New Mission

Kalei took a few careful looks and, noticing a green ribbon tied to the little creature's leg, recognized it as a messenger from the Cenarion Circle. He quickly waved his hand.

The owl spotted him immediately, dove straight down from the sky, and landed steadily in front of him. It let out two coos and extended a claw to toss a letter toward him.

Kalei caught the letter. Seeing how adorable the owl was, he prepared to tease the little fellow before giving it something to eat.

Unexpectedly, the little creature gave him a look of disdain, patted him with its small claw, and then flapped its wings to fly back into the sky.

Kalei hadn't expected the little guy to have such a personality; he could only retract his hand sheepishly and open the letter to read it.

The sender was the same as last time—the headquarters of the Cenarion Circle. The content stated that the beasts in the forests surrounding Zoram had begun to riot. Since the town currently lacked druidic personnel, they were requesting Kalei to investigate the cause of the unrest and resolve the issue.

It looks like this long vacation is over! Kalei tucked the letter into his bag, suppressed his thoughts, and closed his eyes once more to focus on completing his daily meditation.

That evening, Kalei informed his mother of the Cenarion Circle's arrangements.

Velina understood the duties of a druid and knew that no beast in the forest could harm a druid blessed by the Goddess, so she raised no objections.

The next afternoon, Velina rose early to prepare a delicious meal for Kalei as a send-off.

After finishing his meal, Kalei packed his gear, mounted Big Black, and left home.

Before heading to Zoram, Kalei first went to Maestra Town to see his teacher, Matt Hardwood.

The two chatted about recent events, and then Kalei brought up the matter of his father.

Matt asked in surprise, "What? Your father is still alive? You found clues to his disappearance? When?"

Kalei told him about his father's disappearance and Ordos, and then shared the leads he had uncovered.

After listening, Matt cursed, "Damn Satyr. These guys really belong in hell. Sigh, your father was unlucky to run into such a creature, but at least he didn't lose his life."

Kalei sighed, "Although he may still be alive, his mind is damaged. He doesn't even know how to return home, and now I don't know where to look for him."

Matt frowned, "That is indeed a troublesome problem. Our territory is so vast; finding one person is like looking for a needle in a haystack."

Kalei said, "That's why I thought of a simple method, though I don't know if it will work."

Matt said, "Oh? Let's hear it."

Kalei said, "I was thinking, since druids can communicate with flora and fauna, could I ask a high-level druid to go to the place where my father disappeared and ask the surrounding mountains, rivers, and plants about their memories of him?"

Matt's eyes lit up, but he immediately shook his head. "No, that method is too difficult. As far as I know, only legendary druids have the ability to extract memories from the land and plants. Furthermore, there is a time limit. Your father has been missing for over 40 years, which is long past the limit for retrieving such memories."

Kalei said with some disappointment, "Is that so? It seems I overthought it."

Matt sighed, "Don't be too anxious. Your father has been missing for so long, so there's no rush to find him in a single day. I suggest you report this to the Temple of the Moon and let them help you search. I will also keep an eye out for any information regarding your father."

Kalei nodded, "Thank you, Teacher. For now, that's all I can do."

The two then chatted about various trivial matters. Before leaving, Kalei asked Matt again about the progress of the investigation into the Nightmare, but he still didn't receive any useful news. It seemed the investigation had vanished into thin air, which left him feeling disappointed and, at the same time, raised his guard.

Before he left, Matt suddenly called out to Kalei, "Oh, right. I was so busy chatting that I forgot to tell you: the Cenarion Circle has evaluated your contribution in the battle at Fel Fire Valley. You can now go to the Cenarion Circle station and find the person in charge, Darian Lightwind, to collect your reward."

"Oh? What is the Cenarion Circle rewarding me with this time?" Kalei asked, both surprised and delighted.

Matt laughed, "This time is different from the last. Last time, the Cenarion Circle knew you were in urgent need of a Druid Robe, so they took the initiative to prepare one for you. This time, they didn't know what you needed, so they didn't make any assumptions. However, they have provided you with a list of options, and you can choose for yourself."

"That's not bad. Alright, thank you, Teacher. I'll go find Ms. Lightwind right away." Kalei bid his teacher farewell and walked along the street to the Cenarion Circle station.

Kalei was already a celebrity in Maestra Town. When the reception staff at the station heard he was looking for Darian Lightwind, they didn't hesitate to take him straight to her office.

Darian Lightwind appeared to be in her thirties, dressed in a light green Druid Robe. She had an elegant posture and a gentle smile between her brows, showing none of the airs of a leader of the Cenarion Circle.

Kalei had met her a few times before and wasn't a stranger, so he didn't stand on ceremony and greeted her directly.

Darian put down her quill, glanced at him, and quickly stood up. "Oh, Kalei, our hero of Maestra, you've arrived."

Kalei smiled, "Ms. Lightwind, you hold me in too high regard. In front of a high-ranking member like you, how could I dare call myself a hero?"

Darian sat down and smiled, "A hero is not defined by strength, nor by status, Kalei. Everyone has witnessed the contributions you've made to Maestra Town over the past two months. You are fully worthy of the title of hero."

Kalei shrugged, "In that case, I can only hope that I won't let everyone's trust down in the future."

Darian pursed her lips and smiled, "You are very clear-headed, Kalei. It seems your teacher is right; you are more mature than you look."

"Alright, Kalei, let's not make small talk. You came to see me today to collect your reward from the Cenarion Circle, right?"

Kalei nodded, "Yes, I heard about it from my teacher."

Darian smiled, "The evaluation results from the Cenarion Circle have indeed come out." As she spoke, she handed Kalei a scroll and continued, "According to the results, you may choose any one item registered on this scroll as your reward."

Kalei took the scroll, opened it, and began to look through it carefully.

He discovered that there were quite a few items registered on the scroll, including not only staves, equipment, potions, and materials, but also magical items, rare druid spells, and even Moon Coin.

Kalei looked through every option and found that, except for the Moon Coin, almost everything was something he could use at his current stage.

After much deliberation, Kalei finally chose a magical item—the Branch of Nordrassil.

Nordrassil is the World Tree guarded by the Night Elf. This World Tree is different from others; it was cultivated from the seed of the first World Tree on the Azeroth Continent by the Dragonqueen of the Red Dragonflight during ancient times to cover and harmonize the miniature Well of Eternity that Illidan had created on Mount Hyjal.

After this tree was born, it was blessed by the Bronze Dragon Aspect Nozdormu, the Dragonqueen of the Red Dragonflight Alexstrasza, and the Dragonqueen of the Green Dragonflight Ysera, and it began to absorb the power of the Well of Eternity to grow strong.

For a long time, Nordrassil did not fail the expectations of the Night Elf. It successfully masked the power of the Well of Eternity on Mount Hyjal and, by absorbing the power within the well, converted it into natural energy to repair the ecology of the Kalimdor Continent.

However, surprisingly, although Nordrassil was incredibly powerful, it could not withstand the immense power of the Well of Eternity. As time passed, the natural energy within the tree increased, beginning to affect the tree itself.

To maintain its own stability, every few decades, the tree would condense the excess natural energy within it into a small branch and gift it to the Night Elf in return for their guardianship. This is the origin of the Branch of Nordrassil.

Dalaen looked surprised. "Are you sure you want to choose this item? I feel like it doesn't have much use for you right now."

Kalei smiled. "I'm sure."

He had been wondering where to find purer natural energy just two days ago, and he hadn't expected to stumble upon it here today. It was exactly what he needed.

Seeing Kalei's persistence, Dalaen didn't say anything more. She put away the scroll, rummaged through her Magic Backpack, and pulled out a foot-long emerald green branch, handing it to Kalei while cautioning him to use it carefully.

Kalei took it and felt it in his hand, immediately sensing a surging, majestic natural force within the short branch. It was truly astonishing.

"You have discovered the Branch of Nordrassil."

Name: Branch of Nordrassil

Quality: Epic

Description: A life-giving branch gifted to the Night Elf by Nordrassil, containing a vast amount of natural energy.

He put away the Branch of Nordrassil, bid farewell to Dalaen, and left the council grounds. Following Matt's suggestion, he went to the Temple of the Moon to report his father's situation.

The person in charge of the Temple of the Moon, High Priestess Laria, stated that she would keep an eye out for information regarding his father and told him to wait patiently for news.

Kalei thanked Laria, then mounted his Saber and left Maestra, heading toward Zoram Town.

Zoram Town was to the west of Maestra, about two or three hundred kilometers away. At Big Black's speed, it would take one night to get there.

Once out of Maestra, Kalei rode Big Black along the main road at a gallop for a distance. Seeing no one around, he slowed down and took the Branch of Nordrassil out of his Magic Backpack.

He couldn't wait to test whether this branch could activate the Seed of the Soul Ancient Tree within his body.

At first, he held the branch of the World Tree in his hand, but the Seed of the Soul Ancient Tree inside him showed no reaction at all.

Next, he tried to channel the natural energy from within the branch.

The moment he focused his intent, the nearly transparent Seed of the Soul Ancient Tree, which had been hidden deep within his body, began to stir.

The seed was like a hound that had been starving for a long time; it floated out of Kalei's body, hovered over his hand, and began to greedily absorb the natural energy from the branch of the World Tree.

As the energy poured in, the color of the seed turned green at a rate visible to the naked eye. A few minutes later, it had become a green sphere the size of a basketball.

With the continuous infusion of energy, fine cracks began to appear on the surface of the sphere. A tender green sprout slowly poked out, followed by the rapid growth of branches and leaves. Within a dozen seconds, it had grown into a pale blue sapling one meter tall.

"Your Seed of the Soul Ancient Tree has been activated."

"You can summon the Soul Ancient Tree from your body at any time to assist you in battle."

"The Soul Ancient Tree possesses two states: Ethereal and Physical. The Ethereal state helps you accelerate mana recovery, while the Physical state can directly assist you in combat."

"The Soul Ancient Tree's ability cap depends on your own ability cap."

"The Soul Ancient Tree is currently in its infancy and requires constant absorption of natural energy to grow."

"As the Soul Ancient Tree grows, it will gain more abilities."

Kalei was overjoyed to see the string of information appear on the panel.

He followed the panel's prompts to summon the Soul Ancient Tree and tried to command it, discovering that it could indeed switch between Ethereal and Physical states.

In its Ethereal state, it could change size and float directly around Kalei, helping him recover mana.

In its Physical state, it transformed into a small treant to help Kalei fight.

It was a pity, however, that the little guy had just been born and its abilities were not yet as good as Big Black's. It wasn't of much use for now, so he would have to wait for it to grow larger to witness its true power.

He played around with the Soul Ancient Tree for a while, and seeing no further changes, he put it away and looked down at the Branch of Nordrassil in his hand.

By now, the branch had lost all its luster, becoming dry and yellow; the natural energy within it had clearly been exhausted.

He weighed the branch in his hand and tossed it onto the ground with a sense of regret.

The Branch of Nordrassil was a rare treasure for a Druid, useful for assisting in cultivation. He hadn't expected to use one up just like that; it would be difficult to obtain another.

Kalei sighed, stopped dwelling on it, mounted Big Black, and continued his journey toward Zoram Town.