The Bronze Dragon's Threat

In a flash of lightning, the final words of the God of Video Games surfaced in Malone's mind, and this man—perhaps the only transmigrator in the world of Azeroth—instantly broke into a cold sweat.

Due to his overwhelming fear, Malone felt his body trembling violently; he didn't even have the time to consider how he, a Death Knight and therefore a dead man, could possibly be sweating.

The Bronze Dragonflight... Malone thought of this particular race.

As the guardians entrusted by the Titans to protect the time of Azeroth, the Bronze Dragonflight, and especially their leader, the Bronze Guardian Dragon and Timeless One Nozdormu, constantly patrolled the river of time to correct every erroneous timeline.

What did his own transmigration mean to Nozdormu?

Malone recalled something from Earth called a "computer virus"—once people discovered their computer was infected, most would spare no effort using antivirus software to scan and clean it until the "computer check-up" indicator turned green.

To the timeline of Azeroth, he was that virus, and Nozdormu was the owner of this "computer."

Back on Earth, researchers of the Warcraft game series often debated the true extent of the Bronze Dragonflight's power, arguing back and forth without ever reaching a conclusion.

Yet Malone knew those beings were certainly powerful—at least to someone like him, who carried game elements within his own body.

Just as a mage from the world of Azeroth appearing on Earth would be an anomaly, Malone knew he was exactly that kind of existence.

But could he ever be a match for Nozdormu?

"You said the Bronze Dragonflight would cause me trouble? Does the power you gave me have no way to deal with these problems? What kind of powerful strength is that?"

Malone questioned the God of Video Games within his own consciousness.

"I promised you powerful strength, I never said I'd give you the most powerful strength... Besides, haven't you already discovered that this power can be upgraded? Your future holds infinite possibilities!"

The God of Video Games seemed quite dissatisfied with Malone's ungrateful attitude.

So he really could upgrade—Malone carefully memorized every word from the God of Video Games, knowing it would be exceptionally important for his survival in this familiar yet strange world of Azeroth.

"How do I upgrade? How high do I need to go to defeat Nozdormu?" Malone asked aloud.

"Upgrading... it wouldn't be any fun if I told you, go figure it out yourself... As for defeating that little lizard, I advise you not to even think about it. Even if you reached level one thousand, you wouldn't be its match."

The God of Video Games spoke evasively.

"Are you trying to say my appearance has already disrupted the timeline here? That Nozdormu will come looking for trouble soon? And that I have no way to deal with it? Then why did you bring me here? You might as well have just sent me to my death!"

Malone suddenly felt an intense sense of agitation and said in a fit of self-abandonment.

"Don't give up so quickly... Your appearance isn't actually a problem; I helped you hide from Nozdormu. But from here on out... everything depends on you."

The God of Video Games was, instead, comforting Malone.

"If he discovers me... what will happen to me?" This was the question Malone cared about most.

"You won't be tortured, you'll probably just disappear, right? Let me think, Nozdormu would likely erase every trace of you from the world's timeline. The simplest way would be to destroy this body of yours last night, and then you would vanish completely—not just in Azeroth, but back on Earth too. Then I'd have to go find another mortal to perform in my soap opera... oh, I mean, to accept divine punishment."

The God of Video Games seemed to have let something slip, and he quickly coughed twice to cover it up.

Disappear... Malone repeated the word in his heart—this was something he absolutely could not accept.

"In other words, I just need to avoid Nozdormu? As long as he doesn't discover me... I can just live in seclusion in the wilderness, that should work, right? Nozdormu wouldn't still come looking for me, would he?"

Malone felt he had come up with a brilliant plan—though it would shatter his dreams of making a grand name for himself in this world, at least he could survive.

"Is that so? Perhaps... but have you ever heard of the 'butterfly effect'? You are that butterfly right now. As an anomaly in this world, perhaps every breath you take could change the timeline far into the future..."

The God of Video Games was noncommittal toward Malone's suggestion.

"And seclusion... hey, let me ask you a question. If a nameless nobody suddenly vanished from the long river of history, would it affect the development of history as a whole?"

The God of Video Games seemed to have suddenly asked a question quite inappropriate for the current situation.

"How should I know? What does that have to do with me..." Malone replied irritably.

"It doesn't concern you? Another friendly reminder: this Orc Death Knight named 'Maicomarlon' actually existed in the history of Azeroth—of course, you wouldn't know what he did or what impact he had. I know, but I won't tell you... If you run off to live in seclusion, might that also change certain things?"

The God of Video Games uttered words that left Malone stunned.

He actually existed? Malone subconsciously shivered—but he had read all the official Blizzard novels and comics, and none of them had ever mentioned a Death Knight named "Maicomarlon."

If he wanted to prevent the timeline from changing, he would have to perfectly replicate every move this "Maicomarlon" made in the history of Azeroth; but that was impossible, because he had no idea what the man had done.

That meant... from now on, no matter what he did, some things would be changed; as for whether these changes would affect the timeline of Azeroth, he could only leave it to fate.

This was the true "butterfly effect"... yet Malone could only hope that he, this butterfly, would be smaller, even smaller—ideally smaller than a cell, or even an atom.

"It seems my information has been fully delivered. You should now understand what kind of punishment this really is, right? Despair is not the most terrifying punishment; living in the narrow gap between a faint hope and constant, gnawing fear is the true meaning of this penalty! Alright, foolish mortal, the friendly reminders end here. I'm changing the channel; it seems there are a few others like you who actually survived in other worlds, I'm going to go see what's going on..."

Just like the previous time, the voice of the God of Video Games grew weaker and weaker until it finally vanished completely from Malone's consciousness. No matter how he called out or shouted, there was no longer any response.