Two days later, October was drawing near.
Snow already covered the Blue Mountains, and the weather was growing colder.
Led by Vesemir, the witcher apprentices arrived on the second floor of Kaer Morhen.
The group remained silent, like leopard cats prowling at night. Even when their boots touched the floor of the dim corridor, they made no sound.
In the silence, only the crackling of the torches on either side could be heard.
Vesemir reached the room on the left at the far end. He took an aged, long-shanked brass key from inside his clothes, inserted it into the rusted iron door, and turned his wrist.
Click!
The lock mechanism clacked. He pressed his broad palm against the door and gave it a firm push.
Creeeak!
The stiff iron door scraped against the floor with a piercing noise.
"Line up and come in one at a time."
Vesemir put away the key and entered first.
The witcher apprentices filed in.
The first thing Arwen noticed was a heavy scent of wood, mixed with the smell of old ink on parchment and a faint trace of dust.
His gray cat eyes surveyed the surroundings curiously.
The room was much larger than Viris's, built entirely of gray stone bricks.
Straight ahead were three tall, arched windows. Sunlight streamed through them onto a long wooden table.
A passage roughly five meters wide ran through the middle.
Vesemir raised a hand and formed the Igni Sign.
Six orange-red flames sprang up in response.
Arwen's gaze was immediately drawn toward them.
On either side of the passage, six glass-enclosed oil lamps had been lit.
Beneath the dim lamplight were six separate small rooms.
Inside each room, three upright bookcases stood against the walls, their shelves filled with books.
A single glance was enough for Arwen to spot many books that interested him.
There were books about monsters, such as the Bestiary and the Book of Birds and Beasts, works about political powers, such as A New Account of the Kingdom of Kaedwen and Chronicles of Novigrad, and even many books on magic, including the Shadow Grimoire and Power of the Elements...
The sheer number of books made Arwen rub his hands together.
It was undoubtedly exciting. These were all priceless treasures.
For that very reason, the entrance to each room was locked behind an iron gate, keeping outsiders out and adding a hint of tension to the atmosphere.
The apprentices hardly dared breathe until Vesemir took two things from the third room on the right and walked over to the long wooden table.
"Come over here, children."
Everyone gathered around, and Vesemir spread out one of the sheets of parchment.
"What's this?"
Blyde spoke in a hushed voice.
Vesemir explained, "This is a meditation method, the foundation for casting Signs. Every one of you must learn it."
Excitement shone in their cat eyes.
Arwen was no different. The moment he heard it was a meditation method, he began reading carefully, word by word.
With the ability of [Dual Souls], he finished reading it in a few seconds.
He adjusted his sleeves slightly, his brows drawing together as doubts arose in his mind.
The entire meditation method before him consisted of only a few lines, probably fewer than a hundred words.
The whole thing was obscure and difficult to understand. Without the foundation Viris had given him, he would have felt that the passages did not even connect, as though they were deliberately written to prevent anyone from learning it.
By contrast, the Basic Meditation Viris had given him practically broke the food into tiny pieces and fed it into his mouth, as if afraid he might not understand.
There was another point: the system had not detected a new skill.
Clearly, the meditation method before him was entirely covered by the [Basic Meditation] he had already unlocked.
He glanced at the apprentices beside him out of the corner of his eye.
Every one of them looked troubled.
Paul scratched his head and spoke hesitantly. "Master Vesemir..."
Before he could finish, Vesemir interrupted him.
"I know what you want to say, but focus. You don't need to understand what it means right now. You only need to memorize it, especially the meditation instructions toward the end. Every one of you must know them."
His stern tone made everyone concentrate, putting aside all other thoughts.
Arwen did the same.
He would treat it as reviewing the old to learn something new.
Since [Basic Meditation] had reached 1 experience point, a full seven days had passed, yet it had only risen to 2 points. Progress was extremely slow.
No wonder Viris had said that improving in magic required an enormous investment of time, even for geniuses.
An hour passed.
Vesemir glanced out the window, surrounded by chattering voices.
They were the sounds of the apprentices reciting to one another and correcting each other's mistakes.
As for Arwen, he could only remain silent so as not to distance himself from the other apprentices.
If Paul asked him questions, he would offer a rough account of his own views.
There was nothing he could do. He wanted very much to explain everything openly, but he had already promised Viris not to pass on the knowledge.
Vesemir turned back, cast an unobtrusive sidelong glance at Arwen, and smiled helplessly.
"How much have you memorized?"
The noisy scene fell silent.
The apprentices exchanged glances, and Aiken spoke first. "I've memorized it."
"So have I," Blyde said.
"Winston, what about you?"
Winston hesitated for a moment, then nodded with a sheepish smile.
Seeing this, Vesemir nodded in satisfaction.
"Very good. Starting today, you will forgo sleep every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday night. You must meditate instead. Is that clear?"
"What?!"
"If we can't sleep, what are we supposed to do about training during the day?"
"This will kill us, Master Vesemir."
The apprentices spread their hands and voiced their anguish, hoping Vesemir would take back his order.
Vesemir's amber cat eyes narrowed, a trace of mockery in his cold smile.
"Death?"
"Heh. As witchers, you'll get used to it."
"I can also tell you this: it is now the year 1228. In two years, shortly after the autumn equinox of 1230, the Trial of the Mountains will begin."
"Before then, you must successfully meditate and learn the basic Signs. Your nights of sleep will also gradually decrease from four a week to one, until you pass the Trial of the Mountains and become true witchers."
"Think carefully. If you haven't learned what I've told you, how will you cross Killer Lake, full of drowners? How will you pass through the cave of the cyclops Old Spearhead? And how will you face the trolls at the summit?"
"Don't count on luck, either, thinking that outstanding apprentices like Aiken and Arwen will look after you and carry you through."
"In the face of real danger, they won't be able to guarantee their own safety. Only by standing together will you have a chance of reaching the Circle of Elements and obtaining your School of the Wolf medallions."
"Is that clear?"
Vesemir gave a sharp shout!
Only then did the apprentices come back to their senses. Some were apprehensive, while others were excited.
Arwen's hands hung beside his legs, his fingers curling slightly as the scenes he longed for kept appearing in his mind.
Two years. I still have two years.
Only by passing the Trial of the Mountains can I survive, leave Kaer Morhen, and see this vast world.
The kingdoms of the north and south, Skellige...
Dwarves, elves, dragons...
I can do it...