Chapter 37: The Hero Altar (Part 2)

“The Hero Altar—this is the altar that allows one to transform into a hero class!”
Although summoning it directly required a great deal of energy, Donald showed no sign of concern. He was gazing at the Elder Altar, muttering to himself, his emotions a mix of complexity and excitement.
Through the Book of Truth, he had long known that not only the structures of the four races’ military units could enable intelligent beings in this world to transform, but the heroes of those four races could also transform by building altars. However, he had previously lacked the strength and energy to construct such altars and undergo the transformation.
Transforming into a hero was different from becoming a regular military class; one needed at least Level 1 soul rank to do so. Otherwise, the powerful rules governing hero transformation could easily shatter one’s mental defenses, damaging their soul. Most ordinary humans couldn’t reach this level. Donald, with his naturally poor aptitude, only just met the requirements after being strengthened by the Book of Truth and officially promoted to an Iron Mage.
Any soul-related damage was generally beyond the capacity of those below Silver rank. Even with a high-tier artifact like the Book of Truth, Donald couldn’t heal such injuries in a short time, which would inevitably affect his future development and strength.
After reaching the Iron rank and meeting the conditions, he became less eager to transform.
His original plan was to first raise his mage level to Bronze and build a solid foundation before pursuing a second career, which would be more beneficial for his overall development rather than relying solely on the Book of Truth to boost his strength.
But facing threats from a sorcerer at least at Bronze rank and the intrusion of demons that he failed to deal with pushed Donald to act hastily. He figured he could put in more effort to cultivate his mage skills later!
Becoming a hero was the fastest way for Donald to enhance his strength at the moment.
“What could be more powerful and quicker than directly obtaining the attributes and abilities of a hero class?”
However, hero transformations had a uniqueness constraint: once someone took on the hero class, no one else could adopt it, and that hero could not also serve as another hero.
Moreover, a hero’s strength would be ten times greater than that of ordinary military units. Such immense power made it difficult for Donald, as the master, to control them. Without suitable candidates who could guarantee loyalty, he had no intention of opening this path to his subordinates for now.

However, this does not prevent him from transitioning on his own, as the mage class is one he has cultivated through his own efforts, and he possesses the talent for it, so it has no impact on transitioning to a hero class. This way, he can possess the skills and attributes of two powerful classes, and as long as the attributes are compatible, there is no issue of mutual interference, making his combat strength extremely formidable. Still, choosing which hero class requires Donald to think carefully, as once decided, it is basically impossible to change, so he must choose wisely. After much consideration, Donald finally chose the Night Elf hero class he liked the most in his past life’s game: the Demon Hunter. First, choosing an Elf hero class gives him some of the long lifespan associated with the Elves, which is why he established the Elders’ Altar, the first transition sanctuary for the Elves. After all, mortals with short lives all want to live as long as possible. And since he has already chosen the Tree of Life of the Elves as the main base for his territory’s development, it is natural to choose a hero class from his own race to achieve the greatest enhancement effects. Second, he chose the Demon Hunter because he likes the architecture and units of the Elves, both in his past life’s game and in this world. In games, the Demon Hunter was also his favorite hero. Additionally, the Demon Hunter is a hero class that has an advantage in early development and rapid strength improvement. Among the Elves, there are two female hero classes unsuitable for males, leaving only the Demon Hunter and the Jungle Guardian. Speaking of which, the Jungle Guardian is also a great choice. Unlike the Demon Hunter, who is an outlier among the Elves, the Jungle Guardian, as a noble and king among the two natural races of Night Elves and Druids, undoubtedly has enormous potential for talent development. The Jungle Guardian can be said to have the longest lifespan among the four major Elf heroes and even the greatest development potential among all four races. After all, he is the beloved son of the demi-god Cenarius. Among all races and neutral heroes, only the Lord of Terror, the Lord of the Abyss, and the Lord of Fire have talent and development potential comparable to that of the Jungle Guardian. However, these three are all evil non-human races, with the Lord of Fire being an elemental race without a physical body, so they are not suitable choices for Donald.

However, the Demon Hunter is different. Born as both a warrior and a hunter, it excels in both physical combat and magical abilities. Its class traits also grant it diversity and flexibility in dealing with crises—after all, potential alone isn’t enough; it depends on how much strength can actually be utilized.

Moreover, the Jungle Guardian hero is generally more supportive in nature. Among its four skills, there are hardly any powerful offensive abilities. Whether it’s using Natural Power to summon tree spirits to assist in combat as excellent physical shields against close attacks, or Thorn Aura to enable the Guardian to more effectively confront large numbers of enemy melee units by reflecting damage, or Entangling Roots to summon thorny roots from the ground to trap enemies, preventing them from moving and dealing continuous damage—these are all supportive aura skills and restrictive abilities. Even though they carry some damage, the improvement in one’s own strength becomes evident only in the later stages, whereas they are highly effective in strengthening subordinate units.

The ultimate skill, Calm Donald, is also quite notable. This ability can unleash a rain of life across a large area, with each drop restoring a certain amount of health like a potion, allowing for rapid recovery of many damaged units during battle. However, its drawbacks are also obvious—the user cannot move while casting it, and it cannot distinguish between friends and enemies as in the game. If the enemies are races not close to nature, it won’t increase their health but may even have a negative effect. If the enemies are nature-loving races like elves and humans, they can still benefit from the rain of life, so timing its use requires careful calculation.

Furthermore, he can acquire all these skills through innate abilities granted by Truth as his soul level increases. In the future, with sufficient soul power, he could even create the hero he desires. Thus, Donald abandoned the Jungle Guardian and chose the Demon Hunter, which allows him to improve his strength more quickly. With the Demon Hunter’s formidable physique, strength, and melee skills, Donald’s weaknesses as a mage are almost completely compensated.

History has shown that ordinary humans with innate talents simply cannot master both magic and combat simultaneously. In the end, they can only focus on one aspect as the main strength and the other as a secondary one. While they may have strong overall capabilities, their high-level strength still falls short compared to those who specialize in one field.

The only ones truly capable of mastering both magic and combat are those human descendants with non-human bloodlines—such as dragon mages who possess dragon power, half-elf swordmasters with high elf ancestry, or the chosen ones and descendants of true gods, as well as powerful magical demons from the abyss.

Yet most of these exist as ancient heroes or demon kings recounted in legends—figures who emerged only in times of war and chaos, for it is in troubled times that heroes arise. In modern times, the chances of obtaining such immense power are practically zero.

Yet Donald possesses such great potential that, with proper growth, he could rival those ancient heroes—all thanks to the Book of Truth!

Another crucial reason for choosing the Demon Hunter is the ability to seize and absorb demonic power to enhance one’s strength. In World of Warcraft’s official campaigns, the most famous first Demon Hunter, Illidan, was a top-tier boss on par with ancient demigods. This shows that by gaining power to counter demons, one can not only deal with that sorcerer but also rapidly improve their strength during periodic disasters, acquiring the power to establish a firm foothold in this world.

Of course, after switching classes, Donald can gain all the traits and skills of that heroic class, but it won’t change much of his original appearance. Other classes might be fine, but if he turned into something like a forest guardian—part human, part deer—he would have to live in the forest forever and never be able to see people again.

“Kaelthas, the prince of the blood elves and a powerful figure among them, would also be a great choice. In terms of strength and potential for growth, he ranks just behind the previous two. His abilities to exile and drain magic give him a significant advantage against warriors and mages alike.”

“However, the Blood Mage class overlaps with my own mage class. Although I’ll gain some benefits, they’re not as comprehensive as those from other classes. Moreover, since blood elf mages give up innate ice magic to focus on more powerful fire and dark magic, it will inevitably affect their future development. Naturally, they can’t match the immense potential of a forest guardian, who comes from a pure demigod lineage.”

“What I value isn’t just the hero’s skills but also their physical condition and potential after inheriting their legacy. That’s why the Demon Hunter is my best choice so far. The skills of other heroes are also very useful, but I can also gain abilities from the Book of Truth through leveling up.”

It is conceivable that if Donald could combine the innate skills of multiple heroes and powerful races, he would grow to an incredibly strong level!