"Allen..." Someone was calling.
The voice did not come from the ears but seemed to resonate as an echo within his mind.
No one knew how long it had been, but the witcher, wrapped in warmth, suddenly regained consciousness.
The sensation of weightlessness surged within him, as if he had leapt out of the ancient ocean that gave birth to all things in mythology.
"Whoo~"
A cool, refreshing breeze blew by, and every pore on his skin seemed to take a deep breath.
The witcher, still dazed, opened his eyes, and his senses instantly activated.
In an instant, the noise and chaos of the entire city seemed to rush into his ears, only to suddenly close in, leaving nothing but the gentle, steady breathing of the surroundings and the sound of wind rustling through the branches and bushes, which made him feel dazed, unsure of where he was.
The brilliant sunlight filtered through the oval leaves of the lush oak tree, blinding him to the point where he squinted his eyes.
"Allen, where are you?" The clear, flute-like call came from the east.
The witcher suddenly realized and immediately sat up from the ground.
There were no chaotic evil god curses to be cleansed, no experience beads or treasure chests to be found, and naturally, there was no need to stay in the shrine room at night.
Nenneke had arranged a room for him, where he was supposed to stay in the longhouse with the other witchers.
However, recalling the miraculous effects of the Wild Speech from yesterday, he had explained his whereabouts to Vesemir to avoid being worried about getting lost, and then entered the back mountains of the temple, found an oak tree, and spent the whole night cultivating the Wild Speech.
"I'm here!" Allen shouted.
As soon as the words were spoken, the surrounding knee-high grass was also awakened.
"Chirp~"
"Chirp~"
"Chatter~"
Amid the chaotic animal sounds, white-furred hares, brightly colored pheasants, hedgehogs, red foxes, cicadas, praying mantises... countless small animals, many of which were predators and prey in the food chain, suddenly sprang out from the grass.
"Flap flap~"
The sound of birds flapping their wings could also be heard from above.
The scene was chaotic.
"This... did the animals come because of the natural aura of the Wild Speech?" Allen said in surprise, his mouth agape.
"Tsk tsk..."
"It looks like I really need to switch to becoming a witcher druid," he muttered.
He patted the dust off his body and was about to walk in the direction of the voice when—
"Ah—"
A startled cry.
Following the voice, he immediately locked eyes with Lysa, who was holding a basket of food, her expression one of surprise.
"Why... why are there so many rabbits... and birds..." Lysa lifted her foot to make way for two slow-moving hedgehogs, carefully avoiding a rabbit that was running wildly in panic.
"Did you summon all these animals?"
"Should... should be..." Allen scratched his head.
"Alchemy can create necrophage oil, wraith oil... swordsmanship and runes can kill large monsters... and now, you can summon animals like a druid..."
Her gaze moved from the colorful birds in the sky back to him, her dark and gentle eyes fixed on him. "Allen, is there anything you can't do?"
Have children?
The witcher instinctively wanted to make this joke, but then realized it might be too frivolous. He scratched his head and changed the subject. "Good morning, Lysa. What brings you here?"
"You forgot? Last night, Granny Ianna asked me to take you around Ellander, but..." Lysa's cheeks suddenly flushed red. She paused, lowered her head, and continued, "But when I asked Master Vesemir about your whereabouts, he said he was busy training the other witchers today..."
"So... so they're not going anymore."
Allen paused slightly as he picked up a croissant from the basket. His gaze shifted downward, and he could clearly see the fine sweat beading on the priestess's smooth forehead.
"Do you want to wait for them and go together another day?" Lysa, sensing Allen's gaze, pretended to remain calm as she lifted her head to meet his eyes.
"No need." Allen swallowed the piece of bread. It was clear that Vesemir was doing this intentionally; he'd certainly come up with another excuse for another day.
"Let's just go today..." he said.
------------------------------------
The back mountain of the temple was rarely visited, but it wasn't barren. Near the oak tree Allen had chosen, in addition to the abundant wild herbs, there were many common medicinal plants, such as white crepe myrtle, laurel, licorice, and chickweed...
Although none of them were particularly rare, they all grew well and looked quite good.
Holding the food basket, Allen walked down the winding stone steps, following the terrain of the mountain, chatting idly. Meanwhile, he opened the witcher's journal with a thought.
[Name: Allen]
[Level: 58]
[Health: 100%, Stamina: 640/640, Mana: 780/780]
[Attributes: Strength 70, Agility 61, Constitution 63, Perception 83 (+3), Mysticism 79]
[Affinity: Water 16 (Magic Source - Water 6%), Earth 13 (Magic Source - Earth 3%) (+1), Wind 10 (Magic Source - Wind 0%), Fire 7, Space 2]
After a night of training, his Perception increased by three points, which was much faster than the speed of the Beast Roar: Berserk. However, compared to the two hours of "intensive training" from the previous day, which yielded three points of Perception, it was still slower.
But such was the nature of Beast Roar's training. It was like fitness—there was a beginner's period, and the progress was always faster at the start, but as one progressed further, the speed inevitably slowed down.
Even so, the "Wild Speech" took only two days to raise six points in attributes, while "Berserk" had taken three weeks.
It was clear that finding the right training method could result in a remarkable difference in speed.
Furthermore, after two days of training, his Earth affinity had increased a little, while "Berserk" had already hit some kind of bottleneck.
Not only had there been little progress in terms of attributes, but he had also been unable to sense it properly lately.
The energy of the Beast Roar flows from the heart to the root of the tongue and back to the heart; a full cycle would only complete up to three cycles. Any more would result in inexplicable issues, causing the energy to dissipate and start over.
As for the originally envisioned 24-hour passive operation... that had naturally become an unrealistic hope.
"Berserk must have a way to function properly, just like Wild Speech, a method that fits it more naturally... no, not a shortcut, but the correct way it should operate. But what would that be?"
"Should it be related to anger? Or should it be something like the Wild Speech, in a battlefield or arena?"
------------------------------
Closing the semi-transparent witcher's journal, Allen thought to himself.
The incredible "One With Nature" effect brought by the correct path of Wild Speech was astonishing. It was almost like a cheat code for automatic enemy detection and pathfinding in natural terrain, even large monsters like griffins flying in the sky couldn't escape it.
This was only a feature he unintentionally developed yesterday, and he had a vague feeling that Wild Speech could do even more.
So, what would happen if he found the right path for "Berserk," which was specifically for combat?
Just thinking about it made Allen feel a surge of anticipation.
"How about I try anger first? Like the ghouls I will encounter in the next few days..."
Clang!
Clang!
Clang!
The sound of metal clashing interrupted Allen's thoughts.
Before he realized it, they had walked from the back mountain to the longhouse where guests were received at the temple.
Turning the corner of the small path paved with gravel, the familiar low reprimands immediately became clear.
"...Put some strength into it, Ice, there's a Quen sign on Krei's body, he won't die..."
"...What? You've run out of strength already? Treat him like that male sorcerer from the other day, he's the one who made you laugh like a fool for two whole days..."
"...Do you want to know how Ice laughed? He laughed like this..."
A burst of hearty laughter followed.
"...Is it funny? I don't think so..."
The laughter suddenly stopped, awkwardly.
"I've told you countless times, outside Kaer Morhen is dangerous. Do you think only monsters are dangerous?"
"People! The most dangerous creatures in this world are humans! They're more dangerous than vampires, griffins, and even dragons!"
"My God! I thought you would slack off, but I never thought that the witchers I trained... seven witchers... wouldn't even put up a little resistance before being disarmed by a sorcerer."
"Some of you even opened the door laughing?"
---------------------------
"It's the thirteenth time..." Allen heard someone complaining.
"Then make sure you remember it!" Vesemir shouted. "Keep training! Swing your swords with all your strength at your opponents, they are now your life-and-death enemies..."
"The Melitele Temple is short-handed right now. The ones who lose won't get lunch and will have to clean the stables and latrines in the afternoon... The Melitele Temple is much larger than Kaer Morhen. Trust me, this will be a very rare experience for you..."
Before his words had even ended...
Clang, clang, clang!
Clang, clang, clang!
---------------------------
The frequency and volume of the clashes between metal instruments suddenly escalated, even carrying a chilling killing intent.
Allen and Lysa exchanged glances.
Originally, Allen thought the reason Lysa had given was just an excuse from Vesemir, but now it seemed that the witcher master was truly furious about how his apprentices had been captured without resistance a few days ago.
The punishment had gone from polishing the castle's iron swords to cleaning the foul-smelling stables and latrines.
Considering the number of visitors and priest apprentices at the Melitele Temple, Allen couldn't help but shudder at the thought of what had been the fate of those who had trained under Vesemir.
"Master Vesemir, aren't you going to join us in the city for a tour?"
As they reached the clearing in front of the longhouse, Lysa suddenly greeted Vesemir.
In an instant.
The young witchers, who had been fiercely sparring, all slowed their movements, glancing at Allen and Lysa from the corners of their eyes.
Some of them even discreetly avoided Vesemir, looking at Allen with pleading eyes.
Allen scanned the room.
Most of the looks that came from them were from those whose abilities ranked lower among the seven.
He thought for a moment, about to speak, but Vesemir's soft voice interrupted: "No! Lysa, they've been turned to statues, not moving for days. They need what... according to Lady Ianna, they need... rehabilitation..."
"Rehabilitation training?" Lysa asked.
"Yes, yes!" Vesemir turned around, glaring fiercely at the young witchers whose actions and gazes were becoming bolder. He emphasized, "Yes, they need intense 'rehabilitation training' to remember the hardships they endured."
"Don't beg for them, Allen!"
It seemed that Vesemir noticed Allen was about to speak. He gave Allen a sharp look.
Allen raised both hands, signaling that he wasn't trying to interfere. Then, helplessly, he waved his hand at the young witchers to show that he couldn't help them.
A chorus of groans echoed from the longhouse.
"Why are you stopping?! Do you all want to go clean the stables and latrines now?!!!"
Allen hadn't planned on begging for them, to be honest.
Although he had been an orphan in both his past life and this one and never married, he understood a simple principle: if one parent is educating the children, the other parent must not interfere by pleading.
Pleading for leniency should come after the education, not before.
Of course, the analogy was a bit odd, but the meaning was roughly the same.
Although Allen was the captain of the witcher corps, he was still younger than the other witchers, mostly acting as a role model and leader.
You couldn't ask him to discipline children, especially witcher apprentices.
To be honest, he really didn't understand how to do it. It had always been Vesemir and Aristo helping him, and they did it very well and responsibly.
The young witchers' skills had improved a lot, saving him many achievement points.
He left the professional tasks to the professionals, so he didn't interfere.
Moreover, in the end, these young witchers, including himself (the traveling apprentices would have a small graduation ceremony at the end of the year), were still Vesemir's traveling apprentices.
He only needed to lead them to hunt powerful monsters, upgrade their skills, provide them with functional potions and tools, and create new "signs" suitable for witchers.
With this thought, a lightbulb went off in Allen's mind.
A new "sign"...
"Beast Roar: Berserk" was something he could only explore by himself, but was it possible to find a way to pass it on to other witchers?
Having more people explore would surely make it easier than exploring alone.
He had thought about this idea before, but since Beast Roar was different from other skills and couldn't be upgraded, he didn't know how to pass it on. Moreover, he hadn't spent much time before today thinking about how to teach it.
But now, things were different.
"It's time to consider it," Allen thought.
"Alright, you all can leave now." Vesemir suddenly waved his hand, "Staying here will only affect their condition."
Allen and Lysa exchanged a glance. They could only leave, bidding farewell under the desperate gazes of the young witchers.
They hadn't gone far when...
Behind them, the sound of Vesemir's reprimands and the sharp clang of metal clashing reached their ears again.
The killing intent seemed even stronger than it had been before they arrived.
"By the way, Lysa," as they reached the cafeteria in Ellander, Allen handed the food basket to an elderly woman. "Do you know why the old duke, Arthur, and the high priest insisted I take a tour of Ellander?"
"I know," Lysa smiled mysteriously, shaking her head. "But I can't tell you. Lady Ianna specifically told me to keep it a secret."
Allen and she exchanged a few seconds of looks before he helplessly shrugged.
"Alright."
"Then let's go now. Let me see what's so mysterious that it's worth keeping a secret."
.....
📢20 advanced chapters on p@treaon📢
For advance chapters: p@treon.com/Uchiha_Itachi007 (replace @ with a)
362. The Legendary Hero of Ellander.
363. Flying to Ban Ard?
364. The Smoke of Ban Ard.
365. The Wild Hunt – A Sorcerer's Coveted Treasure: A Legacy from an Old Friend.
366. While two dogs are fighting for a bone, a third runs away with it?