Witcher's Handbook

In 1179, late autumn.

Kaer Morhen, the training grounds.

"Ailin, what are you spacing out about?"

A stern reprimand jolted Ailin's wandering thoughts back.

The middle-aged man, wearing a black wide-brimmed hat, stared at him with dark golden cat-like eyes.

"Sorry, Master Vesemir," Ailin apologized properly. "I got distracted."

Hearing the apology, Vesemir nodded. He glanced at the four apprentices sitting cross-legged around him and continued his lecture.

"Apprentices, when dealing with Drowners, a silver sword will always be your best companion..."

Pure monster knowledge was tedious, and Vesemir's teaching style for "Monsterology" was very plain.

Before long, Ailin drifted off again.

Ailin was a transmigator from Earth.

His original name was Lin Ai, 30 years old, an orphan.

Before transmigrating, he was a middle manager at a company.

Middle manager sounded good, but in reality, he was just a pawn for the well-connected and a high-level scapegoat for his superiors.

Before his soul transmigrated to the Witcher world, Lin Ai, who had just been promoted, had pulled four all-nighters to finally complete a major project.

The project was smoothly snatched away by a mascot who had joined the team a week prior.

The mascot, with an unknown background, got two promotions just by watching movies and reading novels in the office.

Lin Ai, with no background, and his team members received a cup of milk tea each as hush money, and in the end, they had to thank their boss with fake smiles for the "gift."

After all, after getting promoted twice, the mascot had already replaced the retiring old leader and become their superior.

However, Lin Ai was already used to these kinds of unpleasant matters.

But what he never expected was that this 12-yuan milk tea, given by the mascot, was what caused him to transmigrate to the Witcher world.

One second, he was drinking industrial saccharin, and the next, he was gulping down a fishy and foul-smelling, bitter, viscous decoction of grass.

This was immediately followed by the pain of his muscles convulsing and dissolving, and memories flooding his mind as if his brain were exploding...

Recalling the painful memories from three days ago, Lin Ai instinctively shivered.

Although he had completed the game "The Witcher 3" in his spare time, Ailin had never imagined he would one day become a Witcher.

"Next month, there's the Trial of the Mountains, with a mortality rate exceeding fifty percent," Ailin sighed inwardly.

Just as Ailin was contemplating how to survive in this dangerous world, a cold, mechanical voice suddenly sounded, and a transparent panel with blood-red characters appeared before his eyes.

[Witcher's Handbook Activated]

[Hunting monsters will yield rewards. The stronger the monster, the higher the reward.]

[Special Skill Acquired: Monster Hunting LV1]

"Since transmigrating has already happened, a system appearing seems not that strange," Ailin thought.

The panel only had one option: "Character."

Following the information he received, Ailin willed it, and the character panel opened.

[Name: Ailin]

[Age: 13]

[Title: Child of Miracle]

[Level: 1]

[Health: 100% Stamina: 52/52]

[Attributes: Strength 5.1, Agility 5.3, Constitution 5.2, Perception 6.9, Mysticism 3.1]

[Special Skill: Monster Hunting LV1]

[Skill: School of the Wolf Two-Handed Sword LV1 (0/100)]

[Evaluation: NOOB!!!]

(Special skills only level up as the character's level increases.)

[Monster Hunting (Active): Consume 50 stamina, concentrate to enter hunting state. Upon meeting conditions, unleash a fatal blow (guaranteed monster kill).]

Ailin: Noob?

Is this panel insulting me?

After a few internal complaints, Ailin silently closed the panel.

The system was great, and the Monster Hunting skill seemed powerful.

But there was one crucial problem.

Where do monsters come from?

Ailin had only passed the Trial of Grasses three days ago, and the Trial of the Mountains was a month away.

For this month, he couldn't even leave the gates of Kaer Morhen. Where was he supposed to find monsters to hunt?

"Ailin!"

"Daydreaming again!"

Vesemir slammed shut the Witcher's Handbook he was reading, the one about Drowners and Swamp Hags.

This lesson was over!

Three out of the four apprentices were zoning out.

The last apprentice wasn't zoning out, but he wasn't listening either.

The small body was hiding behind Ailin, his head almost touching his knees.

What was he thinking?

Sleeping in a place like this?

The apprentice training grounds were right next to the main road leading in and out of the castle. Even if he couldn't see it, couldn't other Witchers see it?

"Very well! It seems none of you need to learn any more about Drowners, so let's go straight to practical combat!" Vesemir shouted angrily to his side, "Leto!"

Not far away, the Witcher leaning against the castle wall with his arms crossed nodded and pulled the black cloth off the cage beside him.

Inside the cage, a humanoid monster with blue skin and fins on its back shrieked as it was stimulated by the sudden sunlight.

It was a Drowner.

The moment the black cloth was pulled back, the wolf head emblems on Vesemir's and Leto's chests began to hum intensely.

"Consider yourselves fortunate, apprentices!" Vesemir said, pressing on his emblem, "To be able to face a monster safely right after completing the Trial of Grasses is a special privilege only afforded to apprentices of the School of the Wolf."

"The degenerates of the School of the Cat only teach their apprentices how to kill their own kind, how to despicably pull the last copper coin from a dead man's boot."

Seemingly satisfied with his rhetoric and having put down his rivals, Vesemir's expression softened somewhat as he looked at the apprentices.

He handed Ailin a steel sword and an old apprentice leather armor.

"Come, Master Ailin, put on your armor, grip your sword, and let me see if your skill matches your arrogance?"

Before Ailin could protest, he was quickly shoved into the leather armor by the other apprentices.

When he came to his senses, his feet were already on the sandy ground of the training grounds.

Quite a few people were gathered outside the training grounds.

They were all adult Witchers who happened to be passing by and wanted to watch the show.

"Are you ready, Master Ailin?"

Just as Ailin was about to speak, he heard a familiar mechanical voice.

"Ding, discovered a main quest: [The Beginning of the Witcher's Path] Kill a Drowner (0/1)"

He had no choice but to swallow his retort.

It's just a Drowner, what's there to be afraid of, Ailin thought.

He gripped the steel sword in his hand, took a deep breath, and calmly nodded at Vesemir.

"I'm ready."

"Excellent!" Vesemir gave an unusual smile.

At this moment, the Witcher Leto pushed the cage to Vesemir's side.

Vesemir opened the cage, shifted his body slightly to avoid the Drowner's lunge, and quickly made a gesture towards the Drowner with his right hand.

The Ald sign.

This was one of the six magical tricks of the Witchers, a type of outward-projecting telekinesis used to repel, stun, or knock down opponents, and it could also be used to destroy obstacles.

Under the visible shockwave, the ugly monster rolled towards Ailin like a ball.

The Drowner shrieked and hadn't gotten up yet.

Ailin gripped his steel sword, about to seize the opportunity and rush forward to slay it.

Just then, Vesemir's voice suddenly came to his ears.

"First mistake—your weapon!"

"We just talked about this, a silver sword is always your best companion when dealing with a Drowner."

Ailin: ?

Didn't you give me this steel sword?

Newcomer, new book, please follow, recommend, and collect! Internal review passed, please invest with confidence!