(T/N: Due to confusion in translation the royal griffin is corrected to a archgriffin.)
Mary was already here, so who else could he give it to?
Allen rolled his eyes internally and didn't respond to Vesemir.
"He" was only fourteen, and Mary was only fifteen. It was a bit too early to be matchmaking them at this point. It wasn't that he disliked Mary. But as someone who had lived over thirty years across two lives, and as a mentally healthy person, even if this body was only fourteen, it would be a bit too perverse to make a move on a girl who was just fifteen.
Plus, the dark clouds looming over the Kaer Morhen had not yet cleared, and no one knew when the next storm would hit. Romance was still too early for him. Maybe… wait a few more years?
So, he closed the wooden box and handed it to Mary, whose cheeks were flushed.
"Mary, there are two bottles inside."
"One is for you, and the other, please give it to Lady Vera for me…"
Mary's expression was initially shy and hesitant, but when she heard that there was also a bottle for her mentor, she naturally accepted the box. However, a trace of disappointment was visible on her delicate face.
"Allen... Allen... you..."
Vesemir, standing nearby, was getting a little anxious. From his experience reading Mary's expressions, it was clear this was a mutual attraction. Leaving things unresolved like this was really frustrating for the witcher.
How could a witcher not understand a woman's feelings?
Wasn't that supposed to be a witcher's instinct?
After completing his trial, Vesemir's first stop in the city after leaving Kaer Morhen with the senior witcher was chasing the first woman he was interested in.
But Allen...
Vesemir sighed. It was practically handed to him on a platter...
How could he just turn it down like that?
This kid was really hopeless!
But since Allen had already decided where the two bottles of perfume were going, Vesemir didn't dare to snatch one from Lady Vera. With that in mind, Vesemir gave Allen a resentful glare and began pondering how to help him understand these things.
How could his disciple, Vesemir's apprentice, be so oblivious?
-----------------------
The warm spring equinox breeze, carrying the scent of flowers, gently brushed against their faces, making one feel drowsy. There was still some distance to Vengerberg. Vesemir seemed unwilling to talk to Allen anymore and led the group at the front, frowning deeply.
Mary trailed at the back of the group, her head down, swaying with her chestnut mare, lost in thought. Seeing that no one was paying attention, Allen decided to take care of the rewards for slaying the archgriffin. The essence extracted from the archgriffin's heart might cause significant reactions and wasn't suitable for use at this time.
But the treasure chests, at least, could be opened.
Following his usual ritual, Allen held the amulet of the goddess Melitele, muttering a random prayer.
[Ding! Four treasure chests of the archgriffin opened.]
White…
But then, after the white light, there was a flash of dazzling golden light…
Seeing the golden quality chest, Allen sighed in relief. That archgriffin was no easy kill. It had taken two master witchers and a promising young sorceress to barely bring it down.
Who knew when they would get the chance to hunt another one?
Plus, archgriffins were hard to find, usually hiding deep in forests and mountains.
Allen even considered not bothering with the archgriffin hunting quests, even though completing the "Hunting Quest: Archgriffin I" required slaying only five of them. If he had ended up with four white-quality experience orbs, he would've been at a serious loss! Fortunately, the goddess Melitele had always been reliable.
With a golden chest opened, Allen's heart was at ease, and now whether he got purple, blue, or white items, he wouldn't mind. But then, two consecutive flashes of golden light followed.
Triple golden items!
Three out of the four chests were golden!
What kind of luck was this?
"Holy crap!"
Allen shouted in his mother tongue, startling both Vesemir and Mary to look his way.
"What's wrong, Allen?"
Vesemir looked around warily, finding everything normal. In fact, since the appearance of the master griffin, the road ahead was practically deserted, with only the three of them visible.
"What does 'holy crap' mean?"
The strange words made Vesemir frown. Mary also looked at him curiously. Feeling awkward under their stares, Allen chuckled and said: "It doesn't mean anything…"
After a pause, seeing that Vesemir and Mary were still about to ask more, he added: "I think I've just come up with a new potion formula…"
"What?" Mary looked around in confusion.
The green grass, vibrant wildflowers, gentle breeze…
It was a beautiful scene.
But was there anything here that could inspire a potion idea?
Wait...
Potion-making was a serious discipline.
Without studying the properties of various ingredients and past formulas, could someone just come up with one?
Although Mary knew Allen was quite the genius, often coming up with all sorts of strange formulas, it was the first time she'd seen what it looked like when he had a moment of inspiration.
This slapdash, spontaneous creativity…
Could it really exist?
Vesemir didn't think too much about it. He just felt that Allen, as an alchemist, was a bit too productive. Of course, his attention was now off the strange phrase Allen had muttered earlier. Allen sighed in relief, then continued: "I'm not sure if it'll work, but I'll try it once we reach Vengerberg."
Vesemir and Mary exchanged glances and nodded.
After making a few more casual remarks, Vesemir and Mary figured Allen might still be in his "moment of inspiration," so they didn't bother him further. So, Allen focused and reopened his Witcher's Journal.
[Ding! Obtained: 5 experience orbs, sword oil formula for 'Hybrid Beast Oil,' 1 archgriffin mutagen, potion formula for 'Archgriffin Decoction'.]
"Whew~"
"Good thing it's sword oil and decoctions…"
Allen let out a sigh of relief. Due to the sudden situation earlier, he had skipped the cutscene for the golden chests. But sword oil formulas, mutagens, and decoctions didn't have significant meaning beyond their animation.
Unlike the "Ritual: Flesh Golem" cutscene, which was packed with hidden meaning, skipping this one didn't matter.
"Tsk, tsk~"
Looking at the three golden icons in the system notifications, a deep sense of satisfaction almost overflowed from his heart. Getting golden-quality formulas and items, whether useful or not, was secondary. The sheer accomplishment of hitting the jackpot was already enough to brighten his mood.
No wonder those money-grabbing games kept finding customers, no matter how many layers of disguise they put on. With a few internal sighs of reflection, Allen focused and opened his inventory.
[Name: Hybrid Oil]
[Type: Sword Oil Formula]
[Alchemy Level Requirement: Level 1]
[Ingredients: Dog tallow1, White Myrtle Petals4]
[Effect: Apply to weapons to enhance damage against hybrid beasts.]
[Note: Isn't this sequence a bit off? Who wouldn't have prepared hybrid beast oil before fighting the archgriffin?]
Unlike potions and bombs, sword oils were always practical and highly effective. Allen had already looked up their market value.
A portion of dog tallow along with four white myrtle petals wouldn't even cost a single oren. Most hybrid beasts, however, are relatively high-tier monsters. Although Allen hadn't used it yet, even from the results of using ghoul oil on Water Hags, it's safe to say that solving high-tier monsters at a low cost was quite a bargain.
He continued reading.
[Name: Archgriffin Mutation Trigger]
[Type: Mutation Trigger]
[Function: Splits once a week, with a chance to obtain a Archgriffin Mutation Trigger or a Weak Red/Green Mutation Trigger.]
[Note: You can think of this as a form of cell division.]
Seeing the Archgriffin Mutation Trigger, Allen suddenly remembered the Water Hag Mutation Trigger and scrolled back up. The chance of getting a mutation trigger was genuinely low.
Until two weeks ago, when he left Ban Ard, it had split eleven times, and not once had he gotten a Water Hag Mutation Trigger. It was always a Weak Red/Green Mutation Trigger.
At first, Allen checked every week, but as time went on, he only remembered to check every few weeks.
"Huh?"
His gaze shifted to the Water Hag Mutation Trigger nearby, and to his surprise, there was another very similar mutation trigger.
It had split!
Fourfold joy!
Allen was inwardly delighted.
[Name: Water Hag Mutation Trigger]
[Type: Mutation Trigger]
[Function: Main ingredient for Water Hag decoctions.]
[Note: It can't split anymore!]
Oh well...
If it can't split anymore, so be it. Getting even one was already pretty good.
"When I get to Vengerberg, I'll make the Water Hag decoction first and find an opportunity to test its effects," Allen thought to himself.
However…
A single original mutation trigger wouldn't be enough to supply his daily decoction usage.
With this in mind, Allen kept reading.
[Name: Archgriffin Decoction Recipe]
[Type: Alchemy Recipe]
[Requirements: Alchemy LV5 (condition not met)]
[Recipe: Dwarven Spirit1, Archgriffin Mutation Trigger1, Ribleaf1, Blowball1]
[Function: If magic remains, consumes all magic to perform a powerful attack. After normal damage is dealt from the powerful attack, deduct 5% of the target's health.]
[Note: You're asking how 5% of health is deducted? Honestly, I'm curious too. Why don't you give it a try?]
Takeoff!
Seeing the function of the Archgriffin decoction, Allen was ecstatic. A 5% health deduction after damage calculation, and it's a one-time effect. Allen couldn't even imagine how strong he'd be after drinking the Archgriffin decoction. In theory, even a dragon would only need twenty hits.
"I wonder if the percentage-based damage will count as damage dealt by me for the witcher contract?"
"If it does, dropping 5% of the enemy's health all at once could fill the witcher contract progress bar instantly, right?"
Allen fantasized.
Unfortunately…
Though he was eager to make this decoction immediately…
His alchemy level wasn't high enough yet, and while he could level up, there was no telling when the Archgriffin Mutation Trigger would mutate. His urgency and excitement wouldn't change that.
"I'll put it aside for now..." Allen sighed.
"Help—!"
Just as Allen finished organizing his loot, his sharp witcher senses suddenly picked up a man's cry for help coming from ahead of the group. He looked up and met Vesemir's gaze: "Shall we check it out?"
Vesemir's face grew serious as he nodded: "Protect Mary!"
With that, the three of them spurred their horses forward, quickening their pace. They traveled about fifty meters.
Around a bend, a small river appeared in their view. wide stone bridge crossed the river. A man dressed in patched-up clothes, wearing a frayed straw hat, and with a fishing basket tied to his waist, was pressed against the stone bridge…
He was frantically calling for help while swinging a hayfork, trying to fend off two drowners.
Seeing that it was just drowners, both Allen and Vesemir simultaneously let out a breath of relief.
"You or me?" Vesemir asked, tilting his head.
"I'll do it!" Allen stepped down from his horse.
After all, Vesemir was his traveling mentor, and killing a couple of drowners was dirty work that the old man shouldn't have to deal with.
"Help! Help! Sirs, please save me! I'm willing to pay!"
The fisherman, noticing Allen and the others, immediately cried out, his eyes lighting up. But in his excitement, he made things worse.
In the moment his attention wavered, he failed to push one of the drowners away with his hayfork. Both drowners pressed down on him at once, knocking the hayfork from his hands.
"Graah!"
The grotesque blue faces of the creatures loomed closer. Their gaping jaws, filled with yellowing, filthy teeth, still clung to scraps of raw meat.
"Ah—!"
The fisherman screamed in terror, feeling a sudden warmth spread through his legs. Just as the drowners' claws were about to latch onto his arm, and their hideous faces were less than two fists away…
The drowners… froze.
In the next moment…
Schwing!
The heads of both drowners were separated from their bodies. Dark red blood sprayed from their necks, drenching the fisherman entirely. The fisherman stood frozen in place for a long moment. It wasn't until Vesemir and Mary came over, leading their horses, that he snapped out of it.
He looked at the two men before him, each bearing two swords. In their blue and yellow eyes, he saw vertical slits like those of cats.
Cold, unfeeling, and terrifyingly fierce…
He couldn't help but shiver, his legs trembling once more as warm liquid trickled down them again. With the money he usually spent on paying that ugly washerwoman back home, he had instead bought alcohol. He'd heard tales in the tavern about men with such features…
They wielded swords, but they were not kind knights…
They were witchers!
Monsters more terrifying than the creatures they hunted, despised by the gods—witchers!
Seeing the two witchers, with their eerie cat-like eyes, suddenly frown at him, the fisherman felt his heart stop. He quickly stammered:
"Th-thank you, m-masters, for s-saving me…"
"But I… I have no money… nothing to repay you with…"
"But you just said you were willing to pay," Vesemir frowned deeply.
"I... I…" The fisherman couldn't find the words.
If he had known his saviors were witchers and not merciful knights, he wouldn't have dared to lie… But he truly didn't have a single coin left. The few coppers he had stolen before leaving that morning had all been spent on alcohol…
What should he do…
What should he do…
Would they kill him? Would these demons torture him?
Suddenly, a spark of inspiration lit up in his terrified mind. He remembered something from a few days ago, something he'd overheard in the tavern…
"If you can't pay the reward, you have to give up a child as compensation… it's called… the Law of... of…"
"The Law of Surprise!"
....…
📢20 advanced chapters on p@treaon📢
For advance chapters: p@treon.com/Uchiha_Itachi007 (replace @ with a)
230. The Unexpected Child.
231. The Woman in His Mind.
232. Aedirn... Has a Problem!
233: War? War!
234. The Witcher Who Changed the Future.