Drowner Whistle

Yeah!

Why did he have to avoid Vesemir?

After quickly answering the doubts of his three apprentices and finishing dinner, Ailin had been pondering this question.

The other roommates in the dormitory had already "fallen asleep."

With a thought, Ailin produced a Drowner Whistle.

It was a flattened, cylindrical whistle, made of pale bone, its surface slick as if coated in oil.

Although it was categorized as a decoy whistle, it had no mouthpiece for blowing; it only needed to be gently shaken to be used.

This Drowner Whistle looked very primitive, as if it were carved from bone, and its usage was simple.

Ailin could have openly taken it out and claimed he'd been inspired by an Alchemy lesson and made it himself.

Would Vesemir not believe him?

Who could have imagined Ailin possessed the "Witcher's Handbook"?

"I should have thought of this earlier; I could have used it the day after I got the Drowner Whistle. How many Drowners could I have hunted in all these days!"

A fleeting sense of regret passed, and Ailin began to reflect.

"Vesemir's Alchemy lesson requirements were too high a few days ago. A comfortable, routine environment had dulled my sense of crisis!"

He needed to be vigilant!

Alchemy skills had only just begun to show promise, and the Killer Whale potion was nowhere in sight, yet only twenty-one days remained until the Trial of the Mountains.

Who knew if unexpected events, like a sorceress leaving, would occur within these twenty-one days.

Would the Killer Whale potion be successfully concocted on the first try?

Would the Trial of the Mountains suddenly present unforeseen changes?

Was time truly abundant?

Vigilance!

Vigilance!

Vigilance!

Not a single day could be wasted!

After intense thought, Ailin finalized his plan for tomorrow's hunt and drifted off to sleep.

The next day at noon.

Ailin walked out of the Alchemy room.

The moment he closed the door, his expression darkened considerably.

Mary was no match for Vesemir.

This was beyond doubt.

But before today, Ailin hadn't known Mary's true skill level and still held a sliver of hope.

After all, a university student teaching a middle schooler wouldn't necessarily be as effective as a high schooler teaching.

But reality had slapped him in the face.

[Do you wish to spend 7101 Lesser Experience Orbs to unlock the skill?]

A single lesson, lasting about four hours, had only reduced the cost by 19 Lesser Experience Orbs.

When Vesemir taught him, the minimum reduction was 50, and yesterday's lesson had directly reduced it by 470.

Halfway through the lesson, seeing the system prompt that indicated progress only every few minutes, Ailin's heart sank.

However, Mary was genuinely trying to impart her knowledge to him, so Ailin adjusted his mindset, put on a look of acceptance and a forced smile, and listened until the end.

But if this continued, by the time of the Trial of the Mountains, the Alchemy lesson would only reduce the skill requirement by four to five hundred, not even a fraction of what was needed.

Time was becoming tight!

He had to obtain at least...

five thousand Lesser Experience Orbs... within twenty days.

Holy crap!

Ailin's face grew even darker. It had taken him ten days to gather fifteen hundred.

If the Drowner Whistle's effectiveness didn't meet expectations, Alchemy was essentially hopeless.

As for whether his current strength was enough to pass the Trial of the Mountains bare-handed?

Ailin had indeed considered this.

After all, it was easy to get overconfident during the process of self-improvement.

So, he had taken the opportunity to ask Vesemir this question.

The Witcher Master's answer was negative.

"The Trial of the Mountains doesn't have much to do with swordsmanship or Signs. Crossing the river and dealing with the Old Spearhead both rely heavily on luck..."

Perhaps feeling he had been too harsh, Vesemir paused for a moment before offering comfort:

"Ailin, you're a born Witcher. Don't worry, you'll definitely pass the trial..."

The Witcher Master's tone was very certain.

He believed that the better the talent of a Witcher apprentice, the greater their chance of surviving the trial.

A genius like Ailin, in his opinion, was guaranteed to pass the Trial of the Mountains.

This wasn't because of strength, but because they were destined for this profession.

Destined.

This was the belief of almost all Witchers; they devoutly believed in fate.

After all.

A significant portion of Witchers were products of chance.

They were chosen by accident and fate, embarking on this path.

They might also die due to accident and fate.

Therefore, among the three stages of the Trial of the Mountains, aside from the Troll, which could be compensated for with communication skills, the other two stages were very dependent on luck.

What if they were discovered by a Drowner while swimming to the center of the lake?

What if, upon entering the cave, they immediately made eye contact with the Old Spearhead?

Rather than testing the apprentices' past learning achievements, the Trial of the Mountains was testing whether the apprentices had been abandoned by fate.

But Ailin didn't believe in fate.

Even though he was most likely the Child of Miracle from the prophecy, Ailin was unwilling to let his life be decided by so-called fate.

Man can conquer nature.

The genes of resisting fate for thousands of years were etched into his soul.

His plan was clear.

Since Alchemy class was useless, he would have to fight his way through.

Taking a deep breath, Ailin walked down the stairs.

Familiar with the routine, Ailin greeted the Witcher guarding the gates of Kaer Morhen.

Ailin and Vesemir, as usual, set out on a hunt for Drowners.

"Master Vesemir, we don't need to specifically track them this time."

The Witcher Master was taken aback, thinking Ailin no longer wanted to hunt Drowners. He said, "That's right. It's been so many days, and your understanding of Drowners is no less than mine. Shall we head back now?"

Vesemir thought, thankfully they had only just left Kaer Morhen. If they went back now, they could still make it for the first round of the Great Feast.

The Witcher apprentice was also stunned by the remark. After a few seconds, he said, "No... I'm not giving up," Ailin took a Drowner Whistle from his pouch and handed it to the Witcher Master. "I've found a better method."

Vesemir stopped and took the Drowner Whistle with a look of confusion.

He examined it closely but found nothing unusual, nor did he sense any magical fluctuations.

Although its shape was a bit strange, there were many carved bone crafts.

Could this thing find Drowners?

Vesemir's heart was filled with doubt.

However.

Considering Ailin was learning Alchemy from Vesemir in Toussaint, the Witcher Master glanced at Ailin and then took out his school medallion from his collar.

The roaring wolf head medallion remained still.

"Are you sure? You'll use this to find Drowners?" Since he didn't know the creator's identity, the Witcher Master cautiously asked again, "Did you make this?"

"Of course..." Ailin instinctively wanted to agree, but a flash of inspiration made him change his mind instantly. "Lady Vesemir made it. My skills aren't good enough yet..."

Vesemir nodded slightly, his expression instantly changing from suspicion to amazement.

"As expected of Lady Vesemir. The magic items she creates don't even give off the slightest magical fluctuation."

Ailin: ?

Is there a possibility?

This thing isn't a magic item at all.

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