The Wonderful Uses of Heart Essence Fluid

There were no fancy potions or highly specialized sword oils.

Only generic Witcher potions.

Take a swig when initiating combat, for increased attack and reduced damage.

Take a swig when injured, to stop bleeding and relieve pain.

After confirming with Vesemir once more, Ailin could only reluctantly accept reality.

Time quietly slipped away as he processed materials and contemplated the future.

Even while multitasking, Ailin processed the materials exceptionally well.

"Near-perfect dissection technique," Vesemir said, crossing his arms and inspecting Ailin's work with satisfaction. "The Drowner brain is intact, and the cross-section of the Drowner tongue didn't hit a Magic Node."

"If this were at Ban Ard Academy, you'd get a perfect score for material processing."

This was high praise, almost exaggerated.

Ban Ard Academy was one of only two magic schools in the North, renowned across the continent for its ambitious sorcerers and bizarre alchemical creations.

In alchemy, Ban Ard Academy was undoubtedly the most professional.

As an important branch of alchemy, material processing was something Ailin couldn't possibly surpass professional wizard apprentices in.

Ailin humbly nodded his thanks.

"Master Vesemir, have you been to Ban Ard?" Huus asked curiously.

Ailin was also curious about this.

Kaer Morhen and Ban Ard were not only in the Kingdom of Cidaris, but the castles of both schools were carved from the bedrock of the Blue Mountains.

It was just that one trained Witchers, and the other trained sorcerers.

"A few times."

"For what reason?"

"Why else would a Witcher go somewhere?" Vesemir rolled his eyes, sounding impatient. "To deal with monsters, of course."

"But doesn't Ban Ard have its own magic academy? Why would they hire a Witcher?" Huus pressed, confused.

The apprentices weren't entirely ignorant of the world outside Kaer Morhen.

There were always children who, after growing up and remembering things, were brought to the mountain, bringing rumors like "Wizards created Witchers," "Ban Ard apprentices don't have to undergo cruel trials," or "The King of Cidaris favors sorcerers"—rumors that were half true, half false, or based on partial understanding.

The prospective sorcerers at Ban Ard Academy, because they didn't have to undergo trials and had bright futures, were always the object of envy and jealousy among Witcher apprentices.

Seemingly sensing the unusual tone in Huus's voice, the Witcher Master stopped inspecting the materials, turned to look at the two apprentices, and said with a serious expression:

"Because Witchers are the best monster hunters."

"We live by this, and we are destined to die because of it."

Even a carefree child like Huus could sense the heavy undertone in his words.

For a moment, all three fell silent.

Vesemir turned back and continued inspecting the materials.

Huus lowered his head, his silver hair covering his eyes, making it impossible to tell what he was thinking.

Destined to die because of it.

Ailin murmured to himself, gazing absently at the cold, ancient castle.

He only snapped back to attention when Vesemir's scolding voice rang out.

"Huus!"

"Were you even listening to my lecture just now?"

Vesemir's voice shattered the quiet.

"The most important part of a Drowner tongue is the Magic Node at the base of the tongue."

"Look at the materials you processed..."

"Tsk, tsk, with materials of this quality, you could probably only fool ignorant farmers."

Leto also appeared at this moment.

Huus asked curiously, "What do farmers want Drowner tongues for?"

"Hahaha," Leto laughed heartily, dodging the hand Vesemir threw at him, and chuckled mischievously, "Drowner tongues steeped in wine. There are always people willing to try some strange concoctions for male virility, aren't there?"

"Male virility?" Huus's face was full of question marks.

Vesemir kicked at Leto, who skillfully dodged and ran off laughing.

With Leto's interruption, Vesemir finally noticed that it was nearing noon.

He shifted the topic with a headache, then meticulously pointed out Huus's mistakes one by one, and gave the sample material—as a reward for an outstanding apprentice—to Ailin.

Afterward, he sent them back to the apprentice dorms for lunch.

"Oh, right."

"Stay away from Ban Ard, they don't welcome Witchers there."

After bidding farewell to the apprentices, Vesemir suddenly remembered something and turned back to sternly warn the two.

Without further explanation, he walked in the direction Leto had left.

After parting ways with Vesemir, Ailin and Huus returned to the apprentice dormitory located in the southwest corner of the castle.

The apprentice dormitory was vast.

Enclosed by cold, gray stone walls, more than forty wooden beds were packed tightly together, leaving only a central aisle for passage.

In the empty room, bedding was stacked on only four of the beds.

It was desolate and eerie.

Seeing this scene, who could have imagined that just ten days ago, it was filled with orphans and castoffs from all over the Northern Kingdoms?

For Ailin's batch of apprentices, the success rate of the Trial of Grasses was less than ten percent, far below the average of forty percent.

For the School of the Wolf, this year might be considered a slow year.

After returning to the dormitory, neither Ailin nor Huus felt much like talking.

They each put away their belongings, cleaned themselves up a bit, and changed into clean clothes.

Bont and Fred, having eaten their "lunch" early, were already "napping."

The portions meant for Ailin and Huus were left on a table by the door.

The special mushroom juice, served in a beer mug, was a gray, viscous liquid.

This was Ailin's lunch.

For the ten days since passing the Trial of Grasses, their meals had consisted of various strange liquids.

These liquids allowed their mutated bodies to quickly recover to "normal."

After drinking their afternoon meal, Ailin and Huus returned to their respective beds, waiting for the medicinal effects to take hold.

Ants seemed to be crawling under his skin.

It was a mixture of pain and itching.

Although it was far from the pain of the Trial of Grasses potions, which felt like dissolving internal organs, it was still difficult to endure.

Ailin instinctively twisted his body and silently recited "Witcher's Handbook" in his mind.

The effects of his "lunch" were still long-lasting, and he needed to find something to distract himself.

[Name: Ailin] [Age: 13] [Title: Child of Miracle] [Level: 2] [HP: 100% Stamina 56/56] [Attributes: Strength 5.3 (+0.1), Agility 5.4 (+0.1), Constitution 5.6 (+0.2), Perception 7.2 (+0.3), Mystery 3.3 (+0.2)] [Special Skills: Monster Hunting LV1, Appraisal LV1] [Skills: School of the Wolf Two-Handed Sword LV2 (0/500)] [Evaluation: NOOB!!!]

?

His attributes had increased!

As Ailin was surprised, his Constitution attribute rose by another 0.1.

This mushroom juice was so effective!

Although he had felt a subtle sense of improvement in the past two days, there was no status panel then.

The direct increase in numbers brought a sense of exhilaration that seemed to alleviate much of his discomfort.

Although the rate of attribute increase was slowing down, he would at least gain a little more before his "nap" ended.

"No wonder those Witchers have such high stats," Ailin thought.

Ignoring the glaring evaluation, Ailin claimed his quest rewards and opened his item inventory.

[Items: Drowner Heart Essence Fluid *3, Lesser Experience Orbs *19, Drowner Treasure Chest *8, General Treasure Chest *1]

The number of Lesser Experience Orbs wasn't enough to upgrade his two-handed sword, so he'd keep them for now.

"My attributes are still increasing, should I use the essence fluid after stopping the medication?" Ailin hesitated.

After a moment of thought, Ailin decided to drink one bottle first to test the waters.

Drowner Heart Essence Fluid wasn't exactly a rare reward, as every Drowner dropped one.

It was only scarce now because Ailin's movements were restricted, preventing him from leaving Kaer Morhen.

He mentally clicked on the item, and a bottle filled with blue liquid vanished from his inventory.

A cold sensation reappeared in his throat.

The next moment, Ailin's expression changed drastically.

"Holy shit!"

"What kind of peerless treasure are Drowners?!"

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