"First, you need to learn to stay calm, Med'an."
Khadgar was annoyed. He gripped his staff tightly, feeling that Med'an was a child who needed to be taught everything. The misty Island was bad enough; did he also have to teach a child how to muster the courage to go on an adventure?
"Haha, it's just a skeleton, I'm making a fuss over nothing."
Med'an felt embarrassed, his face flushed, and he kicked the skull.
Unexpectedly, the skeleton came to life, its pale bony claws grabbing Med'an's leg, its eyes emitting a terrifying red light, causing Med'an to scream in terror.
"You are cursed, you all must die." The skull opened and closed, emitting a terrifying voice.
A scout approached, shattered the skull with an axe, and helped Med'an, whose legs were trembling, to his feet.
Khadgar looked around at everyone, secretly troubled.
Covered in mist, with only a small area illuminated by Khadgar's staff visible, the Orcs Veterans looked grim in this seemingly isolated place, their hearts pounding with fear, and their gait was somewhat awkward.
This is the difference between soldiers and adventurers. Soldiers who have fought for years are not afraid of death and do not care about lying in a pile of dead bodies, but they lack adventure experience and will inevitably feel panic when faced with ghosts, curses and the like.
Some experienced adventurers say these are just simple tricks, nothing new to them. They know how to avoid risks and understand that risk and opportunity go hand in hand.
"Keep going!"
Courage is something that can be developed through experience, and adventure experience needs to be accumulated little by little. Khadgar couldn't make these Orcs Veterans grow up quickly, so he could only lead them forward with gritted teeth.
Khadgar was very meticulous, drawing maps as he went. Even with the fog covering the map, his map was still drawn perfectly, demonstrating the basic skills of an Archmage, which made Med'an very envious.
The southern part of the island is all shallow water and rocks, with little vegetation, only some moss. There are no signs of animals, and occasionally some Undead Murloc are easily eliminated, but no other dangers are encountered.
The north is a rugged mountainous region, with steep and treacherous ridges that are difficult to traverse, making it no easy feat to climb.
A canyon leads to the mountains to the north, but is blocked by a boulder more than ten meters high.
A Demons's head is painted on the boulder, with large, bloody words below it.
"Go back! Don't let him out! He's the gatekeeper of hell!"
Gazing at the black boulder, the terrifying Demons head, and the blood-stained words, Med'an felt a chill run down his spine. He forced a smile and said, "Brother Khadgar, it's just a rock. Do you think it can stop us? We are mages. Let me fly up and investigate."
"Fool!" Khadgar roared.
Med'an was baffled, not knowing what he had done wrong.
"Remember, we are humans, not birds. Although flying magic isn't difficult, the sky is our forbidden zone, especially with the fog covering it. In unfamiliar airspace, a Gargoyle could easily tear you apart." Khadgar warned Medivh earnestly, these were lessons learned from bloody experience.
On the ground, with Med'an's strength, he could easily eliminate a hundred Gargoyles.
But once he was in mid-air, in that unsuitable place, especially in this foggy weather, the agile Gargoyles would become his nightmare, and Med'an felt a wave of fear wash over him.
"Find a stable magical node, open Portal, and solve the supply problem first," Khadgar said calmly, always acting with caution.
Meanwhile, Robbie and Kel'Thuzad were hiding in a cave in the north, watching the group's progress.
Khadgar is the strongest member of this team and also the biggest variable; the first thing to do is to weaken his strength.
"Will Khadgar fall for it?" Robbie asked.
Kel'Thuzad was very confident. He smiled and said, "Khadgar is cautious and always seeks to avoid mistakes rather than achieve merit. We sent him to Karazhan because of this, and it is also his weakness."
For ordinary adventurers, they would send a mage to fly to the top of the boulder, lower a rope, and then the group would climb over the boulder to continue their adventure.
But Khadgar wouldn't do that. There were only two mages in the team, him and Med'an, and neither could afford to be lost. Who knew what dangers lurked in the mist? After all, there were Undead here, and a flock of skeletal eagles would be enough to cause a lot of trouble.
Moreover, with this huge rock blocking the road, it's like cutting off our retreat. If we encounter a powerful and irresistible enemy, wouldn't we be trapped like turtles in a jar, unable to escape?
After careful calculation, several magical nodes were quickly located.
Khadgar and Med'an attempted to open the Portal multiple times, but all attempts failed, clearly indicating interference.
"What on earth is going on?" Med'an was somewhat discouraged, feeling that everything was going too wrong.
Khadgar was also puzzled. Was it human interference, or some powerful entity interfering with the magic nodes, or perhaps there was a natural magnetic field within the Island? Khadgar couldn't determine the real reason.
"Med'an, I'll give you two choices. First, we can abandon this adventure, sail back immediately, and come back when we're ready. Second, I can use my magic to shatter that boulder, but that will temporarily weaken me. I'll be able to protect myself, but I won't be able to help. The battle after that will depend on you. Now you need to make a decision."
Med'an panicked; this was beyond his judgment. After hesitating for a long time, he finally said, "The Booty Bay map says there's a powerful and Evil being on this island. Can I handle it?"
Khadgar coldly replied, "If you are no match for him, you will have no other choice. You are the son of Medivh, the future Savior. Apart from those powerful Old Gods and Titan Keepers, you have few rivals. The Evil on this island is at most as powerful as Cho'gall. As long as you overcome your weakness in the knees, defeating him will not be a problem."
Cho'gall, the Ogre Mage, Gul'dan's apprentice, and founder of the Evil cult Twilight's Hammer, once caused the young Med'an much trouble, but ultimately became Med'an's defeated foe.
Upon hearing that the Evil being was inferior to Cho'gall, Med'an's confidence immediately soared. He was no longer the naive young man he once was, and with his Legendary Guardian Set, his strength was now vastly different from what it used to be.
"If that's the case, I choose the second one," Med'an said confidently.
Before that giant rock, Khadgar bent down and carefully drew Magic Circle.
When they launched their surprise attack on the Dark Portal, just as everyone was about to be overwhelmed by Blackhand's offensive, Khadgar combined the three elements of ice, fire, and arcane, breaking through the dam, extinguishing Blackhand's forge, and halting their army.
That hasty attack left Khadgar weakened for many days, but this time, with thorough preparation and the support of the Magic Circle, he was able to preserve more of his strength.
Khadgar was always very thorough in his considerations. He didn't fully trust Med'an and had to hold back. He had already secretly decided that even if Med'an died before his eyes after breaking this boulder, he would absolutely not intervene.
Purple Arcane energy, red Flames, and blue Frost —the three elemental energies converged, one of Khadgar's most prized spells. With a deafening roar, the boulder shattered.
Khadgar knelt on the ground, appearing extremely weak, and said to Med'an, "The rest is up to you."
Suddenly, the rattling of chains echoed through the mist, like a soul-reaping messenger.
"They came so fast!" Khadgar exclaimed in surprise.