Chapter 148

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Chapter 148: The Power of Blood?

Looking at Lordamere Lake from the south felt somewhat strange to Jesse. Despite growing up by the lake, he had never seen it from this direction before.

Dalaran City as a whole wasn’t very big, especially compared to large cities like Stormwind. But the elegant buildings, clean brick streets, towering spires, lush gardens, flower beds, and small fountains scattered throughout made one believe that this was definitely a place of wealth and peace.

The house Jesse was in was located at the southern end of Dalaran, in an area of Dalaran City that was relatively closer to a normal city and not closely associated with magic.

On the third floor, leaning against the metal railing of the window sill, Jesse looked down and saw the bustling street below, busy with people. With just a casual glance, he spotted two or three groups of elves walking together.

During the late Arathor Empire era, Dalaran was just a small city-state under the protection of the empire.

At that time, most human mages were concentrated in the empire’s capital, Strom City. They learned magic from the High Elves of Quel’Thalas and received guidance to help the empire fend off the invasion of the Amani Trolls.

However, as the empire slowly declined with constant internal and external threats, Strom City began to distrust this group of foreign worshippers more and more.

The troll couldn’t handle the increasing number of human mages. As the battles subsided, people gradually forgot all the sacrifices the mages had made to defend the city.

Later, the mages left Strom City, where anti-magic sentiments were growing stronger, and arrived at a strange but powerful land called Dalaran in the west, known for its unique Ley Line energy.

More and more mages from the Arathor Empire flocked to Dalaran, which flourished under the influence of magic, becoming a rising star against the empire’s decline.

However, after the founders who came here to create a sanctuary for mages passed away, the new mages proudly used Dalaran’s name to abuse magic, dragging the city into darkness.

The space here became increasingly strange and twisted, with horrifying dimensional disasters occurring frequently, even demons appearing, until Quel’Thalas took notice.

The High Elves came to Dalaran to aid the human mages, passing down forbidden knowledge from the War of the Ancients era, restoring order and peace.

To this day, the city remains heavily influenced by elves, with many settling here under the banner of diplomacy and alliance, coexisting with humans.

A sudden headache struck Jesse, causing him to grab the window railing for support, almost stumbling.

The pain reminded him of the agony he had endured before arriving in Dalaran, during that foggy period. The full-body soreness had eased, but there were lingering ringing in his ears and sudden headaches.

At that time, the blood he vomited looked like a thick dark shadow, almost no trace of blood color could be seen.

Is he cured now? Did the Dalaran mage help him recover?

Are there any lingering effects?

Jesse returned to the house, searched through various drawers for a while, and finally found a small mirror.

He looked at his face, eyes, and teeth, wanting to see if there were any signs of shadow corruption, but everything looked normal.

Then Jesse thought of a possible explanation for why his arm hadn’t healed.

Perhaps when he used Life Drain to attack the black dragon, he inadvertently absorbed shadow and life energy, considering that black dragons are of the dragon race corrupted by shadow, with very powerful Shadow Power within them.

The corrupted body of the black dragon can balance these two powers, but Jesse may not be able to.

The shadow power entered and harmed him, but the life energy of the black dragon also healed the damage from the shadow. However, ultimately the shadow power was stronger, causing him to fall into a coma, vomit shadow-tainted blood, which is why his arm hasn’t healed.

But this cannot explain why dreams without the power of shadow are not happening.

Before this, not only was he seriously entangled by shadows, even just being scared once by Fear would lead to a terrifying and tangled dream. It seems that only when he was burned by his own Shadowflame during the incident at Stonewatch Keep did he not suffer from nightmares.

Something somewhat outrageous but seemingly explaining everything came to mind.

Could it be that he absorbed the blood of a black dragon?

Because that dragon blood transformed into his power, so it couldn’t have healing effects?

In general, absorbing dragon blood is not a special ability.

Dragons often seek out mortals who worship dragons, give them their blood, allowing them to gain a certain degree of extraordinary power, but the cost is being slightly enslaved and controlled by the dragon.

The end of this path is Wyrmkin, a kind of hybrid monster, half-human and half-dragon, who unconditionally obey the commands of the dragon race. Ancient dragons can use this contractual-like power to create an entire army of Wyrmkin to serve them.

Did he happen to encounter this situation by chance?

Although the Wyrmkin felt quite strong, Jesse didn’t want to turn into a mindless, ugly monster that only obeyed orders.

Of course, just a sip of that life-sucking thing wouldn’t have such serious consequences, right?

He even wondered if the blood of a young dragon had the same power as that of a giant dragon.

Putting aside these thoughts, Jesse put on his own clothes, neatly folded the shirt that didn’t belong to him and placed it on the table, and stuffed the cloak that wasn’t suitable for wandering in Dalaran City into the Warlock Pack.

He looked deep into the Warlock Pack and said, "Saenor, if you can hear me, please don’t show yourself… find a way to let me know you’re there."

However, there was no response, where did that imp go?

Just as Jesse was about to continue searching, he suddenly heard a rustling sound behind him.

Turning around, a magic broom was standing in the middle of the hallway leading outside, sweeping on its own. When Jesse noticed it, it seemed to sense being watched and stopped sweeping, freezing in place.

After a few seconds, it suddenly turned and ran off, making a rustling sound as it went.

"Wait…"

Jesse ran down the stairs with the broom and saw a man sitting at the table downstairs, drinking coffee and reading a book.

"Master Duchamp?"

"Huh?" Caro Duchamp turned around and saw Jesse, saying, "by all that is holy, you’re awake! I thought you were going to sleep through the Language Orcish gathering!"

Jesse asked, "Missed the gathering… How many days did I sleep?"

"Four days, Jesse Seso," Duchamp said. "It’s already the 5th of December, and the Language Orcish gathering is scheduled for the 11th, less than a week away. Wait, you’re getting out of bed now, are you sure you’re okay? The mages said your condition might not be very optimistic, I was just thinking of other ways to further treat you, and here you are standing here… Is there any discomfort in your body?"

"I…" Jesse looked at himself and said, "My arm still hurts, is it a burn?"

"Yes," Duchamp explained. "Your arm was burned by the black dragon’s flames, but compared to the main injuries you suffered, that’s already nothing."

Jesse said, "Wait, Master. What’s going on, how did I get to Dalaran, where is the dragon, and what injuries did I suffer?"

Duchamp stared at Jesse for a while and asked, "Do you remember anything? What is the last thing you remember?"

"I…"

Jesse, of course, couldn’t say that he used Black Magic to twist the dragon’s mouth with Life Drain.

"I saw the dragon looking at me from the watchtower, and then I don’t remember anything."

"That’s right, you haven’t forgotten anything." Duchamp explained, "The dragon attacked you with Black Magic, you were seriously injured at the time, many mages present thought you were doomed, Southshore couldn’t handle such a problem, so soldiers from Lordaeron urgently requested Gryphon Riders to bring you to Dalaran, seeking the help of higher-ranking healers or scholars." So, the Dwarf Knight was indeed just a passing patrol officer, his companions were only informed later, and it has been quite some time since then.

The gruesome sight of his death in that room is still fresh in Jesse’s mind, as if he had just seen it.

Duchamp continued, "After a series of treatments to resist the shadow, your vital signs finally stabilized, but the power of shadow within you has never been completely eradicated."

"Not only Southshore, but also villages and towns like Ambermill and Aderic’s Landing have been attacked by black dragons in recent days. Many soldiers and mages who were seriously injured like you have been sent to Dalaran for help, but Dalaran’s medical resources are limited. As soon as you were out of danger, you were sent out. I am the only one in Dalaran who knows you, so I brought you here first."

"You’ve been so kind, Master Duchamp."

"Don’t say that, Jesse Seso," Duchamp said, "You are my favorite student, and also a brave warrior who just fought against a black dragon. How could taking care of you be a trouble? I am just worried that you may not wake up, and a bit afraid that your talents may not shine at the Wizard’s Sanctum’s upcoming Orc meeting."

He smiled and said, "Of course, if something happens to you, Master Andromath might cut my funding, which would be troublesome…"

Jesse shyly smiled and suddenly remembered Duchamp’s words just now. Am I the only person known by everyone in Dalaran? What about Greed?

"What about that dwarf?" Jesse asked.

Duchamp suddenly remembered and said, "Ah, I almost forgot about your friend, the Wildhammer warrior named Greed. He is the friend who came with you from Stormwind to Southshore, right? He came by several times yesterday, each time asking me if you were doing better. He seems fine, Jesse, he’s already a dragon slaying hero in Southshore."

"I know you gave him a bottle of Shadow Protection Potion, that potion was crucial. If you hadn’t given it to him immediately, he might have died there, or at least had severe lasting effects. But it’s strange, you didn’t seem to have any side effects, did you not feel anything strange? You were hit with that black dragon’s strange magic!"

Jesse was pretty sure that no one knew he used Life Drain against that dragon.

He answered, "I still have a bit of a headache."

Duchamp nodded and said, "Wait here, I’ll go to the pharmacy to get you some medication to suppress Shadow Power, at least something for your headache. Try to rest a bit, your friend might be coming soon."

"Will it be too expensive, teacher?"

"The pharmacist knows about your situation, the mayor of Southshore has already sorted out the expenses for treating your injuries, so don’t worry."

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