章 129: 129. Resonance.
"Croak~ Croak~"
Seventeen drowners, amidst their chaotic howls, were swiftly divided into three groups by the Witcher Corps, as if cut by a scalpel. Then, amidst flashes of cold light and fire, they were all beheaded. The entire process took less than three minutes. Swift and efficient!
"Ding!"
The cold, mechanical sound echoed in Allen's ear.
[Achievement +170]
[Drowner Essence +17, Small Experience Orbs +3, Drowner Chest +2.]
After checking the rewards from the Corps's hunt, Allen withdrew his thoughts from the Witcher Log and found that his prediction was correct. Planning the route for the Mountain Trial was essentially about planning the monsters the apprentices would face. The only suitable creatures for the Witcher Corps were the drowners, the only difference being the number of them.
Vesemir and Aristo were unaware of the Corps members' rapid progress, akin to riding a rocket, and the groups of drowners arranged along the route were relatively few in number. With the current level of the Corps members' dual-handed swords, coupled with their extensive close encounters with drowners, none of them had even gotten close to Allen since their departure.
However...
"This is the level of difficulty the Mountain Trial should have," Allen thought.
In past Mountain Trials, there were times when they had to avoid the drowners' detection in the water, or sneak past the old spearhead in complete darkness... The whole trial didn't improve anything, and many apprentices died—what was the point?
Relying on a death rate to screen whether apprentices were favored by fate? Ridiculous! That guy named Sully, a Witcher who fled the battle, was clearly unqualified, yet he survived.
Allen had always believed that as long as a Witcher apprentice could independently hunt a drowner, they deserved to be called a true Witcher. Even just passing the Trial of the Grasses was enough. The long life of a Witcher would have plenty of hardships waiting for him; there's no need for his school to add more.
And so, the group pressed on, hunting as they went. Besides encountering three Foglets, which Allen saw through the mist with his Mirage Pearl and killed with necrophage oil, the only other surprise was the appearance of four ghouls. However, the ten members, who were almost sick of killing drowners, quickly fought over who got to behead them. Soon, the Witcher Corps arrived at the cave, each member taking the pre-prepared Cat's Eye potion before reaching the rock troll's camp.
Allen glanced at the cooldown time for the Celestial Conjunction. Less than an hour had passed since they set out.
"...Big rock... Little rock... Troll smells strange... Troll smells strange..."
A familiar, dopey voice echoed from around the corner, and a smile unconsciously spread across Allen's face. He raised a hand to stop the few apprentices from drawing their swords.
"No need to be on guard, these are friends."
Then, smiling, Allen walked forward.
Friends? Where would there be friends in this desolate, uninhabited mountain? The apprentices looked at each other, and after a glance at Allen's back, they almost simultaneously turned their gazes towards Hughes, Bond, and Fred, who had been acting a bit uneasy since earlier. Especially Fred, who had been hanging his head low, seemingly lost in thought since they left the cave.
Under the apprentices' innocent and confused stares, Hughes was the first to break: "It's the rock trolls. The friends Allen mentioned are the three rock trolls from the Mountain Trial."
"What? Aren't those large monsters?" Claral, who was solely focused on training, was shocked.
"I heard Master Aristo mention that Commander Allen seemed to have tamed three rock trolls to help him carry things... must be these ones!" said Hudson, who had a good relationship with the deputy commander.
"Master Aristo would talk to you about this? Didn't his apprentice flee in terror at the time?" added Erni, who loved gossip, as he joined the conversation.
"Careful... careful..." muttered Katelyn, who had accidentally gotten hit in the face while hunting drowners. Soon after, the other members chimed in with their chatter.
On the other side, before Allen could turn the corner, Broken stone, with its small, pea-sized eyes, tilted its head and appeared. Just as Allen thought he was going to be called a bad apprentice again, Broken Stone's little eyes widened, and it shouted in "delight":
"...Big stone... Little stone... Good Witcher is here... Good Witcher is here..."
Hearing this, the smile on Allen's face grew even wider. He felt warm inside, like how he once felt in his previous life when, after coming home from work, his newly adopted cats and dogs would suddenly come over and rub their furry bodies against his legs.
Then he saw Broken Stone, after shouting, run over with a "thump, thump, thump," ignoring the Witchers behind Allen, carefully inspecting him from head to toe before sniffing a few times.
"...Good Witcher... Meat... Eat meat..."
Allen's face darkened immediately after hearing that. So, what Broken Stone was thinking about was those pieces of rotten meat!
"Bang!"
The familiar sound of stones colliding.
"...Broken Stone... Disgrace... Deserves beating..."
Big Stone came over with a heavy punch and, after scolding Broken Stone, looked at the apprentices behind Allen.
"They're apprentices that came with me. Let them pass," Allen explained, noticing Big Stone's attention. Given his relationship with the Rock trolls, he wasn't worried they would trouble the apprentices.
As expected, Big Stone nodded.
Seeing this, Allen smiled and turned his head, shouting, "You guys go ahead to the Circle of Elements and activate the school emblem. I'll catch up in a moment."
"Yes, Commander."
The members cautiously bypassed the head-holding Broken Stone, but their gazes couldn't help lingering on the Rock trolls. They were all very curious as to why their commander could tame these ferocious monsters.
Except for Fred. He kept his head down, not daring to look at Broken Stone, and quickly walked through the gap. However, he didn't expect Broken Stone to suddenly let go of its head, sniff a few times, and quickly lock its pea-sized eyes on Fred.
It's over! I've been recognized! Fred froze in place, his heart sinking.
"Thump!"
Sure enough, the Rock troll before him suddenly took a step closer, glaring at him and roaring:
"...Bad apprentice... Big Stone... Bad apprentice... Pointy stick poked Broken Stone..."
Fred could feel the troll's spittle on his face. Instantly, Big Stone, who had been chatting with Allen, turned and looked over, a powerful and imposing presence bearing down on them. All the members instinctively placed their hands on their silver swords' hilts.
The atmosphere was tense.
"Wait! Broken Stone! Don't worry! It was just a misunderstanding!"
Just as Fred was about to look up, his vision blurred, and Allen was already standing before him.
"How fast!" Fred exclaimed in his heart. He couldn't see Allen's movements at all.
"Allen, I didn't mean to..."
"Don't worry, Fred. I know... You take the apprentices to the Circle of Elements first; I'll join you shortly."
At Allen's signal, Fred cautiously took a step forward. Seeing that the Rock troll was only glaring at him without making any further moves, he continued walking. After taking a few more steps with the other apprentices, Fred suddenly turned back.
He looked at the small, thin figure standing bravely in front of the troll and felt something inexplicably stir within him.
[Ding! Corps member Fred's favorability has increased to 100 – Loyal to Death.]
[Hidden condition met, unlocking Corps: Resonance.]
...…
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