After the witcher departed, Melitele's divine realm of Eternal Harvest still contained countless godfolk, bustling about in fervent labor for the harvest.
Yet, inevitably, the entire divine realm seemed to grow quiet all at once.
The Crone stood motionless on the ridge between the fields, leaning on her cane. Her gaze swept across the boundless golden wheat fields and settled on the horizon.
In an instant—
The blue horizon that had merely carried a faint chill, blending seamlessly with the sunlit azure sky, suddenly tore away its disguise, transforming into a night thick with heavy blue mist.
In just a few breaths, nearly one-tenth of the divine realm's once-brilliant blue sky turned into a fog-blue night curtain that made one's soul feel frozen at a glance.
Within the golden wheat fields of Eternal Harvest, many heavy ears of wheat were coated in pale white frost. The godfolk slowed down, as if frozen stiff.
"White Frost—"
The Crone stood expressionlessly on the field ridge and let out a slow sigh.
Never walking alone—is it—
The witcher opened his eyes. The golden wheat fields of Eternal Harvest had vanished. What met his gaze was Melitele's kindly sacred statue bathed in sunlight, and the wisps of green smoke rising from the three ritual circles of Melitele's Concealment Ritual.
A wooden plaque lay quietly at the center of the ritual.
"Hm?"
The witcher let out a startled sound, bent down, and picked up the wooden plaque.
The Blessing of Harvest was not appearing in the form of an amulet for the first time. The last Blessing of Harvest (Greater) that had created a record of twenty-seven consecutive gold rewards had also been a wooden amulet.
He remembered it very clearly. That amulet had been called "Maiden's Pact (Old Custom)."
[Name: Maiden's Pact (Old Custom)]
[Type: Ritual Item]
[Effect: Hold the amulet and recite, "Praise be to the Mother of All, goddess of fertility, harvest, and childbirth, eternal Maiden, Mother, and guardian of the Crone—" to activate one Blessing of Harvest (Greater).]
Not only did the amulet itself depict not Melitele's three aspects, but only a carefree maiden with long hair draped over her shoulders and a tulip wreath upon her head; the place where it appeared within the ritual was also the circle representing the Maiden.
But now, the wooden amulet lay at the exact center where the three circles—Maiden, Mother, and Crone—intersected. Carved into the wood was Melitele's complete triune form, rather than just a single aspect.
After brushing away the dust, even without relying on the Wolf Medallion's magical sight, one could feel dense divine power surging through the wood grain, blooming with golden light like breathing in the darkness, faintly exuding the scent of tulips mixed with grass and wheat stalks.
After observing it for a while, seeing that it looked nothing like human craftsmanship and more like something that had grown naturally, the witcher moved his thoughts.
[Name: Praise of the Forerunner]
[Type: Ritual Item / Divine Accessory]
[Effect: Hold the amulet and recite, "Praise be to the Mother of All, goddess of fertility, harvest, and childbirth, eternal Maiden, Mother, and guardian of the Crone—" to activate respectively: one Blessing of Harvest (Greater); one divine protection granting complete immunity to non-divine attacks (Divine) (automatically activates when the host encounters a powerful, life-threatening attack); and one powerful holy enchantment with extreme effectiveness against monsters, evil, or non-human-aligned targets (Divine).
After all three blessings are fully expended, Praise of the Forerunner can still release divine aura equivalent to Evil Dispelling (causing monsters, evil, or non-human-aligned beings to instinctively avoid the area) three times per week. (Upon returning to designated locations—such as a Temple of Melitele, a heavily prayed-upon statue, or an area where Melitele's Concealment Ritual has been successfully cast—the divine aura will be immediately refreshed.)]
[Note: Witcher, you are never walking alone.]
After clearly reading the appraisal panel revealed by the identification, Allen paused, then lifted his head to look at Melitele's sacred statue.
Whether the playful Maiden, the benevolent Mother, or the solemn Crone, all smiled at him, blinking their eyes, before completely vanishing like an illusion.
But the witcher knew this was no illusion.
Blessing of Harvest, divine protection, divine enchantment, and a recoverable Evil Dispelling—isn't this a bit too wasteful? What I really wanted was just one Blessing of Harvest; the rest could have been used on the priests of the temple and the Crone Knights—
Feeling the sacred aura within the sanctuary, which had clearly dropped by a large margin, Allen had the urge to say so.
But he opened his mouth, then closed it again.
This was the care and gift of an elder—something that could not be refused.
He carefully lowered his head and put on Praise of the Forerunner, then bowed deeply to Melitele's sacred statue.
Setting aside the Blessing of Harvest, that one protection and one enchantment, under certain circumstances, could completely amount to two extra lives.
Evil Dispelling was also extremely useful to a witcher. If he had obtained this divine magical accessory before rescuing Hen Gedymdeith, then even without Visenna and Korin's help, as long as he managed to wake up even once, he would have had a high chance of surviving in the Amell Mountains.
He might not even have needed the divine aura. With the divine protection engraved into the amulet, he might not have suffered such severe injuries at all, and could have safely driven the King of the Wild Hunt out of this world.
"Who knows whether the goddess learned of my experiences in Ban Ard from Granny Ianna—this divine accessory was truly made with care…" Allen thought to himself.
Of course, although it felt a bit wasteful, this could actually be considered good news.
At the very least, whether judging from the state of the divine realm's Eternal Harvest fields or the generosity of this intervention, it showed that Goddess Melitele had recovered greatly from these recent "conjunctions" involving him.
With the goddess seemingly no longer lacking divine power, the Temple of Melitele would surely be able to rapidly increase its strength and influence.
This was a good thing, both for him and for the School of the Wolf.
To be honest, he was already starting to look forward to what role the Temple of Melitele would play in the future tides.
"The Conjunction of the Spheres must be accelerated," Allen thought. "Whether politically or in terms of power, the Temple of Melitele will definitely be an indispensable force in the future struggle against the Wild Hunt and the White Frost."
"And not just the Temple of Melitele."
"Kreve may also be suffering from the erosion of the White Frost and likewise needs to be freed through the Conjunction of the Spheres."
"Although I don't know why the goddess said that Kreve's High Priest, Ymir Isaac, would agree to all my requests, this at least shows that in the not-too-distant future, the Temple of Kreve should also become my ally."
"Compared to Melitele, Kreve is the true god of the battlefield domain. His priests, once grown, will not be weaker than those of Goddess Melitele."
"However, visiting the Temple of Kreve is definitely impossible in the near future—it will have to wait until after the expedition to the Valley of Thousand Monsters."
"Fortunately, whether it's the magma-thick blood in the prophecy, or the unfamiliar faces of other witchers and sorcerers, none of it seems like something that will happen in the short term. There's plenty of time."
Thinking about the Temple of Kreve, Allen's mind gradually relaxed and broadened.
"In fact, it's not just Melitele and Kreve. It doesn't really matter how many adopted sons of cult popes Vera and Sol become. In the face of the White Frost, all orthodox deities of the witcher world are my natural allies."
"And not only can they serve as a bridge between the supernatural and the mundane, they're also far more reliable than any secular monarchy or extraordinary faction."
Maintaining good relations with Melitele—even without the two disasters in Ellander that involved Allen—the relationship between the School of the Wolf and Temeria would not be poor.
Cultivating goodwill with Kreve would normally mean that Redania, Kaedwen, and the other Northern Kingdoms, as well as the Nilfgaardian regions, would not be overly resistant to the appearance of witchers.
Establishing ties with Freya would make the battle-hardened pirate clans of the Skellige Isles the School of the Wolf's best allies.
And to strengthen religious factions, everything would ultimately converge on the same focal point—the Conjunction of the Spheres.
Allen thought for a moment, then moved his thoughts again.
Necrophages:
[Hunting Quest: Drowners II (Drowners slain: 178/500)]
[Hunting Quest: Ghouls III (Ghouls slain: 0/500)]
[Hunting Quest: Rotfiends III (Rotfiends slain: 0/200)]
[Hunting Quest: Alghouls II (Alghouls slain: 0/40)]
[Hunting Quest: Foglets I (Foglets slain: 2/50)]
[Hunting Quest: Water Hag I (Water Hags slain: 0/10)]
[Hunting Quest: Scurver I (Scurvers slain: 7/10)]
Specters:
[Hunting Quest: Wraith II (Wraiths slain: 110/150)]
Hybrids:
[Hunting Quest: Royal Griffin I (Royal Griffins slain: 0/3)]
Ogres:
[Summoning Quest: Rock Troll II (Rock Troll blood collected: 0/25)]
The battle at Ban Ard had consumed all of the Conjunction of the Spheres Allen had accumulated. Barring accidents, the next most likely quests to be completed were not the Scurver or Royal Griffin hunts that lacked only a few kills, nor the Wraith hunt that was short by forty, but—once again—Drowners, Ghouls, and Alghouls.
Because these necrophages were the most common monsters, and their numbers were only growing more rampant alongside the wars among the Northern Continent's kingdoms.
But clearly, the quantities required for these necrophages mostly exceeded five hundred—it wasn't something that could be completed in a short period of time.
It seemed he would have to wait until after the expedition to the Valley of Thousand Monsters, and then see whether there were any monsters there that gathered on a large enough scale to be hunted. After all, that place was the most famous monster den on the Northern Continent.
"Time really doesn't wait for anyone…"
Recalling Melitele's reminder that he should rest regularly and cherish the people around him, Allen couldn't help but sigh.
"Once the expedition to the Valley of Thousand Monsters is over, and the School of the Wolf sets up a branch there, things should get better," he comforted himself. "At least the most troublesome issue—monster numbers—won't be such a big problem anymore."
"The only real problem is how to guard against the Rogridres family striking from the shadows during the expedition, and how to demand Ban Ard New City within the Valley of Thousand Monsters as the School of the Wolf's new base—"
The matter of the expedition to the Valley of Thousand Monsters was not something that could be fully thought through in the short term. After all, all he knew for now was that the place was teeming with monsters, endless to kill, and extremely ferocious.
When the expedition actually began, how to deal with hostility, how to seize Ban Ard New City, and how to establish a new base—he had no clear plan for any of it.
These were never things he could figure out alone.
He would have to wait until returning to Kaer Morhen, and then discuss everything carefully with Sol, Vera, and the other witcher masters of the School of the Wolf.
For the moment, the witcher set aside thoughts of the expedition to the Valley of Thousand Monsters. With a shift of his mind, he jumped to the inventory.
[Chests: Centurion Renakins Galleon Price's Chest ×5, Aen Elle's Chest ×5, @#￥%&'s Chest ×5, Sunny Gobert's Chest ×5, Miguel Courtney's Chest ×5, Sorcerer's Chest ×5, Carrion Lord's Chest ×5, Corpse Demon's Chest ×5]
Although Melitele's Blessing of Harvest did not strictly have to be performed inside a sanctuary, there was no need for Allen to choose another location.
"Praise be to the Mother of All, goddess of fertility, harvest, and childbirth, eternal Maiden, Mother, and guardian of the Crone—" Allen prayed devoutly.
The moment the words left his lips—
Click click
The amulet of unknown material immediately jumped out from the witcher's collar, trembling as it emitted cracking sounds.
Then the wooden grain of the amulet lit up with a dazzling white light and suddenly floated into midair.
The cracking grew denser. All the wooden textures turned golden, dyeing the entire amulet in brilliant gold, making it look as though it had been carved from pure gold.
Snap!
When the cracking reached its peak, a semi-transparent golden light, identical in shape to the amulet, suddenly separated from it, shattered in midair, and turned into drifting specks of light.
After circling the witcher three times, the golden specks, like birds returning to their nest, sank into the center of his brow.
Allen's mind instantly cleared.
He knew—the Blessing of Harvest had taken effect.
Daring not to hesitate in the slightest, he moved his thoughts—
[Ding! Corpse Demon's Chest ×1 opened]
As always, the witcher first used an unimportant chest to test the strength of the blessing.
In an instant, accompanied by the cold system prompt, brilliant golden light burst forth from the chest.
[Ding! Obtained: Bomb Formula — Enhanced Northern Wind]
[Name: Enhanced Northern Wind]
[Type: Bomb Formula]
[Crafting Requirement: Alchemy LV2]
[Formula: Stammelford's Dust ×1, Northern Wind ×1, Ducal Water ×2, Powdered Pearl ×1, Fool's Parsley Leaves ×1, Verbena ×1, Allspice ×2]
[Effect: Freezes enemies. Attacking frozen enemies deals additional damage. (Extended duration)]
[Note: Northern Wind! Northern Wind! Freeze everything!]
Oh yes! A perfect start!
Compared to other formulas—or those chests that might open to who-knew-what strange items—Northern Wind ranked at least in the top five on Allen's wish list.
No matter what he was facing, Northern Wind could provide excellent damage and crowd control.
Not long ago, when facing the King of the Wild Hunt, Eredin Bréacc Glas, Northern Wind had been among his first-round choices. It was only because Dimeritium Bombs were more suitable for that situation that he hadn't used it.
Extremely practical!
The appearance of the Enhanced Northern Wind bomb formula energized Allen. However, he did not open the remaining Corpse Demon chests. Instead, he directly moved his thoughts again.
[Ding! Centurion Renakins Galleon Price's Chest ×5 opened!]
In an instant, countless dazzling rays of golden light shot out from the chest, which was styled after the Wood Elf aesthetic.
Allen stared without blinking, praying with the utmost sincerity in his heart.
Please let it be the advancement method of the Alder Folk!
It must be the advancement method of the Aen Elle!
....
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