The Core of Elder Blood and the Child of Miracle

"The summoning badge, a little trinket that Ban Ade gives to the wizards," Vilgefortz explained, noticing Ailin's curiosity about the badge. "When the academy is in danger, the headmaster or several vice-headmasters will activate the badge to summon wizards from all over the Northern Continent back to their aid..."

"A product of the Ban Adhere Day event two or three months ago."

"At that time, the academy's main force was in Aretuza and could not provide immediate assistance, resulting in heavy losses."

"And the current status level of the summoning badge..."

He glanced sideways at the badge, its alarm blaring increasingly urgently and its red light gleaming:

"The City of a Thousand Towers may already be half-burning in flames, just like the legendary Maribor, which was sculpted by the double cross of Alzure..."

Upon hearing this, Ailin raised an eyebrow and exchanged a glance with Vesemir, who was walking over warily. He thought to himself that the terrifying commotion that afternoon had indeed come from Ban Ad.

"Vigor, this is..." Lydia walked over and interrupted in a panic.

Vilgefortz shook his head dismissively.

However, he didn't continue speaking. Upon seeing the Sorceress, he turned his head without any hesitation and asked gently:

"Are you alright, Lydia?"

"It's alright." The Sorceress gently shook her head.

But her pale, paper-white skin, rapid and forceful breathing, slightly trembling and staggering legs, and the fact that all—or perhaps two—of her collar buttons were missing made her otherwise elegant attire look utterly disheveled and wretched...

All these external characteristics point to one thing...

She wasn't as relaxed as she claimed.

Both the battle with Vesemir and Alzure's Lightning Spell were too strenuous for her.

While Vesemir also appeared quite disheveled at first glance.

His body was covered in mud and grass scraps, and his chiseled face was bloodless from the Giant Ghoul Decoction and the blizzard potion, with even the veins on his temples bulging black.

But just by listening to his steady breathing, one could tell that the Witcher Master still had the strength to fight again.

Moreover, the dark gold irises were also tinged with a deep blue.

Just now, even if the Lightning Strike spell had been successfully cast, it might not have been able to do anything to the Witcher Master. Instead, it would have given the experienced Vesemir an opportunity to completely defeat the Sorceress.

Seeing this, Ailin breathed a sigh of relief.

Without making a sound, he canceled the [Demon Hunt] skill again, then bent down and carefully picked up the jade statue from the ground.

Astonishment, confusion, sleepiness, joy...

Not only did none of them show any signs of anger or struggle, but one of them even had a smile on his face.

That's outrageous!

It seems that the young witcher's strength is far inferior, or he lacks any vigilance, or perhaps both.

The moment it appeared, it was subdued and turned into a jade statue using the Shapeshifting Sealing Artifact Technique.

Judging from the grim expression on Vesemir's face, they'll probably have a hard time after this is over.

"Ta-da!"

The bells that summoned the badges rang anxiously.

Ailin and Vesemir were still there; Vilgefortz simply asked Lydia a question.

Seeing the Witcher pick up the jade statue, he himself did not stop him.

Vilgefortz extended his right arm and stopped the Sorceress as she instinctively took a step to stop him, then watched without moving as Ailin put the jade statue away.

As Ailin put away the jade statue, he looked up and saw that Vilgefortz even smiled elegantly at him.

If it weren't for the lingering intense killing intent from the Primal Magic eruption in his mind...

Judging from the friendliness of that smile, one would think the two were old friends who hadn't seen each other for years and were just joking.

"As expected of the big boss in the original story, who skillfully navigated between the two major powers of the northern kingdoms and Nilfgaard..."

Ailin secretly became more vigilant.

"The strange phenomena coming from the north cannot be concealed. They must have seen them too. It's pointless to cover it up for Ban Ade." Vilgefortz patted Lydia's shoulder, signaling her to relax.

"However, since we have joined Ban Ade, we will naturally be bound by Ban Ade's rules. Therefore, we have to resort to some somewhat drastic measures..."

"Hmph~" Vesemir snorted coldly.

Ailin remained silent.

Vilgefortz abducted the young witcher before the phenomenon occurred, and he also left behind a provocative letter.

However, Ailin also knew that this was just an excuse to give both sides a way out.

The reason why Vilgefortz suddenly changed from being full of murderous intent to being so kind and even willing to back down is still unclear.

But the Witcher truly still had two hostages in his hands.

We had no choice but to compromise.

therefore.

Vesemir snorted coldly and didn't say anything more.

The gentle moonlight shone down, covering the land, which was covered with pebbles and mud, with a layer of tranquil silver light.

Both sides had a desire to ease the conflict, and the tense atmosphere naturally eased.

"Whoosh~"

Another jade statue appeared in Vilgefortz's hand and gently floated into Ailin's hand.

Immediately following.

A small box appeared on the ground in front of Vilgefortz.

"The Shapeshifting Sealing Artifact Technique is a very powerful spell, and a special unsealing ritual is required to break the spell."

He pointed to the box, which opened with a "thud," revealing many black candles, chalk, a two-way mirror, an iron frame, and other objects.

Ailin accepted the sixth jade statue, then frowned.

"Unbanning rituals are easy to tamper with, so strangers are generally not allowed to do it, especially since our meeting wasn't pleasant," Vilgefortz chuckled. "However, the black wax made from Doppelganger blood, the meticulously polished parabolic mirror, the pure crystal..."

"Even wizards who don't specialize in Shapeshifting Sealing Charm would find it difficult to gather all the necessary materials in a short time, and since you recognize this spell, you must also know..."

"The longer a life form is sealed by the Shapeshifting Sealing Charm, the greater the damage to its organs, therefore..."

With a wave of his hand, Vilgefortz sent the small box slowly floating to the feet of the two witchers.

"These will definitely be helpful to you. As for breaking the curse, you won't trust me, but you can certainly find a suitable wizard, right?"

"What do you want to do?" Ailin frowned.

Because of the relatively even strength difference and the constant disruption to the rhythm of the battle, they were at a disadvantage in the fight. With the outcome of the two sides' struggle uncertain, Vilgefortz suddenly initiated peace talks, which, although abrupt, was still somewhat understandable.

He was, after all, just a "mercenary." The one who truly hated the Witcher was the sorcerer whom Vesemir called Senne.

Given that Vilgefortz is not weak in terms of strength, status, and talent, it's nothing for him to simply do his "colleague" Senne a small favor.

But to fight with all one's might, even at the cost of one's life, is of course impossible.

But this is not the reason why Vilgefortz, after returning the jade statue of the young witcher, also thoughtfully included a very expensive antidote.

From any perspective, the two sides are destined to be enemies.

After we part ways today, we may never see each other again.

Something's fishy... Ailin thought to herself.

"What has already happened is irreversible, but I think..." Vilgefortz took the last jade statue from an unknown place and gently placed it on the ground, "There is no fundamental conflict between us, is there?"

"Instead..."

Vilgefortz glanced at Lydia's chest, then down to his own lower body, where the only remaining instant-triggered obsidian on his dress looked rather comical.

"On the contrary, we suffered heavy losses; our savings of more than ten years vanished in an instant..."

The wizard waved his right hand.

The summoning badge on the reins of the dead white horse fell off automatically and flew toward him along with the mud-stained metal staff.

The two witchers simply watched without interfering.

This made Vilgefortz very happy.

He laughed heartily, shook the mud off his staff, and, seemingly unconcerned about material possessions, tapped the obsidian on his chest.

A dark purple light shimmered at the core of the gem.

The gemstone then fell off the dress and landed next to the jade statue on the ground.

"I'm someone who enjoys making friends with strong people. Today's offense was merely to complete the academy's mission. This..." He casually pointed to the gem, "... consider it our apology, and also a testament to our first encounter..."

"I believe our connection will not end today."

He finished speaking.

Vilgefortz didn't wait for the Witcher's reply.

"Bang!"

Simply recite two incantations.

An orange-yellow portal appeared spinning across the wilderness, whipping up a fierce wind.

"Let's go, Lydia," he said, turning and stepping into the portal.

Lydia followed closely behind.

Vesemir and Ailin looked at each other, about to walk towards the portal to pick up the obsidian and the last jade statue.

Just then...

"Bang!"

The "Light Spell" orb that had been hovering above their heads suddenly exploded.

The two witchers instinctively crossed their arms and used the Oterrohp Sign for defense.

In the blinding flash, through the pale purple light, Ailin seemed to vaguely see many familiar figures.

But in the blink of an eye, it is just pure light.

He wanted to take a closer look...

"Bang!"

The strange sound of the portal closing made him subconsciously look over, and the white light of the "Light Spell" had completely disappeared.

"Is it... is it just my imagination?" Ailin frowned.

"Da da da~"

While Ailin was still in a daze, Vesemir walked over, picked up the obsidian and the last jade statue, and handed them to Ailin.

"This wizard named Vilgefortz seems pretty good!"

"Using a trigger gem as an apology gift... and it's obsidian... tsk tsk... that's quite generous..."

Vesemir didn't think there was any conspiracy involved, or rather, he was more inclined to believe that the Source Vilgefortz was impressed by Ailin's strength.

As for why...

Ailin has always been a likable guy.

Who wouldn't like such a talented child who is already incredibly strong, whose potential is even more outrageous than his abilities, and who is also mature and doesn't cause any worry?

Besides, who would use Instant Trigger Gem worth hundreds of thousands or millions of Oren as the price of a conspiracy?

How much reward would it take to make up for that?

Moreover, in this increasingly chaotic world, conflicts arise from various factions, prejudice, interests, or even just a dislike or dissatisfaction.

In the end, at least half of the friends who reconcile with a smile and forget their past grievances, or even those who have tested each other's swords, are the ones who can go further in life.

At least that's how Vesemir got many of his friends—especially the dwarves.

If we cannot generously accept conflicts like today, where almost no loss is caused, or even where the benefits far outweigh the losses, then we will only have fewer and fewer friends in the future, while our enemies will multiply.

"Actually, we should have let him stay and help us remove the... uh... Shapeshifting Sealing Charm from Ernie and the others. I don't know if Lady Vesemir has returned to Kaer Morhen... By the way, Ailin, should we continue chasing that Greater Griffin? Or should we..."

"No!" Ailin shook his head, interrupting, "We'll continue tomorrow."

"Ernie and the others..."

"Trust me, Vesemir. Once we deal with the Greater Griffin, it will only be faster to remove the Shapeshifting Sealing Charm on Ernie and the others."

"Huh?" Vesemir turned around, puzzled.

"Furthermore..." The Witcher paused, squinting as he looked back, as if trying to see through the deep darkness of the pure moonlight on the talisman and glimpse some kind of truth.

"What else?"

"Vilgefortz is untrustworthy! He's dangerous! Extremely dangerous!"

"Bang!"

An orange portal opened deep within the Ban Ad Academy.

The moment Vilgefortz and Lydia stepped out of the portal, they instinctively dodged to the sides.

"Boom!"

A towering black tower descended, its spire shaped like a star, made of pure mithril.

This tower is renowned throughout the Northern Continent, for it is the symbol of the Brotherhood of Sorcerers, the heart of magic on the Northern Continent, and the original meeting place of the centuries-old Talent and Skill Association.

Countless stories, some mysterious, some glorious, some despicable, some noble, have taken place here.

Every five years at the end of the year, the most important wizarding convention in the magical world is also held here.

If it were in the past...

If Vilgefortz saw this scene, he would jump up in surprise, not like this.

After dodging the attack, he glanced at the battle and found that although Ban Ad was burning at least half the city, as he had guessed, he seemed to have the upper hand. He didn't even pay attention to what the enemy was and walked straight into the depths of the academy.

That is, after he summoned the badge and returned to the academy, the noise automatically disappeared, allowing him and Lydia to successfully pass through the battlefield burning with various magical glows and return to his own Mage Tower.

"Vigor, are you alright?"

Seeing this unusual scene, Lydia asked with concern.

"It's nothing!" Vilgefortz said without turning his head.

"Why did you..."

"Shh!" Before Lydia could speak, Vilgefortz turned around, put his index finger to his lips, and told her to shut up.

At this moment.

She suddenly realized that the people she used to admire and worship were now completely unfamiliar.

He was expressionless.

But Lydia, who had spent a long time with him, could sense that Vilgefortz was as excited as a blazing bonfire at a festival.

At a time when the entire city of Ban Ade was engulfed in flames of war, such intense excitement made Lydia feel strangely frightened.

what happened?

She could only remain silent and follow him back to the monk's room, up to the second floor, to Vilgefortz's study, which was filled with books and documents.

"Splash splash~"

Upon entering the study, Vilgefortz began flipping through the pages haphazardly, something that would never have happened before.

Wiggins could not tolerate any disorder or irregularity.

"What... what are you looking for?" she couldn't help but ask.

But at this moment...

Vilgefortz suddenly stopped moving and began to chant ancient prophecies frantically, with an elaborate map on his right.

"Know that the Time of Sword and Axe is approaching, and it will be the Era of the Cold Wolf and Blizzard."

"First, Filius Miraculi— the Child of Miracle —was born in a bitterly cold land."

"Death and rebirth, non-human beings bring blood and fire."

"... a land of bitter cold... death and rebirth... non-human beings... and more..."

Vilgefortz suddenly strode toward the window.

"Boom!"

Another tower burst into flames in the darkness and crashed to the ground.

The air was filled with the smell of rust and burning.

"... Blood and fire!"

"Vi... Vigor..." Lydia cried out in terror.

Vilgefortz suddenly turned his head and looked at her with bloodshot eyes filled with frenzied joy.

"The core of the power of the Elder Blood is bloodline..."

"Lydia!"

"What do you think is the core of the Child of Miracle '?"