"Say it again. Don't you really feel like you're about to age overnight?"
"Noah, why would I feel that way? I'm fine. Completely fine. I don't feel anything unusual at all. Can we please go back to discussing magic?"
Inside the now-dilapidated library of Karazhan, Khadgar looked at Noah with pure helplessness.
This was nearly the two-hundredth time Noah had asked him the exact same question over the past few days.
Khadgar still had no idea why this mysterious mage was so fixated on the topic.
At first, he had been genuinely worried.
But after monitoring himself for a long time, he found no signs of abnormal or accelerated aging.
That was when he finally concluded that Noah was just messing with him.
They were currently in Karazhan.
Likely due to the massive Fel explosion triggered when Khadgar and the others killed Medivh, the surroundings had completely transformed into a scene Noah found very familiar.
To put it poetically-
From that day onward, a terrifying curse descended upon the tower and the surrounding lands.
A ghostly black veil shrouded Deadwind Pass.
The forest to the west became corrupted, slowly turning into what would later be known as Duskwood.
The environment had changed drastically.
No matter where one looked, it felt ominous.
Karazhan itself had not been spared.
The tower functioned as a massive conduit for mana.
Now that the mana pool was gone and Medivh was dead, those energies had lost their master.
For now, the effect wasn't severe.
But Noah knew that with time, the stray mana would accumulate.
It would attract magical beasts.
Eventually, Karazhan would become what mages later called a "dungeon."
Of course, none of that concerned Noah.
Khadgar hated everything about the area around Karazhan.
Noah, on the other hand, felt the opposite.
He didn't find the atmosphere unpleasant at all.
In fact, he rather liked the aesthetic of a magical tower like this.
He was even considering building one of his own after returning.
The Sanctums were designed to defend Earth from external threats.
They weren't built to aggregate mana.
A magical tower was different.
Every function existed solely to serve the mage.
Even if he couldn't replicate one perfectly, Noah felt it was worth studying.
At the very least, he needed to understand the mana-aggregation mechanism.
And so, driven by Noah's enthusiasm, Khadgar had no choice but to follow him through the Karazhan library.
There was no helping it.
Noah was effectively illiterate here.
He could speak Azeroth's Common Tongue, but he couldn't read it.
As for the countless books written in other languages-
Forget it.
The linguistic systems of Azeroth were vast, and Karazhan's collection made Noah practically salivate.
Naturally, he wasn't about to waste this opportunity.
Khadgar stayed at his side.
He was frustrated.
And completely powerless to resist.
That frustration, however, vanished after two days.
Although Noah was "illiterate," his learning speed was terrifying.
And his understanding of magic left Khadgar genuinely stunned.
Noah's grasp of magic was fundamentally different from Khadgar's.
On the surface, many concepts looked similar.
But listening to Noah at first felt like trying to see physics through thick fog.
Confusing.
Elusive.
Almost impossible to fully grasp.
For mages, exploring unknown magic was instinctive.
Khadgar was no exception.
While teaching Noah the languages of this world, he also took the chance to study Noah's theories.
Those exchanges left Khadgar feeling profoundly enriched.
Even when he couldn't fully understand everything, Noah's views on spatial manipulation-combined with direct demonstrations-filled his mind with new possibilities.
Noah didn't know what Khadgar was thinking.
But he knew one thing.
He was learning a great deal in Karazhan.
Arcane magic differed significantly from his own system.
The biggest differences lay in mana manipulation and in how cosmic rules were judged and applied.
Noah was already highly proficient in his magic.
He had no intention of abandoning it to relearn the Arcane from scratch.
Still, many Arcane principles were worth borrowing.
With enough time and research, Noah believed he could use his existing system to channel powers typically exclusive to Arcane magic.
That belief came from confidence.
Confidence in his own "Talent System."
Especially those Arcane rules that diverged from his current framework-
They were worth studying.
And so, teaching and learning from each other, half a month passed in the blink of an eye.
Noah kept asking about Khadgar's health for one simple reason.
In the games, Khadgar eventually looked like an old man.
But now, it no longer mattered.
Khadgar was preparing to leave Karazhan.
After accompanying Noah for so long, Noah could now read and study the languages on his own.
Khadgar had fulfilled his role.
More importantly, he felt compelled to return to Stormwind.
Azeroth needed him.
It needed a powerful mage.
And indeed, Khadgar had grown frighteningly strong.
Whether it was due to Aegwynn's guidance or some method of restoring energy from warped Arcane currents, Noah couldn't say.
But after Medivh's death, Khadgar's mana had surged dramatically.
According to Noah's memory, Khadgar had fallen into a mana pool tainted with Fel alongside a Medivh nearly possessed by Sargeras.
When it ended, the Fel-infused waters vanished.
Although the explosion had turned the forest into Duskwood, Noah suspected the energy hadn't disappeared.
More likely-
Khadgar had absorbed it.
The cinematic universe differed greatly from the games and novels.
Noah didn't care.
He planned to leave this universe eventually.
Whether he ever returned was another matter entirely.
After all this studying, Noah knew he couldn't read every book in Karazhan.
So he decided on a simpler solution.
Take them all.
In one go.
It would be an unimaginable loss to this universe.
Noah didn't care.
If needed, he could simply have the System record every book.
He would never pass up knowledge.
Especially knowledge that could drastically expand his abilities.
There was another piece of news as well.
One that thrilled him.
The System had finally opened that "door."
No one knew what method it had used to contact the Holy Light.
But now, it could begin slowly absorbing its power.
"Damn, you took your time."
After Khadgar left, Noah heard the news and immediately entered the System space.
"How did you do it?"
"It was simple," the System replied in its cold, mechanical voice-yet to Noah, it sounded unusually pleasant.
"I simulated a specific state."
"Although it was troublesome and required many attempts, I eventually found a suitable frequency."
As the System explained, Noah quickly understood.
The System couldn't force the door open.
It had to be subtle.
The Holy Light wasn't a tangible element.
It was faith.
A power transcending race, worlds, life, and death.
Its purity scaled with devotion.
So the System simulated the mental state of a devout believer-
Specifically to draw the Light out in a universe where it was easier to perceive.
In simple terms-
It was fishing.
Devotion was the bait.
According to the System, it had changed states repeatedly.
Swapped lures.
Again and again.
Eventually, it hooked the "big fish."
The Holy Light.
And once you caught one-
Would more really be far behind?
"To put it simply," the System continued calmly, seemingly unaware of how terrifying it sounded, "now that I have a seed, I can locate it in any universe."
"This guarantees that future simulations will not target the wrong object, preventing unintended mutations in your power."
"The simulation won't target the wrong object?" Noah paused.
Then asked cautiously, "So as long as you simulate a believer's state, you can locate Light energy? And from what I'm hearing... you found a lot?"
"Yes. Many," the System replied.
"The nature of Light energy is vast, much like Dark energy. I had to ensure stability-"
"Wait. Stop."
Noah interrupted.
"You're telling me... I didn't even need to come to this godforsaken place?"
"You could've just simulated a believer and found Light energy anyway?"
"Yes."
"...Then why didn't you say so earlier?"
"Do you know how much pressure I was under coming here?"
"How much stress I felt trying to find the Light?"
"Do you know-"
"You didn't ask," the System replied flatly.
"How was I supposed to know what you were thinking? I am not human."
"Furthermore, even if you had asked, could you have accurately described the mental state of those believers?"
"It's not that I don't trust you."
"It's that I look down on you."
"You have no idea how thoroughly their minds have collapsed."
"..."
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