System Possession

Kael'thas looked straight at Sathis and asked, "How were you protecting Karen? Why did something go wrong?"

Sathis dared not hide anything and recounted the entire sequence of events to Kael'thas.

After listening, Kael'thas's expression softened slightly; it truly was not due to any negligence on Sathis's part.

Now was not the time to assign blame. Kael'thas remained silent after hearing Sathis's report, then turned and lowered himself to observe the magical patterns on the ground.

After studying the magical patterns carefully for a long time, Kael'thas frowned; these ancient patterns were truly troublesome.

After all, they belonged to an era far removed from his own, and since so much had changed, there were parts of the patterns he could not decipher.

It seemed he would need to spend some time researching them.

Kael'thas ordered that he not be disturbed, then set up a tent in the clearing and began to study and learn the ancient magical runes while researching.

In the blink of an eye, three days passed, and Kael'thas spent another half-day studying the magical patterns on the ground.

Once he finished his research, Kael'thas gathered everyone together.

"I have gained a rough understanding of the magical patterns of this ancient teleportation array. The transmission distance of this ancient array is vast, spanning half the continent.

Karen must have reached the other side of the continent, which is why he cannot contact us for the time being. We need to leverage our connections to find him."

He turned to Sathis: "Sathis, it was you who lost Karen.

Therefore, it is your duty to find him. I now order you to lead a squad and head immediately to the other side of the continent to search for Karen. Do not return unless you find him."

"Understood, thank you, Your Highness."

Kael'thas continued: "I will notify Stormwind City to assist in the search.

You may also use the teleportation array from Dalaran to Stormwind City to get there." "Antonidas, I trouble you and your people to also mobilize your connections and have your friends over there help with the search.

You may promise that whoever finds Karen will receive the friendship of the High Elf race and a generous reward."

But what of our protagonist, Karen, and how is he faring now?

That day, Karen was completely bewildered when a black shadow slammed into him.

After the black shadow struck Karen, it immediately merged into his body.

Once it merged, Karen was instantly overcome with panic. It wasn't because he had suffered Hero-level damage—his protective barrier had been shattered—but more importantly, he could no longer feel his own body. He could see nothing, feel nothing, and could not move.

A mechanical voice rang out in his mind.

Beep. Host detected. System initializing...

Beep. System scanning...

Database integrity: 0%

System personalization program integrity: 2%

Scanning system integrity: 20%

Analysis and processing center integrity: 20%

Beep. Detected that the host's soul is merging. Consciousness lost, unable to operate the body. The system will temporarily take over the host's body until the soul fusion is complete.

Beep. Due to complete database destruction, scanning host memories to update the database.

Beep. Analyzing current host status. Physical condition: Good. Location: Unknown. Abilities: Intermediate Mage, Intermediate Alchemist. Equipment: 3 Epic items...

Based on the host's current status, it is recommended to hide first.

Scanning surrounding environment. The host is currently in a forest, but there are many traces of humanoid activity nearby; it should be close to a humanoid settlement.

It is recommended that the host first disguise and hide, then observe the humanoids before formulating the next plan.

Collecting surrounding plant parts to decorate the host's body and hide in the shadows.

Body adjusted to embryonic breathing state, lowering life frequency, reducing metabolism, and maintaining a silent state.

Karen remained in this silent state for a day and a half before humans came into the forest to chop wood.

The humans who appeared were just ordinary people, not professionals. The system assessed the danger level as 0.

The system determined the next plan of action: follow these humans to find a human settlement, then judge the next step.

Following the humans from a distance, they arrived at a small town. The system hid Karen's body in a forest not far from the town and then activated a large-scale scanning program.

Beep. Large-scale scanning program activated. Estimated execution time: 1312 seconds. 1%, 2%, 3%... 100%.

Scan results: 1 Intermediate professional, 10 Primary professionals, 34 Apprentice-level, 358 ordinary people.

Conclusion: Threat to the host is 18%, low level. It is recommended that the host perform a concealment mission here.

Beep. Executing concealment mission.

Using special equipment Orb of Deception to transform into an Intermediate Human Mage.

Current probability of discovery: 0%. Probability of being discovered by a random Hero-level professional: 1.3%.

Execution status: Excellent. Suggest naming.

Accessing host memory, naming him Drew.

After transforming into Drew, Karen, operated by the system, did not appear directly in the small town.

Instead, he performed another scan, this time searching for locations with plenty of money but weak defensive forces.

Since Karen's soul was in the middle of the fusion stage, the system was unable to retrieve items from Karen's spatial ring.

A single penny can stump a hero; while it wouldn't be difficult to establish a foothold in the town without money, it would be quite troublesome.

The level of professionalization in this small town was very low, and Karen found a wealthy merchant who kept money in his home.

This specifically selected merchant had not hired professional guards; his security consisted only of ordinary people or apprentice-level individuals.

With the system easily controlling Karen's body, combined with the bug-like scanning system, he acted with ease.

He effortlessly transformed into the thief Karen and easily stole some gold coins from the merchant's home.

He didn't steal too much, as there was no need. A small amount would likely go unnoticed by the merchant, and not being discovered meant no trouble for Karen when entering the town.

He only lacked startup capital in the beginning; once he had it, Karen could earn money in minutes.

With money in hand, Karen—or rather, Drew now—was ready.

Drew walked swaggeringly into the town along the main official road.

Along the way, he revealed the powerful aura of an intermediate professional. Of course, for this small town, an intermediate professional was one of only two powerhouses, and that was counting Drew himself.

Drew arrived at the town mayor's house and expressed his desire to settle down in the town.

He wanted to purchase a property in a relatively remote and quiet area.

At the same time, Drew stated that he was an intermediate alchemist who would regularly craft potions and concoctions to sell to the town's residents. The mayor was delighted to hear this; there was no reason to refuse such a good opportunity.

He immediately promised to help find a house and had someone post a notice on the town's bulletin board right away.

Furthermore, Drew intentionally walked through the area so that many people would see him, and the news spread like wildfire.

Drew hadn't even stayed in the town's inn for a full day before good news arrived.

The house Drew was looking for had been found; it was located in a corner of the town, yet the transportation was still quite convenient.

A stone road extended to the front door, allowing carriages to pass through.

Moreover, this road was not far from the town's main thoroughfare, and it was less than 200 meters from the official road leading out of town, making it very convenient to leave if desired.

More importantly, because it was relatively close to the town's graveyard, very few people lived in this part of town, making it very quiet.

It fit Drew's current persona perfectly: an intermediate mage focused on alchemy, a shut-in type of researcher.

Such a person would prefer seclusion and dislike dealing with others.

This role was easy to play; with few words and few actions, the risk of exposure was extremely low.

Thus, Drew settled down, feeling very satisfied.

The people of the town were very happy; with the arrival of an intermediate mage, the town had become safer.

One must realize that this was a somewhat chaotic world, inhabited not only by humans but also by many other races.

Races like the Gnoll Race and the Kobold Race were restless entities that frequently liked to invade human territories.

Furthermore, this was a world similar to the Middle Ages, where transportation and communication were still very inconvenient for ordinary people, and there were many impoverished individuals.

Consequently, bandits and the like were quite rampant.

Back before he transmigrated, when he played games, he loved fighting these bandit mobs; they had low health and dropped plenty of gold.

But that's drifting off-topic; the point was that there were many bandits, and the lack of safety necessitated protection from professionals.

Therefore, the addition of an intermediate professional to the town greatly guaranteed its safety, which was a very fortunate event for the town's residents.

With an additional powerful professional, ordinary bandits wouldn't dare approach the vicinity of the town.

Moreover, this professional was also an alchemist, bringing not only security to the town but also benefits.

Potions and concoctions that were rarely seen before were now available.

Previously, one would have to travel to a large city to potentially purchase them.

Now, they were available right in town, and not only were they in stock, but they were also cheap. Thus, Drew successfully settled down in the town.