Mage Class Advancement Quest

Shawn rubbed his eyes and stared at the chunk of ore slag in Grian's hand, instantly freezing.

There were only a few mines in all of Westfall. The only one reachable on a round trip in a single day with a Shredder was Jangolode Mine. Shawn simply had no way to explain it—it was far too obvious, wasn't it?

It was all because he had been too tired last night. He had only thought about hiding the mine carts and had completely forgotten to inspect the Shredder for any traces left behind.

Shawn had never considered that if his greed had not driven him to bring back those three mine carts, Grian would never have connected it to Jangolode Mine, nor would he have thought to inspect the Shredder...

No!

Rather, Grian had inspected the Shredder first, then found that piece of ore slag, then connected it to Jangolode Mine, and only then come looking for him.

So why had Grian inspected the Shredder in the first place?

Old Saldean's praise must have sparked Grian's interest! Maybe Old Saldean had even dragged Grian over to the Shredder himself!

What a pig of a teammate!

Shawn automatically filtered out another important question.

If he had not acted so differently from everyone else, would Old Saldean have praised him to everyone he met?

In short, Grian now suspected Shawn.

At least there were no eyewitnesses. Everything was still only Grian's speculation.

So Shawn hurriedly put on an expression of someone whose little secret had been discovered and lowered his head in "shame." "Well... sir, it's like this... Yesterday, I went out looking for lumber, and somehow I wandered all the way to Jangolode Mine. Then I witnessed something very strange..."

"What strange thing?" Old Grian obligingly played along.

Shawn said, "I saw a huge group of Kobolds rushing toward the Gold Coast. They even abandoned their mine carts. Then... then greed got the better of me, so I hitched the three mine carts at the entrance to the Shredder and drove them back."

Old Grian clearly felt that Shawn's story now matched his own deductions, so he continued, "Then why did you only bring back three mine carts? Your Shredder could pull at least five or six."

"I wouldn't dare!" Shawn cried. "There were only three mine carts outside Jangolode Mine. The others were all inside the mine. What if there were still Kobolds in there? I didn't dare go in and look for mine carts. If the Kobolds spotted me, I wouldn't even be able to run away!"

Actually, Kobolds had short legs. He could have outrun them...

Only then did Old Grian finally let go of his suspicions.

In truth, he could never have imagined that last night's earth-shaking massacre had been caused by Shawn the Great Swindler. By his reckoning, Shawn was at most someone who had taken advantage of the situation. What he most hoped was that Shawn had seen why the Kobolds had attacked the Murlocs of the Gold Coast, though the chances were slim.

"You little rascal, do you know why those Kobolds attacked the Murlocs at the Gold Coast?" Grian asked.

There was another trap hidden in that question.

The Kobolds' attack on the Murlocs had begun to spread as news, but if Shawn had truly returned last night and gone straight to sleep, only to be woken by Old Saldean that morning—and if he had overheard that Old Saldean had not mentioned the matter early that morning—then Shawn should not have known that the Kobolds had attacked the Murlocs.

This was Grian's final test, to see whether Shawn was hiding something and whether he was connected to that incident.

But he was destined to be disappointed.

Since Grian had begun suspecting him, Shawn the Great Swindler had been guarding against him at every moment. The instant he heard the question, he analyzed it eighteen times in his mind before crying out, "What? The Kobolds attacked the Murlocs!?"

That was not entirely an act.

Although Shawn had ordered the Kobolds to attack the Murlocs at the time, the Kobold War Horn's effect had lasted only a short while. Perhaps the Kobolds had sobered up midway and gone back.

Now that he heard the Kobolds had really attacked the Murlocs, Shawn was naturally shocked.

Luckily, he truly was shocked. Otherwise, the shrewd and seasoned Grian would definitely have noticed.

Only then did Grian truly believe Shawn's story. He nodded and said, "That's right. The Kobolds attacked the Murlocs, and there were heavy casualties. Do you know why they attacked them?"

Shawn thought, Wasn't that because I'm so wise, mighty, handsome, and dashing... But he could not exactly say that out loud, could he?

So he answered with a blank look, "How would I know?"

Grian believed him.

An underage Half-Elf should not have known such things in the first place.

So he patted Shawn's small shoulder and said, "You little rascal, Old Saldean said you'll be going to Goldshire with him, the same way as us? You're going to apprentice under an engineer in Goldshire? Work hard. I think highly of you!"

After their brief conversation, Lord Gryan Stoutmantle led his soldiers away to inspect Jangolode Mine.

No matter what, as two of Westfall's three great threats, the Kobolds and Murlocs fighting each other was a major event capable of affecting the entire situation in Westfall. Gryan Stoutmantle had no choice but to treat it with utmost caution. Compared to that, a boy who could operate a Shredder and repair Harvest Golems was insignificant.

Old Saldean had originally planned to travel to Goldshire with Grian, but first, Grian and his men needed to inspect Jangolode Mine and the Gold Coast, and the route was rather dangerous; second, Old Saldean intended to take a wagonload of goods to Goldshire for trade, but his merchandise had not yet been prepared, so naturally he could not set off.

After discussing it with Grian, Old Saldean decided to wait another day. Tomorrow, he would head directly to Jason Farm at the northernmost edge of Westfall to meet Grian, and then they would travel to Goldshire together.

After breakfast, Shawn did not return to his room. Instead, he went to the warehouse.

Closing the door, Shawn leaned against a scrapped Harvest Golem, and his little face immediately darkened.

Today, Shawn was very unhappy.

Yes, in front of Grian, he had felt extremely passive. It was not only the gap in their ages and experience that put him at a disadvantage, but also the gap in their status and strength.

Grian was a Paladin, a member of the Order of the Silver Hand, a veteran who had fought the Scourge to the death in Lordaeron, the leader of the People's Militia, and the Marshal of Sentinel Hill. His strength was formidable.

Shawn, meanwhile, was merely an underage Half-Elf. He had never learned martial skills. In a real fight, he probably could not even beat Old Saldean.

Before Grian, Shawn felt immense pressure, and it irritated him.

He had to change this situation.

And to change it, the only thing he could do for now was become a Mage. To become a Mage, he had to complete the Mage class quest called "Beginning of Arcane."

That quest required him to pass through the Portal of Time and Space and travel to Stromgarde 2,800 years in the past. And to pass through the Portal of Time and Space, he needed to invest enough fortress supplies to construct a temporary portal.

Not even a quest was exempt.