In an instant, Rhodes felt a terrifying surge of mana explode within him—the pure Arcane energy of the Well of Eternity.
Ding! The Heroes of Might and Magic system instantly issued a prompt as the Hero consumed a massive source of magical energy.
You have received a gift from the World-Soul, the source of a planet-god's power. Your body has undergone a fundamental transformation.
Your Knowledge has increased by 5, Power by 5, Defense by 5, and Attack by 5.
Power: 20 (+5)
Knowledge: 25 (+5)
Attack: 8 (+5)
Defense: 8 (+5)
Rhodes didn't know how much time had passed, but his strength had increased by at least half. His primary attributes, Power and Knowledge, saw massive spikes, while his Attack and Defense reached a rating of 8. Now, even the Peasant units in his army would gain a significant offensive boost under his command.
With his Power now at 20, his spells would reach a devastating level of potency. Furthermore, this increase in raw Power would bolster his Holy Light, Shadow, Fel, and Life spells as well. The Well of Eternity provided a massive boon; he realized he needed to secure a few more vials for the heroes under his command.
"An interesting reaction," Azshara's voice pulled him back to reality. The Queen had approached him without him noticing. "Your pupils now shimmer with the hue of the Well... It seems this gift suits you well. I can feel your strength has grown immensely."
"Thank you for your generosity, Queen Azshara. How long was I absorbing the energy? It felt like an eternity," Rhodes said, nodding to her. He looked around; it was broad daylight when he arrived, but now deep night had fallen.
"It took you three full days to absorb the power of the Well. That is incredibly fast; honestly, I didn't expect the process to be so smooth," Azshara remarked.
She had actually considered the risk that Rhodes might not be able to withstand the energy—that his body might reject it or even collapse under the pressure. She had been prepared to intervene. To her shock, Rhodes had simply sat cross-legged, glowing with magical radiance, and absorbed the raw power without a single hitch.
The Queen was floored. What was even more baffling was that his physical appearance hadn't changed. He hadn't developed pointed ears or glowing elven eyes; he had simply increased his internal mana capacity.
Rhodes nodded. Three days wasn't long, but it wasn't short either. He knew the fundamental reason for his success was the system. The Heroes 3 system was his ultimate lifeline, helping him digest power that would likely kill an ordinary mortal.
"Do you feel any discomfort? Has your body changed in any way?" Azshara asked, circling him curiously.
By all logic, there should have been some subtle mutation, even if it was just his eyes taking on a permanent magical glow like an elf's. The lack of change was unsettling. Is it his race? she wondered. She became even more curious about what Rhodes actually was. (Note: Rhodes is not a "Human" in the Azerothian sense—Earth humans and Azerothian humans, who descended from the Titan-forged Vrykul, are entirely different biological entities.)
"Who knows? Perhaps I'm just special," Rhodes said with a smile.
"You are becoming more of a curiosity every day, Rhodes. By the way, I have a question. I have been practicing with the Holy Light, but even after you demonstrated it and even funneled some into me, I still cannot wield it. Can you tell me why?"
Azshara had called him here for more than just the reward; she wanted to know why she, the supreme mage, could not master the Light.
"The answer is simple, Your Majesty. There are two reasons. First, you are already saturated with Arcane power. Without exaggeration, you are the greatest mage among the Night Elves—your mana is the strongest in your race. Attempting to master an entirely different fundamental force creates a conflict with your existing nature," Rhodes explained.
"I think you are playing with me," Azshara narrowed her eyes. "If that were true, you shouldn't be able to use the Light either, let alone the magic you've shown. Yet you possess Light, Arcane, Life, Shadow, and even a trace of that 'True God's' power I sensed. Am I right?"
As the world's top sorceress, she could clearly perceive the cocktail of energies within him: Holy Light, Arcane, Life, Shadow, and Fel. (In fact, he also possessed the power of Death, an innate part of the Heroes Necromancy system.)
"My situation is different, Your Majesty," Rhodes laughed. "I was blessed by a supreme entity whose power allows me to channel different primordial forces."
In the Warcraft cosmos, mastering one of the six forces to a high level usually grants longevity. Demons (Fel) or Light-forged beings are not limited by natural lifespans. Usually, a being can only handle two opposing forces at most, but Rhodes's system allowed him to act as a conduit for all six.
"Blessed by a god? Which one? How does this god compare to Sargeras?" Azshara asked, her interest piqued. Was it another Titan?
"I'm not entirely sure. This entity is powerful enough to grant me 'Order' magic—the spells I taught your mages. While they use Azeroth's mana to simulate them, the source is different. As for his true strength, I couldn't say; I've never seen his face or even heard his name," Rhodes gave a vague, "system-standard" answer.
He let her fill in the blanks regarding the system's power level.
"I see. When Sargeras arrives, I will ask him to grant me similar versatility. I doubt he would refuse me," Azshara said with supreme confidence. She had recently communicated with the Fallen Titan via the Well again, and he had promised her infinite power.
"As for the second reason," Rhodes continued, "the Light is a power of faith and guardianship. You must believe in someone, something, or a conviction so purely that you believe your path is unequivocally right. Only then can you call upon the Light."
"Not necessarily, Lord Rhodes," a voice spoke from behind Azshara. "Our experiments suggest that Holy Light can be captured and forcibly injected into a subject. If we find a suitable 'prototype' of Light, I can make it happen."
A Highborne mage stepped forward. They had realized the Light was a strange power of faith, but they believed that if they found a source of it, they could extract and refine it like a battery.
"That is a method, but such Light is 'false,'" Rhodes shook his head. "And a source can be depleted. Unlike the Well of Eternity, which is infinite, a captured source of Light is not." He looked at the mage who had been standing there the whole time. Who is this?
"Perhaps not, Lord Rhodes. We could use the waters of the Well to create a fount at a potent ley-line nexus and infuse it with massive amounts of Holy Light. We could create a 'Sunwell' of Light that mages could draw from and inject into others," the mage said, lowering his hood to reveal the face of a middle-aged Night Elf in his forties.
Rhodes was taken aback. This kid has some ideas. That's basically the method I used to create the Sunwell in the future.