308. Surviving Together.

"A golden-furred beast?"

Allen paused for a moment.

Where was this golden-furred beast supposed to be?

And what did it have to do with him…

"Wait!"

A thought struck Allen. The image of the "Kanu King," a creature with long golden fur that looked like a yeti from legends of his previous life, flashed in his mind from the "cutscene" after he fused eight golden treasure chests the night before last.

He looked at Aristo, who was showing a rare look of careful curiosity and eagerness, and carefully asked about the appearance of the golden-furred beast.

Although Aristo found it odd that Allen, who had summoned the skill, would ask him about it, he recalled the events for a few seconds and described the apparition he had seen during the Beast Roar.

As soon as Aristo started his description, Allen realized that the creature he had seen was indeed the Kanu King.

As Aristo grew more excited describing his encounter with the beast, memories swirled through Allen's mind. There were his enhanced stats, the Kanu King's image appearing during the battle roar, and the "cutscene" with vivid sensory details...

"Where exactly did that red light take me the night before last?" Allen wondered, looking down at his calloused hands.

These were the hands that had, uncontrollably, reached into the Kanu King's head and absorbed its lava-like energy.

Had that really been his own hands that night?

Could it be that the Cyclopean giants didn't go extinct in a disaster?

Was it possible he had, by some method, replaced "Italiano" and received the beast-roaring inheritance?

Could it really be that coincidental?

And also…

Praise Shagadazar, God of Roars, Hunts, and Taming…

The ancient, youthful-yet-ancient voice he'd heard recently echoed in his mind.

If that wasn't Italiano's voice, then who was it?

"That golden-furred beast was the most magnificent creature I've ever seen," Aristo said excitedly, describing the raw strength and majesty of the Kanu King, before noticing Allen's odd expression. "Uh…Allen, are you alright?"

"You look…a little pale."

"I'm fine…" Allen replied, snapping back from his thoughts, "Just a little drained…"

Aristo nodded in understanding. It made sense that Allen would be exhausted from a technique that he didn't understand but could defeat him with a single strike. However, he didn't plan on pressing Allen for details on the technique unless Allen brought it up. After all, things were a bit awkward between them right now.

That said, Aristo didn't actually care that much about the move that had beaten him; his mind was on that golden-furred beast.

"That golden-furred beast is called the Kanu King, supposedly…supposedly a king of a beast tribe called the Kanu," Allen said, thinking back to the slaughtered beasts he'd seen outside the tent.

"The Kanu King…" Aristo's eyes lit up at Allen's words, and he asked eagerly, "Where can I find this Kanu King?"

"What do I need to do to prepare for hunting these beasts?"

"Apologies, Master Aristo," Allen shook his head, "but those beasts aren't from this world…"

"Hm?" Aristo froze.

"Not from this world" wasn't a difficult concept for Aristo, who understood the phenomenon of spheres intersecting, where creatures, including humans, originated from other worlds.

What he couldn't understand was how Allen knew this fact if the creature wasn't from this world.

Before he could ask, Allen explained further: "It was through the goddess Melitele's help that I encountered the creature called the Kanu King and received a powerful skill."

He wasn't lying. Without Melitele's grace, there was no way he would've gotten eight golds and a purple in a single draw.

And without that, the inexplicable "cutscene" would never have happened.

"I see…" Aristo nodded slowly. "So it was through the goddess Melit— Wait…what?"

He stopped mid-sentence, his amber cat eyes widening in disbelief as he looked at Allen.

"You mean…you actually met the goddess Melitele?" Seeing Allen's nod, Aristo felt stunned.

Meeting one of the most revered and widely worshipped goddesses of the Northern Continent, it sounded as simple as walking down from Allen's tower room, turning a corner, knocking on the door, and greeting Vera or Mary.

Even the clergy of Melitele, despite a lifetime of devotion, rarely ever saw her face. But here was a Witcher claiming he just met her like that?

Aristo had a hard time believing Allen would lie about such a thing, especially with all the other baffling details about that magnificent golden beast.

Allen's skill, the beast's appearance, and his defeat with just two resonating roars…

Just then, Vesemir arrived, looking equally surprised as he glanced at Allen.

Vesemir was aware that Allen had the curse of a dark god removed, but Allen hadn't yet shared the specifics. So Vesemir had assumed that the goddess Melitele had simply removed the curse from Allen in his sleep.

But now, as Vesemir approached, he caught Aristo's eye and gave him a subtle look.

Aristo, still reeling from shock, glanced in the direction Vesemir indicated.

Around the training ground, the Witcher apprentices were discussing the recent battle enthusiastically, even though they hadn't really seen anything from start to finish.

Understanding Vesemir's hint, Aristo nodded.

Anything related to the goddess Melitele and involving Allen's personal matters, naturally, wasn't suited to be widely shared. So, with a frown, Aristo was about to speak. But he seemed to think of something suddenly and turned to Allen, asking, "Commander Allen, do you have any other plans for the apprentices?"

Allen paused, then shook his head. "I just got back and I'm still not fully familiar with things here. Master Aristo can proceed as usual."

Aristo nodded and then called out to the apprentices,"Erni, Claral, lead the apprentices in swordsmanship and signs practice as per the original plan here."

"I have some matters to discuss with Commander Allen and will check your training progress later. If I catch anyone slacking…"

"Hmph!"

With a cold snort, Aristo disregarded the groans and complaints from around the training grounds and asked Allen,"Shall we talk somewhere else?"

Allen exchanged a glance with Vesemir and nodded.

-----------------------

Strength always comes first, especially for a Witcher.

Leaving the apprentice training grounds and walking toward the castle hall, Allen was once again reminded of this fundamental truth of the Northern Continent. It wasn't that Aristo, after losing the spar, had suddenly grown submissive or overly flattering.

To be fair, even last year, when Allen had only recently earned the title of Witcher Master, several senior Witcher Masters, including the head, treated him quite well, often answering any questions he had.

He still remembered how earlier in the year, before heading down the mountain from Kaer Morhen to participate in the Wolves vs. Cats apprentice dueling competition, several Witcher Masters had given him some tips on dealing with Cat School's techniques.

Out of them, Aristo had been the most forthcoming.

For some reason, it seemed he especially liked Allen. However, even though they had a friendly relationship, there were always distinctions in their attitudes.

Before the sparring match, Aristo had looked out for Allen in a way similar to an elder's concern for a talented younger relative. He'd listen to Allen's opinions but often followed his own ideas.

Now, though… Aristo, with his usually fiery temper, seemed to treat Allen on a more equal footing.

Especially concerning the development of the witcher corps, Aristo even brought up the topic, asking Allen for his ideas.

In fact, Allen had thought about it before he even left Ellander—or after the apprentice duels at Ban Ard had ended.

Firstly, he wanted to lead the members into as much practical hunting as possible, as quickly as possible.

At the moment, the witcher corps was a third-tier group with only fifteen members, but currently, only five positions remained open—far too few.

Frankly speaking, given the current numbers, it seemed more like a small team than a corps.

Allen had quickly counted the apprentices around them. Besides the seven who were already part of the corps, there were thirty to forty Witchers who'd passed the Trial of the Grasses. Naturally, not all would be enrolled like the first batch, but at least thirty slots would need to be reserved.

Otherwise, if they weren't part of the corps, Allen wouldn't be able to help them advance their skills quickly.

Furthermore, improving the members' abilities would require a significant number of merit points and materials gathered from monster hunts.

With his current level of forty-eight, Allen would receive almost no bounty for killing most common monsters on his own.

Besides, the vivid memory of the seven fused gold chests and the moment his hands reached into King Carno during the vision had been lingering in his mind…

To combine chests again, he'd need a vast number of them, obtained through the "Corps Skill: Loot Lock."

The second point would be teaching members certain potions, oils, bombs, and skills to raise their power levels as fast as possible. However, Allen intended to entrust the details of this to Mary, the chief sorceress of the Witcher Corps, whom he greatly respected.

His plan was to select which potions, oils, and skills were most suitable for sharing. For example, basic oils, along with restorative potions like Swallow and White Honey, would be made available to everyone.

Higher-level oils and more destructive bombs would be introduced according to loyalty tiers or possibly through a points system, though he hadn't worked out the details yet.

Initially, however, he planned to rely on loyalty tiers.

As for certain potions, like alghoul Decoction and Blizzard, with their nearly game-breaking effects, Allen did not intend to make them public, even to Mary or Vesemir. These were simply too powerful, too dangerous for him to share. Moreover, these potions required rare materials, and he could brew enough for urgent needs himself.

Finally, there was the matter of creating a proper structure.

This would include systems like the points exchange, ranking within the corps, and even penalties for misconduct and betrayal, which would inevitably arise in the future.

With a small number of members, loyalty checks were effective, and no major issues would likely arise. But with the death rate in the Trial of the Grasses reduced almost to zero due to the essence from Drowner hearts, and the School facing an era full of looming dangers, it was clear that the number of apprentices advancing to Witcher status would increase.

A surge in corps numbers seemed inevitable.

Once numbers rose, loyalty alone wouldn't be sufficient, and Allen alone wouldn't be able to manage it all.

When that time came, a clear system of rewards and punishments and a structured hierarchy would be essential.

Allen realized he'd need to plan this structure well in advance.

Beyond that, with an increase in members, the School's current loose management style would also need to change.

Though this matter didn't directly relate to Allen, at least for now…

But he couldn't help recalling the question posed by the Grandmaster of the Wolf School.

*Do you want to be the head?*

The grandmaster's words seemed to echo in a corner of his heart.

Allen believed that after Sol, the next head would likely not be him.

But in the future…

Who could say for sure?

Hunting monsters, sharing knowledge, improving structure…

Reflecting on it, Allen realized there was a lot to do for the corps in the time ahead.

Of course, Allen couldn't share everything with Aristo.

Yet just sharing parts of his ideas was enough to subtly alter the looks on Aristo and Vesemir's faces.

And no wonder.

After all, Witchers were created solely for hunting monsters, living on the edge of death day by day, without a long-term view.

But Allen was different.

Not only did he want to survive.

He wanted his "home" and "family" to survive together.

.....

📢20 advanced chapters on p@treaon📢

For advance chapters: p@treon.com/Uchiha_Itachi007 (replace @ with a)

309. "I'm Your Elder, Can You Trust Me a Bit More?"

310. Lone Wolf's Death, Birth of the Pack.

311.How a Magical Lady Should Cleverly "Charm" a Handsome Gentleman.

312. Allen, Do You Want to Know Who Your Parents Are?

313. A Good Mother Like Vera.