Wizard: This witcher is neglecting his duties.

Chapter 196: The First Epic Mission

Healing potions, mana potions, an enchanted shirt that effectively keeps you warm all year round, several large bags of rich-smelling pipe grass and exquisite pipes, fine wines and delicacies from Middle-earth and Azeroth, and a few magic scrolls picked out from the spatial bracelet of the legendary lightning mage Tesla.

Aside from these odds and ends, the things that took up the most space on the table were the large number of books that Wayne had bought from Aretusa Academy.

Looking at the dazzling array of gifts piled up like a small mountain, and listening to Wayne introduce them one by one, Geralt, Eskel, and Lambert were all stunned. Even Vesemir couldn't maintain his composure as a teacher, staring at Wayne with his mouth agape, not knowing what to say.

Lambert suddenly swore and asked:

"Damn it, tell me, Wayne, which country's treasury did you rob?"

"These things must cost at least tens of thousands of gold coins, right?"

Upon hearing this, Wayne looked at Lambert with an expression that said, "You're a country bumpkin who doesn't know anything about books," and casually pointed to the books, saying:

"Each of these books costs dozens of Orens, so a thousand of them would cost tens of thousands of gold coins."

"Much of the knowledge inside is from manuscripts that we Witchers have been missing. They can't be bought on the market at all, and even if you could, they would cost several times the price."

"Adding in these magical items, the Hearthstone, the Magic Pouch, and these life-saving potions, the total value is probably over 100,000 gold coins!"

Upon hearing the words "100,000 gold coins," all the Wolf School demon hunters present were stunned. They looked at Wayne with expressions as if they were seeing a god, as if they were seeing a super-rich man who spent money like water.

Not just for the Wolf School of Witchers, but for any Witcher still alive today, let alone 100,000 gold coins, even 50,000 gold coins would be an astronomical sum that they could never save in their entire lives.

One hundred thousand gold coins, in this world, have the purchasing power to directly buy a small town of several hundred people and everything in it.

This is a huge sum of money that many kings would have to raise for a long time. Hundreds of years ago, the Kingdom of Kovir gathered tens of thousands of mercenaries to help them defeat the army of the Kingdom of Redalia, and it only cost about one million gold coins. This is already the wealth to raise an army.

Vesemir quickly composed himself, placed his hand on Wayne's shoulder, patted him firmly, and said:

"Child, we appreciate your kindness, but 100,000 gold coins? My goodness, can you tell me where you got so much money?"

"Don't put yourself in a dangerous or difficult situation by buying these things; that's not what I want."

Wayne reached out and patted Vesemir's arm, which was resting on his shoulder, and said with a smile:

"Don't worry about my financial situation, teacher."

"Although buying these things has left me with a little debt, the other party is a good friend of mine, and I've also found a new way to make money, so I'll be able to pay off this debt next year."

As he spoke, he took the top few books from the pile and handed them to Vesemir, saying:

"Teacher, this is a collection of materials from the Aretusa Academy. It contains the methods and data related to our Witcher genetic mutation experiments. It is the research notes of the legendary sorcerers Alzu and Cosimo, who were the first to study Witchers."

"With these things, once I find some trustworthy sorcerers to work for me, cast stabilizing spells, replace the equipment with more advanced ones, and research more stable formulas, the mortality rate of our grass experiments will no longer be as high as it used to be, with only one in nine deaths."

"Those children who join the school will no longer be sacrificed in vain, as they have in the past."

Looking at the valuable documents Wayne had given him, and listening to Wayne's grand vision, Vesemir subconsciously asked:

"Wayne, why did you do this? This has nothing to do with you."

Upon hearing this, Wayne's smile faded, and he looked at Vesemir with a serious expression, saying:

"Teacher, I know you've always wanted to continue the profession of Witcher and don't want the legacy of Witcher to end."

"But we have to consider the mortality rate of the grass experiment and don't want more children to die in vain."

"My idea goes a step further. We protect the people and are paid. This is a profession that should be respected, but because of all kinds of slander, defamation and hatred, witch hunters have become rats in the street and have been subjected to unwarranted accusations and insults."

"I hope that witchers can receive the respect and status they deserve, and I hope that all my witcher brothers can live a happy life."

"To achieve this, we must first become strong, united, and possess more power."

"My goal is not to create more Witchers, but to unite the existing Witchers, so that we can get what is rightfully ours and live a better life."

After hearing Wayne's words, the veteran witchers present looked at him with complicated expressions.

They discovered that Wayne, this young witcher, was indeed different from them. Most ordinary witchers, after completing the trials and becoming witchers, held a pessimistic attitude towards their identity and future life, and all lived a life of debauchery, taking each day as it came.

Few people are as hopeful for the future as Wayne, and even think about changing the world's prejudice against witchers.

Vesemir flipped through the book in his hands with a complicated expression. The other witchers also looked at Wayne with varying expressions. After several dozen seconds, the old witcher asked Wayne in a serious tone:

"Wayne, have you thought this through?"

"It has been an extremely difficult path. The decline of the Witcher is not just due to the decrease in the number of monsters; there are a variety of complex reasons behind it."

"To unite the witchers of other schools and bring our power together, you will face many enemies, and the difficulties ahead will be countless."

"While I am unwilling to see the tradition of Witcher die out, I also do not want to entrust this responsibility to you young people."

"Back then, I experienced the Witcher's heyday, and I also watched it decline step by step to its current state."

"But if you have the will to take on this responsibility, I won't stop you, Wayne."

"You're still young. You can wait a few years until you have enough experience before telling me your decision."

As the old man finished speaking, an unusual melody echoed in Wayne's mind.

After the melody ended, there was another soft ding.

A mission has been triggered; it's an epic mission.

Rebuilding the Witcher Order

Ding! Epic quests are reward-based quests with varying stages. Depending on the difficulty of the quest, they are divided into different numbers of stages. You will receive a reward for each stage you complete.

The host will decide when to complete the final stage of the mission, and will receive a final mission reward ranging from 30% to 300% depending on the completion of the mission.

Current task progress: 0/10.

Next stage reward: 300 experience points, Master-level treasure chest *1.

Hearing the completely different mission completion mode in his mind, Wayne was slightly taken aback, then did a quick calculation and realized just how rich the rewards of this epic mission were.

If he can complete this task to the highest standard of 300%, he will likely receive over 10,000 experience points, nine Master-level chests, and three Epic-level chests. Regardless of how valuable the items inside the chests are, the experience points alone will be enough to level him up by eight or nine levels.

Moreover, rebuilding the Witcher Order is indeed something Wayne wants to accomplish, not just because he wants Vesemir and his Wolf School brothers to have a better life.

At the same time, he also knew that when he went to some more dangerous and vast worlds, he would not be able to easily complete some difficult tasks by himself. For example, dealing with a force, dealing with a country, or even fighting against an entire race, he would need more helpers and more subordinates to complete these tasks more easily.

Wayne calmed his slightly excited heart, looked at Vesemir, and did not object to the old witcher's suggestion that he take more time to think. Since the quest was already in his hands, what he said wouldn't matter. He said sincerely:

"Teacher, don't worry, I won't act rashly. I know very well that even if we want to revitalize the profession of Witcher, it won't be a matter of just one or two days or a year or two."

"Perhaps it will take me several years, decades, or even a lifetime to complete this."

"I'm already mentally prepared. No matter what I choose in the end, I will start with small things and gradually improve our lives."

As he spoke, Wayne glanced at the pile of books on the table and then said to Vesemir:

"Retrieving these books is only the first step. Next year or the year after, I will hire a group of trustworthy workers to help us renovate Kaermohan Castle and strengthen its defenses."

"In the future, I will do my best to help my fellow Witchers from other schools, to persuade them, and to let them see the hope that the various schools can reunite."

"As for the financial expenses, don't worry about it. I've found a stable source of income. Hmph, to be frank, I could support all the Witchers on my own without any problem."

"At that time, teacher, you can stay in the castle and supervise them to complete this task."

As he spoke, Wayne turned to Geralt, Lambert, and Eskel, and said with a smile:

"Everyone has put up with this dilapidated castle for years, hasn't they?"

The others snapped out of their daze upon hearing this, exchanging glances. They had various opinions about Wayne's plan, but they didn't voice them. As seniors, they wouldn't really stop this junior from doing what he wanted to do.

That evening, Wayne prepared a lot of delicious food, not only from the wizarding world, but also from the specialties he brought back from other worlds.

A group of witchers drank fine wine, ate delicious food, and chatted for a long time, until late at night, before they dispersed. However, they could not calm down for a long time because of what Wayne had mentioned.

Time flies, and in the blink of an eye, Wayne had been in Kaer Morhen for a week. In addition to combat training such as swordsmanship and spells, he would often go to Kaer Morhen’s study to look through the books he had brought back. Although everyone lived in the small castle, every day passed very quickly.

One afternoon, he found the old witcher sitting by the fireplace, studying Azur's notes. He took out a bottle from his pocket containing blue, unidentified chunks of meat and made a request to the old witcher.

After hearing Wayne's request, the old witcher asked with a slight hesitation:

"Wayne, you've only had the Witcher mutation for less than four years. Do you really want to undergo this large-scale blue mutation inducer transplantation surgery now?"

"Although Eskel underwent the transplantation of the red mutation inducer last year, it was because the gene mutation in his body had already stabilized and was able to adapt to the new mutation."

"But I still think that transplanting the mutation inducer is too early for you! You'd better think about it some more."

Vesemir didn't lower his voice, and his words quickly attracted the attention of several other witchers in the hall.

Lambert, who had already lost all his money and could only watch Geralt and Eskel play Gwent, immediately became interested. He walked over to the two of them, picked up the bottle containing a large blue mutation inducer from the table, and clicked his tongue, saying:

"Another large mutation trigger, and a rare blue one at that. Wayne, you're really lucky. I've carried out so many commissions and killed so many monsters, but I've only ever seen medium-sized mutation triggers, never large ones."

"What kind of monster did you dig this out of?"

Wayne showed no smugness, only a smile as he said:

"An ancient stag-headed spirit, a task Triss entrusted to me just before we defeated the evil god Dagon."

While the two were talking, Geralt and Eskel stopped playing cards and gathered around. Eskel looked at Vesemir's expression, patted Wayne on the shoulder, and said:

"Wayne, don't worry, wait a few more years. Vesemir is also worried about your safety."

"When I received that large red mutant inducer, it was also very difficult and put a great strain on my body."

"Every mutation is a potentially fatal adventure for us witchers."

"We must proceed with caution and minimize the danger."

Seeing the concerned expressions on their faces, I knew they were simply concerned about my safety.

So, after thinking for a moment, Wayne decided to reveal his hand to dispel everyone's doubts, and said to Vesemir with a resolute expression:

"Teacher, don't worry about the safety of the dangerous transplant surgery."

"Actually, I have never told you that I have received the divine blessing of the goddess of the lake."

"It was an extremely powerful purification ritual. It repaired all the hidden injuries in my body and the disharmonious parts of my genes. I have become the knight of the goddess of the lake, and my body is greatly enhanced compared to ordinary people."

As he spoke, Wayne glanced at his fellow witchers, his eyes lingering on Lambert for a moment before he said:

"I'm not bragging, but my physical abilities are definitely the strongest among all the Witchers right now. Whether it's strength, speed, reaction time, or my mastery of chaotic magic, it has far exceeded your expectations."

"If you still have doubts, I can compare myself with Lambert and show you how much I've grown over the past year."

(End of this chapter)