Chieftain Soyer's Secret! A New Future for the Witcher Conclave!

Chieftain Soyer has always been a very mysterious person in Ailin's eyes.

The world of Witcher lacks entertainment.

In the harsh Kaer Morhen, after the Witchers have finished boasting about their year's achievements over drinks in the castle hall, they can only sweat it out in the training grounds of the Ancient Sea Fortress, communicating their feelings with steel, muscles, and magic.

Therefore, if you are determined, you can always see all the skills of the School of the Wolf witchers before spring by crowding into a small training ground.

All the Witchers here, including several Witcher Master, except... Chieftain Soyer.

The chief has never participated in this kind of duel, and Ailin has never seen any Witcher Master invite him.

But this is actually abnormal.

The so-called "wintering" of the School of the Wolf basically begins at the end of October or the beginning of November and lasts until March of the following year.

Almost every Witcher spends about three months in Kaer Morhen.

Swordsmanship and hand seals are both skills for killing. If you don't practice them, your muscles will forget the skills etched into your instincts.

If you don't practice for three months, your rusty skills will teach an undisciplined witcher a lesson when he takes on quests next spring.

Simply training swordsmanship alone is not enough; a comfortable environment will dull one's keen senses.

Therefore, it is extremely important to have high-intensity duels and competitions from time to time to prevent the harsh winds and snow from freezing the longswords that the Witcher relies on for survival.

Moreover, the chiefs are usually the first to return to the Ancient Sea Fortress and the last to leave.

The skill will be deteriorated for at least four months.

Before Ailin, along with Huus, Bont, and Fred, followed Vesemir down the mountain, he had already wondered...

Has the leader of the School of the Wolf completely transformed into a transactional leader, whose actual strength is no longer worth mentioning, which is why those Witcher Master tacitly refrain from challenging him?

After all, the School of the Wolf itself is not an organization that values strength and survival of the fittest.

People are just looking for a place to drink and fight in the cold winter, huddling together for warmth.

Until the Apprentice Combat Tournament at the spring equinox.

Chieftain Soyer made his move, and it was the first time Ailin had ever seen... no... he didn't even see when the chief drew his sword. Two Giant Drowner and one Drowners King were chopped into demonic "sticks" and pushed in front of him.

For a long time afterward, Ailin couldn't forget the arduous process of accumulating progress in [Demon Hunting] and finally killing the Drowners King.

The scene before me was three large monsters that had been "dealt with" and made quite harmless.

Those were three large monsters; killing even one of them would earn you the title of Witcher Master.

The School of the Wolf has been established for hundreds of years, and including the chief and Ailin, there are only nine members.

When Vesemir mentioned the chief's strength, Ailin suddenly realized a problem...

Given the same attributes, could he handle three large monsters so decisively and effortlessly?

To be honest, he didn't know.

Even with the current attributes, he wasn't entirely sure.

It's very difficult to rely solely on the swordsmanship of the School of the Wolf and the School of the Cat.

It could certainly be done by using beast roars, potions, and other spells in combination, but that would obviously be far from easy.

Moreover, at that time, the chief clearly did not fully reveal his strength.

Thinking about it that way.

Soyer, the grandmaster of the School of the Wolf, suddenly transformed from the established image of "Lady Vesemir's lover" and "the chief who was eager to step down" into something unfathomable.

At this moment.

"Slap~ Slap~ Slap~"

Klar and Ernie dusted themselves off and approached.

They stared at Vesemir with intense excitement for a long time, observing his changes. Then they noticed the disheveled state of Kray and Aias, who had returned one after another. Suddenly remembering something, they looked at Ailin with resentful eyes.

However, Ailin pretended not to notice the gazes of the young witchers.

It is very important to consciously maintain your Quen Shield in the wild.

Once young witchers like Klar and Ernie became skilled at hunting ghouls, they were always looking for ways to compete with each other.

Number of kills, decapitation rate, hunting speed...

These are all comparable, and both Ailin and Vesemir advocate for this kind of behavior that fosters healthy competition.

Even though the decapitation rate is somewhat dangerous and time-consuming, it can still hone one's skills.

However, recently, a thrilling game of hunting monsters without taking damage seems to have emerged among young witchers. This afternoon, a witcher even dared to hunt ghouls without using the Quen Sign.

Vesemir immediately began to educate him.

However, Ernie and Klar were at a rebellious age, and they had already shed their initial awe and prejudice towards Vesemir, the cold-faced but warm-hearted Witcher Master.

Although they didn't say anything, Ailin could tell they were clearly dissatisfied.

However, this lesson should be enough to make them remember the truth that "accidents can happen at any time, and the Quen Shield is a Witcher's second life."

Ignoring the expressions of the arriving young witchers, Ailin looked curiously at Vesemir: "Where are the chief and us...?"

"Etc!"

Ailin interrupted himself, reminding him, "'Battle Cry: Berserk' has significant side effects. Let's restore 'Blood Energy' first and exit the Berserk state. Can you do that?"

"Blood essence..." Vesemir instinctively licked his slightly rusty palate, pondered for a moment, and praised, "Good name... I'll try it... it should..."

He hadn't finished speaking.

His body trembled, and a weak pallor spread across his rugged face. His powerful muscles contracted, and the tight Witcher Master suit loosened considerably.

However, Vesemir's "Battlecry: Berserk" hadn't been active for even a minute.

That paleness disappeared quickly.

Vesemir shifted his shoulders uncomfortably, probably because he hadn't gotten used to the sudden drop in strength.

Seeing that everyone was staring at him, he instinctively tried to divert the attention of the other witchers.

"The difference between the Chief and us is not something that can't be said..." Vesemir said, "Do you all still remember the Trial of Grasses?"

"Who could forget this..." Aias complained.

The other young witchers, and even Ailin, didn't look too good.

Ignoring the reactions of the witchers around him, Vesemir nodded and continued, "The School of the Wolf's trials are three: Choice, Grass, and Mountains..."

"While both Jueze and Gaoshan also take potions, Jueze's purpose is to ensure that the Witcher apprentices' physiques can withstand the Trial of Grasses, while Gaoshan's purpose is to test the effectiveness of the Trial of Grasses."

"The Trial of Grasses is the core of a human's transformation into a Witcher."

"Certainly..."

He paused, glanced at Ailin, and said, "The current Trial of Grasses are almost free of the danger of death, but the essence of the choice remains unchanged."

Young witchers all know what Vesemir is talking about.

Gone was the complaint of being "tricked" earlier; his eyes followed Vesemir's gaze and looked at Ailin with bright eyes.

"More than that..." Klar glanced at the young witchers Ernie, Aias, and others surrounding him with a complicated expression, and sighed, "If it weren't for... if it weren't for the captain, just for the Trial of the Mountains, we would have lost half of our people."

Spencer and Hugh, the weakest of the group, lowered their heads silently, knowing they were most likely among the missing half.

More than half... Vesemir's gaze swept across the young witcher's face, thinking to himself, "The Trial of Grasses can 'filter out' 60%, and the Trial of the Mountains can hardly guarantee a 50% survival rate."

"If two out of seven people survive, it will be a 'bumper year' for the School of the Wolf; more likely, none will survive."

Ailin didn't like the current atmosphere. It reminded him of the young, inhuman corpses he saw when he left the underground Alchemy Room of the Trial of Grasses, and the empty gray sheets in the apprentice dormitory.

"So, Vesemir, what does the difference between the Chief and us have to do with the Trial of Grasses?" he interrupted.

"Forked-tailed dragon spinal fluid, flying lion monster venom glands, albino vampire tongue, European yam, longleaf plantain, mandrake root..." Vesemir listed one Magic Material after another.

Ailin seemed to understand something, but he didn't say anything.

"The sorcerers of the school refine these materials into 'Mother's Tears,' 'Wild Rye Juice,' and 'Thatch Juice,' then combine them and decoct them to create the Trial of Grasses decoction..." Vesemir explained in detail what should have been a closely guarded secret of the school, "But..."

"The White Gull Potion was not originally composed of these herbs..."

Ernie suddenly realized. "Master Vesemir means that Chieftain Soyer's decoction recipe for the Trial of Grasses is different from ours?"

"That's true, but it's not just that." Vesemir shook his head.

"The decocted medicine formula used by the School of the Griffin is the same as that of their founder, Grandmaster Eran of Larvik, which significantly enhances the magical storage and sign strength of Mutated Organ..."

"The School of the Bear's decoction is the same as the one used by Anahad... um... Grandmaster Anahad. It completely eliminates emotions while possessing a monstrous strength that can tear monsters apart with bare hands, unmatched by any other school of witchers..."

"Although the Viper and the Manticore have different founders, due to their school history, their decoction recipes are all improved from those of the School of the Bear."

"What about the School of the Cat?" Kray immediately pointed out Vesemir's mistake.

"How can those scum from the School of the Cat, who only know how to kill and don't have the guts to fight monsters head-on, be compared to us, the Witcher School..."

Vesemir glared at him with displeasure, making Kray shrink back.

However, he then explained, "Those scum of the School of the Cat are not Witchers with a proper lineage. Their formula is incomplete. The true founders of the School of the Cat did not even come from the Witcher Conclave. They were a group of evil male wizards' experiments."

Kray clearly still has doubts about the School of the Cat.

Or rather...

Because of Ailin's deeds, all the young Witchers are actually very interested in this Witcher school that was supposedly destroyed by the captain himself.

However, after glancing at Vesemir, who became agitated at the mere mention of the School of the Cat, no one dared to ask any further questions.

"What are the characteristics of the School of the Wolf?" Klar brought the topic back.

Other witchers, including Ailin, were also intrigued by the question.

Because the original text of the previous life did not describe the Trial of Grasses very much, nor did it distinguish the differences between the various schools of thought.

There are names in the game, but those are names given by players based on skill points, equipment, and secondary mutation styles. They are not actually different from the White Gull Potion.

"What do you think?" Vesemir asked.

Ernie replied, "Equilibrium?"

"There is some correlation, but not entirely," Vesemir said, no longer keeping her in suspense. "It's about survival rate. The survival rate of other schools, including the School of the Griffin's White Gull Potion, was three percent lower than that of the School of the Wolf at the time."

"Before Ailin created the Drowner Heart Essence Fluid, this difference had even been reduced to ten percent after a long period of research by the school."

"Then it seems pointless now, the death rate in the Trial of Grasses has been reduced to zero..." Klar thought.

But then he realized that other schools of thought didn't seem to have the Drowner Heart Essence Fluid, so the difference was now stretched to... seventy percent?!

Etc!

When Klar heard this history for the first time, he and Ernie, who had also realized the problem, exchanged a glance and their eyes widened instantly.

The School of the Wolf has spent hundreds of years researching and only managed to improve survival rates by a little over ten percent, yet the leader has improved it by sixty percent in just a few years!!!

Yes.

They were unaware that Ailin had "developed" the Drowner Heart Essence Fluid in just a few days, since Ailin didn't usually announce it.

As the young witchers exchanged glances, Vesemir continued his story, his tone growing increasingly serious and respectful.

"Chieftain Soyer, Master White, and several other Witchers were at Moghlag Castle —the castle of the Witcher Conclave. The last Witchers who remained chose the recipe with the highest survival rate, even though the others were only two or three percentage points different and had more powerful effects..."

"Wait!" Kray and Aias jumped to their feet. "The School of the Wolf has other formulas?!"

"Of course!" Vesemir raised an eyebrow, tilted his head back, and said with pride, "We are the Witcher Conclave. Not to mention other recipes, we have griffins, bears, and even bear-derived vipers and manticores in our underground Alchemy Room ..."

Ailin was taken aback and quickly asked, "What about Grandmaster Eran and Anahad?"

"Traitor and coward..." Vesemir almost blurted out his true thoughts, then quickly changed his mind, "How could the refined Grandmaster Eran have the nerve to snatch the research results of the Witcher Conclave from the hands of its direct heirs?"

"They wrote down their recipe and left."

"If the success rate of the Trial of Grasses has increased, why not use other decoctions with special effects?" Aias asked in confusion.

Vesemir looked at him as if he were an idiot.

"Shut up, you idiot! The Drowner Heart Essence Fluid was only invented six months ago!" Klar seized the opportunity to retaliate, slapping Aias on the head.

The young witchers started fooling around.

However, Aias's words reminded Ailin.

Yes!

Once the survival rate is improved, we can try other decoctions and cultivate the apprentices' specialties according to the needs of the school, the selection of apprentices, and their strengths.

You know what?

The CEO, who is currently in a low mood, and Lady Vesemir, who has been busy with something lately, may not realize that they have other options.

Etc!

Ailin had a flash of inspiration.

If the enhancement from the Drowner Heart Essence Fluid is effective for all White Gull Potion, wouldn't that... wouldn't that revive the Witcher Conclave!

"I'll have to remind Lady Vesemir when we get back." Ailin made a mental note of this, then asked:

"So, Master Vesemir, what's so special about the recipe for the chief's Trial of Grasses?"

"Shut up, all of you! You've all gone off on a tangent." Vesemir glared at the noisy young witchers a few times before sitting up straight on the Big Stone.

Once the Big Stone was completely quiet, the mountain breeze whistled through the long green grass, circled the little face that had been affected by the tense atmosphere, and then...

Vesemir solemnly said:

"Dragon!"

"Chieftain Soyer's Trial of Grasses recipe contains the world's most powerful monster—"

"A dragon!"