“You’re awake. How do you feel, boy?” Letho asked gruffly as Roy opened his puffy eyes with difficulty. His whole body was sore, and when he looked around, he noticed he was lying on the bed of an inn room. It was nearly noon, and the light outside was blindingly bright. He could see doubles of the furniture around him, blurring his sight.

Roy shut his eyes and shook his head. It took a long time before he stopped seeing double. “How long was I out for, Letho?” He frowned and covered his eyes to block the light reflecting from Letho’s bald head. “Can you sit somewhere else? The light’s hurting my eyes.”

Letho shrugged and moved to the chair before handing him a bowl of water. “You were out for a whole day. Frankly, that’s a lot shorter than I had expected. You have a good body,” Letho said calmly, as if it were just a diagnosis from a doctor.

“Well, I don’t feel so good. I swear I was dead.” 

Roy gulped all the water in one go, and a cool sensation flowed through him. Then he was reminded of the feeling from before, of after he’d taken the potion. It was as if a fire had been lit in his chest, burning all his cells and vessels. He could feel his body scream, and it felt as if thousands of knives were piercing him. In other words, it felt like getting pierced by red-hot knives. 

“You should have warned me more,” Roy grumbled, and a hint of fear welled up within him. He never wanted to feel that kind of sensation again. It was worse than death.

“It did deviate from what I had in mind.” Letho looked at him apologetically. “I thought you’d black out quickly under that intense pain. Actually, most of the disciples who took the potion since the last hundred years or so didn’t last five minutes. Most couldn’t even last for three. They’d lose all consciousness at that point, so their pain only lasted for a short while, but you…”

“What about me?”

“You lasted six minutes.” Letho took out a grey notebook and flipped through it. “You didn’t make a mess of yourself, nor did you spew blood, mumble, or spasm,” he said solemnly.

Roy felt a chill running down his spine, and he felt glad he strengthened his stats before that. “Why didn’t you tell me about that before?”

“Well, you’re still alive, aren’t you? You managed to get through it.” Letho patted his shoulder and calmed him down. “Don’t worry, boy. That pain only shows up the first time you take the potion. You’ll only feel half of that next time, and it’ll eventually lessen to the point you’ll only frown at it.”

“I thought that was the only one I had to take.” Roy gulped, fear showing on his face. Half of it would still be painful. “How many more do I have to take?”

“It runs for three months, and on a weekly basis, so you have eleven more to go.”

Shit. Roy took a deep breath and massaged his face, which was drenched in sweat. But I can’t stop. If I do, all I did would be for naught.

“Your willpower and body are better than most disciples’.” Letho was observing him in silence, and he heaved a sigh of relief when Roy didn’t retort. Then he shifted the topic. “And maybe it’s because your body’s more developed because of your age. The other disciples took the potion before they were even ten, while you’re nearly fourteen.”

“Wait, so age is an advantage. If that’s the case, why do witchers go for younger children?” Roy held back his doubt.

“Children are pure, innocent, and full of possibilities. Their guide can depict any kind of future for them.” Letho was patient. “Children haven’t fully developed their bodies yet, and they can get their bodies systematically modified by the Decoction of the Grasses. On the other hand, adults have gone through the changes of puberty and have settled down, so any modification would be harder compared to children. Most can’t see through the mutation. Their bodies would break down and die.”

Modifications? Break down? Roy finally understood the meaning behind the Trial of the Grasses. ‘High death rate’ was just a facet of it. The body breaks down if they can’t take it, but what if they can see it through, and then do it again? 

“Is the modification a one-time event?” Roy blurted out the question he’d always had. “Can anyone take the Decoction of the Grasses from schools like the Wolf School or the Griffin School once they manage to mutate once? “

According to what he knew, every school had a different recipe for the Decoction of the Grasses which strengthened different aspects after the mutation. Cat School witchers wore light armor and had agile, phantom-like movements, so their decoction would increase their dexterity, while Wolf School was more balanced, so their decoction would increase every aspect by a bit. Griffin School witchers’ strength lay in their signs, so their will would be strengthened. Bear School witchers wore heavy armor and used two-handed swords, and they would consume more potions in a short time. In that case, their decoction should strengthen their constitution.

If someone manages to see through multiple Trial of the Grasses from different schools, what kind of witcher would he become? Theoretically speaking, the body’s resistance toward poison would greatly increase after a trial. So would it make a second trial easier? Or maybe the decoctions would repel each other, killing the user. That was Roy’s hypothesis.

“Are you talking about multiple modifications?” Letho’s eyes gleamed dangerously, and he warned, “That idea is preposterous, boy. In all my life, I’ve never heard of anyone who’d taken different Decoction of the Grasses. Not even if they took it at a different time. No such fool exists. Even if they do, they would already be dead. Right, you haven’t even gotten through the preliminary period, so stop thinking about useless things.” Letho calmed down and held the note that was on his knee. “Tell me, do you feel any change in your body? The first time should bring some benefit with it.”

“Change?” Roy put his fantasies aside and looked at his character sheet.

‘HP: 30/55 (Poisoned)’

Damn. I lost twenty points. That’s one poisonous potion. Compared to that, berbercane fruits and blowballs were nothing. When he looked down, he arched his eyebrow, for he saw his Will had gone up to six points. A 0.2 point increase. Well, that was one hell of a painful experience, so this is normal, but it’s probably limited to the first time.

There was nothing else aside from that. Could the lack of change be because of my body being better than an average adult’s? He thought he’d have a skill related to poison. Was the potion insufficient? 

“Well, there is some change,” he said. “I can feel my will and thinking becoming stronger.”

“I see.” Letho looked disappointed. “I came up with the same result after the checkup. Maybe it’s because of your age, but it doesn’t matter. The final results will only be known after the first phase.”

***

After Roy had rested for two days and recovered from his ordeal, he was ready to leave Aldersberg with Letho. He didn’t plan on going to the House of Cardell to say goodbye, since it would only make everyone sad. Then Seville came.

He went up to them, laughing heartily. Obviously, his life had been happy as of late, and his beard was well trimmed, and his hair slick. He looked energetic, the traces of his insomnia nowhere to be found. Seville held Roy’s and Letho’s hands at the same time with his own hairy ones, looking like he was reunited with his long-lost family.

“Thanks to your help, I now have no worries. You must pay me a visit when you come back to Aldersberg. I shall receive you with open arms.” Roy waved him away dismissively. He’d already profited a lot from the delivery request. Then Seville said, “Since you and Letho are going west, you’ll have to get through the Mahakams soon, but heretics have been causing trouble in the mountains, and the elder has set traps along the way. Going there without anything would be troublesome, but I will not let my friends get into trouble. Here, a letter of safe conduct. Take it, and you should get through easily. They show that much respect to me there.”

He then winked at Roy, and the boy took the letter, though he felt nervous. “Do you have a goal of some sort, Seville?” He thought the wink was suspicious.

“Oh, of course not. I am not an ungrateful dwarf. I shall never trick my friends.”

Roy calmed down a bit after Seville’s multiple reassurances, and he read the letter.

‘My brethren in the Mahakams,

The people before you come from the Viper School, and they are skillful, distinguished witchers who have helped me a lot in Aldersberg. They are now good friends of mine, so please show them the kindness and respect they deserve, and grant them passage through the Mahakam mountains.

Love,

Your brother, the squirrel of Mahakam, Seville Hoger

November 1260.’

Oh, it’s just a simple letter asking for safe passage for us. Roy stopped getting hung up on that matter, and he hesitated for a moment before telling Seville his request. He wanted him to take care of the people of the House of Cardell. Seville agreed to it.

Not long after, Letho and Roy finished packing and rested their eyes. There wasn’t much to pack. Most were just Roy’s clothes, potions, and alchemy tools. Two bags and a saddlebag were enough. If this were in the past, there wouldn’t have been so many clothes. Letho would have gone around alone.

The wilds were remote, and going for weeks without a bath was normal. He’d just take one at an inn once two weeks had passed, then he’d share a fun night with a woman. For the most part, he was just like the sailors, coachmen, and bodyguards. The lowest echelon of society.

However, Roy was a lot more particular, so he took a lot of baths to prepare for the future, though that made Letho slightly uneasy. As they talked, Letho and Roy left Aldersberg and walked west, where the Mahakams stood.