It Was Time to Go Home
A cool morning breeze came from the mountains, rustling the leaves.
The air blew into the iconostasis, which, thanks to its ingenious design, shone brightly even in the misty morning.
Bathed in the warm sunlight, the boy, curled up on the ground, had his eyebrows slightly furrowed even in his sleep.
"Chirp chirp~"
The clear chirping of birds rang out from outside the window.
The boy carrying two swords suddenly opened his eyes. His azure pupils trembled for a moment before quickly changing from lines to circles.
"Ah--"
After instinctively screaming, he realized that he hadn't melted.
Hands encased in leather armor, arms and legs covered in woven iron mesh...
He was perfectly healthy.
There was no scorching lava to turn him, starting from his hands, into steaming blood.
"No..."
The Witcher withdrew his right hand from the wooden pillar.
He looked at the palm print on the pillar, which was deeply indented and very clear.
After pausing for two seconds, I placed my palm in front of my eyes and gently clenched it.
"Bang!"
The abundant power instantly crushed the air in the palm of his hand.
He... seems even stronger now.
He stood up blankly.
"Click~ Click~ Click~"
His bones seemed to be exploding like firecrackers, and his muscles seemed to conceal a massive energy like a volcanic eruption.
"What did I do? How did I suddenly become so much stronger?"
With a thought, he opened the Witcher's Handbook.
Name: Ailin
Age: 14
[Title: Child of Miracle]
[HP: 100%, Stamina: 650/650, MP: 730/730]
[Attributes: Strength 61 (+10), Agility 60 (+10), Constitution 65 (+10), Perception 68, Mysticism 73]
[Affinity: Water 14 (Magic Source - Water 4%), Earth 9, Wind 8, Fire 3, Space 2]
Holy crap!
Strength, agility, and physique increased by one-fifth!
No wonder the changes are so obvious, and I even feel like I can't control my body.
And, if he remembers correctly...
Name: Vesemir
[Attributes: Strength 53, Agility 57, Constitution 69, Perception 70, Mysticism 42]
"Really..."
"Vesemir is only four points ahead of me in one stat: physique. His average attributes are far lower than mine!"
The Witcher was overjoyed.
Even without using Blizzard and Giant Ghoul Decoction, he should be able to easily defeat Vesemir... right?
Ailin was a little unsure, so he decided to find an opportunity to give it a try.
"But..."
"Where does this sudden advantage come from?"
Coming back to his senses from the immense joy of his increased strength, he began to recall the events of the previous night.
"Could it be that King Kano?" the Witcher muttered.
Yes!
Before he fainted, there was only one possibility that would allow his strength to increase by leaps and bounds.
But the Witcher still felt it was somewhat unreal.
Where exactly did those seven golden treasure chests take him?
Sight, hearing, smell, touch...
He could even feel the immense pressure and the rapid increase in his strength; everything felt almost tangible...
but...
But this clearly can't be real!
The source is not mentioned; it comes from seven golden chests.
In the cutscene of "Beast Roar: Rampage", he witnessed firsthand how the boundless green of the previous night had turned into a desert.
The One-Eyed Serpent Giant charged toward the unknown enemy with a death-defying spirit.
besides...
"Phew~"
Before falling into a coma, there was a sigh from the depths of his mind, and the image of the One-Eyed Serpent Giant reflected in King Kano's eyes.
Is he Italino?
Is that the One-Eyed Nekker that was still roaring loudly after he dealt with it using Balmor?
The impossible becomes reality, making the mystery grow ever more intriguing...
The Witcher stared at the translucent, ancient pages of the book before him, his expression complex.
He became increasingly curious about the origins of the Witcher's Handbook.
"Oh, right..." The hunter, bewildered by a series of bizarre speculations triggered by his sudden increase in strength, suddenly remembered a question:
"What did we get from that red 'treasure chest' last night, and the purple treasure chest that wasn't merged in?"
The moment the system notification appeared, without even needing to look through it, a reminder popped up.
[Ding! Obtained: Path of the Beast Roar, Blessed Beast Roar Horn of the One-Eyed Clan *1]
Um?
The Path of the Beast Roar...
The Witcher paused for a moment.
Is this some kind of skill?
I brought up my inventory and scrolled through it from top to bottom.
However, only one new gray-brown, notched, antique horn pattern has been added to the inventory.
[Name: The Blessed Beast Roar Horn of the One-Eyed Clan]
[Type: Magical Item]
[Function: Use this horn to unleash the power of roar, moderately amplifying the intensity of the roar and greatly increasing its range of propagation.]
[Note: The blessing from the alien god Shagdarzhab not only greatly enhances the power of the Beast Roar Horn, but also provides special effects when worn daily.]
The Beast Roar Horn's properties seem pretty good.
However, it is clear that this is an exclusive item that can only bless the Path of the Beast Roar.
So here's the question.
"Where exactly is the Path of the Beast Roar?"
Ailin opened his Personal Panel again and began searching through the skill bar.
However, he didn't have high hopes for this, since it wasn't a game where you could release skills with a click of the mouse and keyboard without needing the operator to know how to use them.
The skills that appear in the skill bar of your Personal Panel, except for Special Skill, are definitely skills that he/she knows.
It's impossible for someone to have no impression of a newly learned skill at all.
"The Special Skill section is missing..."
Ailin hesitated for a moment, then continued looking down.
"Huh..."
He noticed that the "Beast Roar" he drew last time had changed, blinked, and looked closely.
Wrong!
It seems like what I drew before wasn't a beast roar, but a battle cry...
The Witcher frowned slightly and used his mind to check the details.
[Name: Rampage]
[Type: Beast Roar]
[Learning Requirements: Introduction to the Path of the Beast Roar]
Passive effect: Maintains the "Beast Roar: Berserk" power flow normally.
1. Slowly increases Strength, Agility, and Constitution attributes.
2. Increases the casting speed of "Beast Roar: Berserk" by 50%.
3. Increased the roar intensity and range of "Beast Roar: Berserk" by 20%.
[Active Effect: Consumes energy to unleash a roar, inflicting a berserk state on friendly targets within range. After the berserk state ends, the target enters a weakened state.]
[Note: Use active effects with caution. The restriction is removed after mastering the Path of the Beast Roar. In extreme conditions, "Beast Roar: Berserk" can cause both the roarer and affected targets to die after the Berserk state ends!!!]
?
??
!!
"Does this even have anything to do with the original skill?"
The Witcher couldn't believe his eyes.
Passive effect plus active effect, what kind of amazing skill is this?
Most importantly. "Slowly increase strength, agility, and constitution attributes."
Can speaking and breathing become stronger?
Thinking back to when I opened the panel this morning, my three attributes—Strength, Agility, and Constitution—had been enhanced.
"Perhaps this is also the purpose of that King Kano?" the Witcher thought.
Another difference from War Cry is that the levels for Beast Roar have also been removed.
Although this prevents Ailin from using Experience Orbs to increase the power of his roar, it doesn't take up his level.
not to mention.
Just looking at the skill effect of "Beast Roar: Berserk", it is completely equivalent to being maxed out upon acquisition.
A god-tier skill that doesn't consume character level.
Now.
Only one question remained in the Witcher's mind:
"Where exactly is the Path of the Beast Roar?"
He mentally flipped through the Witcher's Handbook page by page, examining it carefully from beginning to end.
Personal Panel, inventory, Monster Bestiary, divine access...
Huh!
The Witcher suddenly discovered that after the page on the introduction to divinity, there was another page that could be turned.
On the old, grayish-brown label were written four large, faded characters. "Path of the Beast Roar."
"Roar!"
As soon as the Witcher turned to this page, a desolate roar echoed in his mind.
"Sizzle~"
As if glass had shattered by the roar, the page, shrouded in darkness, instantly cracked.
From the crack, eerie scarlet light radiated outwards.
"Roar!"
"Roar!"
Two more roars followed, each louder than the last.
The darkness shattered and vanished completely.
A gray heart, like a Stoneheart, appeared before the Witcher.
Countless withered veins extend outwards from the Stoneheart, with large and small nodules within them.
Follow these clues to search.
The veins in the left, right, and bottom directions are all gray and extend into nothingness.
Only at the very top end was a large red nodule, its location resembling a person's throat.
The thought focused on it, and immediately [Beast Roar: Berserk] appeared.
Downward from this large red nodule toward the heart, a smaller gray nodule becomes visible.
The connection between the two is trembling, as if red is transferring blood and energy to gray.
So this is...
Skill tree?
The thought focused on that gray dot.
[Ding! Have you completed "Beast Roar: The Primal Tongue"?]
Is it possible to learn directly without any cost?
After hesitating for a second, Ailin made a decision.
"Bang!"
The vein in the middle trembled, suddenly striking the gray dot and causing it to tremble, turning it red.
The next moment.
A flood of information rushed into my mind.
[Title: The Primal Tongue]
[Type: Beast Roar]
[Learning Requirements: Introduction to the Path of the Beast Roar, mastery of "Beast Roar: Berserk"]
[Passive Effect: Maintains the power flow of "Beast Roar: Primal Tongue" daily, can]
1. Slowly increase the perception attribute.
2. Reduce hostility from low-intelligence creatures.
[Active Effect: Consumes energy to enable the Howler to perceive the thoughts of low-intelligence creatures and transmit simple commands.]
[Note: Are you sure the Path of the Beast Roar isn't the Path of the Druid?]
not bad.
It's a very useful skill, but it's a bit of a shame that maintaining it only increases the perception attribute.
After absorbing the information in his mind, the Witcher continued downwards along the meridians.
Here, three small nodules branch out, one of which leads directly to the heart.
The other two are located on either side.
By focusing one's mind on them, the names displayed are: [Beast Roar: Life Whisper], [Beast Roar: Trap Perception], and [Beast Roar: Scent Masking].
[Beast Roar: Life Whisper] is the very knot that connects this main thread.
The Witcher thought for a moment.
Although the function of [Beast Roar: Life Whisper] is difficult to understand literally, the latter two are quite easy to understand.
In particular, [Beast Roar: Scent Masking] is a perfect match for the "Nightfall" magical item that Francesca gave him, which allows him to become invisible and silenced.
Imagine it.
If a person can be invisible, make no sound, and emit no smell at night.
Oh, right!
There's also Cat Eye Potion that grants night vision...
Even Ailin himself couldn't figure out how to prevent such stealth.
However, considering that unleashing the Beast Roar might come at a price, the Witcher chose [Beast Roar: Life Whisper].
After all, it was blocking the main artery that led directly to the heart.
And the further you go, the stronger the roars of the beasts will become, especially at the major knots in the meridians.
in addition.
The beast roars on the main vein will definitely be triggered sooner or later, and it won't be a loss.
then.
The Witcher had a thought.
[Ding! Spend 100 Experience Orbs to unlock "Beast Roar: Life Whisper"?]
After carefully examining the bright red text in front of me for a long time, I exited and then opened two other beast roars, both of which required 100 Experience Orbs.
"Outrageous!"
He saved up for more than half a year and only managed to accumulate less than two hundred Experience Orbs.
Last night I used 100 to communicate with the gods, and now I only have 77 left. I can't even get through with a single beast roar.
"Witcher's Handbook, you're so ruthless!!!"
The Witcher gritted his teeth.
He opened the red treasure chest— the Path of the Beast Roar —on his own merits, so why should he spend Experience Orbs to buy skills?
and.
Signs, alchemy, rituals, swordsmanship...
So many skills, plus the "skill: Blink" that he had planned to invest heavily in long ago after the curse was lifted.
How could he possibly invest all his Experience Orbs here?
Just then.
Just as Ailin was gritting his teeth, intending to shut down the Path of the Beast Roar, he looked at the system records that he hadn't had time to browse since the curse was lifted, due to various twists and turns.
The ripples from [Beast Roar: Primal Tongue] surged onto the large gray nodule behind [Beast Roar: Life Whisper].
The words "[Beast Roar: No Air Defense]" flashed for a second and then disappeared.
The Witcher stopped moving.
"I... I think I've found a way to deal with the Wild Hunt..."
At this moment.
"Bang!"
A familiar soft sound came from outside the sanctuary.
Not long after, elegant footsteps echoed outside the gallery of icons.
"It's Lady Vesemir..."
The Witcher looked up at the sky; it was indeed getting late.
"Ailin, how's the Great Old One's Curse? Has it been lifted?"
Before Vesemir even entered the icon room, a worried voice drifted in from outside the corridor.
Then.
That smooth, fair face, with almost invisible pores, appeared at the doorway amidst a flurry of footsteps, yet still elegant.
The aroma of oranges mixed with cardamom wafts over you.
With a thought, the Witcher put away his Witcher's Handbook.
"If we cannot break the curse, we can head to Maribor in southern Temeria..."
"I contacted Lady Vysena, the owner of the Druid Circle of Myna, last night. Druid are skilled in purification and healing; perhaps they have a way to cure this curse..."
"Don't worry!"
"Lady Vysena and I have been friends for many years. She will do her best to heal you..."
The Witcher didn't even have time to answer.
Vesemir rattled off a long string of words, urging Ailin to follow her to the Circle of Druids in Maina.
This overflowing concern warmed his heart.
Lady Vesemir, who was not related to him, had been doing her best to find a way to break the curse for him.
The master of the Circle of Druids...
To persuade such an important person, even a long-time friend, would certainly come at a high price.
"I'm all better," Ailin said with a smile.
"Alright, then I'll ask Ianna now..." The Sorceress paused, "Um... what did you say?"
"The Evil God's curse was lifted by the goddess last night," Ailin nodded. "We can return to the Ancient Sea Fortress today."
The Sorceress could not hide her joy upon hearing this.
"Chirp chirp~"
Outside the window, the sun shines brightly, kingfishers sing, and the trees provide ample shade.
It's been a long time since I left Kaer Morhen; it's time to go home...