Establishing a Witcher school, or rather, a base for training Witchers.
This was an idea Guilliman had considered many times during this period.
Of course, this idea wasn't for noble virtues like achieving world peace or helping the poor.
It was simply because, as the soul power gap grew wider, Guilliman realized that hunting monsters and absorbing soul power by himself was far too slow.
A single person's strength is ultimately limited.
If he could cultivate his own legion to help him capture monsters and bring those defenseless creatures before him to be slaughtered at will.
Then his efficiency in becoming stronger would increase many times over, and his power would snowball.
As a transmigrator, he wasn't some pedantic person, nor would he, like traditional Witchers, care about the secrets of Witchers or whether their power would be exploited by politicians and schemers.
These were concerns only for the weak.
The reason they had such worries was ultimately because the upper limit of ordinary Witchers was too low, and their power was insufficient.
But with the Deep Blue System and the perfect Witcher bloodline, he didn't need to worry about this.
His growth had no upper limit; as long as his soul grew fast enough and he absorbed enough soul power, even becoming an army of one, ascending to godhood, and suppressing the entire world was not a fantasy.
Therefore, spending some time cultivating a group of useful subordinates and building his own influence was a worthwhile investment.
Current Witcher technology was merely something developed by two genius sorcerers over decades of research.
If he increased investment and recruited talent from all over the world for research, transforming the Witcher legion into a powerful army like the Wild Hunt, capable of conquering other worlds and capturing monsters across planes for him, it might not be impossible.
Upon hearing Guilliman's request, both Foltest, seated on the throne, and the sorceress Triss, standing by, were surprised and speechless for a long time.
They both had some understanding of the Witcher profession; they were not ignorant commoners.
Since its establishment centuries ago, the Witcher profession had always been shrouded in secrecy, never openly appearing before the world.
It was precisely because they were too mysterious, too strange, and operated outside of power that they were feared by many schemers and suffered many treacherous disasters.
The Witcher schools of the past, from various schools, were either built deep in old mountains and forests or on inaccessible cliffs.
To this day, no one had ever proposed establishing a Witcher school near a kingdom's capital, nor had any Witcher been willing to get involved in kingdom politics and cooperate with a king.
This was truly a history-defying move and set a precedent for Witchers.
If this matter were presented to other kings, they might consider it for a long time, weighing various pros and cons.
However, Foltest was an unconventional person, a man who even dared to openly marry his own sister.
As a king who had experienced decades of war and often charged onto the front lines.
He clearly understood the impact a powerful Witcher could have on the battlefield.
Whether charging forward to break enemy lines, guarding important generals, or assassinating enemy commanders.
The effectiveness of a Witcher far surpassed that of an ordinary warrior.
After considering for less than a minute, the king nodded, not even consulting his royal advisors, and directly stated:
"I can grant your request, Witcher."
"If you wish, I can even enfeoff you as a Royal Witcher, granting you royal support."
"So, where do you plan to build the academy?"
Guilliman hadn't expected Foltest to agree so readily, but he wasn't concerned with the reasons, only with future cooperation.
After pondering for a few seconds, he said:
"I've heard that Black Tern Island, in the middle of Lake Vizima, has always been occupied by various monsters, and no human has been able to live there to this day."
"It has diverse environments, abundant vegetation, and clean water sources. Ordinary commoners would find it difficult to approach, which wouldn't interfere with Witcher training."
"Therefore, I hope Your Majesty can temporarily lend Black Tern Island to me so I can establish an academy there to train more Witchers."
Actually, he could do this himself, without anyone's help.
However, if the king endorsed them, then future Witcher operations in Temeria would become much easier.
And Black Tern Island was indeed as he described: a desolate, uninhabited, undeveloped place with no subjects, so even if it were granted, it wouldn't affect Foltest's interests.
As for saying 'lend,' this was to make it easier for the king to agree.
After all, according to the law, granting land must be to a noble, and ennobling someone and granting land, especially near the kingdom's capital, was by no means an easy matter.
Of course, Guilliman had no intention of returning what he acquired through his own abilities.
Even if something unexpected happened in the future and he was surrounded by a large army, as long as a powerful magic tower was built in the center of Black Tern Island, even a massive navy besieging the island would be defeated by magic, posing little threat to him.
Moreover, Guilliman had another reason for choosing this land.
Ordinary people might not know, but he, as a transmigrator, was very aware.
Black Tern Island was no ordinary place.
Near this island, there were not only countless evil mermen that could provide him with a lot of soul power, but it was also the location of the altar of the Evil God Daggan, capable of summoning a doppelganger of that evil god.
Even the Lady of the Lake's altar was nearby.
If Guilliman intended to make contact with the deities of this world, the Lady of the Lake, who was relatively friendly to humans, was his first target.
Even if they didn't reach an agreement in the end, obtaining a divine artifact like the Aerondight sword would still be a good thing.
After listening to the Witcher's explanation, it was just as he had predicted.
Black Tern Island was of little value to Foltest, and it had been in a state of disuse since Vizima was founded.
However, as king, he couldn't simply agree to someone's request so easily. Moreover, he intended to take the Witchers under his wing as an elite force, so he had to display both the king's benevolence and his authority.
So, Foltest stroked his beard, feigning deep thought with a frown, and after dozens of seconds, he finally said:
"Black Tern Island can be lent to you, and I also permit you to establish a Witcher academy on the island."
He turned to glance at Triss, then continued speaking to the Witcher:
"Since you will be investigating the Catriona Plague with my royal advisor, Miss Triss, in the near future."
"Then, if you can help our sorceress resolve this damned plague."
"I will not only provide funding to the Witcher academy but also issue a decree to send a portion of orphans to the academy as your apprentices, to receive your training."
"This is a wager, a king's wager."
"Complete it well, Witcher."