Growth Element!

Nature resonates.

As Fred approached, Ailin couldn't help but feel a subtle stirring in her heart and looked at him.

When he looked into Ailin's room, the feeling was even stronger, like a bloodline resonance from a fantasy novel from a past life.

No!

It was even stronger than that feeling.

That's some kind of higher-level resonance.

In the world of Witcher, there is no concept of natural elements. Although there are knights, archers, warlocks, humans, dwarves, elves and other various professions and races among the Druid.

But in reality, Druid are more like priests of the gods, both being special users of magic.

The priests' divine power comes from their gods, and for them, the various magical powers named after Divine Art exist to spread the teachings of their gods.

Druid, on the other hand, believe that they obtained that power in order to maintain the inherent balance of the world and nature.

Therefore, in a sense, Druid are priests of this world and of nature.

So...

What does the natural resonance he senses in Fred at this moment mean?

"Without..."

Fred instinctively denied it, but when he turned around and saw that it was Ailin who was speaking, he paused and looked at the wooden door again.

After a few seconds of silence, and only after he had walked out of the Wooden Hut did he say softly:

"I can't quite describe the feeling, but I just felt that there was something very close and intimate behind that door, like..."

"Is this the feeling?" Ailin's right hand rested on the drooping linden branches, and a faint, emerald-green light flashed by.

"Buzz~"

The School Emblem on the chests of several witchers began to hum.

It was at this very moment.

The tips of the linden branches, where the flower buds had all fallen off due to the off-season, are now bursting forth with clusters of small, drooping yellow flowers.

As soon as the tiny, finger-sized flower blooms, its sweet fragrance bursts forth, wafting towards you.

"Wow! Commander... Commander... the flowers... the flowers are blooming!"

It wasn't Fred spoke, but Spencer, who was chatting with Klar and happened to witness this scene.

The people chatting turned around and their eyes fell on the linden tree that had blossomed again.

Linden trees are the most common tree species in the Northern Continent. Although they are not among the materials used by Witchers to make potions, they are quite common in the Northern Continent, especially in the Temple of Melitele, where you can see several linden trees every few steps.

On the one hand, because of its fine and soft wood, it is a commonly used material for wood carving. Many of the holy statues and amulets in the temple are carved and blessed from linden wood.

On the other hand, its flowers attract honeybees, and there are many beekeeping facilities inside the temple.

Therefore, whether it was young witchers like Ernie and Klar, or Witcher Master like Fred and Vesemir and Dante, everyone knew that the linden tree's flowering season was long over.

Lyra, however, showed no surprise; she had just witnessed something far more astonishing.

She subtly traced her beloved's features with her gaze while everyone looked at Ailin, her eyes gradually shifting from infatuation and reluctance to determination, as if she had made up her mind.

Having lived long enough and seen much of the world, Vesemir could certainly sense the magical aura unique to Druid.

However, he watched this scene thoughtfully without saying anything.

He had become somewhat numb to the new abilities that Ailin kept coming up with.

Or perhaps, when Ailin used the Primal Tongue at the foot of Mount Adria, east of Vengerberg, to tame the Greater Griffin, he had already envisioned this day.

finally...

His apprentice, after a genius witcher, a genius alchemist, and a genius warlock, seems poised to become a genius Druid.

"Commander... Commander, what kind of hand seal is this? Can we learn it?"

Kray excitedly pushed past the other young witchers, carefully observing the linden tree's branch with its flower, so different from the other bare branches.

Klar, who had been pushed aside, should have started arguing with him long ago, but upon hearing Kray's words, he looked at Ailin expectantly.

"Perhaps."

Ailin looked at the few small heads piled on top of each other, smiled, raised his left hand, and made a nearby withered branch of the linden tree bloom with flowers.

Amidst exclamations of admiration, he continued, "If you can learn the next ' Primal Tongue,' you might be able to do it in the future too."

Of course, it's not that simple. Only by mastering the @#￥%&'s Element nature can one do it as easily as he does.

Yes, the natural world.

He categorized the @#￥%&'s Element he obtained from the Leshen @#￥%&'s Element into the realm of nature.

If we were to give it a name, it would be "Growth Element".

However, he was not quite sure whether the concept of a natural realm existed, or whether there were other elements he imagined, such as withering, hunting, or hiding.

The only option is to wait until the next time you acquire the relevant @#￥%&'s Element before considering and connecting them, or wait for the Witcher's Handbook to update the Personal Panel and add an element section, or find someone knowledgeable like the "Reindeer" Druid to ask.

The Growth Element, as its name suggests, consumes magic power to control the rapid growth of the target plant, and this control can be applied to very fine details.

Like the Leshen, it can shoot vines and roots from the ground to bind and attack enemies...

Or, like Ailin's room filled with all sorts of flowers, you could let plants that grow in different seasons bloom against their natural cycles...

Of course, he can't yet control hundreds or thousands of flowers to bloom at the same time.

That's probably because when absorbing elements, it was influenced by the natural source, resulting in the elements receiving an extra boost in effect.

He can only grow two or three plants at a time, and they can only grow small flowers. The vines can spread and grow, but the scale is not large or not small, and the degree of change is not enough to make a sapling grow up in an instant.

Even so, after obtaining the Growth Element, his combat ability was further enhanced.

Because the effects of Growth Element are like his instincts, requiring no incantations or gestures, they can be cast instantly.

As long as he is in a woodland where plants can survive, or if he carries some seeds with him, he can manipulate vines to ambush and control enemies, just like the Leshen.

If he were more skilled, he could even summon vines and tree roots to attack while swinging his sword, requiring even more concentration than when casting a spell, making it easier to release hand seals with only one hand.

Of course, Ailin can't do that yet.

In addition, even if it's not used for attack, as long as some seeds are prepared, the Growth Element can temporarily generate some materials when he urgently needs a certain magic potion but happens to lack some plant materials.

This greatly reduces the weight requirement for the backpack.

Although biological materials cannot grow from the soil, it is still much more convenient.

With a few casual words, he brushed off the young witcher, Ailin looked at Fred, whose mouth was slightly open.

Is this how it feels?

Fred snapped out of his reverie, looking at Ailin in surprise. "That's the feeling, intimate and gentle, like it's calling to me, and I feel like..."

He paused, hesitated for a few seconds, and then gently pointed to a nearby branch.

"Buzz~"

The School Emblem trembled almost imperceptibly...

"It moved! It moved!" Aias exclaimed, covering his mouth.

The flower branch under Fred's finger trembled slightly, and slowly a green bud swelled up, then changed color, and finally bloomed.

The fragrance of flowers grew even stronger.

"Ailin, this..." Vesemir, contrary to his previous composure, suddenly widened his eyes.

Dante was stunned for a few seconds, but after hearing Vesemir's voice, his expression suddenly changed. "The Leshen's soul is still inside Fred's body!"

Fred's expression changed drastically upon hearing this, as if he had been stung by a soft flower bud, and he abruptly withdrew his hand.

"No, it won't happen," Ailin patted Fred on the shoulder. "Don't be afraid. When we came back, you were examined by the senior priests."

"It's impossible for the Leshen to still have any remnants of its soul in your body."

This was the only thing Ailin was absolutely certain of, since the results of the campaign had already been released, and that Leshen was definitely dead.

As for this effect similar to an element, it is most likely an element itself, the part that merged with Fred after the Leshen was destroyed by Meritellie's Amulet.

In fact, he noticed something unusual right after the Leshen was defeated.

A small vine sprouted from the spot where Fred had been lying, but at the time, it wasn't certain.

Fred, that kid, really turned misfortune into a blessing in disguise.

"Has Fred also learned the Primal Tongue?" Kray looked at Fred with envy.

Fred paused, taken aback. "What Primal Tongue?"

"I'll teach you these next few days," Ailin interrupted Kray's slightly agape mouth, "Try it again, is this your fastest speed..."

Fred tried it repeatedly as Ailin had instructed, but after only a few attempts, he became dizzy.

As Ailin watched his experiment, he had a sudden thought and gave Fred a testimonial.

Name: Fred

Loyalty: 100

[Attributes: Strength 15 (+1), Agility 11 (+2), Constitution 13 (+1), Perception 19 (+10), Mysticism 27 (+20)]

really.

Fred's strength, agility, and physique likely increased during the last six months while traveling with Dante.

The senses and mysticism were definitely the gains from being possessed by the Leshen.

Tsk tsk...

Add twenty points of mystery at once.

To be honest, Ailin was even thinking of finding another Leshen and having it possess him.

Of course, with his nearly 120 points of mystery, even if he were to possess someone, it probably wouldn't increase his attributes by much. After all, possession isn't like Essence Fluid or Purification Spirit, which ignores level and attributes.

However, given Fred's current attributes, with a little bit of Essence Fluid and Purification Spirit, he can quickly reach the level of Witcher Master in terms of mystery and perception.

"Perhaps Fred should pursue the School of the Griffin," Ailin thought.

He originally intended to bestow the Bestow Honor upon Huus, since among the three— Huus, Bont, and Fred— whose attributes were not significantly different, Huus had the best relationship with him.

However, Fred, who has absorbed some of the Growth Element, is now a better choice.

"I feel a little dizzy." Fred's voice pulled Ailin back to reality.

He saw that Fred's face was pale, and although he had tried his best, he had only managed to produce three small yellow flowers, which was nothing compared to the long, continuous blooms on Ailin's branches.

This is not only because Ailin's perception and magic power far surpass his.

Ailin could sense that the natural energy emanating from Fred, while similar in essence to his own, was far from "pure".

By analogy, it's as if Fred's "concentration" of "Growth Element" is only one-tenth of Ailin's.

"I wonder when the Witcher's Handbook will be able to update the 'Elements' section in the Personal Panel..." Ailin sighed inwardly.

He felt that the Witcher's Handbook contained essential data, but it couldn't be revealed because of the so-called "knowing too much before reaching a certain level of strength is sometimes not a good thing".

only...

"What kind of existence could make the Witcher's Handbook so cautious, unable to even reveal or know the information related to the elements..." Ailin wondered. "And what kind of strength is considered 'reaching'? Is surpassing 'Limit - Beginning' enough?"

"Ailin? How is she?" Fred asked tentatively.

After regaining his senses, Ailin smiled and said, "You're pretty lucky, kid. Go check on Huus and Bont first, and I'll teach you a trick when you get back."

——

Huus, Bont, Furi, and Big Iron Shield's wards were thoughtfully arranged together.

However, the group did not stay in the ward for long; they went in and came out almost immediately.

Because Huus, whom Lyra said had already woken up, had finished dinner, had his dressing changed, and then fell into a deep sleep again.

"He heard the news and tried to stay awake until you arrived," said an old woman named Gisela. "But after changing his dressing, I saw he was a little tired, so I let him sleep first. Should we wake him up?"

The few witchers from the School of the Wolf naturally refused.

Although they are returning to Kaer Morhen tomorrow morning, the next time they can see each other while sober will probably be after the autumnal equinox.

Bont and the two Drakkenberg shieldmen did not wake up. Apart from the shieldmen being seriously injured, Bont had no other injuries, only shock due to excessive blood loss.

Ailin also used his expertise on Huus and Bont.

It's a pity that the two witchers only received normal attribute boosts.

Obviously.

Not all suffering is rewarded.

Fred was just an exception.

Although Bont and Huus had not yet woken up, they were both physically fine and just needed to rest. After leaving the ward, the group of witchers from the School of the Wolf were still somewhat downcast and silently walked to the temple's dining hall, where they casually finished their dinner.

Even Kray and Spencer, who had been clamoring for Ailin and Fred to "demonstrate" the unique effects of "Primal Tongue" a few more times before they went, remained silent.

After dinner, Ailin, Vesemir, and Dante, along with Lyra who had met with Ianna, went to the drawing room as agreed to wait for Tissaia de Veres.

But what surprised everyone was...

They waited for a long time in the drawing room, but the person who arrived was not Tissaia de Veres...