Wizard: This witcher is neglecting his duties.

Chapter 40 Vizima City

Negotiations with the wealthy merchant Revarden went quite smoothly. He was a businessman from the south and was naturally interested in everything in the north. He also did not have the deep-rooted aversion and hatred towards witchers that northerners often have.

Hearing that the two witchers were willing to travel with him, he readily agreed.

Moreover, he was quite generous, offering one hundred orens as a reward and hiring two guards to escort his caravan.

The journey from floating harbor to Vijma takes about five days, and there is no possibility of any unavoidable danger along the way, so the reward is quite reasonable.

Of course, Revaden was not just a generous and wealthy merchant on the surface. In Wayne's memory, this guy would become the representative of the Merchants Guild of Nilfgaard in the south more than ten years later, staying in Vizima City in Temeria, presiding over the Merchants Guild's trade in the north, and most likely also working as a spy.

However, unlike those Nilfgaardian officers who revered enslavement and destruction, he was unwilling to carry out destructive plundering of the north.

Instead, they hoped to maintain stability in the North, keep its industry backward, and make it a source of resources and a dumping ground for goods for Southern merchants, so as to peacefully and sustainably acquire wealth.

The journey went quite smoothly. Rewaden's caravan was quite large, with forty or fifty people including ordinary guards and workers, and even more wagons and donkey carts. No foolish thief dared to mess with such a big group.

Most monsters, unless they have intellectual disabilities, will not voluntarily appear in front of so many living people.

They traveled peacefully through the wilderness for five days, stopping briefly in a village along the way with the guide to purchase some agricultural products and subsidies.

Wayne even took the time to help the village deal with a raging brown bear, and then invited Reyvaden, Dandelion, Geralt, and the others to enjoy an extremely delicious steamed bear paw, which received high praise from everyone.

Dandelion and Reywarden, in particular, had never tasted Wayne's cooking before. After eating the delicious steamed bear paw, they were utterly amazed, exclaiming that it was a delicacy they had never experienced in their lives and that they would remember it forever.

On the morning of the sixth day, the group crossed a forest and finally arrived safely on the outskirts of Vijma.

Vizima was the capital of the northern kingdom of Temuria, ruled by King Foltest.

This city is located at the crossroads of important trade routes, built on the shores of Lake Vigema in the valley of the Ismina River, a tributary of Pontal. It was once an elven city, but after being occupied by humans, all the magnificent elven buildings were destroyed, leaving only the grand and massive sewer system, which is still in human use.

The city is divided into several densely populated areas, accommodating thousands of residents and travelers from all corners of the world.

The city is quite well-developed, with castles, shopping malls, temples, blacksmith shops, merchant stalls, banks, workshops, inns, and brothels—it has all kinds of facilities and is considered quite prosperous in the Northern Kingdom.

Unlike the others, as Wayne gazed at Vizima City from afar, memories of his past life there involuntarily surfaced in his mind.

Of course, these were not his memories, but rather the memories of the body's original owner, the half-elf boy.

He grew up in the slums of Vizima. His mother, an elven prostitute, was seriously ill and unable to care for her young child. She couldn't bear to see him grow up in the slums and become a victim of gangsters or evil people, so she entrusted Wayne to Vesemir, who was looking for a quest in Vizima.

In fact, when Vesemir took him away, the elf mother Martha was already nearing the end of her life. It's just unknown where that poor woman has been buried now, ten years later.

Dandelion rode at the head of the procession, humming a song as he reveled in the beautiful scenery around him.

Suddenly, he turned around, walked to Wayne and Geralt's side, pointed at Vizima, and shouted:

"Hey Geralt, Wayne, look! It looks like they're building a new city in Vizima. Lots of people are working there."

Wayne and Geralt looked in the direction Dandelion pointed, and sure enough, on another piece of land next to the old city of Vizima, a large number of workers were working enthusiastically.

Many buildings have already had their foundations laid, and countless makeshift shacks are scattered around the construction site. Countless building materials have been transported to the site from several directions, piling up into many small mountains.

Looking at the massive construction site, which is several times the size of the old city, it will surely become a magnificent city once completed.

Hearing Dandelion's words, Revarden, a wealthy merchant sitting in a nearby carriage, also stuck his head out and interjected:

"Yes, that's New Vizima."

"Since last year, King Foltest of Temuria has begun planning for the construction of the new Vigema, with Mayor Vidrad in charge of the project."

"It was this news that led me to bring the caravan here."

"For businessmen, the establishment of a new city contains countless business opportunities, which is exactly the opportunity for wealth that we pursue."

Upon hearing this, Geralt stroked his stubble-covered chin and said thoughtfully:

"I remember that beneath this land lies a sewer system built by elves. The interior is very large, and many ancient ruins are buried underground. There must be quite a few monsters hiding there."

"If they're going to build a new city on it, they'll definitely need someone to clean up the monsters in the sewers. They'll need a monster expert, so this should be a good commission."

Dandelion seemed to have a flash of inspiration, immediately took out his lute, played a melody, and then said:

"Excellent! Another epic spectacle! I must observe it closely and write a new poem for the founding of New Vizima. It will surely be loved by the inhabitants of the Kingdom of Temuria."

Rewaden seemed to greatly admire Dandelion's talent, and he immediately offered to fund a performance for him if Dandelion's new poems satisfied him, inviting a large number of celebrities to watch his performance and making him famous in high society.

This promise delighted Dandelion, who immediately began singing and dancing, praising Revaden in a roundabout way. Geralt was so disgusted by the sycophantic flattery that it gave him goosebumps.

As Wayne listened to their lively conversation, his thoughts began to wander as well.

Others may not know, but Wayne, who has played the game and read the original book, knows very well that the main reason why King Foltest was in such a hurry to build a new city was because his daughter, Ada, had been cursed and should have already awakened from her grave and turned into a powerful vampire bird.

This monster, being the king's daughter, was protected by Foltest, who forbade anyone to kill her, but had no way to lift her curse and could only leave her to fend for herself.

However, due to their monstrous nature, the vampire birds often leave the tomb at night and run into the royal city or surrounding residential areas to kill and eat people, causing extremely bad influence.

Every year, dozens or even hundreds of victims died at her hands, creating a terrifying legend in the old city of Vizima. This also made King Foltest hostile and cursed by other nobles, and even affected his rule.

In the original story, this situation lasted for a long time, and many powerful sorcerers and witchers tried to break the curse, but all of them failed.

King Foltest offered a high price of three thousand orens, but no one could complete the task.

Finally, several years later, Geralt of Rivia passed by and managed to lift Yadan's curse, turning her back into a human princess. In doing so, he met the sorceress Triss and gained the friendship of King Foltest.

Now, because of his intervention, Geralt and he have arrived in this country ahead of schedule, and many things in the future will surely be changed as a result.

(End of this chapter)