The Divine Hunter

Roy had returned to Kalkstein's villa. He and the alchemist were standing under the living quarter's magical lamp, looking at the coffin.

Kalkstein, especially, had the look of a fanatic in his eyes. The coffin's base was made of silver and was embedded with precious items like obsidian, zircon, and dimeritium. The insides were covered in sealing circles made of infused dust, aether, and specter dust. Not even a dragon could escape, if it tried.

Lying in the coffin was the body of a male. His skin was pale and lifeless, and not a scar was left on his body. The look on his face spoke of peace. It felt like the man was just sleeping, not dead.

"Incredible job, Roy." A shocked Kalkstein stared at the witcher like he just met him for the first time. "How did you do it? You subdued a higher vampire without so much as harming a single strand of hair. Did someone assist you? You didn't even use my emergency items.

"Ahem. Thanks for the concern, Kalkstein. This is all thanks to your clay bombs and Cape of Silence. The bombs left grievous injuries on it, and the explosion was done with incredible precision." Roy paused for a moment. "Can I—"

"It's all gone!" Kalkstein's face fell, and he shook his head violently, dandruff flying out of his hair. "You took everything. I have nothing left in my reserve, but since you've helped me out big time, I can sell the bombs for a thousand orens apiece. It's how much the bombs cost to make."

And now it was Roy's face's turn to fall. The bastard still makes a ton of profit at a thousand apiece.

"Now let me see this specimen." Kalkstein managed to scare off Roy from purchasing the bombs. He rubbed his hands and placed them on the cold, dead corpse. It felt as chilly as a popsicle. Quickly, the alchemist summoned a ray of blue light and scanned the corpse from top to bottom.

Everywhere the magical lamp scanned, the insides of the vampire would be shown. Its vessels, arteries, bones, and even its unharmed innards.

"This is… curious. I thought his body would at least struggle, but no. He's quiet. Too quiet." Kalkstein circled the coffin, his eyes never leaving the corpse. Something started to shine within it. "And not even a scar from the battle. Not even a hint of bleeding. By all accounts, this should be a living being, but I sense no consciousness at all."

He pried the vampire's eyelid open with his thumb and index finger, revealing a crimson, unfocused eye underneath. "Intermediate dilation of the pupil. And its brain seems to be damaged."

Kalkstein held the body up and let its calves dangle over the coffin. Then he knocked on its knee. "Knee-jerk reflex is still there. It's like he's in a vegetative state. How did you take it down?"

"Hey, you're the expert. If you don't know how this happened, how should I know?" Roy wouldn't tell him he could devour souls, of course. He tucked Gryphon between his arms and tickled its belly. Vaguely, he said, "I cut it up with my sword and tucked him into the coffin. And this happened. I can't wake it no matter what. Like it's asleep."

Roy whipped out a dagger and cut the corpse's arm. Crimson strings formed at the gash and closed the wound. Five seconds later, it was all healed. Not even a scar was left.

"By the elements, this is a marvel!" Kalkstein clicked his tongue. "That regenerative ability exceeds most, if not all species we know. Including ghouls and ogroids." He rolled his eyes around and muttered to himself, "But can it regenerate its innards?"

"Not sure, but my bet is on no. It can't replenish its energy now. Once the reserves run out, it will lose its regenerative abilities as well," Roy explained. Or the body could be an endless supply of components. Like a certain superhero character.

"Well, we'd have to conduct more experiments to come to that conclusion. I shall make sure to not waste even a drop of its blood." A moment of silence later, the alchemist, with regret in his voice, said, "A pity this is a shell without any consciousness. I can't observe how a regular higher vampire works in this condition."

"Be thankful you even have a specimen to observe." Roy rolled his eyes. "If this thing retains its consciousness, I bet my last oren it would summon a group of lower vampires and attack your lab, sucking you dry."

"True. Now I need to prepare this specimen. Help me out and push this thing into the lab." Kalkstein smiled at him.

"How long will preparations take? A month or two?" Roy said, "Kalkstein, I risked my life to bring you this. Now it's your turn to hold your end of the bargain. Come to Novigrad and help me out with the Trial."

"Calm down, Roy." Kalkstein patted his shoulder. "I need to cover the specimen in a protective membrane. It'd be a big loss if the specimen were to start exhibiting any strange behavior. If it starts to rot, self-combust, or regain its own consciousness, I'd be seeing a big loss here."

Roy pushed Gryphon down from his head and flicked its belly. "You can take it to Novigrad. Research it however you want, as long as you don't let it get in the way of the Trial’s improvement."

And he was reminded of Letho and Kiyan, both of whom were fans of alchemy. "Some of the brotherhood members are interested in the specimen. You have heard of our decoctions, haven't you? Some of the members will be more than willing to develop a brand-new decoction if you'd help. We'd call it 'higher vampire decoction.'"

Kalkstein mused over the suggestion. "I did say science should be open to discourse. I accept the proposal. Three days. Once I am done with my job, I shall travel to Novigrad with you."

And thus, an agreement was reached. Roy stayed at Kalkstein's place for three days while the alchemist spent all his time dealing with the specimen.

Every morning, he would enter his lab at six o'clock with a gentle smile on his face. And he would emerge from the lab at six in the evening looking excited and content.

Roy thought the alchemist was developing some sort of fetish for the corpse. If I didn't know better, I'd think he was dating the body.

He didn't waste his time loafing around either. First, he reflected on the battle with Gruffyd, the mistakes he made and the experience he earned from it. It might look like he came out unscathed, but it was a perilous battle. One wrong step would have meant the death of him.

There were three reasons Mocha lost. One, he was only two hundred years old and weaker than a lot of his brethren. Two, Roy had the element of surprise. The ambush severely injured Mocha. Three, the vampire underestimated Roy's powers. He had no idea Roy had skills like Fear and Mirror Image, nor did he expect Roy to have the ability to devour his soul.

On the other hand, Roy knew it well. The victory only came because Roy knew his enemy, and because he had the edge in the battle. This was nothing to be proud about. In a real battle, Roy would have died ten times over.

And once Roy devoured Gruffyd's soul, he had cut the connection between him and the Unseen Elder. It was unlikely that the elder would cross so much distance just to retrieve the corpse. Its job was to keep an eye on the portal leading back to the higher vampires' home, and that portal was in Vicovaro, a place miles and miles away from Vizima.

Still, Roy would keep an eye out and return to Novigrad as soon as he could.

***

Besides reflection, Roy would use the items at Kalkstein's place to practice his alchemy. By day, he would make new potions to replenish his inventory, and by night, he would voice his questions regarding alchemy to Kalkstein.

Even though he was busy with a lot of work, Roy didn't stop practicing his alchemy. Letho aside, Vesemir and Coral had given him some tips as well.

By now, Roy had mastered all the basic decoctions for witchers. Swallow, Cat, Golden Oriole, Black Blood, White Honey, Thunderbolt, Blizzard, Full Moon, White Raffard's Decoction, Tawny Owl, Maribor Forest, Petri's Philter, Killer Whale, and Drowner Pheromones.

His Alchemy was already Level 3, and he could make good quality Thunderbolts and Petri's Philters. Everything else left a lot to be desired. And the next step was to learn how to make oils and bombs, aside from increasing his mastery over basic decoctions.

***

Roy went full speed ahead with his training.

At the same time, Triss took a few days off after her return to the castle. Her mood was not good at all. The higher vampire's corpse went missing, so Triss used some ash and blood to make some katakan dust to answer to the king.

That brought the serial murders to an end, but the order lost a lot of members. Five were dead, and more than ten sustained injuries ranging from minor to major. That was not what she wanted.

***

Triss tossed and turned, but sleep never came. She bit her lips, and her cheeks turned rosy once more. For some inexplicable reason, she kept remembering the moment she fell into Roy's embrace.

For once, she had erotic dreams for nights on end, and it was always her and Roy. They would be going at it on a bed, a boulder, a stack of hay, and even the layer of moss on the ground. But dreams were a poor substitute for reality. It never satisfied her.

A surge of warmth always coursed through her, and with it, sorrow and fury. She also felt excited for the future, and that excitement made her dreams hornier.

"Wonder if he's back in Novigrad. I should call him. Yeah. I should use the telescope now." No, you thirsty virgin. Give it a moment.

She had to shift her attention elsewhere, and luckily for her, she did have something else to focus on. "I need to see Keira and hand this journal to her. She can gain the king's favor and maybe get him to sleep with her."

But I don't think that stubborn man would believe the records of a measly journal. I need to tell the brotherhood about the coming war. We need to prepare for this.

***

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