Suspicion

"Ding..."

"You completed the quest Kill the Troll and gained 3,500 experience!"

After a fierce struggle, Kael'thas had finally killed his first true enemy. His mana was nearly depleted, and he was about to conjure some bread to eat and recover when Liadrin handed him some water.

"Here, Your Highness..."

The water came in a small waterskin. Kael'thas knew that this specially prepared water contained magic and could speed up mana recovery outside combat. It was an essential item for those of classes other than mages.

Curious about its taste, he took it and drank without hesitation.

His somewhat sluggish head immediately began to clear. The sensation was much like the refreshment he had felt eating mint in his previous life. Perhaps people in this world relied on that sensation to recover their mana...

But Kael'thas's mana was different from theirs. He had gradually realized this while studying on the Path of Arcane. His system was completely different from everyone else's: he could directly see the health and mana he recovered from eating. Right now, for instance, he could see the mana lake in his mind recovering at the astonishing rate of one percent per second. He suspected health recovery worked the same way when he was injured.

Others were different. They were like real people: they couldn't master a skill as soon as they learned it, and their mana recovery was only relatively faster. Health recovery was even more extreme-it merely restored their stamina and healed their wounds. If they were seriously injured or lost a limb, they needed help from a Priest or an alchemist.

Although Kael'thas had never suffered such severe injuries, he already had a feeling he wouldn't need that kind of help.

Come to think of it, this body was actually his greatest cheat!!

Still, for Kael'thas, mana had now become the most critical limitation. It hadn't changed much since he was born, and there was far too little of it! Although his skills' attack power automatically increased with his level, he would definitely be unable to match others in a prolonged battle like this, and his mana couldn't support advanced skills either. Leveling up was still the key...

He looked at the mana lake in his mind. The tiny lake was shrouded in layer upon layer of barriers. As his level rose, the barriers seemed to grow weaker, and the nearest one had already begun to waver...

Once he turned in the herb quest, he would probably reach level 16. After gaining a few more levels, he should be able to break through it...

Then the mana cost of his current skills would be relatively lower!

"Did you send the signal?"

Kael'thas asked Liadrin after drinking the last of the water. She had used very little mana, so she had long since recovered her energy.

"Yes!"

Liadrin nodded. She had sent an enemy encounter signal as soon as the battle began, and someone should be arriving by now.

"See what that Troll has on him."

Kael'thas frowned as he gave the order. He couldn't help feeling that the Troll's appearance was strange. At first, it hadn't seemed intent on attacking; otherwise, Kael'thas and Liadrin should have been ambushed long ago. Clearly, this Troll had come to scout.

The fact that it hadn't called for its companions throughout the encounter also seemed to support that.

But that made things even stranger...

Liadrin began searching the Troll rogue's corpse. The Priest, who had been born and raised on the front lines, had no aversion to such work, which made Kael'thas feel a little ashamed.

He hated dealing with corpses...

"Your Highness, I didn't find anything except this map!" Liadrin returned with a tattered piece of hide. It was a map, crudely drawn with a knife, but when Kael'thas looked at it, he saw it was just an ordinary map of the nearby area, showing even less than he knew.

He turned it over and examined it. After confirming there were no secrets, he was a little disappointed.

But that was only to be expected. The Trolls wouldn't be foolish enough to let a low-level rogue reveal any secrets.

Just then, the rescue party arrived to the sound of birds' footfalls...

"..."

Kael'thas pricked up his ears and looked toward the sound. The party was moving astonishingly fast; in just a few minutes, it had reached them.

Exceptionally tall Hawkstriders, ranks in perfect formation, and mature faces brimming with killing intent. They were a squad of rangers... no, a squad of Farstriders!

The High Elf Farstriders were a small force of rangers with extraordinary martial skills. They were the elite among all rangers and had defended the borders of Quel'Thalas at the risk of their lives for thousands of years. In fact, the public held them in the highest respect and admiration. As a reward for their long years of selfless service, the Farstriders had long been regarded as the bravest and most honorable of elves.

Even the Farstriders' supreme commander was granted a unique title-the Ranger-General of Quel'Thalas.

"Please forgive our late arrival, Your Highness..."

A handsome man stepped out from the Farstriders' ranks. He glanced at the Troll's corpse in some surprise, then saluted Kael'thas.

"I am Darma Morningstar. I led this squad here from the Farstrider camp below!"

They were also one of the most loyal forces, and every one of them could recognize a member of the royal family.

"No, you were very quick." Kael'thas shook his head. He hadn't expected the Farstriders to come to his rescue, though it made sense, since there was a Farstrider camp at the far end of the lake.

While they talked, several Farstriders had already begun dealing with the Troll's corpse, and Liadrin had been called over for questioning.

"A low-level Troll rogue?"

Once the information came in, Darma raised his eyebrows.

"Is there a problem?"

Kael'thas's eyes lit up as he asked. Darma nodded. "It is a little strange. Our Arcane mages have set up dense layers of protective magic on the front lines. No one should be able to get through!"

For one so low-level, it should have been even more impossible...

That was what Darma thought, but he said something else to Kael'thas:

"Still, one or two will always slip through the net."

"There's no need to worry, Your Highness. I'll have my men conduct another thorough search!"

Kael'thas smiled without committing himself. Darma's words had confirmed his own suspicions, and he was already looking forward to it.

After following a powerful mage for seven years, no one understood the power of High Elf Arcane mages better than Kael'thas. How could there be such a huge flaw in the magic set up by countless Arcane mages, especially on the front lines? It might have made sense for a high-level Troll, but not a low-level one.

There was clearly only one possibility.

The Trolls had another route into the rear of the Ghostlands!

And Kael'thas had a vague idea where that route was-the Amani Catacombs. There was only one relatively large mountain within the Ghostlands, and in the game, ancient Troll catacombs lay hidden on that mountain. Before the High Elves had established their kingdom, the Amani Trolls had buried their people there.

If there was a route into the rear of the Ghostlands, there was no more suspicious place than that. As it happened, the mountain was nearby...

This wasn't the era of the Undead Scourge, so Undead, the dead, and the like shouldn't appear beneath Quel'Thalas's Arcane radiance. If there had been any, they would have been eliminated long ago.

If there was no threat from the Undead in the Amani Catacombs, then it shouldn't be very dangerous. The Troll rogue he had just killed was low-level too. Kael'thas guessed that even if the Trolls were plotting something, they wouldn't dare send high-level members before putting it into action. The sensitive Arcane mages would spot them too easily. Low-level ones, on the other hand, were less likely to draw the elves' attention and wouldn't know many secrets themselves...

He was almost certain that the Troll rogue's job had been to survey the area for a map...

The Trolls wanted a map of the Ghostlands as it was now. They had to be planning a massive conspiracy!!

"Ding..."

"You have received the quest Find the Source of the Trolls!"

The system notification sounded. Sure enough, Kael'thas had triggered it.

He had previously tried to trigger quests he couldn't possibly complete, but no matter what he did, he couldn't trigger them. So the quest notification now proved his judgment: his level was high enough to complete this quest!!

This was wonderful. Kael'thas looked at his inactive title, Disguiser. He really hadn't expected to be able to use it so soon.

"Then, Your Highness, let us escort you back first..."

After a few matters had been dealt with and several Farstriders had carried away the Troll's corpse, Darma spoke to Kael'thas.

Kael'thas refused.

"I'm going back to Suncrown Village. There's no need; it won't take long!"

"Please don't refuse, Your Highness..." But Darma didn't listen. He led over two beautiful Hawkstriders and smiled at Kael'thas. "Escorting you back is our apology for not arriving in time..."

Kael'thas was tempted. The Farstriders' Hawkstriders stood a head taller than ordinary ones, and he had heard that anyone given permission could ride them. He was curious to know just what made these Hawkstriders different.

He looked at Liadrin. Her eyes were bright as she looked at him, and she seemed eager to try it herself.

"All right..."

Kael'thas agreed, then climbed onto the Hawkstrider's back with Darma's help.

Liadrin got her wish too, and they raced toward Suncrown Village in the company of the Farstriders.

Neither Kael'thas nor Liadrin had learned to ride, but these rigorously trained Hawkstriders were exceptionally intelligent. Just as the rumors said, they could actually carry the two of them at a gallop all the way without anyone's help!

It also seemed to know that a person of noble status was sitting on its back. Kael'thas's Hawkstrider moved forward very docilely, its head held high. Its steps were swift but unexpectedly smooth, making Kael'thas glance down at its feet from time to time, wondering whether it had four of them.

As a result, when they reached Suncrown Village, Kael'thas and Liadrin were both quite reluctant to dismount.

He could learn to ride at level 20!

Watching the Farstriders' dashing figures disappear into the sunset, Kael'thas found himself looking forward to his future mount for the first time. He looked to the side and saw that Liadrin felt the same, her eyes full of longing.

Kael'thas couldn't help smiling, and a faint spark flashed through his mind:

I wonder what it would feel like to ride a dragon?