The Six Great Primal Forces

Within the magical eyes of Archmage Krasus, Taelan Fordring was constantly absorbing the energy around him, converting it into Holy Light within his body; his entire being radiated an aura that made others feel an instinctive desire to draw close. No wonder Antonidas called him the Child of Light! His soul was also exceptionally powerful, reaching the standard required to study magic. Once he mastered sufficient knowledge of Occultism, he would be able to manipulate the power of Holy Light as freely as a mage manipulated Arcane energy.

As long as he was nurtured well for a few years, this youth would be able to complete the mission of saving the queen. With a wave of the Archmage's hand, a thick book flew from the bookshelf. It had a sturdy cover with corners reinforced by a special metal, and a row of Elvish script along with a language Taelan did not recognize was written on the front.

Krasus said, "This is a grimoire from my personal collection. It is written in High Elf script. You shall begin learning the High Elf language when you return, and then slowly read this book. As for weapons and combat techniques, you may consult your father."

He continued, "You are still young and have plenty of time; do not be eager for quick success. All great achievements are born from bit-by-bit accumulation. Afterward, I will go find Master Antonidas to discuss the matter of the Eye of Violet!"

Then, Krasus asked Tirion to wait in the outer parlor. He had some words to say to his apprentice in private.

In Azeroth, there are two types of apprentices.

The first type is the relationship between most mentors and magic apprentices in Dalaran; their master-apprentice relationship is the same as universities on the Blue Star. The apprentice pays tuition, and the mentor takes a commission. They teach the entire class through public lectures, with the content limited to introductory knowledge and the projects stipulated by the school's curriculum.

The second type is an apprentice taken in for the inheritance of a knowledge system; this is the most stable master-apprentice relationship.

Nobility relies on bloodlines for inheritance, while scholars rely on knowledge. An apprentice is the bearer of their mentor's ideology and power system.

Only this kind of teacher would ask their apprentice about every detail and explain the reality of this world.

Even though Tirion Fordring and Taelan were father and son, once he discovered his son was a natural transcendent, he did not bring up the power system or its origins with Taelan. Because that was the responsibility of his true mentor! Moreover, due to the limitations of one's own insight, everyone's classification of the world's power system differs.

Krasus said, "Our world is called Azeroth. It is a very small world in the infinite universe."

"But it is different from other worlds; no one knows the process of its creation. Yet, its essence is extremely high."

"I have heard of your understanding of the Orcs; you should know their world is called Draenor. Compared to Draenor, Azeroth is infinitely more powerful. That is because the world of Azeroth is capable of self-generating all six primal forces."

"The following conversation involves ancient secrets, so you must absolutely not tell anyone. That is, Azeroth can host true gods, while Draenor can only host demigods at its peak."

"The true power of our universe is known as the Primal Forces. And in the boundless universe, there exist six great primal forces."

"They are divided into two opposing factions: Life and Void. In ancient legends, They created six Eternal Ones to guard Their power."

"And these six forces are: Life—Death, Holy Light—Void, Arcane—Fel."

"They are paired in opposition, generating and overcoming one another!"

Then, Krasus conjured a light screen. It recorded all six primal forces, their associated masters, and the characteristics of these powers. They are:

Arcane—Typhon—Order Holy Light—Naaru—Assimilation Life—Isis—Evolution Fel—Satan—Chaos Void—Ethereal—Void Death—Unknown—Eternal Silence

Taelan Fordring was so shocked he did not know what to say. In his memory, there was no such division of power between the two true gods at the beginning of creation, only the mention of the six primal forces. And the claim that the six primal forces corresponded to Eternal Ones had never appeared either.

In Taelan Fordring's memory, Arcane indeed represented Order. Its master was called the Titan, not Typhon. And Typhon was certainly not a good thing; however, in Greek mythology, Typhon was indeed a Titan! He was the son of Gaia, the Mother Earth.

Legend says Typhon was born in a cave in the region of Cilicia. He possessed a hundred dragon heads, black tongues, fire-spitting eyes, a body taller than the sky, and was covered in feathers with a pair of wings.

Typhon and his wife Echidna sired many terrifying monsters, such as the hundred-headed dragon Ladon, the Hydra, the three-headed hellhound Cerberus, the two-headed dog Orthrus, the Nemean Lion, the lion-headed goat-bodied Chimera, the Sphinx, and the sea monster Scylla.

Thinking carefully, the Titan and this Typhon were indeed somewhat similar.

What was even stranger was that the representative of the Void was not the Void Lord—though, of course, it was possible that no one yet knew of this famous ultimate villain.

The representative of Death should have been the Jailer, but Krasus said the master of Death was still unknown.

At this moment, Taelan suddenly thought of the Titans corresponding to each class in Hearthstone; the Titan for the Death Knight, representing Death, was the Primus! This was quite interesting.

There were many things Taelan Fordring was learning for the first time. These matters all required slow verification. Didn't his legendary quest contain parts regarding the beginning of creation? When he had time in the future, he could slowly search and verify them.

Krasus watched as Taelan memorized the matters regarding the six primal forces one by one. Then he added, "Now, let me explain to you the level classification of the world of Azeroth."

"The strength levels of the world of Azeroth are divided into three tiers: Transcendent, Hero, and Legendary."

"In truth, in the truly top-tier worlds, there exist levels above Legendary: Demigod, Eternal One, and True God!"

"In our faction, we call the Eternal Ones 'pseudo-gods'."

Then there was the classification of mortal levels, which was divided into ten ranks! Every ten levels constituted one rank. Within the realm of pseudo-gods, the maximum was the tenth rank, which was level one hundred.

Levels were based on one's profession. Currently, known combat professions include Warrior, Priest, Mage, Hunter, Druid, and Rogue. These are the basic professions. Those who promote and change jobs based on basic professions are called advanced professions, such as Paladin, Ranger, and Monk.

Since there were combat professions, there were also non-combat professions, such as Farmer, Engineer, Blacksmith, and Tailor. They all had their own level caps! Everyone had a primary profession! Other professions could only reach half the level of the primary profession.

Your combat profession level, plus the sum of your life profession levels, is your strength rank.

However, all known Perception magic can only detect the level of the primary profession. This leads to the phenomenon of a Rank 1 creature defeating a Rank 3 creature.

Furthermore, some professions do not provide combat capabilities, such as the Scribe.

Take you as an example; everyone thinks you are a Paladin, but I know that your initial combat profession is actually Priest. Paladin is a profession you acquired through the awakening of your bloodline. In other words, you have two basic professions.

At the same time, you are also a Level 3 Defensive Warrior and a Gourmet of unknown rank.

You are currently a Tier 1 creature, with a strength rating of Tier 2.

Furthermore, only your primary class can learn all of its associated skills. Other classes can only choose one specific branch of skills to learn.

Taelan Fordring felt that this truly explained some of the strange win-loss ratios he had experienced.

Through Krasus's explanation, Taelan finally understood the power system of this world and found a direction for his efforts.

After the explanation, Tirion Fordring took his son and left the mage tower of Krasus. He comforted his son, saying, "Don't worry, I will find a way. Now, we need to find a teacher who can instruct you in Thalassian."

In Dalaran, there is no shortage of High Elves, as the environment in Dalaran is relaxed, allowing for the free research and use of magic, as well as convenient exchanges of insights and spellcasting techniques. For the younger generation of High Elves, it is far more popular than the conservative Quel'Thalas.

However, it is not easy to find a High Elf willing to leave Dalaran to go to Hearthglen to teach a human child a language. Taelan even considered asking Jaina to teach him the Elven language. But not to mention that the Grand Admiral would not allow it, the changes brought about by taking Jaina away would be something Taelan could hardly bear.

The two returned to the inn, and Tirion Fordring prepared to find some of his old friends in Dalaran to think of a solution. Instead, he saw Daelin standing in the lobby of the Hero's Inn with a helpless expression. As soon as little Jaina saw Taelan Fordring following Tirion inside, she jumped up and waved to greet them. Daelin said, "You've finally returned! My daughter has been clamoring to come find Taelan to play since early this morning."

Tirion Fordring said, "You two wait until after lunch before you go out."

Daelin Proudmoore saw the look on Tirion's face and knew he had something on his mind. He asked, "Tirion, has something happened? Didn't Taelan go to visit his mentor? Did it go smoothly?"

So, Tirion told Daelin about Archmage Krasus asking Taelan to learn Thalassian. Unexpectedly, Daelin laughed indifferently, "Isn't that simple? I have a friend named Gina Goldsword. I will go visit her in a moment and ask her to contact Prince Kael'thas of Quel'Thalas. We'll say that the Highlord of Hearthglen can allow his private chamber of commerce to set up a company in Hearthglen to manage High Elven magical items and specialties from Quel'Thalas. But he has one small request: he needs a private tutor."

Taelan Fordring had to admire the Grand Admiral; he was truly a king, capable of making all kinds of resources work for his own benefit.

High Elves do not have many trading partners. If they could open a store in Hearthglen, they could indirectly open up the market in Andorhal, where they could obtain necessities—grain and various agricultural products.

This deal would not only bring personal prestige and money to the Prince from Quel'Thalas, but for Lordaeron, it would also bring new industries and a portion of tax revenue. Hiring a private tutor was merely a trivial matter.

Taelan had originally wanted to seek help from the system to see if it could provide language mastery.

The result was that it lacked data and could not parse it! It seems the system is not omnipotent, nor is it a god capable of controlling the entire world and its host. However, the Grand Admiral's words opened up a new line of thought for Tirion Fordring. Daelin was also able to get rid of his daughter and go visit the mysterious Gina Goldsword.

Then, Tirion took the two children to stroll through the commercial district to prepare gifts for Karandra and some friends. By evening, a clearly tipsy Daelin returned with good news: Prince Kael'thas had invited Tirion Fordring to meet at his mage tower tomorrow.

Tirion, who had been hanging his head in thought just moments ago, became invigorated upon hearing this news. He hurriedly called the inn's waiter to prepare a sumptuous meal and invited Daelin to drink with him.

As for Taelan Fordring, he pulled out the book Krasus had given him, preparing to take a good look at it.

"Ding! Magical item discovered: Dragon Codex!

This thick, massive tome is the collection of the Red Dragon Krasus over thousands of years! It contains a vast amount of knowledge on Occultism and some unique spells recorded in Elven and Draconic! Study it diligently, and you will learn a wealth of spellcasting techniques and invaluable knowledge."

Dragon Codex

Codex, Bound

Quality: Epic

Equip: Increases all spell damage, healing effects, and attack power by 2%.

Equip: Increases your critical strike chance by 2%.

Equip: Increases your Occultism knowledge level by 1 (Sealed. Open-book exam! Too bad you can't read!)

This is the precious collection of the Red Dragon Krasus's life, and he has gifted it to you! It seems he has invested heavily; clearly, he shouldn't have held high expectations for an illiterate person.

System, that's enough! Other people's systems come with built-in language mastery. You, just to save on the budget...

Jaina saw Taelan Fordring take a thick book wrapped in iron plating and equipped with straps out of his backpack to flip through. She immediately leaned over, putting her head close to Taelan's, and a pleasant fragrance immediately drifted into Taelan's nose.

She touched the Elven characters on the cover and recited a beautiful but completely incomprehensible phrase.

Taelan Fordring...

She had indeed already learned Thalassian; I have truly become an illiterate.

Taelan Fordring immediately asked Jaina to read the book for him. Jaina proudly went to pick up the heavy iron-clad book; it was not only inlaid with a metal shell and several magic gems, but it was also very thick. Jaina couldn't lift it, so Taelan helped her open it. Jaina read seriously, translating it into Common Tongue for Taelan word by word. The book was indeed called the Dragon Codex; it first explained the spell system of this world, followed by long-winded discussions on Occultism. The latter part contained meditation methods and many spells.

Jaina only helped Taelan translate the preceding knowledge regarding the spell system, and very politely refrained from looking at the magic models and meditation methods in the back. She then remarked quite seriously that she was benefiting from Taelan's good fortune. Books like this are generally the prized collections of Archmages. Unless it is an apprentice they favor, they would never gift them. Outsiders cannot learn those personally collected spells, because a mage's most precious wealth is not gold or silver, not precious magic gems, and not a mage tower, but his knowledge!

Nations rely on bloodline inheritance, mages rely on knowledge inheritance; knowledge is power!

This chapter is a bit long. Thank you all! Please vote for recommendations!

Penglai wishes everyone a happy Lunar New Year!