He usually called himself the Merchant of Mirrors, but he was actually a bona fide god-and-demon-level figure.
Controlling time, teleporting, walking on air-to Gaunter O'Dimm, these were little tricks as simple as clapping his hands or snapping his fingers. His true interests and abilities lay in toying with hearts and harvesting souls.
Fortunately, the devil's attention was entirely on Geralt, the protagonist of the story, at the moment.
Chen Xu forced himself to stay calm and raised his cup to clink it against Vesemir's.
"Have any of you seen a woman in black riding a horse, smelling of lilac and gooseberries?"
Geralt was asking the drinkers for information about his beloved-the sorceress Yennefer.
"Piss off, mutant! You're ruining my drinking!"
What sort of temper could anyone expect from people getting drunk first thing in the morning?
The White Wolf helplessly curled his ring finger and cast the mind-bewitching Axii sign, forcing them to answer honestly, but he still learned nothing.
He questioned them one by one, eventually approaching the devil sitting in the corner.
"Yennefer of Vengerberg? Then I must be meeting Geralt of Rivia himself, known as the Butcher of Blaviken." Warm and generous, the devil told the White Wolf outright that the person he sought had ridden to the Nilfgaard garrison late at night.
Had Geralt known who the other party really was, he should have been extremely careful at that moment.
The devil never offered help for free. It was simply that, at the moment, he had nothing enticing enough to tempt the witcher into a deal.
Those who fell for his temptations were either cornered beasts at the end of their rope or fools blinded by greed.
Geralt immediately set off for the local Nilfgaard garrison, not even sparing a thought for the free food and drink Chen Xu offered. He looked every bit the simp.
Thinking about it, that made sense. He had traveled all the way from Kaer Morhen simply because he had received a message saying Yennefer wanted to meet.
She had him firmly wrapped around her finger.
It did not matter if the meal fell through. Chen Xu already had a plan.
As long as he followed Geralt, finding Ciri was only a matter of time. The question was how to get the White Wolf to agree to take him along and act as his bodyguard on the side.
Geralt had only just stepped outside when the consequences of abusing his sign immediately became apparent:
Several drunken villagers blocked the doorway, intending to teach this sorcerous freak who bewitched ordinary people with magic a lesson.
Liquor gave cowards courage. Some people boasted they would dare block an atomic bomb when drunk, let alone a mere mutant.
"Three against one? You're very brave." Geralt flexed his wrists.
Although he was in a hurry to find his wife and only wanted to end this quickly, he still could not bring himself to draw his blades against drunks.
He really was a man of principle.
His punches were extremely fast, without much technique, relying mainly on his extraordinary reflexes and strength. Each time, he struck their exposed faces even faster, catching the exact instant the drunks threw their punches.
But there were three of them, all in the classic drunken state:
Reflexes -1, strength +1, pain reduced by 30%, critical hit chance +10%...
A moment's inattention earned Geralt a punch in the back.
Chen Xu watched the fight from the doorway. Just as one drunk staggered backward toward him after a blow from Geralt, he could not resist delivering a despicable kick to the groin.
[Sneak Attack]!
The critical damage immediately left the drunk curled up on the ground, twitching. His two companions froze for a moment, and the witcher seized the opportunity to knock them down with two punches.
"Thanks, but I could have handled it myself."
Geralt gave Chen Xu a slight nod, mounted Roach, and galloped away, but the Chosen by the roadside soon spotted him and stopped him.
With white hair, catlike eyes, and two swords on his back, his appearance was far too distinctive. It closely resembled the witchers described in the [World Briefing], instantly drawing the attention of the Chosen.
They cast Detection, and the dazzling information instantly excited them:
"Master witcher, do you need help?"
"Yes." Geralt was already quite impatient. Far too many people had blocked his path today.
"What is it? I'd be happy to help!" a red-haired, freckled boy with a shrewd look eagerly asked. A chance for a commoner to rise in the world seemed to be right before his eyes!
"Get lost." Geralt tugged the reins, and Roach immediately understood, raising his forelegs to scatter the crowd.
"Right away!" The boy gladly scrambled aside, while the other Chosen crowded around him. "Well? Did you trigger a quest?"
The boy glanced at his panel, and his face immediately fell. "No... After him! We can't let such a special character get away so easily!"
The pack of creeps was just about to tail him when the Nilfgaard soldiers supervising the work stopped them.
Work in the wheat fields was about to begin.
Off you go. Get to work. Chen Xu returned to the tavern with a smile, only to come face-to-face with Gaunter O'Dimm, who was about to leave!
An almost imperceptible flicker of panic flashed through his eyes. Chen Xu immediately crouched down and pretended to fiddle with his shoes, trying to avoid any interaction with him.
[You have learned the skill [Stealth] Lv.1]
As a flood of experience poured into him, Chen Xu's world seemed to split instantly into two tones: hidden corners grew slightly dim, while spaces where others could perceive him seemed to glow a dangerous red.
And directly before him stood an enormous furnace.
His surroundings instantly fell silent.
A plump bee, full of nectar and just about to head home, abruptly slowed its transparent wings, which could beat 240 times a second, until they stopped altogether, like a frozen photograph.
The drinkers' expressions froze on their faces, and the liquor Vesemir was pouring solidified between bottle and cup.
Neither wind nor water flowed anymore.
Time and space stood still. In this tavern, and even throughout all of White Orchard, Chen Xu was the only person who could still move.
"You seem to know me?" The bald devil curled his lips, his smile eerie yet elegant, his deep gaze seeming capable of piercing the human heart. "Interested in making a deal?"
[You have triggered the Chosen quest [Choice]: convert to Gaunter O'Dimm (avatar of an unknown deity) Base rewards (0/3): 1. EXP ×5000 2. Class qualification certificate: Twister 3. Brain Domain Reorganization (reflexes -50%, willpower +80%) 4. Talent: Supreme Mind (willpower +30%)]
As the notification sounded, the quest screen that appeared before him made Chen Xu's hands tremble uncontrollably.
Was this a one-way ticket to the top?
Never mind anything else-the 5,000 EXP alone equaled five main quests, enough to send him soaring up the level rankings.
A [Class qualification certificate] was an item used to advance in rank, and Chen Xu knew little about it. He only knew that every kind of [Class qualification certificate] cost at least 2,000 points in the shop.
[Brain Domain Reorganization] was clearly aimed at his fatal talent. The humiliation of Penny invading his will and hard-controlling him for four seconds last night was still vivid.
He had to admit, this devil was very sincere.
Fortunately, Chen Xu had downloaded the National Anti-Fraud App long ago. He barely resisted the temptation, only then noticing the problem hidden behind it:
I'm one of the Chosen. Since I've already been chosen, how could I be allowed to worship another deity?
Or is Gaunter O'Dimm trying to poach me, and even the one who chose me can't stop him and can only tacitly accept it?
After all, before the quest triggered, the so-called Gaunter O'Dimm had still been nothing more than a piece of code in Chen Xu's eyes.
A program demanding human worship-that was turning the natural order on its head.
Agreeing to the deal was out of the question, but how could he refuse without angering this unknown god or demon and get away unscathed?
Negotiating terms and playing word games would be the stupidest option. The devil could casually agree to even the harshest terms, then turn around and leave the person signing the contract with nothing.
Now he could only gamble on his status as one of the Chosen protecting him:
"...Sorry, I'm not interested."