318. A Tribute to the Mother of All Things.

It might be very difficult for rock trolls, who are used to living underground, to suddenly learn how to forage in the mountains. But this is not because the rock trolls cannot catch any creatures.

In the mountains, rivers, and lakes surrounding Kaer Morhen, there might not be many creatures, but drowners are definitely in abundance. Moreover, drowners are mindless monsters. They don't care whether their enemies are strong or weak; if they encounter something, they just charge at it.

From the conversations between the mountain stone and large stone, it was clear that the rock trolls from the abandoned mine of Viscount Hudson had only recently arrived here and had already caught a number of drowners.

However, because the meat was too unpalatable, it seemed that not only were they not included in the diet of large stone, but even the rock trolls brought by mountain stone didn't want to eat the blue-skinned monsters they had caught.

Of course.

This doesn't mean that rock trolls cannot eat drowners. From the hunger of large stone, broken stone, and small stone for rotten meat, it is evident that rock trolls are also scavengers or omnivores.

Just like humans, when faced with famine, they can eat grass or tree roots, but when conditions improve, who would want to eat something that is neither nutritious nor tasty?

"No wonder large stone is unwilling to trade their precious food reserves for drowners that no one likes to eat. It's actually quite generous of large stone to tolerate it for the sake of their relationship with mountain stone."

Allen couldn't help but smile inwardly.

So...

"To get large stone to accept mountain stone, all we need to do is make drowners 'delicious.'"

With this thought, he focused his mind and opened his inventory, quickly flipping through it. Finally, at the very bottom, he found...

[Name: "A Brief Discussion on the 23 Cooking Methods of drowners"]

[Type: Miscellaneous]

[Function: None]

[Description: The second book in the "Delicious Little Creatures" series]

[Note: Written by legendary chef Troll Long, a bestseller for over 300 years]

Ah, how nostalgic!

This was the first item he had obtained after crossing into the Witcher world and opening a chest.

He never thought he would actually use it one day...

Though he didn't know whether Troll Long was a rock troll, they were both trolls, and considering Long was a legendary chef and had been a bestseller for over three centuries, the way to cook drowners would probably suit the taste of large stone and the others.

Now, there was just one problem...

Do large stone and the others know how to read?

After hesitating for two seconds, under the expectant gaze of mountain stone, Allen reached into his pouch and swiftly pulled out a thick book. Its short side was as wide as a Witcher's shoulder, and its long side was even almost the height of a Witcher.

The leather cover was a bluish hue, smooth to the touch, with a faint, distinct odor.

The origin of the material was obvious.

The strange slippery texture made Allen feel a little disgusted as he pulled it out and tossed it onto the ground.

"Thud~"

The book landed with a resounding noise.

Dust was sent flying in all directions.

When the dust cleared, a quarter of the cover revealed a row of large, abstract characters that should be the title. But Allen couldn't understand a single word. It was likely the trolls' unique script. However, he guessed that these words likely meant "A Brief Discussion on the 23 Cooking Methods of drowners."

Beneath the title was an illustration that was rare in the Witcher world.

A large troll, completely orange-yellow with red undertones, like a ball of flame, was holding a drowner by its dorsal fin with one hand, while the other hand, which was thick and sparking, made a gesture.

From the bizarre smile on the drowner's face, Allen guessed the gesture was likely something like a thumbs-up.

In front of the troll was a large cauldron with fire burning beneath it, and inside was boiling blue broth. But if you looked closely, the bubbles in the broth were actually drowners—some large, some small, some light blue, some dark blue, all with grinning faces.

It was truly a little unsettling.

However...

Although this strange and eerie book was quite eye-catching, the surrounding rock trolls barely glanced at it because of the sound it made when it hit the ground. Their gaze immediately shifted to the Witcher's slightly open leather armor, and their sharp, bald heads were full of question marks.

"Thud thud thud~"

Even small stone walked over, seemingly wanting to tug at his leather armor, but was stopped by a punch on the forehead from large stone.

The Witcher naturally noticed this awkwardness.

But since obtaining "A Brief Discussion on the 23 Cooking Methods of drowners," it had been buried at the very bottom of his inventory, and he had never taken it out before. Now, it was too late.

But honestly, it didn't matter.

To these simple-minded rock trolls, his secret was probably less important than a piece of rotten meat.

Of course.

Allen quickly redirected their attention by asking: "Large stone, mountain stone, do you recognize the words on this book?"

"Thud thud~"

Immediately, the rock trolls' attention was drawn to the book "A Brief Discussion on the 23 Cooking Methods of drowners" on the ground.

Large stone stepped forward and stared at the strange characters on the cover, instinctively shouting:"...%#&..."

Allen's heart lifted at the sound.

Although he couldn't understand, the tone and rhythm were clearly that of a language.

Indeed, large stone seemed to recognize these characters.

With a rumbling sound, mountain stone also walked over, eyes wide as he crouched down to peer closely.

"...%...&..."

It was the same awkward, difficult-to-pronounce growl.

But even though he couldn't understand it, Allen felt that mountain stone's pauses were too long, like a baby learning to speak—he was very unfamiliar with these characters.

Compared to large stone, mountain stone's growl seemed to miss a few syllables in between.

"...Good Witcher, where... found this book?" large stone raised his head, his small, greenish eyes filled with a very complex emotion that rock trolls shouldn't have.

"Found it by accident," Allen replied. "Is it useful?"

Large stone seemed to see that the Witcher didn't want to elaborate, so he didn't ask any more questions. Instead, he glanced at mountain stone, who was still stumbling over the words, and then turned back to Allen to ask:

"...Good Witcher... want Troll... mountain stone stay?"

The sentence was grammatically incorrect, but it was clearly much more coherent than before.

Allen was taken aback for a moment, then, feeling mountain stone's eager gaze, he nodded seriously.

Large stone fell silent for a moment.

The rough, stone-like hand wiped across its abdomen, as if trying to remove any nonexistent dirt and grime. Then, slowly bending down, large stone carefully picked up the blue book from the ground with its massive four-fingered hand.

"Whoosh~"

The pages of the book turned, but the characters inside were still foreign to Allen, and the surrounding rock trolls didn't seem to understand either.

Even mountain stone only scratched his head and looked up at large stone, waiting for judgment.

The emotions displayed weren't as complex as those of Big Stone.

Big Stone carefully flipped through each page, seemingly taking a close look at its contents, but the Witcher felt it wasn't that simple.

"Have you seen this book before?" Allen asked curiously.

Big Stone's actions paused, then he shook his head.

"Seen a similar book?"

This time, Big Stone didn't shake his head but didn't answer either. After closing the book, he handed it back to the Witcher.

"…The book…useful…leave it with Mountain Stone…"

Big Stone's voice hadn't faded yet.

Mountain Stone and the surrounding rock troll friends burst into cheers.

"…Good Witcher…Good Witcher…" they shouted, echoing the greeting Broken Stone had used for Allen.

At the same time, Allen also noticed a change in the way Mountain Stone looked at him.

If expressed in a way easier to understand, it would be like…

[Because of your book donation, Big Stone has accepted you into the Mountain Stone Rock Troll tribe. Mountain Stone's favorability toward you has increased by 30, and your reputation in the Mountain Stone Rock Troll tribe has risen by 300, reaching Respect.]

[Kaer Morhen Fortress has obtained a legendary unit: Rock Troll 14/14, Rock Troll Legendary Leader: Mountain Stone 1/1.]

This made the Witcher breathe a sigh of relief.

In high spirits, he didn't take back the Twenty-Three Ways to Cook Drowners.

This book was of no use to him. Although the Witcher had a high resistance to poison, drowners simply weren't part of their diet. It was better used as a gift to increase the trolls' favorability.

"No need to return it to me. This belongs to you trolls. It's of no use to me," Allen said with a smile, shaking his head.

Big Stone hesitated for a few seconds, then said "Thank you" and took it back, clearly pleased.

With the matter of the rock trolls settled, Allen was about to remind them about possible tremors when he would proceed to Old Speartip's cave to complete the summoning task.

However, he didn't expect Big Stone to run back to the camp, carefully stash away Twenty-Three Ways to Cook Drowners, and return with a slightly embarrassed look.

"What's the matter?" Allen asked.

After hesitating for a moment, Big Stone glanced away with his beady eyes and mumbled: "…Troll wants…more…book…same as that…"

"You mean you'd like me to help you find other books like this, related to trolls?"

Though Big Stone's words were vague, Allen, having spent a fair amount of time with the trolls, quickly guessed the meaning.

Big Stone nodded repeatedly, then scratched his head in embarrassment.

"…Big Stone…has nothing…to trade…right now…"

"No need. We're friends…" Allen chuckled, and seeing Big Stone stomp anxiously at those words, understanding there was a bit of pride involved, he added, "Witchers receive payment only after completing a task."

"So I'll take my payment when I actually find something."

To be honest, with an entire group of rock trolls agreeing to defend Kaer Morhen, he didn't have much more to ask of Big Stone.

His only curiosity was about her origins.

But for now, Big Stone seemed unwilling to reveal them.

The favorability wasn't high enough; it would take time.

Hearing this, Big Stone showed a "friendly" grin with her giant, toothy mouth and insisted on inviting Allen to the upcoming rock troll feast.

However.

When the Witcher, under Big Stone's overwhelming strength, sat down on a rock, and heard Big Stone directing the other trolls to prepare the drowner corpses while boasting about her newly learned cooking skills, he jumped up immediately.

Declining with excuses like "I just ate" and "I have other matters," he used a variety of excuses typically employed by modern office workers to avoid the trolls' enthusiastic plans to host him.

Drinking elixirs made from drowner heart extract, tongue, and brain was about as far as he could go with drowner utilization.

Big Stone's descriptions of using every part of a decayed, maggot-infested drowner—flesh, blood, bones—were still a bit too "advanced" for the Witcher. So, after reminding them that "there might be an earthquake soon," he bid farewell to the eager rock trolls preparing for their hundred-dishes drowner feast.

---------------------------

Old Speartip's cave was as pitch-dark as ever.

Opening his potion pouch, he downed Cat's Eye, then cleared out the stray drowners that had entered the cave.

The Witcher stopped where Old Speartip usually rested, found a spacious corner, and pulled out the already-prepared chalk, sulfur, infused dust, and mercury solution.

Although the goddess Melitele had assured him that the usual sphere convergence had minimal fluctuations and could be safely done in a sheltered place like a cave without drawing the Wild Hunt's attention,

Even if done in the open, the chance of being noticed was minimal.

After all, he had performed a sphere convergence once in Aretuza and stayed in the temple for nearly a week without encountering any sign of the Wild Hunt.

Still, summoning tasks were a new type, and he couldn't yet determine the strength of the sphere convergence.

More importantly, Allen was quite curious about the *Melitele's Concealment Ritual* imparted by the goddess.

[Name: Melitele's Concealment Ritual]

[Note: Essentially, this isn't a concealment ritual but more like a remote "Mom, I'm hungry" message. The concealment process is remotely handled by the recipient of the message, using divine power.]

The note seemed to imply that the primary function of this ritual array, enabling it to mask spatial fluctuations from the Wild Hunt, wasn't really "concealment," but rather "Melitele."

So…

Was there a possibility that every time he used Melitele's Concealment Ritual, Allen could contact the goddess and request a harvest buff?

Of course, the Witcher wouldn't bother opening the ritual just to gain a buff without reason.

But right now, he had the perfect excuse, so he was going to try it.

He drew the triple-circle ritual pattern symbolizing the goddess as Maiden, Mother, and Crone.

Mercury was placed on the Maiden, infused dust on the Mother, and sulfur on the Crone.

Carefully following the ritual instructions in his mind, he walked clockwise around the entire array four times, stopping precisely at the circle symbolizing the Maiden.

After checking everything, he took a deep breath and prayed reverently:

"Praise be to the Mother of All, the goddess of fertility, harvest, and childbirth, the eternal guardian of the Maiden, Mother, and Crone…"

.....

📢20 advanced chapters on p@treaon📢

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