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TWL Chapter 243: Vodka and Stone - Winning Over the Trolls
🕑 Added 2024-10-26 15:40:34 +0000 UTCHearing Lann's question, the old witcher answered tactfully, but the message was clear: An apprentice of the School of the Wolf should not be so incompetent that he cannot fool even a troll.
After thinking about it for a moment, Vesemir added: "There have been quite a few trainees who have ended up getting beaten up, but it's not a big deal."
With that, Lann understood the situation; without grudges, everything would be easier.
The three trolls were still shouting.
Lann patted Lambert on the shoulder, to restrain his killing intent, and took a few steps forward. "There's no need to kill them, I have another idea."
The other witchers crossed their arms and prepared to watch Lann's performance. Letho moved his fingers slightly, ready to take action when Lann was in trouble.
"The witcher is not obedient." Seeing that Lann and his group were not leaving, the troll that had hit the leader before hit his head again, breaking a rock on the other's head.
The troll leader, who had been beaten, scratched his head and seemed to vent his anger on the witchers. "Trolls don't go to the castle, they don't want precious stones. Witchers, don't come to the trolls' territory, leave and return to the castle."
The trolls' words suggested that there might have been some tacit agreement of non-interference between the witchers and them in the past.
The witchers of the Wolf School exchanged glances and then turned their attention to Vesemir.
"Don't look at me." Vesemir curled his lips. "At least I haven't heard of such a thing in all these years in Kaer Morhen."
"Could it be that some apprentice used a trick to complete his test, and these trolls thought they had reached an agreement with the entire Wolf School?" Geralt guessed thoughtfully.
Vesemir was silent; it wasn't really something he could rule out.
Lann, meanwhile, assessed the distance between himself and the trolls. Since his magic energy had not yet fully recovered, using his [Blink] skill at that distance would be difficult.
So he spread his arms out in a gesture of friendship, hoping to gain the Trolls' trust and have a little fun along the way.
As he approached, Lann shouted: "But, trolls, we came from the Circle of Elements. We are returning to the castle, so if you want us to go back, why are you blocking our way?"
After hearing what Lann said, the three trolls were stunned at the same time.
"Trolls, the witchers said they want to go back to the castle." The troll who punched the leader seemed confused by Lann's words.
"Trolls, stupid!" The leader exclaimed, raising his arm as if he were going to strike back, but he stopped, as if he had a muscular reflex.
"Witcher, come from the castle and go to the Circle of Elements." The leading troll pointed in the direction of Kaer Morhen again, wearing an expression that seemed to have seen through everything. "Witchers come from there, it's the castle."
"There, it's the Circle of Elements." The leader troll pointed to the direction of Kaer Morhen Castle again, showing an expression that saw through everything. "Witcher, say one thing, do another!"
The other troll nodded, counting on his three fingers. “Sometimes they even do a third thing!”
Seeing this scene, Lann twisted his mouth. He suddenly understood why the Wolf School's apprentices could survive encounters with these trolls.
It seemed that the troll leader was called Demon Troll, and the one who repeatedly beat him up was Big Mom.
"No, Demon Troll, Big Mom." The troll who had not spoken suddenly said: "The witcher is indeed coming from the circle of elements and heading to the castle. The direction is correct!"
This third Troll seemed to be the most intelligent of the group, and apparently had a good memory. The other two trolls also agreed with what it said, and immediately fell into a vicious circle of self-doubt.
"The witcher came from the circle of elements? Why?"
Lann took a few more steps, coming closer as he explained: "Because we just left Old Spear Tip Cave this morning. At that time, there was no one blocking the way here. Where did you go?"
As soon as he mentioned Old Speartip, the three trolls on the hillside looked at each other nervously, as if they had forgotten their intention to claim their territory from the witchers.
The Old Speartip had always been the most feared predator in the Blue Mountains region, and the trolls, though strong, preferred to avoid facing it. Thanks to their sensitivity to terrain and rocks, they always detected its footsteps in time and moved away. That was why they had not been present the first time Lann's group passed through.
The noise caused by the witchers during their battle against Old Speartip today really scared the trolls. The deafening explosion and a series of roars and screams caused them to hide in their territories without worrying about them. That's why Lann and his group didn't encounter the trolls when they first passed by here.
Noticing the trolls' reaction, Lann understood the situation. Taking advantage of their confusion, he approached close enough to be able to activate his skills at any moment.
[Blink]!
With a flash of emerald light, Lann disappeared and reappeared in the blink of an eye behind the three trolls, causing them to nearly jump in fright.
Before they could react, Lann opened his palm and dropped a massive head covered in burns, sword marks, and poison erosion right in front of them. The single eye, which was larger than the entire troll's face, was wide open, filled with anger and reluctance.
It was the head of Old Speartip.
Seeing the gruesome trophy, the trolls screamed and recoiled in fear, slipping and rolling down the hillside.
"Troll, Troll, Old Speartip is dead." The troll named Big Mom hid behind the lead troll, trembling constantly.
"Witchers hunt monsters, and Trolls are also monsters. Witchers are going to hunt Trolls." The lead Troll closed his eyes in fear but blocked the two companions behind him tightly. "Old Speartip has been killed, and Trolls will also be killed."
Seeing his reaction, Lann couldn't help but think, 'This Old Speartip really has its uses.'
After scaring them enough, it was time to get serious.
"Hey, trolls, what are you talking about?" Lann suddenly laughed. "I heard that Old Speartip was always harassing you, so I came to hunt him down for you. How could I harm you? You're safe now; there's nothing left in this area that can bother you."
As he spoke, Lann slapped Old Speartip's head, putting the gruesome object into his inventory. With the terrifying head gone, the three trolls finally calmed down. Hearing Lann's words, one of them repeated in disbelief: "Witcher... killed Old Spear Tip... so the trolls wouldn't get harassed?" The troll looked confused. "Witcher, good man?"
The troll named Big Mom didn't seem so convinced. She cast a wary glance at Lann and muttered: "No, witcher, you say one thing and do another, and sometimes..."
The third troll suddenly interrupted. It was the only one in the troll team who had analytical ability. "But, without Old Speartip, there is really nothing that can harass Trolls!"
This troll's logic resonated with the group, and the other Trolls smiled, putting aside all their distrust in a moment. "Nothing can harass the Trolls, witcher, good man!"
This sudden change of mood took Lann by surprise, even though he had anticipated something similar.
"Witcher, good man!" The Trolls shouted happily, stretching out their hands towards Lann.
This was their way of expressing friendship, but if Lann let the Trolls' palms touch him he could be hurt.
Lann quickly applied the Quen sign and the impact generated the [Exploding Shield] effect. The three trolls were pushed back several steps by the shockwave and were left in a state of confusion.
"Witcher, strong!" The lead troll had never seen the witchers' methods, or even if he had, he probably wouldn't remember them. It thought it had just hit Lann, and now it was amazed at Lann's physical strength and even gave him a thumbs up.
Lann wiped the cold sweat off his forehead, forced a smile, and continued: "Trolls, look, I killed Old Speartip for you. I think we're friends now, huh? And as a friend, I want to help you out a little more."
Demon Troll opened his eyes in surprise. "Witcher, continue to help?"
Lann said gently: "Well, actually, you could also say that they are helping me. I know that they live in the mountains, surrounded by rocks... Rocks are wonderful things. But I have a place full of even more rocks, a place where I need to build bridges, houses, walls, and even a castle."
The Trolls' eyes lit up in wonder. "Countless stones? Bridges? Houses? Castles?"
It seemed that the soul of construction had been ignited in Demon Troll and his companion, but the more thoughtful Troll muttered in confusion: "But, there are also many stones here."
Lann confidently answered: "There are more stones there, and there is also wine!"
"Wine?!"*3
Lann turned his left hand and took out a bottle of vodka directly this time. After opening the cork, the tempting aroma immediately filled the air, causing the three trolls' noses to twitch.
Lann passed the bottle to the Demon Troll, then pulled two more bottles out of his inventory and handed one bottle to each of the other trolls.
For a moment, only the sound of the trolls drinking could be heard. The vodka disappeared in a matter of seconds, and Demon Troll, seeing that the bottle was empty, brought it to his mouth and, like a cookie, crushed it and swallowed it.
"Witcher, my friend!" Demon Troll's voice was full of joy this time. "Countless stones, building bridges and castles, and wine, Demon Troll will follow you!"
Before Lann could show his excitement, the more thoughtful Troll, his mouth also full of bottle pieces, pulled Demon Troll over and muttered: "Demon Troll, but what about the stones here? This is trolls' territory."
Demon Troll hesitated.
Lann sighed, he knew it wouldn't be that easy. However, he had already planned a solution, and he wouldn't skimp on it. He took out another bottle of vodka and offered it to Demon Troll. "Demon Troll, drink."
Demon Troll drank the bottle immediately.
"Demon Troll, we are friends, right?"
"Of course!" Demon Troll shouted. "Witcher, good man! Friend!"
Just then, Lann took the opportunity to put a hand on the Demon Troll's shoulder.
[Follower], contract.
Fortunately, Lann has a habit of saving ability points, to deal with emergency situations at any time.
An ability point was silently erased, and the experience value was reduced by double digits, the consumption not much higher than that of a loyal follower or a lady who was in love with him.
[Follower: Demon Troll
Gender: Male
Race: Rock Troll
Level: 1
Talent: Barrier
Experience: 0/1000
Health: 8430/8600
Mana: 500/500
Inventory: Vodka
Skills: Rock Bloodline, Fast Metabolism, Advanced Throwing, Advanced Construction.
Quest: None]
[Shared Follower Talent: Barrier]
[Barrier: Increase Health Limit by 50%]
Lane was quite satisfied with the talent obtained from Demon Troll.
In an instant, he felt the muscles all over his body begin to swell and his blood flow suddenly accelerated.
Glancing at the system: [Health: 4050/4100] → [Health: 6100/6150]
Fortunately, this feeling came and went quickly, and then Lann only felt that the muscles on his body began to contract and relax again, as if the power just generated was just an illusion.
But Lann knew that his muscular strength had actually increased. The increase in health itself will bring about an improvement in physique. His elevated health value is mainly due to the mutation of the previous witcher and the awakening of the Elder Blood. Normally, upgrading one level only comes with an increase of 100 points. It can be said that this exchange of talents increased his physique by almost 20 levels in one go.
With this momentum, Lann felt he could physically confront a troll.
