Mountain Stone Wanted to Stay

Places with mountains and water are generally scenic.

When the Killer Lake is calm, it resembles an emerald mirror; when a gentle breeze arises, it becomes as smooth as solidified silk.

Blue Mountain, draped in dark green and surrounded by pure white clouds.

In addition, there's the fragrance of grass and wildflowers carried by the gentle breeze from time to time.

Kaer Morhen is breathtaking in the summer, and is especially friendly to witchers with highly acute senses.

The only slight disappointment was the water ghost with its unique, fishy stench.

Ailin had thought that these disgusting monsters would gradually disappear from Kaer Morhen because of Lady Vesemir's massacre and the large-scale hunt brought about by the Drowner Heart Essence Fluid.

Unexpectedly, he underestimated the value of the most diverse and powerful monsters in the Witcher world.

Lakeside, streamside, pond, or even just a small puddle.

In summer, water ghosts grow wildly like weeds, and can always be seen in places with moisture in the mountains. They are even more active than in winter due to the rising temperature.

The constant chatter was incredibly annoying.

Despite trying to avoid it as much as possible along the way, Ailin still killed fourteen more.

If the attributes hadn't been improved now, this number could have increased tenfold or twentyfold.

"Putting the Trial of the Mountains in winter is still too difficult for the apprentices," Ailin said, shaking his head helplessly.

With a flick of his wrist, he twirled the sword, wiping away any bloodstains that might have been on it, before sheathing it.

Then collect all the materials for the water ghost and put them into the Material Bag.

Even though we are now wealthy, we still can't afford to waste any materials that we can avoid.

"Bite!"

[Slay the Level 11 "Water Ghost" Monster Horde!]

[Reward Settlement:...]

Final rating: F

Loot obtained: None

Yes.

Now, when Ailin hunts the water ghosts alone, his evaluation is basically F, and he gets nothing.

The only redeeming quality in the Witcher's Handbook is that while the F rating doesn't even reward the essence of the Water Demon's heart, it also doesn't remove the Water Demon's heart.

It just requires Ailin to go through the trouble of retrieving it himself.

Oh, right.

Since all of Ailin's attributes were raised to over 50 and he obtained the Path of the Beast Roar, the final evaluation column on the character panel has changed from "New Witcher" to "Witcher".

The permissions I have have also changed slightly.

Now.

Even if the final rating of a monster hunt is E or higher, Ailin can choose whether to keep key parts of the monster, such as its heart, when calculating the rewards.

This feature, or rather permission, is actually quite useful in most cases.

Firstly, it can help avoid exposing oneself in situations where outsiders are present.

On the other hand, the commission from extracting Heart Essence Fluid in the Witcher's Handbook is too high.

Like the Heart Essence Fluid of water ghosts and Ghoul, one heart can be refined into five portions of Essence Fluid, but the reward for Witcher's Handbook is only one portion.

It doesn't matter if it's just common monsters like water ghosts or Ghoul, but if one day I could get the recipe for the heart essence of the Drowners King or the Giant Drowner Heart Essence Fluid.

If the Witcher's Handbook were to continue to extract profits back then, it would be a huge loss.

certainly.

After tidying up the materials, Ailin deliberately opened the battle record on the panel, not to see the F rating.

"Level 11..." the demon hunter pondered. "Back in winter, no group of water ghosts had an average level higher than ten. The monsters' strength is indeed increasing..."

He was still somewhat uncertain when he hunted the water ghost in front of his apprentices.

Along the way, we've already encountered five groups of water ghosts, three of which are above level ten.

Although the average level only increased by two or three levels, which did not significantly enhance combat power, it still proved that Ailin's previous conjecture was correct.

The strength of the monsters, or at least the water ghosts, is indeed increasing.

"Boom!"

A faint sound suddenly came from ahead of the mountain path, interrupting the witcher.

The ground also seemed to be shaking slightly.

"A battle?" Ailin immediately became alert, drew Elsa, and stared intently.

The winding mountain path is hidden by cliffs and lush green trees.

"Isn't that direction... the camp of Big Stone and his men?"

"Not good!"

Having determined the direction, the witcher immediately quickened his pace and jogged towards the direction from which the sound came.

"Rumble~"

The closer they got, the louder the battle became.

The ground trembled and the trees swayed.

"What happened?" The Witcher frowned deeply. "With Old Spearhead long dead, could there be any monster that could threaten nearly twenty Rock Troll?"

"Moreover, there are also super-sized monsters like Mountain Stone among them..."

Thinking like that.

Ailin's expression grew increasingly serious.

He opened the reagent bag and adjusted the Giant Ghoul Decoction and Blizzard to the most suitable positions for use.

"Da da da~"

The footsteps were swift.

Countless trees trembled as they flashed past on either side, their branches and leaves swaying wildly in the strong winds swept by the Witcher.

"I hope nothing goes wrong!" Ailin thought to himself.

As for the Mountain Stone, that's one thing.

He still quite liked the simple and honest Rock Troll, Big Stone, Broken Stone, and Little Stone.

"Boom!"

The rumbling sound grew louder and louder, and the battle seemed to be getting more and more intense.

However, Ailin gradually felt that something was wrong.

"This commotion... doesn't seem like a battle..."

Gradually slow down your pace.

Amidst the deafening roar, there seemed to be shouts of fury.

As Ailin drew closer and clearly heard the contents of the roar, he stopped in his tracks with a strange expression.

"... Mountain Stone... gluttons... a bunch of gluttons..."

"... Big guy... useless... can't find food... blue skin... tastes awful..."

"... The wicked witch... brought Mountain Stone... Little Stone... to starve for a week..."

"... glutton... glutton... glutton..."

At this moment.

Ailin turned the familiar corner and finally saw what that fierce battle-like roar was all about.

In the familiar camp.

A large group of Rock Troll were gathered together...

No!

To be precise, it was a group of Rock Troll, about a dozen or so, who were forced to stagger backward step by step by a familiar figure.

"Knock knock knock~"

"Rumble rumble rumble~"

The "thump" came from Rock Troll of varying sizes, all familiar faces seen in Viscount Hudson's abandoned mines.

"Long" refers to a mountain-like Mountain Stone.

They were driven step by step into a corner by a Big Stone was much smaller than themselves, roaring as it pushed them.

Not far away.

Two or three mangled corpses of water ghosts lay lying behind them.

A little further away.

Broken Stone and Little Stone hid in the corner of the camp.

Even from this distance, Ailin could hardly detect schadenfreude in the tiny, bean-sized eyes of the Broken Stone.

Little Stone hugged the thick thigh, shouting incessantly.

"... Big Stone... hungry... Big Stone... hungry..."

It's like stirring up trouble.

"... Big Stone... Mountain Stone are hungry too... the big guys are hungry too..."

Cornered by the Big Stone, the Mountain Stone hung its head in dejection and, under the pleading gazes of the other Rock Troll, spoke in a humble voice.

"The mountains are not as good as underground... only blue-skinned... hard to catch... the big guys did their best!"

He finished speaking in a broken sentence.

The other Rock Troll, huddled together, nodded sheepishly, indicating that they had indeed done their best.

Ailin squinted and noticed that many of the Rock Troll looked much thinner than when they first met.

The Big Stone and Broken Stone have also become much smaller.

It seems that since Lady Vesemir moved the Rock Troll from the Mountain Stone, not a single troll has been able to eat well for the past two months.

but.

He remembered telling Ms. Vivi that they would give the Rock Troll some rotten flesh every week.

This was something he had promised Mountain Stone beforehand.

Could it be that Vesemir has forgotten?

Ailin was somewhat puzzled.

certainly.

At that time, Soyer was aware that the king was targeting him and plotting to assassinate him.

It's not surprising that the Sorceress forgot about it.

After thinking for a moment, Ailin was about to unload the remaining rotten flesh from his inventory.

At this moment.

"... Don't worry about the Big Stone... If there's food... stay... If there's no food... leave!"

The Big Stone roared.

The Mountain Stone looked dejectedly at the surrounding Rock Troll and walked away, seemingly intending to leave.

Ailin was startled.

He had gone to great lengths to persuade these trolls to come to Kaer Morhen, and he couldn't let the Big Stone drive away Kaer Morhen's trump card.

Ignoring the quantity, Ailin unloaded the rotten flesh from his backpack as he walked, only stopping and coughing lightly when he was close enough to the Rock Troll.

The Rock Troll immediately looked in his direction with suspicion.

"... Good witcher..."

"... Big Stone... friend..."

"... meat... meat... meat..."

Broken Stone, Big Stone, and Little Stone were the first to recognize Ailin.

The Mountain Stone and the other Rock Troll stirred for a moment, then seemed to recognize it.

To Ailin's surprise, the Mountain Stone did not rush up to accuse him of breaking his promise, but instead tossed its heavy head to the other side.

"Is she having a little tantrum?" The Witcher was somewhat surprised by this human-like behavior.

He greeted the Big Stone, Broken Stone, and Little Stone that came towards him, and then asked them a few questions.

really.

The rotten flesh that Ailin had promised was indeed not delivered, but it wasn't that it was never delivered; rather, it was delivered for about a month before suddenly stopping.

This seems a bit strange.

However, there's no rush; we can ask when we get back to Kaer Morhen.

So Ailin continued to ask Big Stone others why they didn't go to Kaer Morhen to ask for it.

Mountain Stone might not know where the Ancient Sea Fortress is, but Big Stone and the others had been there at the beginning of the year, so it's impossible for them not to recognize it.

"...Trolls...work...in exchange...food..." The Big Stone glanced at the Mountain Stone, seemingly extremely disdainful, and continued, "...begging...trolls...are shameful..."

This kind of conversation seemed to have happened many times before. Mountain Stone did not argue fiercely, but said in a muffled voice, "... not begging...", then glanced at Ailin and turned his head away again.

Upon hearing this, Ailin looked at the Big Stone in surprise.

"Is it because of 'pride' that you didn't go to the Ancient Sea Fortress?"

Thinking about it, at the beginning of the year, every time Big Stone came to deliver rotten flesh, he would indeed give back some gifts.

Looking at the Big Stone in front of him, which had the same beady eyes as the other Rock Troll, Ailin became increasingly curious.

With such "knowledge and reason," and with a "relative" who is a clear outlier among the Rock Troll, Mountain Stone, he was able to suppress them among so many more powerful Rock Troll...

What is the origin of this Big Stone?

However, you'll eventually get used to it.

After exchanging a few more words with the Big Stone, Ailin walked up to the Mountain Stone, looked up at it, and apologized:

"I'm sorry, Mountain Stone, although I don't know what went wrong, it's true that I failed to keep my promise..."

The Mountain Stone did not turn back.

"He's still angry..." Ailin smiled, inwardly marveling at the peculiarity of the Rock Troll, then pointed behind him and said:

"I brought some rotten flesh as compensation. I was wrong this time. Can you forgive me?"

exactly.

As soon as Ailin finished speaking, the wind direction in the mountains suddenly changed.

A foul, rotten smell, characteristic of decaying flesh, wafted from the mountain path behind us.

certainly.

For Rock Troll, it's a fragrance.

"... meat... meat... meat..." Little Stone had the biggest reaction.

Drooling from the corner of his mouth, he stared with his beady eyes at Ailin's back.

The other Rock Troll covered up a commotion, with many of them rubbing their rough rocky backs against the Mountain Stone ' feet.

"Gurgle~"

A loud bang came from about a meter above the Witcher's head.

There was the white, brownish belly of the Mountain Stone.

"...Okay... Mountain Stone forgives you..." Mountain Stone scratched his stomach and nodded sheepishly.

Then he raised his hand, and the hungry Rock Troll swarmed out, rushing towards Ailin's back.

"... Big Stone ... Broken Stone ... Little Stone ...eat too!" The Mountain Stone's beady eyes looked at the Big Stone again, like a little dog that had just knocked over its master's rice bowl and was begging for forgiveness.

Unexpectedly, the Big Stone didn't appreciate the gesture and slapped the restless Broken Stone and Little Stone with two heavy slaps.

"... Big Stone ... Broken Stone ... Little Stone ...no..." Ignoring the Broken Stone and Little Stone whose mouths were practically drooling, the Big Stone refused, "... Mountain Stone ...begging...trolls are disgraced..."

Upon hearing this, Ailin quickly stepped forward to defend Mountain Stone, saying, "This is something we agreed upon beforehand."

The Mountain Stone nodded repeatedly.

"... Mountain Stone... exchange... work?" Big Stone shook his head.

Mountain Stone paused, looking at the Witcher: "... Mountain Stone... has nothing... to trade..."

Ailin understood what the Big Stone meant and couldn't help but secretly praise him for his helpful assistance, saying:

"The Mountain Stone can help us protect the castle..."

Before he could finish speaking...

Mountain Stone's eyes lit up immediately, and he nodded repeatedly:

"... The Mountain Stone are strong... The big guys are strong... The stone house that protects our friends..."

Then, looking pleadingly at the Big Stone, he said, "... Mountain Stone... there's work..."

"... Can't find food... Trolls... Leave..." Big Stone thought for a moment and then shook his head.

Upon hearing this, the Mountain Stone's expression changed drastically. Leaning forward with its massive body, it pointed at the water ghost on the ground and argued:

"... The trolls found food... blue-skinned..."

"... Blue skin... tastes bad... even big guys don't eat it..." Big Stone interrupted.

Mountain Stone, his tone momentarily halting, subconsciously looked at Ailin.

This is because the trolls under the command of the Mountain Stone can't find any food, so even though they have work and him as a food source, the Mountain Stone refuses to let them stay...

Ailin understood.

In fact, he had already achieved his goal at this point.

Mountain Stone has now accepted the demand to exchange his force for rotten flesh, and it doesn't really matter if he doesn't live with Big Stone and the others; Old Spearhead's cave is a good place too.

However, it would definitely be more convenient to gather together.

Moreover, judging from the way Mountain Stone looks now, if he could find a way to get Big Stone to keep him here, his favorability would definitely increase significantly.

only...

Under the expectant gaze of the Mountain Stone, Ailin sighed helplessly in his heart.

What method could he possibly use to teach a group of Rock Troll accustomed to underground life to hunt animals other than water ghosts?

He didn't even know how the Big Stone managed to restrain their magical aura and hunt without disturbing their prey.

Only...

Etc!

A sudden inspiration struck Ailin.

"I think... I actually do have a way..."