Atlan

After secretly hiding the gold coins on his person, he set off. His destination was not the nearest city, Shante City, but Atlan, a city in the western Tirisfal Glades that had grown through the efforts of countless adventurers and mercenaries. It was also Earl Atlan's domain.

He planned to go to Atlan mainly because it offered countless opportunities to acquire wealth. Earl Atlan could also be considered generous among the nobility. His family library was open to almost every adventurer exploring the area. If you were willing to pledge your loyalty to him, he would even grant access to some of his family's secret techniques. This drew countless adventurers and mercenaries to him, and their arrival made the Atlan family stronger than ever, making Atlan arguably the most powerful noble in the vicinity.

The journey from Shanshi Village to Atlan would probably take more than half a month. Traveling there alone would likely be somewhat dangerous. Even if he encountered no wild beasts along the way, the bandits would not let such an easy mark slip past. He thought it would be best to travel together with a caravan or a group of mercenaries, so he first headed for Giles Castle, the Balnir Family's castle. Balnir Farmstead was nearby, and almost every year, countless caravans came to buy Banier's grain and transport it throughout Lordaeron. There would certainly be caravans bound for Atlan there.

And so, five days later, Allen finally reached Giles Castle. Though called a castle, Giles Castle was really a sizable city. The constant flow of caravans had made it prosperous.

After he paid a few copper turners, the guards let him in. Giles Castle was far more prosperous than Shante City. A straight road about ten meters wide led from the city gates directly to the city lord's residence. Walls over ten meters tall joined the gates. It seemed the Balnir Family had spared no expense on this castle.

The Balnir Family had good reason to do so, as Giles Castle was not in a safe location. Directly opposite Giles lay the Tirisfal Glades. Unlike Atlan, Giles stood near the eastern Tirisfal Glades, where many powerful demonized beasts could often be found. These beasts frequently launched frenzied attacks on passing travelers and merchants, and sometimes even attacked Giles Castle. To keep his farm safe from attack, Banier had to hold these demonized beasts off at Giles Castle.

It was not as though the Balnir Family had never sent people into the Tirisfal Glades to investigate, but these expeditions often suffered heavy losses and came to nothing. Stories that the Tirisfal Glades were haunted still circulated. Mercenaries and adventurers who survived their journeys there all claimed to have seen ghosts, and those survivors all behaved somewhat abnormally. In the end, the Balnir Family had no choice but to give up and build Giles Castle for defense.

But none of this concerned Allen. All he wanted now was to find an inn and get some proper rest. He found a somewhat shabby-looking inn and spent about two silver coins to rent a room for five days.

Taking the key the attendant gave him, he went to his room. He examined it carefully. It was small, only twenty square meters, with a bed, a table, and a chair, and nothing else. The room had been cleaned reasonably well. He checked every corner and even looked under the bed to guard against anything unexpected. Once he was certain there was nothing suspicious, he closed the door and windows.

Then he took out the magic source stone he carried with him. Although he had secretly hidden it outside the village after obtaining it, he had never stopped studying it for a moment. After a year of research and repeated probes with his mental power, he had discovered that the energy inside the stone was not only powerful but also extremely active. He could even guide and control it to a limited extent. He had once tried to release this energy, but it vanished once it left the stone. This had always puzzled him. The energy was like a drop of water falling onto parched earth, disappearing in an instant.

If, as he suspected, this power was magic, should it not form a spell when released? Why was there no reaction at all? He felt he must be releasing it incorrectly. His understanding of this world's magic and supernatural powers came entirely from that Warcraft game. He knew absolutely nothing about the principles behind casting magic or the conditions it required.

That was why, after earning enough gold in Atlan this time, he intended to head to Dalaran and see whether he could find an opportunity to learn about magic. Of course, having enough money was a prerequisite. There was no such thing as a free lunch; that saying held true everywhere.

Allen took out the stone containing that peculiar energy and carefully examined it with his mental perception. He no longer dared release the energy inside. His year of research had already depleted it by a third. At this rate, he would drain it completely before finding a method. Knock, knock, knock. "Mr. Allen, I've brought your dinner." The attendant's voice interrupted him. He glanced at the light outside and realized that evening had fallen without his noticing. He stretched his somewhat stiff body.

He quickly put the stone away, then opened the door, pretending he had just woken up. "Oh, thank you very much. Sorry, I fell asleep and didn't notice anyone knocking. I'll take the food in myself. No need to trouble you." The attendant replied respectfully, "In that case, I won't disturb your rest, sir." With that, he went downstairs. After watching the attendant leave, Allen began eating without closing the door again.

Although the inn was shabby, its service was reasonably attentive. After dinner, Allen went out to stroll through the streets. Giles was lively at night, with vendors and pedestrians almost everywhere. He walked into a bustling alley packed with stalls. Combined with the alley's already cramped confines, they left little room for passersby. He entered the crowd and approached one of the stalls. The vendor immediately greeted him enthusiastically. "Honored customer, what do you need? We have everything here. I can tell you must be an adventurer. We have healing potions prepared by an apothecary for just one gold coin each. That's the lowest price you'll find, and I'm offering it because you're a new customer. What do you think? Interested in a few bottles?"

The vendor was unremarkable in appearance, and his clothes gave him a distinctly merchant-like air. "No, I don't think I need any. I'm just looking." Allen casually glanced over the stall. At those words, the merchant's enthusiasm immediately cooled. After all, the healing potions were his most expensive wares. Everything else was worthless junk meant to make his stall look less empty.

"That costs five silver coins. I think it's the best choice for winning a girl's favor, and most importantly, it's only five silver coins," the vendor said, pointing at the transparent bead in Allen's hand. Allen kept browsing, putting it down and picking up another object to examine. "That's one of Master Molo's proudest creations. I'll sell it to you for 00 silver coins. How about it?"

"Oh, that's the most fashionable walking stick in recent years. Even Marquis Banier uses one. Carry it, and it'll give you an air of nobility." Allen felt the walking stick and probed it with his mental power, only to discover that it was an ordinary walking stick, merely a little more attractive.

After looking through these items and finding nothing special, he left. Seeing that he had bought nothing, the vendor muttered a curse and returned to his seat.

Allen browsed for a while longer without finding anything unusual, though a little thought would have told him that items possessing supernatural power would not appear here. Finally, on his way back, he spotted a wooden stick that looked very much like a staff. Driven by curiosity, he approached the stall and picked it up for a look. He had to admit that the stick was not particularly well made; it was downright crude, nowhere near as good as the walking sticks at the previous stalls. Just as he was about to dismiss it as a shoddily made handicraft, he discovered something strange about its internal structure. There seemed to be numerous densely packed patterns inside it. Apart from that, he sensed nothing unusual about the stick.

Just as he was about to examine it further, a voice interrupted him. "Stop looking. That's a staff." The speaker was the stall's vendor, though he hardly seemed like one. He was neither enthusiastic nor interested in promoting his wares. Seeing that the vendor did not look as though he was lying, Allen asked, "Why doesn't this staff have any energy?" "Are you a mage?" the man asked in surprise.

"Of course not," Allen hurriedly denied. Hearing this, the man gave him a look that said he had expected as much. "I knew it. Why would a mage come here to buy my wares? Still, you have a decent eye. The last few people who came didn't even look at it. It is indeed a staff, but it's a rechargeable staff. All its energy has been used up, so naturally, this is what it's become."

"Then why don't you recharge it?" Allen asked curiously, only to receive an immediate sneer from the vendor. "Do you think just anyone can recharge a staff? You have to find an alchemist to recharge it. An alchemist, understand? The most esteemed among those lofty mages." Allen was speechless, but he had to admit that he really was ignorant at present.

"Then how much are you selling this staff for?" The vendor considered for a moment. "Three gold coins." Allen turned and left without another word, and the vendor immediately stopped him. "If that really won't do, we can still discuss it." Allen looked at him. "I don't think I look like an idiot. Three gold coins? Aren't you worried they'll burn your hands? Silver coins, and not a coin more."

Dozens of minutes of haggling followed, and the vendor finally sold it for 00 silver coins. This lousy staff was the lowest-grade rechargeable staff. Anyone who had become a mage would not spare it a glance, much less recharge it. Probably only those who had just become mage apprentices would use it. Allen had bought it mainly to study, rather than to use.

He had originally wanted to buy some weapons and armor as well, but he had badly underestimated the prices here. Enchanted equipment was the most expensive and could be described as unavailable even if one had the money. A step below that was equipment whose enchantments had failed. Owing to the magical materials used, such equipment often retained some extremely weak enhancements even after failure. Even so, only nobles could afford it. The third category consisted of weapons used by mercenaries. These were divided into ordinary and fine-quality equipment, neither of which had any special attributes. Fine-quality equipment was simply sharper, harder, and more durable than ordinary equipment.

After wandering from place to place, Allen discovered that he could only afford ordinary equipment with no special attributes, and even buying one piece would leave him penniless. He might as well use the iron sword Old Jack had given him. Though it was inferior, it was still usable. Afterward, he spent about one gold coin on a cheap suit of old leather armor at a street stall and returned to the inn.

The next day, Allen rose early, hurried through breakfast, and immediately went to Giles Castle's library. The library belonged to the Balnir Family, an illustrious and ancient family said to have existed since Lordaeron's founding. An old library belonging to such a family could hardly have a small collection.