"You have gained xxx experience points. Your level has increased to 15." A faint smile played across Rhodes' lips.
The Battle of Mount Hyjal had reached an ending drastically different from the original history. Nordrassil, the World Tree, had been preserved, and the Burning Legion's invasion—at the bitter cost of Archimonde the Defiler's life—had once again been utterly thwarted by the heroes of Azeroth!
After briefly greeting the others, Rhodes sat to the side, closing his eyes under the pretext of exhaustion. In reality, he was reviewing his system rewards. This settlement was a massive windfall, arguably equal to everything he had gained since crossing into this world.
First, the war provided a mountain of experience, jumping him four levels to Level 15. This granted him 4 free attribute points. After some thought, he put 2 into Power and 2 into Knowledge.
His Power was now 12 and Knowledge was 13. Thanks to the bonus from Intermediate Intelligence, combined with Arcane Brilliance and a Paladin's Blessing of Wisdom, Rhodes' mana pool had finally broken the 200 mark.
From now on, he essentially didn't have to worry about running out of mana. If he stuck to Azerothian spells, he could grind against an enemy all day.
As for Heroes of Might and Magic spells, as long as it wasn't a high-intensity marathon, he had plenty. Future upgrades would likely focus on Power; the stronger the spell potency, the higher his overall combat capability.
This level-up also offered four skill upgrades. Rhodes' Fire Magic reached Advanced level, while Air Magic and Wisdom both hit Intermediate.
His final upgrade went into Intermediate Water Magic. His spell potency was now formidable; specifically, the frost spells he learned from Jaina saw a 50% power increase under the influence of Water Magic.
With all four elemental schools at least at Intermediate (and two at Advanced), the sheer scale of his magic—whether Azerothian or Hero-based—was terrifying.
Having wiped out a vast number of Legion demons and Scourge undead, he checked his Necromancy gains. Since the demons had destroyed most of the Scourge themselves, and Archimonde's self-destruction took out the remaining demons, Rhodes only gained 3,000 Skeletons. Better than nothing, he supposed.
Beyond the skeletons, his Eagle Eye skill truly pulled its weight. Advanced Eagle Eye allowed him to "steal" several highly suitable spells.
First was Archimonde's Finger of Death. Archimonde had used it several times, and a Dreadlord lieutenant had used it once; Rhodes had successfully copied it.
It was a single-target spell with a staggering cost of 35 mana and a base damage of 50. However, since it fell under the category of Fel magic, it was enhanced by his Advanced Fire Magic, reducing the cost by 5 and doubling the base damage to 100.
Factoring in his 12 Power (where 1 point added at least 20 damage), the total hit 340. At Rhodes' current strength, a single Finger of Death could one-shot even the tankiest Tier 7 units like Behemoths, Black Dragons, or Titans.
Unfortunately, unlike Hero magic, it lacked area-of-effect capabilities. Compared to his Thunderbolt (Chain Lightning/Lightning Bolt), it was slightly lackluster.
With 12 Power and Intermediate Air Magic, his Thunderbolt dealt 330 damage. While 10 points lower than Finger of Death, Thunderbolt hit multiple targets and cost a mere 8 mana.
One Finger of Death cost as much as nearly four Thunderbolts. It was powerful, but ultimately "tastes like chicken"—great in theory, but hard to justify using. Perhaps its only edge was its subtlety; it didn't have the loud crack of lightning, making it useful for assassinations or impersonating a member of the Burning Legion.
He unfortunately failed to learn Hand of Death, Archimonde's final massive AoE. However, Eagle Eye caught two other spells. One was the authentic Rain of Chaos. The version he'd learned in Dalaran was merely "Rain of Fire," which was essentially a fire-based Blizzard.
Rain of Chaos was different. Enhanced by Advanced Fire Magic, it cost 30 mana. Every point of Power summoned one falling meteor. These meteors dealt massive Fel damage upon impact and, more importantly, each summoned a powerful Infernal.
These Infernals lasted 360 seconds, plus 20 seconds for every point of Power. With Rhodes' stats, they would last 580 seconds—nearly 10 minutes. Summoning 12 of these for 30 mana seemed... underwhelming.
"Dammit, another lackluster skill," he muttered. For 30 mana, wouldn't summoning Fire Elementals or Light Elementals be better? Summoning Fire Elementals followed by a Thunderbolt would only cost 28 mana total.
Fire Elementals lasted 24 hours; these Infernals didn't even last 10 minutes. While Archimonde's Infernals were tough, they were roughly on par with his Gold Golems. They were immune to low-level magic but vulnerable to Holy Light. Plus, they left behind nasty Fel pollution.
With Advanced Fire Magic, Rhodes could summon 48 Fire Elementals (Power x 4). Comparing 12 Infernals for 10 minutes against 48 Fire Elementals for 24 hours—while paying 10 extra mana for the privilege—was a no-brainer. He didn't care for the "theatrical" meteor damage. A Thunderbolt was more efficient.
However, he considered the possibilities. If this could be combined with a future Meteor Shower or Armageddon spell, it might be perfect. For now, it was another "impersonate the Legion" tool, though summoning 12 meteors from the sky would look incredible.
Then a thought struck him. His Fire Elemental summon had turned into a Light Elemental after injecting Holy Light. Theoretically, could he inject Fel energy into it? Fel's enhancement of fire was significant, and Fel spells were boosted by Fire Magic. He decided it was worth investigating.
He now had the "usage rights" for Fel magic from Archimonde; he just needed to find a private place to experiment. He didn't want the hero who just saved Azeroth to suddenly look like a Legion puppet.
Finally, he looked at the third stolen spell: Legion Portal. It cost 40 mana to open a gateway to the Twisting Nether, the heart of the Burning Legion's base. This was the spell Archimonde used to bring his army to Hyjal.
Under Advanced Fire Magic, the portal was strengthened to allow high-level demons through. His 12 Power allowed the portal to stay open for 120 minutes—two full hours.
Rhodes was speechless. Opening a two-hour portal could let hundreds or thousands of demons through, potentially including Pit Lords and Dreadlords.
The problem? He couldn't control them. They were the Burning Legion.
"So why the hell would I open a direct line to the Twisting Nether? To invite the Legion to invade Azeroth again?"