Child of Miracle? No, Call Me Child of Nature!

"Mother Nature above, you said you succeeded?!!"

Under the oak's shadow, Zerby Ortega happily performed a strange dance beneath the tree, as if it were he, not Ailin, who had succeeded in meditation.

Simmons and Orga also grinned, showing their white teeth, and began dancing alongside their mentor.

Such pure joy made Ailin feel awkwardly ashamed. He had to use a witcher's control over his facial muscles to force out a brilliant smile. "Yes, Mentor Zebbie Ortega. Last night, following what you taught me yesterday, I tried to forget Goddess Meritellie and meditate like an ordinary person who knew nothing."

"After trying a few times, I really did come into contact with a loving yet majestic will..."

"That's right, that's right." Zerby Ortega laughed heartily. "Majestic and loving—that is Mother Nature. She is the mother of all living beings, the will of nature. She is life, and she is also death..."

Simmons and Orga did not join in the devout prayer. They merely looked at Ailin with smiling eyes and pressed him, "What did it feel like entering the Sacred Forest for the first time? Did it feel as if your entire body, soul included, had been cleansed by pure water and filled with strength?"

It wasn't my first time, and I didn't feel cleansed by pure water or gain any strength... Ailin thought. Then he curled his lips, about to nod and make something up.

"Don't be so presumptuous, Simmons, Orga," Zerby Ortega said, interrupting Ailin. "Ailin has long been a powerful witcher, a Witcher Master of the School of the Wolf who would be respectfully called Master Ailin in any setting."

"If he had not been drawn to the path of nature, I would not have been qualified to be his mentor..."

"You flatter me," Ailin hurriedly said.