Kael'thas's Younger Brother

Brilliant fire elements filled the air, flickering like scattered stars.

A thought wove through them, guiding the fire elements to form a complex pattern. Just as success seemed within reach, the structure grew unstable, and the pattern collapsed in an instant.

"Sigh, failed again." This person possessed a handsome appearance, long pointed ears, and eyes shimmering with golden light. He was a blood elf—or rather, they were still called high elves at this time. His face was pale, and he spat out a drop of blood; it seemed this body truly lacked talent.

My name is Karen Sunstrider. Oh, no, the original owner of this body was named Karen Sunstrider, the younger brother of the high elf prince Kael'thas Sunstrider.

This is the world of Azeroth, but it seems there are some discrepancies from what I knew, such as this extra younger brother of Kael'thas Sunstrider. Karen's birth was entirely an accident. Although he was the product of an accident, King Anasterian and the Queen still cared for him. However, because his older brother was simply too outstanding, he had always wanted to prove himself, yet Karen's talent was truly abysmal. The less capable he was, the harder he tried, and the more he retreated into a dead end, becoming increasingly reclusive, leaving no room for others to show concern. In the end, he only drifted further from his goal, leading to more effort and an infinite loop of failure, until he was replaced.

Still, this talent is really something, how should I put it.

A typical high elf reaches the level of a junior mage in twenty years, an intermediate mage in fifty, and a senior mage in two hundred. Of course, those who lack the talent to reach intermediate mage within fifty years usually give up on pursuing this path, so generally, there are no elves who take longer than two hundred years to reach the senior level. The super-elite Kael'thas reached senior mage in fifty years, became a magus in a century, and successfully became a hero in two hundred.

Yet Karen is already one hundred years old and still an intermediate mage. It feels like this is his limit. Forget it, I'm not the original person anymore; why dwell on these things?

Knock, knock, knock. At this moment, a knock came at the door. "Your Highness, the King requests your presence."

"Very well, I understand." I straightened my clothes and casually conjured a magic mirror to check my appearance. My complexion had regained a bit of color, but... the magic mirror emitted a buzzing sound, flickered a few times, and dissipated.

It seems the spiritual sea is still damaged; I can't even maintain this level-0 cantrip, Mirror Image.

What must come will come. I followed the Spellbreaker out the door. This was an independent courtyard, yet it still appeared magnificent, with snow-white magic brick walls, high domes, and various magic runes flickering in and out of existence.

The doors and windows were all crafted from thorium, carved with various decorative runes, which also flickered with magic. The snow-white walls were studded with various gemstones that reflected the streetlights along the path, shimmering in a myriad of colors—a truly beautiful sight.

Along both sides of the road, there were not only magic streetlights but also various plants pruned into beautiful shapes. An elf gardener was lazily using magic to operate a pair of magic shears to trim the plants. These shears were not simple either; magic runes flashed upon them, and although few, they were still a magical item.

Walking along the garden-like path, elves would occasionally see Karen, dressed in flame-colored robes, and the Spellbreakers, who were fully encased in exquisite Spellbreaker armor, and bow in salute.

Although he did not live in the royal palace to maintain a quiet environment for cultivation, as a prince, Karen's residence was still quite close to the palace, and it didn't take long to arrive.

The lead Spellbreaker was handing over duties to the Spellbreaker guards at the entrance. Spellbreakers were the royal guard, the King's direct personal escort, protecting the safety of the royal family and executing their various orders. Many Spellbreakers were stationed at visible and hidden posts around the palace.

Spellbreakers were a profession unique to the high elf royal family. Elves from families affiliated with the royalty were selected while young and underwent secret royal training, using various precious materials to alter their constitutions.

Upon becoming a Spellbreaker, the royal family issued them full-body, all-encompassing magic armor. This armor was the key to the profession, densely packed with various magic runes and utilizing a vast amount of enchanting materials; one could say every small piece was worth a fortune.

This armor also contained technology unique to the royal family, and not a single piece had ever leaked out. While the Spellbreakers were handing over duties, Karen was observing the palace. In terms of layout and decoration, it wasn't much different from his own small house, except he could clearly feel multiple layers of defensive barriers. And that was only what a "trash" like Karen could sense; there was no telling how many more existed that he couldn't.

"Prince Karen Sunstrider, please follow me." After a series of procedures, they finally finished the handover.

I followed the Spellbreaker captain, Sathis, to stand before the high elf king, Anasterian. This was the King's office.

It was a semi-circular building with the King's seat at the center of the circle, and several magic devices placed along the arc.

From Karen's original memories, I knew these were long-distance image transmission devices, capable of transmitting images and sound to people with corresponding devices—simply put, a magical version of video conferencing. To be honest, the high elves lived comfortable lives with a slow pace, and there really wasn't much to deal with.

His Majesty the King currently looked quite idle, sitting with his eyes closed in meditation.

"Your Majesty, Prince Karen has arrived."

"You may all withdraw." "Yes."

Now only Karen and the King remained. Neither spoke. Karen had just transmigrated, and this was his first time meeting his father; he didn't know what to say. Fortunately, the original owner's introverted personality made this behavior seem normal.

Meanwhile, His Majesty the King was scrutinizing Karen. Karen felt as if he were being thoroughly scanned by an X-ray.

"Suffered a backlash again, didn't you? Why push yourself so hard?" The King, who appeared incredibly majestic, spoke with words that revealed concern at every turn.

Karen searched his memories. Indeed, while the King was very disappointed in this "trash," he was still kind to him. It was just that the original owner was so stubborn that he made himself unapproachable to everyone.

Although Karen remained silent, the King was accustomed to it and continued: "You have already passed your first century; you are an adult now. What are your plans for the future?"

Although I had only transmigrated a few days ago, I had been considering this question.

As a high elf prince, Karen had two choices: work hard to cultivate and improve his strength to survive the disasters to come, or live a life of dissipation and enjoy the little time he had left.

But Karen had tried, and it seemed his talent was insufficient for the first path, and the second path was not what he wanted.

Should I consider changing careers to become a ranger? Not to mention whether I have the talent for it, even if I did, the status of rangers among high elves doesn't seem very high; they are all cannon fodder on the front lines. However, the power systems in Azeroth are vast; there must be a path for me to choose.

"The world is so big, I want to go and see it."

"What? Where do you want to go? Your strength is so weak; how will you protect yourself?"

"I can go to the human kingdoms first, to my brother." The King looked at Karen's determined face and thought of his stubborn, dead-end personality. He probably couldn't stop him, but perhaps Kael'thas could persuade him, and letting him go out to clear his mind might be for the best.

"Very well. When do you plan to leave? Your injuries haven't healed yet."

"In half a month. That should be enough time to recover."

"Sathis, take the Prince to the first floor of the treasury to select three treasures. This is my signet."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Karen followed the Spellbreaker captain, Sathis, to the treasury. Sathis was handing over duties to the treasury guards. The entrance to the treasury was a magic barrier that looked like a curtain. It seemed easy to break into, but Karen knew that without the proper procedures and the signet, anyone who entered would be teleported elsewhere, or the teleportation point might lead straight to a prison.

"Your Highness, you may enter. You are restricted to the first floor, three treasures. There is magic surveillance inside." The handover was complete, and the guard said to Karen.

Karen nodded and passed through the magic barrier. It felt like walking through a curtain of water, followed by various magic scans, much like going through security. Entering the treasury, there were rows of pedestals, and on them were treasures covered by magic shields. In front of each magic shield was a ball of light. Karen knew this was the introduction to the treasure; touching it directly with his hand would make his thoughts jump, reminding him of the jade slips in cultivation novels.

Since there was no time limit, Karen touched all the light orbs and finally chose three items. The first was a weapon named the Staff of Wisdom. It was an epic-grade weapon, which surprised Karen. One had to know that the equipment grades in this world, from low to high, were Common, Uncommon, Rare, Epic, Legendary, and Artifact. In the human kingdoms, possessing a Rare-grade piece of equipment was a treasure that would attract greedy eyes.

Although, by the standards of high elves, everything selected for the treasury was at least Rare or above, the first floor was primarily composed of Rare items. Moreover, this epic staff was very special; it was something that a "trash" like Karen could actually use. One had to know that weapons of this caliber required corresponding strength to wield.

This staff not only added Intelligence and Stamina but also had the spells Wisdom, Blink, and Meteor permanently enchanted upon it. These were all high-level spells, and the user could cast them without having to learn them. To reduce the burden on the user, it only required a minimal amount of the user's mental energy, though it did require the consumption of precious magic crystals.

As an elf prince, synonymous with being wealthy, these were not issues at all. This item was so perfectly suited for me; could it be that Father specifically placed it in the treasury for me?

The second item was a necklace named Goddess's Protection, which possessed both active and passive defensive capabilities.

Active use could release a 2x2 meter small magic barrier, capable of blocking one attack from an Archmage-level caster or five attacks from High Mage-level casters.

The passive trigger activated when the user sustained fatal damage, enveloping the body in a magic shield that could absorb one Hero-level attack; upon shattering, it would reflect the damage and randomly teleport the user to a location one kilometer away.

It also consumed magic crystals, but the wealthy Karen didn't care about the cost. The third item was a non-combat treasure called the Orb of Deception, which could disguise the user as another race, impossible to see through for anyone below Hero-level.

It felt like with these three treasures, Karen wouldn't have to fear anyone below Hero-level.