Geralt withdrew his hand, picking up his sword from the grass.
"A man in full heavy armor, hiding in the trees like the Squirrel Party."
The newcomer removed his helmet, revealing a young but authoritative face.
"Ah, rest assured, I'm not an elf, I'm pure human."
Ciri was examining the werewolf's corpse and discovered it wasn't actually dead; its skull and brain were shattered, and it was self-healing very slowly.
With one step, it was as if the werewolf had been hit by a catapult.
"I didn't know humans could crush a werewolf's skull, that's a very sturdy part. Even using heavy weapons like a war hammer, it's hard to break."
Saying this, she kept her distance from Su Ming, circling back to Geralt.
Ciri was still somewhat wary, seeing someone in such terrifying heavy armor reminded her of the Wild Hunt. Although the mask of this heavy armor wasn't a skeleton, the glowing red eye was still quite eerie.
"Now you've seen it, haha, I'm Slade from New York, pleased to meet you."
"Go gather the werewolf materials, it's clear here." Geralt sheathed his sword, instructing Ciri, then looked at Su Ming: "I'm Geralt of Livya. I don't know where New York is, but you are indeed human."
Ciri might know, but Geralt really couldn't think of it, isn't New York just a new version of York?
His foster daughter Ciri has special abilities, able to travel between different universes without any preparation, just with a thought.
Her abilities are strong, not only spanning universes but even time lines. She once visited Earth and witnessed a fully mechanized future society.
This is also why the Wild Hunt was searching for her; those militaristic elves originally had the ability to traverse the Multiverse, but then lost it for unknown reasons.
They want to capture Ciri for research, to regain the 'Elder's Blood', enabling them to set ablaze all universes with war.
Su Ming's current location is in the Multiverse of 'Dark Horse Comics'. Besides having veteran comic characters, this company has also been creating stories for game characters in recent years.
'The Witcher', 'Halo', 'Tomb Raider', 'Fallout', 'Call of Duty', 'The Last of Us'—these games are undoubtedly highly renowned blockbusters.
Unfortunately, Su Ming's computer wasn't very powerful back then; he could barely play World of Warcraft on the lowest settings, and he could only watch videos to complete other major titles, cough cough...
Never mind that, Su Ming had a long list of objectives for coming here.
First was to earn money. The Gold Coins here are easy to earn, even farmers and bandits carry Aurum Coins when they head out.
The Wizard World's currency system is based on a gold standard. Each country has its own gold coins, and Aurum is the currency minted by the Free City of Novigrad, with one capable of exchanging for a hundred Copper Coins.
The second aspect, Su Ming wanted to learn more about time and world information from the known other transmigrator Ciri.
Not like the native metaphor of Celestial Convergence, but intelligence from a higher vantage point.
Thirdly, it's to see the 'Storage Box' here—Saddle Belt, that peculiar space-crossing storage item to see if it can cross worlds.
Lastly, if given the chance, he wants to get his hands on the Stargate that allows the Wild Hunt to connect different worlds. Although it's broken, if he could get it and have The Ancient One and his Adjutant research it, maybe...
If successful repairs can be made, it would be very helpful for the future.
With that, Su Ming could bring more people and resources on his travels, maybe even drive a car or fly a plane.
And finding where the Wild Hunt's world is completely unknown; instead of searching blindly, it's better to ambush around Ciri.
However, it's a bit late in the timeline now, as Ciri has already strapped on two swords, meaning the game's story is concluded.
She didn't go on to inherit Niflgaard but became a Demon Hunter with Geralt.
Her eyes are still blue, like a deep blue gemstone, proving she hasn't gone through the 'Green Grass Trial'.
The Green Grass Trial is the method Demon Hunters use to train their successors.
The human physique finds it difficult to contend with various monsters, and they need to rely on potions to enhance themselves.
However, these potions are toxic, and apprentices must taste various poisons from a young age to enhance their immunity.
When the Sensei thinks it's about time, which is usually when the apprentice is ten, the Green Grass Trial is held.
The 'Green Grass' concoction is a very potent mutagen, not really made from grass but some precious monster materials.
It enables a complete transformation of the Demon Hunter's body—enhancing strength, endurance, speed, reflexes, and longevity to non-human levels.
Through the Green Grass Trial, Demon Hunters can then access alchemical potions and decoctions, which if consumed in limited quantities, won't result in death by poisoning.
At the same time, they can use mutant cells obtained from monster bodies to enhance a specific aspect of their abilities.
But the decoction's toxicity and side effects are extremely strong.
Only about ten to twenty percent of apprentices survive the Green Grass Trial. Even those who survive have their entire genetic makeup altered by the decoction.
Side effects primarily include loss of pain sensation, eyes turning snake-like, becoming emotionally detached, and loss of fertility.
Therefore, demon hunters generally have good relationships with witches who also lack the ability to have children, and their long lifespans mean that every demon hunter has a few witch 'friends'.
Ciri didn't need to go through that; Triss and Yennefer taught her a lot of magic techniques, and her own bloodline was powerful enough to perform some incredible tricks.
Flash and backstab are defenses impossible to guard against for many monsters.
Her drawback is that once injured, she has to seek ordinary herbs to heal and recuperate like a regular person. Those injuries, for a normal demon hunter, can be solved by directly gulping down a 'Swallow' potion.
And the Wild Hunt will never perish; after electing a new king, they will come back again, their world-crossing ability has a fatal attraction to them.
Su Ming sat by the fire to show he meant no harm, his helmet placed on the ground nearby. It's summer in this world now, but the forest at night always has a chill.
"It's okay not to have heard of New York, it's just a small place anyway. I happened to be passing through, heading to Novigrad."
Geralt sat opposite him, while behind, Ciri was dealing with the werewolf's corpse with a Silver Sword amid Jian's retching.
The demon hunter tossed some branches into the fire to make it burn more brightly.
"Going to Novigrad? Where's your horse?"
"I walk pretty fast, but that's not important... want to play a round of Gwent?"
Su Ming laughed as he took out a stack of cards from his waist pouch.
Actually, he had been in this world for a while, learning the language was always necessary, and then to blend in with the crowd, he had specifically bought a set of Gwent cards and formed a deck.
Afterwards, he traveled the world playing cards to earn money, while looking for white-haired men and women.
He learned that Niflgaard had taken a hit, while the north is now governed by a former intelligence head, among other things.
When he passed through Velen, he heard that people meeting his criteria were heading north to the City of Freedom, so Su Ming followed them.
Seeing the Gwent cards, Geralt no longer hesitated, a flash of interest appeared in his eyes as he quickly pulled out his own deck from his pocket.
"How much to bet?"
"I have some great wine, brewed at Thunder Brewery in Danmoro, and there's also some great homebrew, 'Skywalker'."
Su Ming took out two bottles of wine from his backpack and placed them on the grass.
Geralt examined the wine, then took out twenty Aurum coins and placed them next to the bottles.
"Draw cards!" X2
Watching Geralt and the stranger seemingly possessed, uttering lines that made one want to cover their face, Ciri sighed deeply.
Rumor has it that while Geralt was looking for her and the Wild Hunt, he never forgot to play cards and even won the useless title of Gwent Master.
She felt exhausted.
...........
The game remained stalemated, with Geralt's deck being better and Su Ming's mind quicker, making them almost evenly matched.
But Su Ming deliberately made a mistake at the end, losing the match.
The wine was meant to build relationships, and so was playing cards; Geralt didn't have many hobbies, but these two certainly were among them.
As Geralt drank the wine, he temporarily forgot the oddity of encountering a stranger at midnight.
Thunder beer is from the World of Warcraft; though it's beer, it's dwarf beer, and it's not your average strength.
The collector's spirits of Skywalker, naturally, wouldn't be bad under Su Ming, the owner's watch.
Demon hunters have fast metabolisms, the effect of alcohol is almost negligible, so Geralt's taste is similar to that of a giant, stronger the better.
"This wine is excellent, I can't say whether Toussaint's or yours is better."
Su Ming pulled out more wine from his backpack for himself, casually asking, "How's Toussaint nowadays?"
"Seems like you know about my affairs, Toussaint remains the same." White Wolf stared at the charcoal in the fire pit: "Those two sisters now seem to live in a fairytale. I still have an orchard there."
Su Ming nodded, looks like the Blood and Wine story has ended, meaning quite some time has passed since the game's ending, and the Wild Hunt could counterattack at any moment.
If the Wild Hunt comes, he wants to capture one alive.
That's right, the Wild Hunt utilizes the Stargate, the technology is damaged causing incomplete teleportation, making their appearance seem ghostly in the Wizard World.
They have special mages to locate worlds and navigate; this piques Su Ming's interest.
"I figure we're headed the same way, why not travel to Novigrad together? It's safer on the road." Su Ming reached out to Geralt.
Geralt shook his hand readily: "Of course, we can play cards when we have time too."