Day after day passed.
After Brehen was driven out of the Blue Mountains, peace returned to Kaer Morhen.
Lynn lived each day to the fullest.
Every morning, he stayed at the training grounds to practice Signs.
In the afternoons, he followed Geralt, Eskel, or Lambert out of Kaer Morhen and into the depths of the Blue Mountains.
Originally, after returning to Kaer Morhen, the witchers of the School of the Wolf had wanted nothing more than to lounge around the castle and slack off.
Life outside was hard and competitive enough. Why head into the mountains to kill monsters after coming home?
Besides, there was no pay for killing monsters in the mountains. What was the point?
None of the three wanted to go.
But Lynn pleaded with them repeatedly, and Vesemir also felt that:
If they could give Lynn as much training as possible before he left the mountains, perhaps he would adapt better to life as a witcher.
It would improve his chances of surviving out there.
So, at the old man's insistence, even Lambert finally agreed, wearing a sour expression and looking thoroughly reluctant.
With these three old-timers joining him, Lynn could finally kill monsters in the truest sense.
However, Lynn made one special request: he had to land the final blow himself.
Although all three witchers found it strange, they agreed without giving it much further thought.
And so, over the following stretch of time, the monsters in the mountains suffered the worst luck imaginable.
Normally, as long as these monsters stayed away from Kaer Morhen, the witchers of the School of the Wolf could not be bothered with them.
Now, however, disaster descended upon them.
Geralt, Eskel, and Lambert were all veteran witchers.
Even one was formidable enough, and now three had come at once.
No monster could withstand that kind of treatment.
The three witchers beat the monsters to within an inch of their lives, then Lynn stepped up to finish them off.
Getting carried by veteran players felt great.
Sure enough, monsters gave far more experience than animals.
In just one month, he gained far more attribute points than before.
One day.
Lynn stood at his room's window, gazing at the view outside.
Heavy snow fell, and the white world seemed covered in a soft blanket.
There was not a whisper of wind outside, only snowflakes drifting gently down, making faint sounds as they landed on the window.
The warmth inside contrasted sharply with the cold beyond the window, bringing a sense of security and tranquility.
He looked as though he were admiring the snowy scenery, but he was actually looking at his attribute panel.
Lynn Skills: School of the Wolf Swordsmanship (proficient) Signs (beginner) Attribute points: 3 (0%)
Through his Sign practice over this period, he had finally managed to successfully cast every witcher Sign.
And when he accomplished that, the "Signs" skill appeared on his attribute panel.
Those three attribute points were the result of Geralt and the other two carrying Lynn for over a month.
I have two choices now. First, I could keep improving my swordsmanship, but the higher the skill level, the more attribute points it costs.
Upgrading School of the Wolf Swordsmanship from practiced to proficient cost two attribute points.
But the next upgrade would cost a terrifying five attribute points.
So I'd have to save these three attribute points until I get another two, then put them into School of the Wolf Swordsmanship.
And there's another problem with that: I'd be far too specialized.
The essence of the School of the Wolf should be well-rounded development.
The second choice is to put everything into Signs. Taking it straight from beginner to proficient would cost three attribute points in total. Exactly what I have.
All right, that's what I'll do.
At last, Lynn made his choice.
He imagined a finger and pressed it hard against the plus sign after the Signs skill. The text beside it blurred, changing from "beginner" to "practiced."
Then he pressed it again.
This time, "practiced" blurred before changing to "proficient."
A vast amount of memories about practicing Signs flowed into Lynn's mind like rivers pouring into the sea.
They instantly gave him decades of experience in using Signs proficiently.
Once the memories finished transferring, Lynn raised his hand and formed the gesture for the Quen Sign.
Bright orange light quickly flared, forming a shield around the witcher's body.
Lynn's face lit up with delight. "It really is good."
Before this, although he had already learned how to cast these Signs.
They had never been stable enough, let alone suitable for actual combat.
The Quen shield he cast now was clearly very stable.
Moreover, throughout the entire process, from forming the gesture to casting the Sign, he no longer needed to concentrate as hard as he had when first learning Signs. He only needed to have the thought, and his body would respond as if by habit.
It was like picking up chopsticks while eating: there was no need to spend time and effort concentrating on controlling his hand to pick them up. He could simply do it naturally, as a reflex.
Next, Lynn tested several other Signs in turn.
Apart from the Axii Sign, which he had no way to test...
He showed clear improvement when casting Heliotrop, the Igni Sign, the Aard Sign, and the Yrden Sign.
Under normal circumstances, reaching my current level would take at least several years, yet I've reached the level of a full-fledged witcher in just one month.
Perhaps by the time I actually leave the mountains, I'll be even stronger than a full-fledged witcher.
Two days later.
"I still don't understand. Why do we have to bring this brat along no matter what we do? We're not his babysitters!"
Several hours after Lynn plunged into the Blue Mountains with Lambert and Eskel, he heard Lambert complaining up ahead.
In response to Lambert's questioning, Lynn held up two fingers.
"First, I have a name. It's Lynn. Second, I can protect myself."
But Lambert said, "Pass the Trial of the Medallion first, then we can talk about what to call you. Now keep quiet, brat."
"Weren't you the one who started it?" Lynn rolled his eyes at Lambert, then turned to the other witcher, whose scars covered half his face. "Eskel, I honestly don't know how you put up with him."
Eskel replied helplessly, "Sometimes we can't figure it out either. Still, unpleasant as Lambert's words are, we really shouldn't keep talking."
Just as Eskel said, none of the three spoke again after that.
They found an open patch of snow, drove a wooden stake into it, and tethered a sheep beside the stake.
Once that was done, the three quietly hid in a nearby clump of bushes.
This was the information on how to lure a Forktail written on page 28 of Brother Adalbert's Bestiary.
Just a few days earlier, while studying monsters in the castle as usual, Lynn had suddenly heard a roar in the distance.
He had also seen a Forktail fly through the sky.
The Blue Mountains were vast and boundless, and monsters in the mountains were perfectly normal. What was unusual was that monsters rarely ventured so close to Kaer Morhen.