Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Violent explosions echoed from the shore of Lake Vizima, sending water waves crashing and battered acolytes emerging, bloodied, and maimed, staining the lake red.
A humorous voice broke the tense atmosphere. Soon, a figure with water-blue skin, clad in unknown leather, with fleshy limbs, watery eyes, and a large head emerged from the water. Despite resembling an acolyte, this individual was larger. Carrying an iron triangular fork, he waddled over to Wayne, snatched a grilled fish Wayne had cooked over the fire, and devoured it unceremoniously.
With a mouthful of food, he addressed Wayne, "Hey, witcher, done with today's mission? I reckon there were about thirty of them."
"Though these creatures are dim-witted, their numbers are dwindling. I used to lure seven or eight of them at once, but now it's only four or five."
"You're a peculiar one. You claim to want to exterminate the acolytes, yet you seem to take pleasure in not killing them every time. You still ask for precise tasks. Quite peculiar."
"Wow, Wayne! Today's grilled fish is delicious, much better than mine. It's really strange. We use the same ingredients, yet our dishes taste so different?"
Wayne glanced at the talkative and informal Fitz, feeling amused.
Lala had mentioned that her brother underwent a minor change. However, Fitz, who bore no resemblance to a godling, seemed like more than just a minor change.
Wayne grabbed a bunch of honey snacks from a nearby stone, bought from the store, and handed them to Fitz.
"Alright, Fitz, enough chatter for today. I have my reasons for doing this. Here's your reward, and I'll see you again tomorrow."
Upon seeing his favorite snacks, Fitz stopped talking and hugged them tightly, ready to share them with his sister and parents at home.
These little godlings had no other responsibilities, so they came to help the witcher deal with the acolytes every day, receiving delicious treats in return. It was a win-win situation.
Wayne was satisfied with Fitz's cooperation. Since Borch's departure, frying fish by Lake Vizima had become Wayne's daily routine.
With a considerable amount of wealth at his disposal, Wayne spent his spare time buying materials in the city and honing his skills in alchemy, forging, and medicine.
In his leisure moments, he also practiced archery in his yard and out in the fields, a skill he hadn't used in a long time.
This kind of action, besides rapidly improving his various skills, also consumes a lot of money, allowing him to obtain many alchemy products, piles of various alchemy bombs, and witcher potions.
Unfortunately, his current forging technology isn't good enough, resulting in low-quality weapons and armor. Instead of selling these defective products, he recycles them directly into the furnace for remanufacturing, using them as new materials to practice forging again.
Moreover, his genetic mutation skills, enhanced by frequently drinking potions, have been upgraded to level five, granting him the choice of skill specialties.
Gene Mutation LV5: Mana recovery speed +50%, poison resistance +5.
Specialty: Addiction: Prolonged drug use stimulates the body, allowing the intake of additional potions beyond normal limits. This results in an increase in body functions during the drug's duration, but leads to weakness afterward due to physical damage. Effects range from 20% to 150% strengthening, with weakness lasting from hours to days.
Mutation Enhancement: Prolonged drug stimulation has led to breakthrough growth in various organs, resulting in an overall attribute increase, casting power boost, increased chaos magic reserve, and improved poison resistance. All attributes are boosted by +3, casting power by +20%, chaos magic reserve by +30%, and poison resistance by +5.
Both specialties are powerful, but Wayne can only choose one. After much consideration, he temporarily selects the second specialty, mutation enhancement. The first specialty, Addiction, provides percentage enhancement but comes with strong side effects and doesn't offer immediate benefits given Wayne's current attribute levels.
On the other hand, mutation enhancement provides overall body strengthening, almost equivalent to raising his overall level by three.
Although Wayne also desires to have abilities like those in the game, such as being a wolf, bear, or cat addict, he knows he must wait patiently for that option to become available later. For now, he endures and waits for his time to rise.
In addition to raising the level of mutation to level five, thanks to his relentless efforts, Wayne has also raised the level of his Gwent card to level five. He has successfully raised all four of the Witcher's main skills to level five.
Gwent LV5: Luck +5.
Wealth Luck: Favored by luck, Wayne attracts money effortlessly, outperforming others in any industry or location. Luck always favors him in monetary bets.
Effect: Fortune +10.
Lucky Day: Wayne, blessed by luck, experiences exceptional fortune on a certain day each month. While fate doesn't reveal the specific day, Wayne senses when his luck peaks, marking it as his lucky day.
Effect: On lucky days, luck is doubled, and a significant stroke of good luck is guaranteed.
Upon seeing the skill specialties granted by Gwent card LV5, Wayne wastes no time in making his choice. While money is crucial, Wayne, as a witcher with flexible moral boundaries, believes he can acquire wealth through various means. Moreover, money can often attract unwanted attention.
In contrast, luck is invaluable. A person with strong luck gains advantages in various aspects of life, from interactions with others to facing formidable adversaries. Furthermore, the effect of Lucky Day increases with Wayne's level, promising even greater benefits.
Wayne eagerly anticipates triggering the lucky day's effect, confident it will lead to a stroke of good luck and potentially influence the outcome of significant events.