Career and Love

On Earth in my past life, there was a saying: "Power and beauty—no, that's career and love." If you had to choose one, I'd choose both.

Entrepreneurs on Earth used to say: first-rate companies set standards, second-rate companies focus on R&D, third-rate companies sell products, and fourth-rate companies sell manual labor. Since I currently hold a monopoly on the Arcane, what we need to do now is establish every industry standard related to it. We must develop new spells, summarize methods to enhance mana, research weapons of mass destruction, and create training manuals for individual instant-casting skills. Our goal is that whenever someone mentions magic, they think of the Night Elf as the boss. You want to learn? Sure, pay up, and I'll sell you the monkey version. If we're on good terms, we can talk, pay a little less, and I'll sell you the enhanced monkey version—enough to bully them with.

Back in the council chamber, after everyone took their seats, Azar spoke up: "We all know the purpose of our base. It is the hope for our tribe's growth and prosperity; it is our future. Faced with issues of life and death, every one of us must be cautious, walking on thin ice. The Arcane is our trump card, and we must use it well, applying it where it matters for the tribe's development. Therefore, every decision we make now carries great weight. Because of this, we must pool our wisdom, be careful, careful, and more careful, be diligent, diligent, and more diligent, and view the problems we face with a forward-looking perspective. Now, I will share my thoughts on our research direction and welcome your input." It's damn true—the more I act like an official, the more I feel like one. My past life's saying, "your position determines your perspective," is truly a golden rule.

"We listen to your voice!"

"My thinking is this: the ultimate goal of our research is to protect the tribe from invasion (to put it bluntly, that means war—why bother being so civilized?). Therefore, we must walk on two legs. On one hand, we continue to explore unknown fields to stay ahead of other tribes. On the other hand, we must establish combat standards, cultivate combat power, explore methods to rapidly improve Arcane ability, and summarize the most practical spells that can be learned the fastest." The crowd nodded one after another; the leader is indeed insightful. (Wahaha, let me be smug for a moment.) Beside me, Azshara's eyes flickered with growing interest, and she interjected, "Could you elaborate?"

"Certainly, beautiful lady." Azar quipped, trying to ease the awkward tension, and continued: "Let's start with standards. We must gather everyone who can sense the Arcane and train them collectively. I call them Magic Apprentice. At this stage, unified low-level personnel will teach them how to improve their Arcane ability faster and better. The key lies in two metrics: control and total mana capacity. Once they reach a certain standard, they advance to First-Circle Mage, at which point they can choose their preferred school to study, still under collective guidance. The same applies to the second and third circles. Above the fourth circle, they can have specialized mentors. Circles one through three are collectively called Mages, four through six are Archmage, seven and above are Legendary Archmage, eight is Immortal Archmage, and the ninth is the divine—God of Magic! The strong lead the weak, the old lead the new, repeating the cycle to form a complete teach-learn-research system." The blueprint is laid out for you; work hard, you geniuses. The leader moves his mouth, the subordinates run their legs off—you can handle the details yourselves. Without waiting for their reaction, Azar continued: "In the process of combat, to put it simply, it's about killing and staying alive. So, I believe that where there is evocation, there must be protection. An excellent Battle Mage should be specialized in one area but capable in many. We research what combat requires and focus on developing that. Our current priority is to cultivate an experimental unit of Battle Mages."

"Do you intend to train the elves in the outer circle into a combat unit?" A voice echoed from the corner.

"No, they have already made achievements in their respective fields. We should cultivate them into excellent craftsmen. They can use their life skills to provide the combat units with superior weapons. Think about it: a blade—wouldn't it be more lethal if it carried fire damage?"

An excellent leader may not be the smartest, but he must have extraordinary perseverance to stay diligent at all times; he must have a broad vision so that his strategies are sustainable; and he must have an inclusive heart to listen to opinions and tolerate others so that people will be loyal to him and follow his lead. Azar felt he could do it.

He left the work to the professionals, feeling he had done all he could. He retained only the right of review; any new discoveries or results had to be reported, and the person in charge had to strictly vet them. Azar didn't want some genius to conjure up a Warlock right now. After all, Necromancy is the hardest to control, and Mages are naturally unrestrained, open-minded, and free-spirited. If they created a ticking time bomb, he'd be the one in tragedy. A profession as difficult to play as a Warlock should be left for the Orcs to develop; he'd just manage his own little patch of the elves.

Facts proved that intellectuals have stronger execution and more obvious results once they have a goal. Relevant matters were quickly listed. Azar checked them carefully, found no hidden dangers, and signed off with a flourish.

The most troublesome problem for Azar now—Azshara still won't talk to me. Compared to the pleasant interaction on the day of the blind date—no, the day we met—there are only polite greetings now. The contrast is too sharp; something must have gone wrong that I haven't noticed. In truth, Azar's heart is quite conflicted. A man's love, especially his first, is basically led by lust, with beauty as the primary standard. If you like what you see, everything about them is good. Clearly, he has taken a fancy to Azshara, so he is a bit lost. Pursue? Or not pursue? That is the question. Azar is an adult male elf; although he is single-mindedly pursuing power, he also needs a sex life. How did that saying go? Right! "Work hard for a beautiful life." A life without love is incomplete. Such a person is only a shell without a soul, destined to have no future. Even if Azar knows her future ends in disaster, he doesn't care. Isn't love supposed to be passionate and earth-shattering? From ancient times to the present, many have gone forward for love without hesitation; it wouldn't hurt to have one more. What if his arrival changes Azshara's fate? To hell with the War of the Ancients! If not Azshara, there will be others. If the butcher dies, can't we still eat pork? Without her, would Sargeras not find Azeroth? Without her opening the gate, the Burning Legion wouldn't be able to get in? There are plenty of ambitious people willing to lick the boots of the Fallen Titan. Gentlemen, do you agree to go? If you agree, then let's do it! Azar hardened his heart, gritted his teeth, stomped his foot, and decided: Go! I'll confess tomorrow! For now? I'm going to catch up on some beauty sleep.