Highlord Pelaven

By the time he reached Dalaran's city gates, he could already see many mages waiting there. Some of the mages at the front were mounted on horses, which made them look exceptionally impressive and stylish. Among them was a pure white horse that looked completely different from the others around it. It was probably a magical creature.

Far more people had no means of transport, and even the carriages were already full. He knew he was unlikely to qualify for a seat in a carriage. In fact, all the mage apprentices were standing. Nor did those apprentices dress like the Full Mages, with their Mage Robes and staffs. They wore all sorts of things. There was even one apprentice who, like him, wore chain mail and carried an iron sword, looking every bit a swordsman.

He could actually understand why this happened. After all, unlike Full Mages, mage apprentices lacked much ability to protect themselves. Most knew only one or two minor spells, and without other means, they simply could not survive in this dangerous world. It was just like how he currently relied on close combat to fight.

It was nearly noon, and almost everyone had arrived. The mage leading them gave the order to depart, and the entire convoy set off for the territory. Highlord Pelaven's territory was actually very close to Dalaran, just outside Dalaran City, in fact. It took less than two days to reach it from the city gates.

As a result, many mages brought practically nothing. Some did not even bring backpacks. But he had always believed in being prepared, so he would not bring nothing simply because the journey was short. He still did not know exactly what Pelaven wanted them to do.

Two days soon passed. Their journey was peaceful, nothing happened, and they reached their destination safely. Pelaven's territory lay close to Silverpine Forest, practically on its outskirts. Pelaven belonged to the Amais Family, whose ancestor was said to have been one of the mages who founded Dalaran. Unlike the other mages, however, although he was a mage, he preferred fighting like a warrior. This way of thinking had evidently passed down to his descendants. After that, the Amais Family never produced another mage. All of them were warriors, and they were also keen on expanding their territory. After occupying the land around Dalaran, they immediately turned their attention to Silverpine Forest.

Silverpine Forest was vast and teeming with life. Its climate made it feel like a tropical rainforest, but that warm, humid, pleasant climate was also why countless magical beasts and wild monsters made their homes there. They attacked any travelers passing through. Some magical beasts even ventured out to attack humans.

Naturally, Dalaran's mages had no interest in Silverpine Forest, so perhaps Highlord Pelaven was the only one interested in it now. Still, claiming Silverpine Forest as his territory would probably not be so easy. Just think of those powerful magical beasts. They could tear a human army to pieces in minutes.

Archmage Kel'Thuzad had most likely sent them to the territory this time to secure Highlord Pelaven's support. After all, Highlord Pelaven had considerable influence in Dalaran. Not only did he have a vast army, but he also controlled the Dalaran Guard. His strength could not be ignored. Pelaven had probably encountered an obstacle while expanding his territory and urgently needed the mages' assistance, so the two had readily struck a deal.

After sorting through his thoughts, he immediately realized that if this really was the case, they would very likely enter the depths of Silverpine Forest. The powerful magical beasts inside were simply beyond his current ability to handle. Perhaps Kel'Thuzad should have sent some full-fledged mages rather than apprentices like him.

When they arrived, he saw a squad of soldiers standing at the city gates ahead. The mage leading them dismounted and said to the soldier at their head, who looked like an officer, "We've arrived. Does the lord have any further arrangements for us?"

The officer, dressed in a white robe, replied, "Thank you very much for your support, mages. The lord has been waiting at his residence for quite some time. Please follow me." With that, he went ahead to lead the way. The mage who had spoken to him mounted his horse and followed. Then he entered the city with the group. This was Highlord Pelaven's outpost in Silverpine Forest, so patrolling soldiers were everywhere. The mages had never seen a scene like this and immediately began chattering about it.

But he did not look around in curiosity, because he had passed through Kaldz War Fortress on his way to Dalaran before. It was not as though he had never seen a frontier like this. The officer brought them all to the lord's residence and assigned them rooms after they unloaded their luggage. Afterward, the mage leading them left with the officer, probably to meet Lord Pelaven.

Once in his room, he began looking around. It was about fifty square meters, with basically all the furnishings one could need. But this was only an ordinary room, and he had to share it with another apprentice. Unlike the full-fledged mages, who each had a room to themselves, the apprentices had much smaller rooms, without even a rudimentary laboratory. This was the difference in treatment that came with a difference in strength. But it was nothing to him. He put everything away and was just about to take a bath when he met a young man who had just come in. This was probably the person sharing his room.

The young man greeted him and began introducing himself. "Hello, my name is Ruizesi. I'm the son of a minor noble and a mage apprentice from the previous intake. What about you?" "My name is Allen. I'm an ordinary Alchemy Apprentice." Ruizesi looked at him in surprise. "Then which intake are you from? You actually became an Alchemy Apprentice so young. That's impressive."

He said modestly, "I only know a little alchemy." "Don't say that. Back then, I tried so many times and couldn't make anything. They all said I had no talent. I spent quite a lot of money back then. Who would have thought..." Ruizesi began lamenting, while he simply left the room to take a bath.

When he returned, he found Ruizesi already asleep in bed. The journey had evidently been quite tiring. He too had wanted to sleep as soon as he came in, but he liked to keep clean, so he had gone to bathe. He sat on his bed, unconcerned that there was someone else in the room, picked up Basic Spell Runes, and began studying it. He had been traveling these past few days and had not had the time.

The Runes Book did not contain much, only some runes and their specific functions. It did not even explain what runes actually were. After reading for a while, he decided to memorize all these runes. They were all basic runes. One could say that the casting of many spells was built from these runes. If he did not memorize them all, an enemy would not let him consult his Runes Book in battle.

Memorizing the runes was only the first step. Next, he had to understand them completely and become proficient at combining them. Finally, he had to be able to construct them quickly within his soul space. The spell he had encountered most often and for the longest time was the Wind Blade Spell. Since before he came to Dalaran, he had relied on the Charged Staff in battle, and it had even saved him from danger several times. So the first spell he wanted to study was the Wind Blade Spell.

Of course, none of this could be accomplished immediately. He still needed time. After reading the Runes Book for a while, he felt far too tired and went to sleep first. The next day, when he got up at his usual time, he found that Ruizesi had already risen long before and had even folded his bedding. After washing his face and brushing his teeth, he went to the hall. A meal was being served there. Since this was the frontier, there were no taverns, restaurants, or places of that sort at all. All their food and clothing were provided by the lord's residence.

As soon as Allen entered the hall, he saw Ruizesi waving him over to sit. Without hesitation, he sat directly opposite Ruizesi. "Allen, you're here. The food here is terrible. I'm going to throw up." Ruizesi complained to him with a miserable expression. Allen replied, "If you throw up, you'll be hungry at noon. The food here is portioned according to the number of people. No one will go out of their way to make you another serving."

"All right, all right." After saying that, he forced down the food in his mouth, but his expression looked as though he had eaten shit. Allen paid him no further attention. He noticed that everyone around them was a mage apprentice. The Full Mages did not seem to eat here. Apparently, someone cooked for them separately.

Beside him, Ruizesi began speaking in a secretive manner. "Hey, did you know? Our mission this time isn't to defend against magical beasts at all. I only just heard this from Jim. This is awful. They aren't going to make us carry out some secret mission, are they?"

He had already suspected this earlier. It seemed quite a few people had realized the problem. "Whatever happens, we can't refuse, can we?" At Allen's words, Ruizesi immediately became dejected. "You're right. We joined Dalaran, after all. This is the price." Ruizesi stopped talking, and he ate in silence too.

It was soon noon. The apprentices, with nothing to do, all came to the hall, which now looked quite noisy. They sat together in small groups, discussing things with one another. Several apprentices were chatting where Allen sat as well. The one to Ruizesi's left was called Jim, and the one to his right was called Charles. Both were old acquaintances of Ruizesi.

Ruizesi also introduced them to Allen, but neither knew him, as though they had never seen him before. At first, Ruizesi did not notice this issue, but when he later saw that even Jim, who knew everything, did not recognize him, he asked curiously, "Which intake are you actually from? None of us have even heard of you."

It was perfectly normal that they had never heard of Allen, because he was not a mage apprentice at all, nor had he joined Dalaran through the formal test. He had entered as an Alchemy Apprentice back then, and he had hardly left his room while studying runes. How could they possibly have heard of him?

So he explained to them directly, "I should count as an Alchemy Apprentice. That's how I joined Dalaran. I'm not a mage apprentice, and I can't attend your classes, so it's perfectly normal that you've never seen me." All three were very surprised to hear this.

Ruizesi's intuition told him that Allen was no ordinary person. Thinking about it, Allen was a self-taught mage who had never studied in Dalaran, yet he actually knew alchemy and had even become an Alchemy Apprentice without being a full-fledged mage. He was unlikely to be anyone ordinary. At the same time, however, Ruizesi did not believe Allen had connections to some important figure, or he would not have come here.