Chapter 21: The Hunt

Vesemir's smile faltered the moment the words left his mouth.

His narrowed gaze lingered on the innocent-looking face of Ailin.

The young apprentice, his face still marked with the grime of battle, had eyes so clear and blue they seemed almost out of place. It was the kind of gaze that would make anyone instinctively lower their guard, a strange contrast to the brutality of their world.

Must be the influence of Letho, Vesemir thought to himself. At thirteen, how could an apprentice understand such things?

His eyes fell upon the gleaming silver sword, and he sighed softly.

Even after slaying eight drowners, Elsa's blade remained pristine, untouched by blood or grime.

Vesemir handed Ailin a dagger.

"Get to work. Process the materials. Do you remember everything I taught you yesterday?"

Ailin nodded and took the knife, crouching down to begin.

The only materials to harvest from the drowners were their tongues and brains.

After dealing with two, Ailin moved to the bodies of the remaining ones, tucked behind a large stone. The boulder was perfectly positioned to shield them from Vesemir and Letho's view.

He hesitated for a moment, then drew the dagger across the drowner's chest.

Was the heart's essence really taken from the drowner's heart?

The question had been on Ailin's mind ever since yesterday, but Vesemir had been watching him closely, and there hadn't been time to inspect.

Was the heart taken during the kill? Or was it during the tallying of the hunt?

And how was it extracted?

Was it magic?

"No…" Ailin shook his head.

Vesemir and Letho had been right beside him during every kill. Even in yesterday's training, the other witchers had surrounded him. They wore the Wolf School medallion, able to sense both magic and monsters. If the method of extracting the hearts was magical, they would have noticed.

Or perhaps it's something beyond magic?

Divine power?

Ailin exhaled, frustration gnawing at him. The lack of information made it impossible to form any conclusions. For now, he could only record what he had seen.

There wasn't much left to process. Ailin quickly harvested the tongues and brains of the drowners.

However, the number didn't add up to eight sets.

Three of the tongues and brains had been split in two by Elsa's blade.

Such materials were useless.

Vesemir glanced over the spoils, nodded approvingly.

"Not bad… not bad. The processing of drowner materials may be simple, but it requires patience. You've done well, keeping speed in mind while still handling them with care. That's rare."

Vesemir didn't mention the ruined materials.

In battle, killing the enemy was paramount. Any obsession with preserving perfect materials was irresponsible.

Materials could be sold.

But no amount of coin could buy back a life.

Vesemir handed Ailin a special pouch for the materials. Ailin carefully packed everything away, and the three of them set off once more.

Unlike the game, the road to Kaer Morhen was too narrow and treacherous for horses.

Witchers usually left their horses at the village below the mountain and walked up.

Without horses, Ailin and his companions slogged through the rugged mountain path, stepping carefully in the shifting mud, following the stream as they searched for the next group of drowners.

Since noon, when Letho's tongue had been a little too loose, Vesemir seemed to avoid speaking to Ailin.

Ailin didn't mind.

He took the opportunity to open his loot boxes.

Looking at the ten unopened chests in his inventory, Ailin couldn't help but grin and quickly opened half of them.

Ding! Five Drowner Chests opened.

Received: Small Experience Orb x3, Rotten Flesh x2.

The small experience orbs weren't bad, but rotten flesh? What was it good for?

Was it just a filler for the chest inventory?

Ailin shook his head, hesitating over whether he should open the remaining five chests today.

He glanced at the position of the sun.

It was still early, around three in the afternoon.

Fine, I'll open them, he decided.

It was just a bunch of drowner chests anyway. Why be so stingy?

Ding! Five Drowner Chests opened.

Four white lights mixed with one blue.

How many different colors of loot did these chests even have?

Ailin couldn't resist muttering under his breath.

White was the lowest quality. Gold was the best. And blue? Somewhere in between?

Who makes a chest without marking the loot drop rate?

What a shitty game.

He continued reading.

Received: Drowner Whistle x1, Small Experience Orbs x4.

He quickly switched to the item screen to inspect the drowner whistle.

Drowner Whistle

Type: Lure Flute

Function: When blown, the drowner whistle emits a sound that draws drowners to its location.

Note: Witcher + Drowner Whistle = ?

Ailin had a feeling that this whistle had a lot of potential uses.

But right now, it was a bit too early to try it out.

Vesemir and Letho were still nearby. If Ailin suddenly pulled out a whistle and said he could summon drowners, they'd probably think he had lost his mind.

Still, the whistle was a useful tool.

At least opening these ten chests hadn't been a waste.

After finishing with the chests, Ailin checked his character panel.

Name: Ailin

Age: 13

Title: Child of Miracle

Level: 3

Health: 100%

Stamina: 80/80

Attributes: Strength 6.1, Agility 6.2, Constitution 8, Perception 8.9, Mysticism 4.3

Special Skills: Monster Hunting LV1, Identification LV1, Tracking LV1

Skills: Wolf School Two-Handed Sword LV2 (0/500), Quen LV1 (0/100)

Recipes: Killer Whale (Unavailable)

Items: Drowner Heart Essence x16, Rotten Flesh x5, Small Experience Orbs x58, Drowner Whistle x1, A Brief Discussion on 23 Ways to Cook Drowners

Rating: Weak!!

A new skill, Tracking, had appeared on his panel, and his level had increased to 3.

After completing the task, the Tracking skill had somehow just manifested in his mind.

Just as he was about to test out the newly acquired skill, Vesemir called out.

"Ailin, come here. Try to find this group of drowners." Vesemir was crouched beside a patch of grass by the creek, nudging at the soil with his foot.

Ailin tucked away the panel and walked over, scanning the area.

This patch of grass was near the water, glistening with droplets of moisture. Clearly, the method of searching through reflective slime wasn't going to work here.

Vesemir had intentionally picked this spot.

"Well, I guess it's the right time," Ailin thought.

He activated Tracking.

The moment he engaged the skill, his vision darkened slightly.

The once-fresh and natural creekside grass now revealed scattered, jagged red claw marks, stretching along the water's flow in a clear direction.

Curious, Ailin knelt beside one of the deeper crimson tracks, wondering how the Witcher's notes had detected these traces.

As his eyes focused on the claw marks, his perspective shifted, and the world before him changed.

Hmm?

It could do that too?