Time flew, and in the blink of an eye, a week had passed.
It had been an incredibly fulfilling week for Allen.
On the second day after his return, he used a "Conjunction of the Spheres" inside Old Speartip's cavern.
All Convergences of Spheres shared a single cooldown period of one month—using one meant the others couldn't be used until after the full month had passed. This differed slightly from Allen's original assumption: he had thought that each additional Convergence he unlocked would grant him an extra use per month.
But upon closer thought, it made sense.
After the Witcher Journal absorbed energy from the Elemental Rings, the cooldown for Conjunction of the Spheres was halved—this alone hinted that the cooldown wasn't arbitrarily imposed by the Journal, but was instead a reflection of the time required for the convergence itself: absorbing location coordinates, piercing dimensional rifts, and summoning the monsters.
The energy available was limited, so naturally it couldn't be summoned repeatedly.
With maximizing attribute gain in mind, Allen did not choose "Conjunction of the Spheres - Ghoul" or "Conjunction of the Spheres - Alghoul".
The former was because the monster summoned during the evil god's descent had been slain by the avatar of the deity, and Allen hadn't obtained its Heart Essence Fluid. He didn't even know the name of the large monster associated with that convergence, so it was best to skip it for now.
As for "Conjunction of the Spheres - Alghoul", half of the Corpse King's attribute bonus applied to Allen's already maxed-out strength, which wasn't cost-effective. So he chose "Conjunction of the Spheres - Scurver".
After summoning and killing the large monster—Corpse Demon—Allen immediately consumed its Heart Essence Fluid, gaining a significant boost.
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[Name: Allen]
[Health: 100%, Stamina: 980/980, Mana: 1260/1260]
[Attributes: Strength 99, Agility 92 (+5), Constitution 98 (+5), Perception 93, Arcane 126 (+2)]
[Affinity: Water 16 (Water Source 6%) (+1), Earth 19 (Earth Source 9%), Wind 11 (Wind Source 1%), Fire 24 (Fire Source 14%), Space 2]
-----------------------------------
Both Agility and Constitution had surpassed ninety points. Constitution, just one point away, was nearing its second "Limit · Initial" threshold.
More than that—once Constitution had risen, he felt his overall explosive strength increase significantly.
Faintly, Allen began to understand what Sol and Vera had described—that sense of overflowing power when approaching a limit. Though it still felt vague and unreal, he was getting closer.
He estimated that once Agility reached a similar level—maybe not even 99, but anything over 95—he could begin forming the Witcher's Legacy Vessel.
Of course...
Allen's ultimate goal was to reach the "Limit · Initial" threshold across all attributes. Only after his second breakthrough would he consider forming the Legacy Vessel.
But that was for later.
The Conjunction of the Spheres brought significant attribute gains—but after one use, came another long cooldown.
That initial vision of multiple convergences per month might only be achievable after the Witcher Journal absorbed more components like the "Shards of the Gate of Ard Gaeth" or the "Guiding Stone of the Gate of Ard Gaeth."
Then again…
Maybe not even that.
This time, the cooldown after the Convergence was half a minute shorter than the last.
Through his Wolf Medallion, Allen noticed that the water element concentration in Kaer Morhen's air had slightly increased.
He guessed this was due to the interdimensional fusion that had occurred in Ban Ard half a year ago. The resulting spread had now reached Kaer Morhen, increasing the ambient energy available for the Witcher Journal to absorb.
While this had only shortened the cooldown by thirty seconds for now, the improvement would likely accelerate with more frequent Convergences.
Something to look forward to.
But apart from the huge boost he got on the second day, the following six days showed no attribute growth at all.
There were plenty of monsters around Kaer Morhen.
However, Allen had to consider Sol's condition, as well as the progress of Ida Emean's interrogation. He couldn't venture far—if Tomas Moreau's lab location in Toussaint was revealed, he needed to be informed immediately.
He couldn't spend the night outside. And due to the abundance of water elements, Drowners had proliferated, pushing out other monsters.
He hadn't hunted any new kinds of monsters in that entire week, let alone any large ones.
It left Allen both amused and exasperated.
In Vengerberg and Ellander, when he didn't want trouble, it came in spades—Wraith, giant griffins, alghouls, evil gods—one after another.
Now that he actually needed monsters, the region around Kaer Morhen seemed practically extinct. Apart from Drowners and the occasional necrophages, there wasn't a monster to be found.
This was utterly ridiculous.
Of course, it wasn't that Allen had no solutions at all.
[Hunting Quest: Drowner II (Drowners killed: 248/250)]
[Hunting Quest: Scurver II (Scurvers killed: 97/100)]
[Hunting Quest: Alghoul II (Alghouls killed: 15/20)]
Necrophages were fairly widespread. Kaer Morhen had very few of them, but down in the war-torn regions of the mountains, monsters gnawing on corpses could be found everywhere.
It would be easy to complete these three Level II hunting quests.
A corpse-creature tide summoned by a Conjunction of the Spheres would definitely cause his attributes—at least Agility, Constitution, and Perception—to surge rapidly toward their limits.
But the Conjunction of the Spheres did not differentiate between friend and foe. It would harm both others and himself.
Kaer Morhen was clearly not a suitable location. He couldn't afford to draw the attention of the Wild Hunt, Ban Ard, the Rissberg Group's Civil Cooperative Organization, or even the entire Northern Continent to the stronghold of the School of the Wolf.
Allen might not have high moral standards, but he wasn't a lunatic or a demon indifferent to good and evil. He wouldn't unleash such a catastrophe just anywhere for the sake of some Heart Essence Fluid.
The civilians of Kaedwen were already on the brink of survival due to the ongoing war between the two nations.
Right now, the only viable location was Ban Ard.
But the timing was awkward. If he released a Conjunction of the Spheres in Ban Ard prematurely, it might lead to the complete withdrawal of the male mages stationed there. Moreover, with Ortolan from the Rissberg Group's Civil Cooperative Organization present, it would be difficult for Allen to fish in troubled waters.
It would be better to wait for the opportunity to release it during the rescue operation for Hen Gedymdeith. Of course, Allen couldn't rely on Ban Ard forever, nor could he keep targeting the male mages.
He had no objections to doing so.
But Ban Ard would eventually collapse under the pressure. And in the future, he would accumulate even more Convergences—and even stronger fusions. This was not something he could avoid just because he wanted to.
The White Frost would descend one day, and the Conjunction of the Spheres was the solution envisioned by the goddess Melitele to face that coming crisis.
It was his mission.
No matter what considerations he weighed, he would have to do it.
Therefore—
He had already begun selecting suitable locations. He had some promising leads, but needed to wait for the results of Ida Emean's interrogation, the second mutation, and for Sol to fully recover—only then would he take formal action.
Of course, while the week hadn't brought much in terms of attribute gains beyond the Heart Essence Fluid from the Conjunction of the Spheres...
He hadn't wasted his time.
On the second day after Francesca Findabair's departure, Allen—assisted by Aristo and Mary—selected fifteen members for the Witcher Corps.
He used his stored essence fluid and purified spirits in advance to raise Fred's attributes to match those of the other young witchers. Then, using his battle merits, he upgraded Fred's School of the Wolf two-handed sword techniques and his Sign skills.
Finally—
Allen activated the Corps skill "Bestowal", appointing Fred as the first captain of the Witcher Corps.
[Bestowal]
[Level: 1]
[Type: Legion Passive Skill]
[Active Effect: Can confer the "Captain" title to one legion member. A conferred title can be revoked once. (A "Captain" can lead up to ten members. As long as all are within the Captain's influence range, rewards from a successful hunt can be settled independently from the legion commander.)]
Originally, this position had been reserved for Hughes.
But now that Hughes was seriously injured and recuperating at the Temple of Melitele, the position couldn't remain vacant—so Allen simply appointed Fred instead.
This also led Allen to discover some traits of the "Bestowal" skill.
According to the current description, a captain can lead up to ten members, but in practice, whether there are more or fewer than ten makes no difference.
Allen speculated that in the future, each captain might have effects similar to auras that only apply to officially recognized team members. Or perhaps the settlement mechanism will change later on.
But for now, at Kaer Morhen, although the members under Fred were newly promoted witcher apprentices, unless Allen was personally available, the other twenty-two members, like Erni and Klar, would go out on hunts with Fred daily.
After all, they were only hunting Drowners. Though the experience orbs earned were few and of the small type, it was still better than nothing. Plus, it helped raise the new recruits and contributed to the legion's war record.
Besides that…
After that night, Philippa Eilhart had unexpectedly become much more obedient.
Through battles, discussions, and night-time infiltration drills in Kaer Morhen, their synergy rapidly improved.
By the third day, they could already infiltrate the castle's main hall during the day—when security was tight—in a matter of moments.
Granted, most of the guards were just apprentices, so it wasn't too difficult. But compared to their first chaotic attempt—where they nearly got discovered while getting in each other's way—it was a big improvement.
At the very least, the two of them had found the best method for covert communication.
Later, Allen even asked Vesemir and Aristo to act as guards—both of whom knew the truth. After two more days and three failed attempts, they finally succeeded. However, due to the lack of strong opponents, the growth in synergy slowed considerably afterward.
Synergy was not something that could be rushed. Fortunately, they still had ample time, so steady progress was good enough.
As for everything else…
He hadn't seen Yennefer.
Mary said Yennefer had made great progress, but she wanted to appear in front of Allen next time in a better state. So Allen didn't press her.
Still, he was curious—what kind of person would that little monster become when they next met?
Would she still be, like in the original story, "bitter as gooseberries, sweet as lilac"?
Allen didn't know—but he was truly looking forward to it.
As for Sol and Vera, over the past seven days, the two had intentionally or unintentionally avoided meeting. However…
Mary continued to act as a bridge and kept Allen updated on Sol's condition in real time.
According to her, Vera had been working with Ida Emean to find a way to prolong Sol's life, but Sol's condition was inevitably deteriorating.
There was nothing Allen could do to help.
Relying on secondary mutation and Tomas Moreau's laboratory, he still had a chance to try upgrading his genetic mutation studies and gamble on a possibility.
But to upgrade genetic mutation studies from scratch, to deduce secondary mutations, fabricate the necessary experimental equipment, and perfect the procedures for stabilizing, healing, or even breaking through for Sol...
Even if Sol's life ended under the dragon's curse, her bones buried and eroded into a skeleton, it still wouldn't be possible. So, even though he felt a bit anxious inside, Allen could only force himself to be patient and wait.
"Still no word from Lady Vera today?"
By the training grounds of Kaer Morhen, Allen leaned on the rough wooden fence, turning his head with a visibly anxious expression as he asked.
"No," Mary replied without even looking up.
There was clearly no battle today, nor any need for magic instruction. Yet Mary, dressed in a red mage's robe, was toying with a staff carved entirely of pale wood.
The head of the staff was entwined with white vines, set with a fist-sized blue crystal. It looked extremely ornate and emanated a powerful presence.
[Name: Craft Heilik's Birchwood Staff]
[Type: Magical Item]
[Effects: Thunder: Air Element Specialization – Enhances the effects of air-element spells
Balance: Elemental Balance – Slightly suppresses elemental instability
Mana Saver: Reduces mana consumption]
[Note: A decent air-element staff.]
Hmm...
This was Allen's reward from opening twenty-three sorcerer's chests a week ago.
To be honest, the next day, when he heard Mary mention that she specialized in water and earth elemental spells and was currently learning fire magic, he had planned to take the staff back and make her a more suitable one instead.
Unexpectedly, Mary snatched the staff from him and carried it around every day as if she were an air-element specialist.
When he asked her about it, she snapped, "The only reason I'm not good at air magic is because I've been missing a proper staff."
"By the way," Mary muttered with her head down, eyes darting mischievously, trying to sound casual, "Is there… some misunderstanding between you and the mentor? You could just go to her directly, so why always send messages through me?"
A clumsy probe.
And after a whole week? A bit too slow.
Allen turned his head and raised an eyebrow.
"What? Are you tired of passing messages for Lady Vera?"
"Don't say that!" Mary jumped in fright at Allen's words. Her body stiffened as she quickly glanced around. "I… I've never said I didn't want to help the mentor. Don't… don't frame me…"
Before she could finish—
"Fir…"
A graceful, ancient chant suddenly rang out from within the training grounds, cutting her off.
Allen's eyes lit up as he was about to look toward the sound.
Just then, Aristo suddenly appeared from the hillside leading to the castle and shouted excitedly: "Allen, come quickly!"
"There's news—about what you've been concerned about!"
What I've been concerned about…? Allen froze for a moment, then his heart surged with joy.
Could it be…?
Could it be that Tomas Moreau has finally talked?!!
......
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