Lights of the lab shone on the silhouette that just sat up on the operating theater. His face was covered in scabs, but his body was chiseled and lean. Slowly, he turned his attention to the sorceress beside him.
Their eyes met, and Lytta covered her mouth in disbelief. She stared at him, her eyes filled with delight and tears of joy.
"I did it, Coral." The witcher beamed at her and pulled her into his embrace. And then he hugged her as tightly as he could.
He rested his chin on her shoulder and caressed her fiery red hair that smelled like roses. Then he kissed her shoulder.
Their cheeks were pressed against each other, and Lytta closed her eyes in relief.
Silence reigned for a moment. The two of them enjoyed a moment of peace, listening to nothing but their heartbeats.
A long while later, Roy heaved a sigh. "Thank you for your help, Coral. Allow me to repay my debt."
But Lytta didn't answer, much to Roy's curiosity. He took a closer look and noticed that Lytta was already asleep in his embrace. Her eyelashes were fluttering, and a few moments later, quiet snores escaped her lips.
She was exhausted. The Trial might be torture for the witcher, but the mage who hosted it was under equal stress as well. Over the past month, Lytta had to wake up in the middle of the night every day to check on him. She never had a good night's sleep.
Roy looked at her guiltily and kissed her forehead. He picked her up and gently put her on the operating theater, and then he covered her with a blanket. He caressed her cheek with his hand and stared at her for a long while.
Eventually, the witcher turned around and put a finger to his lips. His griffin was wagging its tail too quickly, and Roy didn't want to wake Lytta up.
Gryphon stopped moving right away. It waited for its master to approach it. Roy held it tightly and buried his head in its mane. He took a deep breath, and a frown furrowed his brows. "Gryphon, you haven't bathed in more than two weeks, have you? You smell even worse than me."
Gryphon rubbed its head against Roy's leg and turned over, revealing its belly to him. Like a child throwing a tantrum, it kept turning around until Roy gave it some belly rubs. It let out purrs of satisfaction and slowly fell asleep.
***
She's asleep. Roy's eyes gleamed. He balled his fists and loosened them again, taking in his new strength. He turned his head and started warming up, pushing into the ground for a moment before leaping up into the air.
Like a gust of wind, he flew through the air easily. "Not bad. My dexterity and strength improved a lot."
But that wasn't the biggest change. He concentrated on his character sheet once more, and a red message greeted him.
'You have passed your second Trial. Your stats are dramatically increased. And you are now an intermediate witcher.'
'Roy
Age: Fifteen years old
Status: Viper, Manticore, honorary Wolf, Knight of Lake Vizima
HP: 170 → 300 (+80 from the Trial)
Mana: 200 → 280 (+80 from the Trial)
Strength: 10.5 → 14.5
Dexterity: 11 → 15
Constitution: 13 → 22
Perception: 9.5 → 11.5
Will: 14.5 → 15
Charisma: 8 → 9
Spirit: 16 → 20
Skills:
Massacre Level 6, Observe Level 2, Meditation Level 6, Crossbow Mastery Level 2, Sword Mastery Level 2, Alchemy Level 2, Witcher Senses Level 1, Witcher Signs Level 3.
Elder Blood (Passive)
Trial of the Grasses (Passive): You have endured the Trial for a second time. The trials and tribulations you endured have gifted you enormous boosts for your body. You are now immune to most plagues, diseases, and lethal toxicity. Your eyes can see better in the dark now. Your stats have increased dramatically. Your HP is permanently increased by (40 → 80) points, and your mana is permanently increased by (40 → 80) points.'
***
Roy massaged his temples and sorted his new abilities out. Satisfaction and disappointment appeared in his eyes at the same time. "I got a 24.5-point total increase in stats. About twenty percent more than what I got from my first Trial."
Roy thought that was the result of both Trials merging at the very end. "Strength, Dexterity, and Spirit all saw a four-point increase, while Constitution leapt up by nine points."
Green mutagens—the mutagen of life and poison resistance—had a ratio of six in this Trial, while the mutagens of strength and dexterity only had a ratio of one. That difference in ratio ended up pulling a bit of distance between Roy's stats, but the increase was disproportionate to the ratio.
Hm, perhaps the Trial doesn't work too well on stats that are higher than rank two.
"My Constitution is now twenty-two. I could only take two decoctions at one time before this. Maybe I can take three now? If I can get my Constitution to twenty-five, I can take the acorn without losing my memory. That acorn is gonna save a life someday."
His Constitution outstripped half of the brotherhood members’ Constitution. The Cats and most Wolves had lower Constitution compared to him. And his Trial of the Grasses passive skill increased his HP by eighty points. He was more durable than regular witchers now.
His strength and dexterity were still a far cry from most witchers', but his Spirit was higher than everyone else’s. They were trained in close-quarter combat and swordplay, while Roy was a better marksman and long-range DPS.
It was impossible for him to face a veteran swordsman when his swordplay was only level two. Of course, if he could use everything in his arsenal and fight to the death, he wouldn't be afraid of anything.
He had Fear, Stun Bolts, Blink, a huge mana pool, Activate's great support, and his powerful mount. Roy was a powerhouse in combat.
He took a deep breath and went for a few more sets of exercises to adapt to his new strength. After they made their return, he would have to spend some time training his new body.
***
Stats aside, Roy's appearance underwent a big change as well. He was about five foot ten now, and his bulking Constitution bulked his muscles up. One flex, and all his muscles under his shirt would go taut.
But he was nowhere near Letho's muscle size. He still wouldn’t turn any heads in horror just yet. Still not a rock-hard guy. Not to mention he had Elder Blood flowing in his veins, and elves weren't known for their bulky body shape.
His face was more chiseled and mature. No longer did he look like a child. Roy was more of a young lad in his late teens now. And half of his left eye was grey instead of gold. Feels like I'm heterochromatic.
There was a special air about him, and his high Charisma would make him a heartthrob. One look and they would remember what he looked like.
Last time, he lost all his hair from the Trial, but this time, that didn’t happen. In fact, his hair and brows grew even more. There was a hint of grey among them.
"Coral's worries were for nothing." Roy looked at the sorceress. "I'm still not bald."
Once again, he turned his attention to the character sheet.
'EXP full. Do you wish to level up?'
"Yes."
'Main stat (Will): 15 → 17'
Roy felt like he was struck by a lightning bolt, and his mind froze. He thought he was hearing the air ripple and shimmer like water. At the same time, an electric current coursed through his body, and every cell felt numb. Yet there was a feeling of euphoria filling him.
The torture and torment he endured over the past month was waved away. Roy felt refreshed and energized, not unlike he just had a good night's sleep and a big breakfast. A smile curled his lips.
Once again, his character sheet changed.
'Level 8 Witcher
Rank: Intermediate
To gain the rank of advanced witcher, you must:
1. Go through all the remaining Trials
2. Kill a monster with any single stat that is >20 (0/10)
3. Acquire a greater mutagen (0/10)
Trials passed: Viper, Manticore
Job perks:
1. Main stat (Will). Every time you level up, you gain a two-point increment for your main stat (No stat point investment required)
2. Bound weapons
3. Full Recovery
4. Mount: Gryphon
Inventory space: (4 → 6) cubic meters.
Remaining skill point: 1. Remaining stat point: 1.'
***
"Okay, so I can take more resources with me now. Dammit. I have to go through all the Trials if I wanna rank up?" Roy massaged his temples again, but this time, he was frustrated.
He had no plan of going through another Trial. First, he had to take some time adapting to his newfound strength. Second, he had two Trials sleeping within him, and adding a third into the mix would only cause another raging battle that would be even fiercer than the one he already had.
He might not be strong enough to get through it as he was.
"I should check my gains out."
Roy allocated his stat point to Will.
'17 → 18'
A purple lightning bolt flitted across his eyes, stunning him for a moment. He thought he saw an invisible door before him.
As usual, he allocated his skill point to Meditation.
Meditation: Level 6 → Level 7
(You gain a charge of Activate every time you perform a full meditation [5 hours]. Activate heals you for (30 → 40)% of your HP and Mana. It can also heal minor injuries and alleviate regular injuries.)
Constitution: 22 → 22.5
HP: 300 → 305
Spirit: 19 → 19.5
Mana: 270 → 275'
***
His skills were getting stronger the deeper into this world he ventured. Meditation didn't grant a lot of stat increments, but it could heal Roy and replenish his mana by nearly half of its maximum value. And it could alleviate regular injuries as well. This was a lifesaving skill.
Now he was one step closer to the dimension of the elements.
***
Roy heaved a sigh of satisfaction and grasped the air.
A yellowish-grey hand crossbow appeared in his palm. It was fifty percent larger than its original form. Holding it with one hand felt awkward. And its string felt as warm as flesh. Roy almost thought he was touching an animal's skin.
'Bound Weapon — Gabriel
(After its fifth powerup, Gabriel is no longer the same regular weapon it used to be. It is now a top-notch crossbow. You possess a cyclop's tendon and hamstring in your inventory space. Gabriel is powered up again)
Type: Hand crossbow
Components: Mulberry wood, cyclops tendon, cyclops hamstring, hemp, mana
Specs: Weighs (8 → 10) pounds, draw strength (60 → 120) pounds, effective range (73 → 123) meters.
Affixes:
Simplify, Guided Arrows, Blink, Stun Bolts
Ogre's Fury (New): Gabriel has extracted and absorbed the cyclop's body part. Effective range is increased by fifty meters permanently, and Gabriel's attack power is increased drastically.'
***
"Whoa." Delight filled the eyes of the witcher.
This powerup didn't add a lot of new powers, but it was simple. Gabriel's effective range was more than a hundred meters, and its damage was almost doubled. With Guided Arrows, Stun Bolts, Crossbow Mastery Level 2, the damage increase from Massacre, and Observe's support, Roy could destroy any Quen or magical shield in one blow, even if the other fighter was a hundred yards away.
Headshots all the time. Roy caressed it like it was his lover and put it on a table. He then held a glinting blade in his hand. The hilt was made of leather, and it looked like it was alive. It was sturdy and slightly sticky to the touch. It was as smooth as ever, but five star-shaped runes formed a semi-circle in the middle of the blade.
***
'Steel Sword — Gwyhyr
(An ancient sword made by gnomes. Gwyhyr is now even stronger after its fifth powerup. You possess Brewess' magical limb and a metal ladle. You have more than twenty points in your Constitution. Gwyhyr is now powered up.)
Type: Steel sword
Components: Dark iron, magma, meteorite ore, leather, pine wood, powdered monster tissue, Brewess' limb, unknown metal, mana.
Specs: Weighs three pounds, hilt measures 9.3 inches, blade measures 36 inches.
Affixes:
Circulation, Ignite, Painful Strike, Teleport, Suppression
Devour (New): The Brewess uses her ladle to stir her cauldron, cook and consume her victim's flesh, absorbing their life force in an attempt to suppress the negative emotions and poison the land of Velen is assaulting her with.
Gwyhyr has inherited part of her abilities. Every time you injure an enemy, Gwyhyr can devour a part of their life force and store it within itself. Once all five stars light up, the user may expend all stars to heal them for a quarter of their HP. This skill can also heal minor injuries. (Your Constitution is more than twenty. The negative effects of monster flesh do not affect you).
You may also expend the runes to cast a powerful slash.
***
"Not a bad skill. Defense and offense at the same time." Roy swung his blade around, tearing through the air. He could vaguely hear the screams of the Brewess surrounding the blade.
"Gwyhyr's Circulation heals my stamina with every kill, and Devour can heal my HP."
Group fights? Call Gwyhyr. And I have Activate. Now I have 300 HP too. I can fight for a long time even if I'm surrounded. Perhaps I can even fight on forever if I have enough enemies surrounding me.
***
He thrust the blade forward and placed it beside the crossbow before he produced a crimson blade.
'Silver Sword — Aerondight
(A sword granted by a Lady of the Lake. It has gone through a third powerup and gained a new power.)
Type: Silver sword
Components: Tear stone, dark iron, cured draconid leather, powdered monster tissue, nymph blood, silver, Brewess' limb, unknown metal, mana.
Specs: Weighs 6.06 pounds, hilt measures 11 inches, blade measures 40 inches.
Affixes:
Mana Reduction, Aqua Blessing, Aqua Summoning, Teleport, Suppression, Devour (New)
Note: This sword was granted to Roy by Vivienne, a Lady of the Lake. Only those who pass her test may wield this sword.'
Roy crossed his arms and smiled at his weapons. It had been a long while since his last level up. The more he leveled up, the more he had to fight for the next level up. But this time, his power level surged to an incredible level.
He wanted to spar with someone, but before that, he patted his mount's furry head to calm it down and stared at the sleeping sorceress. "I have to thank Coral properly first."
***
***
