Chapter 26

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Chapter 026: Returning to Life

It took two more days by carriage to return to Stormwind. When they got off at the trade outpost near the square in the market district, Jesse looked at the bustling crowds on the street and felt like he was finally back in the civilized world.

The long journey had taken its toll on them with injuries all over their bodies, making them reluctant to immediately sell the things they had gathered.

They agreed to rest the morning, meet in front of The Gilded Rose inn in the afternoon, then go home separately. Greed carried the bag of weapons, and Jesse took the herbs and the warlock’s small pouch.

Back in the small rented room after staying in the inn for five or six days, Jesse was having trouble adjusting to the tiny space.

His room was only about 4 to 5 square meters, perhaps just slightly larger than the toilet in his previous home. The roof slanted down, taking up a large portion of the space. The bed was small too. At night, lying down with his less than six-foot height, his legs almost extended over the bed.

However, in a time similar to the Middle Ages or the Renaissance, it was far beyond Jesse’s imagination that an ordinary worker in a city could live in such a separate place.

He thought he might have to sleep in a large bunk bed with several people for several years when he arrived in Stormwind. Later, it turned out that only during the most difficult period at the city gate, living in a tent, was like that. Old Town had been able to accommodate many foreign laborers after a simple cleaning and planning. After the basic reconstruction of the new city district was completed, the living environment became much more relaxed.

In the end, he unexpectedly had the opportunity to rent such a small house.

So, he had never been dissatisfied or complained about the small space here before.

Soon, he would be able to move into the Mage Quarter, which was the most beautiful and expensive area besides the noble garden district. Next to it was the Stormwind University, which Jesse had never seen in the game, and the environment was really impeccable.

Thinking about this, he began to look forward to his future life… Oh, he also needed to go meet Eden Malin!

Not knowing if the boss had returned from Redridge, when Jesse and Greed were resting in Goldshire, they heard that the roads from Elwynn Forest to Redridge had been constantly harassed by Gnolls recently. They wondered if the teachers were still stuck there.

He carefully washed himself by the canal. Previously, near Goldshire, he had been a bit rushed when washing with Greed at the pond because he was afraid of being attacked by Kobolds or other creatures. He had just quickly rinsed himself to get rid of the stench from not bathing for a few days. Now, he finally had time to clean himself properly.

The main bridge on the canal had not been repaired yet. On a temporary wooden bridge, a group of passing young girls giggled and covered their mouths as they watched a few boys bathing naked on this side.

Jesse was used to being watched, but he felt invisible among the young people showing off their muscles.

He was thinking about the warlock’s bag and whether he should give the scroll to Malin when he went to the Mage Quarter later.

What should he do if Malin asked where the scroll came from? Should he tell everything truthfully? Would anyone believe him?

What if the content on the scroll was too evil, and he got involved in it?

He needed to learn Orcish language to understand the scroll’s contents.

There should be dictionaries on Orcish language in the library, as research on Orcs was becoming more common after the war. Orc studies were not considered as Black Magic.

Particularly, the former leader of the alliance, King Terenas II of Lordaeron, had a well-known attitude that Orcs should be seen as intelligent beings rather than invading beasts. He believed in studying their culture and customs to prepare for future crises.

Dalaran, as a beacon of knowledge in the human kingdom, did not openly oppose Terenas II’s views. Jesse believed that the head of Kirin Tor, Archmage Antonidas, also supported this stance and that Dalaran had probably started studying Orcs long ago.

The Wizard’s Sanctum learned many things from Dalaran, so if the mages here were aware of Dalaran’s recent activities, they should not be left behind in this area.

As for those two books, he absolutely could not give them up. If what was recorded in them was really about dark magic or even Demonic, not only could they be confiscated, but he himself could also get into trouble.

After taking a bath and putting on fresh clothes, Jesse hurried to the Mage Quarter.

Eden Malin’s door was slightly ajar, maybe Amy had already been there. It was around 11 am now, she might have gone to class already.

Having put work aside for several days, many places in the room had gathered dust again. Even in the clean Mage Quarter, dust curses were hard to avoid.

Jesse skillfully rolled up his sleeves, arranged his tools, and started wiping the table. Not long into the cleaning, someone suddenly pushed open the door.

Turning around, he saw Archmage Malin standing at the door with a mouthful of a pastry.

"Oh… Master Malin, you’re back."

"Taking up some time, why did you come so late today?"

As Malin spoke, he walked to the desk and sat down, placed a cup of hot tea on the table, took a small piece of sugar from a pouch in a drawer, threw it in, flipped through a book to a certain page, pressed it down with a ruler, and stirred the tea with his other hand.

Jesse looked puzzled and asked, "Did Ms. Amy Malin not tell you? I’ve been out these past few days."

"Oh! So you just got back today? That’s quite a coincidence," Malin said as she sat down. "I only got back to Stormwind last night, and the situation in Redridge isn’t looking good. The Gnoll Tribe is causing trouble not only in Elwynn Forest. Of course, I’m not surprised at all, considering Redridge is their old home. It’s said that dwarves have noticed Gnoll activity around Loch Modan and Menethil Harbor. I reckon after the Orc War, dwarves and humans suffered heavy losses in the war, making it impossible for us to reclaim our homeland right away, giving the Gnolls a chance to resurface."

Jesse asked, "Will the kingdom send troops to deal with these Gnolls? The Gnoll Tribe in Redridge seems to be causing a big problem for the trade routes between the three towns."

Malin replied, "The troops stationed in Redridge are already planning to deal with those monsters, but I’m not sure how the kingdom views the new Gnoll situation in Elwynn Forest. Perhaps recruiting mercenaries and offering rewards will continue for a while, as the threat here is not as direct as in Redridge."

"What about the Orcs?" Jesse asked as he wiped the shelves. "Have the Orcs in Redridge not clashed with the Gnolls?"

"Ah, the Orcs," Malin said as she picked up her teacup and sighed. "Guess what the Blackrock Orcs are up to now?"

Jesse had never really thought about what the Blackrock Orcs were doing since arriving in Stormwind.