After leaving the Alchemy Room, Ailin did not return directly to the apprentice dormitory.
At the Sorceress's place, the Witcher Apprentice had only used the magic power inside his body to link with the Mirage Pearl. He had not yet had the chance to test its effects.
Finding an empty corner, he took out the Mirage Pearl and identified it.
Name: Mirage Pearl Type: Magic Spirit Function: Consumes a small amount of magic power to create a magical mirage Note: Did you think illusions really couldn't kill people?
A Magic Spirit?
So the bead on this pendant was actually a new form of life.
It was already getting late, and three apprentices in the dormitory were still waiting to be fed, so Ailin did not dwell on the Mirage Pearl's form of existence.
Using the same method as casting a Sign, Ailin injected the magic power from his Mutated Organ into the Mirage Pearl.
That sensation of flesh and blood being connected surfaced in his mind again. The Witcher Apprentice instinctively drew upon his magic power, sending it into the Mirage Pearl in a special rhythm.
Buzz.
Amid the nearly inaudible hum,
a thin mist slowly seeped out of the Mirage Pearl.
A Drowner suddenly appeared before him.
Its muscle definition and posture were crystal clear. Its only flaw was that it was stiff and motionless.
Just as Ailin was considering how to make the illusion move, the Mutated Organ to the left of his heart suddenly sent out an agonizing emptiness.
After rippling for a moment, the illusion before him vanished without a trace.
In an instant, Ailin's face turned pale. His entire body went weak, and as his knees gave out, he dropped straight to the ground.
Ding! Hidden attribute Mana unlocked.
The familiar mechanical voice sounded by his ear, but the Witcher Apprentice had no mind to check it.
His vision had darkened, countless tiny white specks drifting before his eyes.
It took nearly half an hour before he gradually recovered.
After taking a few light breaths, Ailin staggered to his feet, but he was already pondering the meaning behind unlocking mana.
Sorcerers and witchers cast spells differently.
Sorcerers sensed Chaos energy, allowing elemental power to pass through their bodies. They then sorted and integrated it through spells, gestures, rituals, and other methods before releasing it in a structured form.
Simply put,
a sorcerer's body served only as a medium during spellcasting, filtering and integrating magic.
They had no organs capable of storing magic power.
Witchers were different. Whether or not they originally possessed the talent to become sorcerers, after undergoing mutation, they gained the ability to cast Signs.
The energy used to cast Signs came from their own Mutated Organs.
A witcher's Mutated Organs automatically absorbed the free Chaos energy in the air.
Because the magic power used for Signs had already been tamed by the Mutated Organs, witchers did not need complex spells, gestures, or rituals to organize it. Thus, Signs were often cast quickly and accurately.
However,
the energy Mutated Organs could store was limited. Therefore, the damage dealt by Signs was generally inferior to sorcerer magic, which directly drew vast quantities of energy from nature.
Of course,
compared to the consumption of casting Signs, Mutated Organs replenished magic power faster.
Simply casting Signs would never exhaust the magic power within a Mutated Organ. Instead, it consumed far more stamina.
On the panel, this was reflected by Signs consuming stamina rather than mana in the usual sense.
But now, not only had the magic power inside his Mutated Organ been completely drained, the Witcher's Handbook had even informed him that he had unlocked mana.
A new attribute.
Looking at the identification information beside the Mirage Pearl, which had yet to fade, Ailin could not help grumbling, "This counts as consuming a small amount of magic power? That Mirage Pearl squeezed me so dry it even forced out a hidden attribute."
This was utterly ridiculous.
Still, the Mirage Pearl's potential was considerable.
In a battle, life and death were often decided in an instant.
If Ailin could use the Mirage Pearl proficiently, he could create that instant himself.
His recovery had taken too long, so as soon as his body had regained a little strength, Ailin hurried toward the apprentice dormitory.
When he arrived, the three annoying little sparrows were sitting on the bedboards near the door, chattering away.
The moment they saw Ailin enter, they all scrambled over.
Their eager expressions made Ailin think they were desperate to digest their dinner, and he could not help feeling a trace of guilt.
Then...
"Ailin, did you see any other monsters outside today?" That was Bont.
"Ailin~ Ailin~ How did you do it today? You cast the Quen Sign so quickly." That was Fred.
"Did you go down the mountain? Leto said the village below has really delicious stew. Is that true?" That was Huus.
There had not even been any Heart Essence Fluid in their lunch. Why was every one of them so lively?
Ailin had already been drained dry by the Mirage Pearl, yet after returning to the dormitory, he still had to endure the mental torment of the Witcher Apprentices.
Rubbing his throbbing temple with his right hand, Ailin raised the waterskin in his hand and said,
"Aren't you in a hurry to drink your dinner? There are classes tomorrow morning."
Fred waved his hand and said in a world-weary tone,
"Monster Economics? It's fine. It doesn't matter if we skip that class. Even if we attend, we can't understand it, and who knows when we'll ever get to use it. We might as well learn the Quen Sign from you tonight and save our energy tomorrow morning."
Huus and Bont nodded repeatedly in agreement.
Master Vesemir's "Monster Economics" class truly had a very plain style. It was only slightly better than the endless meetings from Ailin's previous life.
Besides, Ailin had Drowner Heart Essence Fluid.
Even setting aside pity for the weak, the more they learned, the less likely they would be to hold him back during the Trial of the Mountains.
More importantly, if one had the ability to save someone, who would be willing to watch these innocent lives fade away at an age when they should have been gathering strength to bloom?
Thus, after glossing over Leto's loose tongue and roughly describing the afternoon's hunt, Ailin began teaching them the Quen Sign.
Level 1 Quen involved a broad range of knowledge.
Perhaps Ailin was far inferior to Vesemir in terms of Sign strength and proficiency.
But when it came to teaching these apprentices, Vesemir, genius though he was, might not necessarily understand where their difficulties lay.
For example, all three apprentices had problems using the pheromones inside their bodies to issue commands to their Mutated Organs, and none of them had understood Vesemir's explanation.
That was precisely because Vesemir's physical abilities were too powerful. The amount of pheromones he could mobilize inside his body was like a flood compared to the apprentices', so naturally he had no need to find the shortest transmission route.
Yet the memories of Level 1 Quen contained all this beginner-level knowledge.
So the apprentices learned quickly. After about an hour, most of them could fully cast the Quen Sign.
Even Huus only needed an hour and a half to cast a pale yellow shield riddled with pits and bumps.
"Ailin, did you see that? I cast Quen!" Huus happily rushed in front of Ailin.
His excited little face was filled with admiration.
"Ailin, why don't you teach us Signs from now on?"
Before you continue