Allen ignored the noisy system chime and opened his left hand.
In his palm lay a slender bracelet, forged with intricate offset ring-linking techniques. The chain was silver, yet in the dim sunlight it shimmered with a faint violet sheen.
That violet glow was the mark of an extremely rare magical material—witcher silver.
The pendant attached was small and delicate, a tawny amber gem, glinting like the untamed eye of a wildcat.
[Name: Pure Witcher-Silver Amber Pendant]
[Type: Magical Item]
[Function: Stores the novice spell Cleanse, three uses per day.]
[Note: A certain northern noble, tired of his granddaughter always running around filthy like a wild child, specially commissioned this necklace from the Rissberg Civic Cooperative. But aside from when she was forced, it seems the wild child never really used it. (There appear to be faint markings on the pendant.)]
And who could that "wild child" be?
Hardly a mystery.
The memory of meeting Ciri, covered in dirt and ragged as she was, told Allen all he needed to know—just like the note said, she must have rarely, if ever, used this trinket.
As for the pendant itself, it wasn't anything too special.
The enchantment it carried was low-level, but still useful.
And since this was a noble-commissioned magical item, with its design, materials, and maker's reputation, it definitely carried a hefty premium. Of course, there was no way he'd ever sell it for coin.
But there was still one problem…
These past few days, his body had remained in Kaer Morhen. By all logic, his soul alone had wandered, meeting Ciri and the Wild Hunt.
If that was the case—then why had something Ciri gave him followed him back into reality?
"What a beautiful bracelet."
Mary's eyes instantly sparkled as she caught sight of the ornament.
But it seemed she had misunderstood, glancing up at Allen with expectation.
'Sorry, this isn't for you…'Allen apologized inwardly, shifting the subject without a trace: "Soon I may have to travel again. Erni and Klar—I'll be leaving them in your care."
"Leaving again?" Mary's focus naturally shifted.
Allen nodded, his gaze drifting toward the ruby ore displayed on the opposite stand.
"Such is the life of a witcher. We must constantly take contracts to sustain ourselves—and our school."
"This time, it's a task from Lady Tissaia de Vries. I doubt I'll be bringing them along."
"But the school may be facing troubles soon as well. I can't let them simply follow Vesemir on contracts, so they'll have to remain at Kaer Morhen."
"Aristo can push them in training, but teaching isn't his strength. That's where I'll need your help."
"No problem!" Mary puffed up her chest proudly—her figure far more developed now than before. "I'm still the chief sorceress of the Witcher Corps, after all. Teaching them won't be an issue. However…"
"However what?"
"However, they've already mastered Wild Speech. They've learned potions like Killer Whale, White Honey, Cat's Eye, and Swallow. What's left for me to teach?"
Mary seemed to have entirely forgotten about the bracelet, frowning at him instead.
"I've come up with a few more formulas," Allen said. "Here's what we'll do—go to the alchemy room and set up the equipment. I'll change clothes and join you shortly."
"A few?" Mary's brows arched almost involuntarily.
If memory served, hadn't Allen only just developed Swallow and White Honey two months ago?
Was a witcher's inspiration for alchemy really this… boundless?
Margareta Laux-Antille, a trained "graduate student" of alchemy, suddenly felt a sting of frustration.
"Yes. A few," Allen confirmed once more.
He noticed Mary's shifting expression, thought for a moment, then added: "Lately… well… inspiration has been flowing rather abundantly."
"Inspiration can be described as abundant now?" Mary couldn't help but mutter. But after knowing him this long, she had grown some resistance to the genius of the witcher before her.
If she had met him back in Aretuza, or when she had just begun studying alchemy under Vera, Mary felt she might have already changed her entire field of research.
Vera hadn't been limited to alchemy alone, after all.
Waving off Allen's attempt to explain further, Mary stood up, though she didn't leave immediately.
She simply stood quietly at the bedside, staring straight at him.
Allen froze for a moment before realizing what she meant. With a helpless shake of his head, he said, "Sorry to trouble you, Lady Mary."
"Not a trouble at all, my commander." Mary's smile bloomed with satisfaction as she turned toward the door.
"And also…" Allen's voice called softly from behind, "these past days—thank you…"
"Don't say such distant words." Mary lifted her hand, dismissing him with a playful wave, then left without looking back.
Bang—
The door closed gently.
The dim corridor was awash with the last rays of sunset filtering through the narrow battlements.
As Mary stepped out, the warm and simple smile on her face immediately vanished, replaced by cold vigilance—like a wildcat guarding its territory.
She gazed down at the stone floor, painted blood-red by the evening sun, and murmured to herself: "Whose bracelet was that…? Could it have been Philippa Eilhart's?"
-----------------------------------
Tower's third floor.
"Hu~"
Watching Mary's figure vanish into the hallway, Allen let out a long breath, then lifted his left hand, gazing at the bracelet gifted by Ciri resting in his palm.
He knew full well these little gestures could never fool Mary.
She only looked silly and easy to trick—she was no fool.
The woman who would one day rank among the top five sorceresses of her age, and eventually become Aretuza's headmistress, Margarita Laux-Antille—the foremost in supernatural influence—how could she not recognize when he was diverting the topic?
She had simply offered him a tacit way out.
"…But maybe that's for the best." Allen exhaled softly, no longer dwelling on Mary.
He didn't rush to deal with the system's constant notifications in his mind, nor to examine the trinket Ciri had given him.
Instead, while the memory remained vivid, he recalled the last moment of the Wild Hunt's King, Eredin Bréacc Glas—his savage, terrifying laughter.
[I have found my answer, stranger!]
[No need to hurry!]
[Very soon! Very soon! Very soon, we will meet again!]
"What exactly did Eredin discover from me? And why is he so certain we'll meet again?"
The witcher's brow furrowed deeply.
"And when I first awoke… that emptiness, that strange sense of looming catastrophe…"
"Something must have happened. But I don't know what."
The foreboding weighed on him like a shuttered chamber, where a venomous serpent slumbered unseen, its presence prickling at his heart.
Allen pondered in silence, then checked over his body.
No markings carved into his flesh. No signs of possession by some elder god.
The emptiness at waking, the feeling of disaster bearing down—perhaps it had been nothing but a phantom of his own mind.
On the bedside cabinet lay his belongings neatly arranged: the Wolf School's mastercrafted armor, reagent pouch, wolf medallion, Mirage Pearl, Balmur, and Elsa—nothing missing.
In fact, there was one extra: the amber pendant of witch-silver gifted by Ciri.
"Zzzla—"
Sensing no abnormalities, Allen stood still for a moment, then pulled out a chair and sat down, frowning.
"Could it really have been just an illusion?"
Even under heightened witcher senses, he could detect nothing amiss. For now, he could only note the feeling and shift his focus inward.
[Ding! Witcher's Journal is in dormancy. Do not open the Witcher's Journal!]
[Ding! Your special skill: Spiral—completeness has advanced from 1/5 to 2/5.]
[Ding! You have obtained a talent: Unstable Prophetic Power.]
[Ding! Witcher's Journal has absorbed Elder Power—half-dormant state, partial functions available!]
"Phew~"
Seeing the floating system prompt before him, Allen couldn't help but click his tongue in admiration: "Ciri really did give me quite the gift."
He first opened the Witcher's Journal. The ancient, timeworn parchment pages turned beneath his fingers. After checking and confirming that most functions—including the Conjunction of the Spheres—were still usable, he shifted his gaze to the words 'Spiral' in the system prompt.
-----------------------------------
[Name: Spiral]
[Type: Special Skill]
[Completion: 2/5]
[Passive Effect:]
Dream Echo: Within dreams, you may have a chance to commune with the Spiral.
[Active Effects:]
Eye of Insight: Consumes 40 Experience Orbs (-10). Create a shadowy eye within the Spiral. While the shadow-eye exists, you can observe the Spiral. (The shadow-eye can be detected and destroyed.)
Storage Hole: Consumes 100 Experience Orbs. Carves out a storage hole in the corner of the Spiral. The hole can store non-living items.]
-----------------------------------
The Spiral had directly filled in one fragment, and the reduced cost of placing an Eye wasn't much to worry about.
Allen figured that for a long time to come, there wouldn't be any real need to place Eyes within the Spiral.
But the Storage Hole—akin to a true storage space—would definitely be a tremendous help.
After all, the Witcher's Journal inventory could indeed hold items, but only those granted directly as rewards by the Journal itself. Even potions and blade oils crafted from formulas couldn't be stored within.
This was why, despite Allen having learned so many potion, bomb, and oil formulas, his reagent pouch could only ever hold a limited amount.
As things stood, his standard loadout was usually two Blizzard potions (slows time when in danger), Alghoul Decoction (increases adrenaline generation until struck by an enemy), and White Honey (resets toxicity to zero and removes other potion effects)…
Alongside one dose of Specter Oil, Enhanced Specter Oil, Superior Necrophage Oil, and a Northern Wind bomb (freezes enemies; attacking frozen enemies deals bonus damage) for emergencies.
Potions like Cat (night vision and higher critical chance), Necrophage Oil, and Beast Oil had long since been cut from his everyday pouch and relegated to his saddlebags, to be retrieved only when needed.
The reagent pouch, after all, was little more than an oversized belt pouch—space was limited.
Even with just that handful of potions, the pouch was already bulging; every choice had to be carefully weighed.
And recently, he had acquired another large batch of supplies…
Maribor Forest (accelerates adrenaline regeneration), Thunderbolt (boosts attack power), Full Moon (raises maximum vitality), and White Raffard's Decoction (instantly restores a percentage of vitality)—all extremely useful potions.
Choosing which to carry was already becoming a real headache.
Not to mention that when it came time to rescue Hen Gedymdeith, he'd likely need to bring along a whole assortment of oils as well.
The Spiral's new Storage Hole was, without doubt, a blessing in disguise.
"It's just that one hundred Experience Orbs is too steep. And who knows how much space it will actually unlock…" Allen thought to himself.
After considering for a while, Allen gave his head a small shake: "No rush. I'll find a chance to unlock it before leaving Kaer Morhen."
He then continued reading downward.
[Name: Unstable Prophetic Power]
[Type: Talent]
[Level: ?]
[Passive Effect: While in a relaxed state, you may occasionally glimpse fleeting fragments of the future—sudden inspirations or looming crises connected to yourself.]
[Note: Know this well—Prophecy is both a gift and a curse!]
The utility of Unstable Prophetic Power was rather ambiguous.
Since the passive effect couldn't be activated at will, it was much like the Elder Blood Ciri, who had been sent to Kaer Morhen after her kingdom fell—her power often surfaced uncontrollably.
Allen remembered that in the original story, Ciri had used this gift to foresee Vilgefortz and the Wild Hunt, yet in the end, it hadn't truly changed the outcome.
"Maybe once its level increases, it could reach the standard of an oracle master like Ithlinne?"
"But what does it mean for the level to be marked with a question mark? And how do I even raise it?"
"Likewise," Allen's gaze shifted upward as another thought struck him, "the Spiral skill's completeness… that was only filled by accident because of Ciri's Elder Blood."
"What about the remaining three parts? Could it be that I'll have to find Ciri again?"
"Wait a second…"
"To find Ciri again…"
Allen froze for a moment, then quickly picked up the pure Witcher's silver-amber pendant.
[Name: Pure Witcher's Silver-Amber Pendant]
…
[Note: …(There seem to be some markings on the pendant.)]
"There seem to be some markings on the pendant…"
Allen murmured the words from the note aloud, then examined the pendant more carefully, but couldn't find any tangible marks at all.
"If they're not physically there, then what exactly are the markings mentioned in the note…?"
As he felt the pendant's smooth, warm surface, a faint intuition arose within him.
Perhaps… if he wanted to see Ciri again, it would depend on this necklace.
At that thought, the image of that silver-haired, green-eyed, stubborn figure surfaced once more in his mind: "If I'm remembering right, in the original story Ciri left Tir na Lia, but while being pursued by the Wild Hunt, she became lost within the loop of time…"
"In the end, it was thanks to the guidance of Lady of the Lake Nimue and the oneiromancers Condwiramurs Tilly, centuries later, that she found her way to the final battle—to Stygga Castle, where Vilgefortz imprisoned and tormented Yennefer…"
"And now…"
"She should already be standing at the gates of Stygga Castle, shouldn't she?"
Allen imagined the grand destiny that would be set ablaze by that final battle, and couldn't help drifting off for a moment.
Knock knock knock~
The wooden door was rapped on, pulling the witcher back from his thoughts.
"Allen! The alchemy chamber is ready!"
Mary's voice called from outside.
"Coming!"
The witcher gave a light sigh, swept one last glance over the dim room, and rose to leave.
..........
📢Advanced chapters on p@treaon📢
For advance chapters: [email protected]/Uchiha_Itachi007 (replace @ with a)
1. 20 advanced chapters of The Witcher: Wolf School's Hunting Notes.
2. 30 advanced chapters of What year is this? You're still writing a traditional diary?.