Goodbye, Dalaran!

A week slowly passed, and the day Rex had been looking forward to finally arrived.

Timing it precisely, Rex calculated that the Barracks upgrade should now be complete. He entered the Warcraft System and hurried straight to the Barracks. Gazing at the building, he saw that it had expanded considerably and looked even more imposing. As he stepped inside, the first things he saw were the fully armed Infantry Spirits. He shook his head slightly. What he regretted most about these Infantry Spirits was that their equipment could not be brought into the real world.

Rex approached the orb of light and examined the changes to the level 2 Barracks. Upgrading it to level 3 required 1,000 experience points. Just as he had expected, the level 2 Barracks had gained another unit type: the Dwarf Rifleman.

[Dwarf Rifleman Hero Spirits; strength: tier three; assessment: ever since the Battle of Grim Batol, these brave Dwarf Riflemen have loyally defended their mountain kingdom of Khaz Modan. When their hard-won freedom came under threat once again, they took up arms for the Alliance of Lordaeron. These Dwarves, wielding remarkable single-shot firearms, are excellent marksmen.]

With a light flick of his finger, Rex fell into thought. Based on the changes to the level 2 Barracks, he already had a guess about what level 3 would bring. Another unit type would become available, the strongest unit in the Barracks: the Knight.

No, Knights weren't the strongest. A deep gleam appeared in Rex's eyes. Knights could be recruited at just level 3, while the Barracks had a maximum level of 9. There were still six more upgrades after that, so further changes were certain to come. In particular, advancing from level 3 to level 4 meant progressing from the Town Hall age to the Stronghold age. That would bring a qualitative transformation.

Hesitation flickered in Rex's eyes, but he finally gritted his teeth. Hadn't these fifty thousand gold coins been intended to get him to the Stronghold age? There was nothing to hesitate over now. The profits from the Caravan could cover the upkeep of the Knights of the Round Table. These fifty thousand gold coins were an extra windfall and did not need to be included in that budget at all. Having made up his mind, Rex acted decisively. His finger tapped repeatedly. One thousand experience points required one thousand units, so he directly recruited five hundred Infantry Hero Spirits and five hundred Dwarf Rifleman Hero Spirits.

Dwarf Rifleman Hero Spirits cost somewhat more to recruit, at twenty gold coins each. There was a choice, however. They came in two varieties: one cost ten gold coins each, while the other—the kind Rex was recruiting now—cost twenty.

Naturally, the two options had different effects. Dwarf Rifleman Hero Spirits recruited for ten gold coins could not possess humans and could only work on Dwarves. Rex ruled those out immediately. He would rather spend the extra gold than recruit the first kind. True, the Dwarves were allied with the humans, but Gilneas had already withdrawn from the Alliance. Having always adhered to an isolationist policy, Gilneas had limited contact with the outside world and few ties with the Dwarves. It was absolutely impossible for Rex to recruit an army made up of Dwarves. They would not serve Gilneas.

That expenditure came to fifteen thousand gold coins. Rex turned and left the Barracks, heading for the Goblin Merchant. Naturally, there was nothing particularly good there at the moment. He had already purchased both attribute-enhancing treasures, leaving only the Lesser Clarity Potion. He had come not for treasures, but to upgrade the building. After paying the gold, he watched light envelop the Goblin Merchant. Its upgrade time was far shorter than the Barracks': the Barracks needed a week, while the Goblin Merchant would finish in an hour. With all the buildings reaching level 2, Rex went to the Town Hall and began its upgrade.

Watching the Town Hall undergo its upgrade, Rex felt rather melancholy. Fifty thousand gold coins had seemed like a great deal, yet he had spent more than twenty thousand in such a short time. The Barracks was a voracious consumer of gold. He had already paid for its level 3 upgrade, but he did not know how much experience it would take to reach level 4. If the requirement doubled to two thousand experience points, then, by his calculations, his fifty thousand gold coins would be just enough to advance from the Town Hall age to the Stronghold age.

Rex slowly opened his eyes and gave a bitter smile, running a hand over his blood-red birthmark. He had enjoyed his sudden wealth for only a week, and within the next few days, he would spend it all. Those fifty thousand gold coins had come quickly and would disappear just as quickly.

Taking out the Tome of Strength, Rex slowly stroked it without using it right away. He had doubts about its effect, because strength +1 was a game attribute. In the real world, the Tome of Strength had not changed to suit Azeroth the way the Book of Energy had. The Book of Energy had originally raised a hero's level by one, but that had become an increase of one tier. Its effect was clear and obvious; Rex knew what it did at a glance. Strength +1, on the other hand, left some uncertainty. He did not know how that strength value was calculated.

Dalaran was not a convenient place for this. Rex intended to spar with Cecil after returning to Gilneas, using that to test exactly how much strength +1 would increase his strength.

The weather outside was clear, a rare fine day. It was also the day Rex would begin his journey home. The Caravan was ready, and its purchases of goods in Dalaran were nearly complete. Rex would return to Gilneas first rather than meet up with Monroe in Southshore and travel back together.

When he stepped out of his lodgings, the Caravan was already bustling with activity. Ulysses and Rona had risen early, and Rex made a few simple arrangements as well. Before long, Jaina approached with graceful steps, and Kael'thas arrived too. Kael'thas had spent this period in Silvermoon City. After receiving Rex's Hearthstone, he had returned there and had only come back to Dalaran the day before yesterday.

Thanks to the Hearthstone, Rex and Kael'thas could now be considered friends, and Kael'thas had come to see him off. As they strolled through Dalaran's streets, Rex and Jaina chatted along the way. The two accompanied him all the way beyond Dalaran before Rex waved to them, sprang up onto his mount, and urged it into a gallop. He took one last look at Dalaran, wondering whether he would ever have another chance to see this flourishing city of magic here again.

"Goodbye, Dalaran!"

(End of chapter)