The Destroyer of Worlds

You said there was a voice calling to you last night?

Ianna, holding a book, glanced at Vesemir and then frowned.

"Did you hear clearly what kind of sound it was?"

Ailin pursed her lips and pondered for a few seconds.

Aside from constantly calling his name, he had no recollection of the tone of those calls, which lacked the holiness and maternal instinct he felt when he was unconscious in the mine.

"I don't remember..." He shook his head.

Ianna lowered her head and pondered.

After a long while, she turned her head to glance at the statue of Meritellie, and said solemnly to Ailin:

"Don't leave the sanctuary for the next few days. I'll have Lyra deliver your meals."

"Is it serious?" Vesemir asked worriedly.

"It's not clear yet..." Ianna shook her head, "It's not necessarily a bad thing..."

Seeing that the Sorceress's worried expression had not diminished, Ianna thought for a moment and then reached out to stroke Ailin's right hand.

A warm and gentle current flowed through my body.

"The energy of the curse is fading normally, and just as we judged yesterday, it has been weakened by more than half due to an outbreak."

Ianna nodded slightly and smiled kindly at Ailin:

"So don't be afraid, my dear child. Perhaps it really is as you think, that the lady is calling you..."

perhaps?

Ailin grasped the key point.

Is the goddess calling me? Does the High Priest of the Meritellie cult need to use something?

Why not just pray and ask?

then.

Ailin organized his thoughts and tentatively asked:

"Mother Ianna, aren't you the High Priest of the Goddess Meritellie?"

"Isn't there any way to communicate with the goddess... uh...?"

Ianna glanced at Vesemir and then smiled gently:

"Perhaps it was possible in the past."

"It is said that before humans came into this world, gods could transform into humans and walk among the earth..."

"But now, whether it's a righteous god or Evil God, they are interfering less and less in the mortal world."

"Some say this is a sign that the end times are coming..."

After a pause, Ianna recited:

"The age of contempt is coming, when the leaves will fall, the buds will wither, the fruits will rot, the grains will taste bitter, and the clear waters of the valleys will turn to solid ice."

"The White Frost is coming, followed by a burst of white light, and the world will be swallowed up by the raging wind and snow..."

"I know..." Ailin glanced at the Sorceress instinctively, "This is the Ithlinne's Prophecy ..."

"Of course you need to know," Ianna said, giving Ailin and Vesemir a meaningful look, "Because this prophecy comes right after the prophecy of the Child of Miracle."

Ailin felt a little uncomfortable under Ianna.

However, Ianna did not elaborate on the prophecy of the Child of Miracle.

Under Vesemir's gaze, she abruptly changed the subject, returning to the original topic:

"Even among the many true gods, Lady Meritellie is the one who interferes with reality the least..."

"For the past hundred years, not only have Evil God like the Lion-Headed Spider, the Ominous Sign, and Lilith been constantly inciting believers to wreak havoc on the world..."

"The gods Cliff and Freya also issued divine pronouncements to intervene in wars..."

"Only you, madam..." Ianna's tone suddenly became exceptionally respectful.

Ailin could distinguish it with his own eyes and ears.

This is not fanaticism, but rather filial piety and reverence...

"Only you, madam..." she repeated softly.

"For hundreds of years, the only divine oracle He issued was to weaken the existence of Divine Art in the world."

"He instructed the priests to use herbs and medical techniques as much as possible when treating the wounded, and to spread these skills..."

"Just like when children grow up and are taught how to survive in the world, a mother must gradually let go and allow them to live freely and independently..."

"Weakening Divine Art means weakening the existence of gods in the world."

"He never demanded faith from people, yet he earned their reverence..."

"But because of this..." Ianna gave a helpless, bitter smile, "It's also very difficult for the priests of the lady to speak with her. Even I haven't heard the lady's voice for decades..."

Upon hearing this, Ailin was immediately filled with respect.

Now think about it.

He had indeed never seen the goddess's priests preach, as if doctors, teachers, herbalists, and midwives were their proper roles.

"The lady is indeed worthy of respect!" Vesemir affirmed, leaning against the wall.

"But it's not just the gods' interference in the world that has been weakened," the Sorceress said, looking at Ailin. "The tides of Chaos Magic are also gradually diminishing."

"The sorcerers of the past could easily unleash monstrous waves and fires powerful enough to burn down an entire city..."

"But now..." Vesemir shook her head, "Many Sorceress, when they graduate from Aretuza, only have Water Control that can moisturize the skin that they can be proud of..."

"The warlocks are not nearly as powerful as they used to be!"

After making a remark, Vesemir looked at Ailin and said meaningfully:

"Due to the influence of Chaos Magic, the number of monsters is not as high as before, and it will continue to decrease..."

"However, some warlocks believe that the decrease in the number of monsters is precisely because the Chaos Magic has decreased..."

The Witcher's eyebrows twitched upon hearing this, as if he were deep in thought.

"Absurd!" Ianna scoffed.

"It is indeed absurd," Vesemir nodded, "But this kind of thinking has become quite popular in Ben Ade in recent years, especially among the Sorcerer Apprentice failed to graduate because they were too playful..."

"I only learned about this trend of thought a few days ago when Tissaia mentioned it to me after I went to Aretuza..."

Ailin's expression immediately turned serious.

If it can be called a school of thought, then it certainly wasn't just spreading among sorcerer apprentices.

So, in the eyes of some wizards, are witchers who hunt monsters for humans blocking their way?

All right...

Another reason why all schools of witchers were targeted in this era has been found, which is a good thing...

Ailin gave a bitter laugh to himself.

"Alright," Ianna glanced out the window, "It's getting late, let's not talk about this anymore."

"In short, as long as you stay here safely, you'll definitely be fine."

As he spoke.

She put down the thick book she was holding.

This is an ancient parchment book.

I don't know if it's because it's too old and has been eroded by the years.

There was no name on the rough, gray cover.

Seeing that Ailin's gaze was fixed on the parchment book, Ianna smiled kindly:

"I told you yesterday that you'd be very busy these next few days."

"What is this?" the Witcher asked, puzzled.

"Ritual studies," Ianna turned to the first page of the parchment book. "Vesemir told me that since you are interested in this subject, she asked me to teach you."

Ailin glanced at the Sorceress standing to the side.

Vesemir explained, "Ianna is not only the High Priest of the Temple of Melitele, but also the most powerful ritual master on the Northern Continent..."

"Every year, even nobles from Nilfgaard come to ask her to break the curse..."

When Ianna heard the Sorceress's praise, she didn't show any humility; instead, she laughed heartily.

However, Ailin was starting to feel numb.

He wanted to learn ritual studies in Kaer Morhen only to unlock "Ritual: Flesh Giant," and didn't actually have much interest in ritual studies itself.

Vesemir, oblivious to Ailin's expression, continued:

"I only have a superficial understanding of ritual studies, and I tend to focus more on invocation and space. Many specific rituals are not suitable for you to learn."

"But the rituals performed by the Ianna Clan are different; they lift curses, ward off enemies, weaken monsters, and heal injuries..."

"These are all things that you witchers can use."

"And..." Vesemir gazed intently into Ailin's eyes and cautioned him:

"Rituals and potions are different..."

"Most of the potion recipes created by accident are due to exceptional talent..."

"But a certain ritual that I inexplicably learned is highly likely to lead to something ominous, the ravings of some Evil God from outer space..."

Feeling a little guilty under the Sorceress's gaze, Ailin turned her head away.

Although "Ritual: Flesh Giant" comes from the Witcher's Handbook, it is also very powerful.

But neither its appearance nor its effects can be considered normal.

and...

Remove curses, thwart enemies, weaken monsters, heal injuries...

To be honest, Ailin was indeed tempted and changed her mind.

After all, while ritual skills can be upgraded with experience, they don't grant specific rituals; they simply make using rituals more convenient.

Even if these rituals have no effect on oneself, they can be taught to other witchers in the School of the Wolf to enhance their strength and reduce the mortality rate.

The only problem is...

"After I learn these rituals, can I teach them to other witchers?"

Ailin looked at Ianna.

"Good girl, of course you can," Ianna said with a beaming smile, "Or rather, you couldn't be more excited..."

"Even the people who created these rituals would be very happy if human heroes could learn and use them!"

"However..." Ianna looked meaningfully into the witcher's deep blue eyes, "With only seven days, how many rituals can you bring back?"

Upon hearing this...

Ailin and Vesemir exchanged a glance and smiled at each other.

"Two pieces of chalk, one to draw an outer circle to symbolize the spread of pollution, and the other to draw an inner triangle to stabilize the internal structure..."

"Sprinkle strong liquor between the circle and the triangle, and place two mistletoe leaves at the eastern ends of the triangle, and a peperomia leaf at the western apex..."

"Ignite the Northtrick vines on the east side, blow the thick smoke westward..."

"Oczynie zanizczeń..."

The difficult language is recited with a special accent.

Instantly.

A bottle of Ghoul Oil placed in the ritual array flashed a pure white light and then immediately lost its dark red color, turning into the golden hue of pure Dog Oil.

The peperomia leaf at the apex of the triangle on the west side of the magic circle instantly turned black.

But upon closer inspection, one will find that the black color is actually a result of extreme red mixed with the green of basil leaves.

"Another success?"

Ianna glanced at the Ghoul Oil that had been restored to Dog Oil with surprise, then stared in shock at Ailin's actions as he cleaned up the mess of the ritual.

What she found even harder to accept was not just this.

Even when she was learning the ritual, it took her a whole day to learn the Purification Ritual.

She still remembers it clearly; she made two mistakes before finally succeeding when she first set up the Purification Ritual.

Even so, the previous high High Priest praised her for her exceptional talent.

This Purification Ritual was the third one she had taught that morning.

"Vesemir, did you really not teach Ailin these three rituals before?"

Ianna looked at the Sorceress with some suspicion.

The Sorceress wasn't angry at the questioning; instead, she beamed with pride and boasted happily:

"If that makes you feel better, then consider it as me having taught you in advance..."

Upon hearing this, Ianna glanced at the smug Vesemir, then stared blankly at the Witcher's retreating figure.

He opened his mouth, wanting to refute.

For a moment, I didn't know what to say.

When Vesemir asked her to teach ritual studies, she did mention that Ailin learned things very quickly.

But is this fast?

What a genius learns in a day, you learn in just one morning—three times the amount of time a genius takes.

Ianna felt that her teaching was more like helping him recall...

Feeling the burning gaze on his back, Ailin silently packed up the materials.

He knew that his behavior was somewhat abnormal.

But he only has seven days; how much he can bring back depends entirely on how much he can learn...

Moreover, only Ianna and Vesemir are here, both of whom are trustworthy. Wouldn't that drain the High Priest dry?

With a thought, Ailin, who had his back to the two, opened the Witcher's Handbook.

[Name: Purification Ritual]

[Type: Magical Ritual]

[Requirement: Ritual Studies LV1]

Materials: Chalk*2, Spirits*1, Mistletoe*2, Northtrick Ivy*1, Phra Somdej Leaf*1

[Function: Purifies toxins or diseases in a single target body.]

Purifying alcohol and hallucinogens requires Ritualistics difficulty LV1;

Ritual difficulty LV2 when purifying poisons and weapon oils;

[When purifying severe diseases, Ritual Difficulty LV7]

[Note: Using a ritual performed on a living being to restore Sword Oil? You're a genius!]

The Purification Ritual is a very useful ritual.

Its function may not be very useful for witchers with high poison resistance, but it can give ordinary witchers an additional source of income.

However, for Ailin...

More importantly, he unexpectedly discovered a function today—restoring Sword Oil.

Or rather, it's about recreating those magic potions whose raw materials aren't complicated.

Liquid bases often constitute the largest portion of a potion's recipe in terms of both volume and mass.

With this ritual, the load-bearing capacity of the Witcher's saddlebag can be greatly optimized.

[Name: Magical Message]

[Type: Magical Ritual]

[Requirement: Ritual Studies LV1]

Materials: Glass*1, Fifth Element *1, Mercury Solution*1 (Optional Material: Perfect Gem*1)

[Function: Records a message lasting up to five minutes on a gemstone or a piece of glass engraved with a magical mark. If the ritual is performed using a perfect gemstone, the phantom of the spoken message will appear as real as the person.]

[Note: A holographic projection of another world?]

This was Professor Ianna's first ritual, and also the simplest and least harmful of all the rituals she knew.

What are the side effects?

That must have been a huge money drain.

Glass is alright; although it's expensive at this time, broken glass isn't worth much.

The quality requirements for the glass used in Magical Message are not high.

But the Fifth Element and mercury solution are different.

One portion of the Fifth Element costs 200 Oren, and one portion of the mercury solution costs 400 Oren.

If a perfect gem is used instead of glass for spellcasting, the cost will increase by at least three thousand Oren.

certainly.

In this ceremony, both glass and gemstones serve as carriers and can be reused.

But a ceremony like this costs at least seven hundred Oren, which is really too extravagant.

But the Magical Message isn't even the most expensive ritual we learned today...