"Rumble~"
The ground trembled as a mountain stood up. This chamber was tall and spacious, with the ceiling estimated to be at least fifteen meters above the ground. Yet, in the shadow of this "mountain," the vast space seemed exceedingly narrow.
On the back of the "mountain," lava from Francesca's baptism by fire had not yet extinguished, slowly flowing down from the top, making it resemble a recently erupted active volcano from afar.
At the same time, a violent aura filled the entire chamber as the ground continued to tremble.
In an instant.
Allen and Francesca's breaths caught, and their bodies began to tremble uncontrollably. Instinctively swallowing, Allen took a deep breath to quell the uncontrollable fear brought on by the overwhelming aura and carefully examined the colossal figure before him. He had encountered many large monsters before.
The Drowner King, the Cyclops, the Bog Nymph—but none of them matched the size of the creature before him. The massive size and the hard rocky exterior made Francesca's fire baptism seem like nothing more than warm bathwater. It didn't cause even the slightest bit of damage.
Watching it sway back and forth, it seemed more like a bear that had just been woken up from hibernation, grumpy and irritated.
The intimidation factor was off the charts.
"Pop~"
"Gurgle gurgle~"
Under Francesca's puzzled gaze, Allen skillfully took out some Cat's Eye Potion and drank it in one gulp. He then curled his thumb and forefinger slightly, drawing a triangle in the air to cast a Quen sign on himself.
Then...
"Clang!"
His silver sword was drawn!
"Witcher… You don't actually plan to fight this monster, do you?" Francesca's surprised voice came from behind.
Allen frowned.
Did he even have a choice?
The trail of black magic led right past this monster.
With a massive creature blocking their path, there was no way around it!
If they turned back, there was an entire group of well-prepared elite human soldiers, possibly even royal guards, waiting for them...
Compared to that, a large monster was actually easier to deal with.
Allen glared fiercely at Francesca.
Careless elf!
You've really messed things up!
If it weren't for the fact that you're an "elf princess," and that I need your teleportation portal to rescue the target...
"The path is right next to the monster; we can't avoid it."
Hearing this, Francesca lowered her head in shame, knowing that she had caused yet another major problem. "I'm sorry, I…"
Allen's eyebrows were practically knitted together. He impatiently interrupted her: "Do you have any teleportation spells, invisibility spells, anything that can help us bypass this monster?"
There was only one large monster in the cave, and of course, he could defeat it using his [Monster Hunt] skill.
Even if the LV3 Monster Hunt state didn't last long enough, he had two special skill points to upgrade, and his 310-point health cap was more than sufficient. However, the suddenness of the situation, the lack of preparation, and having no retreat made it too dangerous to face an unfamiliar large monster. His mission was to save someone, and if he could pass without fighting, that would be ideal.
"Of course I do!" Francesca didn't look up, her blue pupils trembling slightly. "But…"
Roar!
Another roar echoed. As the ground groaned under the tremors, the rocky mountain slowly began to turn. The monster was about to notice them!
"But what?" Allen growled, gripping his silver sword tightly.
However, before Francesca could answer.
Another unexpected event occurred!
Roar! Roar! Roar!…
A chorus of roars suddenly filled the cavern.
In the massive cave, which was almost the size of two football fields from Allen's previous life, the large boulders he had assumed were just ordinary stones suddenly roared and began to tremble, rising to their feet.
As dust and debris fell, filling the air with smoke, the auras of the large monsters fluctuated, overlapping and interacting with one another.
These… these…
These stone piles were all alive!
The witcher instinctively lowered his sword. The heavy auras pressed on his heart, as if his pounding blood and flesh had plunged into a bottomless abyss in that very instant. The fear within him was also overwhelming. So many monsters.
[Monster Hunt] was useless!
He stiffly turned his head, locking eyes with the equally frozen Francesca.
Though he had already sensed the ominous tone in the "Daisy of the Valleys's" voice, he still held onto a sliver of hope as he asked again: "But what?"
"You can see the situation now. If you keep holding back, we're both as good as dead."
Francesca's body trembled, almost collapsing, as she violently shook her head, looking as if she was about to cry: "I... I didn't mean to hold back... it's just…"
"But when I used the fire baptism just now… it took a huge toll on my mental energy… so… so…"
Before Francesca could finish speaking, Allen already felt like he could no longer hear the sound of his own heartbeat. It was as if his heart had also been so scared that it forgot how to beat.
Was this reckless elf really the future Elven Queen?
Could she truly be the one who would strategize and hold the "Nation of the Infertile Elders" firm under the pressure of the Nilfgaard Empire?
How could she have been so foolish in her younger years?
And how did she manage to walk into that heavily guarded camp outside alive?
Were the guards all blind or stupid?
Even though he needed her help, Allen couldn't hide his frustration anymore. His face cold, he suppressed his anger and asked: "What method, and how long will it take to recover your mental energy?"
"Short-range teleportation... five minutes…" Francesca had to raise her voice over the cacophony of roars.
Allen took a deep breath. Complaining about the elf's mistakes was pointless at this juncture, and it was his idea to explore each other's abilities. In the end, it could only be said that both Francesca and his luck were just too bad. After all, who could have expected that a boulder in the cave would turn out to be a large monster?
Otherwise, five minutes of recovery time would have been nothing, just a short walk down the road. So, now he needed to figure out a way to survive those five minutes. As Allen calmed down, his brain worked quickly.
"Maybe we can retreat and wait for Francesca to recover her mental energy?"
Allen's eyes lit up at the thought, and without a word, he grabbed Francesca and started running back the way they came. But after only five steps, they slowed down and eventually stopped.
"It's over!"
The melodious voice, like a dripping spring in a valley, was filled with deep despair.
In the vision granted by Allen's Cat's Eye Potion, the stone slope ahead, where their escape route lay, suddenly shifted from the static, fuzzy feeling characteristic of the potion's effect on inanimate objects to something sharp and alive.
Amidst the tremors of the ground, the "stone slope" shook off the dust and gravel, and like the other stone piles, it stood up. The witcher and the elf had no way out, no way to escape. They were surrounded by monsters.
Desperation had arrived!
----------------------
"What do we do, Allen? What should we do?"
Francesca slumped against Allen, screaming in terror.
In this moment of absolute despair, Allen, on the other hand, felt much calmer. After all, This wasn't the first time he had faced a life-or-death situation.
The Drowner King, the Mountain Trial, the Swamp Witch, the Wraith…
These experiences taught him that to survive in dire situations, he had to suppress his instinctual fear and then…
Think! Think! And think again!
He adjusted Francesca's arm, helping her stand steady.
"Shut up! Focus on recovering your mental strength, ignore everything else," he shouted sternly.
Francesca fell silent, staring blankly at Allen. She saw the determined expression on the young Witcher's delicate, handsome face, as if nothing in the world could defeat him. Seeing Francesca's dazed expression, Allen's heart sank, worried that his harsh tone might have had the opposite effect. He tried to force a smile, softening his tone as much as he could: "I've been through situations like this many times, so trust me, just focus on recovering your mental strength!"
Francesca instinctively nodded, then, regaining her senses, she glanced nervously at the surrounding monsters before closing her eyes.
She could only trust this man… no… this boy…
She had to trust him.
Francesca kept convincing herself to ignore the Witcher's age.
No, that wasn't it!
She 'could' trust him.
That's right!
The Witcher was chosen by Aen Saevherne, so there was no problem!
Besides, he was so skilled!
Allen sighed in relief as he saw Francesca's emotions stabilizing. Being surrounded by so many monsters, if he had to deal with a teammate having a mental breakdown, they'd be done for. Luckily, though Francesca might be a bit of a liability, at least as a pampered "princess," she managed to control her emotions well.
With his teammate under control, Allen turned and cautiously surveyed the surrounding monsters.
Hmm?
The Witcher's sharp eyes actually found a way out. Small heads, stout bodies, with something like rocks growing on their backs…
Having calmed down, he noticed that these stone monsters were actually all rock trolls.
"There's a chance!"
"Most trolls, though not very smart, are reasonable," Allen felt a wave of relief wash over him.
Luckily, Francesca's baptism of flames was aimed at the largest one. And it only woke him up, without causing any harm. Otherwise, if she had actually killed or injured one of the rock trolls, there would be no room for negotiation.
But… rock trolls?
Hadn't he heard something about them recently?
Allen frowned.
In the thick darkness, the roars (maybe just waking-up grumbles?) gradually subsided, replaced by loud murmuring.
"…hibernation…time…eating…"
"…hungry…hungry…want meat…"
"…stone…woke…troll…give troll…meat…"
--------------
Apparently.
The freshly awoken rock trolls were only thinking about eating and hadn't noticed the two strangers in their home. The Witcher stayed silent too, happy to buy some time.
Until…
"Roar!"
"…Little troll, shut up…or no meat…only Stone's fists…"
The largest troll, named Stone, roared, silencing the noisy trolls. The next moment, A fierce, intimidating gaze swept over Allen.
"…Human here…what want…"
The troll called Stone, though his speech was somewhat broken, was much more fluent than the other rock trolls. Being able to communicate, and the fact that they didn't immediately rush in to kill them, or even seem to mind that fire spell…
This was a good start!
Allen exhaled in relief.
Next, he just needed to talk them into letting them through, maybe even bribe them with some rotten meat. If all else failed, perhaps he could even bring up the big stone guys at Kaer Morhen to establish some rapport.
After all, they were all rock trolls from Kaedwen, maybe they even had some distant relations?
So.
Allen took a deep breath and greeted loudly:
"Hello, Stone. We're here to…"
"Roar!"
A roar from nearby cut off the Witcher's words.
What now, another unexpected situation? Allen's heart skipped a beat as he looked in the direction of the roar. A rock troll about two meters tall roared, glaring at Allen with its small, red eyes. Pointing its thick, bun-sized fingers at Allen, it shouted angrily: "… Stone … Human … smell … not … Witcher … smell … is …"
The troll had just mentioned the word Witcher. All the other trolls instantly inhaled sharply, even the massive Stone. In the empty cavern, the air seemed to flow faster. Three seconds of Allen's bewilderment later, the entire cavern erupted into chaos.
"…Witcher…bad…troll…house broke…"
"…Witcher…bad…Greystone…badly hurt…"
"…Witcher…bad…"
--------------
Uniform phrases, different details, but all conveying the same emotion.
Rage! Intense rage!
As Allen stood there, stunned by the sudden turn of events, images flashed in his mind. He remembered where he'd recently heard about rock trolls.
At the inn in White Orchard!
[Vesemir: Didn't expect this mine to lead to a large rock troll camp, with over a dozen rock trolls inside.]
Allen instinctively counted the trolls around him.
Yes… nineteen rock trolls.
[Vesemir: During the battle, one Aard Sign broke through two separate areas.]
Allen subconsciously turned to look behind him, past the closed-eyed Francesca.
The place they came from, now blocked by rock trolls, had irregular protrusions on the rock walls—signs of being broken by some external force. Plus the valley, the mine carts, the wooden scaffolding, the scattered piles of stones…
Scene after scene flashed through Allen's mind.
This was also an abandoned mine, so…
Damn it!
Could the Witcher these trolls were talking about be Vesemir?
Allen didn't want to believe it. But the facts before him matched perfectly with his memories.
[Bob: You're the Witcher who was beaten up by the rock trolls!]
Another phrase popped into his head.
Allen instinctively glanced at Stone. With Stone's massive frame, even bigger than a Cyclops, and armor as thick as rock. Plus, with so many rock trolls assisting. It was entirely normal for even a master Witcher like Vesemir to be beaten until he vomited blood.
And since that couple was close to Viscount Hudson, it made sense for them to hide in Hudson's abandoned mine.
Damn it!
Trapped again!
What exactly did Vesemir do to these rock trolls, besides breaking that wall, to make them hold a grudge for fifteen years?
And how vengeful were these trolls to remember a grudge from just a whiff of scent after fifteen years?
Allen didn't know the answers to these two questions. All he knew was one thing…
He needed to get out of there fast!
....…
📢20 advanced chapters on p@treaon📢
For advance chapters: p@treon.com/Uchiha_Itachi007 (replace @ with a)
169. Hurry Up and Teleport!
170. How Much Does a Wolf Pack Leader Cost?
171. Old Memories.
172. Mistakenly Entering the Conjunction of the Spheres?
173. We've Arrived.