Chapter 9: Powerful Quen Shield

The first round of the competition ended with Wayne's victory. Vesemir's face didn't show a joyful expression, but instead sighed.

He looked at the two School of the Wolf members beside him who were showing frustration because they lost money, and said:

"Geralt, Eskel, which one of you will go to spar with Wayne next?"

Having lost the fifty Orens he had worked so hard to save, Eskel felt a bit heartbroken. He turned to Geralt and said:

"I'll go in the second round, but do you want to bet again? This time, who will win between me and Wayne?"

Thinking of the two hundred and fifty Orens he lost to Vesemir, Geralt gritted his teeth and said:

"Lambert must have underestimated the enemy just now. Although the little guy's sword speed is fast, if it were you, you should be able to handle it."

"Let's continue to bet. Bet on Wayne to win, one to one; bet on you to win, two to one."

"Eskel, how much are you betting?"

This scarred Witcher thought for a moment, took out a ruby pendant from his inner pocket, and handed it to Geralt, saying:

"This is a ruby necklace I found in a ruin. It should be worth two hundred Orens."

"I bet on myself to win."

Geralt whistled.

"Good stuff. It seems your harvest last year was not bad."

He reached out and took the necklace, swung it around his hand, and then turned to ask Vesemir:

"How about it, old man? Do you still want to bet?"

The old Witcher hugged his chest, glanced at Geralt, hummed, and said:

"Put all the three hundred Orens I just won on Wayne."

"However, if I win later, you don't need to give me six hundred Orens. I guess you don't have that many coins on you."

"This winter, I plan to teach him the knowledge of brewing Witcher potions."

"At that time, it will be up to you to take him into the forest and teach him how to collect herbs and monster body tissues."

Hearing that he didn't have to pay the gambling debt, Geralt quietly breathed a sigh of relief. He nodded to the old Witcher and said:

"No problem, old man. Even if you lose, I will be responsible for this."

After Wayne rested for about ten minutes, Eskel ignored Lambert, who was complaining beside him, took an unsharpened steel sword, and stood opposite Wayne.

Due to a battle in his early years, the man's face was left with terrifying scars, and coupled with the identity of a Witcher who is discriminated against by many ignorant people, compared to other Witchers, Eskel appeared more silent.

He picked up the steel sword, assumed a defensive stance of the School of the Wolf's swordplay, and said to Wayne in a deep voice:

"Start, little guy."

"I will use my full strength to deal with you."

However, Wayne, who was standing opposite him, did not assume a combat stance for the first time, but made a pause gesture to him and shouted to Vesemir:

"Master, I hope that in the next two rounds of competition, I can use the power of Signs."

"Signs are also part of our Witcher's strength."

Vesemir didn't answer immediately, but looked at Eskel. After the scarred Witcher nodded, he said to Wayne:

"You can, child. You can use the power of Signs."

"But we are all companions, so you must pay attention to your sense of proportion."

Wayne respectfully nodded to his master in tribute, then turned to look at Eskel, and met the eyes of this silent Witcher senior.

He stretched out his left hand, twisted his fingers, and made the casting gesture for the Quen Sign. A few seconds later, under the blessing of his level eight Sign skill, a net-like shield made of magic power covered his body.

Although this shield looked no different from an ordinary Quen shield, only Wayne himself knew that under the effect of his special professional specialty, Powerful Casting, this Quen shield had already consumed almost half of the Chaos Magic in his body, and its strength was several times that of an ordinary Quen shield, enough to withstand several powerful hacks.

Eskel, who was opposite him, didn't know this. After he also added a Quen shield to himself, he assumed the defensive stance of the School of the Wolf's swordplay again.

The second competition officially began. This time, Wayne didn't rely on his high speed to launch a strong attack again. In the sparring training of the past, he had already figured out Eskel's information; he was probably the most conservative one in the School of the Wolf's swordplay.

Unlike the hot-tempered Lambert and the talented Geralt, Eskel was very steady in both personality and combat style, and would not be caught off guard by his speed like Lambert in the previous competition.

So in this competition, Wayne decided to use a strong attack.

He held the steel sword with both hands, walked with steady steps, and approached Eskel, who was in a defensive stance, step by step.

Until both sides entered each other's attack range, Wayne decisively swung the steel sword first, adopted the downward hack stance most suitable for hacking, and hacked at Eskel with all his strength.

Clang! The two swords collided, and sparks flew everywhere.

Eskel's palm holding the sword was slightly numb from the hack. He retreated, and a look of surprise flashed in his eyes.

Wayne's hacking power was much greater than he had imagined, and it was not as he had said, that strength was a weakness.

However, this level of strength was still within Eskel's acceptable range. He relied on his powerful unloading technique to fight Wayne for two moves, and then took the opportunity to knock away Wayne's steel sword, making his defense appear vulnerable.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Eskel spun and kicked Wayne's Quen shield fiercely.

However, unlike the Quen shield breaking that Eskel expected, his powerful kick landed on the shield, but it didn't cause any damage. A faintly visible shield steadily blocked his attack, and didn't even cause any obstruction to Wayne's attack stance.

Eskel's eyes narrowed. Without thinking, he rolled on the ground, rolled to the other side of Wayne, dodged several fierce hacks, and the Quen shield on his body was also shattered during the rolling process.

However, before Eskel could stand firm, Wayne made a casting gesture with one hand, and the powerful Quen shield condensed on his body expanded rapidly, and then exploded instantly.

It directly blew Eskel, who hadn't stood firm, away and smashed him fiercely onto a wooden dummy.

This sudden attack caught Eskel completely unprepared. The powerful explosive force made him unable to adjust his posture at all. When he suppressed the pain on his body and wanted to stand up, Wayne's sword blade had already stopped in front of his throat.

The two looked at each other. Wayne smiled and put away the steel sword. He reached out and pulled Eskel up.

The scarred Witcher rubbed his chest and said with some emotion:

"What's going on with this move?"

"Your Quen shield seems to be much harder than ours? And it can explode?"

Wayne turned to look at Vesemir and Geralt, scratched his head, and said:

"I seem to have a talent for Signs as well, and I can strengthen my various Signs by using more Chaos Magic."

Hearing this, Eskel looked at Wayne's handsome face, which was no different from an ordinary youth except for the amber cat-like pupils, sighed, and said with some envy:

"It seems that you, like Geralt, are the kind of person who has talent."

"I lost, Wayne. Your strength is already no less than that of most Witchers."

Expert level mission: 【Graduation】 completed 2/3.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 10 =====