The familiar bone-chilling cold, the familiar floating of a spectral being, and the familiar fear of a soul freezing in place...
The reaction to using the troll wraith was almost identical to that of the cyclops wraith. Considering the identical "wraith" suffix, one couldn't help but suspect that the troll wraith and the cyclops wraith might share the same origin.
However, the cyclops wraith's essence stemmed from the one-eyed serpent giant in the path of beastly roars seen in the loot animation, whereas the troll wraith seemed to have been reborn from the corpse of a troll.
The more Allen thought about it, the more plausible this theory seemed.
"But..." From his semi-spectral floating state, Allen slowly descended onto the soft wool carpet. Draping himself in a smooth silver silk robe, he covered the various gruesome scars on his body.
"If my guess is correct, 'Conjunction of the Spheres—Wraiths' and 'Conjunction of the Spheres—Trolls' should have led to two separate worlds. So why are there creatures of the same category?"
"Could it be like most monsters in the world of Witchers, originating from the Conjunction of the Spheres?"
"What kind of power transforms living beings into wraiths?"
Allen mused aloud.
Could it be the legendary White Frost?
The twilight even gods find hard to resist...
He gazed absentmindedly at the sky, veiled from view.
The wooden beams above were intricately carved with creatures symbolic of the Witcher's world: humans, elves, dwarves, halflings...
Each was lifelike and posed uniquely.
One had to wonder how the craftsman who built this place came up with such designs.
Yet, Allen couldn't shake the feeling that the crisscrossing wooden beams, interwoven among these beings, resembled an invisible cage trapping all life.
Cobwebs clustered in the corners, and the walls bore the scars of insect damage and time.
It felt as though he was on the verge of grasping something important, yet the first piece of the puzzle remained elusive.
"Ahhh..."
He exhaled deeply, withdrawing his gaze.
The information gleaned from the troll wraith... no, it was merely speculation, could go no further.
He would jot it down for now and revisit it in the future.
------------------------
[Name: Allen]
[Age: 14]
[Title: Miracle Child]
[HP: 100%, Stamina: 650/660, Mana: 780/780]
[Attributes: Strength 66 (+3), Agility 61, Constitution 65 (-1), Perception 75 (+7), Mysticism 78 (+5)]
[Affinity: Water 15 (Magic Source: Water 4%) (+1), Earth 10 (Magic Source: Earth 1%) (+1), Wind 9 (+1), Fire 4 (+1), Space 2]
The purified essence of the troll wraith not only produced similar effects to that of the cyclops wraith, but also enhanced attributes—albeit at half the level of the cyclops wraith—and reduced Allen's constitution by one point.
Additionally, his elemental affinities for water, earth, wind, and fire each increased by one point.
This further confirmed his earlier speculation: the troll wraith and the cyclops wraith indeed shared the same origin.
Furthermore...
His earth elemental affinity officially reached ten points, entering the "Magic Source" state.
In his meditative view of the wolf medallion, the newly-formed blood in his marrow was suffused with a faint blue and amber magical glow, appearing denser than before.
Around him, the ripple of water elements became slightly clearer, and the ripple of earth elements, too, was now faintly perceptible.
"Come to think of it, back in Vengerberg, when I first sensed water elements, I planned to ask Lady Vera about some water-based magic..." Allen mused. "Now that I can also sense earth elements, I could find time in the coming days to learn and try some spells..."
Although he already knew many skills and the newly acquired Beast Roar Path was particularly powerful—no weaker than most spells—it wouldn't hurt to try. After all, one could never have too many cards up their sleeve.
After feeling the elemental ripples around him, Allen grabbed a steak knife from a small red-brown maple table nearby and stabbed it hard into the back of his hand.
"Zzzz—scrrr—"
The grating sound of a dull blade on thick leather was almost unbearable.
The sharp steak knife, meant for cutting through meat, left only a faint white mark on his hand before sliding off due to inertia.
The water element had granted his skin, flesh, and bones high tensile strength, while the earth element had made them denser and harder.
Allen was certain.
The "magical blessing" he had received was now on par with a drowner.
"It seems... the thought I had after consuming the Drowner King's heart extract upon arriving here has come true..." His expression grew strange.
Now, if someone wanted to kill him... it really seemed they'd need a silver sword...
---------------------
Time flew by.
In the blink of an eye, a month had passed.
----------------------
One afternoon, under the bright sunlight that dispelled the long-standing dampness of the Ancient Sea Fortress, a large crowd gathered around the biggest apprentice training ground in Kaer Morhen.
"Clang~ Clang~"
Two agile figures moved across the training field, their longswords clashing before separating again.
Cheers rose and fell with each clash of steel, echoing between the towering walls.
"Who will win?"
Leaning on the freshly repaired railings that still carried a woody fragrance, a blonde-haired girl kept her eyes glued to the two figures sparring in the field.
Beside her, a boy carrying two swords across his back stood with his arms crossed, seemingly lost in thought.
Hearing the girl's question, his sapphire-blue cat-like eyes swept briefly across the training field.
"Taban," the boy said indifferently. "He's the hardest-working among the new batch of apprentices. His understanding of the school's swordsmanship is excellent. More importantly, his physical talents as a Witcher are remarkable..."
"Tiva has a bit of cleverness and is trying to exploit Taban's left leg injury from two days ago, but in the face of overwhelming strength, it won't be enough."
"This week, his luck isn't great."
The girl nodded silently, her attention seemingly absorbed in the fierce duel before her, leaving no room to respond to the boy. However, from a different angle—from the training field looking toward her—one would notice...
Although her head didn't move, her bright eyes flitted nervously through the soft, golden strands of her hair, sneaking sidelong glances at the boy beside her.
Clearly...
To her, the blue-eyed boy was far more captivating than the rather amateur swordplay before her.
"Clang~"
As the girl pretended to focus on the duel while secretly watching the boy...
The battle on the training ground unfolded as the boy had predicted. What began as a stalemate soon shifted.
Tiva, who had been deliberately moving to his opponent's left to exploit the injury, lacked the confidence to press his advantage. Over-focusing on Taban's wound, he left himself open.
Feigning a loss of balance on his left leg, Taban lured Tiva into dropping his guard. The moment Tiva's focus wavered, Taban pivoted on his right leg—
And slashed!
By the time Tiva realized his mistake, the longsword was already upon him.
"Boom~"
A faint yellow magical shield flickered briefly before thinning to a nearly invisible layer.
"Winner: Taban!"
Standing at the edge of the training field, Erni immediately called out, separating the two fighters and announcing the result of the duel.
"Well done!"
Allen warmly nodded and smiled at Taban, who walked over.
The calm and alert boy during the duel now wore a sheepish smile, scratching his head a bit embarrassedly as he said: "Thank you, Commander."
Allen nodded again, then turned to Tiva, who seemed a bit disheartened by his loss.
"Tiva, you fought well too this round. You've made significant progress."
"Identifying the enemy's weakness, targeting it with attacks, dodging, and exhausting them—this strategy is absolutely correct."
"The enemies of Witchers are usually monsters that surpass us in strength, speed, defense, perception, magic—or even multiple aspects. So forget about honor or knightly conduct. You must relentlessly exploit their weaknesses."
"A Witcher surpasses monsters because a Witcher can think."
Hearing Allen's praise, Tiva immediately perked up from his dejected state and raised his head high.
"In that case, since I did so well, can I get an extra portion of Purification Elixir?" Tiva joked, grinning cheekily as he walked over, pushing his luck.
"No!" Allen rolled his eyes and tossed him two bottles of Purification Elixir from his pouch, effectively shutting him up. "You're getting ahead of yourself."
"The strategy is fine, but your execution is the problem."
"Haven't Master Aristo taught you where to focus your eyes when facing an opponent?"
"Targeting their weak spots doesn't mean you should just stare at them."
"Do you think you can win just by staring?"
Tiva was immediately scolded back into submission, his head hung low as the surrounding apprentice Witchers burst into laughter. He quickly clasped his hands together and pleaded with Allen for mercy.
Seeing this, Allen finally smiled and let him off.
"Next group, continue!" Allen glanced at the apprentices waiting in the "contestant prep area" and encouraged them. "It's a rare chance that Taban accidentally injured his left leg two days ago. This might be the closest you'll ever get to becoming champion."
"The reward for this week's champion includes Purification Elixirs and two additional bottles of Ghoul Heart Essence—an increase from last week."
Before Allen could finish speaking, the apprentices let out war cries of excitement.
Compared to the sense-enhancing Purification Elixir, the apprentices were more thrilled about the Ghoul Heart Essence.
After all, the boost in strength was much more immediate and noticeable.
More importantly, the apprentices' slow progress in mastering swordsmanship wasn't just due to insufficient practice time. Many of the sword techniques demanded a level of physical strength they barely met. The weight of the steel longswords often caused their movements to lose precision.
Thus, the Ghoul Heart Essence was precisely what they needed at this stage.
"Whoa!"
Even the apprentices who had already been eliminated inexplicably joined in the excitement, jumping around like monkeys in the mountains, stomping and banging on the railings.
It wasn't until Erni roared a few times that the chaotic atmosphere calmed down.
The competition resumed.
The clashing of steel echoed again in the apprentice training field, accompanied by cheers and shouts.
The outside noise seemed to fade automatically. A girl leaned on the wooden railing, tilting her head as she quietly observed.
The boy, carrying two swords on his back, stood tall and straight.
Although he was simply good-looking, without the overwhelming charisma of a great hero that knights often exuded—those who could captivate nobles to offer fine wine, kings to gift swords, and warriors to pledge loyalty—there was something naturally compelling about him.
Without knowing why, he exuded a confident and approachable energy that was deeply infectious.
Among the many Witchers and apprentice Witchers of a similar age, it was easy to spot…
Where the gazes converged…
Who was being lifted high by everyone?
Who was viewed as a friend, a mentor, or the most important person in their lives?
The wooden grain on the railing lay hidden in shadows, carved in rings that reflected on the soft and flawless profile of her face.
The bright sunlight, without her noticing, turned gentle and hazy.
"How did you come up with this approach?" the girl suddenly asked.
"What approach?"
Allen, who was carefully observing the movements of the apprentices during their duels, instinctively looked down toward the voice.
For a moment, his eyes met a pair of clear, bright ones.
The same shade of blue as his, though slightly lighter, her eyes were as pristine as a flawless mirror, reflecting nothing but his image.
"Ahem!"
Slightly uncomfortable under the girl's adoring gaze, which felt so intense it could ignite him, Allen cleared his throat and explained: "Well, didn't the king of Kaedwen organize a contest between Wolf School and Cat School apprentices before?"
"Fighting for the honor of the school during the contest felt pretty good, so I thought I'd try it here to motivate the apprentices."
That was a lie.
The real reason was that Allen was dissatisfied with the apprentices' slow progress in mastering Wolf School's two-handed sword techniques.
Even though Erni, Claral, and the other Witchers worked tirelessly, dragging the apprentices out of bed at dawn every day to train, the apprentices had no incentive to push themselves. After just three days of effort, they began to slack off.
Unlike Allen's generation, these apprentices didn't have the threat of the deadly Mountain Trial hanging over their heads. Without that pressure, they lacked the drive to improve. It didn't help that some bigmouth had let slip that Erni's generation had passed the reformed Mountain Trial without injuries.
Even Allen could understand why it would be hard to push themselves as he had once done. That said, Allen didn't regret reforming the Mountain Trial.
In fact, he was proud that the Wolf School's trials had changed because of him.
Thanks to his efforts, no more children would die in the mountains, leaving their souls to linger over the ancient fortress. However, the issue of the apprentices' laziness still needed addressing.
Without the looming threat of death, future apprentices' lethargy was bound to worsen, which was dangerous for Witchers whose livelihood depended on completing dangerous monster-hunting contracts.
The school also couldn't afford to keep supporting apprentices who had passed the Grass Trial but weren't ready for the Mountain Trial.
Recognizing this, Allen began considering ways to guide and motivate them.
Thankfully, the weekly competition, with rewards of essence and elixirs, had proven effective.
In just two weeks, the apprentices' swordsmanship improved more than in Erni and Claral's initial three-day push. Moreover, it conveniently allowed Allen to clear out the surplus stock in his inventory. Of course, there was no need for Mary to know all these details.
Giving her a perfunctory explanation, Allen was about to refocus on the apprentices' swordsmanship.
Just then, Vesemir suddenly approached from the direction of the main keep.
.....
📢20 advanced chapters on p@treaon📢
For advance chapters: p@treon.com/Uchiha_Itachi007 (replace @ with a)
323. The Wolf School Grandmaster Set.
324. The Wild Hunt, Any News?
325. Exposure.
326. I Haven't Even Acted Yet, How Is It Over?
327. Were the Witchers' Tracks Exposed?