The Defias Brotherhood

Li Shaolin felt his mind go blank, as if something had been drained from it. Sensing inward, he saw a blue water sphere in his mind, its water level slightly lowered, with a number beside it reading 54/64. Could this be my mana? Just then, a deep voice echoed from the depths of his consciousness: "The class has been activated. Please retrieve your class item." As the voice faded, a flash of light appeared, and he felt something materialize in his hand. Looking down, it was a thick black book, its cover bearing a grinning red skull. "This terrifying?" He flipped open a page. The first page recorded his basic information. On the second page, a white skull icon glowed, accompanied by a short description: Raise Skeleton—use a monster's corpse to revive a Skeleton Warrior to fight for you. Current skeleton total: 1. Mana cost: 10. "What does this mean? A skill icon?" Without thinking, he tapped the icon. A white light flashed outside, and the Skeleton Warrior vanished, the number changing to 1/1. "So that's how it works!" Li Shaolin realized with sudden clarity. This book seemed to have evolved from the portal spellbook in Diablo, now serving as a space to store and retrieve skeletons. He tapped the skeleton icon again, and sure enough, another white light brought the Skeleton Warrior back into view. Testing the recall, he found that with a mere thought, the book disappeared. "Amazing!" he couldn't help but exclaim.

Just then, a wolf howl rang out. Turning around, he spotted a Forest Wolf staring at the skinned wolf corpse on the ground, its eyes gleaming with menace. It must have been drawn by the scent of blood from the carcass, Li Shaolin thought. Unsure of the skeleton's combat prowess and unwilling to risk a fight, he grinned at the Forest Wolf and said, "Take your time, I won't disturb you. Well, see you around." As he spoke, he slowly backed away. But the wolf showed no gratitude—it howled and lunged at him through the air!

"Holy crap!" Li Shaolin yelled, diving aside just in time. The Skeleton Warrior sprang into action, swinging its Bone Axe with a sharp whoosh aimed at the wolf's head. With a thwack, the wolf couldn't dodge in time and twisted its head, letting the axe graze across its belly. But the wolf was fierce; it turned its head and bit down hard on the skeleton's neck. With a crack, the bony neck snapped, and the skull tumbled off, landing right at Li Shaolin's feet. The soul fire in the skull flickered twice before extinguishing.

Seeing his Skeleton Warrior fall in battle, Li Shaolin scrambled back a few steps, but the Forest Wolf didn't pursue. Glancing back, he saw the wolf's belly had been torn open by the Bone Axe, blood spilling everywhere, its intestines faintly visible. It was too weak to chase him now. Seizing the chance, he ran to a massive Elwynn Ancient Tree, but its trunk was so thick and tall that he failed to climb it several times. The wolf, panting heavily, looked ready to pounce at any moment. Panicking, he made a leap and finally got onto the tree. Settling on a branch, he breathed a sigh of relief, muttering, "Amitabha, Amitabha, Buddha protect me, hope this wolf can't climb trees." Perhaps the Guanyin or Tathagata from Earth answered his prayers, as the wolf never managed to stand, only gasping for air. Li Shaolin's anxious heart eased. The wolf, seemingly exhausted, slowly began to gnaw at the pile of flesh left from his summoning, eating to regain strength.

"You're not leaving?" Li Shaolin grumbled, his eyes scanning around. He spotted another wolf corpse nearby. The two Defias Bandits had killed four Forest Wolves but could only carry two, skinning the others to take back. One had been used for his skeleton summon, now just a heap of flesh being devoured by the pursuing wolf, while the other lay still, flies buzzing around it. An idea struck him. He tried to summon a Skeleton Warrior from that corpse. But due to the cold weather and his position up high, with a green-eyed wolf below, the level 1 summon spell failed several times. The more anxious he grew, the harder it became. Just then, the black book in his mental sea emitted a faint glow. With a thought, the book appeared in his hand, and he tried again. With a pop, the wolf corpse burst, blood and flesh flying, as a Bone Skeleton slowly rose from a crouch, a Bone Axe in its right hand. The nearby wolf, startled, shuffled a few steps, aggravating its wound and letting out a few whimpers.

Overjoyed, Li Shaolin mentally commanded the skeleton to attack. The Skeleton Warrior assumed a combat stance and advanced. The wolf, seeing it approach, arched its back, bared its fangs, and growled, facing off against the skeleton. But as an undead creature, the skeleton knew no fear and didn't understand the wolf's threat. It strode forward quickly, raising its Bone Axe overhead and swinging down!

The wolf, wounded in the belly, moved sluggishly. It bared its teeth, ready to pounce, but the injury slowed it. In that split second, the Skeleton Warrior's axe came down with a thud. Blood sprayed, and the wolf let out a mournful cry before its leaping body crashed to the ground. It twitched twice and went still. Then, Li Shaolin felt a faint, cold energy flow from the wolf. He shivered, and suddenly, a white light rose from his feet, enveloping him! An inexplicable joy surged from deep within, his whole body feeling incredibly refreshed. A sensation from his soul told him: he had leveled up! It turned out that his Diablo character from before the crossover had been close to leveling, and now he'd broken through. The black book in his hand blazed with light. He quickly opened it to find the first page updated:

Name: Li Shaolin Race: Human (Eastern Necromancer) Gender: Male Class: Necromancer Health: 74/74 Mana: 74/74 Level: 3 Skill: Raise Skeleton Level 1 Equipment: Book of the Dead Remaining Skill Points: 1

Damn, both health and mana had increased by 10, and he had an extra skill point. Turning to the second page, the skeleton icon glowed faintly red. He reached out to touch it, and the deep voice spoke again: "Are you sure you want to add one skill point to Raise Skeleton?" "Holy shit, this is amazing?" Li Shaolin cursed inwardly, but nodded unconsciously. Skeletons were great—one could already take on a Forest Wolf. Adding another point, following Diablo 2's logic, would let him have two skeletons. With his confirmation, the red glow on the icon vanished, turning white, and the description changed: Raise Skeleton—use a monster's corpse to revive a Skeleton Warrior to fight for you. Current skeleton total: 2. Mana cost: 10. But it didn't mention damage or health values. Did only he have health? Li Shaolin wondered. Then again, this World of Warcraft he was in wasn't a game anymore. The bandits were real bandits, the wolves had flesh and bone. If everything followed game rules, it'd be chaos—he could chug health and mana potions freely and become invincible.

Shaking off his stray thoughts, he raised a hand and summoned another Skeleton Warrior from the gutted wolf corpse. Good, much safer now. He stored the Book of the Dead back in his mental sea and slowly climbed down the Elwynn Ancient Tree. The sky was darkening, dusk approaching. Fearing the dangers of this forest, he quickly led his two Skeleton Warriors along the lake's edge.

After about an hour, he finally reached the lake's end, where a wide river channeled the waters of Mirror Lake outward. "This map is way too big. How long will it take to reach civilization?" Li Shaolin complained. His stomach growled with hunger. He pulled out the bread he'd taken from the Defias Bandits, but as his hand brushed his pocket, two clear clinks sounded from inside. "Huh? Something's there?" The clothes he'd stolen from the bandit's room were a cloth robe, hastily put on without checking. Opening the pocket, two gold coins gleamed, and a small badge lay at the bottom. "Jackpot. Hehehehe." He grinned foolishly. Even in World of Warcraft, a fresh newbie wouldn't have 2 gold coins until around level 20. Though this wasn't the game, the currency system should be similar. He must have stumbled into a big shot's room. He pulled out the badge and read: Cunning Mogani. What's this, a nickname? He'd played WoW for ages but never heard of this name. Just then, shouts came from ahead.

Li Shaolin quickly dismissed his two Skeleton Warriors, straightened his clothes, and ran toward the voices. Drawing closer, he saw a fishing boat moored there. A young lad and a middle-aged man were packing up. Hearing footsteps, they looked up and saw Li Shaolin. The man greeted him, "Young man, where are you headed? Are you with the Defias Brotherhood?" "Huh, these people aren't afraid of the Defias Brotherhood?" Li Shaolin hesitated. Since the man asked, he had to answer: "No, sir. I'm heading to Goldshire." He figured Goldshire couldn't be far. The man chuckled and said, "Goldshire's still a ways off. You'd have to cross this forest from here. It's getting late. Why not come with us downstream? Once you hit the main road, you can catch a wagon there." Li Shaolin grinned and agreed.

"Sir, are you two father and son?" Li Shaolin asked.

"Yeah, this boy of mine is hopeless. Mr. Mogani occasionally teaches him rogue tricks, but he can't learn them, so he's stuck being an old fisherman with me," the man replied.

Li Shaolin fell silent for a moment. It seemed the Defias didn't have a bad reputation. Curious, he asked, "Sir, what's the deal with the Defias Brotherhood? I'm new here and don't know much."

The man sighed. "Ah, they used to be members of the Stormwind City Stone Masons Union. Because the Stormwind authorities seriously owed them wages, they led the workers in an armed uprising. They've grown big now. I don't know the full details, but they've taken over many mines and caves. Folks like us, ordinary commoners who can't live in town, have to work for them. I lease a fish pond here on Mirror Lake. You're an outsider, young man, so I won't say more. Let's focus on the road. Come, get on the boat."

Li Shaolin was taken aback. From the sound of it, the Defias Brotherhood should be robbing everywhere, making life hell for people. But this man, forced by survival, had to submit to them. There was clearly more to this story!

Under the setting sun, the fishing boat slowly sailed downstream.