Wizard: This witcher is neglecting his duties.

Chapter 13 The Attack of the Human-Faced Demon Bird

Unable to resist Wayne's urging, Geralt finished breakfast and set off with him.

However, reaching the Elemental Ring in the mountains behind Kaer Morhen is not easy. It requires not only sailing across a lake next to the castle, but also climbing a rugged mountain path and passing through a dark cave.

After saying goodbye to their companions, the two quickly left the castle and arrived at the lake. Fortunately, thanks to Wayne's efforts during this time, he had killed all the water ghosts on the lake. Without these troublemakers bothering them, they soon found a dilapidated boat and began to swim to the other side of the lake.

After boarding, Wayne adjusted the sails and, seeing a nostalgic look on Geralt's face, asked:

"Geralt, what are you thinking about?"

"Judging from your expression, did something happen here?"

Upon hearing this, the white wolf reached out and touched the lake water. His expression was dazed for a few seconds before a bitter smile appeared on his face. He said:

"It's because I was thinking about some things from the past."

"Wayne, fewer and fewer apprentices are being trained in Kaer Morhen these days, and many of the old rules have been abandoned, so you haven't experienced them."

"When I became a Witcher, the Trials of the Grasses would take the lives of more than 70% of Witcher apprentices."

"Even if we survive the trial of the grass and complete the basic training, we must still undergo a final trial."

"The path we're walking on now is the same path we took during the final trial."

Geralt looked up, met Wayne's eyes, and said with a sigh:

"Back then, there were eight apprentices in my batch who passed the Grass Trial, but only four of them passed the final trial."

"A year later, the other two also died at the hands of other monsters, leaving only Eskel and me alive."

"Therefore, for many Witcher apprentices, becoming a Witcher is a very unfortunate thing."

Wayne fell silent upon hearing this. If we count them, there should have been more than twenty children who underwent training with Geralt at the beginning, but less than one-tenth of them survived.

The chances of surviving as a Witcher are truly heartbreaking.

We sailed on the lake for about half an hour, and luckily, nothing unexpected happened.

However, as soon as they disembarked, the two were attacked by a group of about a dozen human-faced demon birds on the riverbank on the opposite side of the lake.

Upon seeing the monsters attacking from the sky, Geralt didn't hesitate. He cast the Quen sign on himself and charged forward with his sword.

He dodged and swung his silver sword to fend off the attacks of the flock of human-faced demon birds, but he appeared somewhat disheveled due to the sheer number of enemies.

Wayne, however, did not act rashly. This was the first time he had seen a human-faced bird, and also the first time he had encountered a flying monster.

According to the book, the human-faced bird is a hybrid beast with a human face, bird beak, wings and claws. It reeks of rotting corpses and bird droppings, is extremely ugly, and likes to make terrifying cries.

Their wings are quite flexible, allowing them to turn freely in the air. Their attack method is similar to that of an eagle, using the high speed gained during a dive to attack enemies with their beaks and claws.

However, due to their deformed body structure, they become very clumsy once they land on the ground, and their combat effectiveness drops sharply.

With that thought, Wayne held his sword in his right hand in a defensive stance, and with his left hand, he pointed at a flying human-faced bird and made the Axii sign.

As the magic power within his body circulated rapidly, Wayne drew a magic circle with his left hand and gently pushed it. A human-faced demon bird flying in the sky seemed to be struck by electricity, its eyes glazed over, and its body stiffened as it plummeted straight down.

It was about ten meters above the ground. Falling from such a height without any warning broke its wings. The intense pain caused it to roll around on its limbs and struggle on the ground.

Without a word, Geralt seized the opportunity, rolled over, and appeared beside the human-faced bird. His sharp silver sword pierced its heart, easily dispatching the monster.

After discovering this clever method, Wayne immediately followed suit, unleashing the Axii sign eight times in succession, successfully working with Geralt to kill the eight Yamato birds.

Even after half of their members were killed, these low-IQ monsters still didn't know what fear or running away was.

They continued to flap their wings and relentlessly attack Geralt, who was surrounded.

Due to the continuous blocking and rolling, the white wolf's stamina was also greatly depleted, and it was no longer able to defend itself completely. Several scars were left on its body and face by the human-faced demon birds.

Seeing this, Wayne no longer hesitated and shouted to Geralt:

"Geralt, come this way and lure the monsters over here."

Upon hearing Wayne's shout, White Wolf did not hesitate. He immediately used the hilt of his sword to knock away the claws of a human-faced demon bird that was attacking him. With a clean and neat backflip, he rolled towards Wayne.

How could the remaining seven or eight human-faced birds possibly let go of their prey that was about to be eaten? Their barren brains didn't think at all, and they instinctively flew towards Geralt.

At this moment, Wayne's Igni sign had been ready for seven or eight seconds, gathering almost all of his magic power in his hand.

Seeing that Geralt and the monsters behind him had entered his attack range, Wayne shouted.

"Get down quickly."

The magic in his hand immediately surged out towards the monster in the air.

The level eight sign can increase Wayne's spell power by 40%, and this time his Igni has almost gathered the power of seven or eight ordinary signs.

In an instant, a surge of orange-red flames erupted from Wayne's palm.

It directly covered the sky for about ten meters in front of them, enveloping all the remaining seven or eight human-faced demon birds.

The raging flames raised the temperature of the surrounding air by more than ten degrees.

Accompanied by the monsters' mournful howls, the bodies of those human-faced bird demons were all scorched by the flames. Their outer skin and feathers were burned into charred remains by the high temperature, turning them into blackened corpses that fell from the sky.

Geralt scrambled to his feet, staring in shock at the scene before him. He'd only ever seen such magical power in the hands of sorcerers. Turning back to Wayne in disbelief, he asked:

Are you sure you cast the Igni sign?

"Why does it feel completely different from what we use?"

Wayne rubbed his palms, which seemed to be burned by the intense heat of the flames, and looked at the white wolf with a somewhat innocent expression, saying:

"That's right, my knowledge of the hand signs is the same as yours, it was all taught by Teacher Vesemir."

"Maybe I'm just a little more talented than you."

Upon hearing this, Geralt, somewhat speechless, took out a bottle of Swallow Potion and downed it, muttering:

"You're not just a little bit better than me, Wayne."

"Perhaps you should become a warlock, rather than a demon hunter who fights with a sword."

Wayne shrugged and reminded him:

"I've already become a Witcher, what's the point of saying this now?"

"Why don't we go find the nest of these human-faced demon birds? I read in a book that they like to collect shiny items."

"Their nests will most likely contain gold coins, gems, or other valuables."

Upon hearing about money, Geralt stopped dwelling on the previous question and nodded in agreement:

"Yes, I once found several pieces of jewelry in the nest of a human-faced demon bird and exchanged them for several hundred orens."

"Since we'll be teaming up for missions for the next few years, let's split the loot 50/50, as per the rules."

(End of this chapter)