Karp
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Chapter 115
🕑 Added 2024-11-27 19:21:46 +0000 UTCAfter slapping down another Fire Rune for the umpteenth time in preparation for this big boss fight, Varrus halted, and suddenly slapped his forehead.
‘I'm a dumbass.’ Varrus thought to himself.
What was it that he saw with his Mana Sight flowing into this statue from all around him?
Mana.
What tool did he have that could easily deal with such a thing?
Mana Stones.
“Pfft haha.” Varrus laughed at himself, and ran a hand through his hair.
He then switched his strategy, and began to drop out tons of Mana Stones, and actively began to siphon the energy headed towards the statue into his own coffers.
Not only that, but he cut a hole in one stone, and directly placed it over the statue, so that it wouI'd completely block out, and absorb the energy already accumulating inside the statue.
“What are you doing?! The Master does not approve of such trickery!” Nil'bog raged.
Varrus meanwhile had a great wide grin on his face.
For the first time in his life, he had stopped a summoning.
“Hah, fuck you and you master. All this talk of a hunt, and you were stopped by some shiny crystals. Ooo, so big, so scary~ Get outta here with that nonsense!” Varrus scoffed.
“What is this incredible magic?! It is sucking up every ounce of mana in the room, it, it feels so oppressive!” Tess shivered, and backed away from Varrus, and bumped into Syra.
“He is perfect.” Syra growled, and gazed at Varrus with a hungry look.
Varrus grinned as the light surrounding the statue began to dim. His efforts were beginning to pay off.
‘Thanks Old Man Vandercross.’ Varrus thought to himself and said a small prayer in his father's name.
Mana Stone magic was simply some bs, with bs accessories, and Varrus was enjoying every moment of it!
There was nothing more satisfying than cheesing a boss fight. The entire time he was on Azeroth, some asshole was always cheating by juicing themselves up, or doing some ritual.
The Trolls summoned Ki'Thix, Rommath the Convocation, Lana'thel some weird blood thing, and now these Worgen some minor wolf deity thing.
It felt good to be one step ahead for once!
He couldn't wait to summon the Sunwell back into existence. Then it would be his turn to pull off some big ritual.
One of the best perks of being in the Convocation, was that he was charged with guarding the Sunwell, and was one of a handful of individuals given unfettered access to that ungodly amount of energy.
Meaning that unlike when he first transmigrated and ‘only’ had unlimited mana, immortality, and stamina, he could use that font for practicing his spells, directing energy into enchantments, or anything magical!
Varrus couldn't wait for the Rune Stones to finally be set up so that his nation would be masked from the Legion, the Old Gods, and any other nefarious forces. Once that happened, the return of the High Elves would shake this continent!
“Does your husband often look off into the distance with such a crazed look?” Tess whispered to Syra.
“Passion my dear. It is pure passion. When you meet a man one day with the passion, the desire to act upon something with all his being, then you will have known you found the one.” Syra spoke with an ever increasing, fervent desire, and passion of her own.
Varrus broke out of his stupor at the noise, and found a somewhat manic reflection of himself in the reflective crystalline surface of the Mana Stones.
Shaking his head, Varrus decided that this would be the opportune time to reveal himself to Tess that he was an Elf. Although they had been together for only a day, the girl had become dependent on Syra, and was in awe of his magic.
The statue had revealed a lot, and while Varrus could wave it off as a baseless accusation from an adversary trying to sow discord between friends, it would be mighty awkward should he reveal his race to Tess at some point down the line.
Besides, this ‘Plan B’ was looking more and more like ‘Plan A’ in Varrus's eyes. Here was a girl who had lost it all, had a cold and distant father, and was perpetually confined to her room for having a unique bloodline. To top it off, she was already a fan of Elven culture.
Now was the best time to reveal his ‘weakness/secret’ and engender trust between them.
“Ahem, well, you might be curious as to what that statue had said, am I right?” Varrus coughed into his hand, and turned to the young raven haired teen.
“Is it true, are the two of you Elves?” Tess said, equal parts caution and excitement.
“Yes, and the reason we are in Gilneas is to put a stop to the Worgen menace. My real name is Varrus Vandercross, and this is my wife, Syra Vandercross.” Varrus explained, and then he dismissed the polymorph spell.
Revealing himself to be a regal blonde super model tier Elf, Varrus embraced Syra, and finally got a kiss from his lovely wife.
“I knew it!” Tess pointed a finger at them, and began to laugh giddily to herself.
“You're that Varrus too! Gosh, every scrying orb sold to Gilneas over the last 20 years came with a rendition of your plays!” Tess held a hand over her mouth, and giggled.
“Twenty years.” Varrus felt his soul leave his body at that heart piercing verbal attack.
He had seen some of those plays, and man, the High Elves were right to criticize him. He was bad. Like C tier movie bad. And that stuff was circulated in every scrying orb sold to Gilneas? How much did he want to bet that that was the case for every scrying orb ever sold to the Humans?!
Varrus face palmed his forehead at the revelation.
“Twentry years is not enough, I won't be satisfied until everyone has seen his plays, and recognizes my husband on sight.” Syra said with pride.
“Most Gilnean nobles know of him. His style was considered tacky at first, but if the High Elves thought it was important, than the nobles followed in their trend. Actually, when I was locked in my room, I didn't have much to do, but watch your plays.” Tess hurriedly said with a blush on her face.
“Good, then you can be his number 3 fan, but don't get any ideas. He's mine.” Syra said dangerously, and roughly held onto Varrus as if he was a prized dog being fought over in a custody case between divorcees.
“Number 3?”
Varrus tuned out Tess and Syra as they began to discuss his stage performances, and bonded over girl stuff. It was nice to see his wife had made another friend, and heck, Tess had taken this reveal rather well.
He supposed he could thank daddy Vandercross one more time. The fact that those scrying orbs were spread around so much was probably a national scandal amongst the Highborn, as it was an extremely valuable commodity. Yet the old man had likely increased their sale just to see his son's popularity and fame rise.
Man, that guy abused his power for his family, but it was really coming in clutch.
Varrus shook his head, and let out a hollow chuckle. Yeah, he would have to get used to being recognized by random Human nobles going forward. That was awkward, but at the same time, perhaps a boon?
Fame was a double edged sword, but if managed properly, he could leverage it to his advantage.
Sighing to himself, Varrus looked out into the underground forest and perked his ears.
It seemed that Godfrey and company were on the back foot, and that the leader of the Worgen, Alpha Prime, was on the verge of victory.
Varrus decided he would step in and put an end to this, when a new force of Gilneans marched their way into the cavern, causing him to pause, and reassess the situation.
“Tess, where are you? I heard you had snuck out, come to my side, or scream if you are here! Father is just a few minutes behind me, Tess, where are you?!” A handsome man dressed in plate armor ran into the caverns.
Behind him, a new contingent of soldiers had come along.
“Liam?” Tess stopped her conversation with Syra, and looked over in surprise.
“Royal blood! Yours will surely please the Huntmaster!” Alpha Prime howled in glee.
The Worgen that had been battling the Gilnean soldiers brought by Godfrey all stopped what they were doing, and charged at the Prince.
Varrus watched on, curious to see how the young man would fare. Liam Greymane had been his ‘Plan A’ in which Varrus was planning to facilitate peace between Greymane and Crowley with a marriage alliance. While he had settled on Tess at the moment, he was still interested to see how the Prince would perform.
“Liam no, you don't know how to fight!” Tess screamed, and started to run towards the fight.
“Tess?!” Liam turned to his sister, only to have a pair of massive wolf jaws snap shut over his exposed head.
Blood and brain matter squirted in every direction, splattering the trees red.
“Eww.” Varrus recoiled at the nasty scene.
He had played witness to some truly vial acts, but the crunching of the Prince's skull bones sent a shiver down Varrus's spine.
‘That's why, if you don't have magical protection, super hard skin, or god tier reflexes, you always wear a helmet! Bro thought because he was handsome he could go everywhere unprotected!’ Varrus internally chastised to himself.
“Liam!” Tess screamed, and ran at Prime in an enhanced, Void state.
As for the wolf-man, his fur was starting to shimmer, and it took on a golden glow. The mana radiating off his body increased exponentially.
Varrus wanted to bang his head on a table. He had fallen into a classic smug Elf trap. If he had killed the damned Worgen when he first showed up, then this never would have happened. Looks like he would have to deal with a boss fight after all.
It just went to show that there was such a thing as too much plotting. Sometimes the simplest solution was the best.
“Could you give her a hand?” Varrus smiled at Syra.
“Remember, you owe me one.” Syra said, then dashed off at incredible speeds.
“Yeah yeah, 12 children and all that.” Varrus waved her off, then cast supporting spells on her, making her infinitely more dangerous. He then started to take out the Worgen on the side.
Meanwhile, Prime had engaged in battle with Tess, and was busy toying with her, when Syra showed up.
“Hmm, another beauty to my collection?” Prime licked his lips lasciviously, and shook his wide dog lips in excitement.
Syra didn't give a damn what he had to say, and she cleaved down with her blade.
Prime's nails glowed with golden mana, and met her blade.
The shriek produced by the impact was grating on everyone's ears, yet the wolf-man smirked. Kicking out with one incredibly fast pawed foot, he aimed to hit Syra in the belly.
Syra sidestepped the crude, and easily telegraphed move, then stepped down with one heeled shoe. A spike of Holy Void was at the bottom of her shoe, and it crunched into Prime's paw, then pinned it to the ground.
“You bitch! You think you have me pinned? But it's you who are locked with me!” Prime snarled in rage as his claws gripped onto the buster sword. He then snapped his jaws open wide, and moved to bite down on Syra's head.
“No! You took my big brother, you won't take my big sister!” Tess yelled from the side, and brutally slashed into Prime's flank.
Golden blood hissed and sizzled as the enchanted weapon dug deep into his flesh, yet Prime didn't care. He would have his due!
Bringing his neck down, Prime's spit and saliva began to dribble down atop the golden shield of energy that coated Syra's form.
“You sure you want to do that, mate?” Varrus questioned from the side.
“Hargh?” Prime rumbled as he found his body was bound by some force.
The Hero tier Worgen was locked in place by Varrus's Telekinesis spell!
“Hargh!” Prime exerted his mana, and was about to break free, however, Syra shoved her sword straight up, and into his waiting throat.
A piercing beam at the tip of the sword entered, and exited Prime's brain in a manner of seconds, causing the furry menace to drop to the ground.
“I had him, you know.” Syra pouted.
“I know, I know, but I wouldn't be your husband if I didn't care about your safety. Better to stack the deck and secure your victory, than to sit on the sideline and cheer you on.” Varrus held up his hands as if he were a criminal being interrogated, yet the grin never left his face.
“You're incorrigible.” Syra shook her head, as she couldn't help but smile along with him.
“Guilty as charged.” Varrus winked, he then turned to decapitate Prime to make sure he was dead. After which, he removed a blanket from his inventory, and draped it over Tess's shoulders.
“Snot fair. He was going to be a good King! He was going to change things!” Tess pounded the armored breastplate of Liam's headless corpse in angered sorrow.
Varrus sighed. Unfortunately, what Tess said was wrong. Unless your kingdom had the strength to fight, it would be nothing more than a paper tiger.
Maybe this was the real reason Greymane had built a wall? To hide his failure as a parent, and protect his children from the horrors that lay beyond?
He couldn't fault King Greymane for having such a selfish desire if that was the case, but damn was it a major disaster!
“What is going on here?! Tess, where is Liam?! Why are you in that cursed state? Who are these outsiders.” Genn Greymane roared as he made his way into the cavern.
The white haired old man was regal in his fury, every word of his resonated with royal command. Even the way he walked to the way he swung his shoulders showed that this was a man accustomed to being obeyed.
Each sentence of the King's was laced with more venom than the last.
‘Speak of the Devil.’ Varrus chuckled to himself.
“Father, my friends and I-” Tess began, only to be interrupted.
“Traitors, Your Majesty! These Elves are spies sent to overturn Gilneas into a puppet state, and have conspired with your spawn to slay the Prince!” Godfrey-injured and bloody-rose from the woods, and levied an accusing finger at them.
“I cannot believe what I am hearing. Godfrey, is this true? Are there any other witnesses to this foul accusation?!” Greymane turned to the remaining Gilneans, and looked everyone in the eye.
No one directly met his gaze, but various murmurs seemed to support Godfrey's claim.
“My own flesh and blood. If only your mother saw you now.” Greymane said in a defeated tone. Tears pooled down his cheeks as he took in Tess, and the motionless body of his son.
“Father, please!” Tess moved forward, only to be back handed to the ground by Greymane.
“I have no daughter.” Greymane looked down at her coldly.
“Shall I lock her up?” Godfrey approached Tess, and gripped her wrist with a tight grasp.
“No. This curse has plagued my family long enough, I'm putting an end to it once and for all.” Greymane said with shaded eyes.
Raising a pistol, he pointed it at Tess.
“Father, father, you do not mean it! You cannot believe his lies!” Tess struggled in Godfrey's grasp in desperation.
At the same time, a few dozen Elites flanked by hundreds of regulars began to look at Varrus and Syra like a pack of hungry dogs that hadn't eaten meat for over a decade.
When the hammer on his enchanted flintlock pistol dropped and was about to discharge its payload, Varrus stopped Syra from intervening as he saw something interesting.
The mana within Tess's body was going crazy, yet unlike the previous few times, it was being contained. Furthermore, it was actively being controlled! Whatever lesson Syra had imparted on the girl was working miracles!
As the mana enhanced bullet left the barrel, Tess overturned Godfrey, and had him take the shot. In one fluid motion, she grasped her sword, then slit the old creep's throat.
Varrus was quick to hide his smile. He may have lost Liam, but he had gained something much better.
“You have made a grave mistake. A very grave mistake indeed.” Greymane calmly drew a pair of enchanted swords.
“...” Tess remained silent as her Void-state was ever increasing, and powerful bursts of energy swirled all around her.
“She's beautiful.” Syra quietly commented, like a mother proud of her child's achievements.
“See? I knew you wouldn't regret it. Who owes who now?” Varrus teased.
“Tsk.” Syra turned away from Varrus, unwilling to face him.
Grinning in victory, Varrus prepared to sling some spells.
He didn't plan on ending Greymane this way, but by doing so down here, in this dank cavern full of Worgen corpses? Oh yeah, there wasn't a better place to commit regicide!
Comments
Joey
As usual Karp good stuff. So the worgen in this version of azeroth are either already children of Hircine (were-creatures) or they are predisposed to easily gain his attention. Assuming the Daedric Princes are still conscious beings with their humanoid avatars and scheming ways rather than conceptual entities invoked through their domains. More akin to lovecraftian eldergods. Either way Varrus has a genuine reason to suspect Elder Scrolls bs with the reference to the huntsmaster and a worgen gaining golden fur after eating royals ala a Hound of Hircine.
Conor McGroarty
No Light revival for Liam? Well resurrection is kinda finicky if it isn’t death attribute Edit: Also way to make a split second decision Greymane, on executing your only surviving child just based off one guy, waffle soldiers not giving a straight answer and MC/wife being elves. Granted Godfrey (is the dude wearing the masque of clavicus vile?) was right about their goal of subverting Gilneas, he only based it off of racist feelings instead of deductive reasoning.
