Swish—
The sound of something heavy scraping echoed through the pitch-black cave.
"Have the drowners in Killer Lake really been wiped out?"
Allen muttered as he tossed four eerie blue drowner corpses near the bonfire.
Upon closer inspection, none of the corpses had any open wounds, only a dent in the head, as if they had been fatally struck by a blunt object. The heavy snowfall had not only made the roads difficult to traverse but also made it hard to find monsters. He had spent a long time waving the drowner whistle at the cave entrance, but only managed to lure in four of them.
Even if spring arrives, or even after a year or two, it's unlikely that this cave will ever see the massive piles of drowner corpses again. After all, the drowner heart essence formula has already surfaced. Such a useful formula is sure to trigger a drowner hunting craze at Kaer Morhen in the coming year.
Shhck—
A dagger sliced through a throat, and steaming blood spurted out, soaking into the magic circle Allen had already drawn. He then skinned and dismembered the drowners, separating their bones and flesh. The flesh was laid on the outer layer of the magic circle, while the bones were piled up in a small circle in the center. The small circle was just big enough to seat one person.
The minimum requirements for the "Flesh Golem" ritual were 40 kilograms of flesh, 20 kilograms of bone, and 10 kilograms of blood. Therefore, Allen had to process two drowners. Since this was his first time setting up a ritual, it took him about an hour, working intermittently, to complete the preparations.
Phew—
He placed the unused flesh and bones to one side, took a deep breath, and stood up to observe his first ritual by the firelight. The dim cave, the faint light of the fire, and the air thick with the stench of blood and decay created a bloody, eerie, and evil atmosphere. It looked like a scene straight out of a cult's sacrificial ritual.
"I mustn't let Vera see this!" Allen thought. Considering that his body might undergo changes, he took off his weapons, leather armor, and clothing, and placed them nearby. After checking the cooldown time for the Conjunction of the Spheres, he stepped into the inner circle and knelt down.
Moments later, a murmur that seemed like both a prayer and a chant began to echo by the bonfire. The ritual had begun!
"Flesh grants me rebirth, blood grants me strength..."
This was not a language Allen was familiar with, yet he somehow understood its meaning. Moreover, as he recited the first line, the rest of the ritual words flowed naturally from his mouth, as if someone else was controlling him. However, Allen knew that he could stop at any time if he wished. This dissonance was extremely unsettling.
After reciting two or three lines of the ritual, the magic circle seemed to come alive. The surrounding flesh dissolved, and the bones suddenly crumbled into powder. Then, the fleshy pulp and bone dust seemed to gain consciousness, crawling on the ground and attaching themselves to Allen. The bizarre scene made his scalp tingle.
Fortunately, the fleshy pulp and bone dust moved so quickly that they had already covered him completely by the time Allen felt uncomfortable. In the next instant, Allen noticed something. It felt... actually kind of comfortable!
It was like being enveloped in warm, soft flesh, almost like... returning to his mother's womb. Barely perceptible murmurs filled his mind as a connection, similar to that of the Dream Pearl, appeared in his consciousness. A surge of power rushed in from all directions, giving him the illusion that he could shatter a mountain with a single punch.
Astonished, Allen clenched his fist, his exposed, blood-red muscle fibers contracting smoothly. Unbelievable... this fleshy shell felt just like his own body. He mentally opened his character panel.
[Name: Allen]
[Health: 100%, Stamina 310/310, Mana 300/300]
[Attributes: Strength 26, Agility 24, Constitution 31, Perception 18, Mysticism 30]
"Hah!"
Other than a loss of eight points in Perception, his combined Strength, Agility, and Constitution had increased by a staggering forty-four points.
Sching!
The silver sword was drawn!
The blood-red hand gripped the hilt. In the Flesh Golem state, Allen was nearly two meters tall, making it much easier to wield elsa. He moved with agility and fluidity, not at all as clumsy as he had imagined before the ritual. With a thought, the flickering flames beside him slowed down in an instant. The 'Witcher Sense' could still be used normally.
"A ritual like this is only of purple quality...?"
Before he could finish his exclamation, the murmuring in his mind suddenly amplified, becoming especially piercing. A sudden, intense dizziness almost made him pass out. "Damn it, what the hell is this!" he shouted, severing the mental link in an instant. Suddenly, the world went quiet.
"Huff, huff..."
Allen collapsed to the ground, drenched in sweat and gasping for breath. All around him lay blackened flakes, remnants of the flesh golem's outer shell. Once the link was severed, the blood-red shell had crumbled away from his body like ashes from a fire. It took about two minutes before Allen's mind began to clear from the buzzing sensation.
"No wonder it's purple quality, the side effects are massive—almost completely debilitating in combat!"
But...
Allen looked down, deep in thought. "Although the ritual takes a long time to set up, it activates quickly... about... hmm... only five seconds or so..."
"Even though it reduces Perception, it dramatically increases Strength, Agility, and Constitution..." He mentally opened the Witcher's journal and glanced at the cooldown time for the Conjunction of the Spheres, continuing his analysis: "The ritual lasts almost ten minutes, which isn't long... but even a level 3 Witcher can only last 150 seconds, so as long as it's planned properly in advance, it should be enough for hunting large monsters."
Having weighed the pros and cons of the "Flesh Golem" ritual, Allen felt a sense of clarity. It was worth it! Those 5,000 small experience orbs were very well spent. Given enough time to prepare, this could definitely be his trump card. Especially for something like the Conjunction of the Spheres, where he knows the type of enemy, and can choose the time and place of the conjunction—this ritual seems tailor-made for such situations.
Having fully understood the ritual, Allen wasted no time. He dragged the two drowner corpses to the cave entrance. The passage here was only wide enough for two creatures to pass through, ensuring that a large monster like the Drowner King couldn't escape. This was also why Allen chose this location for the Conjunction of the Spheres, rather than the Old Spearhead Cavern.
After another hour, the second ritual was set up, secured with a Yrden sign to prevent the ritual from being disturbed by the Conjunction of the Spheres. Allen checked everything over one more time and took a deep breath.
[Ding! Do you want to use the Conjunction of the Spheres—Drowner?]
With a single thought, the strange door was placed down. A crimson banner instantly appeared in the dim cave...
[Warning! Warning! Warning!]
[Conjunction of the Spheres detected! Conjunction of the Spheres detected!]
...…
📢20 advanced chapters on p@treaon📢
For advance chapters: p@treon.com/Uchiha_Itachi007 (replace @ with a)
122. Not the Drowner King?
123. The Headmaster of Ban Ard Academy.
124. Are the Inhumans Elves?
125. How to Counter the Threat of Annihilation.
126. The Corps, The Corps.