In truth, an idea had already begun taking shape in Jess's mind the day he heard the novice warlock Surena cast a spell in the Slaughtered Lamb's basement.

He would listen to the warlocks' incantations, memorize their approximate pronunciation, and later piece the fragments together into complete spells.

Of course, that would be extraordinarily difficult. A single line of incantation might contain a dozen or even several dozen words. Fortunately, Jess had some experience studying languages in his previous life and felt reasonably confident in that area.

If he listened again and again and repeated the sounds under his breath, much as he had once trained his English listening comprehension, he should eventually be able to memorize them.

But repeated listening would mean more than merely hearing the words. He would have to endure the effects of dark magic again and again, putting his resistance to the test.

Then came the hardest part: finding the incantations' actual words.

Humanity's contact with demons had so far been almost entirely limited to the Council of Tirisfal, the order of mages that had spent the past two thousand years preventing demons from infiltrating Azeroth from the Twisting Nether.

But after Medivh was killed and his mother—the last true Guardian of Tirisfal—disappeared, the Council existed in name only. Vast quantities of demon-related records and texts had vanished with it.

As for the Highborne who studied demons in ancient times, their collections were more than ten thousand years old. Even magical protection could hardly preserve books for that long.

Most of the spells now studied by human warlocks in Stormwind had been learned from orcs. Some came from captured orcs, while others were recovered from ruined books of incantations.

Most such books had been destroyed or badly damaged in the war. Any surviving scrap became a priceless treasure, privately hoarded by powerful warlocks and mages for study.

In short, the half-trained warlocks secretly practicing demon magic in that basement could not possibly possess those precious texts. They must have learned the spells orally from other warlocks, then found "training dummies" like Jess to test and observe their effects.

That was the real reason their spells were unstable.

The root of the problem was that many warlocks secretly practicing dark magic in this era did not know what language their incantations used.

Some even believed the words were a form of Orcish or an ogre runic language. They wasted enormous effort poring over Orcish dictionaries and studies of ogres compiled by scholars during the war, leading themselves farther down the wrong path.

The situation would not improve until the Third War—until the Scourge invasion and the Battle of Mount Hyjal more than a decade from now.

By then, vast numbers of demons would have entered Azeroth with the Burning Legion's invasion. After its defeat, they would scatter across the world and teach true demon magic to locals and believers who worshiped them as gods. The opening of so many portals would also draw Azeroth closer to the Twisting Nether, making demons easier to summon.

At the same time, organized groups of orc and ogre warlocks would hide in mountains, forests, and abandoned towns, spreading many demon-related spells and languages. Only then would warlocks truly flourish across Azeroth...

Unfortunately, that was more than a decade away.

At present, Jess might be the only person in all Stormwind who knew that incantations of shadow and fel magic were neither Orcish nor Ogre. They were complex formulae woven primarily from Eredun, with smaller portions of ancient Nathrezim; Annihilan, the language of pit lords; and Shath'Yar, the tongue of the dark gods in the Shadowy Void.

He needed to search the library for records of the demonic tongue—or rather, Eredun, since Demonic was ultimately a dialect or derivative of the eredar language.

Then he would use the correct method to repair those mangled incantations and overtake everyone else.

After cleaning Mage Malin's study, Jess walked along the spiraling paths of the Mage Quarter. He glanced toward the gloomy alley leading to the Slaughtered Lamb, then turned a corner and headed for the quarter's more popular tavern.

This was where most mages went when they tired of the pastries and bread served at the Wizard's Sanctum: the famous Blue Recluse, a haven for spellcasters.

It was several times busier than the Slaughtered Lamb. The common room was larger and even divided into two floors.

At the upstairs railing, a group of drunken young mage apprentices laughed as they discussed their instructors' performance in class that day. Others predicted how the Alliance expedition would drive the evil beasts of the Blasted Lands back through the Dark Portal and destroy the gateway completely.

Someone else said that once the expedition won and Azeroth's safety was secured, Stormwind—rebuilt from catastrophe—would rise from the ashes as the Alliance's new star and humanity's hope. Property prices would surely increase ten- or twentyfold.

Jess's scalp prickled. Damn it, the locals could afford to be fearless.

Most importantly, their prediction was not unreasonable. If they were merely talking nonsense, Jess would not have cared so much.

The Kingdom of Stormwind would stand firm for many years, becoming the most stable and powerful of the human realms. As its capital, Stormwind City would grow into the largest human settlement on Azeroth, and property prices would naturally climb without end.

How high they would climb, Jess could not say. The game had never discussed such matters. He could only hope he earned money faster than housing prices rose.

At his current pace, without some enormous change, the outlook was grim.

But Jess had not come here to listen for market trends. He wanted to plan his next move, eat lunch, and rest while waiting for Amy Malin to give him his assistant's badge that afternoon.

When he sat down, a server came over and asked what he wanted to eat or drink. Jess checked the prices of several dishes and desserts, and his scalp prickled even more.

After hearing the earlier discussion of Stormwind's economic future, buying anything slightly expensive felt almost criminal.

He ordered a serving of crumbled Stormwind cheese for six copper and a slice of dry bread. That gave him the essential protein, salt, and carbohydrates he needed to last until he could freeload on the Wizard's Sanctum's pastries that afternoon. Fainting while he waited would be a fine joke.

His head was already spinning from hunger. Only after the "dishes" arrived and he stuffed down several bites did he feel strong enough to think.

Once he received the assistant's badge and gained access to the library, he would go straight to the alchemy and herbalism section. His targets were Shadow Protection Potions, shadow-resistance draughts, and every potion, flask, or supplement related to resisting shadow power.

He needed those shadow-related medicines for his next visit to the Slaughtered Lamb.

He could not go in unprotected again. The experience had been too painful, and in the hands of those idiot warlocks, he had no idea what bizarre magic or unpredictable consequences might befall him. He had to protect himself as much as possible and safeguard his health.

His body was the foundation of everything. If it failed, he would have nothing.

Once he obtained the recipes, he would search for the places where the required herbs grew.

Buying those herbs was out of the question. Back in Lordaeron, even the most common Peacebloom sold for several silver a pound. A pound on Azeroth was close to the imperial measure, a little over four hundred grams and just under half a kilogram. Jess had never asked the exact prices of other herbs, but none would be cheaper than Peacebloom. They might be far more expensive.

Of course, "common" meant common in the game. Based on Jess's work experience, if one pound of Peacebloom cost one or two silver to gather, obtaining it probably required not only herbal knowledge and the time and strength to search, but also risking one's life to reach the gathering grounds and carry it back.

The ingredients for more expensive shadow potions would be even worse. Jess remembered that most shadow potions in the game only appeared at levels in the teens or even the twenties. They might require herbs such as Mageroyal or Kingsblood that grew beyond beginner regions. He might have to deal with wolves or even gnolls.

He therefore had to bring Gred. They could not gather only the target herbs along the way either. They needed to pick everything they could find and maximize the profit from each trip. That would earn more money and allow Jess to give the dwarf a larger share.

They also had to travel during the day. Jess had no desire to go out at night again. Every monster and evil spirit seemed several times more active after dark.

That would cost them some working hours, but... Could the labor jobs in Stormwind buy him a home? They plainly could not.

His recent adventure had been so dangerous and exciting that it nearly killed him. He did not want to take such risks again, but the experience had already changed his outlook.

By afternoon, Jess returned to Malin's study. Amy was waiting.

"Your badge is ready." Amy held a delicate little box. She opened it, removed a ring made from an unfamiliar metal, and said, "This is your assistant's badge. It belongs to you alone."

Jess examined it closely, touched it, and even sniffed it. It seemed to be copper and probably would not sell for much.

Arcane magic had engraved it with the initials of his given name and surname, along with a mark identifying him as an assistant. If he sold it, trouble would probably find him very quickly.

In any case, the ring was his key to the world of magic. He was not so shortsighted as to sell it.

"Thank you, Lady Malin."

"Call me Amy. We may be working together for a long time. Is there anything else I can help you with?"

"Uh..." Jess looked around the study. "I would like to borrow a scroll."

He needed a scroll to record the recipes and approximate locations. If he relied entirely on memory, one forgotten detail could make the whole trip a waste.

Shops dealing in paper, ink, and inscriptions charged prices that felt like robbery. He had never even considered stepping inside.

Amy handed him a paper scroll. Jess thanked her, took his badge, and hurried toward the Wizard's Sanctum.