Using his recently ended weakened state and lingering discomfort as an excuse, Allen declined Vesemir's duel invitation.
The witcher master was still in a state of excitement after his rapid attribute boost—his blood was boiling, and he was itching for action.
Allen didn't want to break that momentum and push Vesemir back into his earlier melancholic state, where he lamented the passage of time and the rise of a new generation replacing the old.
Though Vesemir was no longer young, he still looked like a robust man in his prime.
It was too soon for him to dwell on such sentimental thoughts.
"Bang!"
The wooden door closed.
Allen perked his ears and listened to Vesemir's eager footsteps. Instead of returning to his own room, he headed east.
Allen silently lit a candle for the young witchers in his mind.
"Let's hope Vesemir shows some restraint and doesn't completely defeat Elni and the others five times in a row..."
"The kids have grown up; they have their pride too."
Chuckling to himself at the thought, Allen took a deep breath and reopened his Witcher's Journal.
[Name: Allen]
[Health: 100%, Stamina: 680/680, Mana: 840/840]
[Attributes: Strength 80, Agility 64, Constitution 68, Perception 85, Mysticism 84]
[Affinity: Water 13 (Mana Source·Water 3%), Earth 18 (Mana Source·Earth 8%), Wind 10 (Mana Source·Wind 0%), Fire 10 (Mana Source·Fire 0%), Space 2]
Strength, Perception, and Mysticism had all surpassed 80. He wasn't far from reaching 100...
In fact, given this upcoming enhancement, unless all of the unknown essence extracts he had were purely for boosting Agility and Constitution, at least one of these three stats would inevitably exceed 100.
And 100—no matter the context—was always a significant number.
Especially since Vesemir had already encountered a bottleneck when his Perception reached 80, making any further increase extremely difficult.
"I need to be careful in choosing which essence extract to use..."
Allen opened his inventory, scanning the various elements, cores, nuclei, and essence extracts.
[Inventory: Element of @#￥%& 1, Flesh Core of the Summoning Ritual 1, Rotting Lord's Heart Essence 1, Monster Nest's Core 5, Heart Essence of the Scurver 7, Heart Essence of the Rotfiend 1]
Frowning in thought, his gaze unconsciously settled on a blood-colored orb with rippling patterns.
Aside from the Scurver's Heart Essence, all the other items were untested. But the Monster Nest's Core was different—he had five of them.
With that many in stock, it was worth testing its effects in advance.
After consuming so many essence extracts and purification spirits, Allen had already formed some theories about the connection between an essence's source and the attributes it enhanced.
He speculated that Monster Nests, which purely spawned necrophages with almost no offensive capabilities, would primarily enhance Constitution.
And for Allen, Constitution was the safest stat to boost.
"Ding!"
[Would you like to use Monster Nest's Core 1?]
A soft, jelly-like substance, neither fully meat nor fully gelatin, appeared on his tongue.
The moment he instinctively bit into it, a thick, iron-like taste surged into his nose.
Like highly concentrated, sweetly metallic blood, it burst in his mouth.
It was the first time he had eaten a solid essence extract. The unexpected and bizarre texture caught him off guard—he almost spat it out.
But the next second—
As soon as he bit through the "filling," the gelatin melted in his mouth, turning completely into thick blood.
It slid down his throat.
Though the taste was disgusting, the Monster Nest's Core didn't come with any of the usual side effects—no freezing cold, no searing heat, no feeling of fading into nothingness.
There was almost no strange sensation at all.
Allen only felt his heart rate increase slightly before a warm current spread through his body.
[Attributes: Strength 80, Agility 64, Constitution 73 (+5), Perception 85, Mysticism 84]
[Affinity: Water 14 (Mana Source·Water 4%) (+1), Earth 19 (Mana Source·Earth 9%) (+1), Wind 10 (Mana Source·Wind 0%), Fire 10 (Mana Source·Fire 0%), Space 2]
Five Points in Constitution!
This was exactly the attribute he needed most right now.
The purified essence from the One-Eyed Wraith, the purified essence from the Troll Wraith, the Rotfiend's heart essence, and the Scurver's heart essence…
A whole bunch of purification essences and heart extracts had been reducing his Constitution attribute.
It almost turned what should have been a Witcher's strongest attribute into Allen's weakest.
Gaining one point each in Water and Earth affinity was fine, though. His affinity with dominant elements could be balanced out using the newly acquired "Mana Source" skill, and any increase was ultimately a good thing.
"Looks like I really need to start gathering more intel on Monster Nests." Allen thought to himself.
A well-placed grapeshot while riding a royal griffin—easy.
But if he lacked Constitution now, then Vesemir and even the younger Witchers would certainly need it in the future as well. Especially since other Witchers faced even harsher attribute bottlenecks than Allen.
"Cursed Oil, Vampire Oil, Relict Oil, Specter Oil, Insectoid Oil, Ogre Oil, Draconid Oil… plus heart and purification essences that enhance Agility and Constitution..."
Allen scratched his head in frustration.
Where was he supposed to find such a variety of monsters?
Especially vampires, Relict, Specters, and Draconid—those kinds of creatures weren't as common as drowners or ghouls. Hunting them down would rely entirely on luck.
But…
"I can't just not search for them..." Allen's eyebrows furrowed.
He had already learned his lesson once—lacking the right blade oil at the wrong moment could cost him dearly. He wouldn't let that happen again.
"I also need to keep an eye on Ban Ard and the Wild Hunt… No… there's also the 'White Frost' in the Spiral..."
"Sigh~"
He exhaled deeply, staring at the wooden talisman gently swaying in the wind from the ceiling.
"Why can't I ever get a break?"
But alas, the Sword of Damocles would not be lifted from Damocles' head just because he complained to Dionysius II.
Neither the sorcerers, the Wild Hunt, nor the White Frost would show him mercy just because he voiced his grievances.
"One step at a time," Allen took a deep breath. "I've already protected Kaer Morhen. Next, I need to neutralize the sorcerers, uncover the truth about the White Frost from the Wild Hunt, and then eliminate the White Frost itself..."
"One, two, three. Just three steps. Simple, isn't it?"
In the empty room, of course, no one answered.
After a long while, a sigh finally rippled through the small wooden cabin.
A slight dip in mood, of course, wouldn't affect Allen's actions.
In reality, while the pressure brought by the sorcerers, the Wild Hunt, and the White Frost was considerable, compared to an ordinary Witcher, Allen was already standing at the peak of glory—envied by many.
Besides, not just anyone had the privilege of bearing the weight of saving the world.
Compared to the average person who might die in ignorance, Allen—who understood the Witcher world's future better than even so-called prophets—felt both the frustration of endless, compounding pressures and the thrill of influencing the world on a grand scale.
And ultimately, all of this pressure stemmed from a single source—not being strong enough.
Whether in terms of personal strength or the forces he controlled, he still wasn't strong enough to bear such an immense burden.
Fortunately, both were steadily growing.
Once he calmed his mind, Allen didn't rush to consume the remaining four Monster Nest Core Essences but instead turned his attention to the Heart Essence of the Rotting Lord and the Heart Essence of the Corpse Demon.
[Attributes: Strength 84 (+4), Agility 69 (+5), Constitution 83 (+10), Perception 88 (+3), Mysticism 86 (+2)]
[Affinity: Water 15 (Mana Source · Water 5%) (+1), Earth 19 (Mana Source · Earth 9%), Wind 11 (Mana Source · Wind 1%) (+1), Fire 10 (Mana Source · Fire 0%), Space 2]
Two essences granted a total increase of 24 attribute points, along with +1 Water Affinity and +1 Wind Affinity.
What surprised him the most was the Rotting Lord—it boosted his weakest attribute, Agility, by a full 5 points.
This solidified Allen's decision: once he unlocked "Conjunction of the Spheres – Alghoul", he would fully absorb all the elemental energies in that valley and reopen it again in the shortest time possible.
After consuming both Heart Essences, Allen cautiously tested the effects of consuming all seven Scurver's Heart Essences.
[Attributes: Strength 94 (+10), Agility 79 (+10), Constitution 69 (-14), Perception 88, Mysticism 93 (+7)]
[Affinity: Water 15 (Mana Source · Water 5%), Earth 19 (Mana Source · Earth 9%), Wind 11 (Mana Source · Wind 1%), Fire 24 (Mana Source · Fire 14%) (+14), Space 2]
Although his Constitution dropped back to its previous level, his Strength and Mysticism both surpassed 90.
A surge of immense power seemed to be coursing through every muscle fiber in his body. When he clenched his fist, faint bursts of compressed air could be heard.
Despite the slight weakness in his body, Allen had never felt his strength this overwhelming—as if a single punch could demolish the entire wooden cabin with just the force of the wind.
Of course.
Allen didn't attempt it—after all, he was only borrowing this place.
At the same time…
With 24 points in Fire Affinity, he could now sense the restless fire elements in the void without even needing to channel through the Wolf Medallion.
If he were to cast Igni at this moment, the sudden boost in Mysticism and Fire Affinity would undoubtedly bring him a surprising result.
More importantly, his body showed no signs of discomfort—once again proving Allen's uniqueness.
Although the exact reason was unclear, unlike Vesemir, his Constitution's fluctuations didn't hinder his strength growth.
And 90 wasn't even his limit.
As Allen exhaled in relief, his mind grew even more focused.
He used up the remaining four Monster Nest's Core, bringing his Constitution back to 85.
"So close…" He gazed at the semi-transparent inventory screen, thinking,
"I'm already close to reaching 100 attribute points… and I still have the @#￥%& factor and the Flesh Core of the Summoning Ritual left unused."
His mind drifted back to a few days ago—to that colossal monster that occupied nearly an entire valley, and the banished dark god driven away by [Monster Hunt].
Allen's breathing grew heavier.
"If only I could analyze these monster spoils to see exactly which attributes they boost…"
With a slight complaint in his mind, he activated his will.
"Ding!"
[Use Flesh Core of the Summoning Ritual 1?]
-------------------------
As dusk deepened, the silhouette of the temple's spire began to devour the stars.
Inside the quiet temple, everything seemed to be surrendering to nature's guidance, preparing for slumber.
Yet, in one corner, an intense battle was raging.
"Too weak! Too slow!" Accompanied by the sharp whoosh of a sword cleaving through the air, an angry voice berated, "What's wrong? Seven of you can't even take on just me? Not even once?"
Clang!
Spencer let out a muffled grunt as he staggered backward five steps, barely neutralizing the force from Vesemir's longsword.
What was going on?
He didn't understand.
It wasn't as if he hadn't sparred with Master Vesemir before.
In fact, unless there was a special circumstance, they had different kinds of sparring matches almost every week.
After all, since the captain and Master Vesemir forbade them from leaving the temple to visit the tavern, there weren't many entertainment options available inside the temple.
So…
From swordsmanship to signs, from duels to team battles—aside from the captain and Vesemir never dueling in front of them, every possible combination had been tried multiple times.
Their favorite "game" had always been a seven-on-two against the captain and Master Vesemir.
But never before—yes, never—had something like this happened…
Not once had they been completely unable to land a single hit on Vesemir.
No!
It wasn't just that they couldn't land a hit; they were being completely annihilated by a suddenly ferocious Master Vesemir.
"What's with Master Vesemir today? Did he take something?"
The young witchers, left battered and disheveled by Vesemir's sudden surge of monstrous strength, exchanged bewildered glances as they gasped for breath.
Not only had his strength skyrocketed inexplicably, but his stamina also seemed endless—to a downright terrifying degree.
If it weren't for the fact that taking the captain's potions left clear traces on the face and pupils, they would have suspected that Vesemir had cheated and taken something just to teach them a lesson.
"Clay, this is all your fault!"
Hughes shook his right hand, still numb from the impact, and complained, "If you hadn't insisted on having Master Vesemir and the captain fight, he wouldn't have taken it out on us!"
"Huh?" Clay wiped the sweat from his forehead and looked around at the glaring young witchers in confusion. "What does this have to do with me? And didn't the captain say that Master Vesemir won?"
You're the only idiot who actually believes that…
Hughes thought to himself.
Master Vesemir's expression back then had looked painfully forced.
"Brats, my ears still work, you know…"
Vesemir, his sword hanging loosely in his grip, stepped forward. "Has my sword stopped being a threat to you lot? You have time to chat?"
The young witchers groaned in unison.
They loved the game of ganging up on their mentors, but getting beaten up? Not so much.
Still, no one backed down.
And when Vesemir added, "Allen wasn't this weak at your age."
Despite their bodies aching all over, the young witchers red-eyed, charged forward again.
Who would willingly admit they were inferior?
Even if that person was the captain.
Just as they were about to push their exhausted bodies forward again, ready to charge at the demon king that was Vesemir under the moonlight…
"Master Vesemir!"
A voice suddenly called out from the edge of the grassy path.
It was Nenneke.
At once, the young witchers collapsed onto the ground in relief.
Vesemir, however, sheathed his sword and walked over.
"What is it, Priestess Nenneke?" Vesemir asked.
Nenneke's expression was grave. "It's Ban Ard. Something's happened with the sorcerers!"
.....
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