The Divine Hunter

Chapter 179: Evolved Abilities

‘Twas the darkest moment of the night before dawn, and not a soul stirred. The lands were slumbering, but a sliver of sunlight was starting to break through in the far horizon. A ram slowly appeared from the clouds high above, and a gigantic ship followed. The ship flew through the air, and an emblem with a pair of crossed swords painted in the center hung on the ship’s sails.

A caped man was standing on the bow, as if he were the captain of the ship. He had two swords strapped to his back, and a crossbow hung over the swords. As he looked down at the lands that were unfurling before him, he saw countless legendary creatures screaming into the heavens.

The dragons breathed fire, the giants swung trees around, mammoths charged across the plains, and elemental creatures appeared and disappeared across the land.

The winds blew across the ship, taking the hood off and revealing the young face under it. “It’s getting windy.”

An abyssal crack appeared in the skies ahead, and the ship charged straight into it. The winds turned into a hurricane within the void, and it slashed the boy as if it were made of swords.

When he refocused his gaze, he saw a young child staring at him with her jaw open, and she was millimeters away from him. When Roy opened his eyes, he realized that she was pinching his cheeks, and she was petrified from the shock.

“Ciri.” Roy’s face fell. “What are you doing?”

The girl leaped back and hid behind the other witcher, though she stuck half her head out. “Don’t blame me, Roy. It’s all your fault. You were sleeping like a log. I was just trying to wake you up. Yeah, that’s all. You wouldn’t wake up earlier, no matter what.”

“We’ll talk about this later.” Roy stretched his arms and stood up. He looked around him carefully to see if there were any dangers. Behind them stood the endless forest, while a prairie stretched before them as far as the eye could see. The sun was shining, and its light was blinding. Roy squinted. “Get cheeky next time and you won’t be let off this easily. Now tell me what happened. Where are we right now?”

“Huh? Oh, I woke up first. You guys were still knocked out, weaklings. Lady Eithné said she lost the bet, so she let us go.” Ciri patted her chest and heaved a sigh. “She sent a team of dryads and escorted us here. It’s the eastern border of Brokilon.” She swung her fists proudly, and Geralt patted her head.

Roy massaged his own. He was still groggy after that. Most of the water’s poison had been neutralized, and the Poisoned status on the character sheet was nearly transparent. He seemed spaced out because he was still thinking about that dream he had.

“What is it, Roy? You seem like you’re still not out of it. Is something the matter? Or did you have a strange dream?” Geralt crossed his arms. It sounded like he knew why Roy was looking out of it. “Most people start to see the past and the future after they drink the Water of Brokilon. They’re projections of the user’s wishes, excitement, longing, and even fear. If you wish to tell anyone about it, you have two listeners right in front of you. Isn’t that right, child?”

Ciri nodded with excitement.

There were a lot of things he had to clear up, but that could be left for another time. For the time being, he concentrated on his character sheet and read through it.

‘You ingested the Water of Brokilon that has the Child of the Sun added to it. +1 to Will and Spirit.

‘Roy

Age: Fourteen years and seven months old

Status: Viper School witcher, knight of Lake Vizima

HP: 130/151 (Poisoned)

Mana: 150 → 160

Strength: 9.3

Dexterity: 10.3

Constitution: 11.1

Perception: 8

Will: 9.5 → 10.5

Charisma: 7

Spirit: 11 → 12′

‘Your Massacre has reached Level 5. Your Will has reached 10 points. Fear is evolving.

Fear: You may cast this skill to Fear any and all enemies in a (1) meter radius around you. A mandatory Will check will be performed on them. If their Will is lower than yours, they will lose control of their bodies for up to (2) seconds. 4 minute cooldown.’

Roy kept reading.

‘Your Aen Elle bloodline is evolving.’

Elegance of the Wind had disappeared from the character sheet, but it was replaced by another ability.

‘Elder Blood (Passive): Aen Elle’s most ancient bloodline. Those who inherit this bloodline can control incredible powers. Your bloodline is too diluted. You only possess a part of the bloodline’s powers. They are uncontrollable.’

He kept reading. Eventually, he noticed that his job’s perk had changed.

‘Mount. You can bind a tamed mount and build a telepathic connection with it for better communication. You can spend (100 → 50) Mana to summon your mount right to you.

Unlike weapons, you can unbind mounts and give it back its freedom.

Bound mount: Wilt.

This perk has absorbed the power of your Elder Blood and increased its space ability.

Now you may spend 50 Mana to teleport to where your mount is.’

***

Roy knew this was an important perk, especially in battles. If he was in a dire situation, he could teleport back to Wilt immediately, making it a perfect skill to save his skin.

“Hm, my perk can enjoy the power of the Elder Blood. I wonder…”

He leveled up, and a surge of warmth coursed through his body, washing off the Water of Brokilon’s remaining poison.

‘Level (5 → 6) Witcher (580/3500)

Main stat—Will: 10.5 → 11.5

You gain 1 skill point and 1 stat point.’

“Once we get back to Cintra, I’ll add this stat point to Will, making it 12.5. Just enough to tame that little griffin by force.”

‘Bound weapons

Hand crossbow—Gabriel (Can be Leveled Up)

(Gabriel has been strengthened three times. Thanks to your Elder Blood, it has gained some degree of spatial ability. You may pick one of the two effects below.)

Instant Shot: Costs 20 Mana. Your next shot will ignore space and reach your target immediately. Limited to effective range.

Blink: Costs 20 Mana. You may transport yourself within the vicinity of Gabriel’s bolt (one-meter radius). Limited to effective range.’

He had two choices. If he picked Instant Shot, his bolts could reach his target while ignoring air resistance, weather, and essentially most elements that would affect them. If his aim was true, his target would have nowhere to run, but Quen, magical shields, armor, and tough hide could still block it.

Compared to that, he preferred Blink. Teleporting to his enemy was useful if he wanted to land more hits. If he used Fear with Blink, he could take his enemy out in moments. And it could be used to evade his enemy’s attacks, giving him more flexibility in combat.

‘Gabriel

Type: Hand crossbow

Materials: Cottonwood, tendon, hemp, mana.

Details: Weight (6 → 7) pounds. Bow length (2.2 → 2.3) feet. Draw weight (40 → 50) pounds. Effective range (55 → 64) meters.

Effect:

Simplify: As long as there are bolts remaining in the inventory, Gabriel will reload itself. Reloading time is now 0.4 seconds.

Guided Arrows: Costs 20 Mana. Shoots out a magical bolt. Increases its effective range and armor penetration. The bolt will hone in on the target. It can change its direction up to 45 degrees.

Blink: Costs 20 Mana. You may transport yourself within the vicinity of Gabriel’s bolt.’

***

‘Steel sword—Gwyhyr

(Gwyhyr has been strengthened three times. Thanks to your Elder Blood, it has gained some spatial abilities…)

Silver sword—Aerondight

(Aerondight has been strengthened one time. Thanks to your Elder Blood, it has gained some spatial abilities…)’

The swords gained the same effect.

‘Teleport (New): Costs 50 Mana. Teleports you within the vicinity of Gwyhyr/Aerondight. No distance limit.’

***

There was a reason Blink only cost 20 Mana, while Teleport needed 50. Teleport had no distance limit, while Blink was only valid for Gabriel’s effective range.

***

Ciri quietly came to Roy—who was spacing out—and she tugged his pants. “Are you alright, Roy?” She seemed concerned. The trip to Brokilon made her realize something, and that was that Roy truly cared about her.

“Don’t worry.” Roy set his problems aside and picked the girl up. “I’ve never been better.”

“What about you, Geralt?” He smiled at the White Wolf. “You’re not that young anymore. Can you take the poison in the water?”

“After the Trial of the Grasses? This poison is nothing. But it still is lethal for humans,” Geralt answered calmly. He did not seem fazed by the ordeal at all.

“Child.” Roy looked Ciri in the eye. “Do you feel any changes in your body?”

“I think so.” Ciri pinched her chubby arm, and her face scrunched up. “Roy, am I getting fatter?”

“You’re a child. You look cuter that way. Anything else?”

“Um… I don’t know. I feel like something has changed, but I also feel like everything’s still the same. I can’t tell.”

“Roy, is there something on my face? Why are you staring at me? Put me down!” Ciri flailed her legs.

Roy laughed, and he put her down. “So what will you do now, Geralt?”

Geralt was standing on Brokilon’s border, and there were two diverging paths before him. “I will return to Brugge to finish my mission. Roach is still there. If you want to come with me, I think I can give you a room with a hot bath.”

“Sure. We’ll go to Brugge, then. And I need to talk to you.” Roy was reminded of the witchers who were waiting for him back in Cintra, and he smiled.

“What are we waiting for, then?” Ciri held their hands and started going west.

“But…” Ciri seemed flustered, and a frown furrowed her brows. “But I just feel that something’s wrong with the eastern path.”

“What is wrong with it?”

“I can’t say. It’s just a feeling. It’s not safe there.”

To the witchers’ surprise, their pendants started to vibrate after Ciri said that.

“Mana…” Geralt looked at Ciri in surprise. “Elder Blood. Did she awaken some kind of ability?”

“Very well, then. We shall head west.” Roy knew Ciri’s Child of Fortune skill wouldn’t go wrong.

“Actually…” Ciri changed her mind. She didn’t want to have anything to do with Verden anymore. “We can head east. It shouldn’t be any problem.”

“Is that so? Then we shall head east.”

***

Ciri’s premonition came true moments later. Not even ten minutes after the trio went east, they came out of a patch of shrubs and arrived in a desert. The moment they did, a troop of soldiers appeared out of nowhere and surrounded them.

They wore conical helms, chainmail armor, and dark grey coats that had Verden’s royal emblem—black and gold squares—embroidered on them.

***

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