Gazing at the sunset for a long time, Allen finally lowered his head and continued listening.
"In the ruined castle, facing the hideous spectral creatures..."
"In the shabby inn, confronting the despicable witcher..."
"In the abandoned mine, facing the rock troll..."
"And in Ban Ard, encountering the Conjunction of the Spheres and the Black Sun Curse, besieged by so many monsters..."
"Allen, were you ever afraid?"
Afraid, maybe a little...
Allen thought.
However, after being a witcher for so long, he had gradually adapted to this life. Especially compared to the future where his school would be destroyed, and his loved ones in danger. This was just a normal fluctuation of emotions.
Also...
Did Lady Vera really describe everything in such detail?
Though some parts sounded overly tragic, everything he had experienced on his journey had been described to Mary, down to the last detail.
Usually, when Lady Vera dealt with Mary, wouldn't she just use a sleep spell and skip all the talking?
Allen was a little surprised.
"When Lady Vera was telling the story, I felt both fear and admiration."
"Life at Kaer Morhen is so dull. Every day, it's either refining drowner heart extracts or reading books..."
"I wish I could go on adventures with you, fighting all kinds of monsters together..."
"Allen, next time you go out, could you please ask Lady Vera if I can come along?"
"She listens to you the most."
"If you ask, she will definitely agree!"
My influence isn't that great... Allen clicked his tongue.
Besides, if both he and Mary were to leave, who would handle the matters of the Witcher Corps?
However, after lifting the curse, he could take the Corps to hunt monsters around Kaer Morhen to improve their skills.
At that time, taking Mary along wouldn't be a problem, and Lady Vera likely wouldn't mind.
"Oh right, I almost forgot the important matter."
"Another batch of witcher apprentices has met the standard for the Trial of the Grasses."
"Lady Vera asked me to ask you, how do you plan to handle them?"
"Should we proceed directly with the trial?"
"Or continue their training until you return for the herbal concoctions?"
"And one last thing, the silver jewelry made by the sisters of the Melitele Temple is quite famous. Could you help me pick one?"
"Awaiting your response..."
"Chief Sorceress of the Wolfpack, Lady Mary."
"On the Twelfth Day of Birke."
Birke...
The little girl has quite the taste.
Allen chuckled.
The way the messenger bird transmitted information was similar to a voice chat from his previous life; it spoke sentence by sentence directly into the mind. It was even more convenient than that. One could mentally control it to pause, rewind, or adjust the speed.
Very user-friendly.
However, whenever Mary used the messenger bird, she adhered strictly to a formal letter format. Even the date was written in the ancient Elven calendar, a practice used by the upper class.
It was kind of cute.
(Birke, in ancient language, means the month of the spring equinox. The Twelfth Day of Birke is actually twelve days after the spring equinox, which is April 2nd.)
"Tweet~ Tweet~"
After finishing its message, the messenger bird tilted its transparent little head and chirped softly twice. It was urging the witcher to respond quickly.
Lowering his head in thought, Allen pondered over his reply.
He wasn't too concerned about the matter of the half-elves. According to Sadia's advice, there was no need to do anything extra. The witcher apprentices could just be trained according to the standard procedure.
As for the training of the Witcher Corps' members, Mary and Aristo had been doing a great job, so there wasn't really anything that required his direct involvement. At most, he could pass on the formulas for White Honey and Swallow potions to Mary. She could learn them herself and then teach the members of the Corps.
Wait!
The formula!
The formula for ghoul heart extract could also be passed on to Mary. Without his hands-on guidance, it would probably take Mary at least ten days to master this formula.
Didn't she complain about being bored?
This would give her something to occupy her time. Moreover, several members of the Corps had already taken twenty doses of drowner heart extract and reached the limit. They could now move on.
After taking twenty doses of ghoul heart extract, adding a total of five points to their strength...
Each member of the Corps would have at least fifteen points in strength.
When he returned.
He could start focusing on improving their swordsmanship and sign levels without wasting any time. He could also ask Lady Vera to experiment and see if the ghoul heart extract had any hidden side effects, like the drowner heart extract...
Such as replenishing stamina, neutralizing mushroom stew side effects, or increasing the success rate of the Trial of the Grasses.
As for the apprentices who were ready for the Trial of the Grasses...
Let them undergo the trial as soon as possible. By the time he returned after lifting the curse, they could undergo the trial together with the previous batch of Corps members.
Once his thoughts were clear, Allen lowered his head slightly and pressed the messenger bird against his forehead.
After carefully choosing his words, he praised "Chief Sorceress of the Witcher Corps, Lady Mary" a few more times and promised, "When I return, Aristo will certainly get his 'lesson.'" He was about to release the messenger bird when...
Suddenly.
Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the two male mages on the ground, and a thought struck him.
"Since these two mages can neither be killed nor released, why not imprison them at Kaer Morhen?"
The more Allen thought about it, the more he liked the idea. Originally, he was inclined to kill Tomas Moreau. From his experience after the Cat School Witcher Inn incident, Allen felt that killing a mage should drop some sort of "Mage's Memory."
Perhaps it would unlock knowledge related to the second mutation.
And the second mutation was extremely important both to him and to the school.
At least in the game, Geralt before and after the second mutation was like two completely different people in terms of power. It even gave rise to the "Bone-Crushing Wolf" playstyle, powerful and unique.
Allen couldn't even imagine.
At this point, the school leader could already disable the attacks of three large monsters within a minute or two.
What if there was a second mutation?
How strong would he become?
Soloing Ban Ard?
Or taking on a thousand enemies at once?
There were also six equally powerful witcher masters at Kaer Morhen.
If all of them underwent a second mutation...
Allen even felt that, if what Tomas Moreau said was true and Ban Ard attacked Kaer Morhen at the end of the year, the Wolf School wouldn't have much trouble defending themselves. Therefore, for the current Wolf School, obtaining the second mutation was the fastest way to boost the school's strength.
In fact, when Allen first descended from the mountain, he had the idea of going to Toussaint to search for Tomas Moreau's second mutation laboratory. But reality was different from a game. He wasn't sure if Tomas Moreau even existed in this world.
And even if he did exist, had he really discovered the method for the second mutation?
But now...
Now that it was confirmed the bespectacled sorcerer was indeed Tomas Moreau, and with a child from the Griffin School present, even materials like the Pale Widow, a key component for the second mutation, had appeared.
The method for the second mutation was practically a certainty.
The main issue now was how to obtain this experimental method from Tomas Moreau, who held a deep hatred for witchers. Killing him to extract his memories was risky; it could be a last resort if nothing else worked.
It might be better to ask Lady Vera to take them back to Kaer Morhen first, and gather everyone's thoughts. Maybe the Chief and the sorceress would have some ideas?
With that thought, Allen no longer hesitated.
He mentally relayed the events of the day to the message bird. The crystalline bird blinked its obsidian-like eyes, rubbed against his cheek, and then soared into the clouds.
"Now it's just a matter of waiting..."
Allen let out a long breath and shifted his gaze.
----------------
Click-clack, click-clack
The crisp sound of bones echoed through the oak grove.
"I almost forgot—some particularly clever sorcerers can still cast spells with their feet, even if their hands are bound."
After dislocating both the legs of Tomas Moreau and Makarov, Allen took a few more ropes and bound their hands and feet completely. They now looked like boars tied up for the Kaer Morhen winter feast.
Clap, clap
Brushing off imaginary dust from his hands, Allen looked at his handiwork with satisfaction. He glanced toward the campsite and noticed that Vesemir and the others were almost done setting up.
"Might as well use the essence and chests first, then head over to help at the camp!"
With a thought, he opened the Witcher's journal.
[Inventory: Pale Widow's Heart Essence 4, Pale Widow's Chest 4, Experience Orbs 136, Small Experience Orbs 24…]
Allen immediately noticed the 136 Experience Orbs, equivalent to 13,600 Small Experience Orbs, or 136,000 XP.
One hundred of those came from "Hunting Mission: Drowner II."
Allen was inclined to allocate them to his Blink ability, hoping that by leveling it up, he could unlock something akin to long-distance teleportation—useful for transporting his squad to various places for monster hunting and leveling up. However, since the curse of the evil god hadn't been lifted yet, leveling up now would be pointless.
To prevent any mishaps on the road, he planned to wait until he reached Ellander and had the curse lifted before leveling up.
Actually...
With Allen's current strength, capable of solo hunting a Drowner King, normal travel shouldn't require leveling up with Experience Orbs anyway.
[Ding! Do you want to use Pale Widow's Heart Essence?]
As usual, he decided to use the essence first. With a thought, he swallowed the thick, slightly cool liquid, akin to egg whites, down his throat.
In just a few seconds, a warm current spread slowly from his stomach, like water soaking into paper, nourishing Allen's body.
"Ah!"
"That feels quite pleasant!"
Allen squinted his eyes. He opened his character panel with a thought.
[Name: Allen]
[Age: 14]
[Level: 45]
[Health: 100%, Stamina: 370/370, Mana: 530/530]
[Attributes: Strength 42, Agility 37, Constitution 37 (+2), Perception 35, Mystery 53]
His Constitution had increased by two points...
The increase in attributes was within normal range. However, the gentle experience of consuming this heart essence, different from others he had used…
Allen felt that even witcher apprentices, or perhaps even ordinary people, could handle it.
"It seems that, aside from the second mutation, I'll also need to extract the Pale Widow mutation formula and breeding methods from Tomas Moreau."
Contemplating this, Allen controlled his thoughts and consumed the remaining three portions of Pale Widow's Heart Essence.
One wave of comforting warmth after another washed over him, sweeping away the fatigue from several days of travel.
[Attributes: Strength 42, Agility 37, Constitution 43 (+6), Perception 35, Mystery 53]
"Ah~"
After a deep breath, he took his amulet, prayed, and willed...
[Ding! Pale Widow's Chest *4 opened]
A flash of white, two blues, and a gold streaked past. But this time, there was no special animation for the gold-tier chest. Only an image of a solitary bespectacled sorcerer surrounded by others flashed across. Those people wore red robes, symbolizing status and power.
[Acquired: Experience Orb 1, Pale Widow's Heart Essence 2, Pale Widow Mutation Formula *1]
Hmm?
Gold!
A mutation formula!!!
Allen's breath quickened as he hurriedly opened his inventory.
[Name: Pale Widow Mutation Formula]
[Type: Academic Knowledge]
[Requirements: Genetic Mutation LV8, Alchemy LV5]
[Function: A complete formula for mutating giant centipedes into Pale Widows, including the breeding method.]
[Note: Tomas Moreau's proudest achievement in his lifetime was mutating the eggs of giant centipedes into a spider-like species he personally named Pale Widow. It was the culmination of his life's work and earned him high praise from the Brotherhood of Sorcerers' governing body, the Chapter of the Gift and the Art.
If not for Moreau's refusal and his descent into madness, he might have become one of the top five most powerful figures in the wizarding world.
He wasn't a good father, but he was undoubtedly a top-tier researcher.]
Not the second mutation?
After reading the functionality panel, Allen felt a bit disappointed. He thought he wouldn't need Tomas Moreau's cooperation to get the second mutation formula. Still, since there was a chance to obtain it, he brushed aside his disappointment and continued reading. The note on the Pale Widow mutation formula was the longest he had ever seen.
But...
Why was this mutation formula, which simply turned one monster into another, rated so highly?
It even surpassed the second mutation, becoming Tomas Moreau's proudest work...
Well...
That part wasn't surprising, considering his original goal was to turn his child from a witcher back into a normal person.
However...
The fact that this achievement was recognized by the Chapter of the Gift and the Art, the highest governing body in the wizarding world…
And that it almost enabled Tomas Moreau to vie for one of the top positions in the northern wizarding world…
Showed how valuable it was.
So, what made the Pale Widow mutation formula so special?
Allen's curiosity gnawed at him like a cat scratching his heart.
Of course…
His gaze shifted upward. Matching the extreme praise in the notes was the high learning requirement for the formula. Alchemy LV5 was manageable, just some experience points. But Genetic Mutation LV8—he hadn't even seen a skill of that level.
After a moment of silence, Allen glanced at the unconscious Tomas Moreau, feeling a bit lost.
"Is this so-called Pale Widow Mutation Formula really worth the immense cost to learn?"
....…
📢20 advanced chapters on p@treaon📢
For advance chapters: p@treon.com/Uchiha_Itachi007 (replace @ with a)
217. Ms. Vera, Can I Go With You?
218. Mary Came to Learn.
219. The Wild Hunt.
220. Time to Take Off Your Leather Armor!
221. Quickly Take Off All Your Clothes, Let Me Measure Your Size!