Hunting Mission

This is a small river.

Clear, azure, gentle...

Rippled by the gentle spring breeze, bathed in the warm sunlight, and carried by the fertile riverbed...

After a brief observation, Francesca concluded:

"It's just an ordinary river, the kind that every human settlement has."

Without a doubt, this was not the answer she wanted.

then.

Francesca glanced at the calm river and asked in surprise:

Where are we?

"This is the exit," the witcher replied, then walked into the river first.

Francesca frowned slightly as she watched the Witcher's suicidal act, staring at his departing figure.

After a long while, hesitantly followed.

In early spring, the sun is warm, but the river still retains the lingering chill of winter.

"Splash splash~"

The sound of flowing water reached my ears.

My clothes were soaked through by the cold river water, a faint fishy smell filled my nostrils, and my feet sank deeper and deeper into the mud...

Even if the figure in front of you is upright, confident, and forging ahead.

She couldn't suppress the panic in her heart that made her want to escape and return to solid ground.

"Witcher... witcher, are you sure this is the exit?" she asked, somewhat fearfully.

"Trust me, Francesca!"

The Witcher turned around and nodded firmly.

Then, as if sensing something, he took her hand and said:

"If you're scared, close your eyes, and I'll take you away."

The scalding heat transmitted from the point of contact between skin and water not only dispelled the coldness of the river water, but also seemed to burn away all the unease and panic.

She recalled that just three days ago, he had protected her in the same way, leaving her unharmed.

Francesca's last lingering concerns vanished.

then.

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

Following the warmth in my hands, I stumbled through the mud.

The cold water surged...

It took away my body heat, seeped into my chest, blocked my breath, and finally...

It will submerge the entire world.

The next moment.

Her body suddenly sank, and the last glimmer of light in her eyes vanished, as if she had fallen into a dark abyss.

We've arrived!

The Witcher's clear and resonant voice rang out.

Francesca suddenly realized that the suffocating feeling of being submerged in the river had disappeared without her noticing.

Dry clothes, dry hair, dry skin...

"Um?"

Francesca opened her eyes in confusion, only to find everything was pitch black.

Only the Witcher was illuminated, as if he were the only source of light in the world.

We've arrived!

Looking at the elf who stood there blankly, as if in a daze, Ailin repeated helplessly.

"Ah?"

"Oh."

"Um!?"

Francesca snapped out of her daze.

Only then did she realize that she was no longer in the "Hundred Fruit Garden," but in a cave filled with a familiar, stale smell and terrible memories.

"Have we arrived?"

Francesca instinctively turned around, wanting to see if that tranquil, beautiful, and friendly village was behind her.

The pulling sensation in her left wrist prevented her from turning around.

Francesca blushed and was about to speak when she pulled her hand away.

The warmth on her slender wrist suddenly vanished at that moment.

Seeing the apologetic smile on the witcher's face, Francesca, with a feeling of emptiness that she herself didn't understand, also smiled politely.

Then he turned to look at the light source illuminating the Witcher.

It was a white membrane that shimmered with iridescent light.

It closed a stone gate that could only allow two people to pass at the same time, as if it had closed off a colorful fairy tale world.

Behind this light film is the river of Hundred Fruit Garden?

Francesca looked at the Witcher in disbelief.

He actually did it!

Just like he always is...

But...

How did he find the exit?

in addition...

In chivalric novels, isn't it usually the wizards who are responsible for solving these magical puzzles?

Thinking about this, Francesca somewhat frustrated.

Leaving aside the light membrane in front of us.

Francesca Fantabe, daughter of Ian Savini, is destined to lead the Ian Siddi people to reclaim their land from humanity...

Along the way, I ended up doing more harm than good.

If it weren't for the witcher in front of her, she wouldn't even dare to imagine what would happen if she explored the cave alone.

"Ailin, how did you find the exit? And this membrane of light... is this an illusion?"

Francesca suppressed her shame and asked the legendary Witcher, who was said to have only a rudimentary understanding of magic.

"These are just some tricks used by witchers," Ailin smiled. "But you're right, this is indeed an illusion."

The Witcher's Little Tricks?

Doesn't the book say that the only magic that witchers can use is the magic of signs that are like magic tricks, and that all the magical knowledge they have is related to monsters?

Francesca glanced at the young, somewhat bewildered, witch hunter.

Is there a mistake in the book?

Are witchers already more skilled in illusion than warlocks?

After a pause, Ailin continued apologetically:

"I'm sorry, Francesca, I've been keeping this a secret to avoid alerting the master of the illusion..."

"No need to apologize, I know that much common sense."

Recalling what happened in the illusion, Francesca's face flushed again, and she quickly interrupted.

Reminded by Ailin, she suddenly remembered what she had done under the influence of the illusion...

Ah!!!

How could she come up with the excuse that she and Ailin were siblings?

And with such obvious characteristics of a witcher and an elf, why did Granny Asha and the other villagers not react at all...?

How could an elven mage not have noticed such an obvious flaw!

As she thought about it, Francesca's cheeks burned, turning a deep red that seemed about to bleed.

She could only be thankful that the light was dim, and the witcher probably couldn't see the expression on her face...

"Ai... Ailin, where should we go now?" Francesca had no time to care about the Witcher's tricks and quickly changed the subject.

Upon hearing this, Ailin lowered his head and pondered.

Half a minute later, he looked up and said:

"Let's go check out the cave where those Rock Troll are..."

"Three days have passed. The guards in the camp should have clashed with the Rock Troll by now, but we don't know the casualties on both sides..."

"Then we'll come back and search for our target... The person we're looking for should be in the illusion... What do you think?"

Francesca pondered for a moment, then nodded slightly in agreement.

All of this proves that Ailin's decisions were correct, and she had no reason to refuse.

The Witcher then drank the Cat Eye Potion, and the elf, wearing a black mask and turban, walked in the opposite direction of the light membrane.

"By the way, Ailin."

Before they had taken more than a few steps, a girl's voice, as clear as a dripping spring in a secluded valley, suddenly came from behind them.

"What's wrong?" The Witcher slowed his pace.

"If that place was an illusion... then were all those people in the Hundred Fruit Garden, Granny Asha and Uncle Will who saved us... also fake?"

The witcher couldn't detect the elf's tone.

He didn't know if anything had happened between Francesca and the inhabitants of the illusion during the three days he was unconscious.

After a moment of silence, he said softly:

"Um."

"They are all fake, part of an illusion."

"Oh~" the elf sighed softly, seemingly somewhat disappointed. "Is that so!"

"It's alright, let's keep going."

The witcher nodded and continued on his way.

Although Francesca once said that her short-range teleportation only covered a distance of about 100 meters.

However, in the illusion, the sense of space affected by the illusion makes the distance traveled seem far from the actual distance.

After leaving the illusion, the passages in the mine twist and turn, with numerous branching paths.

The witcher and the elf walked for nearly three minutes and still hadn't found their destination.

"Da da da~"

Deliberately suppressed footsteps echoed in the narrow passage.

"Ailin, this is the third fork in the road. Are you sure this is the right path?"

"Shouldn't we mark the fork in the road?"

Francesca asked softly with concern.

"Trust me, Francesca." Ailin didn't turn around and continued walking forward.

Within his vision, enhanced by the combined effects of the Cat Eye Potion and the Wolf Emblem, the moving black magic dots resembled migratory birds soaring through the sky, constantly guiding his way.

"However, if you are still worried, you can make a mark at the fork in the road."

Francesca paused for a moment, then bent down to pick up a pebble, intending to mark it.

Ailin's nose twitched involuntarily twice.

He seemed to smell a hint of rust.

I strode quickly to the center of the fork in the road ahead, and in an instant, a cold, chilly wind blew in, carrying a faint smell of blood.

"Shh!"

Ailin quickly stopped Francesca from drawing the mark, and whispered:

"Be careful, the Rock Troll is just ahead!"

Francesca froze upon hearing this, gripping the stone tightly in her hand, afraid of waking the terrifying trolls.

"Hiss~ Hiss~ Hiss~"

For a moment, the only sound in the empty cave was the rustling of clothing, like silkworms nibbling on leaves in the darkness.

Not long after they left, even Francesca adjusted her black mask to cover her mouth and nose.

The strong smell of blood made her feel extremely uncomfortable.

How many people died up ahead?

This is a question shared by both witchers and elves.

"... Waaah... pebbles... waaah... little iron pot... waaah... little gems..."

"... humans... enemies... Mountain Stone... charge out..."

"... Mountain Stone... humans... kill..."

"... Hungry... meat... hungry... meat... meat..."

Intermittent sounds came from the end of the passage.

Ailin and Francesca exchanged a glance, took a deep breath, and moved forward at an even slower pace, afraid of disturbing the monsters.

"Knock knock knock~"

The closer I got to the end, the more violent my heartbeat became.

Without a doubt.

The experience of almost coming face to face with death three days ago was unforgettable for both of them.

"Gurgle~"

When they were just one step away from their destination, the witcher and the elf stopped almost simultaneously, swallowed hard, and then nervously looked out of the passage.

Francesca glanced at it once, then instantly pulled back, her body convulsing as she tightly covered her mouth.

Looking at the scene inside the huge cave, Ailin couldn't help but hold his breath.

How many people died here?

The Witcher was terrified.

He had seen many grand occasions, but he had never seen anything this big.

The uneven ground was littered with corpses, each one a bloody mess.

Moreover, unlike the scars from swords and knives, regardless of whether he was wearing leather armor or tin cans, he looked as if he had been crushed by a tremendous force, completely reduced to a pile of minced meat.

Several other bodies were covered in chalk, with most of them smeared on the ground.

The blood flowed into the depression, congealed into clumps, and made the ground appear gray and black in patches.

A strong, almost congealed, pungent smell of blood, mixed with a putrid and somewhat indescribable stench, assaulted my senses.

This is nothing more than a depiction of hell.

If it weren't for the fact that the Cat Eye Potion provides black and white vision, Ailin's performance would probably be similar to Francesca's.

Suppressing his nausea, the Witcher leaned out of the passage again to check the other areas hidden by the rock wall.

"Roar!"

A roar suddenly exploded in my ears, echoing throughout the cave.

"... The enemy is coming again... The trolls will slaughter them all!!!"

It's Mountain Stone!

Ailin froze instantly, his heart skipping a beat for a split second.

His forward-leaning body suddenly recoiled, pulling the equally terrified Francesca along as they tried to escape back into the illusion...

"Kill!"

At the other end of the Rock Troll's cave, the sounds of fighting suddenly erupted.

At the same time, several torches were thrown in, and the moment they came into contact with the oily liquid that had been spilled on the ground at some unknown time.

"Whoosh!"

A raging fire ignited, illuminating the entire cavern.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Stunned, all the Rock Troll in sight rushed towards the cave entrance, the ground trembling as if a thousand troops were advancing.

Even the Mountain Stone closest to the cave entrance where Ailin and the others were dragging their heavy steps toward the door.

The soldiers at the cave entrance were treated completely differently by the Rock Troll than they had been with Ailin and his men.

According to Big Stone, this represents an irreconcilable hatred!

Huh!

The massive, rocky Mountain Stone, revealing several small mounds of earth.

The witcher peered intently by the firelight and realized that these small mounds were all Rock Troll, but they were all motionless.

Seven!

Or rather, of the seven Rock Troll corpses, one or two had pools of blood beneath them that hadn't yet congealed, indicating they hadn't been dead for long.

"No wonder these Rock Troll went a little crazy," the demon hunter thought to himself.

Etc!

Blood...

A thought flashed through Ailin's mind, and he opened the Witcher's Handbook.

[Quest: Summon I (Collect Rock Troll Blood 3/20)]

[Quest Reward: Conjunction of the Spheres - Troll]

Yes, he still has a quest to collect the blood of the Rock Troll to complete.

As for the rest...

Hunting Mission: Water Ghost II (Kill 463/500 Water Ghosts)

[Hunting Quest: Foglet I (Kill 2/100 Foglet)]

Hunting Quest: Ghoul I (Kill 14/200 Ghoul)

Hunting Quest: Demon Spirit I (Defeated 12/50 Demon Spirits)

The hunting mission that was almost completed originally only involved the Water Demon II, since this kind of monster is found everywhere.

On their way away from Kaer Morhen, Ailin and Huus killed many people.

He originally thought this task would be completed first, but now...

The demon hunter glanced at the Rock Troll corpse not far away, then at the Rock Troll rushing towards the door, gritted his teeth, and made up his mind.

"Francesca, wait here for me. I'm going to check on things and I'll be right back!"

"Ah?"

Before Francesca could react, she suddenly spotted the Witcher...

They've disappeared!