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It was already night when they came back to the surface. The moon’s light wasn’t bright enough to drape the land in silver, and the stars were twinkling dimly. Sparks of light flickered in the orchard, but the witchers had no plans on staying the night there. It was not a great time to visit the baron, so they camped out in the wilds.

Roy kept Kolgrim’s remains in his inventory. He would bury them in the new witcher base he would build soon. Letho agreed to that. Most witchers spent their lives fighting monsters and dangers only to die in the wilds and become food for beasts. Having a grave after they died would be a gift.

The moon and stars shone in the sky, and the bonfire crackled, providing warmth for the witchers. Roy was sitting on a protruding boulder, meditating. He concentrated on his character sheet. There was one skill point left from leveling up after he exited Brokilon, and it was time to spend it.

All his Level 1 skills like Sword Mastery, Crossbow Mastery, Witcher Signs, Witcher Senses, and Alchemy could be leveled up through training. Spending his points on them wouldn’t be a great choice. As for Massacre, Roy was planning to level it up through killing more monsters like usual.

In the end, he set his sights on Observe, which was Level 2, and Meditate, which was Level 4. It had been a long time since Observe had a level up, and now its flaws were showing through. Roy could not see through cursed ones or higher vampires if they decided to hide themselves. If he used Observe on anything with a high Perception, he would only get question marks instead of numbers in return. It was lacking as a scouting skill.

He might have leveled that up, but after Massacre had its level up last time, Roy realized that his skills would evolve if they and their main stat were to reach Level 5 and ten points respectively. Meditate’s main stats were Spirit and Constitution. The former was twelve points, while the latter was 11.1, both of which were more than ten.

So the level is the only thing holding it back. Compared to Observe, Roy thought leveling Meditate up was a better choice. He spent the point on Meditate, and a cool sensation spread through his mind, while his body was enveloped in a warm, invisible blanket.

‘Meditate: Level 4 → Level 5

Spirit: 12 → 12.5

Mana: 160 → 165

Constitution: 11.1 → 11.6

HP: 151 → 156

…

‘Meditate has reached Level 5. Your Constitution and Spirit has reached at least ten points. You have unlocked another effect for Meditate.

Activate: You have started to master Meditate and reach the truth of this skill. While you meditate, your body will automatically absorb and store the element of water around you.

You will receive one charge of Activate for every complete round of Meditation you do (A complete round is five hours). Activate can heal you for twenty percent of your Mana and HP. It can also heal light injuries.

Caution: You cannot stack or store Activate. The charges will disappear after a day.’

***

Roy fell into silence for a moment. Just like fear and Massacre, Activate was an extension of Meditate. Meditate’s level would affect the efficacy of Activate, and he knew it. Activate might only heal twenty percent of his HP for now, but it was faster than Swallow. Swallow might heal him for thirty percent, but its effect would take place over ten minutes. On top of that, Activate could replenish his Mana, and twenty percent was thirty-three points. It was enough for a single use of Signs. He wouldn’t have to worry about the ingredients or toxicity of the potions either.

“So this is like a hybrid flask in all those other ARPGs, and it automatically stores one charge after every meditating session. This is convenient.”

Roy stopped thinking about that and went back to his meditation. The night went by silently, save for the crackling of the fire and Letho’s calm breathing.

***

When Roy exited his meditation the next morning, he touched the wound on his shoulder, and it had already closed and formed a scab. There was only a scar left underneath. “So, this is Activate’s effect, huh? Not bad.”

A short while later, they came to a hill on the east of the orchard, where Ignatius’ fortress stood. The fortress was named after a Temerian king—Amavet, and Ignatius’ family had ruled this place for generations, handling the orchard. Moss and vines crawled all over the walls of the fortress, and from where the fortress was standing, it had the perfect vantage point to oversee the orchard and its scenes. Anyone who was in the fortress could see everything that was happening in the orchard.

Two soldiers equipped with a sword and brigandine armor were on patrol outside the gates, and they saw the witchers who were covered in black cloaks. “Halt. Who goes there?” the soldier demanded. The witchers were not exactly in bright attire, and they seemed too mysterious to be good. That was especially true for Letho, who looked like a small hill.

“We are here to see Baron Ignatius. There is a matter we wish to speak of with him.”

“You wish to speak with the baron?” The soldier looked at them through the slits of his helm. “The baron is busy. He has no time to see you. Now leave.”

“We are witchers.”

The answer sounded magical, and the soldiers froze for just a few moments. One of them quickly went into the fortress and came back out with a pudgy, middle-aged man. “Might you be witchers?” The man who came was in yellowish-brown, tight-fitting attire, and he spoke politely. Even though he was faced with witchers, he showed no disdain or disgust.

“I am Letho of Gulet, a witcher from the Viper School, and this is Roy.”

“Good. Very good…” The man rubbed his hands, and the excitement in his eyes was palpable. “You came at the right time. Your services are needed.”

“And you are…”

“Oh, that’s right.” The man extended his hand at the witcher. He had a smooth hand, and there weren’t even any calluses on it. “I am the butler for the baron—Grant. Please come with me. We can talk inside.”

***

The witchers went into the fortress with the butler. It had simple decorations, a stark contrast to the usual decadence and resplendence of other nobility. There were no oil paintings, animal specimens, or even armor. The windows on the walls were sealed shut, forbidding the sunlight from ever shining into the rooms. The fortress’ inner side felt cool and eerie. There were hardly any sources of light, save for the few magical ones hanging from the ceiling.

There were, however, many servants who were rushing around. Grant led the witchers to the staircase in the great hall and stopped the servant who was coming down. “Regina! How is the baron doing?”

“He had some wine to drink and fell asleep. Liv is with him.”

Grant eased up a little. “You may leave us.”

The witchers looked at each other. “This is quite decadent, isn’t it? Sleeping when the sun has risen? Did he spend all night having fun?”

***

Grant took them to his office and poured them two cups of red tea. It was rare to receive any hospitality for witchers. “It has been a couple of years since we last saw any witcher in the orchard. Rare guests, both of you,” he reminisced.

Roy asked nonchalantly, “When was the last time you saw a witcher?”

Grant smiled, but he did not answer. “My soldier told me you wished to speak to the baron?”

“Yes.” Letho brought up the excuse they came up with. They needed some time to look into the matter and seek the truth. “Roy and I are tracking down a monster near the orchard. It is a sly one, and it managed to escape us. It eventually came near this fortress and disappeared.”

“You’re saying that a monster is hiding in the great Amavet Fortress?” Grant had a weird look on his face.

“Most probably.”

“What kind of monster is it?”

“To tell you the truth, even if we told you, nonprofessionals won’t know what we’re talking about. But I guarantee you that the monster is lethal, cruel, and dangerous. I don’t think the baron would be too happy to find out that a monster has barged into his home. If you let us check this place, we’ll capture it for you. Nothing can escape witchers.” Letho noticed that Grant seemed to be in a dilemma. “But if you can’t make the decision, we can talk with the baron.”

“I am sorry, Mr. Letho, but the baron is in no state to see any guests.” The smile was wiped off Grant’s face. “And I can’t agree with what you said. Amavet Fortress is heavily guarded. The soldiers would never allow a dangerous monster to infiltrate it. And there are many residents in the fortress. Someone would have noticed if a monster did manage to slip past the guards. We had a morning meeting, and the servants all said everything is fine.”

“But they are not pro—”

“Enough, witchers. I am not interested in any horror story you have to say, but I do have a request for you. Care to hear me out?”

“Tell us more.”

“This is in line with your work.” The butler paused for a moment. “The baron’s mother died two years ago, and she was his last living relative. The baron has been feeling lonely. Since then, he has been trying to enter the family tomb and pay tribute to his family, but the tomb is now infested with wraiths, and it’s stopping the baron from visiting his family. If you can cleanse the tomb of its wraith infestation, you will be handsomely paid.”

The witchers looked at each other. Well, this is a coincidence. We just left the baron’s family tomb, and now his butler is asking us to cleanse the tomb of the wraiths haunting it.

“Mr. Grant, if that is your request, then…” Roy crossed his arms, smirking. “You can give us our reward now.”

“What do you mean?”

“Letho and I cleansed the tomb of wraiths yesterday.”

“Impossible!” Grant gasped. He shot up, delight crawling up his face, but it only lasted for a moment, and his face fell. “Witcher, do you know what happens to those who deceive the Verrieres in the White Orchard?”

“You can send someone to verify if you don’t believe us.”

The butler gazed at them, trying to bore a hole through their souls and see if they were lying, but they seemed too confident to be lying. “Give me a moment. You cleared the tomb yesterday, so this monster you’re tracking down is…”

“I think you might have guessed it. Well, this saves some time for both of us. The monster you dismissed just now came right out of the tomb, and it’s closely related to the baron.” Roy stared straight at the butler. “It’s probably standing right beside the baron’s bed as we speak,” he said, scaring the butler.

***

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