Special.
—
[15 Minutes Later]
Arriving at the location where the supposed gate should have been but finding only snowy ground, Richard asked, "Where do I need to stab the Hofund?"
"Here. Right there."
Turning to the person on his back, Richard said, "Ciri, I will try to put you down."
After gently placing the ashen-haired lady on the ground, with her reluctantly parting from the piggyback ride, he turned to Geralt, who was dragging his greatsword, leaving a trail mark. Taking the golden greatsword from the Witcher's hand, he easily lifted it and stabbed it into the ground where Yen pointed. Nothing happened. Richard looked at Yennefer, puzzled.
"Hmm… Let me check again. Aen'drean gaeth mire. To the left a bit."
Pulling out and stabbing again into the ground, Richard looked at Yennefer expectantly. Despite his deep inspection with his Transparent World, nothing changed to indicate this was the place they had gone through together. He even wondered if he had mistaken this place for somewhere else. But the soil, the scenery, and the particles on this very ground were the same as he remembered. He was sure he hadn't mistaken the place.
"It seems the stabbing must be precise. Let me cast a stronger geomancy spell. Aen'drean gaeth mire ess meáth seidh torc'h. To the front a bit, about 2 cm."
Stab.
"Now, turn about 5 degrees to the left."
Stab.
"Move to the right for about 3 cm."
Stab.
"Back up a bit, about 1 cm. And turn 5 degrees to the left again."
Stab.
"You used too much force. Now lift the sword about 30 cm."
Stab.
"The soil is already messed up. Hold it steady about 2 meters on the ground."
Stab.
"Your posture moved the Hofund a little. About 17 cm to the right."
Stab.
"Now—"
Seeing both of them frustratingly trying to find the gate between the worlds, and knowing that if they continued like this it could take them a week to a year to fine-tune Hofund, Ciri interrupted, "Help me up… I know where it is…"
Being helped by Geralt to stand up beside them, she placed her hand over the greatsword's pommel and moved it according to her feeling, "There… Do you remember…?"
Recalling that the sword moved 1.7432 cm to the back, 3.8245 cm to the right, turned 2.38214 degrees to the left, and for about 1.88462 meters the length of the sword, he finally nodded. Stabbing out and stabbing in again according to the correct calculation, but still, nothing happened. Richard looked at Yennefer and Ciri questioningly.
"Oh, yes. I forgot. You don't have any Chaos magic whatsoever. Now I will place my hand on your shoulder so I can stimulate your body to feel the Sources."
Seeing both of them wanting to open the gate and sensing that there might be an accident if they opened the portal too close, Ciri stopped them, "Halt… I think it will be… Better… To step back…"
"But we just fine-tuned it to perfection."
Unknowingly understanding what Ciri was concerned about, Richard told Yennefer, "It's okay. I remember the exact point. And it won't change anything if I move the greatsword. I just need to have the same angle and degree as the world gate is supposed to be. Right, Ciri?"
Nodding her head weakly, Ciri simply replied, "Yes…"
Stepping back about five meters from the gateway, he then lifted the greatsword and stabbed it into the ground, aiming directly towards the core of the world gate. Signaling Yennefer with a nod from behind his back and feeling her hand on his shoulders, Richard finally experienced what it was like to connect with the Ethereal Plane.
"Now channel it to the Hofund."
Attempting to channel this unknown energy within his body, Richard finally felt what it was like to be talentless for the first time since arriving in this world. Gritting his teeth, veins popping on his temple, he tried to guide the energy given by Yennefer into both of his hands.
However, time and again, he failed to move this Chaos even a little bit. Concentrating his entire being, activating his flame mark to its maximum to command every gene in his body, he finally made some progress. Trickle by trickle, this energy moved through his body and finally into the hand holding Hofund.
As Bifröst elements were called, a plethora of rainbow colors appeared behind him. The phenomenon slipped past him, distracting Richard from his strenuous concentration. The gateway activation remained incomplete, and he fell to the ground, coughing blood in the process. Wiping the blood from his mouth, he then heard Yennefer's complex exclamation.
"Let me be the one to open the gate to the world."
Unknowingly understanding Richard's feeling, Ciri then exclaimed, "Don't... Let him do it... At least, not on his first try..."
Gratefully looking at Ciri, he then stood up and asked Yennefer, "How do I compare to sorceresses?"
"Abysmal. No, not even the word 'abysmal' can describe how talentless you are. It's a miracle you can move the magic at all."
Nodding, Richard asked specifically, "On a scale from 1 to 100, where do I rank?"
"Correction: From 1 to 1 billion. That's the appropriate scale when comparing your talent to others."
Having an inkling of his true abilities, Richard gestured for Yennefer to continue.
"From 500 million to 1 billion is the realm of sorceresses. From 1 million to 500 million is the realm of commoners or those with a bit of natural talent. And you, dear Richard, are around twenty. Just 20. No added prefix."
Instead of being disheartened by the vast number, he finally smiled in accomplishment. Now he understood where his true gift lay.
It wasn't in the breathing technique, which felt like a concept enlightened by Ciri's power from another world. It wasn't in the Transparent World, which didn't feel like his own genetic abilities but rather something transformed by Ciri's power. It wasn't even in swordsmanship sensitivity, since he noticed extra neurons throughout his body that normal humans lacked, again likely edited by Ciri's power.
No, his gift—or what made him special—was the dexterity to maximize the potential that was given to him, even to the point of creating miracles. Looking at Yennefer, Richard only says one word.
"Again."
—