Want to Enter Phase Two? Did You Ask Me?

[Name: Margarita Laux Antill]

[Attributes: Strength 11, Agility 9, Constitution 12, Perception 76, Mysticism 81]

[Skills: Magic Training LV7, Asery's Water Shield LV5, Cat's Agility LV4, Bear's Strength LV4, Fox's Perception LV4, Teleportation LV4, Ice Lance Spell LV4, Carice's Hailstorm LV3, Water Control LV3, Feather Fall LV2...]

There's not much to say about the stats; it's a standard fragile mage's stats.

If it weren't for the Drowner Heart Essence Fluid, his strength, agility, and constitution would likely all be no higher than ten points.

As for the newly added skill bar...

Aside from the legion members, this was the first time Ailin had seen other people's skills through the Appraisal skill.

This appears to be a unique use of the Witcher skill.

In Demon Hunter mode, as long as he doesn't have a hostile attitude towards Ailin, in other words, if the intimacy level reaches a certain level, he can identify the target's skills.

Not only that.

Similar to how Ailin is currently affecting Vesemir's ability to evade the Greater Griffin's attacks.

He can also guide Mary, unleash magic, and dodge and leap.

Of course, this influence is not like the Axii Sign which manipulates the mind, but rather more like giving the person being influenced an intuition.

Let it be a flash of inspiration, a sudden realization that a certain moment is the best time to do a certain thing.

For example, Vesemir...

First, he must have the ideas of attacking, defending, and dodging before Ailin can exert influence, allowing him to swing his sword, roll, or sidestep at the optimal moment...

It cannot go against his/her own wishes.

Furthermore, while in Demon Hunter mode, although Ailin cannot read minds, he can still vaguely understand the thoughts of those he is influenced by, thus achieving a tacit understanding.

Therefore, it is unlikely that exerting influence will actually reduce combat strength.

Of course, in combat, this level of influence is already very strong.

It's important to understand that team hunting is not like solo hunting, nor is it like a game where there's no teammate to deal damage.

Often, poor coordination can actually be life-threatening.

Just like Mary only cast a spell on Vesemir before the battle began.

After officially entering the fierce battle.

She didn't dare to cast a single attack spell, nor did she dare to reapply a buff spell whose effect had already diminished by half.

It's because we've never worked together before.

A very simple example.

When the Greater Griffin's claws came down, Vesemir had anticipated the distance to dodge, but Mary's "Cat's Agility" buff prevented him from dodging.

That would mean complete failure.

But with Ailin, things are different.

In Demon Hunter mode.

He could perfectly act as a bridge between the two, releasing magic at the right time.

Just like now.

"Li—"

The Greater Griffin was enraged by Vesemir's perfectly timed and agile movements.

It spread its wings once more, its beak, larger than a human head, snapped open, and cried out loudly at the Witcher Master.

The Wolf Emblem trembled, and the wind howled.

Ailin tilted his head and shouted:

"Mary!"

"The Cat's Agility!"

Ailin did not specify the target of the buff spell.

But Mary had a sudden inspiration and subconsciously chanted the spell for less than a second, targeting Vesemir.

Immediately afterwards.

Just before Vesemir stomped his right foot to dodge, a purple magical glow flashed briefly on him.

The speed increased significantly to the naked eye.

In the emergency, Vesemir didn't have time to think and just managed to avoid the Greater Griffin's wind pressure.

"How did Mary time her spellcasting so well?"

Just like he released it himself!

Vesemir glanced at Mary, who was equally astonished, out of the corner of his eye, and wondered what was going on.

However, the opportunity to fight is fleeting.

After the wind pressure attack, the Greater Griffin's beak clearly stiffened for about two seconds.

This is the best opportunity to attack.

Therefore, Vesemir's gaze sharpened, he banished all distracting thoughts, swiftly spun around, and gathered his strength.

"If only I could have that power-enhancing spell applied right now..."

Vesemir thought to himself inexplicably.

The next moment.

To Vesemir's incredulous gaze, a dim, magical glow flashed.

Immediately afterwards, a surge of power rushed from his heart to his limbs, and at that moment he even felt that he could wrestle with a big brown bear.

"Pfft!"

A sharp, cold glint flashed.

This moment.

Vesemir felt as if time around him had slowed down.

The sharp silver sword cleaved through the Greater Griffin's skin, which was soaked in a viscous magical aura, and cut away the thick, solid muscles bit by bit before leaving from the other side of the skin.

Fresh blood spurted out.

[Demon Hunting] Progress 8%

This sword strike directly tripled the progress.

"Li—"

With a painful cry, the Greater Griffin slammed down with its massive right claw, but the exceptionally sharp-witted Vesemir dodged it.

It's a pity.

Although the Greater Griffin's cry was mournful.

However, due to its enormous size, the wound that Vesemir had just inflicted was nothing more than a small cut to it.

It's far from enough to kill this enormous monster.

"Was this magic I cast?"

Seeing that with Mary's help, Vesemir broke through the Greater Griffin's defenses for the first time, she was so surprised that her mouth dropped open slightly.

She could hardly believe that she was the one who had just unleashed those two perfectly timed spells.

The Cat's Agility may also have been due to Ailin's reminder.

But the "Bear's Strength" that followed was something she came up with on her own, seizing the right opportunity.

"Could it be that I'm also a genius in combat?"

Mary glanced at her hands instinctively, then tilted her head back, instantly filled with confidence.

Out of the corner of her eye, Ailin noticed Mary's change in expression and couldn't help but curl the corners of her lips into a smile.

But this is a good thing for him.

He had already observed the Greater Griffin's attack patterns; the next step was to work with Vesemir to eliminate the monster.

In the heat of battle, it's impossible to offer a verbal warning.

If Mary continues to be as "cautious" as before, Ailin will certainly have no way to influence her to give him and Vesemir buffs at the local time.

"It's a pity Mary doesn't know any advanced offensive spells, otherwise the two of them could attack together..."

"How come the progress bar for demon hunting can fill up faster..."

Ailin was somewhat disappointed.

As Mary said, most of the skills she knew were buff spells rather than offensive spells.

The highest-level offensive spell was actually the Ice Lance Spell created by Ailin...

Such a spell probably won't even contribute 1% to the progress; it's better to focus on support roles.

Having made up his mind, Ailin quietly rose from the bushes while channeling his magic to Quen Sign:

"Mary, I'm going to help Master Vesemir."

"Just like before, cast buff spells on us, understand?"

Upon hearing this, Mary felt a heavy pressure, like a blue mountain, pressing down on her shoulders, instantly shattering her confidence.

Although she thought of herself as a genius, those two moves just now seemed more like coincidences to her.

"Ailin... I might not be able to..."

"I believe in you!" Ailin interrupted.

"You have to trust your own feelings, the feeling of successfully casting those two spells just now..."

Mary paused for a moment.

Seeing the resolute expression on Ailin's face, he felt a strong sense of encouragement.

"Yes," she nodded vigorously, "I can definitely do it!"

Ailin smiled.

He then took a deep breath and gripped the silver sword tightly.

"Watch out, Ailin!"

Mary's worried voice came from behind her.

He waved his left hand and quietly walked towards the Greater Griffin.

Within a short span of several dozen meters, Ailin was successively illuminated by the purple light of "Cat's Agility," the yellow light of "Bear's Strength," the red light of "Fox's Perception," and the blue magical glow from "Athery's Water Shield."

With each step, Ailin grows stronger.

Ailin mentally consumed a portion of the Drowner Heart Essence Fluid, replenishing the one-third of his stamina that had been depleted after the demon hunt.

Once you've circled around to behind the Greater Griffin...

Demon Hunter!

In an instant.

A sword and a staff are both ready.

The Cat Eyes suddenly turned cold and indifferent, like a calm lake reflecting the Greater Griffin that was completely focused on Vesemir.

Then the young witcher stomped his foot on the ground, his taut muscles drawing immense power from the boundless earth, like a powerful bow shooting himself into the sky obscured by monsters.

Immediately afterwards.

Spin.

Cut!

The silver light in mid-air transformed into a silver moon.

"Pfft~"

The blade sliced into the deep red skin without hesitation, severing the muscles and fascia, and finally, dripping with hot, scarlet blood, cleaved out from the other side in an instant.

Almost instantly, a half-meter-deep gash was slashed into the groin of the Greater Griffin.

Large amounts of blood gushed out like a fountain.

The strong smell of rust and the pungent, fishy odor were unpleasant.

[Demon Hunting] Progress 10%...

"Li—"

The Greater Griffin suddenly raised its head and folded its wings to protect its right leg.

The piercing screams were far more agonizing than the previous two, piercing Ailin and Vesemir's ears like needles.

"Ailin, well done!"

Vesemir's eyes lit up, and taking advantage of the Greater Griffin's panic, he spun around and slashed from the side.

It struck the joint of the Greater Griffin's left leg bone.

Unfortunately, the silver sword he borrowed from Hog was far inferior to Elsa's.

Although it breached the defenses, it only made a small cut.

Under the cover of the excruciating pain in his groin, the Greater Griffin seemed completely unaware that he was being attacked.

[Demon Hunter] 14%...

Vesemir also noticed the difference in their abilities, and out of the corner of his eye, he glanced at the beautiful silver sword in Ailin's hand not far away, and sighed inwardly:

"As expected of my Elsa..."

"I need to save up money quickly to redeem it."

Ailin's attack really hurt the Greater Griffin.

The colossal creature, ignoring Vesemir in front of it, aimed at Ailin and pecked at Ailin like a black and red lightning bolt.

"Careful!"

Vesemir's heart clenched instantly, and he no longer cared about maintaining his dignity in front of Ailin and Mary.

A beam of silver light shot out and instantly pierced the anus of the Greater Griffin was facing away from him.

Between each thrust and withdrawal.

Instantly.

Blood was gushing out!

[Demon Hunting] Progress 31%

"Li—"

The Greater Griffin let out another scream. In the intense pain, its furious pecking motion faltered for a moment, and Ailin dodged it.

Um?

Seventeen percent all at once?

Even in his demon-hunting state, with his emotions suppressed to the extreme, Ailin couldn't help but be somewhat surprised.

Vesemir's sword opened a new door for Ailin.

The School of the Wolf Two-Handed Sword primarily employ rotating slashing techniques, rarely using the "thrusting" technique.

Because of the magical blessing, the outer skin of ordinary monsters is difficult to penetrate, and there are muscles and bones inside the skin.

Silver swords are generally not as hard as steel swords; a single thrust can easily break the sword.

Even if there are easily pierced passages on a monster's body, such as a back door.

It's not a vital point; at most, it can only provoke the prey, and it will heal quickly.

Therefore, the School of the Wolf, whose hunting range is basically limited to monsters, naturally removed most of the thrusting sword techniques from its swordsmanship.

This is perfectly understandable.

Who would have thought that attacking the monster's back door would actually help accumulate progress in the demon-hunting process?

"Master Vesemir, attack that spot!" Ailin shouted a reminder.

Vesemir paused for a moment upon hearing this, then nodded.

Although I don't quite understand why you would attack a part of the body that would only provoke the prey.

However, he believed in Ailin.

Moreover, he is a professional demon hunter who has even gone to the city sewers to kill stinking Rotfiend. He has no obsession with cleanliness, either mentally or physically.

"Understood!" Vesemir replied.

He's a beast after all.

After being attacked by Vesemir, the Greater Griffin's attention shifted back to Vesemir.

Vesemir avoided both consecutive wind pressure events.

Instead, Ailin stole his chrysanthemum again, causing his demon-hunting progress to surge by 20%.

The progress bar instantly exceeded halfway.

To be honest...

Two Witcher Master dealing with a large monster is indeed much less dangerous.

In particular, as time went on, they gradually became familiar with the attack postures and frequency of the Greater Griffin.

With Mary by their side, they seized the opportunity to apply buffs to them.

Therefore, during the fierce battle with the Greater Griffin, Vesemir and Ailin had their Water Shield shattered once because the Greater Griffin swung its claws and they didn't have time to dodge.

At other times, although it looked very dangerous, they were never actually attacked.

certainly.

Although the Greater Griffin was covered in wounds and a large area of the ground was stained reddish-brown, it was far from being exhausted.

Instead, the excessive bleeding calmed it down from its rage and pain-induced rage.

"Li—"

With another roar, the Greater Griffin suddenly raised its neck and spread its wings.

He gathered his magic power and made a gesture as if releasing a strong wind pressure, startling the two Ailin and Vesemir into instantly dodging.

But what happened next was unexpected.

"Whoosh~"

The Greater Griffin flapped its enormous wings, whipping up a cloud of dust that blew towards the two witchers.

"Not good!"

"This beast wants to fly to the heavens!"

Vesemir's expression suddenly changed.

"Ailin, Ald!!!"

While shouting a warning, Vesemir quickly channeled his magic, bent his right middle finger, and shoved it sharply towards the Greater Griffin.

Alde Sign.

On the other side, Ailin also unleashed a powerful psychic shockwave forward.

However, the two shockwaves on either side of the Greater Griffin were weakened when they hit the Greater Griffin.

They failed to shoot the Greater Griffin down, but only managed to make it slightly unsteady, causing it to sway about two meters in the air.

Damn it!

"The Greater Griffin is about to take off!"

Vesemir slapped his forehead in regret; he had been fooled by this cunning beast.

Once the Greater Griffin take to the skies, they'll be the ones who suffer.

"Li—"

The Greater Griffin's cry seemed to reveal a hint of pride.

However, before it could be smug for more than a few seconds, it suddenly felt its injured right paw sink, and a sharp pain struck.

The Greater Griffin lowered its head.

A tiny human with Little Eye was staring coldly at it.

"Did you ask me before you wanted to advance to the second stage?"

[Demon Hunter] Progress 87%...