Elite Boss

Hearing the heartfelt praise, a smile unconsciously appeared on Vereesa's pale little face. But it lasted only an instant before she suppressed it. "Hmph. Wasn't beating a coward like you only to be expected?"

Knowing that, given their relationship, she wouldn't say anything nice to him anyway, Lanlos shrugged indifferently and said nothing more. He turned and headed in the direction the Mana Spring Leopard had come from.

"Hey, where are you going?" Seeing this, Vereesa put away her arrows and used the tree trunk to help herself stand.

"This Mana Spring Leopard was clearly corrupted by a powerful source of magic. But we're so far from the Western Temple that a Ley Line node can't be the cause." Remembering Velania's mention of the Conduit Crystal being ejected, Lanlos's expression gradually darkened. "Anyway, stay here and don't move. I'll go take a look."

Mana Spring Leopards couldn't use magic. Unless one swallowed a Conduit Crystal, it couldn't suffer corruption this severe. But this one had, which meant there was another being here capable of using magic.

If it were an elf, they wouldn't have let it wander all the way here. So there was only one possibility.

"You expect me to wait here? What a joke." Vereesa had recovered by now, and for some reason, she stepped in front of Lanlos. "So you can use the chance to run away?"

Lanlos was thinking about how to deal with a powerful elemental that could use a Conduit Crystal. He had no intention of continuing to bicker with Vereesa. After a brief pause, he simply took the curved blade from his waist and held it out to the girl. "Your mission is complete. Go back to the Sanctum. If I haven't returned by tomorrow, have Velania bring people here."

Almost on reflex, Vereesa took the curved blade. She stared blankly at the weapon she'd always wanted to reclaim, the Windrunner Blade. But now that it was in her hands, she felt no joy at having finally gotten what she wanted. His words stirred up a tangled mess of emotions in her heart.

And he'd gone and made it sound so noble. How could someone with her personality just walk away?

By the time she came to her senses, Lanlos had already passed her and gone some distance ahead.

"Hey!"

The mage turned around, only to hear a soft whoosh. He held out his hand and caught the Windrunner Blade with ease. "What are you doing?"

"You're just a mage. If no one buys you time, you can't even handle that Mana Spring Leopard. So why are you acting like some hero?" Though he was her instructor, Vereesa had gotten a rough sense of his abilities after observing him lately. Of course, only on the surface.

"Now's not the time to show off, Vereesa." Looking at the Windrunner Blade in his hand, Lanlos was deeply puzzled, but he kept talking. "I'm not joking. I can't even guarantee my own safety from here on out, let alone yours."

Whether it was hand-to-hand combat or archery, Vereesa was strong enough to deal with beasts or Trolls. But elemental beings had an absurdly high resistance to physical damage. Even if she emptied her entire quiver, she'd have trouble doing any real harm.

"Who said I needed you to protect me?" The girl glared at him, then raised her chin proudly. "I'm a Windrunner. I was born with the duty to protect the lands and people of Quel'Thalas from harm. It's my mission, and my responsibility."

"So you're saying you'll protect me?" Lanlos stared at her for a moment, then nearly laughed aloud.

"Don't flatter yourself." Vereesa rolled her eyes at him. "I'm only obligated to investigate whether there's a danger here that threatens the apprentices, then report it to the person in charge at the Western Temple."

Lanlos didn't reply. When the pretty girl came up to him, he rested one hand on his elbow and stroked his chin with the other, shamelessly looking her up and down. As a vein began to bulge at her temple and she was about to lose her patience, he suddenly clapped his hands and cried out as if he'd had a revelation. "Oh, I get it. You like me!"

Boom!

The words from that shameless man shattered Vereesa's composure in an instant. She nearly ground her teeth to dust, drew her weapon, and lunged at the scoundrel who'd insulted her honor, swinging the blade at him.

"I'll cut you down!"

"Calm down!" Luckily, they were close enough for Lanlos to grab her wrist in alarm. "That's not what I meant!"

"Today, either you die or I do!" Her free left hand curled into a claw and shot out like a venomous snake striking at its prey...

A perfect ten in Charisma, and that taunt...

"This should be just up ahead." A muffled whisper came from the woods.

Under the shadow of the trees, Lanlos covered his right cheek and peeked out.

Ahead was a fairly open clearing. At the far end stood a sunken cave. Though it was pitch-black inside, Lanlos could still feel magical energy leaking out of it.

More importantly, three blood-soaked Mana Spring Leopard corpses lay scattered in the middle of the clearing. They were clearly the same kind of beast as the one they'd encountered earlier. As for who'd killed them, that was harder to say.

After all, two pale blue energy creatures were wandering beside the bodies.

Their slender figures looked like skeletons draped in blue gauze. They had no legs or lower bodies, and their arms were almost as long as their torsos. Long, narrow claws extended from their hands like daggers, their sharpness enough to make one's scalp crawl.

Mana Wraiths. Some said they were ghosts born when elves corrupted by magic died. Others believed the opposite, that they were local spirits transformed after being tainted by magic.

Lanlos had read a thorough and reliable study on them in a book. Like Arcane Aberrations, these things were pure elemental beings.

The elements found on Azeroth—or, rather, in all the worlds of this plane—weren't limited to wind, fire, earth, and water. There was also spirit. This "spirit" didn't refer only to the soul or ghost on a mental level. As one of the fundamental elements that made up the world, spirit existed in every corner of it. In the truest sense, everything had a spirit.

Unlike the inherent chaos and restlessness of elements like wind, fire, earth, and water, spirit gave all things a tendency toward reason and order. The existence of elemental life was proof of this. Powerful enough energy drew in the power of spirit, giving it the ability to think atop a foundation of chaos.

The most obvious proof of the existence of spiritual power was ghosts, the Loa, the ancestral power of Shamans, and even the opposition between Light and darkness, which had begun as an instinct from the dawn of chaos and eventually manifested as the Naaru and the Void Lords. The birth of the Titans was another example...

All of these were evidence that spiritual power existed.

Mana Wraiths were also elemental beings whose consciousness had arisen from energy. It was only their eerie appearance and similar incorporeal nature that had caused people to group them with the Undead.

But these things didn't avoid the light.

"Only two?" Vereesa swept her gaze over the area, her expression cold.

"There should be only two left." Seeing a few piles of Mana Wraith residue on the ground that hadn't yet fully dissipated, Lanlos could almost picture the fierce battle that had taken place here not long ago.

"Give me your weapon and arrows." After a moment's thought, the mage held out his hand to the ranger.

Vereesa frowned. Her eyes unconsciously fell on his face, exposed now that he'd lowered his hand. Seemingly thinking of something, she turned her head away with a hint of guilt. "Why?"

Lanlos had naturally noticed her reaction. The corner of his mouth twitched violently, and the movement pulled at the cheek beneath it, sending a burning pain through his face. On the spot he'd just covered, four crimson claw marks ran from his cheekbone all the way to his chin.

So you do feel bad!

With his face disfigured, Lanlos looked even more menacing. "Were you planning to fight those things with an ordinary sword?"

They weren't completely immune, but physical blows were no more than tickles to incorporeal creatures. If they were going to deal with these things, Vereesa had to do as Lanlos said.

"It's not like I won't give them back. Don't be so stingy..." Taking the arrows and short sword from the cold-faced elven girl, Lanlos cast a spell and muttered under his breath. But at such close range, and with her professional training, Vereesa heard almost every word.

Hold it in. I'll deal with him when we get back!

Her small but powerful fists clenched tight. Her expressive eyes were fixed on the back of the mage's head, brimming with undisguised fury and murderous intent.

Only by focusing completely could he make out the faint glow on the blade and arrowheads. Lanlos nodded in satisfaction and handed them back to the ranger.

First-circle spell: Magic Weapon.

It was only a temporary Arcane enchantment, but at least it would let Vereesa inflict real damage on these elemental beings during the fight.

"Stay in the trees and use your bow to draw their attention. I'll deal with them. Make sure you don't go near that cave." Lanlos glanced at the dark cave mouth behind the Mana Wraiths, his expression growing increasingly grim. The powerful Arcane aura made him deeply uneasy. "If anything goes wrong, I'll use Invisibility and Speed Dash to get away immediately. Don't worry about me. Just retreat."

Though she had plenty of complaints about him, given the situation, Vereesa nodded despite her displeasure.

After Lanlos found a concealed spot farther ahead and hid, the ranger took a deep breath, drew her bow, and fired.

Whoosh—

The speeding arrow made a faint sound as it cut through the air and struck one of the Mana Wraiths squarely in the forehead. Magic collided with a sound like tearing cloth. The creature let out a mournful wail, and it and its companion turned into two stretched-out shadows that slithered toward her with astonishing speed.

Just as expected.

Seeing that her arrow hadn't even dimmed the magical glow around the monster, Vereesa frowned. Though she was beginning to doubt her abilities, her hands never slowed. She kept drawing and nocking arrows, without a hint of a tremor.

On the other side, as the two Mana Wraiths charged toward Vereesa, Lanlos silently drew the Windrunner Blade.

Empowered Fireball could easily kill one of them from a distance, but his Mana was already low. And the aura coming from that cave meant he had to save as much Mana as possible. Shocking Grasp was a touch-range spell, but it dealt high damage, cost little, and had a short casting time. To prepare for anything unexpected, he had no choice but to risk using it against the two enemies.

Crackle!

The instant the two Mana Wraiths swept past his position, green fire flashed in the elven mage's eyes. His strength and speed abruptly surged, and he swung the curved blade, lunging forward in a blur.

The flash of lightning was gone in an instant. Amid the shrill crack of electricity, the slower Mana Wraith was sliced in half. It let out a piercing wail, quickly dissipating and leaving behind a pile of powdery Mana residue.

The surge of magic drew the other Mana Wraith's attention. It stopped chasing and swept its dreadful claws at the mage, whom it perceived as the greater threat.

Clang!

The impact came through the hilt like the clash of real swords. Lanlos gave a disdainful smile, stepped forward, easily deflected the creature's claw, and brought his blade down in a follow-up slash.

Lightning flashed. The Mana Wraith's body twisted and churned as Lanlos's powerful blow split it in two. But it didn't disappear!

Just before the Windrunner Blade struck, this thing had actually split its own body in two!

The greatest difference between elemental beings and ghosts was that energy could be transformed into matter. The more concentrated the energy, the larger and more substantial an elemental being's body became, allowing it to shift between incorporeal and solid forms to some extent.

Realizing he'd been tricked by the wretched thing, Lanlos cursed inwardly. But when he saw a wisp of energy rapidly gather into a claw and lash out at him, he had no choice but to abandon his soon-to-fail Shocking Grasp and retreat.

Just then, a faint whistle cut through the air and slammed into the creature's blade-thin claw.

Clang!

The arrow shattered and spun through the air. The tremendous force snapped the solidified claw in two, and a wisp of smoke drifted back toward the Mana Wraith's body.

Now!

His retreating right foot slammed against the ground. Lanlos shot forward like an arrow loosed from a bow, and the electrified Windrunner Blade swept upward, cutting the Mana Wraith clean in two.

Awooo~!

The magic dissipated, and the woods fell silent once more.

Picking up two Arcane Shards, Lanlos squeezed them tightly in his palm before the ranger could get close, secretly sacrificing them to Fel magic. When he saw his Mana recover a little, he relaxed slightly.

"Nicely done, especially that last shot." Turning to Vereesa as she came closer, Lanlos praised her without reservation.

Vereesa pursed her lips impatiently, about to say something, when her forward step suddenly froze. Her eyes flew wide.

"Look out!"

But it was already too late. Hearing the warning, Lanlos instinctively turned around. What he saw was a streak of pale green light, fast as lightning, stretching all the way from the cave to his back.

Pfft!

Magic and flesh seemed to turn to gasoline. A raging fire burst from his chest and instantly surged through his internal organs. The impact made Lanlos spit out a mouthful of blood. His body jerked, and he crumpled toward the ground.

"Lanlos!"

Roar!

Seeing the mage fall after blue flames flared around him for an instant, Vereesa gasped and instinctively tried to rush over. At that moment, a furious, frenzied roar burst from the nearby cave entrance.

Two crossing streaks of purple light came right after it.

Seeing the familiar Mana Shock hurtling straight toward her, Vereesa tensed and immediately dodged to the side.

Boom!

Before he could recover from the stabbing pain that seared through his body, Lanlos was jolted awake by a loud crash. He turned his head and saw a tree topple, sending leaves and dust billowing into the air.

Thank goodness. Mana Shock was a targeted spell. Since the tree was what had fallen, Vereesa should be fine.

Lanlos endured the lingering pain throughout his body and got to his feet, his expression solemn as he looked at the Arcane Aberration slowly emerging from the cave. It stood as tall as a man. At the cost of some of Sargerite's scarce energy, he ran a detailed scan.

Arcane Aberration

Elemental Being

Health: 81%

Mana: 100%

Spirit: 37%

Metamagic Technique:

Mana Burn: Fires an antimagic bolt at the target, burning 20% of its current Mana and dealing an equal amount of damage to its Health.

Spell List:

1st Circle: Unknown

2nd Circle: Mana Shock

Special:

Mana Shield: Spell damage that hits the shield is absorbed by Mana.

Ley Line Connection: While this effect is active, all spells and spell-like abilities cost no Mana, casting time is halved, effects are increased by 50%, cooldowns are reduced by 80%, and vulnerability to spells is increased by 200%.

This was bad.

Hearing the Keystone's feedback in his mind, Lanlos felt his heart sink to the bottom of his stomach.