Witcher: Master Kiliman’s Grand Ambitions-Chapter 58: The Druid’s Circle, the Dryad Girl

Perhaps because his proposal came too suddenly.
Both Shani, Caroline, and Alvin present were momentarily stunned.
However, as the adoptive mother, Caroline was the first to react. Although she wasn't Alvin's biological mother, she had adopted the child several years ago. The two had relied on each other for survival and shared a deep emotional bond.
Unwilling to outright refuse Kiriman, she spoke:
"Mr. Kiriman, are you wanting Alvin to become a witcher?"
"I've heard that becoming a witcher is extremely dangerous for children. Many children die because of it."
"I won't let Alvin face such danger."
Shani also nodded in agreement, looking at the witcher as she said:
"Kiriman, I believe recruiting witcher apprentices must have the consent of both the child and their parents."
"This is a very dangerous matter that must be handled properly. It cannot be forced."
The two had clearly misunderstood Kiriman's intention.
He wasn't a traditional witcher and had never considered the issue of witcher succession. With his own lifespan stretching over a thousand years, why would he force a child to become a witcher apprentice?
His reason for wanting to take Alvin as a disciple was simply to compensate him.
Because he had decided that in about a year, he would need to use the bloodline advancement ritual to fuse with the Elder Blood lineage.
In such a short time, obtaining the Elder Blood from the Child of Destiny, Ciri, would be absolutely impossible.
Moreover, this female protagonist enjoyed the powerful favor of the Goddess of Destiny and carried the fate of saving the world. Anyone who harbored ill intentions toward her basically met terrible ends, with dying without a complete corpse being just routine operation.
So his only choice was Alvin, this little boy who was only six or seven years old now.
However, the bloodline advancement ritual wouldn't completely strip Alvin of his bloodline, nor would it threaten his life safety.
But it would most likely damage the concentration of his Elder Blood, weakening more than half of its abilities.
Although in the original story, this little boy would eventually become a major antagonist due to his time-space shifting abilities and somewhat extreme personality.
At this point in time, he truly hadn't committed any evil deeds yet and still had the potential for redemption.
Taking him as a disciple, teaching him swordsmanship, and providing him and his adoptive mother Caroline with a stable life—this was the compensation Kiriman wanted to give them.
It might feel a bit like the cat crying over the dead mouse, but if he did nothing, his conscience would still feel somewhat uneasy.
"No, Mrs. Caroline, Shani."
"I simply want to take Alvin as a disciple, teach him swordsmanship, allow him to learn cultural knowledge, and provide him with a stable growth environment. I won't force him to become a witcher."
"Of course, after he masters these skills, if he's willing to stay and work for me, that would be even better."
"If he's unwilling, I won't force him either."
Kiriman's voice was very sincere. Aside from planning to extract Alvin's Elder Blood, he wasn't lying about anything else.
"And Mrs. Caroline, when my academy reaches a certain stage of construction, I'll need to recruit some workers."
"Whether cooks, cleaners, or housekeepers—all these positions need to be filled."
"If you're willing, I hope you can come with Alvin, which would also allow you to take care of him together."
The conditions Kiriman offered could be considered quite generous, even making Caroline feel as if this man wanted to provide for her.
In the cruel era of the Middle Ages.
For a widow and a small child, an orphan and widowed mother trying to survive safely and stably, relying on a powerful man was their best option.
Caroline was quite tempted. She turned to look at Alvin and found the child also very eager to learn swordsmanship, his eyes shining brightly.
After witnessing village destruction, Scoia'tael attacks, Salamander Gang robberies, and various other violent incidents.
Although Alvin was still a child, he was a genius with Elder Blood lineage who could already understand many things ordinary children couldn't comprehend.
Only by mastering power and becoming someone as powerful as Uncle Kiriman before him could he do what he wanted to do.
Realizing the child's desire, Caroline's eyes reddened slightly as she nodded to the witcher and said:
"Thank you for your help, Mr. Kiriman."
"Aside from doing some odd jobs, we have no way to repay you."
"Since you're willing to take Alvin as your disciple, I believe he certainly won't disappoint your expectations."
………………
The Vizima swamp was located southwest of Vizima city, an area that hadn't been much developed yet.
However, due to climate and geographical reasons.
This place had lush vegetation, thick trees, abundant herbal resources, and special clay very suitable for making bricks and tiles. It was the primary supplier of bricks and tiles for Vizima city during its establishment period.
Near the swamp port, a village called Murkywater Village had been established where over a hundred masons gathered and lived.
It provided accommodation, food, and information services for travelers and adventurers coming to this swamp.
Bringing Shani with him, they soon rented a house in Murkywater Village after arriving at the swamp—a house arranged with two beds.
The medical student girl was still quite shy at this time. Although they lived together in the same house, they didn't sleep together, maintaining the distance between friends.
Thus, during daytime, Kiriman would go out to complete his witcher contracts, bringing back special Celandine collected from the depths of the swamp.
Meanwhile, Shani stayed in the village conducting experiments related to the plague.
The two spent their days together, and their relationship warmed quickly. In less than a few days, they had become close friends who enjoyed talking happily with each other.
The first contract Kiriman completed was for the fat merchant Radovid.
His group of workers were responsible for collecting herbs from the swamp, cutting trees, hunting beasts, then transporting them to Vizima city through the port for sale.
However, because the swamp environment was too harsh, large groups of drowners appeared in packs, completely disregarding time. They would even actively attack workers at the port during daytime, seriously affecting Radovid's business.
So this merchant offered the high price of four Orens per drowner, inviting the witcher to help clear the drowners near the port.
Clearing drowners was Kiriman's specialty.
It took only about a full day for him to eliminate over a hundred drowners frequenting the port area, gaining nearly a hundred soul points and drowner ears to exchange for payment, which he handed to the supervising manager.
After completing this simple contract, Kiriman continued exploring the swamp, hunting various monsters while searching for traces of the Scoia'tael and more special Celandine.
Suddenly one afternoon, as he made his way through sections of swamp.
He found an area with exceptionally lush vegetation, the ground covered with various flowers and green leaves, where a several-dozen-meter tall giant sacred oak tree grew at the center of the woodland.
An old man who wore only a robe woven from leaves, with beard and eyebrows covering most of his face, looking like a wild man, blocked his path and said in a somewhat aged voice:
"Stranger, this is the Druids' Circle."
"Entry is forbidden to outsiders."
And behind this old man.
There was also a young woman with tender-green skin, completely naked without any coverings, with delicate and beautiful features, full and exquisite figure, wearing a floral wreath and carrying a green vine longbow, watching him with a guarded expression.
At first glance of this young woman, Kiriman knew.
This was a dryad maiden, and he might soon get to taste what a dryad girl was like.