Light's Dawn of Azeroth

Chapter 317.7. The raid instance "Battle for the Supreme Mage" has been unlocked. Please enter in an orderly manner.
"Luoning! What are you doing? Why are you walking with Master Milhouse?"

Just as the noisy dwarf was enthusiastically touting the benefits of this "Guardian Trial," a familiar shout came from afar.

The young mage, who was pondering his plans, turned around and saw Khadgar walking towards him. At this time, Rhonin had not yet done the "unfortunate things" that made him isolated by the entire city of Dalaran, so he was just an unknown young spellcaster in the city of mages.

He didn't even have a mentor; he was entirely self-taught.

This can be seen from his overly "simple" attire compared to the spellcasters around him.

In fact, Rhonin was one of the candidates when the Kirin Tor was selecting young mages to infiltrate Medivh's camp. However, he was not selected because his emotional intelligence was not as good as Khadgar's. It was around that time that he became friends with Khadgar.

"Ah, you should have said you knew Khadgar earlier."

Millhouse curled his lip and decided to trick the next fool into joining him. Don't underestimate this dwarf; he was on a "secret mission" for the Kirin Tor.

"Let's go, let's team up and try the trial."

Khadgar patted Rhonin on the shoulder and winked at his friend, saying:
"I have some 'insider information' here."

"But I just came here to join in the fun."

Ronning knew his own limitations. He had only recently become a formal mage and was far from being an archmage. How could he be qualified to participate in the competition for the Guardian's Staff of Tirisfal?

He's just here to join in the fun.

He crashed into the sea off Stormwind a few days ago along with the ruins of Dalaran. The area is currently closed for repairs, but it's only a short boat ride to the dock area, so the mages have been resting and living in Stormwind for the past few days.

Those with connections could stay in manors in the city or inns arranged by the government. The archmages were also invited to reside in the Royal Mage Tower of Stormwind Keep.

Those without connections have to pay for their own lodgings. Fortunately, the lodgings in Stormwind are all quite good, with the Gold Rose being a top-tier luxury destination. If you don't mind the poor environment, you can also stay at Goldshire or Northshire Abbey.

Rhonin was short of money; all his money had gone into buying materials and spellbooks. He was among the worst off, and could only live in the Stormwind recruit camp.

Fortunately, this guy has a good attitude and doesn't care.

"You haven't contacted me these past few days, I thought something had happened to you."

Ignoring Rhonin's polite refusal, Khadgar dragged him out of the mage quarters and onto a modest carriage. Inside, Rhonin looked at Khadgar's robes and the spellbook at his waist and joked:
"You're so successful now, who would have thought of the hardships we endured as apprentices in Dalaran?"

"Yeah, who would have thought that when we were at our lowest point, we were living in the sewers and almost got caught up in the brawls of the little mages?"

Khadgar grinned.

Since the orc invasion, he has been under a lot of pressure. Although the matters he is handling with Marshal Lothar are all important, Khadgar is still just a young man. Now that he has finally met his good friend who used to blast fish ponds with him when he was down on his luck, he naturally has to treat him well.

He generously handed his spellbook to Ronin, saying magnanimously:

"It's yours, you can't refuse."

"It can't be done."

Although Luo Ning was poor, he had dignity and would not allow himself to accept charity.

Khadgar shook his head and said:
“This is not charity, Ronin. The enemy we are facing this time is very dangerous.”

I still need to get you a decent set of robes and staff later. Don't be shy with me. Medivh left me his mage tower as an inheritance, and I have no idea how to spend the money I have. A while ago, a Loa god even called me a damn rich man.

I didn't even realize it myself.

Besides, didn't you say before that you aspired to become an archmage as outstanding as Kael'thas Sunstrider? Although I know you wouldn't idolize Prince Kael'thas, fortunately…”

Khadgar said mysteriously:
"He is our 'teammate' on this trip."

"Shh, don't ask too many questions. This is a secret of important people. I'm not inviting you as a 'servant,' my friend. You have your own responsibilities in the team, so are you going to refuse?"

Several tens of minutes later, through a swift teleportation spell, Rhonin and Khadgar arrived at the upper level of the Karazhan Mage Tower.

When the two emerged from the light of the teleportation spell, they were met with a stern-faced butler, Moros, staring at Khadgar with great displeasure. Beside Moros were two pretentious dark-skinned elf servants.

They also wore spellcaster robes bearing the Karazhan raven emblem, dressing themselves in a very high-class manner.

It's clear that these flawed Nightborne "Light Eaters" adore the luxurious tower of Karazhan and take pride in serving there.

Moros also likes them quite a bit.

The main reason is that the Nightborne have been well-disciplined by Elisande, each with outstanding manners and inheriting the prosperous style of the Elven Empire. They also have some knowledge of magic, and some of them are even skilled enough to repair golems. This makes the steward think that they are very suitable to serve as "service personnel" and managers in Karazhan.

“Robin! I told you that you must return to Karazhan once a week. You are the temporary master of this tower, and I cannot regretfully inform the guests that you cannot attend every banquet!”

Moros scolded:

“I know you’re naturally undisciplined, but you represent the face of Master Medivh!”

"Good heavens, Moros, this is wartime! I am Marshal Lothar's magical advisor, how could I possibly have time to attend these strange banquets?"

Khadgar is going crazy.

Under Luo Ning's watchful, suppressed laughter, his "second-generation law student" friend despairingly counted on his fingers and said:

“Last week you were to host President Margok, which was quite respectable, since he is, after all, the leader of spellcasters from another world. I should make an appearance, so I am here.”

The week before last, you hosted Prince Kael'thas, his fiancée, and their followers, and I attended as scheduled.

But the week before last, you told me a group of troll priests were visiting and asked me to attend. I just don't understand, what's the point of communication between us humans and trolls?

"You idiot... cough cough."

Moros was furious, but he tried his best to maintain appearances in front of his guests. He sighed and said:
"Those are the Loa sages of Zandalari!"

Her status is far more noble than that of the mages of Dalaran, yet you have spent so much time communicating with that Archmage Mordra. I even suspect that you have fallen in love with that archmage who is old enough to be your grandmother.
And your relationship with Lady Garona... well, that's not necessarily a bad thing.

The butler gave a subtle smile, looking Khadgar up and down, seemingly trying to find some "good qualities" in the guy that he hadn't noticed before.

A few seconds later, he shook his head with a regretful expression and said:

"Ms. Garona comes from a very distinguished family. The fact that she is the granddaughter of the Vigilant alone is enough to make her one of the most distinguished young people in the world. Well, I won't get involved in these matters."

But you'd better behave yourself from now on!
The Watcher, Marshal Lothar, His Majesty Llane, Archbishop Faol, Prince Kael'thas, and Lord Margok will all be at the opera house to enjoy tonight's opera, after which they will discuss important matters in the banquet hall. The hostess and her friend, Master Merry, will also be there.

Go wash up.

"Your friend, come with me. We need to 'dress you up' first; we can't let Robin's friend be impolite in front of our distinguished guests."

After saying that, Moros waved his hand, and two Nightborne servants beside him stepped forward with the most elegant and orthodox "Queen Azshara's court steps," supporting Rhonin on either side and leading him to the washroom.

"You need to tidy up your distinctive red hair and your overly... well, casual beard."

The Nightborne on the left, speaking in a perfect Suramar-accented Salasian, said:
"The master tailor is already waiting. You also need a robe befitting your status. Are you an archmage?"

"Uh, no, I'm not."

"Then we'll have to use moon cloth as the material."

The Night Child said regretfully:
“During the Elven Empire era, low-level spellcasters could only wear robes made of this material; otherwise, they would be considered ‘arrogant.’”

"You will also need a staff as your main weapon."

Another Nightborne looked Rhonin up and down and suggested:

"We have the Queen's classic style Crystal Laurel Staff, the Suramar traditional style Darklight Night Staff, the Azsuna modern style Star and Moonstone Wand, the Eredar star sea style Lightforged Crystal Staff, and the Quel'dorei Gold Staff, which I least recommend, in the Quel'Thalas nouveau riche country style."

Don't worry, they're all top-quality wands provided free of charge.

This series of choices left Luo Ning bewildered.

what?
Even a staff has a style?
Can't you just pick any cheapest yew staff from the "Battle Witch" staff shop and use it?

You upper-class people have so many rules.

"Um, do you have staffs with a human-style design?"

Luo Ning asked in a low voice.

The two Nightborne exchanged a glance, then sighed regretfully and said:

"Of course, there is. It's a completely mediocre human archmage's staff, but you can wield it tonight at the high-level gathering attended by three esteemed demigods."

"If you intend to utterly disgrace Dalaran, which already has so little face left."

The two Nightborne's barrage of insults silenced Ronin.

Next, "poor boy" Rhonin felt his eyes were opened. He first cleaned himself in the luxurious bathroom of Karazhan with the help of several Nightborne maids, then had his face groomed by a master-like elven barber, and then selected two magic rings that were as unpretentious as possible from the ten cabinets of jewelry left by Medivh.

Finally, he witnessed a master tailor from the Elven Empire making him a set of Mooncloth Archmage Robes that were quite effective. Following the advice of the Nightborne servants, he decided to choose an Azsuna-style Starmoon Staff as his cane.

Before leaving, however, he asked, "Um, may I choose another sword? My swordsmanship is not bad, and it would be more convenient for a low-level mage like me to have a sword in battle."

"Of course! That's a surprisingly sophisticated aesthetic!"

Nightborne, who had always been dissatisfied with Ronin's various actions, suddenly brightened up and said:

“During the Empire, the magic princes also used wands in conjunction with weapons in battle, especially Prince Thosedrin, whose hurricane swordsmanship was unparalleled in the Empire. Of course, the Phoenix swordsmanship of the Sunchaser family was also considered top-notch.”

In the end, Luo Ning obtained a one-handed sword called "Dragon Scale" and wore it at his waist.

This is said to be a priceless blue dragon sword from Aegwynn's collection.

When Khadgar, who was also dressed up and looking quite pleased with himself, appeared, he saw Rhonin walking cautiously, which amused Khadgar.

"What's wrong with you? Can't you walk anymore?"

He joked:
“If you go like this, you will be laughed at by those mean-spirited high elves. Look, even the ‘Light Eaters’ servants are laughing at you. You don’t think the poems they are reciting are praising you, do you? I don’t even dare to translate the contents for you.”

That's really too harsh.

"I can understand Salas, I don't need you to translate, but what can I do?"

Luo Ning rolled his eyes and sighed:
"Every single thing I own is more expensive than I am, Khadgar! What kind of pampered life have you been living lately?"

"That's why I don't want to go back to Karazhan."

Dressed like a High Elf magic prince, Khadgar sighed helplessly and said:
"Moros was just strict before, but after that group of outrageous 'light-eater' elves came, he quickly became strict and 'dignity-conscious,' becoming a fanatical supporter of the elven empire's mage rituals."

Of course, I know that Moros is trying to rebuild Medivh's tarnished reputation using this method.

I have no ill will towards him personally. Although he is strict, he is indeed a very good elder.
I am not suited for this kind of life.

Perhaps, being a wandering wild mage suits me better.

Unfortunately, we were born in this turbulent era. Luo Ning, we all have our own missions to fulfill.

Come on, follow me, my friend, and bravely step into our lives.

Luo Ning nodded, but as he stepped forward, he suddenly noticed a mysterious crack appearing in the corridor in front of him.

"what is that?"

He asked curiously.

"Oh, the Rift of Fate, it's a weird thing Medivh created."

Khadgar said:

"It's said that you can see your future destiny in it, but I think that's an exaggeration. I've looked at it several times, and each time I see something different. Sometimes I'm with Garona, sometimes with Lady Mordra, and more often than not, I'm found with my legs broken and sitting in a strange arcane wheelchair."
Go and take a look, see what you can see.
I'll be waiting for you here.

Luo Ning was also curious about where his fate was headed. He strode forward and looked at the crack.

In the first instant, he saw his majestic self roaring as he pushed another woman into the portal, and then the fiery arcane magic reduced him and the city he was in to ashes.

This scared him.

Just as I was about to look closely, I found that the scene before me had quietly transformed into myself in my pajamas, sitting by a warm fireplace with a silver-haired elf in my arms. Two adorable half-elf children were curled up in my and the elf's arms, and I was holding a book and telling the two little ones a story.

Although the scene was only fleeting, the warm and healing silhouette and the scene of destruction were etched into Luo Ning's heart like a "heaven and hell".

Although he was a minor mage, he was not stupid.

He knew this was his future destiny, but it was changed; his future was reversed from a painful death to a warm and peaceful ending.

Although he didn't know who did it, he felt he should really thank them.

"What did you see? Why are you laughing so strangely?"

Khadgar asked curiously, but Rhonin smiled without answering. As he followed Khadgar into the banquet hall, Rhonin's heart skipped a beat.

Because he saw the silver-haired elf.
The girl I'll spend my life with in the future!

She was sitting in the entourage behind Prince Kael'thas, talking to a blond elven warrior.

"Ok?"

As a skilled ranger, Vereesa Windrunner sensed someone watching her. She suddenly turned around and saw a well-dressed, elven-style red-haired human grinning at her.

This made Vereesa purse her lips, snort, and turn her head away, ignoring the guy.

"what happened?"

Still immersed in the wonderful opera she had just heard, Faina Gold Sword asked curiously, and Vereesa waved her hand and said:
"It's nothing, I just ran into an idiot, what bad luck."

------

"That's how it is. I'm not implying that the successor to the Staff of Atiesh, the Guardian, has been 'predetermined,' but the fact is that if both Prince Kael'thas and Prime Minister Mar'gok are to participate in this trial, then the successor to the staff will most likely be chosen from the two of them."

The other participants do not possess your exaggerated strength or your domineering influence.

They were all destined to be participants.

However, the 'kind' blue and red dragons also offered generous rewards to the participants, meaning that any spellcaster or warrior who dared to fight against the Shadow Council would not return empty-handed.

On the round table, Diakum, in his half-giant form, spread his hands and addressed the attendees before him:
"However, Lothar and I set up this meeting tonight not to play the 'cake-sharing' trick, but to tell you all that the most important part of this trial is not the selection of the Holy Staff, but to rescue the 'important person' trapped in the dream of that high tower."

That was the leader of the Green Dragonflight, Lady Ysera the Sleeper, the Dream Lord.

"He was an important figure who determined the fate of the world."

Aegwynn, the mistress of Karazhan and the Star-Soul Guardian, then spoke:

“We will also send people to participate, but Diakum will be stationed on the battlefield to defend against any possible great demons, and I have other important matters to attend to. Therefore, this matter will be handed over to Lord Merri Winterwind to take charge.”

The Shadow Council controls the Dream Realm. The cowardly individuals have set rules for the Dream Realm in their mage towers, making it difficult for powerful beings above the level of demigods to move freely within it. Furthermore, the Dream Realm is not the domain of the Holy Light. To ensure everything proceeds smoothly, Diakum will not get too involved.

I can even allow that bastard Zul'hild to escape in this battle, but the Green Dragon Queen must be released!
"It would be best to reclaim the Dragon Soul; if that's not possible, then destroy it!"

"Such a powerful artifact, isn't it a bit of a waste to destroy it?"

Head of State Margok, who was also dressed in formal attire today, asked with some sigh:

"Can't we just take it into our own hands and let that evil force fight for justice?"

"That's dangerous."

With his flowing blond hair, slightly effeminate yet perfectly poised demeanor, Prince Kael'thas elegantly explained:

"Wizard King, you don't know much about the history of Azeroth. The Dragon Soul has another master, and it is an extremely dangerous entity. Given the current situation in the Eastern Continent, I think it's best if we don't provoke it."

Destroying it is the optimal solution.

"This is a difficult task, and it may even put you at the risk of death. There are not only Zul'hid wielding divine weapons in that tower, but also undead, demons, and other strange things."

Losa said in a deep voice:
"High Priest Fao and I will lead the Ash Knights to clear the way for you, but we'll leave the rest to you."

Margok, the Ogre ruler, and his greatest rival Kael'thas exchanged a glance, but even the proud Ogre ruler had to admit that the High Elf prince before him was perfect in every way.

During its studies there, it studied magic with Kael'thas on several occasions, and it had to admit that Kael'thas's talent even surpassed its own.

But the more this is the case, the less likely the Wizarding Chief will give up.

After witnessing the abundance and talent of Azeroth, this great wizard from a "small place" was not discouraged, but instead became more determined to accomplish something great.

It is precisely because of its inherent greed and desire that it cherishes victory all the more.

"The danger of this matter is beyond question, so as the initiator, I have specially prepared an extra 'reward' for you."

Diakum spread his hands, causing the divine rune imbued with Tyr's power to float in the air amidst swirling lightning. In that instant, Kael'thas and Margok were both drawn to this object.

"From the remains of the Protector sculpted by Aggramar himself, bearing the power of another Protector infused by His own hand."

The vigilant explained:

"While this 'Order Rune' cannot, like the Atiesh Guardian's Staff, allow a spellcaster to break through the shackles of demigods in a short time, it can create a perfect arcane foundation, enabling the mage to embark on the most orthodox arcane path in the starry sea."

Therefore, you will not leave empty-handed.

Such is the will of the Holy Light: all of you, whatever your purpose in coming here, you will all become 'slayers of evil warlocks'.

Earn glory for yourself and strive to become a proud guardian.

(End of this chapter)