After leaving Triss's mansion.
Guilliman did not linger in the town; he bought some food and wine at a tavern and headed directly to his hunting ground, the Vizima sewers.
Since there were about three days left until his appointment with Triss, he planned to complete his first-tier Soul Ascension Ritual during this time. After all, he was only short a bit of soul power.
Time for some secluded cultivation and a serious grind.
New Vizima, like many capitals of the Northern Kingdoms, was a city built upon elven ruins.
A thousand years ago, humans drove out the elves and destroyed their cities, leaving behind vast ruins, catacombs, and remnants across the continent.
But soon, humans discovered that even the ruins of elven cities possessed complete water treatment systems, vast and complex sewer systems, highly level ground, wide views, and advantageous terrain and transport locations.
Utilizing these remnants of elven cities was many times better than the backward and filthy towns built by humans themselves.
This is why many human towns in the Witcher World can house large populations and possess vast sewer systems.
Of course, everything has its pros and cons. Because the sewer systems were so vast, intricate, and connected to external water sources, it was difficult for humans to thoroughly clear them out.
Unknowingly, these sewers became dens for monsters. A large variety of monsters, especially Drowners—creatures that can live in sewage—gradually became a major problem in the sewers.
Not only would they occasionally crawl out of these nooks and crannies to attack city residents, but their unpleasant shrieks also caused various disturbances in the town.
Thus, clearing the city sewers became a staple task for Witchers arriving in the city for over a hundred years; they were needed to clear them out almost every so often.
Of course, the pay for this task was quite meager, averaging only two or three orens per Drowner. One would also get covered in filth in the sewers, making it a contract that everyone detested.
But there was no other way. If he hadn't seen that there were enough monsters in the sewers, that the location was secluded, and that he wouldn't be easily disturbed during his Soul Ascension, he wouldn't have chosen this place for his advancement.
However, the situation in the Vizima sewers was better than he had expected.
Perhaps because it hadn't been cleared for several years, Drowners, covered in filth, constantly crawled out of the central gutter of the two-meter-wide sewer, lunging toward him, a living being.
Due to the terrain, the Drowners couldn't form a siege against Guilliman. Instead, they were like people lining up for execution, rushing forward one by one to be slaughtered without any power to resist.
Since the entire sewer was a straight path as long as one didn't pass through a junction, and there was no need to worry about ambushes, it was a combat terrain tailor-made for a Witcher.
Guilliman killed with great satisfaction, almost without pause, slaughtering his way from the Temple District to the Trade District, and then back from the Trade District to the Vizima Residential Area.
For two whole days, he rested when he was tired and continued killing once he was rested. Even after his Viper Steel Sword had several chips in it, he had finally finished off most of the over two hundred Drowners, along with other miscellaneous monsters.
As for the soul power he ultimately obtained, it was about three hundred points. His total soul power finally reached twelve hundred points, enough to complete the Soul Advancement ritual with plenty to spare for healing in case of accidents.
However, adhering to the principle of not wasting anything, after killing each batch of Drowners and monsters, Guilliman would dig out the Drowner brains, cut off their ears, and collect other valuable materials from the monsters.
Over two hundred Drowner brains were enough to fulfill Alchemist Kalkstein's tasks for several years, with plenty likely left over.
As for those Drowner ears, they could be taken to the city guard post to be exchanged for a reward, likely around five hundred orens.
Guilliman was just a bit worried: would that bunch of city guards, who looked poor and quite arrogant, actually have enough money to pay him?
After all, they were soldiers enforcing the law for the city.
If they didn't pay, would he have to go on a killing spree?
Sigh, what a hassle. But those were worries for later.
Guilliman found a secret chamber in the sewer that he had already cleared, which seemed to be an elven tomb.
Then, he sealed the entrance of the secret chamber with large stone slabs, applied a Yrden Sign as magical protection, lit a small campfire, sat cross-legged, and entered meditation.
There was no time to lose; he didn't want to wait any longer and decided to dive straight into the Soul Ascension process.
Ding! Start Soul Ascension?
Entering the next tier [Awakening] requires one thousand soul power points.
[Awakening]?
So the next tier is Soul Awakening?
This thought flashed through Guilliman's mind, but he didn't hesitate. Instead, he took a light breath and shouted in his heart:
Deep Blue! Begin advancement!
In an instant, Guilliman felt a massive tremor in his soul space.
The thousand points of soul power he had absorbed into his body all manifested in his soul space, forming a soul tide larger and more organized than ever before.
The soul tide surged and rolled continuously, causing tremor after tremor in his soul space while also making Guilliman's soul fluctuate.
Then, this extremely vast soul energy split into two. One part rushed out of the soul space, burrowed into his body, and dispersed into every corner, nourishing every cell, bone, muscle, and nerve.
The other part of the energy burrowed directly into the giant soul orb within his soul space, forming mysterious runes in an extremely profound way that he couldn't understand at all.
This was where his soul resided, the soul named Kiriman Germane.
For a moment, Guilliman felt his body and soul begin to burn. It was hard for his consciousness to remain clear, and he could no longer observe the changes occurring within him.
After an unknown amount of time, Guilliman opened his eyes and discovered that he had shed his skin. A layer of dry, shriveled skin had sloughed off his body, much like a giant python shedding its skin, which looked a bit disgusting.
When he calmed his mind and looked into his soul space...
He found that a translucent shell, like an eggshell composed of countless profound runes, had formed on the surface of his soul orb.
It tightly enveloped his soul orb, appearing to both protect it and continuously compress and temper it.
Before he could observe further, Deep Blue's mechanical voice rang in his ears.
Soul Advancement complete.
Current Tier: [Awakening].
Obtained new soul skill [Soul Projection].
Exclusive skills and physical attribute limits increased!