Murlocs ate people! That was why they were called ferocious omnivores! Whenever they captured a human, it was the perfect excuse for the whole tribe to throw a bonfire party. It meant they would have the finest roast meat that night. These Murlocs were ignorant, brutal, and extremely hostile to outsiders. If their population had been stronger, they might have dared to challenge the entire world for food...
Aige weighed his options. Six Murlocs were definitely more than he could handle alone, and he was determined to save the human soldier. But he didn't want the man to learn the secret of his minions...
"Lesser Heal!"
A dazzling pillar of Holy Light enveloped the human Warrior, and his health was soon restored. It was truly a miraculous spell! A Priest was helping him! Ryan reached that conclusion at once. This was no time to look around. He had to fight for this slender chance of survival!
The Warrior summoned his courage and struck a badly wounded Murloc. His longsword drove his opponent back several steps, and before the Vile Fin Murloc could recover, a fireball streaked in from the distance and took his life...
A Mage is helping too? Ryan felt he had nothing to fear anymore. With such a powerful combination supporting him from the rear, his job was to build a solid defensive line for those esteemed cloth-wearing classes!
"Taunt!" He quickly raised his middle finger at a Murloc Warrior preparing to leave the front line. The latter obligingly croaked and attacked him again!
"Heroic Strike!" Ryan's rage had long since filled to bursting from the attacks he had taken. He quickly used Heroic Strike on another badly wounded Murloc, the skill adding some extra damage... Soon, a small fireball came hurtling in and struck the same target, sending the Murloc to join his ancestors!
Nice! Ryan cheered inwardly, then followed up with a Shield Bash, knocking another Murloc unconscious...
In Ryan's mind, with a Priest in the back row, a Warrior like him shouldn't have to worry about his health. He just had to attack bravely... He'd rarely had the chance to fight alongside a Priest, but that didn't stop him from knowing the basics. Aige, however, might have to disappoint him. That Lesser Heal was the only healing spell he could cast. All he had left were bandages...
Working with Ryan, Aige killed another Murloc. But he saw that the Warrior, who was being a little too brave, was still recklessly drawing the aggro of the three remaining Murlocs, as if he believed in Brother Chun and had boundless mana. This frustrated Young Master Aige. Was this guy really not afraid of dying?
He could roughly guess what Ryan was thinking. Perhaps his powerful healing spell had led him to believe there was a Priest in the back row? No, if this kept up, the guy would probably die!
"Warrior, quick! I'm a Mage. I used an item to cast that healing spell on you, and I don't have another heal!" he shouted anxiously to the fearless Warrior.
"Huh? No more healing?" The news shocked Ryan into a cold sweat. No wonder! His health was already down to half, yet no matter how long he waited, no healing spell had come his way. So the Mage who had saved him could only use an item to cast it once? Damn! He had to think of something, or he was about to die a hero!
"Fight as you retreat! Try not to draw so much aggro. Defend more and attack less. I'll handle the damage!" Aige called out loudly. Then he fired three quick Frostbolts, slowing all the remaining Murlocs.
Without the Priest he'd imagined backing him up, the little Warrior immediately lost his nerve. He hurried to follow Aige's instructions, fighting as he backed away and carefully avoiding drawing every Murloc's attention...
Sure enough, once he backed down, one Murloc turned and attacked Aige. But under the fierce bombardment of the level-seven Mage's fireballs, he fell only a few steps away from him!
There was no time to collect the loot. Aige immediately focused fire with Ryan and killed another!
Murlocs had primitive intelligence. Sensing he had no chance of winning, the last one jumped into the water to escape. But under the effect of Aige's Frostbolt, he couldn't escape the young master's clutches and was blasted to death on the water's surface... By then, Ryan had barely any health left, and Aige was almost out of mana. It was a narrow victory!
Of course, that was because Aige had concealed his strength, unwilling to reveal his secret too soon. Otherwise, even without using extra cards, bringing in the two little spirits would definitely have made the fight much easier...
Unexpectedly, after looting a pile of rotten fish meat and broken clam shells from the corpses, he actually found a card-and it was a Murloc card...
Murloc Raider, a neutral basic minion card of the Murloc type!
The Murloc type was a separate minion series. Once he collected more Murlocs later on, he could make plenty of powerful combos. Murlocs were always known for ganging up on enemies, and they excelled at frantically swarming their targets. Back then, Murloc Warlock had been capable of striking fear into players on the ladder and influencing the entire game, making it the culprit behind everyone's furious contempt for aggro decks!
A single card wasn't much on its own. Its one-mana cost, two attack, and one health were nothing special... But just wait until my mighty Murlocs gather!
Murloc Tidecaller could give all Murlocs on the field one extra attack. Murloc Warleader could give them all two attack and two health. Coldlight Oracle let everyone draw two extra cards, allowing a low-cost Murloc deck to replenish its hand quickly. If an opponent's cards had a high average cost, they could find themselves awkwardly holding cards they couldn't play. There was also Coldlight Oracle, which could give all Murlocs on the field two extra health.
Finally, there was the legendary card Old Murk-Eye, which had Charge built in. Its attack also increased by a maddening one point for every Murloc on the field. And it could Charge as soon as it was played. Then there were all kinds of supporting Murlocs, all kinds of Charges, all kinds of uralala, all kinds of Murk-Eyes and Bluegills, all kinds of gg seumida...
I'll save it for now!
"Thank you for saving my life, esteemed Mage!" Wounded as he was, Ryan felt he had finally survived and struggled to salute Aige. If the Mage hadn't appeared, he would probably have become the undisputed star of the Murloc tribe's bonfire party that night... He might even have indirectly contributed to an increase in the tribe's little Murloc birth rate!
Aige waved a hand. Standing by and watching someone die wasn't his style! The battle had seemed dangerous, but there had been no real danger. It all depended on whether the great master was willing...
"I'm curious. You cast a powerful healing spell on me just now, and I felt my vitality return to full immediately. You said you used a magic item to cast it, didn't you?" Ryan asked.
"That's right! But it was a single-use magic item. The situation was urgent, so I had no choice but to use it!" It was just an excuse.
"Oh! Once again, thank you! If I may be so bold, how much was that magic item worth? I'm willing to pay for it, since it saved my life!" Ryan seemed like a decent person, someone who knew how to repay a kindness!
"Ten gold coins!" An imaginary item naturally had an imaginary price...
"Heavens! I'd rather have died back there!" The price broke him. It was a fortune beyond anything he could imagine! Although he'd been mentally prepared for any magic item to be extremely expensive, those damn ten gold coins were a thousand silver coins, or a hundred thousand copper coins. Even if his whole family saved together, they probably couldn't pay it off in a lifetime. He really did feel like dying...
"Heh! You don't have to pay me back. I did it willingly! To me, every Warrior's life is precious."
"I remember receiving a rare adventure and treasure-hunting quest. I went with several mercenaries to explore an ancient, abandoned Mage tower. We broke through obstacle after obstacle and braved many dangers before reaching the top floor and finally obtaining that magic item."
"Although that magic item was hard-won, and I was lucky to obtain it only after spending great effort and paying a heavy price during the quest, and although I remember someone offering ten gold coins for it and turning them down, I think no material possession is as important as life itself."
"If using up one mere magic item could save a brave Warrior, I think it was worth it!" Aige entered show-off mode.
"May the Holy Light be with you, Your Excellency! If there's ever a time you can make use of me, please be sure to tell me! If my life can be of help to you, I shall gladly go!"
The Warrior respectfully offered a salute-not an ordinary bow, but a gesture of thanks on one knee! Given the solemnity of his words, no one could have doubted the resolve the Warrior had made at that moment...
Aige felt he was a little wicked! On the Azeroth Continent, life wasn't easy for humans. They weren't as strong as Orcs, as agile and graceful as Night Elves, or as magically gifted as the various magical races. Calling them weak was not wrong at all! Yet weak as they were, humans had won a place in a world full of powerful beings, standing no lower than any other strong race. The most fundamental reason was... their unity!
Unlike humans in later ages, the human race at this time was still quite united, with its own faith and convictions. Just as in World of Warcraft, humans had a bonus to their spirit. Once such a weak race rose up, it would unleash astonishing energy and create miracle after miracle!
Ryan was an ordinary Warrior. His behavior wasn't foolish or stupid; he possessed the finest virtues of early humanity. Viewed through the eyes of later generations, corroded, even decayed, after years of immersion in a world awash in material desires, they were fools...
But who were the real fools?