Chapter 364
The warm sunlight shone on the small griffin soaring overhead, casting a tiny black shadow on the ground. Kassia chased happily after it. But she was too small and not physically inclined. Slowly, the little griffin outpaced her.
The clever young beast, however, noticed Kassia wasn't keeping up. It didn't just fly off on its own but flapped its wings and returned to the girl's side. It circled her a few times before landing gently on her head.
The little girl giggled, took the small fluffball from her head, and rubbed it against her cheek. The little griffin affectionately nudged Kassia. Though they hadn't known each other long, the two small companions had quickly become close.
Seeing their joy, Lynn knew he didn't need to worry about them. He turned to Mossack and asked, "Master, what's your verdict?"
Two hours earlier, Lynn had accompanied Mossack in carefully inspecting the plot of land he had selected last year.
"Your intuition was correct. This land is not suitable for farming. Trying to force a harvest would be a waste of effort." Mossack said. "But the gods are just. As they close one door for you, they leave a window open."
Lynn conceded, "Common Tongue, please, Master."
"This land beneath our feet has a much better purpose than agriculture. I've examined it before, and there is a large vein of Elven Ore within these mountains."
"Elven Ore?" Lynn was deeply shocked. He still remembered his first trip down the mountains with Geralt, courtesy of Iorveth, to Mahakam. The weapons produced there were famous not just because the forging methods of dwarves and gnomes were superior to humans', but because they forged weapons using Elven Ore. Of course, most Elven Ore weapons, aside from the exceptional sword Elder Brouver had given him, rarely left Mahakam. And now, there was a massive vein of it, by Mossack's estimation, deep in the Blue Mountains.
Lynn had initially thought he'd be dreaming happily if he found half the mineral resources of Kovir and Poviss. Elven Ore? If word got out, it would cause a tidal wave of trouble.
It was late at night when Lynn and Mossack returned from the depths of the Blue Mountains to Kaer Morhen. Kassia was tired from playing and was fast asleep, sprawled on Lynn's back. The little griffin, exhausted from flying all day, hid in Lynn's belt pouch, with only its tiny head poking out.
Everyone else had eaten dinner and gone about their business. Only Tissaia was waiting for them in the great hall, having set aside a meal. She took Kassia from Lynn's back and carried the sleeping girl away.
Lynn and Mossack were left alone at the long table, where they devoured their food. The Druid Master was starving after running around all day and wolfed down his meal without ceremony.
After eating their fill, Lynn bid Mossack farewell and retired to his room. He rested for a while, waiting for the full feeling to subside, before taking the huge sword blank and practicing a few sword movements. This was his room, not the training ground, so he didn't dare to move too much for fear of tearing the place apart. But even so, the sheer weight of the massive iron block was enough to remind Lynn of the power he now possessed. Lynn was very satisfied with his new strength; this was what a superhuman should feel like.
Placing the sword blank against the wall, Lynn sat down and fell into thought.
Mossack's advice during the day was sound. Since a huge vein of Elven Ore had been discovered deep in the Blue Mountains, that land was clearly no longer suitable for growing grain. So, Lynn had been thinking about the issue all the way back.
Now, he had reached a conclusion: he could establish a secret witcher armory on that land to produce Elven Ore weapons exclusively for the future witcher battalions. Since swords were the primary weapon for every witcher school, and swords were prone to wear and tear on the battlefield, switching to Elven Ore would remedy this weakness perfectly.
Lynn had considered having the witcher battalions trade their swords for spears, since anyone trained in the spear knew that a spearman generally had an advantage over a swordsman. However, that premise only applied when both parties were ordinary humans. The improved second mutation had enhanced the witchers so significantly that they were now truly superhuman. As superhumans, they couldn't be judged by mortal standards.
While each school was enhanced in different areas during the second mutation, they were all enhanced far beyond ordinary human limits in their respective specialties. Take the Viper School, for example: after the second mutation, their witchers received a massive boost to agility, reflexes, and poison resistance, with only minor boosts to strength, constitution, and endurance. How did this translate to combat?
Before Lynn returned, Oakes and Serrit tested their new physical abilities against a mixed squad of dwarves under Yarpen and Zoltan and the elves rescued earlier. The result was that every member of the opposing squad stated they couldn't even clearly see Oakes and Serrit's movements, much less match their speed.
Therefore, Lynn believed it was better for the witchers to continue using their familiar weapons than to switch to spears.
However, since witchers generally lacked proficiency with ranged weapons, he decided to add two pieces of equipment to their daily training, starting now: the crossbow and the tower shield.
More precisely, he planned to add heavy crossbows and tower shields for the Wolf, Bear, Griffin, and Manticore Schools. These witchers had received moderate to great enhancements in strength, constitution, and endurance. They could stabilize a heavy crossbow with one hand, a feat that would normally require two.
Although a crossbow's firing rate couldn't compare to a bow, a bow required much more training time than a crossbow. And with the protection of a tower shield, their defense would certainly be much higher. The concept was similar to the Pavise Crossbowman unit from his home world—using a support to stabilize a large shield, then hiding behind it to shoot and reload.
As for the Viper and Cat Schools, Lynn envisioned light crossbows and small round shields for them. Firstly, these witchers hadn't received the same level of enhancement in strength, constitution, and endurance as the others. Secondly, Lynn didn't plan to integrate the Viper and Cat Schools with the others.
Their high mobility meant their strengths were better suited for specialized terrain warfare, such as mountains and jungles. Flexible gear like light crossbows and small round shields was more appropriate for them.
The equipment issue was largely settled. He had one more worry.
How should he persuade—or, rather, coax—the former rector to continue helping him refine the Trial of the Grasses? He knew Tissaia had just finished refining the second mutation for him, and it was improper to immediately ask her to continue working. He also knew that refining the Trials for each school was a massive, time-consuming effort.
But if Tissaia were to leave Kaer Morhen after this winter, it would be extremely difficult to get her back. Moreover, the refinement of the Trial of the Grasses could lack anyone except Tissaia. She was one of the most powerful sorceresses in the world. Her immense power was only one aspect; the other was her vast knowledge.
As the former rector of Aretuza and a core member of the Brotherhood of Sorcerers' council, her mental library of knowledge far exceeded any physical library in the world. Simply put, Mossack and Eglais were pieces of the puzzle for refining the Trial of the Grasses, but Tissaia was the most crucial piece. Only with her involvement was success even possible.
But what should he do?
Lynn rubbed his temples. Should he try talking about his grand vision again? Thinking about it, there wasn't really any better option than painting a picture of the future. She wasn't motivated by money or status. If Tissaia were to say, "I'm not interested in money," she'd mean it. The only thing that could truly attract a person like her was a noble ideal.
With that thought, Lynn undressed and lay in bed, planning to find the former rector for a serious talk the next morning.
Just as he blew out the candle and closed his eyes, Tissaia's voice suddenly came from outside the door.
"Lynn, are you awake?"
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