Both Lane and Belengar were dumbfounded by Geralt's recommendation.

Shapeshifter.

The magic of this ancient creature lies in its extraordinary ability to imitate.

Shapeshifters can become a person by observing them for a while—not only in their bodies, but also in their clothing and even in their tools, and of course the weight of this person cannot be much worse than his.

Shapeshifters can also replicate the person's voice, way of thinking, acting style, expertise, and so on, because – in Geralt's words – it can replicate the victim's brain and mind, or soul.

Of course, on the issue of souls, Lan En, who had just returned from the world of fire, had a different opinion on this.

And the reputation of shapeshifters among intelligent creatures is not much better than that of water ghosts and ghouls because of their good nature.

A deformed monster covered in pus, fangs and claws, is terrifying.

But wouldn't a 'replicant' who has stolen your identity, appearance, skills, and even all your social relationships make the person concerned feel even more chills?

The physical monster can still be dealt with with the silver sword, but how to deal with this thief of 'social connections'?

Man is the sum total of all social relations, and the shapeshifter has the ability to completely replace people at the social level.

It is a more complete 'killing' than the 'disappearance' of the body.

Thinking about it this way, the process of his acquaintance with that shapeshifter must be quite strange indeed.

At least Ryan had never seen such a humanoid.

But Geralt's face was a little strange, as if he remembered a bizarre experience.

Sure enough, it is not for nothing to wander around the mainland for decades.

Even if you are matching two friends who have a good relationship, you will first tell you about the possibility of a bad situation.

One by one, Geralt introduced Len to the shapeshifter he knew.

Besides, his identity is a shapeshifter. If the cooperation between the two of you can really succeed, he will be greedy later. You can also use this status to protect your interests. ”

As long as you are prepared for the worst, you will not be overly panicked and desperate when you encounter difficulties.

"So there's nothing wrong with the borrowed face."

"You still know shapeshifters?"

"The face is indeed borrowed." Geralt shrugged, "But business acumen should be a doot of his own." There's no rule that shapeshifters don't have to be able to do business. ”

The young witcher admired the connections of the old-timers.

"But a shapeshifter, how did he become a merchant in Novigre? Borrowed the face and business acumen of a dead businessman? ”

Today, it has become a scarce, almost fairy tale.

"And the owner of that face doesn't earn as much as he does."

As he thought, Lan En pinched his chin.

Geralt said something that fits well with his style of work.

"Since it's the person you recommend, then this one. Doodle? I don't doubt it in terms of character. ”

"That's the halfling of the Grass Ranch, Dandy Biberwitt's face. Now Dudu is using his cousin's name, Dudu Biberwitt, to run business in Novigre. The money earned has Dandy's share, which is considered a dividend. ”

So the shapeshifters are very similar to other humanoids, and they have suffered a wave of large-scale hunting by humans in this world.

This is Geralt's kind of wisdom in the world.

But on the other hand, he also said this to Lan En out of trust in his morality.

He was sure that if Doodoo hadn't done anything wrong, then Lan En wouldn't have been able to embarrass a shapeshifter.

Lann nodded, knowing what Geralt meant.

"Then that's just the last question, is he willing to take over the management of my estate?"

Lan En said with his hands on his chest.

"After all, it sounds like he's already got his own business in Novigre."

"Dudu seems to like the process of making money, and he enjoys it."

Geralt patted his thigh.

"How? If you want to hire him, we can go to Novigre together. The shapeshifter was cautious, and if the faceless witcher came to him, he probably would hide himself. ”

"Finding a shapeshifter in a big city isn't a bad job, even for a witcher."

"Novigre?"

"yes." Geralt got up from his chair, "I've been gone long enough, it's time to change shifts with Lambert." ”

"Head north to Kodwin and back to Kellmohan to take care of Ciri. I can do that with you when you pass through Novigre. ”

"I think you're afraid that Yennefer will tear down Kyle Mohan."

Although Lan En had met Yennefer on the battlefield, this strong and cold sorceress, the temperament that was not easy to mess with was too distinct.

Just thinking about Geralt's 'well-behaved' appearance in front of the other party, Lan couldn't help but want to laugh.

The matter was settled, and his asset manager finally had an eyebrow, so this troublesome matter was removed from Lan En's mind.

And a trip to Novigre. No matter what Margarita 'conspires' with Tishaya, it shouldn't affect him.

Perfect.

——

Geralt said that he was going to change shifts with Lambert, but Eretusa's mission still had to be delayed for a while and he could not leave until he finished it.

After agreeing with Lann, Geralt began to speed up the finishing touches of the mission.

And Lan En was not idle.

After leaving the Valyrian blacksmith's workshop, he entered the crystal cultivation laboratory without stopping.

With Tishaya in her place, their experiments could now be the same as they were in the early days, with an experienced and powerful archmage, as well as a gifted and far-sighted researcher.

This is a good opportunity to move forward with the progress of the research.

Although Tishaya was on leave, she got out of the affairs of the Talent and Skills Association.

But doing their research with Lan also seemed to feel quite relaxing for her.

Tishaya frowned as soon as she entered the lab, and then waved a hand that had been reserved on her lower abdomen.

The lab, which had been a little messy, was reorganized.

"The last time we had a demon in the lower body. The treatment of the injured nobles was very effective. ”

Tishaya walked over to Lan En and spoke, and even the well-informed archmage couldn't help but be speechless when talking about the nobles' play.

"Now that the reputation of crystal cultivation technology is spreading widely among the upper class, people have high expectations for this technology."

As she spoke, Tishaya glanced up at Lann's side face.

"Of course, our project funds have not been spent since the last time you came down from the battlefield. But I still hope that people will buy into the promise of this technology based on it. Think of it as an old mage's stubbornness. ”

"No, it's okay, Tishaya. And you don't look old at all. ”

Lan En was already wearing a white coat at this time, and under the switch between scenes and clothes, he no longer looked like a warrior with ease and explosive ferocity.

Holding the record board while observing the experimental equipment, while writing and drawing on the record board, he looks more like a tall, confident scholar.

Ryan's compliment didn't turn his head as he spoke.

Tishaya glanced at the side of the witcher's face and sat down at the back of her desk in the lab.

It's just that Tishaya, who used to be able to subconsciously symmetrical and neatly place things on the table, is now a bit messy.

Lanen, who was preoccupied with the experiment, was still informing Tishaya of the progress of their experiments during this time.

"Keel growth fluid is still the most efficient type of growth fluid available, but I have already come up with ideas for three other types of growth fluid and handed it over to Felicia for validation before I left last time. The end result? ”

Felicia Coli, an apprentice sorceress who was taken by Tishaya and brought to work in the laboratory.

It was then that Tishaya realized that she was standing in the corner of the laboratory.

Tishaya pursed her lips, her attention had been so drawn to it that she didn't notice that there were more than one person.

Felicia was now very accustomed to working for the witchers, even more so than she was under Tishaya.

Lane's sociability allowed him to complete his work with Filicia without even intentionally.

This communicative ability is simply the most important 'lubricant' and 'glue' in team work.

"With the help of Ms. Marty Södergren, she and I were able to successfully modulate two of these growth fluids."

Felicia replied as she flipped through her experiment records for comparison.

Marty Soldgren was the sorceress who performed skin grafts on Triss in the first place, specializing in healing spells, and opened a clinic in Goth Willen, just outside the academy.

This healing spell also made her one of the participants in the crystal cultivation project.

But Lanen's deepest impression of this sorceress he had never met was-

Tishaya said that if she worked at an operating table with Lan, the thought of going to bed would be much stronger in her head than the idea of working.

A standard sorceress with an open mind and a strong libido.

"One of the growth fluids is exactly what you imagined."

Felicia then reported.

"This growth fluid does not contribute much to the growth rate of the organs, but it helps to build the organs more precisely."

"Are we going to use this growth serum this time?"

"This is it." In the lab, Lane tied his silver-like hair into a ponytail, and he wrote a log of his experiments on the clipboard while telling Filicia to get to work.

"The shortcomings of the growth rate can be compensated for with a magic stimulus in special cases, right?"

The first half of the sentence is an explanation of Filicia, and the second half of the question, Lan En turns his head and smiles at Tishaya behind the desk.

The so-called special case is that there is an archmage who can supply energy throughout the experiment.

Although Margarita can be called before, on the one hand, although she has a lazy personality, she is a responsible teacher and principal, and she can't exhaust herself to the bottom of magic in an experiment, right?

On the other hand, although Margarita and Tishaya are both archmages, the difference in magic between them is just. It's a bit big.

(End of chapter)