Conjunction of the Spheres

Witcher Master.

An honorary title bestowed by individual schools upon witchers who had slain Large Monsters.

Though granted by their own schools, the title was recognized by other witcher schools, even by nobles and kings.

However, even among Witcher Masters with the same title, there were differences in strength.

After all,

Large Monsters ranged from higher beings such as dragons, demons, and vampires,

to monsters such as griffins, trolls, and basilisks.

No matter what kind of large monster it was, anyone who killed one alone would be awarded the title.

Thus, a Witcher Master who had slain an ordinary griffin was naturally no match for one who had slain a dragon.

And one who had killed a griffin only once was inferior to one who had killed them many times.

Though Master Vesemir had never slain a dragon, he had records of multiple kills of griffins and basilisks.

He was a seasoned Witcher Master.

As long as the terrain was suitable, the number of drowners made little difference to him.

This narrow cave entrance was precisely the kind of place Vesemir liked best when dealing with hordes of monsters.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!"

Three streaks of silver flashed. The blade tore through the air, severing both arms of the lead drowner before another strike slit its throat.

Vesemir had no obsession with beheading his prey.

He preferred to wear them down carefully.

Hands, feet, wings...

When hunting, the Witcher Master was accustomed to weakening a monster's mobility and offensive capabilities as much as possible first.

Eliminating a monster's offensive threat before looking for an opportunity to kill it was a lesson he had learned while hunting a Greater Griffin.

That habit was etched deep into his instincts. Even when facing weak monsters like drowners, he had forgotten to change it.

Or rather, he was unwilling to change it for this pack of drowners.

After all, Vesemir was so at ease that, even while advancing and killing, he could spare some attention to let a few suitable drowners slip past for Ailin to practice on.

"Graaah... graaah..."

As Vesemir gradually fought his way out of the cave, the sounds of the drowner pack grew quieter and quieter.

The Witcher Apprentice did not possess his master's effortless composure.

Vesemir understood his strength very well.

The number of drowners he let through was precisely enough for Ailin to handle, without making things too easy for him.

Naturally, the Witcher Apprentice had no complaints about that. If anything, it was exactly what he wanted.

"Whoosh!"

The instant he stepped back to evade Sharp Claw, Ailin spun and beheaded a drowner.

Hunting Quest: Drowner I (Drowners Killed 197/200)

"Three left!"

Another silver arc flashed, splitting the ugly, snarling face in two.

"Two!"

Avoiding the foul, tainted blood, the Witcher Apprentice surged forward, circling behind a drowner in just a few steps.

The moment his sword came down, another drowner died.

"One!"

Drawing back his sword as he spun, Ailin's fierce dance gradually threw his final dance partner out of rhythm.

Its steps became chaotic, its center of gravity unsteady.

The savage dance partner suddenly stumbled. Ailin frowned, seemingly displeased by its clumsy dancing, and raised his hand in an upward slash.

Slash!

Ding! Hunting Quest Complete: Drowner I (Drowners Killed 200/200)

Reward Obtained: Lesser Experience Orbs ×4000, Monster Bestiary

Holy shit!

Four thousand Lesser Experience Orbs!

He ducked beneath a lunge and casually cut upward.

Then he sidestepped twice, avoiding the drowner's splattering blood. Before the monster could rush over, Ailin opened the Witcher's Handbook to check.

Spend 7101 Lesser Experience Orbs to unlock the Alchemy skill?

With the four thousand Lesser Experience Orbs from the reward, plus the nearly two thousand already in his inventory, Ailin was only a little over a thousand orbs away from unlocking Alchemy and brewing "Killer Whale."

A little over a thousand Lesser Experience Orbs—at his previous pace, killing drowners for ten days would have been more than enough.

He had never expected the Hunting Quest reward to be so generous!

Spinning away from a drowner's pounce, Ailin could barely contain his excitement.

After being crushed by Mary's Alchemy class that morning, Ailin had truly thought it would be impossible to unlock Alchemy before the Trial of the Mountains.

But now,

he already had one foot over the threshold of the Trial of the Mountains.

In his excitement, even the ugly, stinking drowners before him seemed rather adorable.

What disgusting monsters? They were all gleaming Lesser Experience Orbs, keys to unlocking Alchemy, steps toward passing the Trial of the Mountains...

Charging forward, Ailin swiftly cut into the center of the four attacking drowners.

Spin!

A silver moon rose within the dim cave.

All four drowners were instantly cut in half at the waist.

Seeing the entire cave emptied by that single strike, Ailin wiped the bloody grime from his forehead and let out a long breath before sighing involuntarily.

"That felt great!"

Before Vesemir could let another drowner into the cave, Ailin opened the Witcher's Handbook with a thought.

The Hunting Quest seemed to have unlocked the Monster Bestiary too...

Once the panel opened, Ailin easily spotted the Monster Bestiary tab beside the character interface tab.

"Holy shit!"

The instant he opened it with a thought, Ailin jumped.

A vicious blue-skinned face with red eyes and yellow teeth instantly filled most of his vision, its gaping maw suddenly lunging toward him.

It was a drowner's face.

The animation was incredibly lifelike, but please don't do that again next time!

Watching the realistic animation disappear, Ailin could not help grumbling inwardly.

Ding! Monster Bestiary: "Drowner" unlocked. Conjunction of the Spheres: "Drowner" will appear in 54s. Please prepare yourself!

Huh?

Ailin knew about the Conjunction of the Spheres.

It was a phenomenon unique to the witcher world.

Worlds from different dimensions collided, becoming directly connected and permeating one another.

Many creatures in this world were products left behind by the Conjunction of the Spheres.

Ghouls, higher vampires, and even humans had originally come from other worlds.

But the most recent Conjunction of the Spheres had occurred over a thousand years ago. Killing a few hundred drowners was enough to connect two worlds?

Ridiculous!

Utterly ridiculous!

Ailin had already regarded the Witcher's Handbook highly, but he discovered that he had still vastly underestimated his cheat.

It can connect two worlds. Does that mean I might have a chance to travel between different worlds too?

The Witcher Apprentice began to look forward to it.

Conjunction of the Spheres: "Drowner" will appear in 23s. Please prepare yourself!

The Witcher's Handbook had given him too little time. There was no time to prepare anything.

Ailin could only find a spot against the wall, preventing himself from appearing in the middle of a pack of drowners.

Still, that was merely caution. The Witcher Apprentice did not think he would be in any danger.

After all, he had already killed plenty of drowners.

...4, 3, 2, 1

As the countdown ended, Ailin's vision suddenly turned red.

It was as if a layer of blood had covered everything before his eyes.

Though it did not affect his sight, everything he saw was drenched in blood, making it particularly horrifying.

"What the hell is this!"

It might be time for a sacrifice offering if this was going up for a trial recommendation.

Also, thanks to readers "20180619152948039" and "20170319234414657" for the monthly tickets. The title had too few characters, so the thanks could only go here.