A Pit from Fifteen Years Ago

"Rumble~"

The ground shook, and a mountain stood up.

This cavern is tall and large, with the top estimated to be at least fifteen meters above the ground. However, this large space appears very narrow in comparison to the "mountain".

On the "mountain" facing away from them, the lava that Flame Adoration was still flowing slowly down from the top, making it look like an active volcano that had just erupted.

At the same time, a violent aura instantly filled the entire cavern as the ground trembled.

In an instant.

Ailin and Francesca were momentarily speechless, their bodies trembling involuntarily.

Instinctively swallowing, and taking a deep breath to dispel the uncontrollable fear brought on by the magical aura, Ailin carefully examined the enormous creature before him.

He had seen quite a few large monsters.

The Drowners King, the Cyclops, the Swamp Witch—none of them could match the size of the monster before them.

Its enormous size and hard rock shell made Francesca's Flame Adoration feel like a gentle bath.

There was absolutely no harm done.

Judging from its head-shaking and swaying manner, it looks more like a bear that has just been woken up from hibernation and is throwing a tantrum.

The deterrent effect is maximum.

"Pop~"

"Gurgle gurgle~"

Under Francesca's strange gaze, Ailin skillfully took out the Cat Eye Potion and drank it down in one gulp.

Then, with your thumb and forefinger slightly bent, draw a triangle to give yourself a Quen.

Then...

"Clang!"

The silver sword is drawn!

"Witcher... you don't want to fight with this kind of monster, do you?" Francesca's surprised voice came from behind.

Ailin frowned.

Is this a question of whether he wants to or not?

The trail of black magic passed through the passage next to the monster.

The large monster blocking their path was impossible for them to avoid!

Returning along the same route, they found another large group of well-prepared elite human soldiers, even the King's Guard, waiting for them...

Compared to other monsters, larger ones are easier to deal with.

Ailin glared at Francesca.

What a reckless sprite!

You've ruined everything!

If you weren't the "princess" of the elves, and didn't need your teleportation portal to rescue the target...

"The road is right next to the monster; there's no way to avoid it."

Francesca lowered her head in shame upon hearing this, knowing she had made a grave mistake again. "I'm sorry, I..."

Ailin's eyebrows were almost furrowed together as he impatiently interrupted:

"Do you have any Teleportation or invisibility spells that could help us avoid this monster?"

There's only one large monster in the cave; you can definitely defeat it using the [Demon Hunter] skill.

Even if the LV3 Demon Hunter state doesn't last long enough, he has two Special Skill points to upgrade, and his 310 stamina cap is also sufficient.

However, facing an unfamiliar, large monster when things happen suddenly, when there is insufficient preparation, and when there is no way out is still too dangerous.

His mission is to rescue people, and it would be best to get through without fighting.

"Of course!" Francesca didn't look up, her azure pupils trembling slightly. "It's just..."

"Roar!"

Another roar.

Amidst the mournful tremors of the ground, the rocky mountain slowly turned around.

The monsters are about to discover them!

"Just what?" Ailin growled, gripping his silver sword tightly.

However, before Francesca could answer...

Another accident has occurred!

"Roar!" "Roar!" "Roar!"...

A series of roars suddenly echoed from the cave.

In the cave, which was almost the size of two football fields in his previous life, the piles of stones that Ailin had once thought were ordinary rocks stood up tremblingly after a loud roar.

Dust and gravel were shaken off, and as smoke billowed, the aura of favor from the large demon rose and fell, reflecting each other.

This... this...

These piles of stones are actually alive!

The Witcher involuntarily lowered his sword slowly, the heavy aura of favor pressing on his heart, as if in that instant, his throbbing flesh sank into an abyss.

He was also under immense pressure from an overwhelming sense of fear.

So many monsters.

[Demon Hunter] Useless!

He stiffly turned his head and met the gaze of Francesca was equally stiff.

Although he had already sensed the ominous tone in "Valley Daisy's " voice, he still asked again with a glimmer of hope:

"Just what?"

"You've seen the situation now; if we keep trying to cover it up, we'll only be heading towards death."

Upon hearing this, Francesca's body went limp, and she shook her head violently, as if about to cry:

"I... I didn't intend to hide it... it's just..."

"It's just that... when I used the Flame Adoration just now... my Divine Power was greatly depleted... so... so..."

Before Francesca had even finished speaking, the Witcher felt as if he could no longer feel his heart beating.

It was as if my heart had been so frightened that it forgot how to beat.

Is this impetuous elf really the future elf queen?

Is she really the "Valley Daisy" who, through strategic planning, managed to keep the "Land of the Infertile Elders" alive and well under the oppressive power of the Nilfgaardian Empire?

How could she have been so foolish when she was young?

and.

How did she manage to get into that heavily guarded camp outside alive?

Were those guards stupid or blind?

Even though he needed her help, Ailin couldn't maintain a friendly demeanor at this moment. With a cold face and suppressing his anger, he asked:

"What method is used, and how long does it take to recover Divine Power?"

"Short-distance teleportation... five minutes..." The noisy roars forced Francesca to raise her voice.

Upon hearing this, Ailin took a deep breath.

There's no point in complaining about the elf's mistakes at this point, especially since it was he who suggested the idea of understanding each other's methods.

Ultimately, it can only be said that Francesca and her luck were just too bad. After all, who would have thought that a rock in the cave would turn out to be a large monster?

Otherwise, the five-minute response time would pass quickly as you continue on your way.

So now all he has to do is figure out how to get through these five minutes.

Once Ailin calmed down, her mind started working quickly.

"Perhaps we can retreat first and wait for Francesca to recover her Divine Power?"

Upon realizing this, Ailin's eyes lit up, and without saying a word, he grabbed Francesca and ran back the way they came.

However, after running only five steps, he slowly came to a stop due to inertia.

"It's over!"

The melodious voice, like a spring dripping in an empty valley, revealed a deep sense of despair.

In Ailin's Cat Eye Potion vision, the stone slope at the path ahead instantly sharpened the unique fuzzy sense of observation that potions possess when observing still objects.

Amidst the tremors, "Stone Slope" shook off the rubble and dust, and like all the other former piles of stones, it stood up.

The witchers and elves had nowhere to retreat, nowhere to escape.

They were surrounded by monsters.

Desperation has struck!

"What do we do, Ailin? What should we do?"

Francesca slumped against Ailin, screaming in terror.

Despite being in dire straits, Ailin became surprisingly calm.

after all.

This wasn't the first time he had faced a life-or-death crisis.

Drowners King, Trial of the Mountains, Swamp Witch, Demon Spirit...

These experiences taught him that to survive a near-death experience, he had to suppress his instinctive fear, and then...

Think! Think! Think again!

He lifted Francesca's arm to steady her.

"Shut up! Focus on recovering your Divine Power, ignore everything else," he shouted.

Francesca fell silent and stared blankly at Ailin.

She saw a resolute look on the Witcher's youthful and handsome face, as if nothing in this world could defeat him.

Seeing the dazed look on "Valley Daisy's " face, Ailin's heart skipped a beat. Worried that her stern tone had backfired, she forced a smile and tried her best to speak gently:

"I've been through this many times, so don't worry, just focus on restoring your Divine Power!"

Francesca nodded instinctively, then glanced shakily at the monsters around her before closing her eyes.

She could only trust the man before her... no... the young man...

She had to believe him.

Francesca kept convincing herself to ignore the Witcher's age.

Wrong!

She can trust him.

Yes!

The Witcher was chosen by Ian Savigny, so there's definitely no problem!

Besides, he's so skilled!

Seeing that Francesca was in a stable mood, Ailin breathed a sigh of relief.

Surrounded by so many monsters, if you also encounter a teammate who has a mental breakdown, then you're really doomed.

Fortunately, although Francesca was a bit of a troublemaker, as a pampered "princess," she at least controlled her emotions very well.

After confirming that her teammates were alright, Ailin turned her head and looked warily at the monsters around her.

Huh!

The Witcher actually saw a way out with that one glance.

Small head, sturdy build, with rock-like material growing on its back...

He hadn't seen clearly because of his panic, but after calming down, he realized that these stone monsters were actually Rock Troll.

"There's a chance!"

"Most trolls aren't very smart, but they are still reasonable." Ailin breathed a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, Francesca's Flame Adoration was aimed at the largest one.

And it only woke him up, without causing any harm.

Otherwise, if a Rock Troll were to die or be injured, there would be absolutely no room for maneuver.

But... Rock Troll?

Have you heard of this somewhere recently?

Ailin frowned.

In the thick darkness, the roars (morning grumpiness?) gradually subsided, replaced by loud whispers.

"... Hibernation... time... eating..."

"... Hungry... Hungry... Eat meat..."

"... The Mountain Stone... woke... the troll... give the troll... meat..."

Obviously.

The Rock Troll, who had just woken up, were only thinking about eating and hadn't yet noticed the two strangers in their house.

The Witcher remained silent, happy to buy himself some time.

until...

"Roar!"

"... Shut up, little troll... or there will be no meat... only fists of Mountain Stone..."

After the largest troll roared, the Rock Troll ' noisy begging cries immediately ceased.

The next moment.

A fierce and menacing gaze swept over Ailin.

"... What are humans doing here...?"

Although the Rock Troll named Mountain Stone still speaks with some incoherence, its fluency far surpasses that of other Rock Troll.

They were able to communicate, and instead of immediately rushing up to slaughter and eat them, they didn't even care about the Flame Adoration...

Great start!

Ailin breathed a sigh of relief.

The next step is to persuade them verbally, find an opportunity to bribe them with rotten flesh, and ask them to make way.

If all else fails, perhaps they could try to get in touch with the Big Stone of Kaer Morhen.

After all, they are both Rock Troll from Kedwen, so who knows, they might be related by blood?

then.

Ailin took a deep breath and greeted loudly:

"Hello, Mountain Stone, we've come..."

"Roar!"

A roar from not far to the right interrupted the Witcher's words.

What's wrong? Could it be another accident...? Ailin's heart skipped a beat, and she looked in the direction of the sound.

The nearest Rock Troll, about two meters tall, roared, its tiny red eyes bulging, and pointed its massive, round finger at Ailin, angrily saying:

"... Mountain Stone... human... smell... not... witch hunter... smell... is..."

The Rock Troll just mentioned the Witcher.

All the other trolls gasped for breath instantly, as did the massive Mountain Stone.

In the empty cave, the airflow speed increased slightly as a result.

Three seconds later, leaving the witcher bewildered, the entire cave erupted in chaos.

"... Witcher... bad... troll... damaged the house..."

"... The Witcher... bad... Blue Stone... seriously injured..."

"... The Witcher... is bad..."

The sentence structure is the same, but the content is different, yet they convey the same emotion.

Outrage! Utter outrage!

Stunned by the sudden event, Ailin suddenly had some images flash through his mind, and he remembered hearing about Rock Troll somewhere recently.

It's right here in the hotel in Hundred Fruit Garden!

[Vesemir: I didn't expect that behind this mine was a large camp of Rock Troll, with more than a dozen of Rock Troll.]

Ailin instinctively scanned the area and counted.

Hmm... nineteen Rock Troll.

[Vesemir: During the battle, I used the Alde Sign to connect two previously unconnected areas.]

Ailin instinctively turned around, his gaze passing over Francesca, whose eyes were closed.

The passage they came from, now blocked by Rock Troll, has irregular protrusions in the surrounding rock walls, signs of being broken by external forces.

There are also valleys, mine carts, wooden scaffolding, and scattered piles of stones...

Scenes flashed through Ailin's mind in an instant.

This is also an abandoned mine, so...

Damn it!

Could the Witcher these Rock Troll are talking about be Vesemir?

Ailin didn't want to believe it.

But the reality before my eyes completely overlapped with the impression in my mind.

[Bob: You're the demon hunter who got beaten to a pulp by the Rock Troll!]

Another sentence popped into my head.

Ailin instinctively glanced at the Mountain Stone.

With a physique as thick as Mountain Stone, even two or three meters taller than Cyclops, and armor as thick as rock.

In addition, there were so many Rock Troll helping out from the side.

It's perfectly normal for Witcher Master like Vesemir to be beaten until he coughs up blood.

Moreover, since the human couple were on good terms with Viscount Hudson, it was perfectly reasonable for them to hide in Viscount Hudson's abandoned mine.

Grass!

I got scammed again!

Besides breaking down that wall, what exactly did Vesemir do to those Rock Troll that made them hold a grudge for fifteen years?

How vengeful are these Rock Troll? They only need a whiff of scent to recall a hatred from fifteen years ago.

Ailin didn't know the answers to either of those questions.

He only knew one thing, and that was...

He needs to run away quickly!