[You attempted to comprehend the skill [Assassination]... Your will was overwhelmed. Attempt forced comprehension?]
Pain battered his consciousness fiercely, and Chen Xu dared not take the risk lightly.
[Skill comprehension failed.]
Was his brain not up to the task? This was the first time Chen Xu had received a notification that skill comprehension had failed. He massaged his swollen, burning eyes and temples, not daring to try again lightly.
Without knowing the price, he was unwilling to gamble.
Even if beings called "protagonists" truly existed in this world, after having 90% of their luck stripped away, they should probably become no different from anyone else.
With his talent currently out of commission, putting further strain on his weak points was not wise.
Addressing the flaw in his will could no longer wait.
When he returned to White Orchard, the Nilfgaardians had already reorganized the wheat fields, and many villagers had been assigned new harvesting tasks.
Chen Xu looked at the wheat Heipi and the others had already threshed and laid out to dry, and suddenly felt it was a terrible waste.
After all that, not a single Chosen had managed to complete the initial task, [Harvest].
Large quantities of wheat lay spread out to dry and had yet to be bagged, so the Nilfgaardians had not arranged for transport.
The person temporarily overseeing this grain was an elderly farmer. When he heard that Chen Xu wanted to buy the batch at twice the price, he grinned from ear to ear.
All this wheat would ultimately have to be handed over to the Nilfgaardians. He certainly had no objection to someone buying it, and could even report Chen Xu for hoarding grain afterward to make another sum.
The combined fruits of several days of labor by several Chosen filled thirteen whole sacks.
Chen Xu made a few strokes on his face with a charcoal pencil, found a fresh farmer's cloth shirt, and removed the brace securing his broken arm.
He activated Lv.2 [Disguise]. His back stooped, his entire bearing changed, and, disguised as an ordinary villager, he hauled the grain to the Nilfgaardian outpost on a handcart.
As soon as this high-quality wheat reached the outpost commander, the previously suspended [Harvest] task was reactivated:
[You completed the normal task [Harvest] Time taken: 3 days, 4 hours, 11 minutes (gold), exceeded requirements (gold), employer satisfaction (gold) Overall rating: perfect! You received EXP ×250, points ×13, Advancement Card ×1]
This might be his last haul in White Orchard.
Chen Xu returned to the smithy and used Willis's tools to give his leather armor a few repairs before finally feeling a trace of fatigue.
His extraordinary constitution of 11 truly was astonishing. He had not slept a wink since getting up yesterday, yet energy still welled up endlessly.
But a strong body was no reason to be reckless. Chen Xu yawned and returned to his dilapidated hut to catch up on sleep.
By the time he woke again, it was night, and the villagers of White Orchard were holding a memorial ceremony of their own accord.
They gathered around a huge bonfire to pray, asking Melitele to take notice of these suffering souls who had died unjustly.
Even the Nilfgaardian soldiers on night duty wore devout expressions, for their comrades' ashes were also in the fire.
The scene seemed like the beginning of two peoples coming together.
Taking all his supplies, Chen Xu changed into his repaired leather armor, mounted Lizi, and quietly left.
On Woesong Bridge, he found the directions to Vizima, Kaedwen, and Velen on the signpost.
Vizima had originally been Temeria's capital, but had now become a temporary palace for Emhyr, Emperor of Nilfgaard. There was very likely a Chosen hiding there.
His enemy was out in the open while he remained hidden, and Chen Xu intended to maintain that advantage.
So what if they had powerful backing? Being unable to find an opponent felt good for a day, but being unable to find an opponent was misery for a lifetime.
For ordinary people, traveling through the wilderness at night was extremely dangerous.
Strictly speaking, however, Chen Xu could no longer be considered ordinary. His reflexes and constitution attributes were approaching those of a mutated witcher.
The moonlight was hazy that night. Lizi could barely see the road, but Chen Xu on his back could, directing him around every dip and bump.
He could also focus his attention on a particular sense to obtain more information.
If there was a powerful, nonhuman presence a hundred meters ahead, he would steer Lizi around it in advance.
Riding from the previous night into the morning, Chen Xu saw more than dense forests along the way. He saw many things the game could not fully depict:
Corpses everywhere, scorched earth left by war.
To prevent monsters from gathering and becoming a scourge, the battlefields had all been burned.
Displaced refugees and children frequently appeared by the roadside. At the sight of the sturdy horse beneath Chen Xu, they actually swallowed instinctively.
White Orchard was not the only village oppressed by the Nilfgaardian army. On the contrary, compared with these places freshly ravaged by war, White Orchard was actually far better off.
At least its fields still yielded crops, and the commander of the Nilfgaardian outpost there enforced strict military discipline.
As long as the villagers handed over the required amount of grain, they would not be abused.
The commander would hire a witcher to kill the griffin terrorizing the area, and when the White Wolf was dissatisfied with the information he provided, he would even compensate him with crowns.
The army also offered protection and support to skilled workers like Willis.
These villages were not so fortunate. First looted by their own homeland, Temeria, they now had no grain to offer and could only feed these ravenous Nilfgaardians with their flesh and blood, with their lives.
Chen Xu dared not linger near these refugees. He squeezed his legs, wringing out what little energy Lizi had left.
If the panel had an affection system, he would probably have seen this constantly popping up above the horse's head:
"Affection -1, -1, -1..."
In fact, he had initially been unwilling to name the horse, but the experience granted by [Riding] indicated that a specific form of address could strengthen the bond with a mount.
Geralt's Lv.2 [Riding] was downright uncanny. His beloved horse Roach could come whenever called, no matter how far away. Aside from the horse's own extraordinary nature, the White Wolf's horsemanship surely contributed.
After nearly another two hours of travel, the sun climbed to the top of the sky. Lizi had long since refused to work, leaving him no choice but to dismount and lead him on foot.
Cooking smoke rose from the village ahead. It seemed to be a relatively stable settlement.
Chen Xu planned to sneak over and scout it first.
He tethered Lizi to a slender branch, so that if danger arose, he could break free and escape on his own.
After [Stealth] became a technique, Chen Xu was not only more sensitive to the range of others' perception, but could now also grasp natural changes in his surroundings, using the wind and vegetation as cover.
He crept downwind all the way to the fence at the village entrance without disturbing so much as a bird.
Unexpectedly, this village was in fairly good condition. Though the villagers were thin, they were clearly more spirited than the refugees he had encountered along the road.
Energetic children played hide-and-seek in corners, and some households even had enough to spare to keep dogs.
Chen Xu adjusted his leather armor, slid the steel sword Gram back into its sheath, and stepped out from behind the fence.
The villagers were still somewhat frightened when a fully armed stranger entered their village.
The women called the laughing, chasing children back indoors and scrutinized the young man carrying two swords through their windows. The farmers, meanwhile, gathered under the direction of a tall, thin old man and surrounded him.
"And you are?" the old man asked warily, stepping forward with a walking stick.
"Easy, old man. I'm just passing through. Could you tell me how much farther it is to Velen?"
Chen Xu spread his hands to show he meant no harm, then fished a handful of coppers out of his leather armor. "Also, I'd like to find somewhere in the village to rest a while and have a meal. Would that be possible?"
Chen Xu had specifically exchanged money with a traveling merchant for these copper coins. He understood the principle of keeping his wealth out of sight while traveling.
"That little money will only get you the woodshed."
Several young farmers scoffed, but the old man immediately turned and silenced them with a glare. He sighed and said:
"I'm sorry, but there really aren't any spare rooms in the village. You're actually not far from Velen now. If you keep going a little farther, you might reach your destination."
Unexpectedly turned down, Chen Xu resisted the urge to offer more money, said goodbye, and turned to leave.
"Village chief!" A young man grew anxious and whispered something in the old man's ear.
"Please wait. Are you a witcher?" Looking at the two swords on Chen Xu's back, the old man hesitated before calling him back.
It seemed he had been mistaken for someone else, but Chen Xu did not deny it.
The old man weighed his words before speaking. "Here's the situation, master. A nest of Ghouls recently appeared north of the village. If you're interested, we could scrape together some money."
A task? Why wasn't there a notification? Chen Xu thought for a moment and decided to get a meal first. "This afternoon. I'll rest up first."
"Certainly!"