116 Reunion

The journey back to the valley was uneventful, with Wayne encountering no monsters on his return trip. He arrived safely at the green dragon's lair with a dozen porters in tow. By the time he and George met, the corpses littering the valley – dragon, giant, and other monstrous creatures – were already mostly dismantled. George had meticulously collected valuable materials like dragon hides, tendons, claws, teeth, and the re-breathing sac – the most prized organ within a dragon, responsible for its fire breath.

Giant bodies are generally less valuable, with only their eyeballs considered particularly rare. Unfortunately, Wayne had damaged one in the fight. However, the mutation-inducing substance he extracted from the giant's body held even greater worth.

Despite the weight – hundreds of kilograms of materials ideal for crafting weapons, armor, and potions – the porters didn't dare complain. The sight of the two colossal corpses before them, along with village elder Jeff, left them all terrified. With no firsthand experience against such creatures, they could only imagine the fearsome beasts Wayne and George had faced.

This dragon, nearly ten meters long and weighing over ten tons, boasted razor-sharp claws and teeth, along with the terrifying ability to breathe fire. For these villagers, whose only knowledge of dragons came from legends, the sight was enough to send shivers down their spines.

The experience also instilled a deeper fear of Wayne's strength in the villagers. They realized the disguised young noble was far beyond their reach. In their eyes, he could likely wipe out their entire village single-handedly. This fear, coupled with the mystery surrounding Wayne's true identity, kept the villagers unusually obedient. It seems that for troublemakers like them, a strong fist speaks louder than kind words.

By the time Wayne finished dealing with the aftermath and returned to Vizima, five days had already passed. The thugs in Lower Valen Village, surprisingly well-informed, avoided any trouble this time. Gone were the harassing tactics they employed during Wayne's previous visit. They even returned the supposedly lost elven manuscripts.

Whether the manuscripts had been copied remained unclear. However, village elder Jeff, much like a legendary honest man, gathered some villagers to express their gratitude to Wayne and George. Their praise was effusive, even going so far as to propose erecting a statue in their honor to memorialize their service in slaying the dragon and saving Valen Village. While Wayne scoffed internally, he maintained a composed exterior and simply collected his belongings before departing.

After returning to Vizima, George only stayed at his place for two days. He spent that time transcribing a portion of the manuscript, particularly the section on Griffin School equipment. True to his witcher nature, driven by kindness and a strong moral compass, George wouldn't settle for a comfortable life like Wayne.

He craved adventure and purpose, choosing to venture into remote areas and undertake perilous contracts without expecting anything in return. This dragon-hunting mission exemplified his character. From beginning to end, he only accepted the pre-agreed reward of 1000 Oren. He had no interest in any other spoils, except for the right to copy the elven manuscript as promised.

In contrast to George's selfless pursuit, Wayne's experience proved fruitful. He not only gleaned valuable knowledge, combat skills, and historical secrets from his Griffin Schoolmaster but also completed several high-level missions through the master's task system. These missions yielded significant experience points and treasure chest rewards. Most importantly, Wayne forged a bond of friendship with the Griffin Schoolmaster. This connection allows him to seek help through letters or other means in the future.

Unfortunately, luck wasn't on his side when he opened the treasure chests he accumulated during his lucky July. None of the chests, whether the master or expert level, contained anything particularly valuable. The master chest only yielded over 1,000 gold coins, while the expert chests offered a set of consumable equipment: 20 Explosive Arrows. These arrows, a specialty of Amazonian female warriors, detonate upon contact with an enemy, causing severe implosion damage and destroying the enemy's body.

Despite the lack of impressive loot, the mission experience successfully boosted Wayne's witcher level to 7.

Wayne

Occupation: Witcher

Level: 7 (223/700 exp) Ability Points: 7

Attributes:

Strength: 27

Dexterity: 32

Constitution: 29

Spirit: 32

Skills:

Swordsmanship: Level 5

Signs: Level 8

Gene Mutation: Level 5

Gwent: Level 5

Special Bloodline: Ancient Blood (Weak, Unawakened) (Requires 10 ability points to activate)

Subsidiary Skills:

Archery: Level 2

Cooking: Level 6

Planting: Level 3

Alchemy: Level 4

Riding: Level 3

Blacksmithing: Level 4

Following his farewell to George, Wayne settled into a relatively stable routine in Vizima for the next few months. He disguised himself as a human using enchanted camouflage glasses. To most, he appeared as a powerful mercenary, perhaps a young noble with a wealthy background.

Over these months, Wayne focused on honing his secondary skills beyond completing daily low-level witcher contracts and visiting the sorceress. He successfully raised Alchemy, Blacksmithing, and Herbalism to Level 5. However, he opted to hold off on unlocking skills and specializations within these trees, choosing to reserve his ability points for the moment his ancient blood could be awakened.

This strategy depleted his mission rewards. By the time his secondary skills reached Level 5, he barely had 1000 Oren remaining. The materials acquired from Velen were also heavily utilized.

Under the guidance of Master O. Henry, the rare dragon hide, teeth, claws, and bones were transformed into highly practical finished equipment, now stored in his warehouse. The elven manuscript and the green dragon's re-breathing sac – two invaluable items – weren't bartered with his sorceress acquaintances, Keira and Triss. Instead, he kept them hidden, meticulously copying and studying them. He envisioned using these rarities as bargaining chips in the future, perhaps when seeking the aid of sorceresses to explore the underwater city beneath Lake Vizima.

Unfortunately, unlike the video game, magic nodes ( Circle of Elements ) didn't exist near Vizima City.

Unfortunately, unlocking the special abilities of his ancient blood or specializing in his secondary skills required patience and the ability points earned through leveling up. There were no shortcuts.

Time, as always, flowed relentlessly. October arrived, and a chill descended upon the north, signaling the long winter's embrace. This region, known for its harsh climate, would soon see most countries blanketed in snow, rivers frozen solid, and flowers and grasses withering. The world would enter a state of dormancy.

This period also marked the return of all the wolf-school witchers. True to form, before Wayne's wait stretched too long, Geralt of Rivia appeared at his doorstep. The witcher, sporting a healthy complexion, wore a padded jacket and carried his signature longsword. Leading the way was a horse munching on a carrot.