"Bang!"
Vesemir slammed his fist into the wall, growling in anger, "This is outrageous!"
The mage hadn't even bothered to hide his tracks.
Had they not been searching through the other Witchers' rooms for clues after returning to the inn, they would have found that letter much earlier.
Vesemir could vividly imagine the arrogant expression on the mage's face as he entered his room and penned the message.
"Who is Vilgefortz?" Vesemir asked after calming down and picking up the chiffon paper. "An unknown nobody dares to provoke the School of the Wolf like this?"
With that, Vesemir clenched his right hand, crumpling the letter into a ball. "The birch forest is nearby. Let's go after him!"
"Wait!" Allen grabbed the Witcher master's wrist. "I know who Vilgefortz is."
"Hmm?" Vesemir turned back to look at him.
"Lady Vera mentioned him to me," Allen said, taking a deep breath. "Vilgefortz is a mage from the Circle of Druids, exceptionally gifted. More importantly, Vilgefortz is a Source, like Hen Gedymdeith."
"A Source?" Vesemir's tone rose sharply. "Lady Vera told you about him?"
Of course, she hadn't.
But Allen's memory of this character—the major antagonist from the original story—was deeply ingrained.
Vilgefortz was one of the central figures in the original story's highest mage authority—the Brotherhood of Sorcerers (also known as the Chapter and Council)—and its most ambitious and powerful member.
In the original narrative, he epitomized a combination of ambition, cunning, and raw power.
For wealth and authority, he orchestrated Emhyr var Emreis' ascension as Emperor of Nilfgaard.
During the Battle of Sodden Hill, he commanded 21 mages from the Northern Kingdoms to resist Nilfgaard's invasion. Later, he spearheaded the truce between the Northern Kingdoms and Nilfgaard.
Finally, in pursuit of Elder Blood, he defied Emperor Emhyr's orders, capturing Ciri to extract her Elder Blood through cruel experiments.
It could be said that much of the original story revolved around him. Almost every major conspiracy bore his shadow, and there was little he wasn't willing to do.
More than that, Allen remembered Vilgefortz for his immense power.
Vilgefortz was the mage who, without relying on magic, shattered Geralt's femur with just two strikes using a staff in direct combat.
He was practically the Gandalf of the Witcher universe.
In this real, enhanced version of the Witcher world, where even Witchers could blow monsters away with a mere Aard sign, Allen didn't believe Vilgefortz would be limited to just exceptional melee skills, as depicted in the original story.
That said, the timeline was nearly a century before the events of the original story, so Vilgefortz shouldn't be that overpowered yet.
Even so, Vesemir couldn't be allowed to rush in unprepared, thinking this was just some unknown nobody.
That would be a one-way ticket to death.
Besides, the innkeeper mentioned a pair—a couple. In the original story, before the coup at Thanedd Island, a female sorceress had always been by Vilgefortz's side.
"Yes," Allen said, seizing on Lady Vera as an excuse. "And he's not alone. The woman accompanying Vilgefortz should also be a sorceress."
Vesemir fell silent for a few seconds.
"So, what? Do we just sit here and do nothing?" The Witcher master's voice was low, but the veins on his forehead bulged, revealing the extent of his fury. "Erni, Claral, and Krei—they…"
"Of course not!" Allen interrupted. "Give me some time. I need to prepare. We can't let them lead us by the nose."
At this, Vesemir took a deep breath and nodded.
"Understood."
A Source and an unknown female sorceress indeed called for caution.
"What's your plan?"
"Let's have a meal first. After eating, I'll prepare a few things, and then we'll depart."
"Fine."
As they ate in Vesemir's room, Allen hastily chewed on cold, fried bread while flipping through his Witcher's Journal, searching for ways to quickly enhance his strength.
--------------------
[Name: Allen]
[Level: 50]
[Health: 100%, Stamina: 640/640, Mana: 780/780]
[Attributes: Strength 69, Agility 61, Constitution 64, Perception 75, Arcane 78]
[Affinity: Water 15 (Source·Water 5%), Earth 11 (Source·Earth 1%), Wind 9, Fire 6, Space 2]
[Special Skills: Witcher LV3, Spatial Mastery LV4, Appraisal LV2, Tracking LV1]
[Special Skill Points: 3]
[Skills: Cat School Two-Handed Sword LV5, Wolf School Two-Handed Sword LV5, Ice Spear Curse LV3, Blink LV4, Tracking LV1, Mudslide LV1, Portal LV1]
[Signs: Quen LV6, Igni LV3, Aard LV3, Yrden LV3, Axii LV3, Euphoria Sign LV3]
[Knowledge: Alchemy LV4, Ritualism LV5]
[Battle Roar: Berserk, Wild Speech]
[Rituals: Flesh Golem]
[Oils: Hybrid Oil, Specter Oil, Necrophage Oil, Superior Necrophage Oil, Enhanced Specter Oil]
[Bombs: Northern Wind, Moon Dust, Dragon's Dream]
[Potions: Swallow, Cat, White Honey, Killer Whale, Blizzard, Pale Widow Mutation Recipe]
[Experience Pearls: Experience Pearl x98, Small Experience Pearl x96]
[Items: Night·Shade, Behemoth Snare of the Cyclopean Clan x1, Little Fog Pearl x2, Foglet's Arm Bone,Water Hag Mutagen, Swamp Hag's Mudbone Necklace...]
[Essences: Cyclopean Wraith Essence x2, Wraith Essence x276...]
[Chests: Troll Wraith Chest x4, Alghoul Chest x5, Ghoul Chest x5, Rotfiend Chest x5, Drowner Chest x45]
[Evaluation: Witcher!]
---
After six months in the Witcher world, Allen's growing strength was evident from the ever-expanding length of his character sheet. Still, facing Vilgefortz, he felt a lingering lack of confidence.
The ability to use the Artefact compression demonstrated power. Silently casting the curse on seven Witchers at once was another level of power.
From the traces left behind, Allen couldn't discern the upper limits of Vilgefortz's abilities.
The unknown was the most terrifying.
Time slipped away as Allen scrutinized his character sheet while the Witchers around him waited.
After clearing their plates, Allen didn't wait for Vesemir to speak. Instead, he pulled out a vial of potion from his reagent pouch.
The potion was gray, appearing more like mist than liquid. It swirled within a small crystal bottle, glowing faintly.
This was one of two vials of "Cyclopean Wraith Essence" Allen had obtained from opening the Cyclopean Wraith's chest during his time in Ellander.
Because using three doses caused diminishing returns, weakening his constitution more than the attributes gained, the two remaining vials had been left unused.
With everything going on at Kaer Morhen and meeting Vesemir less frequently, Allen had almost forgotten about them.
At this point, Allen opened the panel and realized he still had two vials of purified essence from Cyclops spirits left.
He handed the potion to Vesemir.
"What is this?" Vesemir asked.
"A type of potion similar to Heart Essence Elixir," Allen explained, motioning for him to drink it.
Without hesitation, Vesemir gave him a glance and downed the purified Cyclops essence in one gulp.
Allen seized the moment to appraise him.
----------------------------
[Name: Vesemir]
[Attributes: Strength 53, Agility 57, Constitution 69, Perception 70, Mystery 43 (+1)]
----------------------------
Before Vesemir had a chance to look at the semi-transparent panel that appeared, he exclaimed, "Allen!"
Vesemir's cry carried a note of astonishment as a chilling breath escaped his mouth.
His skin turned deathly pale, and his golden feline pupils contracted into narrow slits, trembling with an intense shock.
A profound fear seemed to seep from every pore of the Witcher master's body.
"I'm here!" Allen reassured him. "It's okay, trust me, Vesemir."
It was only then that Vesemir realized he'd just displayed fear in front of his apprentice—over a simple potion, no less—like some frightened maiden seeking solace.
"I... I'm not scared, really not!" he said, awkwardly turning his head. "It's just... it's just that this potion feels a little... a little stran—ahhh!"
Before he could finish, Vesemir let out another scream.
"Buzz~"
The wolf medallion emitted a low hum.
Then, suddenly—
His gloves, leather armor, boots, pants, even the inner lining of his clothes and the school medallion—everything phased through his body and fell to the ground.
The Witcher master himself transformed into a semi-transparent spectral form, frantically flailing his limbs as he floated into the air.
Although both were men and there was nothing inherently inappropriate, Allen politely turned away.
After hearing a "thud" as Vesemir hit the ground, and waiting several more seconds of silence, Allen finally took a large crystal bottle containing twenty portions of purified spirit essence from his reagent pouch and placed it on the wooden table.
At this point, Vesemir was staring blankly at his hands, his golden pupils contracting and dilating in shock. He even forgot to put his clothes back on.
"This one isn't as potent. Once you've adjusted to the enhanced power, you can drink these," Allen advised.
Without waiting for Vesemir to recover from the overwhelming shock caused by the Cyclops spirit essence, Allen turned and returned to his own room.
Vesemir's strength had been boosted, but Allen's upgrades had yet to begin.
----------------------
Back in his room, Allen closed the door.
Opening his Witcher Journal again, he focused his thoughts on the inventory section, following the upgrade steps he had just planned.
"I was originally going to save these for when I tamed the Griffin and flew directly to the Temple of Melitele for a grand opening… Looks like I can't hold back now…"
He gazed at the chests in the inventory and sighed in resignation, then offered a reverent prayer:
"All praise to the Mother of All, Goddess of Fertility, Harvest, and Childbirth, Guardian of the Eternal Maiden, Mother, and Crone..."
----------------------------
[Ding! Drowner Chest ×45, Ghoul Chest ×5 opened]
Four blue, forty-six white…
[Items obtained: Rotten Meat ×31, Small Experience Orbs ×15, Experience Orb ×1, Drowner Whistle ×3]
"Consider it warming up the odds; experience orbs are universal anyway," Allen muttered to himself.
----------------------------
[Ding! Rotfiend Chest ×5 opened]
One blue, four white…
[Items obtained: Experience Orbs ×4, Rotfiend Explosive Bottle ×1]
Allen summoned his inventory with a thought.
----------------------------
[Name: Rotfiend Explosive Bottle]
[Type: Single-use Item]
[Function: Throws an explosive bottle that deals moderate damage and splashes corrosive liquid.]
[Notes: Boom! Boom! Boom!]
----------------------------
"Somewhat useful, but not much."
Allen took a deep breath, recited Melitele's prayer once more, and pushed forward, opening the remaining chests for the larger monsters in one go.
----------------------------
[Ding! Alghoul Chest ×5, Cyclops Spirit Chest ×4 opened]
Initially, the Cyclops Spirit Chests revealed only two blue and two white flashes.
Allen's heart nearly stopped—he feared all 64 chests had been a waste. But then, the Alghoul Chests revealed a golden flash of brilliance.
----------------------------
One gold, four white.
When the shimmering light from the opened chests faded, Allen inhaled sharply.
Familiar cutscenes unfolded, immersing him in an abyssal black void devoid of light.
Moments later, an intense red light pierced the darkness.
Allen instinctively closed his eyes. When he opened them again, he found himself standing on a battlefield forged of flesh and blood.
The sky was red.
A blood sun hung overhead, surrounded by crimson clouds and pink auroras resembling entrails.
The ground was a wasteland of gore, flesh, and bones—truly a scene from hell.
Perhaps it was hell.
Gradually, everything decayed into dust and transformed into a parchment diagram.
----------------------------
[Items obtained: Experience Orbs ×6, Purified Cyclops Spirit ×2, 'Superior Necrophage Oil' Sword Oil Recipe ×1]
----------------------------
Allen finally felt a sense of relief.
Sixty-four chests had yielded one gold item—a powerful recipe.
Superior Necrophage Oil was the highest-tier recipe in the ghoul oil series, at least in the game.
"Enhanced Necrophage Oil was made but left unused, and now Superior Necrophage Oil arrives on its own. I guess that's another kind of good luck…"
He consoled himself and opened the panel for Superior Necrophage Oil.
----------------------------
[Name: Superior Necrophage Oil]
[Type: Sword Oil Recipe]
[Crafting Requirements: Alchemy LV8]
[Ingredients: Alchemy Paste ×1, Enhanced necrophage Oil ×1, Devourer's Blood ×1, Beggartick blossoms ×1, Arenaria ×1, Pringrape ×1, Hydragenum ×1]
[Function: Apply to weapons to greatly enhance damage against necrophages.]
[Notes: With this, you'll become the bane of all necrophages!]
----------------------------
"It's useless for the current situation after all."
Allen gave up hope.
The crafting requirements, ingredients, and effects didn't meet his immediate needs.
To be fair, expecting to open chests and instantly obtain tailored recipes and items was unrealistic.
Even if he had, there wouldn't be enough time to gather materials and craft them.
Still…
It was better to spend resources now than to regret not using them in a desperate situation.
"At least I gained nine experience orbs and fifteen small orbs. Not a total waste."
Sighing, Allen pulled up his personal panel.
"After the gambler's fantasy crumbles, only one question remains."
"Three special skill points, one hundred and seven experience orbs, and one hundred and eleven small experience orbs..."
"How should I allocate them to deal with the young version of the final boss from the original timeline..."
"The mage Vilgefortz?"
.....
📢20 advanced chapters on p@treaon📢
For advance chapters: p@treon.com/Uchiha_Itachi007 (replace @ with a)
344. The Limit of Attributes.
345. Ambushing Vilgefortz.
346. Is the Name Deserved or Not?
347. Intense Battle.
348. The Surge of Primal Chaos.