The Divine Hunter

“Calm down, Letho.
Let’s change the topic.
I heard witchers always have two swords with them.
Why do you only have one?”

Letho’s face stiffened.
“You should know that every school specializes in different fields.
The Viper School specializes in short swords and poison for battle.

Roy kept staring at him.
Letho then shrugged, and Roy heard resignation in his voice.
“I think you know that witchers have a steel sword and a silver sword that can each be held with one hand.”

“Yes.
The steel sword is for humans, and the silver sword is for monsters who are weak to silver, right?” Roy asked.

Letho shook his head.
“That’s too absolute.
Some monsters are weak to silver, but steel works better on some of them.
You know why I only have one steel sword? It’s because even a silver-coated steel sword costs a lot, let alone a full one.
The Viper School has seen better days, and now we must use our resources on more important matters, like your development.”

Roy’s heart skipped a beat.
I wonder if being watched over by a witcher is a good thing.
“I don’t think I’d get a good steel sword anytime soon.
Actually, I’m more interested in crossbows.
Are you familiar with weapons like that, Letho? Can you teach me how to use it?” Roy was disappointed, for he still hadn’t gotten a ranged weapon skill after a month of hunting.

Ranged weapons like bows and crossbows were more compatible with his strongest stat, Perception, compared to melee weapons.
After his level up, Roy had increased the level of his new skill, thus making Observe a level 2 skill.
He also had a two point increase in Perception.

“You’re barking up the wrong tree, boy.
Crossbows are the specialty of the Cat School and Bear School.” Letho looked into the night, his gaze deepening as he walked down memory lane.
“I’m not exactly a master, but I’ve used crossbows at some point in my life, so I’ll teach you in a couple of days.”

Letho then took out a bag of brown powder and made a circle on the ground with it, surrounding the horse, the campfire, him, and Roy.

Roy’s nose wrinkled, and the stench of the powder reached him.
“Is that powder made out of some creature’s feces?”

“Not bad, boy.
This is made out of a wyvern’s feces.
Surround yourself with it, and no wild animals will come near.
Gives you a good night’s sleep.”

Roy’s nose scrunched up, though he could still take the smell.
At least it was better than when he was the butcher’s apprentice.
When the cold breeze brushed against him, Roy shivered.
“Letho, can you not call me ‘boy’ or ‘brat’? Just call me Roy.” Being called brat made him feel like a little boy. 

“Well, you’ll have to work hard so that I’ll acknowledge you.
I might just call you by your name then.” Letho didn’t even look up.
“You’ll have to get used to it from now on.
Get closer to the fire if it’s cold.”

Once Roy had huddled closer to the fire, Letho said, “Now it’s time for your first witcher lesson, boy.
Less talking, more thinking.
Never show your weakness to anyone —  not even the people closest to you.
Shh!” Letho suddenly put his index finger against his lips, demanding Roy to be silent.
He obliged, though he listened closely to his surroundings.

A wolf’s howl reached them from afar, and pairs of ghastly green eyes appeared around the camp.
Roy held his breath as he loaded his crossbow in silence.

The eyes swayed in the air, and they stared at the campfire.
But they didn’t move closer, as if stopped by some invisible force.

Letho drew the Axii sign near his horse, calming the whining, disquieted animal down.

The wolves only howled for a short while, and they didn’t come near them.
In the end, they returned to the darkness, whimpering in fear.

“Wyvern’s feces do come in handy,” Roy mumbled to himself.
With Letho protecting him, and the wyvern’s feces keeping the beasts away, Roy could gain EXP quickly in the wilds if he used his advantages to the fullest.
They were in a place where beasts were at least ten times more numerous than they were in the woods around Kaer.

I can get a lot of EXP here.
And I have some meat and anesthetic left.

“Look here, boy,” Letho commanded, and Roy looked back reflexively.
All he saw was an inverted triangle, and an overwhelming sleepiness assailed Roy.
He closed his eyes, and became oblivious to everything around him.

Axii’s effect lingered for a while, and Letho mumbled many things to the hypnotized boy.
Roy thought he’d heard Letho say something, but the wind blew everything away. 

Then Letho heaved a sigh of relief and dispeled Axii.
He cracked his fingers and massaged the boy who had fallen asleep.
Letho gazed at the young boy, and his expression softened. 

When was the last time I took a disciple in? Thirty years ago? Shame that kid couldn’t even get past the first round of the trial.
Will this mysterious brat have better luck?

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