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“I knew you’d make that choice.” Vivienne bit her finger and flicked it. A golden drop of blood flew from her fingertip and approached Roy. It spun before the young witcher, and he took a whiff of it. A sweet scent of grass and trees assailed him. One taste of it made him feel warm, fuzzy, and lightheaded. It was better than the best wine in the land. The young witcher gazed at the drop of blood. He was gulping uncontrollably, holding down the desire to consume that blood.

“I am a daughter of the lake. My blood contains concentrated magical energy, and with my blessing infused in it, this drop of blood is as potent as a dose of magical potion. Consume it, and you shall strengthen your magical power.” Vivienne gave him a cheeky wink. “Do not feel guilty about it. You are the knight of Lake Vizima. The stronger you are, the safer I am.”

Roy brushed aside all hesitation and sucked that drop of blood. Unlike the water of the pond, this drop of blood had the warmth of a human body, and it awakened some nostalgic memories. The witcher immersed himself in it. His eyelids started feeling heavy, and all his tension was gone. His mind slowly turned into a state of chaos. He held his legs and curled up like a fetus in its mother’s womb. All he could feel was a warm liquid enveloping him and moving back and forth, as if the water of the womb were changing out all the liquids inside him.

The young witcher fell into a deep sleep.

Time flew when one was undergoing a magical modification. It trickled out through the cracks between fingers, like sands that could never be grasped.

When the witcher regained his consciousness, he felt a cool sensation surrounding him. When he looked up, he was greeted by the silvery light of the moon. He looked around to see where he was. Black Tern Island was still standing alone, as usual. There was nobody else besides him here. The silence was unnerving. Not even a cicada’s chirp was heard. It was more like a cemetery here.

The young witcher stretched his arms, and his bones cracked. He felt something cool on his crotch, and when he looked down, he noticed he was covered in pieces of solid liquid. He pried the pieces away and noticed that the wound on his shoulder was nothing more than a scar now.

Thanks to his regular and intense training, Roy had a lean body. Sure, he was not muscular, but his muscles were taut, sleek, and filled with power. He also had six-pack abs, and it was in full-view, which meant he was as naked as a baby. The young witcher stood on the lonely island at night, flabbergasted. A moment later, he noticed the sound of laughter coming from afar.

“Is she punishing me for keeping a secret from her?” Roy shook his head and sighed. “This won’t stop me.” He concentrated on his inventory and produced a fresh set of hemp clothes out of thin air. There was also a big cloak too. Roy liked to prepare for any situation.

He cleaned himself in the lake and changed into his clothes, then he sat on a charred stake to check the changes in his stats. He concentrated on his character sheet, and there was a notification there.

‘You have consumed a drop of blessed blood (Lady of the Lake, Vivienne). Part of your stats are permanently increased.

Constitution: 11.8 → 12

HP: 158 → 160

Spirit: 12.5 → 14

Mana: 165 → 180

Charisma: 7 → 8

…

His stats underwent a more-than-two-point increase. It was akin to leveling up twice, and his Spirit increased the most. It could solve his lack of magical energy for the time being. His Constitution had the smallest increase, but what surprised him was that he had a one-point increase in Charisma.

He looked into the river, but his reflection did not change much, though the details did. The outline of his face became gentler, his skin smoother. His eyes were even more deep-set, as if stars were twinkling in them. “Vivienne is still as generous as ever.”

Roy was coming up with another hypothesis. If the Lady of the Lake’s blood can increase my stats, I wonder if the blood of dragons can do the same. They’re legendary beings too, after all. I’ll see if I can get my hands on dragon blood once I’m strong enough to face one.

***

It was already late at night when Roy finally got used to the new changes in his body. Most of the lights in Vizima had gone out, as its citizens had retired for the night. Roy went around the lake to search for something. Thanks to the moonlight, he saw a wooden boat floating around. He used all his strength and rowed himself all the way to the shore and stepped onto the wet sands. The young witcher went into the woods on the lakeside, feeling the cool night breeze blowing against his skin, gazing into the deep, dark night.

Roy got an idea. Well, now that crisis is averted, I should test Kalkstein’s crystal out. He concentrated on his character sheet and summoned his mount. A silhouette appeared out of nowhere, and the silvery moonlight shone on a mystical beast that was lying in the grass-filled clearing. It was the size of a calf and had the head of an eagle but the body of a lion. The beast was curled up and lying on its side, its grey wings covering its back like a feather blanket. The wings moved up and down as the griffin snored.

The young witcher looked at the beast, and a smile curled his lips. He pounced at the sleeping griffin and gave it a hug. Roy buried his face into its warm, fuzzy wings and took a whiff.

His smile froze.

Just like most beasts, griffins had a bad case of body odor. Gryphon was locked up in a cage for a long time, and it probably never bathed, so the smell almost killed Roy.

Roy’s action woke the beast up from its sleep, and it growled in anger. It turned around to see the scoundrel who woke it from its sleep, but when the beast saw Roy’s familiar face, it froze up and started gurgling. Gryphon huddled closer to Roy’s chest and licked his face.

“Gods, you stink! Gryphon, stop! Stop licking me right now!”

Gryphone gurgled and gulped back its drool.

“Good. Good girl. Looks like I’ll have to brush your teeth and shower you every day now.” Roy wiped his face on the griffin’s mane and dusted his hands off. He then stood up and cast Observe on the beast.

‘Gryphon

Gender: Female

Age: Six months old

Status: Griffin

HP: 80

Strength: 6 → 7

Dexterity: 7 → 8

Constitution: 7 → 8

Perception: 7

Will: 6

Charisma: 4

Spirit: 5

Skills:

Chimera (Passive), Predator (Passive)

“Not bad. Your stats improved.” Roy held his left hand out and waved it like a flag as he gave out commands to Gryphon. “Down! Up! Roll around!”

Gryphon executed all the commands like a well-trained dog. A very big dog.

“Good girl. You’ll be having a big dinner tomorrow. Now, let’s take it up a notch! Sprint!”

A powerful air current traveled across the plains as a yellow-and-black beast sprinted at full speed under the moonlight. Unlike most quadrupeds, its hind legs’ claws were as sharp as ploughs. It left many holes in every place it ran across, and its pair of gigantic wings worked like bulldozers. Every time it landed on the ground, it would stir up a small tornado of grass blades and dirt. Not to mention the beast would always cause a little rumble.

Roy rubbed his chin, and his eyes shone with excitement. No wonder griffins are apex predators. Even their young is faster and more powerful than most adults. This inertia it created is on par with what a moving carriage can make. It could probably take someone out in one blow. Even a witcher would find it hard to recover from this slam alone.

“Guess its main attack will be this. I’ll have Gryphon practice this a lot from now on.” The only gripe Roy had was the ruckus it caused during its sprint. Unlike horses, cats, or even dogs, Gryphon’s sprint was clumsy and inelegant.

“Griffins excel in aerial combat.” He looked at the pair of wings. She’s six months old now. She can fly, right? “Fly, Gryphon!”

The griffin hooted and came to a halt. It stood on its hind legs and flapped its wings. The best stirred up an air current, and dirt and stone flew around. The griffin flew up into the air and glided ahead about five meters before falling down like a kite without a string.

“Again!”

The griffin sprinted, flew, and fell once more. Roy told it to try again. And again. And again. Gryphon eventually got dizzy from all the attempts, and it wobbled. Roy could feel its dejection, and he patted its back. “Come here, girl. You’re still young, and you spent a lot of time in that cage. It’s normal you can’t fly too far. I’ll train with you every day. Soon, you’ll be soaring across the skies.”

The griffin hooted like an owl again. Roy could feel something called passion burning within him. Once he was finished with the training, he would try riding the beast and soar through the skies.

Once Gryphon had recovered after some rest, Roy rode on its back again, as if the beast were a horse. It was still too young and weak to carry someone through the skies, but not if it was running on land.

The beast hooted.

“Run, girl! Run to the lakeside!”

A bizarre scene was happening around Lake Vizima. A half-lion, half-eagle beast was carrying a young witcher on its back as it ran laps around the lake. It would screech into the air occasionally, scaring the animals around away.

Half an hour later, Roy hopped down from the griffin, drenched in sweat. He massaged his sore backside, while the griffin was sticking its tongue out, breathing heavily. Both of them were exhausted.

Compared to riding a horse, griffinback riding was a lot rockier and much less satisfying. It was only half an hour, but Roy could feel his backside burning up. It was worse than the first time he went horseback riding, but he could understand why. Griffins were a fusion of a feline beast and an eagle. They moved on land in a different way because of the structure of their body. Their hind legs were powerful, and there were sharp protrusions on the tips of their wings. It would take great skill and lots of practice if Roy wanted to have a comfortable experience riding the griffin. Not even adding a saddle and rein could change that fact.

“Gryphon is not suited for land travel.” Roy reached a conclusion. In most cases, running would be better and more flexible than riding the griffin on land. “I hope it’ll be better once we get to the skies.”

The griffin hooted again.

“Tired? Then that’s all for today. But before we go back, I’m going to give you a makeover.” Roy happily whipped out the magic crystal, the so-called Random Transformation Stone. “Now lie down and don’t move. Relax and open your heart to me.”

The griffin hooted.

‘Mana -100. Random Transfiguration activated.’

A brilliant beam of light shot out from the crystal and covered the griffin entirely. It was as if layers of clouds were covering the beast, hiding it underneath the magic. Roy could see arcs of electricity swimming underneath, and sizzling sounds were heard.

The process lasted for about a minute. When the clouds faded away, the griffin was nowhere to be seen. It was replaced by an animal the size of a fist. It had limbs as slender as a frog’s, and its fingers were tender. Its skin was translucent and green. Not only was it petite, it looked like a bad case of malnutrition. Its head was bigger than its body, and it looked like a catfish. A pair of big, black eyes were embedded on it like little obsidians. It was looking at the witcher dumbly, but also with a lot of affection.

“Vodyanoi babies are included in the list of ‘small animals’ too? Wow, Kalkstein is… creative.”

The creature opened its mouth and closed it, gurgling and moving its whiskers. Roy picked it up by its belly, and it clung on to his hand like a koala. Its stubby tail wagged crazily, as if the creature were trying to please its master.

“You look a lot cuter, and easy to feed. Tomorrow, I’ll fill a bathtub with cold water and turn it into your little home. I’ll get some anchovies for you. It’s nice having a pet around.”

Roy was reminded of the time he strolled around in the marketplace and the stuff he saw. “I’ll train you so you can perform some tricks if we have the time. We can set up a tent and sell tickets for the show. It’s a way to make money, and you can change into different animals every day. The audience will never be bored. Once night falls, you’ll turn back, and we can go on with your flight and hunting drill. We can also make some food too. What do you think, Gryphon? Sounds like a plan?”

The creature hung upside down on Roy’s hand, and it blinked innocently. The young witcher held it in his palm and patted its head. He then tossed the creature into the cloak’s hood and returned to Vizima.

***

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