Chapter 15：Mage Class Quest

As Sean rubbed his eyes and stared at the ore that Gryan held, he became stunned. 

There were only a few mines across Westfall. And among them, there was only one place where the shredder could make a day's trip and return, Jangolode Mine. As a result, Sean was unable to offer an explanation. Was it not too obvious what had happened? 

Sean could only blame himself for being too worn out last night. He was too occupied with hiding the minecarts that he had forgotten to inspect the shredder to see if he had left any clues. 

Sean completely neglected the fact that had he not greedily taken the minecarts, Gryan would not have connected the dots to Jangolode Mine and inspected the shredder...

Wait, that was not right! 

A correct way to put it was Gryan had probably inspected the shredder first, found the ore and then connected the dots to Jangolode Mine. The end result was Gryan confronting Sean. 

If that was the case, why had Gryan inspected the machine in the first place? 

It was Old Saldean's loud appraisal of Sean that had piqued Gryan's interest! In fact, Old Saldean may have even personally invited Gryan to take a look at the shredder! 

What a troublesome teammate! 

Sean naturally filtered out another pressing question. 

Without his extraordinary performance, would Old Saldean even praise him every time he met someone? 

Regardless, Gryan already had his suspicions fixed onto Sean. 

Fortunately, there were no eye-witnesses. Gryan was still merely hypothesizing. 

Sean immediately pretended that his little secret had been revealed, acting ashamed, he murmured, "Well, about that… Sir, it actually goes like this… Yesterday, I was going high and low searching for wood, and unknowingly, I bumped into Jangolode Mine and witnessed a bizarre incident…" 

"What bizarre incident?" Old Gryan asked. 

Sean answered, "I saw a group of Kobolds charging in the direction of the Gold Coast. They even abandoned their carts. Then, greed got a hold of me. So I loaded three carts near the mine entrance onto my shredder and drove back." 

Naturally, Gryan felt that this reply matched his theory. He asked further, "In that case, why did you only bring back three minecarts? Your shredder is capable of loading at least five carts." 

Sean cried, "I wouldn't dare! There were only three carts parked at Jangolode Mine's entrance, the rest were inside. What if there were still Kobolds in there? I wouldn't dare enter to search for more. If they saw me, I couldn't run away even if I wanted to!" 

Actually, Kobolds had short legs. One could easily outrun them… 

Upon hearing his explanation, Old Gryan finally lowered his suspicions of Sean. 

In reality, it was almost impossible for Old Gryan to have thought that the culprit behind yesterday's bloodbath was none other than Sean Connery himself. He speculated that the biggest role Sean could have played was a bystander who profited from the situation. He had only hoped that Sean could explain the reason behind the Kobolds' attack on the Murlocs on the Gold Coast, though he did not have high expectations. 

"Sly little one, do you know why the Kobolds attacked the Murlocs on the Gold Coast?" Gryan asked. 

Here, Gryan had set up another trap. 

The Kobolds' attack on the Murlocs had become widespread news. However, if it was true that Sean slept immediately after he returned last night and was only woken up by Old Saldean this morning, Sean would not have known about the incident. Gryan also overheard that Old Saldean had not yet mentioned the incident to Sean. 

It was Gryan's last attempt to determine whether Sean had something to hide and was indeed related to the incident. 

However, Gryan was up for disappointment. 

Ever since Gryan had his suspicions fixed onto Sean, Sean Connery had been cautious of everything he said. Hence, the moment Gryan asked his question, Sean had already considered his answer from multiple perspectives. He then exclaimed in surprise, "What? The Kobolds attacked the Murlocs?!" 

It was, in truth, not entirely an act. 

Although Sean was the one who initiated the Kobolds' attack on the Murlocs, the effect from the Kobold War Horn was not that long. The Kobolds could have even regained their consciousness on the way to the Gold Coast and turned back. 

Now that Sean had heard the attack had actually taken place, it was unsurprising that he was genuinely shocked. 

It was fortunate that Sean's shock was genuine, otherwise, it would have been picked up easily by the wise and experienced Gryan. 

It was only then that Gryan fully trusted Sean. He nodded and said, "That's right, the Kobolds attacked the Murlocs. There were significant casualties. Do you know the reason why they attacked the Murlocs in the first place?" 

Deep down, Sean thought, 'Of course it was because of me! The smart, handsome and brave hero of the story…' However, there was no way these words could actually be said, right?

Acting all confused, he replied, "How should I know?" 

Gryan believed in him. 

He would not expect an adolescent Half-Elf to have the answers. 

Gryan patted Sean's shoulder and said, "Sly little one, I heard from Old Saldean that you'll be joining us to Goldshire, is that right? Are you looking to become an apprentice of one of the Engineers there? Be sure to work hard, I have high expectations of you!" 

After a brief conversation, Marshal Gryan Stoutmantle rounded up his soldiers and left for Jangolode Mine to investigate further. 

Regardless, the Murlocs and Kobolds comprised some of the largest populations within Westfall. If they went to war, it would be a situation dire enough to disrupt the entire Westfall. Gryan Stoutmantle must exercise the utmost precaution. Comparatively, a random adolescent who knew how to operate a shredder and to repair Harvest Golems was of little importance. 

Old Saldean initially planned to join Gryan's party to embark for Goldshire. However, he was dissuaded by the fact that the party first needed to inspect Jangolode Mine and the Gold Coast, which made the journey far more perilous. Moreover, Old Saldean's business supplies for Goldshire were not yet ready to be loaded into his cart. As a result, he was unable to follow through with his plan. 

After a brief discussion with Gryan, Old Saldean had decided to delay his trip until the next day. Then, he would head to Westfall's northernmost farm, the Jansen Stead, where they would group up with Gryan's party and travel to Goldshire together. 

After breakfast, Sean did not return to his room. Instead, he went to the warehouse. 

Closing the doors after him, he leaned on the scrapped Harvest Golem and became briefly saddened. 

On that day, Sean was not happy at all. 

Having had a personal encounter with Gryan, Sean was disheartened. It was not merely due to the huge gap between their age and experience, Sean was also affected by the differences in their status and capabilities. 

Gryan was a Paladin that had served in the Knights of the Silver Hand. He was also a war veteran who had fought fiercely against the Scourge in Lordaeron, the leader of The People's Militia in Westfall and Marshall of Sentinel Hill. He was the epitome of a capable person. 

On the other hand, Sean was an adolescent Half-Elf who had not even learned any fighting techniques. If he had gotten into any fights, he would probably even lose to Old Saldean. 

Sean was unhappy with the pressure he felt when standing face-to-face with Gryan. 

He needed to change this situation. 

His only way to do so, for now, seemed to be changing his Class and becoming a Mage. For that, he would need to complete the Mage Class Quest known as "The Origin of Arcane". 

To complete that quest, Sean needed to embark on a journey through the Gate of Spacetime, traveling 2800 years into the past to Stromgarde Keep. If he wanted to get through the Gate of Spacetime, Sean needed to gather enough Garrison Resources to build a temporary Gate.

Whether it was for a quest or not, this requirement had no exceptions. 

Author made a nickname referencing Sean's cunning