It shrieked, flailing its limbs in panic as it tried to put out the flames.
The flames not only obscured its vision but also distracted it.
For a moment, it actually forgot about the witcher.
Thud!
Lynn's right foot stamped a shallow dent into the soft grass.
His whole body spun forward like a top, his sweeping blade slicing across the Grave Hag's neck.
The Grave Hag's head parted from its neck, and its burning body fell to the ground, finally motionless.
A scorching current of warmth surged into Lynn's body.
Attribute points: 0 (55%) → 1 (5%)
"Are you all right, Lynn? Are you hurt anywhere?"
After driving the Grave Hag out of the gravedigger's hut, Geralt had intended to come to Lynn's aid immediately, but he noticed that Lynn seemed capable of handling it alone.
Considering that Lynn would eventually have to wander the world and complete contracts on his own, Geralt briefly thought it over and ultimately chose to watch.
His left hand, however, remained poised in the gesture for the Axii Sign.
If Lynn proved no match for it, he would immediately cast the Axii Sign, plunging the Grave Hag into a brief spell of bewilderment and confusion.
To his relief, Lynn had ultimately defeated the Grave Hag alone without needing his help.
Geralt dropped the Axii Sign gesture and gave him a thumbs-up instead.
Afterward, the two collected the necessary materials from the Grave Hag's body.
They also went into the gravedigger's hut and inspected it before leaving.
When Lynn and Geralt returned to the village, they found the villagers gathered at its entrance.
"They're back! They're still alive!"
"Didn't I say we needed to find a witcher? Witchers are experts at this sort of thing. We mustn't hesitate to pay them."
After Geralt tossed out the Grave Hag's head, the village elder gratefully took out the two hundred ducats that the entire village had pooled together and handed them to him.
Geralt checked that they were all gold coins, with no silver or copper mixed in, then nodded in satisfaction and put away the purse.
He also gave the village elder some advice on guarding against necrophages and other monsters that might attack the village.
With the work finished, the two had no reason to stay any longer.
After replenishing some supplies in the village, they disappeared over the distant horizon under the villagers' gazes.
Half a month later.
Inside a tavern in Aedd Gynvael.
Two bare-chested people stood in a space inside the tavern where the tables and chairs had been cleared away.
One of them had a face covered in trickling sweat and blood.
He wheezed heavily, like a pair of old bellows.
The youth standing opposite him, however, had not shed a single drop of sweat.
The youth held his fists high, his eyes fixed on the man. Though he stood motionless, he seemed like a dangerous beast.
A crowd packed the space around the youth and the man.
Some held mugs, while others clenched their fists.
The spectators were even more excited than the two fighters.
Red-faced, they kept shouting and roaring.
"What are you waiting for? I didn't come here to watch you stand around!"
"Get him! Tear him apart! He's almost done for!"
"Steady! Steady!"
"Take him down! Take him down! Take him down!"
Perhaps the atmosphere around him had swept him up, or perhaps the youth's feline eyes made him uncomfortable, or perhaps he thought he had a huge advantage...
The man roared and charged.
Lynn shook his head slightly.
In his eyes, the man had left his guard wide open and was riddled with openings.
His fist was even slower than a turtle.
Lynn not only dodged the incoming punch with ease but also drove a fist into the man's flank.
Not wanting to kill anyone, he held back some of his strength.
But even so.
The man who took that ora punch nearly had his eyes pop out.
Lynn stepped aside.
Just in time to avoid the vomit the man spewed up incessantly.
"Sorry. You fought well."
Lynn headed out.
The crowd parted to make way for him.
As he walked through them, the spectators who had bet on him and won quite a bit of money excitedly patted his shoulders and arms, cheering for him.
Lynn ordered a beer at the bar, then found an empty table and sat down.
Before long, the boxing match's organizer-a man with a thick beard-approached him respectfully and set a purse on the table in front of Lynn with both hands. It jingled with the slightest shake.
"Master witcher, here's your share."
Lynn thanked him.
He opened the purse and glanced inside.
Dozens of little darlings gleaming with gold lay quietly inside the purse.
Satisfied, Lynn put the purse away.
The bearded man did not leave, however. Instead, he smiled and rubbed his hands together. "Master witcher, would you be interested in a long-term partnership?"
Though the youth looked young, he was a genuinely formidable fighter.
Ever since arriving in the city two days ago, he had not lost once.
As the organizer of the boxing matches, the bearded man naturally recognized just how rare a find the youth was.
If he could maintain a long-term partnership with Lynn, the day he struck it rich would not be far off.
"Sorry, I'm not interested."
Lynn refused without a second thought.
He glanced at the bearded man's beaming face and knew what he was thinking.
I'm not going to be the sucker who just needs to work a little harder so this guy can buy himself a brand-new carriage next year.
Earning a little extra money now and then was fine, but a long-term partnership was out of the question.
After the bearded man left, Lynn's beer finally arrived.
As Lynn savored his beer, he recalled the past few days:
After leaving their last contract behind, he and Geralt had continued south.
Then they had arrived in this city called Aedd Gynvael.
Aedd Gynvael was an industrial city in southern Aedirn, with foundries and wool mills. It was highly developed and prosperous.
He and Geralt had been staying at an inn in Aedd Gynvael for several days.
Unfortunately, there was no work for witchers in the city.
The two of them could hardly keep spending all day idling in taverns.
So Lynn had chosen to enter the tavern's boxing matches.
Geralt, meanwhile, had gone off to enjoy an abalone feast.
Originally, Geralt had wanted to bring his good buddy Lynn along.
But Lynn had politely declined.
He himself would not look down on people working in that profession.
After all, they neither stole nor robbed.
That was money they had earned through their own hard work, too.
He simply felt that, as a witcher, he would have plenty of sorceresses to bang in the future, so there was no need to rush into an abalone feast here.