Chapter Summaries

Dick encountered Harden fighting two Forktails in a snowy field and joined the battle. Harden and Dick badly wounded both monsters, leaving the male Forktail to see its mate near death.

• Dick left Lady Amara, Vanessa, and Butler Yuanyuan outside Firstfall Bay and rode toward a town for the night.
• Harden ambushed a Forktail feeding on a dead sheep, restrained it with his flail, and attacked it with his butcher's knife.
• A second, larger Forktail appeared, and Harden realized the two monsters were a male and female pair.
• Dick recognized Harden and joined the fight, while Harden wounded the female Forktail and shot bolts through one of its wings.
• Dick struck the male Forktail's tail with his Sword Qi-covered sword, nearly severing it, as Harden left the female Forktail near death.

Dick and Harden killed two Forktails, collected their materials, and confronted the shepherd who had hired them without mentioning the second monster. After Dick exposed the shepherd's plan to make the monsters kill the witchers, Harden took the contract payment, but the shepherd was suddenly beheaded.

• Dick killed the male Forktail while Harden defeated the female, and the two collected hides and other materials from the monsters.
• Harden collected the male Forktail's cerebrospinal fluid for the Witcher Church Order and thanked Dick for helping him.
• Dick and Harden confronted the shepherd, and Dick used a spell to reveal that the shepherd had hoped the Forktails would kill each other and avoid paying the contract.
• Harden demanded 200 Kelang for the two Forktails, accepted the payment, and gave most of the money to Dick, who received 90 Energy Points.
• A pitch-black blur flashed past Dick, and the shepherd's head flew into the air.

Harden killed a shepherd who tried to kill him, then traveled with Dick to Kaer Morhen. At the watchtower, they learned Tyson had sent letters from the Bacchus Empire, where he was helping Professor Sel with mutation experiments, and that Professor Sel had praised Dick.

• Harden killed the shepherd who had threatened him, and Dick left with him for the nearest town.
• Dick and Harden spent the night in an abandoned warehouse and discussed the Witcher Order, including the upcoming Trial of the Grasses at the School of the Lynx.
• Dick and Harden continued northwest and reached the watchtower leading to Kaer Morhen before dark.
• Zema and Kofa told Dick that Tyson had sent letters from the Bacchus Empire, where he was helping Professor Sel conduct mutation experiments.
• Zema said Professor Sel had also written to Kaer Morhen and singled Dick out for praise.

Dick learned that Professor Seir was developing a device to reverse witcher mutations and that the Grizzly Bear School supported Tyson’s experiments. As the Crown Festival approached, Dick planned to use his time at Kaer Morhen to study alchemy with access to the library and sorcerers.

• Kofa told Dick that Professor Seir was researching a mutation-eliminating device, Tyson had undergone its experiments, and several test monkeys had died.
• Kofa explained that the Coyote School’s Trial of the Grasses was postponed, while the Lynx and Grizzly Bear Schools would train their young witchers together in about half a month.
• Harden said he had obtained Forktail cerebrospinal fluid and credited Dick with helping him survive a fight with a male and female Forktail.
• Kofa invited Dick to spar at the Grizzly Bear castle, and Dick agreed to visit when he had time.
• Kofa told Dick he could freely use the library and ask Aode and Ali for help with his studies.
• Dick decided to focus on alchemy before the Crown Festival, aiming to improve his potion and sword-oil making and learn to craft magical bombs.

Dick returned to Kaer Morhen with Harden and avoided visiting the School of the Lynx’s Trial of the Grasses. Master tried to draw him into caring about Carter, but Dick rejected the appeal and said he would report Ivan’s public execution at the main keep, prompting Master to agree to go with him.

• Dick and Harden arrived at Kaer Morhen, where witchers from several schools trained, repaired the walls, and welcomed them.
• Harden went to deliver the Forktail’s cerebrospinal fluid to Master, while Dick returned to his room and slept.
• At breakfast, Dick exchanged a strained greeting with Master and learned that Carter, the boy he had saved in Odinburg, was undergoing the Trial of the Grasses.
• Master said Carter had been calling Dick’s name, but Dick insisted that Carter’s fate had nothing to do with him.
• Dick told Master that Ivan from the School of the Coyote had been publicly executed and that he planned to report it at the main keep; Master agreed to accompany him.

Dick helped the Witcher Order's leaders decide to keep witchers inside until Queen Meve returned, then learned he would lead the young witchers' mountain training. He asked two sorcerers to teach him alchemy and arranged for a dragon tear gem to be fused into his swords.

• Beier, Master, Aode, Ali, and other leaders debated the nobles' hostility after Ivan's execution, and Dick advised confirming Queen Meve's role before taking further action.
• The leaders agreed to keep witchers from going out unless necessary until Queen Meve returned, when Beier would meet her in Ravenstern City.
• Dick asked Aode and Ali to teach him alchemy, and they told him Master had chosen him to guide young witchers during mountain training.
• Dick brought a dragon tear gem and his swords to the smithy, where the one-armed witcher explained that half the gem could improve a silver sword and that another sword could also be upgraded.
• Dick presented Ivan's steel sword and his black sword, and the witcher with the missing leg noted that Ivan's sword was ordinary and that good base materials mattered.

Dick arranged for the one-legged witcher to forge weapons from dark night meteoric iron and make School of the Lynx armor, then returned to the castle and met his white cat, whom he named Snowball. He heard that Carter, the lone surviving child from the latest trial, wanted to live and become a witcher to repay Dick.

• Dick asked the one-legged witcher to forge his weapons and make a set of School of the Lynx armor from Forktail hide, agreeing to return in five days and pay with Arachas Queen legs.
• Dick encountered Alexander at the castle entrance and learned that Alexander was helping Ruiwen after nearly all the children in the trial had died.
• Dick recognized his white cat, named her Snowball, and discovered that she was female.
• Alexander hauled the children's bodies away while Carter screamed in the basement as Ruiwen tried to keep him alive.
• Dick heard Carter say he wanted to live, become a witcher, and repay Dick for saving him.

Dick discovered that Carter was the only child still alive in the School of the Lynx’s Trial of the Grasses, and confronted Master for abandoning him. He obtained the sorcerers’ help to prepare a Dragon Tear Elixir for Carter, though the potion would take two hours to make.

• Ruiwen told Dick that the other children had died and that Carter was suffering through the Trial of the Grasses with little chance of survival.
• Dick asked whether anything could improve Carter’s chances, and Ruiwen said a miraculous elixir might help while he was still undergoing the transformation.
• Carter briefly regained his senses, apologized to Dick, and said he was going to die.
• Dick confronted Master in the keep for leaving Carter alone, then asked Aode to turn a Dragon Tear Gem into an elixir for him.
• Master and Ali objected to using the precious gem, but Beier supported Dick, and Aode and the other sorcerers began preparing the elixir.

Dick confronted Master over the witcher formula and challenged him to a duel, while Beier urged them to focus on saving Carter. After Master left, Beier offered to let Dick study Giant Transformation, and Aode gave him four bottles of Dragon Tear Potion for Carter.

• Dick accused Master of leaking the Trial of the Grasses formula after describing the mutated witcher he had encountered in Longsong Harbor.
• Master angrily left after telling Dick he should never have carried him from a pile of corpses.
• Beier told Dick he could study Giant Transformation in the library and ask him for help.
• Dick spent more than an hour chatting with Beier about Tyson and Professor Seir's secondary mutation apparatus.
• Aode gave Dick four bottles of Dragon Tear Potion and warned him to check Carter every three days and avoid giving him too much.

Dick helped Ruiwen save Carter with Dragon Tear Potions, then shared a meal with Russell and Harden and concealed the reason for his conflict with Master. The chapter ended with Dick facing a Royal Griffin in a strange vision as his Sword Qi slipped out of his control.

• Dick gave Ruiwen Dragon Tear Potions, and Carter's wounds began healing, though he remained asleep.
• Dick left Ruiwen to rest and joined Russell and Harden for a meal, where Harden shared his dream of becoming a royal chef.
• Russell asked Dick about his conflict with Master, and Dick brushed off the question by claiming he was in a rebellious phase.
• Dick, Russell, and Harden raised their glasses to wish Kayn a peaceful festival.
• In a vision, Dick walked away from a burning estate as a black-haired girl watched him with hatred, then prepared to face a Royal Griffin while losing control of his Sword Qi.

Dick and the other witchers discovered that Carter had transformed after the Trial of the Grasses, growing wings as well as witcher eyes. After reassuring Carter and sending him upstairs for food, Dick confronted Alexander in the basement and began questioning him by force.

• Dick woke to a monster’s cry, found that he had mastered Sword Qi, and led Russell, Harden, and Ruiwen downstairs to investigate.
• Dick found Carter trembling in the basement with wings and needles in his chest, recognized him, and stopped the other witchers from attacking.
• Ruiwen suggested the Dragon Tear Potion had accelerated Carter’s Trial of the Grasses, while Alexander blamed a Mountain God component in the decoction for the wings.
• Carter asked for grilled pork chops rather than raw meat, and Dick and the others concluded that his mutation had no other apparent side effects.
• Dick sent Carter upstairs with Russell and Harden, then choked Alexander against a wall and demanded that he answer questions without asking any of his own.
• Dick slapped Alexander twice when he objected.

Dick questioned Alexander about the Mountain God's blood and Master's experiments on Carter, then confronted Master over the wings the potion had caused Carter to grow. Their fight ended in a stalemate, and Master challenged Dick to use the new techniques he had learned elsewhere.

• Dick questioned Alexander about the Mountain God's blood in the Trial of the Grasses and the origin of the School of the Lynx.
• Alexander admitted that Master had injected Carter with a potion, after which wings had grown from Carter's back.
• Dick accused Master of damaging Carter's future and of interfering out of spite, while Master said he had wanted to improve Carter's physique and find an obedient young witcher.
• Dick and Master drew their swords and exchanged several rounds, breaking the bookcase before Dick forced Master back with his superior strength.
• Master said their familiar swordsmanship gave neither of them an advantage and urged Dick to demonstrate the new moves he had learned elsewhere.

Dick and the other witchers planned how to help Carter hide his wings and pass the High Mountain Trial. Meanwhile, Master recruited Alexander to his side and discussed his suspicions about Dick and Kayn.

• Master and Dick nearly unleashed Mind Shockwaves on each other before Russell stopped them.
• Russell urged the group to help Carter prepare for the High Mountain Trial, and Ruiwen proposed covering his folded wings with a custom suit and cloak.
• Dick, Russell, and Harden divided up Carter’s training and preparations, then settled him into a room between Dick’s and Russell’s.
• Master met Alexander in secret, asked about the potions, and demanded reassurance of Alexander’s loyalty.
• Master accused Dick of colluding with Kayn and planned to discuss the Witcher Order’s future with Beier.

Dick planned to study alchemy and Giant Transformation during the lull before the Crown Festival, then checked that Alexander would keep Carter’s mutation secret. The next morning, he saw Carter thriving and assigned him to care for Furball, which made Carter burst into tears.

• Ruiwen gave Dick a box containing enchanted bombs, Samum Bombs, and Grapeshot Bombs.
• Dick decided to study alchemy, practice fighting, and learn Giant Transformation while avoiding Master.
• Dick questioned Alexander about Carter’s mutation, and Alexander promised he had told no one.
• Dick encouraged Alexander to keep cleaning the basement and returned upstairs.
• The next morning, Dick found Carter happy and healthy at breakfast and told him to take care of Furball.
• Carter burst into tears at Dick’s assignment.

After the meal, Dick went to the grounds outside Kaer Morhen, where he entered an unarmed fighting match against Boar. Dick spotted an opening and punched Boar in the abdomen, leaving the fight unresolved.

• After the meal, Russell began teaching Carter swordsmanship, Harden arranged for his armor and cloak, Ruiwen returned to research magic, and Dick headed to the grounds.
• Dick watched Boar defeat Sausage Lips in an unarmed match.
• Dick accepted the rules, staked twenty crowns, and entered the ring to fight Boar.
• Dick and Boar circled cautiously until Dick saw Boar distracted and punched him in the abdomen.

Dick sparred with Boar and other School of the Grizzly Bear witchers to improve his Fighting, then went to the laboratory to ask the sorcerer Aode some questions. Aode opened the door after teasing Dick with jokes about his name.

• Boar outmaneuvered Dick and battered him, but Dick escaped a finishing move and conceded their match.
• Dick accepted a challenge from another witcher and defeated him, then said he planned to keep training over the next few days.
• Dick helped School of the Coyote witchers repair the city wall, then returned after lunch to fight four more opponents at the Grizzly Bear grounds.
• The Grizzly Bear witchers began to respect Dick and offered him exercise equipment, but he postponed their offer because he was sore.
• Dick went to the laboratory, where Aode teased him about his name before opening the door.

Dick visited the Witchers' library to study alchemy but became absorbed in a book about [Giant Transformation]. He asked Beier for guidance on the technique and left with instructions for preparing his magical pathways before attempting it.

• Ali gave Dick the library key and told him to study the basics before learning alchemy.
• Dick explored the gallery's history of the Witcher Order and examined a portrait of its first leader, Kaer.
• Dick read about Magic Trap and studied how [Giant Transformation] combined magical elements with a witcher's blood and physical strength.
• Dick found Beier in the hall and asked him about [Giant Transformation].
• Beier explained how Dick should guide magic power through his magical pathways and warned him that his first attempt might have little effect.

Dick studied alchemy in the library, memorized how to make Grapeshot Bombs, and practiced brewing Swallow Potions in the laboratory with Aode’s help. He then sparred with witchers from the School of the Grizzly Bear and returned to Aode, bruised but feeling more skilled.

• Dick returned to the fortress and spent the morning studying alchemy, focusing on the Grapeshot Bomb’s instructions.
• Dick found Aode asleep in the laboratory, traded Arachas fat for access to the laboratory’s materials, and gathered ingredients for Swallow Potions.
• Dick made three Swallow Potions while Aode praised his focus and encouraged him to keep practicing.
• Dick went to Kaer Morhen’s training grounds, defeated five witchers from the School of the Grizzly Bear, and felt his fighting skills improve.
• Dick returned to the laboratory, where Aode joked about his bruises and lamented being stuck there alone.

Dick showed Aode that he had mastered Sword Qi, then made sword oils before beginning work on magical bombs in a protected room. A muffled explosion startled Aode, who rushed toward the laboratory’s noise to find out what had happened.

• Dick demonstrated his Sword Qi to Aode, who praised his skill and speculated that he might one day lead the School of the Lynx.
• Aode explained his suspicion that Master was trying to obtain herbal decoction formulas from the sorcerers, then warned Dick about the dangers of making magical bombs.
• Dick decided to prepare extra Necrophage Oil for the upcoming High Mountain Trial at No Man's Land, where the young witchers would face nekkers.
• Dick made three bottles of sword oil and entered a small laboratory room to work on magical bombs.
• A muffled boom shook the laboratory and shattered a drinking cup, waking Aode, who ran toward the noise shouting.

Dick sought Aode’s help mastering magic-bomb making and learned to sense and control the mana within his body. After a mishap in the laboratory, he successfully produced a bomb and gained a new alchemy skill.

• Dick accidentally damaged Aode’s laboratory while making a magic bomb, then paid him two hundred crowns for the destroyed equipment.
• Aode advised Dick to practice channeling mana separately and taught him to sense its flow inside his body.
• The next morning, Dick felt mana flowing through him and guided some into a cup under Aode’s instruction.
• Dick lost control of his mana and caused another explosion in a cubicle, but kept practicing while Aode worried about further damage.
• Dick presented Aode with a finished black sphere, and his panel showed [Alchemy]: Magic bomb (novice).