Beyond

Gray and Kasha hid around the corner, eavesdropping on Nathanos and Kaishius's conversation. Then they watched Nathanos walk out with a deathly pale face.

"Nathanos wants to become a Ranger?" Kasha whispered in surprise. Larein observed carefully. "So what? I believe he can do it."

Kasha unhappily kicked him. "What do you know? Humans can't become Rangers."

"Why not? My father told me that as long as you persevere, you can accomplish anything."

Kasha put her hands on her hips and puffed out her cheeks. "No means no. In thousands of years of human history, there has never been a single human Ranger. Didn't Mentor Kaishius say so? Humans don't live as long as Elves, and the Elves won't confer titles on humans."

"Why do we have to earn the Elves' recognition?" Larein asked indignantly.

Kasha looked at him with contempt, inwardly cursing Larein for having a head made of stone. "Then tell me, what abilities does a Ranger have? What do they do?"

"I think it should be..." Larein's eyes shifted. "How would I know? I've never seen a Ranger."

"That's the heart of the problem. Humans simply don't know how to train a Ranger. Only the Elves possess the methods for raising Rangers."

Realization dawned on Larein. He looked again at Nathanos's distant back. "That's too cruel. Nathanos is so pitiful."

Kasha nodded. "My mother told me that having your dreams shattered is a sad thing."

Larein sighed, then suddenly had an idea. "How about we cheer Nathanos up?"

"What are you going to do?"

"Isn't Mentor Kana taking us to see the snowy mountains next month?"

"In Alterac. So what?" Kana asked.

"Let's ask Mentor Kana to bring Nathanos along too. He must have never seen snowy mountains before. It'll definitely cheer him up."

"Okay."

The two reached an agreement, but there was clearly a third person who knew about it. Gray was hiding behind the stone pillar behind them.

Damn it! Don't do this to me!

What happened?

I pulled three monsters, and while I was fighting them, my pet suddenly ran off.

Can't you keep an eye on your pet's mood? If it gets too low, it'll disobey your orders and run away.

Damn it, I should've played a warrior instead. What's the point of having a pet? Oh, come on! I'm out of arrows? I forgot to buy arrows after running Dire Maul yesterday.

"Nathanos!!!"

"Ah! Gudul?" The boy jumped at the deafening voice beside his ear.

"What are you spacing out for? I called you at least ten times!" Gudul glared at him. When Nathanos had come in earlier, Gudul had been sorting the ore he had purchased. He had wanted Nathanos to help, but after calling out several times, the boy had not even looked at him.

"Sorry, Mentor. I was too absorbed in thought."

"Enough, enough. I don't want to hear your explanation, and this isn't the first time." Gudul said impatiently, "As punishment, go sort those ores for me."

"Okay."

This was a test. Gudul wanted to see how much Nathanos had learned. To become a Master Blacksmith, one first had to learn to distinguish all kinds of ore.

Half an hour later

"There are seven kinds of ore in total. Copper ore is the most plentiful, and there's some tin ore as well." Nathanos divided the ores among seven baskets and looked at Gudul.

"Well done, lad." Gudul nodded in satisfaction. He had indeed only purchased these seven kinds of ore. "I should give you a reward." Gudul handed Nathanos a brand-new book. Its cover read Herbalism and Distribution Atlas.

"I heard you're going to study Alchemy, so you'll definitely need to recognize all kinds of herbs."

Nathanos took the book and smiled. He had already begun learning about various herbs from books in the Lordaeron Library, though he had yet to see the real things. This was the first step toward becoming an Alchemist, but he still thanked Gudul for his concern.

Nathanos gently hugged Gudul. "Thank you, Mentor."

The dwarf was somewhat at a loss because of his gesture, but he could clearly feel that Nathanos had grown a great deal. The boy's gaze and tone seemed to convey an important message: he had given something up and chosen something else anew.

"Don't push yourself too hard, child," the dwarf said softly, as though he had seen through Nathanos's thoughts.

The boy shook his head. "Perhaps this will put my mind more at ease, Mentor. Cruel reality has taken away something I had always held to. If I surrender like this, I'll hate myself. But if I surpass it—surpass what I once wanted—I'll find comfort."

Gudul stared at him wide-eyed. Those words did not sound like something an eight-year-old child would say. Nathanos had only been in Lordaeron for a few months, yet his changes had astonished the dwarf. He wanted to warn Nathanos, to ask whether he even knew what he was saying. Yet he was also happy, though beneath that happiness was a touch of fear. Just as he had reminded Nathanos, don't push yourself too hard. But Gudul had overlooked one fact: Nathanos had become this way precisely because he had been pushed. His curiosity, his talent, his experiences, and the reality before him were all forcing him onward every moment.

How high would he rise in the future? The dwarf looked at that young face and unconsciously lost himself in thought. He believed Nathanos would accomplish great things, but before then, what else would this child go through? Gudul waited alongside him.

"Well then, are you tired?" the dwarf asked after a long while. The crackling of wood being scorched in the heated bed rose and fell.

"Of course not, Mentor. Until I complete your training, I will never feel tired."

"Very good. Pick up your sword. We'll begin training. Let me see whether you're truly full of energy or merely putting on a brave face to earn my praise."

Elsewhere, Kaishius was furiously berating Gray. All elegance had vanished from him; he had completely forgotten that he was an Elf. In his anger, he hurled the magic water to the ground. The potion sprayed from the shattered bottle and splashed onto Gray's shoes.

"This is how you repay my guidance, Gray Maynes!" Kaishius's voice made Gray tremble all over. He did not even dare look directly into those pale green eyes.

"When Nathanos appeared today with that bottle of potion, do you know what I thought? I thought he must have stolen it from your side. But then he told me that you actually used magic to attack him. Do you know the consequences of doing that?" Kaishius was beside himself with rage as he kicked over the stool beside him.

"I only wanted to teach him a small lesson. I didn't—"

"You didn't what?" Kaishius cut him off. It was not yet his turn to speak, and perhaps it never would be. "You still dare to argue? Is magic something you can play around with? Do you know what happens when a Fireball hits someone? Do you know how people view mages? You ignorant little brat—I actually agreed to teach you magic because of your father. I'm truly a sinner. Get out! Don't come looking for me again from today onward. And your father as well—I won't teach you anymore."