Flesh Giant
"Whoosh—"
The sound of heavy objects rubbing against each other echoed in the dark cave.
"Were the water ghosts of Killer Lake truly wiped out?"
Ailin muttered a complaint and tossed the four eerie blue water ghost corpses next to the fire.
Upon closer inspection, none of the corpses had open wounds, except for a dent on the head, suggesting that they were killed by a blunt force.
Heavy snow has blocked the mountain passes, making not only the roads difficult to travel but also the monsters hard to find.
He stood at the cave entrance, waving his Drowner Whistle for a long time, but only attracted four water ghosts.
However, even in the spring.
Even a year or two later.
It's unlikely that this cave will ever again witness the spectacular sight of mountains of water ghost corpses.
After all, the Drowner Heart Essence Fluid has already appeared.
With such a useful formula, even a fool would know that a wave of water ghost hunting will definitely occur in Kaer Morhen next year.
"Pfft~"
A dagger slits the throat.
The blood spurted out, still steaming, and poured into the magic circle that Ailin had drawn long ago.
Then they skinned and dismembered the water ghost, separating it into flesh and bones.
Next, the flesh and blood were spread on the outer layer of the magic circle, and the bones were piled up in the center of a small circle.
The small circle is just big enough for one person to sit in.
The minimum standard for the "Ritual: Flesh Giant" is 40 kilograms of flesh, 20 kilograms of bone, and 10 kilograms of blood.
Therefore, Ailin needs to deal with two water ghosts.
Since it was his first time setting up a ceremony, it took him about an hour to complete the setup, which was done intermittently.
"Phew~"
Setting aside the unused meat and bones, Ailin let out a long breath and stood up to observe the first ritual of his life by the firelight.
The cave was dimly lit, with only a faint firelight.
The air was filled with a bloody and rotten stench.
Bloody flesh and white bones were interspersed on the ground.
Bloody! Bizarre! Evil!
This is probably what a cult's sacrificial ceremony looks like.
"Vesemir absolutely mustn't see this!" Ailin thought to himself.
Considering that the body can change.
After taking a deep breath, he took off his weapons and leather armor and put them aside. He glanced at the cooldown time of the Conjunction of the Spheres, then stepped into the inner circle and knelt down.
A moment later.
A murmur that sounded like a prayer rose up beside the fire.
The ceremony has begun!
"My flesh and blood gave me rebirth, and my blood gave me strength..."
This was not a language Ailin was familiar with, but he somehow understood its meaning.
Moreover, once he finished reciting the first sentence, the subsequent ritual words flowed naturally from his mouth without him having to think about them, as if another person was controlling him.
But Ailin knew that he could stop whenever he wanted.
This feeling of confusion is extremely uncomfortable.
After two or three lines of ritual incantation were recited, the entire ritual formation suddenly seemed to come alive.
The surrounding flesh dissolved, and the bones suddenly shattered into powder.
Immediately afterward, the minced meat and bone meal seemed to suddenly come to life, wriggling and climbing toward Ailin.
The bizarre scene sent chills down his spine.
Fortunately, the flesh and bones moved very quickly, and almost the instant Ailin felt discomfort, they completely enveloped him.
The next second.
Um?
It seems... to be quite comfortable!
Ailin thought to himself.
It felt somewhat like being soaked in hot water, enveloped by warm, soft flesh, but it was even more like...
It returned to its mother's womb.
As the almost imperceptible murmurs appeared, a mental link resembling a mirage bead materialized in his mind.
A sense of power surged from all directions, giving him the illusion that he could smash a mountain with a single punch.
Ailin clenched his fist in surprise, his five fingers, revealing bright red muscle fibers, clenching smoothly.
Unbelievable... This... This possession... It's just like his own body.
Open the character panel with your mind.
Name: Ailin
[HP: 100%, Stamina: 310/310, MP: 300/300]
[Attributes: Strength 26 (41), Agility 24 (34), Constitution 31 (46), Perception 18 (10), Mysticism 30]
"Whoa!"
Aside from a decrease of eight points in perception, strength, agility, and constitution combined increased by a whopping forty-four points.
"Clang!"
The silver sword is drawn!
A large, blood-red hand gripped the sword hilt.
In his Flesh Giant form, Ailin is nearly two meters tall, making it even more natural for him to wield the Elsa.
The movements were incredibly smooth and fluid, not at all as clumsy as I had imagined before the ceremony.
With a thought, the flickering of the flames beside him slowed down instantly.
[Demon Hunter] can also be used normally.
"Such a ceremony is only of purple quality..."
Before the exclamation had even subsided, the babbling in Ailin's mind suddenly amplified, becoming particularly jarring.
The sudden, intense dizziness almost made him faint.
"Damn it, what the hell is this?!" he yelled, instantly severing the connection in his mind.
Instantly.
The world is quiet.
"Huff~ Huff~"
Ailin collapsed to the ground, panting heavily and covered in sweat.
A ring of black shavings surrounded him; these were remnants of the Flesh Giant's shell.
After the link was broken, the blood-red outer shell fell off Ailin's body like ashes.
About two minutes later, Ailin gradually came to his senses from the buzzing in his head.
"No wonder it's purple quality, the side effects are really too great, it almost completely eliminates the ability to fight!"
but...
Ailin lowered his head and pondered.
"Although setting up the ceremony takes a long time, starting the ceremony is very quick... probably... um... only takes about five seconds..."
"Although it will reduce perception... it can instantly increase strength, agility, and physique by an exaggerated amount..."
He mentally opened the Witcher's Handbook, glanced at the cooldown time of the Conjunction of the Spheres, and continued his analysis:
"The ritual lasts for nearly ten minutes, which is not long... but a level 3 demon hunt can only last for 150 seconds, so as long as you plan ahead, it will definitely be enough to hunt large monsters."
After analyzing the pros and cons of "Ritual: Flesh Giant", Ailin suddenly felt enlightened.
Value!
Those five thousand Lesser Experience Orbs were totally worth it!
Given enough time to prepare in Ailin, this would definitely be one of his trump cards.
Especially when the Conjunction of the Spheres.
They know the types of enemies and can choose the location and time of their encounter.
This ceremony was practically created specifically for the Conjunction of the Spheres.
Having experienced it, its advantages and disadvantages are now clear.
Ailin didn't linger any longer and dragged the two water ghost corpses to the cave entrance.
The passageway here can only accommodate two people at a time.
Large monsters like the Drowners King certainly cannot escape from here.
This is also why Ailin chose to initiate the Conjunction of the Spheres here, rather than at the Old Spearhead Cave.
Another hour passed, and the second ritual was set up and secured with the Yrden Magic Trap Sign to prevent the vibrations from the Conjunction of the Spheres from affecting the ritual.
Ailin checked it again and took a deep breath.
[Ding! Use Conjunction of the Spheres - Water Ghost (30-day cooldown)?]
With a change of heart, he opened the strange door.
A banner, so red it was almost black, suddenly appeared in the dimly lit cave...
[WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!]
[Fluctuations detected at the Conjunction of the Spheres! Fluctuations detected at the Conjunction of the Spheres!]
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Sorry, two chapters again today.
Today, a reader pointed out that "knight" is a noble title, and it felt a bit awkward for Ailin to use the name of the Knights Order. Therefore, the "Knights Order" in the previous text has been changed to "The Pact of the Wolves Witcher Company," but this does not affect the plot.
The revisions took a long time, so there are only two chapters today.