The Age of First Love

Tonatiuh intended to fight alone. He ordered all the trolls to hunt Scorching Elementals and Living Flames around the outskirts of Fire Plume Ridge.

There were no restrictions on targets. They only needed to conserve their strength, and no deaths were permitted.

The system mission only required the slaughter of fifty Living Flames and one hundred Scorching Elementals, but if possible, killing more would be even better.

In truth, every part of Azeroth's elementals was valuable, from their cores to the materials composing their bodies. All of it was high-quality raw material that could fetch a good price elsewhere.

For example, the core of a dead Living Flame could be sold to goblins for enough to buy fine steel weapons for ten troll warriors, or enough food to feed a hundred trolls for a month. If it was a living elemental creature, regardless of its kind, its price would soar as long as it could be captured.

That was why Tonatiuh had stuffed his pack full of Living Flame Cores. He planned to sell them.

As for those prices—

They were merely rough figures provided by the goblins who had departed not long ago. The exact prices would only be settled once trade officially began in the future.

Since elementals were so valuable—

As long as safety was assured, the more they killed and the more materials they collected, the better. That was why Tonatiuh had issued such an order to his subordinates.

As for Tonatiuh himself—

Ignoring Dezla's earnest attempts to dissuade him, he used his supreme authority to order her not to follow. Then, carrying plenty of water and food and wielding his ordinary fine steel greatsword, he entered Fire Plume Ridge alone.

To the other trolls, this was exceedingly dangerous.

Chaotic beings like elementals were feared even by powerful mages.

Yet Tonatiuh, now equipped with a new cheat, did not care. Living Flames capable of taking on an elite ten-man troll squad were like huskies facing Siberian tigers when they met him. Fire Plume Ridge had become far less threatening to him.

No one dared question his authority in Zutona. Dezla could only softly urge His Majesty to be more careful. Her timid appearance, so unlike her usual valiant and unyielding self, made the chief, whose springtime had apparently arrived, suddenly find her rather pretty. Her little fangs were strangely sexy, her small fierce breasts were full, her little butt—

What the hell!

Why am I like this again?!

Realizing what he was thinking, he was so frightened that he hurried into the barren Fire Plume Ridge.

Tonatiuh, a lone troll with a sword and a pack on his back, strolled through the red, desolate mountains. He touched his incomparably smooth face, so unlike that of trolls elsewhere, and began muttering to himself:

"What's wrong with me these past two days? Why do I feel like I'm getting lovesick? Dezla is a troll, and she's only sixteen—a minor! But then again, trolls seem to mature early. There are even troll lolis in Zutona who give birth at thirteen..."

"Damn it! My thoughts are wandering again! I'm hopeless!"

Smack!

Tonatiuh slapped himself on the head and silently calculated the age of this body.

It seemed... perhaps... maybe...

"Damn! I'm only fifteen!"

"Could it be that I've reached the troll age of first love, and the hormones in this body are starting to change me?"

"Hiss..."

Tonatiuh sucked in a cold breath.

He had finally realized it.

He had been a troll for more than a year and had lived among trolls for more than a year. He had long understood many of their habits and behaviors.

He knew that ordinary trolls reached adulthood at fifteen. At first, he had found it perfectly reasonable. In tumultuous Azeroth, if trolls did not mature early, marry early, and have children early, their race would have gone extinct long ago.

But now that it had happened to him, and he might truly be having romantic fantasies because he had reached adulthood, Tonatiuh found it hard to accept.

"Damn..."

"Where am I supposed to find some hoof girls? They probably won't arrive for another twenty or thirty years! Should I date an elf girl? But Quel'Thalas and trolls are sworn enemies, and they're so tiny..."

"Maybe I could find a white-haired girl without facial markings? Their height is decent, but they probably aren't interested in trolls either. Speaking of which, trolls really are pathetic when it comes to mate selection among Azeroth's races. They're at the bottom of the pecking order, despised everywhere! Marcus, who writes romance novels, has written about goblins, male tauren, and even the dead, but not a single book about trolls!"

Fortunately, just as Tonatiuh continued letting his thoughts run wild, a battle between one Living Flame and two Scorching Elementals ahead interrupted him.

Living Flames were terrifying, round fire elementals standing four to six meters tall. They had two arms, but no lower body and no head.

Scorching Elementals were weakened versions of Living Flames. The two looked very similar, except the latter were shorter, only a little over two meters tall, and much weaker.

The system rated Living Flames at levels nine to eleven, while Scorching Elementals were only levels five to eight. This was not Azeroth's system for judging strength; Azeroth had no concrete ranking system at all.

Powerful professionals—

At most, the native inhabitants would bestow titles such as Archmage, Great Warrior, or Magus. There was no such thing as level-whatever mages.

The levels Tonatiuh could see were calculated by the system according to its own standards, allowing him to more intuitively gauge the gap between himself and his enemies.

They were not Azeroth's original standards. For example, the natives of Azeroth simply described these fire elementals as powerful, extremely powerful, or extremely dangerous.

Unlike the system.

Which even specified their levels.

Fire elementals did not live in groups. They were far too violent. Compared with the other three types of elementals, which could coexist peacefully, fire elementals would fight to the death whenever they met unless an Elemental Lord was present. Then they would devour one another and become a larger mass of flame.

The three elementals before Tonatiuh were a Living Flame brutally beating up two Scorching Elementals.

The two Living Flames he had encountered when he first arrived at Fire Plume Ridge had actually been fighting each other as well. They had only set aside their differences and attacked him after discovering the flesh-and-blood creatures.

Just like now.

The two Scorching Elementals, already close to being beaten to death, were mercifully spared when the Living Flame noticed Tonatiuh. Then all three elemental monsters roared and charged at him.

Roar!

The stronger it was, the faster it ran. The Living Flame moved almost as if it were flying, though the tail of flame trailing behind it dragged across the ground and scorched the earth.

The two Scorching Elementals were not about to be left behind. They charged alongside the big shot that had just been beating them up, without even thinking of running away. If Tonatiuh were truly defeated, the two of them would surely be the next to suffer.

Tonatiuh shook his head.

Then he charged forward with his greatsword.

A few minutes later—

Roar!

With the resentful, feeble roar of a Scorching Elemental, the three elemental creatures collapsed and died.

Tonatiuh stepped forward to inspect their cores. "I wonder how much these can sell for..."

At that moment—

In the quiet Fire Plume Ridge, he seemed to hear the howling of a gale.

Although they had both once served the Old Gods, Ragnaros and Al'Akir were mortal enemies. Before the Old Gods descended, they fought each other to the death. After the Old Gods were sealed, they still fought to the death whenever they met. Or rather, aside from Therazane, the other three Elemental Lords were all sworn enemies.

Since the leaders were like that, their subordinates naturally followed in their footsteps. This meant that whenever three types of elementals met, they would definitely fight, while earth elementals merely watched from the sidelines.

Earth elementals were the gentlest type among the elementals. When adventurers first entered Deepholm, the Stone Mother had not even wanted to kill them. She was only hostile toward those surface dwellers who had killed her daughter. So stop farming the princess so much; the Endless Dark Blade will not drop.

The other three types of elementals were different. In Azeroth, unless a shaman mediated, a place with wind elementals would absolutely have no fire elementals. Likewise, a place with fire elementals would have no wind elementals.

Fire Plume Ridge was hot enough to kill.

Yet it was so quiet that there was not even the slightest breeze. How could there be the sound of wind?

Tonatiuh quickly gathered his loot and curiously followed the sound.

Sorry, I forgot to schedule the update! Three updates today!