The flustered Priest stared at Karin as he struggled in her arms!
His face was deathly pale, and groans escaped his lips from time to time... His suffering was plain to see!
"Mr. Mage... what's wrong with you?" she hurriedly asked.
There was no response. In his current state, Karin couldn't hear anything around him!
"I hope... I hope this works!"
The Priest laid Karin on the grass, then knelt and clasped her hands.
An ancient, lilting song suddenly rang through the woods. The birds in the trees fell silent, and even the howling wind seemed to pause...
"Hymn of Hope!"
A strange power flowed into Karin's mind... His craving for magic slowly eased, and his mental energy began recovering bit by bit!
Who am I, really... I'm Karin Sunfury, a First Ring mage from Azeroth... No, I'm a miserable biology grunt from Magic City, a bottom-rung researcher...
"Host, please come to your senses..." Karin could finally make out the All-Knowing Eye's cries.
"All-Knowing Eye?" Karington snapped back to awareness. "What exactly happened to me?"
"The All-Knowing Eye cannot provide a precise explanation for this phenomenon!" The magical construct in his mind seemed to sigh in relief. "The host expended too much mana in the battle just now. Under normal circumstances, this should have resulted in mental exhaustion!"
"Mental exhaustion?" Karin frowned. His exhaustion seemed a little too extreme!
"Yes. The host's condition has gone beyond mere exhaustion. The host has developed a dependence on magic... The All-Knowing Eye even suspects that, had that Priest not used a divine spell to restore the host's mental energy, the host might have lost control of it entirely!" the All-Knowing Eye said gravely.
"Losing control of my mental energy-wouldn't that mean becoming one of the Wretched? And a dependence on magic... does that mean I already have mana addiction?" Karington startled himself with the realization. "That can't be right. I deliberately avoided the Sunwell's water. How could I have developed mana addiction?"
"One point requires correction: the host has not completely avoided the Sunwell's water... One month before the All-Knowing Eye attached itself to the host, the host consumed 1.8 ounces of Sunwell water at a Magic Gathering..."
"Just drinking it once could cause mana addiction?" Karin still didn't understand.
Was mana addiction like drug addiction in his previous life, something he could never escape once he had so much as touched it?
"Of course, though it is not as severe as the host imagines!" the All-Knowing Eye explained. "However, there is another very important factor!"
"Another factor?"
"Yes... The addictive effects of Sunwell water are not transmitted solely through consumption. As a powerful ley line nexus, the Sunwell constantly radiates mana crystal energy into its surroundings. The host unconsciously absorbs this mana crystal energy in daily life, which also worsens the addiction!"
"The Sunwell's radiation... No wonder!" Understanding dawned on Karin, but it left him troubled as well. Refusing to drink Sunwell water was easy enough, but avoiding its radiation? That was far too difficult at present!
"Looks like I need to find a way to leave Quel'Thalas for Dalaran as soon as possible!" Karin muttered to himself.
"All-Knowing Eye, is there any way to cure mana addiction completely?" Karin continued.
He didn't hold out much hope, though. After all, even Azeroth's many powerful figures in later years had been unable to solve that problem!
"Well..." The All-Knowing Eye considered for a moment before replying, "Perhaps a Clarity Potion could help!"
"A Clarity Potion?" Karin's eyes lit up.
"Yes. A Clarity Potion, prepared through level-eight Alchemy, can cleanse a mage's mental energy. If the host avoids exposure to addictive magic for an extended period and then uses a Clarity Potion, it may be possible to eradicate the addiction!"
"That's wonderful!" Karin said excitedly.
"However, two essential ingredients in a Clarity Potion-Unicorn brain matter and whiteleaf-do not exist in the host's world of Azeroth, so preparing one would be quite difficult... Still, the fundamental laws of Alchemy include the principle of substitution. Thus, although difficult, it is not impossible!"
"So that's how it is..." Much of Karin's newfound excitement faded at once!
"Mr. Mage, are you feeling better?" the Priest asked nervously.
Karin slowly opened his eyes. He had regained consciousness several minutes earlier, but had kept his eyes closed while communicating with the All-Knowing Eye.
"I'm fine now..." Karin smiled at first, then his expression abruptly changed, and he rose to look behind him.
The mage named Duen didn't seem to have followed them! Perhaps he hadn't found them, or perhaps he had run into some trouble?
Karin breathed a sigh of relief and looked the Priest over again. "Huh? Your face looks a little..."
"I'm fine... just a little tired!" The Priest shook her head. Casting a divine spell on the level of Hymn of Hope had still been far too taxing for her!
Both fell silent, leaving an awkward atmosphere between them!
"You came to look after those two little ones, right?" Karin broke the silence first. "Where are they?"
"I drove them deeper into the woods three days ago..." the Priest said quietly.
"Uh!" Karington felt even more awkward. So much had happened over the past few days-the Magic Gathering, his duel with Enclair, the trip to Sunfury Spire... He hadn't visited these woods at all during that time.
"Then why did you come here?" Karin asked, immediately feeling foolish for doing so!
"Well... I'm leaving..." The Priest's voice was very, very soft.
"What?"
"The reason I've been staying in Fairbreeze Village is that Mr. Vondelor chose to spend his vacation here... And now his vacation is coming to an end..."
"I see!" Karin felt an inexplicable sense of loss. "Where are you going... back to Silvermoon City?"
"No, I'm going to the Sun Temple..." The Priest's voice was barely louder than a mosquito's hum.
The Sun Temple stood at the westernmost edge of Quel'Thalas, more than a hundred miles from Fairbreeze Village! Even riding a hawkstrider, the journey would take a full day and night. As for using a portal, Karin hadn't reached that level yet!
"All right... Then I wish you a safe journey..." Even Karin's voice sounded different.
"By the way, Mr. Mage, I still don't know your name." The Priest raised her head and bravely asked.
"Karin... Karin Sunfury!" Karin replied.
"Karin... You're from the Sunfury family, so you're Lord Kane's student?" the Priest asked curiously.
"Well... you could say that!" Karin didn't even know whether Kane Sunfury was tall or short, fat or thin, or whether he wielded a staff or twin blades, but he agreed anyway. "And you, Miss Priest? What's your name?"
"My name is Liadrin!"