Chapter 115

Chapter 115: Exam Day

That morning, Jesse came to Malin’s study as usual to clean up, put back a book he had borrowed before on the bookshelf.

As he was about to leave after considering taking another book, Malin entered the room.

"It’s been a few days since we last met, Mr. Seso, but your cleaning skills have improved a lot. The study feels fresh every day when I enter, much neater than my assistant Amy," remarked Malin.

"Practice makes perfect, Master." Jesse tidied up his things and was about to leave when Malin stopped him and said, "By the way, there’s something I need to tell you."

"Do you remember telling me about the Gnolls secretly making poison in the Alchemy Room? You asked me to inform the royal mage about it, and I did. I just received the latest news yesterday."

"The king sent investigators to confirm that it was indeed the Gnolls manufacturing poison. The bodies of Murlocs were not for their experiments but for using Murloc eyes as part of the poison material, while the bodies were left there as food reserves. The Gnolls somehow obtained the recipe and planned to spread a plague throughout the kingdom. However, Stormwind has sent a team to destroy the Alchemy Room and all the materials."

Jesse nodded. In fact, he had already put this matter out of his mind, especially after Malin told him not to worry about it.

But he was still curious about how this would be resolved in the game. After all, he didn’t exist in the game, so if he didn’t tell the wizard saint about this, the problem might not be solved for months or even years. Would the Gnoll plague be released in the end?

He couldn’t find out anyway, as he couldn’t go back to the forums or game groups to ask if there was any relevant information in the game now.

"Have they figured out who is behind this?" Jesse asked.

"No," Malin replied. "But besides the one who attacked the Gnoll leader, who else could it be? He’s now undoubtedly the chief of the Riverpaw clan. Currently, we have no signs of Gnolls teaming up with any other enemies, whether it’s the Blackrock Orcs, the Dark Iron Dwarves, or even the Gurubashi trolls. Of course, the arrogant Gurubashi trolls would never cooperate with the Gnolls."

"The only clue we have now is that the Gnolls have learned some magic from the Orcs. Even so, during wartime, they can’t be considered allies, as they have clashed a few times before," Jesse asked, "Is the king planning to send troops to Westbrook Garrison to wipe out the Riverpaw clan?"

Malin shook her head and said, "The king has just increased the bounty again. Another group of mercenaries has disappeared before. I think the reward will increase again in a while."

Hogger continued to wreak havoc in the area around Elwynn Forest for over a decade, which is why Marshal Dughan of Goldshire in the game felt that the trouble caused by Hogger was almost as severe as Blackrock Spire.

After all, while the Blackrock Orcs were terrifying, they only ravaged the northern part of Redridge, while Hogger and his gang lurked near Stormwind for years, ambushing travelers and caravans passing by.

Several years later, after the stonemasons’ Brotherhood rebellion, Moonbrook was gradually abandoned due to bandits looting, causing the entire Westfall to decay. The security forces in Elwynn Forest had no coordinated helpers, making it even more difficult to eliminate Hogger.

"You have a test this afternoon, right? In Orcish language, with Master Duchamp," Malin asked.

"Yes," Jesse replied.

"How well prepared are you? Do you have confidence to get first place?" Malin smiled teasingly.

"Not really," Jesse replied, scratching his head. "After all, I only studied intensively for a month and a half."

Malin said, "Just do your best. Even if you don’t get the free ticket to Dalaran in the end, it’s good to motivate yourself to learn more."

"Master Duchamp hasn’t mentioned this event," Jesse said. "He only talked about the test, never mentioned the Language Orcish exchange event in Dalaran at the end of the year. I wonder if it will be canceled?"

"It won’t," Malin explained. "Because there’s no need to mention it. He’s only responsible for selecting students. Master Andromath has already prepared the travel expenses, waiting for Master Duchamp to choose students to go to Dalaran together. In the current situation, Dalaran is eager to train a group of Language Orcish professionals earlier to improve communication with the Orcs in the asylums and prove Archmage Antonidas’ theory sooner."

"There’s a slight chance of cancellation, like if some black dragons suddenly appear over Dalaran. But instead of worrying about that, we should focus on the test, right?"

Jesse nodded.

In the afternoon, on his way to the Orcish language class, he specifically wore the light brown mage short jacket he had recently obtained from Larson. This made him look more in line with the typical image of the Mage Quarter, maybe it would even leave a good impression during the exam.

Although he requested simplicity when ordering the clothing, this outfit was much more exquisite compared to all the shirts and coats he had worn before, after all, it was worth a dozen silver coins.

Moreover, this was tailored at a discounted price by Larson’s shop, which specializes in making robes for the Wizard’s Sanctum. If he were to buy a ready-made one outside, the price would probably be much higher.

When he arrived at the classroom, several students were already sitting at the door, waiting for the exam.

"Your clothes look great, Jesse," a young classmate greeted.

"Good afternoon," Jesse replied. "Good luck with the exam."

"You too."

Everyone seemed relaxed because the Orcish language class was an elective, and whether in a university or at the Wizard’s Sanctum, it would not be counted towards grades or assessments.

This was simply an elective class, but he was feeling nervous. Whether students were entering or leaving, their expressions were similar to normal classes. The upcoming exam wasn’t that important to them, and they didn’t discuss their performance afterwards. Instead, they immediately made plans to go to The Blue Recluse for drinks.

Jesse was feeling really bad. Not only did he have the least amount of study time among all the students, but now he also had the worst mindset among all the test takers.

In fact, he should have had a similar mindset to everyone else, the only difference being that he knew from Malin what this exam meant.

If other students knew that doing well could earn them a chance to visit Dalaran on the school’s expenses, who knows how the exam might turn out. That was the heavenly city that all mages…no, all students, all scholars longed to visit.

In other words, within crisis lies opportunity. Although it brought disadvantages, it was also his advantage.