Antonidas

Half a month later, he stood before the King once more. After exchanging a few words of concern, he handed Karen a spatial ring.

Karen used his mental energy to inspect the contents, finding them filled with magic crystals. It seemed the King knew exactly what treasures Karen had chosen and had specifically prepared these supplies for him.

For a High Elf, a long-lived race, a ten-year journey was little more than a vacation taken by a student after finishing their final exams.

Sathis, the captain of the Spellbreakers, escorted Karen to the teleportation array. Human magic was taught by the High Elves, and Dalaran, the holy land of human mages, maintained frequent exchanges with them. Furthermore, Kael'thas held a high-ranking position in Dalaran, and a fixed, directional teleportation array had been established between the two, making travel to Dalaran very convenient.

Beside the array stood a small magical imaging device used to contact the terminal on the other side to complete necessary protocols. Both parties inserted magic crystals into their respective arrays simultaneously.

Sathis led Karen into the array. As the mages beside the platform began chanting, Sathis remained in place. "His Majesty the King has ordered me to protect Your Highness," Sathis explained, noticing Karen's puzzled look.

Karen nodded. Sathis was a peak Master-level Spellbreaker, invincible against any mage below the Hero rank. Having such a bodyguard made Karen feel truly at ease.

Once the mages finished their incantations, the array began to draw energy from the crystals. Runes flickered as the mages' mental energy wove the power into complex magical patterns. The entire platform was soon enveloped in glowing lines. Karen felt a sudden sensation of weightlessness and temporary blindness, but by the time his senses returned, he had arrived at his destination.

This was a teleportation chamber distinct from the elven style. Several mages who had finished the casting stepped forward, and one bowed, saying, "Welcome to Dalaran, Your Highness. Please, follow me."

Karen nodded and followed the mage out of the chamber, with Sathis close behind. Upon exiting, they were met by a group of High Elves. The man at the lead was graceful and extraordinary, with exceptionally handsome features. He wore magnificent crimson robes, and several magical orbs orbited his head in a constant, rhythmic dance.

Comparing himself to the man, Karen felt like a disheveled beggar, suddenly struck by a sense of inferiority.

He didn't need the original owner's memories to recognize this as Kael'thas. The moment Kael'thas saw Karen, a gentle smile bloomed on his face—a sincere warmth that instantly moved Karen.

Kael'thas stepped forward and embraced him. "It has been a long time, little brother."

Feeling the sincerity in Kael'thas's heart, Karen thought of the history of this passionate, gentle, ambitious, and responsible brother—a man who was perfect yet destined for a tragic fate. He made a silent vow: I am your family now, and I will change your destiny.

"Indeed, brother. It has been a long time."

As Kael'thas released him, a human mage stepped forward to introduce himself. "Greetings, Prince Karen. I am Stelli Green, one of the six members of the Kirin Tor Council. Welcome to Dalaran."

"Greetings, Councilor."

"Well, my brother has just arrived, so we shall stop here for today. I will take him home now. Please excuse us," Kael'thas said with a slight bow.

"Please, feel at home here. There is no need for formality," Stelli said to Karen before leading the other humans away.

Kael'thas led Karen and Sathis to his mage tower and entered his private quarters. "That is all for today; you may all return to your duties. Caponia, please find a room for Sathis."

"Yes, Your Highness." Everyone bowed to the two princes and withdrew.

"I heard you attempted that spell again and suffered a mental backlash? How are you feeling now?"

"I am fine, it has healed."

"Do not attempt it again for now. Come here to rest and relax. Do not overthink things; I am here to handle whatever arises."

"I only came to clear my mind." The truth is, Karen thought, you always carry everything on your own shoulders, which is why things ended that way in the future. In this life, I will certainly help you.

"Very well. Don't make any plans yet; I will take you around tomorrow."

Kael'thas and Karen talked for a long time that day, with Kael'thas constantly offering guidance and care.

Karen felt that Kael'thas's charisma was overwhelming. In just one day, he had been completely won over. It was no wonder the people supported him so fervently; even when he later turned to the demons, so many had followed him.

The next day, Kael'thas was unable to take Karen out as promised due to urgent matters, so a human was sent in his stead. That morning, Karen met the man.

"Greetings, Your Highness. My name is Antonidas. I am a student of Archmage Stelli Green, and I will be your guide."

Karen looked at the refined and graceful young human. He was roughly twenty years old, yet appeared steady and wise. Despite his short, energetic hair and the fact that he wasn't particularly handsome—at least by the standards of the High Elves—his constant, sunny smile was deeply engaging.

This was the future legendary Archmage, the leader of human mages, currently a mid-level mage just like himself.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, young and wise mage." This was their first meeting. At this time, Antonidas was very different from the man he would become in his later years; he was witty, humorous, and incredibly learned, already holding a high reputation in Dalaran.

Having transmigrated, Karen offered many novel perspectives and insights that proved helpful to Antonidas, and unlike other High Elves, Karen was not arrogant.

The two were mutually drawn to one another and quickly became friends, with Antonidas soon shedding his initial reserve.

"Hey, Karen, look—someone is sneaking glances at you again."

"Aren't there many High Elves here? Why do they seem so curious?"

"You don't know? There are many elves, yes, but they are rarely seen. They aren't like you; they aren't willing to interact with low-level people like us, let alone commoners."

"Are there many commoners here?"

"Of course. Although this is the holy land of mages, mages are still professionals and quite rare; there aren't many of us.

We also need to eat and have other needs.

Therefore, there are many commoners here who serve us and trade with us.

In such a large city, mages are not the majority; even including apprentices, they are a small group.

See those mage towers? Only high-level mages can own their own towers. Those clusters are the territory of the high-level mages. We low-level mages and apprentices serve them, and commoners are not allowed in those areas.

The area surrounding the towers belongs to us low-level mages, including the Mage Guild, the administrative halls, and other facilities. Further out is the commoner district, where the markets are. We go there to trade for what we need.

Let me take you to the Mage Guild first."

"You're the guide, you lead the way." They arrived at the Mage Guild, a domed building resembling an opera house. The exterior of the structure lacked any visible magical runes.

"Does such an important building have no magical protection?"

"No one here would dare to cause trouble. If they did, the patrolling mages would be more than happy to invite them for 'tea'."

The ten-by-five-meter entrance was constantly busy. Antonidas pointed to the people passing through. "Everyone entering here is a mage and must wear a mage badge. There is magical monitoring equipment at the door to check them." As he spoke, Antonidas pointed to the badge on his own chest—a golden emblem shimmering with magical fluctuations, clearly imbued with power.

"This badge is guild-certified and magically infused; it cannot be cracked or altered, serving as proof of identity.

Every time you advance in rank, you must come here for testing and certification, and you can use the badge to claim benefits corresponding to your level each month.

Mage badges start from the Junior Mage level, which is represented by a book; Intermediate is two books, Advanced is a magic wand, Master is two wands, and Hero is a magic hat."

"Then, if I don't have a badge, does that mean I can't go in and have to wait outside like them?"

"Not having a badge doesn't mean you can't enter, but you will be under strict surveillance. I don't think that will be a problem for you.

These people waiting outside are all commoners and freelance mage apprentices.

After official mages accept tasks here, there are some simple, time-consuming chores that would be a waste of their own time, so they hire these people to complete them.

They are all waiting for tasks."

It felt just like being an extra in a movie—the kind where a casting director takes a job, calls out, and a whole crowd of extras swarms over.

"Freelance mage apprentices?"

"Usually, mage apprentices are disciples or servants recruited by official mages.

These freelance mage apprentices are people who possess some magic power but lack a teacher or employer.

On one hand, they take on simple tasks to support themselves; on the other, they hope to be noticed by an official mage and taken in as a disciple or servant." Karen nodded to show he understood.

Just then, a mage walked toward the group. "I just accepted a task that requires five mage apprentices of level five or higher. The content involves magic power output, and the pay is five silver coins per person per day."

The commoners retreated in disappointment, while some mage apprentices considered it for a moment before walking behind the mage, signaling their acceptance of the task.

"What is the concept of a level five mage apprentice?" Karen asked.

"This is our human classification, just a refinement of levels. Each level is defined by the amount of mana one possesses. Look, what he is holding in his hand is a magic stone for testing mana."

Eight mage apprentices stepped forward. The official mage took out a black stone divided into ten layers.

One mage apprentice placed his hand on it and channeled his magic power. Immediately, the black stone began to glow layer by layer from the bottom up until five layers were lit. No matter how much magic power the apprentice channeled, the sixth layer would not light up.

"Alright, level five mage apprentice, no need to keep trying, stand behind me." In the end, there were eight people at level five or higher, and the mage selected the five with the highest levels before leaving.