96. Clap! Clap!
"Hmm?"
Seeing Mary trembling, Allen scratched his head in confusion.
Was she crying tears of joy? Or was she shaking with excitement?
"You don't need to..."
Allen's words were cut off by Mary's loud interruption.
"I do!"
The girl's sharp voice suddenly exploded right next to his ear, making his head buzz.
If you do, you do, but why so loud?
Allen shook his head helplessly, studying Mary while pondering what to ask for in return. His gaze fell on the bottles of elixir on the table, and an idea struck him.
"How about this? Once you learn this method, you can help me make twenty bottles of this potion every day. We'll set the deadline for the vernal equinox. How about that?"
Mary breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this. The Month of Souls was only halfway through, and there were just over a hundred days until the vernal equinox.
Three months of making only twenty bottles of potion a day in exchange for learning a secret potion-making technique that even Vera admired? That was definitely worth it!
Allen also felt it was a good deal. After all, making elixirs for Hughes, Bond, and Fred every day was time-consuming. Especially since he was only doing it for show, given his inventory was well-stocked with drowner heart elixirs, it was even more unbearable.
Plus, if Mary started helping with potion-making, wouldn't other witchers in need of potions be able to seek her help too?
As Allen thought about this, his smile grew warmer and kinder. He carefully explained the method to Mary and the sorceress three times.
The sorceress understood after the first explanation, while Mary only nodded in understanding after the third. By the time the lesson was over, the moon was already high in the sky. Seeing it was late, Allen made two more bottles of Cat's Eye potion, then packed them along with fifteen elixirs, preparing to leave.
"Poof~"
A foul burnt smell wafted over from his side.
Allen looked over.
The dark purple heart was covered in irregular scorch marks. The center of the four petals was spewing a foul black mist, like a squid in the sea. This was the fourth drowner heart Mary had ruined.
Allen quickly assessed the situation and realized it was due to her poor control over the magic infusion process. More practice would solve that problem. But Mary clearly didn't think so.
After her failure, she placed the tray with over ten drowner hearts in front of her and carefully selected each one, picking out the most aesthetically pleasing ones. As if her inability to make the elixir was due to the ugly shapes of the drowner hearts. If she found a good-looking one, she would definitely succeed.
Allen didn't bother with her and turned his head to look out the window. The sorceress stood by the white marble windowsill, her right arm propped on it like a delicate willow. Moonlight caressed her jade-like skin, a hazy glow emanating from her flawless form. She seemed as divine as the mythical moon goddess.
"Lady Vera, I have something to discuss with you. Can we..."
"Clap!"
A snap of fingers.
"Clap!"
The sound of flesh hitting flesh.
Mary's entire face was buried into the foul-smelling drowner heart. Seeing this, Allen's words faltered: "...can we step outside for a moment..."
"Just say it here."
"Alright."
Out of a sense of duty, Allen pulled Mary out of the heart and gently placed her on the table before saying: "Lady Vera, do you know any elf friends?"
"I used to."
Allen asked curiously, "You used to? What about now?"
"Now I don't," Vera reminisced. "When I was young, during the war between elves and humans, I had to choose a side."
She paused, then continued without hesitation: "My elf friend was killed by my own hands, right on the battlefield."
"Since then, I've never befriended an elf again."
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..."
Vera waved off Allen's apology: "No need to apologize. I understand your point."
"You want me to ask the elves about what Henselt is looking for, right?"
Lady Vera and the headmaster really are prepared... Allen nodded and said: "Yes. I think this could be a breakthrough. It might reveal Haxo's true intentions towards us. If things go wrong, we can try to ally with the elves."
"An alliance is impossible, and getting information is also very difficult," Vera shook her head. "Elves are immortal beings. Shaerrawedd was destroyed less than a century ago."
"Few elves would trust humans now."
"Especially in Kaedwen."
"When humans and elves meet, one must die."
"Not even witchers?" Allen asked.
"Aren't witchers human?" the sorceress retorted expressionlessly.
Allen fell silent, nodding thoughtfully before bidding farewell and heading towards the door.
"Allen."
A cold female voice called out, and Allen turned back.
"If one day... the visions in your dreams come true, I will take you away with me."
Allen was stunned, his heart instantly warmed.
"Thank you, Lady Vera."
"But if possible, I'd like to survive with my fellow Wolf School witchers."
Bowing his head slightly in thanks, Allen turned and left.
"Cre-eak~"
The alchemy lab door closed.
After a long while, Someone stood in the darkness, letting out a faint sigh.
--------
The next morning.
"Clap!"
A long and short wooden stick clashed. The short stick quickly retreated, but the long stick relentlessly followed.
"Clap! Clap! Clap!"
Three rapid consecutive strikes hit the center of the short stick with great force but to no effect. The short stick simply tilted inward, deflecting the force. Then, stepping back to gather strength, stepping forward to thrust, the short stick was now at someone's throat, the Adam's apple moving up and down with tension.
"Allen, the gap between us is getting bigger and bigger."
Fred, who had just sparred with Allen, sighed as he put the wooden stick down on the training ground. He had fought with all his might, yet Allen didn't even break a sweat. It was disheartening and frustrating.
As the fight ended, the two others watching also walked over.
"Fred, I've been telling you, Allen is a monster. Why compare yourself to him?" Bond walked over, patting Fred's shoulder and handing him a water bag.
Fred took the water bag, drank a small sip to moisten his throat, and nodded:
"Yeah, Allen really is a monster."
Allen shook his head helplessly. The fight was Fred's idea. After drinking five bottles of elixir, he was brimming with fighting spirit and pestered Allen for a spar to gauge their differences. If Allen hadn't been mindful of Fred's pride, he could have taken him down with the first strike.
"Ahem~"
Seeing Fred calm down from the intense fight, Allen cleared his throat and said:
"At the vernal equinox, there will be an apprentice duel between the Wolf School and the Cat School. Do you guys want to participate?"
...
📢20 advanced chapters on p@treaon📢
For advance chapters: p@treon.com/Uchiha_Itachi007 (replace @ with a)
97. Silver Sword, Drawn.
98. New Monster.
99. You Can Use Magic Too?
100. Pyramid.
101. Hmm? So Weak?