Chapter 147: It's Almost Like a Dream

The burning fire filled his vision and thick smoke filled the air. Jesse felt as if he was about to be choked to the point of coughing out his lungs. His chest hurt as if someone was constantly stabbing him with an awl.

Now it felt as if he had been put on a horseback. The intense shaking prevented him from fainting and made it difficult for him to wake up completely. He was always swaying in this half-asleep and half-awake state.

He knew that he had no serious external injuries other than some burns. And those soldiers thought he had been injured by the power of shadow, probably because he had drawn too much black dragon's blood.

This black dragon's blood was the source of his intense pain at this moment.

Whether it was his chest cavity, abdomen or brain, it was as if they were filled with boiling magma. No matter how he scratched or pounded his skin, he couldn't relieve the torture inside. He wanted to vomit but couldn't vomit anything. Except for the first two mouthfuls, he didn't vomit anything else.

Although he constantly felt nauseous and had heartburn, his esophagus, stomach and intestines now seemed as dry as if there was no oil or water at all. He moaned in discomfort twice. A voice comforted him and said, "We're almost there... almost there, mage!"

"How long will it take to reach Southshore? I want water..."

Jesse almost unconsciously uttered these words, but the voice coming from his throat was as rough as that of a wild animal.

A sudden intense feeling of fainting rose. He had originally hoped to have a good sleep, but now he suddenly began to resist. He remembered those dying people in the hospital. The doctors would constantly remind them not to fall asleep, not to fall asleep, as if once they fell asleep, they would never wake up again.

He waved his arms trying to grab something, but only caused a cry of surprise from the person in front. After an extremely violent bump, he finally couldn't bear the rapidly overwhelming tiredness.

No... He opened his eyes suddenly, but suddenly everything around him stopped.

There was no vibration, no shaking, and no howling wind or crazy fire.

This silence made Jesse extremely uncomfortable. After all, he felt as if he had been struggling in the black dragon's shadowy flames just a second ago.

He sat up and found himself sinking into a soft dark red mattress.

The material of this bedsheet was so silky that it made him feel uncomfortable all over. Just by touching it with his hand, he knew that it was probably extremely expensive. He didn't know what kind of silk or more luxurious cloth it was woven from. This even made him a little afraid that his sweat and dirt would stain it.

But when he touched his body, it was also very clean.

The skin that had been salty and sticky after not taking a bath for half a month at sea had become extremely refreshing. The hair that had always been stuck to his scalp was now fluffy and soft as if it had been carefully washed with shampoo.

His hair in this life was extremely different from the hard black hair in his previous life. It was as soft as fluff. Because he rarely had the opportunity to wash his hair so cleanly, the texture was a bit unfamiliar. Touching it was even a bit intoxicating.

The room was all white and the decoration was simple and bright. On the brown carved bedside table was a milky white porcelain vase with unknown purple small flowers inserted. Strings of flower clusters extended from it, emitting an unfamiliar and strange fragrance.

When smelling this smell, the whole body seemed to be purified. So much so that he began to hate the breath he exhaled.

What place was this? Heaven?

Or, a dream?

If this was a dream caused by shadow damage, it was a bit too normal. Even too "beautiful", completely not a nightmare created by those evil gods.

At this moment, he noticed the package lying under his bedside table, the warlock bag he had obtained from the orc.

Compared to this beautiful bedroom, that warlock bag no longer seemed so beautiful. And because it was covered with patterned stains, it was a bit like a garbage bag dug out of a mud pit.

Had this bag... been rummaged through?

His heart tightened, but then he noticed that the knot tying the warlock bag was tied by himself.

The reason why he was so sure was that only he used this knot-tying method learned from his cousin in his previous life. Neither people from the Kingdom of Stormwind nor people from Lordaeron tied knots in this way.

This meant that no matter where this was or who had saved him, no one had rummaged through the things in the bag.

And if someone had determined what was hidden inside, he should have woken up in a prison cell now.

So what exactly happened...

Recalling before he fainted, he had experienced a battle, a battle he would never forget in his lifetime.

That dragon had burned down countless houses in Southshore and killed countless ordinary people and soldiers, as well as that gryphon rider.

The appearance of that gryphon rider lying in the house and the expression on the face of that young female homeowner when looking at his corpse were still deeply engraved in Jesse's mind even after he fainted and woke up.

Was that dragon dead?

It should be dead. Jesse still remembered that head falling heavily at his feet.

That was a young dragon. Its head was like that of a snake. It didn't have the thick beard of an old dragon nor the sharp and sturdy horns like a cow of a young adult dragon.

Jesse shouldn't have doubted the power of a young dragon. After all, even a young dragon, there were powerful existences like Tremes, the "Devourer". But at that time, his thoughts couldn't remember so much. There was too much chaos, too much pain, and too much excitement. He just wanted to help Southshore and Greed end the wanton behavior of that evil dragon.

Greed... Right, where was Greed?

Trying to move his lower body, fortunately he wasn't paralyzed. Although his legs and feet were a bit numb, they could still move.

Now he was wearing a set of loose white shirt and pants that didn't belong to him. And his previous clothes, including that cloak, were neatly put away on a small dresser-like cabinet by the window.

The cloak had regained its dark brown color.

Remembering when he was burned by the fire while wearing the cloak, his right palm and even his entire right arm ached again in waves. Now his arm was bandaged.

Jesse remembered that he had cast Life Drain at the last moment, and he had cast it while holding that staff.

Logically speaking, the burns he suffered in Stonehold could be healed by sucking the life force of a sheep. But the burns from being scraped by the fire couldn't be recovered by absorbing the life force of the black dragon?

Without the shadow dream and no recovery of injuries, Jesse felt that everything was a bit off.

Getting out of bed, Jesse touched the clothes he had worn before. They had been cleaned and dried.

How long had it passed since the incident at that riverside watchtower? He squatted down and touched the bag. He felt that there were still many things inside. Just by touching it, he could feel the booklet he had put in.

By the way, where was that stick?

Jesse stood up and looked around the whole room. He noticed that his stick was standing by the window and there was still the cloth he had tied on it.

That meant that except for his clothes, his luggage hadn't been touched by anyone.

So... what about the imp in the bag?

Jesse kind of wanted to call him out, but as soon as Zaenor's name reached his lips, he swallowed it back.

He looked at the nearby window. At least he had to see where this was.

In fact, he already had an answer in his heart. He just wanted to verify it with his own eyes.

Dragging his somewhat heavy steps and moving to the window, Jesse looked outside. After getting used to the strong sunlight, a picture like a fairy tale unfolded before his eyes.

As far as the eye could see, there were countless small buildings with Byzantine-style purple domes and milky white walls crowded together. Dark red brick-paved streets ran through them, like strawberry jam textures separating cream.

Behind the towering and solemn purple-tiled castle in the distance, the endless lake surface sparkled with waves. Flocks of white birds flew across the sky.

Endless green pine forests filled the remaining view, like a natural picture frame. Jesse pinched his own face. This wasn't a dream. He had been brought to Dalaran.