Everyone left the relatively secluded space by the fireplace, except for one who did not leave.
Geralt somehow rose from his seat and entered the dimly lit corner by the fireplace.
He stood quietly, not taking his eyes off Yennefer's slightly solitary figure.
The firelight flickered on her black and white dress and black hair, highlighting her delicate features and reflecting her slightly tense shoulders.
Geralt lifted his foot several times, wanting to step forward, approach her, and say something.
Even if it was just a quick question: "Are you alright, Yen?" or an awkward explanation of the poem...
However, there is a fear of emotions and a concern about possibly disrupting the existing balance.
Doubts about whether he is worthy or can give made him repeatedly put his raised foot back down heavily.
He stood in the shadows, like a silent guard, a prisoner locked in a labyrinth, quietly watching the figure who was also trapped.
.........
The music and voices of the feast gradually faded. Karl did not return to the now quiet banquet hall, but instead went back to the prayer room of the temple.
He was still carrying a pile of un-forged plate armor, casually picked up from the forge near Phillip and the training ground.
Pushing open the wooden door of the quiet room, the familiar scent of wax and the solemn atmosphere enveloped him.
Hundreds of candles burned silently, illuminating the room as bright as day, and also illuminating the smaller stone statue in the center, which closely resembled him.
He placed the iron plate armor on the stone platform, his gaze sweeping over the neatly arranged set of exquisite steel knives beside it, but he did not touch the tools of ordinary craftsmen.
He picked up one of the most deeply dented breastplates, his fingers gliding over the cold, rough surface.
In his mind, Hen had recently discussed spells with him, detailing the structures and principles of several basic and advanced runes.
And the various characteristics and risks they encounter when interacting with magic appeared as a clear blueprint.
"Alright, let's start with the most basic protection." Karl muttered to himself, his eyes suddenly flashing with two barely discernible red glints.
With that, he slightly lowered his head, staring at the center of the breastplate.
In an instant, two piercing beams of light, as thick as ordinary fingers but filled with intense heat, shot from his eyes.
The heat vision was like a nimble laser engraving pen, landing on the cold metal surface.
HISS... A very faint sound of instantaneous metal heating was heard.
Under Karl's precise control, the energy of the heat vision was suppressed to a minimum, used only for melting, not for cutting and destroying.
Wherever the red light passed, the surface of the breastplate immediately left grooves of equal depth and width, with edges as smooth as mirrors.
First, he sketched an equilateral triangular rune with a tip and a certain indentation.
The overall structure of this rune resembles the basic spell seal symbol "Quen" often used by Witchers.
But the lines became more complex and precise, and the inner patterns more intricate and mysterious.
Far better than the fragile magical shield a Witcher could activate with gestures.
In Karl's perception, when the last runic contour completed the closed loop, an amazing change immediately occurred.
Inside the quiet room, the previously evenly distributed chaotic magic seemed to be attracted by this newly formed rune.
They began to spontaneously converge and flow towards the runic marks.
The magic flowed into these fine grooves, slowly flowing and filling according to the pre-set patterns, like injecting living water into a dried-up riverbed.
HUM... HUM... A deep, pleasant hum came from the breastplate.
Immediately after, a soft, stable orange glow suddenly flashed across the entire surface of the breastplate.
The light flowed for about two or three seconds, then slowly receded and receded, like breathing.
In the end, it completely disappeared from the metal surface, leaving only the engravings, faintly shining with metallic light in the candlelight.
Karl slightly raised his brows, lowered the breastplate, and extended the index finger of his right hand, controlling the force.
With force roughly equivalent to a powerful punch from an adult male, he gently poked the center of the breastplate where the rune was.
Just as his fingertips were about to touch the metal surface, HUMM!
A faint, almost transparent orange energy membrane instantly appeared from the runic engravings.
It was like an energy shell clinging to the armor, blocking his fingers.
"Interesting." A flicker of interest appeared in Karl's eyes, as he continued to touch with his fingers and slowly increase the force.
As the pressure increased, the energy membrane began to weakly oscillate, like water.
The light flickered brightly, trying to resist the external impact.
Karl silently assessed the force applied; for ordinary people and even soldiers, this shield was already quite strong.
However, when the force approached about 300 kilograms, POP! A soft sound, like a bursting soap bubble, was heard.
The orange membrane finally couldn't hold on, instantly shattered and dissipated, turning into scattered magical spots that quickly disappeared into the air.
The fine rune in the center of the breastplate also completely dimmed the moment the shield shattered.
Inside the engraving, tiny charred cracks appeared, like a burned-out circuit, clearly completely damaged and unable to function.
Karl withdrew his finger, looking at the ruined runes, a dissatisfied expression on his face.
"Maybe it's enough to withstand ordinary swords, arrows, or even the bites of common monsters."
"But if you face a full-force blow from a Witcher who has drunk Thunderbolt and enhanced his strength, bursting out and in full condition,"
"or even stronger monsters... this level of protection is still insufficient."
He casually set aside the breastplate, now turned into ordinary scrap metal, then picked up another piece of shoulder armor.
Preparing to continue improving the rune structures or experiment with several other composite protective runes mentioned by Hen.
At that moment, his hearing caught two notable, quiet conversations coming from the corridor beyond the quiet room, as well as deliberately softer footsteps.
"...Triss, do you think Karl really...?" Iris's voice was full of hesitation and a weak, barely perceptible tremor.
"Don't worry, I've already spoken with him. Iris, you need to muster your courage."
"Just do as I say. Remember, be natural..." Triss said more calmly, encouraging her.
Iris seemed to want to say more, but Triss gently interrupted her.
Karl's curiosity grew even stronger. These two were acting so mysteriously – what were they up to?
To not hear the answer in advance and to avoid losing the anticipation, he deliberately lowered his auditory perception to a level slightly above most people's.
He wanted to know what advice Triss had given Iris.
She seemed confident, as if sure he would "fall for the trap."