There was no other way. Sean hid himself in the warehouse and quietly turned the ores and carts he had acquired from Jangolode Mine into Garrison Resources.
1 o'clock, 2 o'clock, 3 o'clock…
Within the interval, Sean went home for lunch and immediately returned to the warehouse.
As dusk approached, Sean's hard work since noon had gathered him enough Garrison Resources. It was enough to complete the space-time travel.
However, Sean did not begin his journey immediately.
Before he could begin, Sean needed a good night's rest to recover. God knows what would happen when one traveled through the Gate of Spacetime.
After returning home for dinner, Sean retreated into his room and slept soundly. In the dead of night, he woke up and built the Gate of Spacetime.
"Stromgarde Keep (Dark Portal 2800 years ago)."
"Do you wish to enter?"
"Yes/No?"
Sean chose "Yes".
In the next moment, it was all dark. Sean vanished amid the darkness.
It was unclear how much time had passed. Sean awoke from his slumber.
Before he could even open his eyes, Sean heard someone calling out for him.
"Sean, Sean! Come look, come look! Elves, Elves!"
'Who exactly is calling out for me?'
Sean instantly widened his eyes and took a quick glance across his surroundings.
He was in a fairly simple and unembellished bedroom. The structure and walls of the room were made out of angular rocks. As the antique wooden door was pushed open, a joyous teenager around the age of fifteen was seen rushing excitedly towards him.
"Sean, Sean! The legendary Elves are here! They're here in Stromgarde Keep! What do you think the Elves are here for? I've heard that all the Elves are good-looking, the males are handsome and the females are beautiful, all blessed with good physiques, not to mention those pointy ears! Sean, Sean, it's almost similar to your ears, except even pointier!"
Sean traced his sight to the source of the voice.
It was a fairly frail teenager who shared a similar physique with Sean. 'Who exactly is he? Why does he know my name? This is so weird.' Sean thought.
However, from what Sean had heard, it seemed that he had arrived in Stromgarde Keep. Was it the Stromgarde Keep from 2800 years ago?
There was a group of Elves who had arrived here as well? What were they here for?
At that time, the Elven Kingdom of Quel'Thalas was under attack by the Forest Trolls of the Amani Empire. As the High Elves were scarce in number, they could not hold out against the aggressive Trolls for long. Hence, the High King of Quel'Thalas, Anasterian Sunstrider, was compelled to seek assistance from the then weak but populous Humans.
Anasterian believed that, even though they had not been exposed to magic, because the Humans were large in number they held great potential. If the Humans were properly trained, they could definitely be put to great use.
Hence, he proposed what some would say was an insane plan.
He sent out ]ambassadors on a mission to Stromgarde Keep to meet the ruler of the Empire of Arathor, King Thoradin.
Although King Thoradin was shocked by their arrival, he was still obligated to receive them into his kingdom. He had already gotten wind of the dilemma the Elves were facing but did not think the Trolls would pose a threat to his kingdom. The ambassadors, already worn out when they arrived, warned the king about the severity of the situation - once Quel'Thalas had been captured by the Trolls, the Empire of Arathor would undoubtedly be their next target.
Though King Thoradin was suspicious of magic, what the Elven ambassador warned was a truth that he could not deny.
He agreed to the Elves' plea for help.
Soon enough, Elven Mages started flocking into the kingdom, educating the Humans on the ways of magic.
However, there came a question.
Who were the Elves that were stepping foot into the kingdom at this time? Were they the initial Elven ambassadors, or were they the Elven Mages that arrived only after?
In other words, would Sean have to wait for a while before the first Arcane lesson could actually begin? Or had it already started?
The lack of information was a blind spot in Sean's deductions. Sean then executed the most fundamental method to resolve this question.
Sean quickly got up and left the bedroom with the teenagers, arriving on the street.
All it took was a quick glance to recognize whether those were Elven ambassadors or Elven Mages.
Arriving in a fairly large group, the Elves ambled from the main gate of Stromgarde Keep towards the palace. They were not on horses and were not hasty at all. All of them had put on a posh and elegant appearance. The Elves were dressed in fancy robes and armed with delicate staves. From there, their identity was apparent.
"I see now, those are Elven Mages. Looks like the fun is just about to start!" Sean exclaimed.
There was not even any preparation time for Sean!
He was not clear who would be the intended group for the Mages to impart their Arcane knowledge to. If there were to be selections and Sean was filtered out, would that not be a troublesome situation? Sean had to think this through!
As they all said, those who travelled through time were always faced with unextraordinary luck.
At that moment, Sean could hear the teenager beside him clenching his fist. The teenager's face turned solemn and he declared, "I, Meryl Winterstorm, swear that I'll earn fortunes big enough that I will be able afford to dress fancier and look better than all of them!"
Upon hearing it, Sean nearly could not contain his astonishment.
He pointed towards that teenager, and stuttered, "What, what did you say? You, you are, you are Meryl Winterstorm?"
Sean's impression of Meryl Winterstorm was that he was a heroic Mage who had lived for 2800 years. The oldest Human Mage, the first Undead Mage and the mentor and guide of the last Guardian of Tirisfal. Finally, he had also merged the abilities of a Mage and a Warlock into a single body. He was a man that countless legends spoke of. Unfortunately, Sean's admiration of Meryl was instantly shattered at that moment.
"And so they say, to chase after a legend is more preferable than to witness one! Who would have thought that Meryl Winterstorm was such a money-grubber? The oath he took after witnessing the Elven Mages was not to become a noble Mage, but to earn great fortunes."
For that, Sean felt as if his excitement was instantly trampled on, but he soon recovered as an idea sparked in his head.
Meryl Winterstorm, the most renowned Mage of the first hundred Human Mages was destined to participate in the first Arcane lesson. As long as Sean followed him closely, he would definitely not miss out on the event.
The war between the High Elves and Zul'Aman Trolls was in full swing and battles were spreading like wildfire. The High Elves could not afford to procrastinate for even a second. After a brief audience with King Thoradin, the Elven Mages immediately started Arcane training camps.
Contrary to what Sean had expected, the Elven Mages did not have stringent requirements for their trainees. Although the Elven Mages knew that training too many Mages amongst the Humans was a future threat to Quel'Thalas, the imminent annihilation of their kingdom by the Trolls was a far more urgent priority.
What more, the High Elves were a proud species. The high elves did not believe that the Humans would possess magical talents that could surpass their abilities.
From the High Elves' perspective, it did not matter even if everyone in Stromgarde Keep enrolled to learn magic. If, by the end, there were only a hundred Humans that ended up becoming a Mage, it was considerably a decent result.