25. [Annie’s Revenge] Final Preparations for the Mission
After leaving the Baron’s manor, Su Yu headed toward the Mages’ Guild on the east side of the village. As he walked, he recalled the main storyline regarding the "Saintess of Olan City" from his past life.
This main plot originated from the Golden Finch Empire. The world of *Evolution* was vast; the human realm alone contained three great empires, over a dozen kingdoms, and hundreds of duchies, not to mention the surrounding lands of the elves, orcs, goblins, and pandaren. The Golden Finch Empire was one of the three great human empires. Currently, in this first expansion of *Evolution*, only the Golden Finch Empire and its vassal kingdoms and duchies were accessible, with more regions to be unlocked in future updates.
The "Saintess of Olan City" storyline served as the primary narrative for the entire Golden Finch Empire during this first expansion. It told the tale of a rural girl named Garcia who gained an audience with the Imperial Princess, led the empire’s armies, and ultimately defeated the northern rebels. Almost every player at the time had participated in this major event, though most only completed trivial side quests; the lucky few who actually took part in the main questline were rare indeed.
Su Yu had entered the game too late to catch the earlier expansions and had only skimmed the full details of this event through information compiled by veteran players. He remembered lore enthusiasts noting that the "Saintess of Olan City" questline bore a striking resemblance to the historical deeds of Joan of Arc. Both involved a country girl leading a national army, and both women stood as symbols of their nation's will. Joan of Arc was known as the "Maid of Orléans," and Garcia was eventually titled the "Saintess of Olan City." Beyond that, Su Yu knew little else. However, participating in the "Saintess of Olan City" main quest was undeniably a tremendous stroke of fortune. The rewards upon completion would be unimaginably generous.
...
Inside the Mages’ Guild, Su Yu exchanged his two "Medals of Honor" for two skill scrolls. The first was naturally used for "Blink." As for the second, after much deliberation, he chose "Invisibility." Among all Excellent-quality mage skills, "Invisibility" was the most difficult to obtain, and since Su Yu was not lacking in damage output, he needed this kind of utility spell.
After obtaining the scrolls, Su Yu immediately learned them.
[Blink (Excellent)]: Teleports you 15 meters forward. Movement is blocked by obstacles in the path. Clears all stun and root effects. Instant cast, 15-second cooldown, 20 mana cost.
[Invisibility (Excellent)]: Enter an "Invisible" state after a 3-second cast time, lasting 20 seconds. Attacking or casting spells while invisible will cancel the effect. Instant cast, 5-minute cooldown, 30 mana cost.
With these two spells, Su Yu’s survivability was greatly enhanced; he no longer had to rely solely on "Ice Shield" and dodging. With a wave of his hand, he upgraded both skills to Rare quality.
After the upgrade, the teleportation distance of "Blink" increased to 20 meters, and its cooldown decreased to 12 seconds. The duration of "Invisibility" increased to 30 seconds, and its cooldown was reduced to 4 minutes. Furthermore, these skills could be manifested into reality, where they would truly prove to have infinite utility.
...
After mastering the skills, Su Yu checked the countdown for the "Anne’s Revenge" quest. There were 40 minutes and 29 seconds remaining until the arrival of the "Aurelion Sol" (Star-Forging Dragon King). During these forty minutes, he had to make the best possible preparations for the task.
Su Yu opened a private chat window with Xuehualuo. "Xuehualuo, for the 'Anne’s Revenge' quest, if it were you, what would you do?"
Earlier, while doing quests at the Baron’s manor, the curious Xuehualuo had messaged Su Yu asking about the follow-up to the "Goddess Savi’s Tears" quest. Su Yu hadn’t kept it a secret, telling her about the subsequent tasks and the details regarding "Anne’s Revenge." He was asking her now because she was, after all, a "first-hand witness." By communicating with her, Su Yu could at least rule out one wrong answer.
"Hmm..." Xuehualuo pondered for a long time before replying, "I remember there’s a cliff near the Wolf King Valley on the west side of the village. If it were me, I’d stand on that cliff and jump off two or three seconds before the Star-Forging Dragon King arrives."
"By using gravity to accelerate, my character could reach a very high speed, and perhaps I could use that velocity to dodge the otherwise fatal attack."
"Hmm, that makes sense," Su Yu replied. He hadn’t considered the method of jumping off a cliff. But since it was Xuehualuo’s suggestion, he knew for certain that this method would never work.
"How about it? Are you planning to use my idea?" Xuehualuo asked excitedly.
Su Yu: "No, I have another way."
Xuehualuo: "Then what’s your good idea?"
Su Yu: "If you want to know, come to the village chief’s place in 40 minutes. But you’d better stay far away."
After sending the message, Su Yu closed the chat interface.
...
Su Yu’s plan was simple: stand next to the starter village’s chief. As the most prominent "star" of the starter village, the old chief attracted the most players and had a high density of NPCs around him. Moreover, the chief’s status was unique; by standing near him, the Star-Forging Dragon King would surely restrict its attack range. As long as the dragon’s attack radius was less than 20 meters, Su Yu could use "Blink" to evade it easily and complete the quest.
"Yes, that’s the plan!"
Su Yu reviewed the plan and found no loopholes. Before heading to the chief, however, he needed to purchase some gear to increase his movement speed to further boost his survival rate. He went to the supply depot and bought every piece of speed-enhancing equipment he could find.
Most speed-boosting gear consisted of leather armor:
[Shadowmoon Cloak Lv1 (Excellent)] (Defense 5, Movement Speed +0.4)
[Assassin’s Shoulderguards Lv2 (Excellent)] (Defense +4, Movement Speed +0.2)
[Shadow Boots Lv1 (Excellent)] (Defense +5, Movement Speed +0.5)
...
These were all green items that only boosted movement speed, which most players considered lackluster, but they were perfect for Su Yu. After equipping them, he looked more like an assassin player. His movement speed reached 2.4. A speed of 2.4 meant he could walk 2.4 meters per second, and at a full sprint, he could reach a high speed of 12 meters per second! This was far beyond the limits of an ordinary human.
...
Wearing this gear, Su Yu arrived at the village center and stood next to the chief. There were 29 minutes and 12 seconds left until the arrival of the Star-Forging Dragon King. The chief, a grandfatherly man with a white beard, was smiling as he handed out quests to players. He had no idea that a disaster was about to descend.