Conjunction of the Spheres

Witcher Master.

An honorary title awarded by their respective schools to Witchers who have hunted large monsters.

Although granted by their own school, this title is recognized by other Witcher schools, and even by nobles and kings.

However, even among those with the title, there are differences in strength between Witcher Masters.

After all.

The scope of large monsters ranges from high-level creatures like dragons, demons, and vampires.

Down to monsters like griffins, trolls, and lizards.

Any Witcher who single-handedly kills one of these large monsters is awarded this title.

Therefore, a Witcher Master who has hunted a griffin is naturally not as accomplished as one who has hunted a dragon.

And one who has only hunted a griffin once is not as accomplished as one who has hunted griffins multiple times.

Although Master Vesemir has not hunted dragons, he has multiple documented kills of griffins and giant lizards.

He is a veteran Witcher Master.

As long as the terrain is suitable, the number of drowners makes little difference to him.

This narrow cave entrance is Vesemir's preferred location for dealing with swarms of monsters.

"Swish, swish, swish."

Three silver flashes cut through the air, severing both arms of the lead drowner before a final sword thrust to its throat.

Vesemir has no penchant for decapitation.

He prefers a more methodical approach.

Hands, feet, wings...

When hunting, Witcher Masters habitually weaken a monster's mobility and attack capabilities as much as possible.

Prioritizing the elimination of a monster's offensive threat before finding an opportunity to kill it was a lesson learned from hunting a greater griffin.

This habit was deeply ingrained in his instincts, and he did not deviate from it even when facing weak monsters like drowners.

Or rather, he was unwilling to change for these drowners.

After all, Vesemir was so at ease that, while advancing and killing, he could spare a thought to leaving a few suitable drowners for his apprentice, Ailin, to practice on.

"Gurgle~ Gurgle~"

As Vesemir's figure gradually moved towards the cave exit, the sounds of the drowner pack grew fainter.

A Witcher apprentice, however, did not have the same ease as a master.

Vesemir understood his apprentice's strength well.

The number of drowners left for him was precisely calibrated to be manageable for Ailin, but not too easy.

Of course, the Witcher apprentice had no complaints; in fact, it suited him perfectly.

"Swish!"

The moment he sidestepped a drowner's lashing claws, Ailin spun and decapitated one.

[Hunting Quest: Drowner I (Drowners killed: 197/200)]

"Three left!"

Another silver arc split the snarling, ugly face in two.

"Two!"

Dodging the foul, bloody water, the Witcher apprentice surged forward, circling behind a drowner in a few swift steps.

As his sword descended, another drowner met its end.

"One!"

Retracting his sword and spinning, Ailin's sharp dance left the final partner gradually unable to keep pace.

His footwork faltered, his balance shifted.

The ferocious dance partner suddenly stumbled, and Ailin frowned, as if displeased by its clumsy movements, raising his blade diagonally.

Slash!

[Ding! Hunting Quest Complete: Drowner I (Drowners killed: 200/200)]

[Rewards Obtained: Lesser Experience Orbs * 4000, Monster Codex]

Holy crap!

4000 Lesser Experience Orbs!

Lowering his head to dodge a pounce, he casually flicked his wrist upwards.

Following that, he sidestepped twice to avoid the splashing drowner blood, and before the monster could charge again, Ailin opened the Witcher's Handbook to check.

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

The 4000 Lesser Experience Orbs from the reward, plus the nearly 2000 Lesser Experience Orbs already in his inventory, meant Ailin was only over a thousand Lesser Experience Orbs away from unlocking Alchemy and brewing the "Killer Whale."

With over a thousand Lesser Experience Orbs, even at his previous pace, killing Drowners for ten days would be enough.

He hadn't expected the hunting quest rewards to be this generous!

Spinning to dodge a Drowner's lunge, Ailin's excitement was hard to contain.

After being discouraged by Mary's Alchemy class that morning, Ailin had truly thought Alchemy wouldn't be unlocked before the Trial of the Mountains.

But now.

He had already taken half a step through the threshold of the Trial of the Mountains.

Under the surge of emotion, even the ugly, foul-smelling Drowners before him seemed incredibly cute.

These weren't disgusting monsters at all; they were glistening Lesser Experience Orbs, the key to unlocking Alchemy, the stepping stone to passing the Trial of the Mountains...

Quickly charging forward, Ailin swiftly cut into the center of the four Drowners attacking him.

Spin!

In the dim cave, a silver moon rose.

All four Drowners were instantly bisected.

Looking at the entire cave, it had been cleared by his single sword strike.

Ailin wiped the bloodstains from his forehead, let out a long breath, and couldn't help but sigh:

"Awesome!"

Before Vesemir could let another Drowner into the cave, Ailin mentally opened the Witcher's Handbook.

"The hunting quest seems to have unlocked the Bestiary as well..."

Once the panel opened, Ailin easily spotted the Bestiary tab next to the character interface tab.

"Holy crap!"

The moment he mentally opened it, Ailin was startled.

A ferocious face with blue skin, red eyes, and yellow teeth instantly occupied most of Ailin's vision, and a gaping maw suddenly lunged towards him.

It was a Drowner's face.

The animation was very realistic, but next time, please don't do that!

Speechlessly watching the lifelike animation disappear, Ailin couldn't help but complain in his mind.

[Ding! Bestiary entry "Drowner" unlocked. Conjunction of the Spheres "Drowner" will appear in 54s, please be prepared!]

Hmm?

Ailin knew about the Conjunction of the Spheres.

It was a unique phenomenon in the Witcher world.

Worlds from different dimensions collided, directly connecting and interpenetrating each other.

Many creatures in this world were also products of the Conjunction of the Spheres.

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

But the last Conjunction of the Spheres happened over a thousand years ago. Could killing a few hundred Drowners connect two worlds?

Ridiculous!

Truly ridiculous!

Ailin already took the "Witcher's Handbook" very seriously, but he found that he had still vastly underestimated his cheat.

"It can connect two worlds, so does that mean I might have a chance to travel between worlds?"

The Witcher apprentice became expectant.

[Conjunction of the Spheres "Drowner" will appear in 23s, please be prepared!]

The Witcher's Handbook gave him too little time to prepare.

Ailin could only find a spot against the wall to avoid appearing in the center of the Drowner swarm.

However, this was just out of caution; the Witcher apprentice didn't feel he was in any danger at all.

After all, he had already killed many Drowners.

...4, 3, 2, 1

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

It was as if a layer of blood had been cast over his eyes.

Although it didn't affect his vision, everything he saw appeared bloody and extremely terrifying.

"What the hell is this!"

Maybe it's time for a trial push, time for a sacrifice.

Also, thank you to readers "20180619152948039" and "20170319234414657" for your monthly votes. The title character count wasn't enough, so I can only thank you here.