Chapter Summaries

Dick and Geralt questioned the Lady of the Lake about Xiya, the divine envoys, their future, and Siren before leaving the lake and returning to Corvo Bianco. The next morning, Dick helped Geralt fund renovations, and Mien arrived with a map marking Professor Seir's laboratory.

• The Lady of the Lake failed to locate Xiya but said she was safe, explained that divine envoys represented gods beyond this world, and warned Dick she could not guarantee his and Xiya's future safety.
• The Lady of the Lake confirmed Siren was alive and safe, then teased Geralt and Dick with invitations to visit her bedchamber before sending them tumbling into the lake.
• Dick and Geralt dried their armor by a campfire and returned to Corvo Bianco before dawn.
• At breakfast, Dick gave Geralt nearly twenty thousand Kelang from himself, Russell, and Little Yennefer for estate renovations, including the servants' rooms.
• Mien arrived with a scroll marking Professor Seir's laboratory.

Dick, Geralt, and Russell traveled to Professor Seir’s hidden laboratory beneath Lake of the Goddess, where Dick fought through the Drowners and reached the entrance. Professor Seir opened the doors and reunited with Dick, while a woman and child were also inside.

• Mien delivered a scroll from Duchess Anna, then joined Dick and Russell for a meal before agreeing to guide them to Professor Seir’s laboratory.
• Dick, Geralt, and Russell traveled to Lake of the Goddess, while Little Yennefer stayed onshore with magical voice-transmission devices.
• The three witchers entered the lake, and Dick slaughtered the Drowners guarding the underwater ruins, gaining 98 Energy Points.
• Dick led Geralt and Russell through the ruins to a sealed door and identified himself to Professor Seir, who opened it.
• Dick found Professor Seir inside the laboratory among caged monkeys, with a woman and child also present.

Dick and the witchers found Professor Seir and his family trapped in an elven ruin, where Seir explained that a White-Headed Widow Centipede egg could help strengthen a witcher through the experiment. The witchers entered the centipedes’ cave to obtain eggs while preserving the creatures, but the centipedes erupted from the ground and attacked them.

• Professor Seir told Dick that he, his wife, and their baby had been trapped in the ruins after White-Headed Widow Centipedes awakened and Drowners blocked their escape.
• Dick gave the starving family food, and Professor Seir explained that the failed experiment had strengthened Tyson and that a centipede egg could make another witcher stronger.
• Geralt contacted Little Yennefer, who arrived through a portal, and the witchers discussed taking only some eggs while keeping the centipedes alive.
• Little Yennefer agreed to put the centipedes to sleep while Russell protected her and Dick and Geralt kept them occupied.
• Dick and Geralt entered the cave, where two White-Headed Widow Centipedes burst from the ground and attacked them.

Dick, Geralt, and Russell used White-Headed Widow Centipede eggs to undergo Secondary Mutation, each displaying improved abilities. Dick entered the apparatus last and endured agonizing changes while Geralt and Russell revealed they had pranked him.

• Dick and Geralt dodged the White-Headed Widow Centipedes’ attacks while Little Yennefer immobilized them with a spell.
• Dick and Geralt found four centipede eggs, took three for mutation, and left one behind for the creatures.
• Professor Seir used an egg in the mutation apparatus, and Russell emerged stronger with a new level of archery skill.
• Geralt underwent mutation and reported improvements to his physical strength, Swordsmanship, and Fire Signs.
• Dick entered the apparatus, inhaled the silver mist, and suffered intense pain as his body broke down and reshaped.
• Dick saw Geralt and Russell grinning through the glass, realizing they had pranked him.

Dick completed his secondary mutation, gaining increased physique and upgraded abilities, then joined Geralt and Russell at a lakeshore to test their new powers. Their demonstrations ended when Dick’s sword technique created a waterspout that swept up a screaming dark gray figure.

• Dick completed the mutation ritual and discovered that Piercing Cold Shockwave had reached Grandmaster level, while the panel imposed new requirements and a 1,000 Energy Point cost for future Grandmaster upgrades.
• Dick agreed to test his changed abilities, and Sel, his wife, and Little Yennefer helped the group travel to an empty shore at the Lake of the Goddess Lake.
• Russell demonstrated his increased strength by leaping into the air, while Dick concluded that the secondary mutation had boosted each witcher’s physique.
• Geralt hurled a huge fireball into the lake and demonstrated Sword Qi projection with the Lady of the Lake Sword.
• Dick used the black sword to unleash a white vortex that formed a waterspout, shredding fish and sweeping a screaming dark gray figure into it.

Dick demonstrated the strength of his Sword Qi and Signs before returning to Corvo Bianco with the others. There, Vivian revealed that a curse was turning her into a griffin, and she asked the witchers to help her.

• Dick used a Sword Qi tornado to kill a Drowner, then showed Geralt and Russell how powerful his physique made his attack.
• Dick tested his Piercing Cold Shockwave Sign, freezing the lake water and shattering the remaining Drowner remains.
• On the way back to Corvo Bianco, Dick noticed Russell's lingering injuries and saw Geralt and Yennefer respond warmly to Sel's baby.
• At Corvo Bianco, Dick arranged for Professor Seir and his wife to return to Cez with Russell, while Little Yennefer and Russell went to rest.
• Vivian explained that a forest creature had cursed her before birth and that she was gradually turning into a griffin, then asked the witchers to help her and let her be with Jimmy.

Geralt explained how Vivian could share her curse with Jimmy, and the pair prepared to perform the ritual under the full moon. Dick and Geralt discovered the Broom Witch lurking nearby and killed her, leaving Vivian’s curse unresolved.

• Geralt offered Vivian two ways to break her curse, and she and Jimmy chose to share its burden so she would not lose years of her life.
• Under the full moon, Vivian and Jimmy prepared to enter the lake and speak the words Geralt had given them.
• Dick detected the Broom Witch hiding in the undergrowth, and she revealed that Vivian had been her experimental subject for eighteen years.
• The Broom Witch summoned wolves to surround the witchers, while Jimmy protected Vivian.
• Dick and Geralt worked together to launch Dick into the air, where Dick killed the Broom Witch with his sword and Pendor Great Tornado.

After Dick and Geralt defeated the Broom Witch and lifted Vivian’s griffin curse, they discovered that the monster’s death had also freed an elderly woman from an eighty-year curse. The woman found a new home at Corvo Bianco as Geralt’s cook.

• The elderly woman’s curse lifted after the Broom Witch died, and she ran from her cabin to seek food at a nearby estate.
• Dick spent 600 Energy Points to raise Potion Making to elite level, then spared the remaining wolves after Geralt urged restraint.
• Vivian punished the Broom Witch’s corpse and reunited with Jimmy, who paid Dick and Geralt 500 crowns plus one copper crown.
• Dick and Geralt returned to Corvo Bianco and found the old woman eating while the butler, Little Yennefer, and Russell cared for her.
• The butler explained that the old woman had lived as a monster for eighty years after refusing food to a beggar, and she recognized the Broom Witch as the creature that had mocked her.
• The old woman asked to stay at Corvo Bianco and cook, and Geralt and the butler agreed to give her a room.

Dick set out for New Island but encountered Roland and the Dawn Sword, which drew him into a private meeting with Gabriel. He agreed to help her oppose Duncan on limited terms, gained the sword, and asked Roland about the commission to rescue Lady Ogrey.

• Dick left Lady of the Lake Town for New Island and discovered a desolate manor watched by guards.
• Roland identified Dick as a witcher and asked him to help rescue Lady Ogrey, then revealed the Dawn Sword.
• The Dawn Sword brought Dick into a vision where Gabriel told him Ruiwen was alive and explained that Duncan had corrupted the Knights of Dawn into the Knights of the Eventide.
• Dick agreed to help Gabriel defeat Duncan but refused to spare the Knights of the Eventide or restore their faith in her.
• Gabriel gave Dick the Dawn Sword, whose spirit briefly called him master, and Dick asked Roland to explain the commission.

Dick accepted Roland’s commission to find Lady Ogrey and learned that Earl Biltay had taken her to sacrifice her to the Snake God. Dick and Roland prepared to break into Biltay’s manor to rescue her.

• Gabriel told Dick that the Dawn Sword had lost its remaining divine power and asked him to look after Roland; Dick took the sword and felt its weapon spirit call him master.
• Roland explained that Lady Ogrey had been missing since spending the night with her temporary partner, and her butler hired Dick to investigate.
• Dick went to Earl Biltay’s manor, hypnotized a guard, and learned Lady Ogrey was tied up inside and meant to be sacrificed and cooked.
• Dick killed the guards, took a key, and prepared to force his way into the manor while Roland picked up a sword and joined him.

Dick and Roland fought their way into the Snake Cult’s courtyard, while Roland reached the hall and rescued Augury from a sacrifice. After defeating Biltay’s guards, Roland faced Biltay, who revealed himself as a Viper Knight.

• Dick shielded Roland and used [Panther Zither Jade] to cut down the Snake Cult warriors in the courtyard.
• Roland slipped past a wounded Snake Cult warrior and entered the hall, where Augury was bound as Biltay and Sanmao prepared to sacrifice her and another captive.
• Biltay mocked Augury for losing weight and accused her of using him to provoke Roland, while Sanmao proposed boiling her alive.
• Roland burst into the hall, reassured Augury, and killed Biltay’s four guards in a brief fight.
• Biltay transformed into a towering, scaled Viper Knight, and Roland recognized the danger he posed.

Dick defeated the Viper Knight Biltay and rescued Lady Ogrey, while Roland lost his connection to the Goddess of Dawn and turned toward the lady who loved him. After completing the quest, Dick used his earned points to reach Grandmaster Potion Making and considered the difficult work ahead.

• The Viper Knight killed Sanmao, disarmed Roland, and struck him down as he defended Lady Ogrey.
• Dick arrived, evaded the Viper Knight's attacks, and killed him with a single crossing sword strike.
• Roland discovered that the Goddess of Dawn no longer answered his prayers, and Dick told him he had become her new representative.
• Lady Ogrey comforted Roland, who embraced her and resolved to leave the Goddess of Dawn behind.
• Dick collected his quest and combat rewards, then advanced Potion Making to Grandmaster and considered making a life-extension potion for Aode.

Dick arrived in Bark Village and reunited with Tyson, a witcher from the School of the Grizzly Bear. As they shared a meal, Tyson described the violence surrounding Sarleon's peasant uprising and invited Dick to join a rescue commission the next morning.

• Dick found no inn in Bark Village and planned to sleep in an abandoned place until Tyson recognized him and greeted him.
• Tyson and Dick settled in a ruined warehouse, roasted food, and shared wine while catching up.
• Dick told Tyson about the witchers’ secondary mutations and urged him to visit his parents in the Bacchus Empire.
• Tyson said he had intervened in Sarleon’s uprising and described rebels and noble soldiers committing atrocities while both sides wore Eternal Fire emblems.
• Tyson invited Dick to join his commission to rescue three people, and Dick agreed while insisting they collect a fee.

Dick and Tyson arrived at the ruined estate to take part in the monster’s game and save the captives. After Dick demanded and received two thousand kelangs from the families, the witchers entered the estate, where a wall sealed them off and a bandaged monster appeared with three people.

• Dick and Tyson reached the estate and met the families of Gom and Avery, who were waiting outside.
• Dick intimidated Mrs. Avery and demanded two thousand kelangs to take the commission, and the women paid him upfront.
• Dick and Tyson entered the estate, where fog rose and a stone wall replaced the gate, cutting off the view and sound between inside and outside.
• The witchers encountered three people and a bandaged monster whose pus, charred skin, and exposed eyeball revealed its gruesome appearance.

Dick and Tyson faced a monster that questioned their views on Sarleon's uprising, then began a game with Dick after expelling Tyson from the manor. Tyson waited outside, furious at the fat woman who complained about her commission.

• The monster asked Dick and Tyson whether the commoners' uprising in Sarleon was justified, and Dick condemned the killing of servants while saying the nobles and their profiteering families deserved to die.
• The monster laughed at Dick's answer, declared that Tyson was no longer needed for the game, and hurled him out of the manor.
• Tyson landed outside and told the fat woman that the monster had expelled him because the game needed only four participants.
• The fat woman demanded a refund, and Tyson threatened her for complaining while Dick remained inside.
• The people outside fell silent and waited for the game to end.

Dick and his companions entered the manor’s textile mill and faced separate Ghoul-like monsters as the first-floor challenge began. Dick defeated his creature easily, while Gom and Faraj also killed theirs; Avery was left bleeding and apparently dead.

• Dick and the others entered the manor after the monster warned them to complete each floor’s challenge on foot.
• Gom pushed ahead in the textile mill corridor, while Dick followed with Faraj and the frightened Avery.
• A spotted dog transformed into a Ghoul-like, which split the group into separate battlefields.
• Dick killed his monster with the Dawn Sword and realized that each person had faced a separate creature.
• Gom defeated his Ghoul-like after a brutal fight, and Faraj killed his by tearing out and crushing its malformed heart.
• Avery collapsed in a pool of blood after pleading with his attacker to stop tormenting him.

Dick touched the Dalmatian monster and experienced Wangwang’s memories of being adopted by Lily, the family’s happy life, and the violent attack that destroyed it. After reading Victor’s diary about opening the textile mill with Alice and Lily, Dick returned to the corridor, where Gom and the judge found the merchant dead, and led them upstairs.

• Dick touched the Dalmatian and experienced its memories as a starving stray dog chased by children and rescued by Lily.
• Wangwang settled into the family’s home as Victor prepared to open his textile mill, until mist-faced intruders attacked and a man kicked the dog to death.
• Dick found Victor’s diary describing his return to Sarleon with Alice and Lily, his plans for the mill, and his hope for the family’s future.
• The diary turned to ash as Lily’s voice said that her father had lied and there had been no tomorrow.
• Dick returned to the corridor beside the dead merchant and told Gom and the judge that they were in a challenge set by the monster.
• Dick led the way up to the textile mill’s second floor while Gom stood shaken and gripped his sword.

Dick and Judge Faraj encountered a deadly haunting in the abandoned textile mill, where a bronze mirror swallowed Knight Gom and showed Dick scenes from Victor’s past. On the third floor, Dick fought through a horde of charred corpses and froze them with an icy blast, leaving him standing alone amid their remains.

• Dick and Faraj entered a music room, where a woman and girl emerged from a bronze mirror and dragged Gom inside, killing him.
• Dick saw visions of Victor with Scarlett and Lily, then returned to reality when Faraj called him toward the third floor.
• Dick and Faraj found the third floor filled with scorched machinery and charred corpses, while the staircase behind them became blocked by more corpses.
• Dick fought through the horde and unleashed an icy blast that froze the monsters, then stood amid the broken corpses.

Dick and Faraj reached Victor, who revealed that the deadly challenge had replayed thirty-four times and exposed Faraj’s role in murdering Victor’s family. After Dick completed the game, Victor and his family’s resentment faded, the textile mill collapsed, and Dick left with his combat skills upgraded.

• Dick and Faraj found Victor, Scarlett, their daughter, and their wounded dog on the fourth floor.
• Victor revealed that Faraj had helped Gom and Fulari murder Victor’s family and burn their home after Victor’s success and marriage to Scarlett provoked Faraj’s jealousy.
• Victor revealed that Faraj, Gom, and Fulari had been trapped in the game for thirty-four rounds, and Faraj remembered his past crimes.
• Victor declared Dick the winner, then Scarlett bound Faraj, Gom, and Fulari as Dick was transported outside.
• The textile mill collapsed as the trapped workers’ lingering souls faded, and Dick received Energy Points and upgraded his combat skills to Master rank.

Dick and Tyson left the evil spirit’s game and traveled to Sarleon, where King Ulric’s death had sparked violent riots. The chapter ended with the rioters massacring a noble family as the city descended into chaos.

• Dick knocked out the noblewoman who demanded her commission fee and refused to refund her payment.
• Dick urged Tyson to contact his family and return to the Witcher Order, but Tyson chose to accompany him to Sarleon to help people there.
• Dick and Tyson found King Ulric’s corpse hanging at Sarleon’s gate and learned he had been a vampire who preyed on his subjects.
• The witchers walked through Sarleon as rioters burned shops and attacked wealthy residents, while Dick stopped Tyson from intervening.
• Rioters overwhelmed a noble family’s guards, killed the nobles, and celebrated as the city’s violence escalated.