Because there were too many fledgling players in the village, the Magician's Cabin had been set up as a separate plane.
Pushing open the heavy oak door and stepping inside, only an aged magician with a beard as white as snow could be seen.
"Boss, I want to buy magic potions."
Su Yu rapped his fingers on the table.
At this point, the old magician was busy preparing a pot of green solution in a crucible.
Hearing Su Yu's words, he glanced up at him, then turned his head away, saying coldly:
"Get out of here! Is this a place you should be? My most basic potion costs at least five spiritual energy coins, can you afford it? Newbies should stick to their tasks, clearing out monsters, and not aim too high!"
The NPCs in "Evolution" all have very advanced AI and have their distinctive personalities.
The old magician saw Su Yu's novice mage cloak and wand, assumed he was a pauper, and have no intention to serve him.
Su Yu smiled.
He did not argue but began to materialize the spiritual energy coins from his backpack.
A ton of them suddenly cascaded out!
The translucent spiritual energy coins poured out, covering the entire wooden table. At a glance, there had to be several thousand just there!
The old magician turned his head on hearing the noise.
Seeing a table full of spiritual energy coins, his hand which was brewing potions froze, his eyes bugging out.
What was happening? Why was this novice mage so rich?
Being a 30th-level mage and a part-time alchemist, even he found it hard to produce so much money effortlessly!
Thus, his attitude made a swift 180-degree turn:
"Heh heh, young brother, it was just a misunderstanding! What do you need? My stock is very well-rounded!"
The old magician put on a friendly face and sidled up to Su Yu.
Looking at the table full of spiritual energy coins, he rubbed his hands eagerly.
The magician's 'flip-flop' made Su Yu think of an old saying: 'Arrogant at first but respectful later, the thought of it is laughable.'
But he wasn't going to argue with an NPC.
After taking the "Exchange List" handed by the old magician, Su Yu began to check them off:
"[Beginners' Mana Potion] 300 bottles, [Beginners' Wisdom Potion] 100 bottles, [Fireball] magic scrolls 300 copies, [Ice Arrow] magic scroll 100 copies..."
Each stack in the backpack has a limit of 100.
So Su Yu bought many sets of potions and magic scrolls he needed, each set containing 100 items and stuffed them into his bag until it was filled.
As for recovery potions, Su Yu didn't buy any because the monsters in the newbie village were clumsy, and he wouldn't require any recovery potions, instead, they would occupy his backpack's slots.
...
Seeing Su Yu purchasing so many high-value items at a time, the old magician rushed around fetching things, his initial arrogance gone.
The entire shopping spree cost Su Yu 30,000 spiritual energy coins, which probably exceeded the sum of all the newbies in the village combined.
However, he didn't even blink an eye, and once the transaction was completed, he walked away.
Seeing Su Yu leaving, the old magician hurriedly waved his hand to keep him back, "Wait a moment, young brother!"
"What is it?" Su Yu turned around.
"Heh heh, it's like this," the old mage explained right away, "I see that you have an extraordinary bone structure and are surrounded by elemental energy, which makes you a rare magical genius..."
"Get to the point."
"Alright...I want to ask, would you be interested in joining the force I am part of – 'Scholar's Temple'? 'Scholar's Temple' is among the top forces in this entire continent! Plenty of mages are scrambling to enter but couldn't!"
The old magician's face was beaming with enthusiasm.
Seeing how Su Yu can splurge several ten thousand spiritual energy coins in such a short time, he knew Su Yu must be bloody rich!
Pulling such a wealthy man into the force would earn him substantial rewards from his superiors.
"Ding! You have triggered the hidden excellent quest [Join Scholar's Temple]."
"Quest criteria: Accept the magician Prism's invitation and join the force – Scholar's Temple."
"Quest rewards: [Scholar's Temple Invitation]X1, Experience PointsX200."
On the forgotten continent, there were a variety of forces, both big and small, and the players could choose to join any one of them.
Su Yu knew about "Scholar's Temple", and indeed, the benefits of joining it were immense.
In his past life, a player had to reach a level of 20 and complete more than 30 rounds of quests to earn the recognition of Scholar's Temple which allows him to join.
But Su Yu was not satisfied.
He smirked: "You think I don't know? Scholar's Temple is only considered a third-rate power in the mainland, it's far inferior to first-rate powers like Silver Pine Spire and Elemental Dome!"
Su Yu didn't accept the quest and turned toward the exit.
The old magician Prism was utterly stunned. How did this newbie sorcerer know about Silver Pine Spire and Elemental Dome? How could a newbie have so much knowledge?
However, he knew Su Yu was not easy to trick.
Seeing Su Yu's foot was already at the doorstep, the old magician hurriedly kept him back again:
"Wait! I haven't finished yet! I'm willing to come up with something precious I've kept for many years in exchange!"
"Ding! The quest has changed. You have triggered the hidden rare quest: [Join Scholar's Temple (Revised)]."
"Quest criteria: Hand in material [Silver Snake Gall] dropped by a Level 5 Boss [Silver Snake Leader]."
"Quest rewards: [Scholar's Temple Invitation] X1, Skill Scroll [Flash Chain (Superior)] x1, Experience Points X500."
When Su Yu saw the [Flash Chain] skill scroll in the quest reward, he was taken aback.
[Flash Chain] is an area damage skill, which was scarce in the early game.
If he remembered correctly, in his past life, he needed to trigger a hidden quest at the old magician's and complete 30 rounds of high difficulty quests to obtain the [Flash Chain] skill scroll.
Now, he only needed to hand in a [Silver Snake Gall]?
...
Looking delighted, the old magician chimed in,
"You're so rich so getting a [Silver Snake Gall] from an adventurer should be easy, shouldn't it be not difficult for you, right?"
But when he put it that way, the old magician realized something wasn't right.
No!
It was clearly me inviting him to join the force, which was beneficial to all of us, why did it seem like I was begging him now?
Su Yu smirked: "Well, I guess I won't find it hard to accept then, wait for my good news!"
Su Yu accepted the quest and walked away from the Magician's Cottage.
Although 'Scholar's Temple' was only a third-rated power in the continent, it was very open-minded and there were no obstacles to leave. It was indeed a good place to stay in the early stage.
Having an area effect skill in the early stages was a great benefit to him, so Su Yu was quite satisfied.