NOVEL SIMPLE 97. Silver Sword, Drawn.
Hughes, Bond, and Fred were taken aback.
Allen, without waiting for them to speak, continued: "If you are willing to participate, the school will give each of you 100 Orens, along with the standard silver sword and cotton armor."
"However, this inter-school combat competition is hosted by the king of Kaedwen. It's not as safe as the Mountain Trial."
"In fact, in some ways, it's even more dangerous than the Mountain Trial."
The three looked at each other after hearing this long speech, and finally, Hughes stepped forward and asked, confused: "Do you not want us to go?"
Allen shook his head, glanced at them, and said: "I just wanted to clarify the dangers of the combat competition in advance."
"Are you going, Allen?" Fred asked.
"Of course, I have to go," Allen said.
Or rather, he had to go. He needed to see what that king of Kaedwen was like in person. Hearing that Allen was also going, the three of them simultaneously breathed a sigh of relief.
Hughes looked at Bond and Fred and confirmed, "Then there's nothing to say, we're definitely all going!"
"Yeah! 100 Orens plus a silver sword and equipment—who knows how many commissions it would take to earn that much money," Bond chimed in, looking forward to the school's rewards.
Fred, full of fighting spirit, said, "If I can't beat Allen, can I not beat those scoundrels from the Cat School?"
Immediately, under the south tower, the crowd was excited. It was as if Hughes and the others had already knocked down the Cat School apprentices and won the combat competition.
Although Allen had anticipated this, Hughes, Bond, and Fred's trust in him still touched him.
"Alright, let's prepare well for the next few days."
"When the equinox comes, we'll definitely crush those scoundrels from the Cat School."
After notifying them about the combat competition, Allen instructed them in swordsmanship for a while, then bid them farewell and walked towards the castle gate.
Before leaving, he casually performed an appraisal on the strongest among the three, Fred.
[Name: Fred]
[Attributes: Strength 8.3, Agility 9.4, Constitution 11.3, Perception 12.1, Mystique 7]
Fred's strength was clearly a level above Hughes. From Fred's status panel, Allen also received a small surprise.
When attributes exceed ten points, using drowner heart essence does not reduce its effectiveness.
When Allen used drowner heart essence, the effect rapidly diminished once his attributes exceeded ten points. He had thought it was due to his attributes being too high. It now seemed that while high attributes might reduce effectiveness, it was more about the number of times used; the body adapted to the essence as if developing an antibody. But before reaching that number of uses, full enhancement was achievable regardless of how high the attributes were.
So,
"Could low-level monster heart essences still be effective for witchers like Vesemir, whose attributes are already very high?"
Allen pondered this as he walked out of the castle. He didn't notice that as he left, Hughes, Bond, and Fred simultaneously slowed their training. They watched as Allen's figure grew smaller and farther away.
"Is Allen leaving Kaer Morhen to hunt monsters again?" Bond asked, looking in the direction Allen was headed.
Hughes, without turning around, asked in return, "Where else could this path lead?"
"But we just finished the trial, didn't we?" Bond scratched the back of his head, "We worked so hard to improve our strength before the Mountain Trial to avoid dying in it, but why continue now?"
"Didn't Allen just say?" Fred chimed in.
"Say what?"
Fred and Hughes turned to look at Bond's puzzled face and said: "Didn't you hear what Allen just said? He said the king-organized combat competition is very dangerous, even more so than the Mountain Trial."
"Now he should be preparing for the competition."
"Ah? I didn't notice." Bond's face showed a clear smile.
"Then why did you agree just now?"
"Since we just became witchers, there's only the four of us. We can't let Allen go alone."
Bond's logic was clear. He continued: "My life was saved by Allen during the Mountain Trial."
"No matter how strong Allen is, we can't let him face those despicable cats alone."
Hughes and Fred nodded vigorously after hearing this.
"Then let's keep training, so we won't drag Allen down when the time comes."
Hughes looked at the spot where Allen had disappeared and said firmly.
----
By the shores of Lake Killer.
There were still more than twenty days until the winter solstice, but on the Blue Mountains, due to the high altitude, it was already cold.
Although the clear Lake Killer hadn't frozen over, the edges had formed a thin layer of ice.
"Crunch, crunch, crunch."
The sound of snow being stepped on broke the silence here. Allen exhaled lightly. The warm white mist froze into frost the moment it was exhaled, drifting away and gradually dissipating.
He opened his Witcher journal and turned to the task tab.
[Hunting Task: Foglet I]
[Activated Hunting Task: Drowner II]
[Task: Summoning I]
To increase strength quickly in a short time, doing tasks was the fastest way.
Looking at the tasks in the tab, Allen's next steps became clear. Kill drowners, kill foglets, and deliver warmth to the big rock, broken rock, and small rock. In simpler terms, it meant following the Mountain Trial path and killing all the way to the Circle of Elements.
"I'll choose the left bank of Lake Killer!"
Allen gazed at both sides of Lake Killer and headed for the left bank.
"Crunch, crunch, crunch."
It had to be said that this snowy environment was unfriendly to Allen. The low temperatures hindered scent transmission. While the white snow left monster footprints, it was difficult to distinguish from afar.
Therefore, Even with both tracking skills active, it took Allen almost an hour to find his first batch of prey in the forest near the lake.
"Crunch, crunch, crunch."
Although Allen tried to slow his steps, the snow still betrayed his position.
Fortunately, What he encountered seemed to be a group of drowners.
"Croak, croak."
Listening to the approaching monster calls.
Allen's magical energy flowed through his body, his thumb and index finger slightly bent, drawing a triangle in front of him.
Quen Sign.
A faint golden glow flashed across his brown leather armor. The snow was slippery and treacherous. To avoid losing footing, Allen leaned against a sturdy dead tree, ready for battle.
"Croak, croak."
The chaotic calls of the drowners made it impossible to tell their number. A familiar stench wafted over with the wind.
"Shing—"
A melodious hum.
Silver sword, drawn.
...….
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98. New Monster.
99. You Can Use Magic Too?
100. Pyramid.
101. Hmm? So Weak?
102. How to Increase Critical Hit Rate?