After waiting for a long time, the mountain fog had completely disappeared from everyone's sight. Lan finally put down his left hand with a pale face and began to breathe heavily. His magic power was finally exhausted.
Vesemir shook his head and stepped forward to light the braziers at the four corners of the altar.
He was about to give Lann a few more instructions, but he saw the young witcher raised his hand again in embarrassment.
"My magic power seems to have recovered a little..."
Vesemir's face was blank. "Use the Igni Sign, and then immediately enter meditation. Otherwise, I'm afraid you'll blow out these braziers, wasting time."
Lan nodded.
A huge amount of flames spewed toward the sky, and the heat wave made the surrounding demon hunters involuntarily take a step back.
Fortunately, this time it only lasted for a few breaths.
Lann knelt down on the spot and soon relaxed his body. His breathing became intermittent and his spirit became light.
After the braziers in the four corners were lit, Vesemir started burning the candles facing the valley. His movements were very skillful, and soon, he turned around and saw Lann who had entered into meditation.
The badges on the chests of the demon hunters were shaking more violently, which meant that something had established a connection with the chaotic energy in nature, making the magic here even more intense.
"You're getting into the mood so quickly?" Vesemir didn't know how many times he had exclaimed today.
The speed of establishing a connection with chaotic energy largely represents the communicator's meditation proficiency. But Vesemir already understood Lann's basic skills. This young man had just become a demon hunter for more than a year, and it was said that he learned meditation from Triss when he was conducting political diplomacy abroad.
But looking at the speed of this young man now, even Geralt and other witchers who have been trained since childhood feel ashamed of themselves.
Mossak stroked his beard with a smile: "It should be because of the ancient blood. You can also understand it as the source of magic. This is a physical condition that can communicate with nature. It is normal to have this phenomenon."
Vesemir looked at Lann, then at Mossak, and then turned back to look at Geralt, Eskar, and Lambert one by one.
The young man from the Wolf Faction had an unnatural expression on his face.
Finally, Geralt thought about it and said, "I was able to establish communication very quickly when I was meditating."
Too bad no one cares about him now.
…
Lann felt his five senses magnified.
No, it cannot be said to be the five senses. At least Lann can't feel the conversation between the demon hunters and druids behind him.
But he can "hear" the chirping of birds, the rustling of leaves, the gurgling of water...
Something is wrong. It is winter now. Where do the birds singing and leaves rustling in the Blue Mountains come from?
Although he was confused, Lan's body relaxed further. Then he seemed to hear the roar of flames, the rumble of lightning and thunder, and - a "buzzing" sound that he could not distinguish.
Lann's state of mind became calmer and his aura began to gradually condense. The magical energy transformed from natural forces made the energy in his body extremely abundant and continued to grow.
Chaos energy was like a rainbow, condensing around Lann's body, forming a net made up of natural elements.
Suddenly, Lann felt something boiling in his body. It was the blood of the ancients, his own blood, the blood that could give a person a magical physique from nothing, the destined power of salvation.
The chaotic energy seemed to form a vortex, pouring into Lan's body continuously. And in a place that Lan didn't notice at all, a skill on the system panel suddenly lit up -
【Travel】
A skill that drained all of Lann's magic power at the beginning of awakening. However, after consuming such a huge amount of magic power, the final result was only enough for him to have a glimpse of countless planes, which was not enough to support him to reach other worlds.
It was like an oversized machine, but Lane's battery couldn't power it.
At this moment, the energy continuously provided by the Ring of Elements finally met the conditions for activating this skill, like an external energy source, lighting it up.
Lann suddenly felt his whole body lighten, and his consciousness left his body and began to float upwards involuntarily. But this time was different from the previous awakening. Compared with the previous time when there were countless images of the world in front of him for him to choose from, this time's [crossing] seemed to be directional.
If Lann were to make an analogy, the previous [time travel] was just building a path and exploring by himself; and this time, the [time travel] was like he just happened to find a door that someone else had installed, and by chance he kicked it open, thus being able to pass out.
Considering the place name "Ring of Elements" where he was before, his current location is very clear.
Lann looked up and saw four dazzling balls of light stretching across the ancient and dark sky, with surging elements surrounding them like stars surrounding the moon.
…
Ahead, there was an orange burning sky. From time to time, fireballs fell from the sky, instantly burning everything around the ground into ashes. Endless volcanoes, mountain rivers, gravel slopes, and flames flying in the sky formed a unique scene in this world.
Behind, the purple and rose-colored ocean appears. The boundless sea, towering rocky peaks, dangerous cliffs and frequent storms are everything here.
On the left, there is a heavy and expensive block. There is a constant sound of the earth rumbling and the grinding of rocks. Stones, rocks and vast plains are everywhere, which is the main theme here.
On the right was a completely disordered world. Chaotic air and raging storms were the only things left in it. Lan couldn't even see any solid object in it.
This is the elemental realm. The world outside the planet under Lan's feet is just like the "atmosphere" of Lan's previous life. Unlike the "atmosphere", this elemental realm has not only "air", but also earth, water, and fire. It has a larger range, a thicker realm, and is more dangerous.
There is another invisible energy supporting these four realms, which is the fifth element symbolizing "spirit" - ether.
Before Lann could react, a huge figure suddenly appeared in each of the four realms. They had shapes that matched their own realms and their appearances were very different; the only similarity was the profound wisdom revealed in their eyes and the terrifying aura emanating from their bodies.
Lann was horrified when he saw this: World Spirits! Unique magical creatures that live in their own worlds. Powerful sorcerers can establish contracts with them through [Summoning Magic], just like summoning foreign demons; even worse, they can capture these world spirits directly from outer space.
The strong ones among the world spirits have the powerful ability to move mountains and fill the sea, or like the "Di Jing", they have the mythical ability to fulfill the wishes of mortals.
There are also relatively weak elemental life forms in the world spirits. However, Lan En looked at the appearance and size of the four world spirits in front of him and they did not look like weaklings. He was sure that the four in front of him were tough characters that he could not deal with at this stage.
…
The four world spirits roared at their respective opposite sides the moment they appeared. The water world faced the fire world, and the air world faced the earth world. They were all powerful and steadfast, and refused to give in.
But then they fell silent again, a kind of silent understanding permeated among them. Although they had no eyes, Lan still felt their gazes focused on him.
Lann was suddenly shocked. That sight contained too many things. It was scrutiny, disgust, hatred, and... greed.
To be in trouble.
Four forces appeared on Lan's body without giving him any time to react, and suddenly began to tear him in four different directions. The illusory muscles and bones were torn apart unreasonably, as if they were twisted into countless weird shapes and could not be pulled back.
Every second was like a poison needle piercing every cell in his body, and all kinds of incredible pain spread throughout his limbs and bones. The pain that had nowhere to go made Lann want to scream, but he forgot that his body was still in the elemental ring of Kaer Morhen, and he was just a spirit.
Lan opened the system panel like crazy and clicked the [Crossing] skill frantically.
All of a sudden, the magic power in the body leaked out like a flood, but then the four pulling forces also increased dramatically, trying to fight against the system's skills.
Lann could feel that the system had the upper hand in this confrontation. However, within a breath, his magic power reached the bottom. Unlike the time before, this time there was no energy provided by the elemental layer to replenish him.
In the darkness, there was a faint sound of dull laughter, like a strong wind, a landslide, a raging fire, and a tsunami.
Lan's consciousness gradually blurred.
Just as the four pulling forces were growing stronger and stronger, almost tearing Lann's spirit apart, a very familiar voice suddenly came from outside the elemental realm.
…
"Ah! Lan, you're here! So soon?"
This sound seemed to be full of joy and anticipation, like a traveler finding a long-awaited companion, or like a hardworking gardener finally seeing his fruit tree bear fruit.
However, the voice suddenly stopped and made a sound as if something dirty was seen.
"……Um?"
…
What happened next happened in just a moment.
Maybe even faster.
It was as if the ancient abyss suddenly became conscious, and a silent darkness permeated the elemental world.
The four world spirits roared again, but this time it turned into anger, then fear and rage.
The infinite ether seemed to have turned into a human palm, tightly wrapping up the world where these world spirits were. It was originally holding up the four elemental worlds, but now it was tightly grasping the four elemental worlds in its palm, and it was getting stronger and stronger.
With a sound like a glass mirror shattering, Lann felt the power surrounding him suddenly lighten and disappear. Then he felt as if there was a puppet string behind him, and with a slight pull, his spirit body sank back to his planet.
A sigh of disappointment slowly came from the endless starry sky:
"Oh... Never mind. It's not time yet. You should go back first..."
"Remember, this time you owe me a drink..."
…
Lann suddenly opened his eyes and breathed heavily as if he was drowning. He could no longer maintain his balance and fell to the ground.
The system's prompts rang in his ears one after another. He subconsciously opened the panel, and immediately a light began to flicker on it.
Lan took a long breath and found that his [Seal] skill panel had undergone a drastic change.
Five level three magic seal skills were all activated at once!
[Queen Strengthening] The strength of the Quen Seal increases by 10%. (2/5)
[Yarden Enhancement] The strength and duration of the Yarden Seal increase by 10%. (2/5)
[Axis Strengthening] The strength and duration of Axis Seal increase by 10%. (2/5)
[Alder Enhancement] Increase the strength and attack range of Alder's Seal by 10%. (2/5)
[Igni Enhancement] Increases the strength and burning chance of Igni Seal by 10%. (2/5)
The five seals symbolize the five elements of earth, fire, water, wind, and ether. The five skills are like the word water, and the strengthening effect is also neat and tidy. This is the most essential improvement of Lann's seal.
With such neat enhancement effects, and thinking about what just happened in the Elemental Realm, Lann didn't need to guess why these five skills were upgraded. Even though the Demon Hunter could gain power from the Ring of Elements, this level of enhancement was a bit too exaggerated.
The activation of five third-level skills automatically satisfied Lann's conditions for activating the four final skills of the [Seal] series, so the harvest was indeed rich.
It seems that I owe someone something again... Although he cannot enter this world now and cannot ask me for the debt, I will have to travel through the multiverse sooner or later with the blood of the ancients, and I can't avoid him at all.
I don't know what kind of request the other party will make at that time...
Lann shook his head and put the question aside for the time being. At the same time, he also made up his mind not to activate the skill of [Crossing] before his ability was insufficient. This adventure was a lesson for him.
…
On this side, Lann was panting and adjusting his condition.
On the other side, the people who had been watching Lann meditate finally reacted after seeing the abnormality of the young demon hunter.
Mossack ran much faster than the other demon hunters. He picked up Lann, who was lying on the ground, with a nervous look on his face.
“Lane, what’s wrong with you? Wait… Why do you have no magic power at all when so much chaos energy is flowing into your body?” The old druid said, turning to Vesemir hurriedly, “Is this normal? Do you know what happened?!”
Lan quickly grabbed Mossak's shoulders and forced a smile despite his discomfort.
He looked at his health and mana. The blue bar had indeed reached the bottom, but the red bar was still above the health line.
"I'm fine, Uncle Mossack." Lann comforted him, not thinking of telling Mossack what had just happened. Matters beyond the elemental realm were something that even the old druid could not resolve.
"In fact, I have gained a lot now. More than one seal has been strengthened. Maybe that's why I am so tired."
Although everyone was still confused and doubtful after hearing this, their expressions relaxed.
Lann used the excuse that he was not yet familiar with the power, and also to relieve his fatigue, he sat aside alone and began to adjust his state.
Demon hunters such as Cohen and Reso were shocked by Lann's condition, but after hearing that he had indeed been enhanced, they hesitated for a while and then knelt in the center of the Ring of Elements and began to meditate.
However, their meditation process was easy and carefree. Each person only spent a quarter of an hour, and when it was over, they all felt refreshed, and no one had the same experience as Lan En.
While the other demon hunters who had not yet been strengthened were meditating one by one, Mossak sat next to Lann and asked with concern: "Are you sure you are okay?"
Lann had adjusted most of his condition by now, and his complexion looked much better.
"I'm really fine."
After thinking for a while, Lann suddenly asked: "Uncle Mossak, do you have any books about the elemental layer?"
Mossak was stunned. He immediately answered with full knowledge, "There is a book called Elemental Empire. This book is included in the magic course I arranged for you. I plan to teach it to you when you have time."
The old druid's eyes became deep. "Why, you are suddenly interested in this knowledge and want to learn [Summoning Magic]? That is forbidden magic, and can even be considered black magic."
Lann smiled and said, "We all know that forbidden magic is just difficult to control and can easily hurt beginners. Fire magic is also forbidden magic, and so is necromancy, but look at how many people in the Warlock Brotherhood don't know these."
In order to reassure Mossak, he added: "Don't worry, Uncle Mossak, 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 them..."
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 will include knowledge in this area, but you have to proceed step by step. I will teach you, but not now."
Lann leaned his back against the rock wall and raised his head. His sight seemed to pass through the clouds in the sky and fall into the boundary layer: "That's enough."
…
A few more quarters of an hour later, all the snake-faction demon hunters also gained upgrades in the Ring of Elements. Judging from their happy expressions, the results were very good.
Vesemir looked at the sun. They had set out early in the morning. Although there had been many thrilling battles along the way, it was only past noon.
"Old Spearhead is dead, and the Elemental Ring has been absorbed. It's about time to go back," Vesemir suggested. "We should still have time to prepare dinner if we go back to the castle. There must be a lot of bear meat left from yesterday."
Lambert curled his lips: "We have been busy outside all day, why do we have to go back to prepare dinner..."
Eskar patted his shoulder and said, "Yennefer will never be able to cook. Ciri is a disaster when she cooks. We can't let Triss prepare food for more than a dozen people by herself."
Lann and Geralt both showed embarrassed expressions when they heard this.
The way back will definitely be smoother than the way here. The noise from the battle with Old Spearhead just now is definitely enough to drive away all the ignorant monsters on the road.
That's what everyone thought at first.
Just as they were on their way back to the cave from the Ring of Elements, three stone heads suddenly popped out.
"Monster Hunter, stop, go back! This is the 'Giant Mama' territory!"
A simple, slow, but dull sound like the collision of rocks reached everyone's ears.
Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and found three humanoid monsters covered with stones standing on a small slope not far away.
A rough estimate put the distance at about a hundred steps. The demon hunter had to at least shout for the other party to hear him, but the other party seemed to be speaking in a normal voice, and his voice could still be clearly heard by everyone.
It's a troll.
Lann had heard about the existence of trolls on the way to the Ring of Elements. He was disappointed that he had not encountered them at first, but he did not expect to encounter them now.
The one who rebuked the demon hunters was the one closest to the front of the three trolls, who looked like the leader. But after it finished speaking, the troll closest to it suddenly raised its hand and smashed the leader's head with a fist more powerful than a sledgehammer.
The stone on the troll's head was shattered by this blow, and the demon hunters could feel the terrifying momentum from a distance. Lann estimated in his mind that a normal knight's plate armor would have to be remade after being hit by this blow.
"Stupid! You are 'Troll Demon', not 'Troll Mama'!" The troll who attacked shouted viciously at his leader.
The troll leader scratched his head, seemingly unaffected, and turned to the demon hunters and shouted again:
"Monster hunter, stop, go back! This is troll territory!"
…
All the demon hunters frowned in unison, raised their jaws slightly, and swallowed their saliva.
Only Mossak showed an interested expression.
"How dare they do that? There are so many of us..." Lambert reached behind his back and grasped the hilt of the wolf-head sword.
But after thinking it over, he put his hand down again, turned to Lan and Coen and asked, "It's too damaging to cut this thing with a sword, it's more convenient to use a seal. Do you need [Troll Decoction]?"
Geralt was hesitant to speak after hearing this. Although White Wolf was a demon hunter, he was always friendly to intelligent monsters, including monsters with extremely high alchemical value such as female night demons, shapeshifters, and nymphs.
The trolls are naturally among this group. Perhaps in the eyes of the White Wolf, these are already "non-human races" rather than "monsters".
Lann was not a murderous demon hunter, but he was not a philanthropist like White Wolf. However, he did not intend to kill the trolls in front of him.
After thinking for a while, Lann turned to look at Vesemir: "Have these trolls ever killed Wolf Clan apprentices?"
Vesemir thought for a moment and shook his head. “The apprentices who failed at the last stage all fell at the hands of Old Spearhead. These trolls… are more than enough for the apprentices to handle.”
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