Caught in the Act Before the Husband (Thanks to reader "Ye Zou You Bini" for the monthly ticket)

"Good lad, I like that fire in you!"

"Go on. We'll be watching."

Leto lowered his voice, grinning as he patted Ailin on the shoulder.

Vesemir nodded as well. "Don't forget the Quen Sign."

Ailin nodded, drew Elsa's Silver Sword, and slowly crept toward the nearest drowner.

Elsa still felt somewhat awkward in his hands.

But as his attributes improved, the School of the Wolf Two-Handed Sword had also reached LV2, and Ailin could now use her properly in battle.

"Crack~ crack~"

No matter how lightly he stepped, the dry leaves stubbornly made their presence known.

The blue figure drew closer.

His heartbeat quickened.

Ailin silently calculated the distance.

Taking out all eight drowners at once was impossible. At least, it was impossible for the current Ailin.

Before the drowners could react, he had to kill as many monsters as possible.

Magic coursed inside the body. His thumb and index finger curled slightly as he traced a triangle in the air before him.

Quen Sign.

A faint yellow flash flickered past.

Thanks to his increased Mystery attribute, the Sign Ailin cast this time was clearly darker than the one from that morning.

With the shield in place, Ailin no longer hesitated.

He lowered his body, and the instant his Cat Eyes narrowed, he lunged forward like a tiger descending the mountain.

Five meters vanished beneath two strides.

In a split second, Ailin spun, and Elsa flashed like silver lightning across the drowner's neck.

"Pfft!"

The blade passed through without the slightest resistance, emerging from the other side.

Before he had time to marvel at the silver sword's sharpness, Ailin sidestepped the falling corpse.

His feet crossed swiftly. He lowered into a horse stance and drew the sword back to his waist, then planted his right foot. Power surged from the ground through his right leg and spine, all the way into both hands.

Thrust!

Like a silver needle threading thread, the sword shot precisely toward two drowners standing close together.

The silver light pierced one through the neck, passed through the second drowner's right eye, and emerged from the back of its skull.

Without his two-handed sword skill reaching LV2, and without the further increase in strength, agility, and perception, Ailin could never have achieved such precision.

Of course, none of that was the most important part.

The most important thing was Elsa. This silver sword truly lived up to her price of 17,325 Oren.

Not only did she decapitate enemies smoothly, but even when piercing hard skulls, she felt as though she were stabbing soft tofu.

Only then did the drowner pack react. Howling wildly, they charged Ailin.

Ailin quickly took two steps back.

While catching his breath, he also disrupted the formation of the attacking drowners.

The nearest three drowners were provoked by those two steps into shoving one another.

Not only could only the first one reach Ailin, but the others were also blocked from closing in.

"Beautiful footwork, exquisite tactics!" Leto couldn't help praising him. "Vesemir, did you see that? He hardly looks like an apprentice."

Vesemir smiled proudly. "Who do you think taught him?"

"Yes, yes. But the most important thing is still that Elsa you contributed—the one worth 17,325 Oren. She's truly wonderful!" Leto couldn't stand seeing others show off in front of him.

Vesemir's face darkened. He kicked him hard and said,

"Have you decided where you're going to hide?"

"Evading Vira of Toussaint's pursuit won't be easy."

Leto had nearly dodged aside, but hearing that name made his body tremble uncontrollably. He took the kick head-on.

"Despicable!"

"Takes one to know one!"

At the thought of a refuge, Leto's face showed a rare trace of worry.

Giving up on himself, he said, "I'll just find some city. The esteemed and great Sorceress Vira is so busy that she surely won't be willing to search everywhere for me over such a trivial matter."

"That's not certain. The women I've met were all quite petty."

"Perhaps teaching a hapless fool like you a lesson is a pleasure in itself for them."

"Just shut up already. Watch your precious apprentice properly and don't let anything happen to him." Leto brushed the muddy footprint from his trouser leg and said sarcastically, "I don't want to change my mind and get a chance to return to Kaer Morhen."

Vesemir glared at him again.

Then he turned his gaze back toward the babbling stream.

Leaning back to evade the sharp claw, Ailin rolled sideways as if performing an acrobatic stunt.

After landing lightly, he sprang up and raised his sword with both hands.

A silver arc flashed, and the drowner's head split in two in an instant, the slash passing directly through its brow.

"Three left," Ailin silently counted.

Even brainless drowners no longer retained their initial ferocity.

It was a monster's instinct to avoid harm and seek advantage.

At that moment, the three drowners circled Ailin like a wolf pack, hesitating.

Ailin took the opportunity to hold his sword in a middle guard and steady his breathing.

"Pant... pant..."

The brief, intense battle forced Ailin to gasp loudly.

One drowner thought it had spotted an opening and charged forward without hesitation.

Then it was cleanly cut in two.

"Two!"

That drowner's death shattered the morale of the remaining monsters.

"Gwala~ gwala~"

They shrieked chaotically, turning to dive into the stream of unknown depth.

But the Witcher Apprentice had anticipated this long ago.

He rushed between the two drowners.

Spin!

The silver arc drew a perfect circle.

From afar, it looked like a full moon rising in broad daylight.

Beautiful and cruel.

"Pfft!"

The sounds of flesh being sliced rang out almost simultaneously.

Then—

The two corpses fell, kicking up clouds of dust.

Ding! Monster Pack "Drowners" LV5 Subjugated!

Reward Settlement: Defeating the Enemy, base rating D, killing above level +3-C, defeating many with few +2-B-, decapitation intimidation +3-A-, Main Quest +3-S-

Final Rating: S- (S-rank, rewards doubled)

Loot Obtained: Drowner Heart Essence Fluid*16, Small Experience Orbs*28, Drowner's Chest*10

Main Quest Tracking completed: Find the drowner pack (1/1)

Reward Obtained: Tracking LV1

Holy shit!

S-!

Double rewards!

Witcher's Handbook, hunting monsters really was the proper path.

Sixteen portions of Drowner Heart Essence Fluid were enough for eight days of regular meals.

Just as Ailin was about to keep reading, the two witchers walked over.

"Hahaha... Ailin, well done," Leto said with a laugh as he came over and vigorously patted Ailin on the shoulder.

The pain made it impossible for him to tell whether this was congratulations or Leto deliberately venting the grudge he held against the Sorceress on him, an apprentice.

Vesemir also approached with a smile, arms folded across his chest as he praised him.

"Ailin, once you learn all the Signs, you'll be a qualified witcher!"

Hearing Vesemir's approval made Ailin very happy, though he still answered modestly.

"Not at all. I still have many shortcomings."

As if recalling something, Ailin raised the silver sword in his hand and said with a smile,

"It was all thanks to your Elsa."

"She really is wonderful!"

New author, new book—please keep reading, leave comments, add it to your collection, and vote with monthly tickets!