The Great Thief

A young Nat was conversing with his good friend about his dreams. What he did not know, however, was that his dreams were all connected with the many events in Dawn’s history.

These included: the reformation of the society under Tyran, the Legion’s invasion, Archimonde’s destruction, Thrall’s escape and eventual succession as the leader of the Orcs, the fall of Arthas which caused the destruction of Lordaeron, and the invasion of the Scourge.

All of these represented most of Dawn’s history. Furthermore, the dreams had all coincidentally come from mind of Nat Pagle, who was just a young fisherman.

That was why Southshore was known as a place that was lost in the river of time.

Lu Li’s sudden words had interrupted the conversation that Nat Pagle and his friend was having.

“I believe that you’ll be a fishing expert. People coming from the corners of the world will come and pay respects.”

“Oh, look at this young man who’s full of vigour!” Hal McAllister exclaimed in surprise.

Although Hal McAllister was a fisherman now, he would eventually become a fish merchant. His life was not going to change much, and he would become much like the other commoners.

However, Nat Pagle, who was destined to be a great fisherman in the future, did not flinch or show excitement at Lu Li’s words.

In Azeroth, many of the fishing equipment was associated with Nat Pagle, such as Nat’s Lucky Fishing Pole, Nat Pagle’s Extreme Angler FC-5000 (Limited Edition) and Nat Pagle’s Extreme Anglin’ Boots. These were all extremely prestigious and high-grade items.

At the same time, if a player’s Fishing profession level exceeded 250, they would be eligible to receive a mission from Nat Pagle, who would ask them to fish for different rare species around the world. It was only after the completion of this mission that Nat Pagle would be willing to teach them an elite fishing technique.

However, Nat Pagle was not bound to Southshore.

He always appeared in areas which had no connection with fishing at all, and gave extremely vague, riddle-like responses. As a result, the players who liked to investigate the lore of the NPCs and characters in Dawn were drawn towards his character. They grew to be suspicious of his background and identity.

Lu Li had already learned about Nat Pagle in his previous life.

Nat Pagle could also be found in Theramore, and was associated with the book ‘The Despicable Creatures of the Deep Sea’. While he was arrogant, he was also an extremely knowledgeable expert on sea creatures.

Dustwallow Marsh also had a Nat Pagle NPC. Although it was in the territory of the great Mage Jaina, she only controlled the north side of the area.

The black dragons controlled the Southwestern region of Dustwallow Marsh. Their leader was a fearsome dragon called Onyxia, who was the daughter of Deathwing and also the sister of Nefarian, the king of the Blackrock Spire.

The dragons in Theramore were much more dangerous, as they were much more organised in battle.

However, Nat Pagle still dared to fish there, separated from them by a mere mountain range. He was seemingly not afraid of these savage and powerful beasts.

There was yet another Nat Pagle in Zulgurub who was hunting a three-headed snake Boss. He might have failed though, since Nat Pagle’s Broken Reel was left behind in the Instance.

He was the owner of an exquisite fishing pole called Nat Pagle’s Fish Terminator. There was a sentence that was carved into the wood that read, “Fishing is a sport for women.” Clearly, Nat Pagle was not merely a normal fisherman in saying this.

As for his character, it did not worry Lu Li. He still dared to try for the Weather-Beaten Journal.

According to Lu Li’s strategy, the interruption of their conversation would successfully attract both of their attentions.

‘What are you doing here? Young men like you should be working hard outside,” Nat Pagle said with a frown, ignoring Lu Li’s statement.

However, Lu Li had already known that he would not buy into it. He smiled and answered, “I have already battled for too long. Look at this wound that I received from slaying a dragon.”

While Lu Li talked, he also decided show him Mature Blue Dragon Sinew.

“Blue Dragon Azuregos!”

Nat Pagle’s facial expression quickly changed.

Lu Li had only needed to show that he wasn’t weak, but he had been a little excessive this time. Fortunately, Nat Pagle was only an NPC. Otherwise, he might have had a heart attack.

If a player had simply said, “I love fishing! I vow to be the greatest fisherman in the world,” this would have meant nothing to him. After all, Nat Pagle himself had claimed that fishing was for women, which indicated that he did not enjoy it, despite being a renowned expert.

“I also occasionally fish to satisfy my hunger,” Lu Li said as he sat down beside them.

Each bait cost 10 silver coins, and they didn’t provide any special properties. The baits were also of the lowest grade, which was why he had openly denounced his own profession.

Lu Li sitting down with them was normal. After all, fishing was a social activity. There was even the possibility of becoming a couple.

What if it was a man?

Could a man not become a couple with another man? This was not something that was out of the ordinary.

Through fishing together like this, Lu Li was able to gain favour and improve his relationship with Nat Pagle and Hal McAllister.

However, they managed to find other things to criticise.

“Your fishing position is wrong, and your grip on the rod is too tense. Your hands will ache after a long period of time,” Hal McAllister said, sharing his own opinion.

Furthermore, Nat Pagle was not impressed with Lu Li’s fishing equipment and scoffed, “Even a child wouldn’t use equipment as basic as this.”

“There isn’t much good equipment in the cities. Everyone treats the fishing profession in contempt. Furthermore, no one is willing to pay the standard market price for the fish sold by merchants,” Lu Li lied.

The truth was that fishing is actually a highly sought-after profession.

Fishing was especially popular for the mature-aged players, as they did not need to travel far, like they would need to in real life.

“Fishing is actually extremely useful,” Nat Pagle sighed.

“Nat, why don’t you give him the equipment that you had made a few days ago?” Hal McAllister asked. He seemed like a generous old man, but he would not lose anything if Nat gave Lu Li the equipment anyway.

“No!” Nat Pagle rejected the proposal immediately.

Lu Li was disappointed. However, his goal was not to gain new fishing equipment, but the Weather-Beaten Journal, so he was still in good spirits.