John was now a wanted man.
And the bounty on his head was no small sum—enough to tempt quite a few people.
The name Black Witcher was as enticing as the tales of the forest demon that haunted the bears' woods.
Wrapped in his bearskin cloak, he had already reached the royal capital.
He planned to seek out Emily for information about the monolith and to take a look around this place called Tretogor.
"Once upon a time, the kingdom conscripted witchers to deal with the Kosan Banshees. This place seems rather peaceful now," he murmured as he walked the streets.
The main avenue was broad enough for carriages to pass side by side.
The townsfolk here looked far wealthier than those in Balviec, and there were even a few heavily made-up noblewomen strolling about with their servants in tow.
John kept his silver sword hidden beneath his cloak, while his black hair wasn't as conspicuous as one might think.
He stopped by a jeweler's shop and came out a short while later with a pouch of gold coins in hand.
With the small bag slung at his left side, he scanned the street until he spotted a roguish-looking young man.
The youth was boasting to a small crowd by the roadside. "Give me just three gold coins, and I'll sneak a peek at the royal sorceress's bath!"
"Quit bragging, Wuk," someone scoffed.
"You don't even know where the royal sorceress lives."
The other boys burst into laughter at him, which only made Wuk bristle in annoyance.
"I do know!" he shouted. "I've seen the royal sorceress myself!"
"Is that so?" a calm voice cut in, followed by the jingle of coins. "I'll pay you ten silver coins. Take me to the royal sorceress's residence."
John stood there, idly tossing ten silver coins into the air with his left hand.
Wuk eyed him like he was some gullible fool and said greedily, "Don't joke around. Give me ten gold coins and I'll take you there."
"Nine silver," John said coolly.
"Do you even know how to bargain?" Wuk snapped when he heard the price drop.
"Eight," John replied, lowering it further without missing a beat.
That made Wuk start to panic. "Five gold! I'll take you there for five gold!" he shouted.
"Seven silver," John countered with a faint glance.
"Three! Three gold coins! I'll take you there right now!" Wuk said, his voice rising in frustration.
"Six silver," John said flatly.
"One! One gold coin! I'll take you!" Wuk yelled in desperation.
"Five…"
"Fine, I'll do it—six silver coins!"
Wuk finally gave in, unable to stand that man's calm, indifferent expression any longer.
He felt completely played and muttered in frustration, "Pay me first."
John tossed him three silver coins and said in a tone that left no room for argument, "That's the deposit."
Wuk's face twisted with annoyance—he even fumbled one of the coins, letting it clatter to the ground.
One of his friends immediately snatched it up and tried to pocket it, only for Wuk to chase him down and give him a good beating.
"That's my money, you bastard!" he shouted as he pried the coin back.
Clutching the coins tightly, Wuk turned to John and said, "Follow me."
John hadn't brought his sword; otherwise, Wuk would have realized he was guiding none other than the wanted Black Witcher himself.
Trailing behind Wuk, John followed him through a maze of narrow alleys.
Though Wuk loved to brag, for once he hadn't been lying.
He really did know where the royal sorceress lived—atop a tall tower next to the castle.
The tower was overgrown with green vines and looked as though it hadn't been tended in years.
Emily disliked having guards around her residence, so there was no one posted outside.
"Hand over the rest of the money," Wuk demanded the moment they arrived.
John casually tossed him the remaining three silver coins. Wuk caught them in a hurry and then bolted, eager to get away.
John circled the tower but found no visible entrance.
"Magical barrier," he muttered.
He took out his wand and tapped the wall. The bricks rippled and bent, reshaping themselves into an arched doorway.
John stepped inside and ascended the spiral staircase leading up the tower.
At the very top was a single room with a bed and piles of scattered documents strewn across the floor.
Emily was lying on her stomach in a rather undignified posture, poring over a worn, tattered manuscript.
"I told you not to bother me!" she snapped irritably at the sound of footsteps.
When she finally looked up and saw the black-haired man standing there, her anger froze, replaced by fear.
"It's you… why are you here?" she stammered, clearly terrified of John.
John narrowed his eyes slightly. His gaze swept the room—and landed on a wanted poster pinned to the wall.
It bore the face of the Black Witcher.
"I'm here to collect a debt, of course." John strode forward, making Emily flinch.
"Don't move!" Emily yelped quickly. "Watch where you step—those are ancient manuscripts!"
As a sorceress trapped in the Black Hawk Tower who still devoted herself to research, Emily treated those documents like priceless treasures.
She scrambled to her feet and hurriedly gathered the scattered pages, carefully stacking them one by one.
It took her quite a while to tidy everything up.
The moment the floor was finally clear, an awkward silence settled over the room.
Because Emily preferred to spread her manuscripts out on the floor for study, the tower's top chamber was left bare—no table, no chairs, just a single bed.
John raised a brow, a little speechless at how spartan her living space was.
Still, he didn't seem to mind. With a faintly amused look, he said, "You didn't actually think I wouldn't come to the capital, did you?"
"Of course not… haha…" Emily gave a couple of nervous, awkward laughs.
The truth was, she hadn't expected John to show up—especially now.
He was a wanted man.
When the queen first issued the bounty for the black-haired witcher, Emily had been utterly stunned.
To make matters worse, some members of the Brotherhood of Sorcerers had even warned her about the Black Witcher's reputed savagery.
That Master Stregobor had lost both his legs because of the Black Witcher.
If he hadn't fled fast enough, Renfri would probably have finished him off.
More importantly, the Brotherhood of Sorcerers had taken notice of John.
A witcher who could wield powerful magic...
That went far beyond anything they had ever believed possible.
As the ones who had originally created the witchers, they had never heard of such a thing.
Combined with what had happened to Stregobor, the sorcerers had grown wary of the Black Witcher.
There had been a time when witchers were sworn enemies of sorcerers.
They had no desire to see the witchers gain new strength.
"Yardani, I'll get your gold to you as soon as I can," Emily said.
"No rush," John replied with a small shake of his head. He glanced at the nervous sorceress and added, "I remember you once said there's someone in the capital who knows about the monoliths."
Emily corrected him. "I said there might be."
She noticed John's gaze land on a manuscript she hadn't managed to pick up.
As she moved to retrieve it, John picked it up first, his eyes scanning the lines of text and the handwritten notes in the margins.
"That's Elder Speech. You won't understand it," Emily warned.
She didn't dare snatch it back from John—his grim reputation was enough to make her wary—but as she watched him study the manuscript, she couldn't help feeling a surge of disdain.
John rubbed his chin and murmured, "The Conjunction of the Spheres…?"
Emily's mouth fell open in disbelief. "You… you can read it?"
"More or less," John shrugged.
He casually tossed the manuscript aside, and Emily scrambled to catch it, almost dropping it again.
"This is ancient script! I need to consult references just to make sense of it," Emily said indignantly. "How can you understand it?"
"Because I studied it." John cast her a sidelong glance, noting her bruised pride.
That fragment he'd just read had set his thoughts turning.
The Conjunction of the Spheres—the day when worlds overlapped.
The record described something John had never encountered before.
It seems that as the trials progress, this world becomes more and more complete, he thought to himself.
He couldn't help wondering what had truly happened with his grandfather's generation of witchers.
Because of a single trial… could it really create a world this vivid and lifelike?
Not even a witcher, let alone Dumbledore, could have done that.
The more John learned about this world, the more he sensed it was becoming something truly real.
"Like the Icebound Coffer… this magical world is full of secrets," John murmured, feeling a twinge of awe.
Emily said, "Alright then. Since you can read these ancient texts, instead of asking others, why not seek the answers yourself?"
"Seek them myself?" John asked.
Emily nodded, looking slightly embarrassed. "There's a library inside the royal palace. It's the largest repository of knowledge apart from Newburg—full of historical records and all kinds of manuscripts.
"I originally agreed to become a royal sorceress because of that library."
She hesitated for a moment before adding hopefully, "If you do go there to study, could you… translate the materials you read for me as well?"
She didn't like to admit it, but when it came to deciphering ancient scripts, John seemed to be far more capable than she was.
As a sorceress, having to ask someone else for help stung her pride—if word got out, she'd probably lose face in the Brotherhood.
But John, eager to learn more about this world, readily agreed to her request.
Since the library was inside the royal palace, John could only go there when Emily went as well.
To outsiders, it was said that John was serving as Emily's bodyguard.
But once inside, John spent his time poring over the texts while Emily sat nearby taking notes.
They stayed like that for several days straight.
Eventually, the runes on John's sword began to glow, and he knew it was time to leave and continue the trial.
He asked, "Where can I find magical creatures?"
Emily gave him a location—there was a range of blue-colored mountains where people had reportedly seen a griffin.
It also happened to be a royal bounty; if John could take care of it, he would receive a reward.
John thought it was a good destination and prepared to head there.
During this time, Emily had helped John a great deal—whether in navigating the palace or searching through records.
He couldn't just leave without showing some measure of gratitude.
"I hope we can meet again someday," Emily said as she escorted John to the edge of the city.
She kept a low profile, pulling her hooded cloak tight to conceal her face.
John nodded. Mounting his horse, he said to Emily, "I left you a gift—consider it repayment for these past few days."
Emily blinked in surprise and watched him ride off.
She didn't notice that, as she was seeing John off, a group of riders had been quietly trailing behind them.
They bore the emblem of a wolf-slayer and rode out of the capital as well.
---
Check out the Patreon for advance chapters!