The Witcher: Lord of the Empire

"By the way, how is Leo progressing?" Lann asked.

Jerome, with an approving tone, did not hesitate to praise him. "He works very hard and learns very quickly. He is considered to be above average among the apprentices in the past. We are sure that he can pass the [Choice], but the subsequent [Trial of the Grasses] and [Trial of the Dreams] cannot be completed by talent and hard work. Before the mutation experiment achieves a real breakthrough, we do not plan to convert Leo."

Lann nodded. This was what they agreed on at the beginning.

"Of course." Jerome added. "Compared to you, Leo still has a big gap."

Lann smiled when he heard this.

After playing around with the little royal griffin for a while, Lann also received the second and third gifts that Mousesack had left for him.

The enchantment of [Drain Life] and the magic injection process from Ofir.

"This enchantment of [Drain Life] is really unprecedented. You said it was a weapon of a demon from another world, right?"

At the uniqueness of a life draining charm, Jerome couldn't help but sigh. "So far, we have not been able to reproduce the alchemical patterns on it and can only crack a downgraded version. But since you are here, let's first enchant your weapon with a primary enchantment. After we thoroughly understand the subsequent craftsmanship, we can upgrade it."

"That's enough." Lann smiled.

There was one small drawback. The Drain Life enchantment could only be applied to the Iris Scimitar, not the Aerondight Sword. The enchantment on the latter was already so advanced that neither Jerome, Keldar, nor Mousesack believed it could withstand a new spell. Altering it would destroy its original power, so they had no choice but to give up.

However, the Iris Scimitar and the Drain Life enchantment seemed compatible, achieving a perfect synergy. The scimitar already had the effect of consuming the wielder's vitality, and with the Drain Life enchantment, the two achieved a strange but effective balance.

The Drain Life enchantment was a welcome surprise, adding a unique ability to the rune pool. However, what intrigued Lann the most was the new alchemy technique from the Kingdom of Ofir: magic infusion.

After Triss brought the mages of the Kingdom of Ofir back to Brokilon, Mousesack almost immediately contacted the two masters of the Griffin School. Jerome was reluctant to leave the base camp, and after hearing about this magical technology, Keldar rushed to Brokilon as soon as possible and learned the magic infusion technology with Mousesack; after returning to Kaer Seren, he taught this technology to Jerome.

Infusion is essentially similar to the alchemical enchantment process that is popular on the continent today. It also uses magic and alchemical materials to give armor unique additional abilities. But this is a brand new system. Although the Ofieris had always helped others with infusion, they had never before taught the technique.

The Prince of Ofir had no problem with this technique being shared, but it was clear that such valuable knowledge was not easily given away. Lann's rescue of the long-lost prince had created a great debt for the Kingdom of Ofir.

At the same time, since infusion and enchantment are two completely different alchemical systems, they can be compatible and non-interfering to a certain extent. In other words: even if it is a fully enchanted equipment like [Sword of the Lady of the Lake], an additional infusion special effect can be added.

Now Lann can perform infusion once on each of his two swords, and once on his armor. Jerome and Keldar were beginning a project to reduce the area needed for infusion, with the hopes of applying it to gauntlets and capes as well. However, they are too busy to do it now, so they have to give up. Their main focus is still on perfecting the process of witchers.

Lann decided, after some thought, to infuse both of his swords with the infusion that allows chaos energy to spread to the blades of the weapons, increasing the range of his attacks. This would allow him to more easily deal with large groups of enemies, and in combat against huge creatures, he would avoid the limitation of the length of the weapon to reach their vital points.

As for his armor, under the urging of Mousesack and the others, he chose the infusion that allowed armor to deflect arrows and other ranged attacks, as he would soon be on the battlefield. Although he had the Sign Quen to protect himself, a passive defense was always more reliable than relying solely on a magic shield.

"The Drain Life enchantment is fine, but the magic infusion is very expensive." Jerome commented. "Just as the mages of Ofir said, only the elites can afford this luxury. Right now we only have enough materials to perform a full infusion for you. The rest will go to more urgent projects."

Lann said with a smile: "If you think the cost of magic infusion is too high, I can solve this problem now."

In the puzzled eyes of Jerome, Lann took him to the empty warehouse next door, waved his hand, and let the gold and silver treasures in the [Inventory] pour out.

The glow of wealth filled the room, eclipsing even the reflection of the sun on the snow-capped peaks.

Even someone as experienced as Jerome, who had lived through the golden age of the Griffin School, was left speechless, his eyes wide and his hands shaking.

Lann looked at Jerome's reaction and smiled with satisfaction. "Not only will this be enough for everyone to get an infusion, but we'll also have enough left over to even buy this entire castle. And that's not even all I own right now."

Jerome pressed his chest hard, took a few deep breaths, and finally calmed down. There was still excitement in his eyes, but he had regained his calm expression.

"I don't want to know where you got all this from. But if you intend to use this money to help rebuild Kaer Seren, save it. Cintra needs it more right now."

After saying that, he raised his hand and stopped Lann who was about to say something. "This is my choice."

Lann showed a conflicted expression, but Jerome's firm tone made him desist.

Suddenly, Jerome burst out laughing. "You want to help me rebuild Kaer Seren as soon as possible, and then let me go to Cintra to help you, right? Actually, it doesn't have to be like this. I have been thinking about Kaer Seren for a long time during this period. I don't want to leave here and settle in Cintra..."

The master of the Griffin School looked at his disciple and said: "But if you encounter any enemies that you can't solve, you can contact me with the notes of our school, and I will help you. Not only me, but also Keldar."

After hearing this, Lann's lion eyes were as bright as a cat's eyes: "Really?"

Although Lann was certain that if he ever faced a deadly crisis, the two Grandmasters of his school would not stand idly by, the fact that they themselves offered to help was something else entirely.

Facing Lann's surprised inquiry, Jerome nodded. "We were reluctant to help you at first because of the tradition of training of witchers. But from the news we have received from the outside world during this period, you are much better than we imagined, even too good..."

"Your trial is no longer necessary. In fact, I think it is only fair that I support you in your quest to restore the Witcher legacy. But Keldar and I are prisoners of the old times. Our sins and beliefs are destined to prevent us from leaving Kaer Seren and settling elsewhere. We can only provide you with some help as a teacher and senior when you need it."

Lann was hesitant to speak. "But the destruction of Kaer Seren is not the fault of you and Mr. Keldar. If Master Erland were still alive, he would definitely not want you to punish yourself like this..."

Jerome raised his hand, interrupting Lann. "That's it, just treat me as a high-level fighter. Just say hello to me when you need help, just like you contact me every time you need a new decoction. But now you have the entire Viper School following you, so you don't need me to make decoctions anymore."

Lann laughed uncomfortably and, with a quick gesture, pulled a clay flask from his inventory. "I have really got new decoction materials recently, the kind that the Viper School can't handle..."

Jerome stared at the flask with a look of wonder. "Ancient Leshen? You can actually hunt monsters of this level? This can indeed make the most suitable decoction for our Griffin School. Stay with me for a while and you will learn how to work both enchantment and infusion magic."

Lann nodded excitedly.

As for the fact that Jerome was unwilling to leave Kaer Seren, he stopped persuading him on the surface, but he had not given up in his heart.

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