A New Stake

"Leaving it to you?"

"Yes, leaving it to me."

Hearing Ailin's affirmative reply, Leto and Vesemir exchanged glances.

"What do you need the Drowner for?" Vesemir asked, confused.

Ailin replied, "I want to try fighting three at once, to deal with multiple Drowners simultaneously."

"Oh, it seems someone is afraid their injured companion will be lonely and plans to find an opportunity to keep them company."

Leto raised an eyebrow and looked at Ailin with a smile:

"Are you sure, Witcher apprentice? There's no silver sword bet worth 17,325 Oren this time."

"Leto!"

Vesemir shot Leto a glare and earnestly advised Ailin:

"At your current level, you're not yet capable of fighting three Drowners at once."

After a pause, Vesemir continued his dissuasion:

"Even if you have the Witcher's Eye."

"But fighting multiple enemies is a different category of difficulty than killing a Drowner with a steel sword; it requires more skilled swordsmanship and footwork."

"Haven't you heard the saying?"

"If monsters are truly pathetic, they're happy in packs."

Sensing Vesemir's sincerity, Ailin felt a slight headache.

[Limited-Time Quest: You, All of You, Come At Me! (Kill Drowners 0/3)]

[Quest Reward: Unknown]

The quests in the Witcher's Handbook always popped up unexpectedly.

The previous main quest, "The Beginning of the Path of Monster Hunting," was like that.

This limited-time quest was no different.

The moment Vesemir said "clean them up directly," the quest appeared before Ailin.

In a few more minutes, the Drowners would be dealt with, and it wouldn't be easy to come up with a makeshift excuse.

"Don't worry, Master Vesemir, I'm confident," Ailin could only say.

Vesemir looked doubtfully at the dried bloodstains on Ailin's face.

Confident?

Wasn't it me who had just collapsed from exhaustion and fallen awkwardly onto the Drowner's corpse?

"Ailin, if you fail, I can guarantee the safety of one Drowner, but three might be another story," Vesemir tried to persuade him further.

"Vesemir, let him try," the Chapter Master walked over from the wall.

"But..."

"Don't worry, the Witcher's Eye isn't that simple," the Chapter Master patted Vesemir's shoulder and continued, "Besides, I'm here too."

Vesemir fell silent.

He didn't know the full extent of what the Witcher's Eye could do, nor did he want to reveal it in front of the Chapter Master.

So, after a moment of thought, Vesemir finally agreed.

He gestured for Ailin to be careful with his eyes, then moved the cage together with Leto.

Ailin breathed a sigh of relief.

As soon as he switched to his silver sword, he noticed the Chapter Master approaching.

The Chapter Master glanced at the sword in Ailin's hand and said:

"If you win with the silver sword, I'll reward you with a custom-made leather armor."

After a pause, he took out a pendant from his lower back.

"But if you win with the steel sword, this Illusion Pendant of Vesemir will be yours."

The magical accessory lay quietly in the Witcher's palm, shimmering with alluring magical radiance.

Even without mentioning its function, Ailin could tell the value of this magical accessory from the envious expressions of Vesemir and Leto.

However, looking at the Chapter Master's gentle smile, Ailin felt not joy, but a sense of unease and uncertainty.

Vesemir was one thing.

Ailin's challenge was sudden.

And Vesemir didn't believe Ailin could win at all.

It was understandable to go with the flow.

But why would this Chapter Master of the School of the Wolf do this?

My memory doesn't hold much useful information.

But to be called Chief, this Witcher, who appears to be only middle-aged, must be at the peak of the School of the Wolf.

Are the Witchers of the School of the Wolf in the game all righteous, and Kaer Morhen now filled with good-natured people like Geralt?

Ailin wasn't that naive.

The children who died in the ancient sea fortress could drown the entire Kaer Morhen if piled up.

For such a high-ranking and influential figure to show such favor to an apprentice, what's his motive?

The Witcher's Eye?

Suspicious!

Very suspicious!

Wait!

Even the Witcher's Eye was proposed by this Chief. Not only is it not recorded in the game, but other Witchers also don't know about that experimental record.

For a moment, Ailin felt as if he'd fallen into an ice cellar, cold sweat breaking out on his forehead.

"What's wrong?" the Chief asked with some concern.

"Um... Um, nothing," Ailin replied, forcing himself to stay calm.

"So, what's your choice?"

"Chief, are you sure I can win?" Ailin probed.

"I believe the Witcher's Eye won't lose," the Chief raised an eyebrow. "Besides, even if you lose, what do I stand to lose?"

Hearing his tone, does the Witcher's Eye really exist? Ailin's mind was in turmoil again.

Is this Witcher truly mentoring a junior for the benefit of the school?

It seems plausible.

Without concrete evidence, Ailin could only keep his suspicions to himself for now.

"Can I try fighting with two swords?" Ailin asked.

The Chief nodded.

Before entering the training ground, Ailin handed Elsa, whom he was holding, to Huus.

This silver sword was too long and too heavy for him to use right now.

With everything prepared, Ailin walked to the center of the training ground.

Gripping the steel sword and taking a deep breath, he nodded to Vesemir.

Receiving the signal, Vesemir and Leto simultaneously opened the cages. After dodging the Drowner's attack, they pushed forward with their right middle fingers.

The Alde Sign.

Their movements were as synchronized as a skilled worker on an assembly line in Ailin's previous life.

To be fair, Drowners are indeed the simplest type of monsters.

Even though they had brains, they were useless.

They pounce from a distance, grab when you're close, and bite when you're even closer.

Simple attack patterns.

After fighting them a few times, you could toy with them by controlling the distance.

Of course, this is only when facing a single Drowner.

No matter the monster, fighting them in large numbers becomes very difficult.

Factors like distance, terrain, stamina, attack frequency, and methods all change as the number of monsters increases.

Especially in a place like the apprentice training ground, a narrow area of less than a hundred square meters, with four creatures fighting.

Maneuvering is extremely difficult.

The Witchers outside the training ground also consciously kept their distance from the railings.

This left Ailin no chance to "accidentally" shift the Drowners' aggro.

Dodging the lead Drowner's lunge, Ailin attempted to use Monster Hunting.

But as soon as his mental power touched the Drowner's surrounding magic field, the second Drowner's claws were already within reach.

He blocked the claw, which was covered in murky bodily fluids, with his sword held across his chest. Ailin instantly adjusted his center of gravity, stepping back with his right foot to counteract the force transmitted to the sword, and then smoothly retracted his sword.

The Drowners, attacking with full force on every strike, naturally flung themselves away by their own momentum.

When his focus returned to the first Drowner, the progress bar for Monster Hunting had already disappeared.

Monster Hunting really has significant limitations, Ailin thought.

While he was thinking, Ailin's body didn't stop.

He quickly spun around, his steel sword, which had been gathering momentum at his waist, slashed out fiercely, cutting into the neck of the last Drowner.

The steel sword's edge had only chipped off a bit of debris, but the Drowner was still felled to the ground.

In an instant, all three Drowners lay on the ground.

Witnessing this swift and decisive scene.

Leto, standing outside the training grounds, quickly shifted from a frivolous expression to seriousness, and finally to confusion.

His gaze was fixed intently on Ailin.

After all the Drowners had fallen, he tilted his head with some uncertainty and asked:

"Ves... Vesemir!"

"Has this apprentice's swordsmanship improved?"

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