Goat Boss's Drops, [Ice Shield]

Beyond the experience points, the Goat Boss's drops were the real draw.

Su Yu stepped forward and flipped over the Goat Boss's corpse.

As a level 4 boss, and the server's first kill, the Goat Boss's loot was incredibly generous!

[Rock Cleaver Sword (Fine) lv4], [Linen Gloves (Fine) lv4], Skill Scroll [Lethal Strike (Fine)], Skill Scroll [Ice Shield (Common)], [Hill Sheep Leader's Horn (Fine)] x1.

"Another skill scroll dropped! And it's [Lethal Strike], a top-tier skill for the Warrior class!" Su Yu's eyes lit up.

[Lethal Strike (Fine)]: Use your weapon to savagely strike a target in front of you, dealing 170% Attack Power as physical damage. The lower the target's health, the higher the damage dealt, up to a maximum of 340% Attack Power as physical damage.

Cooldown: 3 seconds. Rage Cost: 10.

Learning Level: lv1

[Lethal Strike] was an incredibly useful skill for Warriors in the early game, especially a god-tier skill for killing field bosses and dungeon bosses!

At this stage, if a solo Warrior learned [Lethal Strike], they'd be snatched up by one of the top five major guilds in the country and groomed as a key talent.

But unfortunately, [Lethal Strike] could only be learned by the Warrior class, so Su Yu couldn't use it at all.

He could only toss the skill scroll into his backpack.

He'd just sell it when he returned to town! Even though he wasn't short on money, selling it was the most time-efficient and effortless option.

Besides the [Lethal Strike] skill scroll, the Goat Boss had generously contributed another skill scroll.

[Ice Shield (Common)]: Use the power of frost to form a shield around yourself, absorbing 200% Spell Power as damage. While Ice Shield is active, if you are hit by a melee attack, the attacking melee unit's attack speed and movement speed are reduced by 20% for 5 seconds.

Instant Cast, Duration: 60 seconds, Cooldown: 60 seconds, Mana Cost: 10.

Learning Level: lv1

[Ice Shield] was the signature skill for solo leveling Frost Mages in the early game.

[Ice Shield] could tank 2-3 melee hits from monsters while also slowing down melee monsters, making kiting easier.

In Su Yu's previous life, when a Mage alt entered the game for the first time, they'd always scrounge up enough Psionic Coins to go to the Novice Village's Warehouse (functioning like an Auction House) to buy the [Ice Shield] and [Frostbolt] skill scrolls before they could level up solo.

Su Yu had been a Mage player in his previous life, so he was very familiar with this skill.

Without much thought, he clicked to use it directly and spent 1100 Psionic Coins to upgrade [Ice Shield] to Blue Rare quality.

[Ice Shield (Rare)]: Use the power of frost to form a shield around yourself, absorbing 400% Spell Power as damage. While Ice Shield is active, if you are hit by a melee attack, the attacking melee unit's attack speed and movement speed are reduced by 40% for 5 seconds.

Instant Cast, Duration: 60 seconds, Cooldown: 60 seconds, Mana Cost: 30.

After learning the new skill, Su Yu raised a single hand and cast [Ice Shield].

Frost mana coalesced around him, eventually forming an eggshell-like shield of transparent ice crystals.

Looking at the familiar eggshell-shaped shield, Su Yu couldn't help but feel a twinge of emotion:

"Sigh... I finally have some means of self-preservation. But [Ice Shield] costs a whopping 30 mana. I'll definitely need to get some equipment that boosts my mana pool!"

Su Yu's current Maximum Mana was 140 points, and a [Minor Mana Potion] could restore 100 mana.

During the leveling and boss fight earlier, Su Yu had been chugging potions nonstop, downing one every time his mana ran out.

But drinking too many mana potions left a bitter taste in his mouth.

It would be best to get one or two pieces of equipment that increased Maximum Mana, so he wouldn't have to chug potions so often.

"I remember there's a Hidden Quest in the Novice Village that rewards a Fine-quality trinket. That trinket gives a huge boost to Maximum Mana, which would be perfect for me right now," Su Yu thought.

He checked his backpack. It was now stuffed with various odds and ends of equipment and materials, and he only had 37 [Minor Mana Potions] left.

"Forget it, I'll head back to town to restock and do that trinket quest before coming back to level up."

Su Yu made his decision, left the monster area, and headed toward the Novice Village.

A few minutes later, Su Yu returned to Nolan Village, the Novice Village.

Nolan Village was as lively as ever, with countless players coming and going.

Some were busy leveling, others were sightseeing, treating the game like a "travel simulator."

The moment Su Yu reached the village entrance, the surrounding players saw the level above his head and a wave of exclamations erupted:

"Oh my god! Level 3! There's a level 3 big shot in our Novice Village!"

"Honey, come quick, look at this god!"

"Big shot, how did you level up so fast? Got any tips?"

"Big shot, are you a solo player? Want to join our guild? We're the 'Emperor Blood God Slayer' guild."

Soon, Su Yu was surrounded by a crowd of players, all staring at him with envy and jealousy.

Su Yu was used to this kind of scene; in his previous life, he was often surrounded by crowds too.

But back then, the crowds were mostly beautiful women. Now, he was surrounded by a bunch of burly men, which made him extremely uncomfortable.

Left with no choice, Su Yu hid his name and level, then said to the crowd:

"Don't envy me, everyone. I just got lucky and picked up a Hidden Quest that gives a ton of Experience Points."

"Just be patient and explore the game, and you'll eventually get a quest like this too."

With that, Su Yu turned and squeezed out through the sparsest part of the crowd.

Hearing Su Yu say this, the surrounding players believed it to be true.

Seeing Su Yu leave, they didn't press the matter further and instead discussed with friends about finding hidden quests.

But four or five players stubbornly clung on, chasing after Su Yu and shouting loudly:

"This big shot, where did you pick up your hidden quest?"

"Big shot, are you interested in joining our guild?"

"Leveling is so hard, big shot, can you take me along? There are perks~"

The last line came from a decent-looking girl.

But Su Yu didn't spare them a glance as he sped into the streets of the Novice Village.

Su Yu's shoes were enhanced, so his Movement Speed was naturally faster than other players.

Leading these players on two laps around the Novice Village, he successfully shook off those "pursuers."

"Sigh! Looks like I can't show my level from now on, or I'll draw a crowd wherever I go—that would be too troublesome."

Su Yu sighed inwardly and headed toward the Novice Village's Warehouse.

He planned to auction off the drops from the two bosses.