Witcher: Master Kiliman’s Grand Ambitions-Chapter 56: Foltest's Wager

Establishing a witcher school, or rather creating a training base for witchers.
This was an idea that Kiriman had contemplated many times over this period.
Of course, this idea didn't stem from any noble virtues like bringing peace to the world or helping the poor and suffering.
It was simply because, as the soul energy deficit grew increasingly larger, Kiriman had realized that hunting monsters alone and absorbing soul energy was far too slow.
One person's strength ultimately has its limits.
If he could train his own legion to help capture those monsters, delivering defenseless creatures right to him for slaughter,
then his efficiency in growing stronger would multiply many times over, with his power snowballing exponentially.
As a transmigrator, he wasn't some pedantic traditionalist who cared about preserving witcher secrets or whether witcher power might be exploited by politicians and schemers like those conventional witchers did.
These were concerns only the weak needed to entertain.
Their worries ultimately stemmed from ordinary witchers having too low a ceiling and insufficient power.
But with the Deep Blue System and perfect witcher bloodline, he didn't need to worry about such limitations.
His growth had no upper bound - as long as his soul developed rapidly enough and he absorbed sufficient soul energy, even becoming a one-man army, ascending to godhood, or dominating the entire world weren't mere fantasies.
Therefore, investing time to cultivate useful subordinates and build his own forces was absolutely worthwhile.
Current witcher technology was merely something two genius sorcerers developed over several decades of research.
With sufficient investment and recruiting talent from across the world for research, transforming a witcher legion into a powerful force capable of conquering other worlds and capturing monsters across dimensions like the Wild Hunt wasn't necessarily impossible.
Hearing Kiriman's request, both King Foltest on his throne and the sorceress Triss standing nearby showed clear astonishment, remaining speechless for quite some time.
They both possessed some understanding of the witcher profession, unlike completely ignorant commoners.
Since its establishment centuries ago, the witcher profession had always operated in secrecy, never appearing openly before the world.
It was precisely because of their mysterious, abnormal nature and existence outside power structures that they became targets of suspicion from many schemers, suffering numerous disasters born from human malice.
Those various witcher school academies of the past were either built deep in remote mountains or perched on inaccessible cliffs and precipices.
Until now, no one had ever proposed establishing a witcher academy near a royal capital, nor had any witcher wanted to involve themselves in kingdom politics by cooperating with a king.
This was practically a history-defying move, essentially pioneering new territory for witchers.
Presented to other kings, this matter would likely require extensive consideration of various interests and implications.
But Foltest was an unconventional man - someone who'd even dared to openly marry his own sister.
As a king who had experienced decades of war and often charged on the front lines,
he understood perfectly what role a powerful witcher could play on the battlefield.
Whether breaking through enemy formations at the vanguard, protecting key commanders, or assassinating enemy leadership,
witchers provided far greater utility than ordinary soldiers.
After considering for less than a minute, the king nodded and spoke directly without even consulting his royal advisor:
"I can grant this request, witcher."
"If you're willing, I could even appoint you as Royal Witcher, granting you royal support."
"So, where do you plan to establish this academy?"
Kiriman hadn't expected Foltest to agree so readily, though he didn't care about the reasons - it ultimately meant future cooperation.
After pondering for several seconds, he responded:
"I've heard that Black Tern Island at the center of Lake Vizima has been occupied by various monsters, with no humans able to settle there to this day."
"The environment is diverse with abundant vegetation and clean water sources, while being difficult for ordinary civilians to access, ensuring it won't interfere with witcher training."
"Therefore I hope Your Majesty would temporarily lend me Black Tern Island to establish an academy and train more witchers."
Truthfully, he could accomplish this himself without others' help.
However, having the king's endorsement would make witcher operations throughout Temeria much easier going forward.
And Black Tern Island truly was, as he described, a godforsaken, uninhabited wasteland without even subjects - granting it away wouldn't affect Foltest's interests.
Calling it a loan simply made it easier for the king to accept.
After all, according to law, granting land required noble status, and ennobling someone while granting territory near the royal capital wasn't exactly straightforward.
Of course, anything borrowed through capability, Kiriman had no intention of returning.
Even if complications arose later with armies besieging the island, constructing a powerful magic tower at Black Tern Island's center would allow magical attacks to crush any naval blockade, posing little threat.
Moreover, Kiriman had additional reasons for choosing this location.
Perhaps ordinary people didn't know, but as a transmigrator, he understood clearly:
Black Tern Island was no ordinary place.
Not only did the island vicinity contain numerous evil half-fish people that provided substantial soul energy, but it also housed the altar of the evil god Dagon, where his avatar could be summoned.
Even the Lake Goddess's altar was located nearby.
If Kiriman intended to contact this world's deities, the relatively human-friendly Lake Goddess was his first choice for interaction.
Even if they ultimately reached no agreement, obtaining a divine artifact like the Lake Woman's Sword would still be quite beneficial.
As the witcher finished explaining, things unfolded exactly as he predicted.
Black Tern Island held little value for Foltest, remaining abandoned since Vizima's founding.
But as king, he couldn't simply grant requests so easily, especially since he intended to recruit the witcher as an elite force under his command - he needed to display both royal generosity and majesty.
Thus, Foltest stroked his beard, pretending to frown in contemplation before speaking after several dozen seconds:
"I can lend you Black Tern Island, and I permit you to establish a witcher academy there."
He glanced toward Triss before continuing to the witcher:
"Since you'll be working with my royal advisor Miss Triss shortly to investigate the Catriona plague situation,"
"then if you can help our sorceress eliminate this damned plague,"
"I'll not only fund your witcher academy but also issue decrees sending orphans to the academy as your apprentices for training."
"This is a wager - a king's wager."
"See it through well, witcher."