A New Day, New Training, a New Teacher

Damn it, Malone, what are you thinking?!

--Malone viciously scolded himself in his heart.

That girl trusted him so much, and here he was thinking such filthy thoughts!

--Malone desperately reflected on his own behavior.

But that reflection did him little good. With a soft, fragrant beauty right beside him, and his own body exceptionally strong, how could Malone possibly remain unmoved?

Malone then tried to distract himself.

It wasn't easy. There were only three people in the wooden shack: Malone himself, Teron Gorefiend, sitting silently in the distance, and Tiffany, who was incredibly tempting to him.

The only way Malone could distract himself was...

"The Dao that can be spoken is not the eternal Dao. At the beginning of human life..."

Malone began silently reciting the ancient literature he had once studied.

The Three Character Classic, the Hundred Family Surnames, the Dao De Jing... In the end, he even started recalling those tedious, complicated mathematical and physics formulas.

Back in school, just hearing about those had made Malone sleepy, and now was no different.

Soon, Malone gradually drove his interest in Tiffany's body from his mind, and then he started to feel drowsy.

"Just... rest for a little while. I have training tomorrow."

Malone told himself. Then he gently rested his head against the wooden post behind him and closed his eyes where he sat.

He drifted in and out of sleep for an unknown amount of time before opening his eyes once more.

During that time, Malone seemed to have experienced many things between dreaming and waking.

Some were memories from Earth, while others had taken place in Azeroth.

He shook his head, trying to clear it, then gathered his wits and looked around.

Piles of hay, rough wooden posts, dim daylight. Yes, Malone knew he was still in that wooden shack.

That also meant that everything that had happened before was no dream. He really had come to Azeroth—a world he knew and yet didn't know.

Now fully awake, Malone felt a slight vibration in his hand. He looked down.

Tiffany was staring at him with her beautiful, big blue eyes.

Malone and Tiffany's gazes met. The girl seemed a little shy, but still nodded at him.

"Mr. Malone, you're awake!"

Tiffany was lying in front of Malone. Her beautiful golden hair was slightly tousled from sleeping through the night, but it did nothing to diminish her beauty.

"Mm. Oh!"

Malone nodded in reply, then hurriedly let go of the hand he was still holding with Tiffany.

"How long have you... been awake?"

Malone stood and stretched his limbs, then asked.

"Just a little while!"

Tiffany sat up too and leaned back against the wooden post, gently tidying her hair.

Malone stretched and felt as if he'd recovered two hundred percent of his energy.

So a good night's sleep really did help. But...

Where was Teron Gorefiend?

Malone looked around the shack but couldn't see the Death Knight leader.

Had Teron left for some reason? No... he must have known Malone had fallen asleep. He wouldn't just leave so easily and put Malone and Tiffany in danger.

--That was what Malone thought.

"I'll go outside and take a look," Malone told Tiffany.

"Okay! Be careful, Mr. Malone!"

Tiffany tossed her newly tidied hair behind her shoulders, then gave Malone a sweet smile.

"I will."

Malone smiled and nodded, then walked out of the wooden shack.

Just as Malone had expected, Teron Gorefiend hadn't left. He was standing outside the shack, facing someone Malone knew.

"Maicomarlon, you're awake?"

Kaldara said with a smile, holding a clay jar as Malone emerged from the shack.

"Mm."

Malone looked up at the sun. Without a clock, that was the only clue he had for telling the time.

He wasn't very good at it, but he could tell that it was already fairly late. The sun still hadn't risen above the distant mountain peaks.

"Food," Kaldara said, raising the clay jar to show Malone.

"Oh... thanks."

Malone hurried forward a couple of steps and took the jar from Kaldara.

Of course, he'd learned his lesson this time and didn't try to support the bottom of the jar with his hand.

"Go eat with that human woman. We've got things to do afterward," Kaldara said excitedly.

"Things? What things?" Malone asked in confusion. He didn't remember making any plans with Kaldara last night for the day ahead. He still had to learn how to fight from Teron Gorefiend.

"Exactly!"

Kaldara smiled and pointed to the two-handed greatsword Malone had stuck into the ground in the prisoner camp the night before.

"I heard you're learning from Teron Gorefiend how to become an outstanding warrior? As it happens, I'm an outstanding warrior myself," Kaldara said proudly.

"Oh..."

Malone replied, then turned and headed back into the wooden shack with the jar full of food.

Orcish wasn't Malone's native language, after all. It always took him a little time to catch on.

When Malone stepped into the shack, set the jar of meat porridge—the same as the day before—in front of Tiffany, and handed her the long-handled spoon, he finally understood what Kaldara had meant.

Did this Blademaster mean... he was going to teach him some fighting techniques too?

This was a Blademaster renowned throughout the entire Orc Horde!

Malone had never imagined he could learn anything from Kaldara. He knew the Blademaster was powerful, but they hadn't been very close.

But things were different now. Kaldara had called Malone a friend last night, and today he had offered to teach him.

Malone couldn't help getting excited. He didn't even feel like eating.

"Tiffany, I'm going out for a while. I'm going to train," Malone told her.

"Huh? But... Mr. Malone, aren't you going to eat?" Tiffany asked with concern, surprised to see him already on his feet.

"No, I'm not hungry yet."

Malone shook his head. His body was somewhere between that of a Death Knight and a human, after all, and he didn't need three meals a day like ordinary humans.

More than eating, Malone wanted to know what he could learn from Kaldara.

Would he learn something like Bladestorm or Wind Walk?