"The Child of Miracles is my ladder."
Vilgefortz's voice carried a hidden fanaticism that made Lydia van Bredevoort shiver involuntarily.
She instinctively stepped back half a pace, her right hand bracing against an empty bookshelf, the fabric of her dress rustling softly.
"Ahem…" Vilgefortz noticed her small movement, coughed lightly, and relaxed his tense body. "Forgive me, I lost my composure."
"Since you've already decided, I'll naturally follow your lead," Lydia shook her head. "I always have."
Lowering her long brows slightly, she stepped closer and turned her back to Vilgefortz, tidying the scattered manuscripts on the desk.
Vilgefortz quietly watched her graceful figure. Though she was only putting papers in order, her movements were as elegant as if she were painting streams, green trees, and distant mountains with a brush.
"This is a gamble, Lydia," he said softly. "I choose to play it, but you don't need to—"
"Is this manuscript something we're bringing along?" Lydia suddenly interrupted.
Between her slender fingers was a finely drawn diagram. Beside it were ritual markings and a few lines of flowing script centered on the phrase "Elder Blood."
Vilgefortz looked from the manuscript to Lydia, his gaze silent and complicated for a moment.
"Yes. That is my gift to the Child of Miracles."
Lydia nodded, asking no more.
She lifted her hand into the void, retrieving a leather-bound cylinder, carefully rolled the manuscript, slid it inside, and sealed the cap with care.
Vilgefortz simply leaned against the window, watching her in silence.
"Lydia, Tissaia de Vries is fond of you. Aretuza is lacking a teacher in illusions for the apprentices. She asked me to extend an invitation on her behalf—and promised that, in Aretuza's name, she would open a gallery for you."
"I remember… that has always been your dream."
His voice was suddenly gentle.
Lydia had just dismissed the leather case into the void, her hand pausing mid-motion as she continued to tidy the desk. She didn't turn back. "I like my current work."
Vilgefortz was silent for a few seconds, then let out a long sigh.
"Lydia, you've mistaken the reflection on the water for the stars in the night sky."
Lydia stopped arranging the engravings.
"Vilgefortz, that reflection on the water is my stars in the night sky."
She turned back, her emerald-green eyes—shining like the rarest jewels under the sunlight—quietly fixed on his pale, weary face.
Her voice was soft, but firm.
The two locked eyes for a long while before Vilgefortz sighed again.
"I already have a lead on Hen Gedymdeith's location. But a deeper investigation would be very dangerous."
"This trip to Kaer Morhen is to see whether it's worth taking that risk."
Lydia's hands moved more gently now, her eyes softening. "You suspect that witcher, Allen?"
"No, I don't suspect him," Vilgefortz shook his head. "But I dislike uncertainty. I can't deny that there remains a possibility Allen isn't truly the Child of Miracles."
"That's why I must confirm it this time… After all, as you said, Lydia…"
"This concerns our future."
His gaze grew deeply affectionate, making the sorceress's ivory-white cheeks flush crimson.
Before Lydia could respond, Vilgefortz murmured two incantations, and behind her an orange-red portal bloomed open.
"Come. It's time. We have an appointment with Tissaia de Vries."
-----------------------------------
Old Speartip's Cave
[Ding! Leshen's Chest 1 opened]
[Obtained: "Relict Oil" Sword Oil Recipe 1]
…
[Name: Relict Oil]
[Type: Sword Oil Recipe]
[Crafting Requirement: Alchemy LV1]
[Formula: Dog tallow 1, Mistletoe 5]
[Effect: Apply to weapons to increase damage against Relicts]
[Note: First step to slaying gods—coat your blade with Relict Oil!]
"Holy shit! It dropped!"
Allen leapt up from the ground, shouting in excitement.
Inside Old Speartip's empty cave, his voice echoed back and forth, layer upon layer, brimming with emotion.
Because of the cases of large monster decoctions and mutation stimulants, he hadn't even considered that he might obtain Relict Oil. He was already thinking about whether he should ask Ida Emean for advice.
After all, the Elder Races had a long history, and among them, the knowledgeable were the most erudite, far surpassing humans in their understanding of Northern legends.
"Good thing it dropped," Allen took a deep breath, steadying his excitement. "That way I won't owe Ida Emean another favor."
The Elder Races' favors were not so easily owed.
And with so much time passed, chasing vague and half-true legends, trying to find those Relicts again—and killing them without Relict Oil— Just thinking about it made his scalp tingle.
In comparison, the Leshen Decoction being left idle because he lacked a Leshen mutagen was only a small problem.
Although…
He really was curious about how, in reality, after drinking a Leshen Decoction, one could achieve the effect of "part of the enemy's damage rebounding back to the attacker."
"But this is already the eighth gold chest."
"If it follows the same pattern as the last time I received the Harvest's Blessing, then there should only be one gold and one purple left. After that, the effect will probably end."
Allen thought to himself, then willed open the Witcher's Journal.
[Chests: Ronnie Dickinson's Chest 5, @#￥%&'s Chest 5, Summoning Ritual Chest 5, Rotting Lord's Chest 5, Monster Nest Chest 5, Rotfiend's Chest 5, Gargoyle's Chest 1, Fanatic Lydia's Treasure Chest 2, Moreau's Colossus Chest 2, Ghoul's Chest 18, Drowner's Chest 33]
He paused for a few seconds.
[Ding! Gargoyle's Chest 1 opened]
[Obtained: "Enhanced Elementa Oil" Sword Oil Recipe 1]
…
[Name: Enhanced Elementa Oil]
[Type: Sword Oil Recipe]
[Crafting Requirement: Alchemy LV4]
[Formula: Bear Fat 1, Elementa Oil 1, Moleyarrow 1, Puffball 1, Allspice 1, Honeysuckle 1, Buckthorn 1]
[Effect: Apply to weapons to greatly increase damage against Elementa]
[Note: Using a chest dropped by Elementa to deal with Elementa—what terrible luck for them!]
"Perfect!"
"Absolutely satisfying!"
The instant the cold system chime ended and Allen saw Enhanced Elementa Oil appear in the "Obtained" list, he felt as if he'd just received a deep massage—his whole body loosening up.
Utterly comfortable.
Elementa Oil and Enhanced Elementa Oil differed by just the word Enhanced, and on the panel their effects only shifted from "increase damage against Elementa" to "greatly increase damage against Elementa."
But in actual combat, the difference was worlds apart.
Of course, Allen hadn't yet used Elementa Oil or Enhanced Elementa Oil, but he had experience with Necrophage Oil, Enhanced Necrophage Oil, and even Superior Necrophage Oil.
Put simply—
Using the most direct measure, the progress accumulated in [Monster Hunt] with each attack:
Back during the Mountain Trial, fresh out of Kaer Morhen, Allen—with no sword oil, just a normal silver sword—hacked with full force against an Alghoul's hardened arm (the lowest-damage scenario). Each strike only added 6% to his [Monster Hunt] gauge.
Seventeen strikes were needed to fill it and reach the execution threshold. But with Necrophage Oil, the same strike gave about 10%, cutting it down to just ten attacks. Honestly, that was already good enough.
Ten strikes within the 450 seconds (seven and a half minutes) of [Monster Hunt] at LV6 was completely manageable.
Even at LV1, with only fifty seconds, a steady five-seconds-per-strike rhythm would be enough to fill the gauge and execute.
Unless, of course, the cunning Alghoul fled when the tide turned.
But with Enhanced Necrophage Oil, the same strike's progress skyrocketed to 30%—four times higher than without oil.
Only three strikes were needed to kill an Alghoul.
And that's not even the full picture—
Because once Enhanced Necrophage Oil was applied, the toxin softened the bones of its forearms, meaning its blocks would fail entirely, the limbs severed outright.
And severed limbs granted at least 60% Focus progress.
That's a full eight times the baseline without oil.
Eight times!!!
At that level, you didn't even need Allen's overpowered [Monster Hunt] skill. Even Erni or Klar, with just a single bottle of Enhanced Necrophage Oil, could realistically slay an Alghoul solo.
And Alghouls are large monsters. Erni and Klar were only slightly stronger than ordinary witchers who'd completed the Trial of the Medallion.
Which meant—an ordinary witcher, given just one bottle of Enhanced Necrophage Oil, could fight like a witcher master.
Of course, it was still risky. Large monsters like Alghouls were crafty. If they sensed danger, they'd run, and a normal witcher might never catch them.
But at least the opportunity was there.
As for Superior Necrophage Oil? One strike filled the gauge instantly, hitting the execution line outright, with massive damage overflow.
But that's another matter.
The point is—Enhanced Oils weren't just stronger. They were an entirely different tier of alchemical weaponry.
With Enhanced Elementa Oil in hand, his chances of success in rescuing Hen Gedymdeith rose by at least ten percent.
"Whew~"
Allen exhaled deeply, steadied himself, and continued opening chests.
[Chests: Ronnie Dickinson's Chest 5, @#￥%&'s Chest 5, Summoning Ritual Chest 5, Rotting Lord's Chest 5, Monster Nest Chest 5, Rotfiend's Chest 5, Fanatic Lydia's Treasure Chest 2, Moreau's Colossus Chest 2]
The best Harvest's Blessing had ever given him was nine gold and two purple. But since the amulet now showed "Blessing of Harvest (Greater)," there should still be plenty left.
With no urgent need for sword oil, how to open the remaining chests became the key question.
Because monsters summoned by the Conjunction of the Spheres could have their seven gold chests fused into a red one, the Carrion Lord and Rotfiend—both easily hunted once the Conjunction's cooldown ended—could be set aside until he collected seven.
As for @#￥%&, Summoning Ritual, and Monster Nest—they only needed two more each to complete a set of five. He might encounter them again someday… but that could take years. Five years. Even ten.
Not worth it.
Power needed to be converted now.
And with the mission to rescue Hen Gedymdeith at the center,
Moreau's Colossus and Ronnie Dickinson's Chests—remnants of sorcerers—were most likely to yield useful items.
Yet the chest from @#￥%&—an evil god's legacy—by sheer quality might offer the biggest upgrade of all.
Allen hesitated.
"Forget it. I'll just open them first. Who knows how long this Harvest's Blessing (Major) will last? What if only two or three more drops remain? What if it's already spent?"
"Then… it's decided!"
The words had barely left his lips when—
Two golden flashes flared before his eyes.
"Holy shit!"
Allen gasped, his azure cat-like pupils contracting into slits.
[Ding! Moreau's Colossus Chest 2 opened]
[Obtained: "Superior Elementa Oil" Sword Oil Recipe 1, Ritual: Create Golem]
…
[Name: Superior Elementa Oil]
[Type: Sword Oil Recipe]
[Crafting Requirement: Alchemy LV8]
[Formula: Alchemy paste 1, Enhanced Elementa Oil 1, Nostrix 1, Essence of wraith 1, Allspice 1, Honeysuckle 1, Albedo 1]
[Effect: Apply to weapons to massively increase damage against Elementa]
[Note: Using a chest dropped by Elementa to deal with Elementa—what terrible luck for them!]
-----------------------------------
[Name: Create Golem]
[Type: Magical Ritual]
[Requirement: Ritualism LV7 (Not Met), Construct Studies LV8 (Not Met)]
[Materials: Chalk 2, Perfect Gem 1, Obsidian 1, Superior Hardened Wood 10, Enchanted Marble 10, Infused Dust 10, Fifth Element 4]
[Effect: You may perform a ritual to create a golem that will serve you faithfully until its destruction.
The golem will obey your will and follow all commands. It can think simply but cannot perform delicate tasks requiring fingers, such as picking up small objects.
It will continue to repeat its last command endlessly until the task succeeds or until you order it to stop.]
[Note: A golem is a wonderful thing—but lacking the ability to make one is not the ritual's fault!]
-----------------------------------
"Nine gold and two purple really aren't the limit of Harvest's Blessing (Major)!"
Allen's face was brimming with joy, unable to hide his excitement.
"Again!"
[Ding! Fanatic Lydia's Treasure Chest 2 opened]
Two golden flashes erupted…
[Ding! Ronnie Dickinson's Chest 5 opened]
Five golden flashes burst forth!
"Holy shit!"
[Ding! Summoning Ritual's Chest 5 opened]
Another five golden beams!
Allen roared, his face flushed completely red.
[Ding! Monster Nest's Chest 5 opened]
Four golden beams followed…
"Again!"
[Ding! Open @#￥%&'s Chest 5?]
"Yes—wait!"
Allen froze mid-thought, pulling himself back from the brink.
After the four golden beams, a single purple glow shimmered slowly into view…
In that instant, cold sweat broke out on his forehead and trickled down.
.......
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