Autumn, 1179.
Kaer Morhen, Apprentices' training ground.
"Allen, what are you spacing out for?"
A stern reprimand brought Allen's wandering thoughts back.
A middle-aged man wearing a black wide-brimmed hat was staring at him with dark golden Cat School eyes.
"Sorry, Master Vesemir." Allen admitted his mistake properly, "I just zoned out."
Hearing the apology, Vesemir nodded, glanced at the four Apprentices sitting cross-legged around him, and continued his lecture.
"Apprentices, against a Drowner, a Silver Sword is always your best companion…"
Pure Monster Studies were tedious, and Vesemir's teaching style for Monster Studies was very plain.
Before long, Allen zoned out again.
Allen was a transmigrator from the Blue Star.
His original name was jon, 30 years old, an orphan.
Before transmigrating, he was a middle manager at a company.
Middle manager sounded good, but in reality, he was just a scapegoat for those with connections and a high-level fall guy for leaders.
Before his soul transmigrated to the Witcher World, jon, who had just been promoted, pulled four all-nighters to finally complete a major project.
It was seamlessly taken credit for by a mascot who had joined the team a week ago.
The mascot, whose background was unknown, just watched movies and read novels in the office, and his job level rose by two grades.
jon and his team members, who had no background, received a cup of milk tea each as hush money, and in the end, still had to fake smiles and thank the boss for the gift.
After all,
After being promoted two levels, the mascot had already replaced the old leader who was about to retire, becoming their superior.
However, jon was already used to these rotten things.
But what he never expected was that the 12-yuan cup of milk tea given by the mascot was what caused him to transmigrate to the Witcher World.
One second, what entered his mouth was industrial saccharin, the next second, it turned into the fishy, bitter, and sticky Concoction of the Grasses.
Following that was the pain of his whole body's muscles twitching and dissolving, and memories rushing in, as if his brain was exploding…
Recalling the painful memories from three days ago, jon instinctively shivered.
Although he had completed The Witcher 3 game in his spare time, Allen had never thought that one day he would become a member of the Witchers.
"Next month, there's also the High Mountain Trial with a death rate exceeding fifty percent." Allen sighed inwardly.
Just as Allen was thinking about how to survive in this dangerous world, a cold mechanical voice suddenly sounded, and a transparent panel with a bloody tint appeared before his eyes.
[hunting demon handbook Activated]
[Killing monsters can earn rewards. The stronger the monster, the higher the reward]
[Acquired special Skill: Witcher LV1]
"Since transmigration happened, it's not strange for a system to appear," Allen thought.
There was only one option on the panel: "Character."
According to the information he received, Allen's mind moved, and the Character panel opened.
[Name: Allen]
[Age: 13]
[Title: Child of Miracles]
[Level: 1]
[Health: 100% Stamina: 52 / 52]
[Attributes: Strength 5.1, Agility 5.3, Constitution 5.2, Perception 6.9, Mystery 3.1]
[Special Skill: Witcher LV1]
[Skill: Wolf School Two-Handed Sword LV1 (0 / 100)]
[Evaluation: Weak!!!]
(Special Skills only upgrade as the character level increases)
[Witcher (Active): Consumes 50 stamina, concentrates spirit to enter Witcher state. When conditions are met, unleashes a fatal blow (guaranteed to kill the monster)]
Allen: Weak?
Is this panel insulting me?
After muttering a few complaints, Allen silently closed the panel.
The system was quite good, and the Witcher Skill it provided seemed very powerful.
But there was a crucial question.
Where do the demons come from?
Allen had just passed the Grass Trial three days ago, and the High Mountain Trial was a month away.
In this month, he couldn't even leave the gates of Kaer Morhen, so where would he find monsters to kill?
"Allen!"
"You're spacing out again!"
Vesemir heavily closed the "Drowner and Swamp Witch" in his hand.
This class couldn't continue!
Out of four Apprentices, three were zoning out.
The last Apprentice wasn't zoning out, but he wasn't listening either.
His small body was hiding behind Allen, his head almost touching his knees.
What was he thinking?
Sleeping in this place?
The Apprentices' training ground was right next to the main road leading in and out of the castle. Even if he couldn't see, couldn't the other Witchers see?
"Very good! It seems none of you need to learn about Drowners anymore, so let's go straight to practical combat!" Vesemir angrily shouted to his side: "Leto!"
Not far away, a Witcher leaning against the castle wall with his arms crossed nodded and pulled back the black cloth on the cage beside him.
Inside the cage, a humanoid monster with blue skin and fish fins on its back screamed "wah wah" as it was stimulated by the sudden sunlight.
This was a Drowner.
The moment the black cloth was pulled back, the Wolf School medallions on Vesemir's and Leto's chests vibrated intensely.
"Rejoice, Apprentices!" Vesemir pressed his medallion and continued, "Being able to safely face a monster right after completing the Grass Trial is a privilege only Wolf School Apprentices can enjoy."
"The scoundrels of the Cat School only teach Apprentices how to kill their own kind, how to vilely pick the last copper coin from a dead man's smelly boot."
Seemingly pleased with his rhetoric, after slandering his peers, Vesemir's expression towards the Apprentices softened a little.
He handed Allen a steel sword and old Apprentices' leather armor.
"Come on, Master Allen, put on your leather armor, grip your sword, and let me see if your strength matches your arrogance?"
Allen didn't have time to argue and was quickly stuffed into the leather armor by the other Apprentices.
When he came to his senses, his feet were already on the sandy ground of the training field.
Many people were gathered around the training field.
They were all adult Witchers who happened to be passing by and watching the show.
"Are you ready, Master Allen?"
Just as Allen was about to speak, he heard the familiar mechanical voice.
"Ding, a main quest has been discovered: [Beginning of the Witcher Path] Kill one Drowner (0 / 1)"
He had no choice but to swallow his explanation.
"It's just a Drowner, what's there to be afraid of?" Allen thought.
He gripped the steel sword in his hand, took a deep breath, and calmly nodded to Vesemir.
"Ready."
"Very good!" Vesemir uncharacteristically smiled.
At this moment, the Witcher Leto pushed the cage and came to Vesemir's side.
Vesemir opened the cage, slightly shifted his body to dodge the Drowner's pounce, and quickly made a gesture towards the Drowner with his right hand.
Aard Sign.
This was one of the six magical tricks of Witchers, a projective telekinetic force used to repel, stun, or knock down opponents, and also to destroy obstacles.
Under the visible shockwave, the ugly monster rolled like a ball to Allen's front.
The Drowner was still screaming and had not yet gotten up.
Allen gripped his steel sword, intending to rush over and cut it down with one strike while it was off guard.
Just then, Vesemir's voice suddenly came from beside his ear.
"First mistake—weapon!"
"I just said, against a Drowner, a Silver Sword is always your best companion."
Allen:?
Didn't you give me this steel sword?