Chapter Summaries

After Arland's defenders celebrated their victory, Duke Mason praised Ailin and sent him back to the Temple of Melitele. While bathing, Ailin sorted his monster chests, gained new alchemy formulas, and ended the chapter as he turned to Stoneheart.

• Lyra blushed and fled behind Nannick as the soldiers teased her and Ailin, then Nannick sent Ailin and Vesemir to meet Duke Mason.
• Duke Mason thanked Ailin for saving Arland, praised him despite his youth, and warned that the city would remember both its defenders and those who abandoned it.
• Ailin and Vesemir rode back to the Temple of Melitele in Duke Mason's carriage, and Ailin noticed that Lyra and Nannick had disappeared.
• While bathing, Ailin postponed using his Heart Essence Fluids and sorted his chests by which monster types deserved the Blessing of Harvest.
• Ailin opened chests from Spiked Fiends, Giant Ghouls, Ghouls, and Rotfiends, obtaining the Maribor Forest potion formula and Demon Dust bomb formula among other rewards.
• Ailin turned a page in the Witcher's Handbook, and Stoneheart stirred among its withered veins.

Ailin unlocked Beast Roar: Life Whisper and discovered it could sense living beings across the entire Temple of Melitele, while its use left him dizzy and weakened. He found that unlocking Roar: Grounding required 193 Experience Orbs, then fell asleep and was confronted by a ghostly longsword piercing his brow.

• The Path of the Beast Roar interface reacted to Ailin’s previous training, reducing the cost of Beast Roar: Life Whisper to 93 Experience Orbs.
• Ailin unlocked Beast Roar: Life Whisper and learned its passive benefits and active ability to sense living beings.
• Ailin used Life Whisper to detect people throughout the Temple of Melitele, including Vesemir, Huus, Kray, Ernie, and Klar, before dizziness forced him to stop.
• Ailin saw that Beast Roar: Trap Sense and Beast Roar: Scent Erasure still cost 93 Experience Orbs each, while Roar: Grounding cost 193.
• Ailin counted 118 Experience Orbs in his inventory, decided to seek the remaining 82 in the Mahakam Mountains, and fell asleep.
• A ghostly longsword pierced Ailin’s brow in a pitch-black place.

Ailin observed the Wild Hunt inside the Spiral, where Centurion Regis wielded a sword said to sever fate and the group pursued an undisclosed task. The Wild Hunt reached a portal-like window into a sunlit world of ruins, leaving Ailin wondering where they had arrived.

• Ailin awoke in the Spiral as Regis withdrew his sword from Ailin’s head, then realized the Wild Hunt could not pinpoint his presence.
• Ailin watched Regis demonstrate the speed of his sword and learned the Wild Hunt feared a being they referred to only as “Him.”
• A Wild Hunt mage ordered the group to focus on its important task, and Ailin suspected the mage was a Navigator.
• Ailin followed nearly a hundred Wild Hunt riders through the Spiral for hours as time and space seemed distorted.
• The Wild Hunt reached a trembling window in the Spiral, and Ailin saw a blazing sun, blue sky, and desolate ruins beyond it.

Ailin witnessed the Wild Hunt emerge through a doorway in the Spiral and realized they were heading to Ban Ard to search for Ad Gaes’s Gate artifacts. After exploring the Spiral, he discovered the White Frost at its center, where the mist suddenly winked at him.

• Ailin watched nearly a hundred Skeleton Knights pass through the Spiral’s doorway, and Regis sensed his gaze and demanded to know who was watching.
• Ailin recognized the ruins beyond the doorway as Ban Ard and realized the Wild Hunt was pursuing the Fragment of Ad Gaes’s Gate and the Guiding Stone of Ad Gaes’s Gate.
• The doorway closed, and Ailin weighed whether the Wild Hunt would attack Ban Ard before deciding he could not intervene and should monitor Senne’s request for aid and the negotiations.
• Ailin searched the Spiral for other doorways but found none, and he speculated that a Navigator might know how to open them.
• Ailin looked into the Spiral’s central void and saw the White Frost, whose cold presence reminded him of the goddess’s divine realm.
• The white mist at the Spiral’s center winked at Ailin as he focused his attention on it.

Ailin escaped the Spiral after a terrifying blink from its central hollow and wondered what it was, then chose meditation rather than risk falling asleep and returning there. Meanwhile, Regis learned that the Fragment of Ad Gaes's Gate had been stolen and received orders from Eredin and Avallac to investigate Ban Ard, recover the fragment and Serra's Guiding Stone, and capture the powerful magical source if possible.

• Ailin returned from the Spiral, feared the blinking hollow might be dangerous, and decided he needed more strength before confronting the Wild Hunt.
• Ailin chose to meditate instead of sleep and wondered how the Wild Hunt would react to the missing fragment.
• Regis ordered the buried site excavated, and Beatrix's illusion revealed two humans had stolen the fragment and linked one of them to Primal Magic.
• Beatrix reported the theft to Avallac, who contacted Eredin; Eredin ordered Regis to investigate the magical source at Ban Ard and retrieve the fragment and Serra's Guiding Stone.
• Eredin warned Regis to return alive, and Avallac instructed him to bring back the magical source alive if possible.

Vilgefortz questioned whether the prophecy of the Child of Miracle was false and doubted that Ailin fit it, until Lydia told him Ailin had driven away an Evil God in Arland. Vilgefortz reconsidered Ailin’s importance, then sensed that the Wild Hunt had returned.

• Vilgefortz and Lydia discussed how the prophecy of Elder Blood might have been altered and whether the Child of Miracle was real.
• Vilgefortz admitted he had forced Ailin to fit the prophecy, though he still considered the possibility that magic had hidden Ailin from ancient elven detection.
• Lydia told Vilgefortz that Ailin had driven away an Evil God summoned through six Monster's Nests and had tamed a Greater Griffin.
• Vilgefortz reconsidered Ailin as the Child of Miracle and began to revisit his research, but Lydia’s spell had burned his papers to ash.
• Vilgefortz realized the Wild Hunt had returned.

Vilgefortz visited Ban Ard’s hidden library and told Senne and Miguel that his magical mechanism had been triggered, confirming the Wild Hunt had arrived. The Radical Faction was already under pressure from Northern kingdoms demanding Henn Gedimidis’s release.

• Vilgefortz explained to Lydia that his Warding Stone mechanism in Passerlon Forest could reveal the Wild Hunt’s movements, then left to see Senne.
• Vilgefortz entered Ban Ard’s underground library with Miguel and noticed books covered in Henn Gedimidis’s handwritten notes.
• Miguel told Vilgefortz that nine Northern nations had made demands after negotiations with Ban Ard collapsed, with several kingdoms changing their positions.
• Senne emerged and said the nations were demanding Henn Gedimidis’s release while he was being held for treatment and rest.
• Vilgefortz reported that his Passerlon Forest mechanism had been triggered and that the Wild Hunt had arrived, prompting Senne and Miguel to express relief.

Vilgefortz learned that the Radical Faction expected another Wild Hunt attack and planned a war against the elves, then revealed that Vesemir and Ailin had tamed a Greater Griffin. Senne rushed to verify the news, while Vilgefortz left excitedly, hoping Ailin would prove his ability to create miracles again.

• Miguel and Senne arranged preparations for the Wild Hunt and told Vilgefortz that the Riesberg Group Civil Cooperative would help capture a rider alive.
• Senne said Ban Ard planned a war of revenge against the elves and offered Vilgefortz command of the campaign.
• Vilgefortz realized the Radical Faction meant to keep the Wild Hunt threat from the rest of the academy, so he warned Senne and Miguel about the Evil God’s summoning in Arland.
• Vilgefortz revealed that Vesemir and Ailin had tamed a Greater Griffin, and Senne hurried into the library to contact Tissaia de Vries and seek front-line reports.
• Vilgefortz left the library, eager for the Child of Miracle to prove that he could create miracles again.

Vilgefortz reconsidered how to identify the Child of Miracle and concluded that adversity would reveal them, while Senne struggled to hold the Radical Faction together and planned to blame the School of the Wolf. Two days later in the Mahakam Mountains, Ailin effortlessly killed a Giant Ghoul as his companions marveled at his growing strength.

• Vilgefortz reconsidered his prophecy research and decided that the Child of Miracle would reveal their identity by surviving extreme adversity.
• Senne compromised with Ban Ard’s high-ranking Sorcerers, then planned to accuse the School of the Wolf of violating neutrality after the Wild Hunt threat passed.
• Miguel realized that Senne had been testing his standing among the Radical Faction, and Senne comforted him about their defeat in Passerlon Forest.
• Senne learned that Otolan had arrived with the Riesberg Group Civil Cooperative.
• In the Mahakam Mountains, Ailin killed a Giant Ghoul with one sword strike, and Kray and Ernie remarked on how much stronger he had become.

Ailin single-handedly slaughtered the Ghoul pack, then redirected the young witchers toward finding another nest while rewarding them with a contest to learn Berserk. As he followed them, he reflected on his growing strength and Vesemir’s belief that he had been surpassed, and resolved to do something about Vesemir’s despondence.

• Ailin destroyed the Rotfiends and killed nearly all the Ghouls before the young witchers could join the fight.
• Kray asked whether Ailin or Vesemir was stronger, and Ailin said he had needed potions to defeat Vesemir while Vesemir confirmed he had won their spar.
• Ailin offered potions to the witcher who learned Berserk first, then sent the young witchers to search for another monster nest before sunset.
• Ailin checked the Witcher’s Handbook and saw that his Hunting Quests were close to completion and his attributes were nearing one hundred.
• Vesemir asked whether Ailin’s weakness had passed and grew despondent as he considered how much Ailin had improved in a month.
• Ailin realized he did not want Vesemir to feel inferior and wondered what he could do about it.

Ailin considered how to strengthen Vesemir and the Monster Hunting Legion for the battles ahead, then upgraded the young witchers’ skills after they hunted ghouls. As the group prepared to return, Ailin revealed that a surprise awaited them at the temple before Good Girl carried them off.

• Ailin concluded that Vesemir needed Heart Essence Fluid and Purification Spirits, while the Monster Hunting Legion needed stronger skills and a role in clearing lesser enemies for him.
• Ailin reflected on Resonance and the legion’s potential to use it with the Path of the Beast Roar as the young witchers hunted a group of ghouls.
• Ailin spent Combat Points to raise the young witchers’ Oterrohp Signs to LV3, bringing their core combat skills closer to the level of seasoned witchers.
• Ailin appraised Ernie and saw that the Shapeshifting Sealing Charm had helped increase the young witchers’ attributes, while the legion neared its next rank.
• Vesemir suggested returning, but Good Girl descended and Ailin ordered the reluctant young witchers to strap themselves to the Greater Griffin for the flight back.

Ailin used Good Girl to train the young witchers in high-altitude transport while clearing corpse-eating monsters around Arland, and he explained the Path of the Beast Roar to Vesemir. As the crowd below celebrated him as a hero, Ailin worried that his fame would strain his relations with Arland’s nobles.

• Ailin and Vesemir tested how the young witchers could ride safely on Good Girl’s claws as an evacuation method.
• Vesemir asked about Ailin’s Life Whisper ability, and Ailin explained that it belonged to the Path of the Beast Roar alongside Frenzy and Primal Tongue.
• Vesemir admitted he had been unable to learn Frenzy, and Ailin told him that it was the foundation required before the other Beast Roars could be mastered.
• Good Girl flew over Arland as the citizens cheered for Ailin, while the young witchers watched and longed to become heroes like him.
• Ailin worried that his growing popularity would make Arland’s nobles wary, and Vesemir said the public would eventually forget him.

Ailin brought Vesemir and the young witchers back to the Temple of Meritellie, where the apprentices tested their newly improved Signs. He gave Vesemir Giant Ghoul Heart Essence Fluid, which raised his Strength and Constitution, and then prepared to use his own stored spoils to grow stronger.

• Ailin returned to the temple with Vesemir and the young witchers, who eagerly practiced the Oterrohp Sign after he told them to test it.
• Vesemir grew troubled while watching the apprentices improve, but told Ailin he was fine and claimed he could defeat all seven of them.
• Ailin gave Vesemir Giant Ghoul Heart Essence Fluid, and Vesemir drank a small dose after Ailin reassured him it could improve Strength and Constitution.
• Vesemir felt the effects, drank the rest of the fluid, and saw his Strength rise to 64 and Constitution to 78.
• Ailin concluded that Vesemir could still improve beyond his Perception limit and decided to turn his own stored monster spoils into strength.

Ailin tested several monster trophies, raising his attributes and affinities beyond ninety in Strength and Mystery while confirming that ninety was not his limit. As Vesemir battered the young witchers in a sparring match, Priestess Nannick arrived with grave news about the Sorcerer at Ban Ard.

• Ailin declined Vesemir's invitation to duel and used a Monster's Nest's Core Nucleus, gaining five Constitution and one point each of Water and Earth Affinity.
• Ailin consumed the Corpse Lord's and Grave Hag's Heart Essence Fluids, then used all seven Spiked Fiend's Heart Essence Fluids, pushing Strength and Mystery above ninety and greatly increasing Fire Affinity.
• Ailin used his remaining four Monster's Nest's Core Nuclei to raise his Constitution to eighty-five, then began using the Summoning Ritual's Flesh Core.
• Vesemir overwhelmed Spencer and the other six young witchers in a sparring match, leaving them exhausted but still unwilling to concede.
• Priestess Nannick arrived and told Vesemir that something had happened with the Sorcerer at Ban Ard.

Ailin absorbed the Summoning Ritual's Flesh Core, transformed into a sorcerer, and discovered that his magic could now fuel far more powerful spellcraft. As Vesemir and Nannick hurried to check on him, he absorbed another mysterious Element, leaving the effects unknown.

• Nannick reprimanded Vesemir for letting Ailin fight immediately after recovering, then headed with him toward Ailin's hut to examine him and discuss trouble at Ban Ard.
• Ailin absorbed the Summoning Ritual's Flesh Core, causing his Mystery to rise to 119 and his Mutated Organ to spread magic power through his body.
• Ailin realized his heightened senses and magical capacity made him a sorcerer, then summoned a powerful ice spear with the Ice Lance Spell and shattered it.
• Ailin considered developing a new combat style that combined witcher melee skills with sorcerous spellcraft.
• Ailin absorbed a mysterious Element just as he sensed Vesemir and Nannick approaching his hut.

After a terrifying surge of power erupted from Ailin’s hut, Vesemir and Nannick found him asleep inside a sphere of gentle Primal Magic. They could not determine why a witcher was connected to such power, and the chapter ended as Ailin stirred.

• Nannick lectured Vesemir about proper warm-ups and the risks of intense combat after recuperation.
• Vesemir’s School Emblem reacted to a magical disturbance at Ailin’s hut, then a crushing divine presence erupted from it.
• Vesemir rushed toward the hut while Nannick headed to alert Ianna, but the pressure vanished and Vesemir called her back.
• Nannick found Ailin floating asleep inside a transparent green sphere and read his unfinished message saying he was fine.
• Nannick recognized the sphere’s power as Primal Magic, and she and Vesemir agreed they could not safely examine or help Ailin.
• As Nannick prepared to notify the High Priest, Ailin stretched lazily inside the sphere.

Ailin recovered from a strange magical episode that left Vesemir and Nannick shaken, then learned that Ban Ard had threatened to leave for the Riesberg Group Civil Cooperative. Nannick asked him to decide the Temple of Melitele’s position, while warning him against powers that hid danger beneath tempting appearances.

• Ailin awoke from his magical trance, landed safely, and claimed he had been conducting an alchemical experiment, though Vesemir described the intense pressure and disturbance he had caused.
• Nannick told Ailin and Vesemir that Senne had changed Ban Ard’s demands and claimed the Riesberg Group Civil Cooperative would take in the academy if the kings did not answer soon.
• Ailin and Vesemir questioned why Riesberg would accept Ban Ard, while Nannick explained that the kings and nobles suspected Senne was bluffing about the Wild Hunt’s impending attack.
• Nannick revealed that High Priest Ianna had made Ailin’s opinion the Temple of Melitele’s position on the dispute and asked him to respond within a couple of days.
• As she left, Nannick told Ailin that the Temple trusted him and warned him not to be lured by powers that concealed poison beneath appealing promises.

Ailin and Vesemir discussed how the Riesberg Group Civil Cooperative’s intervention could affect Ban Ard, and Ailin suspected Otolan had joined forces with Senne for reasons tied to their differences with Henn Gedimidis. After deciding to seek more information from Tissaia, Ailin waited until the cabin was quiet and opened the Witcher’s Handbook.

• Vesemir recounted how the Evil God’s pressure and emerald Primal Magic had affected Ailin, and Ailin reassured him that he was safe.
• Ailin and Vesemir considered Senne’s position, the kings’ interests, and the Riesberg Group Civil Cooperative’s motives for sheltering Ban Ard.
• Ailin inferred that Otolan might oppose Henn Gedimidis and recalled Otolan’s ambition to spread magic, along with the destructive consequences of his experiments.
• Ailin explained that the School of the Wolf needed Ban Ard as a barrier against the Wild Hunt, while Vesemir urged him to consider the Temple of Melitele’s interests.
• Ailin decided to ask Tissaia for information, and Vesemir agreed to accompany him the next day.
• After Vesemir left to check on the young witchers, Ailin waited for the cabin to grow quiet and opened the Witcher’s Handbook.

Ailin searched for the effects of @#￥%&'s Element and discovered that it had awakened emerald magic in his Mutated Organ, which he suspected was Primal Magic. After realizing something about his cultivation of Roar: Frenzy, he went with Vesemir to ask Tissaia de Vries about Ban Ard and Otolan, only to learn that they had already asked about him.

• Ailin found no new entries or attribute changes after using @#￥%&'s Element, but sensed emerald magic glowing inside his Mutated Organ.
• Ailin cultivated Roar: Frenzy and suddenly stopped, then said that he thought he understood something.
• Ailin asked Nannick where Tissaia de Vries was and left the temple with Vesemir to meet her.
• Tissaia de Vries agreed to send Giant Ghoul marrow to the temple that afternoon.
• When Ailin asked about Ban Ard and Otolan, Tissaia de Vries said that the people he wanted to ask about had already asked about him.

Ailin learned that Otolan had taken an interest in him, accepted Tissaia de Vries's invitation to visit Aretuza after settling the Arland commission, and heard that Otolan might try to buy his time and body. Tissaia suspected Senne was lying about why Otolan and the Riesberg Group Civil Cooperative had gone to Ban Ard, while Henn Gedimidis remained imprisoned there.

• Tissaia de Vries told Ailin and Vesemir that Otolan had contacted her to ask for every detail she knew about Ailin.
• Tissaia explained that Otolan often pursued his curiosities but usually bought access to experimental subjects rather than taking them by force.
• Ailin accepted Tissaia's invitation to Aretuza, planning to go after the Arland commission was settled.
• Tissaia said Otolan might offer Ailin vast wealth and power in exchange for his time and body, and urged him to refuse.
• Tissaia revealed that the Novigrad Alliance treaty prevented her from intervening in Henn Gedimidis's imprisonment until the year-end conference, and she concluded that Senne was lying about the factions' motives.