Almost instantly, Allen realized who the person in front of him was.
White hair. A young face. That combination of traits was rare in Azeroth.
Archmage Khadgar.
The young mage who had once apprenticed under the Guardian Medivh, and whose hair had turned white overnight due to Medivh's curse during the process of killing him.
Why did he always run into big shots in taverns? Did they all love drinking that much?
Before he could strike up a conversation, the white-haired young mage suddenly reached out, grabbed Allen's wrist, and forcefully flipped it over!
He lowered his head, his gaze fixed tightly on the inner side of Allen's wrist, as if searching for some kind of mark.
However, he saw nothing.
"Ah! You're hurting me, sir!" Allen cried out, yanking his hand back with force.
The white-haired young mage raised his head and stared at Allen's face for a few seconds. A trace of confusion flashed through his eyes. He awkwardly let go and said, somewhat embarrassed, "Sorry, sorry. I got the wrong person."
Allen rubbed his reddened wrist. "Alright, sir, I forgive you. So, can you answer my question?"
The white-haired young mage raised an eyebrow, a sly smile appearing on his face.
"I haven't seen the person you're talking about. But…" he paused, "I'm very good at divination. If you can give me one gold coin, I can help you divine his location."
Allen froze.
The tables had turned—was he really trying to scam me?
Fine.
Let me show you what real scamming looks like.
Allen's expression instantly collapsed. His eyes reddened, his lips trembled slightly, and it looked as though all strength had been drained from his body.
"Sir…" his voice choked, "you don't understand…"
The white-haired young mage's smile stiffened.
Allen lifted his eyes. They were already brimming with tears, glistening under the dim oil lamp.
"My family… we're fallen nobles from Alterac. Once, we were considered quite prominent, but when the war came, everything was lost. My little sister, little Emmy…"
He sniffed, tears sliding down his cheeks.
"Ever since she was little, she dreamed of becoming a mage. It's all she ever wanted. She's so smart, so hardworking. She finally managed to enter the Mage Tower in Stormwind as an apprentice. But… but our family is too poor—we can't even afford her tuition. She hasn't eaten for days, and yet she still grits her teeth and keeps studying…"
"I had no choice but to take on bounties everywhere, doing whatever work I could. This time, the bounty on that fugitive I'm tracking… it's my sister's only hope to continue her studies. If I can't find him, if I can't get the reward…"
His voice broke. He lowered his head.
Then he lifted his tear-blurred face and carefully took out a green stone from his chest.
"Sir, this is the most valuable thing I have—a piece of malachite. Can I use it to pay for your divination?"
[Deception Check: 20 points, Critical Success]
[Khadgar is utterly convinced that you are that person. But strangely, there is no such mark on your wrist. So even though he is ninety-nine percent certain, he does not dare to be completely sure. Therefore, he chooses to believe you]
That person?
Allen's heart stirred. Who exactly was this "that person" the system mentioned? And what mark on the wrist?
Khadgar shook his head and took out his staff.
"Forget it," he said. "Although this piece of malachite of yours isn't enough for me to perform a divination—"
He paused, the corner of his mouth lifting into a smile.
"—it can be exchanged for a blessing."
He raised his staff and began chanting a string of incantations.
Allen felt the air around him begin to move.
Blue-violet arcane energy surged from the tip of Khadgar's staff, spiraling and weaving around him.
It slowly seeped into Allen's body.
The energy finally gathered above Allen's head, forming a phantom blue eye. The eye slowly opened, gazed down at him, then slowly closed and dissipated into the air.
[You have gained the buff: Arcane Intellect]
[Intelligence +100, Duration: 24 hours]
Allen froze.
Then, the world changed.
This feeling…
It was indescribable.
It was as if his brain had been flooded with countless streams of crystal-clear water. Memories that were once vague and blurred were now arranged in perfect clarity within his mind. He remembered every detail of his past life, every quest from every game he had played, every line of every book he had ever read.
He saw the chains of causality.
He saw himself walking into the tavern, saw Khadgar sitting in the corner, saw himself asking his question. The cause of every action, the consequence of every choice—everything extended and intertwined before his eyes like transparent threads.
He could foresee every possible scenario that might happen next. He could deduce every future branch each choice would lead to.
The world had become a book.
An open book, spread before him.
Every page was written clearly. Every word was laid bare. He could flip through it at will, manipulate it at will.
He saw the small house where Stalvan was hiding. He saw every path leading there. He saw how Lupos's fur would be made into armor. He saw the expression on Wren's face when she received the leather armor.
He even saw a more distant future—
Varian becoming king, Stormwind flourishing; Morgan reuniting with his family and living out his old age in peace; Khadgar fighting bloodily in the Blasted Lands; and—
That image flashed by too quickly to grasp.
He lowered his head and looked at his own hands.
Just moments ago, these hands had been trembling as they wiped away tears. Now, they seemed to hold the entire world.
[Hidden Quest: Wisdom Beyond the World — Completed]
[Intelligence: 118/30]
The system's gentle, hollow female voice sounded in his ears, now carrying an indescribable excitement:
[C-congratulations!]
[Ordinary people cannot obtain wisdom from beyond the world. To exceed 30 points of intelligence is already to step into a realm beyond the reach of mortals—that is the domain of great sages, legendary mages, geniuses seen once in a thousand years.]
[And you—]
[In a single instant, your intelligence has surpassed 99.]
[This has already transcended the category of "genius," surpassed the realm of "sage," and gone beyond the limits that mortals can comprehend.]
[You are a god.]
[The God of Magic.]
[Even I worship you!]
Allen stood there, motionless.
Because all of this… he had already "seen" it.
He had foreseen the system's reaction, foreseen these very lines, foreseen his own silence at this moment.
He knew everything.
Everything…
Allen looked at his hands. At some point, they had become covered in blood that had dripped from who knew where. His vision spun, and he swayed on the verge of collapse.
[Quest Reward: Random 9th-Circle Spell x1]
[Drawing…]
[Obtained: Meteor Swarm]
[Effect: Choose four different points within casting range that you can see, and call down blazing meteors that fall vertically upon those locations.]
[Then, the falling meteors will destroy everything!]
[Note: You are a god!]
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