Places with mountains and water are rarely short of beauty.
A lake, still as a green gemstone mirror, only to ripple like smooth satin in a light breeze.
The Blue Mountains, draped in deep green and wrapped in pure white clouds. The soft fragrance of wild grasses and flowers drifting with the gentle breeze. Kaer Morhen in summer was a sight to behold, especially friendly to the keen senses of Witchers.
The only unfortunate aspect was the drowners with their distinct, briny stench.
Allen had thought these foul creatures would gradually disappear from Kaer Morhen after Lady Vera's massacre and the large-scale hunts that sought out the drowner heart essence.
Yet he underestimated the Witcher world, where drowners were one of the most abundant monsters.
By the lake, streams, ponds, and even the smallest puddles—
Drowners thrived like weeds in the summer, lurking wherever there was a hint of moisture in the mountains, even more active than in winter due to the warmer temperatures.
Their incessant croaking was a constant annoyance.
Even avoiding them whenever possible, Allen still killed fourteen along the way.
If his attributes hadn't improved, that number might have been ten or twenty times higher.
"Holding the Mountain Trial in winter really does make it easier for the apprentices," Allen muttered, shaking his head with a sigh.
He flicked his wrist, twirling his sword to shake off any potential bloodstains before sheathing it. Then, he collected all the drowner materials and placed them in his supply bag. Though he was wealthier now, he preferred not to waste useful materials.
"Ding!"
[Drowner Group Lv11 Subjugation!]
[Reward Settlement: …]
[Final Rating: F]
[Loot Acquired: None]
Yes.
Currently, Allen's solo hunts of drowners were rated F, resulting in no rewards.
One redeeming feature of the Witcher's Journal was that although an F rating didn't reward drowner heart essence, it also didn't forcibly extract the drowner's heart. Instead, Allen had to put in the extra effort to retrieve it himself.
Incidentally—
Since Allen's attributes exceeded 50, along with gaining the Way of the Beast Roar, the title on his character sheet had changed from "Newbie Witcher" to "Witcher." His permissions had also changed somewhat.
Now—
Even if a monster subjugation's final rating was E or above, Allen could choose to keep critical monster parts, like hearts, during the reward settlement. This feature, or rather permission, was quite useful in many situations.
For one, in the presence of outsiders, it helped avoid exposing oneself. Moreover, the Witcher's Journal took a heavy cut when extracting heart essences.
A drowner or ghoul heart could yield five doses of essence, yet the Journal's subjugation rewards provided only one.
It didn't matter as much for common creatures like drowners or ghouls, but if he ever obtained the essence formula for a Drowner King or a Bog Nymph , it would be a significant loss if the Journal forcibly took its cut.
After collecting materials, Allen deliberately opened the subjugation log, though not to check the F rating.
"Level 11…" The Witcher mused, "I remember that in winter, no drowner group had an average level above ten. Their power is definitely increasing…"
When hunting drowners in front of the apprentices, he had felt a bit uncertain. But now, after encountering five groups along this route—three of them above level ten—
Although an average level increase of two to three doesn't significantly boost combat strength, it confirmed Allen's previous suspicion.
The monsters, or at least the drowners, were indeed growing stronger.
"Boom—"
Suddenly, a distant rumbling from ahead interrupted Allen's thoughts.
The ground trembled slightly.
"Is there a fight?" Allen immediately went on alert, drawing Elsa and scanning the area.
The winding mountain path was obscured by cliffs and lush trees.
"Isn't that the direction of Stone and the others' camp?"
"Not good!"
Recognizing the direction, the Witcher sped up, jogging towards the source of the sound.
"Rumble—"
The closer he got, the louder the sounds of combat grew.
The ground quaked, and trees shook.
"What's happening?" Allen frowned deeply. "With Old Speartip long dead, could there really be a monster that threatens nearly twenty Stone trolls?"
"Especially with a super-strong monster like Stone among them…"
With this thought, Allen's expression grew more serious.
He opened his reagent pouch, adjusting the Alghoul decoction and Blizzard potion to be within easy reach.
"Thud, thud, thud—"
His footsteps quickened.
Countless trees flashed by on either side, their leaves quivering in the gusts stirred up by the Witcher's passage.
"Please don't let there be a problem," Allen thought.
As for Stone and the others, he didn't mind so much. But he was rather fond of Big Stone, Broken Stone, and Little Stone—those simple Stone trolls.
"Rumble-rumble—"
The ground-shaking roars grew louder, and the fight seemed to be intensifying. However, Allen began to sense that something was amiss.
"This doesn't… sound like a fight…"
Slowing his pace, he listened closely.
Among the rumbling noise, he could make out faint roars.
Getting a bit closer, he finally heard the words clearly and paused, his expression strange.
"… Stone… useless… a bunch of useless…"
"… big guy… useless… can't find food… blue skins… gross…"
"… evil sorceress… brought Stone… Little Stone… starving for a week…"
"… useless… useless… useless…"
At last—
Rounding a familiar corner, Allen finally saw the source of the supposedly fierce fight.
In the familiar campsite—
A large group of Stone trolls stood together…
No!
To be precise, a group of around ten Stone trolls was being forced back step by step by a familiar figure.
"Thump-thump-thump—"
"Rumble-rumble-rumble—"
The "thump" was the sound of various-sized Stone trolls, familiar faces from the abandoned mines of Viscount Hudson.
The "rumble" came from the mountain-sized Stone.
They were being cornered by Big Stone, who was much smaller, yet loudly forcing them back one step at a time.
Nearby—
Two or three bloodied drowner corpses lay sprawled behind them.
A bit further away—
Broken Stone and Little Stone hid in the camp's corner.
Even from a distance, Allen could see the gleeful look in Broken Stone's tiny eyes.
Little Stone clung to a thick leg, still muttering.
"… Big Stone… hungry… Big Stone… hungry…"
It sounded like they were stirring things up.
"… Big Stone… Stone's hungry too… the big ones are all hungry…"
Cowed into a corner, Stone hung his head, mumbling submissively under the imploring gazes of the other Stone trolls.
"Up here, not like down below… only blue skins… hard to catch… the big ones tried their best!"
Finishing his sentence in broken fragments, the other Stone trolls huddled together, nodding earnestly to show they really tried.
Allen narrowed his eyes, noticing that several of the Stone trolls looked noticeably thinner than when he first met them.
The chunks of Big Stone and Broken Stone had gotten much smaller.
It seemed that after Lady Vera moved Mountain Stone's group of Stone trolls here, none of them had been able to eat well over the past two months.
However...
He remembered mentioning to Lady Vera to allocate some rotten meat to this group of Stone trolls each week.
This was something he had promised Mountain Stone previously.
Could Vera have forgotten?
Allen was a bit puzzled.
Of course…
At that time, Sol was under attack from the king, facing conspiracies and assassination attempts.
It wouldn't be surprising if the sorceress had overlooked this.
Thinking about it, Allen was about to unload all the remaining rotten meat from his inventory.
At this moment…
"…Big Stone… doesn't care… food… stay… no food… leave!"
Big Stone roared.
Mountain Stone looked around at the other Stone trolls dejectedly, then started to walk away, seemingly ready to leave for good.
Allen was taken aback.
He had gone to great lengths to bring these trolls to Kaer Morhen; he couldn't let Big Stone chase away Kaer Morhen's hidden weapons like this.
Not caring about the quantity anymore, Allen began to unload the rotten meat from his bag as he walked until he was close enough to the Stone trolls and then stopped, clearing his throat.
The Stone trolls immediately turned to look at him warily.
"…Good witcher…"
"…Big Stone… friend…"
"…Meat… meat… meat…"
Broken Stone, Big Stone, and Little Stone recognized Allen first.
Mountain Stone and the other Stone trolls stirred for a moment, then seemed to recognize him too. But, to Allen's surprise, Mountain Stone didn't rush over to complain about the unfulfilled promise. Instead, he turned his heavy head to the side, looking away.
"Is he sulking?" Such a human-like reaction amazed the witcher.
After greeting Big Stone, Broken Stone, and Little Stone, and asking a few questions, Allen got his answer.
It turned out that the rotten meat Allen had promised indeed wasn't delivered, but it hadn't been absent from the beginning; it had stopped being delivered about a month in.
That did seem strange.
But this wasn't something he needed to solve right away; he'd ask about it when he got back to Kaer Morhen. So, Allen asked Big Stone why they hadn't gone to Kaer Morhen to ask for it.
Mountain Stone might not know where the Ancient Sea Fortress was, but Big Stone and the others had been there at the start of the year; they couldn't possibly not recognize it.
"…Trolls… work… trade… food…" Big Stone glanced at Mountain Stone with disdain and continued, "…begging… trolls… shameful…"
It seemed this conversation had happened many times before; Mountain Stone didn't argue back fiercely. Instead, he grumbled, "…not begging…," then glanced at Allen before turning his head again.
Hearing this, Allen looked at Big Stone in surprise.
"So they didn't go to the Ancient Sea Fortress out of 'self-respect'?"
Thinking back to the start of the year, whenever he brought rotten meat, Big Stone would always offer some kind of gift in return.
Looking at Big Stone, who had the same beady eyes as the other Stone trolls, Allen became more and more curious.
So well-mannered, with a unique "relative" like Mountain Stone among the Stone trolls, he could still lead them all despite their strength…
What was Big Stone's background?
In time, he'd surely find out.
After a few more words with Big Stone, Allen approached Mountain Stone and looked up, apologizing.
"Sorry, Mountain Stone. I'm not sure what happened, but it's true that I didn't keep my promise…"
Mountain Stone didn't turn back.
Still sulking… Allen chuckled, marveling at the trolls' odd behavior, then pointed behind him.
"I brought some rotten meat as compensation. It's my fault this time; will you forgive me?"
Just then…
As Allen finished his sentence, the wind suddenly shifted in the mountains.
The putrid, decayed stench of rotten meat wafted from the mountain path behind him.
Of course…
To Stone trolls, that was the smell of deliciousness.
"…Meat… meat… meat…" The most excited one was Little Stone.
Drooling, he stared eagerly behind Allen.
The other Stone trolls shuffled around, with many rubbing their Stoney backs against Mountain Stone's legs.
"Grrrumble…"
A loud rumble came from a meter above Allen's head. It was Mountain Stone's belly, white with a hint of brown.
"…Alright… Mountain Stone forgives you…" Mountain Stone scratched his belly and nodded.
Then he raised his hand, and the hungry Stone trolls rushed out, lunging toward Allen's supplies.
"…Big Stone… Broken Stone… Little Stone… eat too!" Mountain Stone looked at Big Stone with pleading eyes, like a puppy begging for forgiveness after knocking over its owner's food bowl.
But Big Stone was unmoved, stopping the eager Broken Stone and Little Stone with two heavy slaps.
"…Big Stone… Broken Stone… Little Stone… won't…" Ignoring the drool pooling around Broken Stone and Little Stone, Big Stone said, "…Mountain Stone… begging… trolls shameful…"
Allen quickly stepped forward and defended Mountain Stone, saying, "This was something we agreed on beforehand."
Mountain Stone nodded repeatedly.
"…Mountain Stone… trade… work?" Big Stone shook his head.
Mountain Stone paused and looked at the witcher. "…Mountain Stone… nothing… to trade…"
Allen understood Big Stone's meaning and silently praised his assistance, saying: "Mountain Stone can help protect the castle…"
Before he could finish, Mountain Stone's eyes lit up, and he nodded vigorously.
"…Mountain Stone strong… big and strong… protect friends' stone house…"
Then he looked at Big Stone, pleading, "…Mountain Stone… has work…"
"…If food runs out… trolls… leave…" Big Stone thought for a moment but shook his head again.
Mountain Stone's expression changed as he pointed at the drowner corpses on the ground and argued: "…Trolls found food… blue skin…"
"…Blue skin… disgusting… even big ones won't eat it…" Big Stone interrupted.
Mountain Stone hesitated, looking at Allen. So, he was rejecting Mountain Stone and his group because they couldn't find edible food. Even though they had work, they didn't have a steady food source…
Allen understood.
By now, he had achieved his goal.
Mountain Stone had already agreed to trade his strength for rotten meat. It wouldn't really matter if they didn't stay with Big Stone's group; Old Speartip's cave was also a good place. But it would definitely be more convenient if they stayed together.
And judging by Mountain Stone's gaze, if Allen could find a way to make Big Stone accept him, it would definitely increase his favor.
However…
Under Mountain Stone's hopeful gaze, Allen sighed inwardly.
What could he do to teach a group of Stone trolls, who were used to underground life, to hunt animals besides drowners?
He didn't even know how Big Stone and the others managed to suppress their magic aura to avoid alerting their prey.
He'd have to give up…
Wait!
A spark of inspiration lit up in Allen's mind.
"I might actually have a way…"
.....
📢20 advanced chapters on p@treaon📢
For advance chapters: p@treon.com/Uchiha_Itachi007 (replace @ with a)
318. A Tribute to the Mother of All Things.
319. The Giant Troll Wraith!
320. Legendary Unit: Metal Troll Joins.
321. The King of the Wolf Pack Resides at the Summit.
322. To Kill Him, You Need a Silver Sword.