13. [Tears of the Goddess], Main Quest!
Anne never expected Su Yu to deal such high damage; in just two rounds of spells, he had already taken away 40% of her companion’s health!
She hurriedly activated her second skill—Lava Shield.
A thick flame element enveloped both her and the giant bear Tibbers, forming a thick magical fire shield around them. Moreover, with the Lava Shield, Tibbers’ movement speed increased significantly, making him an even greater threat to Su Yu.
...
The magic shield was sturdy, and the speedy giant bear was more intimidating, yet Su Yu remained calm and composed.
He unleashed two more spells in rapid succession, a storm of thunder and fire. The magical shield on Tibbers shattered completely.
Then, with a graceful side flip, Su Yu evaded Tibbers’ bear paw swipe, his hand glowing again with magical energy.
Despite Tibbers’ best efforts, he couldn’t reach the infuriating human before him.
Anne’s fireballs also always just missed Su Yu by a hair’s breadth.
Under Su Yu’s relentless assault, the bear’s health quickly drained, and it collapsed to the ground with a thunderous crash.
Such a formidable boss was effortlessly defeated by Su Yu!
...
In truth, the hidden quest was not meant to proceed this way.
Tibbers’ stats were no different from any other level 6 ordinary boss. Together with little Anne’s spell harassment, an 8th-level boss should not be more difficult than Anne and Tibbers combined!
Ordinary players simply wouldn’t have the ability to defeat this duo.
Normally, the quest would require the player to lure Tibbers into a cave behind, using the lethal traps inside to wear him down, all while ensuring their own survival.
This final stage tested wisdom and luck.
But Su Yu didn’t choose to enter the cave; instead, he outright killed Tibbers outside.
Among all players, only Su Yu would have the confidence to do so!
As Tibbers fell, the entire 20-stage hidden quest was fully completed!
“Ding! Congratulations on completing the Excellent Hidden Quest ‘Tear of the Goddess Savi’! Reward granted: 1000 XP, 1 ‘Tear of the Goddess (Excellent)’.”
At the same moment, Tibbers’ swollen belly split open, dropping a crystalline, translucent teardrop-shaped item.
It was the Tear of the Goddess!
Yet Su Yu did not rush to pick it up.
He smiled gently at little Anne. “Anne, have you had enough fun? Want uncle to take you home for a meal?”
Su Yu didn’t attack Anne because she had entered an Immunity state at the start of the battle, rendering her immune to both physical and magical damage.
Little Anne’s face turned ashen with anger.
With Tibbers defeated, she lost the ability to continue casting spells against Su Yu.
---
“Hmph! We’ll see about that! Sooner or later, I’ll trap you in these thorns just like Tibbers!” Anne glared fiercely at Su Yu, then turned and strode out of the forest.
“Tsk, tsk, I don’t think you’ll get that chance!” Su Yu mused, stroking his chin.
He raised his hand, activating a Fireball scroll that incinerated the bushes on the ground completely.
With the underbrush burned away, how could she possibly trap anyone?
Anne, watching from afar, nearly stumbled.
But she said nothing else and left the forest without looking back.
...
Meanwhile, Su Yu picked up the Tear of the Goddess.
Tear of the Goddess (Excellent)
Accessory
+100 Maximum Mana
Special: Each time you cast a skill, the Tear of the Goddess gains an additional 3 maximum mana, stacking up to 360 points.
Note: A crystallization of the Tear of Goddess Savi, it hints somewhat at misfortune and doom. Reaching the maximum additional mana unlocks the upgrade quest for the Tear of the Goddess.
Su Yu instinctively used Star Touch to upgrade the Tear of the Goddess to Rare quality.
Tear of the Goddess (Rare)
Accessory
+150 Maximum Mana
Special: Each time you cast a skill, the Tear of the Goddess gains an additional 3 maximum mana, stacking up to 450 points.
No equipment level restriction.
At full stacks, the Rare Tear of the Goddess can increase mana by a full 600 points!
Considering Su Yu’s current mana pool is just 140, equipping it would multiply his mana several times over!
But this wasn’t the most important part.
Su Yu stared blankly at the upgrade quest note attached to the Tear of the Goddess.
“An upgrade quest?! This is actually an item with an upgrade quest!”
A subtle flicker of emotion crossed Su Yu’s normally impassive face.
Even with his second life’s memories, he found it hard to believe.
From past experience, he knew that equipment bearing an “upgrade quest” label signified something monumental.
Such gear meant—main storyline quests! The central narrative thread of the entire Evolution game world!
...
Evolution’s main storyline quests have many branches, each offering rich rewards.
Epic or even legendary-level equipment, skills, and mounts only appear through main quests.
In short, players who complete main storyline quests in their previous lives invariably become powerhouses—no exceptions!
Su Yu had only ever heard of “main quests” and “upgradable gear” before, never actually encountered them.
He hadn’t expected to come across one so early in this new life.
A surge of excitement stirred within him.
However, Su Yu warned himself silently: “Don’t be careless! Main quests are no easy feat! Players who failed the Tear of the Goddess quest last time were permanently banned—probably punishment for failing the main quest. I must be cautious!”
He forced himself to calm down.
After steadying his mind, he headed toward the novice village.
No matter what, he would first stack the Tear of the Goddess to full before anything else.
...
...
As Su Yu returned to the novice village, at the entrance to Wolf King Valley west of the village:
“Hey! Mister, I heard you heard the song of Goddess Savi the other day?”
Snowfall called out excitedly to the red-bearded woodcutter before her.
She had just accepted a hidden quest.
Within just 10 stages, she and her father had reached level 2, much faster than grinding monsters!
The hidden quest rewards were generous, granting each of them a green-quality weapon. She eagerly anticipated the next part of the quest.
But the woodcutter dashed her hopes coldly.
“Sorry, young lady. My daughter Anne’s wish has already been fulfilled by another adventurer. You won’t be needed.”
At the same time, Snowfall and her companion Snowcream received failure notifications for their quest.
Snowfall was stunned. “Who? Who stole our hidden quest?”
Having your halfway completed hidden quest usurped felt like a fishbone stuck in one’s throat—deeply irritating.
Snowcream’s eyes flickered as she stepped forward, asking kindly, “Brother, could you tell us which adventurer fulfilled Anne’s wish? We are good friends of Anne and really want to know.”
“I can’t say,” the woodcutter replied without looking back, hoisting his firewood and walking toward the village.
Unfazed, Snowcream calmly took a piece of wild boar meat from her backpack, smiled broadly, and caught up to him.
“Brother, brother, it must be tough chopping wood in the mountains every day! Here, have this wild boar meat. Take it back and make some soup to nourish yourself and Anne!”