[Ding! Detected ***. Do you accept the divine art "Boiling Blood" bestowed by ***?]
Although the system prompt chimed repeatedly in his mind, asking whether to accept the divine art known as Boiling Blood, in truth, by the moment the notification appeared, Allen had already learned it.
Detected… for nothing?
Not quite.
Allen could clearly sense a vast yet benevolent, intangible power attempting to remodel his body.
Perhaps only after undergoing this transformation could he truly gain the ability to unleash Boiling Blood.
"So it really is a divine art…"
Feeling the power surging within him, Allen muttered to himself, recalling a book he had once read in the library of Kaer Morhen—Priests and Druids: The Sources of Power of Special Spellcasters. It had stated:
[Priests and druids are special kinds of spellcasters.]
[To this day, mages still do not fully understand where priests derive their magical power from, but it is generally believed that a priest's power is sacred—bestowed by their god.]
[For priests, such magic may exist to spread the teachings of their deity, while druids believe the power they receive is meant to preserve the inherent balance of the world and of nature.]
When Allen had first read that book, he had always found it strange that priests and druids were grouped together.
In his impression—whether from the original novels or the games—priests had a very weak sense of presence in the Witcher world.
In the novels, when Nenneke, the Archpriestess of the Temple of Melitele, treated Geralt, she relied on ordinary herbs rather than divine arts.
The Cult of Kreve had extremely strict doctrines, demanding its followers challenge themselves, purge inner weaknesses, and oppose evil—yet across the Northern Kingdoms, hardly any clerics of Kreve could be seen truly punishing evil.
It was as though divine arts were nothing more than a pretense to deceive believers.
Only after transmigrating into this world did Allen witness divine arts with his own eyes, at the Temple of Melitele. Even then, the priests used them sparingly, avoiding them whenever possible.
Druids, however, were different.
They did not hesitate to display their transcendence over mortals.
In the short story A Question of Price, which recounts how Geralt helped unite Ciri's biological parents at a Cintran royal banquet, Pavetta—Ciri's mother—lost control of the Elder Blood when her father, Emhyr var Emreis (then cursed into the hedgehog-like creature known as Duny, under the alias Urcheon), was attacked. The resulting outburst nearly destroyed the entire castle. It was the druid Mousesack from the Skellige Isles, together with Geralt, who subdued Pavetta and brought her back to her senses.
And in the games, the druids of the Skellige Isles could summon wind and rain, command lightning and fog—powers no less formidable than those of powerful sorcerers.
The gap between druids and ordinary priests was enormous, not even on the same level.
As a result, Allen had long believed that the druids' spell-like abilities came from the Mother of Nature as some kind of elemental or chaotic source—similar to Chaos itself—rather than from a true deity.
But now, the Witcher's Journal was telling him that the druids' Mother of Nature was indeed a god.
What did that imply?
Humanity's oldest gods were less than a thousand years old. Yet long before humans appeared on the Northern Continent, ancient elven records already mentioned the existence of druids. Their origins might stretch even further back—to an age before the elves sailed on their white ships.
And the gods of the ancient elves had all perished in the great catastrophe that sent their civilization into irreversible decline. Only the Maiden of Spring, Gwendolyn, retained even the faintest possibility of revival.
In other words, the Mother of Nature—this deity—had survived a calamity possibly linked to the White Frost, emerging completely unscathed and enduring to this very day.
"Why is the Mother of Nature so special?"
Countless thoughts surged through Allen's mind, prompting him to question inwardly.
"Wait—
"The Maiden of Spring Gwendolyn also holds authority over nature. The reason she still has a chance to revive… could it be connected to the Mother of Nature?"
"And Lydia, her devout priestess—why did she come to the Mayena Druid Circle in the first place?"
Frowning, Allen thought, "I wonder whether the relics left behind by Lydia, which Master Zebi Ortega brought back recently, will bring any surprises."
Perhaps if he could uncover why the Mother of Nature survived that ancient catastrophe, he might gain some clue—at the very least—on how to resist the White Frost.
As these thoughts churned, the gentle energy surrounding him did not fade.
"So… should I accept this power or not?"
Regaining his focus, Allen sensed the chaotic goodwill and inclusiveness within the energy. He did not hesitate long before making his decision, his will shifting to acceptance.
There was little reason to hesitate.
Nothing ventured, nothing gained. If he wished to understand why the Mother of Nature survived when even the gods of the ancient elves did not, he had to delve deeper.
Moreover, the druidic path had been passed down for thousands of years—far more stable than the sorcerers' practice of absorbing chaotic magic.
If everything had to be doubted—Melitele, the Trial of the Grasses, the Witcher's Journal—then he might as well abandon the Wolf School altogether and live off the money meant for sword oils.
Besides, the Mother of Nature was, in a sense, even more "trustworthy" than Melitele.
At the very least, the Mother of Nature lacked strong individuality, resembling a collective consciousness—chaotic, benevolent, and passive—whereas Melitele possessed far too much "humanity."
With a single thought—
That gentle energy instantly merged into his body. Not only his form within the Sacred Grove, but even his physical body in the real world, deep in meditation, felt an additional surge of power appear from nowhere.
Yet perhaps because a witcher's body had already undergone countless modifications, the warmth was quickly absorbed.
Aside from an extra strand of mild, natural divinity appearing within the mutated organ used to store magic, there were no other changes.
Allen summoned the Witcher's Journal.
[Name: Allen]
[Vitality: 100% | Stamina: 980/980 | Mana: 1270/1270]
[Attributes: Strength 99, Agility 92, Constitution 98, Perception 93, Mysticism 127 (+1)]
[Affinities: Water 16 (Magic Source · Water 6%), Earth 19 (Magic Source · Earth 9%), Wind 11 (Magic Source · Wind 1%), Fire 24 (Magic Source · Fire 14%), Space 2, Nature ?]
[Divine Art (Nature): Boiling Blood]
Aside from Mysticism increasing by one point, nothing else had changed.
And even that increase was merely due to crossing a threshold—the actual gain was minimal.
"This is already pretty good," Allen thought contentedly. "After all, it's only the first step—equivalent to a talented ordinary person officially stepping onto the druidic path…"
"But why is the Nature affinity marked with a question mark?"
"Since I've just become a druid, it's unlikely that the value is too high for the Journal to display. More likely it's too low to register—or perhaps unstable due to certain factors…"
He thought of the Leshen Essence he had absorbed, and of his first plunge into the unnamed lake at the core of the Sacred Grove, falling into contemplation.
Then he looked further down.
[Name: Boiling Blood]
[Type: Novice Druid Divine Art / Prayer]
[Active Effect: You may use Boiling Blood to ignite rage in a beast or mindless monster within range. That creature will attempt to attack the designated target until the prayer's effect ends.]
Boiling Blood was somewhat similar to the Axii Sign of mental influence, but there were differences. At present, the witcher's Axii Sign was only at LV3—it could merely confuse the mind, and could not perform such strongly aggressive manipulation. Anything that forceful would instead cause the target to snap awake.
Boiling Blood could be considered a very practical supplement, and it was also a form of security for druids traveling the continent in their early years.
Otherwise, ordinary druids had very few ways to break through a monster's defenses. Letting dogs bite dogs was, in essence, a druid's strategy.
After finishing organizing his gains, Allen put away the Witcher's Journal and began to examine his surroundings.
He stood at the boundary between the oak forest and the grassland. To his left lay the deep, dense oak forest. The oaks were arranged without rigid order, yet not in complete chaos either—staggered in a way that carried a unique sense of beauty. To his right was the grassland from which he had come.
Yet despite being only a single step away, the scene within the grassland appeared slightly illusory, as if concealed within rising mist. At a glance, however, there was no mist at all.
And moreover—
"I can't go back…"
Allen tried stepping back into the grassland, but it was as though some invisible barrier blocked him. This proved that this was not a tangible forest somewhere in the real world, but the Sacred Grove—the mysterious and majestic Sacred Grove of the Mother of Nature.
"Tap, tap, tap~"
Allen slowly walked forward, then took a few steps back. There was no obstruction.
The oak forest seemed to lack the barrier present in the grassland—or perhaps that barrier existed only between the grassland and the oak forest.
A symbol of a druid's advancement in realm?
Why would such an abstract notion of progression manifest in the Sacred Grove in such a concrete way?
Allen did not quite understand. Yet this sense of orderliness made him feel that it was not something a "mindless" Mother of Nature would create—not that She could not, but that She would not. It felt as though there were artificial constraints imposed.
He did not dwell on it, merely committing the sensation to memory.
"Should I keep going forward?"
After testing that he could retreat freely within the oak forest, Allen looked at the deep woodland stretching endlessly ahead and hesitated.
Zebi Ortega had not explained any precautions about entering the Sacred Grove.
Before knowing about the one-way barrier between the grassland and the oak forest, he could have continued exploring without concern. But now that he knew such a barrier existed, he worried that crossing another boundary and being unable to return might cause him to miss something important.
"I'll explore a bit further," Allen decided after thinking it over, still unwilling to give up. "Since I can move freely forward and back within the oak forest, I'll go until I reach its boundary…"
And so, he continued onward.
One step, two steps—carefully testing the way forward. With every step, a warm current revived spontaneously within his body.
Though it was not much, it gave this monotonous journey a touch of motivation.
At the same time, Allen felt curious: how did other druids move through the Sacred Grove? Was it as effortless for them as it was for him?
The oak forest was not as small as he had imagined—or rather, it was not like the first time he entered the Sacred Grove, when he crossed it in just a few steps, making oaks, junipers, gorse, and aspens seem as though they all grew together within the Grove.
On the contrary, this oak forest was vast. As far as the eye could see, there were only the vibrant green canopies of oaks, with no end in sight.
And the witcher's cautious progress caused his thoughts to wander to other matters.
"Come to think of it, appearing as myself rather than as King Kanu in the Sacred Grove is actually a good thing," he thought as he stepped over thick, gnarled oak roots exposed above the soil. "At least, whether this emptiness is because this place belongs exclusively to each individual druid, or simply because no other druids happen to be meditating right now, I don't have to worry about exposing myself."
"When I see Master Zebi Ortega tomorrow, I can directly tell him that I successfully meditated tonight, then ask about the special nature of the Sacred Grove and the ways to advance along the druidic path…"
"But…"
Allen lowered his head to avoid a low-hanging oak branch, recalling the giant beast he had seen at the core of the Sacred Grove—at the bottom of the lake, looking back at him, with gleaming golden fur and sharp fangs protruding from its lips.
"If a druid's beast form in the Sacred Grove is the Great Druid's Sacred Form, then the Kanu Beast is probably something I won't be able to avoid…"
"In fantasy works from my previous life, didn't druids learn shapeshifting by imitating their beast forms—living, eating, and sleeping together with the animal?"
"I just hope the Mayena Druid Circle can find the Kanu Beast soon, so I'll have a chance to skip class. Otherwise, becoming a Great Druid will be really difficult for me…"
As these thoughts spiraled, he could not help but snort with laughter, mocking himself: "I just learned the meditation method today—why does it feel like I'll be a druid tomorrow and a Great Druid the day after?"
"Ordinary druids spend decades, even centuries, and still might not achieve a Sacred Form. Where does your confidence come from? Just because you're a miracle…?"
"Ding!"
Before his words had even faded, the cold system notification sounded, abruptly interrupting the witcher's soliloquy.
[Ding! Detected a fluctuation of the Mother of Nature's will. Do you accept the Mother of Nature's divine art "Plague Curse"?]
Allen fell silent for a few seconds. Without stopping, he casually accepted it.
[Name: Plague Curse]
[Type: Novice Druid Divine Art / Prayer]
[Active Effect: You may use Plague Curse to afflict a single target with illness. Depending on the stamina and mana consumed, the target may be forced to bend over coughing and enter a staggering state; suffer severe discomfort and fall unconscious; or contract a disease, treated as entering a poisoned state.]
Whoa!
This divine art was a bit overpowered!
But before the witcher could carefully consider how to apply this new ability, he took two more steps forward…
[Ding! Detected a fluctuation of the Mother of Nature's will. Do you accept the Mother of Nature's divine art "Beast Befriending"?]
[Name: Beast Befriending]
[Type: Novice Druid Divine Art / Prayer]
[Active Effect: You may use Beast Befriending to temporarily increase your riding skill, or to soothe animals.]
Three steps…
[Ding! …Divine art "Nature's Gift"?]
[Name: Nature's Gift]
[Type: Novice Druid Divine Art / Prayer]
[Active Effect: You may use Nature's Gift to cultivate a small patch of edible plants in any type of soil.]
Four steps…
[Ding! …Divine art "Nature's Sight"?]
[Name: Nature's Sight]
[Type: Novice Druid Divine Art / Prayer]
[Active Effect: You may use Nature's Sight to see unnatural beings within the surrounding area. Your vision can penetrate obstacles to detect monsters within fifty meters; creatures seen under this vision appear with a glowing outline.]
Five steps…
[Ding! …Divine art "Concealment Mark"?]
[Name: Concealment Mark]
[Type: Novice Druid Divine Art / Prayer]
[Active Effect: You may use Concealment Mark to cause branches, leaves, and other natural creations within a 3-meter radius to form complete visual concealment. While using Concealment Mark, you cannot move, and the concealment can only be lifted by casting the divine art again.]
Stepping forward once more, the color of the soil ahead had already changed.
He had reached the end of the oak forest.
..........
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