Chapter Summaries

Ailin and Vesemir watched Ernie and the other young witchers wipe out another horde of corpse-eating creatures, while Ailin continued weighing Otolan’s motives and Ban Ard’s fate. After ending the hunt early, Ailin revealed that he might have found a way for Vesemir to learn battle cries quickly.

• Ernie and the other young witchers fought together to exterminate a large group of Ghouls and Rotfiends, showing how much their skills had improved.
• Vesemir told Ailin not to burden himself over the school’s problems and suggested the Wolves could leave Kaer Morhen if necessary.
• Ailin reflected on Otolan’s suspicious attention and the unanswered questions surrounding Ban Ard, Senne, and Henn Gedimidis.
• The System awarded Ailin loot and 610 Combat Points after the young witchers finished the hunt.
• Ailin ended the day’s hunt early and told Vesemir that he might have found a way to teach him battle cries quickly.

Ailin entered Vesemir’s body with his spiritual power and guided him through the Path of the Battle Roar. Vesemir successfully unleashed a powerful roar, but he said Chieftain Soyer and the witchers were different.

• Vesemir insisted that Ailin use him as the first subject for the Path of the Battle Roar.
• Ailin passed his spiritual power into Vesemir and synchronized it with Vesemir’s heart, Mutated Organ, and Magic Node.
• Vesemir unleashed a battle roar that produced a shockwave and blew the seven young witchers away from the Big Stone.
• Vesemir felt stronger and claimed even Chieftain Soyer might not be able to beat him.
• Vesemir told Ailin that Chieftain Soyer and the witchers were different.

Ailin learned that Chieftain Soyer had passed the Trial of Grasses using a potion formula unlike the School of the Wolf’s, and Vesemir revealed that it contained dragon materials. Ailin realized Drowner Heart Essence Fluid might let the School of the Wolf revive the Witcher Conclave by safely using its other school formulas.

• Ailin reflected on Soyer’s formidable strength after seeing him effortlessly defeat two Giant Drowners and a Drowners King.
• Vesemir ended his Battle Cry: Berserk state and explained how dangerous the Trials of Grasses and Mountains had once been for apprentices.
• Vesemir described the different witcher schools’ potion formulas and revealed that the Wolf School had preserved formulas from several schools in its underground Alchemy Room.
• Ailin realized Drowner Heart Essence Fluid could make it possible to use specialized formulas and rebuild the Witcher Conclave.
• Vesemir revealed that Soyer’s Trial of Grasses formula contained giant dragon materials.

Vesemir explained that Chieftain Soyer was the sole survivor of experiments using dragon materials to create stronger witchers, while Ailin awakened the seven young witchers to Battle Cry: Berserk. The group returned to the temple, where Klar asked Ailin whether witchers were really monsters.

• Vesemir recounted Alzure and Cosimo Maraspinna's experiments, explaining that they used dragon materials and only Chieftain Soyer survived.
• Vesemir compared Soyer's effortless fighting to Ailin fifty years in the future, then Ailin had Vesemir and all seven young witchers awaken Battle Cry: Berserk.
• The young witchers played at fighting with Berserk, but their strength waned, and they struggled to synchronize their roars or use the Legion Skill: Resonance.
• Good Girl arrived, and Ailin led the exhausted group back to the temple, where Klar stayed behind and asked whether witchers were really monsters.

While maintaining his swords, Ailin reflected on whether humans’ rejection of witchers could undermine the Wolf School’s purpose, then practiced the Path of the Battle Roar. His Frenzy power broke through the Magic Node and raised his physical attributes until it struck an apparent barrier, leaving the Witcher’s Handbook’s notification unresolved.

• Ailin maintained his swords and considered Klar’s question about whether witchers were monsters, concluding that human rejection could threaten the Wolf School’s reason for existing.
• Ailin thought of Lyra and resolved to ask Nannick about her, then went to bed and meditated on the Path of the Battle Roar.
• Ailin’s Frenzy power repeatedly surged toward his Magic Node, stirring the young witchers and waking Vesemir, who sensed Ailin’s influence and began circulating his own blood energy.
• Ailin’s third surge shattered through his Magic Node, and Frenzy completed cycles on its own, increasing his Strength, Agility, and Constitution.
• Ailin watched his Strength reach 99 and believed his attributes had no limit, but the circulating Frenzy power abruptly stopped at an unseen barrier and triggered a cold notification.

Ailin discovered that cultivating Roar: Frenzy had brought his Strength to Limit: Origin, and he concluded that the notification likely pointed toward a Second Mutation to complete his witcher body. He considered the research, resources, and Aretuza connections needed to pursue it, then realized it was already past noon and wondered where Vesemir was.

• Ailin found that he had maintained Roar: Frenzy for nearly six hours and gained sixteen attribute points while practicing its restrained cultivation method.
• Ailin recalled linking briefly to a vast source that had given him an instinctive understanding of teaching battle roars, and he resolved to continue teaching the Monster Hunting Legion.
• Ailin received the System Notification that his Strength had reached Limit: Origin and reasoned that he might need a Second Mutation to complete his witcher body.
• Ailin considered Tomas Morra's White Widow Mutation Formula and the Experience Orbs, research team, and Aretuza expertise he would need to pursue a Second Mutation.
• Ailin noticed the western sunlight and the quiet temple outside, realized it was past noon, and wondered where Vesemir was.

Ailin discovered that his breakthrough had triggered Battle Cry: Berserk resonance, strengthening Vesemir and the young witchers while leaving them unable to control their new strength. After the witchers smashed six beds, Nannick called Ailin and Vesemir aside to tell them something serious regarding Ban Ard and Kedwen.

• Ailin heard Vesemir and the young witchers breathing in unison and realized his breakthrough had triggered a shared Battle Cry: Berserk effect.
• Vesemir woke and broke his bed while adjusting to his increased strength, then told Ailin about the beast roars and surging vitality he had felt the night before.
• Vesemir tried to circulate his blood and vitality again but found the process less smooth, and Ailin suspected battle roars could not improve attributes without his guidance.
• Ailin and Vesemir checked on Ernie and the others, who had also gained strength and accidentally smashed six beds.
• Nannick replaced the beds, sent away the watching priests, and told Ailin and Vesemir she had news regarding Ban Ard and Kedwen.

Nannick warned Ailin and Vesemir that Kedwen might be on the verge of destruction after Adal fell, and explained that Senne had withdrawn Ban Ard’s sorcerers from the front. Ailin and Vesemir suspected their role in the chain of events but kept their doubts from Nannick, leaving them unsure whether to tell the School of the Wolf.

• Ailin invited Nannick and Vesemir to his room, where Nannick revealed that Kedwen might face destruction after a violent explosion in Senne’s tower and news of Adal’s fall.
• Nannick explained that Senne had withdrawn Ban Ard’s sorcerers from the front lines and Adal’s court, leaving Adal isolated and unable to learn what was happening.
• Ailin connected Senne’s decision to the Greater Griffin’s disruption of Ard’s supply lines and the timing of Vilgefortz’s attack, while Vesemir feared the School of the Wolf had caused Kedwen’s downfall.
• Ailin and Vesemir concealed their suspicions from Nannick, who dismissed the idea that two witchers could bring down a kingdom.
• Nannick said Tissaia de Vries would seek news from Ard, then left Ailin and Vesemir to consider what to do.
• Ailin asked whether they should inform the School of the Wolf, and Vesemir bitterly questioned what they could tell them before they watched the sun set.

Ailin explained to Vesemir why Kedwen seemed doomed after Ard captured Adal, then argued that the other Northern Kingdoms would not allow Ard to grow powerful by conquering it. The chapter ended with Ailin suspecting that the kings’ response would bring bad news for the School of the Wolf.

• Vesemir showed Ailin a detailed atlas and explained that Ard’s capture of Adal left Kedwen with only Ovin as a defensible refuge.
• Ailin concluded that Kedwen’s army was in a desperate position and questioned how Ard had advanced so quickly without Ban Ard receiving warning.
• Ailin reasoned that the Northern Kingdoms would oppose Ard if it annexed Kedwen and threatened to dominate the continent.
• Vesemir admitted he worried about how other witchers, especially the headmaster, would react to Kedwen’s possible destruction.
• Ailin looked toward a tower marked at the eastern edge of the map and predicted that the kings’ response could harm the School of the Wolf.

Ailin and Vesemir waited for news about Kedwen while hunting the remaining carrion-eating creatures near Arland, and the Monster Hunting Legion advanced to its fourth tier. After the local monsters were mostly cleared, Ailin decided to return to Kaer Morhen.

• Ailin sent Soyer a report about Senne, Vilgefortz's ambush, the Greater Griffin, and Kedwen's suspected fall, while he and Vesemir waited for news from Ard.
• Ernie, Klar, and the other young witchers grew strong enough to defeat a Giant Ghoul and nearly forty carrion-eating creatures without Ailin or Vesemir intervening.
• Ailin noticed that Spiked Fiends and Giant Ghouls had become unusually scarce, reinforcing his suspicion that another being controlled the carrion-eating creatures.
• The Monster Hunting Legion advanced to its fourth tier, gaining ten member slots and the new Bestow Honor skill, which let a captain lead a team whose rewards settled independently.
• Vesemir told Ailin that the carrion-eating creatures around Arland had mostly been cleared, and Ailin decided they would return to Kaer Morhen the next day.

Ailin and Vesemir returned to Arland, where the temple priestesses’ reaction to a wounded man suggested he was connected to them. A priestess identified him as Huus, a Wolf School witcher, leaving Ailin and Vesemir to learn what had happened to him.

• Ailin asked Good Girl to descend so he could take in the land around the Ismina River before leaving, while Vesemir reassured him about possible punishment from Chieftain Soyer.
• Ailin worried that the incident could lead Soyer to disband the Monster Hunting Legion, which he saw as vital to its growth and his future plans.
• Ailin and Vesemir noticed a crowd at the Temple of Melitele and saw Lyra trying to call out to them beside a wounded man on a stretcher.
• Ailin and Vesemir landed and rushed to the temple after realizing the injured man might be connected to them.
• A priestess told Ailin and Vesemir that the wounded man Lyra had brought back was Huus, a witcher of the School of the Wolf.

Ailin and Vesemir learned that Huus had been found gravely injured near the Pontar River, while Bont, Fred, and their mentor Dante remained missing. After examining Huus’s wounds, they debated whether a leshen, another monster, or a sorcerer had attacked the group and decided to wait for Ianna before searching.

• Vesemir and Ailin learned that Huus, Bont, and Fred had been traveling with Master Dante, and realized Huus’s return left the others’ whereabouts unknown.
• Ailin and Vesemir visited the Temple of Melitele’s operating room, where priests treated Huus’s life-threatening injuries.
• Lyra told Ailin and Vesemir that villagers near the Pontar River had found Huus, whom she had treated and brought back to the temple.
• Vesemir examined Huus’s wounds and concluded that a creature had attacked him, while evidence suggested wolves, a powerful puncture attack, and unexplained corrosion.
• Ailin and Vesemir considered whether a sorcerer or a leshen had attacked the group, then chose to wait for Ianna before deciding how to proceed.
• Ianna arrived at the operating room as Ailin and Vesemir awaited a way to wake Huus and learn what had happened.

Ianna used a dangerous ritual to briefly awaken the gravely injured Huus so Ailin could ask about the missing witchers. Huus revealed that Bont, Fred, and Dante were at the source of the Kemba River in Drakkenberg, then desperately warned Ailin not to go because there was a god there.

• Ianna arrived at the operating room and joined Gisela in treating Huus, assuring Ailin that Huus would survive but needed a month to recover.
• Ailin told Ianna that Bont, Fred, and Witcher Master Dante had been with Huus and asked when Huus could be awakened.
• Ianna prepared a ritual with water, Snake Scale Flowers, Heart-Clutch Grass, and her Meritellie amulet to wake Huus briefly.
• Huus awoke in pain, and Ailin asked where Bont, Fred, and Dante were.
• Huus said they were at the source of the Kemba River in Drakkenberg, Redania, then warned Ailin not to go because there was a god there.

After Huus collapsed during surgery, Ailin and Vesemir left with seven young witchers to find Bont, Fred, and Dante. They reached Drakkenberg, a notorious former prison, and wondered why Dante had brought his apprentices there.

• Huus woke in the operating room, struggled to stop Ailin from leaving, and then fainted from his injuries.
• Ianna confirmed Huus was still alive and gave Ailin her amulet before he and Vesemir departed to search for the missing witchers.
• Ailin and Vesemir set out on Good Girl with Ernie, Klar, Kray, and four other young witchers hanging from the griffin's claws.
• Vesemir explained that Drakkenberg was a former fortress-prison for nonhumans, especially elves, and that its route was unusual and dangerous.
• Ailin and Vesemir arrived at Drakkenberg and remained uncertain why Dante had taken Bont and Fred there.

Ailin and Vesemir searched the area around Drakkenberg for the missing witchers, suspecting the castle hid a Conjunction Point and that the forest was ruled by a Leshen. After Ailin’s nature-sensing powers failed to locate Bont, Fred, and Dante, the group headed north toward the Modian River, where their wolf medallions began to hum.

• Vesemir explained Drakkenberg’s history as a grim prison and proposed that a Conjunction Point lay hidden within it.
• Ailin chose to avoid Drakkenberg and fly toward the Kemba River’s source, but Mother Nature rejected his attempt to ask about the missing witchers.
• Vesemir identified a Leshen as the forest’s ruler and warned Ailin and the young witchers to maintain their formation and defenses.
• Ailin used Life Whisper but found no useful traces, then reasoned that Dante and the others might have gone toward the Modian River.
• Vesemir led the nine School of the Wolf witchers north, and their wolf-head medallions began to hum when the moon emerged.

Ailin and Vesemir tracked Dante into the Leshen’s territory, while the injured Witcher Master raced to rescue his apprentice Fred. Dante freed Fred and reunited with Vesemir and Ailin, unaware that Fred bore a wound matching the Leshen’s totems.

• Ailin used Life Whisper to locate Dante alone in a bear’s underground den, and the group heard crows and wolves approaching.
• Dante waited for an opening, then escaped the den and raced through the forest toward Fred as an explosion drew the Leshen away.
• Dante followed Fred’s trail to a clearing where the Leshen had bound him to an oak and surrounded him with magical totems.
• Dante burned the vines away with Igni and caught Fred as he fell from the tree.
• Vesemir and Ailin arrived, and Fred’s hair concealed a bloody pattern on the back of his neck that matched the Leshen’s totems.

Dante mistook Vesemir, Ailin, and the others for illusions as he fled the ancient Leshen, until a Greater Griffin rescued him. Vesemir explained that the Griffin was their companion, while Ailin faced the Leshen and showed strength that left Dante stunned.

• Dante fled from the battle, convinced that Vesemir and Ailin were illusions, until the Leshen caught up with him.
• A Greater Griffin swooped down, struck the Leshen away from Dante, and then returned to the sky.
• Vesemir told Dante that he had come with Ailin and the others after Huus revealed Dante's location, and that the Greater Griffin was their companion.
• Vesemir checked Fred, learned that Dante had been separated from Bont during the Leshen's attack, and carried Fred while Dante rushed to warn Ailin.
• Ailin dodged the Leshen's surprise attack, and Vesemir stopped Dante from joining the fight, saying Ailin had changed.
• Dante saw Ailin hold his own against the Leshen and realized the monster was being driven back.

Ailin and the young witchers fought the Leshen, and Ailin killed it with a devastating sword strike that left Dante wondering whether he was a dragon in human form. After the others celebrated, Vesemir noticed Ailin staring at the place where the Leshen vanished and asked what was wrong.

• Ailin outmaneuvered the Leshen, severed its arm, and evaded its roots while Ernie, Klar, Aias, Kray, and the other young witchers destroyed the summoned crows.
• The Leshen vanished and reappeared near Dante, but Ailin reached him first and cut the creature apart with a flurry of sword strikes.
• Ailin's attack blasted a long path through the oak forest, leaving Dante stunned and asking Vesemir whether Ailin was a dragon in human form.
• The young witchers praised Ailin's strength as Vesemir noticed that he was still staring at the spot where the Leshen had disappeared and asked what was wrong.

Ailin suspected the Leshen had survived and led the witchers to investigate its totems before deciding to search for Bont. At the place where Dante had last seen Bont, Ailin claimed he could track him and strode ahead, leaving Dante baffled by the group’s confidence in him.

• Ailin sensed the Leshen was still alive, and Vesemir and the young witchers readied themselves for another attack.
• Dante revealed that Leshen totems stood beneath the oak where Fred had been tied, but Ailin burned them without provoking any sign of the Leshen.
• Ailin chose to search for Bont first, and Dante pointed out where he and Bont had been separated.
• The group reached the place where Dante had fought the Leshen, and Ailin identified Bont’s trail without closely examining the ground.
• Ailin led the witchers after Bont while Dante wondered whether tracking could really be that simple.

Ailin’s group searched for Bont and learned from Vesemir that Ard had invaded Kedwen and captured its capital, Adal. After they left the Leshen’s forest without another attack, Ailin suspected the danger was still following them through Fred and ordered everyone away from him.

• Dante was amazed that Ailin tracked Bont’s winding escape route, and Vesemir credited Ailin’s tracking skills to his training.
• Vesemir told Dante that Ard had invaded Kedwen and captured Adal, leaving Dante distressed about the School of the Wolf’s ties to Kedwen.
• Ailin led the group safely out of the oak forest, but he remained suspicious when the Leshen did not reappear.
• Ailin realized someone might have carried a threat from the Leshen’s territory, and several witchers threw down the skulls they had collected from the magical totems.
• Ailin suspected the unconscious Fred had been cursed by the Leshen and shouted for everyone to get away from him.