The stream was crystal clear, shimmering under the sunlight.
On both sides of the bank, fresh leaves sprouted from green trees, shading the bright sunlight and swaying with the breeze.
The scenery was beautiful, but unfortunately...
"Squawk—squawk—"
Disturbing and jarring screeches echoed chaotically.
A group of revoltingly blue creatures were frolicking under the shade of the riverside trees.
It was like a scene from a delicate, precious painting being smeared with foul-smelling mud out of spite, utterly ruining the harmony and beauty of the view.
Until...
"Rustle—"
Bushes and grass shook violently.
A tall figure, wrapped in a flash of silver lightning, suddenly burst out from the shelter of the riverside trees.
"Squawk?"
The creatures heard the noise and instantly stopped playing, looking toward the source.
But before they could see anything clearly—
The silver flash was already upon them. Their bulging, bloodshot eyes widened in shock from the sudden, chilling killing intent that approached.
In an instant.
"Slash~"
"Slash~"
The sound of steel slicing through flesh rang out.
Almost all of the blue creatures by the creek saw the world flip upside down, and their vision began to spin. Then, in a series of "plop" sounds as they hit the ground, dead silence and darkness enveloped them.
"Clang~"
The silver sword returned to its sheath.
The creatures, now motionless and stained with blood, looked far better in death than in life.
"Gulp~"
A synchronized gulping sound rose from the bushes nearby.
One of the witcher apprentices standing on a nearby hillside stared wide-eyed, filled with clear amazement.
He looked at a more mature, young witcher beside him and asked in astonishment:"Er... Erni, didn't Master Aristo say, 'If a monster is truly weak, grouping together should make it happier'?"
"In the commander's hands, ten... twelve, fourteen, sixteen... eighteen drowners, couldn't be happy at all?"
"I feel like they didn't even see him before they died," another apprentice added, equally stunned.
"I think so too..."
"Me too..."
"Forget the drowners; I was staring with my eyes wide open, and all I saw was a shadow, a silver flash. In the blink of an eye—whoosh! And they were all dead, every last one..."
An apprentice in the second row, his slightly cloudy eyes widened in awe, gestured animatedly, his mouth imitating the sounds as he spoke like a cheeky little monkey.
"What's so surprising? That's the commander for you!" Erni, lifting his head, cast a sidelong glance at the younger apprentices behind him. "And just last week, the commander even defeated Master Aristo."
"Taking down a dozen or so drowners? Isn't that child's play? What's there to be surprised about?"
Though Erni's tone was dismissive, his round, gleaming cat-like eyes betrayed a sense of excitement, suggesting he didn't find it as straightforward as he claimed.
"That's different," one apprentice muttered. "Last week, we couldn't see anything at all—it was so fast, just a mix of smoke and blinding speed. It didn't take long before Master Aristo and Master Vesemir were tumbling against the wall together..."
"Yeah, yeah!"
"At least this time, we saw some sword flashes and blood..."
"I saw the commander draw his sword!"
"He drew his sword last time too..."
"It's different... it's different..."
The surrounding apprentices all chimed in, clearly dissatisfied with the uneventful duel from a few days prior.
In fact, this recent battle was stirred up by these apprentices themselves.
Otherwise, why would Master Allen, a seasoned witcher, bother picking on a few drowners here?
Their lively banter seemed to make Erni slightly annoyed.
Turning back, he glared at them:
"What's with all this 'commander' business? That's a title you think you can use?"
"Alright, show's over! Get back to practicing your swordsmanship and signs. Even Master Aristo said you're the worst batch of witcher apprentices he's ever trained!"
The apprentices weren't fazed by his scolding. They exchanged glances and then stuck out their tongues, making faces at him. Then, laughing and joking, they ran to the blood-smeared stream to help gather materials, leaving Erni stamping his feet in frustration.
If Allen weren't approaching, he would likely have started cursing by now.
Some other senior members of the first witcher corps, like Claral and others, stood around with arms crossed, leaning casually against tree trunks and watching the commotion.
Clearly, This wasn't the first time they'd seen a scene like this.
"Ding."
[Monster Group "Drowner" Exterminated!]
[Reward Calculating: ...]
Pushing aside the dinging mechanical sound in his head, Allen smiled and encouraged the apprentices who were collecting drowner materials, then walked over to the riverside and asked: "What's the lively chat about?"
"Oh, we were talking about Erni and how he's blending in with the apprentices, Commander," Claral replied with a grin.
"Yeah, yeah," the other witchers chimed in with a smile.
Erni frowned, ignoring their remarks, and stepped forward. "Commander, your strength has really improved. Before you went down the mountain, we could at least catch glimpses of your sword movements."
"But now, just half a year later, I can barely make out your footwork."
"Did going down the mountain help you train so effectively?" Erni's face was full of admiration.
The other witchers perked up, subtly leaning in.
"Getting stronger quickly does have something to do with going down the mountain," Allen nodded with a smile. "After all, I encountered quite a few troublesome monsters."
Seeing their eager looks, Allen paused briefly before adding: "Don't worry. Once this batch of apprentices passes the highland trial, we'll head down the mountain."
"Really?" The group erupted with excitement.
They'd grown tired of the monotonous days in Kaer Morhen. Aside from practicing swordsmanship and signs, they spent their days watching over apprentices... and occasionally roughhousing until they sprained a leg.
If it weren't for Aristo's fierce temper keeping them in check, a few restless legs might've run off ages ago.
"Of course," Allen said, nodding seriously.
At this, even the young witchers who usually prided themselves on their maturity couldn't help but cheer, drawing curious glances from the apprentices who had been gutting brains, tongues, and hearts along the stream.
"Focus, don't get distracted!" Erni yelled, "After we return, Master Aristo will be inspecting... Fiat, yes, you! Don't think you'll get out of it by washing cloths or polishing swords!"
The apprentices made funny faces again but quickly returned to their work.
One apprentice with blond hair, standing closest, even stuck his tongue out at Erni.
"You little rascal!" Erni muttered under his breath.
Just then, Claral chuckled twice, though something seemed to cross his mind, and he furrowed his brow slightly. Erni, who had just turned back, noticed immediately.
"What's wrong?" Erni asked.
"Nothing..." Claral replied, shaking his head helplessly. After a brief hesitation, he glanced at Allen, sighed softly, and said: "But if we wait for all the apprentices to pass the Mountain Trial…no, even to be granted permission to take the trial by Master Aristo, that would be difficult in itself…"
"It's already the Blooming Month; by the time the Equinox Month comes, we might still not make it…"
Allen stayed silent.
Since returning to Kaer Morhen this past week, aside from practicing the path of the Roar, he had spent nearly all his time working on the Witcher Corps.
[Legion Name: Wolfpack]
[Rank: Level 3]
[Members: 10/15]
[Loyalty: Hughes 100 (Die-hard), Bond 100 (Die-hard), Fred 100 (Die-hard), Erni 100 (Die-hard), Claral 98…]
[Skills: Loot Lock LV1, Teach LV1, Resonance LV2]
This week of hard work had paid off.
The loyalty of the members had not only been firmly secured thanks to Vesemir recounting his legendary journeys in the castle hall, as well as Allen's glorious victory in his duel with Aristo. Moreover, another die-hard with full loyalty had joined their ranks—Erni.
The loyalty of the other six members was generally over 95 as well.
It seemed that after taking them down the mountain and experiencing a few battles and skirmishes together, their loyalty would rise soon enough.
Allen closed the panel.
With the witchers' almost blatant looks directed at him, he knew exactly what Claral meant by his words.
The death rate from the trial involving the grass potion had dropped to zero, and the influx of apprentices passing the trials wasn't entirely beneficial.
Allen, Hughes, Bond, and Fred's batch had a high mortality rate, but they were highly skilled with the Wolf School's dual swords.
Erni and Claral's group were a bit less adept, though they'd reached a decent level, about LV1 in Wolf School dual sword skill, or very close.
But the following two or three batches? Quite ordinary.
Though Allen hadn't included them as members and couldn't check their skill proficiency, he could tell during daily practice just by looking—some were far from competent.
A few with lesser talent might not even reach a passing level by the same time next year. That's why, despite crisis after crisis coming up, Allen hadn't been eager to expand the Witcher Corps yet, keeping it at a size of ten.
He could use witcher points to raise his members' skill levels, but only if the skill was already displayed on the member's panel.
And no matter how the Mountain Trial was adjusted, the Wolf School masters wouldn't allow an apprentice lacking basic dual-sword proficiency to participate.
So Claral wasn't wrong: if they waited for all apprentices to pass the Mountain Trial, it might be winter by the time the witchers returned, and they'd still be unready.
However…
Did Allen not know this?
Of course, he knew. He was doing it on purpose.
How else could he push them to properly coach the apprentices in swordsmanship?
Swordsmanship, unlike signs or basic potion crafting, required real battle and fierce fights to refine and improve.
Every morning during practice with the apprentices, Allen could see how half-heartedly they were going about it.
So, in front of everyone's expectant gazes, Allen deliberately lowered his head, seemingly contemplating, giving it "serious thought."
"At least half…" He looked up at the core members of the Witcher Corps. "As long as half of them are recognized by Master Aristo and pass the Mountain Trial, we'll set out."
As expected.
The moment Allen finished speaking, the witchers exchanged glances, then nodded with newfound resolve, their gazes toward the apprentices by the stream transforming instantly.
"Got it, Captain. Just watch us. Three months—no, two months, and we'll be ready to go down the mountain!"
Allen nodded slightly.
Before long, a group of apprentices packed up the bloodied monster materials, hauling stuffed bags of supplies and jogging over excitedly.
Noticing one with impressive skill, Allen praised him with a few encouraging words, then told Erni and the others, "That's enough for today. Take the apprentices back to the castle."
Erni nodded, then suddenly realized something was off.
"Aren't you coming with us, Captain?"
"No," Allen shook his head. "I need to make a trip to the Elemental Ring."
The hunters, understanding, nodded in farewell and led the curious, chattering apprentices away. Soon, peace returned to the stream.
But Allen didn't leave immediately; instead, he stared thoughtfully at the blood-soaked area littered with corpses.
"These drowners…are they stronger than they were back in the Budding Month?" he muttered.
Though he had just torn through almost twenty drowners with ease, and his wolf medallion hadn't sensed anything unusual, he could still tell something was different.
After all, he had once slain hundreds of drowners in Ban Ard after the Apprentice Combat Tournament, so he could tell…
The drowners in Kaer Morhen had changed over the past few months.
"Could it be because of the conjunction?"
Allen recalled the discussion about the Conjunction of the Spheres from Melitele's Divine Realm and its impact on magic.
"If that's the case, and even Kaer Morhen's drowners are affected, who knows how many other creatures around Ban Ard have changed…"
With so little information and the changes in the drowners not yet severe, Allen mentally noted the variation for future reference.
After one last glance at the stream, stained brown with monster blood, he turned and headed toward the Elemental Ring.
Having been so focused on practicing the Path of the Roar and recruiting for the Witcher Corps since returning, he hadn't yet visited Big Stone, Broken Stone, and Little Stone.
"Mountain Rock has been here with Lady Vera for about two or three months now. I wonder how they're getting along."
"Besides…"
Allen opened the witcher notes with a thought.
[Ding! Quest: Summoning I (Collect Rock Troll Blood: 18/20)]
He checked his potion bag.
The crystal vial nestled in the deepest part held a shallow layer of crimson blood.
"I wonder, with this summoning quest different from hunting quests, what kind of monster the Conjunction of the Spheres—Troll—will bring."
"If it could summon a bunch of rock trolls as communicative as Big Stone, Broken Stone, and Little Stone, that would be great."
"With the Witcher Corps finding its footing and an army of rock trolls with high defense and attack…"
"Whoever dares to attack Kaer Morhen won't stand a chance!"
Filled with anticipation for the new Conjunction of the Spheres, Allen thought it best to first visit the rock troll camp beneath the Elemental Ring to check in with Big Stone and the others.
The commotion from the Conjunction could be considerable; better to avoid any misunderstandings.
.....
📢20 advanced chapters on p@treaon📢
For advance chapters: p@treon.com/Uchiha_Itachi007 (replace @ with a)
317. Stone Wants to Stay.
318. A Tribute to the Mother of All Things.
319. The Giant Troll Wraith!
320. Legendary Unit: Metal Troll Joins.
321. The King of the Wolf Pack Resides at the Summit.