Chapter 100: The Lion Opens His Eyes (7,000 words)
When East came out of the tent, the Skellige warriors seemed to see a fire burning under the sea.
Everyone knew that the King of Cintra had passed away along with the Queen, and the man standing in front of them had turned back into the "Son of the Islands" and "Knight of the Sea" once sung in poems - Ester Tu. Ersec.
"I want to go back to Cintra, Ciri is still there."
The sailors were excited, while Kratz looked at his uncle with a worried look: "You are too tired, and too many things happened today. I will let the Druid give me some advice. Give you some potion to help you sleep for a night, and then go back to Cintra tomorrow. The Nilfgaardians are not that fast, and you don’t want to fall off your horse, right?"
East shook his head and said, "Every time Every minute it takes, Shiri will be in more danger. Shiri is to me just like Halma is to you. I can't wait for a moment."
In the crowd, a young man with a green face but a strong body shouted: " Father, the troops are quick, let's go rescue Ciri!"
"Shut up, Halma!" Kratz roared at his son, then sighed and surrendered to East, "Since you insist so much, we'll stay overnight Let's go."
East nodded, turned around and stared at his wife affectionately, as if he wanted to bring this longing into the subsequent battle.
With a "bang", Kratz punched East from behind and knocked him to the ground. The newly awakened Sea Knight fainted under the stunned eyes of the Skellig soldiers, raising fallen leaves on the ground.
"Father, you..." Halma stared at her father dumbfounded, speechless.
Kratz glared at his young son and roared angrily: "Shut up, you bastard, you have no place to speak here!
I have seen too many such warriors. Their heads are fire, their eyes are fire, and their bodies are still full of fire." Fire, such flames will burn the enemy, but it will also burn ourselves. This is the lesson the sea teaches us, even if he is a sea knight." Let people put
East in a more comfortable posture flat on his back. After landing on the ground, Kratz turned back to the sailors and said: "Uncle's safety cannot be compromised. He is seriously injured and needs to return to Skellige-Halmar as soon as possible along with the body of Queen Calanthe!" The name was called
. The young man reflexively puffed up his chest: "Yes!"
"Lead half of the sailors, take the bodies of your uncle and the queen, and return to the Great Skellig Island immediately. Don't do anything unnecessary!" After giving the
instructions, he turned to the rest. The sailor below said solemnly: "Princess Pavetta and her husband died because I misjudged the storm at sea. I once wanted to apologize to Queen Calanthe with death, but she forgave me. From that day on, I I swear on the name of my family that I will do my best in my life to help their only daughter, Princess Cirilla. Now I am going to fulfill my oath, are you willing to follow me?" The sailors shouted in unison: "
Island My son is not afraid of wind and waves!"
Kratz laughed loudly with satisfaction.
"That...father?" Halma suddenly said, "I also want to save Shirley..." A
muffled sound far more deafening than when East fell sounded in the woods.
.........
Jie Long smashed the table in front of him with a slap, and the sharp sawdust pierced his palm, but he didn't even notice.
Toussaint, underground of Heshan Castle, secret laboratory.
There was a young man soaking in the culture tank placed in the center, with dense infusion tubes connected to his body, and each infusion tube was connected to a bucket of unnamed potion.
The young man soaking in the culture tank was breathing weakly. Although he was wearing a respirator, he was still trying hard to sip the nutrient solution in the culture tank to show that he was still alive. Jie Long tried many times to stop the young man's behavior that seriously interfered with the experiment, but he would never stop as long as the other party had a trace of consciousness, so he had no choice but to let it go. He was wondering where this guy got such strong vitality.
Jeron was very happy at first, feeling that this strong vitality was enough for the young man to survive the Witcher Trial. But he didn't expect that he was really just "alive" now.
This young man's hair is now dry and his skin is as white as a dead person. The skin in some places still has a melting feeling like a burnt person, and his fingers and joints also have varying degrees of deformity.
Lann, he should have died from the mutation a long time ago, but [Gourmet] and a strong will to survive have been hanging on to his life.
But a witcher's mutation is not just about "surviving".
Jaylon's eyes showed despair, and he collapsed to the ground helplessly: "The mutation... failed, the Griffin School..."
During this period, he watched Lann's condition decline day by day, from a handsome knight to what he is now. This look.
He rummaged through all the experimental materials, read all the classics he could find, hunted countless monsters to make various potions and decoctions, and tried to reverse the process, but all failed.
The Witcher Trials are all completed in childhood because children are more malleable. This is a rule discovered by the Archmage Alzu, the creator of the Witcher. He once used adults for mutation experiments, but no one could survive. Later, he was inspired to use children for experiments to achieve a breakthrough, but even so, the Hunter The success rate of the Demon Trial is only 30%.
And this 30% success rate was only achieved when Alzu, the most powerful warlock in history, led a team of dozens of warlocks and used hundreds, thousands or even tens of thousands of experimental subjects.
Looking back at Jeron's mutation experiment, the witcher's mutation, which was mixed with a large amount of legendary materials, was even stronger, but it directly acted on Lann without any experiments, and the final effect was still running out of control. Jie Long relied on his strong knowledge to make assumptions, and Lan relied on his strong will and system to lock up health for so long. However, some things cannot be accomplished by hard work alone. After all, fate has not turned towards the first hundred. One-third of the trail.
Jie Long knew this knowledge well, but he still had a sense of luck when facing Lann, but reality dealt him a heavy blow and shattered his faith.
"I'm sorry...Knight, I turned you into what you are now, so that you can't even have a decent funeral."
Jeron murmured, and he roared on the ground, followed by a strong Guilt.
"It was my selfishness that made you go through all this. I shouldn't have forced my fate on you. This is not the way of chivalry." "Perhaps, I should have
freed you as soon as possible."
After clearing his mind, Jay Long looked around. This small laboratory contained his nightmares for hundreds of years. He even felt that his experiments on Lan during the past period were repeating the evil deeds his father had done to him, which made him feel even more guilty. .
Now that the mutation has failed, there is no need to stay here. Jaylon fished Lann out of the culture tank and carried him out of the tunnel.
He didn't want Lan to die in this dark underground laboratory. A knight should have a knight's ending.
They came to Heshan Castle. The bandits who had been stationed here had been cleared away by Jie Long, and only some traces of the battle were still here.
"It should be enough to use a castle as your tombstone, right? The death of the knight should be in the castle."
Jeron murmured.
The cool moonlight shone on Lann's body, and the evening breeze blew by, making him feel the breath of the world for the first time in a long time.
Lan En has actually been able to receive information from the outside world. Although his five senses are vague as if there is a layer of film between them, and even part of his eyelids are stuck together and cannot be opened, he knows that he is currently what happened.
He could feel himself being soaked in some potion, knowing that he had been pricked with countless needles, and he could also feel that he was now being taken out of the laboratory.
He could hear what Geron Moru said. He knew that the other person was trying to save him, and he also knew that this kind of rescue method was too drastic. He had always wanted to become a witcher, but he had no solid plan, so even though he had the formula for the witcher trial in hand, he never put it into action.
By some strange combination of circumstances, fate unexpectedly made a joke. He passively underwent the Witcher mutation to save his life, and then failed.
【that's all? 】 Countless times, he was tortured by the pain that penetrated into the bone marrow and suffered a nervous breakdown, but he still used the pain to bite open the respirator and drink the dirty mutant liquid to activate the [Gourmet]. He felt that he had achieved the ultimate.
【How can this be done? 】Lan could only roar in his heart. After working hard for so long, making so many friends, and winning so many honors, how could he accept such a result?
【I don't! sweet! Heart! 】
The speechless young man screamed in his heart, but he did not suddenly realize that everything around him had changed dramatically without knowing it.
It was as if everything around him had opened up to Lann. Lann felt as if he had some magical senses, and the film covering his five senses had been lifted.
He could once again hear the sound of the wind, smell the fragrance of flowers, and feel the warmth and coldness; he could observe everything around him without opening his eyes.
No, it’s not so much that Lann “can” sense it, but rather that someone “made” Lann able to sense it.
The evening wind stopped flowing, and the petals falling from the air stopped moving; the insect that had been flapping its wings at a frequency of hundreds of times per second gradually slowed down and became visible to the naked eye, until it became a specimen fixed in the air.
Jeron kept looking back at Lann, as if watching the future of the Griffin School pass away, his hair raised in the air for a long time and never fell again.
The whole world seemed to have been pressed on the pause button, and it was silent. The only one who was not restricted was Lan, but he could only breathe weakly and could do nothing else.
Suddenly, Lan heard a sound of footsteps coming from a distance, and his senses were grasped by a large invisible hand, like an audience member whose head was pressed to watch the stage.
The familiar sound of the lute suddenly sounded from nowhere, followed by the accompaniment of bagpipes.
Transparent faces suddenly appeared on the horizon one after another, like ghosts and demon spirits, endless and orderly. They gathered in mid-air and sang melodiously together, as if praising or sighing:
[The moonlight shrouded all directions, and the lion was trapped in the cage, and everyone was confused. 】
At the source of the moonlight, a figure suddenly appeared.
He slowly walked down from the sky, and there seemed to be a staircase laid out for him in the void. Every step he took would echo in the air, and a burst of gorgeous blue flames flashed from the soles of his feet, leaving a trail of dust behind him. A trajectory that lingers for a long time.
As he moved, the singing soul in the sky rose to another tune, and its voice was louder than the siren's and soared into the sky:
[The son of the devil has come to help from thousands of miles away, with a handsome face.
He will give you what you want, gold, silver coins and honey. 】
The moon stood behind the figure, as if the stage was lighting him. His face became clearer step by step, and Lan recognized his master's name.
It's him! It's him!
Mirror Glass, the merchant poet who once composed songs and poems for Lan in Sintra, chuckled reservedly at Lan, and then his face immediately melted and turned into a look like Lan Lan. It's the first time I've seen it, but it looks very familiar.
"We meet again, Lord Lannister. Please allow me to call you Lan - because I think we can be friends and it would be more affectionate. Please also forgive me for not telling you my real name before. , after all, businessmen who go out always have to have multiple identities."
The businessman bowed slightly, like an actor announcing to the audience at the beginning: "Please allow me to re-introduce myself to you. My name is Gunter Odim. A mirror merchant who travels around the world.
You can also call me by the nickname my customers give me. They usually call me -"
At this moment, the souls in the sky trembled and began to shout, and they knelt down together. He held me down and worshiped like a god descending from me:
[But if one day he comes to collect debts, his eyes will immediately light up with fire.
You will become his slave and be tortured forever! ]
"——Mirror Master."
.........
Warlock researchers and folklorists have great differences regarding the definition of the word "demon". The "demon" in the words of folklorists is more in line with the narrow sense of demons in public perception, which brings together all the vicious, terrifying, and evil qualities that intelligent creatures can think of.
In the eyes of warlock researchers, "demons" collectively refer to those creatures from other worlds that they cannot understand, cannot be defined, and cannot be described.
In this era, scientists and explorers have already studied that the continent they are stepping on is a sphere. After the research of the warlocks, there is an elemental layer outside this planet that humans cannot set foot on, and there live elemental spirits that can be summoned and enslaved by the warlocks.
And outside this elemental realm, there are more realms, dimensions, planets and time and space that humans have never visited - the creatures from these places are "demons".
The Di Jing (djinn) who can grant three wishes was once a demon in a broad sense, but the warlocks later created the category "world spirit" specifically for it. The situation with elemental elves is generally similar.
And the man in front of Lann - the Mirror Master, in a sense, he combines the definitions of evil among folklorists and warlock scholars. He is a visitor from another world, wandering around different dimensions and time and space for fun. He is so powerful that he is the undisputed ceiling of combat power in the original work.
Someone once translated his name Gaunt O'Dimm as "God Or Devil", which means "god or devil". He was a beggar, a soldier, a businessman, and an officer. In the future, many people claim to have seen him in different histories:
It is rumored that the Mirror Master cultivated an unprecedented male heir of ancient blood whose bloodline cannot be traced, helped him travel through time and space, and then induced him to create it with his own hands.
It is also said that the Mirror Master once wandered in the beautiful Blochlon Forest, but eventually induced the nearby king to form the infamous "Scalp Hunter", causing the Dream Forest to bleed into a river and tie up the tree spirits . The door to friendship with humans;
it is also rumored that the Mirror Master once directed the decline and rise of Nilfgaard, and will plan to overthrow this huge empire again in the future.
But just as the good guys translated the meaning of his name, the Mirror Master who is "a god or a devil" is not always a devil. It’s not that no one can live a peaceful life and spend his old age peacefully after trading with the Mirror Master. The premise is that you must abide by his rules and restrain your greed; and those who are clever will see the real devil and become the devil in the sky at this moment. A member of the Soul Choir.
In the original work, Mirror Master will hire players as his agents to resolve "bad debts" that do not abide by the trading rules. If the protagonist has not found the lost Ciri at this time, he will teach the players how to get along with Ciri, and then help the players play the perfect game. The ending, avoid the worst ending of Dead Ciri and Dead Wolf.
In previous lives, many people had unfounded speculations that the Mirror Master was actually the incarnation of the player. Because of this bad image of a "fun person" who has "unfathomable strength", "elusive character", "must set rules for himself", "spreads money when good and kills people when bad", and plays with golden fingers Everyone in the cracked version of the game is really similar.
And this mysterious figure actually appeared beside Lan a long time ago.
Lann felt that his "given" perception rotated with the movement of the Mirror Master, like a camera slowly rotating.
"It's strange why I'm here, right?
You know Lan, when I first heard someone approached me, I was surprised. I've been in this world for so long, and this is the first time I've encountered such a Interesting things. And I can confirm that I have never traded with you or anyone you have come into contact with before, so how do you know about me?" Mirror Master walked around
Lann's motionless body and told, like It was a poet reciting poetry, and it was like a businessman introducing his products:
"I wanted to know the reason, so I came to you. And the first time I saw you, I had the answer - you You are incompatible with the surroundings, even today, even if you try your best to hide it, try your best to disguise it, but it cannot change the fact that you are not from this world, Lann, you are an outsider." Lann thought
. It seems that when I first traveled through time, I did have a lot of behavioral and language habits and serious environmental rejection, but people around me thought it was normal for a young man whose family had changed drastically.
Even after such a long period of active integration, Lan is still slightly different from the people around him in some details, the way he thinks about problems, the way he handles his behavior, and even the changes in his eyes.
To Mirror Master, an interdimensional traveler of unknown age, these subtle differences are like an ink dot on a white paper.
"At first, I thought you were a guy summoned by some warlock to possess you, but after taking a closer look, it's not like that. You fit in so perfectly with this body, as if this body was originally yours, as if you were directly connected to it. The world that I came to with my physical body is just like—"
Mirror Master whispered in Lan's ear: "—just like me."
The lute in the air flew back to Mirror Master's hand, and he gently He plucked the strings and sang in a low voice: "Special Lann, poor Lann, wouldn't he be some poor guy who went on an adventure and ended up forgetting the way home?" It seemed that he was addicted to pretending to be a
bard, Mirror Master murmured a song sadly, and the demon spirits in the air let out low-pitched wails at the right time, which was gentle and desolate and lasted for a long time.
A good while.
"After talking for so long, it's time to get down to business."
After singing the sad song, Mirror Master raised his face with a reserved and careless smile and said, "I told you that I am a businessman. Businessmen are always regarded as People are in debt, and now I have a bad debt that I want to solve - but because I have set some rules for myself, I can't do it myself now, I have to find a friend to help. And I happened to hear that you are very I like to help others."
Mirror Master took out a contract: "I originally planned to observe you for a while and help you when you encounter trouble. In this way, I will help you, and you will help me again. All problems will be solved."
At this point, Mirror Master suddenly laughed. He clapped his hands, and the contract turned into sparks and disappeared in the air: "But you actually invited me to a drink... a drink. I have seen dragons sitting on golden mountains, and I have come into contact with kings who control empires, but no one has ever wanted to Treat me to a drink. You actually made the move before me. You are too cunning. So now I must abide by the rules and find an opportunity to return the drink to you first." He looked at
Lan En's body, whose vitality was constantly draining, and said: " After all, it is written in the poem: When a passing traveler is invited to drink, sometimes he has to pay for it with his life."
After saying that, the Mirror Master clapped his hands, and all the light in the night gathered together.
That was not a simple light, it was the external manifestation of some unknown energy that Lan didn't know about. They came from outside the continent, from outside the elemental layer, and from outside the star realm.
All the power Lann's body needed was filled in the irradiation of this light. His skin returned to its original appearance, and the physical damage caused to him by the mutation disappeared without a trace in an instant.
Not only that, the demon hunter trial process that had gone astray was also forcibly brought back by a big hand that could not be ignored. All the legendary materials were combined in the most rounded way to move towards the safest, most efficient, and safest way. The most perfect goal ran away.
Seeing this, Master Mirror nodded with satisfaction: "You can think of this as a 'product trial' - maybe you haven't heard of this term, but you can definitely understand it." "I still have the idea of trading with you,
then A bad debt really bothers me. When you have figured out the appropriate remuneration, it will be when we meet next time. You don't need to ask me anymore, I will come to you again when the time is right."
" Oh, by the way." Mirror Master, who was walking out, suddenly seemed to remember something and paused, "There was a Lake Nymph who likes to play knight games and was peeking at you before, and she seemed to be scared away by me. I need to say something to you. Sorry."
The man showed a meaningful smile: "You attract attention too easily, Lan."
When the Mirror Master finished speaking, it was as if a layer of canvas had been forcibly removed from a drawing board. The mirror master, the moonlight, and the souls filling the sky painted on that canvas all disappeared in an instant, as if they had never appeared.
It was as if the world that had been pressed on the pause button was liberated at this time.
The evening wind flows again and blows the leaves. The petals falling in mid-air slowly fall into the dust. The insects flap their wings quickly and at a speed invisible to the naked eye and are out of sight in an instant.
Jie Long's sad face froze, and then the sadness turned into surprise, consternation, and surprise.
Lann, whose body was broken and dying from the witcher trial just a second ago, has now turned back into a strong and handsome knight.
What happened and I didn’t even blink?
Immediately afterwards, Jie Long heard a steady and powerful drumbeat coming from the body, which was the slow beating of the heart.
That is the voice of health, the voice of strength, and the voice of life.
Jeron strode forward and looked at Lann in disbelief. He looked up and down Lann's body and finally confirmed that the Witcher Trial was successful.
Although it was in a way that was difficult for him to understand, it was indeed successful, and there was another member of the Griffin School of Demon Hunters!
Jaylon's eyes filled with tears, and at the same time, Lan's ears were constantly ringing with system notifications as if they were noise pollution. The sounds that sounded like chants just started and were overshadowed by the next sound, repeating over and over again. It makes people's heads big again.
At the same time, the attribute panel also flashed twice, three times, like light pollution, with various colors of red, blue, and green lighting up briefly: [Name: Lann
Lannister Leanne
Gender: Male
Race : Demon Hunter
Level: 17
Talent: Ancient Blood (Partial Awakening)
Experience Value: 948/1500
Health Value: 1770/1770
Magic Value: 2000/2000
Inventory: Cotton and Linen Shorts
Skill Slot: Muscle Memory (5/5) , precise heavy attack (5/5), intensity training (5/5), immovable as a mountain (5/5), whirling sword dance (1/5), endurance improvement (5/5), survival intuition, metabolic control, Gourmet, Gryphon School Skills, Sense of Magic, Poisonous Blood, Death Strike, Demon Tide
Follower Column: (Empty)
Mission: City Defense Iron Guard Part 2]
"Knight? Can you hear me?"
He is studying the panel with his consciousness. Lann suddenly heard a voice ringing in his ear. It was a strange yet familiar voice. It was strange because Lann could not match this voice to any face he knew. He had never seen the person who made this voice.
He was familiar because he heard this man say a lot of things while he was in a coma. It was obvious that this was the man who presided over the Demon Hunter trial for him.
He had long understood his physical condition at that time. The other person mutated him purely to save himself. This person was a friend, not an enemy. If they were both demon hunters, he could still be considered his teacher in terms of seniority.
At this thought, Lan opened his eyes.
Compared with Geralt's amber cat eyes, his eyes are much darker in color, almost yellow but not yellow, almost brown but not brown. It seems that there is dark ancient gold deposited in them: just like the eyes of a lion
.
I admit it to those who say I don’t update enough. After all, I cherish my life... But to those who say I am lazy, I must defend myself. I just write carefully. I have tried to write as little as possible about the daily life of the characters and some auxiliary dialogues... If I remove many of the rich descriptions of the characters and world backgrounds, I will feel that the characters are just like puppets, and it is inexplicable. How can this be said? Water...
If you really want to say this and want to see the truth, it is better to read the synopsis...
If "water" refers to you who are not satisfied with me repeatedly switching perspectives and like single-line narratives, then skip reading or save it, I can Understand... I've actually tried not to do group portraits.
In addition, I have read the previous plot in other people's books, and I don't understand it... You said that it is exactly the same as the original book, game, and American TV series, and I can understand it, but you said that my content has been written by many fan novels, I really can't understand... I just wrote it myself because I didn't have any Witcher books to read. There are really so many good books, could you please give me a review and recommendation?
In order to keep the plot coherent, I wrote 10,000 words today because I was afraid of being criticized. If I don’t have enough manuscripts saved, I might take a leave of absence. I’m tired...
If you’re not happy, stop reading now... The most important thing is to be happy while reading...
I wish you all to stay away from baldness and do more anal lifts.
(End of chapter)