Little Celebrity of the Ancient Sea Fortress (Thanks to Reader "Cold High Official" for the Monthly Pass)

"I'm not sure I can return before the Trial of the Mountains. If you want me to brew it for you, this may be your last chance."

Lady Vesemir's tone was very sincere.

But Ailin had no room to choose and could only refuse again:

"Sorry, Lady Vesemir."

"I still want to brew it myself."

The Sorceress's eyes dimmed for a moment, but she still earnestly reminded him:

"All right... my collection of books will be open to you..."

"If you have any questions or lack any materials, you can ask Mary directly. She'll help you sort it out..."

The Sorceress went on and on for quite a while.

As Ailin listened, he suddenly felt like he was Lady Vesemir's apprentice instead.

A certain "genuine" apprentice was so jealous that her cheeks turned red as she stared fixedly at Ailin's face.

The flames of jealousy nearly followed her gaze and set Ailin's hair ablaze.

About half an hour later, the Sorceress finally began to wind down.

"...That should be about it. You can go now."

Ailin nodded and thanked her sincerely. "Lady Vesemir, thank you."

"No need to thank me." Lady Vesemir shook her head and said seriously, "You only need to tell me... you'll definitely pass the Trial of the Mountains safely, right?"

The Witcher Apprentice nodded forcefully and declared in a firm voice:

"Don't worry, Lady Vesemir. I'll definitely pass the Trial of the Mountains. I won't let your investment go to waste."

"Investment?"

The Sorceress chuckled for no apparent reason.

"School of the Wolf witchers value their promises more than their lives."

"Ailin, I'll remember your promise."

After leaving the Alchemy Room and descending another two flights of steps, the Witcher Apprentice stopped.

With a thought, he opened his character panel.

Name: Ailin

Age: 13

Title: Child of Miracle

Level: 8

Health: 100%, Stamina: 150/150, Magic: 87/87

Attributes: Strength 9.6 (+3.5), Agility 9.6 (+3.4), Constitution 15 (+6.1), Perception 14.9 (+6), Mystery 8.7 (+4.4)

Special Skills: Monster Hunting LV1, Appraisal LV1, Tracking LV1

Special Skill Points: 1

Skills: School of the Wolf Two-Handed Sword LV2, Tracking LV1, Quen LV1, Ald LV1, Yrden LV1, Igni LV2

Formula: Killer Whale (Unavailable)

Items: Drowner Heart Essence Fluid*162, Rotten Flesh*87, Lesser Experience Orbs*1445, Drowner Whistle*7...

Evaluation: Weak!

Over the past seven days, Ailin had gained nearly twenty-four attribute points. Compared to the Witcher Apprentice from a few days ago, he was practically a different person.

It was no exaggeration to say that the current Ailin could fight ten of the version of himself who had just arrived in this world.

Unfortunately, the effects of the Heart Essence Extract had steadily weakened as Ailin's attributes rose.

After his Strength reached 9 points, it took ten Essence Extracts to raise it by 0.2. As for Constitution, once it reached 13 points, it could barely be increased by Essence Fluid at all.

Of course, that was only natural.

It was just a pity that Ailin's dream of slaughtering tens of millions of drowners and becoming a god had been shattered.

So he had not touched the remaining Essence Fluid. He could still use it as stamina recovery potions in the future.

As for skills, Ailin only had two Signs left to learn.

Since fire attacks were especially effective against drowners, he had specifically raised the Igni Fire Sign to level two.

The combined improvement of his attributes and skills had also greatly increased Ailin's efficiency in hunting drowners.

Unfortunately, his character level had also risen to level eight along with his skills. He had not seen a subjugation rating for killing enemies above his level in a long time.

Furthermore, he spent more than half his hunting time traveling and searching for traces.

Therefore, although his killing efficiency had improved, the number of Lesser Experience Orbs he could obtain each day had not increased explosively.

At present,

Ailin's average daily hunting tally had remained at around twenty-five drowners for two or three days.

Before today, it had been fine. With Lady Vesemir's alchemy lessons as a safety net, a few drowners each day did not matter.

But tomorrow, it would be Mary instead...

To be honest, Ailin had little confidence in Mary, who had only been a Sorceress for two years, when it came to alchemy.

He just did not know how far her lessons would fall short of Lady Vesemir's.

"There's still a gap of more than five thousand Lesser Experience Orbs. Without changing how I hunt, I'll never gather them all." After pondering for a moment, Ailin made up his mind.

He had to change.

Since the problem lay in his hunting efficiency, he only needed to increase that efficiency.

After thinking for a while longer, Ailin stood and headed toward their agreed meeting place.

The moment he left the tower, Ailin saw a witcher greeting Vesemir.

"Vesemir, aren't you going to the banquet today either?"

"No. I have something to do in a bit. You go ahead; I'll come later." The Witcher Master patted the man on the shoulder.

The man shrugged, muttered something, and left.

Ailin remained in the tower's shadow for a few more seconds before walking toward Vesemir.

When the Witcher Master saw his apprentice approach, he nodded and turned toward the outside of the castle.

"Master Vesemir, if you have something to do, I can go hunting by myself," Ailin suggested after walking alongside Vesemir and thinking for a moment.

Vesemir did not look back as he said casually:

"It's fine. It's only drinking. Going tonight is the same."

But it was not the same.

Ailin knew that very well.

Throughout the year, the only chance witchers had to gather was during these two winter months.

When this time came again next year, there was no guarantee they would see those who were still full of life this year.

After all,

Witchers were warriors, and they were also hunters.

It was an extremely dangerous profession, one that relied on combat and hunting for survival.

A witcher could very well pay with his life because of inaccurate intelligence, being betrayed by others, or even simply humanity's hatred of the different.

Precisely because those they saw this year might not be seen next year,

the castle hall of the Ancient Sea Fortress kept bonfires burning through the night and had endless wine and food...

Compared with expensive charcoal, wine, and delicacies, time spent with companions was the most precious thing.

Not a single moment of such time could be wasted.

So it was not the same.

Even though Ailin had selfishly hoped Vesemir would let him hunt alone, he was now too moved to say anything to persuade him otherwise.

"Vesemir, are you taking our little killer out hunting again?"

Ailin looked toward the voice and saw a witcher he did not know well.

"His name is Dante. He is also a respected Witcher Master," Vesemir introduced.

Ailin nodded and, accustomed to it by now, greeted the witcher across from him.

For some reason unknown to Ailin, he seemed to be quite famous among the returning witchers.

As he walked around, unfamiliar witchers would greet him from time to time.

The names ranged from "Aren't you Oren's apprentice?" and "the lucky apprentice" to "Elsa's second"...

And after news of his recent drowner hunting spread, there were titles like "Drowner Killer" and "Kaer Morhen's little butcher."

Ailin had asked Vesemir about this a few days ago.

However, the Witcher Master had merely darkened his face, then sighed and shook his head as if recalling something. In the end, he gave no answer.

His changing expression had been extremely strange.

So Ailin had not pressed the matter further. After all, it was unimportant to him.

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