A person in American horror, wearing two versions of The Witcher

As evening fell, the crimson clouds painted everything on the horizon.

boom!

On the ground, a blood-stained cloth bag the size of a human head slammed onto the table inside the room, not only making a loud noise but also causing the blood to seep out of the bag, simultaneously staining the tabletop.

The owner of the table, an elder of Jiaomu Village, was startled by the loud noise.

He was chatting with other villagers when he suddenly stood up from the stool, staring blankly at the cloth bag, and said with a mixture of fear and excitement:

"Master, did you kill the wolf king and bring it back?"

The hunter Hack, standing beside him, also rose from the table. He exhaled a breath longer than usual, his pupils revealing an undisguised excitement, and...

Relief?

Geralt took everything in, but remained expressionless and silent in the face of the elder's questioning, while taking a step to the side.

Roy, whose faux suede tunic was stained with blood, whose high riding boots were covered in mud, and whose riding breeches were also covered in mud, stepped aside.

Indeed, the spoils on the table were not his main contribution, and of course, he was not the one who suffered the embarrassment.

However, I doubt this kid would consider it embarrassing!

Thinking of this, Geralt couldn't help but give Roy another strange look...

At noon, Roy said that at the moment he killed the water ghost, he could capture the water elemental aura that dissipated around the water ghost through the instant of its death.

He said this greatly helped him comprehend the art of clear springs.

Frankly speaking, extraordinary monsters like water ghosts, while alive, have their skin, muscles, and bones protected by chaotic magic, which is why a silver sword can cut through them while a steel sword cannot. However, after their death, this chaotic magic dissipates instantly, allowing their flesh to be cut open with a wooden knife.

All of this demonstrates that at the moment of his death, a chaotic magical force did indeed dissipate.

Geralt understood the reasoning, but even his wolf crest couldn't detect the faint magical aura.

How come this brat, who can't even use the Clear Spring Technique, was able to capture it?

But being idle is still being idle!

This damn world is far beyond the understanding of them, the Witchers. What if, he meant, what if this is Roy's continent, and the people of its original world have unique talents?

This kid is so tall, what if he has more than just human blood in his body?

There are so many bastards in this world!

Perhaps it is precisely because Roy's world is full of such mixed blood that he claims there is no magic at all.

There's no other reason than that, just like how the reputation and status of witchers are declining, there are fewer and fewer monsters!

The higher the talent of a bastard, the less chance he leaves for his descendants to survive, right?

So, with a wait-and-see attitude, Geralt took Roy to clean up the water ghosts. There were even a few times when Geralt injured them and fed them to Roy to kill!

And then...

"Ahem!"

Back to the present moment, Roy cleared his throat with a measured tone and said in a cocky manner:

"It's not that coincidental; it's not the wolf king's head inside."

Seeing that the light in the elder's eyes dimmed again, he continued:

"We just circled the village once, and then circled the back forest once, clearing out all the water ghosts from the riverbank and the marshes. Open it up and take a look; it's full of water ghost left ears."

As soon as Roy finished speaking, the hunter Hack reached out and untied the bag, causing the stacked water ghost ears inside to roll onto the table, soaking everything in blood.

"Oh, the Eternal Flame above!" the elder exclaimed, his eyes shining.

The cloth bag was stained with blood and dirty on the table, but no one cared. No one would blame Roy for throwing the bloodstained bag on the table.

Because every water ghost's ear here represents themselves, their partners, their children, when they were drawing water from the river, or playing in the river.

We will not be attacked by that damned water ghost, nor will we die because of that damned water ghost!

For every three ears here, it means that one villager may be spared from the disaster.

And at this moment, what's on this table is...

"By Meritelli, these are twenty-three water ghost ears. Just how many water ghost lairs have you wiped out?"

The hunter's wife, Laila, exclaimed in surprise. They knew that their entire village of Jiaomu only had about seventy people, and the water ghosts that had been wiped out represented a third of their entire village.

"They're all fresh!" Hunter Hack examined each of the water ghost's ears and nodded to the elder.

"Oh, Eternal Flame, sir... no, master, we have prepared a comfortable guest room, no, a main room, and two jars, no, six jars, filled to the brim with mead, and... yes, there will be chicken, rabbit, fish... and hot water tonight. Is there anything else you masters need? We will do our best to provide it."

The elders, who had initially thought the Witcher would have nothing to do today and hadn't prepared much, kept increasing the stakes, trying to reward the two triumphant Witcher masters.

Yes, the tall guy was covered in blood; he said he was some kind of servant.

He is definitely a master!

In their Jiaomu Village, he's a master!

That's what the elder said!

"So, can we settle the payment? How much bounty can we get for these water ghosts?" Roy asked again.

But then he saw the elder opposite him freeze, his face contorted with grime as he said:

"One oren for each water ghost ear... no, three orens." Seeing Roy's expression, the elder immediately gritted his teeth and raised the price, almost pleading:

"Our village, together with the neighboring village, contributed 500 orens to the lord in order to kill the wolf king. The neighboring village contributed 150 orens, and we contributed 350 orens. However, our village only has about twenty households, so we really couldn't raise much more money."

"We know these water ghost ears are worth far more than 3 orens, but Master, we really can't afford it. These past few months, because of the Wolf King, we've only had expenses and no income!"

"The bounty we received from the lord was only 300 orens," Roy replied.

"I know, I know." The elder's face was extremely bitter, but he still managed to force a smile.

"At least the lord brought you here safely, we can't ask for more."

Roy hesitated for a moment and didn't ask any further questions.

He looked at the others and found that Hack, Laila, and a few other villagers all had bitter expressions on their faces.

Geralt had actually warned him before they returned that if they killed only three or five water ghosts at a time, those ears could be exchanged for a high price ranging from 10 to 50 orens. But this time there were more than twenty. Velen was a poor, remote place, barely able to support itself, and really didn't have much money. Even if they massacred the village and searched every household, if they didn't have it, they still wouldn't have it... and told Roy to handle it himself, since Roy was the one who killed the vast majority of them.

Roy then showed some displeasure.

His expression changed, and the atmosphere in the village house suddenly became oppressive.

"Let's do it your way!" Roy replied after a long pause.

The elders and villagers all breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this, but the worry on everyone's faces remained unchanged.

But just then, Roy added:

"We'll settle for 1 Oren as you initially suggested. Keep the rest to buy the treasures we found in the Water Ghost's Lair!"

Geralt said he didn't want a single ear of Oren, but in principle, more than half of the apprentice's bounty should be given to the mentor. So at this moment, Roy made this almost foolish and wasteful move.

"Huh? 1 Oren?"

The elder opposite him was stunned for a moment, then immediately exclaimed in surprise. His originally wrinkled face instantly turned into a chrysanthemum smile, and he even forgot to thank the "Eternal Flame".

Or perhaps, at this moment, he is most grateful to Roy for lowering the price in front of him, rather than to the distant Eternal Flame!

"Oren? Master, thank you, Master. Do your clothes still need washing and mending? I can call my wife over right now to wash them for you, so that by tomorrow morning you can wear clothes without any blood or mud stains. My wife is the best tailor in the village."

A villager shouted from the doorway. He had come to join the fun after seeing the witchers carrying large and small boxes into the village, but after hearing what was inside, he made a promise without hesitation.

Because the money for hunting demons still had to be pooled together by the villagers, his family had to contribute as well.

Their attitude was that they had no problem doing the work, but they genuinely didn't have the money to contribute.

"Master, is there gemstone powder, iron ingots, or silver powder in the water ghost's treasure? I remember last year a group of merchants were attacked by the water ghost. Their horses got spooked and carried their goods into the river. In the end, the merchants died, the horses died, and only an apprentice escaped. All the goods were left in the water ghost's lair."

This time, it was the blacksmith from Jiaomu Village who spoke. He usually made iron farm tools, but if there was enough ore, he could also make swords.

"Of course, there's gemstone powder and iron ingots, quite a lot! It's just that the treasure contains bottled wine and such, but we only see the bottles and not the wine inside," Roy replied with a smile.

"Ha, so water ghosts are all heavy drinkers too. I wonder if their wives nag them about drinking too much?" the blacksmith laughed, adding:

"Master, I know my skills aren't good enough to forge weapons for you, but if your weapons have a nick or the plating is worn off, I can definitely repair them for you, and I'll only charge for the materials!"

"Bright and clear!" Roy gave him a thumbs up. The silver plating on his spearhead had worn off considerably by the afternoon and desperately needed to be replated.

"Master, my backyard just sprouted some lichen and mushrooms yesterday. I'll have my child bring them to you right away..."

"Master, I still have a barrel of Redania beer hidden in my cellar. If there's any silver jewelry among the treasures you brought back, could you sell it to me cheaply? I'm planning a trip to Redania."

"Ha, selling those water-soaked silver ornaments to those bitches in Redania, well done! But why don't you hurry up and bring the beer over?"

……

Noise, celebration, and a few petty calculations, or what might be called mutual benefit... all crammed together in this small village house.

Geralt, who had been listening to all this with his arms crossed, also leaned gently against the wall.

A long-lost smile appeared on the corners of his lips, a smile that was no longer reserved only for friends.

At the same time,

Roy also received the second-highest reward for his mission to hunt down the water ghosts!

[Geralt the Witcher's Bond +5] He has gained the White Wolf's apprentice's approval. (Total 35)

[Gain +1 to the Witcher Bond] (Total 8, 2 more to come)

Yes, his Witcher synergy has reached a total of 8 points.

Right there in the forest, Geralt had once again acknowledged his apprentice and added 1 point to his bond.

Including the one we just mentioned, there are two points to be anchored.

In addition to that, there's the full buff from killing 20 water ghosts...

This is the biggest reason why he was so generous to the villagers; he has already received too much.

No, money is no object!

Arrogant!