Chapter 697: Class Declaration

PS: The eight virtues of knighthood are never explicitly mentioned in the World of Warcraft game itself. Even the Tome of Divinity only outlines four, and only a few manifest through character skills. They are truly articulated only within the class manifestos of the official novels, so please do not confuse the two.

In this system-integrated version, once a class quest is completed and one officially becomes a practitioner, the manifesto of that specific class will be revealed.

Furthermore, skills like the Priest's Resurrection also require completing class quests, rather than being learned directly from a trainer as in the original version.

Since the original Vanilla version was released so long ago, many fine details have grown hazy, so the author has thoroughly researched the reference materials—including which skills and talents each class possesses in the current patch. Most details should be accurate, but if any oversights remain, please be understanding and feel free to point them out.

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Within the cathedral, those solemn and sacred declarations seemed to echo still: "From this day forward, my heart belongs to the Light. I shall protect the weak with sword and shield, and dispel evil with holy radiance. Humility, honesty, compassion, valor, justice, sacrifice, honor, and spirituality—these are the eight virtues never to be forgotten. As long as there are those who need protection, we shall not fall. The Light never fades, and faith never dies!"

"May the Light be with you!"

Perhaps there had been a moment of doubt, a fleeting sense of loss, but now, a tiny spark seemed to ignite within their hearts. Though faint and imperceptible, it held the promise of one day blazing as brilliantly as the sun.

From that moment on, a new ability graced their skill bars.

Redemption: Resurrects a fallen ally, restoring them to life with 35% of their maximum health and mana.

Perhaps only now could they truly be said to have stepped upon the holy path of the Paladin.

"I think we should test it out!" Having obtained a new ability powerful enough to be deemed a miracle, the knights of the Golden Gryphon Knight Order were like children who had just received a new toy, unable to put it down.

Outside Stormwind City, through the Duskwood, past the Eastvale Logging Camp, and across the Westfall, they journeyed. Whenever they encountered a corpse, they would cast Redemption upon it. Some had been carelessly overwhelmed by monsters, others had run out of mana; they had perished here for a myriad of reasons, but now, they were being brought back to life, one after another.

Watching the bewildered, excited, and tangled emotions on the faces of the resurrected dissolve into profound gratitude, the knights felt their own hearts being warmed in turn.

"May the Light be with you!" they shouted aloud.

"This feeling... it is truly wonderful," Helen said, sitting on a roadside rock, sipping water to recover her mana.

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Meanwhile, the pioneering progress through the Deadmines continued.

"Stop it! Hold it back!" a frantic shout echoed from deep within the mine.

"Polymorph the elite first!" The Mage’s Polymorph was nothing short of a divine spell; even at its lowest rank, it could last for a considerable duration. With a wave of two mages' staffs, the two elite monsters flanking the BOSS instantly let out two soft "baas" and transformed into harmless sheep.

Yet at that very moment, the ogre let out a furious roar, lunging straight past the frontline fighters like Nalan Hongwu and Liang Heihu, charging directly toward the two mages in the rear.

Mages around level ten were not like cultivators who could control flying swords. Caught off guard, even if their reflexes could keep pace, the physical constitution of a low-level mage could not, and they were struck squarely by the impact!

A total party wipe quickly ensued.

"This is unplayable..." Mo Xian grumbled.

Evidently, this was far from their first wipe.

In this system version of World of Warcraft, there were no fixed aggro mechanisms or forced taunt skills. What the melee fighters could do was merely attempt to infuriate the target to the best of their ability, for these monsters relied on their own intelligence to judge whom to attack. If a monster deemed the ranged attackers to be the greater threat, it would absolutely abandon the melee line to trouble the backline.

"I think you Warriors should have intercepted that big brute when he charged at us!"

"Intercept him how?" Princess Ji Yu demanded angrily. "We can only dodge and weave around that giant hammer of his. Even with a two-handed greatsword, I can't parry it! The strength is just too overwhelming! The shockwave alone is enough to make a person spit blood."

"Unless our defense can withstand its attacks," Liang Shi added. "But in truth, the disparity in strength is too vast; it's simply impossible."

"What if... this old man tries switching to a shield?" As a military veteran, what weapon had Nalan Hongwu not handled during his centuries of service? Moreover, the Great Jin Nation naturally had its own shield-bearing infantry.

"Switch to a shield?!" The eyes of several players suddenly lit up. Confronted by an enemy whose strength vastly exceeded their own, the concept of a 'Tank' dawned upon them for the very first time.

When they re-entered the Deadmines, they were noticeably more proficient than before. They opened by immediately turning the two elites into sheep, and Nalan Hongwu charged forward, shield raised high.

The three Warriors continued to deal damage while maneuvering around the ogre, but soon enough, the beast lunged toward the mages in the rear once more.

Right then, Nalan Hongwu planted himself with his shield directly along the ogre's path.

"Get out of the way!" The ogre brought its hammer down viciously upon the massive shield. Nalan Hongwu was adept enough to wield any weapon with competence; with a slight tilt of his shield, the ogre's giant hammer skidded off to the side, forcing Nalan Hongwu back by only a few paces.

"It works!" Everyone grew ecstatic, sensing that they were drawing closer and closer to victory!

"Keep up the damage!" The two mages began chanting their spells once more. As the ogre moved, Nalan Hongwu shifted with it, while the two mages constantly adjusted their distance. Before long, the ogre was covered in wounds.

But at that moment, they noticed...

"Not good, the old master can't hold out much longer!" Liang Heihu roared.

Though the great shield deflected the strikes, the relentless pounding of the hammer carried a tremendous concussive force capable of causing internal injuries.

Each person operated like a piece of precision machinery, tense and efficient, yet at this critical juncture, they still could not hold.

Soon, they met with another party wipe.

"Should we switch to shields as well?!" Waiting to run back to their corpses was a tedious process; every death inside a dungeon required releasing one's spirit and running all the way back from the graveyard.

Just then, a group of knights, accompanied by the mage Trix, arrived at the scene.

"Why are you all standing around here? Aren't you going in?" Commander Evan and the knights of the Golden Gryphon looked at the crowd with curiosity.

By now, it was already past four in the afternoon, and most players had been playing for over eight hours (the current daily limit being ten hours). This small mine had quickly drawn players of various classes from all corners of the Alliance.

"Waiting for our teammates to run back to their corpses..." Liang Heihu replied indifferently, glancing at the unfamiliar Paladin.

"Run to their... corpses?" Commander Evan offered amiably. "Do you require assistance? We can resurrect your teammates for you. It will save a great deal of time!" Of course, part of the reason was that even after using it so many times, they still hadn't had their fill of the novelty!

Helen’s heart was practically screaming with excitement; every time she raised a deceased person from the ground, she felt as though a grand miracle was unfolding right before her eyes!

"Res... Resurrect...?!" Not only Liang Heihu and his companions, but nearly every player gathered outside the entrance of the Deadmines turned to look, utterly dumbfounded.

Many who had played other games in the shop knew that none of the skills, immortal arts, sword-controlling techniques, or artifact crafting taught here were fake!

Every single one could be learned and manifested in reality. Did that not mean...!!??

At the very least, every player from the new shop present, including the Dwarf Elder Sork, the Elven Elder Xivi, and Trix standing nearby, cast incredulous glances toward them.

Could such a spell truly exist?! If it did, then on the battlefields of the future... those warriors charging into the fray would have absolutely no reason to fear death, would they?!

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