"My dear Kalei, how much longer are you going to stay in your room? If you're ready, come out already. The Moon Goddess's light will reach the roof soon." A gentle voice came from outside, with a hint of complaint.
"I know, Mother. You've said that several times already. I'm coming."
Kalei Nightdew sighed softly, carefully closed the yellowed notebook in his hands, and slipped it into an inconspicuous compartment in the bedside table. Then he sat up on the bed, which was covered in soft furs.
He changed into the clean blue robe prepared especially for today's ceremony and went to the silver-rimmed mirror embedded in the wall.
Bright moonlight streamed through the window. A young, handsome face appeared in the mirror. Its skin was pale purple, and a pair of pointed ears peeked out from among locks of silvery-white hair.
It was obviously not a human face, but that of a Night Elf from Azeroth Continent.
Kalei raised a hand and rubbed his cheek, trying to recall his face from before he'd crossed over. But those memories seemed to be fading like morning mist, impossible to grasp.
Only then did he realize that he'd been in this world for far too long—long enough to almost forget that he had once been an Oriental human from another world.
Kalei had crossed over to Azeroth Continent a hundred years ago. He still hadn't figured out exactly when it was, or how long remained before the continent's major turning point: the opening of the Dark Portal.
As a Warcraft player, Kalei knew Azeroth was hardly a good place to end up after crossing over.
Conflict and disaster were everywhere. Beyond its borders, the Burning Legion, which rampaged across the universe, watched like a predator. Within them, three Old Gods who sought to corrupt the continent lurked in secret. One wrong move, and he might cross over again.
Fortunately, in the midst of his misfortune, Kalei hadn't become some human laborer in Stormwind, much less a Kobold digging mines underground. He'd become a Night Elf.
In Azeroth, Night Elves lived long lives and were friends of nature. They were also blessed by the mysterious Moon Goddess, Elune. Both their aptitude for cultivation and their ability to survive far surpassed those of other races.
But Kalei also knew that, powerful as the Night Elves were, they would be helpless in the face of the world-ending disasters that followed the opening of the Dark Portal.
To prepare for those possible disasters, Kalei had focused on two things since birth: first, confirming the current timeline as soon as possible; second, cultivating as early as he could to make himself stronger.
But what he hadn't expected was that, so far, he'd done a poor job of both.
Night Elves were an immortal race and had almost no sense of time. Nobody made any effort to keep track of it, so Kalei could barely get any accurate information about the timeline from Night Elf society.
He'd considered going to the Eastern Kingdoms, where humans lived, to look for answers. But his young body and his parents' strict supervision had kept him from getting anywhere.
As for cultivation, that was even more frustrating.
In his forties, at his father's arrangement, he'd begun training under a Druid mentor. He'd cultivated for over fifty years, yet had only just taken his first steps on the Druid path.
Weren't all transmigrators supposed to get a cheat? Why didn't he have one? Actually, he did have a cheat. All he had to do was think about it, and a transparent panel, visible only to him, would appear before his eyes.
[Name]: Kalei Nightdew [Status]: Normal [Race]: Night Elf [Class Level]: Level 13 Druid / Level 14 Arcanist [Personal Talents]: None [Racial Talents]: Shadowmeld, Quickness, Touch of Elune. [Class Talents]: None [Druid Skills] Basic Skills: Nature Perception (12/100) Meditation (53/100) Nature Absorption (32/100) Nature Cultivation (Mastered) Novice Class Skills: Thick Skin (18/100) Abundance (19/100) Starfire (22/100) Healing (Mastered; Rejuvenation can be learned) Entangling Roots (Mastered; Mass Entanglement can be learned) ... [Arcanist Skills] Basic Skills: Arcane Perception (69/100) Meditation (53/100) Arcane Absorption (Mastered) Language (Mastered) Novice Class Skills: Conjure Food (53/100) Conjure Water (61/100) Arcane Missiles (56/100) Slow Fall (19/100) ... Mana Equipment: Druid Robe (Ordinary) Mana Items: None Pets: None Note: To learn a skill, you must first understand information about that skill.
Unfortunately, although the panel looked like a cheat, its functions were extremely limited.
Apart from objectively displaying his abilities and current status, its only other use was to inspect someone else's strength and convert it into a target level. It did nothing else.
He couldn't find an experience bar or anywhere to allocate points. He wanted to ask: how much help could a panel like this possibly give him?
Of course, if he really had to name another use for it, the panel could show him his strengths and weaknesses.
For example, according to the World of Warcraft lore, Night Elves should have had six racial talents: [Shadowmeld], [Quickness], [Touch of Elune], [Prowl], [Nature Resistance], and [Spirit of the Wisp]. Perhaps because his soul came from another world, he was missing three of them.
The fact that he was missing so many racial talents explained why he'd made such slow progress on the Druid path.
But although his aptitude for being a Druid wasn't much to speak of, he had a knack for the Arcane.
Several years ago, he'd found an ancient scroll on Arcane cultivation among his grandfather's belongings.
At first, he'd considered the Night Elves' rejection of the Arcane and had never dared to practice it.
Over the past two years, he'd grown increasingly disappointed with his progress as a Druid. So, to gain more power, he'd started practicing the Arcane in secret. He hadn't expected to catch up with his Druid abilities so quickly, and the surprise was a pleasant one.
But no matter how pleased he was, he didn't dare let it show. Night Elves were tolerant of their own people and probably wouldn't do anything to him, but they might ostracize him, which could drag his family into it.
So, in private, he often had to mask the Arcane energy with nature energy to keep anyone from finding out.
After a while of idle thoughts, Kalei opened the door and went outside.
Today was the day he'd attend the coming-of-age ceremony at the Temple of the Moon. Once the ceremony was over, he'd no longer be under anyone's supervision and could carry out his plans freely. He didn't want to miss such an important day.
Outside, his mother, Velina Nightdew, was waiting for him in a pale green dress.
Velina had a gentle face and looked younger than thirty, though in truth she'd lived for who knew how many years.
When she saw her son come out, the reproach on her face softened. In fluent, elegant Darnassian, she asked, "What have you been doing in there, dear? It's getting late."
Kalei didn't dare tell his mother that he'd been looking through the notebook. In it, he'd recorded in square characters many things that might happen in the future of Azeroth Continent.
He knew that even if his mother found out, she wouldn't hurt him, and he believed nobody else in this world could read those characters.
But he also knew that this was a magical world full of wonders. If someone got hold of his notebook, they might be able to use some method he didn't know to decipher its contents. That would be a real problem.
Seeing his mother's questioning look, Kalei quickly smiled apologetically. "It's nothing. Today's my coming-of-age ceremony, isn't it? I suddenly thought of Father and remembered the notes on Druid lore he left at home. I got a little emotional and couldn't help taking them out to read."
At the mention of her husband, Velina's eyes reddened. She silently turned away.
Kalei realized he'd brought up something painful for his mother. A wave of guilt washed over him, and he hurried to gently place a hand on her shoulder to comfort her. "Mother, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought it up."
Velina turned back and took his hand. Lowering her head, she said, "I'm all right, dear. If your father knew what you've accomplished, he'd be proud of you."
Kalei nodded. His father's familiar, awkward smile came to mind.
His father was Malka Nightdew, a rather poor Night Elf Druid.
Everyone knew that Night Elves were friends of nature and blessed by the Moon Goddess, Elune. They had an inborn talent for the Druid class, and given enough time, they were bound to achieve something in their Druid training.
But even after cultivating for over a thousand years, Malka Nightdew was still a low-level Druid. His strength was no higher than level 15, nowhere near the dream of becoming a legendary Druid he'd cherished as a child.
About forty years ago, Moonshadow Village, where Kalei lived, was suddenly attacked by Satyrs, the demons' lackeys. To protect the village, his wife, and his child, Malka Nightdew bravely joined the battle.
But when the battle ended, the Satyrs had been defeated, and Malka had disappeared.
With the villagers' help, Kalei and his mother searched the village and its surroundings for weeks, but they couldn't find Malka. From then on, his whereabouts became a mystery to the village—and a lasting pain for Kalei and his mother, Velina.
Fortunately, although Malka had disappeared, he'd already found Kalei a Druid mentor before he went missing.
After his father disappeared, Kalei worked hard under his Druid mentor and spent decades catching up with his father.
To his surprise, many people praised this accomplishment. Some even called him a genius.
But Kalei knew perfectly well that he wasn't a genius. True, compared to others his age, he'd made slightly faster progress on the Druid path, but that was all.
The Night Elves' long lives were both a strength and a weakness. They never considered how much time anything might take.
Most of them had an inborn talent for the Druid arts, but they spent only half an hour or an hour each day making use of it. Kalei spent several times as long practicing in private.
This harsh reality made Kalei understand that he wasn't much more talented in Druid training than his father, Malka.
But, as he'd said, given enough time, Kalei could still achieve something. The question was, did he have that much time?
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