Trouble at the Western Temple

Beyond the sea, the most common connection between Sunstrider Isle and the outside world is the grand bridge leading to the west of Silvermoon City. Spanning dozens of meters, the white arched bridge is inscribed with complex patterns; it appears delicate, yet it is exceptionally sturdy.

Sitting in the carriage, Lanlos's gaze never left the approaching Silvermoon City. It must be said that while human magic can, to a certain extent, rival or even surpass that of the High Elf, in terms of heritage, the current Dalaran certainly cannot compare to Quel'Thalas.

Take the floating Fastherin Academy alone; it would be many years before Dalaran achieved a breakthrough in levitation technology.

Withdrawing his gaze, Lanlos took a map of Quel'Thalas from his robes and slowly unfolded it. In truth, seeing such a familiar map layout for the first time, Lanlos felt quite nostalgic.

Unlike in the game, Silvermoon City remains a perfect magical capital—no ruins, no Dead Scar running through the entirety of Quel'Thalas, and many small, peripheral villages that never appeared in the game exist here.

Moreover, what is most astonishing is that the land area of Quel'Thalas is far larger than Lanlos had imagined.

Regarding Eversong Woods alone, traveling from Silvermoon City to Quel'Thalin would take nearly a week of non-stop travel along the main road, not counting unexpected events like ambushes.

It is no wonder that when the Lich King attacked Quel'Thalas, no one could provide support. According to the standard marching speeds Lanlos understands, whether it was Dalaran or other members of the Alliance, they would have been unable to help, hindered by the Western Plaguelands.

Likewise, for Lanlos to reach the Western Temple, it would take at least two days.

Upon learning from Lansan that there was an opportunity to come here, he agreed without a second thought; after all, this is a Ley Line hub.

The Ley Line of Azeroth was not formed naturally. Countless ages ago, the Titans roaming the Astral Realm discovered this newborn kin. Although still in its nascent, slumbering state, the power of this sibling was unprecedented. However, to the horror of the Pantheon, Void energy coated the surface of the planet like rotting flesh; that scarred land had completely fallen into the clutches of the Old Gods and the Black Empire.

To save this sibling from the erosion of the Void, while ensuring their own immense power did not cause irreparable harm to the newborn, the members of the Pantheon created a group of constructs: the Titan keepers. Although the Titan keepers imprisoned all the rampaging Elemental Lords in four elemental sub-planes and swept through the Aqir, they were faced with the powerful Old God Y'Shaarj. Even these Titan creations, forged of steel and stone, had their minds affected, filled with fear and malicious thoughts.

The war reached a stalemate, and the Pantheon had no choice but to intervene personally, risking harm to Azeroth. Aman'Thul himself descended from the storm-ravaged skies of Azeroth, seized the mountain-sized body of Y'Shaarj, and tore it from the surface of the planet with great force.

The peerless Old God was torn in two; its death throes shook the mountains and destroyed countless nearby Titan creations. Yet, what Aman'Thul did not anticipate was that the tentacles of Y'Shaarj were rooted so deeply in Azeroth that tearing it away inevitably left a massive wound on the planet's surface.

The life source of the newborn Titan, vast and unstable arcane energy, erupted from within.

Later, they imprisoned the remaining Old Gods, and through the joint efforts of the Titans and their creations, the surging energy at the wound stabilized, leaving behind a shimmering lake later known as the 'Well of Eternity'. The arcane energy spreading across the world also stabilized, forming the most primitive Ley Line.

Later still, the coronation of the Dragon Aspect Malygos and the explosion of the Well of Eternity gradually caused the Ley Line of Azeroth to become increasingly stable and consolidated.

It is called a Ley Line because it acts like a giant web hidden beneath the crust of Azeroth, transmitting vast arcane energy through its veins. The intersections of these veins are the Ley Line hubs, which contain immense magical power. The more veins that intersect, the greater the magical power contained within.

"You finally arrived." As soon as Lanlos stepped off the carriage, a female spellcaster in robes walked up to greet him.

"May I ask if the Ley Line guardian Velania is here?"

"Aha, isn't she right in front of you? Young man, your eyesight needs some work." The woman gave a bright smile, playfully tapping the tip of her nose.

"You?" A trace of disbelief flashed across Lanlos's face. According to Lansan, Ley Line guardians are powerful spellcasters. Although it is difficult to judge an elf's age by appearance, from the details of her gestures and her exquisite, beautiful makeup, Lanlos was certain she was not old.

"What, don't I look the part?" His skeptical expression made her somewhat displeased. She pouted slightly, then revealed a wicked smile as she stepped forward. "How about I, your sister, personally 'guard' you for a night and see?"

Is there such a good thing? Lanlos's eyes nearly popped out—not out of evil intent, but because he was so surprised.

Hahaha, is this what 8 Charisma does? That's it? That's all?

As he laughed, he suddenly wanted to cry, because he knew very, very clearly that this must be fake. Because his Charisma was only 8, only 8...

"Ahem, let's talk about business first." Lanlos's heart was in turmoil, but his face remained calm; he was used to it by now. At the same time, the apprentices behind him also stepped off the carriage.

"Hmph, no sense of fun." Seeing that her teasing failed, Velania's expression immediately turned cold.

Do you have any idea what you're thinking, you damn woman? Let me tell you, even if I die, I won't accept such charity...

Lanlos squeezed out a stiff smile, having already cursed her out in his heart.

At this moment, Velania had already shifted her attention to the apprentices behind him, who were curiously observing her, as she looked much like someone their own age in both dress and demeanor.

"Hmm, although the quality is decent, the quantity seems insufficient." Seeing that there were only ten people including Lanlos, the teaching assistant, Velania rubbed her chin in thought for a moment before quickly letting it go. "Oh well, it's just a small matter anyway."

"Come here, my darlings, let me give you a detailed introduction to the upcoming mission." Waving her hand vigorously, Velania excitedly led the way toward the center of the temple.

Glancing at the chattering, excited students walking past him, Lanlos sighed silently and followed along.

She said 'darlings', so that naturally includes me, right? Hmph, hypocritical woman.

North of Silvermoon City, across the strait, lies the Isle of Quel'Danas, home to the Sunwell. It is a Ley Line hub of significant scale and the resting place of an ancient troll. Of course, the Quel'dorei did not know this; they not only poured a vial of water from the Well of Eternity onto the island but also built a city on that land. By the time the trolls reacted and fought back, their ancestors' ashes had already been scattered.

Of course, that is a joke. On the Isle of Quel'Danas, due to the further reinforcement of the Sunwell, the magical energy in the Ley Line hub reached an astonishing level. Even though the Quel'dorei squandered the mana so extravagantly, there was still a massive amount of excess energy erupting outward.

To prevent this overflowing mana from threatening their new territory, the farsighted arcanists built several Ley Line nodes to divert the magical energy of the hub.

Several temples were thus established within the territory of Quel'Thalas. The benefit of this was not only to expand the coverage of Ban'dinoriel but also to allow Silvermoon City to shut down the temples whenever it needed that power, causing the mana to reconverge on the capital.

Generally speaking, the mana concentration near such Ley Line nodes is exceptionally high, making them dream locations for spellcasters to settle.

However, because Silvermoon City is the primary draw, the vast majority of arcanists prefer to live in the capital.

Furthermore, the Western Temple is a special case.

The Western Temple is located on the north bank of Sunsail Harbor, on an isolated island. Although it is embedded within the map of Quel'Thalas, a wide river blocks most contact with the outside world. Therefore, apart from the Ley Line guardians, no one is willing to live here.

This has caused a serious problem: severe arcane energy overflow. Although the temple's energy conversion devices operate day and night, they are almost always in a state of overload. Even a perpetual motion machine needs a bit of lubricant, let alone such precision instruments.

Almost every half-month, one or two devices malfunction. Whenever this happens, the overflowing arcane energy creates a large number of Arcane Aberrations from the Western Temple all the way to the Quiet Coast in the far west. Occasionally, beasts have even been corrupted by the arcane, becoming ferocious and attacking elves.

After all, they are severely understaffed. Velania and her assistants cannot abandon their duty of guarding the Ley Line to deal with these trivial matters. Therefore, regular cleaning of Arcane Aberrations has become the most troublesome issue for the Western Temple.

Upon learning of this situation, Silvermoon City handed the cleaning mission to the Fastherin Academy. The students can hone their skills through the practical application of arcane arts, while simultaneously eliminating the hidden dangers of the Western Temple—a win-win situation.

Of course, there is almost no danger, as they are only low-level apprentices; neither the academy nor Silvermoon City would allow them to face life-threatening situations. But nothing is absolute, so someone must protect these newcomers. And Lanlos's task for these few days is to be their nanny.

In truth, this position was originally meant for Lansan. But because Lanlos dreamed of being as close to such a source of magic as possible, he had simply gone with the flow.

Of course, he didn't expect to sneak a greedy gulp from the Ley Line nodes; the primary purpose of his trip was those Arcane Aberration. Although he hadn't officially met them yet, the mere fact that these elemental creatures were aggregates of energy made his mouth water. Moreover, according to Lansan, once these things dissipated, they would leave behind pure Arcane Shard, which were essentially miniature mana crystals.

Even if he were to sell them, he could fetch a handsome profit. Considering that the apprentices working part-time as cleaners put in a fair amount of labor, the Temple authorities would not interfere with how they handled these Arcane Shard.

If he worked hard enough, Lanlos could fully utilize the unique conditions here to raise his own affinity for magic to the required level.

Thinking of this, Lanlos regained his spirits, and his stride quickened.

"This is the Western Temple." Clapping her hands to draw everyone's attention, Velania pointed ahead.

Even though he was accustomed to the breathtaking architectural craftsmanship of Fastherin, Lanlos could not help but marvel from the bottom of his heart.

Before them stood a tall tower, with complex and orderly gold and red patterns adorning the pristine white walls. They intertwined and combined in such a way that it seemed every gaze revealed a new design. An open-air spiral staircase wound up the outer wall, reaching the Astrology Platform at the top. Several blue diamond-shaped crystals floated in mid-air, slowly rotating around the tower's peak, though it was clear that three positions were noticeably vacant.

"See those? Those are the Conversion Crystal, which help us collect and release energy to where we need it. However, three of them are damaged, and my assistants are currently repairing them. Your task is to clear the entire island of Arcane Aberration while the repairs are underway."

Whoosh!

The crowd behind Lanlos erupted in an instant.

"All of them?"

"But there are only nine of us?"

Damn it, are they not even treating us like people?

"That's enough!" The veins on Lanlos's forehead bulged under the pressure of his irritation. He let out a low growl, and relying on his authority as a teaching assistant, he managed to stifle the complaints. Even though, throughout the journey, everyone had treated him like he was invisible.

"Oh my, you've got quite the capability." Velania looked slightly surprised, seemingly taken aback that this unremarkable young man possessed such influence.

As perhaps the only elf with 8 Charisma, Lanlos was quite sensitive to the gazes and tones of others. Naturally, he heard the double meaning in her words, and he nodded expressionlessly: "Yes, quite."

Concise and to the point.

It was unclear whether Velania understood his meaning, but the monitor narrowed her eyes, revealing a rare seriousness: "Since that is the case, I can rest a bit easier. This incident is somewhat special compared to the past."

"Whenever the Conversion Crystal had issues in the past, we would repair and replace them immediately, but as you can see, they haven't been placed back even now."

Lanlos's brows furrowed tightly. The other party's demeanor made him feel increasingly uneasy: "The reason?"

"The most important module of the Conversion Crystal, the Conduit Crystal, is gone." The gravity and suppression on Velania's face were no less than Lanlos's. "It is highly likely that when the Conversion Crystal malfunctioned, it was ejected by the surging magic of the Ley Line node, and I don't know where it flew off to."

Before coming here, Lanlos had done his homework. The Conduit Crystal was a part of the Conversion Crystal and served as its input port. Without this component, the Conversion Crystal could not channel the magical energy of the Ley Line node into itself.

"You haven't gone looking for it?" Lanlos was first surprised, then puzzled. The impact of this was not small; the Temple's Ley Line nodes were used to divert the excess magic of the Sunwell and maintain the daily operations of the Ban'dinoriel barrier. If the Western Temple failed to maintain a sufficient supply for several consecutive days as it usually did, Silvermoon City would surely be furious.

"We simply can't get away." Velania sighed helplessly. "To ensure the magic supply of the Western Temple, I have had to arrange for everyone to take turns acting as the Conduit Crystal. However, since this morning, everyone has become accustomed to this coordination, so I don't need to supervise them personally. That is why I will be joining you on the island to search for the Conduit Crystal."

Good grief, he had really stepped into a mess.

Facing the earnest gaze of the Ley Line monitor, Lanlos let out a long sigh. This was a pirate ship; if he had known, he wouldn't have boarded...