Portal of Time and Space

The first rays of sunlight appeared in the east over Westfall.

A fifteen- or sixteen-year-old boy half-reclined in a wicker chair, enjoying the breeze from Elwynn Forest, which carried the faint fragrance of flowers and grass.

The boy had a pair of bright, sparkling light-blue eyes. His ears were sharper than most people's, his skin was fairer, and he had a head of beautiful blond hair.

There were no cars driving back and forth, no neon lights, no gray bricks or red tiles, and no tall concrete walls. There were only low houses, open farms, wild or docile elements, and dense yet difficult-to-sense Arcane Energy.

This was no longer Earth, but Azeroth.

From the first day he had arrived in this world, Shawn had worked hard to adapt to life here and to learn about the world from the people around him. Combined with the fifteen years of memories he had inherited from this body, that had given him a preliminary understanding of his situation.

This was Westfall, a desolate region under the rule of the human kingdom of Stormwind City. Murlocs along the coast often raided the area, scattered bands of Gnolls exuded a rotten stench, and the Defias bandits had occupied Moonbrook in the south. All of Westfall was in chaos.

Sentinel Hill in the center, along with a handful of farms, was the last safe haven in Westfall. Saldean Farm was one of them.

The owners of the farm, Old Saldean and his wife, had become generous after their son had died an untimely death. They took in large numbers of homeless elderly people, women, and children... as well as unruly drifters. The original owner of Shawn's body was one of the orphans Old Saldean had adopted.

A few days ago, a wandering Dwarf had brought the latest news: the Gnome city of Gnomeregan had fallen to the Betrayer. The resulting chain reaction had caused radiation to leak out, making the city uninhabitable. About 80% of the Gnomes had died in the disaster, while the remaining Gnome refugees had fled to Ironforge, home of the Bronzebeard Dwarves, under the leadership of the High Tinker, Gelbin Mekkatorque.

Only then had Shawn learned that it was already the twenty-fourth year after the opening of the Dark Portal!

As far as Shawn was concerned, the Lich King, Deathwing, and the Old Gods were all too distant to matter. They were nothing a commoner in his second life needed to worry about. And at least for the next two years, nothing major would happen in Stormwind City, apart from that King Varian. And that had nothing to do with Shawn.

What really concerned Shawn was Westfall.

The Murlocs, Gnolls, and Defias bandits in Westfall loomed over the area like three great mountains. Life at Saldean Farm was far from peaceful. Relying on Old Saldean and his wife, along with a group of homeless people, to protect the farm was completely unrealistic.

"So if I want to live a happy life, I'll have to rely on myself!"

Shawn sighed and closed his eyes.

A speck of starlight appeared in his mind. Then, following Shawn's will, it slowly grew until it became a stretch of wasteland.

It was a place about the same size as Saldean Farm, but it had no farmhouses or fields, only rubble and dry mud.

This was the perk Shawn had received after transmigrating into this world.

At the same time, a phantom control panel appeared in his mind.

At the very top of the control panel was an unchanging line of large, blood-red text. It was also the ultimate quest that came with this transmigrator's perk: Upgrade the Space Garrison into the Garrison of God.

Who knew what a "Garrison of God" was!

All Shawn knew was that this stretch of wasteland he had obtained was called the Space Garrison. It was a space independent of the planet Azeroth. Although it had nothing in it yet, with enough Garrison Resources, he could build all kinds of wondrous structures. As he added buildings and increased his level, the garrison would level up.

And Shawn was the supreme commander of the Space Garrison.

It was currently a level 0 garrison, with the next target being a level 1 garrison.

The only building a level 0 garrison could construct was the Town Hall. Only after he built a level 1 Town Hall could he construct other buildings.

But when Shawn saw the resources required to build a level 1 Town Hall, he immediately felt like cursing.

The Town Hall was the core building of the Space Garrison, where the garrison commander issued orders. It was also essential for upgrading the Space Garrison. A level 1 Town Hall required 100 units of lumber, 100 units of stone, and 100 units of leather.

Those three simple resources gave Shawn a headache.

Garrison Resources could be exchanged for goods from the real world.

A tree large enough for one person to wrap their arms around was worth 1 unit of lumber.

One cubic meter of good-quality rock was worth 1 unit of stone.

The hide from an entire adult goat was worth 1 unit of leather.

To gather enough resources for a level 1 Town Hall, Shawn would have to tear down Saldean Farm!

That wasn't all.

Converting real-world goods into Garrison Resources consumed mental energy.

Based on Shawn's experiments, converting just 5 units of Garrison Resources would leave him in a coma. He would then have to sleep for at least eight hours before waking up.

That meant that even if Shawn could tear down Saldean Farm and go without food or water, it would still take him at least a week to convert enough Garrison Resources!

But going without food or water was out of the question.

As a member of Saldean Farm, Shawn couldn't freeload. He had to work, too. Out of every twenty-four-hour day, he had to labor for at least eight hours. He could plant crops, patrol the area, or fight off enemies...

By the end of the day, Shawn barely had any time left!

Even if Shawn really tore down Saldean Farm, it would probably still take him at least a month to build a level 1 Town Hall.

Fortunately, heaven didn't shortchange transmigrators.

In a corner of the desolate Space Garrison stood a phantom portal.

This was a Legendary Building: the Portal of Time and Space.

By investing the appropriate Garrison Resources, he could set up a one-time Portal of Time and Space that would transport Shawn to a special time-space, much like an instance.

This was another transmigrator perk. At the moment Shawn had arrived in this world, the Space Garrison had offered him a choice of three Legendary Buildings.

He could only choose one of the three.

Whichever one he chose would come with a corresponding curse. That was the price Shawn had to pay to obtain a Legendary Building early. Under normal circumstances, he would have to upgrade the Space Garrison several times before he could build one.

The Five-Colored Dragon Nest could nurture dragons, dragon beasts, and dragonkin. Its accompanying curse was "Dragon's Wrath," which would cause every dragon in Azeroth to see Shawn as an enemy.

The Titan Laboratory could research and create Titan-forged and Titan devices. Its accompanying curse was "Titan's Divine Punishment," which would cause every Titan-forged to see Shawn as an enemy.

Since the Portal of Time and Space had the power to travel through time, it naturally interfered with Azeroth's timeline. As a result, the Bronze Dragonflight, who governed time, would hunt him down. Its accompanying curse, "Nozdormu's Gaze," was no fun either.

Of the three, Shawn chose the lesser evil: the Portal of Time and Space.