36. Allen, Dead?

The moment the Drowner King locked eyes on him, a powerful killing intent engulfed the Witcher apprentice, making him feel as if he was in a sea of corpses and blood.

A chill ran from the base of his spine to his scalp. However, to Allen's surprise, the massive creature didn't charge at Vesemir or him.

Instead, it tilted its head, seemingly assessing its surroundings.

"Allen, this monster is acting strange!" Vesemir subtly moved closer to Allen. "Be ready to escape if things go south..."

"Croak!"

Before Vesemir could finish his sentence, the Drowner King roared again. Suddenly, a blue membrane of light appeared over its muscular body.

"Buzz!"

The medallion on the Witcher master's chest emitted a buzzing sound loud enough for Allen to hear.

"Is that a... magical shield?" Allen asked uncertainly.

Apart from the color, the blue membrane closely resembled a Quen shield.

But how could that be possible?

Vesemir's face was stern. He didn't answer his apprentice immediately but focused on the Drowner King's every move.

"Croak... croak... croak..."

The Drowner King's enormous mouth moved slightly, emitting a deep, resonant sound like it was chanting a spell. Gradually, pale blue light dots appeared in the air, quickly gathering on the colossal creature. Its blood-red fins absorbed the light dots, pulsating rhythmically. Allen was momentarily mesmerized.

The rhythmic chanting that drew on the environment's magic...

What was it doing?

Chanting a spell?

The Witcher apprentice stared blankly at the Drowner King's humanoid form and well-developed muscles. In any other creature, such a physique would be a template for melee combat.

But you're telling me it's also a mage?

Additionally, aren't drowners supposed to lack intelligence?

Even Axii sign doesn't work on these creatures. How could such a pure chaotic creature master structured magic?

Could it be that the Drowner King and drowners are not the same species, but rather a new species called the Drowner King?

In an instant, a flood of questions filled his mind.

"Allen, protect yourself!"

Seeing the Drowner King's abnormal behavior, Vesemir's expression changed drastically. He left a quick warning and rushed towards the energy-gathering monster. Whether it was magic or not, the key to a fight was to disrupt the enemy's intentions. Since the monster seemed to be gathering magic, it must not be allowed to succeed. Allen didn't stay put either. A step behind Vesemir, he also charged at the Drowner King.

"Something's not right!"

After a few steps, Allen suddenly stopped, then began running around the monster in an irregular pattern. But no matter how erratic his movements, the Drowner King's gaze remained fixed on him. Allen was locked on.

"Allen, be careful!"

Vesemir noticed this too but was already in front of the Drowner King, unable to turn back and help. He pushed his mutated organs to their limits, squeezing out as much magic as possible.

Aard sign!

A powerful telekinetic wave erupted from the Witcher master's palm, distorting the air in its path. He aimed to use the sign to disrupt the monster's next attack. A brilliant move while being under pressure. Unfortunately, the massive creature remained unmoved, ignoring the incoming wave and continuing to gather energy. Indeed, the telekinetic wave that distorted the air only caused the blue membrane to flicker briefly.

Vesemir's face changed drastically. He quickly turned and shouted to his apprentice:

"Allen, run!"

Every hair on Allen's body stood on end as he sprinted towards the cave entrance. The flames Vesemir had ignited still burned, but the Witcher apprentice couldn't afford to care about that. The intense sense of danger told him that if he didn't avoid the Drowner King's attack, he would die.

Running non-stop, Allen mentally summoned his Witcher journal, frantically upgrading his Quen sign despite knowing it could only block physical attacks, not magic.

[Ding! Your skill: Quen Sign LV1 has been upgraded to Quen Sign LV3 (0/2500)]

[Ding! You have leveled up to 10, gaining 1 special skill point]

Facing a life-or-death crisis, Allen could no longer afford to save experience points. If not for the requirement of a mystery value greater than 10 for LV3 to LV4 upgrade, he would have poured all his experience points into it.

Magic surged through his body as he drew a triangle in the air with his thumb and forefinger.

Quen Sign.

"Buzz!"

A clear chime sounded as a pale golden light flashed across his brown leather armor. After leveling up to LV3, Allen felt the casting time for Quen had halved. Previously taking about 10 seconds to cast, it now took only 5. The shield's structure had also been greatly optimized.

Not only had the shield's color changed from nearly transparent pale yellow to semi-transparent pale gold, but its protective effect had also doubled, increasing from absorbing 2 hits to 6 hits from a drowner.

Additionally, it gained a new feature. This feature caused the shield to shatter outwardly upon breaking, generating a powerful shockwave. However, with the apprentice's low mystery value, the shockwave could only push back creatures the size of a drowner. The cave entrance was close, and Allen could see the sunlight streaming into the cave.

"Hope is right in front of me."

Allen encouraged himself, but a heavy shadow loomed in his mind. Would the intelligent, spell-chanting Drowner King really let him escape so easily?

"Less than ten meters left!"

Allen could clearly see the cracks in the cave entrance caused by the earthquake.

"Buzz!"

A sharp sound echoed from behind. Like the sudden cracking of a frozen lake in winter.

"Whoosh!"

Before Allen could turn from the stone wall to the Drowner King. A frigid wind pierced through him, making him shiver. The Witcher apprentice turned his head sharply. He didn't see the Drowner King's massive body but a huge blue-glowing ice spike. Before he could react.

"Boom!"

The massive ice spike pierced Allen's chest without resistance, embedding deeply into the ground. The hard slate floor instantly cratered. Shattered rock turned to powder, and the ice spike exploded into countless blue-glowing ice shards, filling the entire cave. For a moment, it seemed like glowing snow was falling inside the cave.

...…

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37. Demon Hunting.

38. Slaying the Drowner King.

39. Return with Honor.

40. Keeping to Oneself?

41. Essence of the Drowner King's Heart.