"You are not from the Stormwind Kingdom."
"No."
Jaina had already begun to suspect Ethan and the others' origins. Her question shifted everyone's attention from Varian to the two of them.
"Why do you want to find His Majesty Varian Wrynn?" Jaina didn't stand up, but Ethan sensed a subtle ripple of magic surrounding her. It was an energy he wasn't very familiar with and hadn't encountered before—Arcane energy, he guessed.
As the most well-known energy type in the world of Azeroth, Arcane energy possessed extremely strong malleability. Many miraculous feats could be accomplished using it. Coupled with its excellent stability and relatively easy controllability, Arcane energy became the most favored and eventually the sole choice for mages.
The mages in this world weren't like how game players imagined them—divided into Frost, Arcane, and Fire mages. In terms of the energy used, all mages here were Arcane mages. They all used Arcane energy.
Arcane magic was divided into several major branches, and the spells used by mages were essentially included within these. A mage typically practiced spells from multiple branches. They might specialize in a certain one due to personal interest or talent, but no mage was completely ignorant of the others.
At the same time, the elemental attacks that Arcane mages could cast weren't limited to just Frost and Fire. Powerful attack methods like Lightning and Thunder were also common choices.
What Ethan couldn't determine was whether they cast Fireball and Frostbolt by using Arcane energy as a base to indirectly control elemental energy, or if they simulated the characteristics of an element using Arcane energy directly to produce similar spells.
Unfortunately, there was no clear official explanation for this. He only knew that the spells Conjure Water and Blizzard were categorized under the Conjuration branch, which was equivalent to summoning magic in the Arcane system. Therefore, the famous offensive spell Blizzard was indeed cast by using Arcane energy to summon other elements.
As for professions that directly used elemental power, those also existed in this world—Shamans. They gained the ability to directly use elemental power through communication with elemental spirits.
Ethan wasn't very interested in the Shaman's methods of communicating with spirits, gaining their recognition, and borrowing power. He was more interested in learning how Arcane mages indirectly controlled other elements through a single energy type. However, he didn't set his sights on Jaina, nor did he intend to learn anything by observing her spellcasting.
"Naturally, I want to receive a reward."
"A reward?"
"The benefits of saving the king of a nation are far greater than the rewards I get from traveling around helping ordinary people."
The magical fluctuations surrounding Jaina gradually faded, indicating that she seemed to accept Ethan's explanation.
As for Varian, who had been silent the entire time, he didn't find Ethan's reasoning odd—so long as Ethan could actually help him.
He had already learned his "true identity" from Jaina, but he was very frustrated with his inability to recover his memory. During this time, the man who claimed to be his Marshal had told him that the young mage might have a way to solve his problem.
"If you can help me, then I will pay you a satisfactory reward."
Ethan nodded and gestured toward Varian. "Please sit down. I need to examine your condition."
Jaina initially wanted to speak up and stop him, but Varian went ahead and found a chair, sitting down without hesitation. He didn't show any distrust toward Ethan. On the contrary, he seemed to trust him more than anyone else—even more than Winsor, who had been in contact with Ethan for a while.
"I hope you can heal me."
"I hope so too, because I can only get my reward if you recover your memory."
In reality, Varian wasn't as completely trusting of the unfamiliar mage as he appeared. He was simply desperate to regain his memory, and this memory-lost version of him was also more impulsive and reckless. He was willing to take risks when there was even a chance of success.
Because of this, Ethan skipped any further discussion and directly moved behind Varian to begin a careful examination.
As he stood there, he clearly felt the two elves targeting the vital points on his back. He believed that if Varian showed the slightest abnormality, his kidneys would be gone.
Ethan paid them no mind. These two elves couldn't actually harm him, and besides, he had no ill will toward Varian. After a brief examination, he stepped back.
"How is the situation?"
"There's a mass of energy in his head interfering with his memory."
"That's what I observed as well."
As a powerful mage, Jaina could naturally detect what was wrong with Varian. However, this mass of energy was gathered in his head, which made her feel somewhat constrained and unable to fully unleash her abilities.
"From the look of it, this seems to be a spell that wasn't fully cast and was interrupted by some kind of accident." Ethan didn't want to study the exact effects of the magic, so he didn't delve deeper. He directly considered how to remove it. "Although I don't know the true nature or function of this energy, simply removing it is not difficult."
"But the brain is very fragile. When removing this energy, how can you ensure His Majesty Wrynn won't be harmed?"
The issue Jaina raised was critical, but it didn't stump Ethan. Other complications might require effort, but when it came to manipulating and extracting energy, it was no problem at all for someone who held the legacies of both Asgard and Kamar-Taj.
"I'm very good at handling this kind of situation. I'll extract the energy, and you can focus on protecting His Majesty Wrynn."
Ethan didn't actually need Jaina to cast protective spells. He said this to send a clear message: he had no ulterior motives, and Jaina could supervise the entire process.
"Do we need to prepare anything?"
"No, we can begin now."
Jaina frowned. She felt it was all too sudden, but this matched Varian's current sense of urgency. He simply nodded to the two elves behind him, then sat still and gestured to Ethan—I'm ready.
Varian had made his decision himself. Even Winsor couldn't stop him, let alone Jaina, who was, strictly speaking, an outsider. Aside from standing by to intervene if something went wrong, there was nothing more she could do.
Ethan walked back in front of Varian, briefly considered his approach, then placed one hand on Varian's temple while hovering the other over the top of his head.
"I'm going to begin. The process may be uncomfortable, but you should be able to handle it."
Varian looked at the young man in front of him and gave a firm nod. The moment he did, a burst of energy flashed from the hand pressed to his temple, and a mass of black, mist-like energy slowly emerged from the top of his head.
The hovering hand lightly grasped the mist, controlling the black energy. At the same time, the hand on Varian's temple emitted a brighter light, and more black energy emerged, gathering in Ethan's palm.
"Is this… Holy Light?"
Jaina had been suspicious from the beginning. When the energy above Varian's head became clearer and more distinct, she realized that although the energy seemed slightly different from Holy Light, it still clearly gave off the feeling of Holy Light.
"A mage? Using Holy Light?"
Though questions swirled in her mind, Jaina finally understood Ethan's method. He was using a type of energy that repelled the mass in Varian's head, expelling it while not harming the human body. Even if there were slight injuries, the characteristics of the Holy Light would instantly heal them, thus avoiding damage.
The expelled energy was fully controlled by Ethan's other hand. His mastery over energy control was remarkable. Even Jaina couldn't guarantee she could handle an unfamiliar energy so precisely.
The amount of energy in Varian's head wasn't large. In just a short time, Ethan completely cleared it, then condensed it into a black sphere, loosely held in his hand.
"It's done."
Ethan nodded to Jaina and the two elves, then stepped back slightly and focused on the energy in his palm.
Once the energy was removed, Varian had actually recovered his memory. Ethan's 'operation' didn't cause him any harm, but suddenly remembering everything after a period of amnesia required some time to process.
After seeing Varian's reaction, Jaina simply checked his condition and confirmed he had recovered. She didn't continue focusing on the king, instead turning to Ethan.
"Were you using Holy Light just now?"
Naturally, Ethan wasn't about to admit it. He decisively shook his head, denying Jaina's suspicion.
Unfortunately, Ethan was fundamentally different from the mages of this world. His foundation wasn't Arcane, so Jaina still harbored doubts about his origins.
Fortunately, Varian had recovered, forcing Jaina to temporarily set her questions aside.
(To be continued.)
***
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