The Witcher: Lord of the Empire

"Ah! Lann, you're here! So soon?"

The voice sounded cheerful and full of expectations.

However, right after, the tone of the voice changed abruptly, as if he had seen something dirty.

"...Hmm?"

...

The following happened in an instant.

As if an ancient abyss had suddenly awakened, an indescribable darkness enveloped the elemental planes.

The four Elementa lords roared again, but this time it was with fury, then terror and rage.

The infinite ether seemed to transform into a gigantic hand that enveloped the projections of the four Elementa, before squeezing them tightly.

With a sound like glass breaking, Lann felt the forces surrounding him suddenly vanish. The next instant, he felt as if a rope holding him was gently pulled, and his spiritual body descended back to the material plane.

In the endless starry sky, a sigh of disappointment slowly came.

"Alas... forget it, it's not time yet. You should go back first..."

"Remember, this time you owe me a glass of wine..."

...

Lann's eyes flew open, breathing heavily as if he were drowning. Unable to keep his balance, he fell face downwards.

In his mind, the system issued a series of notifications. Instinctively, he opened the panel, where lights began to flash.

Lann took a deep breath and found that his [Sign] ability panel had undergone a drastic change.

Five tier three skills had been activated in one go!

[Quen Intensity] Increases Quen Sign intensity by 10%. (2/5)

[Yrden Intensity] The strength and duration of the Yarden Seal increase by 10%. (2/5)

[Axii Intensity] Increases Axii Sign intensity by 10%. (2/5)

[Aard Intensity] Increases Aard Sign intensity by 10%. (2/5)

[Igni Intensity] Increases Igni Sign intensity by 10%. (2/5)

The five magical signs symbolize the five elements of earth, fire, water, wind, and ether. The abilities had been strengthened in a perfectly symmetrical manner, which was an essential improvement to Lann's control over his signs.

With such a neat strengthening effect and thinking of what happened just now in the elemental planes, Lann didn't need to guess why these five abilities were enhanced. Even if witchers could obtain the power of the circle of elements, this kind of strengthening is a bit over the top.

However, it seemed that he owed something to the Master Mirror again... Although he couldn't enter this world now, sooner or later Lann would have to traverse the multiverse, and he couldn't avoid meeting him.

He doesn't know what kind of request the other party will make at that time...

Lann shook his head and put the matter aside. He also decided that he would not activate the [Dimension Travel] skill until he was much more prepared; the recent adventure had taught him a clear lesson.

…

As Lann adjusted his breathing and recovered, the rest of the group that had been watching him finally reacted.

Mousesack was the first to rush over and lift Lann off the ground, a worried expression on his face.

"Lann, are you okay? Wait...! How is it possible that, with all that chaos energy flowing through you, you don't have any magic power?" The old druid said and turned to Vesemir hurriedly. "Is this normal? Do you know what happened?!"

Lann, forcing a smile, took Mousesack by the shoulders, trying to calm him down.

"I'm fine, Uncle Mousesack." Lann said, trying to reassure him. He had no intention of explaining what had just happened, as what occurred on the elemental planes was beyond what even the old druid could handle.

"Actually, I gained a lot. Not just one, but several signs have been boosted, so maybe that's why I'm so tired."

Everyone was still in doubt after hearing this, but their expressions relaxed.

Lann, claiming that he needed to familiarize himself with his new strength, sat down alone to regain his energy.

Meanwhile, Coën and Letho, along with the other witchers, were shocked to see Lann's state, but upon learning that she had gained so much strength, they decided to meditate in the circle of elements.

Their meditations, by comparison, were calm. Within minutes, they were all finished, looking refreshed and not displaying the same symptoms as Lann.

Mousesack sat next to Lann. "Are you sure you're okay?"

Lann, having now regained most of his strength, smiled. "I'm really fine." After a moment's thought, he asked: "Uncle Mousesack, do you have any books on the elemental planes?"

Mousesack was puzzled, but then immediately replied: "I have one, 'Elemental Empires'. I was planning to include it in your magic course when you had time." The old druid looked at him with deep eyes. "Why? You're suddenly interested in learning summoning magic? That's forbidden magic, almost black magic."

Lann smiled and said: "We all know that forbidden magic is only dangerous because it is difficult for beginners to control. Fire magic is also forbidden magic, as is necromancy, but look at how many sorcerers don't master at least one of those magics."

In order to reassure Mousesack, he added: "Don't worry, Uncle Mousesack, I know the limit of my ability. I have no intention of trying these spells yet, I'm just curious. There are some things I can do without, but I can't not know..."

The old druid thought about it and nodded in agreement. "You are a child with your own ideas, I don't have to worry about this. Don't worry, the course I give you involves this knowledge, but it must be gradual - I will teach you, but not now."

Lann leaned back against the rock wall and looked up at the sky, as if his gaze pierced the clouds and left the confines of the material plane. "That will do."

...

After nearly an hour, all the witchers had finished their meditation in the circle of elements. From their joyful expressions, it was clear that the results had been good.

Vesemir looked at the sun. They had set out early that morning. Although the journey had been full of dangers, it was not yet midday.

"Old Speartip is already dead and the power of the circle of elements has been absorbed. It's time to go back." Vesemir suggested. "If we go back now, we'll be in time to prepare dinner. There's probably still bear meat left over from yesterday."

Lambert curled his lips. "We have been busy outside all day, why do we have to go back to prepare dinner..."

Eskel patted his shoulder. "Yennefer will never cook, Ciri is a disaster when she cooks, and we can't let Triss prepare food for more than a dozen people alone."

Geralt showed an uncomfortable expression upon hearing that.

The return trip would be easier than the outward journey. The recent battle had surely scared away any creatures along the way.

At least, that's what they thought.

As they were returning, three huge stone heads suddenly emerged from the ground.

"Witches, get out of here! This is Big Mom Troll's territory!"

A clumsy, rock-like voice echoed in everyone's ears.

Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and found that on a small slope not far away, there were three humanoid monsters covered with stones.

They were trolls.

On the way to the Circle of Elements, Lann already knew about the presence of trolls in the area. At first, he was somewhat disappointed not to have encountered any of them, but now they suddenly appeared.

The one who had just scolded the witchers was the one standing in front of the three trolls and seemed to be the leader. However, right after he finished speaking, the troll beside him raised his fist, and slammed it hard on his head.

The impact was so brutal that the rocks above the troll's head shattered into pieces. Despite the distance, all the witchers could feel the terrifying rumble.

"You idiot! It's the Demon Troll, not the Big Mom Troll!" The troll who attacked shouted viciously at his leader.

The leader troll scratched his head, seemingly unaffected, and turned to shout at the witchers again: "Witchers, stop, get out of here! This is the Demon Troll's territory!"

...

All the witchers frowned in unison.

Only Mousesack showed an interested expression.

"How dare they? There are far more of us than them..." Lambert muttered as he reached for the hilt of his sword.

But after some thought, he dropped his hand and turned to Lann and Coën, asking: "Hitting these beasts would ruin our swords. It's much easier with signs. Do you need some troll decoction?"

Geralt listened in silence, hesitating whether to say something or not. Although the White Wolf was a monster hunter, he had always shown a certain sympathy towards intelligent creatures, such as vampires, dopplers or nymphs, which had great alchemical value.

Trolls, of course, fell into this category. For Geralt, these beings were no longer monsters, but rather a non-human species.

Lann was no bloodthirsty witcher, but he didn't share Geralt's idealism either. Still, he had no intention of killing the trolls in front of him.

After thinking for a while, Lann turned to look at Vesemir. "Have these trolls ever killed the apprentices of the Wolf School?"

Vesemir thought for a moment and shook his head. "The apprentices who fail in the final test do so because of Old Speartip. These trolls… with the intelligence of an apprentice, they could handle them without problems."

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