One week in Kaer Morhen and Roy had completed most of his goals. He learned Heliotrop, found the gear diagrams, proved that demon summoning worked well as an EXP farm, befriended a family of trolls, saw the Elemental Circle and an ifrit, and also witnessed the demise of Old Speartip.
The ten mutagens needed to rank him up were sitting quietly in his inventory space. Most importantly, he got three 'old friends' to join his brotherhood. The only thing left was to get the Wolf Trial's recipe, but he wasn't in a hurry. Once they returned to Novigrad, he would eventually get the chance to do it.
***
Roy wanted to return as soon as possible, but the Wolves demanded a full-month stay. Roy didn't mind waiting for a bit, so he stayed. And then regular life started. Every day, he would wake from meditation before dawn broke and practice his swordplay on the training grounds.
Eskel was the only one who trained with him at first, but everyone else eventually joined. Six veteran witchers put Roy through a hellish training routine. Even though he was imaginative and full of bold ideas, Roy was still no match for veteran witchers in combat.
"Faster, kid! Even a sloth can dodge better!"
"I don't feel any back in that! What'd you do? Have a whole night of wet dreams? Hold it in, you!"
Lambert enjoyed every moment of training Roy, especially when he could mock the young witcher. After so long, he finally regained some confidence, seeing that Roy was a worse swordsman than he was.
His tongue was sharper than his blade, but Roy ignored Lambert's mockery. Weaklings roar the loudest. Once I surpass him, I'll show him hell.
Geralt, Letho, and everyone else would spar with one another as well, though their battles were a lot more entertaining. More back and forth, so to speak. Roy loved it. In terms of swordsmanship alone, Auckes was the best, while Geralt was on par with Letho. Serrit and Eskel followed closely, and Lambert trailed behind. Roy was dead last, of course.
Vesemir left Kaer Morhen about two weeks ago, looking really happy for some reason.
***
Roy could feel his swordplay improving bit by bit through training and watching the witchers spar. He loved the feeling of improving himself every day. It hadn't been more than a year since he started training. Roy was still a beginner who had no style of his own, nor did he have any finishers, but thanks to the help of the veteran witchers, he knew he would create his own style someday.
***
The Wolves and Vipers came up with some other classes aside from swordplay. They too were done in the morning.
It was Kaer Morhen's specialty, dubbed 'Gauntlet' by Lambert. Roy would have to walk on the stakes blindfolded and dodge all the pendulums that were swinging at him. The training was to level up Roy's balance, reaction speed, and endurance.
Roy was familiar with the stakes. He spent a lot of training time on them back in Cintra, but going through the same thing blindfolded was a different thing. Perception and Dexterity weren't his best stats, and Gauntlet was hell for him at first.
He would end up with injuries and contusions every day, but thanks to Activate, he could bounce back to top form the very next day and hop back into training. No Viper massage needed.
***
After some strenuous physical activity, it was time for lunch and theory classes. Either a Viper or Wolf would come to teach Roy about the knowledge they knew. Most of them were based on the books in the castle, like Post-Conjunction: New Species, Dangerous Beasts, Secrets of Alchemy, A Summary on Herbalism, and more.
The witchers would infuse their own experiences and talk about monsters, their organs' value, as well as the herbs' uses.
"Aguaras made their appearance after the Conjunction of the Spheres…"
Roy was in a room filled with books, and Geralt was writing on a rickety wall with a charcoal pencil. He explained softly to Roy, "Like dopplers, aguaras can change their forms, but they're limited to three: humanoid, vulpine, and half-humanoid."
Roy's eyes twinkled with curiosity. He didn't remember aguaras existing in this world, but then this world was broader and more complex than the one he knew.
"Their reproduction is peculiar, to say the least. They kidnap children and turn them into one of their own." Geralt paused and looked at Roy knowingly. "So parents would bring them up to scare naughty kids into submission."
"Sounds like a childhunter." Roy pretended he didn't hear that. "I killed one in Aldersberg. It was hiding under a tree, and I hadn't even passed the Trial back then. Its vomit is even more potent than dimeritium. And then I used that to kill a leshen. Granted, it was extremely weakened by then."
"I know you're exceptional, Roy." Geralt arched his eyebrow. "But I'm the teacher here." I can't believe you survived a childhunter.
Geralt waved Roy down. "Listen closely and stop interrupting me. Let's get back to the aguaras."
Whenever the Wolves were on lecture duty, they would also talk about the Wolf School's code of neutrality. They would bring up how witchers should avoid getting dragged into political fights and remain neutral.
Roy respected their creed, but he disagreed with them. The whole world was changing. If the witchers refused to change as well, they would soon be eliminated and become a page in the annals of history.
But neither of them could convince each other, so Roy would prove that change was necessary once the brotherhood was established.
***
After theory class, it was alchemy time. The witchers used their alchemical apparatuses and herbs they could find around Kaer Morhen for that. They mostly taught Roy the decoctions and oils he could prepare at his level of skill. For example, ogroid oils made of bear fat and ginatia petals, hybrid oil made of dog tallow and white myrtle petals, as well as Cat, the frequently used decoction that improved night vision.
Of course, there were also alchemical substances like aether, hydragenum, and vermillion that Roy had to work with.
He spent the later part of his afternoons working through the apparatuses and filled all kinds of tubes with the potions he made. Like a sponge, he absorbed knowledge and experience with every potion he made.
One of the Wolves or Vipers would be teaching him, but then everyone else would either play Gwent, run around the valleys, hike, swim, fish, or even ski down a snowy hill with some primitive sled.
This was the happiest period of time the Vipers had since they came to the north. Besides the lack of women, everything else was great.
***
After dinner, it was all free time for Roy.
The snowy plains of Kaer Morhen glistened under the moonlight. A griffin was shooting straight into the skyscraping woods happily with its rider on its back. Compared to most beasts, the griffin looked clumsy when it ran.
It grabbed the ground with its clawed hind legs and leapt ahead with the momentum from the spring. Snow, leaves, and grass flew into the air as it jumped ahead, and then it would stop. Its wings would unfurl and hit the ground before it leapt ahead again.
There was a pause every time it repeated this action. Even a horse could run faster than it did. About a hundred yards later, it suddenly stood on its hind legs and clasped its outstretched wings together.
And then…
The griffin flapped its wings. The gust of wind billowed its mane, and snow on the ground danced. Into the air the griffin soared, its magnificent figure arcing through the night like a comet hurtling through space.
Chilly night winds zipped through the air around the griffin, and its rider huddled closer to the beast, almost kissing its back. He held the griffin's mane and buried his head into its furry neck. Even so, the winds still almost cut the nape of his neck open.
Roy stared straight down. The plains stretched far into the deep mountains, and snow fell from the swaying pine trees. Crescent moon reflected itself on the lake's surface, and Kaer Morhen was slowly left behind in the shadows. Everything seemed to turn smaller and smaller as he flew further ahead.
"Good thing I'm not afraid of heights." Roy grinned.
It had been over twelve months since he came to this world, and Roy could finally fly. In a world where planes, helicopters, and hot-air balloons don't exist, I'm the first witcher to fly. On a griffin's back.
Roy did something most mages couldn't. Even they could only hover in the air for a short while with a force field. Flying was out of the question.
Riding a griffin and soaring through the air while watching everything beneath him turn to little specks was a magical feeling. Roy could do this all night. He narrowed his eyes and took a deep breath greedily. The air in the high heavens was a lot fresher compared to the ground.
Gryphon flapped its wings again and rose to nearly a hundred feet in the air. Roy felt like he could catch the stars if he just stretched his arms.
His delight reached Gryphon, and the beast roared happily as it circled around and glided through the air. It wasn't until Roy patted its neck and lavished it with praise did it fly toward the mountains draped in mist and darkness.
Through the pine forest, hillocks, and bramble bushes they went. All of a sudden, Gryphon roared in excitement. The flapping of its wings slowed, and it hovered in midair.
It looked downward, and Roy stared in the direction Gryphon was looking. He could see a pair of curled goat horns popping out from the redbud bush. They belonged to one of Kaer Morhen's goats. It was draped in white fur and minding its own business, oblivious to the fact it was about to become a griffin's supper.
It was grazing on the grass and looking around cautiously for any possible predators, and one was certainly closing in.
"Wanna have some barbecued goat tonight, Gryphon?"
Gryphon growled happily.
Roy made a red triangle in the air and shoved a Furyfire at the goat. A fireball shot out from the triangle and flew downward like a mini meteorite. The goat noticed the scent of flames galloping through the air. It bleated and quickly turned around to make a run from it.
Oddly enough, the fireball should have missed, but instead it turned ninety degrees in the air and shot at the goat's back at a greater velocity.
A great ball of fire bloomed in the night, and the poor goat was sent flying away as if it were rammed by a carriage. It rolled around the ground, on fire and billowing with smoke. The animal bleated and spasmed a few times, but eventually death claimed it.
'Goat killed EXP +5 Level 7 Witcher…'
A few moments later, something big descended from the air, landing beside the charred body of the goat. Roy leapt off Gryphon’s back and put out the fire with Aard. He grasped a short knife out of nowhere and carved and skinned the goat. Most of it went to Gryphon as a reward for its work.
The young witcher set up a cooking area and skewered the goat's leg. White smoke wafted into the air, the aroma of meat spreading through the night. Roy stared into the stars twinkling in the sky, and he smiled. "Good job, Gryphon." Roy massaged the griffin's wings and comed its hair.
Gryphon gulped down the meat and narrowed its eyes happily.
***
Over the last few weeks, Roy would hunt with Gryphon every night. It could carry him now. On one hand, he needed to build the spirit of teamwork with Gryphon, and on the other, he wanted to farm some EXP.
There were a lot of ways they could hunt. Roy could be the attacker, shooting bolts and Furyfire at their prey. Both of those attacks could track his target, so they never missed. And the prey couldn't even hit them while they were in the air, putting them in a safe spot.
Sometimes Gryphon would swoop in for the kill. It would descend and break through the prey's flesh with its sharp claws and beak, or it would catch the prey and rise up into the air just to toss it down like a ragdoll.
The duo were the apex predators of these mountains, and the wild beasts were living in terror of them. Blue Mountains was a big place filled with an abundance of resources. Even in the winter, there were more beasts here compared to the city or rural areas.
Goats, rabbits, wolverines, deer, and everything else. The duo had hunted them. Their most dangerous prey were hungry grizzly bears, wolf packs, and even an invisible foglet. Even so, they were no match for the witcher-griffin duo. They couldn't hit them, and they couldn't outrun a griffin.
Everything became Roy's EXP and food. And Gryphon's too.
Roy would have stayed for a while longer and have Gryphon carry him deeper into the mountains to search for some lost treasure, but that would have to wait. They were returning to Novigrad in two days.
"Wonder if Vesemir has caught up with his old flame. Don't keep us waiting."
***
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