The Demon Hunter Trial is divided into four parts, which everyone present knows well: the physical training [Choice], the physiological and genetic mutation [Grass Trial] and [Dream Trial], and the final exam-like [Mountain Trial].
The first three trials are similar, but the final [Mountain Trial] has different methods for different schools. Some schools will let the apprentice hunt a small monster like a water ghost alone as a test for the demon hunter career, while some schools will throw the apprentice into a dark monster's lair and let him survive for a night.
Lann naturally had not gone through the [Mountain Trial], or maybe Jeron regarded Lann's achievements on the mainland as his [Mountain Trial]. This answer sheet was indeed much more dazzling than that of other demon hunter apprentices.
The Wolf Clan's [Mountain Trial] is to pass through the cave where the "Old Spearhead" lives, go to the Ring of Elements to absorb the magical energy there to strengthen your own seals, and obtain the Wolf Clan's badge. However, the Cyclops living in the dark cave has extremely sharp senses, so many mutant apprentices of the demon hunter who survived the high mortality rate eventually died tragically at the hands of the Cyclops, who they were not strong enough to face.
This trial is very dangerous, but the Ring of Elements is indeed unique and worth the risk for apprentices. Although it cannot essentially enhance the power of the Wolf School's seal to obtain the seal power comparable to the Griffin School, it can give the Demon Hunter's seal some other special effects.
Lambert said: "My [Axis Sign] has undergone a gratifying change. When I first started out, I encountered two robbers. One of them pointed a crossbow at me, and the other was searching my pockets. I used the [Axis Sign] to make the guy with the crossbow shoot his companion to death, and then let him hang himself on a tree."
Even Cohen, who was a member of the Griffin School, couldn't help but gasp when he heard this effect. Making the hypnotic effect of the [Axis Seal] so strong that the caster could commit suicide without any defense was something that even Lann couldn't do now.
For the sake of the Ring of Elements, Old Spearhead has another way to die!
…
After dinner, the moon rose above the branches.
This time is not the right time to go out and hunt monsters. The ecology of Kaer Morhen is excellent. Not only are there small monsters like water ghosts and evil ghosts, but there are also real monsters with magical abilities such as swamp witches, harpies, and small fog monsters. Even large monsters such as fork-tailed dragons often appear.
Most of them were nocturnal animals, so even though the Wolf Clan was eager to hunt down Old Spearhead, they had to wait until the next day.
In the dead of night, there was another knock on Lan's door.
“Boom boom boom—”
The room was not soundproofed well, and Lan had already heard the soft footsteps at the door.
As soon as he opened the door, as he expected, Triss was standing in front of him with a smile on her face.
The sorceress's long fiery red hair seemed unable to conceal its color even in the darkness. It reflected the candlelight in Lann's house and also stirred people's hearts.
“I didn’t come to see you during the day because I thought Ciri would miss you a lot and you would need some space to be alone.” It was late at night, and Triss spoke softly, as if she was worried about disturbing the others in the castle.
"Don't you miss me?"
"Ha, after all, I met you in Novigrad and...we got along for a while."
"So you don't miss me anymore?"
Triss choked and smiled helplessly: "So that's why I'm here."
After saying this, Triss added: "I just went to see Ciri and had a chat with her..."
"What did you talk about?"
Triss recalled: "A lot. About our past, about our future together. I always wanted to treat her as a sister. She is very smart, and some things are unavoidable. We talked for a long time, and finally she asked me to come to you..."
Lan En chuckled: "You think of her as a sister? But from what I know, her relationship with Yennefer is more like master and apprentice, or even mother and daughter - and you and Yennefer are best friends, isn't this generational relationship too confusing?"
Triss stomped hard on Lann's foot. "What do you say about you and Geralt? You are also a witcher and an immortal. When you get older, you will know that this kind of thing is very common!"
How old are you? Lan didn't ask this question out loud, fearing that he would be hit by a fireball.
Enough of the small talk. Triss put her hands on her waist and looked around the dark castle corridor, then looked inside Lann's room: "Aren't you going to invite me in?"
Lan thought for a moment and said awkwardly, "The soundproofing of this room is not very good, and I have to go out to hunt demons tomorrow."
"It's okay. I just wanted to check if you've fallen behind in your magic practice. It won't be a big deal, and it won't take too much time... Just a simple chat."
Lann sighed deeply: "That's hard to say."
In the corridor of the castle, the only thing that could illuminate the darkness was a long red hair that disappeared with a whoosh, and then there was a sound of a door being slightly knocked against.
Then, a violent and orderly wave of magic spread out from the room, and all the sounds disappeared instantly.
It seems that learning magic is still necessary.
The clouds in the sky were driven away by the moonlight. The moon seemed particularly excited tonight, and the light it cast was particularly dazzling. The evening breeze licked the trees in the mountains, and even in winter, there were signs of early spring.
With a "tick-tick" sound, water drops fell from the branches into the stream. The snow in the mountains seemed to have begun to melt, and the ice that blocked the water source began to disintegrate, making the water surge and gush out again.
…
The next day, early morning.
Lann raised his head and drank a bottle of [Tawny Owl], an alchemical potion used to restore magic power and vitality during battle. Blue veins appeared faintly around his eye sockets, making his face look even paler.
Seeing Lann's behavior, Kolgrim wondered, "Isn't it too early to drink the potion now?"
Lann's alchemy skill [Patience Enhancement] has been maxed out, and he has long since ignored this level of toxicity. But he naturally couldn't explain this to his Snake Faction companions.
After thinking for a while, he said, "You know, I rarely drink potions in battle. But this is unavoidable, so I want to adapt to it in advance to avoid mistakes."
After saying this, Lann pulled down the hood of his great griffin cloak and rode to the front of the team regardless of Kolgrim's reaction.
Not all of Kaer Morhen's members were dispatched: Ciri stayed in the castle, as this level of demon hunting was too early for her. Yennefer stayed to continue Ciri's magic lessons, unwilling to miss a day of her child's homework.
Triss also volunteered to stay and look after the house, and no one said anything.
Even without two capable combat sorceresses, this team is still huge - two griffins, four wolves, four snakes, plus the druid Mossak. If such a team is given enough time, they can even conquer a small or medium-sized country without any damage.
Such a team is now running up along the mountain road of Kaer Morhen.
Crossing a small hillside on the edge of a cliff, looking down from the decayed wooden fence at the edge, you can see green fields covered with light snow, swaying pine forests, and hillsides shrouded in mist in the distance.
The spring in the mountains had begun to thaw, and from where everyone was standing they could hear the sound of gurgling water. The spring flowed through the canyon and merged into a wider river.
"The journey today is unexpectedly smooth." Vesemir walked at the front of the team. "Since a few days ago... about a month ago, the monsters in this forest have become particularly energetic. Many hybrid beasts that hibernate have come out to run wild. From time to time at night, we can hear them roaring in hunger or screaming in pain, disturbing our sweet dreams."
Hearing the old demon hunter's sigh, Lann couldn't help but echo it. This topic has been brought up many times, but this time it caught Lann's attention.
If this was only the case in Redania or Pontar, it wouldn't be a big deal. But if this happened to the border of Kaedwen, and the monsters happened just a month ago, Lann couldn't help but pay attention.
Because this shows that this "monster riot" may not be a regional event, but a global event, and perhaps Sintra needs to pay more attention to it.
…
Several black dots in the sky that looked like crows were hovering over the heads of Lan and his group, chirping and babbling. But if you look closer, you can find that these winged guys are in human shape.
The harpy is a type of hybrid beast. Compared to the griffin, which is also a hybrid beast, this monster is much smaller and has a weaker melee ability. However, it has a unique magical ability that can steal the dreams of creatures and turn them into crystals. Adventurers are keen to find the harpy's nest and steal these crystals to sell.
——Although they don’t know how to read the dreams in these crystals, they know that the quality of these crystals is of the highest quality.
兰伯特被这些鹰身女妖吵得心烦，掏出十字弩就想要瞄准天上，但是这些鹰身女妖似乎也知道这么大队的猎魔人不好惹，精准地盘旋在十字弩的射程外面，不让兰伯特有可乘之机。
兰恩轻笑一声，左手一翻取出跟人一般高的长弓，在一阵令人牙齿发酸的声响中拉开嘎嘎作响的弓弦，瞄准片刻，随后——
“嗖。”
箭矢以肉眼难见的速度化作倒曳流星直冲天空，伴随着一声凄厉的惨叫，一只鹰身女妖伴随着飞散的羽毛一头栽下。
天上惹人心烦的声音一下子就消散不见，天空顿时变得干干净净。兰恩纵马上查看那头被射下来的鹰身女妖，它还犹有余力地在扑腾。
这是一头极其狰狞的怪兽。鹰身女妖在天上的时候，还隐隐能够看到好似少女的身体曲线，但是近看之后却让人恶心到干呕。它脸上还长着尖锐的喙，脑门光秃秃一片；翅膀确实靓丽，四肢和躯干却好似老树皮一样皱皱巴巴，散落着稀疏的羽毛。
看着鹰身女妖穿喉而过的箭矢，兰伯特不由地吹了个口哨：“好弓，好箭法！”
感觉到兰伯特似乎对自己的红木弓感兴趣，兰恩耸耸肩递了过去。看着狼派猎魔人使尽全身的力气颤颤巍巍地打开弓弦，却离满弦还有三四分的差距，兰恩不由地打趣道：
“你要是把这把弓空放了，那就赔我一把新的。”
空放指的是把弓拉开之后，在没有箭的情况下松开弓弦。这样会让原本用来支撑箭矢飞出去的力道尽数倾泻到弓身上，造成损坏，大大缩短弓的使用寿命；对于一些处于报废临界点的弓，甚至会出现“炸弓”的情况，让大量的木质纤维碎片朝着弓手的脸飚射，造成生命危险。
兰伯特因为用力而涨红了脸，最后还是不得已小心地慢放弓弦恢复原状，再次夸奖：“好弓。你也有一身好力量，我听说狮鹫学派应该是专精法印的，没想到还会有这么好的射术。”
“我是一名骑士，骑士擅射很正常吧？”兰恩耸了耸肩。
这句话引来了柯恩的一阵应和，显然这位狮鹫学派的同伴也曾在凯尔达的教导下研习过这项技艺。
“那么骑士，我想请问我们该拿这具鹰身女妖的尸体怎么办呢？我们可不想浪费时间在这里解剖这具尸体。”
“很简单，我们回去再说。”
兰恩伸手按住鹰身女妖的尸体，光芒一闪就把对方收进了【物品栏】中。
这一举动又引得第一次见到的狼派众人低声惊叹，而早已习惯了的蛇派众人不知道为什么生出了一种优越感。
兰伯特把视线转向柯恩：“你会吗？”
柯恩自己此刻的眼神都是不可思议的：“这可不是狮鹫学派的手段……应该是魔源？或者说是上古之血？”
兰伯特陷入沉思：“也就是说希里以后也会学会吗？出门在外会这个技能可真的是太方便了。”
兰恩恶作剧一般地笑了起来：“或许吧，你可以期待一下。”
莫斯萨克和维瑟米尔对视一眼，对于面前“年轻人”们的娱乐活动颇为无奈地摇了摇头。
“好了好了，小伙子们，不要胡闹了。难得我们今天人多，所以这些怪物才不敢接近。”维瑟米尔煞有其事地说道，“前段时间我们甚至都不敢让希里一个人在森林里面跑，但凡出门一定要跟着杰洛特和其他一名小伙子。”
“现在没有怪物出来袭击是幸运的，我们正好抓紧时间快点赶路。”
确实，在凯尔莫罕附近生活了这么久，再怎么智力低下的魔物也有着基本的趋利避害本能。平时若是单独行动的狼派独狼，那可能还真的会有不长眼的怪物出来偷袭。但是这浩浩****的一队人实在是太有威慑力了，光是数量上就比一些小型的野兽族群还要多了。
要知道狼群、水鬼它们也有三五成群的，而正常的猎魔人就可以一个人挑掉这样的一个小族群，就更不用说这么多聚集在一起的猎魔人了。
所以不难怪今天这一路是那么地风平浪静。
但是狼派的人都知道，老一辈人训话的时候，总是会有不长眼的年轻人出来反驳。
而这次反驳维瑟米尔的不是年轻人了，是一个略显失真的声音——
“啊！！救命，救命啊！！”
这立刻引起了众人的警惕。
声音听起来像是一个小男孩，求救声凄惨异常，任何心怀善意的人听到都不会无动于衷。但是这声音又诡异地充满了一种失真的感觉。
用莫斯萨克的话来说就是：“好像是用魔法联络装置产生的投影才会发出的声音，或者说得直接一点——这是用魔法模拟出来的声音。”
在场的哪个不是经验丰富的猎手，“荒郊野岭”“小男孩”“魔法模拟”“求救”，这几个要素一连接起来，谁还不知道发生了什么？
“小雾妖。”经验丰富的维瑟米尔斩钉截铁道。
可能是看兰恩年轻，而且也听说他并没有接受完整的猎魔人系统教育，维瑟米尔发挥了自己身为导师的职责：
“小雾妖是食尸生物的一种，经常出现在沼泽、山隘、或者海岸。它们是能够制造出云雾的魔物，并且可以在迷雾中随时随地地虚化，然后防不胜防地发动偷袭。用【阿尔德法印】可以比较有效地对它们造成伤害。”
兰恩其实已经认真地阅读过魔物的图鉴了，但是对于长者的教诲他还是乐于配合，乐呵呵地点头做出学习的样子。
此时众人已经到达了峡谷中间的湖边，正好有一片不大不小的沼泽，要到老矛头所在的洞穴还需要通过一条小船的运载。
湖边恰有雾气蒸腾，在湿气浓重的湖边这是再正常不过的景象，但是结合不远处传过来的呼救声和维瑟米尔的科普，这一切就有了一点点恐怖悬疑片的味道。
不过这一次，或许猎魔人们才是“恐怖。”
“啊！救命！！”
那呼救声还在继续。
兰伯特长呼一口气，他今天格外地亢奋：“正好当做对付老矛头之前的热身运动，小雾妖在同一区域数量不会超过三头，你们谁有兴趣一起来？”
兰恩想了想，举手：“我正好还没有【小雾妖煎药】，这回补齐。”
其他人对此再没有表现出兴趣，但是他们表示很愿意为两人掠阵，免得被偷袭。
众人浩浩****地循着求救的声音的搜寻过去，眼前很快就出现了一个小男孩。
“啊！！救命！！！”
这是一个不过十岁左右的小男孩，身高不过兰恩的腰间，**着上身，没有鞋子，好似某个误入山林的猎户家的孩子。
胸口猎魔人的徽章微微震动起来。
没等兰恩有所反应，兰伯特大步上前，用一种感情充沛的声音高喊起来：“哦！孩子，你怎么了？你还好吗？”
不远处，杰洛特和艾斯卡尔对视了一眼，无奈地摇了摇头。
周围的雾越来越浓了，小男孩求救的声音也越来越大了。
兰伯特走近，猛然看清了那个小男孩的脸，眼眶颤抖起来。
他的表情突然变得伤感而温柔，但是手腕却变得愈加有力。他拔出背后的长剑，喃喃道：“没事了，你安全了。”
“啊！不，不，救命！！”
那小男孩的身体猛地一阵失真地颤抖，好像幻影一样变成了灰色缓缓消散。
紧接着，从那雾气之中猛然扑出来一头比兰伯特还要高的狰狞怪物来。
小雾妖虽然学名中有个“小”字，但是体型却并不纤细。哪怕佝偻着身子也有两米差不多的高度，脑袋几乎占了身体的四分之一，四肢却又纤细到不行。它有着蝙蝠一样的尖耳，脸上好似被人撕了一层皮，让眼球、鼻孔、牙龈都**裸地暴露在外面。
比它丑陋的外貌更加震慑人心的是它的爪子，兰伯特明白那是可以跟自己手中的利剑正面对拼的利爪。
毫不犹豫地给自己加上一个【昆恩法印】，兰伯特挥剑便砍，剑尖划破空气发出刺耳的厉啸，却只砍碎了一个幻影。
那佝偻的身影一个矮身，就融入了身边无处不在的迷雾之中。
“喂！兰恩，狮鹫学派有什么对付这种场景的办法吗？”
兰恩不紧不慢地举起左手，掐出特殊的手势：“维瑟米尔似乎说过这怪物害怕【阿尔德法印】？这正好是我擅长的。”
【阿尔德扫击·魔力爆发】！
岸边好似被投下了一颗大当量的炼金炸弹，巨量的冲击以兰恩为中心朝着四周膨胀开来。泥土和草皮被粗暴地掀起然后抛飞，甚至有一根不甚粗壮的松树都被连根拔起；十余步之外的湖水好像被空气砸了一击重锤猛然凹了下去，“哗啦啦”的掀起了一个小型的瀑布，惊起几尾野鱼。
理所应当地，湖边的迷雾被清扫一空，视线豁然开朗。
Three lonely little fog monsters hunched over, exposed in front of everyone like naked little girls.
Vesemir calmed the frightened horse and looked at the sunken soil around Lann, where not a single blade of grass could be seen. He twitched his lips slightly and said, "The [Alder Seal] I'm talking about is not this kind... Never mind. The effect is not much different anyway."
Geralt and Eskar looked towards Cohen.
The Griffin School Demon Hunter, who had been away from the Kel Siren for a long time, said hesitantly: "Master Kelda should be able to achieve this level..."