In the depths of a shadowy gorge, a Mage Tower rose into the thick fog. The wooden streetlamps by the roadside swayed slightly in the wind, and their pale yellow candlelight didn't reach far—just enough to illuminate the tiny village at the base of the tower.
It was the dead of night.
"Caw, caw."
A black Crow cried twice, then hopped down from the balustrade of a mid‑level terrace on the Mage Tower. Its tiny silhouette vanished into the night almost immediately.
The midnight wind was bitterly cold. The figure on the bed seemed to shudder, then suddenly bolted upright, gasping for breath.
The young Mage felt as if something had happened.
Wearing his pajamas, he lit the bedside candlestick with a small Fireball. His Casting Ability was still clumsy, especially in a place like Karazhan—his Flame Magic here always felt like it was slipping out of his control.
First order of business: close that damn window whistling cold wind into the room.
Sad Swamp always carried a stench like rotting corpses. Even with a mountain range separating it from Windward Path, the sea winds still managed to ferry that smell all the way here.
"Caw." The wooden window creaked with a sound like a Crow's cry. Great Mage Medivh was very fond of Crows.
Maybe not seeing the fog‑choked gorge and the twisted silhouettes of trees outside helped the young Apprentice feel a little better. But when he turned around, intending to hit the toilet and then go back to sleep, he realized his door was actually open.
He could've sworn he'd shut it before going to bed.
This was Karazhan, perched right over a fissure in the Void. Anomaly here meant something was genuinely wrong.
The young Mage held up the candlestick and stepped into the slightly damp circular corridor. Echoes of his own footsteps kept bouncing back at him from behind, as if someone were following. The wobbling torch flame cast his shadow on the walls in grotesque shapes.
Though he had been planted at Medivh's side by the Tirisfal Council as a rookie spy, during his time with the Star Realm Mage he had slowly built a deep bond with Medivh, who was eccentric but genuinely kind.
The other members of the Tirisfal Council would never treat him that well. To those masters, an Orphan like him was just another piece of Magic Props to be used—probably worth less than a Lucky Rabbit's Foot.
Medivh, on the other hand, cared about him, looked after him, and taught him all sorts of precious knowledge.
So his original mission—to help the Council steal Medivh's secrets—had been delayed again and again under various excuses. He wanted to live alongside Medivh a little longer. The Great Mage trusted him greatly too, not only granting him access to the Great Library but also answering his Magic questions for him anytime, anywhere.
Which was why, right now, he was worried the Council's patience might have finally run out, and that they'd sent a new spy in.
He needed to warn Great Mage Medivh.
Karazhan was huge, and Medivh usually meditated at the Observatory at the top of the tower, so the Apprentice had a long way to go. He wasn't very good at Flash yet either. Just as he walked past the Library doors, he suddenly stopped.
The Tirisfal Council wanted the Guardian's secrets. Could the Library have been breached? To be safe, he pushed at the Library door.
His heart gave a lurch.
The once unbreakable Magic Door Lock at the crack of the door had been cleanly sliced in half, like butter. As he pushed, the doors quietly swung open to either side.
Beneath the transparent dome of the Library, he saw a Black Shadow floating in mid‑air, legs crossed, flipping through a book.
The faint Starlight made that creature look unreal. A long trailing cloak dragged along the floor, as if it were the thing supporting that bizarre figure as it floated.
The creature's red single eye on its face snapped toward the Mage Apprentice the instant he pushed the door.
This was definitely not a Tirisfal Mage. This wasn't even human!
"Demon!"
The Apprentice immediately primed his favorite Arcane Missiles, but the other guy only glanced at him, then dipped his head back to read, tossing out a baffling remark: "Call me a Demon again and I'll sue you for slander."
"Who are you?"
Spell ready, the young Mage didn't fire the Arcane Energy, instead holding it in his hand as a bright light source.
Su Ming brushed off the cover of the Continent Chronicles in his hand, then folded his hands behind his back, the book in his grip.
He stretched out his legs, and the Magic Floating Cloak spread wide like the wings of a giant bird, blocking out all the Starlight overhead as he studied the young Mage on the floor with interest.
His original plan in coming here was to consult Medivh about Divine Artifact lore, then swing by Darnassus to ask around about Legends of the Mooncloth Bag. But the moment he reached Windward Path, he caught a whiff of that familiar Demon stink and instantly realized he was late.
If he wasn't planning on consulting Sargeras, then there was no need to see Medivh.
Still, thinking of Karazhan's Library, there might be useful intel there—and if possible, snagging a few Magic Books to take back to Kama Taiji for research sounded pretty good.
So he circled the tower, noticed a room under one of the balconies with its window left open, and used X Metal Bone Shrinking Skill to squeeze through the narrow gap.
Turned out it was the Apprentice's room. Pathetically poor—nothing in there but a rickety wooden desk and a few worthless ink bottles and other junk.
As for the young man on the bed, seemingly trapped in a Nightmare, brows furrowed tight, Su Ming's interest was piqued. He leaned in for a closer look and discovered this was Kadaga in his younger days.
How did he recognize Kadaga?
Come on—in the Azeroth World, there's basically only one Mage with thick brows, big eyes, and a square jaw like that. He might be younger, but the face shape and features hadn't changed much.
Su Ming thought for a moment, went back to the desk for a quill, and gently drew two strokes of Blackbeard on Kadaga's face with the ink. Then he opened the door and stepped into the corridor.
As for the Karazhan layout, he couldn't be more familiar. Most of the defenses here were concentrated on the lower levels, among those Arcane Servants and the Curator, whereas the upper floors had almost no defenses at all—might also be because the N Metal Armor hadn't even triggered the Magic Shield when it came in.
Anyway, Su Ming hadn't planned on approaching Kadaga just yet, but barely a moment had passed before the kid woke up and even came looking for him on his own. Was this fate messing around?
"I am Supreme Mage Deathstroke. I came here intending to exchange Magic insights with Master Medivh, but unfortunately he's not home." Su Ming spoke slowly, his tone brimming with certainty and confidence.
Those words made Kadaga waver a bit. A friend of the Star Realm Mage? Supreme Mage—now that sounded impressive.
But he immediately shook his head. That Library door looked very obviously forced open.
"No, you're definitely a Magic thief!" Kadaga said firmly, seeing through the other's true face, because the book he'd been holding earlier was now nowhere to be seen.
"Heh... Aren't you one too? Little thief of the Tirisfal Council—trying to steal the Guardian's secrets!"
The other suddenly jabbed a finger straight at Kadaga, as if poking the question right into his heart.
Kadaga stumbled back two steps. His guilty panic nearly made him lose control of his Magic: "You... stop talking nonsense, I..."
"Tongue not listening to you anymore, is it? You're still too young." Su Ming waved dismissively and descended to the floor, tossing the storybook‑thick Continent Chronicles at Kadaga. "Once you're exposed, you gotta deny it to the death. Stammering like that is practically a confession."
"I'm not! Stop talking nonsense! I didn't!" Kadaga steadied himself—or rather, got whacked awake by that thick book.
The well‑informed Su Ming nodded and even clapped, satisfied: "Yes, that's the triple denial! That's the spirit! I can see you taking trash‑talk to new heights in the Future. I'm very optimistic about you... How about we discuss some terms?"