The wyvern had landed heavily, its wings folding as it dragged its catch, a deer, still twitching faintly closer beneath its body. Its jaws tore into flesh.
Geralt's eyes narrowed. He didn't move at first. He simply watched it.
Then he saw it, the size. the thickness of its neck. The darker, almost plated scales along its spine. The horns, slightly curved back rather than straight.
Sebastian saw it too, his gaze sharpening as the details clicked into place.
Both of them turned, almost at the same time, toward Ciri.
Geralt's mouth twitched faintly. "Well," he said, "you were right.. It is a Royal Wyvern."
Sebastian exhaled through his nose. "Surprisingly."
Ciri folded her arms, lifting her chin just enough to make it clear she was enjoying this. "And I didn't need your superhuman senses either."
Sebastian glanced at her. "That was still a random guess."
She smirked.
Geralt didn't humor it for long. His focus snapped back to the creature. "It hasn't noticed us yet, so we should proceed carefully." he said quietly. Then, without looking back, "You have to wait here, Ciri."
She didn't argue. That alone made Geralt pause for half a second before continuing, that was surprising from her.
"And you," he added, glancing at Sebastian, "circle around it and approach it from its blind spot and don't rush it, wait for an opportunity."
Sebastian nodded once, already moving, low and silent as he began to arc around the clearing.
Geralt stepped forward the silver sword in hand, its edge already coated in Draconid oil. He raised his free hand, fingers spreading slightly to form Aard sign.
The invisible force slammed forward.
It struck the wyvern's wing just as it lifted its head from the carcass. The impact twisted the limb violently, forcing the creature to stagger sideways with a furious screech.
The deer dropped from its grasp. The wyvern turned, eyes wild, jaws snapping, its attention instantly locked onto Geralt.
Good, that was all Geralt needed.
It attacked, fast for something its size. Faster than most would expect.
Geralt pivoted, the claws missing him by inches as he slipped to the side, his blade flashing in a precise arc that cut across the wyvern's forelimb. Scales resisted, but the oil did its work, the blade bit deep enough to draw a spray of blood.
The wyvern shrieked, whipping its tail around.
Geralt ducked under it, rolling across the ground before coming up on one knee. His eyes never left it. His breathing stayed steady.
The creature reared back, wings spreading wide, trying to intimidate, then snapped forward again, jaws aiming for his throat.
Geralt stepped in this time instead of away.
His blade drove upward, striking along the lower jaw, forcing the head aside just enough for him to avoid the bite. The impact jarred his arm, but he held firm, twisting the sword free and stepping back again before the claws could follow.
He didn't overextend his attacks or rush. He was holding it. Exactly as planned.
Behind the wyvern,
Sebastian moved silently.
Waiting for the perfect moment.
The creature's attention was fully on Geralt now, its aggression and its movements becoming more reckless as the pain built.
Now.
The wyvern crouched slightly, wings tensing, preparing to leap into the air.
Sebastian stepped in.
His hand ignited and flames coiled around his fist, burning brighter than before,
Then he struck.
A fire fist crashed into the wyvern's head just as it began to rise.
Fire exploded across its face.
The creature screamed in pain and in panic.
Its wings beat wildly, lifting it off the ground, but without direction. Its eyes, burned and blinded, thrashed in chaos as it surged upward only to slam into a nearby tree.
Branches shattered. It twisted, crashing into the ground again, tail whipping through the clearing, tearing through bark and soil alike.
Geralt stepped back immediately, avoiding the flailing limbs, his expression tightening slightly. "Damn it…"
Seb didn't stop, he moved with the chaos, dodging the wyvern's chaotic attacks.
As the wyvern slammed into the ground again, stunned for just a fraction of a second, Seb jumped and he landed on its back, boots gripping against its scaled hide as it thrashed beneath him, with one gesture of his hand he slammed it with Aard and then his sword came down in a single, decisive strike.
Straight through the skull.
The blade sank deep.
The wyvern's body went still, dead.
Sebastian pulled the blade free with a wet sound and stepped off the corpse as if it were nothing more than a finished task.
He crouched slightly, wiping the sword clean with a cloth, inspecting the edge.
"Good," he muttered. "No dent."
Only then did he look up.
Geralt and Ciri were both staring at him.
Ciri more stunned than Geralt.
Her eyes were wide,
Geralt exhaled slowly, sheathing his sword halfway before pausing. "That was a bit reckless," he said, "Dealing with a draconid that way."
Then, he added quieter "But… it works."
Ciri didn't speak at all.
'He doesn't even boast…' she thought, her gaze still fixed on Sebastian. 'But he's already…'
Her eyes flicked briefly to Geralt.
'…as strong as them.'
And Geralt knew it, the others do as well. She could see it.
She swallowed slightly.
'I'm nowhere near that level… not even close.'
Sebastian scratched the back of his head, breaking the awkward silence. "Not sure that was a great example for you," he said, glancing at Ciri. "Blinding an angry wyvern isn't exactly recommended."
He gestured vaguely toward the clearing, the broken trees, the gouged earth, the destruction left in its wake.
"They get… more unpredictable."
Ciri nodded quickly. "Y-yeah…"
Geralt had already moved toward the corpse, kneeling beside it as he began inspecting it, hands already moving as he started extracting usable parts.
"We'll head back soon," he said. "Though I'd like to understand why they're getting this close to the keep."
Sebastian glanced at the remains, thinking. "Food shortage, maybe?" he offered. "The forests around Kaer Morhen are full of game. Good hunting grounds. It could be desperation, I mean this one was feeding, So.."
Geralt shook his head slightly. "I doubt that's the reason."
Sebastian frowned. "Can't think of anything else right now."
****
On the way back, Sebastian walked a few steps behind, his gaze unfocused for a moment as something only he could see appeared before him.
" SYSTEM STATUS WINDOW "
Race: (Mutant)
Class: (Witcher, Monster Hunter.)
Special Powers :
Flame Flame Fruit.
???
???
Level: 20
Experience: 5000 / 10000
" CORE ATTRIBUTES "
Strength (STR): 20
Physical power, striking force, ability to overpower enemies
Agility (AGI): 25
Speed, reflexes, balance, attack & evasion timing
Endurance (END): 25
Health, stamina pool, resistance to fatigue
Vitality (VIT): 25
Healing speed, poison resistance, mutation tolerance
Perception (PER): 30
Senses, awareness, reaction speed, monster tracking
Willpower (WIL): ??
Mental resistance, sign stability, magic.
" COMBAT PROFICIENCIES "
Each proficiency levels independently.
Swordsmanship: Lv. 20
Archery: Lv. 5
Dual-Wielding: Lv. 20
Unarmed Combat: Lv. 10
Alchemy Usage: Lv. 15
Sign magic: Lv. 10
Advanced Magic
Locked
Locked
Construct Magic.
Unlocks under certain conditions
" TRAITS & PASSIVES "
Witcher Physiology (Passive)
Monster Hunter Instinct (Passive)
Monster Knowledge: Unlimited – You have knowledge of all monsters and manners of creatures of the continent.
Master Alchemy: Knowledge of advanced alchemical formulae, witcher potions ect.
Intangibility to all physical damage (Except for certain Weaknesses): can be controlled.
Elder Speech Proficiency.
***
He scanned it quickly, a faint nod following.
"As expected…" he murmured under his breath. "Actual combat gives far more than training without risk."
Ciri glanced at him sideways. "Talking to yourself again?"
Sebastian blinked. "Again?"
She smiled, amused. "You do that a lot you know?."
He paused, acting dumb. "Do I?"
She laughed softly completely unaware.
Geralt walked ahead, silently, his mind wasn't on the path, It lingered on the wyvern and the question he couldn't find the answer for at the moment.
/-\
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