Intelligent Elemental Creatures

Capernian brought Karen to Kael'thas's bedroom, where Kael'thas was already waiting.

Capernian withdrew after bringing Karen to the room, and Karen deactivated the effect of the Orb of Deception.

"Brother."

"Alright, sit down. Although I don't know why you were unwilling to return, I believe you have your own reasons now. I won't blame you for anything you can't speak of, but if you encounter any difficulties, you must tell me," Kael'thas said to Karen gently.

"I understand, brother." Karen then gave a detailed account of the events of the past year to Kael'thas.

He only mentioned being struck by a piece of celestial ice, which triggered the passive effect of his necklace.

After the shield shattered, he was teleported onto a teleportation circle, but for some reason, the circle activated, and he ended up near Lincoln Town.

At that time, his state of mind had been troubled, and he wanted to find a place to live in seclusion and rest.

Thus, he disguised himself as a human and lived there.

Following that, he encountered a group of bandits, eliminated them, founded an academy, and joined the Alchemist Association, among other things.

Kael'thas listened quietly. Aside from asking a few questions about the celestial ice, he simply listened without interruption.

Or rather, these were all trivial matters; a High Elf's lifespan spans thousands of years, so a mere year of experience was like a short trip, nothing more than an interesting anecdote in a long life.

When Karen mentioned his promotion to the advanced rank, Kael'thas asked, "Do you know why you couldn't promote before? Is it resolved now? Will it affect your future cultivation?"

Indeed, the previous matters were trivial; anything concerning cultivation was of great importance.

"I think it might have been a matter of the mind. Once I cleared my thoughts, the promotion happened naturally. I believe there will be no issues in the future." Karen had no intention of bringing up the matter of his soul.

Was he supposed to say he wasn't from this world, and strictly speaking, he wasn't the brother Kael'thas once knew? That would be asking for trouble.

So, Karen made up some nonsense about the "state of mind" and "inner demons" he had read about in cultivation novels.

"By the way, brother, how many talents did you awaken when you promoted to the advanced rank?"

"Let me think, it should have been nine talents."

"Isn't the recorded maximum number of talents six?"

"First, that only counts humans. Human talents naturally cannot compare to us High Elves. Second, that is only what has been recorded; those that are unrecorded or unknown are not included. Take your human friend Antonidas, for example; he also promoted to the advanced rank a while ago, and I suspect his number of talents is no less than six." Kael'thas spoke of the record with disdain, while also mentioning Antonidas.

"Antonidas has promoted as well?" Karen asked happily.

"You've promoted, so why would it be strange for him to do the same? Geniuses among humans progress quickly, though their foundations are not as stable as those of us long-lived races. Furthermore, your friend has exceptional talent. During the time you were missing, he blamed himself and became quite despondent. He refused all leisure activities and focused entirely on cultivation and academic research. He published quite a few academic papers this past year. With him settling down to refine his knowledge, his promotion was a natural outcome," Kael'thas explained.

"Then I will go see him tomorrow."

"Will you go to him as the Alchemist Master Drew or as Prince Karen?" Kael'thas asked.

"I will go as my true self, but I will visit him under the guise of Alchemist Master Drew. Once we meet, I will reveal that I am Karen, so he knows I am safe and can set his mind at ease."

"What are your plans for this Alchemist Master Drew identity? I didn't know how long you wanted to keep it hidden, so only those close to me know about it. I haven't even told the members of the Kirin Tor Council. What exactly are you planning?" Kael'thas asked curiously.

"Actually, I have no desire to hide this identity. I have simply built some connections using it, and I intend to continue operating in Stormwind City for the time being, where this identity is quite convenient. It would be better to inform a few important people, as they might be able to provide me with some assistance in certain matters."

"Very well, I will ensure they are notified."

"By the way, brother, how did you obtain Al'ar?" Karen asked curiously.

"Do you remember the entrance to the Fire Elemental Realm in our family's territory?"

"You obtained it from in there?"

"You could say that. That entrance is a gateway to the Fire Elemental Realm."

The Fire Elemental Realm is home to all sorts of fire elemental creatures, ranging from the weak to the strong.

The weak ones are only at the level of primary-tier professionals, while the strongest lords have reached the power of demigods.

These elemental creatures living in the elemental realm, or elemental plane, generally lack intelligence and act purely on instinct.

The rare few that possess intelligence are those that have survived for a very long time, and each one is at least of the hero-tier in strength.

It could be said that while not all hero-tier elemental creatures have intelligence, all intelligent elemental creatures are of the hero-tier.

For those without intelligence, mages can use special summoning methods to contract them for combat.

However, this method does not work for those intelligent elemental creatures.

As for my Al'ar, it is a very unique fire elemental creature. It possesses intelligence, so it is a hero-tier fire elemental creature."

"Then how did you manage to contract it as a partner?"

"Normally, it cannot be contracted, but Al'ar has a unique trait: every time it grows to a certain stage, it must undergo nirvana and rebirth.

At this time, it needs to regrow, starting from the weakest primary-tier elemental creature.

I was very lucky; when I was still a master-tier, I entered the Fire Elemental Realm to travel and gain insights into fire magic, and that was when I encountered it.

At the time, it had just undergone its first nirvana, and its strength was only at the intermediate level."

"And then you contracted it?"

"It wasn't that simple. Let me finish.

If intelligent elemental creatures like this could be forcibly contracted, then one could simply contract an injured intelligent elemental creature.

In that case, Al'ar wouldn't be the only elemental partner of its kind in this world."

"Are you saying that besides you, no one else has an intelligent elemental partner?"

"As far as I know, that is the case. Even if there are others, they must be extremely rare," Kael'thas said proudly.

"Then how did you manage to form a soft contract with it?" Karen asked curiously.

"That brings me to one of my talents, which is called Fire Elemental Affinity.

This talent allows me to get close to fire elemental creatures and communicate with them amicably.

I promised Al'ar that I would protect it as it grew after each nirvana, and combined with my talent, which made it feel naturally drawn to me, it voluntarily signed a contract with me.

That is how I gained an elemental partner.

Without such a talent, don't even think about contracting an intelligent elemental partner, even if you are stronger than it or catch it while it's injured.

They would rather self-destruct and return to their source than give up their freedom."

"Wait a second, brother, let me check... let me look... found it! I also have a talent like that, it seems to be Water Elemental Affinity."

"Then once your strength is sufficient, you can go to the Water Elemental Realm and try your luck.

By the way, I forgot to ask, what talents do you have?"

"There are quite a few, let me count them first."

"Count them? Do you really need to count?"

"One, two, three... nine, ten... twenty, twenty-one, twenty-two. There are twenty-two talents in total, and they are..." Kael'thas was already completely dumbfounded.