While aesthetic preferences vary among different races, tall and handsome males, representing excellent genes, are almost universally popular.
Upon seeing the old druid and the tree spirit maiden, Guilliman offered a friendly smile, spread his hands to show he meant no harm, and then said:
"Greetings, both of you. Please don't be nervous."
"I am a Witcher, merely passing through here while on a contract."
"I won't do anything bad."
As he spoke, he observed the state of the Druid's Circle.
This area, enveloped by the Sacred Oak, wasn't particularly large, roughly the size of two football fields.
Aside from the extremely massive Sacred Oak in the center, not only did many strange plants and trees grow here, teeming with vitality,
but among the green grasses and flowers, there were also many forest animals like rabbits, wolves, birds, snakes, and rats, living peacefully, astonishingly without preying on each other.
What surprised the Witcher even more was that he actually saw three young wyverns, the size of calves, near the Sacred Oak.
They were chasing and playing with each other, like puppies not yet weaned, looking adorable and showing no trace of the ferocity and savagery of top predators.
Could this be, were they tamed by the druid?
To be able to tame even wyverns, this old man in front of him truly had some skill.
Guilliman muttered a few words to himself, but his expression remained kind as he met the gaze of the old druid and the tree spirit beauty, showing no hint of hostility.
Although this old druid had lived a secluded life, rarely interacting with the outside world, he had certainly heard of the Witcher's reputation.
After carefully observing Guilliman for several seconds, the old man stroked his nearly half-meter-long beard, then spoke in a hoarse yet peaceful voice:
"Witcher, hmm."
"I know of you."
"You hunt monsters, help others with their troubles, and then collect payment; you are a group of quite trustworthy warriors."
"The last time I encountered a Witcher was about forty years ago. That was a Witcher from the Griffin School, the respectable Master George."
"You can call me Samoyeg, the Archdruid, guardian of this Druid's Circle."
George the Dragon Slayer from the Griffin School?
He was an Archdruid, equivalent to an elder-level master among druids, at least a spellcaster who had lived for one or two centuries, not to be underestimated.
Guilliman breathed a sigh of relief; it was good that the other party was someone he could communicate with peacefully.
Although he wasn't a particularly good person, he wasn't a bloodthirsty fellow either, especially since there was a beautiful exotic woman opposite him!
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Master Samoyeg."
"You can call me Guilliman, Witcher Guilliman."
"Although this is our first meeting, since we've encountered each other, I wonder if you have any contracts that require my services."
"As long as the payment is sufficient and it doesn't violate my principles, I can handle it for you."
Since he had met them, he didn't mind helping them with something.
Moreover, after seeing that the other party seemed to possess the means to tame wyverns and held the status of an Archdruid, this idea became even clearer.
Druids and sorcerers were different.
The former mastered life and nature magic, as well as some special witchcraft, similar to a combination of shamans and druids in the World of Warcraft. They were unique in healing, controlling plants and animals, and taming beasts, unmatched by other spellcasters.
The chaotic magic mastered by sorcerers was mostly evil and destructive. While powerful, it was mostly used for combat and had certain limitations.
As the saying goes, a righteous cause attracts much support, while an unrighteous one attracts little. To succeed in a world, in addition to being strong oneself, one must also make friends with capable people and help each other.
This was networking.
The old druid seemed to have anticipated his reaction, perhaps having encountered similar situations before. He nodded calmly and said:
"That's a good suggestion, Master Guilliman."
"Right now, there's something that's quite bothering me, and I don't know how to handle it."
"If you can help me solve this problem, that would be wonderful."
"However, I haven't dealt with human society for a very long time."
"I don't even have a single coin on me, nor any precious metals like gold."
"I can't think of how to pay you."
Isn't this perfect?
Guilliman chuckled to himself.
What he wanted most right now was a way to tame wyverns.
While a Griffin Knight sounded cool, being able to fly around on a wyvern also sounded pretty good.
However, Samoyeg hadn't yet explained what trouble he was facing, and he wasn't sure if he could solve it, so it was better to be cautious.
He opened his mouth and said:
"Please explain the trouble you're encountering first, Master Samoyeg."
"As for the payment, we can discuss that later."
The old druid was slightly taken aback, not expecting the Witcher opposite him to be so easy to talk to, but he didn't think too much of it, nor did he believe that with his abilities, he wouldn't be able to afford the payment.
Thus, a troubled expression appeared on the old druid's aged face as he said:
"To the southwest, a few miles from here, in an open space, there's a group of human and dwarven lumberjacks who have set up camp there."
"Since last year, they have been extensively logging in that forest, destroying many precious trees, causing many animals to lose their homes and flee their territories."
"I have warned them several times, hoping they would harvest with restraint and live peacefully with the forest animals."
"But it's no use; they don't listen to any of my advice and are still extensively destroying the forest."
"So I hope you can help me stop them."
"At least, don't cut down trees in this area; going to a more distant place would be better."
After hearing the old druid's troubles, the Witcher chuckled inwardly.
What a classic request.
The forest protector druid versus the destructive loggers who extensively cut down forests.
Such a combination has appeared countless times in fantasy worlds.
Fortunately, the druids in the Witcher world were not as extreme as those in some other worlds.
When faced with mortal destruction, they still mainly relied on persuasion and tolerance, even only wanting to convince the lumberjacks to leave, rather than stopping their logging entirely.
Otherwise, with the power mastered by Archdruid Samoyeg, those lumberjacks would probably have long since turned into fertilizer somewhere.
This was a simple request, at least for him, a person with a flexible moral compass; it was quite easy to handle.
Directly eliminate them, threaten them with force, bribe them with money, or handle it through social connections; there were many ways.
Guilliman readily agreed, saying:
"Master Samoyeg, you can entrust this request to me."
"I will help you solve this problem."
"As for the payment, I've thought of it too."
"I see that in your Druid's Circle, there are several young wyverns living there. They seem to be tamed, as if they've become your companions."
"I want to learn such a method; I want to become companions with those fierce beasts and have them help me in battle."
"Can you teach me the method for this?"