It was morning outside the little wooden house on the north side of the village.
Li Xing had just finished a set of emergency baton techniques and set his wooden stick aside. As he washed up, he recalled the instructor's explanations during the private lessons he had sought out during military training at university.
After spending some time reviewing his memories and meditating, he finished his morning exercise.
Looking at his house, which resembled a sauna, Li Xing felt troubled.
"If anyone saw how I've remodeled this house, they'd think there was something wrong with my head."
As he considered how to remodel it, the idea of rebuilding the house popped into his head.
After walking several circles around the house and observing its surroundings, Li Xing began planning his new day.
After a brief survey of the area,
Li Xing turned his attention to the high ground jutting out nearly seven or eight meters behind the cottage.
He inspected the high ground behind his house, but with the geography knowledge he had all but forgotten, he couldn't determine how it had formed.
To Li Xing, it looked as if it had inexplicably sprung out of the ground. Not only were the surrounding fault lines extremely regular, but even the lowest part was six or seven meters high, like the side by his house. In some places, there were cliffs roughly ten or twenty meters high, with a river of unknown depth below them.
"It's just like something made in a map editor."
After marveling at it, Li Xing looked at the edge of the high ground above the cliff and decided he wanted to take a look up there.
So Li Xing returned to the wooden house. Drawing on the ingenuity of the painters in his residential complex before he crossed over, he used Void Construction to build a wooden scaffold of just the right height.
After securing the scaffold components, he climbed up to the high ground.
Once he reached the top and saw the scenery before him, his guess was confirmed.
The top of the high ground was, as he had imagined, a vast "plain," more or less. There were some raised areas, but they didn't affect the overall flatness of the terrain.
Looking at the undeveloped land before him,
Li Xing began considering the one practical problem: how to transport construction materials.
Holding an iron shovel from the blacksmith's shop, Li Xing studied the high ground in thought.
Then, as if trying to confirm something, Li Xing began digging where he stood.
As soon as the shovel turned over the soil, Li Xing struck the rock hidden beneath it.
"Just as I thought! No wonder only grass grows up here. There's a layer of rock less than twenty centimeters underground. Trees would have a hard time growing here."
After digging away part of the soil above the rock, Li Xing held his tool hammer in one hand and ran the other over the rock.
"Let's hope it's as I thought!"
Activating Void Construction, Li Xing struck the rock in the ground with his tool hammer.
A faint smile appeared on Li Xing's face as he looked at the sight before him.
The spot he had struck changed, just as he had expected. As he continued hammering, a stone stool appeared in the rocky ground.
"Ho ho. It really works!
What should I call this? Void Construction: stone materials? Or Void Gathering?"
Then he repeated the same process, and a standard stone brick appeared on the rocky ground. He continued working, and a smooth square stone slab appeared.
"Holy shit! This class skill is incredible. If I'd had this ability before I crossed over, I could've sold marble flooring."
Just as he excitedly prepared to keep using the skill, he suddenly remembered the inexplicable hunger he had felt after using it before.
"I'd better get the meat soup ready first!"
With that, he left the high ground and began preparing his lunch in front of the wooden house.
Looking at the meat soup that had just started simmering over the campfire,
Li Xing put the lid on, then returned to the high ground to continue building with his skill.
As he skillfully used his ability, the tool hammer in his hand suddenly shattered the moment he brought it down.
The flying iron fragments nearly struck his eyes.
Fortunately, Li Xing reacted in time. He had also been squinting because of the sunlight, so he managed to close his eyes and escape the fate of going blind!
"Hey! Young man, how are you? Can you hear me?"
The moment he fell, a familiar voice came from nearby.
Lying on the grass, Li Xing used his hand to shield his eyes from the direct sunlight.
He studied the indistinct outline of the figure before him.
"I'm fine! I feel all right for now, just a little dazed!"
Li Xing got up, brushed the debris off himself, and took a close look at the visitor.
"It's you! What should I call you?"
The visitor was none other than the unfamiliar man he had met at the blacksmith's shop before!
"Just call me Old Turner! Young man, now I finally know how my big brother's hammer broke!"
"Heh heh! Uncle, you saw everything... Wait! Old Turner? Are you and Uncle Angie Turner...?"
Before he could finish, the visitor interrupted him.
"Angie Turner from the blacksmith's shop in town is my brother! He's my big brother, and I'm his...
Anyway, my big brother asked me to come check on you when I had time and look after you."
Hearing this answer, Li Xing asked another question.
"Uncle Old Turner! Are you a resident of Hunter Town too?"
"Uncle Old Turner? Why does that sound so awkward? Young man, just call me Old Turner."
"I am a resident of Hunter Town, but I don't live in town. Like you, I live outside it, on a hillside northwest of here, not far away. Just follow the main road in front of your house, and my home is past the bridge."
Once he saw that Li Xing understood, Old Turner immediately asked another question.
"Young man, I saw you concentrating so hard up here by yourself. What were you doing with your 'Miracle' just now?"
"Miracle?"
"Yes! Weren't you just using the 'Miracle' you've mastered to work?"
Li Xing seemed to understand something and asked,
"Old Turner, Un... Brother?! You mean the ability I was using just now is a 'Miracle'?"
Old Turner nodded with satisfaction and said firmly,
"That's right! That's right! I was talking about that construction ability of yours.
Around our town, we call this kind of power a 'Miracle'!
I've seen your type of 'Miracle' before, especially in the army. There aren't many people who've mastered construction-type Miracles, but they're still indispensable."
Hearing this, Li Xing seemed to come to a realization.
He asked, "You mean you've seen other kinds of Miracles too, right?"
Old Turner laughed. "I've seen several different Miracles in the army alone. Some were called magic, some were called martial techniques, and others were called talents. Everyone's Miracle is different, but construction-type 'Miracles' like yours are the most indispensable on the battlefield. During campaigns, people who've mastered Miracles like yours are usually used as laborers to provide support behind the battle lines. So the soldiers on the front lines are usually very envious of them."
Isn't this 'Miracle' just a class skill? Li Xing wondered as he recalled the description. Just as Old Turner had said, abilities beyond those of ordinary people would indeed seem as wondrous as miracles to the uneducated.
"Young man, would you like to see the 'Miracle' I've mastered? I only managed to master it after training in the army for a long time!" Old Turner said proudly.
"Then please!"
Hearing that Li Xing wanted to see it,
Old Turner casually took the wooden shield he carried on his back and held it sideways in front of him. Then he said to Li Xing,
"Young man! You can throw a pebble beside you at me. Be careful not to hurt yourself!"
"Understood." With that, he crouched down, picked up a fragment of the hammer that had broken off earlier, and threw it at Old Turner.
The instant the fragment was about to touch the shield, it seemed to be sent flying back by some force, nearly hitting Li Xing.
Is this Shield Counter?
As Li Xing thought this, he saw Old Turner put the wooden shield back on his back.
"What do you think, young man? I spent a long time in the army learning that. Isn't it useful?"
Seeing the approval in Li Xing's eyes, Old Turner smiled and began telling him stories about his time in the army and the grandeur of the royal capital.
Li Xing placed the stone stool he had made earlier in front of Old Turner and motioned for him to sit. Then he plopped down on the grass and listened attentively to Old Turner's story.
Simply put, it was the story of a young man from the countryside who left home to make his way in the world. By a chance encounter, he joined the kingdom's army in the imperial capital, started as an ordinary foot soldier, repeatedly distinguished himself in battle, and eventually became an elite warrior.
But the ending gave no reason. Old Turner only said that he had resigned from his post as captain, left the army, and returned to his hometown to lead a quiet life in the countryside.
From Brother Turner's experiences, Li Xing concluded that the events at the beginning of Warcraft had probably not yet begun. The reigning king was still Llane, and even Anduin Lothar, who lived in the game's official history, was still alive.
Learning this information allowed him to breathe a sigh of relief, easing the tension he had subconsciously felt. "Looks like I don't have to worry about how safe my surroundings are for now!"
After learning where his current world stood,
Li Xing didn't set out to save the world or think about how to prevent the tragedy of war, as other novel protagonists did.
As a transmigrator who had only just solved his housing problem and had no connections or background, he could barely take care of himself. He shouldn't think too much about anything else.
He could only improve his strength while raising his standard of living, ensuring that he could survive on his own when danger came.
Moreover, from what Old Turner had said, his class skills weren't unique. In other words, his ability wasn't a one-of-a-kind golden finger like those in novels.
To establish himself more securely in this world, Li Xing asked Old Turner about learning Shield Counter and other skills, believing that it never hurt to have more skills.
When Old Turner heard that Li Xing wanted to try learning the "Miracles" he had mastered, he generously gave a brief demonstration of every one of them.
As he demonstrated, Old Turner muttered inwardly, I only learned these skills after spending so many years fighting my way through the army. How could anyone learn them just from a simple demonstration of the movements?
Oh well, satisfying a young person's curiosity and helping him understand his own level is also the responsibility of an elder.
And so, under Li Xing's gaze, Old Turner demonstrated every "Miracle" he had mastered.
But to Old Turner's surprise, after he had demonstrated them just once, Li Xing had completely mastered the "Miracles" he possessed!
Looking at the way the young man held his shield and swung his sword,
Old Turner felt as if he had seen an old man at death's door suddenly perform a perfect Thomas flare in front of him, then get up and give him a round of B-boxing!
Watching Li Xing finish repeating the sword and shield movements, Old Turner asked with complicated feelings,
"Young man, are you a young noble traveling the world, or a descendant of some royal family?"
"Oh! Why do you ask, Old Turner?"
"I've only ever seen learning talent like yours in the children of the kingdom's great families.
They master 'Miracles' faster than commoners like us. A 'Miracle' that takes us a year to grasp can be mastered by someone of noble birth in just a month or so! But you mastered them far faster than any of the kingdom's nobles I've seen!"
"Then, Uncle, do all those nobles have that ability?"
"Most do, but quite a few nobles master them at the same speed as commoners like us."
Hearing this, Li Xing seemed to realize something.
Then he could only explain awkwardly, "I'm not what you think. Right now I'm a farmer, just like you. I suppose I must have some trait in common with those people!"
After hearing his explanation, Old Turner didn't ask any further questions. Before leaving, he only mentioned that his child, Little Jerry, would often come over to play and would need Li Xing to look after him. Then he simply left.
Watching Old Turner walk away, Li Xing recalled their conversation.
Nobles mastered Miracles relatively easily, while commoners found them difficult to master.
Yet he had mastered them even faster than some nobles!
Realizing something, Li Xing murmured,
"Ruling out that bullshit about bloodlines, there's probably only one thing those nobles and I have in common. That would probably be education!"
And so, Li Xing discovered the secret to mastering Miracles!