Chapter 120

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Chapter 120: The Bishop

"The responsibility lies with me, I am his teacher."

"So, what specific magic is it?"

"Mage Armor?"

"Mage Armor, I remember it’s a very advanced protective spell, to be honest I haven’t seen many mages use it even on the battlefield."

"It’s not as practical on the battlefield as you might think. After all, no matter how much energy you waste to enhance your elemental resistances, once the enemy soldiers reach you, you’ll find it’s better to cast more fire, more whirlwinds, to stop their advances."

"Holy Light, I just noticed this emblem, is he just an apprentice?"

"Ah, yes, he’s just become an apprentice for less than a month. He’s determined to learn Mage Armor, and I see some unique talents in him. I thought such a challenging spell could gradually guide him to step faster into the field of Protection School."

"Clearly, his magical abilities are lacking."

"Magical abilities… forget it, I don’t want to delve deep into what happened with you. I understand what you’re trying to say, Bishop, but you don’t know the situation back then. If you were me, you would also couldn’t resist letting him cast it, as it was his first attempt at casting Mage Armor. Frankly, it was truly astonishing. I hoped he could cast it successfully at once, then we would have a topic to chat about endlessly in the Wizard’s Sanctum. Unfortunately, I was just too hopeful for his success, and it turned out like this."

"Malin, you are usually not one to take risks like this. We’ve known each other for a long time, and I have never seen you willing to take such a big chance before. But then again, I haven’t spent much time in the Wizard’s Sanctum, so I don’t really know your style. Maybe every teacher hopes their students surpass them, which is quite normal to think about."

"Maybe you just don’t know me well enough."

"I admit, after the war caused by the Dark Portal, I no longer dare to claim that I understand everything. So many things were unexpected, even breaking the rules I thought were certain… Oh? It seems he’s waking up. Was our conversation too loud?"

"Why do you seem to wish he wouldn’t wake up?"

In the midst of their conversation, Jesse forced his eyes open, only to be met with a severe headache.

He grimaced and groaned, holding his head for a while, until one hand moved to his chest.

"By all that is holy, I pray that you release this young man from his suffering, to set him free. His pain is a result of hard work and dedication, a setback in pursuit of higher ideals. Holy Light, I know you appreciate courage, diligence, and the will to succeed, and he is a devoted follower of your teachings… Through whispered prayers, the headache miraculously lessened for Jesse, and he could even feel his own hands on his head feeling more powerless and useless than the warm hand on his chest."

"Thank goodness." a deep voice beside him said, "he woke up so quickly. At least you haven’t made any major mistakes, Master Malin."

"Thank goodness," Malin’s voice came from beside Jesse’s feet.

Jesse tried to open his eyes again, but the light was a bit too bright.

He found himself lying in a very bright room, with white bricks making the space look exceptionally clean and holy. This place might be the hospital in Cathedral Square.

Standing beside him was a priest in a gray robe, holding a silver crown in his arms. Malin was sitting at the foot of the bed. Jesse tried to sit up, but his head hurt sharply again.

"Don’t get up so fast, Mr. Jesse Seso," the priest supported him and said, "Resting is the most important thing for you now."

"How long have I been out?" Jesse asked weakly.

"Not long," Malin said, "Maybe a few hours."

He looked beside him and said, "I told you earlier, Bishop Benedictus, it’s not as serious as you thought."

"This means that the Holy Light still watches over this young apprentice," the bishop said with a smile.

"Thank you, Holy Light," Jesse murmured softly as he came to his senses.

Just as he felt his mind starting to spin with his own consciousness, he suddenly realized what name Malin had just mentioned, and turned his head to focus on the priest at the bedside.

The bishop was probably in his fifties, almost sixty, similar in age to Malin.

He had thick dark gray hair, with a receding hairline not too high for his age, a carefully trimmed beard, and wrinkles on his forehead and around his eyes.

Despite being past his prime, he was still robust, looking broad-chested and broad-shouldered, not even showing signs of getting fat yet, like an old warrior who had experienced countless wars.

Is this Benedictus? The Archbishop of Stormwind personally taking care of himself?

No, he’s not the Archbishop yet, the current leader of the Cathedral of Light and the Holy Light Church should be Archbishop Alonsus Faol. He is still Faol’s student.

Alonsus Faol died during the Scourge years later, and it was only then that Benedictus inherited the position of Archbishop.

However, Benedictus’s path thereafter caused concern.

The Scourge war and the destruction of Lordaeron dealt a heavy blow to Benedictus’s faith, making him increasingly doubtful of the Holy Light, ultimately leading him to embrace another extreme, falling into the path of darkness and becoming one of the leaders of the cult Twilight’s Hammer, manipulated by evil gods.

At that time, he had become a powerful shadow priest, a dark priest. In fact, he had been communicating with the shadows since he was the Archbishop of Stormwind. It was only during Deathwing’s world-shaking event that he revealed his true beliefs. But now, he should still be quite devoted to the Holy Light, right?

With these thoughts in mind, Bishop Benedictus exchanged a few words with Malin and then left the room. Even though he was not the leader of the Cathedral of Light, he was a bishop with many official duties and could not stay here for too long.

As he left, he glanced at Jesse at the door. This glance seemed intentional, considering Jesse’s current situation and his understanding of Benedictus, it was impossible for him not to think more.

After all, Jesse was now a warlock. If the first time he went to the priest for treatment for the corruption of the undead, he could only be considered a novice warlock, now with his proficiency in using Fear and mastery of various Shadow Magic, he should be one of the most skilled shadow spellcasters in Stormwind, at least at The Slaughtered Lamb.

He did not know what kind of treatment he had undergone during his unconsciousness, what Benedictus had noticed, but Jesse was certain that even if he had noticed the shadows, he did not tell Malin.

Jesse could only hope that the look was just the doctor’s concern for the patient.

Malin said, "I don’t know if it’s your luck, Mr. Seso, or thanks to the bishop’s devotion."

"Did I faint because I used up too much magical power?" Jesse asked.

"Your magic was not enough to sustain the Arcane power you summoned, Jesse. Their activity level exceeded expectations," Malin said. "Overall, you recklessly used high-level magic despite my advice, but your own energy was insufficient, overloading your willpower. But fainting is not the most serious consequence, that’s why I say you’re lucky enough."

"When did you advise me, Master Malin?" Jesse said, "I remember feeling hopeful when I was casting the spell."

Malin touched his chin and said, "You can say that to others, apprentices can make mistakes, no one will blame you."

Jesse had an accident while learning magic. As the mentor, Malin had to take the blame, even if Jesse said so. Malin had to take responsibility for teaching the spell, right?

Luckily, this time there weren’t any serious consequences, and probably not many people know about it, so avoiding responsibility should not be pursued.

But after this incident, will Malin continue teaching Jesse the Mage Armor spell?

"Did I almost succeed, Master?" Jesse asked. "I felt like I was so close, it’s really a shame. I was almost in the state of completing the spell, wasn’t I?"

Malin neither confirmed nor denied. He just said, "No one knows if you could have succeeded if your energy had reached the requirements to fully cast Mage Armor. Everything will be tested in the next practice. If you want to improve before going to Dalaran, come to me in the morning. I won’t give you the spell to memorize now. I hope you remember our agreement."

"I must practice Mage Armor in front of you," Jesse repeated.

"Yes, you must practice under my supervision," Malin said. "If I taught you the casting method for Mage Armor and you secretly practiced it, passing out like this time without anyone to take care of you, think of the consequences."

Indeed, especially if he accidentally set his house on fire while practicing at home, or if he passed out in a room and someone found him, then everything hidden in his house would be exposed.

Malin continued, "Next time, let’s start with the basics from the Protection School to prepare you for entering the Wizard’s Sanctum. You can’t rush into things without learning to walk first. The recent accident was undoubtedly a result of being too reckless."

"But we only have a few days left before we leave Stormwind, just two or three days," Jesse said.

"Then we’ll discuss it when we come back," Malin said.

Come back? Jesse was already eager to go.

"Ah, I understand now, Master."

He had intended to leave, but Malin insisted on keeping him and let him rest and recuperate under the care of the priest for a day, to ensure he fully recovered before leaving.

Although Jesse didn’t know exactly where he was in Cathedral Square, he could hear the choir singing not too far off at night, having passed through countless walls to reach there.

Lying in bed, Jesse still remembered the spell that Malin had taught him during the day.

"Rockport, Alkanet…" Just saying these two sentences based on memory, Jesse already felt a headache coming back and it was impossible to remember what came next.

Malin was right. It would still take a long time for Jesse to fully recover. For now, it was best to avoid getting involved with Ley Line. Jesse decided to have a good night’s sleep before making any decisions.

Jesse was determined not to go two to three months without practicing any spells after leaving Stormwind. He had only halfway learned Mage Armor, so giving up practicing was not an option.