432. The Future of the Witcher Corps
Vesemir's strength had indeed fallen far behind Allen's, and the gap was widening at an alarming rate.
From the time at Kaer Morhen, where Vesemir alone held back the flood of drowners surging from the Killer Lake while Allen could only hide behind him, to just two days ago, during the descent of the Dark God, when Vesemir could only assist the royal griffin in stopping the returning necrophages—only half a year had passed between these events.
Of course, during the Dark God's descent, Vesemir had done a lot to buy Allen time and played a crucial role. But naturally, Vesemir could feel the gap growing—he felt that he was being left behind, unable to keep up with Allen's pace.
As a Witcher Master, or rather, as an exceptional warrior, this was a bitter pill to swallow.
This was also a problem that Allen himself was gradually facing.
Because of the Witcher's Journal, his strength had started to outpace those around him by a significant margin.
The enemies he would soon face—including sorcerers, the Wild Hunt, and even the White Frost—were each more terrifying than the last. It seemed that bringing his companions along would be no different from sending them to their deaths.
Just like during the Dark God's descent, he hadn't taken the young witchers of the Witcher Corps with him.
But were Erni and the others really slow in their progress?
No!
Whether it was Erni, Claral, or even Clay and Spencer, they had far surpassed the level of a mere witcher apprentice on their first trial outside the keep.
In just a month, Clay, the weakest among the young witchers, had progressed from hunting drowners to taking down ghouls—and not just one at a time, but three at once with ease.
Erni, on the other hand, was now able to maneuver effortlessly within formations of ghouls and rotfiends, even when commanded by an alghoul.
They had completely reached the level of a full-fledged Wolf School graduate, and among them, they would be considered the best of their class.
To complete a trial that normally took five years in just one month—was that not fast enough?
It was, but it still wasn't enough. Not nearly enough for the battles Allen would be facing in the future.
That was why, over the past two days, while using battle merit points to improve the Witcher Corps' strength, he had been considering Vesemir's and the Corps' future roles.
Relying on his own strength alone was simply not feasible.
Against a massive horde of monsters, whether it was exterminating them, defending a city, or executing a decapitation strike, a single person could never handle everything perfectly.
Even with his skills, human limitations like fatigue, injuries, and simply being unable to be everywhere at once would make certain battles impossible to win.
But with Vesemir, the Monster Hunting Regiment, the royal guards, sorceresses, and priests hunting alongside him—distracting and thinning out the enemy—the odds of success would increase drastically.
This had been proven in Ban Ard, during the May Festival in Ellander, and just a few days ago in Mahakam.
However, Vesemir was falling behind in strength, and the Monster Hunting Regiment, the royal guards, the sorceresses, and the priests were not his own personal forces.
Thus, it became absolutely necessary to enhance Vesemir's strength and increase the number and power of his direct Witcher Corps members.
After all, it wouldn't always be possible to conveniently assemble an elite army, a group of sorceresses, and a priestly order every time he needed them.
Second.
Vesemir's role was different from that of the Witcher Corps.
Vesemir was a high-level combatant who should fight alongside Allen or lead squads independently. His mastery of technique—swordsmanship and Signs—was already near perfection. In fact, in terms of Wolf School techniques, Vesemir was even more skilled than Allen.
Oils and potions only required some adjustment for him to use effectively. The only thing he lacked was raw attributes.
Thus, strengthening Vesemir wasn't difficult for Allen—it was just a matter of feeding him a ton of Ghoul Heart Essence and Purification Essence.
In fact, Allen had already planned for this. The ten Alghoul Heart Essences were prepared specifically for Vesemir.
However, Vesemir's last use of a One-Eyed Wraith's Purification Spirit had caused significant side effects.
Even though Alghoul Heart Essence primarily increased Strength and Constitution—unlike the Perception attribute that had reached Vesemir's limit—Allen still didn't dare let him use them while Allen himself wasn't fully recovered.
If something went wrong, Allen wouldn't be in any condition to intervene immediately. But now that he was recovered, it was time to take action.
The young witchers of the Witcher Corps, however, were different from Vesemir.
They lacked refined techniques and strong attributes. At the same time, however, the cost of improving them was much lower.
Allen couldn't use the Corps' battle merit points to enhance any of Vesemir's skills, even if he formally brought him into the Corps.
For example, upgrading a simple skill like Ice Spear Sign wouldn't significantly boost Vesemir's combat power. There was no need to disrupt his already perfected fighting style—he could just be paired with the younger witchers to cover his weaknesses.
And for advanced skills like Wolf School Two-Handed Sword, Allen simply didn't have enough battle merit points to upgrade them.
For instance, upgrading Wolf School Two-Handed Sword from Level 1 to Level 2 only required 100 merit points. But at Vesemir's current Level 7, it would take 100,000 merit points to reach Level 8.
One ghoul was worth 10 merit points—that meant killing 10,000 ghouls. Meanwhile, training a fresh witcher in Wolf School Two-Handed Sword and all six core Signs from Level 1 to Level 3 only required 4,200 merit points.
It was simply not cost-effective. It would be better to recruit more young witchers.
In reality, only a few abilities needed urgent upgrades:
Wolf School Two-Handed Sword (the fundamental Wolf School skill)
Quen Sign and Heliotrop Sign (for survivability)
The rest of the Signs could be improved based on a witcher's personal aptitude, preferences, and the Corps' strategic needs.
With that, the Witcher Corps' role became clear.
They should function like the human coalition during the Dark God's descent or the royal guards during the May Festival—clearing out lesser monsters and redirecting the horde's attention so that Allen and Vesemir could focus on eliminating key targets.
Of course.
Allen didn't believe the Witcher Corps would always be stuck doing such peripheral tasks.
[Resonance]
[Level: 2]
[Type: Corps Skill]
[Active Effect: When Corps members simultaneously use the same magic skill, the commander has a small chance to trigger controllable resonance, enhancing the skill's power and effects. ]
This was the second Corps skill unlocked after Fred's favorability reached its maximum value.
Allen had always believed this skill had great potential, and the Corps members had been training rigorously in discipline, coordination, and synchronization.
However, whether it was because Signs weren't suitable for triggering "Resonance" or because the skill level was too low, they had never successfully activated it.
But he hadn't given up.
If Signs didn't work, then the Way of the Beast Roar seemed like a much better fit.
In fantasy novels from his past life, similar resonance-based abilities often used sound as a medium to manipulate natural elements.
Unfortunately, the young witchers weren't progressing well in their "Berserk" training, so the extent of Resonance's potential remained unknown.
But the future held promise, didn't it?
Perhaps in the near future, a Witcher Corps proficient in Resonance would become his trump card.
---------------------
"Over there! Hurry up and grab it!"
A loud, excited voice from Clay suddenly interrupted Allen's thoughts.
Looking up, he saw that only six or seven ghouls were guarding a blood-stained cave that looked like a winter den for a black bear. He stopped in his tracks.
"Quick, quick, quick…!"
"This one's mine!"
"Hughes, why are you stealing my kill?"
"First come, first served!"
"Damn it! Ice, do you have to go against me every time?"
"Hahaha! Leave the ghouls to me, Claral. That way, your Nina won't have to heal you again…"
"Ice!!"
---------------------
The rowdy voices of the young witchers had an inexplicable way of making people feel at ease.
But when Allen thought about these boys, joyfully swinging their silver swords and slaughtering monstrous creatures that roared ferociously—boys who were only eleven or twelve years old—he couldn't shake off a deep sense of dissonance.
Of course, it wasn't as overwhelming as when he had first arrived in this world.
In the end, he had grown accustomed to the harsh survival rules unique to this cruel world.
Becoming a witcher apprentice and enduring the agonizing, perilous trials was tragic, but it wasn't the worst fate an orphan could suffer.
Children who had it worse than witchers were everywhere across the Northern Continent.
Every village had an Orphan's Pit, and on the borders of Kaedwen and Aedirn, the tattered bodies of children were a common sight.
Being able to decide one's fate with their own sword was already a blessing.
This was a world where survival was a competition of the lesser evil.
---------------------
Ding!
[Monster Horde 'Ghouls' Lv16 Subjugated!]
[Reward Settlement: …]
[Final Rating: D (Loot Lock Activated)]
[Loot Obtained: Ghoul Heart Essence x6, Small XP Orb x3, Ghoul Treasure Chest x2]
Glancing at the system prompt, Allen opened the Corps panel.
---------------------
[Corps Name: Wolfpack]
[Rank: Tier 3]
[Battle Achievements: 4890/5000 (+2780)]
[Achievement Points: 5343 (+2780)]
[Members: 10/15]
[Loyalty: Hughes 100 (Devoted), Bond 100, Fred 100, Erni 89, Claral 88, Clay…]
[Skills: Loot Lock LV1, Teaching LV1, Resonance LV2]
[Subjugation Quest: Witcher IV (Hunt Any Monster 243/750) (+181)]
---------------------
Ding! 584 Achievement Points have been used to upgrade Erni's (Corps Member) Heliotrop Sign LV1 (16/100) to Heliotrop Sign LV3 (0/2500).
Ding! 587 Achievement Points have been used to upgrade Claral's (Corps Member) Heliotrop Sign LV1 (13/100) to Heliotrop Sign LV3 (0/2500).
Ding! 584 Achievement Points have been used to upgrade Clay's (Corps Member) Heliotrop Sign LV1…
Ding! 583 Achievement Points have been used to upgrade Ice's (Corps Member) Heliotrop Sign LV1…
---------------------
All Allen could do was make them stronger as quickly as possible.
After all—
When the world perished in the White Frost, no one would be able to escape.
---------------------
"Let's head back…"
Vesemir glanced up at the sky and saw that the young witchers had finished harvesting the ghouls' materials. He turned his head toward Allen.
Allen nodded and, with a thought, used an appraisal on Erni, who was approaching.
---------------------
[Name: Erni]
[Loyalty: 100]
[Attributes: Strength 17 (+1), Agility 11 (+1), Constitution 15 (+1), Perception 19 (+1), Mysticism 10 (+2)]
[Skills: Wolf School Two-Handed Sword LV3 (24/1000), Quen LV3 (76/1000), Heliotrop Sign LV3 (0/2500), Ice Spear Sign LV2 (16/500), Igni LV1 (76/100) …]
---------------------
The other young witchers' stats were roughly similar to Erni's.
The Transformation Seal Spell had brought them quite a bit of trouble, but transforming into jade statues also seemed to have stimulated their bodies, which had been altered by the Trial of the Grasses.
Not just Erni—Claral and Clay had also gained about five to six points in total attributes.
As for skills, all the witchers had reached LV3 in Wolf School Two-Handed Sword, Quen Sign, and Heliotrop Sign. As long as they didn't encounter large monsters or high-level sorcerers, they now had some ability to protect themselves.
Some, like Erni, who had a talent for spells and signs, had also advanced one or two additional skills to LV2.
In terms of skill levels, the seven young witchers had fully reached the standard of someone who had completed five years of their journey and trials—they were ready to take on missions alone.
As for the Ice Spear Curse, Igni, Aard, Yrden, and Axii, Allen didn't plan to upgrade them collectively like he had with the two-handed sword, Quen, and Heliotrop. Instead, he would tailor their advancement based on each witcher's habits, talents, and preferences.
Allen had actually considered letting the young witchers choose their own development paths, but that would lower the prestige of the "Witcher's Gaze" and also make them dependent on external guidance.
He wanted to design some kind of mission system, similar to a witcher's bestiary log, where completing tasks would earn "XP Orbs" for exchange. But he hadn't figured out the details yet.
It wasn't urgent, though. After this round of upgrades, only 1,248 battle achievement points remained, so they would need to accumulate more over time.
The Corps only needed 110 more battle achievement points to rank up—just 11 more ghouls.
Who knows? Maybe advancing from Tier 3 to Tier 4 would unlock a quest system.
---------------------
"We're heading back…"
Erni, who had walked up, flicked the blood off his hands and had barely spoken two words when—
The sky suddenly darkened.
"SCREEEE—"
A massive, oppressive presence descended from above.
Everyone instinctively looked up as a colossal winged beast swooped down from the sky.
Since "Good Girl" was already exposed to everyone, Allen no longer saw any reason to hold back—he had been taking free "flights" for the past few days.
"...right?" Under the overwhelming pressure, Erni's face turned pale as he spat out the last word.
The other witchers nearby didn't look much better.
"We could just walk back…" Claral muttered.
"Yeah, yeah," Ice, for once, didn't instinctively oppose Claral and eagerly agreed. "The monster hunting regiment going back alone is too dangerous—we can protect them."
"Exactly!" The other witchers nodded vigorously in unison.
"We've already cleared out this entire area. What danger? The monster hunting regiment has more experience dealing with monsters than you do," Allen grumbled as he and Vesemir climbed onto the griffin's broad back via its lowered wing.
"Stop whining and get on. Based on today's monster hunt count, grab your positions and strap yourselves in with the belts."
Seeing no way to escape, the young witchers begrudgingly grabbed onto Good Girl's slender talons, using their belts to secure themselves to the iron rings tied around her claws—resulting in an awkward pose.
"SCREEEE~"
The griffin let out two uncomfortable cries.
"Captain, I think Good Girl doesn't like this either. Maybe we should—"
"Shut up and hold on," Allen rolled his eyes. "Once we get back to the temple, there's a surprise waiting for you all…"
"What kind of surp—"
Before the words were even finished, the young witchers' voices turned into high-pitched screams as they were swept away by the howling wind.
.....
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