Chapter 47: Episode 45

Disclaimer: I don't own Nasuverse or any other franchise that can be found in this fanfiction.

Words Count: 5296

Here's my usual spiel:

You can read way more than 10 Episodes in advanced plus my other fic: Ars Goetia– Antichrist here.

p a tr e on . com (/) LiamThePoor

A/N: Aye! Surprise?

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The succubus was a treat to encounter, her olive-brown, spotless skin and those light forest-green eyes. She was a beauty to behold.

And she was freak in bed too. The succubus had not cared for my age at all. When I came bursting in her door, telling her that the Temple Guards were close to figuring her out, and I wasn’t lying either, there had been talks of a succubus stalking the streets at night, and the Eternal Flame fanatics had been quite upset about it. The Temple Guards had this device that would notify them of magical presence, likely made by a captured Sorcerer or Sorceress.

Like... Uhmm, like the Witchers’ pendants!

I carved her a cheap, wooden necklace based on my own personal Bounded Field, it would keep her Mana in check, giving her a much higher chance of escaping the city undetected and she was more than happy to… Repay me for my troubles.

Needless to say, we ended up rolling in bed for hours straight and I not only gained Stats Points, but her mutagens as well. She gave me three vials of her blood willingly, no need for violence, which was neat.

Sure, 0.1 Point of Stats wasn’t much, but Stats Gain was Stats Gain, regardless of its quantity, it was still something I wasn’t about to turn down or make light of. The interesting thing to note here was my VIT did not budge in the slightest. It stubbornly remained at 100 and the 0.1 Point that was supposed to go it became a free, unused Point waiting to be allocated. It was maddening, what would I have to do in order to break the Limits?! ‘Maybe all my Stats have to reach 100 to break it?’

Wait… Why was I guessing this blindly when I had [Future Calculation]? Yes, the Skill did not work on any other type of questions beside ‘What are the odds’ and ‘what are the chances’, but I had a way around it. “What are the odds of me breaking the Unranked Limiters without raising all my Stats to 100?”

A passerby gave an odd look, I ignored him. The answer that came back was a resounding zero. Great, so I just had to get all my other Stats up and the next Rank was well-within my grasp. Mental Stats would be a problem, training those were much harder compared to Physical ones, but I could allocate my Points to them, the real problem lied with CHA, or Charisma. ‘How does one even begin training that?’

It relied almost totally on CHA: Check… I didn’t exactly have a solid way to guarantee that. ‘Whatever.’ I thought to myself as the crooked house came into sight. I had a Flame-Wielding Sorceress to captivate, a very hot– Get it? Hot, because Triss’ magic was fire-based? Right, where was I? A very hot, redheaded Sorceress who could conjure up literal firestorm. Now, I don’t care what you say, that shit was S-Tier waifu material.

Caring, compassionate and powerful? That’s rare components to find in the same woman.

For all you Yennefer’s fans out there, this was a declaration of war. Triss was better, in every conceivable way, in the games at least. She had never thrown Geralt through a gigantic portal, nor had she ever verbally abused him like Yen did. Don’t get me wrong, the black-haired Sorceress was beautiful, but she was also sort of, kind of a bitch. I had dealt with bitchy girls before, and those relationships always turned out toxic.

Even in the Triss Ending, Geralt said so himself. Triss was gentler, more caring and if I remembered correctly, his exact words were he felt calm, harmony with Triss, and had you seen that DLC outfit?! I’d be a complete fool to not shoot my shot. Sure, I felt bad that I was aiming to seduce her from Geralt, but he’s technically still in a relationship with Yen, so was I really stealing his girl though? Deep in thoughts, I knocked on the door.

Seconds later, an old lady opened the shabby-looking door and peeked at me. “Hello there, Misses. I’m looking for Triss Merigold.”

“Please–“ The lady didn’t even bother to let me finish my words, hastily trying to slam the door shut in fright. Luckily, I had anticipated her reaction, jamming my hand between the door, glowing circuitry flashing to life on my skin. “– I just want a meeting with the frankly gorgeous redheaded Sorceress you’re hiding.”

Her eyes widened in terror. “You’re one of them.”

I spoke to her, but my eyes had long diverted to the stairs where Triss stood in all of her glory. She was beautiful in ways Wild Hunt had not, and could never hope to replicate. Plus, the way she swayed her hip almost unconsciously was frankly hypnotic, it was truly a sight for sore eyes. “Ms. Merigold, good afternoon to you. I’ve come bearing news about our mutual friend, a certain ashen-haired Swallow.”

Triss looked at the old lady, then back at me. She knew I was right, but she was still hesitating. “May I come in? I just want to talk.”

I corrected myself jokingly. “Well, I suppose that’s not quite right anymore. Seeing you in person, I do wish for more than a mere conversation, mainly a chance to court you, but my original intention really was to have a talk.”

“You! You told him to come here?!” The old lady whose name I couldn’t be bothered to learn hissed, face purple with anger. With a flick of my fingers, a pouch full of gold coins appeared silently in my palm, which I swiftly shoved in her hands. “Don’t blame Ms. Merigold, I’m the one looking for her on behalf of someone else. She doesn’t know me, and before coming here, I’ve taken several turns, plus use my magic to ensure no one’s following me.”

She looked at the pouch in her hands, then at me. “What if you–?!”

I slapped a second pouch in her hands and everything that was about to come out of her mouth sputtered and died in the cradle. She sneakily swept a gaze at the empty street, before pulling me inside. Her grip on my arms felt like the claws of a harpy as she roughly dragged me into the house. I had a feeling she was trying to be gentle, seeing as I was a literal golden goose, but she was failing miserably.

“Come in, come in! Do you want anything to drink?” Well, she sure changed her tune fast when coins were put in the equation. “There’s no need, Misses…?”

“Oh, I’m no one important.” She shuffled greedily through the pouches I had given her, scampering hastily to her and her husband’s room. “’Right, I’ll leave you two to it then, make yourself at home.”

If I didn’t know any better, I might think she was afraid I’d take the coins back… Pffftt. “Miss Merigold, it is a pleasure to meet you at last. Ciri has talked about you a lot during our travel, but I see her words have done your beauty little justice. Ah! Where’s my manner? I’m Leonis Magnum, a rogue Sorcerer and Ciri’s… Friend?”

Were we friends? I’d like to think so.

Triss looked at silently, the barest hint of a smile sneaking up her lips as she finally addressed me. “Aren’t you too young to be so flirtatious, Mr. Magnum? I’m positive I’m old enough to be your mother.”

“Forgive my offense, but if there’s any truth to that, then you’ve aged beautifully, Milady.” I bowed exaggeratedly. Triss chuckled, waving me off. “Alright, alright. You said you were little Ciri friend, correct? Has she returned? Where’s she?”

“I doubt you can her little anymore. She’s a woman full-grown now, with quite a few scars to show for it too.” I laughed as the fiery Sorceress approached me, continuing. “Ciri and I split up to find your mutual friend– The bard Dandelion. We’re supposed to meet at the Hierarch Square, but I’ve made arrangements, she will be notified and likely to arrive after dusk.”

“I can understand Ciri, but why are you looking for me?” I glanced at the room where the house owner had retreated to and smiled awkwardly. She might think she was being discreet, but I could clearly hear her voice and breathing inches away from the door, trying to eavesdrop on our conversation. “Can we talk upstairs? The issue is a bit sensitive.”

And it was, Curses were often frowned upon by society in general. Not only the practitioners of such Magic, but even their victims were despised and/or feared. Most folks simply didn’t want to deal with or fall victims to the effects of a malicious force completely outside their comprehension, which I supposed was a realistic and based way to look at the matter. Curses weren’t restricted to their targets alone, they were more like an infection.

A cancer on the World.

The Cursed tainted the very Mana of the lands upon which they walked, and hence those in the vicinity would be affected as well. It could be something as small and ignorable as bad luck and inconveniences, but those had a tendency to spiral out of control, causing deaths, destruction and misery everywhere. With how the old lady acted, I doubted she would allow me to stay a second longer if she learnt of my predicament.

“Very well, follow me–” Triss stared suspiciously at me and added. “But don’t try anything funny.”

I put a hand to my chest in mock hurt. “Do I really look like that kind of person?”

“Don’t fret, you look quite respectable I must say, but if there’s anything I’ve learnt, then that is: Appearance can be deceiving.” I kept my lips sealed as we went up the stairs. I had a few comebacks prepared, but those dissipated the moment I set sight on her arse. Seriously, the black leather seemed ready to tear and burst as it stretched to contain the bubbly blobs of flesh. I stopped in my track, and perhaps sensing my gaze, Triss glanced back.

“Enjoying yourself?” Her voice was soft and silky, alluring. You know what the funniest part was? She wasn’t attempting to seduce me either, that’s just how her voice usually was. Suddenly, I was struck with the realization of how perfect Triss would be as a fox spirit. The type to suck them dry and wring them of their life-force with naught but a smile on her face. I had seen beauties, Gil was the embodiment of the term after all…

But her overwhelming, inhuman beauty created a disconnect in my mind, the same disconnect that would exist between a Victorian model and your average neighbor girl. It’s why I truly cherished every moment she showed emotions beyond her regular confidence. Triss Merigold was different, in the same way as Ciri. They felt approachable(?), not like the untouchable Queen that Gil more often than not chose to portray herself as.

Then, there were those freckles… A lot of my former acquaintances found freckles to be a turn-off, and I was ashamed to admit I was much the same for the longest time, that was until I saw Triss in the Witcher 3. Ever since, my appreciation for what some might consider an imperfection on an otherwise flawless beauty only grew more and more.

I responded with an embarrassed smile. “Quite, Miss Merigold.”

The Sorceress rolled her pretty blue eyes and mumbled. “Men.”

In all fairness though, with an arse and a pants like hers, even women might be unable to keep themselves from looking, let alone me. We reached the top floor in a few seconds and Triss, with a motion of her hand, erected what I could only say was a Bounded Field to keep all sounds in. It was quite flashy as well, but it wasn’t too complicated of a Spell. “I’ve put up a temporary Ward to–”

“– Keep all noises from escaping this room, I know.” She raised an eyebrow at that, less irritated and more curious. “Right, during our travel, I was put under a Curse by the three Crones. Ciri and I had expected the Curse to fail once they were gone, so we went to hunt them down and managed to slay two. The last escaped by turning into a murder of crows, no idea where she was, and now–”

Triss interrupted. “Now you can’t figure out a way to break the Curse.”

I nodded as she grabbed my hand in contemplation, eyes narrowing. “I see… The Curse takes in Ambient Magic to fuel itself, even if you had killed all three of the Crones, it would have remained regardless. Luckily for you, I have a method to break it, but I won’t do it for free, a friend of Ciri or not.”

“That’s fair, what do you want? Coins? Some of my magical knowledge perhaps?” Triss shook decisively, even though I could see the mention of magical knowledge made her lit up with joy. “No. Our kind is being hunted down and burnt on pyres by the Temple Guards, you helped Ciri kill the Crones, so you must be a decent Sorcerer, I want your help in smuggling our fellow Mages out of Novigrad.”

I hummed, that wasn’t too hard. The Temple Guards might be troublesome to Triss and the other Mages, mainly because of their number, but Ciri and I had survived being besieged on multiple sides by horde upon horde of monsters. I’d be fine, still– “Can’t you just open a Gate for them and just... Go through?” The distance might be tricky, but you don’t have to teleport them too far, just enough that they can escape on their own.”

“I wish it was that simple, but I can’t, Teleportation is an advanced technique. Teleporting hundreds of Mages and herbalists is outside of my capability, at least in the long distance. And I can’t just dump them in the middle of nowhere either, not with the Eternal Flame’s influence growing everywhere in the mainland.” The redheaded Sorceress stared at me, serious for the first time since our introduction. “I have a plan, we will take ships to Kovir where the Eternal Flame has little power and bide our time.”

She paused, frowning lightly. “I’m working with some people to secure those ships, but it should not take more than a few months, two or three at most, then my plan will be put into action.”

“How many do you need?” I questioned, scratching my chin. “The ships? There are at least three hundreds Mages currently in hiding, so from five to a dozen, depending on their size.”

I grinned toothily. “What if I can secure you those ships? Is that enough compensation to break the Crones’ Curse?”

Triss titled her head skeptically. “If you can do that, I’ll break your Curse and give you anything you want.”

The implication did not fly over my head. I knew immediately what ‘anything’ was, but that’s not how I wanted it to happen. Sex was far more fulfilling when you had experienced the hardship of courting a woman. This, what she was offering would be nothing more than a transaction between us, and I did not want that. I was a lecherous, greedy bastard, but I was proud to say I had never paid to have sex with anyone, and neither did I plan to do so ever.

If all I wanted was a quick, instant release, I could always go into the bathroom and rub one out like a man, why even bother at that point? “No, I need you to break my Curse, I’m not going to make you sleep with me just to receive the ships which I could easily acquire.”

That’s the truth. I had [Gradation Air], projecting sea-faring vessels capable of ferrying a few hundreds Mages meant nothing to me, especially without Gaia’s restrictions. At most, it would cost me a week-worth of [Energy Storage], which was negligible. “But, if you have any book about the Witcher’s Trials, specifically how they worked and how to perform them, I’m more than willing to trade for those.”

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“Are you sure?” Triss raised an eyebrow, and I was suddenly struck with how pretty she was. I gulped down my saliva as her breasts shifted under her yellowish orange shirt? She seemed genuinely surprised that I hadn’t taken her offer, and a tad upset? Did I make Triss doubt her charm? “I’m quite certain, Ms. Merigold. I reject your offer not because you aren’t an attractive woman, but because I do not want the sex to be a mere transaction.”

That’d be incredibly dumb of me. Triss was a romantic at heart, if I made her sleep with me in exchange for saving ‘our kind’, though I might gain short-term benefits, I’d also lose any chance I had with her.

Triss hummed, seemingly amused at my answer. “The books, the documents about the Witcher’s Trials, I do have them, I even know how to perform them, but–”

“You’re afraid I’ll use those to create more Witchers, I understand. I can sign a magical oath to you that I’ll not abuse that knowledge, the Trials are intended for me and me alone, no one else.”

I licked my lips, that might be a problem. In order to perfect the Trials, I’d have to test them on actual subjects, which was why I soon corrected. “Well, I might need to test them on animals and subjects, but I can assure you I’ll never use them on the innocent.”

“A magical oath?” Triss muttered, confused by the terms. I chuckled and came to her rescue. “A magical oath– Otherwise known as a Geas is an important artifact back in my hometown, it’s mostly used when two Mages or Families want to ensure their business partners will honor their oath. The consequences for failing to honor the terms ranges from crippling injuries, loss of magic and even death.”

It would take some time to prepare the Geas, but it wasn’t too much of a hassle, I could have it ready by morning. I told Triss as much, only to be waved off by the Sorceress. “There’s no need for that, I believe you… How long will it take for you to acquire those ships?”

I winked cheekily. “A week, maybe a week and a half? I’ll give you the exact time tomorrow.”

“Are you saying we can have the rest of the Mages out of Novigrad and safe from the Witch Hunters and Temple Guards in two weeks?” I sent her a thumb-up, nodding. I was not prepared for what she would do next. Triss pressed a gentle, teasing kiss on my forehead. “You’re too young, Leonis. But, if you can really backup your boast, I might consider your… Courtship, once you’re older.”

Well, it wasn’t what I wanted to hear, but it’s better than nothing? “Now, about those books. I have them on the shelf, you may take them and any that interests you. As for the Curse, I’ll brew you a potion. It’s a process which will take weeks, and you must follow the description, else they won’t work. Please, go downstairs for now, I’ll need to focus.”

I… Sincerely doubted her words. Although the Crones’ Curse did seem a little tricky, it should not prove difficult for a Sorceress of Triss’ caliber to break it. She was purposefully extending the treatment process, likely in an attempt to make sure I keep my words. Still, I didn’t call her out, it was a perfectly reasonable thing to do in my opinions. I might have said I was Ciri’s friend, but who could vouch for me? Beside…

‘What are the odds of Triss breaking the Crones’ Curse once Ciri arrives?’

83.7%

A chuckle escaped my mouth.

I supposed I should leave Triss to her potion-brewing. There were a lot of books and magical knowledge I must study for now.

Thus, with that in mind, I gathered all the books on her shelves and made my way downstairs. “I’ll return them to you once I’m done.”

Triss didn’t reply, but she did wave lightly, as if to say, ‘Sure.’

‘I do not care what anyone says, the games’ interpretation of Triss is better than Yen in every way, period.’

—— [Fate: DML] ——

Look at that, I was right after all. The two Witcher’s Trials: The Trial of Grass and the Trial of Dreams were both aimed at opening their targets up to changes.

One was designed to alter the body, while the latter was made to affect the soul itself. That’s why Witchers had enhanced reflexes and could cleave clean through armored men. Though the added muscle mass was great for sure, it was the Trial of Dreams that allowed them access that strength. The problem? The Trials were incredibly volatile, it hadn’t actually taken apart the DNA as I had expected, but it was certainly close.

The first Trial damaged the DNA Sequence in a way that eerily resembled being exposed to harmful radiations. The books contained vivid details about the type of mutations one would expect such as: Melting, sagging flesh; skin burns and the most disgusting of all, the uncontrolled activation of cancerous cells as the body attempted to fix whatever was going on in the body.

It’s so harmful that you literally required a frankly disgusting amount of luck just to survive it, and that’s not to mention the utter mess that was the Trial of Dreams.

Some of the knowledge and ideas shown were and written down were phenomenal in theory. Unfortunately, there were too few safety regulations and switches implemented. If I were to be honest, the fact that three to four subjects even managed to survive these kinds of experiments was a fucking miracle in and of itself. Of course, that might have been a result of centuries of Witchers and Mages working to perfect the formulae.

The ones I had now, the very same I took from Triss were the Trials in their most basic, most rudimentary forms. Essentially, these were the untested Trials, entirely theoretical in nature. If I could figure out how to target a selection of DNA Sequences of my choosing specifically, the dangers associated with the Trials would be reduced immensely. Was I confident in my capability to succeed? Surprisingly, yes. The Sorcerer who wrote these documents, he didn’t have the biological knowledge I did.

He had to work through several loopholes due to a lack of understanding, but humans on Earth had figured out a method to isolate and replace certain DNA Sequences for nearly a decade now, on my original Earth that was. Nasu-chan was still taking his time, though I gave it a decade, maybe less before the humans there cracked the code as well.

The real problem with Witcher-Verse wasn’t that they had no geniuses and innovators, they had plenty. Sadly, these innovators were oftentimes Mages who hoarded their knowledge more than cats did their own shits, the peasants– Even smart ones lacked a foundation to ever create something worthwhile, being uneducated and all. Plus, the existence of Mages made them complacent.

Kings and Queens couldn’t be bothered to educate them, and the arms-race had never been a prevalent matter since Mages like Triss and Yennefer were practically walking nukes on their own, which meant no reason or a need to push their innovation and intelligence to their limits, resulting in the monarchy-ridden World that they had now. Don’t get me wrong, some Kings and Queens did strive to make the lives of your everyday men and women better, happier…

Yet, those were few and far in between, while insane, power-hungry tyrants like Radovid plagued the World like an infestation, refusing to die and be put to rest. I must admit, the current situation was partially caused by the Lodge of Sorceresses’ ambition and sexism toward men, but at the same time, I could not deny they had a point. Kings like Radovid just made the World a worse place to live in simply by existing.

I was busy burying myself in the stack of the books when I heard knockings at the door. Then came the loud, ears-piercing screech from the old lady. I swiftly tucked the book under my armpit and raced to the door, Ciri was here.

After paying/bribing the old shrew with five pouches of coins, I pointed Ciri to her fiery, redheaded friend upstairs and returned to my books. What?! Nerds were basically powerhouses in a World of magic, alright! I was sitting on a treasure trove here, my education in Magecraft was extremely lacking. Sure, Rin and that shitty priest had taught me the basics, but the rest had been me literally winging it like a caveman.

I needed all the advantages I could get.

Thus, I ignored the squealing and giggling upstairs, too immersed to care, until the ashen-haired Witcheress came down with a smile on her face and potion in hand. “Leonis, here’s your potion, it will break the Crones’ Curse once and for all, there’s not a need for further treatment.”

I gratefully took the offered potion, remarking with a smile. “I’m guessing Triss trusts me enough to hand over the real cure?”

“You must understand–” Ciri awkwardly scratched her head, but was interrupted by me. “I understand, I was a stranger and with the situation in Novigrad, she couldn’t afford to be careless. Give her my thank.”

I wasted no time uncorking the bottle, chugging the potion down my throat. It was as distasteful as I had expected, more even… Still, that revolting taste was soon drowned out by the comfortable feeling of the Curse loosening its grasp on my person. It felt good, really fucking good. It’s like chains, restraints I hadn’t quite noticed before had disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Involuntarily, I moaned– I meant, groaned. “That’s the stuff…”

Ciri shook her head, a light chuckle escaping her lips. “I heard you wasted no time hitting on my surrogate sister, is that true?”

“Can you blame me? Have you seen her?” I questioned back. “That arse is something to die for, I’m not joking.”

The Witcheress burst into laughter. “I get what you’re saying, Triss is a beautiful woman.”

Oh? Was that a sexual undertone in her voice I heard? Right, wasn’t it mentioned in the books that Ciri was a lesbian, or was she a bisexual? The games never did delve into this matter, even giving the player control over her sexuality in that one Skellige Quest. “But I’m curious, how are you going to get her those ships? They couldn’t be easy to get.”

With a flick of my hands, a ship, albeit smaller in size flashed to life. “I have a Spell that allows me to create basically anything I’ve laid eyes upon, the more complicated magical artifacts might prove somewhat troublesome, but even they can be replicated with the appropriate amount of time. Ships are no exception, I’ll need about a week and a half to stock up on Mana, once that’s done, projecting a few full-size ships shouldn’t be an issue.”

“… That’s how you created the Black Keys?” Ciri looked fascinated at the display. “Yup, Black Keys are magical artifacts, but I’ve come into contact and used them long enough that projecting them isn’t really a challenge.”

“That’s… Amazing.” She whispered, eyes twinkling with excitement. “Can you teach me? With that Spell, I won’t have to worry about losing my blades anymore.”

I blinked. Why not? It’s not like [Gradation Air] was a powerful Spell or something, it’s pretty common in Nasu, even children of Mages were capable of using it. The differences between the two Magic/Magecraft Systems might be challenging, but when had that stopped me or Ciri? “Sit, I’m not sure how effective I am as a teacher–”

Memories of trying to beat the knowledge into Shiro’s stubborn little head came to mind. “But I’ll try my best to teach you.”

I paused, while [Gradation Air] was a relatively simple Spell, there were still steps to it. “Although, you’ll have to learn [Reinforcement] and [Structural Gasp] first, those are the foundation of [Gradation Air], you can’t learn the first without having achieved certain mastery over the latter.”

“Well, let’s get started right away.” … She really was like Shiro, wasn’t she? That redheaded dwarf was also quite excited when we began our lessons, I just hoped the Witcheress would not get disappointed as quickly as Shiro did.

Our short lesson began. I swiped the old lady’s large, wooden spoon from the kitchen and began pouring Mana in it. After testing it out against the Black Keys, it was able to hold its own against the blades with relative ease. All the Church’s blades could manage was give the harmless utensil the smallest chip. “As you can see, [Reinforcement], as its name suggests, reinforce an object or a person. When you see me blitz past you, it’s partly thanks to the Spell.

I do so by reinforcing and filling the gaps in my own structures. But, we’re not going to learn how to reinforce living tissues today, that requires a certain amount of control, else you’ll only end up with severe injuries. Trust me, that advice comes from experience.” I withdrew my Mana from the utensil, throwing it toward the eager Witcheress. “Now, you try. First gasp its structure, then attempt to fill up the gaps with your Mana.”

Good news! Ciri was way more innately talented than Shiro at Magecraft.

It took her several tries, but by the fifth attempt, she was able to reinforce the spoon with little trouble. There were room for improvement, obviously. Still, the method in which she channeled her Mana… It was natural, almost instinctual. ‘Elder Blood is such a bullshit cheat.’

“You’re doing good, stop putting in Mana for now, I don’t want you bleeding from the splinters. Focus more on [Structural Gasp], there are still gaps you’ve not filled.”

She tried again and again, each time coming closer to my own level. Honestly, if Ciri wasn’t a sweetheart, I might lose my fucking mind with jealousy. Yes, I had neglected [Reinforcement] and [Structural Gasp] in favor of my brand of Spatial-Temporal Magecraft, but what she’s doing was the equivalent of skipping weeks, if not months of work, and by the look of it, she still wasn’t satisfied with her progress…

“Let’s- Let’s stop for today…” I swallowed thickly. I really needed to perfect the Trial of Grass, the temptation to replicate and graft the Elder Blood into myself was like a raging fire in my heart now. The Witcheress pouted, yet I could see she was quite proud seeing the disbelief on my face. I rolled my eyes, sulking on the chair. “Yes, yes. You’re a genius, cease that smug look, there’s no need to rub salt on my wounds.”

“You’re just jealous.” She giggled teasingly. I couldn’t find a way to refute her, she wasn’t wrong after all. “Leave me, your Royal Highness, this lowly peasant still has work to do, things to research.”

I replied snobbishly, waving her away. The Witcheress winked, making for the stairs as she responded. “Thank you, Leonis. Have a good night.”

“You too.” The moment she left, I re-buried myself in the stack of books again. “Man, Elder Blood is such a cheat.”

I whispered, but then a smirk crept up my face. “A cheat that will soon belong to me as well.”

Cue the villainous, evil laughter.

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