yu bought the potions and magic scrolls in groups of 100, stuffing them into his backpack until it couldn't hold any more.

As for Health Potions, Su Yu didn't buy a single bottle, because the monsters in the Novice Village moved clumsily—buying health potions would be useless and just take up backpack slots.

Seeing Su Yu buy so many high-value items in one go, the Old Mage bowed and scraped, running back and forth to fetch things, all his earlier arrogance gone.

This shopping trip cost Su Yu a total of 30,000 Psionic Coins—probably more than all the players in the Novice Village combined could scrape together.

But he didn't even blink. As soon as the transaction was done, he headed straight for the door.

Seeing Su Yu about to leave, the Old Mage quickly waved to stop him: "Wait, little brother!"

"Something?" Su Yu turned back.

"Hehe, it's like this." The Old Mage hurriedly explained: "I can see you have an extraordinary bone structure, with elements swirling around you—you're a rare magical prodigy."

"Get to the point."

"Alright. I wanted to ask, would you be willing to join my faction—the 'Scholar's Sanctuary'? The 'Scholar's Sanctuary' is one of the top factions on the entire continent! Other mages would break their heads trying to get in!"

The Old Mage's face beamed with a warm smile.

Seeing Su Yu casually drop tens of thousands of Psionic Coins in such a short time, he knew Su Yu must be incredibly wealthy!

Pulling a rich man like this into the faction would earn him generous rewards from his superiors.

"Ding! Hidden excellent quest [Join the Scholar's Sanctuary] triggered."

"Quest requirements: Agree to the request of Mage Pism and join the faction—Scholar's Sanctuary."

"Quest rewards: [Scholar's Sanctuary Invitation] X1, Experience Points X200."

The Forgotten Continent was home to all kinds of factions, big and small, and players could choose one to join.

Su Yu knew about the "Scholar's Sanctuary" faction—joining it did bring quite a few benefits.

In his previous life, a player had to reach level 20 and complete over 30 quest chains to earn the Scholar's Sanctuary's recognition and join.

But Su Yu wasn't satisfied.

The corner of his mouth curled up: "Do you think I don't know? The Scholar's Sanctuary is just a third-rate faction on the continent—far inferior to top-tier ones like Silver Pine Spire and the Elemental Dome!"

Su Yu didn't accept the quest. He turned and walked out of the hut.

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 such extensive knowledge?

But he also knew Su Yu wasn't easy to fool.

Seeing Su Yu already with one foot out the door, the old mage quickly tried to stop him again:

"Wait! I haven't finished yet! I'm willing to trade you something precious I've hoarded for years!"

"Ding! Quest has been updated. You have triggered a hidden rare quest: [Join the Scholar's Sanctuary (Modified)]."

"Quest requirement: Submit the material [Silver Snake Gall] 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 quest rewards, Su Yu paused.

[Chain Lightning] was an area-of-effect skill, and AoE skills were extremely scarce during the newbie period.

If he remembered correctly, in his previous life, he had to trigger a hidden quest from the old mage and complete 30 rings of high-difficulty tasks to obtain the [Chain Lightning] skill scroll.

Now, he only needed to submit a [Silver Snake Gall]?

The old mage also put on a fawning expression and said:

"You're so wealthy, you can just buy a [Silver Snake Gall] from other adventurers later. This quest shouldn't be too hard for you, right?"

But having said that, the old mage felt something was off.

No!

It was I who invited him to join the faction, which benefits both sides. How did it turn 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 the Magic Hut.

Although the "Scholar's Sanctuary" was only a third-rate power on the continent, it was very open and liberal—there were no obstacles to leaving after joining, making it truly suitable as a foothold in the early stages.

And getting an AoE skill early on would be a huge help to him. Su Yu was very satisfied.