Wayne glanced around the net cafe. Andromath, Marlin, Zaldimar, Raymond, Anita, and Sandar were watching the second Harry Potter film. They had agreed to finish the movie before diving into the new game, Heroes of Might and Magic III.
Leaving Tess to mind the shop, Wayne accompanied Lord Tyrosus, the leader of the Argent Dawn, to the inn across the street. They found a quiet corner, sat down, and began to talk.
Ever since he woke up, Wayne's mind had been replaying the scenes from his "dream."
Calling it a dream felt like an understatement; the images were too vivid, and the sequence of events was too coherent. But if it wasn't a dream, what else could it be?
The only explanation he could think of was the "Beginner Necromancy" skill he had unlocked from Heroes III. Thinking deeper, Morladim, Darkmaster Gandling, Kel'Thuzad, Rivendare, and Sapphiron corresponded exactly to the game's Skeleton Warriors, Liches, Lich Kings, Dread Knights, and Ghost Dragons.
And the Lich King, Arthas, was the quintessential Death Knight hero who commanded undead armies in the game.
Could there truly be some bizarre connection established between the game and reality?
As an exceptionally powerful Paladin stationed in the Eastern Plaguelands—the area most ravaged by the Scourge—Lord Tyrosus had experienced countless battles. His familiarity with the undead was as natural as breathing. At first glance, he had detected traces of contact with necromantic magic in Wayne's eyes and aura.
He asked Wayne to recount his experiences over the past few days. Wanting to find answers to his "dream," Wayne told him everything honestly.
Of course, he skipped over details regarding Tess' background and anything related to the vending machine.
He described the scenes from his dream to Tyrosus exactly as he had seen them, though he omitted the names of the undead beings. Logically speaking, he shouldn't have known their names.
Although this was Tyrosus's first time meeting Wayne, he had heard about the net cafe from many people. Recommendations from respected figures like Marshal McBride gave him a naturally positive predisposition toward Wayne.
Of course, compared to dragon slaying, fighting against the undead was a subject far closer to his heart.
After playing Heroes III for over an hour and clearing the tutorial, he and his colleague Pureheart had both chosen the Necropolis faction. The buildings, units, and spells—especially the manifestation of Necromancy—had left him both shocked and pleasantly surprised.
It was almost identical to the Scourge in reality.
Hearing Wayne speak of the similarities between his dream and the game, Tyrosus couldn't help but link the two. However, despite this, he still harbored suspicions about Wayne.
An ordinary person shouldn't be able to "see" what Wayne described. Furthermore, several scenes and the appearances of certain targets were things even Tyrosus hadn't witnessed personally, yet they matched intelligence reports regarding the various leaders of the Scourge scattered across the Plaguelands.
Especially Kel'Thuzad—the second-in-command of the Scourge.
Tyrosus raised his right hand, palm upward. Holy light began to gather in his hand as he cast "Cleanse"—a sacred spell capable of dispelling poisons, diseases, and magical effects. The light washed over Wayne, but the traces of necromantic magic remained.
Tyrosus chanted again, this time casting "Purify," but it was still useless.
His suspicion deepened to the point that he directed an offensive spell, "Exorcism," toward Wayne. This magic was designed to strike fear into undead creatures, no matter how well they were disguised.
Fortunately, the spell had no effect, which allowed Tyrosus to breathe a sigh of relief.
He wasn't yet close enough to Wayne to feel happy for the boy personally; he was simply relieved that his fear of the Scourge infiltrating the outskirts of Stormwind had been put to rest.
While his mind wandered to the Cult of the Damned—the death-worshiping cult established by Kel'Thuzad—he quickly dismissed the thought.
Marshal McBride and General Marcus had both spoken highly of Wayne. Private reports from SI:7 agents indicated that they had investigated this target many times. All signs and behaviors pointed to him being "clean"—a person with no ties to any hostile factions, even if he remained surrounded by many mysteries.
Furthermore, if Wayne truly were a member of the Cult of the Damned, he wouldn't be foolish enough to discuss these visions in front of the leader of the Argent Dawn—the largest organization fighting the Scourge.
Tyrosus asked Wayne, "Have you ever had an experience like this before?"
Wayne shrugged and denied it. He thought to himself that aside from the kind of dreams a 20-year-old single guy might have (which he certainly didn't say out loud), he usually slept like the dead the moment his head hit the pillow. Despite his late nights, his sleep quality was high; he usually woke up at noon and never dreamed of such terrifying things.
He added, "It's probably from playing too many games. I was playing with those seven all afternoon yesterday. It's likely a case of 'thinking by day, dreaming by night'..."
Tyrosus considered Wayne's words. He decided that to truly understand the mystery, he would need to spend more time studying this game called Heroes of Might and Magic III.
He seemed to think of something else. "Have you eaten anything strange lately? For example, has any stranger given you unfamiliar food?"
Wayne waved his hand. "Everything I eat is bought from this inn, the Lion's Pride. It's an old, reliable establishment."
As he said this, a thought struck him. "Though I have been drinking a lot of the Coke sold in my net cafe, and eating popcorn. That stuff is sweet and cold; it makes you excited and affects your sleep."
"Affects your sleep..." Tyrosus looked at the slight dark circles under Wayne's eyes. They did look consistent with poor sleep and fit Wayne's habit of staying up late.
Feeling he had asked all he could, Tyrosus stood up and returned to the net cafe with Wayne, intending to study Heroes III properly with Pureheart.
However, before putting the goggles back on, he spent 2 gold to buy two "Movie Combos" from Tess—one for himself and one for Pureheart.
After taking the items, he whispered to his subordinate, "Be careful. There might be side effects to drinking this. The faint traces of necromantic magic on that kid might be caused by this mysterious icy water."
Pureheart replied, "Chief... then perhaps you should try it first?"
Tyrosus thought that made sense. Pureheart was a warrior and lacked the ability to use the Holy Light to resist the undead, whereas he was a powerful, expert-level Paladin. Even if there were some trickery in the water, he could immediately use sacred magic to neutralize it.
He opened the cap and took two large gulps. He then frowned, smacking his lips, and focused all his attention on sensing any changes in his body.
"Chief? Are you alright?" Pureheart asked.
A thunderous "Burp—!" echoed through the net cafe. Several players nearby heard it even through their headphones. Pureheart, startled and tense, instinctively leaned back.
Tyrosus quickly raised his hand to show he was fine.
Behind the counter, Tess suppressed her laughter and whispered to Wayne, "Boss, why did he let out such a big burp after drinking just a little bit?"
Wayne chuckled. "He probably ate too much at lunch. If you get closer, you might even smell what he had for his midday meal."
Tess made a face. "Eww... Boss, you're disgusting."
On the other side, Tyrosus took two more sips. Seeing that he remained silent, Pureheart waited anxiously.
Tyrosus smacked his lips several more times, carefully tasting the flavor on his tongue. He looked at the "Coca-Cola" logo on the plastic bottle and finally said, "It's cold, and actually quite delicious. I've never tasted anything like this before. Why don't you try some?"