When Vilgefortz heard Allen's request, he exchanged a puzzled glance with Lydia van Bredevoort.
"Will this chamber suffice?" he asked softly.
Allen glanced around, then gave a small nod.
Seeing that, Vilgefortz didn't linger. He bowed slightly and left with Lydia van Bredevoort.
But just as he reached the doorway, he paused for a moment, his voice hesitant.
"You do know our time is limited, don't you?"
"Of course," Allen replied calmly. "I won't take long."
Vilgefortz's gaze lingered on Allen for a few seconds, his brows faintly furrowing in confusion. After a moment, he simply said,"We'll be waiting for you in the gallery," and gently closed the door behind him.
Allen stood still for a moment, listening. Only when the sound of their footsteps had faded completely did he exhale in relief.
Though Vilgefortz had already sworn loyalty to him, knowing the man's duplicitous nature from the chronicles, dealing with him was still mentally exhausting.
Vilgefortz was, without question, a fine sword—razor sharp.
To act as a spy within the North's greatest mage faction, Ban Ard, and to extract critical intelligence in such a short time—that was no feat an ordinary person could achieve.
Moreover, when Sunny and Ottolan left Ban Ard with the joint forces of Ban Ard and the Risberg Civil Cooperative Organization, he still managed not only to fulfill his duties but also had the foresight to send Lydia van Bredevoort here to wait for him.
Leaving aside his magical talent, background, and those mystical "guesses," that sheer decisiveness and ambition alone were astonishing.
Yes—he was indeed a sharp sword.
But a sword without a hilt—only a blade.
If handled carelessly, it could just as easily cut the one who wielded it.
Not wanting to dwell on how to hold such a double-edged weapon, Allen opened the Witcher Journal, then, without hesitation, focused his mind.
[Ding! Fuse with "Domain of Souls (Initial)"?]
[Witcher Journal is fusing with Domain of Souls (Initial)…]
The dark golden text appeared along with a cold mechanical chime. Seeing that it was the Witcher Journal undergoing fusion—and not himself—Allen finally relaxed a little.
Then—
A flash of dazzling violet lightning seared across his vision, forcing him to shut his eyes.
When he opened them again, the dim underground chamber was gone.
He was standing amid ruins.
Rotting beams, shattered fences, collapsed stone houses—everything lay broken and desolate.
It looked like what was once a small town.
A muddy path ran through the middle.
Allen stood upon that path, surrounded on both sides by fields overgrown with dry, colorless weeds stretching out to the far horizon, where they blended into the dull, cloud-choked sky.
There were all the signs of a war-torn northern settlement—withered grass, blackened soil, cracked stones, and crumbling homes—Yet there was not a single trace of life.
The silence was absolute.
Even the air itself carried no scent of vitality—only the faint odor of rotting wood.
"Is this… the Domain of Souls?" Allen murmured, frowning as he walked forward.
Aside from its lifelessness, this place felt nothing like a realm of souls. There weren't even spirits or ghosts to be found.
Taptap… taptap…
He walked on, following the path from one end of the ruined village to the other. Everywhere he looked, there was nothing but more decay.
Strangely, none of the ruins bore any marks of battle—no scorch, no blood. They seemed to have simply… fallen apart with time, as if abandoned for decades.
Every house, every hut—collapsed.
"Where did everyone go?" Allen muttered to himself.
Just then, another streak of violet lightning flared before his eyes.
When he blinked, he was once again standing in the underground chamber beneath the gallery.
[Domain of Souls (Initial) has been successfully fused!]
The dark golden letters shimmered before his eyes.
Allen stood there for a long while, lost in thought.
He felt… something was different.
In his mind, there were no new spiritual links besides the usual ones — the Wolf Medallion, the Mirage Pearl, and the Good Girl.
Yet his consciousness now seemed as though it could connect to another space at any moment.
And when he focused on that thought, the image of that small, crumbling village from before surfaced vividly in his mind.
With just a flicker of will, he realized — he could return there.
The first thing that came to his mind was the new, still-locked ability added to the "Spiral" skill — Storage Hole.
[Name: Spiral]
...
[Passive Effect:]
Dream Echo — In dreams, there is a chance to commune with the Spiral.
[Active Effects:]
Eye of Insight — Consumes 40 (–10) Experience Orbs to shape an Eye within the Spiral. Those with an Eye can observe the Spiral. (The Eye can be detected and destroyed.)
Storage Hole — Consumes 100 Experience Orbs to carve out a Storage Hole within the Spiral's corners. The Hollow can store non-living objects.
Instinctively, Allen tried to store the lamp left behind by Lydia van Bredevoort into the storage — but failed.
Then he remembered: when he had entered the Domain of Souls earlier, his body hadn't been wearing armor, only a plain gray linen undershirt.
Which meant — it wasn't his true body that had entered.
"A space that can't store items… what's the point of that?" he muttered.
After entering and exiting the Domain of Souls once and confirming his suspicions, Allen reopened the Witcher Journal.
The personal panel, inventory, and monster bestiary all showed no trace of the Domain of Souls. Naturally, he turned to the next page—and sure enough, a new interface appeared.
On the parchment was an oil-painted depiction of the ruined village from the Domain of Souls, and around the edges of the image were several lines of neat script.
[Domain of Souls]
[Tier: Initial]
[Souls: 0]
[Functions:]
1. Soul Absorption — The souls of slain beings will appear within the Domain of Souls.
2. Banishment — Expel souls that already exist within the Domain of Souls.
3. Additional Functions Unlock when Souls > 1.]
Allen flipped through the pages back and forth, even prodding around the interface of the Domain of Souls with his thoughts, but in the end, he couldn't trigger any new functions.
He had to accept the fact — what he thought would be a useful tool in the upcoming mission to rescue Hen Gedymdeith turned out to be nothing more than a half-finished product.
Or rather, besides being fused with the Witcher Journal, it seemed to require a secondary activation.
"Where am I supposed to find living creatures to kill in such a short time? I can't just go out on the street and cut down a couple of random people."
Allen sighed helplessly and was about to close the Domain of Souls in disappointment—
"Wait!"
"Cut down a couple of people…"
Allen's mind froze for a moment. His eyes focused, scanning those few short lines of text over and over again.
"The souls of the dead will appear in a certain place, this…"
"Isn't that the Divine Realm?"
The Divine Realm of Melitele — that golden land of harvest, the realm of abundance — was also a place mortals couldn't physically enter.
The more he recalled it, the more convinced he became that the feeling of being within those ruins — though lacking the sacred scent of ripened grain that filled Melitele's realm — was still eerily similar.
That same feeling of being neither alive nor dead, detached from the mortal world.
"That's it. The Domain of Souls… it's almost certainly a Divine Realm, or at least the prototype of one."
"Just what is the origin of this Witcher Journal?!"
Allen nearly exclaimed aloud, unable to suppress his growing excitement toward the locked features waiting to be revealed.
Divine Realms, Divine Power, Divine Arts, Supplicants…
Countless concepts related to gods flowed through his mind like a river — only to be halted one by one as he forcibly calmed himself.
No matter how much he hoped, the truly useful functions of the Domain of Souls couldn't be unlocked yet. Moreover…
Allen shook his head gently.
"The Domain of Souls's core lies in souls — or perhaps in the faith generated by souls yet to be born. Every feature within it must be tied to those two things."
"This must be another late-game function. Better to focus on what's right in front of me for now."
Once he regained his composure, Allen decisively closed the Domain of Souls.
Even if it hadn't delivered the results he'd hoped for, that didn't mean his preparations were over.
Sunny and Ortolan, together with Ban Ard and the main forces of the Rissberg Group's Civil Cooperative Organization, had already departed — creating a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to rescue Hen Gedymdeith.
However, Allen's own preparations were still insufficient.
His reagent pouch contained only the usual sets of potions and blade oils — which was manageable, as he could open a portal back to restock in seconds.
But he was still missing the formulas for Cursed Oil, Vampire Oil, Insectoid Oil, Beast Oil, Ogre Oil, and Draconid Oil — and there would be no time to gather them during the rescue.
As for the second mutation, there was no chance to perform it now.
Fortunately, the oils for Elementa-type creatures — regular, enhanced, and superior grades — were already prepared. After Sol's second mutation, Allen had brewed several vials while teaching Mary potion recipes. He only needed to make a quick trip back to fetch them.
As for everything else…
[Experience Orbs: Experience Orb ×556 (+411), Small Experience Orb ×3724]
Nearly six hundred orbs. He'd need to convert them into combat power before the operation to rescue Hen Gedymdeith.
Allen thought for a moment.
[Ding! Consume 100 Experience Orbs to unlock "Spiral — Storage Hole"?]
The moment Allen confirmed the thought command, a new gray link appeared beside the shimmering connection in his mind.
On the other end of that link was a black space roughly a cubic meter in size — its shape could shift and change at will.
It wasn't large, but for his personal use — to store potions and materials — it was more than enough for now.
After testing storage and retrieval several times without issue, Allen focused again, opening the Witcher Journal and turning to the section on the Path of Beast Roar.
In that instant—
Countless withered veins connecting a gray, stonelike heart seemed to sense something. Crimson light pulsed through it, restless and alive.
And the moment Allen's gaze fell upon the stone heart of the Path of Beast Roar—
"Thump~"
"Thump~"
"Thump~"
The veins trembled, echoing like the pounding of a heart.
With each passing second, the tremors grew louder, wilder — like tribal drums beaten with blood-soaked hides.
It felt as if an ancient beast, slumbering in the depths of some primeval dream, was stirring awake with a deep, rumbling growl.
The entire interface of the Path of Beast Roar shuddered, and even the chamber around him seemed to quake.
But Allen was long accustomed to the terrifying resonance that accompanied the activation of the Beast Roar path. He simply watched as the stone heart began pumping scarlet energy.
Then—
"Boom!"
The uppermost node — the one representing Beast Roar: Berserk — suddenly flared with crimson light after a violent pulse.
The light coursed along the veins like lightning, instantly igniting Beast Roar: Wild Speech and Beast Roar: Whisper of Life.
The crimson radiance swelled, as if empowered by something new, surging like a tidal wave over a dam. It rushed toward three smaller nodes beyond Whisper of Life, marked as Beast Roar: Trap Sense, Beast Roar: Scent Suppression, and Beast Roar: Forbidden Sky.
"Clang!"
A metallic crash rang out.
The divided crimson light struck the three nodes, producing a sound like clashing steel. Then, glowing digits appeared above two of the nodes — Trap Sense and Scent Suppression — each displaying 90.
The third, the gray node representing Beast Roar: Forbidden Sky, lit up with the number 190.
Allen thought for a moment, then willed his intent forward.
[Ding! Spend 90 Experience Orbs to unlock "Beast Roar: Trap Sense"?]
"Boom!"
The outermost vein shuddered as crimson light surged through it, crashing into the gray node and dyeing it blood-red.
In the next moment—
A torrent of information flooded Allen's mind.
[Name: Trap Sense
Type: Beast Roar
Requirements: Path of Beast Roar Initiation; unlocked "Berserk," "Wild Speech," and "Whisper of Life."
Active Effect: Consumes energy to reveal all hidden traps within perception range.
Note:A Witcher does not die to traps!]
The main nodes — Berserk, Wild Speech, and Whisper of Life — were all passive developmental abilities, while the branching veins seemed to represent active skills.
Allen absorbed the knowledge of Trap Sense without dwelling on it and shifted his focus to the gray node beyond Whisper of Life…
[Ding! Spend 189 Experience Orbs to unlock "Beast Roar: Forbidden Sky"?]
"Bang!"
The withered stone heart trembled violently again. Crimson light burst forth through the central veins, surging toward the gray node like a force of ten thousand tons — instantly dyeing it red.
A far greater flood of information poured into Allen's mind, almost splitting his head apart.
[Name: Forbidden Sky
Type: Beast Roar
Requirements: Path of Beast Roar Initiation; unlocked "Berserk," "Wild Speech," and "Whisper of Life."
Passive Effect: By maintaining the power of "Forbidden Sky," the Witcher gains:
1. Gradual increase in Mystic Attribute.
2. Enhanced perception of surrounding spatial and airflow fluctuations.
Active Effect: Consumes energy to cause all entities within range connected to flight, levitation, or hovering to plummet to the ground.
Note:If you will it, not a single bird shall circle above your head.]
"Haa…"
Allen let out a long breath, finally absorbing the torrent of information.
After briefly recalling the details of the newly unlocked Beast Roars, he was about to close the Witcher Journal when—
"Shhh~"
The crimson light from Forbidden Sky surged outward like a breaking wave, washing over the gray node beyond the main vein.
The faint words Beast Roar: Dragon Call began to tremble and flicker.
.........
📢Advanced chapters on p@treaon📢
For advance chapters: [email protected]/Uchiha_Itachi007 (replace @ with a)
1. 20 advanced chapters of The Witcher: Wolf School's Hunting Notes.
2. 30 advanced chapters of What year is this? You're still writing a traditional diary?.