Reforged Chapter 72: A Secluded Test of Integrity

There were still many things that Duke wanted to do, but most of them seemed impossible.

Gazing at the twinkling stars outside the window, Duke let out a deep sigh.

The great change had not yet occurred, and it seemed that far-sighted individuals like Lothar were in the minority. Most of the higher-ups in the seven human kingdoms were still living in a dream.

For example, Duke wanted to build a road in Elwynn Forest that would stretch from Stormwind City to Redridge Mountains. Even though he knew that the officers of this era wouldn't understand the concept of rapid troop deployment, it would still be useful for evacuating civilians during an orc invasion.

Why?

Orcs were capable of adapting to harsh terrain, whether it was forests or mountains, and could move swiftly. However, human civilians were not as adaptable. Ordinary people had high requirements for road conditions, especially when evacuating with their families and belongings.

But the road conditions in Stormwind Kingdom were terrible. Apart from the city of Stormwind itself, almost all other territories within the kingdom had terrible dirt roads in Duke's opinion. The roads were passable on sunny days, but when it rained, they turned into muddy quagmires that were nearly impassable even for carriages.

Duke wanted to build roads, but guess what he encountered? The short-sighted nobles thought Duke was trying to extend his reach into their traditional territories through the sea, so they all refused his proposal.

Only a few enlightened nobles like Bolvar, who were informed and open-minded, agreed to construct roads in their territories. However, those were merely basic cobblestone roads, and even with Duke's funding, progress was extremely slow. According to estimates, it would take at least 100 days just to build a road from Stormwind City to Goldshire.

"It would be nice if we had concrete."

Now, all he could do was think about it.

Regardless of mundane matters, Duke encountered a bottleneck on the path of a mage.

It was an extremely annoying situation. No matter how the system elf tried to help with calculations, they couldn't figure out what the old man Norton meant when he said to "expand the magic circuit to the entire sky."

Norton's original words were as follows:

"You've done quite well in the field of Earth Mage, using the entire earth as your foundation, absorbing higher-purity elemental power from the earth and storing it within your body. You've formed a magic loop and used the magic within this loop to communicate with various elemental planes to cast spells."

"Although your magic circuit can already connect to the elemental plane and your circuit foundation is at the highest level, you won't be able to advance to the next level until you understand the meaning of 'Sky Mage.' By the way, the magic you use to cast spells and connect to the elemental plane is diluted through incantations. If you don't control the influx of elements from the elemental plane through incantations, your body will be instantly incinerated."

After the old man spoke so much, Duke could finally ask, "Does that mean a higher concentration of magical power?"

Old Mage Norton shook his head: "Yes, and no. Concentrated, high-quality magic power is indeed an important manifestation of an Earth Mage advancing to a Sky Mage. However, the key is that you need to perceive and master the feeling of turning the entire sky into your magic circuit through meditation. You're still young; you shouldn't be in such a hurry."

Duke couldn't afford not to be in a hurry. The Dark Portal event was only three months away. Expanding the strength of Stormwind Kingdom was certainly important, but his own strength was equally important!

This not only involved his future position in the world, but also a series of follow-up questions. Like who would fight against Gul'dan's dark magic!

Who is Gul'dan?

The orc warlock Gul'dan was second only to Medivh in terms of magical power during the first Dark Portal event.

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Gul'dan—once the chieftain of the Stormreaver Clan on the world of Draenor, home of the orcs.

Originally, Gul'dan was just a shaman among the orcs, but his mastery of shamanic teachings soon surpassed that of his mentor, Ner'zhul. However, when the power of shamanism seemed unable to reach the heights he anticipated, Gul'dan turned his gaze to the endless darkness in search of greater strength. He quickly discovered Kil'jaeden, the right-hand man of the demon lord Sargeras.

Learning from Kil'jaeden's terrifying power, Gul'dan studied the arts of demonic magic. Combining the might of shamanism and demonic forces, he became the first warlock in history.

Gul'dan introduced this magic to the Horde, turning the orcs into a war machine craving chaos and destruction. He also fed the orcs demon blood, leading them to slaughter the Draenei mercilessly.

Gul'dan's ever-growing power elevated him to higher ranks within the Horde. Over 800 years later, Medivh, possessed by Sargeras, contacted the orc warlock from Draenor. Together, they opened the Dark Portal, connecting Azeroth and Draenor to transport the orcs to the world of Azeroth.

In the original timeline, the Royal Magical Academy of Stormwind suffered a crushing defeat, with nearly the entire royal mage corps wiped out. The victorious force was the orc Shadow Council, ruled by Gul'dan.

As for the Stormwind side, Duke believed that no matter how badly Stormwind lost, it wouldn't be as disastrous as it had been in the previous timeline. But a magical battle… that wouldn't be easy!

Duke sought help from the system elf, only to receive a response: "I am powerless against unscientific events."

How could he succeed in his endeavor?

First, he needed to set a goal, then find a way to achieve it, and finally, make an effort, constantly adjusting and solving problems that arose before reaching the goal.

Now, Duke knew his goal was to become the strongest mage, but he didn't know the process to achieve this goal.

He severely lacked information, and the books at the Royal Magical Academy of Stormwind couldn't satisfy his needs.

Rubbing his brow, Duke muttered to himself, "It seems… I have to raid Karazhan after all!"

Yes!

Karazhan!

Medivh's lair.

If the history of this world still followed the 80% probability, there would be a chance to raid Karazhan after the Dark Portal opened. As long as he defeated the chaotic Medivh and kicked Sargeras back to the abyss, Duke would have a chance to obtain Medivh's treasures.

In the original history, Khadgar, the treacherous man, killed Medivh and, along with a mage organization called the Kirin Tor, carted away Medivh's treasures and precious books to his true allegiance, Dalaran.

What was the result? As Dalaran fell, many of Medivh's magical scrolls and books were lost as well.

Sighing, Duke decided not to think about that for now. There were still three months left, and he couldn't waste all that time. If he encountered a warlock wielding demonic magic and lost even more dignity, that would be unfortunate.

Duke decided to seclude himself! .