Ron's Thoughts and Gunpowder

Chapter 80 Ron's Thoughts and Gunpowder

Dicoscher stood up from his chair. "I'm glad we reached an agreement so smoothly. Now I should go and search for my lost treasure with our Witcher Master. Do as you please, just call Harbin if you need anything."

Ron nodded, and Dixter pushed open the door and left. The study became quiet. He leaned back in his chair and focused his attention on the panel in the upper right corner of his field of vision: Strength 11/Agility 9/Constitution 7/Perception 6/Charisma 4/Intelligence 5.

Everything was normal, but the battle in the corridor just now made him have some doubts about his physical condition. After his strength increased from 10 to 11, the increase in strength was indeed more obvious than before, but when he exerted force, there was an inexplicable sense of stagnation, as if a part of his body was not keeping up.

Ron reviewed the data again, focusing his attention on his physique, and began to ponder, rubbing his chin with his fingers.

The body cannot grow infinitely in any one attribute. All attributes are interconnected, and the three combat values ​​of strength, agility, and constitution should be strongly correlated.

The difference between strength and physique has exceeded 4 points, which means that when muscles and bones exert their full power, their endurance cannot keep up with the output. When the strength far exceeds the upper limit of bearing capacity, the excess force will be forcibly limited by the body's protective mechanism.

If the difference between attributes continues to increase, then it's probably not a problem of not being able to fully exert one's strength in the future, but rather a high probability of causing direct damage to the body.

Strength, agility, and physicality form the iron triangle at the physical level. Intelligence, senses, and charm should also follow this logic. Intelligence refers to logical analysis and mental calculation.

Perception is the ability to acquire and distinguish information through the five senses. If perception is insufficient, the information acquired will not be enough to support accurate judgment. No matter how high one's intelligence is, one will only follow wrong clues and get stuck in a rut.

As for charm, this attribute leans more towards a friendly aura and persuasiveness, and should have nothing to do with appearance. Ron touched his hard jawline, which was the character he had personally created. Although he was on the tough side, he was definitely handsome, but it was difficult for people to get close to him, which was why his charm value was low.

On the other hand, Dixter's charm must be quite high. When this fat man habitually clasps his hands in front of his chest, he looks like two sperm whales bowing to a beluga whale.

But this non-aggressive and dull demeanor makes people lower their guard, and coupled with his keen perception and intelligence that bring analytical and linguistic abilities, he becomes a top-notch political broker.

Ron snapped out of his thoughts and looked at the constitution attribute again. After the mutation, a Witcher's constitution was definitely above 10, but the exact value was unknown.

If the Witcher's powerful regenerative abilities, resistance to toxins, and lifespan far exceeding that of ordinary people are all related to their constitution attribute, will they also have similar effects after their constitution breaks through the 10-point mark? There is no answer to this question for now; we can only verify it in the future.

The door was pushed open, and Geralt and Dixter came out. Seeing Ron waiting, the Witcher raised his hand in greeting, while Dixter hurriedly said goodbye and rushed back to the depths of his bathhouse to prepare for the next step of his plan.

The sun was already setting in the west. On the stone-paved road outside the bathhouse, the two walked side by side on the bustling streets of Novigrad. Ron broke the silence first.

"A lead?"

"Hmm." Geralt stroked the stubble on his chin.

"Someone threw a bomb into the bathhouse's drainage pipes, and the water flow blew open the vault wall. Dixter retrieved the bathhouse usage records, and someone impersonated the Marquis of Heinkel to use that crucial bathhouse. The bomb was dropped from that location."

"Impersonating?" Ron raised an eyebrow.

"The Marquis Heinkel died last winter," Geralt said, a mocking smile playing on his lips.

"Because he died in a brothel wearing sexy lingerie, his family was ashamed and buried him secretly without issuing an obituary. But Dixcher's intelligence knew even about such sordid matters in the bedroom."

"Heh, this intelligence chief's informants really are everywhere," Ron chuckled, thinking of the alchemical bombs that Kayla had configured.

"Speaking of which, was that bomb really that powerful? Vault walls are usually reinforced, how could it possibly penetrate them?"

Geralt shook his head. "That's a specially made alchemical bomb, mixed with alchemical products like pterosaur oil, and its surface is engraved with magical runes. It's not an ordinary one."

"Ordinary gunpowder, the kind of red barrel explosives used in quarries and mines, is only slightly more powerful than my Alder Sign."

Ron stopped, a flicker of surprise in his eyes. "A whole barrel of gunpowder, and it only had that little power? Why?"

Geralt gave him a strange look. "What? Why? The explosives over there in Calradia are very powerful?"

Ron nodded without offering further explanation.

"Then I don't know," Geralt pondered for a moment.

"There are two possibilities. One is that there is a problem with the proportion of the explosives. Many alchemists have tried this countless times. As long as expensive magical materials are not added, the power of the explosives will be very weak."

Secondly, and most likely, the influence of the chaotic magic here caused it to be fundamentally different from Calradia's gunpowder. I'm not sure which reason it is exactly.

After listening, Ron silently kept this detail in mind: the limited power of gunpowder meant that in this world, firearms would hardly pose a fatal threat to high-level monsters and heavily armored knights.

Cold weapons and magic still dominate the battlefield. I must verify this myself when I have the chance. If the power of gunpowder is really locked, then we need to re-evaluate our tactics in sieges and demolitions. We cannot rely entirely on the experience of my previous life.

The two walked through several narrow alleyways toward the Marquis Heinkel’s mansion. On a wooden platform by the street, a priest of the Eternal Flame, who was preaching, suddenly stopped, pointed at Geralt, and spoke in a sharp, excited voice, attracting the attention of many passersby.

"Ah, look! A witcher is rolling over here! Look at his face, it's like a corpse! His eyes are as ferocious as a wild beast's! This is a monstrous hybrid created with evil magic!"

Geralt glanced at him as if he were a roadside stone, and walked straight ahead.

The priest stood on the wooden platform and continued his incessant rambling, repeating the same things over and over again about mutant monsters and the eternal fire purifying everything.

Ron stopped and turned to walk to the wooden platform. Even though the priest was standing on the platform, Ron's line of sight was still higher than the priest's, forcing him to look up.

The pastor's face twitched involuntarily. "What...what are you going to do? I'm the pastor of the Eternal Flame!"

Ron looked down at him. "The priest of the Eternal Flame, is that all you do to help others, just with your words?"

"When the common people were threatened by monsters, who was it that risked their lives to hunt them down for meager rewards? Was it you, you talkative priest?"

The priest opened his mouth, but stammered and couldn't utter a rebuttal. Someone couldn't help but mutter, "Come on, come on, the priests of Eternal Flame are all talk and no action. When they actually encounter a monster, they run faster than anyone else."