While "Dreamshade" was at level 26, Gabryell smoothly reached level 25.
Gabryell's rocket-like leveling speed shocked "Dreamshade" so much that he didn't even dare step away for dinner, staying glued to his desk to keep grinding quests.
The four characters Egides, Grada, BentArrow, and Lunatori had just hit level 24 and couldn't keep up with Gabryell for now. It would likely take them another two hours or more before they could reach The Stockade.
"You guys finish the Redridge Mountains quests and hit level 25. I'll go AoE grind in Duskwood solo. Once you're 25, we'll run The Stockade together."
Every second counted. Gabryell didn't waste a moment. Leveling, running dungeons, building addons, developing voice software. He kept moving nonstop.
"You're insane. Already level 25."
Gabryell hadn't unlocked the Duskwood flight path yet. He crossed the river near Princess's Farm in Elwynn Forest and headed straight toward Darkshire.
Just as he stepped into Duskwood, Snowlily, who hadn't logged in all day, sent him a whisper.
Seeing her message pleasantly surprised Gabryell. It meant she hadn't been driven off by the game's difficulty. The Fearless Guild had already surpassed 200 members, but Dwarf Priests were extremely rare. Only five in total.
Of those five, two—including Snowlily—hadn't logged in today. The other two logged in briefly before logging out. One was level 8, the other level 13. The only consistently active one was the Dwarf healer, now level 19.
Snowlily was still level 10, already starting to fall behind the main group.
"You just logged in now. Only free at night?" Figuring out when rare-class players were online would help with future raid planning.
Snowlily replied, "I log in during the day when I don't have classes. I had something to do today, so I didn't get on."
"College student?" Gabryell asked.
"Yes."
Another college student. World of Warcraft had a huge student player base. Aside from them, the other major group was working adults.
Gabryell thought for a moment. "Don't worry about your level. Once I hit max level, no matter where you are, I can power-level you to max very quickly."
For a max-level mage, boosting someone to 60 was trivial. Deadmines at 10, The Stockade at 15, skip Scarlet Monastery and go straight to Maraudon at 30, and at 50, borrow another mage account and dual-mage Stratholme runs.
Run the full route, and it takes three to four days at best, a week at most. Faster than a rocket.
Gabryell wasn't worried about his three dormmates falling behind. As long as he hit 60, he could boost them up quickly.
"That strong?" Snowlily sounded surprised.
"I'm heading to Duskwood to level. You go quest in Loch Modan first. If you don't understand something, ask me. If you can't beat a mob, ask in guild chat. Plenty of people are questing there."
"Okay."
Gabryell thought of something else. "When you have time, invite your friend into the guild. We welcome anyone who shares the same goals."
"I'll invite her now," Snowlily replied.
Not long after, a guild notification popped up: Smooch has joined the guild.
"Your friend's name is… pretty bold." Gabryell checked her info. Level 18 Night Elf Hunter. Much higher than he expected.
"She's just very outgoing," Snowlily said.
The moment Smooch joined, she spoke in guild chat, instantly proving it:
"Any cute girls in guild? Looking for someone sweet—pretty face, nice personality. I'll treat you right ;)"
That aggressive opener left the entire guild stunned. The chat filled with endless "..." in response.
Gabryell arrived in Darkshire, unlocked the flight path, then set his hearthstone at the inn. "Yeah… definitely lively."
Having a player who could energize the atmosphere was a good thing. A dead guild chat wasn't healthy. A lively one kept players engaged.
Snowlily seemed a bit embarrassed. After sending a "hehe," she went quiet.
Their conversation paused. Gabryell left the inn and headed to Raven Hill Cemetery to farm Skeletal Fiends and Skeletal Horrors. Once he reached level 27, he would move into the crypt.
The Raven Hill crypt was one of the best grinding spots for a level 27 Mage. Rotating between the two large chambers, you could quickly reach level 30, and there were even rare elites to kill.
If you didn't want to AoE grind in Duskwood, Alliance mages had another option. Head to the southeast Wetlands and grind melee Gnolls to 27. Then do a few quests to reach 28, and move to the northeast dragon cave to grind whelps up to level 33.
Gabryell had no interest in the Wetlands. Raven Hill had no competition right now, denser mobs, and better efficiency.
"Gabryell, you're really not doing quests? Planning to grind all the way to 45?"
After a full day of work, Carlos had finished half of his Azeroth National Geography forum project and finally had time to relax and play.
With help from a roommate dual-boxing, his warrior hadn't fallen behind. He was now doing elite quests in Redridge Mountains with Igor, Hugo, and Lunatori.
Hugo said, "Yeah, bro. If you skip quests, you'll miss a lot of great storylines."
World of Warcraft had plenty of story-focused players who pieced together lore through quests, uncovering Azeroth's hidden secrets.
If Gabryell weren't a reincarnator, he would've enjoyed that too. But with 15 years of experience, he already knew the entire storyline. He'd done every quest from 1 to 120. Doing it again held no appeal.
"It's fine. Leveling matters most right now. Once I hit max level, I'll make an alt and experience it properly."
That was just an excuse to avoid suspicion. When he made an alt later, he'd definitely just boost it with a level 60 Mage.
Carlos nodded. "Getting first max level is definitely more important. If you pull it off, you'll be our guild's flagship."
"Hurry to 25. I'll wait for you guys so we can run The Stockade together. Madhouse's main team is around your level. They'll definitely hit The Stockade today."
Dreamshade ranked first in Valley of Kings. The rest of Madhouse couldn't match him. He had people grinding for him 24/7, while their core team was still around level 24, just like Carlos and the others.
It was a race. Whichever guild got five players to 25 first would take the first clear in The Stockade.
That prize pushed Carlos and the others to speed up their questing.
Gabryell wasted no time and ran straight toward Raven Hill. Along the way, he passed a few scattered players coming from Westfall, around level 15–18.
The lowest mobs in Raven Hill were level 24, with some reaching 28. Players still stuck in Westfall stood no chance. Aside from a few skeletons left behind after deaths, the area was empty. Countless Skeletal Fiends and Skeletal Horrors roamed freely, waiting to be farmed.
Gabryell opened his friends list. Dreamshade was still questing in Redridge Mountains. Rogues couldn't AoE grind like Mages, so he was likely grouped with other level 24 players from Madhouse.
"When I catch up to his level, he's going to start questioning everything."
Based on experience, Gabryell was confident. By the time Dreamshade reached level 27, he could AoE his way to 27 as well.