Destiny is Calling

"Thump!"

The dimly lit, narrow hall trembled, and rubble was shaken down from the walls and overhead.

In the very center of the hall stood a statue of an elf, draped in a long robe and wearing a laurel wreath, looking down with a mixture of arrogance and pity.

On the laurel wreath of that statue, a red-haired female elf sat cross-legged, also looking down at the ground.

However, his eyes showed neither arrogance nor pity, but rather surprise and uncertainty.

Following her gaze...

"Ugh! Uninvited guest! Intruder! You're not welcome here!"

The roar that tore through space caused the old stone walls to shake.

The sound had just stopped.

"Boom!"

The ground was once again severely damaged, with the precious white marble with its intricate patterns shattering into pieces, and the very center being crushed into powder.

An invisible shockwave whipped up a howling gale in the hall.

As the view zoomed in, it became clear that the cause of all this was a monster with wings on its back, standing two people tall, with a burly body and a human face.

That was a gargoyle.

The next moment.

It swung its fist violently into the empty space.

"When!"

Amidst the clanging of metal, an ancient longsword suddenly appeared, its rough blade blocking a heavy blow.

[Demon Hunter] Progress 1%

Ailin stared with a pair of indifferent blue beast eyes, his expression ferocious.

"Thump~"

Ailin twisted his hips and spun around, the fist the size of a human head grazing his nose as it slammed into the air.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, he immediately stepped forward and turned around, almost touching the gargoyle's arm, lunged forward, sheathed his sword, and in a flash, slashed fiercely at the gargoyle's thick neck.

"Boom!"

A loud bang was heard at the junction, but only a small piece of the lower jaw broke off.

[Demon Hunter] Progress 2%

However, Ailin seemed to have anticipated this, and using the rebound force, he crossed his left and right feet and spun around.

The longsword once again sliced through the air with even greater force.

"Call out--"

Amidst a piercing, sharp explosion, a flash of cold light drew a circle in mid-air, like the rising moon.

The gargoyle reacted and swung its arm to block, only to have its elbow cleaved by a sword.

Half of his arm was severed and slammed to the ground.

No, it wasn't so much that it was cut off, but rather that it was smashed open by immense force.

Even after crippling the gargoyle's arm, Ailin showed no sign of joy.

[Demon Hunter] Progress 2%

Construct Creature that are not favored by the Chaos Magic are his natural enemy.

The seals, except for those of Quen, are completely useless.

Swordsmanship is not very useful against this kind of pure tortoise shell.

After putting in a lot of effort and causing so much damage, the demon-hunting progress hasn't increased at all. With ordinary monsters, at least fifty percent of the progress could be achieved.

It seems that apart from relying on Balmor's brute force, there is no other way to achieve a quick victory.

And don't be fooled by the fact that the gargoyle seems to be handling things with ease now because it lacks agility; it's just a gargoyle.

He absolutely cannot handle two or at most three gargoyles attacking at once in his current state.

"Phew~"

A sudden gust of wind swept up from behind my head.

Ailin nimbly ducked, dodging the gargoyle's other arm that came crashing down.

At the same time, he reached into the reagent pouch at his waist, took out a bottle of Dimeritium Bomb, and smashed it hard into the massive body that was charging towards him.

Smack!

A strange noise.

The moment the Dimeritium Bomb exploded, a large cloud of metallic dust, shimmering with green magical light, enveloped most of the gargoyle's body.

Dust adhered to the gray stone, and the gargoyle froze instantly, remaining motionless.

[Demon Hunter] Progress 10%

Thirteen Dimeritium Bomb...

Ailin quickly calculated a number, and his right eyebrow twitched involuntarily a few times.

The raw material for the Dimeritium Bomb is the top-grade rare metal Aetherium, which is extremely expensive.

Therefore, the price of crafting a Dimeritium Bomb is naturally even higher.

One Dimeritium Bomb might be acceptable for dealing with a gargoyle, but thirteen...

This is a number that will soon make Ailin, whose net worth is in the Oren, feel pain and think it's not worth it, because of the Ghoul Sword Oil and Specter Oil.

"Tap~ Tap~"

While pondering the question, he was curious about the duration of the Dimeritium Bomb's effect, but he didn't just wait idly.

He circled the gargoyle, not rushing to attack, hoping to find the Black Panther construct and the flaws of the Activation Rune, and ideally, to figure out a method to address them.

However, after circling around twice without finding it, the gargoyle started making strange clicking sounds again, as if it was about to recover from its paralyzed state.

"Buzzing~"

The Wolf Emblem also began to hum.

"Wait... Wolf Emblem ..." Ailin seemed to have grasped something crucial.

"Need any help?" At that moment, Ida Emin on the statue suddenly spoke up. "This gargoyle of Thomas Moru is a high-end custom order from the Rissberg Civil Conglomerate."

"It's not actually targeting witchers, but warlocks of the same or even higher level."

"If I don't use powerful magic to destroy it, even I would need a lot of time to find its weakness..."

"Is it really that hard to find even using knowledge of construct science?" Ailin, somewhat surprised.

"It's precisely because of our knowledge of construct science that we were able to find it," Ada Emin rolled her eyes. "Gargoyles are a very mature product of the Rissberg Civil Conglomerate. You can't tell the location of the Activation Rune just by looking at it."

"I'll try again..."

After Ailin said that, Ida Emin stopped trying to persuade her.

Ultimately, the gargoyles were much harder for Ailin to deal with than the Black Panther constructs, but they weren't a major problem.

Breaking limbs with brute force is also a fairly practical method.

However, Ailin, the Witcher, was quite strange. Unlike other brutes of the School of the Wolf who didn't care about principles and just wanted to solve problems with their swords, he preferred to find some kind of pattern.

"He's more like a warlock than a witcher."

Ada Emin thought to herself.

All I can say is, she truly is a child of the Crimson Fox.

But that doesn't seem right either; in terms of the Witcher's talents, he's more like Soyer.

Even the most knowledgeable person would be astonished by what they had just witnessed.

Even if this gargoyle was specifically designed for warlocks, it doesn't mean it's weak against witchers.

On the contrary, because of the need to counter the sorcerer's spells, a lot of rare materials were added, making it heavier than a regular gargoyle, and stronger and more agile.

But just now...

Ailin not only easily dodged the series of attacks, but also actually blocked the gargoyle's full-force blow head-on.

Could any other Witcher Master besides Soyer before the collapse of the Vessel of Great Deeds achieve such power?

But Ailin has only been through the Trial of the Mountains for half a year!

Moreover, his Trial of Grasses recipe doesn't contain dragon blood, yet it allows him to break through the limits of ordinary witchers...

How did you do that?

Ida Emin didn't understand, so she stared intently.

At this moment...

"Uh... uh... uh! Uninvited guest! Intruder! You are not welcome here!"

The effect of the Aetherium bomb wore off, and the gargoyle roared as it resumed its movements.

Ailin remained unmoved and, taking advantage of the Rift before the gargoyles charged, activated the Wolf Emblem with a thought.

In an instant.

Multicolored elemental lights flickered in the dim cave.

"Not these."

Ailin dodged the gargoyle's attack by sidestepping it and stared intently at the gargoyle's chest.

No!

The gargoyle's chest was completely empty.

She stepped back, dodging the powerful shockwave from the monster's stomp in an instant, her azure Cat Eyes suddenly narrowing to slits after her gaze moved upward.

"Found it!"

Ailin shouted.

The gargoyle had an extremely small head compared to its massive body.

A faint brown magical glow emanated from a fist's distance below his right eye.

The magical glow was extremely faint even in the dimly lit hall; it would be almost impossible to detect without the keen senses of a witcher.

However, the moment he noticed it, he knew he had found the right place.

He ducked to avoid the gargoyle's massive hand that slammed down, his nose brushing against the gargoyle's right hip, and circled around behind it.

He took a step and leaped into the air.

He grabbed the gargoyle's short stone wing with his left hand, and in an instant, his feet were firmly planted on the gargoyle's shoulders.

Immediately following.

Before the gargoyle could react, Ailin swung his sword around, shifting his grip between his left and right hands. He held the sword in his left hand and braced his right hand against Balmor's counterweight, then lunged forward and thrust downward.

"Clang!"

The clang of metal rang out.

A hole the size of a baby's fist suddenly appeared below the gargoyle's right eye.

[Demon Hunting] Progress 15%

You've found the right place!

Ailin's eyes lit up. He raised his left foot and stepped on the gargoyle's head, dodging the monster's sharp claws. He sheathed his sword, gathered his strength, and then quickly thrust again.

"Clang! Clang! Clang!"

[Demon Hunter] Progress 27%

[Demon Hunter] Progress 56%

[Demon Hunter] Progress 93%

The progress of the Demon Hunt is accelerating, but the fourth sword is no longer needed.

The instant the number at the edge of his vision jumped to 93%, a brown magical glow burst forth from the bottom of the sword, and the gargoyle trembled, ceasing all its movements.

[Ding! Monster "Gargoyle" Lv82 subjugation!]

[Reward Calculation: Victory over the enemy, base rating D, kill above a higher level +2 — C-]

Final rating: C-

[Loot obtained: Gargoyle's Magic Core *1, Experience Orbs *5, Gargoyle's Treasure Chest *3]

[Ding! Hunting Quest: Gargoyle I (Gargoyle Kills 0/10) has been activated. Accept?]

Hearing the System Notification in his ear, Ailin casually accepted the new hunting mission, let out a long breath, and sheathed his sword.

As your character level increases, a lower final rating will inevitably result in fewer rewards.

The only way to offset this is to wait until the Monster Hunting Legion's "Legion Skill: Loot Lock" is upgraded and then hunt with Legion members.

However, on the other hand, he is no longer as reliant on the Witcher's Handbook as he was when he first transmigrated.

Compared to effectively improving overall strength, deliberately suppressing levels is even less advisable.

"Buzz~"

The Wolf Emblem suddenly hummed softly.

Ailin put away his Witcher's Handbook, Ada Emin gently fell from the sky, as light as an autumn leaf, landing silently.

As soon as she landed, she didn't even look at Ailin's expression, and immediately looked up at the gargoyle's head.

"They actually found it?!" Ada Emin murmured in shock.

He then turned back and looked at Ailin several times with a complicated expression, hesitating to speak, but finally couldn't help but ask:

How did you do that?

"It's not convenient to say," Ailin replied directly.

Ada Emin's identity is somewhat complicated; she is close enough to know that she is the Child of Miracle of Ailin, but she also has her own stance Free Elves.

Even though they are allies, it's impossible for them to tell everything.

The existence of the Wolf Emblem isn't related to intelligence between the two sides, so there's no need to satisfy her curiosity.

Since even the divine wall couldn't stop her ability to detect lies, she might as well just refuse outright.

To be honest, he really hadn't expected that the Wolf Emblem's ability to see elements could be used to investigate the flaws of Construct Creature.

After all, warlocks also have the ability to sense the elements.

Moreover, the Free Elves, experts in Constructology, have stated that the gargoyle before them is a mature product specifically designed for warlocks by the Rissberg Civil Conglomerate.

Even she herself needed quite a bit of time to figure out the location of the Activation Rune.

Unexpectedly, this spur-of-the-moment attempt by Wolf Emblem actually proved to be a great success.

[Name: Wolf Emblem]

[Type: Magical Elf]

[Function: Consumes a small amount of stamina to detect abnormal fluctuations]

[Note: You thought he could only see magic?]

The mental link to the Wolf Emblem in his mind transmitted excited emotions, and Ailin generously sent several words of praise.

"I have offended you."

Ada Emin was taken aback by Ailin's refusal and apologized somewhat awkwardly.

"It's alright," Ailin waved his hand and asked, "Have we found Thomas Moru's lab yet?"

"Certainly."

She nodded, walked around behind the gargoyle, tapped its lower back, and a strange black stone shaped like a heart popped out.

This is different from the game, where the tool to activate the mechanism is the gargoyle's right foot.

After removing the stone, Ada Emin placed it in the center of a stone tray next to the statue.

After the tray sank, she walked to the staff held by the statue and gently touched a plum blossom-shaped pattern on the staff with her right hand.

"Buzz~"

The Wolf Emblem hummed instantly.

The hall has three floors, with eight teleportation portals on each floor, for a total of twenty-four portals.

They are similar yet different.

Although there are also portals in the game, there are far fewer of them than here.

In games, you can try things out randomly, but here there are no hints, and if you're unlucky, you might have to try forever.

Of course, even in the game, because so much time had passed, he had long forgotten how he got through that level.

Fortunately, Ida Emin knew.

"Come with me." She said softly, then led him to the third floor, where the statue's eyes were fixed on the teleportation portal.

After entering, you find yourself in another hall filled with teleportation portals.

However, Ada Emin remained unmoved and led him to the first level, to the portal that the statue's feet were pointing towards.

Then came the second floor, the first floor, the third floor...

After passing through six teleportation portals in succession, Ailin couldn't help but mentally complain that Thomas Morlu was mentally unstable, making such a fuss about getting into a lab, and even wondered if Ada Emin had led them astray...

"It should be right after this portal."

Ada Emin took a deep breath before the second portal, gave a warning, and walked straight in.

Ailin followed closely behind.

really.

My vision went black and white, and when I opened my eyes again, I was no longer in the hall.

Finally arrived... Ailin breathed a sigh of relief as he watched Ida Emin's graceful figure disappear into the distance.

"Buzz~"

The Wolf Emblem suddenly buzzed violently.

Ailin paused, a strange, familiar feeling arising in his mind.

His body was enveloped in a silver veil, as if shrouded in a thin mist, one end of which wrapped around him and the other end stretched into the darkness of the infinite distance.

In a daze, the strangeness around me completely disappeared.

My heart is racing, a sudden urge...

Ailin couldn't help but take a deep breath.

"This is Destiny is Calling..."