Shadow Trails in Azeroth

"The six-member council is really guarding me as much as it is guarding against thieves. It's really speechless!"

On the way back to Gilneas from the Silverpine Forest, where the terrain has changed drastically, the carriage was moving forward slowly under the night, and from time to time, the sound of the driver waving his whip could be heard.

In this carriage with a low-key appearance and luxurious interior, the mage Arugao was using the light of the magic lamp in the carriage to examine the Book of Ur spread out in front of him.

The result disappointed him.

The six-member council's seal on the Book of Ur is all-encompassing. Of this great grimoire that records nearly two hundred summoning spells, only less than twenty are currently open to Arugal.

And they are all very weak summons.

For example, an eyeball from another world can help him detect the surroundings or peek at his underwear, or summon a singing goblin from another world to show off his beautiful singing voice for the mage when he has nothing to do.

Another example is a horse from another world, which runs extremely fast but has zero combat effectiveness.

Well, the summoning spells open to Arugal are almost like this. They are interesting and fun, but their actual combat effectiveness is zero.

This made the mage Arugao very dissatisfied.

Although he knew that his spellcasting ability was weak, even if the six-person council did not seal it, he still would not be able to use most of the magic in the Book of Ur.

But that’s how people are.

If you don't get the strength, there will be no pain.

But once you get the power, you can't use it right in front of you, but it will be as painful as a cat's claw scratching your heart.

"They also said that they want me to make a name for myself in the magical world of Gilneas with this book, but what kind of name can I make by just relying on these tricks for children to play games with?

Master of magic? Or a parenting expert? "

The powerful magic spells recorded in the grimoires made people itch to see them, but a layer of seal prevented Arugao from seeing through the specific spells. The more he read, the more angry he became, and in the end he simply closed the grimoire.

The noble young master of Gilneas raised the grimoire full of complaints, threw it on the ground of the carriage, and said angrily:

"It's better not to give up this crap! It's really annoying! It was a mistake to go to Dalaran to study in the first place. Alas, I didn't know what happened when I was young. I had to become a mage."

He complained about himself like this.

But a few seconds later, the guy picked up the Book of Ur honestly and carefully blew the dust off the book. He sighed, patted the book and said:

"Oh, but I've already embarked on this path, and it's too late to look back. Think on the bright side, it's better than nothing. When my spellcasting ability improves in the future, I will be able to use these spells."

He told himself so.

It was like making a beautiful promise to himself, but Arugao himself knew that it was almost impossible.

Spellcasting ability depends on talent.

No matter how much knowledge you learn and how much magic you practice, if you don't have talent, you just don't have talent. This thing cannot be made up for by hard work. What mage wouldn't want the terrifying talents of Jaina Proudmoore?

But the reality is that there is only one Daughter of the Sea.

This is the most uncomfortable part.

"Let's talk about it after we return to Gilneas. What happened in Dalaran was really scary. I almost died in that disaster. Deathwing, Defiler, Dragon, Orc.

Wow, that’s really a lot of experience. "

Arugao yawned, leaned on the carriage chair and hugged the heavy Book of Ur, talking to himself, and fell asleep.

I don’t know how long I slept, but the mage was suddenly awakened by a crash.

He looked up blankly and heard a frightened scream from the groom. Then several horses ran wildly as if they were frightened. Arugao in the carriage was caught off guard and hit his head against the shaking wall of the carriage. .

The wheels kept colliding with the uneven ground, causing the carriage to rise and fall. Arugao was so shaken that he couldn't concentrate on casting spells. His spell-casting ability was already weak. If he encountered a sudden attack, it would be difficult to react quickly.

He also smelled blood.

This made the mage even more panicked.

Nearly ten seconds after the horses lost control, the carriage ran wildly for hundreds of meters, and Arugao kicked the door open, almost throwing a flash spell.

Holding the magic book in his arms, he fell down on the roadside in a state of panic. He rolled a few times and his head was covered with weeds and dirt. He climbed up with difficulty and saw the crazy horse pulling Dian Po's cart disappearing into the dark forest.

He glanced back.

The groom sent by his family to pick him up had already fallen on the road behind him, and he didn't know whether he was alive or dead in a pool of blood.

A chill swept through Arugao.

The mage shook his body and hugged the magic book in his arms tighter. When Kel'Thuzad handed him the Book of Ur before, he warned that evil people might be targeting this book.

At that time Arugao didn't think so.

His mentor, Old Ur, was not a well-known archmage in Dalaran, and summoning magic was already weak in Dalaran's system. Ur was not discovered until more than a year after his death, which has been proven. His "status in the world."

And even in the years before he was expelled from Dalaran, Old Ur's reputation in the Magic City was basically equivalent to "a drunkard, a swindler, and a liar."

How could something abandoned by such a poor old mage be targeted by those legendary villains?

But it turned out that he was still too young.

He laughed at Old Ur for not knowing decency, and Old Ur laughed at him for not knowing evil.

"Shua"

A black shadow flashed across the forest next to Arugao, bringing with it a cold sound of wind, which frightened the mage.

He just vaguely saw that the black figure seemed to be a person!

He is particularly tall, half a body taller than an ordinary person.

What the hell is that?

When did such a thing appear in Silverpine Forest?

no!

We can't stay here, we have to run!

Arugal made up his mind to crush a teleportation stone in his hand and teleport him back to the Dalaran pit, but as soon as he pressed his fingers, there was a whoosh of a sharp weapon piercing the air.

The mage screamed.

The teleportation stone in his hand fell to the ground, and his wrist was cut open by a light and thin shadow flying knife. The shield he applied to the surface of his body had no effect at all.

"Quack, quack!"

Weird and harsh bird calls also sounded in the surrounding forests, making Arugao even more frightened. Because along with the chirping of birds, there was also a heavy and low running.

It was like there was some kind of monster in the forest that was about to pounce.

His breathing quickened, he put the Book of Ur into the bag behind his waist, took out a wand from his waist, and hurriedly threw a ball of light behind him.

But it’s okay if you don’t look at it. Arugao was shocked when he looked at it.

The ball of light flew into the night sky, slowly falling, and shining out from under the branches at the edge of the forest. There was a tall figure holding a bone staff, wearing an animal bone hood, and wearing tattered robes, raising his hands.

The green light shines in her palm, which is the summoning ceremony of alien creatures.

In the beating of the light group, a huge monster that looked like an ostrich, but had huge wings, bright scales, a lizard-like head and tail, sharp teeth and a wriggling tongue flapped its wings and rushed towards him with a howl. .

"ah!"

The surprised girl screamed at the top of her lungs.

Without looking, he threw a small fireball at it and then ran backwards lifelessly.

Fortunately, he had long been aware of his lack of spellcasting ability, so he had been exercising in order to gain an advantage in the "fighting championship" among the young mages.

This gives him good physical strength.

Running fast and steady.

After running for a few minutes, the weird thing behind didn't seem to catch up. This made Arugao let out a sigh of relief, but he didn't dare to slow down and continued running along the road.

He has recognized the terrain nearby. It is very close to the town of Ambermere. There are many spellcasters from Dalaran staying there recently. As long as he runs there, he will be safe.

"Shua"

The shadow he saw once before appeared again, which made Arugao's heart rise again.

That guy is nearby!

Keep following him, he or it is playing with itself!

Damn it!

The mage wanted to stay and just fight with that weird thing!

But thinking about his paper-thin spell-casting ability, he gave up this plan very rationally.

Run.

This is a matter of life and death, and there is no shame in it.

So Arugao, the "long-distance running champion" among the mages, took a deep breath and continued running in the direction of Amber Mill. However, this time he stepped on a hunter's trap just a few seconds after running out.

It was dark now, and Arugao was in a state of uncertainty, so he actually failed to discover this thing.

The moment he stepped on it, the trap was activated, and a large amount of heavy ice breath burst out from under his feet, freezing most of Arugao's body in an instant.

He still maintained his running movements, but his lower body was frozen into the ice.

This is a magical freezing trap.

It is already considered a relatively advanced type of hunter's trap. It is expensive to make, has strict conditions for its effectiveness, and is disposable. Most hunters don't like to use this thing very much.

But to be honest, the effect is outstanding.

The continuous freezing chilled Arugao's whole body, and he could not struggle at all. He could only watch the tall black shadow jump down from the treetops in front of him.

Jumping down from the airspace more than two meters high, this guy didn't make a sound at all and was as agile as a ghost.

He moved his broad shoulders and strolled towards the frozen Arugao. The cold air and the fear in his heart made Arugao tremble.

As the guy got closer, he saw the black claws hanging down from under the long hood of the person opposite him. The black claw blades that were long and twisted like a dagger made the mage feel fear again.

If he hadn't been frozen, he would probably wet his pants.

Well, you can actually pee even if you're frozen.

And when the guy got so close that he was only two steps away from Arugao, the mage's eyes widened even more as if he was about to faint. This guy in front of him was a werewolf!

As a disciple of Master Ur, although he rarely participated in Ur's real magic research, Arugao knew that his mentor had summoned such a dangerous and mysterious creature.

He also saw the werewolf portrait hand-drawn by the old mage in the mage tower in Ur.

Exactly the same as the guy in front of me.

It was a real wolf head, with a protruding mouth full of sharp teeth. Its eyes shone in the dark with the same cold light as the wolf's eyes, but it was not as crazy and wild as the legend.

Well.

How can this werewolf still control his own mind?

Doesn't the Book of Ur say that all werewolves have succumbed to their bestiality?

"The Book of Ur! Hand it over!"

The big bad wolf grinned and looked down at the frozen Arugao. It moved its knife-like claws full of malice and placed it on Arugao's head.

This action made the mage's heart tremble.

Sure enough, these crazy guys came for the Book of Ur, which wants to summon all its compatriots from the depths of the dream!

Is it going to destroy Gilneas?

What a terrible ambition.

But the matter has come to this, and it is impossible for Arugao alone to protect this book.

He could only indicate his luggage with his eyes.

Seeing how "sensible" the guy in front of him was, the Big Bad Wolf suddenly showed a "friendly" smile.

Arugao was so frightened that his hair stood up.

But what happened next was beyond Arugao's understanding.

The werewolf took out the Book of Ur but did not take it away. Instead, he turned to the pages about the werewolf summons. He tore off the pages with magic seals and threw the Book of Ur back to him. Arugao.

Before it left, it reached out and patted the frightened mage on the head, like an adult patting a child on the head.

it says:

"You can go, Mr. Arugao. Thank you for your cooperation. Oh, by the way, I have another 'gift' for you. I heard that you have been feeling troubled and troubled by your weak spellcasting ability. Lost?

I just have a method here that can effectively strengthen your spell-casting ability and give you the most advanced shadow magic affinity. "

"Huh? Really?"

Arugao, who had half of his body still frozen, opened his eyes wide when he heard this.

He said:

"Why haven't I heard of this kind of thing? What are you going to do? No! Ah!"

He watched the big bad wolf open its mouth and bite his wrist, and he immediately guessed what this hateful werewolf was going to do, but he couldn't break away and could only watch helplessly as the wolf's teeth landed on his wrist.

His numb wrist felt a faint pain, and then a heavy fatigue came to his mind, causing Arugao to shake and close his eyes.

Until this moment, Black, the stinky pirate who had been hiding and watching, slowly walked out of the darkness.

He looked at Arugal who was frozen in the ice in front of him, and then reached out to take the werewolf summoning spell from the Big Bad Wolf's hands. Black spent a few seconds observing the structure of the magic seal on the page, and then issued a A snort of disdain.

He mobilized his shadow magic power, like a precise key, pouring magic power into the pages of the book, resonating the magic power in a completely opposite way to the magic seal.

A minute later, the sealing magic on the page quietly dissipated.

"Take it and use it."

The pirate threw the letter to the black witch Hagatha, who was riding the big strange bird Chupacabra and came running beside him, and said:

"The first batch of two hundred will be summoned to spread the legend of werewolves from the Black Forest. The Big Bad Wolf will be responsible for commanding them. You should keep a low profile and don't cause massacres or other things to attract the intervention of other forces.

Chaos Gilneas, attracting the druids to bring the Scythe of the Moon to this land, using it to complete the ritual of physical and mental peace, and restrict Jean from causing trouble everywhere.

This is your task, don’t add unnecessary complications.

If you screw up.

Don't expect me to save you. "

"As you command, you evil lord."

The female orc let out a low, weird laugh, put away the pages of the book, and stepped aside.

Blake took another look at Arugao, who was starting to have a high fever in front of him. He rubbed his chin and said to the big bad wolf on the other side:

"How did Medivh use the Moonlight Herbal Potion to keep you sane? Let's do it again with this little mage. I need him to maintain his sanity.

He would make a very powerful spellcaster.

Archmage Arugal.

Gee, what a nostalgic name. "

After saying that, Black took out an invitation for admission to the Warlock School of Narthalas College from his sleeve and stuffed it into Arugal's cold pocket.

He reached out and patted the pocket of the mage who was unconscious in the ice and said:

"People without talent should stop yearning for the gorgeous scenery of Dalaran. It is your destiny to become a warlock living in the sewers."