The members of the Mage Tower guard have remained unchanged, still consisting of the Navoli mercenary team.
Besides Navoli, Draksa, and Salador, who were introduced earlier, there are also Lu'anna Windrunner and Kana Darkwalker. Five members in total: one warrior and four rangers.
The physical talents of the Kaldorei lean more towards agility, and unless someone is exceptionally tall, few are willing to choose the warrior profession. Even in the army, not many Kaldorei are willing to specialize as warriors.
Ordinary soldiers are not equivalent to warriors; warriors are individuals who specialize in close-combat techniques. Ordinary soldiers simply serve their military duty; they are artisans, merchants, farmers, and minor nobles.
After their military service ends, most people return to their hometowns to engage in productive work. Only a small portion remains in the army, those being the minor nobles seeking upward mobility. Among these minor nobles, the vast majority are rangers, a profession that allows them to protect themselves and inflict damage on enemies to earn merit, almost as if it were specially designed for them.
Those who become warriors, like Carlos and Draksa, are mostly from commoner families. Either they are arranged by their families to protect important individuals, such as Carlos protecting Gale; or they are unwilling to be ordinary and wish to make a name for themselves, like Draksa.
The former cannot decide their own fate, but the latter has precedents. The Raven Case, for example, is a warrior family that repeatedly fought against the Bearfolk and other races during the founding of the Kaldorei Empire, earning numerous military merits to become nobles, guarding the northwestern frontier.
There are two ways to enhance the strength of the guards: first, to increase their individual power, and second, to forge equipment suitable for them.
What Gale needs to do is not choose one or the other, but to enhance both aspects.
First, he needs to understand the combat techniques of the five individuals and then make reasonable improvements.
Navoli is the captain of the mercenary team and now also the captain of the guard. During his time in the Crimson Forest and Heda'shal, Navoli performed exceptionally well, leaving a deep impression on Gale.
He is a melee ranger, skilled in using light and sharp weapons. The weight of the Sanction Blade is not very suitable for him.
Therefore, he needs a lighter single-handed sword that allows him to move faster.
Once his strength increases in the future, he can switch to dual-wielding single-handed swords, following the path of a combat rogue. Before that, his off-hand can only use a dagger.
Gale called Navoli over and asked him to cooperate with the test.
Navoli was very excited. Gale had previously promised to help them enhance their strength, at least by forging specialized weapons. They were initially tempted by Gale's promised weapons, knowing that all weapons forged by Gale were epic-grade. If they could possess epic-grade weapons specially designed for themselves, even if they died in the future, as long as their weapons remained, people would know that they once existed in this world.
A person leaves their name, a goose leaves its call. No one can resist the idea of having their name remembered thousands or tens of thousands of years later.
Some people even prefer to be infamous for millennia rather than not be remembered at all.
This shows how tempting it is to leave one's mark in history.
There isn't a concept of 'leaving one's mark in history' in Azeroth, but being immortalized in epic tales amounts to the same thing.
After the test, Gale found that Navoli's talent was actually quite mediocre. Otherwise, he would not have been abandoned by his family for cultivation and sent out to make his own way.
However, talent is not a big problem for the Kaldorei.
The Well of Eternity is right there; even the most untalented person can become talented. Gale, using his current knowledge, could completely transform Navoli into a mage in a short amount of time, and given enough time, he could even transform Navoli into a Guardian.
However, in that case, Navoli's lifespan would be shortened. Kaldorei are different from humans; humans evolved from Vrykul and retain the characteristics of Titan constructs in their bodies, allowing them to store energy very well.
The High Elves only taught a hundred human mages, and they were all low-level mages. However, relying on the characteristics of Titan constructs, human mages grew rapidly, eventually building a magical city like Dalaran. The High Elves relied on the Sunwell, while Dalaran relied solely on Arcane itself.
Although inhumane forced indoctrination cannot be used, Arcane modification is essential. Otherwise, with Navoli's talent, even if he were given ten thousand years, he might not be as effective in combat as an elite Orc warrior.
"Navoli, this is the Arcane Absorption spell, which allows you to absorb the Arcane Energy of the Well of Eternity. When you can actively absorb Arcane Energy, you need to engage in a lot of exercise to temper your body. I hope you understand that your talent is limited; do not think about becoming a mage. Strengthening your body and training your combat skills are your true path."
Navoli replied calmly, "When I was little, I knew I wasn't suited to be a mage. So, I chose to become a ranger, but I don't like shooting arrows from afar; while safe, it doesn't suit my personality. I will do as you say. If I can't do it, I will leave on my own."
Gale patted him on the shoulder, "I have high expectations for you. As long as you work hard, you will know how great your achievements will be in the future."
Navoli repeatedly promised and went back to practice Arcane Absorption.
Gale began to design a plan. Because the weapon needed to be light, pure metal could not be used. Similar to the design concept of the Golden Holy Sword, he decided to use adamantite for the frame and then fill it with crystal. This would not only ensure the weapon's sharpness but also enhance its enchantment effects.
Weapons forged from adamantite would not lack attack power. However, single-handed swords have limitations, so other methods were needed to enhance their offensive capabilities. Gale ultimately chose the concept from the Elemental Spell Codex and selected critical strike runes.
A combat rogue is not a warrior, so their movement speed, body flexibility, attack speed, and spell casting speed also need to be enhanced.
Finally, a permanent Flash spell could be used to blind enemies. Although Gale did not want Navoli to become a mage, spells still needed to be used. The Flash spell was equivalent to giving Navoli a flashbang that would not harm him, creating an opportunity for a decisive strike.
With the plan set, Gale immediately selected the crystal. There are many types of crystals, and after testing them one by one, he chose blue crystal. It's not that other crystals were bad, but blue crystal could achieve a more concealed stealth effect when Shadowmeld was used.
Although a combat rogue fights in melee like a warrior, they are still a rogue, and a rogue needs stealth.
The new weapon was freshly forged. Gale used Arcane to change the properties of the adamantite, integrating it into the blade portion of the blue crystal. After the original golden color faded, the adamantite also turned light blue, appearing to be one with the blue crystal.
Since blue crystal is too brittle, Gale used a single-edged design, making it look like a straight sword.
"Since it's forged for Navoli, let's call it navoli's swift blades."
After naming the weapon, Gale felt he could go and see Navoli, wondering if he had learned Arcane Absorption.
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