Witcher: Master Kiliman’s Grand Ambitions-Chapter 18: The Elf Blacksmith

Kiriman was not a dull person; in his previous life, he was also a regular at the drinking table. With Zoltan, the dwarf friend, providing cover, he got along quite well with the other dwarves in the group.
Although dwarves were mostly greedy, stubborn, and rude by nature, they were especially loyal—whether to their friends, their kin, or their families.
They were all men. After a few shots of strong liquor and some bawdy jokes, they quickly became sworn brothers.
Alpan shared his dragon-slaying stories from the northern countries. Although most of them were about drakes like wyverns, dragon lizards, and scorpion-tailed dragons, his proudest moment was leading a group of dwarves to defeat Oakvista, the dragon of Quartz Mountain, who had been hostile to the dwarves for many years and dwelled in the Mahakam Mountains.
This was a true giant dragon—a red dragon afflicted with albinism, hundreds of years old, with intelligence comparable to an ordinary human. It was said its fiery breath could melt steel, its sharp fangs could pierce plate armor, and ordinary arrows couldn’t penetrate its scales.
It was an extraordinary battle. More than a dozen brave dwarves sacrificed their lives. Kiriman listened with great interest and deeply admired the courage and valor of these dwarves.
He himself was someone who cheated the system, but that did not stop him from respecting those who truly had courage and responsibility.
As they talked, the subject turned to this latest commission.
According to Alpan, it was precisely because his dragon-hunting team was well-known throughout the countries that the village chief specially wrote to invite them to hunt dragons here.
This time, the targets were two massive wyverns nesting atop Tea Mountain.
Originally, this was a tea-producing village, where many villagers made a living by planting and picking tea. But ever since two wyverns of unknown origin occupied the mountain peak a year ago, several villagers were lost while gathering tea, severely impacting their livelihood.
The villagers spontaneously formed hunting parties to attack the wyverns, but they failed; their bows and arrows barely harmed these tough-skinned, thick-bodied monsters.
Out of desperation, the village offered a hefty reward and posted notices to recruit Witchers and dragon hunting teams.
Unfortunately, no Witchers arrived, but Alpan’s dragon hunting team was the first to show up.
At this point, Alpan finally mentioned payment. He chuckled without hesitation and said:
“We got here a day earlier and have already spoken with the village chief.”
“She offered two thousand Orens, one thousand Orens per wyvern.”
“If you join our team, we’ll split the pay based on contribution.”
“I, Alpan Zieglen, always charge fair prices and won’t cheat you on payment.”
“If you’re confident you can handle a wyvern on your own, that works too.”
“We’ll split the payment fifty-fifty.”
Two wyverns for two thousand Orens?
That reward was quite extravagant.
In the northern countries, it was rare for an ordinary village to pool together a hundred Orens to post a Witcher commission.
It wasn’t that the common folk were stingy; it was just that under medieval economic conditions, ordinary peasants were dirt poor.
Most of the food they grew went to taxes and self-sustenance. There was little currency circulation in the village, making it difficult to gather enough coins for major events.
When Geralt saved Princess Yada and lifted the curse of the vampire bird, he only received a reward of three thousand Orens.
Kiriman, after rummaging through the tombs of the White Orchard lord’s family, had only found burial goods worth around a thousand Orens.
However, if these were two adult wyverns, although the price was somewhat inflated, it wasn’t hard to accept.
These drake-class monsters could fly, had tough skin and thick flesh, and possessed extremely strong vitality.
They were even more powerful than the more common griffins. Even fighting on the ground, ordinary villagers could not handle them.
Only veteran Witchers or renowned dragon hunting teams like Alpan’s had the confidence to take on such creatures.
Kiriman nodded, thought for a few seconds, then said:
“Let’s each take on one. I’m not confident facing two wyverns at once.”
This was not false modesty. Even Geralt, the protagonist in the game, never fought two wyverns simultaneously.
Facing multiple flying monsters greatly increased the difficulty of battle.
Alpan also considered this and didn’t want his companions to take excessive risks, which was why he proposed this plan. Who wouldn’t want to earn double money?
After a brief agreement, Alpan scheduled the operation for three days later. Hunting drakes was a very dangerous battle and required a lot of preliminary work.
Kiriman had no objections. This commission was basically a windfall for him, and he would definitely need a large sum of money when he got to Vizima. It was truly a godsend.
After leaving the dining table, the dwarves hurried to prepare for the hunt.
Kiriman did not idle.
Hunting wyverns was not as simple as killing water wraiths or ghouls. Although not exactly boss-level monsters, they were definitely elite monsters.
As a Witcher, he had plenty of preparations to make before the battle.
The difference between a prepared Witcher and an unprepared one was as vast as heaven and earth.
For this battle, he needed to prepare potions, sword oils, alchemical bombs, and other auxiliary resources in advance.
It was also a perfect opportunity to see what his combat power ceiling was so that he had psychological preparation for future trouble.
After leaving the table, Kiriman wandered around the village.
Among the passersby, whether dwarves or elves, all cast curious glances at him, the Witcher.
Compared to other non-human races, Witchers were very rare. In the entire south and north combined, the number of Witchers was probably less than fifty. Scattered across countries with millions of inhabitants, they were as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns.
Still, it had to be said, female elves were indeed more beautiful than humans. Their slender bodies, delicate faces, and the ethereal aura brought by their long lifespans gave them an indescribable charm.
Unfortunately, this village was too small. It didn’t even have a tavern, let alone a brothel.
This disappointed Kiriman, a seasoned lecher.
As he walked, he suddenly heard the sound of hammering—bang bang bang bang.
Following the sound, a building with a furnace and an anvil came into view. It was a blacksmith shop.
In front of the furnace wielded a hammer a female elf with light golden long hair, faint wheat-colored skin, a slender but athletic figure, wearing shorts and a cloth wrapped around her chest like a bustier, looking very heroic and spirited.
Kiriman was curious. Attracted by this heroic figure, he couldn’t help but walk into the blacksmith shop.
What he saw inside surprised him even more.
Hanging on the walls were not farming tools or knives and pots used by commoners, but exquisitely shaped, gleaming weapons that were obviously crafted with great skill.
It was clear that this female elf blacksmith was not an ordinary blacksmith but a very skilled weapon smith.