I'm not a Witcher anymore.

A lake breeze blew in their faces as the two stopped on the shore.

Geralt stood there with his arms crossed, his gaze sweeping across the dark lake to the opposite shore.

"So, have you decided how you're going to go?"

Zig looked around and quickly came up with an idea.

"Come with me."

The two turned in another direction and disappeared into the dense reeds by the lake.

The reeds were about half a person's height, densely blocking out the view.

The ground beneath my feet was soft, damp mud, making a slight sound with each step.

After taking only a few steps, Sieg tightened his grip on the hilt of Langrisser's sword at his waist.

"Watch out, there's a monster in these reeds."

No sooner had the words left his mouth than a chilling scraping sound came from all directions.

That was the sound of sharp claws scraping through the soil.

The reeds swayed violently, accompanied by a putrid stench.

Twenty or thirty water ghosts crawled out of the mud, their bodies covered in filth and aquatic plants, emitting a nauseating muddy smell.

Their eyes gleamed eerily in the morning light, and their gaping mouths were full of sharp fangs.

Wind step!

Zig moved with incredible speed, shooting forward like an arrow released from a bow.

The next second, he had already killed his way to the two nearest water ghosts.

Languriza is drawn.

A silver arc flashed across the sky.

With a slight whooshing sound, the sword swept out horizontally.

Before the two water ghosts could even swing their claws, their bodies were neatly severed at the waist.

Zig felt as if he had only hit a paper scarecrow, without any resistance.

While individual water ghosts are stronger than goblins, their strength is only limited.

Just moments later, there wasn't a single water ghost left in the reeds.

The mutilated corpses lay scattered on the muddy ground, each wound smooth as a mirror. Even seconds after being severed, the broken blood vessels only reacted and began to gush out dark red, foul-smelling blood.

Zig wiped the blood off his sword and sheathed it. The blade remained clean, without a trace of blood.

Geralt stood there, completely stunned.

He had originally planned to help at any time, but seeing how easily Zig killed the water ghost, he suppressed the urge to intervene.

He now finally understood why Zieg had said that he could no longer learn anything in the castle.

To be able to slaughter twenty or thirty water ghosts with such efficiency and remain unharmed—this is not just a matter of good swordsmanship.

Zieg had clearly fought monsters before, and more than once.

Even among officially certified Witchers who have passed all the trials, there are instances where they fail due to the presence of water spirits.

But Zieg delivered a near-perfect answer.

Furthermore, Geralt was also puzzled by the unusually sharp longsword in Sieg's hand.

That was clearly not an ordinary Witcher steel sword. It had no aura of enchantment, yet it possessed a cutting power far more terrifying than that of an enchanted weapon.

Kaer Mohen actually had such a precious sword hidden away?

However, Geralt ultimately did not ask.

Although it's unknown how Sieg found the sword, since he did, it must be a gift from fate.

Everyone has their own secrets, and Geralt knows how to respect that.

Besides, he wouldn't be so envious of something a junior has.

Sieg had no idea what Geralt was thinking; at that moment, he was crouching down, carefully searching through the corpse of the water ghost.

The water ghost is a treasure from head to toe.

After dealing with all the bodies, Zig continued his search deep into the reeds.

Before long, he found a small boat on a shallow beach covered by reeds.

The boat wasn't large, but it was well-maintained, with several fishing rods and a worn-out fish basket on the bottom.

"How did you know there was a ship here?" Geralt asked, somewhat surprised.

"It belongs to Lambert," Zieg patted the gunwale. "He built this little boat specifically so he could find time to go fishing."

"As you know, he doesn't get along well with Teacher Vesemir. They try to avoid being in the same place to avoid upsetting each other."

Geralt's expression became somewhat complicated when Lambert was mentioned.

Lambert was the most difficult member of the Wolf School.

As a child, he was brought to Kaer Morhen by the Law of Accident. Although he survived the Trials of the Grass and the Trials of the Mountains, he always hated the path of the Witcher and the castle that turned him into a Witcher.

He has a sharp tongue and a bad temper, and he always looks like he can't stand anyone.

But when it comes to trouble for members of the Wolf School, he never stands idly by.

Sieg and Geralt boarded the small boat one after the other.

Sieg sat at the stern and steered the boat, while Geralt picked up the oars, and the two rowed together toward the other side of the lake.

The small boat left a long ripple on the calm lake surface.

Fog has risen over the lake.

Thick fog quickly spread, enveloping the entire lake in a hazy white veil.

Visibility was less than five meters, and even the outline of the lake shore became blurred.

But both of them have hearing abilities that are beyond the average person.

Using the sound of the water lapping against the shore and the echoes coming from the fog, they managed to pinpoint the location of the shoreline.

The small boat did not crash directly into the shore, but slowed down in advance as it approached the shore, its bow gently scraping against the sandy beach, making a slight friction sound.

As the mist swirled, the outline of the enormous hole ahead gradually came into view.

The cave entrance is over ten meters high, pitch black and deep, like a gaping maw of an abyss, swallowing all light.

The cave walls were covered with traces of time's erosion, and the air was filled with a damp, musty smell.

"Wait, Sieg," Geralt pressed down on Sieg's shoulder, "Do you know what's in there?"

Sieg nodded: "A Cyclops called Old Spearhead."

"We can sneak over while Old Spearhead is asleep," Geralt suggested in a low voice. "The Cyclops' hearing isn't very sharp; if we're careful, we should be able to..."

After listening to a couple of sentences, Sieg understood what Geralt wanted to say.

He didn't reply, but instead glanced at the cave entrance.

There seemed to be another fissure deep inside the cave, and a cold, damp airflow was constantly swirling in from the entrance.

He turned and walked toward the nearby rocks and bushes.

Parting the damp fallen leaves, I found a few pieces of withered branches with moisture on the outside but relatively dry inside, and also tore off a clump of blackened moss and decaying grass.

Geralt watched as he piled these things up at the cave entrance, his eyes turning somewhat strange.

"Are you planning to smoke a Cyclops out of the ground?"

"It's safer than going in and waking it up."

Zieg lit the drier branches underneath with a flint, and once the flames were up, he covered them with wet moss and decaying grass.

The fire was quickly smothered by the dampness, and thick, grayish-white smoke billowed out from between the branches and leaves. It was swept up by the airflow from the cave entrance and surged along the rock wall into the depths, quickly covering the musty smell inside the cave and stirring up the darkness in the deeper parts.

Before long, an angry roar echoed from the depths of the cave, causing rubble to fall from the cave entrance.

Then came heavy footsteps, accompanied by violent coughing.

The sound was deep and muffled, like thunder, and each step made the ground tremble slightly.

"Walk!"

Sieg turned and retreated behind a rock on the side of the cave entrance, Geralt immediately following. The two of them huddled against the rock wall, using it as cover.