John understood.
The dream trial wasn't just about killing enemies—it was also a test of the heart.
The village chief handed over the ten gold coins meant for the werewolf bounty to John.
Though it pained him, he still said respectfully, "Honored witcher, thank you for forgiving my daughter's sins."
He was deeply grateful. Even if his daughter could not stay in the village, at least her life had been spared.
Parting with the coins, however, made him wince in agony.
John glanced at the villagers outside and said calmly, "No need to thank me, because no one has forgiven you."
He turned and left, leaving the village chief puzzled.
But soon enough, the chief understood.
The furious villagers nearly tore his house apart. Parker had spread the entire truth.
When they learned it was the chief's daughter who had committed the killings, and couldn't find her, they came straight for the chief.
Dressed in medieval garb, John walked out of the chief's house and ran into Parker by the roadside.
Parker looked at him as though seeing an idol and asked in awe, "Are you a witcher? That's amazing. I've heard about you—you only appear in the most dangerous places."
Parker flailed his arms, babbling incoherently, "Can I join you? I mean—can I follow you?"
John thought for a moment, then pulled a gold coin from his pocket and tossed it toward Parker.
The coin spun in the air, catching the light in a dazzling shimmer.
Finally, it fell into the mud at their feet.
Parker moved to pick it up, but John said, "If you pick up that coin, it means you've lost your chance."
Parker froze mid-bend, unsure what to do.
John kept walking ahead, his voice drifting back.
"Either step over it and catch up to me, or pick it up and stay behind."
His stride never slowed, his figure gradually disappearing into the village.
Parker stared at the coin. A single gold coin was enough to change his life for the better.
Torn, he looked up and saw John already leaving the village.
In the end, Parker picked up the coin.
Between reality and adventure, he chose reality.
...
John walked for a while through unfamiliar lands.
John was starting to regret leaving so casually.
Ugh..
He didn't know the way.
"Should've asked for directions before walking off," he sighed as he made his way down the road.
After three full days of travel, he finally came across a town.
The first thing he did after entering was find an inn and take a bath.
With nine gold coins in his pocket, he was practically carrying a fortune.
When he stepped out after bathing, he saw a squad of knights passing by.
The commoners on the roadside lowered their heads respectfully at the sight of the knights.
The lead knight called out loudly, "By order of the king, witchers are summoned to Konsang County!"
Coming straight for him?
John narrowed his eyes. Staying inside the inn, he overheard the murmurs around him.
"Witchers? That's just a legend."
"Why would the king be looking for such monsters?"
"They say there's a terrible banshee in the Konsang Tower, one that's already killed many guards."
"Konsang? That old wizard's tower?"
"All the wizards were wiped out ages ago—there can't be any left."
Listening to their chatter, John realized that in this era, witchers seemed to have already begun hunting sorcerers.
No wonder Malon had panicked the moment he saw him.
"So now I'm the enemy of wizards?"
His expression turned wry. For someone who was a top student in the wizarding world, that kind of identity shift was more than a little strange.
He drew his sword and glanced at it. The first rune was already glowing; nine still remained.
If nothing went wrong, the banshee would probably be one of them.
Sliding the sword back into its sheath, he watched as the squad of knights rode off down the street.
John bought a map from the innkeeper, then went to a jeweler's shop and sold one of his gemstones.
The jeweler tried to haggle him down, but unfortunately for him, John had mind magic on his side.
He calmly raised the price, and the shopkeeper broke out in a nervous sweat.
In the end, the deal went through, and John walked away with a heavy pouch of gold.
"Good news," he muttered, "the satchel still works."
John stuffed the gold into his satchel. Thankfully, it hadn't stopped working—otherwise, he'd be stuck lugging around a pile of coins on the road.
As he left, he noticed someone watching him.
He didn't think much of it. Back at the inn, staring at a plate of potatoes with skins still on, he fell into deep thought.
"Seems like even this place can't escape the invasion of potatoes."
He popped one into his mouth. Great. No taste, even in dreams, huh?
John ate just enough to fill his stomach, then left it at that.
The next morning, he set out from the inn to wander around town.
Two men continued trailing him at a distance.
Meanwhile, that squad of knights was out searching again. But since John wasn't carrying his sword, they didn't notice him.
"Did someone leak word about me?"
Suspicion stirred as he watched the knights comb the streets, looking convinced that a witcher was in town.
He had no desire to get tangled up with the kingdom here—that would only turn simple matters into complicated ones.
So, heading back toward the inn, he realized the two followers were still on his tail.
Once inside, John slipped out through a 1st-floor window.
Outside the inn, the men lingered for a while before the knights returned. One of them asked haughtily, "You're the ones who said there's a witcher here?"
A short, scrawny man fawned, "Yes, Sir Knight. I'm certain of it. That man carried a witcher's sword when he entered the city."
"Good. Search the place."
In this era, knights weren't symbols of chivalry or protection.
On the contrary—they were arrogant and domineering, barging straight inside to ransack the inn.
When they found nothing, the knight flew into a rage and with one swing of his sword decapitated the scrawny man on the spot.
The innkeeper trembled in terror, practically ready to confess to bedwetting as a child.
Once they learned which room belonged to John, the knights stormed in, only to find the window wide open. Scowling, the leader muttered, "He's gone."
While their fury boiled, John was already beyond the city walls.
Though he had no desire to answer the king's summons, his trial still had to continue.
He studied the map, heading toward Konsang County.
"Show me the way."
Pointing his wand due north, John set off in that direction.
"I should probably find myself a horse."
John trudged along on foot, debating whether he ought to get himself a horse.
After some time on the road, he was lucky enough to run into a merchant caravan.
When they saw John—especially the gleam of a gold coin—the merchants immediately grew warm and hospitable, inviting him to travel with them.
As night fell, the caravan made camp.
"That's not a good place. Not worth going even if you had money," a portly merchant said with disdain.
"If you're heading that way, I advise you to avoid the wizard's tower. That place is cursed."
The merchant spoke with a grim look. He had been to Konsang County several times, but none of his experiences there were good.
He was utterly convinced the place was tainted by a wizard's curse.
During the caravan's rest, a servant suddenly let out a bloodcurdling scream.
The cry of terror was quickly joined by the sounds of tearing flesh and gnashing teeth. "Ghouls!"
Someone shouted in panic, "Light the fire! Quickly, light the fire!"
They had passed through this area many times before, but this was the first time they had ever encountered a ghoul attack.
John turned his gaze and saw a cluster of hideous creatures, their exposed skin making them look like malformed children.
One servant frantically hurled a torch, striking one of them. The ghoul let out a furious roar and lunged forward, sinking its teeth into the servant.
John realized these things weren't ghouls after all.
He said, "Mr. Yusi, I've got good news and bad news. Which do you want first?"
Yusi—the merchant—was trembling as he hid inside the wagon. "Bad news—no, good news."
He was already incoherent, especially after seeing yet another servant dragged to the ground.
John stroked his chin. "The good news is, ghouls don't eat people. And they're not very aggressive."
"Ghouls don't eat people?" Yusi froze. This was the first time he'd ever heard that. "Then what's the bad news?"
"The bad news is, those aren't ghouls. They're man-eating trolls."
A servant screamed as his arm was ripped clean off.
Yusi nearly pissed himself. John grinned. "There's another piece of good news—I can take care of them. But the price…"
"I'll pay! I'll pay! Just get rid of those things!" Yusi shouted as another man was dragged down.
"Forget the money. You're going to take me to Konsang County." John slowly drew his sword. "How about it?"
"Deal!" Yusi practically roared the word.
John smiled, his figure springing forward like a hunting leopard.
Just as one of the trolls was about to sink its teeth into a servant's neck, a flash of silver light pierced straight through the creature's throat.
John pressed down on the hilt with his left hand, using leverage to flick the blade upward, cleanly severing the creature's head.
A crimson glow flowed into the sword, lighting up the second rune just a little.
John's eyes lit up. Even these "small fry" gave experience.
He flicked the blood off his blade, then raised his hand, casting a summoning charm. A man-eating troll was yanked into the air and slammed to the ground from above.
But when the troll died, no crimson glow emerged. It seemed they had to be slain by the sword itself.
John's gaze swept over the remaining trolls. He lifted his left hand, pulling one straight toward him, and drove his sword clean through its body.
The blood glow was absorbed. John repeated the process.
In the firelight, he moved like a reaper harvesting lives, his blade cutting down troll after troll.
There were fifteen in total. Aside from the one that had died from the fall, every last one was killed by his sword.
The second rune shone brighter now, though it still didn't match the first.
Wiping his sword clean, John strode toward the caravan.
With blood splattered across his clothes, he looked like a demon straight out of hell as he emerged from the night.
Yusi's face twitched hard. He suddenly remembered he had just promised to take John to that cursed place—Konsang County.
On the verge of tears, he asked, "Can I… take it back?"
John patted his plump arm in a friendly way and smiled. "Only if you don't want to ...live. Heh~"
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