Stating His Identity

"Information?"

"Yes, information."

Jaina suddenly asked, "What kind of information do you want?"

Yinsen looked at Jaina. This female mage was deeply wary of him. Compared to ordinary people, mages were far more guarded against beings from Other Worlds, because they knew that countless terrifying entities existed around Azeroth, all with various ways of "infiltrating" and threatening this world.

A traveling mage like Yinsen, who claimed to need information, naturally made Jaina think in that direction. She suspected he was a "scout," gathering intelligence on Azeroth.

"Nothing involving military or geographical intelligence."

Yinsen glanced at Jaina Proudmoore.

"As for the specifics, I believe that is something for His Majesty Wrynn and me to discuss. Lady Jaina Proudmoore, this matter does not seem to concern you directly."

Jaina frowned, though it was unclear whether she disliked Yinsen’s attitude or his calling her "Lady."

"My apologies, Mr. Yinsen. I was simply curious what sort of intelligence you wanted badly enough to face a black dragon for it."

"If you have suspicions, you might as well ask directly. This sort of roundabout probing comes across as…" Yinsen did not finish the sentence. He simply did not know what word to use, but his expression and manner made everyone understand exactly what he meant.

Jaina understood, of course. This powerful female mage felt that she had never suffered such humiliation in her life. She wanted nothing more than to plaster Yinsen’s face with an Arcane Missile.

Varian sat quietly, watching the two of them. He could not understand how these two mages had suddenly ended up at odds.

He knew that mages had their own factions. Even Dalaran and the Kirin Tor were not united. It seemed that Yinsen and Jaina were not on the same side, but he did not know whether this had anything to do with the factional conflicts in Dalaran.

Varian did not know that Yinsen was not a mage from Dalaran at all. Jaina suspected Yinsen was a scout from Other Worlds, while Yinsen, though unwilling to clash with Jaina, had no intention of endlessly tolerating her interference in his affairs.

"Very well. Since Lord Ethan wishes to make things clear, then I am curious—which master guided Mage Yinsen along the path of magic?"

Not all mages of Azeroth came from Dalaran, of course, but most mages wandering about had some connection to Dalaran. As long as one named their teacher, it was easy to determine their identity and background.

Where was Yinsen supposed to get something like that? He could only shake his head helplessly.

"I am not a mage of Dalaran."

He could now be certain that there was no way to conceal the fact that they came from another world.

"In fact, I am not even a mage of this world."

Not only did obvious Arcane Energy fluctuations appear around Jaina, but even the two elves standing nearby like statues, who had not made a single move until now, gave off distinct fluctuations as well.

The Night Elf was a druid. The energy around him brimmed with the vibrant life of nature; it was clearly Nature Energy. The Blood Elf likewise radiated obvious Arcane Energy fluctuations—this was their racial gift. Even Blood Elves who were not mages possessed an extraordinarily strong affinity for the arcane.

Windsor and Varian both placed their hands on their weapon hilts, ready to draw and fight at any moment. The only reason they had not acted was that neither Varian nor Windsor understood Yinsen’s true purpose, and neither wished to rashly make an enemy of a mage from an unfamiliar world.

"What is your purpose in coming to our world?"

"To learn."

Since everything had been laid bare, Yinsen had no reason to deliberately conceal anything. Over the years, he had traveled to many worlds. Aside from the Diablo World, where he had not revealed his origins, he had declared his identity almost everywhere he went.

He had grown accustomed to being an "outsider." Having to keep silent about it here actually made him uncomfortable.

"To learn?"

"As a mage, you should know that mages sometimes travel to broaden their horizons and hone their skills. It is greatly beneficial to future cultivation."

Not every mage did this. Many preferred to hole up in their workshops, researching and researching without end. The pinnacle of that lifestyle was building a Mage Tower entirely their own and remaining inside it year-round.

Of course, mages who traveled to improve their strength were hardly rare. Jaina herself had wandered about quite a bit when she was younger, though the memories those journeys left her were not particularly pleasant.

"You traveled to another world?"

Though Jaina had not dispersed the Arcane Energy around her, her reaction showed that she had listened to Yinsen’s explanation. She simply found it difficult to believe.

In her mind, any mage capable of breaking through the Planar Barrier to travel between worlds was an immensely powerful master. Such mages rarely traveled merely to improve their strength. Most did so to achieve some objective, or simply to sightsee.

There were only a handful of human mages in all Azeroth capable of doing this. Jaina herself certainly did not yet possess that level of power.

"You may have misunderstood something."

"What?"

"Breaking through the Planar Barrier does not necessarily mean one’s magical power is exceptionally strong. It may simply mean that the type of magic one uses is inherently inclined toward such things."

Jaina was, after all, a top-tier mage. Yinsen only needed to offer a slight reminder for her to grasp the key point. At the same time, she recalled his earlier claim that he could trap Onyxia.

"Your magic specializes in Interplanar Teleportation and Space Confinement!"

"Yes."

With a light wave of Yinsen’s hand, the previously ordinary meeting room seemed to become enclosed by layer upon layer of glass walls. Only then did Jaina realize that, aside from the Arcane Energy within her own body, the energy in this space was extremely sparse—or rather, this area had been isolated entirely, preventing the vast energies outside from entering.

"When did you do this?"

Jaina truly understood magic. She had already seen the purpose of this strange spell. What concerned her was when Yinsen had trapped all of them inside this space.

"From the moment you first tried to use magic to attack me."

Jaina tried her utmost to remain calm, but her narrowed pupils and slightly heavier breathing exposed her true thoughts.

The first time she had gathered Magic Energy had been quite a while ago. Yet she had been trapped inside a separate space without noticing anything unusual? Yinsen had not been boasting when he said he specialized in such spells. He truly had the confidence to back it up.

Jaina was not the only one startled. The two elves appeared somewhat nervous. Even after Yinsen dispelled the strange magic, they did not lower their weapons—staffs.

Only Varian remained silent and showed no great agitation. He merely looked calmly at Yinsen, who happened to turn and meet Your Majesty’s gaze directly.

"Just as I said before, I came here only because I am curious about certain knowledge in this world. I wish to expand my store of knowledge and learn things that may be useful to me."

Varian nodded. "Then what exactly do you want?"

"Training materials and writings from druids, hunters, paladins, and mages. I do not need the original copies of any precious notes; I only want the contents recorded within them."

Materials on mages were understandable. Druids and hunters struck Varian as somewhat odd, but were no great concern. What truly surprised him was that Yinsen was interested in the Holy Light.

"You want materials on the Holy Light as well?"

"The energy I used earlier is very similar to the Holy Light of this world, so I want to see exactly how the two differ." When Yinsen had treated Varian earlier, the energy he used had made everyone present mistake it for the Holy Light. Given that he was a mage, Valeera had even wondered whether he was a Blood Elf using a transformation spell.

Only Blood Elves had ever manipulated the Holy Light through arcane means by imprisoning a Naaru. Other than that, no one had ever heard of any mage being connected to the Holy Light.

By this point, several questions had been answered. Only Jaina, after frowning in thought for a while, pressed further. "How can I be sure you are not an invader from another world?"

Yinsen spread his hands. "I have already told you about myself. Whether you believe me is your decision; I cannot control that. If you feel I am unworthy of trust, then please have His Majesty Wrynn settle the payment for this treatment."

"That is avoiding the important question."

"No. I am merely stating a fact."

Yinsen knew what Jaina wanted to ask, but understanding did not mean he had to answer according to her wishes.

He felt he had already made his position clear: I have explained my circumstances. If you do not believe me, there is nothing I can do. I will not accept all manner of ridiculous demands just to prove something.

If Jaina wanted to "eliminate an invader from another world" and fight them, Yinsen was willing to oblige. There were indeed many beings in this world who made Yinsen wary, but Jaina was absolutely not among them.

"Enough, Jaina! I believe Mage Yinsen truly bears no ill will toward our world."

After remaining quiet for some time, Varian finally spoke, immediately expressing his trust in Yinsen. Whether it was sincere or not, Yinsen was very pleased by the goodwill Varian showed.

His efforts on Varian’s behalf had not been wasted.