Nephalem

It was a relief that the transmigrators' benefits hadn't been cut. Without the system, Zhou Shen had no idea how a powerless modern man like him could survive in disaster-ridden Azeroth.

He'd probably go on one outing and end up as breakfast for spiders or bats.

Just then, Zhou Shen felt a warm force enter his body. It was as if he'd returned to his mother's embrace, and he slowly opened his eyes.

The woman named Karandra came over and wrapped her arms around him. "My son, you're finally awake! I thought I'd lost you. Promise me you'll stay away from your father from now on and stop doing such dangerous things."

The person in the pristine white priest's robes said, "Tirion, Taelan is fine. I used Heal. He may have been frightened, so he should rest for a while. No strenuous activity for now. I'll be going. Come find me if anything happens."

Zhou Shen looked at the familiar face of the middle-aged man. A name sprang to mind: Tirion Fordring, Alonsus Faol's student, one of the original Five Silver Hands, and the Highlord of Hearthglen.

Zhou Shen had thought he knew World of Warcraft inside and out, but now that he'd actually arrived in this world, he realized it was nothing like he'd expected.

The world seen through your own eyes was completely different from the one you saw sitting in front of a monitor. More importantly, he hadn't yet absorbed this body's memories.

The only person in the room he recognized was Tirion Fordring. He'd heard that his wife was named Karandra, but he didn't know anyone else.

How he was going to survive here was a serious problem. And nobody could find out about that so-called leveling system. This world had magic and Old Gods, after all. Until he figured out how everything worked, the best thing to do was stay quiet. He was only eight, and his head was still throbbing.

When Karandra saw that Zhou Shen wasn't saying anything and looked dazed, she hugged him tightly. "My son, say something! Did you hurt your head?"

"It's all your fault, Tirion!"

Seeing his wife's anger about to turn on him again, Tirion hurriedly said, "Don't worry, Karandra. I know Antonidas, the Archmage of Dalaran! He'll know what to do. Let's see how things are in a few days. If Taelan is still like this, I'll take him to Dalaran."

Just then, a "ding" rang out in Zhou Shen's mind: "The wheels of fate have begun to turn. You have changed fate and gained five points of World Power. You have awakened the Power of Nephalem. You have gained one skill point and one attribute point."

"Your attribute point has been automatically assigned to Stamina.

Stamina 24 -> 25

Your health has increased by 10 points. Your resistance has slightly increased."

"You now have 2 skill points."

Changed fate? Whose fate had he changed?

Right, his own! If this body's father was Tirion Fordring, then his name had to be Taelan Fordring! And the story involving Taelan Fordring was that deeply moving quest: In Dreams!

It was a quest almost everyone had done, and one of the most iconic quests in World of Warcraft! And it was a tragedy!

This was a good start. For now, he needed to figure out his system and find a way to grow stronger. He had to survive in this world, then try to change the tragedies and make up for the regrets of World of Warcraft.

Save the people who needed saving, and send off those who needed to go.

Seeing his son enduring the pain, Tirion Fordring said, "Dear, let's go outside and let Taelan rest. He'll be all right!"

Karandra shot Tirion a displeased look. Muttering under her breath, she tucked Taelan in, then followed Tirion out.

Watching Tirion Fordring and Karandra leave, Zhou Shen lay in bed and eagerly called out in his mind, "System, are you there?"

"Here. The Nephalem Guidance System is at your service!"

A simple-looking screen appeared before Zhou Shen. It seemed they'd cut costs by borrowing the style from Diablo II.

After a glance, Zhou Shen immediately understood. On the left was an angel holding a red orb, representing health. Half the orb was empty, so he hadn't fully recovered. It showed 56/120. In other words, his maximum health was 120. On the right, a demon holding a blue orb represented mana, which showed 95/95.

Then he noticed a row of tabs below: Character Status, Skills, Life Skills, Talents, Quests, and Inventory.

Zhou Shen opened Character Status first.

A simple 3D paper doll appeared, with his character information displayed in front of him.

Taelan Fordring

(Level 2)

Race: Nephalem (Not Fully Awakened) / Human

Class: Paladin

Strength: 23

Agility: 21

Stamina: 25

Intellect: 20

Spirit: 22

Armor: 42

Health: 56/120

Mana: 95/95

Faction: Alliance / Lordaeron

Combat Rating: "Trash"

This...

Zhou Shen opened the Skills tab next and froze. A book appeared before him, with four tabs: Defensive Auras / Offensive Auras / Combat Skills / Other Abilities.

This wasn't a spellbook from World of Warcraft. It was the skill tree from Diablo II.

The first row of Defensive Auras contained Prayer and Resist Fire. He opened Combat Skills, where the first two skills were Sacrifice and Mortal Strike, the Paladin's first god-tier skill.

There were five mainstream Paladin builds in Diablo II. The most popular was the Blessed Hammer build, followed by the Zealot. There was also the Shield Bash build, made for killing the six bosses, as well as the Fist of the Heavens build, which came after the skill was reworked. The last was the Avenger, which focused on Vengeance.

Since he wouldn't have access to Diablo's equipment in World of Warcraft, the best choices were the physical-damage-focused Zealot and Shield Bash builds. Both required Mortal Strike. He had two skill points, so he tried putting one into Mortal Strike:

Mortal Strike

Strike an enemy with your shield, briefly stunning them.

Current Skill Level: 8

Damage +120%

Stun Duration: 2 seconds

Mana Cost: 2

Isn't that a lot of damage? Why was it level 8?

Zhou Shen suddenly thought of something.

He hurriedly opened his inventory. Sure enough, there was the familiar forty-slot bag! In the first slot lay a coin:

Small Charm of Destruction and Breaking

Quality: Legendary

Keep in inventory for extra bonuses

+7 to All Skills

100% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items

It really was that charm! It had come with him! It was the reason the computer had exploded and brought Zhou Shen to Azeroth.

Back then, he'd thought that with this charm, the game would get boring in no time. Now that he was seeing it...

Yeah, I should've brought a whole stack!

In this despairing world, this Small Charm was practically a lifeline.

Without equipment from Diablo, it would've been hard for him to survive. Now that he had the charm, at least his skill levels could rise significantly. Every skill level brought huge benefits.

Then he opened the other skills. Four skills were listed here. The first was Every Man for Himself.

Every Man for Himself - Active Skill, Instant - 2-minute cooldown. Removes all movement-impairing effects and effects that cause you to lose control of your body.

The second was Perception.

Perception, Passive Racial Trait. Increases your ability to detect Stealth.

The third was Power of Nephalem.

Power of Nephalem, Passive Skill, Awakens the skill tree. Reduces the effects of control abilities such as fear and Coercion. Raises your attack and defense to the hero level. Your attacks won't suffer additional damage reduction, and you won't take additional damage.

A line of yellow text appeared below: You are a noble Nephalem. No one can make you submit! You will ultimately master the ultimate power of the world!

The last one was Parry. When you used a weapon or shield, you had a chance to deflect a physical attack. It seemed he could learn this world's skills, too. All the extra skills he learned and those granted by talents were recorded here.

Then Zhou Shen opened Life Skills. There wasn't much to see; it only contained one skill:

Gourmet: Increases the benefits you gain from food by 10%.

You're a certified foodie!

It seemed that no matter the world, mothers always took good care of their sons!