As Gale walked towards Shaladrassil, he diligently studied natural magic.
They traversed snowfields, mountains, rivers, and lakes, arriving after more than a month at the place later known as Grizzly Hills.
Ursol and Ursoc resided in Grizzly Hills, which was also the homeland of the Bearfolk. Due to the Drakkari Trolls, one of the two demigods always watched over Grizzly Hills, protecting the Bearfolk from Drakkari Troll invasions. It was the presence of these two demigods that kept the Drakkari loa from easily leaving Zul'Drak.
Currently, Ursoc was on duty, so Ursol took the opportunity to sleep and entered the Emerald Dream.
He was very friendly to Gale and exchanged magical insights with him. He was a shaman, very knowledgeable about souls, and listening to his teachings gave Gale a new understanding of soul magic.
Upon bidding farewell, Gale said to Ursol, "Sir, when I return to the real world, I will definitely visit Grizzly Hills."
Ursol replied, "Child, Ursoc and I welcome your arrival."
There was animosity between the Kaldorei and the Bearfolk; they often fought when contending for Val'sharah. Later, the Bearfolk made concessions, and the areas north of Val'sharah and near Mount Hyjal were essentially exchanged for living areas with the Kaldorei.
"These were all decisions made by Ursol and Ursoc; they are both benevolent demigods."
Malorne recounted the past history to Gale and said, "You and the Bearfolk can absolutely live in peace. Kalimdor is so vast, it's enough for both of you to live."
Gale nodded, "Indeed, but this is not for me to decide. However, I will advise the other Kaldorei to change their attitude towards the Bearfolk."
Malorne was very pleased; if the conflict between the Elves and the Bearfolk could be resolved, his help to Gale would not have been in vain. If Gale could make the Elves closer to nature, that would be even better.
Another month later, they met the Green Dragon Queen, Ysera, in Dragonblight.
As the administrator of the Emerald Dream, Ysera resided in the Emerald Dream year-round. However, she mostly operated in Dragonblight and near Val'sharah, so that if any crisis arose in the real world, she could return to it as quickly as possible.
"I know you, Elf," Ysera said as soon as she saw Gale. "You created an evil artifact."
Gale was stunned. Were the Guardian Dragons so well-informed?
Malorne walked over to Ysera, "This is the Guardian of the Dream, the Green Dragon Queen, Ysera."
Gale bowed. Ysera's appearance was identical to how she appeared in the game; he recognized her without an introduction.
Ysera looked at Gale with interest, "You are the first Elf to anger Elune."
Gale was puzzled, "I don't know what you are talking about."
"After you fell unconscious, Maiev prayed to Elune. Elune, knowing your actions, believed you wantonly slaughtered nature spirits and refused to save you. Later, Maiev sealed the devourer of gods, and only then did Elune not blame Maiev."
"The devourer of gods is sealed?" Gale was startled. He looked at Malorne, "Sir Malorne, will this affect my curse?"
Malorne was also caught off guard by this news. "It does have an impact. If the curse cannot be lifted, your soul will be very weak. Perhaps you can unseal it when you return and then give it to me."
Gale had concerns. "Maiev sealing the devourer of gods must mean something happened to it. I need to examine the devourer of gods' condition when I return before deciding whether to unseal it."
"If you don't unseal it, then you will need to stay in the Emerald Dream to protect your soul from torment. Unless your soul becomes powerful enough to surpass Dubrakan and Shimruk, only then can you completely escape the curse."
Gale was surprised; there was actually another way to lift the curse. However, this method was too slow. When would his soul power surpass the two loa? A hundred years? Two hundred years? Or a thousand years?
By then, the Burning Legion would probably have arrived.
Gale thought for a moment; perhaps there was a third path he could take.
That was to go back to his old trade, crafting powerful artifacts to enhance his soul power. If one wasn't enough, then two; if two weren't enough, then three...
Gale's Tower had a large reserve of nether iron, enough to craft a hundred or so artifacts. Although Hakkar's bones were a bit scarce, they were still enough to support the creation of thirty to fifty artifacts. With so many artifacts on him, he didn't believe he couldn't deal with two loa.
Of course, this was just Gale's idea; he still needed to return to Gale's Tower and confirm the condition of the devourer of gods before making a decision.
Gale and Malorne bid farewell to Ysera, and in less than a month, they arrived in Val'sharah.
From a great distance, Gale saw a towering tree. According to Gale's estimation, this tree was at least a thousand meters tall, its canopy covering the sky and sun, much larger than in the game.
This is unscientific!
This was Gale's first reaction, but he quickly realized that this was a magical world, where nothing was impossible.
As he slowly approached, Gale discovered that the thickest part of the tree was at least a thousand meters across.
Compared to the later Teldrassil, it was much smaller. But Gale had never seen such a thick tree before. Even knowing it was Shaladrassil, Gale was still shocked.
Shaladrassil continuously emitted natural energy, an endless flow of natural energy spreading outwards, filling other sparse areas. Therefore, the closer one got to it, the denser the natural energy became, and the green glow was richer, like a sun emitting green light.
Soon, Malorne led Gale to the brightest spot beneath the tree, where natural energy formed a vortex in the tree hollow.
"This is the portal to the real world," Malorne said. "If you decide to unseal the devourer of gods, bring it to Shaladrassil. I will continue my travels in the Emerald Dream, and I will return to the real world every Winter Veil."
Gale bowed, "Respected Malorne, I will forever remember your kindness."
Malorne nodded, watched Gale enter the portal, and then turned to leave.
In the real world, Gale slowly opened his eyes and saw Maiev guarding him.
"You're awake?" Maiev said with surprise.
Gale felt the Arcane Energy around him; under its nourishment, he felt no hunger. With a wave of his hand, the Arcane Energy retracted, returning to the eternal holy grail.
He sat up and embraced Maiev, "I'm awake!"
The two snuggled for a while, then Gale suggested going to see the seal.
"I had no choice but to seal it," Maiev explained.
"I believe you!" Gale said sincerely, "The devourer of gods is related to the curse on me. I need to see its condition before I can decide."
Maiev had no choice but to take him to the sealed chamber. Upon arriving, Gale frowned deeply.
He truly hadn't expected the situation with the devourer of gods to be so severe; the souls of the four loa were actually trying to break out of the book. Without Gale's control, Hakkar's divine soul power was completely unable to prevent the loa souls from "escaping."
If the seal were to be lifted now, the loa souls would probably escape. His curse would not be lifted, and the devourer of gods would even drop back to epic-tier.
It seemed that lifting the seal was not an option; he could only rely on artifacts to lift the curse.
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