"Departing from Ban Ard, avoiding Ard Carraigh, then heading to Vergen... Vengerberg..." Vesemir traced a line on the map with his finger. "Finally passing through Flotsam and arriving at Aedirn..."
"Is this route acceptable?"
Radek and Bogdan had no objections. However, they didn't nod in response, because the Witcher master wasn't asking them. Vesemir was looking at the young Witcher named Allen.
Radek and Bogdan exchanged glances. If Bogdan remembered correctly, given Allen's age, Vesemir should be his mentor during the Witcher trials.
So why was he asking his apprentice for input on arranging the route?
The two apprentices from Ard Carraigh, a place where "apprentices are slaves to their masters," found this hard to comprehend.
However...
When they recalled Allen's performance at the fighting tournament…
Easily suppressing three Cat School lunatics who were clearly on drugs, gracefully moving through a group of drowners, and solo hunting two large monsters with immense strength...
The two apprentice sorcerers thought it made sense.
If they had that kind of power, they too would expect respect from any sorcerer they called a mentor. Sadly…
Their talent and achievements were so lacking that no master wanted them.
"Sigh~"
Both Radek and Bogdan sighed in unison, their gazes at Allen filled with envy and admiration. Unaware of the complex emotions playing out within the two apprentices, Allen withdrew his gaze from the hand-drawn map. Vesemir was a seasoned veteran. The route he had planned was certainly the optimal one.
Even though they were taking a detour to Vengerberg to drop off the two apprentice sorcerers, it would only add three or four days to the journey to Aedirn. Vesemir had a mountain of debt to pay, so he was trying to earn as much as he could. A few extra days didn't really matter.
Besides, Vengerberg…
The sorceress Yennefer, from the original story, was from Vengerberg. Though, at this time, it was unclear whether she had been born yet.
"I have no objections. Let's go with that plan," Allen nodded, looking at Vesemir.
Vesemir felt that Allen's gaze was somewhat unsettling, but with outsiders present, he didn't have time to dwell on it. Carefully rolling up the map, he tucked it into his satchel. Seeing that everyone had finished their lunch, Vesemir stood up and said: "It's already the second day since the king's death. Hurry up and pack your things. We're setting off now."
"It's best to leave Kaedwen before Ard Carraigh realizes what's happened!"
-------------------
Ban Ard Academy.
In the basement of the Tower of Gynvael.
"Is this the gem?" Hen Gedymdeith held up a spherical blue gem.
"Yes, Headmaster."
"This is the fragment of the Gate of the Ard Gaeth that Vice-Headmaster Gynvael had been studying."
A boy who looked no older than fourteen or fifteen stood cautiously beside Hen Gedymdeith. Seeing that the headmaster was silent, focused on the gem, the boy paused for a few seconds before continuing: "The reason Gynvael cooperated with the king was to obtain another fragment of the Gate of the Ard Gaeth..."
"Did he get it?" asked a sorcerer standing behind Hen Gedymdeith, glancing at the boy.
The boy shook his head gently: "He failed!"
"Two elves reportedly infiltrated the owner of the fragment's circle and used a portal to rescue her."
"After that, even though the king's soldiers kept searching, they..."
"Foolish Gynvael!" the sorcerer spat.
The boy lowered his head, not daring to speak.
He was Gynvael's apprentice. In other words, he was also Gynvael's slave. But compared to other renowned sorcerers, Gynvael had actually been a decent mentor. At least, Gynvael, obsessed with the Conjunction of the Spheres, usually just had him do chores or dissect monsters.
Unlike those sorcerers obsessed with human modification and gene mutation, who subjected even their apprentices' bodies to experiments and transformations. Unfortunately, Gynvael was dead now. He had to find a new mentor.
"Did Gynvael discover a way to stabilize the Conjunction of the Spheres in his experiment reports?" Hen Gedymdeith asked.
"No," the boy replied truthfully.
He hoped to leave a good impression on the headmaster and be assigned to a better mentor.
"But it seems he succeeded once. He summoned a large monster, a Drowner King..." a sorcerer with a goatee added.
"Drowner King?" The sorcerer beside Hen Gedymdeith looked puzzled; he had never heard of such a creature.
The boy immediately explained: "It had blue skin and red fins... It appeared in the arena... The first time it showed up with the drowners..."
"I was the one responsible for feeding the creature. The vice-headmaster also did some modifications to it..."
"So, the Conjunction of the Spheres was indeed caused by Gynvael!" the sorcerer interrupted the boy, turning to look at Hen Gedymdeith.
The conclusion was clear. Even though it was unclear why Gynvael had been foolish enough to kill himself. There had been incidents of magic spiraling out of control before. And since Gynvael had successfully triggered the Conjunction of the Spheres once...
Three of the five large monsters that appeared in the arena were the same species as the Drowner King he had summoned. The other two serpent-tailed monsters had also appeared with the Drowner King. No matter how one looked at it, Gynvael was responsible for the death of Henselt.
Of course…
Now it was Ban Ard's responsibility.
Hen Gedymdeith fiddled with the blue gem, lost in thought. The sorcerers surrounding him all fell silent, not daring to disturb the headmaster. The basement was suddenly quiet.
"May... maybe not…" The boy's weak voice broke the silence.
It drew the attention of all the sorcerers present. Trembling under the gazes of so many renowned sorcerers, the boy shivered. But for the sake of his life and future...
He gathered his courage and revealed Gynvael's secret: "Actually, the successful Conjunction of the Spheres mentioned in the experiment reports wasn't achieved by the vice-headmaster..."
Even Hen Gedymdeith was drawn in, lowering his gaze to the trembling apprentice. The boy, suppressing his fear of betraying his former master, continued: "It was done by an elf imprisoned in the basement. The name 'Gate of the Ard Gaeth' was something she... uh... 'told' us..."
"She used a ritual while the vice-headmaster was distracted, sacrificing her own life to open the Conjunction of the Spheres, intending to kill everyone in the basement..."
"If the Drowner King that appeared hadn't been in poor condition, she might have succeeded."
Hen Gedymdeith pondered the boy's words.
No one questioned why there had been an elf imprisoned in Gynvael's basement. It wasn't surprising. Elves, dwarves, even humans were all material for sorcerers' experiments. No one was surprised either that Gynvael had lied. Claiming the success of the Conjunction of the Spheres as his own.
If any of the sorcerers present had been in his shoes, they would have done the same. Where else would funding for their research come from?
"So, you believe the Conjunction of the Spheres and the monsters in the arena had nothing to do with Gynvael? Are you sure?" one of the sorcerers asked, staring sternly at the boy.
The boy remained silent, trembling in fear.
How could he dare to make such a judgment?
He had no right to make judgments.
It must be understood that those who died in the arena were not ordinary people, not even ordinary nobles, but the ruler of the largest country on the northern continent—King of Kaedwen.
One could easily imagine the weight of such responsibility.
"Don't be afraid!" Hen Gedymdeith gently patted the boy's head, "Speak your mind. No one will blame you."
The warmth from the palm on his head instantly calmed the boy down. He sneaked a glance at Hen Gedymdeith. Seeing his gentle smile, the boy took a deep breath and said: "I... I don't think it was the vice-dean."
"The first drowner king was teleported from this tower. If the vice-dean could use the Conjunction of the Spheres at will, why go through so much trouble…?"
"Moreover…"
"That day, he didn't even bring a shard of Ard Gaeth's Door with him."
The boy said everything in one breath and lowered his head, panting slightly. The other sorcerers in the basement exchanged glances. The goateed sorcerer stroked his beard and hesitated:
"But... but if it wasn't Jenks, then who could have caused the Conjunction of the Spheres?"
"Elves..." a young-looking sorcerer muttered softly.
The goateed sorcerer asked, "What? Did something occur to you?"
"Uh... more than half a month ago, some elves escaped from the city prison. Could it have been them?" the young sorcerer replied.
"Didn't this apprentice say elves know about the Conjunction of the Spheres?"
"No, no!"
Before anyone else could refute, the young sorcerer denied his own theory.
Opening the Conjunction of the Spheres so precisely in the arena—it couldn't have been done from outside the Ban Ard Academy. With the king there that day, both the academy gates and the arena were heavily guarded. Not even a mouse could sneak in, let alone distinguishable elves.
However...
If one considers someone inside the arena, who wasn't a sorcerer or a member of the king's retinue...
"Could... could it have been the witchers?"
The young sorcerer offered another possibility.
"We all know what the king's purpose for hosting the tournament was."
"Henselt is dead, and the School of the Wolf has benefited the most, while also tying our hands..."
The young sorcerer's thoughts were clear, but none of the other sorcerers showed any agreement.
"Enough, Senny."
The goateed older sorcerer interrupted: "I know many sorcerers despise the School of the Wolf, and I know you want to join the Association of Talent and Skill."
"But the idea that witchers caused the Conjunction of the Spheres..."
"Is even more absurd than suggesting escaped elves bypassed the academy's countless checks to sneak into the arena."
"It's an insult to our intelligence."
"How could those witchers possibly use such advanced magic?"
"Everyone knows they only know some simple spells, called 'signs,' which are nothing more than tricks..."
"Even the Griffin School, which specializes in signs, only uses them with a bit more power and variety. And we're talking about the Wolf School!"
The goateed sorcerer seemed to hold a high rank, as the young sorcerer named Senny didn't argue. After reflecting for a moment, Senny seemed to realize how far-fetched his idea was, and with an awkward smile, said: "It was just a guess, just a guess."
After that, the sorcerers in the basement continued discussing and debating various possibilities. If not for Hen Gedymdeith's presence, they might have used their staffs to back up their opinions.
"Enough!"
Hen Gedymdeith spoke, and the basement instantly fell silent. He then swept his gaze across the sorcerers around him.
"Senny, take a few people and track down the elves!"
"Yes, Dean."
"Faruk!" Hen Gedymdeith turned his head toward another sorcerer standing at the edge, "You've dealt with the witchers from the School of the Wolf before. Find out where they are. If they're still in Ban Ard, bring them back!"
"Although the School of the Wolf is a small suspect, reading their minds won't take much time!"
"Go now!"
"Yes, Dean!"
Senny and Faruk left with a few sorcerers. The basement now only had Hen Gedymdeith, the goateed old sorcerer, and Jenks's apprentice remaining. Hen Gedymdeith put the blue gem in his hand back in its place and was about to leave as well. He had his own projects and wasn't particularly interested in the Conjunction of the Spheres.
At that moment, he noticed the boy standing alone to the side and sensed the fear in his mind. Feeling a soft spot, he asked: "What's your name?"
"Z-Zico, Dean, my name is Zico." The boy looked up in a daze.
"Jenks is dead. Do you want to follow me from now on, or… do you have other options?"
Hen Gedymdeith smiled gently and crouched down, asking softly. Upon hearing Hen Gedymdeith's words, the boy instantly became excited, nodding vigorously: "No, no... no other choices."
Seeing this, Hen Gedymdeith smiled lightly: "Alright, pack your things and come to my office."
"Yes, Dean!"
Zico left the basement, his face full of excitement.
"Lucky apprentice!" The goateed sorcerer sighed as he watched Zico's departing figure.
After the basement door closed, the goateed sorcerer withdrew his gaze and said softly: "Dean, what Zico said may not be the truth."
"I still think it's most likely that Jenks lost control of his magic. Should I… go ask him?"
Ask the corpse how?
Naturally, Hen Gedymdeith wouldn't ask such a foolish question.
But necromancy—rituals involving summoning evil spirits and desecrating corpses and souls—was explicitly forbidden by Hen Gedymdeith and other members of the Association of Talent and Skill.
"Jenks made a grave mistake, Dean," the goateed sorcerer urged, seeing Hen Gedymdeith hesitate. "He put the academy, all sorcerers, and even all mages in danger..."
Witchers were rejected by humans. But the sorcerers, who often used humans as test subjects, were no better. The difference was that their ties to the nobility kept everything hidden from view. But this time. The king died in Ban Ard. Though there were excuses to brush it off, no noble would truly believe them.
As a result.
Ban Ard's enemies now extended far beyond Ard Carraigh's royal family...
The loss caused by the king's death was immeasurable.
Hen Gedymdeith lowered his head and pondered for a long time before sighing and nodding. The goateed sorcerer sighed in relief as well. Seeing the fatigue on Hen Gedymdeith's face, he felt a pang of concern and offered some comfort: "Mentor, Jenks will understand us!"
Upon hearing the long-lost title, Hen Gedymdeith showed a kindly smile and patted the goateed sorcerer on the shoulder: "I'm fine, Nando."
"Oh, right!"
Hen Gedymdeith suddenly remembered something and a piece of parchment appeared in his hand.
"Nando, if Jenks is innocent..."
"Send someone to 'invite' these sorcerers and apprentices who left without a word."
"At all costs!"
"If they resist, dead or alive!"
"The suspects among 'our own' are far greater than those among the elves or other sorcerers!"
"Yes, Dean!" Nando solemnly nodded.
He took the parchment and glanced at it.
The names Bogdan and Radek stood out clearly!
....…
📢20 advanced chapters on p@treaon📢
For advance chapters: p@treon.com/Uchiha_Itachi007 (replace @ with a)
212. Pale Widow.
213. The Unlucky Makarov.
214. All Witchers Must Die!!!
215. A Message Bird from Mary.
216. Mutant Formula.