There were no dazzling array of potions, no highly specialized sword oils.
There were only all-purpose Witcher Potions.
Take a swig before engaging a monster to boost attack and reduce damage.
Take a swig when injured to stop bleeding and ease pain.
After confirming it with Vesemir once more, Ailin could only helplessly accept reality.
Time quietly slipped away as he processed materials and contemplated the future.
Even while multitasking, Ailin handled the materials exceptionally well.
"Near-perfect dissection technique." Vesemir crossed his arms and inspected Ailin's work with satisfaction. "The Drowner Brain is intact, and the Drowner Tongue wasn't cut through the Magic Node."
"If this were Ban Ard Academy, you would receive full marks for material processing."
That was almost exaggerated praise.
Ban Ard Academy was one of only two magic schools in the North, renowned throughout the continent for its ambitious Sorcerers and all manner of strange alchemical products.
When it came to alchemy, Ban Ard Academy was undoubtedly the most professional.
As an important branch of alchemy, material processing was not something Ailin could truly surpass professional sorcerer apprentices in.
Ailin nodded modestly in thanks.
"Has Master Vesemir been to Ban Ard?" Huus asked curiously.
Ailin was curious about that question as well.
Not only were Kaer Morhen and Ban Ard located in the Kingdom of Kedwen, but both schools' castles had been carved from the rocky cliffs of the Blue Mountains.
The only difference was that one trained witchers, while the other trained Sorcerers.
"I've been there a few times."
"What for?"
"What else would a witcher go somewhere for?" Vesemir rolled his eyes, sounding somewhat impatient. "To deal with monsters, of course."
"But doesn't Ban Ard have its own magic academy? Why would they hire witchers?" Huus asked in confusion.
The apprentices were not entirely ignorant of the world beyond Kaer Morhen.
There were always children brought up the mountain only after they were old enough to remember things, bringing rumors that were either half-true or poorly understood—such as "sorcerers created witchers," "Ban Ard apprentices did not have to undergo cruel trials," and "the King of Kedwen favored Sorcerers more."
Because they did not need to undergo trials and had promising futures, Ban Ard's prospective Sorcerers inevitably became targets of both envy and jealousy among witcher apprentices.
As if hearing something unusual in Huus's tone, the Witcher Master stopped inspecting the materials. He turned to the two apprentices and said solemnly:
"Because witchers are the finest monster hunters."
"We make our living by this, and we are destined to die by it."
Even a carefree child like Huus could sense the weight hidden in those 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 and concealing whatever he was thinking.
Destined to die by it?
Ailin muttered to himself as he stared absently at the cold, ancient castle.
He did not come back to his senses until Vesemir's scolding rang out.
"Huus!"
"Were you even listening to my lesson just now?"
Vesemir's voice shattered the silence.
"The most important part of a Drowner Tongue is the Magic Node at its root."
"Look at the material you processed..."
"Tsk, tsk. Material of this quality could probably only fool ignorant farmers."
Leto appeared at that moment as well.
Huus asked curiously, "What would farmers want Drowner Tongues for?"
"Hahaha!" Leto burst out laughing. Dodging Vesemir's swatting hand, he grinned mischievously and said, "Drowner Tongues soaked in liquor. There are always people willing to try strange recipes for a man's vigor, aren't there?"
"A man's vigor?" Huus looked utterly confused.
Vesemir kicked at Leto. Leto dodged with practiced ease, then ran off laughing.
With Leto's interruption, Vesemir finally noticed that noon was approaching.
After changing the subject with a headache, Vesemir carefully pointed out each of Huus's mistakes, then gave the demonstration materials to Ailin as a reward for being an outstanding apprentice.
After that, he sent them back to the apprentice dormitory for lunch.
"Oh, right."
"Stay away from Ban Ard. Witchers aren't welcome there."
Just as he was parting ways with the apprentices, Vesemir seemed to recall something. He turned back and sternly warned them both.
Then, without explaining anything else, he headed in the direction Leto had gone.
After parting with Vesemir, Ailin and Huus returned to the apprentice dormitory at the castle's southwestern corner.
The apprentice dormitory was large.
Within its cold gray stone walls, more than forty wooden beds were packed tightly together, leaving only a central aisle for passage.
Only four beds in the empty room had folded bedding stacked on them.
It was desolate and gloomy.
Who would have imagined that ten days ago, this place had still been filled with orphans and abandoned children from across the Northern kingdoms?
Among Ailin's batch of apprentices, the Trial of Grasses had a success rate of less than ten percent, far below the average of forty percent.
For the School of the Wolf, this year might have been considered a lean one.
After returning to the dormitory, neither Ailin nor Huus felt much like talking.
They each put away their belongings, washed up briefly, and changed into clean clothes.
Bont and Fred, who had eaten "lunch" early, were already taking their "afternoon nap."
Ailin and Huus's portions had been placed on the table by the door.
Special mushroom juice, served in beer mugs, gray and viscous.
That was Ailin's lunch.
For the ten days since passing the Trial of Grasses, all three of their daily meals had been various strange liquids.
Those liquids allowed their mutated bodies to quickly recover to "normal."
After drinking lunch, Ailin and Huus each returned to their beds to wait for the medicine to take effect.
It felt as though ants were crawling through his muscles.
Pain and itch intertwined.
Although it was far less severe than the agony of the Trial of Grasses potion, which felt as though his internal organs were dissolving, it was still difficult to endure.
Ailin instinctively twisted his body and silently recited, Witcher's Handbook.
The effects of "lunch" would last for quite a while. He needed something to distract himself.
Name: Ailin Age: 13 Title: Child of Miracle Level: 2 Health: 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: Witcher LV1, Appraisal LV1 Skill: School of the Wolf Two-Handed Sword LV2 (0/500) Evaluation: Trash!!!
?
His attributes had increased!
As Ailin stared in surprise, his Constitution increased by another 0.1.
The mushroom juice was this effective!
He had vaguely sensed improvement over the past two days, but he had not had a panel to confirm it.
The pleasure brought by the visible increase in numbers seemed to ease much of his discomfort.
Although the rate of increase was slowing, his attributes would rise by at least a little more before his "afternoon nap" ended.
No wonder those witchers' stats were so high, Ailin thought.
Ignoring the glaring evaluation.
After claiming all his quest rewards, Ailin opened his inventory.
Items: Drowner Heart Essence Fluid ×3, Lesser Experience Orbs ×19, Drowner Treasure Chests ×8, Universal Treasure Chest ×1
There were not enough Lesser Experience Orbs to level up his two-handed sword, so he would save them for now.
My attributes are still rising. Should I wait until the medicine wears off before using the Essence Fluid? Ailin hesitated.
After thinking for a moment, Ailin decided to drink one first and test it out.
Drowner Heart Essence Fluid was not some precious reward, after all. One dropped from every Drowner he killed.
They were only scarce now because Ailin could not move freely and could not leave Kaer Morhen.
With a thought, he clicked on the item. A bottle filled with blue liquid vanished from his inventory.
A cool sensation appeared in his throat once more.
The next instant, Ailin's expression changed drastically.
"Holy shit!"
"What kind of peerless treasure are Drowners?!"
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