Chapter 7: The Test of Graduation

After a night of chatting and drinking, except for Wayne, who didn't drink, the other Witchers were all drunk.

There was no other way; he could only carry these drunks back to their rooms one by one like sacks.

According to past memories, Kaer Morhen was the home of the School of the Wolf. Vesemir, Geralt, Lambert, and Eskel, the four Witchers of the School of the Wolf, if they were not delayed by other things, would almost return here every winter before the heavy snow blocked the mountains.

Besides them, there was also a Witcher named Berengar who would occasionally return here to recuperate. This was a relatively silent man, and aside from Vesemir, his relationship with the other three could not be considered close.

During the years of training, Wayne only saw him once in one winter.

Having played The Witcher series of games, he knew that this Witcher would eventually be captured by a group of Wyzima gangsters and rogue sorcerers. Not only was he forced to reveal the location of Kaer Morhen, but he was also forced to tell the secret of the Trial of the Grasses, eventually triggering a series of events.

However, these things had not happened yet and had nothing to do with Wayne now.

Throughout the winter, with four Witcher masters for company, his training was even more diligent, especially in swordplay. The sparring with four swordplay masters of different styles, or watching them spar with each other, made his experience in actual combat increase day by day.

Unfortunately, not long after, heavy snow blocked the roads between Kaer Morhen and the outside world. Affected by the cold weather, whether it was fishing or growing vegetables, the harvest was far less than in the past.

This made Wayne lose a lot of fun, but fortunately, there were a few more companions. In his spare time, he would take the delicious food he had made, find these Witcher seniors, and listen to them talk about the monsters and missions they had encountered in their past experiences.

It also allowed him to understand many customs and interesting stories that could not be understood from books.

Time passed quickly. The winter at Kaer Morhen lasted about three months. When the ice and snow melted in the second year, Geralt, Lambert, and Eskel all left this castle again.

The money of a Witcher is not earned easily. In order to survive and fill their stomachs, they must travel all over the world to perform missions to hunt monsters.

And in the following year, perhaps because he had a certain recognition of Wayne's strength, Vesemir no longer stayed by his side every day to help him train, but after setting up training missions, he would take time to go down the mountain to find work and earn money.

He had to bear all the expenses when training Wayne. Although the old Witcher had some savings, money is always spent less and less, and the cost of training a Witcher is not small.

The days of training at Kaer Morhen always passed very quickly. Wayne did not slack off at all, exercising his abilities day after day, and had also carefully studied all the books about monster knowledge in the castle.

And in this year, his Witcher level successfully reached level five, and his swordplay level and Sign level reached level five and level eight respectively.

Not only that, he also obtained a special professional specialty that could be awakened by using ability points when reaching level five skills.

Swordplay specialty: Cat's Agility, which can obtain agility in movement and intuition for danger like a cat. Effect: Weapon attack speed increased by 25%, intuition +3.

Sign specialty: Powerful Casting, which can cast more powerful Signs by briefly charging and consuming more magic power.

The combat profession bonus and two professional specialties made his combat ability achieve long-term progress, far exceeding the standard that ordinary Witcher apprentices could reach.

When the heavy snow blocked the mountains this winter and the Witchers of the School of the Wolf gathered at Kaer Morhen, Wayne, who was already sixteen years old, finally couldn't bear the loneliness and proposed the request to graduate to his mentor Vesemir.

"Master Vesemir, I hope to officially go down the mountain after the spring next year and become a true Witcher."

Hearing Wayne make this request, Geralt, Lambert, and Eskel, who were present, all had different expressions.

Before the old Witcher could speak, Lambert said sarcastically:

"Little guy, don't be too self-righteous. Although your talent is good, you have only learned swordplay for a few years and want to graduate."

"I don't want to collect your corpse in a monster's lair one day in the future."

Eskel drank a mouthful of beer and also advised:

"Although Lambert's words are unpleasant, I agree with his view."

"Wayne, you are still very young, don't be impatient."

"We have seen many young Witchers who have just started. They didn't die at the hands of monsters, but died in various accidents, died at the hands of those mobs."

"You still have a lot to learn and need to settle down for a few more years."

"We Witchers have a very long lifespan, and you have enough time to grow."

Geralt didn't speak. He looked at Wayne with curious eyes, curious why this fellow apprentice of his was so eager to graduate.

The expression of the old Witcher Vesemir was very serious. He looked solemn, stared into Wayne's eyes for several dozen seconds, and then asked:

"Why, child? I have always taught you that as a Witcher, the most important thing is patience and caution."

"You are still in the stage of learning and growing, and should not be eager for quick success."

"Tell me, what is your reason for doing this?"

Wayne revealed a serious and sincere smile to everyone and said to his mentor:

"Master, I have already memorized all the books in the castle, and I have also become quite proficient in the swordplay of the School of the Wolf."

"I think continuing to practice in the castle is already very difficult for me to continue to gain improvement."

He looked at the old Witcher's wrinkled face and said softly:

"You once said that only practice is the best teacher."

"In order to let you rest assured to let me graduate, I have decided to use all my strength to challenge several seniors of the School of the Wolf."

"I hope you can make a decision after seeing my strength."

Hearing this, Vesemir took a deep look at his apprentice. He was not an arbitrary person. Since Wayne requested so strongly, he deliberated for a while and then said with a sigh:

"Since you request it, child."

"Then wait until tomorrow morning, on the training ground of the castle, let us see your confidence."

Lambert laughed and immediately expressed:

"Kid, you are just lacking the beating of reality."

"Let me be the first to spar with you tomorrow. I will teach you well that one cannot be too proud and complacent."

"I won't show mercy, so just wait to be beaten black and blue."

Wayne didn't care about Lambert's provocation. This guy was a natural poisonous tongue, a natural contrarian, a Witcher with a true temperament.

He smiled and nodded to Lambert, saying:

"Then you have to be careful, Lambert. I will also do my best."

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 8 =====