Chapter 138: Path of Advancement

Windsor hesitated, looking at Duke.

But Duke spoke first, "I have proven myself; now it's your turn." With that, Duke tossed the [King's Protector] to Windsor.

"It's called [King's Protector]," Duke said with a double meaning.

Windsor shuddered, stood at attention, held his sword in his left hand, and pounded his chest with his right fist. "I, Reginald Windsor, swear upon my life that I shall fulfill my duties."

Lothar frowned, "Duke, is there something I need to know?"

Duke didn't want to say, but when he saw Lothar's sincere and candid eyes, he spoke up, "Haven't you noticed someone is missing?"

"Garona!?" Lothar exclaimed.

Actually, Lothar had noticed Garona's absence earlier. It was when Medivh caused a massive explosion that Garona disappeared. Medivh had told Lothar before his death that he had protected Garona with his magic.

This gave Lothar a bad feeling.

Medivh himself didn't have the memory of Sargeras dealing with Garona. He didn't know what Sargeras had done to her.

Now, Duke's reminder put Lothar on high alert.

"Are you saying Garona is a traitorous assassin?"

"I have no evidence. I just suspect that Garona could be another Medivh. Remember, during a great battle, unless you have the ability to change the entire course of the battle like Medivh, individual strength will be greatly weakened. But it's at times like these that the importance of a leader is even stronger!"

A leader?

Who else could it be?

Duke clearly meant King Llane.

In Lothar's heart, even if he were to die, there would still be young people like Bolvar and Duke to take his place.

Llane was the true pillar of the Stormwind Kingdom in the hearts of its people. But Llane had married late due to his youthful rebellion. With no siblings, Llane's only heir was the not-yet-ten-year-old Prince Varian Wrynn.

If Llane were to die, the Stormwind Kingdom would surely collapse.

Lothar bit his lip hard.

Medivh's death was already a pain that would forever linger in his heart. And now another Garona? Although Lothar had a good impression of this straightforward and innocent half-orc woman, it was merely at the level of a normal friendship.

For a moment, Lothar almost wanted to kill Garona indiscriminately as soon as he saw her.

But Duke put a hand on Lothar's shoulder, his eyes full of determination, "Lothar, don't forget your knightly oath. Besides, I have no evidence. But rest assured, I have a backup plan. His Majesty King Llane may die one day, but it won't be at the hands of Garona. I swear!"

Remembering his knightly oath, Lothar choked.

"Fine, I will keep an eye on her. I swear I won't kill an innocent woman. But I also swore to protect my king!"

Duke smiled, "That's enough."

Duke sighed in his heart. Aegwynn had just lost her son, and she definitely wouldn't want her grandson to die too. According to "history," Garona, who had been tainted by Sargeras and Medivh, was now likely carrying Medivh's child.

Garona was a dilemma, like a ticking time bomb.

Lothar gave Duke a tight hug,

"Once it's done, come back quickly. The future of Stormwind relies on you young people," Lothar said, embracing Durotan. Watching Lothar, with gray hair at his temples, Durotan felt a sense of wordless gratitude.

Without Nielas Aran and Lothar risking their lives to block Sargeras' dying curse and Medivh's premature rebellion, perhaps the fate of Khadgar in history would have been Durotan's own fate—white hair, aged, and wrinkled skin.

The thought was terrifying.

Worse yet, the curse affected both life and soul, making it impossible to dispel. Even the historical Khadgar, who later went to the draenei city of Shattrath to study the Light and practice in secret, could not break the curse despite becoming a powerful archmage.

Compared to that, Duke's transformation from a teenager of 14 or 15 years old to the appearance of an 18 or 19-year-old youth was truly a stroke of fortune.

After bidding farewell to Lothar, Windsor, and others, as well as sending off Aegwynn who was holding Medivh's corpse, Duke suddenly realized he was the only living person left in Karazhan.

It was a bit of a terrifying feeling.

But there was no turning back now. Duke could feel that a part of his soul had already begun to merge with Karazhan itself.

Of course, when Medivh passed on his inheritance to Duke, he had played a little trick. He used a system sprite to simulate a soul shell, letting Medivh imprint the inheritance on the shell. If anything went wrong, the shell would filter some effects for him, and Duke could always die once, shamelessly discarding Medivh's inheritance as if it were his own principles.

Looking at the empty workshop, Duke heaved a long sigh, finally having some peace and quiet to count his gains.

First, there was the aspect of his soul.

"Soul Power: 385, Humanity: 230%. Due to the host's humanity cap of 100%, it operates at 100% under normal conditions. In special cases, the host may perform saint-like actions."

Seeing this, Duke gritted his teeth.

Alright, even principles could be inherited. He had accepted his fate in this world of losing and regaining principles.

Next came the magical inheritance.

"You have obtained the advanced path of the Sky Mage from Medivh's soul seed. A Sky Mage uses their body as a radiation source to drastically change the elemental types and flow within a large area, greatly amplifying their own magic absorption and output while suppressing their enemies."

"You need to study and master the following knowledge: [Wide Area Elemental Space Theory], [Elemental Repulsion and Affinity], [Wide Area Elemental Circulation Experimental Guide]... and a total of 37 subjects."

"Until you reach the pinnacle of Sky Mage, all related knowledge of the Morning Star Mage will be sealed."

Duke's face flushed with embarrassment, not expecting to become a research scholar after crossing over from his previous life as a college student.

Finally, there was Karazhan.

"You are currently binding your soul with the demigod-level mage tower Karazhan. Before you fully control Karazhan, you cannot leave Karazhan in any form. You need to reprogram or rewrite the defense system and monitoring system of the entire Karazhan. Moreover, due to Medivh's hasty departure, many seals in dangerous areas have not been fully completed."

"After studying and mastering 108 subjects such as [Spatial Overview], [Spatial Channel Construction Model], [100 Ways to Deal with Spatial Cracks], quickly take care of it."

At this moment, Duke's face turned blue.