NOVEL SIMPLE 57. I am Vera’s Friend.
Hmm?
The Red Fox of Alchemy teaching a Witcher apprentice?
Can Witchers even learn alchemy?
Faruk's mind raced as he processed this information. He scrutinized Robin's face carefully, deciding the sorcerer's apprentice didn't seem to be lying. Turning around, he looked directly at the Witcher apprentice for the first time and offered a standard, warm smile.
"Hello, Allen. Are you really learning alchemy from Lady Vera?"
Allen cast a helpless glance at Robin, the bookworm. This was the second time he had seen Faruk, but the first time he received a greeting from the sorcerer.
Ignore him. This was the only emotion Allen had felt previously.
Faruk's sudden shift in demeanor was too abrupt, as if he were addressing a naive child.
"I did learn alchemy from Lady Vera for a few days, but the lessons stopped quickly. Why do you ask?"
"Do you know why Lady Vera left? Where did she go?" Faruk's eyes lit up, but he quickly realized his question was too blunt and added, "I'm a friend of Vera's and I have some matters to discuss with her."
Allen suppressed the urge to roll his eyes.You're just an errand boy, and you claim to be friends with the sorceress?
That's not how you deceive children!
Mimicking Hughes's mannerisms, Allen tilted his head and looked at the sorcerer curiously," Why would Lady Vera tell me where she was going?"
Farouk was momentarily stunned, realizing the truth. He wouldn't report his whereabouts to the apprentices when leaving Ban Ard Academy. Why would the Red Fox of Alchemy inform a Witcher apprentice?
But a Witcher apprentice...
Farouk glanced at the unremarkable Allen, thinking, "Does an ordinary Witcher apprentice qualify to receive instruction from Vera?"
Just as he was about to ask, Allen interrupted.
The Witcher apprentice turned to the proud Robin and asked, "Robin, where are you two headed?"
"The Chief asked me to show Mr. Faruk around Kaer Morhen. He seems very interested in everything here," Robin replied.
Allen paused, then nodded. He made a few perfunctory remarks to the sorcerer before excusing himself with an urgent matter.
As he rounded the corner of the tower, he caught snippets of their conversation: "Robin... why would Lady Vera teach that Witcher apprentice alchemy?"
"It seems to have something to do with the Witcher's Eye..."
Allen's face darkened as he left the tower.
Robin, you traitor!
...
Dusk was approaching.
The Witcher apprentice walked back to the apprentice dormitory, his mind occupied with thoughts of the sorcerer named Faruk.
Given that Kaer Morhen would be destroyed, everything Farouk did was suspicious.
For instance, Why would a sorcerer with apparent hostility from the king be so curious about Kaer Morhen?
"The school's Chief is so naive!" Allen thought regretfully. This was clearly inviting trouble.
When Allen had learned this from Robin, he had barely managed to keep his composure and quickly found an excuse to leave. But now, Allen no longer needed to feign politeness with the sorcerer. He had obtained the information he needed.
Whether the enemy was the sorcerers of Ban Ard, the king of Kaedwen, or both. Since they had already sent someone to scout the terrain and high combat power, It was clear. The battle for the defense of Kaer Morhen was imminent.
"Damn it!"
"I haven't even passed the Trial of the Grasses yet, and another life-and-death crisis is looming."
Allen's face was as dark as a stormy sky. He had thought the great crisis was still far off, at least three or four years away. By then, with the Witcher's handbook, he would have grown much stronger. But now...
...
Unknowingly, Allen reached the apprentice dormitory. Hughes and a few other apprentices were practicing swordsmanship at the entrance.
Seeing Allen approach, Hughes habitually greeted him, Only to find the usually calm and unflappable Allen looking unusually troubled.
"Allen, you're back... what's wrong? Did something happen?"
Allen forced a smile and replied, "I'm fine."
"It's the Trial of the Grasses, isn't it? Don't worry, Allen. You'll definitely pass it," Fred and Bond chimed in, trying to comfort him.
They were so focused on the trial that they couldn't imagine anything else troubling Allen, the "born Witcher."
Feeling the sincere concern from the other Witcher apprentices, Allen's mood improved significantly. Even if their worries weren't about the same thing. He smiled and said, "Yes, it's about the Trial of the Grasses. I'm feeling much better now, thanks."
Hughes scratched his head, noticing Allen's improved mood, and continued practicing swordsmanship with Fred and Bond. Allen watched for a while before joining in.
....
The sorcerer from Ban Ard left with Robin that same day. Allen's life returned to its usual routine, as if all his worries were just needless anxiety. But the Witcher apprentice knew that the crisis threatening the Wolf School could happen at any moment.
Allen had mentioned the sorcerer to the Chief when they crossed paths. Unfortunately, the Chief just nodded and walked away, seemingly unconcerned.
That night, Allen tossed and turned. The next day, he approached the Chief again, Describing a dream in which Kaer Morhen was besieged by mobs and sorcerers, using the guise of the Miracle Child.
The Chief listened to his detailed account with a serious expression, patting Allen's shoulder and saying, "I'll consider it carefully."
But leaving the Chief's quarters, Allen's sense of impending doom didn't dissipate. Under the pressure of this looming crisis, Allen managed to persuade Vesemir to let him go out. Of course, accompanied by another Witcher master, Danthe.
Unfortunately, Danthe forbade him from using the Drowner Whistle at Killer's Lake upon learning its effects. Drowners had become scarce around Kaer Morhen, and he would only encounter three or four in a day. Danthe didn't let him venture further even if he found traces of other minor monsters like foglets or kikimores.
"You're the Drowner Slayer, not the kikimore or foglet slayer," Danthe joked, though the Witcher apprentice didn't find it amusing.
Five days later, Allen resigned himself to not leaving Kaer Morhen again. In his inventory, only a dozen drowner heart extracts had been added. Due to the level difference and the sparse encounters, he didn't earn any experience or treasure chests.
He learned that if the level difference with the target was too large, the hunting evaluation could even drop from D-level. It was truly a waste of effort.
Back at Kaer Morhen, Allen adjusted his mindset and joined the other apprentices' training. Besides helping Vesemir answer questions about signs, his LV2 Wolf School two-handed sword skills allowed him to correct the apprentices' mistakes.
Soon, Allen spent more time answering questions than Vesemir, almost as if Vesemir was his assistant.
Regular routines made time fly.
In the blink of an eye, The Trial of the Grasses had arrived!
....
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58. The Last Day.
59. The Trial of the Mountain Begins.
60. The Gap Between Witcher Apprentices.
61. The Foglet.
62. Will You Surrender?