From now on… create a main quest out of thin air?
Allen froze for a moment.
This was a path he had never imagined before—but thinking about it carefully, perhaps… it wasn't impossible.
They were all witcher Schools. The School of the Wolf, having inherited the orthodox legacy of the Witcher Order, possessed far more materials, potion formulas, and experimental records than the School of the Griffin.
After all, when Grandmaster Erland of the Griffin School left the Witcher Order with his thirteen close companions out of guilt, he took nothing with him except the knowledge in his head.
The Wolf School, which departed last, packed up everything—rare and precious magical materials, experimental equipment, witcher records, potion formulas, and experiment logs—and took it all with them.
Most of the Order's mages trained by Alzur and Cosimo Malaspina also followed Sol when he left.
As did the apprentices who had trained in the Witcher Order for many years—
Therefore, the Wolf School's lack of a comprehensive inherited compendium like Monster Hunting Notes was, in a sense, not Sol's fault. The Wolf School truly had no need for one.
Experimental apparatus, magical materials, even School mages proficient in conducting the Trial of the Grasses—
In its founding era, the Wolf School could be said to have been the most completely equipped of all the witcher Schools, even more complete than the original Witcher Order itself.
As for why Erland developed such a habit of recording everything, it was likely out of necessity.
He had left the Witcher Order with only thirteen witchers and the knowledge in his mind as its de facto leader.
If he did not record it quickly, he might very well forget it.
Because of that, he was able to present such a monumental work as Monster Hunting Notes today.
Sol had no such need, and naturally no such legacy.
"Is that… acceptable?" Allen asked cautiously.
"If you need it, of course it is," Sol replied frankly. "Come to think of it, once the expedition to Dol Dhu Lokke ends, I will gradually lay down my duties as Chief and let you take over."
"Suddenly losing the responsibilities of Grandmaster of the Witchers—I doubt I'll adapt quickly. It will be just the right time to sort out the legacies of the Witcher Order and the Wolf School as a transition."
Allen had no reason to refuse. He spoke in thanks: "Thank you, Sol—Chief—"
Sol merely shook his head and said nothing.
The atmosphere in the room suddenly grew a little awkward.
Come to think of it, Allen and Sol had not had many face-to-face, one-on-one conversations like today—hm—to be precise, including today, only twice.
The previous time had been after May Day, when he had just returned to Kaer Morhen from Ellander.
Duke Mason had extended an invitation to the Wolf School through him, inviting the School to relocate from Kaedwen to Ellander, to become neighbors with the Temple of Melitele.
It was also during that meeting that Sol, upon greeting him, had immediately asked whether he wanted to become Chief of the Wolf School, nearly frightening him out of his wits.
Now, nearly half a year had passed.
In these six months, an evil god had nearly descended upon Ellander; Aedirn and Kaedwen had erupted into a war of annihilation; Sol himself had nearly died from the collapse of his "Legacy Vessel."
More importantly, their identities were no longer simply Chief and Witcher Master.
After his origins were revealed, Vera had spoken to him privately many times. Yet Sol seemed to share an unspoken understanding with him.
In these six months, they had never once been alone together. Not once.
And so—
It was as if nothing had changed, and yet everything had long since been utterly transformed.
"Do the other Schools—I mean the School of the Bear and the School of the Viper—have something like Monster Hunting Notes as well?"
Allen searched for something to say, breaking the silence.
"The Viper School probably does—" Sol frowned in thought. "When Ivar Evil-Eye was still at Morgraig, because of that mutated eye of his, he liked to write."
"That eye of his constantly showed him visions of the Wild Hunt's ghostly riders pillaging, slaughtering, and conquering. Those specters became his obsession. He believed they were riders of the apocalypse, destined to descend upon and plunder this world."
"At the time, we all thought the decoction of the Trial of the Grasses had burned out his nerves and driven him mad. Who would have thought it was true?"
"Because no one believed him, most of the bounty Ivar earned from contracts went toward buying books, paper, and ink. He recorded every scene he saw in his dreams."
"In those days, Ivar's 'short stories' were quite popular in the castle—though he himself was not pleased about that."
"Later, perhaps because he wasn't valued in Morgraig, he chose to follow Arnaghad. But not long after the Bear School was founded, he clashed with Arnaghad, betrayed him, and nearly killed him in the conflict."
"Arnaghad himself hadn't taken much from Morgraig to begin with. Ivar had even less."
"The founding of the Viper School relied entirely on his habitual reading and recording of things. So he certainly has a Monster Hunting Notes of his own. But most of it likely records not stories from the Order's era—but the Wild Hunt."
Allen considered this, then asked, "If I were to borrow the Viper School's copy of Monster Hunting Notes, do you think he would give it to me?"
"You wouldn't need to borrow it," Sol shook his head, as if recalling certain past scenes, his brow furrowing. "Ivar's lifelong obsession is the Wild Hunt. He's even more fanatical than the most devout follower of the Church of Kreve."
"If he knew you intended to oppose the Wild Hunt, not only would he give you the Viper School's Monster Hunting Notes like Erland did—if you promised to fight the Wild Hunt, he might even hand the entire Viper School over to you."
"But the Bear School—"
Sol paused, his brows knitting tightly together.
"The Bear School may not be so simple."
"Because the Bear School's relationship with us is poor?" Allen asked curiously.
"It's not a matter of relations," Sol shook his head. "The Bear School's relationship with the Griffin School is the worst—you know the reason. With the Wolf School, it's lukewarm."
"As long as you're willing to pay and persuade the other witcher masters of the Bear School, there's nothing they won't sell."
"But as I said before, Arnaghad is interested only in slaughter. If you expect him to personally write a Monster Hunting Notes, that would be difficult."
"As far as I know, the Bear School's legacy was pieced together by those who fled the Order with Arnaghad. And the vast majority of it was actually Ivar Evil-Eye's contribution."
"So—"
"If you want the Bear School's Monster Hunting Notes, you'd be better off asking Ivar Evil-Eye directly—"
Have the Grandmaster of the Viper School fabricate the legacy of the Bear School?
Allen was stunned.
That was even possible?
Whether such a Bear School legacy would be recognized by the Hunting Notes, he did not know. But he did know it certainly would not be recognized by Arnaghad.
Then again—speaking of Arnaghad's recognition—
Arnaghad's recognition itself seemed difficult to obtain.
He did not care about the Witcher Order's Path of Glory.
Would money suffice?
But Arnaghad's break with the Witcher Order—rather than caring about contract bounties, he seemed to care more about the contracts themselves.
And besides—
For someone devoid of emotion, did something like "recognition" even exist?
Of course.
"Song of the White Griffin's Soul" was not yet complete. There were still the imprint quests of the Wolf and Viper Schools waiting ahead. There seemed no urgent need to rush into the Bear School's task.
Perhaps even after gathering the imprints of the other Schools, lacking the Bear School's legion Insignia might not matter.
It was even possible that the Witcher Corps could equip only one legion Insignia at a time—making the absence irrelevant.
Yet on the one hand, the Wolf School and the Bear School had very little interaction.
If he missed this expedition, it might be difficult to find another opportunity like it in the future.
And considering the reconstruction of the Witcher Order, he wanted to use this expedition as a beginning—to open the door to friendlier relations between the Wolf and Bear Schools.
Furthermore, whether Bear, Wolf, Griffin, Viper, Cat, or Manticore—they all originated from the Witcher Order.
If the Witcher Order itself had a chance to be rebuilt, then if all the Schools' imprints were gathered—would something change?
For example—six becoming one, transforming into an "Order Imprint," gaining even greater power?
Therefore, every opportunity had to be cherished.
"Don't worry."
Allen was deep in troubled thought when he suddenly felt a light pat on his shoulder, interrupting his train of thought.
Across from him—
Sol forced an awkward and cautious smile. For some reason, it reminded Allen of a colleague from his previous life who had done something wrong and was trying to placate a wife who had been giving him the cold shoulder for weeks.
"Arnaghad may be indifferent, different from ordinary witchers, and his relationship with the Wolf School is only average. But the relationship between the Wolf School and the Bear School is ultimately not as rigid as that between the Griffin School and the Bear School."
"Besides Arnaghad, although most of the Bear School's witcher masters are emotionally distant, there are one or two exceptions."
"Allen."
Sol met his gaze seriously.
"I will help you."
Allen froze for a moment. His throat felt dry, and he could only awkwardly offer another strained "Thank you."
Sol once again repeated what he had done a few minutes earlier—he shook his head.
And then—
The two of them fell silent again, the air growing even more awkward.
Allen had nothing else that required him to stay, so he picked up the saddlebag containing Monster Hunting Notes and stood to leave.
At that moment, Sol suddenly asked, "Could you leave the first few volumes here? Let me borrow them to take a look?"
"O—of course—" Allen immediately took out the opening volumes from the saddlebag. After a moment's thought, he pulled out a few more.
He knew Sol most likely only wanted to borrow Erland's Monster Hunting Notes, to reminisce about the old days of the Witcher Order two centuries ago.
"Song of the White Griffin's Soul" required only overall progress; it did not enforce a specific order.
"Thank you," Sol said earnestly.
The face of the Wolf School's Grandmaster of Witchers, framed by his graying hair, suddenly seemed to carry a hint of age.
Allen waved his hand, unsure what to say, and so said nothing at all. After nodding in farewell, he turned and walked out.
Bang
The wooden door closed softly.
Sol stroked the rough, mottled cover of Monster Hunting Notes, his gaze resting on the now-empty wooden door. He did not know what he was thinking, but he did not look away for a long time.
Time passed in a blink. In the twinkling of an eye, two days had gone by.
During these two days, whether because of the warning from Tissaia de Vries or because of the arrival of the Griffin School, those lurking in the shadows found no opportunity. The Wolf School encountered no further harassment.
However, every witcher knew that the Rogrides family and Redania's schemes would not end there. Greater trouble awaited them in the expedition to Dol Dhu Lokke.
Therefore—
Although the preparations for the Dol Dhu Lokke expedition did not require the Wolf School's direct participation, the members of the Wolf School did not relax during these two days. On the contrary, they were even busier than when they had been preparing for the expedition at Kaer Morhen.
Sol, Vesemir, Valerius, Gregor—even the ordinary Wolf School witcher Letho—abandoned their usual routines and began moving between the various tents at the outpost.
Gathering inside information. Building relationships. Confirming who was friend and who was foe—
Though many within the Brotherhood of Sorcerers looked down on nonhumans, especially witchers, Tissaia de Vries' attitude made one thing clear: the forces that remained neutral—or were even friendly toward witchers—were actually more numerous.
After all, witchers were not some newly emerged supernatural profession. They had taken root on the Northern Continent for over two hundred years. They counted as an old supernatural power in their own right.
Witchers had the Law of Surprise—a rule that easily offended people—but in reality, they had saved far more lives than they had angered.
Most sorcerers had no direct conflict with witchers. Genetic mutation was indeed a popular research direction within the Brotherhood of Sorcerers.
But in truth, genetic mutation had an extremely high threshold. Only top-tier supernatural powers such as Ban Ard or the Rissberg Civic Cooperative Organization were qualified to conduct such research.
For most supernatural organizations, their primary research direction remained alchemy—a traditional field that had never lacked prospects from ancient times to the present.
Thus, there was little real conflict with witchers.
The impression that witchers stood opposed by the entire world in the past was largely because the Rogrides family and the radical faction of Ban Ard had made enough noise across the Northern Continent.
And at the outpost, most of the supernatural forces were of similar—or even smaller—scale compared to the witcher Schools.
Therefore—
Because witchers hunted monsters and frequently acquired rare magical materials, quite a few supernatural forces at the outpost maintained friendly relations with the Wolf School.
Not to mention that the "social butterfly" among the witcher Schools—the Griffin School—had, on the second day, been persuaded by Allen to join in as well.
However, the intelligence they ultimately gathered was far from optimistic.
On paper, more than half of the forces at the outpost stood on the witchers' side—or at least remained neutral.
But in reality, none of these forces would confront the Crowned Silver Eagle for the sake of the witchers during the expedition—more precisely, none would oppose a behemoth like Redania. At most, they could promise neutrality.
And if even before the expedition began they could promise only neutrality—
Then what would happen once they entered Dol Dhu Lokke?
Thus, over the course of two days, the atmosphere at the Griffin School and Wolf School encampments grew heavier with each passing day.
......