Chapter 9

Sylvanas moved through the forest at a pace that would have killed him a week ago.

It wasn’t a sprint, a more sustained run that devoured miles of distance without apparent effort, with a certain technique to it. Luckily for him, Water Breathing had its own movement style, and with his breathing to replenish his stamina, he managed to keep up … somewhat.

It was not graceful or easy, forcing him to maintain Total Concentration Breathing, Cardio helping him even further.

Sylvanas glanced back at him after they had covered about ten miles, and he caught genuine surprise on her face. “You have remarkable endurance,” she said.

“For a human?” he asked.

She chuckled. “No, for a non-ranger,” she said. “I wish I could force some of the magisters run like this. Watching them struggle would be fun.”

“I always had good endurance,” he lied.

“A pity I can’t recruit you as a Farstrider.” There was humor in her voice, faint and dry, but he could see that the intention was clear. “You have the potential to become the second human Ranger Lord.”

“That’s the nicest way someone tried to demote me,” he teased.

She actually laughed at that. A short sound, quickly controlled, but unmistakable. Interesting. The more abilities he revealed, the nicer she treated him. Previously, he was just a supplicant. Now, he was a peer.

They continued running, and after another ten miles, they stopped in front of a pile of rocks, one that looked normal, but his Bloom felt nothing from them. She pulled a token, and pressed it to a specific stone. It moved, revealing a tunnel, one that went deep.

“This leads to Windrunner Spire,” Sylvanas said. “A private entrance, known only to the Windrunner family and those we choose to trust.”

Arvis stared at the passage, then at her. “Sylvanas, I appreciate the gesture,” he started, deciding it was a good time to get on a first-name basis. “But don’t you think it’s too much trust to extend to someone you’ve just met?”

“I have an instinct for people. I know I can trust you,” she said.

Realization hit him. It was Charisma helping him. That, and Sylvanas was a direct person, relying on her instincts and habits than rational assessment. In any other person, that would have been a deadly personality defect, but considering she was one of the most dangerous individuals in the world, it wasn’t exactly a problem.

Well, unless she had to deal with politicians.

He decided to take advantage of it, though considering it wouldn’t hurt her, taking advantage was a bit of a misnomer.

“It would be dishonorable to access your home, Sylvanas,” he said.

She sighed. “It doesn’t matter. It’s only me and my younger sister remaining, and she’s in Dalaran, living with her husband. I don’t even visit the place.”

He shook his head. “It will be dishonorable,” he repeated. “It’s still Windrunner residence, representing your family.” Then, he paused. “I would feel more comfortable if House Godwyn and Windrunner had an official alliance—“

“Perfect, now we do,” she said.

“We do?” he asked, acting surprised as if he hadn’t baited it.

“You’re working more to defend my home than my own council, and you advise me in strategy. I can do much worse in an ally,” she said.

“It would be my honor,” he said, and shook her hand.

And struggled to keep down his shout of excitement. He expected a Gold at best, and believed that silver was also a possibility, since it was merely an alliance with her house rather than a defensive pact with the rangers.

[Feat Achieved! Establish a permanent alliance with Sylvanas Windrunner

+1x Platinum Advantage Random Gacha ticket]

Platinum was a very welcome surprise, though he was curious about the wording, referring to her directly rather than her family.

She passed him the token, making it the second one. “You just need to follow the tunnel, and you’ll reach the Windrunner Spire,” she said. “You can use the library if you want to learn, but almost everything is in Thalassian.”

He nodded. “I don’t think I’ll have time to study. But I’ll check.”

After one last nod, she left, moving even faster than their initial arrival, a good reminder of just how far behind from true power.

Rather than wasting his time, he descended into the tunnel. It was a surprisingly comfortable passage, feeling fresh and airy. He could feel several runes responsible for it.

On the way, he activated his reward, his eyes widening with the options.

[Master Item Construction]

{Legendary Skill: You know how to create epic enchanted and special items depending on your capabilities, if you know fire magic, you could turn a regular ring into one that allows the user to use fire magic themselves at a lower level. If you had an ability like superhuman, you could create a ring that turns the average Joe into a super soldier. Stronger enchantments demand stronger base materials.}

[Lil’ Hercules]

{Epic Trait: You are unusually strong, even as a regular human without powers you could rip a man in two with your bare hands and are durable enough to take your own punches. This strength scales with your current physical abilities, you are always stronger than you should be.}

Two amazing options. The first one was enough to directly catapult him to the peak of society. He didn’t even have to fight. He could just reach other elves, show his abilities, and have a place. Elves were arrogant, but no one would dismiss someone that could create truly impressive enchanted weapons.

All he needed was to abandon his path.

Comparatively, improving his strength was incredible, but it only benefited if he continued to fight, risking his life.

He picked the second option.

He had to. It was the one that offered immediate benefits. He felt his body burn and change, feeling more solid. As he ran, he grabbed a rock and squeezed it . It didn’t turn into dust, but it still shattered.

He was tempted to turn back and immediately start fighting with the undead, but he didn’t want to waste the opportunity after he had spent that much time to cover the distance.

Even at full speed, it took two more hours to arrive at Windrunner Spire. The moment he arrived, he realized he had made a perfect choice.

He didn’t even need to use Total Concentration Breathing to refill his reserves. Just an ordinary breath was enough. The mana was that dense.

As much as he wanted to explore the estate, which was an interesting combination of understated and extremely valuable, he moved to a wide walled area at the center, multiple archery targets marking it as a training field.

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He saw that there were several training weapons, including blades. He grabbed one of them, still not wanting to start using his enchanted blade for experimenting with magic.

Curious, he swung the blade lazily, testing his strength, though it did little to give him an idea. Instead, he slashed one of the training dummies, a slash sufficient to bisect it. “Damn,” he said.

If it hadn’t been for Water Breathing, he would have immediately abandoned his blade for one of the paladin hammers to take full advantage of his sudden burst of power. The difference was unbelievable.

Then, he chuckled, realizing he was not thinking correctly. Sheer strength wasn’t critical for swordsmanship, because the human body had too many weak points an edge could easily take advantage of.

Undead bodies didn’t share the same weakness, which was why he had to rely exclusively on the full might of his forms to deliver effective blows. Not only did those attacks push his body to its limit and drain him, but they also left a gap that other enemies could take advantage of, which was why he always tried to position himself.

If he could just cut through the ghouls with balanced swings, things would change, and he could keep his Water Breathing forms against truly dangerous enemies.

Though, as he swung, he couldn’t help but wonder how his strength measured against the Paladins, who had the ability to empower themselves using the Light. He had no real baseline to determine.

Not that it mattered. Even if he wasn’t stronger than them at this moment, he would get stronger. Especially since the description of the trait made it clear that he would continue to get stronger.