Walking back to the Icon Hall from Vera's residence.
As he stepped onto the stairs, the witcher deliberately closed his eyes and carefully sensed for a moment. The weight that had been pressing on him suddenly lightened, as if it had never existed at all. This meant that there was no longer any energy from the evil god inside him.
That morning, when Ianna checked him, she also confirmed that the curse from the evil god had vanished.
"But why hasn't the Mirage Pearl awakened yet?"
The witcher delved into the depths of his mind, but aside from the connection to the wolf medallion, everything seemed normal. The connection to the Mirage Pearl, however, was as thin as a spider's thread. He summoned the Witcher's Journal with his thoughts.
[Ding! Fragment of the Gate of Ard Gaeth is being absorbed...]
"Has the evil god's gaze truly disappeared?" The witcher furrowed his brows and returned to the Icon Hall.
In the dim candlelight, the three sacred statues of the goddess Melitele remained as holy and serene as ever.
Allen stood before the statues, gazing at them for a few seconds, then shook his head and returned to his usual resting spot: "No point in overthinking it. Worst-case scenario, I'll stick to the plan and stay here for a few more days."
"Right now, I should use the rewards from the battle with the Alghoul and focus on increasing my strength."
With that decision made, he shifted his thoughts back to the Witcher's Journal and navigated to the inventory.
[Do you wish to use Ghoul's Heart Essence*1?]
With just a thought, a cold liquid surged up from his throat.
As it slid down his esophagus, it was rapidly absorbed by the lining of his inner walls.
It didn't even have time to reach his stomach before transforming into a wave of heat, spreading throughout his body.
[Health: 100%, Stamina: 580/580, Mana: 570/570]
[Attributes: Strength 51 (+3), Agility 42, Constitution 58 (+3), Perception 47, Mystery 59]
[Affinity: Water 11 (Magical Source: Water 1%), Earth 6 (+1), Wind 5, Space 2]
The attribute increases weren't much, but considering how that Alghoul fled in terror, it wasn't too surprising.
Even though it was a bit exhausting, the fact that no real danger had been encountered made the six attribute points and one earth affinity a huge gain.
After absorbing the Heart Essence, it was time for the treasure chests.
Allen glanced at the statue of the goddess Melitele, then, without hesitation, focused his thoughts on the ghoul's treasure chest.
[Ding! Ghoul's Treasure Chest*5 opened]
Four whites, one blue.
[Received: Rotting Flesh 4, Experience Orb 1]
The ghoul chests delivered their usual consistency.
The witcher took a deep breath, comforting himself that these chests were just meant to warm up the probabilities. Then he grasped the amulet of the goddess Melitele hanging from his neck.
"Goddess Melitele, please bless me... Reinforced Necrophage Oil... Moon Dust, cursed oil... Grapeshot Bomb,Full Moon... Any sword oil, potion, or bomb would do..."
The witcher muttered to himself.
[Ding! Alghoul's Treasure Chest*5 opened]
Gold, gold, gold, gold, gold...
Five dazzling golden lights flashed by.
"Gulp~"
The witcher, who should have been ecstatic, found himself swallowing nervously in fear.
One gold is joyful.
Two gold is thrilling.
Three gold brings boundless excitement.
But four gold...
Especially when five chests yield four golden items, it starts to get a bit terrifying.
Yet Allen had just opened five gold, five chests yielding five golden lights...
This couldn't possibly be just good luck!
The witcher cautiously peeked at the statue through the semi-transparent panel.
Although he did believe that Melitele was real, the prayers during chest openings were just a leftover habit from his previous life—an uncertain ritual that you might as well follow because it might help, even if you're not truly praying...
Well, alright, he was genuinely praying for the goddess to bring him good luck. But opening five chests and getting five golds seemed way too excessive.
This was like asking your boss to borrow twenty bucks for dinner, only for your boss to wire you two million without asking why, and then saying you don't need to repay it.
You couldn't help but wonder if this meant your boss had sinister intentions.
Various thoughts raced through the witcher's mind.
He barely paid attention to the five golden lights as they flashed by in the background animation.
After some thought, he ignored the system notifications and walked up to the statue. Then, mimicking the gestures of the goddess's followers as best as he could remember, he bowed to the statue.
"Praise be to the Mother of All, the goddess of fertility, harvest, and childbirth, the eternal protector of the maiden, mother, and crone..."
After completing the ritual.
The witcher bent over, staring at the ground, maintaining the posture for nearly a minute. There was no divine revelation, no sudden holy voice.
"That should be enough, right?" The witcher sighed in relief.
In truth, if Lady Melitele really needed something from him, it would be a good thing.
Actions speak louder than intentions.
This principle applies to gods as well.
Based on Iananna's words, the behavior of the temple, and the background in the original book and games from his previous life...
From any angle, the chances of Melitele being an evil god were very low. So if these five golden items were truly a request from Melitele, it might actually be an opportunity.
With this thought, the witcher finally relaxed completely. He sat back down in his usual spot and summoned the Witcher's Journal with a thought.
[Received: Alghoul Decoction Formula1, Moon Dust Bomb Formula1, Blizzard Potion Formula1, Reinforced Necrophage Oil Formula1, Dragon's Dream Bomb Formula*1]
Seeing the system notification, the witcher nearly forgot to breathe.
A decoction, potions, bombs—this haul had given him nearly every formula that could be unlocked in his original world. And all of this from defeating a mere thirty or so ghouls, plus a Alghoul that had only tried to flee.
Filled with excitement.
The witcher immediately navigated to the inventory.
[Name: Alghoul Decoction Formula]
[Type: Potion Formula]
[Requirements: Alchemy LV2]
[Ingredients: Dwarven Spirit 1, Alghoul Marrow 1, Lesser Red Mutagen 5, Buckthorn 1]
[Function: Increases adrenaline production until you're hit by an enemy!]
[Note: "Hit" is a broad term. In this case, it means when a wound is inflicted!]
"Adrenaline..."
After opening the Alghoul Decoction formula, the witcher's eyes went straight to the function section, leaving him puzzled.
In the game, adrenaline was a versatile "energy," akin to a charge bar. It could replace vigor to cast signs, increase damage dealt by weapons and signs, and in some cases, even resurrect the player when fully upgraded. But in reality, the witcher could already control the stimulation of this human hormone.
However, its effects were limited to enhancing blood circulation, providing more energy for physical activity, and slightly boosting strength, agility, and perception for a short time.
Its real-world benefits were not much different from the effects of adrenaline in an ordinary person.
The closest thing to the game's version was its ability to stimulate mutated organs and squeeze out more magic power. Beyond that, its usefulness seemed much less impressive.
"Hmm..." The witcher glanced upward again.
"Dwarven spirit, alghoul marrow, buckthorn... we've got all of it here..."
"We've also produced a lot of weak red mutagens from the swamp witch mutagenic materials..."
"Hmm..."
"Got all the materials. I'll try brewing a potion tomorrow and see what effects it has."
He mentally clicked on the next formula.
[Name: Moon Dust]
[Type: Bomb Recipe]
[Requirements: Alchemy LV2]
[Ingredients: Saltpeter 1, Quicksilver Solution 1]
[Effect: Contains silver threads that temporarily prevent monsters from transforming or regenerating]
[Note: Still troubled by wraiths going invisible or leaving afterimages?]
Moon Dust was perhaps the most useful bomb in the game, second only to Northern Wind.
Not just for wraiths, but it also had a powerful effect on vampires and cursed creatures, especially werewolves.
Unless you had a significant level or equipment advantage, Moon Dust was practically essential when facing these types of monsters.
[Name: Dragon's Dream]
[Type: Bomb Recipe]
[Requirements: Alchemy LV2]
[Ingredients: Saltpeter 1, Phosphorus 2]
[Effect: Releases a gas cloud that explodes when ignited]
[Note: At least it's cheap, right?]
Uh...
He rarely used Dragon's Dream in the game.
Mostly, he would throw one when he wanted to save bombs like Beehive, Firestream, or Dancing Star, which could destroy monster nests. He also couldn't recall any specific monster that was weak to Dragon's Dream. So, he decided to skip it for now and see how powerful it was once crafted.
It might prove useful.
After all, just as the note said, Dragon's Dream only required saltpeter and phosphorus, so it was indeed cheap.
And…
As long as he wasn't afraid of accidentally blowing himself up.
He could make as many bombs as he wanted, which was one of the few benefits that the real world had over the game.
After going through the bombs, the witcher, who liked to save the best for last, skipped the "Blizzard" potion and directly clicked on the upgraded sword oil.
[Name: Enhanced Necrophage Oil]
[Type: Sword Oil Recipe]
[Requirements: Alchemy LV4]
[Ingredients: Bear Fat 4, Necrophage Oil 1, Rotfiend Blood 1, Blowball 1, Arenaria 1, Pringrape 1, Cortinarius 1]
[Effect: Applied to weapons, it greatly increases damage against necrophages]
[Note: Using loot from necrophages to deal with necrophages—what terrible luck they have running into you!]
Enhanced Necrophage Oil was straightforward. More difficult to craft, more expensive materials, stronger damage. It was clearly intended to deal with higher-tier necrophages like archgriffins and rotfiends. However, for Allen, it might not be as practical as regular Necrophage Oil.
After all, Allen had Monster Hunt and Elsa, and now he also had the newly acquired legendary sword, Balmur.
Ordinary necrophages were dispatched with just one or two strikes.
For instance, in today's fight with the Alghoul, with Monster Hunt, he didn't need to worry about piercing its defenses like other witchers did. So, if the recipe was too expensive or difficult to craft, he would likely stick with the regular version.
"But I should still prepare one or two bottles..." Allen considered for a few seconds.
After all, the increased damage from the oil would also help speed up the progress of his Monster Hunt meter. The most significant takeaway for him from this potion was that it confirmed there were higher versions of the potions, oils, and decoctions available from the Witcher's Journal.
Necrophages might be relatively weak, with excess damage spilling over, but other types of monsters definitely benefitted from higher damage.
Moreover…
For the School of the Wolf as a whole.
The other witchers of the School of the Wolf didn't have Monster Hunt, so Enhanced Necrophage Oil would be far more valuable to them.
After thoroughly considering the implications of the Enhanced Necrophage Oil, Allen took a deep breath and shifted his gaze to the most valuable and useful formula of the day: "Now, here comes the highlight of today..."
Indeed.
In his mind, even an advanced sword oil like Enhanced Necrophage Oil couldn't compare to this final potion.
With a thought, he clicked on it.
[Name: Blizzard]
[Type: Potion Recipe]
[Requirements: Alchemy LV2]
[Ingredients: Dwarven Spirit 1, White Myrtle Petals 5, Golem Heart 1]
[Effect: In times of danger, time slows down]
[Note: Bullet time?]
As soon as the formula appeared, Allen's gaze instantly locked onto the effect section.
"Whoo~"
Seeing that the potion's effect was exactly the same as in the game, Allen breathed a sigh of relief, his heart pounding with excitement.
Blizzard.
One of the top-tier potions in the game.
Almost every witcher build considered this potion indispensable, even central to their playstyle.
To be honest, though.
An ability like this, which mimics bullet time, is considered top-tier no matter what work of fiction it appears in.
With this potion.
The next time he faced a archgriffin, the difficulty of the fight would be cut in half at least.
"Dwarven Spirit, White Myrtle Petals, I already have those in my saddlebags..." The witcher was getting excited, "As for the Golem Heart..."
He carefully placed the candle down and moved to the other side of the sanctum. He carefully searched through the magical materials left behind by Vera.
"Sure enough, here it is!"
Allen's eyes sparkled as he pulled out a chunk of amber-like stone, glowing faintly with earth-colored magical energy, from an exquisite black oak box.
"Lady Vera sure is reliable; I can find even the rarest materials here..."
The witcher felt a surge of joy in his heart. But then he realized that all the equipment for rituals, like crucibles and alchemical tools, were at Mary's place.
"Well, forget it. I'll rest for today. There's no rush to brew the potion until tomorrow."
Allen sighed, carefully returning the Golem Heart to its original place.
"Click-clack, click-clack~"
The sound of footsteps echoed once again in the empty sanctum. The witcher, his joy gradually calming down, passed by the statue of the goddess Melitele, and a thought popped into his mind.
All the gifts from fate come with a hidden price tag.
The alghoul decoction, Moon Dust, Blizzard, Enhanced Necrophage Oil, Dragon's Dream...
These would have required the witcher to face at least three large monsters, like alghoul or archgriffins, to gather them all...
So...
What price would he have to pay for this precious gift from the goddess?
"Whoo~"
With a soft blow, the candle flame went out.
The sanctum was instantly plunged into pitch-black darkness.
In the darkness, the witcher gazed at the statue of Melitele, slowly drifting into sleep once more.
Then.
He heard someone calling his name.
"Allen..."
"Allen..."
....
📢20 advanced chapters on p@treaon📢
For advance chapters: p@treon.com/Uchiha_Itachi007 (replace @ with a)
261. Melitele Again?
262. Did Yennefer Start Hating Me?
263. Is the Witcher Not Human?
264. The Witcher's Epic Advancement.
265. Blood and Fire.