29. It is time to guide the players onto the right path.
The turmoil on the forum continued to ferment.
Before long, Skycleaver personally posted under his own ID, accusing the Empire Blood guild of summoning the Dragon King boss and causing the crisis in the newbie village.
“Empire Blood must be held accountable for the deaths of over a thousand players!” Skycleaver declared.
At the same time, he presented key evidence from a few hours earlier, showing Empire Blood players impersonating them to collect an “entry fee” from new players.
Naturally, Empire Blood denied the accusations and engaged in a fierce war of words with Skycleaver’s faction on the official forum.
As a wealthy second-generation heir, Empire Blood’s Skycleaver was well-versed in traditional tactics like buying internet trolls and controlling fishing wheels.
Under the influence of in-game currency, a large number of paid trolls swarmed the official forum.
Even though Skycleaver’s evidence was solid, the trolls mercilessly bombarded him with abuse, and the post’s comment section filled with jeers.
The entire official forum descended into chaos and filth.
...
Watching the chaotic forum, Su Yu frowned and closed the page.
After this bitter exchange, the reputation of the Skycleaver guild would surely suffer significant damage. Coupled with the repeated setbacks in the game, their progress would no longer be as smooth as in his previous life.
Yet Su Yu’s vision extended further.
His ultimate goal in suppressing the Skycleaver guild was to confront the Skrulls.
Although he had succeeded in curbing Skycleaver’s influence, many negative side effects had emerged during the process.
For instance, hundreds of bystanders in the town square had been caught in the crossfire, and the official forum had drawn massive attention—many players abandoned leveling to engage in forum bickering.
He needed to devise a way to swiftly redirect players’ focus back to “improving strength and rapid leveling,” rather than wasting time on online quarrels.
What should he do?
Su Yu pondered deeply.
After about five minutes of thought, a spark of inspiration flashed in his mind.
“I’ve got it!”
“I remember that upon clearing a level 5 dungeon for the first time, the system grants a server-wide announcement!”
Perhaps a server-wide announcement could guide players back onto the right path!
...
With that resolve, Su Yu no longer hesitated.
He activated his Ice Shield and strode purposefully toward where the village chief had fallen.
Fifteen minutes had passed since the Starforging Dragon King departed, and the residual breath in the square had dissipated entirely.
Yet, these remnants were still formidable.
---
Treading on ground still corroded by the dragon’s breath, Su Yu’s head occasionally registered minor damage numbers of “-5” or “-8.”
However, his Ice Shield, with 208 shield points, fully absorbed these hits.
Reaching the village chief’s side, Su Yu saw Aemon lying on the ground, breathing heavily, with patches of blue-tinged substance eating away at his skin.
Su Yu was powerless to heal him—he was no priest, lacked healing spells, and didn’t even carry a single health potion.
Still, he crouched down, concern etched on his face. “Chief Aemon, do you need me to call the village healer?”
“No need. I can endure it.” The chief struggled to sit up.
Su Yu quickly reached out to help him.
Once upright, Aemon looked up at Su Yu. “Adventurer, if I’m not mistaken, you’re the one who provoked the Starforging Dragon King, aren’t you?”
His gaze seemed to pierce through everything.
“Yes, that’s right. But it all started with Annie...” Su Yu did not hide anything, recounting in detail the latter half of the “Tears of the Goddess Savi” questline.
Chief Aemon listened intently.
When Su Yu finished, he sighed deeply. “Ah, Annie was adopted by Sam at my behest. I always knew she was exceptional, but I never imagined it would escalate this far...”
“Here’s what we’ll do: adventurer, you must convey this matter to Princess Elyse of the Empire. Let her decide our next course of action.”
“But the princess isn’t someone mere commoners like us can meet easily. To see her, you’ll need to obtain certain credentials—proof of strength, such as the ‘Howling Moon Wolf King’s Head’...” Aemon rambled on.
Meanwhile, Su Yu’s quest log updated.
“Ding! Congratulations, you have triggered the main storyline quest: ‘The Glory of the Genista Empire’!”
“[The Glory of the Genista Empire (1/100)]”
“Quest Requirements: Reach level 10 and participate in the slaying of the level 10 boss ‘Howling Moon Wolf Leader’ to obtain the quest item ‘Howling Moon Wolf King’s Head’.”
“Quest Rewards: ‘The Village’s Finest Horse (Mount)’ x1, ‘The Village’s Finest Sword (Consumable)’ x1, 2000 experience points.”
...
In Evolution, players could ride mounts upon reaching level 10. It was a pleasant surprise that the first chapter of the main storyline rewarded a mount!
As for the Starforging Dragon King Aurelius Sol that had just flown by, if a player were strong enough, they could force it into becoming their mount—though no one had ever managed that.
“Don’t worry, Chief. I will hunt down the Howling Moon Wolf as soon as possible!” Su Yu pledged.
“Good luck, adventurer! May the princess’s radiance be with you!” The chief nodded before going off to tend to other players.
...
After bidding farewell to the chief, Su Yu headed toward the area where the level 8 monster “Woodland Gray Bear” dwelled.
[Woodland Gray Bear lv8]
HP: 120
Su Yu had only one goal now—to quickly reach level 5.
He had gained experience by killing over a hundred level 5 Silver Snakes, earning 510 experience points, soloed the Silver Snake boss for 50 experience, completed the “Tina’s Struggle” quest for 2250 experience, and “Annie’s Revenge” for 1000 experience.
Reaching level 5 required 4000 experience points; his experience bar was only 190 points shy of filling.
“Level 5, here I come!” Su Yu thought, unleashing a Lightning Arrow at the gray bear.
-101
Pale blue magical damage flashed above the bear’s head.
The bear was not instantly slain.
The Woodland Gray Bear had high defense and was four levels above Su Yu, so level suppression meant his Lightning Arrow dealt only half damage.
The bear roared and charged at Su Yu.
But Su Yu was prepared; with a wave of his hand, he tossed out a Fireball scroll.
-33
The bear’s health depleted, and it whimpered as it collapsed.
“Ding! You have slain [Woodland Gray Bear lv8], gaining 8 experience points and [Bear Paw] x1.”
Su Yu roughly calculated that each bear gave 8 experience points, meaning he only needed to kill 23 more bears to level up.
With that thought, Su Yu unleashed no mercy.
Lightning Arrows flew forth.
Fireballs ignited from scrolls.
One bear after another fell at his feet.
Piece by piece, experience accumulated and filled his bar.
Finally, after slaying 23 bears, a golden light flashed—Su Yu reached level 5!