Greater Griffin, Give Me a Boost!

Can't see the king?

Vesemir and Ailin, who had just walked over, looked at each other in bewilderment.

What's wrong?

Your king is dead too?

However, Ailin noticed that although the expression on Terrick's face was not good, there was no grief or anger on his face, and he did not seem like a king who had died.

So he didn't ask the impolite question, and looked at Terrick expressionlessly, waiting for him to continue.

After hesitating for a few seconds, and noticing that Mary was also coming over, Terrick gritted his teeth and whispered:

"Don't tell anyone..."

So mysterious?

The three exchanged glances and nodded before Terrick continued:

"His Majesty Oliver originally intended to refuse your audience on the grounds of illness."

"But actually it's because of the Dark Sun Curse..."

"His Majesty is somewhat wary of this curse, and given that the Kedwen the Glutton Cordwin died that day, therefore..."

I understand.

He was afraid we would bring him bad luck.

However, aside from Vesemir preparing his arguments to dissuade the war, Ailin and Mary weren't particularly enthusiastic about meeting the king.

They only cared about the bounty on the Greater Griffin and whether its Big Head could fetch a good price.

However, in this respect, the King of Ard was quite kind.

"This is a deposit slip from the Vivaldi Bank, containing two thousand Oren," Terrick, pulling out a leather slip and handing it to Vesemir. "This is His Majesty Oliver's reward for helping us resolve the bounty on that Greater Griffin ..."

"As for that Greater Griffin's head..."

"His Majesty didn't say he wanted to buy it, probably because of something like the Dark Sun Curse..."

"But wasn't this monster hunted in your Ard?" Mary was a little unconvinced.

Terrick gave a fawning smile and said:

"His Majesty Oliver has never liked this kind of bloody stuff."

"Certainly..."

"I suppose it's also because you all came from Ban Ade."

Terrick paused, then continued:

"However, I am very interested in this. I wonder if you could sell me the head of this Greater Griffin?"

"Oh, how much are you willing to pay?" Vesemir asked with great interest.

Without hesitation, Terrick held up four fingers:

"Four thousand, I'm willing to offer four thousand Oren!"

Vesemir, who had originally intended to raise the price, paused, then looked at Terrick meaningfully.

Even the best quality Greater Griffin head is worth at most a little over three thousand Oren.

As the vice-master of the King's Knights, Terrick couldn't possibly be unaware of this.

and...

Vesemir glanced at Mary.

From the moment he entered, Terrick's gaze kept drifting towards Mary, and he even quietly told them confidential matters such as the King's attitude...

"Tell me, what do you want?" Vesemir asked directly, not wanting to play guessing games. "The head of the Greater Griffin is far more than four thousand."

Having his intentions exposed, Terrick wasn't embarrassed. After laughing heartily twice, he said:

"As expected of Master Vesemir, nothing can be hidden from you..."

Then he smiled, looked at Mary, and said in a very humble and ingratiating manner:

"Lady Margarita, could you please ask Lady Vesemir for a potion?"

Mary wasn't surprised at all.

It seems like they've been through a lot of things like this.

She raised her head and glanced proudly at Ailin, thinking:

"So what if Lady Vesemir values you and cares about you?"

"Outside the home, I am still the representative of women! No one can take me away!"

Then, remembering Terrick's thoughtful arrangements—both the hotel and the King's little secret—she asked softly:

Which potion do you want?

There's hope!

Terrick's eyes lit up, and he quickly said:

"Veridian Sigh!"

"I'm willing to pay 20,000 Oren for a bottle..."

In fact, just like the Greater Griffin Head, 20,000 Oren far exceeds the actual value of "Potion: Veridian Sigh," which is currently priced at around 15,000 Oren on the market.

But the key issue is that there's demand but no market for it!

Vesemir sells fewer than ten bottles of "Veridian Sigh" each year, most of which are snapped up by kings, dukes and other nobles from various countries.

and...

Because he was a human hero recorded in history books, no nobleman dared to use his power to coerce him.

Some of these families don't even see empty bottles.

Upon hearing Terrick's request, Mary froze, her arrogant demeanor vanishing.

She doesn't have the "Veridian Sigh" now, but others do!

Some people have even drunk this rare potion like water...

Thinking of this.

Mary was so embarrassed and jealous that her face turned bright red.

"Ahem~" Vesemir noticed Mary's embarrassment, coughed lightly, and asked, "You seem quite young. Isn't it a bit too early to be thinking about extending your lifespan?"

"It wasn't me..." Terrick shook his head with a wry smile, "It was my father."

"When Ard was weak, he often led his troops into battle, leaving him with many hidden injuries."

"Now I feel pain everywhere in my limbs and bone marrow, and I am in great pain every day..."

"I've heard that the potion 'Veridian Sigh' can heal these kinds of hidden injuries, but unfortunately I haven't been able to find a way to obtain it..."

Terrick looked at Mary respectfully and pleaded sincerely:

"Please, Ms. Margarita."

"If you can get me a potion, the Quinn family will forever remember your kindness..."

Feeling embarrassed by such stares, Mary instinctively dug a magic tower out of the ground with her toes.

But we don't know Ailin's attitude yet; she's caught in a dilemma—whether she refuses or not.

"Ding ding~"

The sound of bottles and jars clashing together attracted everyone's attention.

Ailin took a bottle of emerald green potion from his potion bag and said:

"This is the Veridian Sigh."

Terrick was taken aback for a moment, and subconsciously turned his head to look at Mary, who had lowered her head at some point.

Shouldn't it be Vesemir's apprentice who can evoke Veridian Sigh?

How could he be a witcher?

He looked at the potion in Ailin's hand with some suspicion.

Is this truly Veridian Sigh?

Seeing this, Vesemir sighed and explained:

"Ailin also studied alchemy with Lady Vesemir for a long time..."

Terrick glanced at the young witcher with surprise, then looked at Mary.

Left with no other choice, the young Sorceress could only nod and say in a voice barely above a whisper:

"This potion is the Veridian Sigh!"

Terrick finally realized what was happening and excitedly reached for the potion, but Vesemir stopped him.

"Feel sorry!"

Terrick slapped his forehead, apologized, and quickly pulled two more deposit slips out of his pocket.

It seems they had prepared this in advance.

"These two are also deposit slips from the Vivaldi Bank, one for four thousand and the other for twenty thousand..."

Vesemir then lowered his arm.

After receiving the potion, Terrick carefully examined it according to the information he had gathered.

Then, without knowing whether he had identified it or not, he nodded with absolute certainty:

"It is indeed the Veridian Sigh!"

Of course it can't be wrong!

Vesemir thought to himself, "This is something I and the school bought from Lady Vesemir at a high price."

He witnessed the Bloody Red Fox deliver the potion to Ailin.

Up to now.

Vesemir still owes Vesemir a large debt that he hasn't repaid.

Looking at the three large deposit certificates in Ailin's hand, Vesemir sighed inwardly with a hint of envy, then chimed in:

"This Veridian Sigh was given to Ailin by Lady Vesemir before she descended the mountain to save his life."

"If you hadn't bought the potion for your father, I would never have sold it to you like this!"

Vesemir knew that Ailin had bought the potion not just for the money.

Moreover, this premium cannot offset the value of personal relationships.

Upon hearing this, Terrick's smile faded, and he looked at Ailin seriously, promising:

"Master Ailin, the Quinn family will forever remember your kindness!"

As he spoke.

He then pulled a shield-shaped steel badge from his pocket.

"This is the crest of the Quinn family, and also a symbol of our friendship. Please accept it."

Ailin took the heavy badge and glanced at it.

The shield-shaped badge is engraved with a sword entwined with irises.

Seeing that Ailin had accepted the badge, Terrick smiled gently, carefully put away the potion, and then impatiently prepared to take his leave.

"Oh, right..."

Just as Terrick was about to close the door, he suddenly remembered something, turned around and looked at Ailin seriously:

"I should have let you stay in Vengerberg for a few more days to show you hospitality..."

"But as a friend, if you don't have anything urgent to do here, I suggest you leave Vengerberg as soon as possible!"

Perhaps worried they wouldn't believe him, Terrick gritted his teeth and explained softly:

"War is coming!"

"Bang!"

The door was closed.

Vesemir glanced out the window.

The bright moon hangs high in the sky.

It's late at night.

"Get some rest," Vesemir sighed. "We're leaving Vengerberg tomorrow!"

They had originally planned to stay here for a few more days.

However, the vice-commander of the King's Knights of Ard advised them to leave, as staying would likely not end well.

Only those witchers who heed advice live long.

Ailin nodded and said:

"You all go and rest first. I'll go to sleep after I finish making this potion."

Vesemir nodded.

Then he took the Little Monster, who was yawning and couldn't even open his eyes, and his brother Royce back to the room.

Although Royce was Ailin's Child of Destiny, the Little Monster was also bought by Ailin.

But it was Vesemir always took care of the two children.

"Bang!"

The room door was closed.

"You should go and rest too," Ailin said, noticing that Mary hadn't returned to her room and was looking at him expectantly.

"This potion requires a special ingredient, and now that you've learned it, there aren't any extra materials for you to practice with."

What kind of material is so special?

Mary was curious, so she lingered and didn't leave.

Seeing that the young Sorceress was in high spirits and had no intention of resting at the moment.

Left with no other choice, Ailin could only let her watch from the sidelines as he continued to refine the Swamp Hag's decoction recipe.

It wasn't that he didn't want Mary to see the process of preparing and decocting the medicine.

But sufficient sleep is very important for warlocks.

It's important to know that chaotic elements are a rather violent force.

Without a good mental state, not only will the success rate of spellcasting be greatly reduced, but it may even cause severe damage to the warlock's body.

and...

While sorcerers also meditate, it is entirely different from the meditation of witchers.

Their meditation is a way to exercise the mind and cannot replace sleep.

However, since Mary insisted, Ailin had no choice but to finish making the potion as soon as possible.

Although this was his first time making decoction, the requirements for making Swamp Hag Decoction were only alchemy level 3.

With Ailin's current alchemy level of LV4, it's more than enough.

and.

In terms of processing the ingredients, decocting herbs is very similar to making Sword Oil.

They all use magic to activate the hidden magic nodes within the plant materials, and then put them into the crucible.

Once the potion-making process officially began, Ailin became completely focused and stopped paying attention to Mary beside him.

Set up the pot, light the fire, and pour in the Dwarven Strong Alcohol...

The Berberis Fruit, having activated its magic node, melted into Dwarven Strong Alcohol under the stimulation of Chaos Magic and high temperatures.

"Gurgle gurgle~"

The temperature is rising.

Orange bubbles kept rising from the crucible.

After half an hour, it finally shrank completely into an orange, jelly-like gel with a volume of only about the size of a fist.

"Is that all?" Mary looked at the strangely cute colloid in the crucible.

It's a bit magical that the Dwarven Strong Alcohol and Berberis Fruit have transformed into this form...

But there's nothing special about either the refining method or the materials!

"Not yet," Ailin shook his head. "The most difficult part is yet to come..."

While tending to the fire under the crucible, he took a crystal bottle from the reagent bag.

Mary looked at the contents of the crystal bottle and asked in confusion:

"What's this?"

Inside the crystal bottle, an oval-shaped red gelatinous substance encapsulates a green gelatinous substance, which is simultaneously expanding and shrinking slightly, as if a living thing is breathing.

Mary felt a chill run down her spine and instinctively moved a little further away.

After hesitating for two seconds, Ailin said:

"Swamp Hag Mutagen Inducer..."

"Mutant inducers?" Mary frowned. "What are mutation inducers?"

As Ailin poured the Swamp Hag Mutagen Inducer from the glass bottle into the crucible, he explained:

"As the name suggests, substances that induce mutations..."

Only a very small number of monsters can produce this substance.

Mary had never heard of this substance before, neither from books nor from Lady Vesemir.

However, seeing that Ailin was completely focused on making the potion, she did not ask any more questions, but instead observed carefully.

"Buzzing~"

The Wolf Emblem was humming softly.

Under Ailin's precise magical control, the red and green Swamp Hag Mutagen Inducer quietly opened a crack.

Then, as if swallowing food, it took small sips of the orange-yellow colloid in the crucible and swallowed it into the green core.

This technique of using magic to stimulate mutation inducers is extremely difficult.

It cannot be too strong, lest it damage the activity of the inducer.

It cannot be too weak, lest the two be unable to fully integrate.

A short while later.

A fine layer of sweat appeared on Ailin's forehead.

But soon.

The Swamp Hag's mutation inducer completely engulfed the orange gelatinous substance, and her entire body turned blood red and translucent.

Surprisingly, after swallowing a trigger the size of an adult's fist, the size did not increase at all.

It's still a crystal bottle, about fifty milliliters in size.

Ailin let out a sigh of relief and bottled the gel.

"Bang bang~"

A faint knocking sound emanated from the crystal.

Mary, standing to the side, was now certain.

This blood-red thing is actually alive!!!

The inquisitive gaze put Ailin under immense pressure.

Especially since it was getting late and he hadn't fully thought through (or even finished) the story of discovering the mutation trigger.

then.

Before Mary could speak, Ailin feigned exhaustion and preemptively said:

"It's getting late, let's go to sleep."

"We can discuss any issues tomorrow morning..."

Mary could only nod helplessly at Ailin's expression.

"Squeak~"

The door was closed gently.

Once back in her room, Ailin immediately perked up.

I couldn't wait to open the Witcher's Handbook with my mind.

[Ding! Use Greater Griffin Heart Essence Fluid *1?]

"The Greater Griffin!"

"Let me see just how strong your heart really is!"