' = Internal dialogue

¨= Normal speech

* = Sounds / Etc

—

—Chapter 53—

—

As I floated in the air behind the gnomes who were rushing toward the area through the vast tunnel directly toward the start of the sectors, we passed several large hatch doors, marked one to twelve.

We could now feel the ground tremble slightly as we neared our destination.

When we reached the sizeable vault-like door with thirteen inscribed above the entrance, the High Tinkerer brought out his fancy-looking remote again and furiously tapped a red button. Soon, though, he looked visibly stressed toward his fellow gnomes and shouted, "I can't get a signal! Bring out the drills! We need to get through the control panel and rewire the door!"

I yawned again and went through the frantic gnomes, putting something together as they dismantled their mounts into the tools needed to do what their High Tinker said.

"Allow me." I told the High Tinker, who stared at me with confusion before he could ask or stop me; however, I imbued my arms in ominous purple lightning, and both my arms darkened into a deep purple as the lightning coiled outward.

As the lightning coursed through the metallic door, I could feel the lightning connect to whatever the gnomes had designed to use as an opening mechanism *CLICK* into action as the door trembled and opened like a vault door.

'Well, that was convenient. I did not have to destroy the entrance for once, yay me.' I thought as the door slowly revealed what resided inside.

The king stood there, stared at the black palm prints on the solid metal door, and gaped momentarily; he shook his head, looked back at his people, and then shouted, "Show no mercy to the invaders! Charge!"

As the door opened, we could hear conflict further inside the room. As we all rushed through, I saw some kind of train on a large platform in the middle, raised to the ceiling level, where gnomes were shooting down from.

They were being pelted by rocks and stones from the large horde of troggs that had opened a thirty-meter tall and wide opening at the left side of the room. At least several hundred troggs had been able to get through by now.

It became clear this was not just a minor breach but an attempt at a straightforward extermination of the sector. Many of these abominations chewed on small limbs as they gleefully munched on the remains of dozens of gnomes while dancing in happiness, almost as if they had considered themselves victorious.

This sector seems to have been some living quarters while also being a workshop for trains. Small windows were visible as many gnomes watched their relatives and friends be devoured by the primitive creatures covered in blood.

As the High Tinker and his men charged to the right, I charged to the left as I could see a situation that was rapidly getting out of hand.

The head of some who had been dancing and shouting in pure, unadulterated glee over the taste of gnome flesh lost their heads instantly as I pointed my arm in their direction. The lightning flew, almost like a thin rope of death, before shooting itself directly at the pack of "mobs" which I had come to realize they really were, as a thundering *BOOM* streaked throughout the space I just struck as spiderweb and coils of lightning coursed through the area.

*CRACKLE*

The air itself had become loaded with electricity as the area I just threw my lightning at hummed as the air itself shook before it slowly dimmed down in intensity the next moment.

'Apparently, I should not use too much lightning in an area filled with conductive metals...I thought as I gazed at the dead troggs that seemed to twitch several moments after death.

I was shaken out of my thoughts by someone shouting, "Mommy!" A child's voice could be heard shouting frantically. She was dragged by the ankle, along with her mother, toward the wall torn down by the troggs.

The mother, however, had blood running through her dark hair and into her brow. Her eyes were closed, clearly unconscious from a blunt blow to the head as her daughter tried her best to wake her as they were pulled toward the opening the troggs had made.

However, they had some distance to go until they reached the destination of the breach. I decided to step up my game and try to prevent further casualties.

I sped directly toward the horde of troggs the gnomes were being dragged into. Still, this time, I would not use lightning as collateral damage was a possibility. No, this time, I wanted to make it painful. I wanted to inflict as much pain as possible upon these... failed products of the Titans.

So I imbued my entire body in a tiny layer of flames, and my arms gained two large gauntlets of hardened earth. They had the same shape as the ones that Malygos destroyed. The gauntlets looked like super-sized boxing gloves but with sharp extrusions coming from all sides like a morningstar.

My first action was to attempt to warp myself into the fray. Still, nothing happened. 'So it wasn't just my portal ability that was temporarily disabled, huh.' I thought as I imbued myself with air, making the flames erupt from all around my body as a result.

The next thing the pack of troggs knew was nothingness, the flesh melting off their bodies while some lost their heads as I punched the smaller creature's head down their necks with a sickening *Squelch*.

I had temporarily frozen the healthy gnomes that were being taken by the troggs with a thick layer of hollowed-out ice. In contrast, the injured were frozen in a harmless layer of ice covering their entire bodies while slaughtering the troggs en-masse.

Some troggs even tried to dig out the gnomes to reach them as I progressed toward the creatures like death itself. Still, their stone hatchets and axes proved to be lacking as they did not even manage to slightly thaw the ice, and only the sound of a weak and dull *thud* was the result of their only action before they were lit aflame, or becoming one head shorter.

Soon, I finished with the left part of the room that led me further into the entrance they had come from, leaving a wake of blood and gore in my way toward the main force that had breached the large room of whom the gnomes called sector thirteen.

While a wave of fire turned another dozen of troggs into ash, I noticed a large stone race through the air directly at my head, so I turned toward the incoming projectile and slapped the stone with the back of my hand, with a audible crack, the stone turned to pieces and sank into the other troggs at my side.

Wails and crying could be heard as a result, the troggs surprisingly started to retreat back into their hole in the wall while dragging their friends. There was palpable fear in their primitive eyes.

Two larger troggs had started running down the tunnel behind their own forces, using them as a meatshield against both me and the gnomes, who were rapidly advancing on their side due to my current pressure on the trogg forces.

The one who had thrown the large rock stared at me while frothing from the mouth. Bloodshot eyes promised vengeance as it started to turn around to retreat into the large hole in the wall.

The trogg had a large stone axe on his back and proper armor covering his body. His bucket helmet reached down to his forehead, making the creature's ugly face easy to see.

'Nah, I don't think so.' I thought as I launched myself toward the creature that was at least two times the size of the normal trogg.

The creature seemed to just notice me dashing directly at him as he reached for his axe and swung it as fast as he could to meet me head-on.

With an audible *BOOOOM*, I met the large stone axe with my earth imbued fist as the former shattered like glass, impaling itself directly into the two arms. As the trogg's flesh was instantly flayed from its arms due to the force behind the shattered stone pieces, all the way to its shoulder, a shrill cry with pain and outrage was soon replaced by immense fear as its cries turned to silence as it dawned on the trogg that the one who had just injured it still stood in front of it with the other arm going for a second strike.

It then started to shout some words out as he saw me prepared to punch it again. I ignored the fact that this one had the cognitive ability that the troggs were known to lack as I swung my arm toward the whimpering trogg.

"STOP!" My fist halted directly in front of its forehead when a voice came from behind me, I asked out loud without knowing who shouted, "Why?"

Then, as the source of the voice came toward me from behind, I recognized that it was the High Tinker. He replied while glaring toward the trogg, "Because... That creature shouted, "I will tell you where they are hidden...In ancient dwarven tongue..." The High Tinkerer said while attempting to calm himself down. His anger boiled as his wrench crackled and his arm shook.

"Several months ago, the troggs seemed to start getting smarter. They have systematically breached sectors like these, killing and eating a majority, except for the women and children, reason unknown." He continued as his face grew grim.

As the High Tinker, me, and the disoriented trogg, who seemed ready to collapse due to blood loss, became silent, I noticed that the other troggs had retreated.

I waved my hand, burned the trogg's arm to a crisp with a flick, cauterized the wound, and froze it over with a layer of ice.

The ugly creature screamed in pain as the ice covered the wound on his arm, then whimpered as it passed out and fell directly on its back with a weak *thud*.

I gave the ice none of the previous healing properties. I only made it seal the injury while making it as painful as possible. Frostbite apparently did not feel good.

"High Tinkerer!" A voice sounded out from behind us as we stood directly before the opening and the behemoth that lay passed out in front of us.

The High Tinkerer turned around slowly only to see his advisor come toward us with his personal guards at both sides, "We need to act now! By releasing the radioactive waste into their tunnels, we can flush them out and exterminate the troggs!" The High Tinkerer's advisor shouted in what looked like evident panic; if I hadn't seen the look in his eyes as he entered the hall, I might have believed it.

'Aha! So that's the guy!' I thought, somehow, it hadn't registered beforehand, the advisor of the High Tinker, the one who doomed Gnomeregan to a radioactive hellscape.

"Enough of that advisor Thermaplugg! We have gone over this. Leaving radioactive waste within our halls can also be our people's end!" The king shouted angrily. He was clearly in no mood to deal with something he seemed to already have been thoroughly done within a previous council meeting.

The advisor bowed to one knee, "It is, as you say, High Tinkerer. I will reflect upon what we are to do about the situation further. Do you want us to finish off this... thing for you?" He replied as he gazed toward the passed-out creature, who had started snoring obnoxiously.

This time, I replied for the king of the gnomes, "No, I will keep it restrained until we no longer need it." I stated as a fact while looking into the large new entrance into the mountain that the troggs had made for the gnomes.

Sicco Thermaplugg now looked like he was turning red as he started shouting, "I don't listen to the orders of halfbreed filth, yo-" "ADVISOR!" The High Tinker yelled angrily, "For my friend and advisor to offend a guest who has been helping us with the trogg threat since he appeared in our city would be a bad idea if we ever were to establish positive relations with someone powerful, no?" He said all this as he gazed in the same direction as I was, directly into the opening made by the troggs.

Then Gelbin Mekkatorque, the High Tinker, sighed loudly as he turned back to face his long-time friend, "There is a time and place for everything Sicco, but now is the time for you to act your station, leave us."

After an audible gulp, Sicco Thermaplugg retreated back toward the council chambers, but not before giving me an angry glare before waving at his two bodyguards, one of whom ran toward the entrance of the room, and mounted a mechanostrider, parked it beside the advisor and bowed.

But before the disgruntled advisor could leave with his group, he felt the ground rumble as I lifted my palm upward as a layer of blackened-purple stone layered around the open hole in the wall.

I had to cover much more than the initial broken-down wall, as the structure around the entire side of the sector had been damaged to the point of collapse. I reinforced the wall from both sides, making a repeat assault impossible.

The High Tinker at my side looked emotionlessly at the covered-up wall. Only when he had done something to his goggles with his hand and analyzing the wall he nodded in appreciation.

I turned back to see Sicco pale under his calm exterior for a moment before turning back to exit the room with his bodyguards.

"Your advisor and his men did not participate in the fight. Does he by any chance have Hemophobia?" I said with a tinge of humor to brighten the mood.

There were no signs of battle on either the Sicco or his men. They had clearly been waiting outside the sector before the fight had concluded.

'Be the bigger man, huh? Something tells me that will be a hard quota to fulfill as a gnome...' I thought, realizing yet again that my humor is dogshit. I sighed.

Gelbin chuckled dryly and said, "If I didn't know any better, I would say yes." Then he gazed at the results of the fight against the invaders, and I could almost see the sadness going through his entire body as he trembled for a moment.

We were interrupted by a whisper of a small gnome with blue pigtails who grabbed my leg with tiny hands, "Mi-mister? c-c-can you re-rel-release m-my mom fr-from th-the blue t-thing?" The little girl's voice pleaded, her large eyes watering as she finally mustered up the courage to ask the giant man.

I smiled as I lifted her up into the air with magic. She slowly levitated to my shoulder as she giggled, forgetting all about the scary events happening around her briefly.

I turned back to the High Tinker and said, "I will deal with the creature.

Do you have any place I can rest for a couple of hours? I've been at it for a while now and need some sleep."

The High Tinker gave me a weak smile and said, "I will cover your lodgings for the next year for what you have done here today, but tonight..." He quickly checked his mechanical watch for a moment before continuing, "Yes... tonight, come to sector seventeen. It is the only room in the sector as it is my personal workshop. you can borrow my alternate quarters for now, but I will warn you, the furniture may be slightly too small for someone of your stature." He chuckled, then added, "Call me Gelbin, and if you can in public, High Tinker, I have an image to maintain." He said with a small smile.

The small girl on my shoulder started withdrawing into my neck as she heard us talk as if she had realized yet again that her mother needed to be unfrozen, "It seems my passager requires my assistance but before that..." I looked at the trogg and froze the entire creature solid, plus some breathing holes for the creature as it snored comfortably somehow.

Gelbin sighed and said, "Thank you for your timely assistance regarding today's matters. If you have any problems within Gnomeregan, take this." He handed me an insignia with two tools in a cross with a diamond between a wrench standing straight up in a glass display.

"It's the Tinkerer's insignia. It is a symbol that everyone in Gnomeregan and outside knows what it means to carry one. That said, before we retreat to deal with our own business, may I ask for your name?" Gelbin explained, then asked with a smile.

I smiled in return, "My name is Medan, city lord of the regions of Azshara, as we still are debating on its name, considering it is, after all, quite new." I replied, putting my hand out and down toward Gelbin, who took it as we shook hands.

"Very well then, Medan, I will see you in the morning regarding what the trogg said. My people will help the injured as you release them from what you have them in.

An impressive display of magic, by the way." Gelbin replied. With his last words, he left me standing there with the small girl hugging my neck.

"Time to bring you to your mother, little one," I said as the small girl hugged my neck tighter as we made our way toward the frozen capsules I had left in my destructive wake.

—

After finishing getting the gnomes out of the ice, which had healed most injuries, I was asked by a gnome soldier, who had seen me communicate with the king, to help with some severe injuries the warriors had gotten during the fight, resulting in me growing even more fatigued as a result.

I only demanded them to be stacked in one place. I froze the entire area solid for a brief minute before I forced the ice to melt away, revealing almost fully recovered gnomes. Some had given up on life as they had lost arms and legs or were on the brink of death, but when the ice thawed, those limbs had grown back, albeit much more pink than usual skin.

This fact left the gnomes in an uproar as they danced with joy. Some even wanted a sample of the ice. I just shrugged and let them take the ordinary water that evaporated as the seconds passed.

Many offered their thanks, and several children had even gotten the courage to approach the giant, who seemed friendly with the adults, just to ask me to do a magic trick. I sighed and smiled weakly as I summoned a replica of the child who asked into a sculpture made of ice, which caused most of the children to cheer happily, even considering what had happened moments ago.

While most cheered with joy, I retreated out of the large sector while carrying the trogg above my head; somehow, I had managed to get out of there without being stopped and soon found myself within the empty tunnels as most of the gnomes had evacuated far away from the sector that had been breached, I strolled through the halls while looking at all the technological wonders of Gnomeregan, until I finally got to sector seventeen.

This sector looked shabby compared to the other sectors I have encountered thus far. The large sign above the entrance looked old and worn. There was even some rust starting to take over the letters.

I made my way toward where Gelbin had described earlier, which was surprisingly easy as only one house seemed livable. However, I had to make my way through another entrance, which was placed on the side with wheel prints on the floor coming from the side of the house, indicating it was some kind of workshop. The door blared momentarily before I could hear the inner machinations within the door start releasing pressure. It opened slowly, revealing a comfy-looking home... for a gnome. Luckily, I could access the house without leaning down... too much.

Then I approached where a sign indicated "Rest area." It turns out Gelbin had a sense of humor as he had to make a sign inside his workshop to suggest to himself and others that he had a resting area.

As I slogged through the building and opened the door to the "Rest Area." I was met with a dark room with a single light source: a small lamp beside a bed with a switch that I walked over to and turned off.

Mumbling to myself about gnomish beds not being up to standard, I conjured my own by reaching toward several vases throughout the room. I hardened the earth momentarily before softening the outer layer and laying down.

As I stared at the ceiling momentarily and yawned, I reached for my pocket and took out the small marble of massive power. I held it above my face as I studied it for a moment while thinking to myself, 'I wonder what to do with this...' but reaching no exact conclusion, I decided it was time for me to fall asleep as I put it back into my tattered bag that was somehow still holding up.

Then I decided to check my notifications as my eyes closed.

—

[Stonevault Cave Lurker(Level 34-43) x122 Slain]

[Stonevault Pillager(Level 30-39) x69 Slain]

[Stonevault Ambusher(Level 40-44) x13 Slain]

—

-Attunements:

-Fire - 69% [Tier III] Fire - 82% [Tier III]

-Water - 5% [Tier III] Water - 22% [Tier III]

-Earth - 98% [Tier II] Earth - 6% [Tier III]

-Air - 72% [Tier III] Air - 81% [Tier III]

—

Excess experience gained: 0,5 Levels.

Total excess experience: 25 Levels.

—

'Well, that's some decent progress for "low-level" content, I guess.'

'What a wild day, first dragons, then small wyrms, then dragons again, and now I am in the middle of Gnomeregan... I hope Jaina and Aegwynn aren't blowing things out of proportion or reducing the bronze flight into the first-ever wingless flight... Oh well, not my problem.' These were my thoughts as I fell into the comfortable domain of Morpheus.

—Chapter 53 End—