Kael'thas's Younger Brother

Brilliant fire elements filled the air around him, flickering like countless stars.

A strand of thought weaved through them, guiding the fire elements into a complex pattern. Just as it was about to succeed, the structure faltered, and the pattern instantly collapsed.

"Ugh, failed again." The young man had a handsome face, long, pointed ears, and golden eyes that shimmered with light. He was a Blood Elf—or rather, at this point in history, they were still called High Elves. His face had gone pale, and he spat out a mouthful of blood. It seemed this body really had no talent for magic.

My name was Karen Sunstrider. No, the original owner of this body was Karen Sunstrider, younger brother to the High Elf Prince Kael'thas Sunstrider.

This was the world of Azeroth, but things seemed a little different from what I knew. For example, Kael'thas Sunstrider had an extra younger brother. Karen's birth had been a complete accident. Even so, King Anasterian and the queen had treated him well. But his older brother was simply too outstanding, and Karen had always wanted to prove himself. Unfortunately, his talent was abysmal. The weaker he was, the harder he worked; the harder he worked, the more he fixated on a dead end. He became increasingly withdrawn, until people had no idea how to reach out to him. In the end, he only drifted farther from his goal. So he worked even harder, trapped in an endless cycle—until he was replaced.

Still, that talent of his... How should I put it?

An average High Elf reached the rank of novice mage after twenty years, intermediate mage after fifty, and advanced mage after two hundred. Of course, elves whose talent wasn't enough to reach intermediate rank within fifty years gave up pursuing magic, so there were generally no mages who still hadn't reached advanced rank after two hundred years. The super-elite Kael'thas had reached advanced rank in fifty years, become an Archmage after a century, and a hero after two.

Karen was already a hundred years old, yet he was still an intermediate mage. That felt like his limit. Whatever. I wasn't the original person anymore, so why keep worrying about it?

Knock, knock, knock. Just then, someone rapped on the door. "Your Highness, His Majesty the King requests your presence."

"All right, I understand." He straightened his clothes and conjured a magic mirror to check his reflection. His complexion had regained some color, but... The mirror crackled, flickered a few times, and vanished.

His mental realm was still damaged. He couldn't even maintain the level-zero parlor trick, Mirror Image.

What was coming couldn't be avoided. He followed the Spellbreaker out of his room. It was a detached courtyard, yet it still looked magnificent, with snow-white walls of magical brick, a tall dome, and magical runes that shimmered in and out of sight.

The doors and windows were made of thorium and engraved with decorative runes. Magical runes glimmered across them, too. Gems adorned the snow-white walls, reflecting the streetlamps along the road in a dazzling array of colors.

Besides the magical streetlamps, plants lined both sides of the road, trimmed into all sorts of beautiful shapes. An elf gardener was lazily using magic to operate a pair of shears, tending to the plants. The shears were no ordinary tool, either; magical runes flickered across them. There weren't many, but they were enough to make it a magical item.

As he walked along the garden-like path, elves spotted Karen in his flame-red robe and the Spellbreakers encased in exquisite armor. They bowed in greeting.

He had chosen not to live in the palace so he could meditate in peace, but as a prince, Karen's residence was still very close to it. It didn't take long to reach the palace.

The Spellbreaker captain was exchanging duties with the guards at the entrance. The Spellbreakers were the royal guard, the king's personal troops. They protected the royal family and carried out its orders. Many Spellbreakers were posted around the palace, both openly and in secret.

Spellbreakers were a profession unique to the High Elf royal family. Young elves from families affiliated with the royal house were selected and trained in its secret arts from childhood, their bodies transformed with various precious materials.

Once they became Spellbreakers, the royal family equipped them with full-body enchanted armor. The armor was essential to their profession, covered in magical runes and made with large quantities of enchanting materials. Every little piece was worth a fortune.

The armor also contained techniques unique to the royal family, and not a single suit had ever fallen into outside hands. While the Spellbreakers changed shifts, Karen looked over the palace. Its layout and decorations weren't much different from those of his own residence, but he could clearly sense multiple layers of protective wards. That was only what a useless mage like him could feel; who knew how many layers he couldn't detect?

"Prince Karen Sunstrider, please come with me." After completing the formalities, the Spellbreakers were finally ready.

Karen followed the Spellbreaker to High Elf King Anasterian. This was where the king worked.

The room was in a semicircular building, with the king's seat at its center. Several magical devices stood along the curved wall.

Karen remembered from the original owner's memories that these were long-distance image transmission devices. They could transmit images, sounds, and more between people with corresponding devices—in short, they were the magical equivalent of video calls. To be honest, life among the High Elves was comfortable and unhurried, and there really wasn't much for them to deal with.

His Majesty the King seemed to have plenty of free time at the moment. He was sitting with his eyes closed, resting.

"Your Majesty, Prince Karen has arrived."

"You may all leave."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Now only Karen and the king remained. Neither spoke. Karen had only crossed over a few days ago, and this was his first time meeting his father. He had no idea what to say. Fortunately, the original owner had been introverted, so his silence seemed natural.

The king, meanwhile, was scrutinizing Karen. He felt as though he were being seen through by an X-ray.

"You've suffered another backlash, haven't you? Why push yourself so hard?" The king looked stern, but his words were full of concern.

Karen searched his memories. It was true: the king had been very kind to this disappointing son, despite being deeply disappointed in him. It was just that the original owner had been so stubborn he'd put everyone off.

Although Karen still hadn't said a word, His Majesty was used to it and continued, "You've already passed your first century. You're an adult now. What do you plan to do from here on?"

Though he had only crossed over a few days ago, Karen had been thinking about this question the whole time.

As a High Elf prince, Karen had two options: train hard and improve his strength so he could survive the disasters to come, or spend what little time he had left living in drunken pleasure.

But he had tried, and it seemed he lacked the talent for the first path. The second wasn't what he wanted, either.

Should he try becoming a ranger instead? Leaving aside whether he had the talent for it, rangers didn't seem to hold a high standing among the High Elves. They were always sent to the front lines as cannon fodder. But Azeroth had all kinds of paths to power. Surely there was one that suited him.

"The world is so vast. I want to go see it."

"What? Where do you want to go? You're so weak—how will you protect yourself?"

"I can go to the human kingdoms first and visit my brother."

The king studied Karen's resolute face, then thought of his son's stubborn nature. He probably wouldn't be able to stop him. But perhaps Kael'thas could talk some sense into him. Letting him go and clear his head might be for the best.

"Very well. When are you planning 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 level of the treasury to choose three treasures. This is my order."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Karen followed Sathis, the captain of the Spellbreaker guard, to the treasury. Sathis was coordinating with the treasury guards. The entrance was blocked by a magical barrier, like a curtain. It looked easy enough to slip through, but Karen knew that anyone who entered without proper authorization and a royal order would be teleported somewhere else—perhaps to a point inside the prison.

"Your Highness, you may enter. You can only access the first level and choose three treasures. There's magical surveillance inside," the guard told Karen after the handover was complete.

Karen nodded and passed through the magical barrier. It felt like walking through a waterfall, and he was subjected to all kinds of magical scans, much like going through airport security. Inside the treasury were rows of pedestals. Treasures rested beneath magical domes, with an orb of light in front of each one. Karen knew they contained descriptions of the treasures. Touching one directly made him think of the jade slips from cultivation novels, which could send information straight into your mind.

There was no time limit, so Karen touched every orb of light before finally choosing three treasures. The first was a weapon called the Staff of Wisdom, a legendary weapon that took him by surprise. Equipment in this world was ranked from Common to Uncommon, Rare, Epic, Legendary, and Artifact. In human kingdoms, even a Rare item was a treasure people would covet.

The High Elves considered only items of at least Epic quality worthy of the treasury, but the first level was mostly filled with Epic treasures. This legendary staff was also very special: even a useless mage like Karen could use it. Weapons and similar equipment usually required the wielder to have sufficient strength.

The staff boosted intelligence and stamina and had Wisdom, Blink, and Meteor permanently enchanted into it. These were all high-level spells, and its wielder could cast them without learning them first. To reduce the strain on the user, it drew only a tiny amount of their mental energy, but it did consume precious Magic Crystals.

As a prince of the elves, synonymous with being rich, none of that was a problem. This item was perfect for him. Could his father have put it in the treasury especially for him?

The second item was a necklace called the Goddess's Protection. It offered two kinds of defense: one that could be activated manually and one that triggered automatically.

When activated manually, it created a small magical barrier measuring 2.*2 meters. It could block one attack from an Archmage or five attacks from an advanced mage.

The passive effect activated when its wearer suffered a mortal injury, surrounding their entire body with a magical barrier. It could absorb one hero-level attack, then reflect the damage when it shattered and teleport the wearer to a random location one kilometer away.

It also consumed Magic Crystals, but a rich man didn't worry about the cost. The third treasure was non-combat equipment called the Orb of Deception. It could disguise its wearer as another race, and no one below hero level could see through it.

With these three treasures, Karen felt he wouldn't have to fear anyone below hero level.