Chapter 542

Chapter 542: The Warlock’s Companion

Jesse said, "I remember when I first met you, you were very wary of humans and dwarves. If it was back then, you might not have been so interested in the beliefs and cultures of the Tauren, right?"

"Of course, it’s also for intelligence gathering purposes," Vereesa explained.

Jesse chuckled, and the elf sighed in relief, saying, "Well, I guess I have indeed changed a lot, Jesse."

"But it’s because of you."

"Because of me?"

Vereesa said, "Speaking of when we first met… I remember the first time I saw you at the tavern in Dalaran, a human casually dressed in simple apprentice robes. I didn’t understand what Teacher Kaffir had to talk about with someone like you."

"When he mentioned that you and a dwarf hunted down a black dragon together, besides feeling a bit annoyed that you took away my chance to earn merit, I didn’t feel anything else."

"Kaffir said you were a warlock, a rare mage hidden in human society secretly studying dark magic, so at first, I didn’t have a good impression of you. But, you used the evil Life Drain magic against the more evil enemy like Teron Gorefiend. And, I knew what the outcome would be – that you would rapidly decay and die due to the necrotic power within Teron Gorefiend’s body, but you still did it."

"At that time, I had no idea what the consequences would be," Jesse confessed.

Vereesa said softly, "Regardless, I saw you pull out the magic wand piercing your shoulder, then, transforming shadow power like a demon, just like what you did beneath the walls of Nethergarde, unhesitatingly confronting terrifying evil, turning the tide for Nethergarde and the Alliance. I… don’t know how to describe it."

Jesse said, "At Nethergarde, it was to save my teacher and his daughter, both inside the Mage Tower, Amy Malin. Do you remember her?"

"Of course, she was a very talented mage," Vereesa said.

"They treated me like family," Jesse said. "I couldn’t just stand by and watch them being destroyed by demons, I just couldn’t. As for whether to save Nethergarde, or anything about the Alliance, honestly, at that time I didn’t think that far ahead, also because I didn’t have enough time to consider…"

Looking at Vereesa with a puzzled look, Jesse chuckled and said, "And that demon general is too arrogant, don’t you think? We’ll have to find a way to teach him a lesson."

The elf’s lips moved as if she wanted to say something, but in the end she remained silent, just smiling and nodding.

The two of them walked down the mountain together, Vereesa looked towards the mist-covered valley, and suddenly said, "I’m curious, being alone with someone of the opposite sex here, will your partner be upset when we return?"

"Partner?" Jesse asked, looking puzzled.

"That Sayaad Demon," Vereesa said. "Don’t act innocent with me…"

"Uh, her, well," Jesse stepped down from a high step and said. "She considers me a partner? Maybe, but she’s with me because staying by my side makes her stronger, isn’t that what all demons following warlocks want?"

"To become stronger?" Vereesa pondered for a moment and said, "Ah, yes, by feeding on their master’s magic, I know them."

She emphasized the word ‘feeding’ in a strange way, Jesse coughed and said, "I need her power and demon knowledge, she needs my magic to keep growing."

"Is that all?" Vereesa said, "Many warlocks treat succubi as their lovers, wives, at least many Dark Iron Dwarves do, other dwarves even assume succubi are the lovers of warlocks. I know some trolls and Quel’dorei are similar."

Jesse turned around and said, "You know more about warlocks than I expected, you really did a lot of research."

"Of course," Vereesa said solemnly.

"Alright," Jesse straightened his robe collar and said, "Because many warlocks, during their study of demons and shadows, don’t interact with many outsiders. Of course, for their own safety, they find it hard to share their secrets with others. It’s normal for a female demon companion by their side to become their closest companion. I can understand that."

"What about you, Jesse Seso?" Vereesa asked, catching up.

"I don’t know," Jesse casually said, "I’ve only lived for less than twenty years, the future path could be very long. Maybe I could lose my life tomorrow, or perhaps Molofeel will die halfway, or maybe we will accompany each other for decades, and then I will die of old age, and she will return to the Twisting Nether to find the next master, who can say for sure."

"Decades?" Vereesa stood still all of a sudden.

"Yes," Jesse turned back to look at her and asked, "What’s wrong?"

"Uh, nothing," the elf cleared her throat, shaking her head and said, "I just find it really hard to imagine spending decades with a demon, even if it’s a harmless one."

Jesse nodded and said, "It’s really hard to imagine."

As they continued on their journey, the two of them remained silent. Jesse didn’t know what to say until they reached the cliff below.

In the middle of the village square, a Kodo appeared out of nowhere. Two villagers were busy saddling it up with belts and Mosa was helping them.

Seeing the two of them return, Mosa called out for Vereesa.

After talking to the elves, Vereesa’s gloomy mood lifted. She excitedly told Jesse, "The village elder has agreed to let us ride this Kodo to Desolace."

"Really?" Jesse was suddenly excited upon hearing this news. He never thought he would have the chance to ride a Kodo.

In fact, back in Tanaris, he had planned to spend some money to ride a Kodo just to experience it.

But at that time, spending that money seemed pointless, especially in front of Vereesa and Gryth. Every bit of money was precious back then, not knowing what the situation was in Gadgetzan.

However, after leaving Gadgetzan, Jesse thought he wouldn’t be able to ride a Kodo.

Now, the huge monster is right here!

At that moment, Vereesa noticed that Kodo had two arrow bags made by the Tauren, filled with intact arrows. Some were hers, while others were harpy arrows, similar in length and weight to elven arrows.

"The Tauren helped me retrieve the arrows. I was planning to search for them myself this morning, but they saved me the trouble," Vereesa said, gently touching the arrow bag. She found a unique black feather arrow inside.

"This one isn’t mine, and it’s different from the other harpy arrows."

Holding the arrow, she asked Mosa about it. Mosa smelled the arrow, mentioning something that Jesse could clearly hear included the word "Kaldorei."

"Our kin live in the northern mountains, Jesse," Vereesa explained. "These are their arrows, probably taken by the harpies."

"We are close to the Kaldorei’s homeland here," Jesse remarked.

"Ashenvale," Vereesa whispered. "It feels like the mythical place is within reach now. Luckily, we don’t have to go there."