Chapter Ninety: The Shadowspeaker Class System

Among the ten races, every race had its own powerful, orthodox profession, and it also had its secretive branch. In general, most people were willing to choose the former. Psychologically, those with confidence usually prefer to stand in the open and walk the straight road.

Those who chose the secretive branch were, for the most part, independent people who craved novelty and wanted to be different. But to be honest, most of them would never amount to much. They could not shine on the broad road, so they hoped to succeed by taking a strange, offbeat path. Psychologically, that was in fact a form of evasion, and the so-called pursuit of individuality was often nothing more than solitary self-admiration.

To many people, the secretive professions felt mysterious and dangerous, which led many mediocre souls, desperate for attention and recognition, to choose that road. In truth, the proper way was usually the kingly way. Real powerhouses never held those secretive factions in high regard. If your strength was lacking and you wanted to make up for it with bizarre tricks, you were unlikely to go very far.

Did Guo Lang have any thought of taking the orthodox path? No. Not even the slightest.

His twenty years as a knight in his former life had already told him the answer in the clearest possible way: you have no talent, you are not cut out for it. The orthodox road was for prodigies like Elris; as for him, his aptitude was simply not enough. If he wanted to stand out, he would have to take a crooked road.

Guo Lang knew himself very well. Choosing the secretive path had been the result of careful consideration, and it all came down to self-awareness. He was not like those self-deceiving players who believed the secretive branch was some high-end, technical elite class. To think oneself special when one was plainly incapable was simply foolish.

He was not driven by novelty, nor by the wish to hide in cowardice while seeking attention through other means. He was very clearheaded. After witnessing Elris’s growth, he had told himself one thing: the straight road was a dead end.

It was cruel, but Guo Lang was not the kind of protagonist who could bounce back through sheer persistence. He would never say that heaven rewards hard work, or believe that what others could do, he could do as well. Twenty years of bronze-level struggle had taught him one very simple truth: there were many things in this world that other people could accomplish, but you could not. If your talent was not there, it simply was not there. Unless, like the heroes in many stories, you happened upon some heaven-defying opportunity, but if you pinned your hopes on luck, how was that any different from a loser pinning his hopes on a lottery ticket?

The crooked path was a choice made out of helplessness, but it was also his last chance.

Guo Lang’s violet eyes brightened as he stepped forward with firm resolve. He had not come here in confusion or blind luck. He had a very clear purpose. Why had he chosen the Night Elves? First, because their traits developed quickly in the early stages and their personal survival ability was relatively strong at the beginning. Second, because of this profession, it could bring his advantage as a reborn man into full play.

Within the Night Elves’ Shadowsong clan, there were only two royal professions: Time Assassin and Shadow Speaker.

The Night Elves’ magical system was not fully developed and was highly distinctive. There were historical reasons for this. The elven lineage had originally all been known as the Ancient Elves.

The Blood Elves and the Night Elves had both split from that original line. The Blood Elves belonged to the nobility; what they took with them was the complete high-end magical system. The Night Elves, by contrast, descended from the Moon Priestess line, which was closer to the common folk. Their professions were mostly survival-based, scout-based, and assassin-based.

Among the Night Elves, aside from the Moon Priestess lineage of the Moonstrider clan, which mastered stellar magic, the rest were the Night Elves’ unique powers of shadow and space-time. And the secretive branch was often inseparable from a race’s own magical attributes. Thus, what remained were only the assassins who used space-time power and the Shadow Speakers who commanded shadow power.

After entering the class hall, Guo Lang hardly hesitated before heading into the Hall of Shadows. The emissaries who walked among the shadows were known as Shadow Speakers. The title of the profession was the same as the name of that clan, rather like the Windrunners.

“Ah, at last. It has been a long time since anyone came here. Let me see... how many years has it been? Was it several epochs ago? Have those fellows found a new training plane again?” A deep, resonant voice drifted out. It sounded as though it were whispering into Guo Lang’s ear, yet its owner stood more than thirty feet away.

That figure was shrouded beneath a veil of shadow. Looking at her, Guo Lang felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity, as though he had seen her somewhere before. Where had he seen her? He frowned deeply.

“Good day, elder of the Night Elves. May I ask how I should address you?” Guo Lang bowed with flawless etiquette. He had practiced such manners long ago. In any race, showing respect to an elder would win him considerable favor.

The other woman gave a soft laugh and lifted the hood from her head with both hands. The cloak of shadow made her figure indistinct, but once the hood was removed, Guo Lang finally saw her face.

He went rigid.

What sort of face was that? No language could truly describe it. It was so beautiful it was almost suffocating. Perhaps it was like the legendary Daji of Shang, a beauty so overwhelming that the rise and fall of kingdoms could be laid at her feet. Such an absurd notion could still be accepted by the people of that age. Later generations might find it ridiculous, but if you had never seen that face, how could you know it was impossible?

That was exactly what Guo Lang thought now. What did it mean to be a calamity to nations? At this level, even the gods might err for her sake.

“Elder?” She smiled faintly, and the entire space seemed to pause for her. In that instant, Guo Lang even forgot to breathe. She stepped lightly forward and looked at him with calm eyes. “The younger generation of the Night Elves calls us elders. In your heart, do you truly see yourself as a Night Elf?”

Guo Lang fell silent.

He did not dare answer too casually. The question was sensitive. One wrong answer, and perhaps this profession’s door would close to him forever. But how was he supposed to answer?

Did he truly identify with the Night Elves? How could that be? Ever since his rebirth, he had loathed this game. The race itself was merely a tool for making himself stronger. In his heart, he still believed himself to be human. In fact, many people in his former life had chosen the human race for exactly that reason. Most people felt resistance toward changing races.

But if he said he did not identify with them, Guo Lang had a feeling the other woman would simply point to the door behind her and tell him to get lost.

And if he said he did? Looking into her eyes, Guo Lang did not dare lie openly. From the moment she appeared, she had scarcely used any pressure to force him. Her gaze was not sharp. Those eyes were as gentle as water, giving him no pressure at all, and yet Guo Lang felt that no secret could hide before them.

He thought for a long time. She waited for a long time too, but she never urged him. She merely stood there in silence. The atmosphere turned suffocating.

With his eyes closed, Guo Lang considered it for a long while. Then, like a flash of inspiration, he opened his eyes. The violet light in them had grown even clearer. After bowing, he answered carefully, “Not yet.”

“Not yet...?” She paused, then smiled. “Clever little fellow. You mean that if you gain enough benefits here in the future, perhaps you will gradually come to identify with us? What a rather insincere answer...”

He chuckled awkwardly, scratching his head. This was the best answer he could think of.

“Very well.” She shook her head and turned to open the doors behind her into the shadow hall. “Come with me.”

“You still haven’t told me how I should address you, senior,” Guo Lang said suddenly, with surprising boldness.

“Me?” She paused, her voice turning distant. “A name is merely a label. We are the shadows behind the light. Many times, your name cannot shine before the world the way other great figures’ names do. I once worked hard to change that, but just as a tiny, insignificant light began to appear on my body... I discovered that I was no longer a shadow.”

“My name is Maiev.”

“Maiev!” Guo Lang shook all over, his face filled with astonishment.

At last he remembered where he had seen her before.

In the library, within the ancient histories of the Night Elves, there had once been one of the six great legends: the strongest Shadow Speaker in history, a figure from the same era as Windrunner, Sylvanas, known together with her as the twin stars of the Night Elves.

Maiev Shadowsinger.