Guiding Stone of Ad Gaes's Gate

"Reincarnated twice..."

Ianna held Ailin's hand tightly, the power of Divine Art surging through her veins.

"If it is a prophecy or announcement related to elves and alludes to a date, then the only way to find an interpretation is to look for it in the elf calendar."

She withdrew her hand, and the warmth within her body abruptly ceased.

"You're recovering well," Ianna said. "You'll be fully recovered in a week."

"He must rest for seven days, and cannot do it earlier?"

"Of course we can do it earlier." She smiled.

Ailin's eyes lit up, and she straightened up expectantly.

"As long as you're not afraid of Lyra starting another fight." Ianna looked at him teasingly.

Ailin's face darkened, and she lay back down.

It's clear that someone has leaked what just happened.

"Haha, just take the full seven days off," Ianna ruffled his hair. "Don't take your youth for granted and treat your body recklessly. Illnesses won't be eliminated by youth and vigorous life; they'll just be covered up."

"But I am a Witcher."

"Even the Witchers..." Ianna paused, glancing at Vesemir, "I should say... especially the Witchers."

"Alright, Ailin, stop struggling and get some rest," Vesemir chuckled. "They're just ghouls. Who knows, in seven days, we might not even need you anymore, and we'll have cleared out those unruly monsters."

"What do you think I'm worried about..." Ailin sighed.

"Alright, Mason already sent someone to tell me during the day that you should focus on recovering from your injury and not worry about anything else. Let's talk about the question you just asked."

Ianna took the white cloth from Nannick and wiped her sweat:

"As we all know, the world works in a way that is like life, always in a cycle."

"There are eight magic points in this cycle, which form a complete cycle, and one complete cycle is exactly one year."

"The magic points are paired up, including:..."

The Spring Festival of Awakening represents "budding" growth, while the Harvest Festival heralds "maturity."

The May Festival, representing "blooming," contrasts with All Hallows' Eve, representing "withering."

"There are also two other solstices— the Winter Solstice and the Summer Solstice, also known as the Mydi temperate and Myda heat;"

"And the two equinoxes—the spring equinox and the Autumn Equinox, also known as the Azure Sun Equinox and the Shining Moon Equinox."

"This is the origin of the elves' calendar."

"Those races with handsome appearances are naturally very sensitive to the fluctuations and changes in nature and magic, so the proportion of sorcerers, astrologers and prophets is very high, far exceeding that of humans."

"Therefore, the soul being reincarnated twice is very likely due to the magical cycle of the world, which has been repeated twice, which is two years."

Two years...

Ailin and Vesemir exchanged a glance and pursed their lips.

Two years is a short time, but a lot can happen in that time.

While the School of the Wolf's strength may not necessarily develop into what we envision, reality isn't like a strategy game where you can simply spend money to mass-produce troops.

Training in swordsmanship, honing physical strength, imparting knowledge, and cultivating willpower... each of these requires a significant amount of time.

Moreover, the source of apprentices is still extremely limited.

Even so, the number of witchers in the school will still experience a major surge.

These are apprentices who did not meet the requirements a few years ago due to the high mortality rate of the Trial of Grasses.

Two years, coupled with the Witcher's Handbook, was a bit rushed, but enough time to build up a certain fighting force. The Wild Hunt's first target was Ben Ade.

"Acceptable," Ailin thought.

However, Ianna hadn't finished speaking.

"Or perhaps..."

She stared at the amulet hanging from the rafters, paused for a second, seemingly in thought:

"Also starting from the Elven calendar, November 1st to December 20th of the Gregorian calendar is the first Elf Moon, known as the Soul Moon."

"December 21st to February 1st is the second Elf Moon, also known as the Rebirth Moon."

"According to the conventions of astrology and general prophecy, the soul could be reborn twice: starting from the next Soul Moon, which is November 1st of this year, and continuing until February 1st, a period of ninety-three days, that is, one soul rebirth. Two rebirths would naturally total one hundred and eighty-six days, which is an estimate..."

"It should be May 5th next year, the fourth day after the May Festival."

May Festival next year...

Ailin frowned.

"Can you confirm whether it's two years, or May 5th of next year?" Vesemir asked.

Ianna glanced at him sideways. "You only gave me 'related to the date' and 'the soul reincarnated twice'. How can you expect me to be accurate with just these two pieces of information?"

"I am the High Priest of Meritellie, not a sage or prophet of the elves."

"The Goddess Meritellie only has divine functions such as fertility, harvest, and childbirth, which have nothing to do with time and calendar."

Ailin glanced at Vesemir again, pondered for a few seconds, and apologized:

"We didn't mean to hide it, it's just that the source of this information is secretive, the fewer people who know, the better..."

"Of course, Mother Ianna and Priestess Nannick are not the people we need to hide from. On the contrary, this matter is closely related to the temple and Arland."

Ianna raised an eyebrow. "Closely related to us?"

Ailin nodded. "The Wild Hunt, the Wild Hunt that once nearly destroyed the entire Arland, may launch a full-scale attack on the Northern Continent after 'reincarnating twice'."

"What?!!"

Ianna and Nannick were shocked and almost jumped up, looking on guard.

The wounds inflicted on Arland by the Wild Hunt May Festival have yet to heal.

Ugly scars and bandages were everywhere on the streets.

If only we could do it again...

Just thinking about this possibility made even the resigned Ianna and the calm and wise Nannick breathe heavily, repeatedly reciting Meritellie's scriptures.

After Ailin and the others calmed down a bit, they organized their thoughts and gave a general description of what had happened in the forest near Ban Ad last night, and recited the message left by Lord Eredin Brick Glass of the Wild Hunt Lord word for word.

The two priests of the Temple of Melitele remained silent for a long time after hearing this.

They didn't ask Ailin where he got the news from.

There are probably only a handful of monsters in the entire Northern Continent who could injure the hero of Arland, the Blue Death turned the tide, to this extent, with traces of Fire Element magic all over his body.

As for how Ailin managed to travel back and forth between Arland and Ban Ad, who were thousands of miles apart, in one night.

Everyone has secrets.

Since Ailin didn't mention it, it proves that he didn't want to talk about it.

Ianna and Nannick naturally refrained from digging deeper.

"Ban Ade... is he gone?" Ianna asked.

"No, the Warlock Academy is gone. A magical barrier has been erected at the academy, so I can't see it clearly. But the city is burning. You can see a sea of fire from afar, and thick smoke has turned the white clouds in the sky black, blotting out the sun. The surrounding villages are all evacuating, traveling away from Ban Ade. So yes, Mother Ianna. Now, there is only Ban Ade Academy on the Northern Continent, no more Ban Ade."

"By Meritellie!" Nannick took a deep breath.

Hearing Ailin's description, she felt as if she had returned to May Festival.

Corpses were everywhere, and countless humans, bleeding and screaming, fled through the ruins.

In densely populated areas, the ground was covered with layers of filthy flesh and gore. More of their own kind died under the feet of humans than the Wild Hunt had killed. At that time, Arland was truly a living hell.

But Ban Ad and Arland are different.

Although neither of them is a royal capital, Ban Aard, which has a wizard academy, is arguably the safest place in the entire Northern Continent.

And now it's even more serious than the losses suffered by Arland.

With cities burned down and populations scattered, even without any unexpected events, it would be difficult to recover to the original level within ten years.

Now that monster leader who calls himself the "Wild Hunt Lord" is coming again...

"What are these monsters after?" Nannick shuddered, incredulous. "Is it simply for destruction? How can there be such a group of monsters in this world?"

"Etc..."

Nannick suddenly realized something and exclaimed, "Ailin, what did you mean by 'all-out attack' just now?"

"Weren't the entire Wild Hunt the last ones to appear in Arland?"

"Not only is it not all, but it could also be a small reconnaissance force." Ailin nodded solemnly. He didn't believe that the Wild Hunt, capable of conquering the heavens, consisted of only a small number of people.

"By Meritellie!" Ianna and Nannick gasped simultaneously.

The hellish scene was still vivid in his mind's eye, and Nannick looked at Ianna with a hint of panic:

"This... this... such a big matter, shouldn't we inform the Old Duke as soon as possible and have him pass it on to the rulers of the various countries in the Northern Continent, so they can prepare..."

"Foolish!" Ianna glared and scolded, "What's the panic? How are you going to tell Mason? Where did you get this information from?"

Nannick's expression froze.

Only then did she realize what was happening. She glanced at Ailin on the bed and then lowered her head in shame.

"I'm sorry, Ailin, I...I...I was just worried that the Wild Hunt might..."

"Hmph!" Before Ailin could speak, Ianna snorted coldly, "You need to be calm in the face of important matters, and don't act without thinking."

"Does Mason need you to inform them? Do the kings of various countries need you to inform them?"

"Do you think those male witches in Ben Ade would keep quiet? So many people saw it with their own eyes and scattered in all directions, do you think they could hide it?"

"Besides, would they hide? Those cunning and greedy male sorcerers will only try every means to drag the entire Northern Continent into this mess."

"What are you trying to do by getting involved so early? What kind of place is this temple?"

"You've exposed Ailin. Have you thought about what might happen to him?"

Nannick opened his mouth to speak, but was repeatedly interrupted by Ianna's barrage of harsh rebukes.

Ailin wanted to say something, but Ianna glared at him a few times and he stopped himself.

"Priestess Nannick acted rashly. We all know how much disaster the Wild Hunt has caused," Vesemir chuckled twice, seizing the opportunity to smooth things over. "To be honest, my legs go weak just thinking about my experiences at Gors Velen and the May Festival in Arland."

Ianna didn't shy away from the two witchers. "After I follow the goddess, Nannick will be the master of the temple. Any thoughts that are spoken without thinking will only cause great disaster."

"Alright, let's not talk about this anymore."

"Reincarnated twice..."

"The information left by the Wild Hunt Lord is still too little. Since he is an intelligent life form, not a monster, can his words really be trusted?"

Ailin hesitated upon hearing this.

Does Eredin Bricker Glass lie?

Yes!

Ailin said to himself.

That's without a doubt.

In the future depicted in the book, he ascended to the throne of Ain El by relying on lies and conspiracies, and besides, these words were spoken to his enemies.

But given the Wild Hunt's power, would he really lie for "a few ants"?

"This is no small matter, there are many things to consider..." Ianna sighed and patted his hair. "Don't think too much about it, just focus on recovering. You've already done enough."

Then Ianna and Nannick led Vesemir and a large group of boisterous young witchers away, quietly closing the door behind them.

Ailin stared blankly at the closed door for a while, remaining silent for a long time.

"One possibility is two years, another is even less than a year..."

"How can one not be anxious about this?"

Ailin sighed softly.

Summer insects sing loudly at night, tree shadows sway, and candlelight flickers.

In silence, he endured the excruciating pain and got out of bed. He rummaged through the basket of clothes and miscellaneous items beside the bed and grabbed a hard object shaped like a goose egg.

"Bite!"

"Guiding Stone of the Gate of Ade Gais detected. Absorb?"

Go back to bed, cover yourself with the blanket, and lie face down.

At a distance of less than two meters, Ailin broke out in a sweat from the pain.

Bloodstains were faintly visible on the bandages.

Absorb!

The moment after a thought clicks.

The dark stone floated up from Ailin's palm and then vanished into thin air.

[Ding! The Guiding Stone of the Gate of Ade Gas is being absorbed...]

[Ding! The Guiding Stone of the Ade Gais Gate is merging into the Witcher's Handbook...]

[Ding! The Guiding Stone of the Gate of Ade Gas is being absorbed...]

[Ding! The Guiding Stone of the Ade Gais Gate is merging into the shadow of the Ade Gais Gate...]

Incorporating Witcher's Handbook...

Into the shadow of Ad Gaesman...

The system message is completely different from that of the Ade Gais Gate Fragment.

Suddenly, the image of that translucent emerald jade door from the moment the Conjunction of the Spheres and the Planetary Alignment appeared in Ailin's mind.

Just then.

[Ding! Absorption of the Guiding Stone for the Gate of Ad-Gaiss is complete!]

[Ding! The requirement for guiding coordinates has been reduced]

Is that... the end?

Ailin stared blankly at the semi-transparent panel in front of him.

The process of absorbing the fragments of the Gate of Ad-Gaiss had never been so brief before; it seemed to have taken less than ten seconds.

The rewards for absorbing the Guiding Stone of Adagath's Gate are, in a way, surprisingly meager, matching the passage of time.

Even if you don't acquire any new skills, at least upgrade your existing ones...

"The requirement for guiding coordinates has decreased... The requirement for guiding coordinates..."

Ailin muttered to himself, and as if possessed, his mind flipped through the Witcher's Handbook.