In World of Warcraft, Sunwalkers were added to the Horde in the Cataclysm expansion.
According to the lore, the Tauren worship the Earth Mother. In their mythology, the Earth Mother's eyes are the Sun (An'she) and the Moon (Mu'sha—also known as Elune).
Since the Night Elves worshipped Elune, a Tauren warrior named Aponi Brightmane, a veteran of the Northrend campaign, sought to balance the worship of Sun and Moon. Mimicking the Order of the Silver Hand, she founded the worship of An'she and called Tauren warriors who wielded the power of the Sun "Sunwalkers," appointing herself their chieftain.
It's hard to say if Aponi Brightmane simply saw the combat and survival capabilities of the Paladins while fighting alongside the Argent Crusade in Northrend and, unable to join them due to race, created a knock-off Paladin order within the Horde.
After all, in terms of skills and gameplay, Tauren Sunwalkers were virtually identical to Alliance Paladins who worshipped the Holy Light.
Of course, that's just analyzing the game lore.
In reality, the Blizzard team added Sunwalkers to the Horde to balance class differences between factions.
After all, Horde players who wanted to play Paladin could previously only choose Blood Elves, and Blood Elf males were too... effeminate.
Aldric had chosen to play a Tauren Sunwalker because Taurens looked imposing, and Sunwalkers could tank, DPS, and heal—making them easy to find groups for and suitable for raid leading.
Even in his wildest dreams, he never imagined that one day, in a real world, he would use the power of the Sun to save his student.
Turning his back to the others, Aldric looked at his hands, savoring the soul-trembling warmth he felt when casting Holy Light. He was intoxicated by it.
Since the first day of his transmigration, Aldric had been skeptical. Did the bastard who sent him here really think that merely enhancing his physical stats would let him save the world in this medieval setting where lineage and bloodlines were everything?
If so, that was overestimating him.
The last person to try that was Anduin Lothar, and he got his head smashed in by a hammer.
So, since arriving, he had drifted with the current, never pursuing anything with a plan.
But if he had the power of the Sun... that was different.
Maybe he really could gather a team capable of saving the world.
This powerful body lacked royal blood, so the "Liu Bei" path (restoring a dynasty) was out. But the "Zhang Jiao" path (Great Teacher leading a religious rebellion) was wide open...
Once the difficult task of "saving the world" was done, he would have options: stay in Westeros as a savior enjoying wealth and glory, or find a way back to 21st-century Earth to continue being a corporate slave, messing around in video games.
The only worry now was how to refuse if someone brought a dying patient to him.
Telling the truth—that the magic tumor from the spider was used up—should work.
The fear was that irrational family members wouldn't believe him and would cause trouble.
Did Westeros have laws against medical malpractice mobs?
That night, Aldric thought a lot about the future. Chaotic thoughts churned in his mind, keeping him awake almost all night.
At the same time, a seed named "Ambition" was quietly planted in his heart. Who knew what flower it would bear in the future?
The next morning, the forest fire Eddie started had quietly gone out.
Aldric crawled up with dark circles under his eyes, only to see the others looked much the same—all sleep-deprived.
It seemed he wasn't the only one kept awake by the excitement.
Among them, only Kevin, who had been comatose from his injury, was energetically preparing breakfast, waiting for his teacher to wake up.
"Teacher, you're awake!?"
Aldric rubbed his eyes, sat by the steaming pot, and stirred it with a ladle. "Awake. Feels like I'm not. Did you add the jerky?"
"Yes. The bread has been heating for a while; we can eat soon."
In Westeros, except for nobles, commoners usually ate only two meals a day—one in the morning before work, one in the evening after work. In between, they snacked on dry rations just to fool their stomachs.
After transmigrating, Aldric adapted to this rhythm, so he valued the quality of breakfast highly.
As he added seasoning to the soup, Kevin's voice came. "Teacher... yesterday... did you save me?"
Aldric didn't turn around. He tasted a spoonful of jerky-bean-potato soup. "Did they tell you? What did they say?"
"When I woke up this morning, I thought I was dead. Then I saw Conrad pissing in the river, so I greeted him... He told me you used a magical glowing spell to pull me back from the edge of death."
Aldric turned to look Kevin in the eye. "Do you believe him?"
"I believe him!" Kevin's voice held a fanaticism Aldric couldn't quite understand. "Conrad told me you said it was the grace of the Sun God An'she. I believe it's true!"
"Hahaha!" Aldric laughed loudly. "I thought you'd say I blasphemed the Seven. Someday, if I get the chance, I'll teach you these skills. But not yet."
Then Aldric stood up and called to his partners eating by the other two campfires. "Hey, brothers, come here. I have something to say."
Once everyone stood before him with hardtack in their mouths and soup bowls in their hands, Aldric spoke. "Yesterday afternoon, we fought a brutal battle. Our comrade Harvis unfortunately fell in combat. I personally regret this deeply."
"To express my condolences, I propose taking one Gold Dragon from this payment as a pension for Harvis's family, to be delivered by Lord Ander. Does anyone object?"
His three companions naturally had no objections. Ander, the paymaster, certainly didn't.
Seeing everyone agree, Aldric continued. "Fortunately, except for Juan who was unlucky enough to get bitten twice by spiders, everyone else is unharmed. This is something to celebrate."
"When we get back to Winter Town, come to my place. My treat. We'll have a feast. What do you say?!"
"Good!"
"It's a deal!"
Eddie and Conrad were the first to applaud and agree.
Ander laughed. "Treating in Winter Town? Then I'll miss out. Captain Lewie, shouldn't you treat me separately?"
Aldric laughed. "Hey, we were working for you. Shouldn't you treat us to a good meal?"
"True!" Ander nodded exaggeratedly. "When we get back to Rabbit's Paw, we'll drink big. I'm telling you now, if anyone doesn't end up under the table, you're not giving me face!"
Everyone laughed and chatted happily. The subtext was understood.
This confused the naive Juan. He tugged his brother-in-law's sleeve and whispered, "Conrad, I remember I almost died from spider poison yesterday, right? And Kevin... didn't you say the Captain saved us with magic?"
"You talk too much." Conrad slapped the back of Juan's head. "If the Captain says no one was hurt, then no one was hurt. If someone was hurt, it must be from tripping this morning, not from a spider bite yesterday!"
The clearing was small, and Conrad didn't lower his voice. Everyone heard him. No one refuted him.
Aldric was very satisfied.
Possessing the power to revive the dead and heal bones without a stable source of mana was a burden if known. Hence his speech.
From now on, no matter who claimed Aldric could save lives, he would deny it.
You say I can? Show me the proof. If you can find a single scar on my student, I lose.
However, that old fox Conrad was sharp. Aldric gave the veteran a deep look. A soldier with such good situational awareness is worth recruiting.
After breakfast, as they packed up, Aldric went to the Giant Spider's corpse. Enduring the stench, he circled it twice, rubbing his chin.
Curious, Kevin asked, "Teacher, what about this monster?"
"Kevin, have you heard of such monsters before?"
Kevin replied matter-of-factly, "Yes. The old nan at home told stories with all kinds of monsters. Fish people who sing in the water, goat-men who play flutes in the forest, giants north of the Wall, things like that."
Aldric nodded. "Is that so..."
"Kevin, it's different."
Eddie walked up and interrupted. "Those are bedtime stories for kids. This isn't. I've been in the woods for decades. I've hunted bears, killed wolves, skinned rabbits, bled deer. But I've never seen this."
Eddie picked up a stick and tapped the spider's leg shell, making a dull sound. "This monster has hard armor and a huge body. Normally, those thin legs couldn't support its weight. But it stood up, ran fast, and moved agilely. There's probably magic involved."
He dropped the stick and turned to Aldric. "If not for your calm command, Captain, we would all have died in that dark forest, turning to bones without anyone knowing."
"Since I'm your Captain, bringing you back alive is my duty. No need to mention it." Aldric shook his head, stopping Eddie's flattery. "Eddie, what do you think about bringing this corpse back?"
"Bring it back?" Eddie paused.
Aldric turned to their client. "Lord Ander, do you want this spider corpse?"
Ander, putting out the fire, looked at him confusedly. "Why? You want to eat it?"
"No, no," Aldric waved his hand. "I need to give an explanation to Theon Greyjoy. If I take your ten Gold Dragons and tell him it's payment for solving some problem for you, not his gambling debt, he probably won't accept it. That would be trouble."
"If I bring this monster back, it's a different story."
Ander frowned. He had completely forgotten about that brat Theon. Troublesome. "Wouldn't that push the trouble back onto me?"
Aldric thumped his chest. "Don't worry. If anyone asks for the debt later, tell them to find me. I'll take the heat."
Actually, Ander wanted the spider too. Though ugly and hideous, as a trophy, it was worth building a room to display.
He had planned to secretly bring men back to retrieve it after Aldric left.
Since Aldric asked for it openly now, he couldn't refuse.
Could I fight the Main Tank for loot with my DPS?
So Ander shrugged. "No need. You take it. But how do you plan to move it? It doesn't look light."
"I have a way."
Conrad walked over. "Before Juan followed me, he apprenticed with a village carpenter for a few years. Though the old man didn't teach him much real skill, making a temporary sled is no problem. Juan, can you do it?"
"Leave it to me! Captain, I can't repay you for saving my life, but I can handle this small thing."
Saying this, Juan picked up his axe and rolled up his sleeves to chop trees. Smack. Another slap to the back of the head from his brother-in-law. "Saving your life? Hmm? What did I just tell you? Forgot already?"
Of course, Aldric couldn't just watch others work. He took his greatsword and started chopping trees as directed by Juan. Others joined in. Working together, they quickly built a wooden sled to hold the spider corpse.
From the river back to Rabbit's Paw, the journey was quiet. Since the Giant Spider and its minions had dominated the area, other beasts stayed away. And with the spider dead and dragged behind them, no other trouble appeared.
Back in Rabbit's Paw, the Giant Spider's carcass caused a sensation. Villagers young and old poured out to see.
When the families of the missing soldiers learned their loved ones had been eaten by this monster, they wanted to tear its flesh and crush its bones.
But considering the stench and that it was the Lord's trophy, they refrained.
Although Ander gave up his claim to the corpse, to soothe his subjects, he agreed with Aldric to display it in the village for a few days.
First, to show off his martial prowess. Second, to warn the villagers not to wander deep into the Wolfswood.
So Aldric's group stayed as Ander's guests.
Over the next few days, Aldric and Ander settled the accounts.
As proposed, Ander kept one Gold Dragon as a pension for Harvis's family.
Of the remaining nine, Aldric allocated one for Haywar, the Lord's guard. As the witness, he needed to be on the same page to handle Theon. A bribe was necessary.
The remaining eight Gold Dragons were split into six shares. Each share was one Gold Dragon and about 33 Silver Stags (calculated as 1/6 of 8 dragons). Aldric took two shares as Captain. The others took one each.
Though Aldric took more, Eddie, Conrad, and Juan were not dissatisfied.
Juan was new, but Conrad and Eddie were veterans. They knew Aldric's distribution was generous beyond measure. Holding that much money felt hot in their hands; they almost wanted to tell the Captain to keep more.
After resting in Rabbit's Paw for a few days and hiring two tanners to hollow out the rotting insides of the spider, Aldric and Ander hired a wagon to transport the hideous shell back to Winter Town.