Wizard: This witcher is neglecting his duties.

Chapter 15 The Ring of Elements

Trolls were indeed quite clumsy. Wayne followed behind Geralt, neither of them concealing their presence, but it wasn't until they were less than ten meters away from the group of trolls that the creatures finally noticed someone approaching.

One of the largest trolls, whose stone armor was covered in green moss, stirred the unknown food in the cauldron with a wooden stick. After a few seconds of hesitation, he stood up and shouted to his companions:

"Witchers, two of you, surround them."

As soon as the troll shouted, five strong trolls rushed over from the surrounding area and surrounded the two.

Seeing this, and to prevent a conflict, Geralt immediately shouted at them:

"Hey! Don't be nervous, we're not here to fight."

The large troll that had just shouted paused for a few seconds, tilting its head in surprise. Instead of ordering its companions to attack, it spoke haltingly:

"Witchers, two of us kill monsters, six trolls, we're not afraid of you."

Geralt raised his hands to indicate that he was unarmed, then looked at the large, steaming cauldron behind the trolls and said:

"We're on our way to the Elemental Ring in the mountains, just passing through, and we won't bother you."

However, these trolls' simple-minded thought processes are not like those of ordinary people.

The large troll suddenly spoke up:

"This place, the Troll Mountain, is off-limits to Witchers."

"Unless you give us tolls."

Upon hearing this, Geralt slapped his forehead, remained silent for a few seconds, somewhat speechless, before asking:

"What kind of toll do you want? We're witchers, you'd better be sensible and not make unreasonable demands."

The giant troll shook his head, seemingly considering for more than ten seconds, before speaking haltingly:

"We, little trolls, are born. Our celebration is to eat meat."

"Give me meat, lots of meat, and I'll let you pass."

Upon hearing the trolls' request, Geralt immediately felt a headache coming on. These trolls were huge and had enormous appetites; feeding these big guys wouldn't be as easy as a wild boar.

Moreover, trolls are notoriously foolish; if you don't agree to their demands and want to get through, the only way is to kill them all.

Just as the white wolf was having a headache, Wayne, who was following behind him, reminded him:

"Geralt, have you forgotten those human-faced birds we just killed?"

"There are exactly twenty of them. If we hand over their corpses to these trolls, these big guys will definitely be very satisfied."

Geralt's eyes lit up at this, and he glanced back at Wayne with admiration before speaking to the leading troll:

"I've left a lot of meat in one place. Take a few trolls and come with me to move it back."

"There's plenty of meat there, enough for you all to eat your fill."

Upon hearing that they could eat meat to their hearts' content, the leader of the trolls immediately drooled. Without any hesitation, he loudly proclaimed to his companions:

"Follow the witcher to get the meat, then come back for the celebration."

Upon hearing the leader's shout, the trolls that had been surrounding the two immediately raised their hands and cheered, their waving and gesturing like a group of children weighing hundreds of kilograms.

By the time the two of them, carrying the trolls, walked for several tens of minutes along the mountain path and brought back the corpses of the human-faced bird demons from the riverbank, it was already noon.

The trolls were relatively trustworthy. After obtaining the corpses of those human-faced bird demons, they didn't even wash them. Instead, they tore them into pieces, piled them up by the pot, and either roasted or boiled them. Then, they sat by the fire, drooling and staring at the meat without moving.

The leading troll even warmly invited the two to join their celebration.

Wayne and Geralt, of course, could not participate in such an event. They did not linger in the troll tribe and went straight to the Elemental Ring in the mountains.

It was a building that resembled ruins. The city walls and the main structure had long since disappeared, leaving only some broken walls and a flat area paved with rubble. A rectangular altar, about ten square meters in size, stood on that flat area, near the cliff at the top of the mountain.

In the center of the altar is an ancient magic circle. Behind the magic circle is a rectangular stone table filled with candles. Four iron torches containing special fuel stand at the four corners of the altar, making the whole thing look quite ceremonial.

Wayne, unsure how to activate the Wolf School badge in his hand, handed it to Geralt and asked:

"What should we do now?"

Geralt took the badge, examined the wolf-head-shaped emblem for a few moments, and said as he walked up to the altar:

"Elemental rings are nodes where magic converges. They exist all over the world, but their power varies depending on the concentration of magic gathered. Only powerful mages can utilize them."

"We witchers cannot sense magic; all we can do is use it to power magical items."

The white wolf placed Wayne's badge in the center of the stone table, then turned and beckoned to him, saying:

"The magic circle here was carved by sorcerers during the time of the Witcher Order. Activating this elemental ring is quite simple for us."

"Simply light the four torches around you in the order of earth, air, water, and fire."

"You can complete it yourself using the Igni sign."

Knowing how to activate the Elemental Ring, Wayne didn't refuse and walked a few steps to the center of the altar.

He first observed the patterns engraved on the four torches, which were all very common elemental icons representing the four elements in the magical world. Then, following Professor Geralt's method, he lit the four torches one by one with the Igni sign.

The instant all four torches were lit, even though the Witcher couldn't sense the fluctuations in magic, Wayne still noticed an invisible force converging on the Wolf School badge on the stone table.

At the same time, the system in Wayne's mind also issued a notification.

A node with a high concentration of magical energy has been detected. Absorbing it will grant three ability points.

Note that choosing to absorb this energy node will permanently destroy it, disrupt its spatial structure, and create a dimensional rift. Please choose carefully.

Three ability points: Permanent Destruction, Dimensional Rift.

Wayne was initially very excited to hear that he could gain three ability points, but he hesitated when he heard about the consequences of absorbing the magical energy here.

This is the closest elemental ring to Kaer Morhen, less than 1 kilometer away as the crow flies. It is a precious legacy left to the Witchers by the warlocks during the Witcher Order era.

If he destroys this place for those three ability points, not only will Kaer Morhen lose a powerful ally forever, but he may also leave behind a troublesome mess because of that so-called dimensional rift.

Moreover, Geralt is right beside him now, and the commotion caused by absorbing the magic nodes must be quite significant. If he does this, he'll be caught red-handed, and it might even turn him against his fellow members of the Wolf School.

Weighing the pros and cons, Wayne sighed softly. Even a rabbit wouldn't eat the grass near its burrow; he couldn't disregard the consequences for a small immediate gain.

Just as Geralt said, the elemental rings are scattered all over the world, and as long as he puts in the effort to find them, he will surely be able to find other elemental rings in the future.

(End of this chapter)