Vesemir shared the same confusion.
Allen's first battle had been not long ago.
His swordsmanship was skilled, and his posture accurate.
He was an excellent Witcher Apprentice, but nothing more.
This time, however, was different.
The subtle adjustments of his center of gravity, the way he deflected force from heavy blows…
The coordination of his upper body and the stability of his footwork were completely unlike before.
Anyone with a bit of sword training could see the difference, let alone a master like Vesemir.
If he had to give an evaluation.
Then, at least in terms of swordsmanship, Allen was already a qualified Witcher.
"Are the Witchers Eyes really that miraculous?" Vesemir muttered to himself.
"What did you say?" Leto asked.
"Nothing."
After dismissing Leto, Vesemir glanced at the Wolf School Chief, who was silently watching the training ground, then refocused his attention on Allen.
"Hiss~ Huff~ Hiss~ Huff~"
Allen gasped for breath, quickly retreating a few steps, his eyes fixed on the Water Hag slowly rising from the ground.
As expected, it still wouldn't work.
Without Demon Hunting, using a steel sword against a monster couldn't even break its defense.
Fortunately, he had upgraded the Wolf School Two-Handed Sword.
Otherwise, he would have been hit by the Water Hag countless times by now.
After slightly calming his breathing, Allen sheathed his steel sword and drew his Silver Sword.
At this moment, aside from the Water Hag that had been knocked down by the last sword strike, the other two had already charged forward.
With ferocious faces, they rapidly approached, and Allen tightened his grip on the Silver Sword.
The moment the Water Hag lunged within a step of him, his blue cat-like Witchers Eyes suddenly widened.
Allen stomped the ground, rotating his body the instant the force transferred from the ground to his waist.
In a flash of lightning, the silver blade cut a beautiful arc through the air, directly severing the Water Hag's neck, and in the very next instant, splitting in two the sharp claw extended by the following Water Hag.
Before the head and claw could fall, Allen advanced instead of retreating, performing another spin to decapitate the Water Hag that had lost its claw.
At this point,
Although the third Water Hag was only two steps away, the battle had already lost its suspense.
Half a minute later.
Allen let out a long breath, casually shaking off the blood from his Silver Sword.
"Monster Group 'Water Hag' LV2 Subjugated!"
"Reward Settlement: Overcome the Enemy, Basic Rating D, Victory Against Odds +1 — D+, Decapitation Deterrence +3 — C+, Urgent Mission +2 — B"
"Final Evaluation: B"
"Loot Obtained: Drowner Heart Essence * 3, small experience orb * 9, Water Hag's Treasure Chest * 4"
"Timed Mission Completed: You All, Come At Me! (Killed Water Hags 3 / 3)"
"Reward Obtained: small experience orb * 10, Universal Treasure Chest * 1"
Quite a haul!
Allen thought.
Listening to the continuous dinging notifications in his ears, a feeling of immense happiness welled up within him.
Thank you, Water Hag!
Allen sighed with emotion, lowering his head and walking towards the edge of the training ground.
"Apprentice Allen!"
Allen looked up, instinctively catching the object thrown to him.
Spreading his palm, under the midday sun, the crystal-clear round gem reflected a colorful prism of light.
It was Vera's Illusion Pendant.
"Wolf School Chief," Allen looked at the Wolf School Chief in confusion, "I killed the Water Hags with a Silver Sword."
The Wolf School Chief smiled, looking at Allen approvingly, and said:
"I know."
"Rational courage is more worthy of reward than greedy recklessness."
"So yes, Vera's Illusion Pendant is yours."
"Not only that, because of your outstanding performance, all Apprentices will receive custom leather armor before the High Mountain Trial."
Without waiting for Allen's reply.
The Wolf School Chief praised Vesemir's teaching skills a few more times, then walked directly towards the gray main castle.
Watching the Wolf School Chief's dashing departure, Allen felt a mix of emotions.
Could it be that he was just being overly suspicious?
It seemed quite normal for the Wolf School Chief to reward a promising Apprentice.
But in the game's background, wasn't the Witcher already in decline?
How could the Wolf School in 1179 be so extravagant, using magical items to boost the Apprentices' morale?
Allen withdrew his gaze.
Hughs, 11 years old, with silver hair and blue eyes, happily circled him like a fluffy puppy.
The two Apprentices lying on the ground also looked at him with grateful eyes.
For them, in the upcoming High Mountain Trial, wearing tailor-made, high-quality leather armor versus tattered Apprentice leather armor.
Could mean the difference between life and death.
Vesemir and Leto stood nearby, smiling as they watched the Apprentices celebrate their victory.
They seemed to have accepted the omnipotence of the Witchers Eyes, at least on the surface, showing no doubt about Allen's sudden surge in strength.
Most of the observing Witchers had left, but those who remained wore smiles, as if pleased with the future of the Wolf School.
The warm autumn sun cast dazzling light, passing through the towering gray High Mountain, illuminating the blue cat-like Witchers Eyes of the 13-year-old Witcher Apprentice.
In that instant, Allen felt like a hero.
"Alright, alright, the celebration is over."
Vesemir clapped his hands, drawing the Apprentices' attention.
"Allen, Hughs, stay," Vesemir nodded at Allen, then lowered his head and said, "The rest of the injured Apprentices, go to the Alchemy Room on the second floor of the South Tower for treatment, and pick up your lunch while you're at it."
The injured Apprentices left upon hearing this.
Allen and Hughs followed Vesemir to the six Water Hag corpses.
Leto had already dragged them all together.
"Next, I'll teach you how to extract Water Hag materials," Vesemir drew a dagger from his waist, "Watch carefully, I'll only teach it once."
"Shouldn't we wait for Bunt and the others?" Hughs asked confusedly.
"These are your prey, it has nothing to do with anyone else." Vesemir didn't look up, "Don't talk so much, watch carefully, I'll only teach it once."
"The Water Hag's tongue and brain are excellent Alchemy materials."
"As the most common water element matrix in Alchemy, its gentle properties can reconcile conflicts between many advanced materials…"
"Although these two materials both come from Water Hags, their processing methods are vastly different…"
Vesemir's voice was still as soothing as ever.
In less than ten minutes, Hughs's weight was practically resting on Allen's back.
The fatigue from the high-intensity battle also gently knocked at this moment, wanting to wander into Allen's mind.
"…Most people—some even including mages—believe that Witchers hunt monsters using Silver Swords and Signs, but that's not entirely accurate."
"Potions are also our important weapons."
"Witcher Potions are prepared from strong liquor, Water Hag brain, dandelions, mushrooms, and other ingredients."
"Simple to prepare, materials are readily available."
"After consumption, they can significantly increase a Witcher's reaction speed and suppress pain…"
"Witcher Potion?" Allen caught the keyword, "Master Vesemir, is this the only type of potion Witchers have?"
"Of course not."
Hearing the negative answer, Allen breathed a sigh of relief.
Right.
With so many potions in the game, how could they suddenly disappear?
"If you have money," Vesemir shrugged, "you can, of course, buy some flashy and impractical elixirs from mages: night vision, muscle enhancement, invisibility, and so on."
The information in Vesemir's words was already very clear, but Allen still held a glimmer of hope and asked:
"Are Witcher Potions the only ones Witchers can prepare?"
"Of course, simple and practical, and that's all we need."
Allen's heart sank to rock bottom.
This was not the Witcher World he was familiar with.