Chapter 186: Disperse with the Butterflies
SWISH!
The Master-grade silver sword "flowed" from its sheath. The next moment, Lynn stomped heavily on the ground, leaping into the air like an acrobat, spinning rapidly like a top. Finally, he struck the wraith with a powerful blow.
It was like a skeleton being thrown into a meat grinder; the ethereal skeleton was split in two, and countless bone fragments were even severed and scattered everywhere, then enveloped by a green flame upon landing, dissipating.
Having struck successfully, Lynn back-hopped, dodging the wraith's final claw swipe. Then, before the witcher's eyes, it transformed into a ball of green flame and vanished from this world.
Geralt rushed forward with his sword drawn, but the battle was already over. He knelt where the wraith had disappeared, puzzled. "What was that? A victim who died here?"
As a laboratory for live experiments, the last thing it would lack was cells for imprisoning test subjects. Moreau's laboratory was no different; the largest area was dedicated to confining victims for experiments.
There was even a corpse, still chained to an experiment table, retaining the tortured expression it had in death.
"No, that shouldn't be a victim. That should be Moreau."
Though already severely decayed, the wraith's appearance was identical to Moreau's face as Lynn remembered it. This world held too many unknowns. Take curses, for instance.
In The Witcher novels, there was a monster named Nivellen who, after causing mischief, was cursed by a priestess to be "a monster in human skin." Later, he indeed became a monster.
However, becoming a monster wasn't entirely a bad thing for him, as he gained the ability to summon food, drink, clothes, clean sheets, hot water, and soap without any cost. At least many impoverished and hungry people would surely be happy to become such a monster.
In The Witcher 3, there was also a pirate named Morkvarg who similarly became a monster. But compared to Nivellen, Morkvarg's fate was far more tragic; he had neither Nivellen's abilities nor was he constantly tormented by unending hunger.
In The Witcher 3, when Lynn arrived at this secret laboratory as Geralt, there was no wraith of Thomas Moreau here.
This might be because Lynn and Geralt arrived more than twenty years earlier than in the game. By the time of the game, Moreau's wraith had already dispersed.
People with strong obsessions might indeed linger in this world after death. But eventually, there comes a day when they dissipate and turn into nothingness. It's just that waiting for a wraith to dissipate on its own is too long, potentially taking centuries or more, which is why witchers are sometimes needed to destroy them.
Regardless of the truth, they could no longer know it now. But then again, if they don't know, they don't know. The two didn't dwell on it further. Instead, they began a thorough search of the entire laboratory.
The laboratory was filled with vials and jars needed for secondary mutation. In a corner, there was also a megascope, used to record past events in this laboratory.
On the bookshelves against the wall, many books on witchers, mutations, and genetics were neatly arranged.
As for the last and most important item, it was the witcher mutation chamber, resembling an iron maiden, which Moreau had used to force witchers to reverse their mutations, but which actually led to secondary mutations.
Through his knowledge of The Witcher 3, Lynn knew that this witcher mutation chamber wouldn't be dangerous. However, to be safe, he still didn't try it rashly.
Instead, he planned to show it to a sorceress first. In fact, during his previous explorations of ruins, Lynn didn't just rely on his memories. He also constantly used his extraordinary witcher senses to vigilantly observe his surroundings.
The more he understood the original novels and games, the more he understood the saying, "dead witchers are negligent witchers."
Putting aside the high-risk nature, Moreau's research findings actually illustrated one point: that research on witchers was far from being fully explored.
It's important to remember that Moreau was neither a core member of the Brotherhood of Sorcerers nor a visiting professor at Ban Ard. He also hadn't received funding from any large organization.
He completed his research on witcher secondary mutation solely through his own effort and finances. What does this indicate? It indicates that although witchers have existed for several hundred years, research on them has actually been stagnant for centuries.
It's mentioned in the Kaer Morhen archives that after sorcerers created witchers and discovered that witchers didn't possess the excellent spellcasting abilities of sorcerers, they decisively abandoned witchers, whom they considered flawed products.
The Brotherhood of Sorcerers also ceased its support for the witcher project. Thus, for these past few centuries, especially after Alzur and Cosimo left the witcher order, no sorcerer had conducted any further research on witchers. This is also why Lynn firmly believed that the Trial of the Grasses still had room for improvement.
After searching the entire laboratory, Lynn packed up everything in it, taking it all with him. Whether useful or not. After all, the space in his magic-patterned leather pouch was large enough. Geralt watched Lynn stuff items into his magic-patterned leather pouch like a squirrel. "So, that iron coffin, that torture device, is the secondary mutation equipment?"
"Yes," Lynn nodded. "Moreau intended to use this equipment to turn his son back into a normal human, but it actually led to his son's further enhancement."
"Although he chose to give up in despair at the time, it's clear that after his death, his obsession still drove him back to this place. However, even though his transformation of his son was successful, just to be safe, I think it would be better to show it to the sorceresses first. What do you think, Geralt?"
Geralt answered without hesitation. "That's certainly a good idea. Sorcerers' knowledge in this area truly can't be matched by just anyone."
"I happen to know a sorceress named Yennefer. Once we return to the North, I can try to contact her."
Lynn had just finished putting away the last item. "What a coincidence? I also know a sorceress named Triss Merigold."
To Lynn's surprise, Geralt suddenly panicked and quickly waved his hands. "No, no, no. We should show it to Yennefer first. If she can't help, then we should take it to the sorceress you know. The order cannot be reversed."
Lynn asked, confused, "Why? What's the difference?"
Geralt explained very seriously. "If Yen knows we consulted another sorceress before asking for her help, she won't just refuse to help; she'll tear us apart with her sarcasm."
"Really?"
"Do you know what an abacus is?"
"Yes, merchants use them for calculations. Why?"
Geralt looked up at the sky at a forty-five-degree angle. "Once, I made Yen angry, and she made me meditate while kneeling on an abacus."
Lynn immediately gasped, a cold shiver running down his spine. At the same time, he couldn't help but feel relieved that he preferred Triss.
....
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