"I'm rich, I'm rich..."
Al crouched excitedly on the ground, holding a sharp miner's pick and carefully tapping a piece of emerald-green crystal.
"Thirty-seventh green crystal. That makes 113 Four-Colour Crystals in total. Hemet, take this."
Al scribbled in his research notes as he beckoned Hemet over.
The old dwarf standing not far away picked up the green crystal from Al with an expression of utter despair and carefully tied it to the "small mountain" on his back.
Hemet: So this is never going to end, is it? Couldn't you just buy a bigger space bag?
The two of them had collected quite a few of these Four-Colour Crystals in this desolate land. Though he had no idea what they were for, Al was still happy to keep gathering them, because the power contained within the four kinds of crystals was impossible to resist.
During one expedition, Al accidentally broke a blue crystal. The shattered fragments spilled out a dense surge of Arcane energy, stirring the boy's curiosity.
Al then tried breaking the other three kinds of crystals. Just as he had expected, he discovered that the blue crystals held the power of Arcane, the yellow crystals held the power of time, the red crystals held the power of life, and the green crystals held the most mysterious powers of nature and Dream.
Though he still didn't know much about these crystals, Al knew that the Four-Colour Crystals definitely held a great secret.
"Why aren't there any black crystals? Is Deathwing really that lame?" Al pondered.
"Lord Al, what's that?"
The dwarf's naturally booming voice jolted Al out of his thoughts. The boy looked up in the direction Hemet was pointing.
A towering, pure-white tower stood on the steep hillside. At its summit was a huge blue crystal, glittering with brilliant light.
"Is that... a Crystal Tower?"
A quarter of an hour later, the two stood beneath the tower, gazing at the blue gem at its peak. Al subconsciously licked his lips.
The old dwarf gazed at the crystal, which was bigger than a Devilsaur's head, his face ashen. Tears of regret streamed down his face.
"My lord, look."
Hemet seemed to have noticed something. He gestured excitedly toward a corner at the base of the tower.
"This socket should be for a blue crystal, right? My lord, give it a try. There might be a surprise!"
Al stared at the old dwarf, astonished that he had suddenly started using his brain. "That strong a will to survive, huh?"
He first walked around the tower, but found no hidden doors or other mechanisms. Only then did he go over to the socket Hemet had found.
"Good grief, there are seven sockets. Are you trying to kill me?"
Al grimaced, reluctant to part with the crystals, but seeing Hemet's hopeful gaze, he still painfully took seven blue crystals from the old dwarf and inserted them into the sockets.
The instant the last crystal slid into its socket, the enormous blue gem atop the tower began to tremble. A few breaths later, a blue beam streaked with spiraling patterns pierced through the forest and shone toward an unknown place.
"Come on, let's go take a look!"
Al waved excitedly, motioning for the old dwarf to follow. He wanted to see where the blue beam led.
Hemet grinned like a 200-jin child. First, he raised his middle finger toward the enormous gem at the tower's peak, then gave himself a thumbs-up: as expected of me.
The two trudged through the forest, stumbling over the uneven ground. Every now and then, some Dimetrodon or Pterrordax foolishly mistook them for prey, only to be mercifully put down by the impatient young elf.
Hemet stared in disbelief at the enormous Triceratops as it turned to ash, and secretly wiped away his cold sweat.
"With just a casual point of his finger, a savage beast bigger than Ironforge's city gate turned to ash? Is Lord Al really only a Sixth Rank Archmage?"
As Hemet continued to mutter to himself, he suddenly walked into the boy's back. That snapped him out of it, and he instinctively looked in the direction the boy was facing.
"Titans... above, is... is this a miracle?"
The remains of the Stone Guardian Hemet had been carrying fell to the ground with a thud. The dwarf, who had seen his share of "big events," collapsed to the ground yet again.
Before them stood a colossal, resplendent palace. At least several thousand steps stretched across their path to it. The entire hall was made of an unknown metal, and its bronze-colored doors were firmly shut.
The deep blue beam, traced with spiraling patterns, shone into a circular hole on the north side of the palace.
Al wasn't amazed by the palace's grandeur. After all, in his previous life, he'd had internet access in the village, and he'd seen countless such "grand spectacles" in games. He simply stared at the beam of blue light, his expression thoughtful.
"Let's go. If I'm not mistaken, there are three more Crystal Towers to the south, west, and east. If we can't activate the mechanism in a short time, this door will never open for us."
Time passed. With the two of them working tirelessly, they activated the other three Crystal Towers one by one, then made their way to the palace.
No matter how winding the stairs were, they had to end somewhere. After an unknown amount of time, the two entered the hall.
At the center of the hall were four enormous Discs of Norgannon, each covered in all kinds of unknown writing and patterns.
When Al touched the discs, he felt a slight tremor. The instant he made contact with one, an enormous female Stone Guardian slowly rose from the sunken ground, appearing before the two of them.
Like the statue of Venus carved by Alexandros, the giantess had exquisite features and a curvaceous figure. She wore a pale-yellow dress, her hair was fluffy, and golden battle boots covered her long, straight calves.
"Greetings. I am Nablya, disciple of Khaz'goroth and emissary of Un'Goro Crater. You may call me the Observer."
"To think this is a creation of Khaz'goroth. This Titan Keeper has a very high energy level."
Al was a little surprised to see the giantess who claimed to be Khaz'goroth's disciple, because he knew what the name Khaz'goroth represented.
Khaz'goroth was the eighth World-Soul Titan and Azeroth's former Observer. He controlled the power of the earth. Even the energy flowing through Deathwing's veins-the very energy that would unleash the Cataclysm decades later-came from him.
Khaz'goroth was also honored as the Forger by his creations. Many of Azeroth's famous artifacts had come from his hands. In short, he was a true big shot.
"Greetings, esteemed Nablya. We mean no offense. We're merely two travelers passing through, seeking knowledge."
Al bowed politely and humbly.
"You son of a..."
As soon as Al stood back up, he saw the old dwarf standing beneath the giantess's skirt, sneaking a look at the scenery. He grabbed Hemet by the shoulder and gave him a hard flick on the shiny bald spot on his head.
Hemet, having taken a critical hit, clutched his head and gazed at the giantess in rapture. His face flushed red as he muttered incessantly, "What a huge rack, what a huge rack. That woman doesn't look like a good person..."