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

……

"How is that possible? Demonstrate it again."

Olivia stared at the witcher in disbelief through her bright, clear eyes.

Li De shrugged indifferently, resumed his textbook-perfect spellcasting posture, and clearly pronounced the incantation: "Rechical-heratlast!"

In an instant, a violent surge of magic erupted from his body, as if it were about to transform into a world-destroying spell that would shatter everything in front of him!

However... *poof*...

The surging magic suddenly extinguished, like an explosion about to reach its peak of pleasure, abruptly frozen halfway through.

The female elf pouted, her brows furrowed, and her face showed a pained and conflicted expression, as if she were menstruating, muttering repeatedly to herself.

"This doesn't make sense... Magic energy surged, so why did the spell fail?"

Even though it was clearly his own problem, Li De took it all in stride, comforting him with a smile: "Don't rush, take your time."

Olivia scratched her hair hard, looking like a scholar driven mad.

"Of course you're not in a hurry! All the young people in our tribe have signed the contract!"

She breaks down whenever this is mentioned.

She thought the magic contract was only between her and the witcher, but this bastard held a sword to her neck and forced all the able-bodied men of the tribe to sign it.

The content remains largely unchanged: in exchange for the Sage's Manuscript, the preservation of the teleportation base, and the teaching of magic to the Witcher, the Witcher will protect the Elven tribe during the construction of the portal. Neither party may intentionally harm the other, nor may they indirectly harm the other through scheming.

The punishment for breaking the contract is that the breaching party dies in flames.

Given that both sides had clear goals, they did not engage in word games as in fairy tales.

The terms and consequences of the entire contract are very clear; the only vague part is the method of punishment, which is irrelevant.

The binding force of a magical contract stems from the entanglement of fate; punishment may be delayed, but it will never fail.

Take "dying in flames" as an example.

Those who think they are clever might believe that as long as they stay away from fire, live in damp places without combustibles, and have enough fire immunity potions, they can rest easy.

But the likely outcome is that a rare, orthodox dragon will descend from the sky and burn the transgressor to death with its blazing dragonfire that ignores fire immunity potions.

As for where this dragon came from and why it came, don't worry about it. Fate has its own way of bringing everything to a perfect conclusion.

That's why Olivia is so anxious.

That was the lives of all the able-bodied men of the tribe. Once the punishment of the contract came, unless the goddess Meritelli of the Three Phases personally appeared, the tribe would be on the fast track to extinction.

"How could this happen..."

The sorceress was confused, but unwilling to give up, she dragged the druid along to study Lid's spellcasting process.

Li De demonstrated it twice more, and the process was still perfect, but the result was disappointing.

离谱到什幺程度？就像在数学里，1+1=2，1+2=3，可1+1+1偏偏等于0。

This situation cannot be due to an error in the addition symbol (the magic itself); the problem must lie in one of the three addends (gesture, incantation, and magic power).

Following this line of thought, Olivia worked tirelessly at the experimental table where the sage had once hunched over his work, writing furiously and working on the deductions without sleep.

There were moments when she even felt the wisdom of a sage infused into her brain, making her thoughts flow smoothly.

But no matter how lofty the ideal, reality remains harsh.

Every attempt, without exception, failed.

During this period, Li De lived a comfortable life.

First, he used the druid's animal messenger to send a letter to the worried Thrall, implying that the bandits had been dealt with, but the situation had changed, and he would not be returning to collect the reward.

He also wrote a heartfelt letter to Elena, telling her not to worry and to reassure the old headmaster that he would borrow the notes left by the former headmaster when he returned.

In the remaining time, he would occasionally demonstrate spellcasting for the sorceresses and druids to study, but most of the time he would spar and exchange ideas with the elven warriors.

The reason is simple: he is very interested in elven martial arts.

The fact that the elven warriors were no match for him only indicates a difference in skill level between the users, not that the elven martial arts were inferior.

Moreover, Witchers are not like those swordsmen who are loyal to a particular school of swordsmanship and who are particular about loyalty and rules.

If we had to pinpoint what they were loyal to, the only answer would be practicality.

Any method that can kill the enemy is a good method.

Swords, knives, guns, axes, hammers... even pitchforks are not exempt from use; ambushes, assassinations, poisoning... no means are spared.

Li De especially enjoyed fighting swordsmen who adhered to etiquette. The reason was simple: they would always bow before the battle, giving him the opportunity to cut off their heads with a single stroke.

As for whether it's despicable or not... everyone is fighting for their lives, it's not a chivalrous tournament.

Anyway, I've already cut your head off. You call me despicable? I'd like to ask you, why did you put your head under my sword?

A week passed, and things took a turn for the better on the eighth day.

The weary-looking sorceress finally came to a conclusion.

"I see!"

Like a madwoman, with her messy, bird's-nest-like hair and waving a manuscript, she rushed into the training ground, found Li De discussing martial arts techniques with the elf warriors, and grabbed his arm.

"You're sick!"

Li De hesitated before putting down the wooden sword and slowly said, "It shouldn't be a problem with my lower body, right? I used it a few days ago."

The elven warriors nearby burst into laughter.

Olivia was stunned for several seconds before she realized that Li De was making a dirty joke. She was so angry that she slapped him, but the hard metal armor plate made her little hand hurt.

She looked at her people in confusion, wondering when their relationship had become so good.

Seeing that she had serious business to attend to, Li De stopped joking, tossed the wooden sword to an elven warrior, and said with a smile, "It seems the root of the problem has been found. I'll go see the doctor first, and we can spar another day."

"Go, Demon Whale."

The elven warriors bowed in unison and watched the two depart.

"Demon Whale... It seems your martial arts have completely won them over."

The Demon Whale is a giant sea monster whose body is covered with a shell-like keratinous layer, and whose head has a long horn that points diagonally towards the sky.

The flagship of the King of Redania is only a little over 50 meters long, while the Whale is 10 meters longer than the flagship, making it the undisputed overlord of the shallow seas.

Imagine such a massive creature charging wildly from underwater to the surface, lifting cargo ships off the water; or leaping out of the water and using its body as a weapon to crash down.

That power was comparable to a natural disaster for ordinary people.

Therefore, the elves bestowed the title "Demon Whale" upon warriors with exceptional martial skills, describing its oppressive presence on the battlefield as comparable to a natural disaster.

For Li De, it was a bit childish, but that didn't stop him from being proud of it; if he had a tail, it would be wagging high right now.

Fortunately, a sorceress calmed him down: "I know why you can't cast spells now."

Tell me about it.

When it came to serious matters, Li De stopped joking around.

"It's a conflict between the Source of Magic and the Witcher Mutation Potion!"

Olivia spoke with certainty, confident in her conclusion, "Aside from those with a bloodline-inherited magical physique, naturally born magical physiques vary greatly in characteristics. And your magical physique's characteristic is to amplify the power of spells, which is why your spell seals are so powerful."

"Isn't this a good thing?"

The Witcher raised a question.

The sorcerer replied, "Of course it's a good thing. If you had received complete sorcerer training at a young age, you would already be a top sorcerer standing at the pinnacle of the continent!"

"The problem is, the mutation potion is conflicting with my magical constitution! I don't know the exact mechanism, but I'm certain the issue lies in the flow of magical energy. This is a problem! It needs treatment!"

After saying that, she looked at Li De with anticipation, waiting for him to show a look of shock, admiration, and gratitude.

She could even picture Li De kneeling before her, pleading, "Wise and unparalleled saintess, please cure my incurable ailment."

But in reality, Li De stroked his chin, with a calm expression that said, "Just as I expected": "It's exactly the same conclusion as Wei Ge's."

Olivia's expression froze instantly.

"What do you mean? You... already knew?"