Setting Off

Yes, Challenge Rating—this was a new attribute that appeared on Shawn's status interface after he completed his Mage class advancement quest, serving as a comprehensive assessment of his personal combat power.

The method for this assessment is incredibly complex; Shawn couldn't make heads or tails of it, as it involves a multitude of factors including attributes, class, skills, equipment, knowledge, experience, and personality. Only the despicable, shameless, and omniscient Space Garrison could possibly calculate it.

However, once you think about it carefully, the Space Garrison's assessment actually makes sense.

As a level 4 Warrior, Old Saldean's Challenge Rating is 5, which is understandable.

As a newly promoted level 1 Mage who has only mastered a single skill, "Fireball," with a casting time as long as 20 seconds, Shawn's Challenge Rating should have been at most level 2 or 3. But his full set of mixed blue and green gear boosted his score significantly, barely bringing him up to level 6.

In other words, if a real fight broke out, Old Saldean would be no match for Shawn, and neither would the Kobold Shaman Wizard inside the Kobold Den.

This means that Shawn, who was originally not even worth a "combat power of five," is now powerful—he has become an even more formidable... "combat power of six" loser!

Alright, back to the point.

No matter how sharp Old Saldean's instincts are, he could never have guessed that Shawn would undergo such a massive change overnight, let alone that he had spent a month in Stromgarde 2,800 years ago.

So, he just asked that one question and immediately went back to his own business.

Feeling a bit bored, Shawn wandered around, casting "Eye of Insight" on everyone he saw to practice his proficiency... unfortunately, there is no such thing as proficiency for skills that cannot be upgraded.

Through this, he gained an intuitive understanding of the bottom-tier combat power in this world.

For example, those underage boys and girls, those ordinary farmers who had just come of age, and those elderly, weak, or disabled wanderers all had a Challenge Rating of 1.

The pigs, cows, and sheep raised at the Saldean Farm were also level 1.

Some wanderers who were originally soldiers, hunters, or other combat classes had Challenge Ratings of 2 or 3.

Bloodfang Boars and Wild Dire Wolves, which frequently appear in Westfall, have a Challenge Rating of at least 2.

Harvest Golems have a Challenge Rating as high as 5. If their resistance to fire elements weren't so low, their rating might have been even higher.

All in all, Shawn had yet to see anyone with a Challenge Rating exceeding 5. A small place like Saldean Farm could hardly produce anyone too powerful—otherwise, how could Old Saldean keep the situation under control?

After breakfast, Old Saldean's caravan finally set off.

The entourage was as follows:

Caravan leader, owner of Saldean Farm, Old Saldean.

Caravan deputy, the hidden accompanying Mage, the half-elf orphan adopted by Old Saldean, Shawn Feathermoon.

Caravan bodyguard, recruited from the wanderers, a former Moonbrook guard, level 4 Warrior Thornas.

Caravan scout, recruited from the wanderers, a middle-aged man claiming to be from Stormwind City, level 3 Rogue Rick.

And then there were two half-grown children, both orphans adopted by Old Saldean, around the same age as Shawn: one named Heller, the other Paul.

Thornas, the level 4 Warrior, looked very burly and was a pure warrior. According to him, he had served as a guard in Moonbrook for ten years until the town was destroyed, after which he wandered around, only arriving at Saldean Farm recently.

Thornas and Old Saldean were old acquaintances; it is said that when Old Saldean was young, he fought alongside Thornas. In Old Saldean's eyes, Thornas was very reliable.

Rick, the level 3 Rogue, had been freeloading at Saldean Farm for three months. He was smooth-talking and sociable, having interacted with everyone, and everyone had a good impression of him. He claimed to be from Stormwind City and said he had a good relationship with a certain Mage in Elwynn Forest. But after Shawn cast "Eye of Insight," he realized this guy was full of lies.

"Name: Rick."

"Attributes: Strength 12, Agility 17, Stamina 13, Intelligence 12, Spirit 11."

"Class: Novice Rogue (Level 4), Novice Warrior (Level 2)."

"Skills: Sinister Strike, Eviscerate, Pick Lock, Pick Pocket, Sprint, Kick, Ambush."

"Challenge Rating: 5."

This glib-tongued middle-aged Rogue was not level 3, but level 4. Furthermore, he wasn't just a Rogue; he was also a Novice Warrior. He had mastered as many as seven Rogue skills. His Challenge Rating even surpassed that of Thornas and Old Saldean, second only to Shawn himself.

This guy...

It seems I need to be on my guard!

As for the two brats, Heller and Paul, they had each inherited different skills from Old Saldean. Heller loved farming, and Paul loved trading; one was a future farmer, the other a future merchant. This was Heller's first time traveling far with Old Saldean, while it was already Paul's second.

Along the way, Paul grabbed Shawn and Heller, chattering away about his first trip to Goldshire with Old Saldean. Heller listened with wide, shining eyes, while Shawn felt like he was drifting off to sleep.

This Paul, how is he not even a little bit as honest as Old Saldean! Out of every ten things he says, at least nine and a half are exaggerated, exaggerated, and exaggerated again!

Sitting in the carriage, Shawn calculated slowly.

During his month in Stromgarde, Shawn had converted all the ore and mine carts he obtained from the Jangolode Mine into garrison resources, gaining 20 units of stone, 10 units of gold, and 15 units of iron.

By this count, the Town Hall still seemed a long way off!

But that didn't matter; Shawn had his own plans.

He hadn't returned the Shredder he borrowed from Fablon yet, and he planned to go on a massive logging spree to accumulate wood resources after returning from Goldshire.

There were many professional hunters in Goldshire, and he should be able to buy plenty of leather there. Shawn planned to sell the Kobold Shaman Wizard Staff and the Dalaran Apprentice Robe, which should fetch a decent amount of money. Besides buying leather, he could also purchase some stone from the quarry. If he did that, the Town Hall should be no problem.

Once the Town Hall was completed, he would be able to construct many, many buildings, such as a Mage Tower, a Golem Factory, an Alchemy Lab...

However, those were matters for the future.

Right now, what Shawn needed to do was improve his own strength.

Although he had advanced to a level 1 Mage, Shawn only knew one spell: Fireball. Moreover, his Fireball had an agonizingly long casting time of 20 seconds. Fortunately, thanks to his equipment, his casting speed was +4, reducing the Fireball casting time to under 10 seconds, but that was still quite long.

By the time he finished casting a Fireball, the battle would likely already be over.

There was no helping it; it would require long-term practice. But it wasn't as if Shawn lacked the opportunity to practice.

Shawn decided to calm his mind, study the essence of the arcane, and learn another skill.