Chapter 319: Praise to the Mother of All Creation
It might be very difficult for rock trolls, who are used to living underground, to suddenly learn to find food in the mountains.

But this is not because the rock trolls can't catch anything.

There may not be much of anything in the mountains, rivers, and lakes around Kaer Morhen, but there must be enough water ghosts.

Moreover, monsters like water ghosts have no brains at all. They don’t care whether the enemy is strong or weak, they will just rush forward when they meet one.

It is also obvious from the conversation between Mountain Stone and Big Stone that the rock trolls from Viscount Hudson's abandoned mine have captured a lot of water ghosts not long after arriving here.

However, because its meat is so unpalatable, it seems that not only is it not on the diet of Big Stone and his companions, even the rock trolls brought by Mountain Stone are unwilling to eat the blue-skinned monsters they have captured.

of course.

This does not mean that rock trolls cannot eat water ghosts. From the desire of big stones, broken stones and small stones for carrion, it can be seen that rock trolls are also scavengers or omnivorous monsters.

Just like humans, they can eat grass and tree roots during famine, but when conditions improve, who would be willing to eat these things that are neither nutritious nor tasty?
"No wonder Big Stone is unhappy. We are exchanging the water ghosts that no one likes to eat for their food reserves. We have been able to endure until now. This is considered a favor from Big Stone. It values ​​the relationship between Big Stone and Mountain Stone."

Ailin smiled inwardly.

and so……

"If you want the big rocks to accept the mountain rocks, all you have to do is make the water ghosts taste 'delicious'."

Thinking of this, he opened the inventory and scrolled down.

Finally I found it in the corner...

[Title: "A Brief Discussion on Twenty-three Cooking Methods of Water Ghost"]

【Type: Miscellaneous】

【Function: None】

[Introduction: The second book in the “Delicious Little Guy” series]

[Note: Written by the legendary chef Troll Long, a bestseller for over 300 years]

It’s so nostalgic!

This was the first harvest he got from opening a treasure chest after crossing into the Demon Hunter world.

He never thought that one day he would be able to use it...

Although it is not known whether the troll Long is a rock troll, they are all trolls and legendary chefs who have been selling well for more than three hundred years. I believe that the way of cooking water ghosts should be in line with the appetite of the big stones.

Now there is only one question left…

Can Dashitou and the others read?
After hesitating for two seconds, under Shanshi's expectant gaze, Ailin reached into his wallet and quickly took out a thick book from the inventory. The short side was as wide as the witcher's shoulders, and the long side was almost as tall as the witcher.

The leather cover is blue and smooth to the touch, and seems to have a faint unique fishy smell.

The origin of the material is self-evident.

The strangely slippery touch made Ailin pull it out and throw it on the ground with a bit of disgust.

"Clap~"

Landmark Sound.

Countless pieces of dust were smashed into the air.

After the smoke settled, a row of huge and very abstract words appeared in the upper quarter of the cover, which should be the title.

But Ailin didn't recognize a single word. Perhaps it was the trolls' unique language.

But he could guess that the meaning of these words should be "A Brief Discussion on Twenty-three Cooking Methods of Water Ghosts".

There are also color pictures under the title, which are rare in books about the Witcher World.

A troll with an orange-yellow body and a reddish hue, like a ball of fire, with one hand pinching the fin on the back of the neck of a water ghost that is only one-tenth of its size, and with the other thick hand that is emitting sparks, making a vertical gesture.

Judging from the strange smile on the water ghost's face, Ailin estimated that the gesture should be similar to a thumbs-up.

In front of the troll there was a large pot with a fire burning underneath, and in the pot there was boiling, bubbling blue soup.

But if you look closely, those bubbles are all big, small, light blue, dark blue, and various kinds of smiling water ghosts.

It's really creepy.

but……

Although this strange and bizarre book was eye-catching, the surrounding rock trolls only took a look at it because of the sound it made when it fell to the ground.

Then, almost simultaneously, their eyes shifted to the slightly open leather armor of the witcher, and the big, pointed bald head was covered with question marks.

"dong dong dong~"

Little Stone even walked over and stretched out his hand as if to pull at his leather armor, but was stopped by Big Stone who punched him on the forehead.

The demon hunter naturally discovered something wrong.

However, ever since I got "A Brief Discussion on Twenty-three Cooking Methods of Water Ghosts", it has been at the bottom of the inventory and I have never taken it out. By the time I finally took it out, it was too late.

However, it doesn't really matter.

To these silly rock trolls in front of him, his secret might not be as important as a piece of rotten meat.

of course.

Ailin diverted their attention in time and said:

"Big stone, mountain stone, do you know the words on it?"

"Dong dong~"

The rock trolls' attention was instantly diverted to the "Brief Discussion on Twenty-three Cooking Methods of Water Ghosts" on the ground.

Dashitou walked forward, staring at the unfamiliar words on the cover with his small eyes, and shouted subconsciously:
“…%#&…”

Ailin was delighted when he heard this.

Although he couldn't understand it, the tones were orderly and it was obviously a language.

Sure enough, the big stone actually recognized these words.

Amid the rumbling sound, Shanshitou also came over, staring and leaning over to take a closer look.

“……%…………&……”

It's also a similar, very awkward roar.

Although he couldn't understand it, Ailin always felt that there were too many pauses in the words, like a babbling baby, and he was unfamiliar with the words.

Compared to the big stone, there seem to be a few syllables missing in the middle.

"...Good witcher, where did you find the book?" Big Stone raised his head, and his pair of small eyes as big as green beans were filled with very complicated emotions, which were not the complicated emotions that a rock troll should have.

"I got it by accident." Ailin asked, "Is it useful?"

The big stone seemed to see that the witcher didn't want to elaborate, so he didn't ask any more questions. He just looked up at the stone who was still stumbling and trying to recognize the words, and then turned back to ask:
"...Good witcher wants the trolls... Mountain Stone to stay?"

The sentence was grammatically incorrect, but clearly more coherent than it had been before.

Ailin was stunned for a moment, until he felt Shanshitou's eager gaze, then he nodded seriously.

The big stone was silent for a moment.

The rough hand with stone backs rubbed across the abdomen, as if to wipe away the non-existent dirt and mud.

Then he slowly bent down and carefully picked up the blue book on the ground with his four-toed giant hands.

The pages of the book were turned, and Aylin didn't recognize the words inside. The rock trolls around him probably didn't understand them either.

Lianshan Stone just scratched his head, looked at the big rock, and waited for judgment.

The emotions expressed are not as complicated as those of the big rocks.

The big stone carefully turned the pages one by one, seemingly reading the contents carefully, but the witcher felt that it was not that simple.

"Have you seen this book?" Ailin asked curiously.

The big stone paused and shook his head.

"Have you seen similar books?"

This time, Big Stone didn't shake his head, but he didn't answer either. He just closed the book and handed it back to the witcher.

"...books...are useful...left behind by rocks..."

The roar of the big stone has not yet subsided.

Shan Shitou and his fellow rock trolls around him immediately cheered.

"...Good witcher...Good witcher..." Broken Stone roared the same name he had just used to welcome Ailin.

At the same time, Ailin also felt that Shan Shitou's gaze towards him was different.

If we put it in a more understandable way, it would be...

[Because of your gift of the book, Big Stone accepted the Mountain Stone Rock Troll tribe. The Mountain Stone's favorability towards you increased by 30. Your reputation among the Mountain Stone Rock Troll tribe increased by 300, reaching Respect.]

[Ancient Sea Fortress obtains legendary troops: Rock Troll 14/14, Rock Troll Legendary Lord Mountain Stone 1/1]

This made the demon hunter feel relieved.

He was in such a good mood that he didn't even pick up the book "A Brief Discussion on Twenty-three Cooking Methods for Water Ghosts".

This book is of no use to him. Although demon hunters have a high resistance to poison, water ghosts are not on their menu. It would be better to use it as a gift to increase the favorability of the rock trolls.

"No need to give it back to me. This is your troll's thing. It's useless for me to keep it." Ailin smiled and shook his head.

After hesitating for a few seconds, the big stone said "thank you" and put it away. He seemed to like it very much.

The rock trolls have been settled.

Ailin was about to warn them about the possible vibrations that might occur in a while, and then head to Old Spearhead's cave to complete the summoning mission.

But I didn't expect that Dashitou ran into the camp, hid the "A Brief Discussion on Twenty-three Cooking Methods of Water Ghost", and then came back, still looking strange and shy.

"What's wrong?" Ailin asked.

Dashi hesitated for a while before looking at Ailin with his small eyes:

"... the trolls also want... books... words... just like..."

"You want me to help you find other troll-related stuff like this book, right?"

Although the big stone's words were vague, Ailin had spent quite a while with the trolls after all, so he could easily guess the meaning behind his words.

Dashitou nodded repeatedly, then scratched his head embarrassedly:
"...big rocks...nothing...exchange...now..."

"No need, we are friends..." Ailin smiled. Seeing that Dashi stamped his feet anxiously after hearing this, he knew that she had an inexplicable pride and didn't want to get something for free, so he said, "Monster hunters always collect their rewards after completing the commission."

"So the reward for finding something will be discussed after I actually find it."

to be frank.

A large group of rock trolls had already agreed to defend Kaer Morhen, and he didn't really have any particular desire for big rocks.

The only thing I'm curious about is her origin.

But at the moment, Dashitou doesn't seem to have any intention of revealing it.

If you haven’t built up enough favorability, you can only take it slow.

When the big rock heard this, it opened its bloody mouth and gave Arlin a "friendly" smile in gratitude, and insisted on inviting him to the next rock troll banquet.

but.

When the witcher was enthusiastically invited by the big stone's extraordinary strength to sit on the stone, and heard the big stone directing a group of rock trolls to deal with the bodies of water ghosts and talking about Xiaolu's newly learned cooking skills, he jumped up from the stone in an instant.

He kept declining, using excuses like "I just ate" and "I have something to do later" and other common phrases used by office workers in his previous life, and finally the enthusiastic rock trolls gave up the idea of ​​treating him well.

Drinking the heart essence extracted from the water ghost's heart, and the magic potion made from the water ghost's tongue and brain, was already what Ailin could accept, and it was the ultimate way to utilize the water ghost.

The method of making 100% use of the blood, flesh, and bones of the water ghosts that have been infested with maggots and rotted in the mouth of the big stone is still too advanced for today's demon hunters.

then.

After the witcher reminded them that "an earthquake might occur soon", he said goodbye to the group of silly trolls who were eager to prepare a feast for the water ghosts.

……

The old spearhead's cave was still pitch dark as usual.

Open the reagent bag, drink the cat's eye, and clean up all the water ghosts that had run into the cave at some point and were everywhere.

The witcher stopped at the place where Old Spearhead used to sleep soundly, found a relatively spacious place in the corner, and took out the chalk, sulfur, magic dust and mercury solution that he had prepared long ago.

Although the goddess Meliteli said in the kingdom of God that the fluctuations caused by the ordinary intersection of celestial spheres are very small, as long as it is used in a sheltered place, such as a cave, it can completely avoid being sensed by the Wild Hunt.

In fact, even in the wilderness, the probability of being discovered is very small.

After all, he had summoned a Conjunction of the Spheres in Ellander, and then stayed in the temple for nearly a week without seeing any trace of the Wild Hunt.

However, the summoning mission is a new type of mission after all, and the strength of the celestial intersection is still uncertain.

More importantly, Ailin was quite curious about the "Hidden Ceremony of Meliteli" taught to him by the goddess.

[Name: Meliteli's Hidden Ritual]

……

[Note: In fact, this is not a concealment ritual, but more like a remote transmission of a message like "Mom, I'm hungry." All subsequent concealment processes will be remotely controlled by the object of the information transmission using divine power.]

In particular, the content in the notes seemed to indicate that the main function of this ritual array, which was able to shield spatial fluctuations and prevent the Wild Hunt from noticing, was not "hiding" but "Melitel".

and so……

Is there a possibility.

Every time he uses "Meliteli's Hidden Ritual", Ailin can contact the goddess and ask her to give him a harvest buff?

If there is no reason, the Demon Hunter certainly shouldn't disturb them just to get buffs or open boxes.

But now I have an excuse, so of course I have to give it a try.

The ritual circle of three interwoven circles drawn in chalk symbolizes the three aspects of the goddess girl, pregnant woman, and old woman as one.

Mercury was placed on young girls, magic dust was poured on pregnant women, and sulfur was poured on old women.

After carefully arranging the ritual according to the requirements in his mind, he walked four times clockwise around the entire ritual formation and stopped in front of the ritual circle that symbolized the girl.

After Ailin checked again, he took a deep breath and prayed devoutly:
"Praise be to the Mother of All Creation, goddess of fertility, harvest and childbirth, eternal maiden, mother, protector of the crone..."

(End of this chapter)