Demon Hunter: School of the Wolf.

Chapter 568 Greedy Vera

"Eirin?"

Mary's voice suddenly startled him, causing him to clench the letter in his hand tightly.

"What's wrong, Mary?"

Erin turned around, his right hand instinctively gripping the letter, which he placed behind his back.

Mary didn't notice anything unusual, nor did she pay attention to what the stranger was giving her.

She kept her head down, looking at the lace patterns on her blue dress, her toes tracing patterns on the floor, her voice barely a whisper: "You said you'd give it to me..."

“Right, right…” Erin suddenly realized, “I did say I would give you something.”

He almost forgot because of Wigford's surprise attack... He took a deep breath and casually stuffed the letter Wigford had given him into his chest.

At the same time, with a thought, he opened the inventory of the Demon Hunter's Notebook and took out the "Song Stone".

"A ring?" Mary stared blankly at the ring set with an emerald in Erin's palm, her cheeks instantly flushing red. "Is this...is this for me?"

"Isn't it...isn't it too...too early...?"

In this era, rings are not just ordinary ornaments, but a symbol of power, a carrier of faith, and a manifestation of a contract of fate.

For example, the episcopal order (epochal authority is superior to royal authority), the noble serpent order (judicial power), the guild order (monopoly power in an industry)...

Of course, some are also used for commercial and financial purposes, such as engraving large account identification passwords on the inside of the ring.

A ring is like an anonymous bank account.

However, none of the above are commonly used. The most common application of rings is in the context of personal contracts, that is, marriage contracts.

"What do you mean too early?" Erin was taken aback when she heard this. Seeing Mary's expression, she realized that Mary had misunderstood and explained, "This is a Song Stone, a magical ornament that is very useful."

"Try wearing it first."

It wasn't because of...that...Upon hearing this, Mary felt a sense of relief, but also a vague, inexplicable emptiness.

I'm not feeling well.

She forced herself not to think about the jumbled thoughts popping into her head and looked down at the ring in Erin's palm.

Under the candlelight, the emerald green surface of the gemstone shimmered with a layer of luminous green light, which was inexplicably attractive.

Songstone… After recalling the classification of magic gems, Mary subconsciously glanced at Vera not far away.

“There are no song stones among the magic gems…” Vera shook her head slightly and walked over. “Can I take a look?”

Erin nodded and handed over the song stone.

“Nature, divinity, magic…” Vera closed her eyes and sensed it, murmuring to herself, her tone growing increasingly surprised, “Aelin, is this your alchemical creation?”

"How could you think that?" Erinbi Vera was even more surprised. "With my alchemy skills, how could I possibly create such an alchemical product?"

Vera paused abruptly as she examined the stone.

What's so special about being able to banish evil gods, subdue giant griffins, and even summon the convergence of celestial spheres to create a special alchemical artifact?
she thought.

"Was that a gift from Meritelli?" Vera asked again.

Erin shook his head and then explained, "It is a creation formed by Gwendolia, the daughter of spring and the former goddess of the seasons, using a natural magical place as its core and condensing a large amount of divine power."

“Even non-believers can use this Song Stone to bypass Gwendolyn, the Daughter of Spring, and unleash the divine magic of the priest who was once known as the Singer.”

Gwendolyn, the fairy goddess of the four seasons and daughter of spring?
Is magic the core? Can magic really serve as the core?
Can one transcend the gods and unleash divine magic?
Erin, do you know what you're saying?

Vera and Mary both wore the same blank expression.

“It’s a bit complicated,” Erin thought for a moment, abandoning the long-winded explanation that started with the question of “who is Gwendolyn, the Daughter of Spring”. “It’s something we found at the place where Jerón Morl was imprisoned by his father.”

“Jeron Moru’s mother was suspected to be an elven priestess of Gwendolia, the Daughter of Spring. She was killed by Thomas Moru and left something behind.”

“This…this is too precious!” Mary waved her hands repeatedly.

Although she didn't quite understand the complex grudges and feuds of Master Jerron's family, it was the core of magic and a place where a large amount of divine power was concentrated.

The Song Stone is truly a legendary treasure from the epic.

It sounds even more precious than Erin's Balmo, which is said to have been passed down from the epic hero Zatret Volta.

“And,” she asked cautiously, “since this is Master Jerome’s mother’s keepsake, shouldn’t we return it to him?”

Erin was silent for a moment, then sighed softly: "Jeron doesn't know that his mother has passed away. Ms. Ida Emin and I have kept it from him."

“Since fate sent me to Kael’s Sirens, I have no longer been anyone’s child, but just a Witcher, a Witcher of the Gryphon School.”

Vera and Soi exchanged a glance upon hearing this.

Vera's eyes suddenly dimmed.

“That’s what Jerome said at the time,” Erin said, “so we didn’t plan to tell him the news.”

"But once he finds out about this in the future and comes looking for you, you should return it to its rightful owner."

"But you should accept it now."

“Yennefer still needs you to use this Song Stone to solve her problem.”

The Song Stone was obtained from a treasure chest, but it may not necessarily be the same one that Jerome's mother owned.

Therefore, Erin doesn't really face any moral dilemma.

Moreover, the restrictions on identity imposed by the Songstone mean that even if Jerome obtains it, it will be useless.

But if Jerome really finds out, Erin will definitely give it to him.

After all, judging from the current situation, the only use of the Song of Spirits seems to be to give the little monster Yenef a makeover.

Of course, even if Jerome knew, given his personality, he probably wouldn't want it.

“Yennefer?” Mary was puzzled. “What does this have to do with Yennefer?”

"Because of a divine spell..." Erin didn't explain in detail, but directly used telepathy to transmit the Spring Maiden's Spirit Song into Mary's mind.

When Mary heard Erin's voice suddenly appear in her mind, her eyes widened and her mouth gaped open: "You...you can communicate telepathically..."

“Yes, I can telepathically communicate,” Erin interrupted her as expected. “As a witcher who has created dozens of potion recipes and can tame a great griffin, isn’t it only natural that I know some magic?”

"Remember carefully what I passed on to you."

“Oh…oh…” Mary felt that something was wrong, but she was vaguely convinced and closed her eyes to start memorizing.

After a few seconds, I opened my eyes.

"I've memorized it, but it may take some time before I can learn it."

After all, in the original story, she is a sorceress who will eventually replace Tissaya de Veris and become the Dean of Aretusa.

Mary's talent is exceptional; she learns everything very quickly.

The reason she has always lacked a strong presence is because her original path was not about combat, but about alchemy.

It's too much to ask people to completely transform themselves in just six months.

But the dark circles under Mary's eyes, which she couldn't hide, still say a lot. It's just a pity that not everyone is Erin.

“No rush, you can learn it slowly when you get back,” Erin pursed her lips, hesitated for a moment, and then put her hands back into her chest. “Now I have something else to give you.”

"There's more?!" Mary's long, delicate eyebrows relaxed, and her large eyes shone even brighter in the flickering candlelight. It seemed that looking into those big eyes would infect one with happiness.

"Didn't you say there would only be two items?"

“The Song of the Stone and the Song of the Spring Maiden are essentially the same,” Erin said without further explanation. He then pulled out a fluffy ball of light and pressed it against Mary’s forehead. “Don’t resist; this will be very beneficial to you.”

Mary instinctively wanted to dodge, but upon hearing Erin's words, she obediently stood still.

The fluffy ball of light exuded a breathtaking attraction, and she couldn't help but move closer.

Seeing this, Erin curled the corners of his mouth and, before Mary could ask anything, pressed the ethereal ball of light—Ronnie Dickinson's air mage spirit—directly into Mary's brow.

The room fell silent for a moment...

"Om~"

The wolf emblem buzzed violently.

"what--"

Mary, looking completely bewildered, suddenly screamed in pain and floated into the air.

Immediately following, a fierce wind arose from the tightly closed room, rising without wind, howling and scattering the candlelight.

"Crack~"

Vera snapped her fingers.

In an instant, the wind and rain stopped, and a blue magical barrier enveloped Mary.

"Erin, what's that?" Vera approached amidst Mary's screams.

“Ronnie Dickinson’s air magic spirit,” Erin didn’t hide anything, “allows Mary to learn all of Ronnie Dickinson’s air magic spells and increases her magic power by two… a considerable amount.”

The biggest benefit of Vera and Soy's self-disclosure is that they no longer have to be suspicious.

He could reveal most of his secrets to them without worrying about any problems; Vera and Soi would even help him conceal and cover them up.

Of course, this was the case after the Trial of the Grasses, but at the time, Erin was wary of it.

Ronnie Dickinson's air magic spirit... Upon hearing this, Zoe looked at Vera blankly, "Can you sorcerers still pass on your skills and strength like this?"
Vera's eyes were equally blank, but she still found a similar case: "Like the techniques of Thomas Morlu extracted by Ida Emin's mind manipulation?"

“There are some differences, but that’s roughly the idea.” Erin nodded.

"is it safe?"

"Safety."

"That's good."

After a brief exchange, the room fell silent again.

This time, even Mary stopped screaming.

Blue threads—not the blue of the ocean or streams, but the chilling color of thunder—emerged from between her brows, like silkworms spinning cocoons.

Soon, Mary was completely enveloped in a blue-purple cocoon.

A blue-purple aura swirled within the magical barrier that Vera had cast.

“In just six months, I can no longer understand you,” Vera said, looking at the strange phenomena surrounding Mary with a complicated expression. She sighed softly and then changed the subject, asking, “What do you think of Rado from Kyle Village?”

“The Wolf School isn’t suitable for direct intervention,” Erin glanced at Soy, thought for a moment, and replied, “but we can’t just drive him away either. Let’s wait until Vesemir, Dante, and Jerón return before making any decisions.”

Vera and Soy nodded, and then the room fell silent again.

An awkward silence fell over Erin as she looked at Mary, her mind drifting to…

Vera may not be interested in Rado's fate or the future of the Wolf School; she just wants to talk to him.

Erin wanted to find something to talk about, but he had never encountered such a situation before, and for a moment, he could only remain silent.

Perhaps time, time can soften the barriers... he told himself.

After Mary transformed into a cocoon, she never made a sound again.

Time passed second by second, and if his heart hadn't continued to beat steadily, he would have wondered if something was wrong.

However, after waiting for about an hour, Erin decided not to stay any longer and watch Mary emerge from her cocoon.

He's very busy right now, really busy.

“Ms. Vera…” Erin said somewhat awkwardly, “Do you know where Ms. Ida Emin is right now?”

Vera leaned against the windowsill and said softly, "The Witcher's research lab on the first basement floor. She seems to be very interested in Witchers and secondary mutations lately. She might also be in the arrow emplacements outside the north tower, where the elements are most concentrated."

“Thank you,” Erin said, getting up to look for Ada Emin. “I’ll leave Mary to you. I’ll go inform Ms. Ada about Ben Ade’s whereabouts.”

“Go ahead, I’ll keep an eye on Mary.” Vera forced a weak smile, which only made the atmosphere more awkward.

Erin could only nod, glanced at Mary's cocoon again, and walked towards the door.

"The Wolf School owes the Free Spirit nothing; all debts have been repaid."

As he reached the door, Vera suddenly said something out of the blue.

Erin paused in his tracks.

Vera hesitated for a moment, carefully choosing her words, and said:

"Don't get too involved. The mountain people are long-lived. No matter how long a Witcher lives, he is still human and can only be human."

The candlelight flickered and trembled in the darkness, reflecting dappled light in the crystal-clear wine glass.

The wax tears flowed like a small waterfall onto the candlestick.

Erin was silent for a few seconds, then left the room in a hurry after saying "I understand".

“You know he won’t listen, right?” Soi stared quietly at the cocoon in the center of the room.

Vera didn't speak, but just clutched her chest and stared wistfully at the closed wooden door.

“Ever since fate sent me to Kael’s Sirens, I have no longer been anyone’s child, but just a Witcher, a Witcher of the Gryphon School.” Soy suddenly murmured the words of Jerón Morlu that Erin had relayed.

Vera lowered her head: "He's not Geron, you're not Thomas Moriul, and I'm not Lydia..."

“Of course we are not, of course we are not and never will be…” Soy gently put his arm around her shoulder.

After a long silence, the candlelight flickered.

"Soy, I think I've been a little greedy..."

The sorceress clung tightly to Zoe's waist, nestled in his arms.

Soy looked up at the snow-capped peaks of Blue Mountain and sighed deeply.

"Who isn't?"

(End of this chapter)