Chapter 287: Phoenix Flames

The harsh winter left most people with little to do. Of course, Duke wouldn't waste this time.

In the Hillsbrad Foothills, veterans of the orc wars, some with various injuries preventing them from returning to the battlefield, taught new recruits how to face the orcs in large wooden halls. Duke's naga forces were once again put to use, tirelessly providing realistic combat training for the soldiers.

At Karazhan, Duke finally had a chance to return, and Khadgar burst into tears.

"Master! I've missed you so much! I've been so bored."

Duke resisted the urge to push away the tearful, snotty, and somewhat corporeal Khadgar. "Damn it, oh, no, you're already a ghost. It's not like you're the only one here. Where's Medivh? The Valarjar are here too!"

"I don't have much to talk about with those muscle-bound men! I don't understand why they still have to go jogging and do drills every day even though they're already Valarjar."

"..." Duke was speechless for a moment. "Maybe it's because they have nothing else to do if they're not fighting demons?"

Duke suddenly understood why the high elves' upper-class nobility became so decadent. With infinite life force and boredom, it was easy for one's soul to become corrupted.

"Alright, get ready. I have a large group of apprentices coming. Living ones." Duke told Khadgar about the mages he had lured away from Dalaran.

"Very well, my master. I will ask the others to tidy up the rooms."

"Actually, I don't plan on having them stay in Karazhan for too long. After all, Karazhan is now situated in the rift between time and space, and I don't know if living here for an extended period would have adverse effects on their bodies. I plan to have them visit the library three times a week to borrow and return magical books. You just need to act as a good librarian. Yes, open the collection below the rank of Earth Mage for them."

Khadgar's soul put his hands on his hips. "Alright! At least I won't be so lonely."

Those who came to follow Duke were naturally not high-ranking mages, but rather Earth Mages from impoverished backgrounds. They couldn't receive guidance from famous teachers like Krasus, nor could they afford the heavy tuition fees.

In Dalaran, everything was based on equivalent exchange, even if one sold themselves to the Kirin Tor. The money they received would only allow them to read a limited number of magical books. How could that compare to the unlimited reading access at Karazhan?

Moreover, they could attend Duke's large classes in Hillsbrad Foothills three times a week.

In fact, Duke didn't deceive them. The simplified fire elemental magic formulas that Duke's system elf had helped calculate allowed them to make significant progress in their abilities.

After training, every Earth Mage was pleasantly surprised to find that they had begun to master the two super magic specialties: Enhanced Fireball and Flame Toss. The former shortened the incantation time for their fireball spells, while the latter increased the range of their fireball spells.

For ordinary mages with mediocre talent, just having these abilities was enough to make them work for three years.

With the mages' morale stabilized, Duke finally began constructing his own frost circuit.

Crown of Frost

Archmage Antonidas's core magic circuit.

In this era, aside from the recently deceased Medivh, who was a true demi-god-level mage with mastery in all three schools Archmage Antonidas's core magic circuit.

In this era, aside from the recently deceased Medivh, who was a true demi-god-level mage with mastery in all three schools, the two remaining top mages each had their own distinct preferences.

Sun King Anasterian Sunstrider favored fire.

Antonidas favored ice.

However, the question of whether the magic circuits of these two supreme mages of the arcane arts could be merged and connected was a serious one.

Because both of their core circuits are quite... domineering.

The Arcane Fire Circuit is not just any ordinary circuit. In fact, after using it for a while, Duke suddenly realized that the Arcane Fire Circuit should be called the 'Arcane' Flame Circuit. What is 'Arcane'? 'Arcane' is the phoenix that Kael'thas has been hiding all along!

The Arcane Fire Circuit passed down in the Sunstrider family should really be called the Phoenix Flame.

Why did the Sun King only punish Alleria for losing the Phoenix Flame magical circuit training method by making her squat in prison for three months?

Why did Antonidas simply give away the top-tier Frost Crown magical circuit model? Was Lady Illucia's reputation really that great?

Duke had carefully considered this issue.

Recently, the system elf provided Duke with an answer—both sets of magical circuit models had no problems and had no defects. As a foundation, they were the best frost and fire circuits. The crux of the matter was that, originally, to advance to a higher level, a specific object was required.

An object that could further sublimate fire or frost elements.

Simply put, a flame origin akin to Kael'thas' phoenix 'Arcane,' or an ice origin of the same caliber. Otherwise, advancing to Morning Star would be the limit of this circuit.

Perhaps with the help of the system, Duke could defeat some Crescent Moon mages, but he would never be able to challenge a true Dawn Star powerhouse.

Duke suddenly smiled bitterly: "The old guys really calculated well."

Antonidas didn't give Duke an Arcane magical circuit, but it didn't matter. The original Phoenix Flame also had an Arcane circuit model. As a more explosive fire magic in terms of damage output, it demanded stronger mana support from the Arcane, so the Phoenix Flame's Arcane model was quite robust.

The system estimated that unless Duke wanted to upgrade to a Crescent Moon Mage, this Arcane model would be absolutely sufficient at the Morning Star level.

If a phoenix's fire elemental source were installed on the Phoenix Flame circuit, the fire circuit would squeeze Duke's Arcane circuit like a juicer. At that time, a new Arcane mana source would be essential.

"Alright, let's take it one step at a time."

Inside the highest level of Karazhan, Duke set up a series of protective barriers. He learned all of these from the books in Karazhan. They wouldn't protect against real experts, but they were effective against Morning Star level threats.

Including Karazhan's own defenses, this was quite secure.

System prompt:

"Detecting that the host has extensive knowledge of refrigeration-related fields, related knowledge is being imported... Thermodynamics fundamentals, fluid mechanics of pumps and fans, refrigeration principles and equipment, air conditioning principles and equipment, refrigeration process design, refrigeration and air conditioning automation, refrigeration and air conditioning engineering... Knowledge import completed. Further optimizing the Frost Crown magical circuit model... Optimization completed."

"Beginning to modify the host's existing magical model."

In the next instant, Duke felt as if he had fallen from a warm world into an icy hell.