The Witcher: My Own Path

Immersed in my own experiments on recreating the super soldier serum, I had completely lost track of time, the fact that I was in the catacombs without being able to see the sun in any way did not make it any easier to know how much time had actually passed. It didn't really matter now. During my research I had some interesting breakthroughs, these were not just the result of my own work, my master in his holographic form supported me in them, for a holocron he had extremely creative ideas. I always thought of this object as a multimedia history book, but I was wrong, very wrong, it was a computer and an extremely advanced one at that.

Through it I was able to create what many might call a joke or a complete failure but I didn't think so.

Throughout the creation process I killed quite a few rats, but in the end one survived and the effect my serum had on it was interesting and gave me hope and the desire to keep working on this project. My rat named subject one hundred and fifty-six, after taking the potion, underwent a transformation in less than an hour that increased his muscle mass by a full five per cent, and his strength, without losing his natural speed or agility, and although his predecessors had the same effects, subject one hundred and fifty-six did not go crazy, going on a killing rampage and destroying everything around him and at the very end dying of a heart attack.

Subject one hundred and fifty-six remained completely calm and his vital functions were normal, but unfortunately this was not without side effects, namely the subject went completely bald and lost all his fur. As far as I am concerned, this is a side effect that can be ignored for the time being, but I would recommend observing it in detail and taking notes over the next few days of any changes, be they physical or behavioural.

The most important thing for me is whether he survives or whether other unwanted problems arise. I now know for sure that recreating a complete super soldier serum will be extremely difficult, if at all possible, but at this stage I do not need a complete and total serum. If I could reproduce even twenty-five per cent of its properties without any side-effects whatsoever, it would enable me to create an army that would be unrivalled on the entire continent, but even now, after the ingredients I've used and the money I've made, I can safely assume that without a gold mine to support my expenses, all I'll be able to afford is a not very large elite squad of warriors, consisting of up to a few units.

I paused for a moment and suspended my gaze on the rack of research ingredients, delving inadvertently into my memories, completely cutting myself off from my earlier musings on the serum.

An ancient sith ritual thousands of years older than Sidious himself, a ritual so horrible and yet so...appealing that I've been completely unable to focus on what's really important since its mention. I heard about it from my master when, during one of my sword-fighting practice sessions and delving into the secrets of the dark side of the force, we had a lively discussion about ancient power users such as Ajunta Pall and Mark Ragnos about their skills and techniques. It was then that I realised that although the holocron held the skills and knowledge of Dart Sidious it was not created by him alone, I wasn't a hundred per cent sure of this but it seemed so to me and why would anyone ask? And it was because of that ancient ritual he mentioned. As a Star Wars fan, I had heard of it, which I guess would fall, under the (legends) category and knowing the nature of the dark lord, he would never share this knowledge with anyone, adding to the fact that he himself had never used it. Leaving aside the fact that the Emperor, to my knowledge, never created the holocron, I know that he added his personality to the Telos holocron, an ancient holocron containing the aforementioned personalities I mentioned above and many others, and it was not a pyramid, as with all creators of the dark side of the force, but rather had an amorphous, asymmetrical shape. This ritual we have been discussing, if not used by Sidious himself would never have made it to even his most trusted subordinates or even disciple and yet we know well how the Emperor treated and what he shared when it came to the paths of the dark side of the force with Darth Maul, Tyranus or Vader. Sidious was greedy and jealously guarded all his secrets like a Hutt his credits, he would never share such knowledge!

Another discovery that shocked me and which I was not myself aware of was the increase in my affinity to the dark side of the force and I was not the one who discovered this, but none other than my master. He said that something had changed in me, that he sensed I would finally loosen the dam that was stopping the dark side of the force from flowing naturally through my body. I wasn't sure what he was talking about at first, but eventually I remembered the incident with Alp in the old Elven Temple and now the Order's headquarters. I had given myself over to the dark side of the force almost completely then, the rage I felt then was indescribable as was the raw and savage Power I wielded then. It was then that a crack was created in the barrier that I had subconsciously created myself out of the fear that the dark side of the force could have on me and my body. With this knowledge came an avalanche of questions that I showered Darth Sidious with, namely how this would affect my psyche, whether this dark power would degrade my mind and deform my body.

After a long conversation on the subject, we came to the conclusion, although the dark side of the force corrupts and degrades the body with its power, in my case the process will be extremely slow, due to the miraculous abilities of the super soldier serum, but only as far as its physical manifestation is concerned, and as for the corruption of the mind it is up to my own strength. The scary thing is how easily I have accepted this, thus accepting the path I will take and its consequences.

I shake my head slightly to get my thoughts back on track, leaving the matter of the ritual and my transformation for another time.

In order to, continue to make progress I need to change the objects of study, mice and rats are no longer enough for me and will only limit my further progression, I need to start looking around for other objects and use the holocron and the vast knowledge it contains more often. Is it wrong to experiment on criminals and thugs? No, it isn't, I can't stop now, stop halfway, and even if it were, doesn't all the good I've done outweigh it?

Back to research, once I've stabilised the serum with a five per cent enhancement, I'll focus on upgrading my equipment with sith alchemy, meteor rocks and runes. Ahh... meteorite rocks and runes, they hold so much mystery and potential. Where did they come from, who made them, how to use them and many, many more questions that spring to my mind. Although I am not a scientist or researcher to completely abandon this branch of knowledge would be unparalleled foolishness. The research and study will probably take me years, if not decades however in the end something good will come out of it for me.... and for the Order.

Before I make further plans, however, I need a new laboratory, a secret one, hidden even from the Order and the council members, the experiments I intend to conduct there will not be.... moral so to speak. Humans, elves, dwarves will all end up on my table eventually, so I need to keep it as secret as possible. I wonder if this is how they created the first Witchers. Witchers? Wait a minute... experiments, witchers, Salamandra, Azar Javed yes! Why didn't I think of that before? In a few years, a Zerrikanian alchemist will break into the fortress of Kaer Morchen and steal Witcher mutagens to create mutants for his ally Jacob de Aldersberg. From what I remember, the Salamandra base will be here in Wyzima, which gives me ample opportunity to lay my own hands on these mutagens, I'm sure the mutagens and Azar's research, if I can get my hands on them, would give me an unimaginable acceleration to my own research, and the chaos these men will cause in the capital will give me ample opportunity to carry out many of my other plans ahhh...already looking forward to it.

I must be careful, however, as my official stance on races different from humanity will make me an undeniable enemy of both gentlemen, if not one more who fraternised with them, namely the Magister. But let's add one more ingredient to this, after all, tempting compote of scum and murderers, namely Berengar, the rebellious witcher who sold out the rest of his brotherhood rather cheaply. Dragging Berengar to my side should not be rather difficult, and having such a subordinate, would be very beneficial. That, however, is only a few years away.

Knock, knock

A loud but not insistent knock on my lab door snapped me out of my thoughts.

" Come in!" I said in a loud voice.

After a few seconds the door opened and a very pretty and young human girl walked in, I knew her very well, she was one of Nightingale's girls and also worked as my domestic help. Her name was Sera. A sweet blonde with beautiful blue eyes. The sad thing about her was that she was as old as I was, in this life of course, which was fifteen and yet she was left all alone, without any family, her mother was a fisstech junkie and her father a drunkard, her mother overdosed and her father died killed by accident in the " Bear Shaggy" before I took over the place, he wanted to earn a few orens by fist fighting, he received such a shot to the face that he never got up after it. Had it not been for Nightingale, the girl would have had no choice but to sell her own body to survive. The sad thing was still that I knew the girl had a crush on me, but the truth is that I am almost a hundred years old, at least mentally and she could be my great-granddaughter, so in my eyes she will remain a child at least until she reaches twenty-five-thirty.

" Did something happen?" I asked gently.

"Actually, it's nothing important, my lord, but Mistress Nightingale has ordered to inform you that her daughter, Miss Helga, has returned from Oxenfurt and requests permission to go to the Inhuman Quarter to help treat the sick. Mistress Nightingale also asks if Miss Helga can officially join the Order, the "Research and Development" Sphere, due to her knowledge of medicine?"

"I allow, however inform her that we will only discuss the details at the monthly council meeting, anything else?"

"Yes, a Witcher with long white hair and his companion were seen entering your inn "Under the Father's Protection" in the Suburb, they said it was some kind of bard".

Hmmm... a white-haired man and a bard, that will be interesting.

"Anything else?"

"A while ago, a messenger came from the town hall, informing you that the Coat of Arms and the name you chose to represent your nobility has been accepted and you can use them from now on".

Ahhh... Yes, my Coat of Arms, well I didn't give it much thought, to be honest, because of my father, his and my heritage, I chose the hammer and anvil, and as for the name I called myself Smith quick and simple. Not that it will make any difference later on, for now I am a knight and my title cannot be inherited by my offspring, but if I get a higher title I will also be given the opportunity to upgrade, change or keep the Crest. At the time, I did not have the opportunity to sit down and think about it more deeply, and as my father was less than half a metre away from me, I did him the pleasure and chose a golden hammer and anvil on a red background. The old man burst into tears with happiness. It was the least I could do to repay him, for all he had done for me.

"Thank you Sera for all the news" I smiled broadly at her, "be so kind as to prepare me a warm bath and fresh clothes, you know, the ones I like and something to eat, also inform Albert to arrange for my new coat of arms to be placed, on all our official businesses, inns and workshops so that everyone in Wyzima knows who they belong to, and then you can retire to bed, I will probably spend the night in Old Wyzima".

" Of course Merciful Lord..."

The girl quickly turned on her heel and ran away embarrassed without closing the door behind her. I shook my head in amusement.

The Witcher and the bard, I suspect, are Geralt and Dandelion, and now what am I supposed to do with them? They're both like a magnet for trouble, yet there's no denying their usefulness. If their personalities are the same as in the games and stories from my previous world, befriending them would have as many positive as negative effects. For now, I will try to establish a business relationship with the White Wolf. His knowledge of monsters and experience could be of great use to the Sphere of "Research and Development" many things can be read about monsters from books, but this is no substitute in the slightest for the actual experience of fighting them. Then there are the Witcher Signs, perhaps he could be persuaded to teach one of my subordinates to use them.

Geralt is a walking treasure trove of knowledge, knowledge that cannot be ignored. As for Dandelion, I'm not sure what I can use him for, as a spy? I know Jaskier is the best spy if he has no idea he's spying on someone. Ahh... Maybe it's best not to think about that for now. Now I need to freshen up, change my clothes and head to the Old Wyzima. Haren's men who guard my inns, and the innkeepers who work there, know what to do if they meet any witcher. They have been informed of everything. So they will probably direct him to the place where I have been spending most of my time lately, which is with the non-humans. If Geralt is interested in earning a few oren, he'll come, if not, well, maybe it's better not to force things. Trying to forcibly make friends with them might prove more damaging, and from what I remember Geralt had a pretty sharp mind. I can, however, recommend to Orik that he meet them, as part of expanding our knowledge, yes. That would be the best option.