With godlike talent from the start, how did he become invincible?

Chapter 42 Intermediate Mage Instructor - Xiao Yan

Lin Tian also saw the other party's name clearly: [Intermediate Mage Instructor - Xiao Yan].

Sitting up straight, Xiao Yan appeared even more imposing. He had a angular, weathered face with short, stiff stubble on his chin, but his eyes were sharp as an eagle's, lacking any of the frailty or scholarly air of an ordinary mage. He casually stretched his thick neck, his gaze landing on Lin Tian with a tangible intensity, filled with scrutiny and a hint of…surprise?

"Hmm?" Xiao Yan let out a low nasal sound, his voice deep and powerful, like muffled thunder. "It's only been a short time since the server opened, and there's already a little brat who's reached level 10 and crawled out of that poor backwater village?" He looked Lin Tian up and down.

"Ha! Kid, not bad!" Xiao Yan suddenly stood up, his movements exuding a fierce aura.

He took two steps and stood in front of Lin Tian. His large, fan-like hand slammed down on Lin Tian's shoulder with a loud "smack," the force of which made Lin Tian sway slightly.

"Not bad! Not bad at all!" Xiao Yan grinned, revealing a set of white teeth that created a strangely endearing contrast with his rugged appearance. "Excellent! You haven't disgraced our mage profession! I thought the first ones to arrive would be those barbarians who only know how to swing greatswords!"

His booming voice echoed in the empty room, making Lin Tian's eardrums itch. This muscular mage instructor was quite different from the wise, composed, and elegant old scholar in flowing robes that Lin Tian had imagined.

"Haha, I was just lucky!" Lin Tian said, rubbing his still numb shoulder while trying to force a smile.

"Luck?" Xiao Yan raised a thick eyebrow, his large, copper-bell-shaped eyes widening. "Kid, don't try to be modest with me! To be the first to roll into this level three main city by stepping on everyone else's heads, all that luck? You're kidding me!"

He stretched out his large, fan-like hand again, but this time he didn't pat Lin Tian's shoulder; instead, he opened it in front of Lin Tian. A flash of light appeared in his palm, and a peculiar token, about the size of a palm, made of neither gold nor jade, with a deep, dark blue luster flowing across its surface, appeared out of thin air.

The certificate is engraved with mysterious and complex magical runes. At the core of the runes, an abstract mark made of starlight slowly rotates, emanating a mysterious and powerful aura.

"I find you pleasing to the eye, and you're certainly qualified." Xiao Yan handed over the certificate, his tone carrying an undeniable air of authority. "Here you go! The hidden class change certificate for [Starry Sky Mystic Envoy]! This thing was originally reserved for the first mage brat to step into the Hall of Classes in Sunset City. Now, it's yours!"

Lin Tian's heart skipped a beat. Suppressing his excitement, he reached out and carefully accepted the warm, luminous token imbued with the power of the stars. The moment his fingertips touched it, a subtle current seemed to surge through him, and a vast and mysterious fragment of information flooded his mind. Though blurry, it created a strange resonance between his soul and his [Star Resonance] talent.

[Item Obtained: Starry Sky Mystic Enchanter Job Change Certificate (Unique)]

"So there's a hidden perk for being the first to arrive in the main city!" Lin Tian suddenly realized. Then, his thoughts turned to the job change certificate lying quietly in his backpack. "With this, that makes two hidden job change certificates...!" He couldn't help but mutter to himself, his voice so soft that only he could hear it.

"Then, mentor," Lin Tian carefully put away the precious certificate, looked up at Xiao Yan with anticipation in his eyes, "are there any new skills I can learn now? Or can I improve on what I already have?"

"A new skill?" Xiao Yan waved his hand dismissively and said, "Dream on! You'll have to wait until you're level 15 or 20 to learn anything new."

He paused, looked at Lin Tian, ​​and explained, "As for changing jobs, you're currently a mage apprentice. After reaching level 10 and completing the basic assessment here, you can be promoted to a full mage, receiving a significant boost to your attributes and unlocking some unique class traits. However…"

Xiao Yan glanced at the job change certificate in Lin Tian's hand, chuckled, and said, "You're carrying the [Starry Sky Mystic Envoy] certificate, why do you care about my basic job change? Just go and complete the test for that certificate. If you succeed, the effect will be a hundred times stronger than a normal job change!!"

"Understood, mentor." Lin Tian nodded, then his eyes darted around, and he pressed on, unwilling to give up, "Then... do you have any tasks you can assign me? I've just arrived in the main city, I need to find something to do."

"A mission?" Xiao Yan stroked the stubble on his chin, his eyes becoming somewhat playful, as if he were weighing something. "A mission... there is one."

He leaned forward slightly, his tone becoming serious: "I happen to have a mission: 'Cleanse the Abyss! The seal north of Luoxia City has somehow developed a gap, and a lot of filthy things from the abyss have escaped."

[Ding! Accept the quest [Cleanse the Abyss]? Quest Requirements: Clear all abyssal monsters that have escaped from the gap in the abyss north of Sunset City within 48 hours. Quest Failure Penalty: Experience gain -50% and item drop rate -50% for the next 168 hours.]

A clear quest prompt appeared before Lin Tian's eyes. The penalty for failure—half the experience and half the loot—would last for a whole week! For ordinary players, this would be an absolutely devastating blow, meaning a sharp drop in leveling speed, difficulty in acquiring equipment, and falling behind at any step.

However, Lin Tian's eyes lit up instantly! Punishment? That's for others! What was his core need? A massive amount of "improvement points"! The effect of his talent [Improvement] was simple and brutal—killing monsters guaranteed improvement points! The "large number of abyssal monsters" in the quest description were, in his eyes, a glittering goldmine of "improvement points" waiting to be harvested! Experience penalty? He was already level 10, considered top-tier in the newbie continent; not leveling up in the short term wouldn't have a significant impact. Drop penalty? With his talent, every kill guaranteed improvement points; equipment drops were just icing on the cake!

"Risks manageable, rewards enormous!" Lin Tian's mind raced, and he made a decision in an instant. He raised his head, his eyes resolute, and answered without hesitation, "Okay! I'll take this mission!"

"You've got guts!" Xiao Yan seemed quite satisfied with Lin Tian's decisiveness, nodding approvingly. "However, because the mission has a tight deadline and the punishment is so severe it could make someone vomit blood, so..." A sly smile appeared on his face, "I'll give you the mission reward first!"

"What? You're giving me a reward in advance?" Lin Tian was taken aback.

"Yes! Consider this an advance on your 'activity funds'," Xiao Yan explained. "If the mission fails, I'll personally take this thing back. If it succeeds, then it'll be yours forever! And..." he emphasized, "this thing is the key to your mission! Without it, you'll just be easy prey for those abyssal monsters!"