Around 10 o'clock in the morning, the sun had not fully risen yet. The canal was full of small boats transporting stones and wood. Workers were strengthening the embankment of the canal. Jess slipped past on a makeshift wooden bridge for work.
Ahead is the Mage Quarter. This area located in the southwest of Stormwind is the most intact area except for the Dwarf Quarter and the Eastern District. From afar, one can see the location of the Stormwind teleportation portal in the game - the Wizard's Sanctum.
The spire protrudes above the trees and eaves and reaches high into the sky, echoing the spire of the still-under-construction and restoration Light's Cathedral at the northern end of the city and the tall tower of Stormwind Keep where the royal family is located in the direction of the docks.
Citizens rumored that the Mage Quarter was not destroyed because mages left countless terrifying curses and magic traps to prevent orcs and ogres from rushing in and burning and smashing randomly.
But in Jess's view, if those mages had such strong magic power to set up a barrier to prevent the ogre legion from entering, Stormwind would not have fallen.
The leader of the ogre tribe that captured Stormwind is named Cho'gall. He is not an ordinary savage ogre. As early as in Draenor, he showed his intelligence and wisdom and mastered many magical and even prophetic abilities.
Such an ogre sage would certainly not let go of such a treasure trove full of historical knowledge and magical instruments. It must be because he gave the order to preserve this area as intact as possible that this area was largely spared.
Jess walked through the shade and alleys sheltered by eaves skillfully. After bypassing several simple shops and houses, he saw the grassland directly leading to the rotating stairs of the Wizard's Sanctum.
The smell of soil and the fragrance of paper always lingered around. The dull and humid weather set off a campus-like atmosphere.
As he walked all the way, from time to time, some young people dressed like mages in light purple or blue robes glanced sideways here. Jess looked at his own clothes. A linen shirt paired with a pair of rolled-up trousers was no different from those workers who were building bridges outside. Indeed, in such a place with a strong academic atmosphere, he was out of place with those around him.
However, he didn't feel anything unnatural. Could it be that everyone here was wearing silk clothes and holding magic or rune books when they first walked in?
After asking a few apprentices who were reading books by the roadside, he learned the residence of Eden Marin. When he arrived, he found that there were already several young people of about the same age standing at the door.
These guys were all well-dressed and had an air of scholarship. At a glance, they didn't seem to have done much manual labor.
In comparison, because he had been working near the trade district and Cathedral Square for a long time, or going out to Elwynn Forest, even in this relatively humid area, his skin was tanned red by the sun, and his hand lines were also significantly heavier.
Coupled with his lean figure, this kind of figure that is more popular in the 21st century is not very popular here.
Generally speaking, people who can enter magic schools for study mostly come from excellent family backgrounds and don't have to worry about food and clothing.
Magic learning is not a way to achieve results in a short period of time. Ordinary families are more inclined to let their children learn some abilities that can bring visible benefits.
Not to mention that most of the magic institutions in the Alliance are influenced by the relationships and investments of nobles and merchants, which also interferes with the opportunities for ordinary families to enter them. Jess deeply experienced this when he was in Lordaeron.
When he was very young, he planned to enter the Royal Arcane Academy in the capital city of Lordaeron as an apprentice, and his parents were also willing to support him. But this magic institution is not for small citizens like him judging from its name. He was repeatedly shut out.
As for the magic city of Dalaran on the southern shore of Lake Lordamere... Even if Dalaran is willing to accept all humans and elves who are interested in magic, when Jess reached school age, the Dark Portal had already opened.
There were rumors that the orc warships had approached Hillsbrad Foothills, and some vanguards had already sneaked into the vast forest south of Dalaran.
His father was recalled, his mother needed to take care of the farm. A child in his early teens traveling alone all the way from Tirisfal Glades across the entire Silverpine Forest to Tirisfal. I'm afraid he wouldn't have enough heads to be chopped off.
By the time the war was over, he was almost eighteen years old.
Approaching the door of Mage Marin's house, he vaguely heard voices coming from inside. He wanted to listen carefully to what they were talking about and prepare in advance, but he couldn't hear anything clearly.
The wooden door was suddenly opened, startling Jess. A young man came out from inside, with a look of disappointment on his face, as if the interview didn't go well.
"Next." A deep voice of a middle-aged man came from inside.
Jess looked back at the people beside him. The other waiters were also staring at him. No one responded to Marin's call.
"Where is the person?"
"Yes, Mr. Marin."
Jess stared at these timid people who were watching his excitement and replied. Then he turned around, walked into the house, and closed the door tightly.
"Please call me Master Marin."
As Eden Marin said this, he raised his head. He looked about forty or fifty years old. His brown-gray hair was already showing signs of balding. The deliberately grown beard hung down to his chest, making him look a bit unkempt.
"Yes, Master Marin." Jess respectfully called out and then sat down on the stool beside him.
Marin glanced at him, twirled the griffin quill pen in his hand, and asked, "What's your name?"
"Jess Saiso."
"I haven't heard of this surname."
"I'm from outside. I'm from Lordaeron."
"But your accent doesn't sound like someone from the capital city of Menethil."
"My mother is from Brill. I live with my mother most of the time."
"What town?"
"Brill. A town in the north of Lordaeron."
"Ah... Brill, Brill. I'm not used to your pronunciation. I know Brill. A very beautiful place. The town center is built like a small church. It's impressive."
Jess could see that Eden Marin didn't care about the small church-like building in the town center at all, nor did he care whether Brill was beautiful. He said these words with a blank expression basically out of his habitual politeness.
"Where did you graduate from? The Arcane Academy of Menethil or the university in Stratholme? Have you been to Dalaran?"
"I... cough." Jess cleared his throat and said, "I only studied in a church school in Lordaeron."
"Ah."
Marin put down his pen, put his hands on the table, and looked at Jess.
Jess was very familiar with this attitude. This interview was hanging by a thread.
"So why are you applying for this assistant position? You don't meet my requirements."
"For money." Jess said.
"Very honest, Mr...." Marin glanced at his notebook, "Mr. Saiso."
"But I hope that the people I hire can have some basic knowledge so that communication will be easier. Because working with me will inevitably involve some more complicated situations... I'm not discriminating against your resume. After all, you must have contributed a lot to the reconstruction of Stormwind. For this, I must express my deepest respect."
"You can try asking me a few questions, Master." Jess said, "I think I can do this job."
"All right." The mage glanced obliquely at the bookshelf not far away, and then said, "Talk to me about the 'Kirin Tor'. You should know what the 'Kirin Tor' is, right?"
"From which aspect?"
"Just talk casually. Or introduce the concept of the 'Kirin Tor'."
After saying that, Eden Marin leaned back in his chair as if ready to watch the show.
"Understood." Jess took a deep breath and said, "The Kirin Tor is the mage council of Dalaran. It is managed by a six-member committee and is one of the most powerful elite groups of wizards in the world. Historically, the Kirin Tor was once an organization far from ordinary politics, but later became the ruling group of Dalaran. The Kirin Tor has maintained a friendly alliance with Silvermoon City of Quel'Thalas for more than 2,000 years. There have also been elven members in the six-member council, such as Kael'thas Sunstrider, the blood elf's..."
"Wait."
Marin interrupted Jess's long speech. He frowned and pondered for a while.
"Has Prince Kael'thas already left the six-member council of the Kirin Tor? When did this happen? What are blood elves? Are you trying to say, Sin'dorei? In Thalassian, Sin does indeed mean blood, bloodline. Sin'dorei originally means descendants of noble bloodlines. Of course, it can also be translated as blood elves. But we can't understand it this way. In fact, I don't know which translator's work you read this statement from..."
Jess realized that he had accidentally said something that hadn't happened yet. Fortunately, this old mage had already glossed over this matter himself.
"Speaking of which, does the Kirin Tor have a history of more than 2,000 years? I didn't realize that the Kirin Tor existed when Dalaran was established." Marin stood up, walked to the bookshelf, pulled out a purple book with the mark of the Arcane Eye and flipped through it.
"Well... The Kirin Tor was indeed an organization formed in the early days of Dalaran's establishment."
He nodded, shook the book in his hand, and asked, "Have you read this book, 'The Kirin Tor and the History of Dalaran'?"
"I've read some." Jess said firmly, although this was the first time he had heard of this book.
Marin put the book back in its place, coughed, then walked back to his desk, sat down and pondered for a moment. Immediately, he asked, "Talk to me about dragons. The dragon race. I'm very interested in dragons. For example, do you think dragons are real? Or are they just legends released by orcs to intimidate the armies of the Alliance? Just bluffing?"
"Dragons certainly exist." Jess said, "Many people have mentioned that red dragons burned, killed and looted along the coast of Hillsbrad Foothills."
"You are from Lordaeron, right? Have you seen a red dragon with your own eyes?" Marin asked, "Did you come here with the refugees of Stormwind?"
Jess replied, "I haven't seen it with my own eyes. I've only seen some wreckage of ships burned by red dragons."
"Red dragons are evil and violent." Marin nodded. "It's best not to see them with your own eyes."
As a time-traveler familiar with the background story, Jess certainly knew that although red dragons are terrifying magical beasts, they are also guardians of life. And Queen Alexstrasza, the leader of red dragons, is the protector of all living beings on Azeroth.
The reason why the proud red dragons became slaves and mounts of orcs is because Alexstrasza was captured by the orcs with an ancient and evil magic artifact, the Demon Soul that captured the magic power of all dragon kings.
The orcs used the queen's pain to drive all red dragons to fight for the orcs. To this day, the Red Dragon Queen is still suppressed deep in the wetlands in the far east by this terrifying magic artifact, in the cursed abandoned dwarf city of Grim Batol.
Jess certainly knew this clearly, but he wasn't sure what was the intention of Marin's words. Did he really think that red dragons were evil, or was he deliberately testing himself and testing his understanding of the dragon race?
"Uh, Master."
Jess tentatively opened his mouth. Marin's eyes widened a little and his lips parted slightly, as if expecting something. This made Jess confirm his judgment.
"There seems to be another reason for red dragons to fight for orcs. After all, before the Dark Portal, there were very few cases where red dragons took the initiative to go out and attack human or elven towns... Most of the time, they lived in seclusion."
"Then, Mr. Saiso, what do you think is related to the violence of red dragons?" Marin eagerly asked. From his words, one could already feel his excitement.
The Demon Soul should not be something that an ordinary citizen should know. Even many elite mages in the Kirin Tor firmly believe that this is just an ancient legend.
Jess must not say such exaggerated forbidden knowledge. He had to shake his head.
The mage wrote something in his notebook and then said, "Mr. Saiso, thank you very much for your visit. We have talked for a while. That's it for now."
Until leaving Eden Marin's house, Jess felt a trance.
If he told that mage his further understanding of red dragons, maybe getting this assistant position would be a sure thing. But for this, he had to take a considerable risk and let others know that he possessed some knowledge that was impossible to obtain at this identity and age.
If an ordinary friend or an ordinary passerby knew about it, it would be fine. After all, most people know some rural legends spread by word of mouth. Ordinary people wouldn't find it strange. But the other party is a mage.
Jess let out a long breath. For now, don't be too ostentatious. If others knew that he could foresee the future, there would definitely be no good end.
Thinking of this, he was even a little worried that the bronze dragonflight that manages time would suddenly appear beside him and crush him to death with some strange magic.
After confirming that no time flow crisis had been triggered, he strolled around the Mage Quarter for a while. The environment of the garden and the quiet atmosphere made his mood ease a bit.
As for this interview, the conversation did not involve work treatment, nor did it talk about the content of the work. Nor did it talk much about Jess's abilities. Most likely, it was a failure.
Just calm down and don't be too eager for things that don't belong to you.
Since he had come here anyway, he might as well find a place and ask if there was any work available. Can't he find a job by casting a wide net with resumes? Even part-time jobs are fine. In this situation, he is not picky.
As soon as two tailor shops heard that he was not here to buy clothes but to look for a job, they immediately pulled down their faces and drove him out. One of the tailor shop owners was from Darrowmere. His attitude was even worse than that of Duncan's. He didn't give his compatriots a way to live at all.
At this time, the signboard of a tavern in the alley caught his attention.
"The Slaughtered Lamb."