"It's just too difficult for us ordinary folk to travel safely through this stretch of wilderness. There are too many monsters. For us to get through safely is almost impossible."
"You mean you want me to escort you there?" Aige asked.
"No! You have so much to attend to, my lord. How would I dare take up your time? Besides, I have some matters at home to deal with, so I don't know when I'll be able to leave. What I'd like to ask, Lord Aige, is that when you return to Goldshire, you go to the largest inn in town and find a man named Codot Beach. He's my uncle, and a rather inept alchemist. He's been buying all sorts of strange things at the inn for years. I know he can brew an invisibility potion. Please find him and ask him for a few bottles. That way, I can set off whenever I'm ready and find time to visit Hall Farm myself."
"If you agree, my lord, I'll write a letter right away. My uncle and I are close, so he'll certainly agree."
"Done!"
Notice: You have accepted the invisibility potion quest. Upon completion, you will receive some experience and the neutral common card "Worgen Infiltrator."
Just as he'd said, quests were good things. Better to take one by mistake than let one get away!
In high spirits, Aige found a deserted spot and happily rubbed his Hearthstone... This wasn't the Book of Hearthstone, but the kind Warcraft mages had by default, a return Hearthstone that could teleport him to a bound location. For now, Aige had bound it to an obscure, secluded corner of Goldshire. Aige was the only person on the entire continent with a teleportation Hearthstone, so it was better not to shock everyone.
...It had only been a few days, but the young master felt as though he'd been away from this little town for a long time...
The people sitting outside the security office were still familiar. Although there were a few new faces, not a single old one was missing. Those who had been huddled in their bedding were still there, and those who had gathered to play cards were still playing...
Ignoring these ore-related workers, who looked like unemployed laborers, Aige walked slowly toward the security office's front door... It was still shut tight, with notices like "Closed to visitors, shut down for reorganization" hanging on it.
"Never seen you before, young man! Which smithy are you from? Don't you know Paul hasn't seen visitors for days? Knocking won't do you any good. He can't even face us craftsmen anymore."
A middle-aged man lay near the entrance. His face was covered in wrinkles, his skin was dark, and his muscles were strong and powerful. He was clearly a craftsman who often worked by a forge. He saw Aige preparing to knock... As far as he was concerned, Aige was obviously about to be turned away. After all, they had knocked countless times. Why would Magistrate Paul agree to see them?
The man meant well and wasn't looking down on him. So Aige gave him a friendly smile, but resolutely knocked on the door anyway. The pounding startled everyone sitting outside, and they all looked over... They wanted to see what new little bastard had come to waste his time.
"Lord Paul! Aige is back. Could you open the door and let me in? I have good news for you!" Aige called out.
Before long, a commotion broke out inside. With a creak, the door opened a crack, and a soldier cautiously poked his head out. "You're Lord Aige? Get in, quickly!"
The soldier roughly grabbed Aige and pulled him inside, then swiftly and firmly shut the door before a crowd could rush in...
Aige watched the still-rattled soldier pound his chest after closing the door, as if he were still frightened...
"Good thing I shut that door in time, or those brutes would've barged right in! Come on, Lord Aige, the commander's waiting for you inside."
Amused, Aige followed him across a small training ground to Paul's office!
"Aige, you're back? What's the situation in the mine? How many soldiers do I need to send to clear out those Kobold pests? You should know, I've had it up to here with those lumps of iron lately, and I don't have enough men. If there are really too many Kobolds, I'll just have to apologize to them..."
Paul really had been at his wits' end lately. Even a few strands of his hair had turned white. As the official responsible for the town, he was exhausted in body and mind by his inability to stand up for its people. He had sent Aige out mainly to obtain firsthand information about the Kobolds in the mine. If he judged that he could send troops to wipe them out, he was willing to do it for the blacksmiths' sake... Unfortunately, he had only a limited number of soldiers. If Aige's reconnaissance showed that there were too many Kobolds, there would be nothing he could do.
Inwardly, Aige thought the man was a little rough, but good at heart. He had a fairly good impression of him, and because of his connection to Squad Leader Claude, Aige would do what he could to help.
Aige gave a military salute and said slowly, "There weren't many Kobolds in the mine, and there weren't any important leaders either. I spent quite a bit of time thoroughly cleaning the place out. The mine has been cleared, and I guarantee not a single Kobold escaped!"
Paul and the Warrior who had led Aige in stared wide-eyed...
The young master was now searching all over town for that unscrupulous merchant Luxiu. He had more than sixty large candles dropped by Kobolds and over fifty portions of gold dust. At the exchange rate they had agreed on before, he could get at least two silver and twenty-odd copper coins for them, which was no small amount... But where had that profiteer gone off to now? He wasn't dedicated to his work at all.
Aige wanted to laugh whenever he remembered how Paul and the others had reacted...
Actually, Paul had only wanted Aige to scout the place out. He hadn't expected the little mage to be so fierce as to clear the mine himself. Aige had made it sound easy (and he really had concealed some information, mainly to keep a low profile. There was no need to make such a fuss. If he actually told them he had killed a rare boss monster, would he still be able to walk out of the security office? Would they really not dissect him?), but as Warriors, they knew those Kobolds weren't easy to deal with... This little mage was no ordinary fellow!
Paul, looking almost as if he had found a new lease on life, strode out with his head held high and announced the good news to the neighbors who had blocked his door for days... The cheers of "Hurray!" outside nearly drew the whole town into a festive mood. Aige, however, asked Paul to keep his part a secret. There was no need to draw so much attention; keeping a low profile was his style.
Notice: The mine reconnaissance quest is complete. Because you exceeded the quest's original expectations, you have received an additional reward: the neutral basic minion card "Goldshire Footman"!
Good! All my hard work these past few days wasn't wasted. I got my money's worth. Although Goldshire Footman was only a one-star minion card, the lowest rank, Aige had already used two of them. He knew he couldn't judge a card's value by its color alone. For a mage, minion cards with Taunt were actually the most useful.
Notice: Your reputation in Stormwind City has risen to friendly!
That wasn't all. Paul also gave him a minor healing potion and one silver coin as a quest reward. Finally, Paul personally pinned a badge to his chest... Though Aige quietly took it off again when he slipped out of the security office.
The Goldshire Defender badge: It could be worn in an equipment badge slot. It increased strength and stamina by one point each, and increased Goldshire residents' favor toward the wearer. Only adventurers who had made outstanding contributions to the town were qualified to wear it.
The badge slot was unique to the continent, a special equipment slot formed during its integration with the system. A person could own several badges, but only one could be worn at a time, meaning only one could take effect. Although one point of strength wasn't much use to a mage, the young master was very happy to have the extra point of stamina. It was a pleasant surprise.
I'll wear this thing when I'm leveling. There's no need to be so flashy normally. Having a big, gleaming silver badge hanging on his chest all the time looked unreliable any way he saw it, with a distinctly shallow nouveau riche air... This homebody, who believed keeping a low profile was the way to go, didn't want to attract attention so easily.
Oh? So this guy's here?
The Darkmoon Faire was an entertainment organization that had long been famous across the continent and could travel freely throughout it. Unlike the world in later generations, the Azeroth Continent had no television, computers, or internet. Entertainment was relatively scarce, and people mostly relied on wandering bards and circuses like this one to travel from place to place and perform for the public. Sometimes, they also accepted official commissions to perform at the front and entertain the troops.
Aige remembered that, in his previous life, people could obtain quite a few unique pieces of equipment here, like Warrior necklaces and accessories with special effects. Most importantly, those things were all purple gear.
Equipment on the continent was ranked much the same way as equipment in World of Warcraft...
Gray was damaged or crude...
White was basic equipment...
Green was uncommon equipment...
Blue was rare equipment...
Purple was epic equipment...
Orange was legendary equipment...
There were supposedly red divine artifacts as well... But apparently no one possessed one, or had even seen one.
Basically, purple equipment represented the limit of what combat professionals could possess. Orange equipment was the stuff of legend. Whether it was the equipment itself or its owner, both were legends.
Unfortunately, the Darkmoon Faire on the continent didn't offer that service at all. If people really could exchange things for purple gear here, who would believe they weren't spies?
Many famous combat professionals couldn't obtain even a single piece of purple epic equipment. How could a group of entertainers... performers, really, who were at most half a step toward being bards, get their hands on purple gear?
This wasn't a game, after all. If they really dared to put up a price saying that a few hundred or a thousand pieces of rugged leather could be exchanged for purple gear, Aige had reason to believe they would never know peace...