The main reason was that he felt his progress up in the mountains was about to stall.
His Signs and Alchemy skills were now both at the proficient level, putting them on par with a fully fledged witcher ready to leave his training behind.
His School of the Wolf Swordsmanship, however, had already reached master level, comparable to veteran witchers like Geralt and the others, who had weathered all manner of trials.
And his Comprehensive Enhancement feat had increased his strength, speed, and constitution by another 20% on top of his existing witcher abilities.
It was fair to say that, young as he looked, he was already stronger than the vast majority of fully fledged witchers.
Staying in the mountains would certainly let him keep earning attribute points by killing monsters and raising his skill levels.
But that was not enough.
With his foreknowledge of the future, he knew he had to grow stronger.
Only then would he have a chance of protecting Kaer Morhen and everyone in the School of the Wolf.
Before, Lynn had been no more than a spectator, yet even then he had lamented the endings in the original novels and games.
Now that he was a participant living through it all, he had even less reason to sit by and watch it happen.
"Lynn, I know your swordsmanship has improved quickly, but a witcher's abilities don't stop at swordsmanship. You need to develop your Signs and Alchemy as well before you can count as a fully fledged witcher."
Geralt offered his earnest advice.
He thought that going into the mountains with them to kill monsters last year had given Lynn the confidence to be so eager to prove himself.
He admitted that, in terms of swordsmanship alone, Lynn did meet the standard.
But he had only studied Signs for a single year. That surely was not enough.
As for Alchemy...
They had not even taught Lynn yet.
And a witcher who knew nothing about Alchemy certainly could not be considered a good witcher.
Geralt meant well.
He really did have Lynn's best interests in mind at every turn.
What he did not know was that Lynn's School of the Wolf Swordsmanship was already nothing like it had been before.
Even compared with the renowned White Wolf himself, Lynn was no less accomplished.
As for Signs and Alchemy, those were already at the level of a fully fledged witcher too.
Lynn had long anticipated his brothers' well-meaning doubts.
So...
"I understand, Geralt."
Lynn nodded in understanding.
Then he took out several bottles of brightly colored potions and set them on the table.
He had brewed all of them in his spare time using his proficient-level Alchemy.
Every one was a standard potion that met the requirements.
"This..."
Geralt, Eskel, and Lambert exchanged looks.
In the end, Geralt picked up one of the potions.
First, he carefully examined the color of the liquid inside, then uncorked it and sniffed.
Finally, after another glance at Lynn, he drained it without hesitation.
Lambert could not help asking, "Well?"
Vesemir and Eskel also looked at Geralt.
Geralt put down the empty bottle, an approving look on his face, though it also held a measure of confusion.
"It passes."
But he immediately asked Lynn curiously, "How exactly did you do it?"
It was not as though Geralt would be jealous of a junior like Lynn.
Still, he really did feel the helplessness of knowing that comparisons could make a man despair and perfectly good goods look fit for the rubbish heap.
He still remembered how he had learned Alchemy under Vesemir's relentless pressure and force-fed instruction.
It truly was an experience he could not bear to look back on.
Worse still, that experience had lasted several full years.
Yet just last winter, this boy Lynn had still been a young apprentice trailing behind them.
In just one short year, without a teacher to guide him, he had somehow taught himself the Alchemy that Geralt had taken several years to master.
Now he was beginning to understand where Lynn's confidence came from.
Fortunately, Geralt did not know that Lynn could not only produce standard potions that met the requirements, but make them quickly and well. Otherwise...
Once Lynn's abilities had been confirmed, everyone fell silent.
Even the usually sharp-tongued Lambert had none of his customary jibes to offer.
Everyone looked at Vesemir.
Vesemir sighed.
In all the years since he had become the School of the Wolf's grandmaster, he had trained more apprentices than he could count.
Some of them could not even endure the initial physical training;
most failed to survive the Trial of the Grasses...
Even those who survived could die during the Trial of the Medallion or on their travels after leaving the mountains.
As time passed, training witcher apprentices became increasingly difficult.
And Lynn was currently the School of the Wolf's youngest and most outstanding apprentice.
In truth, contrary to the rumors, the modifications witchers underwent did not strip them of their emotions.
At least, they did not for witchers of the School of the Wolf.
Geralt was unwilling to show his shifting emotions in most situations because he wanted to keep troublesome people from haggling and using moral blackmail.
Ever since Vesemir had brought Lynn back to the castle a few years ago and they had all begun living together, Vesemir had long since come to see Lynn as his own child.
If Lynn had not brought up taking the Trial of the Medallion himself, Vesemir certainly would not have forced him into it.
But now, since Lynn himself was asking...
Vesemir left the dining table in silence.
The others were left exchanging looks.
"What's gotten into the old man?"
"Shut up, Lambert. You'll never learn to read the room, will you!"
Ignoring Geralt and Lambert's argument, Eskel spoke to Lynn with the concern of an older brother.
"Lynn, I admit you're very talented, and you've already reached the level of a fully fledged witcher in every respect. But if you want to stay at Kaer Morhen for a few more years, that's fine too. There's no need to rush down the mountain."
"No matter how hard things get, as long as we have a bite to eat, we won't let you go hungry."
Clearly, Eskel thought Lynn was eager to finish his training because he felt embarrassed about letting the others keep looking after him.
That was indeed part of the reason, but it was not the most important one.
Lynn looked into Eskel's eyes and spoke sincerely.
"Thank you, Eskel. I appreciate your kindness."
"It's just that I feel there isn't much room for me to grow shut away up here in the mountains on my own. If you don't mind, I could leave with you or Geralt. I think that would be a better choice."
Judging by how he could learn Alchemy through self-study and gain feats after raising his skills, the attribute panel bound to him could be said to hold limitless possibilities.
Leaving the mountains with Geralt and the others would give him opportunities to learn more skills while also easing Vesemir's burden.
It would kill two birds with one stone.
Beside him, Geralt took a swig of beer. "Since you've thought it through, I respect your choice. I'll go with you for the Trial of the Medallion. Once the snow blocking the mountain passes melts next year, you can come down with me. I'll take you."