Was it a fragment of the Gate of Ard Gaeth, or the Guidestone to the Gate of Ard Gaeth?
Or perhaps some new component of the Grand Gate?
The intense tremor brought by the calling of destiny left Allen restless, his mouth dry.
This abnormality even passed beyond the thrumming of the Wolf Medallion — it was sensed by the elven woman in the deep darkness.
She cast a spell, summoning a bright orb of light, her brows furrowing as she warily scanned the surroundings.
Everything before them looked much like any sorcerer's laboratory.
Formalin, ether, and alcohol — and magic.
Even after Tomas Moreau had abandoned this place for years, these scents still lingered in the air, as if they had seeped into the cold walls themselves.
Dust-covered bottles and jars, distillation cauldrons, kilns, and a cold steel bed radiating a piercing chill.
Suspicious dark brown and murky yellow stains remained on the bed. But none of that was the most eye-catching.
Standing on the floor was a piece of experimental equipment with pipes protruding from its shell, looking like an iron maiden — completely out of place with the rest of the lab's atmosphere.
Aside from this, there were no other traps or mechanisms, nor any monsters lurking in the shadows ready to pounce.
This was the destination of their journey — Tomas Moreau's laboratory for conducting secondary mutations.
Ida Emean's frown deepened.
"What's wrong, Allen?"
"There's clearly nothing here."
"Then why is your mental fluctuation so contradictory? As restless as a rutting beast, yet as indifferent as a dead, dried-up pond?"
She could not sense destiny — at least not its current guidance… and Allen immediately realized that.
But something was off.
The last time in the Passolon Forest, when destiny called, he was alone — that was one thing.
But outside Vengerberg, when taking Yennefer's younger brother into the School of the Wolf, the call of the Law of Surprise had been felt by everyone present.
What was going on?
Was there a difference between destiny and destiny — a difference in level between the Law of Surprise and a fragment of the Gate of Ard Gaeth?
Or… did destiny itself have a will, truly controlling everything, and had deliberately avoided Ida Emean?
Allen took a deep breath, suppressing the tide of emotions that rose and fell in his heart with destiny's call.
"This place matches what I remember. Sol should be saved."
"That's good." Ida Emean gave him a doubtful look, but in the end only nodded slightly, letting it go.
The two moved deeper into the laboratory, more details coming into view.
This was a fully equipped, expensive laboratory — much of its layout could also be seen in Drakenborg, in the lab of Sorcerers' Brotherhood senior councilor Ronnie Dickinson.
And Ronnie Dickinson's status and power far surpassed Tomas Moreau's. Moreover, the nonhuman laboratory in Drakenborg technically belonged to Rissberg Group's Civil Cooperative Organization.
Such well-maintained research equipment was worth at least a million orens, and was clearly the most suitable for secondary mutation research.
Tomas Moreau must have paid a huge price to research the witcher mutation problem and to find a "cure" that could turn his son into a normal human. Of course, now all of it was going to benefit Allen — the witcher Tomas Moreau hated the most.
Further in, besides the experimental apparatus, there were four iron cages in the corner.
But their doors hung open, all of them empty.
Outside one of the cages, however, on a bloodstained round platform, was a dried corpse with both hands bound, its expression twisted in agony.
"Do you know how to use all this equipment?" Ida Emean's right hand lightly brushed a dust-covered distillation cauldron as she asked curiously.
"Some of it. What I don't know, I can learn quickly," Allen replied casually while sensing the direction of destiny's guidance. "It'd be even better if there were experimental records…"
Before he could finish, Allen had just determined that the guidance of destiny was coming from up the stairs to the second floor of the lab when he noticed Ida Emean stopping behind the iron-maiden-like device.
"The experiment records aren't here, but there's a megascope and some megascope crystals…"
She beckoned Allen over, then walked toward the megascope while giving a brief explanation.
Allen glanced at the direction of destiny's pull upstairs but didn't hurry over. Instead, he took a quick look around, crouched down to check three spots in the lab, and then finally walked toward the elf.
The megascope was the proud invention of Ortolan, leader of Rissberg Group's Civil Cooperative Organization. By consuming some rare materials, it could transmit speech over great distances, assist long-range teleportation, record images, and more.
In the future, the improved and mass-produced megascope would become the most common magical tool used by sorcerers.
But right now, having been on the market for only a few years, both the device itself and the materials it consumed were extremely expensive. Long-range teleportation and far-speaking also demanded a lot from the user — it seemed unlikely Tomas Moreau could afford to use one, let alone abandon it here.
Ida Emean's surprise was likely because of this.
"Three megascope crystals are missing." She picked up two crystals from a cushion beside the megascope and examined them. "These are numbers one and five. We're missing two, three, and four."
"What you're looking for might be in those crystals. Let's search for—"
She cut herself off.
In Allen's open palm lay three identical crystals, quietly resting there.
The three crystals were each engraved with the Elder Speech numerals for two, three, and four.
"You saw this in a prophecy."
It was a statement, not a question. The placement of the spyglass was so precise that only by turning a certain corner could one spot it, and the pedestal holding the crystals could only be seen up close.
Even so, the female elf's tone still carried a trace of surprise.
"I already gave you more credit than most, but it seems I still underestimated your prophetic gift."
To be called a prophet was already a rarity on the Northern Continent—one in tens of thousands.
Even the most accomplished could, at best, foresee a dozen or so still images in a year—most of them trivial and meaningless—and that was enough to be regarded as a seasoned prophetic master.
For Allen to not only extract critical information about a secondary mutation, but also recall the exact locations of two megascope crystals so clearly, meant these were part of a sequence—several dense, continuous visions.
That was a skill said to be possessed only by the famed elven prophetess Ithlinne Aegli aep Aevenien.
What was even more astounding was that Ithlinne's father had been the legendary elf physician, astrologer, and prophet Aevenien—whereas Allen's parents were a simple sword-wielding brawler and someone entirely ignorant of prophecy.
To have such a gift, yet choose to become a witcher…
A true pearl cast into the dark.
Ida Emean thought for a moment, then asked, "Aside from the dimeritium bombs, would you be interested in other commissions?"
Expressionless and wondering how to brush her off, Allen reflexively asked, "What kind of commission?"
"Prophecy. Since Sadia's return, some changes have occurred among the Free Elves. We need the guidance of one who parts the mists."
"Aren't you also a seer?"
"Prophecy is not all the same, and no two who part the mists are alike."
Allen was about to refuse—after all, he knew nothing about prophecy. The only reason he knew about the crystals' existence was because in his previous life he had undergone the secondary mutation many times… in a game.
But just as he opened his mouth, a sudden thought struck him, and he changed his words: "We are allies. Even without payment, I'm willing to help."
"However, I know nothing of prophecy. I may end up making things worse."
"I can teach you—no cost," Ida Emean said, her gaze bright.
"Then I can give it a try," Allen replied decisively, pleased to have gained a new skill for free.
Whether or not he could truly learn prophecy was of little importance to him—what mattered was that this gave him an opportunity to get involved in the affairs of the Free Elves.
"We can discuss prophecy later," Allen said, steering the conversation away. "For now, let's see what's stored inside these megascope crystals…"
Ida Emean nodded, picked up the first crystal from the red velvet cushion on the pedestal, and placed it in the notch near the balance point of the spyglass.
"Bzzz~"
The wolf medallion gave a low hum.
In the center of the three spyglasses arranged in a triangle, an image appeared—a black-and-white projection of a hook-nosed male mage wearing pince-nez: Tomas Moreau.
Then, a deep voice began to echo through the spacious laboratory.
"18th of Yule, 1102.
Today I begin the greatest undertaking of my life—greater than any of my research so far—because this one concerns me and my son directly.
Fifteen years ago, I was attacked by a monster in the forest. A witcher saved my life.
At the time, I did not know the price of that rescue would be my son's future.
If I could turn back time, I would rather have died than hand over my only son to the witchers.
But the day the witcher took him away, I swore I would restore my son to what he once was.
After years of study and preparation, I have finally completed a device for researching mutations.
If the merciful gods aid me, I will find a way to reverse the mutations and let Jerome reclaim a normal life."
The vision of Tomas Moreau vanished. Ida Emean glanced at Allen in silence, then set the second crystal in place.
"Observation twenty-two: Despite the use of a greatly excessive amount of toxic substances, the subject shows no sign of poisoning…"
…
Because of the differences between the original work and the real world—such as the many variations in traps and architecture along the way—Allen had expected some new revelations. But when the second crystal's contents turned out to be identical to those in the game, he began to lose patience.
"Observation thirty: Mutation did not manifest immediately. Instead, it appeared only after some time…" Tomas Moreau's deep voice continued to echo.
Allen saw Ida Emean place the third crystal into the spyglass. He planned to finish listening to this one, then find an excuse to stop and search for the object guided by destiny.
"…For mutation to be completed, sustained application of the proper mutagenic stimulus is required—"
The sentence was cut short.
A cold system chime suddenly sounded.
[Ding! Spend 48 experience orbs to unlock Genetic Mutation Studies?]
"Huh?!"
Allen, who had been half-distracted, instantly snapped to attention.
The cost to unlock Genetic Mutation Studies, which had already dropped from 100 to 50 orbs thanks to "Sorcerer's Memory," had now fallen by another two.
And it didn't stop there…
"The subject's condition is poor, but I've found a way to make mutation less painful and exhausting…"
[Ding! Spend 46 experience orbs to unlock Genetic Mutation Studies?]
"…Using mutagenic base material, I added protein from the eggs of a mutated giant centipede…"
[Ding! Spend 44 experience orbs to unlock Genetic Mutation Studies?]
"When kept in a glass container, the centipede eggs don't grow larger—they maintain a small size…"
"The eggs themselves are remarkable; after mutation they emit a brilliant sheen…"
…
[Ding! Spend 13 experience orbs to unlock Genetic Mutation Studies?]
Nearly every sentence Thomas spoke lowered the cost by another orb, and though his voice grew lower and lower, Allen's heartbeat only quickened in excitement.
Because of Sol's severe injuries, Genetic Mutation Studies was a skill he needed to level to a high rank within the next two days.
And with the experience-orb cost of mastering Beast Roar: Forbidden Sky for rescuing Hen Gedymdeith…
His nearly two hundred orbs, which seemed plentiful, were actually far from enough. Now, simply listening to Tomas Moreau's words was saving him so much—it was practically gold for every syllable!
Just as Allen was reveling in the windfall for Genetic Mutation Studies, the rate of cost reduction slowed but still didn't stop.
"Observation fifty-eight: There is a way to combine one mutagenic stimulus with certain specific ingredients to transform it into a different mutagenic stimulus…"
[Ding! Spend 10 experience orbs to unlock Genetic Mutation Studies?]
"In addition, I discovered that the mutagenic dose injected today brought the subject to the brink of death—only for him to suddenly awaken, his strength returning rapidly. Not fully, of course, but to come back from the edge of death is remarkable enough."
[Ding! Spend 7 experience orbs to unlock Genetic Mutation Studies?]
-----------------------------------
[Ding! Would you like to spend 1 Experience Orb to unlock Genetic Mutation Studies?]
"All those years of experiments, research, and effort — all of it has turned to nothing! I couldn't achieve the goal I set for myself."
"The sudden change I induced in my test subjects was useless against Jerome."
"I wanted to 'cure' his witcher nature, to let him return to a normal life. Instead, I made his mutations even more severe, further enhancing his speed and strength, pushing him farther and farther away from humanity."
"It seems my son will have to remain a witcher for the rest of his life. I've failed. It's time to abandon this place and go home to Lydia. Perhaps she might still be willing to take me back."
"I'll leave the formulas and the mutagenic agents here. Let them fade away… just like my dream of getting my son back."
The phantom of Tomas Moreau collapsed in dejection, dispirited that his experiment had failed to meet his expectations and could not turn his son into what he had envisioned.
On the other side, if not for Ida Emean's presence forcing him to control his expression…
Allen would have almost shouted in excitement.
In less than half an hour, he had gained forty-nine Experience Orbs for free.
Even during the Descent of the Evil God event, he hadn't earned this many.
"What a pity," Ida Emean said as she removed the last crystal from the seeing glass, "there wasn't a single piece of useful information…"
"No! This is very useful!" Allen instinctively denied her words. "I'm already close to mastering Genetic Mutation Studies…"
Clang!
The megascope crystal slipped from her hand, hitting the ground and chipping at the edges.
Ida Emean: "?"
....
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