章 28: Reforged Chapter 28: The Earth Mage
The arcane barrier had been lifted by Medivh at some point.
Although it was already late spring, everyone could still see the arcane-infused breath that escaped Duke's lips. The arcane power was visible because Duke could not yet control his power effectively.
Clearly, the power of the arcane was transforming Duke's body. His exposed arms and legs displayed a distinct blue-violet arcane glow.
The somewhat abrupt promotion temporarily disrupted Duke's senses. He turned his head, his eyes closed, seemingly uncomfortable with the bright magical lamps in the hall. However, he soon opened his eyes and stared straight ahead.
His deep black eyes remained as calm as the still waters of an ancient well. No joy could be seen on Duke's face from his advancement, nor any other special emotion—neither anger at the mages' accusations nor a counterattack against those who underestimated him.
It was as if the promotion was as simple as eating and drinking for Duke.
Everyone felt an illusion, as if they were not witnessing a newcomer to the world of magic who had just broken free from his struggling apprentice status but instead seeing the birth of another mage god, one who was no less than Medivh himself, rising like the morning sun.
The pale blue light surrounding Duke was not particularly bright, but for an instant, everyone felt that the light from all the magical lamps in the glorious hall paled in comparison.
With effort, Duke used his hands to support his body and stand up. His movements were slow, like those of a rusty mechanical golem. However, a few seconds later, he stood up completely, proudly standing at the focal point of all the lights.
Although he had already been the center of attention, everyone's pupils further narrowed in focus at that moment.
Suddenly, Duke stumbled forward. Even though he immediately steadied himself, the simple movement made everyone reflexively take two steps back, as if Duke were a great demon lord from another world or an ancient evil god who had regained his power.
"Pfft!" Duke laughed without restraint, "What's the matter? I just happened to advance, is there a problem?"
Just happened to advance?
Compared to Duke, the magical apprentices in the hall were practically outraged with shame. They were not just any random people but the elite from various human kingdoms. Many of them came from magical or noble families; the phrase "either rich or noble" could aptly describe most of them.
Originally, they had been considering how to compete with Duke, this year's standout apprentice with a Grade 9 aptitude. However, who could have imagined that all competition would end before it even began?
Duke had left those elite talents far behind.
The blow was too great.
Comparing goods made them want to throw theirs away!
Comparing people made them furious to death!
At this moment, except for the few who still had considerable confidence in themselves, everyone else lowered their heads in anger and shame.
Daniel and Itana, who had traveled with Duke not long ago, were both so shocked they nearly forgot to breathe. Who would have thought that the once equal Duke would now be addressed as "Mage" in the blink of an eye?
Even Khadgar, Medivh's direct disciple, was taken aback at this moment, his eyes wide and mouth agape. He seemed to understand why his master had been so eager to personally recruit Duke as a disciple.
Khadgar felt his face burn like fire. At that moment, Medivh gently placed his hand on his disciple's shoulder, giving him an encouraging smile.
Medivh then stepped forward, flicking his wrist. A palm-sized, gold-bordered lion emblem made of arcane energy appeared in his hand.
With a humble and gentle expression on his scholarly face, Medivh's pure eyes stared directly at Duke. "Duke Markus, I, Medivh—on behalf of the Guardian of Tirisfal, Court Archmage of Stormwind, and my good friend and liege, King Llane—sincerely invite you to join the Stormwind Royal Magic Academy and the Stormwind National Mage Corps. Would you be willing to accept?"
As bizarre as a war fanatic presenting an award to a Nobel laureate, this scene in Duke's eyes was incredibly strange.
He knew that the Medivh standing before him was controlled by the cunning and treacherous leader of the Burning Legion, Sargeras. Yet, Duke chose to dance with the wolves, playing with fire.
Of course, this was also the most thrilling part.
Duke was well aware that Sargeras' attention was not on him. At most, he was just a promising young fellow. The cautious Sargeras would probably take advantage of him rather than focus his efforts on him.
After all, at this moment, the Tirisfal Council, dedicated to protecting the world, was still intact, and Medivh's mother, Aegwynn, was alive and well. Before eliminating these powerful entities that could hinder his invasion of Azeroth, Sargeras would not foolishly reveal his true intentions.
Moreover, Duke, who was familiar with the game's progression, knew that Sargeras had many weaknesses as well…
However, at this moment, after the system sprite had carefully scanned and confirmed that the arcane emblem was fine, Duke responded like a rookie, with a slightly excited tone:
"I accept!"
And so, at that moment, the second youngest official mage of the Stormwind Royal Magic Academy was born (the first being the freakish Medivh, who became an official mage at the age of 10).
Medivh gently pushed the arcane emblem, and it instantly branded itself on the outer side of Duke's left arm. After a mild burning sensation, an arcane emblem with a gold-bordered lion's head appeared on Duke's arm.
"Welcome, Archmage Markus of Earth," said Medivh.
"Archmage of Earth?"
Khadgar stepped forward to explain: "The title of a novice mage is a general term for the convenience of ordinary people's understanding. In reality, there are many subdivisions among mages. For example, the lowest level of official mage is the Archmage of Earth, and each level is divided into nine ranks. Higher ranks include Sky Archmage, Morning Star Archmage, Radiant Moon Archmage, and Dawn Archmage, as well as our teacher's..."
Medivh added with a smile, "If you're fortunate enough to reach my level, you'll find out."
Duke blinked, indicating he understood.
This was quite different from the game, which simply assigned levels 1 to 100 without any titles. In a complete Azeroth world after the crossover, there would naturally be no such classifications.
There was still some time before the Dark Portal event, so Duke had to aim for at least the rank of Dawn Archmage.
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