The Cornflower Witch Chapter 45

Chapter 45

Overflowing ‘Dew Prayer Method’

After a delightful dinner at Komia’s home, Hylial returned home.

The “Swan Orchid” in the backyard was still blooming quietly, its faint, invisible ripples spreading throughout the courtyard, as if the air itself had become purer.

“Is it already in bloom, Lia?” Talil carefully followed behind the girl, observing the beautiful “Swan Orchid” blooming under the glass cover.

“So beautiful~” she naturally exclaimed, and like Hylial, couldn’t take her eyes off it.

They stayed in front of the Swan Orchid for a long time before going back to bathe and sleep.

…

Three days later, Scholar Hyde’s end-of-month assessment began, and today Iona also came to the venue.

“The questions are on the blackboard, I’ve already written them.” He hung up the blackboard.

“The time limit is 2 hours. I will collect all the papers when time is up.”

“If you get into the top three, I will give you a bottle of ‘Blood Wine’, and the first place will additionally be taught a secret knowledge.” He told them about the rewards.

“Now, let’s start answering the questions.”

The quiet room was filled with the rustling sound of writing. Some people looked at the questions on the blackboard, some pondered deeply, while others simply gave up and casually looked around.

Time slowly passed. When Hylial finished all the questions, she saw that there were still 50 minutes left.

Should she hand in her paper? She looked around, most people were still writing with their heads down, and even Iona was stuck on a certain question, looking a little frustrated.

“Let me check it again,” she thought, and once again reviewed the questions and answers.

Another twenty minutes passed. Hylial had already reviewed the questions and answers several times. After thinking about it, she decided not to wait any longer and stood up.

Seeing her hand in her paper, the other students were a little surprised, but not shocked. Hylial’s performance in the secret history class had been excellent for quite some time. The fact that they were slow didn’t mean that the girl couldn’t answer the questions.

At this point, Iona, seeing Hylial finish early, seemed to have her mindset impacted. She no longer bothered with the difficult questions but shifted her attention to the later ones.

Half an hour later, to the lament of many students, the exam ended.

“It was so hard this time,” someone sighed as soon as it was over.

“The difficulty is completely different from before.”

“Some things are very complicated to calculate.” The exam involved a lot of math-related content.

“I saw that Miss Iona was struggling with the questions.”

“Only Lia finished early. I wonder what score she’ll get this time.”

While everyone was discussing the exam, Iona leaned against a stone pillar by the door, listening quietly. Occasionally, she raised her gaze to look at the girl in the corner of the classroom, who was surrounded by a few friends, and a strange light flickered in her eyes.

Soon, after grading the papers, Teacher Hyde announced the results.

“Lia, first place, 100 points. Iona, second place, 84 points. Komia, third place, 81 points… Mick, 68 points. Karen, 64 points. Lei, 57 points.” The wide range of scores surprised the students present.

Everyone wasn’t surprised that Lia got first place, but they were surprised by such a large score difference, because in the past, Lia and Iona often both scored full marks, with Iona only occasionally scoring a few points less and falling behind Lia.

But after the exam became more difficult this time, everyone suddenly realized that the difference in scores between the two was not as small as it seemed on the surface.

Also, the scores of Mick, Karen, and Lei had also increased significantly, shaking off their tail-end performance and reaching the middle of the class.

After hearing the rankings, Iona did not linger and left the room directly.

“Lord Iona.” Valeni followed behind, trying to remind her that she hadn’t taken her prize yet.

“You can just send the wine to my residence later.” Iona tossed out a sentence and disappeared around the corner of the hallway.

“Uh, okay.” Hearing that she could go to Iona’s residence, Valeni was suddenly delighted, no longer caring about Iona’s abrupt departure.

Then, Scholar Hyde had servants bring out three large bottles of blood wine, each containing about 800 milliliters, which was considerably larger than the 500-milliliter bottles sold at the Adventurers’ Guild.

[Blood Wine] (Tier 1 – Blood Discipline): A medicinal wine refined from the blood of transcendent beasts, which can enhance abilities related to the ‘Blood Discipline’ aspect and is also very suitable for breathing exercises. (Brewed by Scholar Hyde, excellent quality)

The dark brown wine bottle was sealed with a cork, and straw paper, wrapped with thin string, covered the top, with the brewing date and origin written on it. It was indeed brewed by Scholar Hyde himself last month.

“The quality is much better than what the Adventurers’ Guild sells. A bottle of this would probably cost 80-90 Silverleaf Coins,” Hylial thought to herself as she accepted it and observed.

“Thank you.”

Hylial and Komia thanked him, holding their bottles of wine. This scene made the other students envious and speechless, as it was two girls who didn’t major in breathing exercises who received the Blood Wine.

“(＾－＾)V~ Happy” Komia gestured with her hand.

As they were leaving, Balun and several noble students came forward and directly asked if the blood wine could be transferred.

“One Gold Coin, that’s a great boon.” Balun raised a finger. He was also a discerning person and knew that Scholar Hyde’s ability to brew Blood Wine was far superior to that of the Adventurers’ Guild.

The other two noble students offered similar prices. In fact, even if they had the money, they wouldn’t dare to offer a price higher than Balun’s, because among the few, Balun, as the heir to a barony, held the highest status.

“Hmm… okay, here you go.” Komia thought for a moment, then directly handed over the Blood Wine in exchange for money, since she had no use for it.

Afterward, she came over to Hylial’s side. Hylial thought for a moment and decided to keep it for herself.

“I don’t need it. I’m going to save it for other uses.”

Although Balun was a little unhappy, having one bottle in hand made him care less about the remaining one.

“Suit yourself, but you won’t get such a good price outside.” He waved his hand and left directly.

Afterward, everyone left. Today, because the exam was over, Scholar Hyde gave them a half-day holiday, so there was no training in the afternoon.

Putting the Blood Wine in a bag, Hylial carried it back to her home.

What is this?

She returned home, and just after putting things away, she suddenly felt the ‘Jade Nectar’ scent overflowing from the courtyard had intensified a bit.

The eager and joyful girl came to the backyard with light steps, and as expected, she saw three “Swan Orchids” in full bloom. At this moment, all three showed the complete “Tier 1 – Jade Nectar” aspect.

Like three elegant swans slowly spreading their wings, the three ‘Swan Orchids’ emitted a faint glow. If they were in the wild, such flowers would certainly attract many special animals. Now, with the obstruction of the glass cover, and being in the city, only she knew about them.

Lifting the glass cover, Hylial slowly bent down and lightly touched the blooming ‘Swan Orchid’ with her hand. The invisible ripples of energy connected, greatly strengthening the ‘Dew Prayer Method’ in her destiny chart. This single event pushed it directly into the third stage, though it was already not far from advancing.

[Dew Prayer Method Lv.3] (Jade Nectar): Gathers morning dew at dawn, turning it into emerald dew water, which can promote growth and heal withered plants. (Increased yield of emerald dew water, improved purity, and added effect of healing withered plants)

It seems that the path of a Gardener’s advancement complements the cultivation of transcendent plants. Various abilities are used for cultivation, and then, these cultivated plants, in turn, nourish the cultivator, accelerating their own growth.

When [Dew Prayer Method] reached Lv.3, Hylial felt as if she had a bowl overflowing with water. The power of the [Jade Nectar] aspect within this [Dew Prayer Method Lv.3] ability card felt like it was about to spill over.

If this overflowing [Jade Nectar] aspect power were directed towards the [Sleeping Girl] card in the center of her destiny disk and nurtured for a while longer, she would probably be able to enter ‘Tier 1 – Jade Nectar’, and the additional effect of the awakened destiny would also be related to the Dew Prayer Method.

It seemed that advancement was imminent, but for now, she stood up and touched the black strands of hair on her chest.

Since the ‘Swan Orchids’ had been successfully cultivated, she also needed to see Madame Faran. Perhaps as an experienced Gardener, Madame Faran could offer her better advice.

(End of this chapter)