Kaer Seren represents the golden age of witchers. At this time, the Order of Witchers had just disbanded and the witchers were divided into six schools of cats, bears, wolves, snakes, griffins and manticores.
At that time, the madmen of the Cat School were still restrained, and the witchers still adhered to their original intentions. There are many of them, and they receive commissions all over the mainland to eliminate monsters, punish evil, and support the weak. It was also at that time that a large number of poems and legends with the theme of witchers emerged.
Of all the schools, the School of the Griffin especially stood out. Its founder, Erland, was taught swordsmanship by a knight nicknamed 'Gryphon' along with the first generation of witchers.
After the destruction of the Order, when Erland arrived in Kaer Seren, he established his own school there and named it School of the Griffin in honor of his deceased mentor. He taught the witchers of the Gryphon School to adopt the spirit of chivalry and the importance of companionship. Even at the beginning Erland had imagined that the Gryphon School's services would be free.
The Gryphon School led by Erland was widely praised and recognized by the common people, gained the friendship of many nobles, and once established a good image for the witcher community. It is a pity that this good reputation finally collapsed due to the slander of the mages and the church, as well as the evil deeds of crazy witchers.
In addition, the strength of the Gryphon School is also unusually strong, and some members are even able to complete the feat of slaying a true dragon alone. Many kings, rebels, revolutionaries and the like tried to win over the Gryphon School to gain political leverage, but they were all rejected in the end.
It is a pity that the Gryphon School finally declined. Because the Gryphon School was especially skilled in Signs, even its founder, Erland, was not far behind the mages in terms of magical abilities, which aroused the envy of the mages; and the founder Erland even collected a large number of magic books to build a library in order to study magic. This caused more greed and jealousy among the mages.
After the shameless sorcerers asked the Gryphon School to share their magical tomes for free but were rejected, they joined forces to destroy the Gryphon School.
Every spring, witchers set out from the castle to find work, and in winter the castle becomes their cozy sanctuary. It was then that the sorcerers caused a devastating avalanche. The witchers, in defense of their home, stayed to fight the catastrophe, and almost all of them were buried under the snow, leaving only one alive.
Today, there are only a few sporadic Gryphon School witchers still roaming the continent, and Jerome Moreau is one of them.
Jerome used his witcher senses to explore the ruins of Kaer Seren, and finally pieced together the truth behind the demise of the above Gryphon School; homeless, he wandered for a few days, and by that time, the Northern Kingdoms had changed their attitude towards witchers after hundreds of years of defamation. This left Jerome, who had lived during the golden age of the witchers, lost and discouraged.
Finally, Jerome went around and around and finally returned to Mont Crane Castle and the underground laboratory. Because he vaguely seemed to remember that there was a person who saved him, and upholding the spirit of chivalry, he wanted to find his savior.
Then he found Lann, who was unconscious and dying on the ground in the laboratory.
Seeing this scene, Jerome quickly stepped forward to check on Lann's condition. The young man in front of him was seriously injured and had already lost enough blood to kill an ordinary person.
But that wasn't even the main problem; The fatal thing was the wound on her leg caused by the bite of a giant centipede, whose poison had not yet been neutralized.
For witchers, those who have a strong immunity to poisons and can drink detoxifying potions like [Golden Oriole] can eliminate the damage caused by toxins to the body. But for humans, it doesn't work; To them, the detoxification potion is pure poison.
For Lann, the poison of the giant centipede is incurable, and even his survival to this day is a 'miracle' in itself.
'Miracle', that word echoed like thunder in his mind.
There is actually another way to get rid of giant centipede venom. It's becoming a witcher.
Giant centipede toxin is one of the raw materials for the witcher mutation studied by Tomas Moreau. Using toxins to destroy the body's immune system and then remodel it is also an important part of the witcher's mutation.
In other words, injecting the poison of the giant centipede into the body is itself a process of mutation for the witcher. It's just that ordinary people will die within a few breaths after being poisoned. Only witchers apprentices who have undergone preliminary body modification can withstand it.
Jerome looked at the unconscious young man in front of him and murmured in a low voice: "How have you managed to survive until now? No ordinary person could do it, is this a miracle?"
At this time, he saw the young man's tattered but vaguely recognizable knight's attire.
"Or maybe... it's fate?"
Is there anything more coincidental than this? Now he may be the oldest or even the only remaining witcher of the Gryphon School. After learning about the demise of the school, he encountered a young knight who was poisoned and had spontaneously undergone some witcher mutations in a sense.
The only way to save this young knight is to help him complete the witcher's mutation and transform the deadly toxin into a body-strengthening potion.
From Jerome's knowledge, there are no more Gryphon School witchers in the world, otherwise they would never allow Kaer Seren to be abandoned. So at this time, Jerome believed that he had automatically become the mentor and final successor of the Gryphon School.
"This is fate." Jerome whispered. "This is the 'Law of Surprise.' You saved me, unknown knight, and I can only repay you with something I clearly have but don't know."
Jerome picked up Lann who had fallen to the ground and laid him flat on the table.
Then he looked at the underground laboratory, disgust, fear, and hatred bursting out in his eyes. At this moment, he saw the body of Tomas Moreau, which was broken into pieces by Lann.
Even if it has been broken into pieces and turned into ice blocks by his previous [Aard Sign: Piercing Cold], Jerome will recognize it. He recognizes it even if it turns to ashes.
"What I obviously have but don't know." Jerome murmured to himself. "It is the future of the Gryphon School that I just inherited, and everything about the mutation of the witcher in this laboratory."
"The Gryphon School does not accept payments for rescuing anyone and will only propose the 'Law of Surprise' for the school's continuation."
"So after you wake up, you should repay me with what you have but don't know yet. The power you will gain, the power of a witcher, the power that will continue the Gryphon School." Jerome said in a daze. He looked at Lann, and there seemed to be several powerful forces condensing on the dying body of the young man in front of him. It was the power of the law of surprise and the power of fate.
"You are my surprise child, young stranger... No, you are the surprise child of the Gryphon School."
"I hope fate favors you."
Jerome scans the lab. Every witcher is a scholar with profound knowledge, and the witchers of the Golden Age are even more so. After they successfully mutate and gain a long lifespan, they will spend half of an ordinary person's life learning extensive knowledge at the school's base camp, and then go down the mountain to carry out their mission with the permission of their mentor.
The most important thing of the Gryphon School is magic knowledge, and Jerome's knowledge reserve even surpasses the average mage of this era. He could easily identify various mutagens in the laboratory and could even deduce the process of a second mutation based on Tomas Moreau's notes and his own mutations.
The Gryphon School's traditional mutation formula does not include giant centipede toxin. This is the formula of Tomas Moreau. Therefore, if he wants to save Lann, it may not be enough for him to become a pure Gryphon School witcher.
However, the survival rate of two mutations in a short period of time is too low. It took Jerome himself more than a hundred years of experiments to slowly become what he is now.
Jerome stared at Lann and took a deep breath. "Unless, I combine the 'Griffin School Mutation' and the 'Second Mutation'."
After reflecting on his course of action, Jerome began to search for the materials necessary for the mutation within the laboratory calmly and quickly.
The Witcher Trials consist of three mutation-related tests and a combat test. The Trial of the Mountains is basically not important to Lann at the moment. Jerome's focus is on the three mutation tests: The Choice, Trial of the Grasses and Trial of the Dreams.
The Choice was the first of three incredibly painful tests that the young apprentice witchers were subjected to. It consisted mainly of a voluntary decision to follow the special diet of witches, consisting of mushrooms, mosses and herbs, and strenuous physical training. This can make children as young as seven or eight years old have strength comparable to that of young people or even adults. The young witcher apprentices become stronger without losing their plasticity to face subsequent tests.
Now is naturally not the time to engage in such physical training, and after Jerome's inspection, the strange young man in front of him was as strong as a young troll. He even suspected that the other person was not a human being.
Then, they went directly to the second stage of the trial: Trial of the Grasses. Special decoctions are used to transform the physiological structure, and the whole process requires the participation of a mage at all times, who uses magic to monitor the progress of the experiment.
Jerome moved his hands deftly, capable of doing what a magician could do.
Corn lily, nightshade, speargrass, wildrye and wolfsbane, the herb decoction made by mixing these ingredients is the first half of the Trial of the Grasses.
The probe was inserted into Lann's vein, and the special decoction was injected directly into his bloodstream, followed by overwhelming pain that washed over him.
"Aaaah!" It was a scream loud enough to tear at his throat.
The Trial of Green Grass lasts seven days. The apprentice witcher used to complete this test when they were about ten years old.
Jerome tightened the leather straps a little more to prevent them from coming loose, and then, not surprised by the scream, turned to prepare the second part of the test, the mutagenic elixirs.
At this moment, Jerome suddenly heard a slight noise coming from the corner.
Black Wind, that horse is still alive.
Jerome was not unconscious in the cultivation cabin. He could vaguely feel that he had been pushed out of him, which meant that the horse in front of him was his true savior.
Witchers all love horses. Jerome squatted down and comforted the restless horse amidst the harsh screams: "Although it sounds scary, I am saving your master."
Jerome lowered his gaze and pointed to the connected probes behind Black Wind and said, "In a few days, I will need to use them to save your master. Do you understand?"
Black Wind neighed and then chose to close his eyes. That was his response.
Jerome looked at Black Wind regretfully, suddenly remembering something. He turned around and, as it was the first time he conducted the Trial of the Grasses, he miscalculated the doses of the grasses decoction, and there was a lot left over.
He also remembered what he had just read in the notes that showed that there were indeed many cases of mutant animals in Tomas Moreau's experiments, but that they did not live long.
A bold idea took shape in his mind, and Jerome said thoughtfully: "Although I cannot guarantee how long you will live, don't you think your master will be able to last longer with your company?"
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