This wasn't nonsense.
For Sol, and for any grandmaster of any witcher school, The Valley of Thousand Monsters was a place that might fulfill the ideals envisioned when the Witcher Order was founded, yet offered no practical benefits.
There were many monsters there, but because the area was sparsely populated, there were no contracts, and thus no reward money—only pure expenditure.
In contrast, the villages and cities near The Valley of Thousand Monsters often issued many contracts because powerful monsters frequently wandered out of the valley. Therefore, the only real benefit was the reputation gained on the Northern Continent.
Martyrs were always respected.
Of course, that applied to ordinary witcher schools. But for the current Wolf School, the very thing hindering the school's development was the overly safe environment Kaer Morhen had cultivated for over a hundred years.
Members of the Witcher Order needed to hunt large numbers of monsters to gain achievements and achievement points, but the most common monsters near Kaer Morhen were only Drowners.
When witchers were still apprentices, training swordsmanship, Signs, and teamwork while hunting Drowners was fine and had some benefit.
But once they advanced a bit—like ordinary witchers such as Erni and Klar—hunting Drowners could no longer improve them.
And even if they hunted Drowners every day, even if the Drowners around Kaer Morhen refreshed endlessly, at most each person could kill a hundred or so per day—merely a drop in the bucket.
Moreover, without obvious improvement and merely hunting Drowners for achievement points, doing it a few days was fine, but no one wanted to continue doing this every day.
Erni and Klar were human, and lively children at that—not emotionless monster-killing tools.
Therefore—
After following Allen down the mountain once, even if they didn't fight much, the Witcher Corps members returned to Kaer Morhen with massive improvements. But once back, their growth speed fell off a cliff.
And it wasn't realistic for Allen to always take them hunting.
Not only because Allen himself was busy, nor because the monsters he faced were far beyond what ordinary witchers encountered—he also needed to improve himself. Moreover, the traditional witcher method of taking contracts, preparing, and hunting was too inefficient.
It was also impossible to take ten armed witchers wandering through villages and cities every time. Short-term was fine, but long-term would definitely cause problems.
Multiple factors accumulated, and the growth speed of the Witcher Corps inevitably slowed.
But fundamentally, the Corps's growth mechanism and the traditional Northern Continent contract system were no longer suitable for the Corps's needs.
Allen constantly tried to find breakthroughs and had some results—for example, the Corps skill [Bestowal] derived from the Corps's mechanics.
[Bestowal]
…
[Active Effect: Can grant a Corps member the medal of "Captain." The granted medal can be retracted once. (One "Captain" can lead ten members. As long as the members are within the Captain's influence range, after a hunt, they can settle rewards independently from the Corps Commander.)]
But the effect wasn't large. [Bestowal] was gained when the Corps upgraded from Tier Three to Tier Four. To gain more small captains, the Corps itself needed to level up.
But leveling up the Corps required achievements, achievements required killing monsters, and the scarcity of monsters prevented earning achievements—bringing everything back into a dead cycle.
And when the Corps's advancement mechanism couldn't produce results, there was only one choice—Jump out of the witcher contract system.
For example, finding locations with suitable monster quality and quantity to build multiple long-term bases; breeding appropriate monsters for hunting; establishing a more concentrated intelligence network; setting up an "adventurers' guild"–like association in various cities…
They all seemed feasible, yet each had problems, especially requiring long-term operation.
And what Allen lacked most was time.
Naturally, he had considered The Valley of Thousand Monsters, where monsters appeared endlessly.
To be honest, when Sol jokingly brought up his initial "childish" ideal back then, Allen really had been tempted. He had spent quite some time thinking about relocating the school to The Valley of Thousand Monsters.
But the conclusion was that it was impossible.
The endless monsters were the reason the valley tempted Allen, but the very same endless monsters made establishing a stable base there impossible.
Not to mention everything else—just the fact that there was no stable rest point meant even top-level witcher masters couldn't survive there, let alone ordinary witchers.
But now things were different.
If Ban Ard had truly been teleported into The Valley of Thousand Monsters, the Wolf School wouldn't even need to build a fortress. The city's structure and Ban Ard Academy naturally provided defensive depth.
Even if the city wasn't completely intact after teleportation, at least there would be bricks, timber, and other building materials, greatly reducing the construction time needed.
And the entire city was free—certain to be abandoned by Ban Ard and Hen Gedymdeith, and no other faction would take it over.
After the Wolf School took over, Ban Ard Academy not only wouldn't charge them, but might even say "thank you," while Ortolan and Rissberg Group's Civil Cooperative Organization would have to swallow their pride and owe a massive favor.
And that wasn't even all!
The Sorcerers' Brotherhood would recruit a large group of powerful fighters to clear a wave of monsters in The Valley of Thousand Monsters for the Wolf School and open supply routes, laying the foundation for the school's early stable development.
Things like the Conjunction of Spheres could be unleashed freely without worrying about being discovered or affecting ordinary people's lives.
Combined with the prestige gained on the Northern Continent—and releasing the news at the right time that the Wolf School's Trial of the Grasses now had zero mortality—No one would be able to stop the Wolf School from rising to glory again.
The Valley of Thousand Monsters was practically a heaven-sent new base for the Wolf School.
And returning to the mission to rescue Ban Ard…
The Sorcerers' Brotherhood would undoubtedly issue contracts to all witcher schools, making this a good opportunity to strengthen inter-school relations.
-----------------------------------
To be honest, Allen was now even a little impatient to join this grand event.
"It won't be much longer," Allen thought. "Although the Sorcerers' Brotherhood is busy holding meetings and shifting blame onto each other, it's already October. Rescuing Ban Ard before winter is something that must happen. Otherwise, once heavy snow seals the mountains in winter, the casualties will only be worse."
"The Sorcerers' Brotherhood is full of smart people; they won't fail to understand this."
"So…"
"I just need to quietly heal… and quietly wait…"
Allen's refusal was so crisp and firm that it instead made Vera suspicious.
But even the Sorcerers' Brotherhood was still in meetings, and it was too early to say anything now, so Vera didn't pursue the matter further. Instead, she brought up another topic.
"Brugge disbanded the Dragon-slaying Party yesterday. The Circle of Mayena Druids classified the incident as a suspected curse-induced group hallucination…" Vera chose her words carefully. "Not many villagers around Ban Ard saw the black dragon, and I've already handled all of them."
"Before the Sorcerers' Brotherhood rescues the sorcerers trapped in Dol Dhu Lokke, no one will connect the black dragon to you."
"And once the Ban Ard mages are rescued, memories of the black dragon will have long faded, making it difficult to connect the two."
Vera really is reliable—she even handled the cleanup for me… Allen felt a warmth in his heart, then held his breath and focused on her next words.
Vera was not the type to claim credit. What came next was the key.
"Vesemir, Danthe, Jerome Moreau, Mary, Francesca Findabair, Ida Emean, Vilgefortz, Lydia van Bredevoort, and Philippa Eilhart are all reliable. I had them sign extremely strict contracts. But there is one person who didn't…"
"Tissaia de Vries?" Allen asked.
"Yes, Tissaia…" Vera nodded slightly, her expression solemn. "Tissaia also signed a contract, but to us, she herself is the greatest danger. And a month ago, she already wanted to come see you, but we stopped her."
"But…"
Vera paused. "She will, eventually, see you. And she definitely can see you. You don't need to explain anything to us, but you must prepare convincing words for her."
'Tissaia de Vries…' Allen lowered his head, murmuring.
Tissaia de Vries was indeed a problem.
Saving the Free Elf had originally been done while quietly leaving Kaer Morhen—she shouldn't know about it; she probably still doesn't. So that could be ignored for now.
And in the original plan, the operation to rescue Hen Gedymdeith would certainly not be hidden from her, because she was the one who commissioned the task, and Hen Gedymdeith had to be handed over to her in the end. So he had already considered this: when rescuing Hen Gedymdeith, he had deliberately prepared a Wild Hunt disguise.
As long as he communicated well with Vilgefortz and Lydia van Bredevoort, at most it would raise some suspicion in Tissaia de Vries—but nothing too serious.
After all, suspicion takes time. Gathering evidence to confirm or refute it also takes time. And time was on his side.
But the fact that the Wild Hunt led by Renakins could track his location—this forced him to take risks, and in that moment of urgency, he had no way to think about how to deal with Tissaia de Vries afterward.
Then, the black dragon was summoned. The black dragon appeared in Brugge, while Allen appeared in Armeria…
The Wild Hunt disguise was worthless before Tissaia de Vries. Ban Ard's complete disappearance further escalated the matter, making it impossible for her to turn a blind eye even if she wanted to.
It was inevitable that it couldn't be concealed, but not everything had necessarily been exposed.
More precisely, the black dragon had been exposed, but the Conjunction of the Spheres should not have been. If Vilgefortz had left a little earlier, perhaps even he wouldn't know.
Although Ortolan certainly knew that the Wild Hunt member who summoned the black dragon and the one who summoned the Conjunction of the Spheres was the same person, he did not know that the one who summoned the black dragon was him.
And Ortolan was still trapped in the Pit of Monsters, so he could be set aside for now.
That meant only one problem remained.
In Tissaia de Vries's eyes, what did the ability to summon a black dragon signify?
"I will think of a good explanation," Allen chose his words carefully. "Since Madam Tissaia was stopped by you, it shouldn't be too big of a problem…"
Vera nodded, then reminded him: "Think it through. If you come up with something good, tell me first."
"I will," Allen nodded, then suddenly thought of something: "I've actually had a question for a long time…"
"Ianna and Ida Emean both know… both know my identity. Madam Tissaia should also be your longtime friend, and from what I've seen of her character, she's very reliable. Why is she the only one you hide this from?"
Allen looked into Vera's fiery red eyes.
Vera stayed silent for a long time, then sighed: "Precisely because Tissaia's character is too reliable, we hide it from her…"
"She's not a bad person…"
"Female sorceresses are often rejected by those around them, even their families, because the chaotic magic they bear erodes them from childhood. Their personalities become extreme and narrow-minded, and they develop fierce pride, looking down on all mortals. And because most lose the ability to bear children, they become obsessed with wealth and power…"
Vera paused, looked Allen in the eyes, and said frankly: "I am also a sorceress. I'm no exception."
"But Tissaia is different. She has always been the kind of person who appears only in knightly tales — the most righteous sort, saving the weak, committed only to maintaining order…"
"Most of the time, that's not a bad thing."
"But when you stand opposite that 'order,' no matter how deep your bond used to be, no matter how great your contributions were in the past, she will eliminate you without the slightest hesitation…"
Allen froze for a moment, half exasperated.
What was Vera taking him for, some villain character? But thinking about it… an ability like the Conjunction of the Spheres, without restraint, really did fit a villain.
And the prophecy of the Child of Miracle — all that "the non-human will bring blood and fire," "destroyer of nations," "lands trampled and divided," "cities burning"… none of that sounded very righteous.
Not to mention the black dragon, tied to legends about the claws of the White Frost, the destroyer of worlds…
Perhaps in Tissaia de Vries's eyes, I'm already some world-ending villain…
Allen mocked himself inwardly.
But to say Tissaia was a righteous savior who couldn't tolerate a speck of dust… that felt a little off.
Aside from the Church of the Eternal Fire and the druid circles, which extraordinary organization on the Continent didn't dip into a bit of grey industry? Even the Rissberg Group's Civil Cooperative Organization, renowned for genetic mutation research, basically conducted biological and human experiments in the open.
"It's not about good and evil — only order…" Vera seemed to guess what he was thinking and said softly, "She doesn't care about justice or wickedness. Maybe she cared once, but now she has compromised until only maintaining order is left."
"Allen, we know you're a kind child…"
Vera lifted her hand, as if wanting to pat Allen's head, but it hung in the air and then slowly lowered.
"In early spring, after the apprentice combat tournament at Ban Ard, Sol and I already saw it… you would fight with your life for your companions, and you would even feel sorrow for those mortals who discriminated against witchers when they were accidentally hurt."
"But you must not let Tissaia de Vries's past self fool you. That would be dangerous — extremely dangerous!"
"I understand!" Allen nodded forcefully. "I'll think it through carefully."
Seeing that he had taken her words to heart, Vera nodded and did not continue lecturing. She raised her hand, summoning a thick sheepskin book.
"Tomorrow I will leave the Circle of Mayena Druids. It will probably take two or three weeks to finish voting on the candidate to rescue Ban Ard. I will entrust the Elder Speech lessons to others."
"Mary, Francesca, Ida Emean — who do you want to teach you?"
The sudden change of topic stunned Allen, who had still been thinking about how to deal with Tissaia de Vries. When he saw Vera's slightly amused expression, he gave a bitter smile: "I want to learn Elder Speech as quickly as possible, so… Lady Ida, I think."
"A wise choice." Vera curved her lips slightly, then asked again:
"Before I leave, aside from Elder Speech, is there anything else you need me to do?"
Allen thought for a moment — and did think of two things: "I want to know: what's the difference between witcher meditation and druid meditation? And is there any way I can learn the druids' meditation method?"
"And also…"
"Master Jerome's birth mother, Lydia, once visited the Circle of Mayena Druids. Who should I secretly ask to find out where she went afterward?"
...........
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