Anveena's ability to learn Level 3 magic without the Wisdom skill served as a wake-up call for Rhodes—or rather, it lit a path he hadn't considered.
For a "Hero" from the system's perspective, Wisdom is a mandatory skill; without it, high-level magic remains a locked door. But the magic of Azeroth functions differently. Level 1 and 2 spells can be learned by anyone, and Level 3 or 4 spells are accessible as long as one's mana capacity and proficiency reach the required threshold.
He wondered: if he took out a Level 5 scroll—like Summon Fire Elemental—could this girl learn it too? She hadn't broken a sweat with Level 3 magic, after all.
"Anveena, let me ask you something," Rhodes said. "When you were learning those Level 3 Titan spells, did you feel any difficulty or resistance? Was it any different from learning the Level 1 spells?"
Anveena tilted her head in thought. "Lord Rhodes, why do you ask? I didn't feel any problem. As soon as the Level 1 and Level 3 spells appeared in my mind, I knew how to use them."
"It seems your talent is even more terrifying than I imagined," Rhodes remarked. "In that case, let's try a Level 5 spell. However, the way we learn this one is a bit special."
"Ooh! Level 5? That sounds very powerful."
"It is. Currently, I only know two spells of that magnitude," Rhodes said with a chuckle.
After his Wisdom reached the Expert level, he had learned his first Level 5 spell, Summon Earth Elemental, from a Necropolis Grave Hall. The other was Summon Fire Elemental. As for the Level 5 spells from the Conflux, Rhodes hadn't built the top-tier Magic Guild yet—he hadn't even finished the Level 4 guild. He felt his current magic was sufficient for now and wanted to wait for a critical moment to see if he could unlock a "god-tier" spell, like the Armageddon he dreamed of.
"Well... Lord Rhodes, if you're willing, I'd like to try," Anveena said after a moment's reflection. To her, there wasn't much difference between Level 1 and Level 3. Level 5 might be a bit harder, but that actually sounded fun; it was boring when she mastered everything at a glance.
Rhodes immediately sought out Kael'thas and explained his idea. "That's the gist of it, Kael. If my hunch is correct, Anveena should be able to pull it off."
He was certain she could learn a scroll from the Heroes of Might and Magic III world. Her talent was unprecedented.
"???" Kael'thas looked at him in total shock. "Rhodes, are you telling me to take out the Summon Fire Elemental scroll and see if Anveena can learn it? Not just use it, but master it?"
The Fire Elemental scroll was unique. One didn't "learn" it in the traditional sense; holding the scroll granted instant access to the spell. It was as if the knowledge was temporarily implanted in the brain. However, actually mastering the spell to use it without the scroll was incredibly difficult. Kael'thas himself had spent months and had only finished about half of the magical diagram's analysis.
And now, Rhodes was asking a girl who had only been studying magic for a few days to accomplish what a top-tier Fire Mage couldn't do in months.
"Are you going to deny Anveena's potential, or her talent?" Rhodes asked with a smirk. "You taught her for two days yourself. Don't tell me you didn't notice anything."
Kael'thas's lip twitched. Two days of teaching her had completely shattered his self-confidence! This girl's talent couldn't be described as "terrifying"—it was something else entirely. Even a rare genius like himself had to commune with the Ley Lines, chant incantations, and complete complex mental deductions.
But Anveena's casting was different, much like Rhodes'. They both seemed to generate mana from nothing—or rather, they drew from their internal reserves rather than tapping into the ambient mana of Azeroth. This was high-level casting, the kind usually reserved for Guardians.
This was why she learned so fast. It was like comparing a billionaire who just needs to be taught how to spend his money to a commoner who has to work a job to earn every copper. They weren't even on the same level.
"I know her talent, Rhodes. It's a wild idea... but if it's this girl, it might actually work. Even so, if she learns it, she probably won't be able to teach it to others," Kael'thas said, taking a deep breath.
His goal in analyzing the spell was to integrate it into Azeroth's magical system so any sufficiently powerful mage could use it. If Anveena mastered it through pure instinct, she wouldn't be able to explain the "logic" to others, much like Rhodes. Rhodes still relied on the scroll to cast the temporary version; whenever he wanted to summon the "Light Elements" (his modified Fire Elementals), he had to borrow the scroll back from Kael'thas, unless he was using the permanent summons he'd already created.
"So let's give it a try, Kael," Rhodes urged. "If she learns it, it helps us all. Anveena has more than enough mana."
Kael'thas sighed helplessly and nodded. He reached into his robes and pulled out a large, earthy-yellow magic scroll, handing it to Anveena.
"Give it a try then, Anveena. This is the Summon Fire Elemental scroll. It allows you to use your mana to summon a special type of elemental that lasts for 24 hours. If you infuse it with Holy Light, it upgrades into a more powerful 'Light Element'—those winged, angel-like creatures you've seen."
Kael'thas strongly suspected those winged Light Elements were a low-level form of the Archangels Rhodes commanded. It made sense; Rhodes had created them. Originally they were just beautiful female forms, but during the battle at the Black Temple, Rhodes had summoned a new version with wings.
"Okay... I'll try," Anveena said, taking the scroll.
The moment she touched it, she felt the massive energy contained within. It was a primal, unique system, vastly different from the Arcane and Light she knew. It felt very similar to the Titan magic Rhodes had taught her—a higher tier of it.
Interesting, she thought. This is much harder than the Level 1 to 3 spells. Finally, a challenge! Finally, a spell I can't master with a single glance.
Usually, touching the scroll would allow someone to cast the spell, but Rhodes wanted her to analyze and replicate it entirely.
"Do I... use my mind to feel it?" Anveena looked at Rhodes for confirmation.
"Yes, exactly like the spells before," Rhodes encouraged.
"Good luck, Anveena. I believe in you. Don't resist it; try to understand the runic sequences and energy circuits inside," Kael'thas added. He even shared the partial analysis he had completed over the last few months to help her along.
Anveena took a deep breath, closed her golden eyes, and delved her consciousness into the scroll. Instantly, her mind was pulled into a world of pure magic. The runes for Summon Fire Elemental floated clearly before her.
The terrifying talent gifted by the Sunwell allowed her to see every magical thread and understand every unique rune. What appeared as a chaotic, incomprehensible mess to others was, to her, a clear blueprint that she could copy perfectly.
I can do this, she realized. I can learn to cast this without the scroll.
Anveena immersed herself in that world. One hour passed. Two. A full day and night went by. Finally, she snapped her eyes open.
"I've got it! I've learned the spell!" Anveena cried excitedly. She handed the scroll back to Kael'thas and began to cast.
In an instant, over twenty tall Fire Elementals materialized in the training grounds, identical to those summoned by Rhodes and Kael'thas.
"Unbelievable... she mastered it in just over a day."
"It's more than just mastering it, Kael. Look closer," Rhodes noted. "All twenty of those Fire Elementals are permanent."
Rhodes was stunned. Anveena had actually achieved permanent summoning. Given her mana reserves, if she went all out, she might be like Medivh—perhaps not thousands, but summoning two or three hundred permanent elementals was well within her reach.
She had only summoned twenty as a test, but each possessed a core. Like the In the Wake of Gods version of the spell, she had consumed ten times the normal mana to make them permanent.
With Anveena now capable of summoning a permanent elemental army, her value to the Alliance has skyrocketed. Should Rhodes encourage her to continue experimenting with higher-level "Titan" magic, or is it time to put her new skills to the test by taking her on the hunt for Dar'Khan in the Ghostlands?