On the surface of the rectangular piece, there's a faint outline of a squirrel.
"This outline..." He checked the piece from all angles. Even at dim light, the outline is a bit discernable.
"Based on his memory, this is a communication relic. In order to activate it, one needs to place 10 Gold on the outline of the squirrel mouth. Then it will be active for ten minutes wherein it will work very similarly with that unknown app on my cell phone. Unfortunately, I don't have that enough money so I can't test it myself. " He wanted to test it but doesn't have enough money to do so. Being useless at this moment, he put it back on the bag.
He then tests that notebook and magical pen. He has Geralt's memory so he knows how to use it but still, nothing beats the actual experience so he played around with it for a while until he got bored. He also looked at the books but it's hard to read with not much enough lighting so he put it back as well.
The cave is not that big, so he decided to check it out.
"The walls are a bit polished. It seems that this is not a cave that formed naturally. Someone must have carved it before. If that's the case, maybe there's a secret room somewhere?" Using his palms, he tried to feel if there's anything out of place that might be a switch to a secret room.
After a while, he actually found something!
"Hmm... there's seems to be a symbol here." Using his fingers, he tried to feel the outline of the symbol to determine what it is as this is located in an area where there's no light. After trying for a bit, he frowned. There are too many lines and it is difficult to figure out.
"It will be easier if I can see it." He stepped back a bit and tried to conjure the spark of fire again.
Then suddenly...
*TING*
He felt he heard something like a bell ring on his head. As soon as that ring is gone, he discovered that he will be able to conjure that fire by simply reciting its name on his mind. It is as if God whispered an instruction on his whole being.
"Basic Flame!" He recited on his mind as he focuses on his palm.
A small flame appeared almost instantly floating on his palm. Upon seeing the phenomenon, his eyes light up in astonishment. He also realized that he only need to devote a little of his attention and the flame will continue burning.
"Fascinating! This is unbelievable! A spellcasting without concentrating on the magic formula? But I can't remember that Geralt can do something like this. He's only an apprentice magician." He pondered hard for a moment before eventually shaking his head.
"This seems to be my own ability and not his. He knows two spells that he can actually conjure, the flame and wind. Let me try the wind spell. It's called 'Basic Breeze'." He put out the flame first.
"Basic Breeze!" He recited on his mind with a serious expression. He waited for a few seconds.
Upon seeing nothing happened, he looked a bit to the left and right. But there's nothing. He scratched his head then tried reciting the spell name again.
"Why is there no reaction?" A deep crease furrowed on his forehead, and doubts sprouted in his mind.
After pondering for a moment, he realized one thing.
"Hmm.. for that flame, I've conjured it before by concentrating on the magic formula. Maybe I should do the orthodox method first."
He closed his eyes and tried to recall the magic formula for the wind spell. Upon collecting his thoughts, he started to concentrate on it. He felt the mysterious force again. It's the same experience when he first conjured the flame. With the force being guided by the formula, it produced a light breeze that blows on his face. The wind seems gentle and kind. As he removes his attention to the formula, the wind dissipated.
He tried reciting the spell name again but nothing happened.
"Hmm... maybe I have to trigger that bell ring sounds by conjuring it the second time." He muttered to himself. So he started to conjure the wind again.
*TING*
This time being prepared, he discovered more details on what is happening. After that bell ring on his head, he felt that the magical formula for that spell merged with his soul. The fusion happened in the blink of an eye which is probably why he missed it earlier. As soon as it merged, he felt that he will be able to conjure it by just reciting the spell name.
"Basic Breeze!"
A light breeze blows on his face as soon as he finished reciting it on his head. He willed it to blow somewhere else and it did change direction.
"Hahahaha! This is amazing! Does this mean that as long as I can conjure a spell twice, I will be able to cast it again by just reciting the spell name in the future?"
He is now convinced that this is his special ability. Based on Geralt's memory, everybody from apprentice magicians, official magicians, and even the legendary wizards have to concentrate on a magic formula before they can successfully conjure a spell. Simple spells can be cast in a second but some complex spells can take hours. Full concentration is needed in order to conjure any magic spells.
Spells can be cast faster by practicing it again and again by engraving it on the mind. In a way that you will remember every nooks and corner of a street if you see it again and again. Of course, there are external objects that can also help. There are pills that can calm the mind which helps in concentration. There are weapons, armors or relics that can provide some help on spell casting speed if worn. But if ever there are objects that can help with instant casting of spell? That will surely be coveted by any magicians.
"I should not use this heaven-defying ability of mine in front of other people. It's both a blessing and a curse. Without sufficient strength, this can endanger my life."
He imagined that a powerful wizard discovered his secret and captured him. Being a weak magician, any resistance is futile. He was then tortured to disclose his secret. He was also experimented on. Being this world really feels real, that is a disaster! He quivered with the thought of it.
"Haha, but I'm smart! I will fake it by conjuring using the orthodox method then recite the spell name on my mind. As long as I'm careful, they wouldn't notice any difference." He stands proudly with his hands on his hips. Feeling so smug with his exceptional brightness, he nodded his head in satisfaction.
"Now, let's look at this symbol on the wall again." He walked closer to the wall.
"Basic Flame!" He recited on his head and a floating flame appeared in front of him.
"So it is actually a bear with a circle around it. What's up with this world? First, a squirrel? Now, a bear? And then there are eight lines that resemble Sun's rays around it." He pondered silently. He's searching Geralt's memory for any clues. But found that there's nothing.
"Let's try pressing this symbol." He lightly pressed the symbol. It didn't budge. He pressed it with more force but it is as still as before. He tried to rotate it but the result is just the same. He tried all sorts of other things but there's really nothing. It is as if the symbol was just carved on this wall.
"Hmph! Okay! I give up! It won't be a good idea anyway. What if there is actually a hidden door here and it is full of monsters? I will be sorry for my pitiful life." Thinking about the possible dangers, he tried to console himself for his failure to trigger whatever it is. If this is a treasure trove, there will likely be some powerful Guardians that can easily squash him to death. If that's the case, not triggering it will be the best idea ever.
"Since this is a magical land, probably it needs some kind of token to activate it. I've read some novels before and that's how those who own such a place protect their abode. If you got the token, you are probably destined to open it. But I think since I've discovered this cave, this is destined to me. The token will reveal itself sooner to later." He nodded to agree to himself.
"Anyway, back to the main mission. I need to get to the Horn City and bring the medicine to Geralt's father. But this is the perilous plain of death. Geralt died when he was struck by the lightning."
"Hmm... I remembered that Geralt was trying to learn a barrier spell from the book but he is having difficulty learning it so he wasn't able to successfully conjure it even once."
"But wait, this is lightning! Heheheh... maybe using that will work!" With a mischievous look on his face, he looked at that certain area on the cave.