Rhodes had no doubt that if he actually opened such a Legion Portal and it was discovered by the high-ranking members of the Burning Legion, they would likely counter-cast immediately. They would expand the portal into a stable gateway, reconnecting the Twisting Nether and Azeroth once again.
He might even accidentally summon Archimonde back. Unlike ordinary demons, once Archimonde dies, Sargeras would immediately drive Argus to use the power of the Titan of Death to resurrect him. There was even a chance Kil'jaeden might come through as well.
Damn you, Archimonde! Couldn't you have given me something actually suitable and powerful that I can use?
Of the three spells, two were "chicken ribs"—useless but a waste to discard—and one was an outright trap. The Legion Portal, in particular, was a disaster waiting to happen. Rhodes cursed Archimonde a hundred times in his heart.
Rhodes sighed. At least Finger of Death and Rain of Chaos could be used in specific situations. He could even try to develop Rain of Chaos by merging it with Meteor Shower, Armageddon, or Fire Elemental summoning. But he truly couldn't see a grand use for the Legion Portal. Was he supposed to counter-invade the Burning Legion? He wasn't as brave as Illidan; unless he had hundreds of thousands of Azure Dragons, he wouldn't dare.
Resigned, he looked at the other spells he had stolen from the Dreadlord. There were three:
Carrion Swarm: Costs 4 mana. The power is considerable. As Shadow magic, it isn't boosted by Fire, but it is boosted by Water. With his Power attribute, its damage is roughly on par with Magic Arrow but with a much larger area of effect.
Sleep: Curses a target into deep sleep; they wake if attacked. Also Shadow magic boosted by Water. Higher Power extends the duration. It costs only 1 mana. It overlaps slightly with Blind, but the two could be used in tandem to set up nasty traps.
Infernal (Single): Unlike Archimonde's mass summon, this calls down a single Infernal. It lasts 5 minutes base, but with his 12 Power adding 1 minute per point, it lasts about 18 minutes. It costs 5 mana.
Again, it felt repetitive. Does Eagle Eye really struggle to steal good skills? Or am I just incompatible with the Burning Legion's kit?
Still, he had mastered Fel power. Thinking positively, these spells might be open to modification. He also picked up low-level Fel spells from the Eredar Warlocks: Immolate, Conflagrate, Corruption, Shadow Burn, Soul Fire, Shadowflame, and Chaos Bolt. Their power was similar to the Frost spells he learned from Jaina—standard utility spells costing near-zero mana.
Beyond his own gains, Solmyr had participated in the battle, rising from Level 5 to Level 8. Rhodes put 1 point into Power and 2 into Knowledge for him. Solmyr's stats were now Power 7 and Knowledge 8, allowing him to cast Chain Lightning four times. For his skills, Rhodes chose Advanced Air Magic, Basic Intelligence, and finally, a choice between Advanced Sorcery and Scholarship.
Scholarship (Academic) made Rhodes pause. In the game, this is usually a "secondary hero" skill. It allows heroes to learn spells from one another or teach their own spells. A main hero usually avoids it, but for a support hero, it's incredible.
Basic Scholarship: Allows learning 1st and 2nd level spells from other heroes.
Intermediate: Up to 3rd level.
Advanced: Up to 4th level.
Normally, Rhodes wouldn't waste a slot on this because his heroes could just visit a Mage Guild. But he had a different idea: teaching Hero Magic to the heroes of this world.
He had confirmed that Azerothian casters—Paladins, Warlocks, Shamans, Priests—could use Hero Magic via scrolls. If scrolls worked, Scholarship might allow them to learn the spells permanently. He decided to let Solmyr learn Basic Scholarship.
Rhodes immediately conducted an experiment. He pulled out his spellbook and interacted with Solmyr in the system space.
"The studious Solmyr wishes to learn the secrets of magic from you. Do you wish to teach him?"
Rhodes agreed. Instantly, all the low-level Mage, Paladin, Warlock, and Shadow spells Rhodes had learned in Azeroth were copied to Solmyr. Because Scholarship was only at the Basic level, Solmyr couldn't copy the high-level Legion "Ultimates" yet.
"How is it, Solmyr? Can you use them?"
"Certainly, Master. The moment I touched your spellbook, my Scholarship ability copied them. I can replicate anything as long as my skill level allows it," Solmyr replied. Shadow, Light, Fel, Arcane, and even the Life Magic learned from Cenarius were now in Solmyr's repertoire.
Rhodes was satisfied. Now Solmyr could teach these to other heroes like Srank. Furthermore, if Srank learned Death Knight skills from the Lich King, Solmyr could learn them via Scholarship and then teach them back to Rhodes.
One final question remained. "Solmyr, if a denizen of Azeroth interacts with you, can they learn Hero Magic from the Mage Guild?"
"Yes, Master. But since they aren't 'Heroes,' the rules are different. I can only teach one person per day, and only one spell at a time. Whether they can grasp it depends on their aptitude. We can try it, Master."
"Excellent. My Elemental Conflux Mage Guild is Level 1. It has Bless and Magic Arrow. I want you to teach them to my designated targets later."
Rhodes planned to have Uther learn Bless, while Jaina and the High Elf mages learned Magic Arrow. Tyrande, Malfurion, and Cenarius could likely learn Level 3 or 4 spells once Solmyr's skill increased.
Rhodes suppressed his curiosity for a moment. He hadn't finished checking his spoils yet! Beyond the level-up rewards, the "battlefield resources" from such a massive war were bound to be legendary.