Of course, before "succession," there was still one more trial.
But Allen was very confident about this.
He had done quite a lot this year, and even just the things visible on the surface—things the ordinary witchers of the Wolf School would know—already included:
Creating a series of extremely practical witcher potion and sword-oil formulas; winning the Wolf School and Cat School's apprentice dueling tournament for the Wolf School; rescuing Ellander during the May Festival and being granted a knightly title; training the members of the Witcher Corps until they reached the level of ordinary witchers in a short amount of time; subduing the royal griffin; disrupting the descent ritual of an evil god; saving Danthe, who had been deceived and framed…
And behind the scenes, killing the King of Kaedwen for the Wolf School, killing Sunny who had long troubled and hated witchers, severely weakening the radical faction among the sorcerers, saving Sol's life, and reforming the second mutation—each task was more difficult than the last…
Combined with the support of Sol, Vera, Vesemir, Danthe, Aristo, and some of the remaining witcher masters, inheriting the position of chief of the Wolf School was not something difficult for him.
Furthermore, at present, regardless of which witcher school it was, their chiefs and grandmasters were all "family heads" who gave more than they gained. With no real conflicts of interest, ascending to the position was naturally much simpler and purer than with ordinary kings and nobles.
The only concern now was that some witchers—or even witcher masters—might leave the Wolf School because of this.
The former—ordinary witchers—were still struggling on the subsistence line, and could die at any time on a contract. With sword oils spreading across the Northern Realms and the reputation of potions gradually fermenting among the Wolf School witchers, simply teaching a few basic formulas free of charge would not make winning them over difficult.
The latter, however, truly posed trouble. Sword oils, potions, and even the path of Beast Roar might help, but witcher masters did not worry about money—they had savings, and whether they were strong or weak, their contract sources were not affected. Emotional factors made up most of the issue.
This could only rely on Sol, Vesemir, Aristo, and Danthe.
If he tried persuading them himself or offering some exchange of benefits, it might instead have the opposite effect.
Apprentices needed to be cultivated, but once general improvements to the second mutation were developed, all witchers could rapidly gain a tremendous boost. Therefore, the existing witchers of the Wolf School were extremely important.
'Fortunately'Allen thought, 'After last year's Trial of the Grasses, from the Killer Whale potion, the Drowner Whistle, the Ice Spear spell, and then the Trial of the Mountain, the other witcher masters should still have a good impression of me.'
'The only controversial matter is the reform of the Trial of the Mountain. There are still some conservatives in the Wolf School.'
Among witcher masters, the so-called conservatives did not want the Trial of the Mountain to be reformed into something without any danger.
Of course—
It wasn't that they believed all apprentices must endure the same suffering they once did. Rather, it was respect for the law of accidents, for fate, and…
The concern that a witcher who could not pass the Trial of the Mountain under conditions where the "environment is fixed, the monster is fixed, and accidents are controllable" would be unable to face a witcher's future life—where among environment, monsters, and accidents, one, two, or even all three would often be completely beyond control.
As one witcher master who opposed him had said at the time—
An apprentice who had passed the Trial of the Grasses was destined to walk the witcher's path. If they couldn't even pass the Trial of the Mountain, they would die sooner or later anyway. Rather than dying in a monster's maw or some remote mountain gorge, it was better to die during the Trial of the Mountain, where someone would at least collect their body, bury them, and erect a gravestone…
For a witcher—or even for a witcher master—the latter was quite a good ending.
As an aside, the witcher master who said that was Aristo.
'But since the biggest conservative, Aristo, already acknowledged me, it shouldn't be an issue.' Allen calculated, and the more he calculated, the more he felt the advantage was on his side.
Of course, the prerequisite for succeeding as chief of the Wolf School was that he pass the current trial, and that his body suffer no permanent injuries that weakened his combat strength.
'Otherwise, even if the witchers and masters of the Wolf School pitied me, I would not accept such charity…'
Allen was silent for a long time. He took a deep breath and continued checking the witcher's journal step by step.
He couldn't simply take it for granted that he could rely on Visenna, Korin, and the still-missing Vera.
If Visenna and Korin's fates had only been delayed, changing only the situation and location, was he really supposed to count on Vera suddenly descending like heavenly reinforcements at a critical moment?
Reality wasn't a novel. In the end, one had to save oneself.
Bringing his attention back to the witcher's journal, he continued reading downward.
"Renakins Galleon Price's Essence, Renakins Galleon Price's Legacy Vessel, Renakins Galleon Price—Crystal of Memory of the Undying…"
"Essence, Legacy Vessel, and Memory Crystal… Right, there's also the treasure chest…"
Allen's gaze lingered for a long time on the few words carrying the prefix "Renakins Galleon Price," his expression thoughtful.
After the evil god's divine sense attached to the summoning ritual and the Leshen were killed, the drops were all Essence. Meanwhile, the drops from Ronnie Dickinson, just like from Sunny Gobert and Miguel Courtney, were Legacy Vessels…
But Renakins Galleon Price not only dropped Essence, but also a Legacy Vessel, and even the Crystal of Memory of the Undying as well…
Renakins Galleon Price was of course very strong—beyond standard specifications. Without the black dragon, Allen would have been completely unable to contend with such power.
Earlier, during the moment within the spiral, he had already suspected that Renakins had reached the next level—just as the extraordinary transcend the mundane, a leap in the level of life.
But he had never been able to truly confirm it.
And now, this boundary was being displayed before him more clearly than ever…
Renakins Galleon Price was what Sol, and all extraordinary beings in the Witcher world—perhaps excluding only a few like Hen Gedymdeith, Tissaia de Vries, and Ortolan—yearned to reach as their next stage.
And from the fact that Renakins Galleon Price also possessed a Legacy Vessel—
Previously, because of Sol's serious injuries, Allen had been unsure whether the path pursued by the Northern Continent's strongest extraordinary beings had been the wrong one.
But the Legacy Vessel was indeed the proper path toward transcending the level of life.
It was just that Sol and the other extraordinary beings of the Northern Continent, although they had built their Legacy Vessels, still lacked certain conditions.
"Perhaps that condition is the Essence!"
With a thought, Allen switched to the inventory.
Just like the evil god's Essence, and the Leshen's Essence, the wood-brown, nebula-like cluster mixed with blood-tinged, dreamy brilliance quietly rotated in the transparent slot of the inventory, radiating a tempting glow.
No.
That wasn't quite right.
Staring at the Essence "nebula" in the inventory, Allen suddenly thought of something and rejected his earlier assumption.
Given that Sol and Vera knew nothing about this matter, Tissaia de Vries likely also knew nothing about how to take the next step. Otherwise, even if she hadn't told Sol, Vera would certainly know.
This wasn't because Tissaia de Vries and Vera had some deep relationship—rather, it was because knowledge on how sorcerers advance, even the rough steps or direction of how to attempt it, would never be kept completely secret.
Otherwise, during Sol's near-death moment, Vera wouldn't have failed to even attempt anything.
Moreover, Tissaia de Vries, who devoted herself to maintaining order and improving the status of sorceresses, had no reason to hide such knowledge from Vera, with whom she had excellent relations.
"That's right—Vera once said that the Legacy Vessel was dug up by Geoffrey Monck and Herbert Stammelford from the tombs of an Elder Race. Though later improved, it was inherently flawed."
"So not only Tissaia de Vries, Hen Gedymdeith, and Ortolan—those five members of Chapter of the Gift and the Art—none of them knows what to do after condensing a Legacy Vessel."
"But if none of them know what comes after condensing a Legacy Vessel, then how was Ortolan able to fight evenly with Renakins Galleon Price?"
Allen pondered for a moment and recalled the function of the Legacy Vessel.
Although the Legacy Vessel could not elevate the level of life in essence, it could temporarily increase strength and magic by relying on the accumulated Almighty Force and Sage's Power.
Ortolan likely managed to stalemate Renakins Galleon Price because of this.
"Perhaps Renakins Galleon Price also hasn't reached the next level of life," Allen thought, "but more accurately speaking, the Alder Folk are absolutely on the correct path."
Renakins was only a captain of a hundred-man squad. There must have been many in the Wild Hunt stronger than him—not to mention Eredin, Avallac'h, and Auberon.
They possessed power surpassing the gods, yet were definitely not conceptual gods like Melitele, Freya, or Kreve, who arose from faith out of nothing.
"Perhaps the rewards I obtained this time are far greater than I imagined."
Allen's gaze fell upon "Renakins Galleon Price—Crystal of Memory of the Undying," deep in thought.
"But…"
His thoughts paused, troubled.
"Renakins Galleon Price—Crystal of Memory of the Undying is only one piece. How am I supposed to draw from it the method by which the Alder Folk transcend their life level?"
"The Goddess's Harvest Blessing doesn't seem to apply to sorcerers' and long-lived beings' memories either…"
Thud-thud-thud~
Urgent hoofbeats sounded from outside the carriage, interrupting Allen's thoughts.
"Korin is back!"
Allen switched his focus back to the system notifications, giving the loot interface one last quick sweep.
Renakins Galleon Price—Crystal of Memory of the Undying required extreme caution, but there were eighty-four Memory Crystals from other long-lived beings.
Lower-ranked members of the Alder Folk might very well know how to elevate the level of life.
"But the prerequisite is that I quickly learn Elder Speech," Allen murmured to himself.
The remaining nine experience pouches were ninety experience beads, which replenished the loss from unlocking Beast Roar: Forbidden Sky and Beast Roar: Dragon Call—nothing more to say about that.
As for the treasure chests…
'The sorcerer's treasure chests can be opened first, but I should ask whether the messenger bird is still nearby…'
After organizing the gains from rescuing Hen Gedymdeith, Allen withdrew the panel with a thought.
At that exact moment, the urgent yet familiar sound of hoofbeats came to a stop.
Allen perked up his ears.
"What happened up ahead? Is it a monster attack blocking the road?"
Almost the moment the hoofbeats stopped, Visenna immediately asked.
"There's no monster blocking the road on the old path," Korin swung down from his horse, took two breaths, then paused with a slightly strange expression. "It's Brugge. Our destination…"
"Brugge?" Visenna asked doubtfully.
Brugge couldn't compare to Temeria's capital Vizima, but it was still a royal city. There had been no news of any disaster threatening the city's safety.
Korin didn't keep them guessing. After steadying his breath, he said directly, "Three evenings ago, a dragon flew over Brugge. So once they finished gathering the necessary supplies these past two days, the city was sealed. Now only the mayors of nearby villages can enter the royal city after strict screening."
"A dragon?" Visenna was clearly stunned for a moment.
"Yes, a dragon. More precisely, a black dragon." Korin cleared his throat. "A black dragon wrapped in evil, dense smoke, bringing calamity to mankind, from the east—"
"Impossible!" Visenna's voice sharpened. "It cannot be a black dragon! There hasn't been any sign of a black dragon for a thousand years in this world. Even other colored dragons are extremely rare."
"That's exactly what the recruitment notice posted by the city guard says," Korin explained instinctively, startled by her reaction. "These are its original words. It's recruiting dragon slayers of all professions, as well as physicians, herbalists, sorceresses, and druids experienced in handling plagues…"
"If you think black dragons are too rare, then maybe it was a dragon of another color, possibly darkened by smoke?"
"But…"
Korin shrugged, half-joking yet half-serious: "Since even the Conjunction of the Spheres—which hasn't happened in thousands of years—occurred recently, and even the Wild Hunt that used to scare children is now truly destroying human cities and bringing war…"
"A black dragon flying over the Northern Continent doesn't seem that unbelievable anymore. After all, other colored dragons still pop out now and then from caves piled with gold and jewels—maybe this one is just a relative they called over…"
Korin's playful remark left Visenna momentarily dazed, and for a moment she even felt it made some sense.
"Black dragons are different…" Visenna was silent for a moment, then shook her head gently. "Strictly speaking, black dragons are not dragons, but…"
She seemed to think of something, abruptly cutting herself off without finishing.
Korin was already used to her mysterious behavior. After all, he had fallen in love with a druid—magic being mysterious to him wasn't exactly new.
"Nana, what black dragons actually are doesn't matter to us," Korin said. "What matters is—are we still going to Brugge? I can enter the city as a dragon slayer, and you're skilled with herbs…"
"No."
"Brugge, Maribor, Armeria, and Mayena are all within the traditional sphere of influence of the Mayena Druid Circle. We could completely—"
"No!" Visenna cut him off sharply, speaking hurriedly. "The sudden appearance of a black dragon is more important than anything else…"
"We're returning to the Mayena Druid Circle immediately!"
....
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