"Ding! Mission: Summon I (Collect 0/20 Rock Troll Blood) has been activated. Accept?"
"Mission Reward: Conjunction of the Spheres - Troll."
Huh? The mission activated at this moment?
Allen immediately stopped in his tracks, carefully rereading the lines several times.
Nice, wish fulfilled!
There was no need to hesitate on this mission; he accepted it directly.
Collecting 20 portions of blood likely meant collecting blood from 20 different Rock Trolls, without needing to kill them. Otherwise, it would have been a hunting mission that got activated. However, now wasn't the time to ask these three trolls for blood. Although they respected Allen due to the heads of the two monsters, requesting their blood would definitely have undesirable consequences.
"Since I'm here, let's first improve our rapport."
After pondering for a moment, Allen took out three pieces of rotten meat from his backpack. He had previously obtained a cookbook written by the legendary troll chef, "A Brief Discussion on 23 Ways to Cook Drowners." Although he couldn't understand the contents, considering that drowners were scavengers, rotten meat should also be acceptable to them.
"Hope the trolls like it," Allen thought.
For now, he couldn't find anything else to boost their favor.
As soon as he took out the rotten meat, its putrid stench instantly filled the area around him. Sure enough, when Allen turned back toward the trolls, he saw them staring unblinkingly at the rotten meat in his hands. Little Stone even had drool trickling from its mouth.
"This is a gift from a friend."
Allen placed the three pieces of rotten meat on the ground and slowly stepped back.
"Good hunter... good man..."
Big Stone nodded excitedly, taking two steps forward to pick up the rotten meat. After deeply inhaling its scent, he reluctantly divided it among Broken Stone and Little Stone.
Seeing this, Allen sighed in relief. It was good that the rotten meat suited their tastes. He had plenty of it; there were over a hundred pieces in his inventory. If he continued hunting drowners, he would gather even more in the future. However, giving a few pieces each time would suffice; giving too much at once wasn't ideal. Building rapport required patience. After the trials, he could give more, and obtaining those three portions of blood shouldn't be a problem. Having handed over the gifts, Allen was about to leave to continue his trials but was unexpectedly blocked by Big Stone.
Allen immediately became cautious, thinking the troll might be dissatisfied with the small amount of meat and wanted more. But to his surprise, Big Stone, after blocking his path, turned back and rummaged through a pile of rocks in the corner. He then walked over and unfolded his rough hand, revealing an irregular red gemstone.
"Friend... gift..."
Allen was momentarily stunned before instinctively accepting the red stone.
"Thump, thump, thump."
Big Stone nodded clumsily after seeing Allen take the stone, and then eagerly joined the other trolls to enjoy their feast. Allen stood there, holding the dazzling red gem, feeling a mix of emotions. He sighed, taking one last look at the simple-minded trolls, then put the gem in an inner pocket of his leather armor and turned toward the Circle of Elements.
--------
The winter sun shone obliquely. Allen, carrying the monster heads, walked up the mountain path.
The Circle of Elements was an ancient site, predating the establishment of the Sea Fort by the witchers. It was one of the most magic-rich places in the entire Blue Mountains. The elves had constructed similar altars in many magic-rich places to activate or recharge magical items.
However, since the Conjunction of the Spheres over two millennia ago, when humanity's ancestors crossed the sea, the elves' living spaces had been increasingly encroached upon, and their population had dwindled. As a result, many magic-rich places like the Circle of Elements were either utilized by humans or abandoned.
"Whoo~"
Allen exhaled a long white breath. Unlike in the game, the Circle of Elements was not close to the trolls' abode. He had walked for almost half an hour before seeing the ruins standing on a cliff.
"Finally here!"
Allen's mood lifted with excitement. Since coming to this world, he had been searching for differences between this real world and the game world of the witchers. Magic-rich places were naturally a significant part of this.
In the game, activating such places not only enhanced sign usage but also granted a skill point. When he played the game, Allen would explore new maps by first activating all the magic-rich sites before proceeding with main quests.
Therefore...
"Does this world's magic-rich site have special effects too?"
"What would happen if the witcher's journal encountered a magic-rich site?"
Such questions had been lingering in his mind since leaving the trolls. Now that the Circle of Elements was in front of him, he finally had a chance to find out.
"Whoo~"
Allen exhaled, stepping on the soft snow, walking toward the high ground. The closer he got to the ruins, the faster his heart pounded, drumming loudly in his ears. The sound was so overwhelming he worried he might miss any sudden notifications from the witcher's journal. However, even as he reached the ruins, he heard nothing familiar.
"Sigh~"
Allen couldn't help but sigh in disappointment. But with a sliver of hope, he carefully inspected the surroundings again, yet he couldn't find the magic pillar with various glows that existed in the game. There was only a ruin, overgrown with hardy vines, filled with snow, cracks, and debris.
With his fantasy shattered, Allen didn't linger. He walked up the cracked steps to the altar, took out the roaring wolf medallion of the School of the Wolf from his collar, and placed it on the smooth altar. Since Hughes and the others had been here earlier, the four torches on the platform bore signs of having been lit. Recalling Vesemir's instructions on activation, Allen found the torches marked with symbols of water, earth, air, and fire, lighting them sequentially with the Igni sign.
A simple activation method.
After activating, Allen stared intently at the school medallion. For a long while, nothing happened. Just as he thought he might have used the wrong order...
The wind picked up.
A gust of wind with no discernible origin swirled around the altar. Inside Allen, the magic aura from water elemental affinity also started to tremble.
"Buzz~"
The silver roaring wolf medallion vibrated, humming and knocking against the altar. Allen stood up suddenly, his eyes filled with surprise and disbelief. It wasn't because the medallion was activating but because...
"Ding! Conjunction of the Spheres - Drowner, charging..."
.....
📢20 advanced chapters on p@treaon📢
For advance chapters: p@treon.com/Uchiha_Itachi007 (replace @ with a)
76. How Can the Notes Be Changed?
77. Is It Really Necessary?
78. Allen's Return.
79. The Genius Allen?
80. The Ancient Ritual.