A fantastical journey across the heavens, beginning with the Witcher.

Humans are far more adaptable than we imagine. The monster calamity had barely subsided a few days before the streets returned to their former bustling state.

Elena led the way, her wine-red hair bouncing lightly over her shoulders. She would greet students strolling along the street with enthusiasm, her eyes full of life and energy, a stark contrast to her sharp and witty demeanor in the classroom.

The two first took a detour to a tavern, picked out a bottle of craft liquor, and then set off for their destination.

Scrooge's workshop was located in the west of the city, and from a distance, one could smell the metallic stench in the air.

In most people's imagination, master workshops should be highly sought after, but in reality, they are "sparsely visited and rarely visited".

Workshops that specialize in making armor and weapons are destined to have little interaction with ordinary people, unless a proud master blacksmith can put aside his pride and switch to making kitchen knives, iron pots and farm tools.

As you enter the gate, two figures arguing come into view.

The taller one was an ordinary woman, holding a sword.

The shorter one was stocky, with a large beard that was slightly bent from years of exposure to the fire, and his rolled-up sleeves revealed a pair of strong forearms.

"Return the goods? It's a cash-on-delivery item, sold a week ago, why would I want to return it?"

Scrooge's voice was deep and matched his stocky build.

"It's not convenient to use..."

The woman stammered, her eyes darting around, clearly lacking confidence.

"When your husband came to buy the weapon, he kept saying how good it was, holding the hilt. Now he's saying it's not comfortable to use?" The old dwarf saw right through her, his beard trembling with anger. "You think the monsters are gone and the weapon is useless, don't you? One after another, they're all doing this! No refunds!"

When her true thoughts were exposed, a hint of embarrassment flashed across the woman's face. Who would have thought that the monster would be dealt with so quickly? The sword she bought at a high price was completely useless. Should she just leave it at home to rust instead of returning it?

So she immediately retorted, "Why can't I return it? A sword at the general store only costs 10 crowns, but you're selling this for 40 crowns! When there were monsters around, everyone was terrified, and you took the opportunity to raise prices, that was one thing, but now that the monsters are gone, what's wrong with me returning this useless sword?"

As soon as he said that, the blacksmith shop fell silent, with only the crackling of the burning charcoal in the furnace remaining. Scrooge's breathing grew heavy, and his eyes were filled with rage.

The next second, he suddenly grabbed the forging hammer from the anvil. The hammerhead, as thick as a bowl, looked heavy, but he held it in his hand as if it were nothing.

"How dare you compare your sword, forged from scrap metal from a general store, to the sword I forged..."

Before he finished speaking, the forging hammer, accompanied by a whistling wind, slammed down hard on the anvil.

boom!

The deafening banging echoed throughout the workshop. The woman screamed in fright, staggered backward, and tripped and fell to the ground.

"Get out of here!"

The woman who had collapsed to the ground quickly got up, no longer bothering to argue about returning the goods, and crawled out of the workshop on her hands and feet.

Li De withdrew his right foot, which had just taken a step forward. For a moment, he thought the old dwarf was going to smash the woman with his hammer.

Upon seeing this, Elena quickly lowered her hands from her ears and eagerly stepped forward.

"Don't be angry, Grandpa Scrooge. It's not worth getting upset with someone who doesn't know anything about wine. Try this bottle of wine; it's a craft beer I bought especially for you."

"I'm old enough to be your grandfather's grandfather. That old bastard only made you call me grandfather because he wanted to take advantage of me. He suddenly turned me from an elder into an equal. I'm at a huge loss..."

The dwarf grumbled in dissatisfaction, but his hands honestly took the bottle, uncorked it, and tilted his head back to take a big gulp.

The strong liquor went down his throat, its spicy taste dispelling the gloom in his heart. He glanced sideways at Li De standing to the side, wiped the liquor stains from the corner of his mouth, and said gruffly, "Witcher? You didn't come here with this girl just to watch me argue, did you? What's the matter?"

"I'd like to ask a master craftsman to create something for me."

As he spoke, he took off his backpack and began to take things out, first the cook's frying pan and rice paddle, and then the magic-guiding metal he had taken from the Blood Demon.

The sight of the scattered pieces of junk made Scrooge's eyes twitch. He wanted to ask: "Are you fucking here to humiliate me? You're pulling out a bunch of junk hoping I'll make you a stew pot?"

But when he thought of the little girl behind him, he suppressed his dissatisfaction and decided to wait and see.

He stepped forward, picked up the frying pan, and tapped it with his finger. The sound and feel made him raise an eyebrow. He then took out a whetstone and scratched the bottom of the pan hard. Sparks flew but no mark was left.

The old dwarf's expression changed instantly: "This material is a bit special. I need to test it with fire and tap it a couple of times to determine its specific properties. And these are... scale plates? I've never seen the material before, but it feels a bit like gray steel."

"I don't know what the frying pan is made of, I only know it's very hard. The metal armor plates are a special alloy with strong magic conductivity, and they were just taken off the Blood Demon a few days ago."

"That's interesting." Scrooge perked up, rubbing his calloused hands. "What do you want to do?"

"Arm guards, the kind that can be used to stop sword and blade cuts, and then forge a steel sword."

"Armor pieces? Don't you Witchers have your own specialized schools of armor?"

Li De shook his head helplessly: "It's been lost for a long time. Nowadays, people wear whatever is convenient for combat. This set of clothes was designed by an elven craftsman."

"It's a pity. When the Witcher Order was still around, my grandfather was involved in the armor design."

Li De's eyes lit up: "Then could you help me design it...?"

"impossible."

Before he could finish speaking, the old dwarf decisively refused: "If you can find the lost blueprints, I am capable of forging them. As for redesigning, Witcher armor involves many processes such as enchanting, alchemy, and forging. Even if I were to split my old bones into ten, I still couldn't complete such a complex task. You'll have to make do with what you have."

"Let's get back to the customization. I understand the requirement for the arm guards. What about the longsword? Are there any special requirements?"

Seeing that the old dwarf refused, Li De quickly returned to reality and stated his request: "Strengthen armor-piercing ability."

Witcher steel swords are mostly used to deal with humans, but they inevitably encounter enemies wearing armor and carrying shields. Longswords are better because they are more versatile and are the most suitable weapon for Witcher in the wild where supplies are scarce, but their armor-piercing ability is a major weakness.

Signs can compensate for this weakness, but you can't put all your eggs in one basket. Anti-magic gold, anti-magic barriers, and even some special natural wonders are just some of the ways that can render signs ineffective. In the end, you'll still have to rely on your longsword.

"Armor-piercing ability?" Scrooge nodded. "That's not difficult. I have some top-quality Svaro runestones here. Set up three of them, and I guarantee you'll be able to pierce plate armor more easily than chopping wood."

After saying that, he turned around and walked to the wooden cabinet next to him, pulled out a few patterns from the drawer, waved them at the Witcher, and gestured for him to choose one.

Li De picked up the blueprints and carefully examined them one by one, finally fixing his gaze on a drawing of a knight's steel sword.

The sword's shape is similar to that of a regular hand-and-a-half sword, but the blade is wider, the guard is longer, and the counterweight ball at the end of the hilt is not the usual round shape, but a rhombus shape with sharp spikes.

"Let's take this one."

He pulled out the blueprints.

Scrooge leaned over to take a look and nodded silently.

"Good eye. This is the design of the Duchy of Toussaint. It is not only easy to parry, slash, and thrust, but if you are forced to the brink, you can even pick up the blade and use the counterweight ball as a small warhammer."

After confirming all the requirements, he put away the blueprints and held out his hand to Li De: "Leave half of the deposit, three hundred crowns. Give me a few days. Once I've processed the materials and finished the construction, you can come and collect it."

Li De readily paid the money; even with the final payment, it was only six hundred crowns. It was well worth the money to have a dwarf master craftsman forge the weapon.

Having received the money, the old dwarf impatiently waved the two away and threw himself into his work with great enthusiasm.

For him, forging rare materials into divine weapons must also be a kind of enjoyment.

……

As soon as Elena left the workshop, she grinned, revealing her little fangs: "That's too expensive! You paid so readily, didn't you even try to bargain?"

"Bargaining? This is probably a friendly price because of you. Last time in Novigrad, I spent more than this just to enchant my weapon."

"Tsk, that's enough money to buy a small house in Cowburg, and you only bought a sword?"

Elena still felt it wasn't worth it, her jewel-like blue eyes fixed on Li De with an inscrutable expression.

The reason for this is that the two have different philosophies on survival.

Elena lived a peaceful and uneventful life. Even the sharpest sword was just a sword to her, and she would only use it a few times in her entire life.

But Li De's life consisted of either fighting or on his way to fight, and a precious sword was an essential condition for his survival.

As for a peaceful life like that of an ordinary person, it is destined not to belong to a Witcher.

Their lifespans are so long that living feels like a torment, and coupled with the infertility caused by mutations, they have no place to call home to place their faith.

Li De's life followed a fixed pattern every year: in the spring, he would leave the Witcher's Castle in Kaer Morhen with the newly sprouting grass, wandering the vast lands of the northern kingdoms, hunting monsters for bounties; before winter, he would return with ample supplies to accompany old man Vesemir through the harsh winter.

Often, Geralt, Lambert, and Escal would return, and those were the happiest days of his year.

A few people would sit around the fireplace, drinking, eating, boasting, and practicing swordsmanship. When they got bored, they would even go down the mountain together to kill a few water ghosts to relieve their boredom.

If nothing unexpected happens, he will continue to live like this for two hundred, three hundred, four hundred years... until this mutated body completely ages and can no longer wield the longsword, at which point he can face death with equanimity.

However, beneath this seemingly mundane "life ideal" lies a touch of ambition.

For example, go see other parts of the world.

The conjunction of celestial bodies is not the only means of traversing different worlds; there are also the magic ships of elves, the portals of ancient ruins, and... the blood of the ancients.

Geralt's daughter is an Ancient Blood possessor and a different kind of innate magical power. After awakening, she can freely travel between different worlds, which is simply the ultimate dream of any adventurer.

Li De had also wondered if there would be a chance to return to that original blue planet in the future, but it was just a thought.

Although his magic source physique has not been fully developed, it seems to be more inclined to enhance the power and resistance of spells, and does not have the ability to travel between worlds.

As for the strange expression Elena had just given him, Li De sensed it... This girl wanted him to stay in Bullburg.

His response was a silent smile, and while the girl glared at him murderously, he ruffled her beautiful hair into a bird's nest.