Chapter 6 Before the first snow falls in late autumn
In the forest, a shallow stream gurgled by. Victor, who was wearing a witcher armor and combing his hair like a mushroom, was sitting by the stream meditating. The herbal bag he never left without when going out was slung across his waist. , the sharpened steel sword was unsheathed and placed horizontally in front of his knees.
Today's hunting was not accompanied by the master. It was his first time doing it alone. Since autumn, Vesemir would take him out of the castle to hunt almost every few days to sharpen his mind and hone his skills. The meat recipes in Kaer Morhen's kitchen also started with deer and deer, and expanded to lynx and gray wolf. , and even brown bears.
Now, with the accumulation of rich experience and the knowledge from books, although he does not have the five senses of the witcher, he can still judge the paths of large animals.
He is waiting for an adult brown bear that is about to hibernate. This is an upright hunt.
…
Also today, Kaer Morhen welcomes two returning wanderers and skilled witchers. One is the grumpy, sarcastic M-shaped head Lambert, and the other is the mild-mannered Eskar with a disfiguring scar on his face. They walked side by side, dismounted in front of the drawbridge, and led them into the city gate.
"Finally got home before the first snowfall."
"Shit. I don't admit that this shabby place with drafts in the hall and no basic furniture in the room can be considered a home."
"No matter what, Vesemir is here and this is home."
"When the old man dies, I will never come back here again."
While chatting, the two tied up the horses in the stable and walked into the atrium.
"Eh!? There's a new apprentice?" Eskar noticed the wooden comb piles that clearly had new footprints. While questioning, he took two steps closer to observe the traces of use.
Hearing this, Lambert did not follow, but turned directly to the other end of the atrium to inspect the "windmill" and "pendulum".
"The jump and turn seems to be of a certain level, but it's just not fast enough." After finishing the observation, Eskar said.
"Tsk tsk! The windmill is still far behind. The poor guy must have been hit hard in the morning, and the vomited blood has not dried yet; the pendulum exercise was good, and he didn't get hit a few times." Lambert stood up and stood on the grass. Heap wiped the blood clots off his hands. "Come on, let's go in and ask the old man where he got the new apprentice? To be able to reach this level requires at least more than a year and a half of training. I don't remember there was such a person last year."
"I'm more concerned about the Trial of Green Grass. Vesemir actually accepted new apprentices. Maybe he found a way to increase the success rate."
"That damn trial should be buried in the ground forever!"
…
Opening his eyes amid the roar, Victor looked at it across the river. He quickly took out three tubes of potion from the herbal bag and drank it in one go. They were "Blizzard" to strengthen reaction speed, "Thunder" to strengthen strength, There is also a "tawny owl" that strengthens physical strength.
As the secret formula potions of witchers, although they have powerful effects, they are also highly toxic. A normal person will fall into coma or die immediately after drinking them. Even witchers with fast metabolism cannot drink too much at the same time. kind. When too much toxicity accumulates, you must drink the detoxification potion "white honey", otherwise you will also die from the poison.
However, the toxicity limit does not exist for the alchemist Victor, because he closed the door in the middle of the night and directly mixed the blizzard with white honey to synthesize a non-toxic blizzard. Thunder and Tawny Owl also made a non-toxic version.
Although the effect of the potion plummeted as the toxicity disappeared, Victor knew that this was due to his lack of ability. As his alchemy skills improved in the future, sooner or later he would be able to make something that was not attenuated or even more effective.
While breathing, feeling the effect of the potion flowing around his body, Victor took the plow position, pointed the tip of his sword forward, and faced the hungry bear that was rushing towards him.
…
This newcomer's room is completely different from the minimalist style of other witcher bedrooms, or rather street style. Simple and practical wooden tables and chairs are furnished, the bed is moderately soft and hard, there are a few books on the small cabinet, and four or five pieces of cotton underwear are hung on the hangers, showing the good hygiene habits and quality of life of the owner of the room.
The only two places that look like a witcher's room are the alchemy cauldron placed next to the fireplace - a device for brewing sword oil or potions, and the second is a wolf skin decoration on the wall - witchers will use the pelts of the beasts they hunt. Decorate walls and doors.
After walking out of the room, Lambert glanced at Eskar and shook his head: "No matter who our new tenant is, there is no doubt that he knows how to enjoy life better than the Princess of Cintra. Maybe he is a king?"
Eskar: "Come on! The king won't be beaten to the point of vomiting blood by a windmill."
"Vesemir and his crossbow are not here. It seems that he went hunting with the king."
"Perhaps we should put down our things first, go to the hall and light a fire and have a drink, and wait until they come back to start the barbecue?"
"I like this idea."
…
When it fell on the overgrown ferns at the edge of the woodland, five bolts from the crossbow mechanism were nailed to its chest. Its left arm was almost completely bitten off by a bear trap, and its right leg was also bitten by a bear trap. It was twisted. His neck was pressed against the soil soaked by the stream, and he was panting.
Then a steel sword penetrated deeply into the brain from the left eye, ending its incompetent rage and pain, leaving only the dull right eye staring at the sky.
Victor looked at the scars scratched by sharp claws on the armor and cursed bitterly. This should have been avoided, but unfortunately his jumping and turning speed was not fast enough.
Rolling up his sleeves, he pulled out his short blade, turned the bear over, and quickly and resolutely cut from the sternum, carefully separating the fat layer, taking out the heart, gallbladder, and gastric stone, then continued to cut down to the anus, the blade circled around the reproductive part and then cut it off.
He is really a treasure boy! The heart can be used as a special catalyst, the gallbladder can be used as medicine, the skin can be tanned, the paw can be used as a tonic, the meat can be eaten, and the whip can be... In this era when there is no need to conserve animals, Victor has clearly arranged the brown bear in his mind.
Lift the dead bear and put it on the protruding stone on the riverbed of the stream, let the running water wash the cut belly, and empty the blood and remaining internal organs.
...
When Vesemir entered the hall, the two witchers naturally stood up to greet him.
Eskar came forward and gave him a tight hug: "Master, we are back."
"Hey, look who is back, isn't this our Demon Hunter? Isn't he going hunting? How come there is no smell of blood and empty hands?" Lambert said strange things and came forward to hug Vesemir.
Vesemir smiled kindly: "Wait a little longer, Victor is still dealing with the bear by the river. Today is actually his first time hunting alone. I followed him quietly because I was afraid of something going wrong. Don't mention this to him later."
Lambert pulled Vesemir to sit down and handed him a glass of wine: "Of course, no problem, but shouldn't you introduce this Victor to us first?"