A Golden Finger Befitting My Status

"What? Level fifty-five? Death Knight?" Malone couldn't help but blurt out a question toward the voice.

However, that robotic voice seemed to be nothing more than a hallucination; it flickered for a moment and then vanished, never to appear again.

"Did you hear a voice, Teron?" Malone turned to ask Teron Gorefiend, who was standing beside him.

"What voice? I only heard you talking," Teron Gorefiend replied honestly.

Was it just his imagination? No... it couldn't be... Malone stared closely at the runes etched from his left wrist down to his forearm. He began to understand what the so-called power granted to him by the God of Video Games actually was.

As a veteran player of World of Warcraft, Malone had played many different classes, but his favorites were always Death Knights and Paladins. He had several max-level Death Knight characters alone.

In World of Warcraft, the Death Knight, as a "hero class," possessed a unique system. The most distinct feature was that a Death Knight character did not start at level one—they began at level fifty-five, exactly the same level the voice had mentioned.

Malone even dared to speculate—could he continue to level up? As his level increased, would he gradually learn more skills? But how would he gain experience? Where was his experience bar?

"Teron, do you know what an experience bar is?" Malone asked tentatively.

"I don't know, never heard of it. Maicomarlon, what's wrong with you? You look so strange!" Teron Gorefiend looked at his companion with concern.

"No, never mind, it's nothing." Malone shook his head—it seemed this phenomenon was unique to him. Everything else in this world followed the standard configuration of an alternate realm; only he was operating under game mechanics.

Would he be able to resurrect if he died? Malone had a sudden, wild thought, but he quickly abandoned it—he didn't want to use his own life as an experiment.

Malone was more concerned with something else—the voice had mentioned a word earlier: unlock.

Unlock class, Death Knight.

Could he unlock other classes as well?

Compared to a melee class that charged into the fray to hack and slash, Malone preferred being a mage—although he enjoyed playing melee in the game, now that he was the one on the front lines, it would be safer to hide in the back.

However, the voice did not appear again. Malone tried to cast Death Coil once more—that green shadow bolt—but the voice remained silent.

Sigh, if only I could talk to it, Malone thought, shaking his head as he gave up on the effort.

He pulled his shirt sleeve down and sat back on the ground.

But Malone's mindset had changed significantly compared to before; his restless heart began to stir with ambition.

Now that he possessed power, Malone was even more eager to leave this orc camp.

Malone had all the capital he needed to leave—although he was a Death Knight resurrected by Gul'dan just like Teron Gorefiend, Malone's current appearance showed no signs of being undead; neither his face nor his body suffered from any damage.

Furthermore, he had gained power—though he didn't fully understand how strong it was or how to use it proficiently, Malone believed he could at least protect himself in the wild.

Leave this place, right now, immediately—Malone told himself—leave here, head north, and reach Lordaeron before the orc army mobilized, then join the Alliance.

There, he could see more famous figures of Azeroth—Anduin Lothar, Muradin Bronzebeard, Khadgar, Turalyon... and that child who would one day become the Lich King, Arthas Menethil.

Perhaps he could fight alongside them, and then... perhaps Arthas wouldn't have to become the Lich King, wouldn't have to endure those agonizing choices.

Malone thought excitedly about his grand future—every player who had experienced the lore of the Warcraft series had imagined themselves roaming this world, and only Malone had been given a real chance.

Was this really a punishment? This was a reward!

As Malone thought this, he felt that the God of Video Games' perspective was truly different from that of a human.

No, that couldn't be right—Malone felt he must have overlooked something—looking at it now, every word the God of Video Games had spoken had become reality, so it was impossible for him to turn a punishment into a reward.

So, what exactly had he missed?

"You're not stupid after all! I thought you would foolishly run off to change the history of this world, and then..."

Suddenly, Malone heard a voice—not the voice of Teron Gorefiend, nor the stiff, robotic voice from before, but the voice of the God of Video Games.

"It's you? Where are you? Where are you speaking to me from?" Malone shouted, only to realize he hadn't made a sound—his voice, like that of the God of Video Games, appeared directly in his consciousness without passing through his vocal cords.

"I'm at home, lying on the sofa, eating fries, drinking cola, and watching a TV show—and by the way, the TV show I'm referring to is your wonderful performance."

The God of Video Games replied.

"F***..." Malone spat out a string of curses—this God of Video Games was truly detestable; he could hear the clear sense of leisure in his tone.

Didn't this bastard say he was busy earlier? Busy eating fries and drinking cola? Malone thought indignantly. The mere thought that he would never again taste the delicacies of Earth made him want to punch this bastard god.

"Eh? Why do you want to hit me? I kindly came to remind you what your true punishment is, and you're so ungrateful? Sigh, I suppose I'll leave then. But it might take your foolish mortal brain a long time to figure it out, and before that, whether you get yourself killed by your own stupidity—that's not my concern."

There was a hint of feigned grievance in the tone of the God of Video Games—though Malone knew the guy was just putting on an act.

"Punishment? Right, what exactly is this punishment you speak of? If it's just what it is now... I think it's a reward for me, don't you?"

Malone remembered the important matter—he still had many things to ask this guy.

"A reward? You underestimate this punishment too much... Fine, if I let you die now, I'd lose a lot of entertainment; who wants to watch a one-episode show? Here, I'll give you a hint—your arrival will disrupt the timeline of Azeroth... Alright, that's enough of a hint, but I think you should know what kind of things will be coming to find trouble with you, right?"

Malone could hear the clear schadenfreude in the voice of the God of Video Games, but he had no time to curse him.

The timeline? Things related to the timeline... Malone carefully recalled the information he knew about the world of Azeroth.