The Divine Hunter Chapter 23: In the temple
The first day of the year 1261, the morning of January 1st.
The warm morning light fell on the northern suburbs of Elland City. Leisuo and Roy, dressed in leather armor, walked along the main road leading to the temple complex. The temples were hidden in the towering boulders and could not be seen clearly.
"The belief in Meriteri is one of the oldest beliefs on the continent, and the origin of its inheritance cannot be verified." The demon hunter slowly recounted,
"Actually, a long time ago, every human race and primitive tribe had its own harvest goddess, a guardian of farms and courtyards, a witness of love and marriage. And for these goddesses Faith ultimately converges on Meriteri—and her temples appropriately perform these functions."
The two walked into the garden of the temple. Many priestesses in gray dresses were busy picking turnips and feeding the chickens.
Most of the priestesses are young, and some are still immature children. Some of the lively priestesses smiled at the two of them and nodded in greeting. Even for the mutant witcher, they did not have any worldly strange eyes, but simple curiosity and goodwill, which made people feel relaxed and warm.
Roy couldn't help but be slightly stunned by these beautiful, youthful and energetic faces, and it was extremely rare for a demon hunter to smile.
"The Temple of Meliteli has never lacked 'cute' priestesses. Every year, girls from all over the world come, and students graduate from temple schools and go to other temples to serve as prophets, midwives, and healers of children and women. There are doctors, wandering missionaries, teachers, and some who go to the countryside to work as herbalists."
"Their lives are so happy..."
Roy sincerely lamented that in this era, it was perfect for girls from ordinary families to be able to farm, learn writing, and master a skill to make a living safely.
The administrator of the temple, Sister Nannike, is truly an amazing person!
"The shelter Meriteri provides to the vulnerable is unimaginable to ordinary people. Whether in the north or the archipelago, most countries have more or less respect for the Temple of Meriteri."
"So the South?"
“After the new emperor ascended the throne in recent years, the Sun Sect, the state religion of Nilfgaard in the south, became very popular, and other sects were severely suppressed.”
"Leso, Roy?"
Suddenly a voice interrupted the witcher's narration. A 23-4-year-old priestess with a slim figure, a round face covered with tiny freckles, came out of the temple. Her eyes struck both of their faces. After a few turns, Roy was finally locked.
"Aunt Nannik is waiting for you two, please come with me."
"Good morning, Priest Aurora." Roy passed the witcher and walked forward to the priestess. He smelled a faint scent of chamomile wafting from the priestess's long hair, and he smiled. Like an acquaintance.
"Have we met before?" The priestess stopped and looked over with doubtful eyes. Her eyes were dark and bright, which reminded Roy of a legendary creature-the nymph. , her figure and temperament are very similar.
A few years ago, after Geralt lifted the curse of the bloodthirsty bird in Vizima, he went to the Temple of Elland to recuperate, and unknowingly slept in bed with this girl.
What a big stallion who shows mercy and never takes responsibility!
Roy complained in his heart and asked curiously, "Do you still remember Geralt, who came from the outskirts of Vizima that spring and asked you to break your vow of silence?"
"Geralt from the outskirts of Vizima?"
The priestess was stunned for a moment, a trace of memory, sadness, and a touch of fear flashed in her bright eyes. She seemed to be reminded of the days when she was dominated by the conflicted white-haired demon hunter.
……
There is a circle of white candles surrounding the temple, and holy goddess statues are piled in front. Several devout believers are praying to themselves.
"You are Roy..." A fat woman with gray hair and wearing a wide auburn dress walked out of the side hall. She looked to be in her fifties or sixties, but Roy knew that her actual age was more than At one hundred years old, White Wolf even regarded her as his mother.
Her eyes are kind and kind, making people feel that she is an elder worth getting close to.
"Hello, Aunt Nannick. I am Roy from Lower Aden." The young man bowed heavily towards her. He always felt that this was a respectable "Mother". figure.
"You naughty child..." the officiant patted Roy on the shoulder gently, "What exactly did you say to Aurora just now that made her sad."
"Actually, I just complimented her on her beauty."
"If you don't want to say it, forget it. But my child, the Meriteri Temple has treated many patients, but it has never accepted a demon hunter apprentice to undergo the cruel, painful, and inhumane grass trial."
Never? So what price did Reso pay? Is it really just Nannick returning a favor to him?
"I must confirm that you completely voluntarily gave up ordinary life, gave up fertility, agreed to endure great pain, and participated in the Demon Hunter Trial?" Her stern eyes swept across Lei Suo's face. But then, "This guy is forcing you to become his apprentice and inherit his mantle."
"Give up fertility?" At his age, he doesn't think this is a problem at all. There are templates that he may be able to break through the restrictions in the future.
As for the pain, he was mentally prepared for it.
"I am willing to participate in the Trial of Green Grass..." Roy emphasized, "I followed Leisuo for a few months and confirmed what I thought in my heart. I want to have enough power to kill evil and evil creatures and protect my family and friends. , see all the scenery in the world." His attitude was resolute, and his eyes were like stars, as if they were shining.
"Your ideal stimulation will bring pain and nightmares... running around will eventually leave you tired and homeless."
"Then I will accept it with open arms, and who can say for sure what will happen in the future?"
Nannick regretted slightly, "You are as stubborn as your teacher. Should I say you are naive or ignorant? If you can get through it, I hope you will not regret it in the future."
"Regret? It doesn't exist!"
"Kid, remember what you said, you have to be so tough after the trial begins!" Lei Suo suddenly shouted from the side.
"Don't worry." The young man patted his chest, "I, Roy, will not give up halfway even if I die in pain, die in the temple, and let a woman collect the body!"
After speaking, he was stunned for a moment, feeling strange.
After the two met with the officiant, they followed her out of the hall and continued inside. Along the way, the young man approached the demon hunter and asked curiously, "By the way, what kind of favor does Aunt Nannik owe you? It deserves an exception for her."
"That happened more than 20 years ago, it was just a coincidence." There was no sadness or relief on the big man's face,
"Just because of favors?"
"Okay, I won't hide it from you. In order to get her to help, I paid more than just favors. I also asked for the secrets of the Viper School... Nannick is an excellent pharmacist and alchemist, and he is very good at hunting demons. People are full of interest in the formulas and processes of using herbs, viruses, and hormones to induce mutations."
"The secret of the witcher, the mutation formula?" Roy suddenly remembered something——
One day in the future, an organization called the Salamander Gang broke into the Wolf Sect's base of demon hunters, Kaer Morhen, and stole the school's mutation formula, attempting to create an army of mutants in batches, and then kill the king and usurp the throne. However, it ended in failure, so the value of the formula goes without saying.
"Recipes are not the foundation of the school, so we just give them research casually?"
"What the school lacks most is 'fresh blood'." Leisuo said mockingly, "And Nilfgaard's Viper Academy has completely declined. If new demon hunters cannot be trained, the formula will remain and be discarded. What’s the difference between paper?”
He looked at Roy, hope shining in his eyes,
"As long as you survive the trial, all the hard work will be worth it! What's more, what I gave her was just a copy, and the original is still there." He pinched the badge around his neck hard.
"End it?" Roy focused on another point and licked his lips. He felt a little pressure, "Normally, how long does it take to survive a trial?"
"It varies from person to person. If your physique and willpower are strong enough, you are lucky, and you don't encounter any emergencies along the way, it will take about two or three months."
"The most unlucky year and a half...more than two-thirds of it, I will never wake up."
While talking, they came to a cave dug out of the rock wall. ~IndoMTL.com~ The cave is 100 square meters in size, and the top is covered with crystals. The crystals filter out harmful components in the sun, providing appropriate light for the herbal plants, allowing them to bloom lushly and bloom with eye-popping brilliance.
"Tsk tsk, let me see what treasures there are!"
The five-star-leafed grass mignonette, the densely grown unknotted fungi in a large flower pot, the dark black arrow-shaped sawtooth fern with long leaves, the feathery blood pond moss, the crow's-eye potato with sparkling tubers, and the petals with tiger stripes The sage orchid, the best antidote for dispensing the large leaf vine...
Roy scanned them one by one with observation. There were more than 200 kinds of herbal plants in total, and he made up for all the precious medicines that were lacking in the Green Grass Trial.
Unfortunately, there are no useful herbs that can increase his attributes.
"Roy, Leisuo... take a look..." Nannick held the cloth between his lower abdomen and glanced at the dazzling array of plants, "Which herbs are needed. Find them out and tell me."
"Nannik, one more question," the demon hunter nodded and called her, "Have you mentioned any news about the warlock before? If this child is to undergo a mutation, accept the trial of grass, and enter the stage of change, Without the help of a spell caster, the mutation will be extremely unstable, and many sequelae will be unavoidable."
"I remember, you have so many requests!" Nannick exhaled and said helplessly, "I have already contacted a candidate, Kairak's royal advisor, who will come to me every few months. Come to exchange experience in herbal medicine... Counting the time, we should arrive at the temple in the next two days, but there is no guarantee whether she will be willing to help by then."
The young man thought for a while, and he vaguely remembered that Kairak was in the northwest of Brochlon Forest, a small coastal country.
Who is the warlock there?
He was not impressed.
There is a vague expectation in my heart.