Following the kiss from Alexstrasza, Li Ke could clearly feel a warm, massive current of power surging into his body. Something deep within him began to shift.
It was a fascinating transformation. As Li Ke watched closely, the unstable fluctuations of his Mana Burst skill began to steady, refracting and evolving into three distinct new abilities:
(Skill: Mana Burst (Lv. 1))
Description: You can now channel mana to reinforce your physical body. The degree of empowerment depends on your energy control and the total volume of your mana reserves.
Special Effect: Depending on the nature of the energy released, you can now imbue your physical strikes with various elemental or magical properties.
(Skill: Pyrokinesis (Lv. 2))
Description: You can consume any form of internal energy to manifest flames. This power is universal across all worlds, though the fire's properties may shift based on local laws and the type of energy sacrificed.
Scaling: The temperature and scale of the flames are determined by the amount of energy expended.
Passive: You possess high resistance to your own flames. However, remember that fire is still fire—just like your own fist, if you hit yourself with it, it's going to hurt.
(Legacy Power: Draconic Might (Red Dragon - Lv. 1))
Description: A gift of dragonfire from Azeroth. You can now convert your Stamina into Draconic Power at a fixed ratio.
Passive Buff: While this power is active, your Strength, Constitution, Endurance, and Recovery Speed are all increased by 30%.
Life-Binder's Flame: By combining this with Pyrokinesis, you can manifest flames that either harm or heal at your discretion. Note: Even healing flames generate intense heat; the sensation of burning remains.
Dragon Form: You may expend Draconic Power to briefly take on a draconic aspect, massively boosting your fire potency or forcibly purging all negative status effects.
Warning: The resource drain is extreme. Use with caution.
Li Ke was beyond satisfied, his heart hammering against his ribs with a newfound, steady rhythm. This "gift" from the Dragonqueen didn't just boost his combat prowess and cellular recovery—it provided the structural foundation he had been desperately lacking: a massive, permanent increase to his Endurance Cap. For the longest time, his list of high-tier, mana-hungry abilities had been growing at an exponential rate, but his base stats had always been the fragile bottleneck holding him back from true greatness. This changed everything; he was no longer a glass cannon, but a fortress in the making.
"There you go, dear,"
Alexstrasza said, her voice like humming silk as she reached out, gently stroking Li Ke's hair. She looked at him with a complex mix of pity and maternal affection, feeling a twinge of guilt as though her earlier refusal might have wounded his pride, yet she was deeply moved by his stoic lack of resentment.
"This is your hard-earned reward for assisting me in my hour of need. Should you ever find a way to visit my world, I will host you with the full honors of the Red Flight. And if you still wish to... 'make up' for today's missed opportunities... I might be inclined to agree to your terms. But only once, little one."
"I'll certainly hold you to that promise,"
Li Ke replied, a ghost of a smirk playing on his lips. Then, suddenly remembering the brutal fate of the Red Dragonflight in the original Warcraft lore—the chains, the forced breeding, and the soul-crushing despair—his expression turned deathly serious.
"Your Majesty, please listen carefully. I have... premonitions of a dark future. There are Orcs in your world, led by a warlock of great malice, who seek to manipulate a golden artifact called the Dragon Soul. They intend to ambush and capture you, and they are capable of unspeakable cruelty that no Life-Binder should ever endure."
Alexstrasza froze mid-gesture, her amber eyes widening as she looked at him in genuine, piercing shock.
"Oh? And just what exactly have you seen in your visions, child?"
Because of the faint, unmistakable Titan's aura clinging to Li Ke's soul like a divine thumbprint, Alexstrasza didn't doubt the validity of his words for a single heartbeat. Instead, her regal expression turned grave and predatory as she pressed closer, demanding every scrap of detail he could provide about this looming betrayal.
"Yes, it's almost certainly a grand scheme orchestrated by the Corrupted Aspect, Deathwing."
Li Ke said earnestly, his voice low and urgent.
"I don't know every secret of your world, but the danger is immediate and you must be extremely cautious of the sky and the shadows alike."
He truly didn't want the radiant Dragonqueen to face her original, tragic fate of being a prisoner of war.
"I see... the Earth-Warder's madness runs deeper than we feared. I will keep your warning close to my heart," Alexstrasza replied with a firm, decisive nod. She felt her arrival in this strange, blocky dimension was no mere accident of magic, especially considering she had encountered a human so strangely imbued with the essence of her creators. She strongly suspected the heavy hand of destiny—otherwise, why wouldn't her own brother, Nozdormu the Aspect of Time, have whispered a warning? To her, Li Ke was clearly a pivotal existence in the tapestry of the multiverse.
Seeing his genuine, unadulterated concern for her safety, she smiled with a warmth that could thaw a glacier and pressed a trembling hand to her heart.
"I will take care of myself, do not worry. You have given me a fighting chance. Now, child, use your strange powers and send me back to my realm."
Li Ke was about to initiate the system transfer, his finger hovering over the interface, but he suddenly paused as a thought struck him. He gestured for her to wait a moment and began rummaging frantically through the cluttered slots of his spatial backpack, tossing aside stacks of cobblestone and iron ingots. Alexstrasza waited with regal patience; though she was anxious to return to her children, she felt she could spare a few final moments for this mysterious Savior.
"This is an M60,"
Li Ke said, grunting as he handed her the heavy, oil-slicked machine gun, its belt of .308 rounds already snaked into the feed tray.
"It's a weapon from a world without magic. If the Orcs use the Dragon Soul to suppress your powers and force you into a weak human form, don't hesitate. Don't speak. Just point this end at them and pull this curved metal trigger."
To Li Ke, the weapon was a pinnacle of practical engineering; to Alexstrasza, it looked like a strange, cold, magic-less toy of iron and wood. Still, she smiled tenderly and accepted the heavy gift, slinging the belt over her shoulder. She didn't truly believe something devoid of mana could harm a dragon-killer, but she cherished it as a precious token of his sincerity.
"Then, farewell, Your Majesty," Li Ke said, feeling a massive weight lift from his shoulders now that she was armed. He reached out and grasped her hand, feeling the heat of a literal sun beneath her skin.
"Farewell, child of the stars," Alexstrasza replied, her smile radiant.
But as the dimensions began to buckle and the pixelated world turned into an ethereal blur of white noise, Li Ke saw her regal expression instantly drop into one of pure horror. Through the thinning, translucent veil between worlds, he caught a fleeting, terrifying glimpse of the nightmare: a massive, green-skinned Orc holding the glowing Demon Soul, roaring in triumph at a gathered throng of terrified humans and elves. The moment Alexstrasza materialized in her home world, she tried to transform into her draconic glory, but the golden disk erupted with a pulse of shackling, necrotic energy that sent her collapsing weakly to her knees, her royal robes fluttering in the dirt.
Li Ke panicked, his blood turning to ice—Deathwing's trap was already springing exactly as the lore dictated! He moved his hands to reopen the portal and intervene, damn the cost, but then he saw it: Alexstrasza, through sheer, burning willpower and spite, leveled the heavy M60 and squeezed the trigger. The muzzle erupted in a continuous, deafening tongue of orange fire. The Orc Chieftain, who had been gloating over his prize, didn't even have time to scream as his wand-hand was shredded into a bloody mist by a dozen rounds. Half his skull was obliterated by the relentless lead rain, and the golden disk clattered uselessly to the stone floor, its connection severed.
Free from the agonizing suppression, Alexstrasza and the other captured dragons let out a unified, thunderous roar that shook the very foundations of the mountain. In the blink of an eye, the cramped chamber was filled with the massive, shimmering forms of vengeful Red Dragons. Li Ke let go of the portal interface and exhaled a long, shaky breath, his forehead slick with sweat. It looked like he wasn't needed for a rescue mission after all; the Dragonqueen had the situation—and her new "toy"—under perfect control.
"Well, looks like she doesn't need my help after all. A queen with a machine gun is a terrifying thing," Li Ke muttered, shifting his gaze away from the doomed Orcs and back toward the silent merchant, Jen. He had originally expected it would take at least a few more days to see Elsa and Toph off and gather his thoughts, but Alexstrasza's unexpected, explosive arrival had fast-tracked his departure from this blocky reality.
"A bit of a shame, really," Li Ke sighed, lightly running his hand along a blocky, cold stone wall of his temporary shelter. He felt a genuine, surprising pang of regret; he'd really wanted to explore the deep caverns more, maybe build something grand and permanent in this peaceful sandbox. But with so much left to do in the wider multiverse, the high "travel tax" of the Minecraft world made it an impractical, expensive choice for a permanent base of operations. "I guess I'll just have to hope our paths cross again in a more hospitable land."
With a final, lingering look around the torch-lit room, he headed over to Jen. She stood there with her usual detached, professional air, seemingly unfazed by the dragon-goddess who had just departed. Li Ke made a few quick, efficient purchases to top off his survival supplies and specialized ammunition before preparing to move out. While that initial 1 point of World Power spent on entry felt like a bit of a waste now, his total "profit" from this detour was absolutely staggering.
By siphoning the excess, overflowing World Power from Alexstrasza during their contact, his reserves had climbed to a solid 15 points. Combined with the shimmering World Fragments she had gifted him as a reward, his total effective pool was now at least 35 points—enough to force-extend his own lifespan by three full years or survive a dozen fatal wounds if he hit the system's panic button.
"Alright," Li Ke muttered, tightening the heavy straps on his tactical pack and checking the smooth action on his rifle one last time. "Time to see what the next world has in store for a man with too much power and not enough sleep." He pulled up the translucent system interface, the flickering blue light casting long, pixelated shadows against the walls of his Minecraft shelter. His finger hovered over the travel menu, drifting for a moment toward the locked coordinates for Azeroth. He hesitated, thinking of the Dragonqueen's parting warmth, and tapped the icon just to check the current price of admission.
[System Notification: Travel to 'Azeroth' — Cost: 100,000 Energy Points]
Li Ke stared at the staggering row of zeros for a heartbeat before dryly closing the tab with a flick of his wrist. Apparently, the Minecraft dimension was located in the absolute middle of nowhere—the cosmic equivalent of a dead-end, rural backwater. 100,000 points was a king's ransom he simply didn't have, at least not yet. With a final, nostalgic look at the square sun setting over the jagged, blocky horizon, he selected his true, affordable destination: the world of the blind earthbender.
"Sorry, Alexstrasza," he whispered, a tired but triumphant smirk playing on his lips as the swirling white teleportation light began to spiral around him. "I'll have to save up a lot more 'payment' before I can afford a second date with a Queen." The world dissolved into a chaotic rush of white noise and static, and the Traveler was gone, leaving the blocky world to its eternal, silent peace.