[Chapter Size: 2800 Words.]
Third Person POV
White Orchard.
...
...
Mislav, the local hunter, was tracking a pack of wild dogs when, suddenly, a shadow entered his field of vision as he looked down at the ground.
The fright was immediate. He jumped back, instantly drawing his hunting knife. His eyes settled on a relatively ordinary-looking man holding a bow.
"You... Who are you?" the hunter asked, frowning without lowering his guard. He had no idea where that man had come from. He hadn't even heard his presence, and suddenly he was already that close. If he had been a man with ill intentions, Mislav would already be dead. That was unsettling for someone who had spent his entire life hunting in the region, as Mislav had.
"I apologize if I startled you, hunter." The strange man's voice was calm, but there wasn't the slightest trace of regret over his approach. It was as if he were saying the blame was Mislav's own for not noticing him.
"You certainly know how to move without making a sound. But you still haven't told me who you are..." Mislav said, refusing to let his guard down.
"Force of habit, hunter. My name is Kris. I'm tracking the griffin, and I saw it here. It seems you've found some tracks. They look like wolf tracks, right? A small pack of four or five of them. What's your name?" the man called Kris asked.
That made the hunter relax a little. "You're after the griffin? You should spare yourself from that madness. I've already told the villagers and the army men to try to find a witcher, even if they're rare these days."
Kris merely looked toward the forest, maintaining a calm expression.
"Don't worry. I have the skills to hunt that kind of creature."
The hunter certainly didn't believe him. "You're definitely not from around here. May I ask where you came from?"
"I came from the south. We're heading north. My wife and my son are in the village. We'll continue our journey after the hunt. If I manage to bring it down, I might even earn a few gold coins. Nothing too special," Kris replied.
The man simply nodded, but before either of them could say anything else, howls began to echo through the forest.
"It seems the dogs found us before you could hunt them," Kris said with a hint of humor.
The hunter immediately readied himself. Then he saw the man beside him draw his bow with unnatural speed and nock one of his arrows.
When the first wolf burst from the woods, charging straight at them, it was immediately struck by an arrow. The projectile pierced its head, killing it instantly as its body tumbled across the ground.
The hunter barely had time to process what he had just witnessed. It was astonishing. Not even he, with all his experience, would have been capable of making a shot like that. In fact, he hadn't even managed to clearly see the movement, much less imagine how it could be replicated.
The moment the first wolf fell, four more emerged from the woods alongside a massive red wolf. The man called Kris drew three arrows almost simultaneously, held the bow horizontally, and fired.
The three arrows pierced the heads of three different wolves with perfect precision, killing them instantly.
At the same time, the hunter managed to shoot one of the animals in the shoulder. The wolf let out a pained growl but remained alive.
Before the hunter Mislav could even prepare another arrow, the stranger had already fired again.
The arrow struck the animal directly through the heart, just below where the hunter's arrow had landed. The wolf collapsed to the ground, growling for a few more seconds before becoming completely still.
The entire area fell silent. Four wolves lay dead with only a single arrow each, while a fifth had been brought down with two.
The hunter stared at the man, completely stunned. "You intend to hunt the griffin?" Mislav asked, swallowing hard.
"Of course. Do you know of any clues?" the man replied.
The hunter nodded. "There are some tracks farther south. Let me show you. After that, I'll come back to collect the wolf carcasses. I owe you one, stranger."
Although he spoke normally, he couldn't take his eyes off the man named Kris.
Madara ignored all of Mislav's tension and followed him to the place where they had found blood.
It was human blood on the ground. There were also marks left behind by the griffin.
"Thank you," Madara said briefly.
Using only his own skills, without relying on the Sharingan, he began tracking the creature. It didn't take long for him to find the direction it had gone.
Meanwhile, the hunter returned to the forest to collect the wolf carcasses. Madara had refused any reward, as he had no interest in it.
Following the tracks, he arrived at a nest. There, he found the bodies of several men, probably soldiers, along with a dead griffin. It was a female and was about to hatch her eggs. The Temerian soldiers had found and killed her, and the male, who arrived later, had gone mad and begun attacking farm animals and people...
Taking advantage of being in the south, Madara headed toward the small cluster of houses where the Noonwraith was known to appear.
He went to the location and, just as in the game, easily summoned the spirit.
The creature appeared with a furious roar. Madara simply destroyed it.
The spirit was recovering to attack once more, but he merely formed a hand seal and pointed toward the inside of the well, exhaling a massive blast of fire and releasing even more flames.
The fire completely engulfed the well and the hidden cave within it. Even the water evaporated. The bones of the woman, who was the spirit, scattered across the bottom of the pool, were reduced to ashes.
The Lady of the Well would never have the chance to return. Madara merely watched the well explode into a gigantic cloud of steam before leaving. The water that had disappeared inside the well was already beginning to return from the spring, though it wasn't much and would take weeks to fill the well again...
In any case, Madara continued heading farther north through the eastern forest. Along the way, he came across several monster nests.
Ghouls, drowners, and the other common creatures of White Orchard meant absolutely nothing to him.
Madara exterminated them with extreme ease, simply breathing a single fireball to reduce each nest to ashes.
He continued toward the area where the war had taken place. There were still many corpses scattered throughout the place, as well as a few Places of Power, something Madara had already used some time ago when he needed to unlock the Susanoo with 80% of the system in order to face the dragons. Back then, he had traveled through all those Places of Power scattered across the continent to increase the system's percentage.
In any case, he found nothing of interest. He merely eliminated a few monsters that were still wandering through the region.
He also came across a few men hiding in cabins deep within the forest. Curiously, they were Temerians and Nilfgaardians living together. Both had fled from the war.
As soon as they saw Madara, they were startled and immediately pointed their weapons at him.
Madara, however, did not even feel like dealing with the two of them. He simply turned his back on them and walked away.
After that, he returned to the village. His wife was at the local herbalist's house.
When he arrived, he found Aren sitting down and Cirilla talking to the woman while she prepared some healing salves for wounds. Aren remained seated on a small stool beside her, carefully watching her work.
As soon as Madara entered, Cirilla, who was using the name Falka, approached him with a worried expression. Or rather... perfectly playing the role of a concerned wife.
"So you must be the hunter husband," the herbalist said with a small smile.
At that moment, Aren looked at him and smiled brightly. "Daddy!"
"I'm Tomira. I told your wife it's madness for you to hunt a griffin. That creature has been terrorizing the entire region," the woman commented.
"I'm Kris. And don't worry. I know how to take care of myself. My wife must have already told you that," Madara replied with a shrug.
Cirilla—or rather, Falka—simply let out a soft laugh, as if a mere griffin could possibly pose any danger to the most powerful man on the continent.
What was a small winged creature compared to someone capable of destroying entire armies, summoning meteors, or even creating something resembling a moon with his own power?
"Anyway, I found a nest with a dead female griffin. She's the reason that griffin is attacking, since soldiers killed her... I also passed through the area devastated by the war and cleared out a few monsters."
"What are you, a witcher or something? The young lady said you're an excellent hunter, but that's just ridiculous," the herbalist remarked, unable to resist teasing him a little.
Madara showed no reaction. "Don't worry. I'll take care of it. Anyway, let me ask... Do you have this kind of herb?"
He began describing the ingredients he needed. He intended to prepare a trap to lure the griffin, knowledge he had acquired at Kaer Morhen.
"You can find the rest at the bottom of the river. But be careful. There are drowners there."
Cirilla made a slight grimace as she looked at her husband. "Did you know the villagers told me a gruesome story? They said someone had been murdered, and they thought the culprit was a witcher who happened to be passing through the region. They killed the witcher after a mob surrounded him... Only afterward did they discover that the real culprits were drowners." Cirilla had clearly not liked the story.
Perhaps that was why she had left the village for a while, while she and Aren wandered through the surrounding fields until they found this place for Ciri to talk.
Cirilla wanted to ask something else, but ultimately decided against it.
"I'll take care of this quickly, and then we'll leave immediately," Madara said.
Cirilla simply nodded.
The herbalist raised an eyebrow but showed no surprise. She simply let the couple settle their own affairs.
As soon as Madara left, the woman turned her attention to Cirilla. "Your husband is quite brave, isn't he? He didn't hesitate for a second to say he'd face the griffin. Every man I know would be shaking in his boots. And is it true what he said, that he dealt with monsters?" the herbalist asked Falka curiously.
"Daddy is really strong!" Aren grumbled immediately.
Cirilla merely displayed a faint smile. "Yes, my husband is very brave."
The woman simply nodded despite her doubts. He looked completely ordinary in her eyes.
The first thing Madara did was head to the river.
He dove into the water and easily gathered the herbs. While searching for the ingredients, he found several cave-like drowner nests.
He approached them and threw several kunai with explosive tags attached. The explosions echoed beneath the water, sending powerful shockwaves throughout the lake.
In response, practically every drowner in the area began charging toward him.
Soon, more than a dozen creatures had surrounded Madara, completely enraged. He, however, showed no concern whatsoever.
He simply drew his sword and began fighting underwater. He gave the monsters no chance at all. He swung his blade far faster than any of them could follow, slicing through their bodies with extreme ease.
The water quickly began to turn red. Pieces of their bodies slowly floated toward the surface.
Madara eliminated all twelve drowners before swimming back out of the lake. When he emerged from the water, a small crowd had already gathered along the shore, staring at the blood-covered water and the remains of the floating drowners.
Madara simply ignored their stares.
Next, he headed to the cemetery. He found a few more spirits wandering through the area and easily destroyed them with sealing jutsu.
He then entered the graves and found a few interesting things. Once he was finished, he returned to the herbalist with the herbs she had asked for.
The woman stared at him for a few moments.
Cirilla almost had to force herself to keep playing the role of the cautious and submissive wife because it was difficult, especially with the way the herbalist kept looking at Kris with admiration. Ciri almost broke character.
Anyway, the herbalist prepared everything Madara needed to create the trap. In the exact same place where Vesemir originally placed the bait, Madara set it as well.
It didn't take long for the griffin to appear. The instant the creature dove toward him, Madara coated his sword with chakra and delivered a single slash.
One of its wings was completely severed. The griffin let out a scream of pain so loud that all of White Orchard had probably heard it.
The creature crashed to the ground, drenched in blood, but still charged at Madara in a fit of rage.
He simply took a step to the side, dodging the attack with extreme ease.
Then he sliced off its eagle-like beak, followed by its eyes. The beast roared in agony. Finally, Madara leaped onto its back and drove his sword into the top of its head.
The blade pierced completely through its skull, emerging from the underside of its jaw.
The griffin died instantly.
Some people working on the nearby farms ran toward the scene but stopped a short distance away.
When they arrived, they found Madara already removing the creature's head. Soon afterward, Eira, who had obediently remained waiting like a good horse, approached.
Madara placed the carcass onto the animal.
"H-How... how did you do that?" asked a scruffy man, still covered in sweat from working on the farm and dressed in worn-out clothes.
Madara merely looked at him. After fastening the griffin's head onto the mount as well, he shrugged. "Pure luck, I guess."
"No... No man can kill that creature. It has already devoured several men. Are you a witcher?" another villager asked.
Meanwhile, more and more people approached, drawn by the griffin's scream from moments earlier. "No. I just have experience."
Without saying another word, Madara mounted Eira and began riding away. The crowd immediately stepped aside as he passed, carrying the griffin's head, which was still dripping blood.
His clothes were completely stained, but that didn't bother him. Later, all it would take was a little magic to clean them.
Ignoring the village, Madara headed straight north, toward the small fortress where the Temerians were camped.
As soon as he arrived, everyone stepped aside when they saw him carrying the griffin's head. Madara walked up to the captain and simply threw the creature's head down in front of him.
"Who are you? You killed the griffin?"
"Yes. The blood is still fresh. You must have heard its scream from here."
"We did... But we never imagined someone was killing the creature," the captain replied, looking back and forth between Madara and the enormous griffin's head.
The proof was right in front of him. "How did you do it?"
"I have skill, even if I'm not a witcher," Madara replied.
The captain remained silent for a few moments before nodding. "Very well. I'd like you to come back later so I can pay you. I never expected to find such a skilled hunter."
"I'm just a simple hunter," Madara replied.
"A hunter who killed a griffin... I was expecting a witcher, not you. In any case, I'd like to know more about you." The man showed a genuine interest in Madara, while Madara merely rolled his eyes.
"Very well. But I'm going to see my wife and my son now." Without waiting for another response, Madara simply walked away.
The captain returned to talking with his men, probably discussing the matter, but Madara had no intention of staying there.
Nor did he intend to leave without his reward. After leaving the fortress and disappearing from the soldiers' sight, he quietly returned, took at least twice the amount they had promised as payment directly from their treasury, and left once again.
Afterward, he headed to the herbalist's house. Cirilla was playing with Aren in the small field beside the house.
"Well, we have nothing left to do here. It's time for us to visit Nilfgaard."
Cirilla simply nodded. Madara informed the herbalist that they were leaving.
Then, the three of them mounted Eira and followed the road north.
They traveled several kilometers, leaving tracks along the road. Once they were certain that no one could see them anymore, they vanished in a teleportation.
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