Hypnosis and Herbs

On the horizon, a streak of white light tore through the darkness.

Dawn arrived.

"Mm..."

Roy stretched and opened his eyes, feeling unbelievably refreshed all over, as though he'd soaked in a hot spring all night. In the more than two months since he'd crossed over, this was the first time he'd slept so comfortably.

The chilly morning wind blew away yesterday's exhaustion, leaving him clear-headed and invigorated.

"Right, what happened to me last night... Axii Signs? Damn it, how could he use Signs on one of his own?"

Roy's face went pale. He quickly felt himself over from head to toe. Everything was intact, and his clothes hadn't been touched. Once he made sure nothing felt strange, he finally relaxed.

"Thank goodness the bald guy doesn't have that kind of hobby."

"You're awake, kid..."

As that eternally deep voice greeted him, Roy's vision blurred. A large, golden-brown, glistening roasted thigh arced beautifully through the air.

"Hiss, hiss... It's hot!"

After fumbling about and juggling it between his hands, he finally caught the roast. Blowing on it while demanding an answer, he asked, "What did you do to me last night?"

"Look at the wound on your thigh."

"Huh? It's completely healed." The skin on Roy's inner thigh had been badly chafed open by the saddle, leaving it bloody and raw. It should've taken three to five days of rest to recover.

Yet after just one night, the injured spot had scabbed over. The reddish-brown layer of dead skin looked especially ugly and felt hard to the touch, but it didn't hurt at all.

"Last night, I hypnotized you with Axii Signs and gave you some herbs while I was at it."

"Hey, Master Letho, wasn't that a little inappropriate? Couldn't you have told me beforehand? Still... I didn't know Axii Signs could improve sleep too."

"Wait, you didn't feed me a potion, did you?"

Witcher potions could cause tremendous harm to ordinary people. Roy didn't want his still-developing body to suffer any damage, so he hurriedly checked his attribute list.

Thankfully, his physical condition was healthy.

His Stamina had even increased by 0.1, becoming 4.3. One night was worth a month of hard training. He had no idea what the Witcher had done to him or what miraculous medicine he'd fed him.

"It wouldn't work nearly as well if you were on guard," Letho explained. "The Trial of the Grasses still requires a long period of preparation. Taking potions before then would only cost you your life. What you ate was a potent herb suitable for ordinary people. Taking it over a long period can slightly improve your physique."

Roy's eyes lit up. There was something that good?

He immediately stopped complaining and wolfed down half the roasted thigh, smacking his lips in admiration as he ate. "Not bad. The meat tastes great too—fragrant and chewy. Master, what kind of animal is this from?"

Letho's left eyelid twitched violently. He took a deep breath. "It's a wolf's thigh. The same creature that wanted to eat us last night."

Letho no longer let Roy ride with him. Instead, he led the horse and slowly wandered through the wilderness.

This land was covered in strange plants and muddy yellow earth.

The air was moist and fresh.

Every so often, a furtive roe deer, honey badger, or stag would poke its head out from the low vegetation. Startled by the two of them, it would flee with its plump rear in the air.

"Where are we going?"

The big man had begun to get used to the endless questions. He shrugged and said mysteriously, "Think carefully. The answer is in your head."

Roy narrowed his eyes in confusion. Before long, a huge amount of unfamiliar yet vivid information surfaced in his mind.

Calendula: A biennial herb covered in fine hairs. Its leaves grow alternately and are oblong. Its flowers are yellow or orange-yellow.

It preferred cool climates, feared heat, and tolerated cold.

It could aid digestion and accelerate wound healing.

Sage: An annual herb with upright stems that grew in clumps. The plant was covered in soft hairs.

It preferred warm, sunny, well-ventilated environments. It was drought-resistant but couldn't tolerate waterlogging.

It had properties that resisted and neutralized poison and dispelled plagues.

Nettle... Belladonna... Comfrey... Crape Myrtle... Chamomile... Berberis Fruit...

The appearance, growing conditions, and medicinal value of more than thirty herbs remained vividly before his eyes. He could easily recall every detail, and he was certain that if he saw any one of them, he could identify it immediately.

"We've been away from Kaye Village for a day, and your injuries are mostly healed. It's time for you to learn something new." Letho led the horse ahead at an unhurried pace. "So last night, I used Signs to make you remember some common herbs. There are ones for promoting blood circulation, resolving bruising, detoxifying, and resisting poison... Memorize them well. They'll be useful in the future."

Roy finally understood. In a single night, this bald Witcher master had given him so many surprises—improving his physique and teaching him herbal knowledge. More than half of those thirty-odd herbs were unfamiliar to him, and he was sure they had never even appeared in the game. But that was normal. The real world wouldn't be as narrow as a game. There would only be more and more things he didn't understand.

With a Witcher guiding him, it was like standing on the shoulders of a giant.

The Witcher's development of Signs had truly reached an extreme. Roy had never imagined Axii Signs could be used like this.

Something like the legendary technique of directly imparting knowledge?

"Master, why not put more things into my head? Like Alchemy. Could we continue tonight?"

Letho said expressionlessly, "If you're not afraid of side effects and want headaches for the rest of your life, I can grant your wish."

As he spoke, he stopped before a lush thicket in the wilderness. Looking around, Roy could see clusters upon clusters of plants in all kinds of shapes.

"Now go find the herbs in your head."

"Which one did you feed me last night? I want to gather more of it."

"That was Berberis Fruit," Letho said. "It would be good if you could find it. Swallow one every day, and it'll slowly improve your weak physique."

Before gathering herbs, Letho first explained several important precautions.

"If you don't understand a herb's structural characteristics or which parts can be used as medicine, then picking it carelessly can easily ruin its medicinal properties and turn a rare, valuable herb into something not worth a single Crown."

"Take the Berberis Fruit you're looking for. The truly useful part is the deformed red lump buried underground. The neat, pretty leaves above the ground have no medicinal value whatsoever. You can't just rip it out violently."

"Plants are a form of life and possess an instinct for self-protection. If subjected to excessive external force, their leaves secrete a hormone that destroys the fruit's medicinal value."

"So, kid, your movements must be as careful as possible—not too forceful, but not too weak either."

As Letho's magnetic voice flowed on, Roy gradually put away his contempt.

A thin layer of frost and dew clung to the branches and leaves crawling across the ground in the thicket. The climate of the Northern Kingdoms had always been cold. It was now late autumn, and in Kaedwen, north of Aedirn, snow had already fallen across most regions.

Roy's face was red from the cold, but he stubbornly searched through the numerous plants around him one by one. Fortunately, Berberis Stem wasn't particularly rare. Before long, he found a large patch of it, though gathering it was rather troublesome.

He needed to carefully dig the Berberis Fruit out of the soil. If he moved too forcefully, the plump, juicy emerald-green leaves of the Berberis Stem would immediately turn pitch-black like a startled octopus, while the fruit connected beneath them would instantly rot as if undergoing a chemical reaction.

By the time Roy was drenched in sweat, he had finally gathered a considerable number of Berberis Fruits. They looked fresh and juicy, bright red like strawberries, and carried a faint fragrance.

He placed most of the fruit into his Storage Space, then popped one into his mouth. He soon discovered a Mild Poisoning status beside his Health.

"Strange. My Health and attributes are normal, and I don't feel uncomfortable anywhere. Why am I mildly poisoned? If only I could understand the medicinal effects of Berberis Fruit in more detail..."

After thinking for a long while, Roy suddenly had an idea and remembered a Skill on his panel: Observation LV2.

He seemed to have made the mistake of assuming that Observation only worked on humans, animals, and Monsters.

Could it be used to observe herbs as well?

Roy quickly found a living Berberis Stem. His eyes became as deep as a galaxy, and an information panel appeared above the plant's top:

Berberis Stem

Perennial herb.

Age: 2.5 years

Habitat: The Northern Kingdoms, regions with an average temperature below twenty degrees Celsius.

Uses:

1. Consume the fruit directly: Take one ounce of Berberis Fruit daily for one month to gradually increase Constitution. The total effect cannot exceed 1 point, and Constitution cannot exceed 5 after the increase. Consuming it is ineffective once Constitution exceeds 5.

2. Used as an ingredient in medicinal concoctions and potions.

Negative Effects:

Contains mild toxicity. After each dose, wait until the toxin has completely dissipated before taking another. Otherwise, it will gradually damage the user's sense of taste. If the toxicity accumulates for more than two months, the user will eventually lose their sense of taste completely.

Stamina above fifteen grants immunity to this toxicity.

This information included even specific data such as growth age and dosage, perfectly complementing the herbal knowledge taught by the Witcher.

From that moment on, Roy placed Observation among the Skills he prioritized upgrading.

He stuffed all the remaining Berberis Fruit into his Storage Space and began sweeping through the entire patch of vegetation.

Crape Myrtle, Crow's Eye, Bidens Mushroom, Black Hellebore...

After wandering through the lush thicket all morning, Roy found twelve kinds of herbs from his memories. Aside from Berberis Fruit, an herb called Dandelion Mallow had a slight effect on Strength.

The total accumulated effect of both herbs would not exceed 1 attribute point, which didn't seem like much.

But attribute points were incredibly precious. He only gained 1 with every level-up, and leveling up now required 1,000 Experience Points. It would only become harder later. This additional method of improving attributes by consuming herbs was entirely acceptable.

According to Roy's Observation results, if he ate these two herbs for a month, his two weakest attributes, Constitution and Strength, would both reach the normal adult level of 5.

The only downside was that swallowing herbs was a double-edged sword. Along with their benefits came mild toxic side effects that damaged his sense of taste and smell respectively. Fortunately, the damage was temporary and lasted only a short time, well within his tolerance.

Having just eaten Berberis Fruit, he stuffed a small cluster of Dandelion Mallow's white petals into his mouth and chewed slowly so he could digest them thoroughly.

Being able to improve attributes simply by eating herbs was undoubtedly the easiest form of training.