The Cornflower Witch Chapter 125

The camels set off again, but this time their destination was the terminus.

About ten days later, Hylial and her classmates finally saw the sun after a long absence, stepping out of the enclosed, majestic building.

They dismounted on a hillside, and the camels, about three hundred meters tall, stood at the foot of the hill.

Then, under the guidance of a group of cavalrymen in dark green robes, everyone walked through the roads in the hillside and reached the valley below. Here, several hidden lakes were scattered.

The surface of the lake water was as clear as a mirror, reflecting the mountains and sky in black and silver. At this moment, moon boats were docked by the lake.

Not far from the lake, some wizards in black robes, whose faces were obscured, stood there. Their Aspects belonged to one of the three moon affinities, and their ranks were between 2-3, with about 5 third-rank wizards and 17 second-rank wizard apprentices.

“According to the numbers and names I call out, you will board the boats in order and proceed to the center of the lake,” a black-robed wizard announced from a rock on one side of the mountain to the students below.

Upon arriving here, Hylial had to part ways with Fleur, as their respective lake channels were different.

Under the tall tree shade by the shore, Hylial sat on a two-meter-high black wooden box, waiting. Beneath her black silk skirt, her shapely calves and ankles were wrapped in long stockings, swaying gently back and forth like a swing.

Other students also waited in the open space by the lake with their luggage, some gathering in twos and threes to chat.

“Are we finally going to the forest?”

“It’s surprising that it’s done this way,” someone said, looking at the scene on the lake with surprise and astonishment.

On the lake, several crescent-shaped boats carried students and luggage to the center of the lake. Then, the lake surface lit up with light, and the students and luggage on board instantly disappeared, leaving only the empty crescent boats, which were then pulled back by ropes.

“The shadows beneath the continent and the world above have a wondrous connection, just as inside and outside of a mirror are symmetrical. Using certain abilities of the moon affinity, one can replace them to reach the shadow world,” a knowledgeable student explained.

“The people going to ‘Flint Town’ have finally left. It should be our turn now.”

“Students going to ‘White Falcon Cliff’, please prepare,” the wizard on the cliff announced.

“Alright, let’s go, let’s go.” These students got up, dragged their luggage, and gradually boarded the boats.

Under the shade of the trees, Hylial watched as the other students boarded one by one, yet her name was never called. This continued until dusk, when the distant sun slowly set, leaving only about ten people.

“Students going to ‘Glittering Gold Plain’, please prepare.” Finally, Glittering Gold Plain was called.

Hylial lightly leaped down from the tall wooden box. Several boatmen by the lake helped her drag and lift the large wooden box onto the boat. The last batch of students also came over in sequence.

“Hylial, First-Order Emerald Honey, going to Glittering Gold Plain.” The black-robed wizard checked her identity with a ledger and nodded slightly to the girl, then allowed her to pass.

“Approved, next.”

Hylial briefly thanked him, then picked up her carry-on luggage and went to the side of the boat, carefully stepping onto the gunwale and boarding the slightly swaying crescent boat.

It seemed she couldn’t swim. Sitting inside the boat, the silver-haired girl gently dipped her fingers into the water, feeling its cold coolness.

After playing with the water for a while, Hylial sat back properly. At this point, other students also successively boarded the boats. About 1-2 people rode in each boat. Hylial’s boat only had herself and her luggage.

After preparing, to Hylial’s surprise, several wizard apprentices by the lake also boarded the remaining small boats and slowly moved towards the center of the lake with them.

The lake water rippled, and the small boats moved on the evening lake, like sailing on a black mirror. The mountains and trees in sight gradually disappeared, and everything became exceptionally empty, with only the vast twilight firmament above and the black lake water below.

Upon reaching the center of the lake, Hylial leaned against her luggage, feeling a bit nervous. However, she quickly thought that she could switch to the ‘Alien Star’ affinity, so she shouldn’t be afraid of this kind of space-traveling method. Thus, she slowly calmed down.

A faint silver glow emanated from the surface of the lake. At this moment, Hylial could see her reflection in the water.

Not far away, other students exclaimed, and then the surrounding environment blurred and became indistinct.

A few seconds later, everything became clear again. She and the other students stood on a white flagstone floor, and the sky above was as clear as washed azure.

www‧ttkan‧￠O

A fortress protected by white city walls was situated on a golden plain. Outside the tall city walls, vast fields of wheat were neatly arranged, forming shimmering golden waves as the wind blew across them.

In the distance, within the fortress, six white stone towers stood, their spires pointing like sharp swords towards the firmament. Above them, an immeasurably heavy cloud cover seemed to be driven away by an invisible force field, creating a gigantic circular void. Through this vast opening, sunlight slanted into this shadowed world.

…

“You must be the new students this year.” A tall, slender young man came before the group. He wore a white hooded robe and carried a book.

“I am your senior, responsible for guiding you. Please follow me now to the White Tower Fortress.” He had a strong scholarly air about him and wore glasses, with a golden chain attached to one corner of the frame, leading into his chest pocket.

Hearing his introduction, everyone eagerly stepped forward, and then he answered their questions one by one.

“The carriages are ready. You can coordinate their use based on the amount of luggage you have. First, move your belongings to the Woodland Association’s warehouse in the city, and then they will be allocated according to your specific destinations.”

“Alright, there’s no need to ask me so many questions. Once you go to the Woodland Association, there will be teachers specifically assigned to explain everything to you.” With that, he adjusted his glasses and scanned the group.

When he saw Hylial, his gaze lingered for a few seconds, probably noticing the badge she wore on her chest.

Half an hour later, the coachmen loaded the luggage, then carried these students to the fortress. The journey up the hillside was somewhat bumpy.

“Why don’t they just build the teleportation point directly in the city? It would save so much trouble.” Someone couldn’t help but ask.

“Haven’t you been paying attention in class? Fortresses are basically creations of the ‘Castle’ path, and they naturally suppress other Aspects. If moved into the city, they would be difficult to utilize effectively.”

“Oh, I remember now. It seems that’s indeed the case.”

“Yes, although living in a fortress is inconvenient, it is also very safe.” The tall senior spoke again. He was currently a ‘Second-Order Castle’, and seemed quite accustomed to life there.

“If you happen to cultivate the ‘Castle’ Aspect, then living in the fortress has no drawbacks at all.”

“It’s safe, but a bit boring. I still prefer the feeling of freedom in the wilderness.”

Everyone chatted about their thoughts. Occasionally, someone secretly glanced at the silver-haired girl who sat in the carriage, looking at the scenery without saying a word. Although many admired her beautiful appearance and temperament, seeing the badge she wore, no one dared to approach her.

Thus, the line of carriages slowly entered the fortress, and the hustle and bustle gradually flowed into the air outside the carriage.

The streets here were exceptionally wide, with many exotic races of peculiar appearance walking and commuting. Of course, humans were more numerous, but everyone was clearly more curious about strange and unknown things.

Unlike the continent floating in the clouds, almost all residents and pedestrians here possessed solidified Aspects, meaning that 90% of the people had at least first-order strength. The remaining ones without solidified Aspects were mostly slaves and laborers in the city.

Along the way, Hylial saw various sub-humans, including lizardmen, elves, half-giants, and the Moon Rabbit tribe. There were also cavalry guards, lined up in neat formations, training in the city, all dressed in white armor and cloaks, disciplined and orderly.

Despite the numerous exotic races and people of diverse appearances and temperaments, the public security here was exceptionally good, which was why it was among the top ten most populous places in the Woodland outposts.

The carriage arrived at the Woodland Association. Hylial jumped out and saw the sign and tall buildings in front, confirming it was the ‘Woodland Association’ outpost where they were to report. She entered with the other students.

Inside the association, people moved about, many coming to handle various affairs. The leader, the white-robed, glasses-wearing senior, led the group to a designated side counter and began processing them one by one.

About half an hour later, it was Hylial’s turn.

The girl sat on a chair in front of the counter, her long, waist-length silver hair cascading down, forming a slight crescent void at her lower back. She first handed her letter of recommendation to the clerk, then took out her badge and showed it to the other party.

“I see, Miss Hylial.” The clerk became a little more serious upon seeing the badge and began to check her information.

Soon, the young woman with glasses and a low ponytail put down the letter and picked up a ledger to flip through.

“There are many suitable jobs for new students here. Considering you come from a gardening background, the most suitable option would be to go to the wheat fields outside the city to manage the crops.”

“Currently, three areas are short of gardeners. The first one is close to the fortress, mainly for taking care of improved wheat to supply high-quality food. The difficulty here is very low, but of course your subsidy will also be much lower. The advantage is that the work is simple, and you’ll have a lot of free time to spend in the city.”

“The second location is an area five kilometers from the fortress. There is a relatively mature ‘Glittering Gold Wheat Field’ there. The Glittering Gold Wheat produced, after processing, can extract a small amount of precious Glittering Gold. Going here will provide a lot of subsidies, but caring for Glittering Gold Wheat will take a lot of effort, especially for unfamiliar gardeners.”

“The third location is even further, a valley plain 20 li outside the city. Because it has only recently been opened up from the shadow world, currently few people go there. Not far away, there is a hunter’s cabin and a patrol station, which regularly send people to clear out monsters that appear around it, so there is a slight degree of danger.”

“Then I’ll go to the third one,” Hylial quickly decided. This wasn’t because it was the largest area, but because she preferred that quiet environment where she could freely display her talents.

“It will be quite far. If you can cultivate large areas of fertile land, the association will give you a certain reward,” the other party pushed up her glasses.

“If you don’t regret it, then sign here,” she said, taking out a sheet of paper and handing it to the girl.

The paper stated that the valley plain would be temporarily entrusted to Hylial for management. After six months, someone would be sent to inspect the situation. If she could successfully cultivate 100 mu of land, she would pass. If she reached 200 mu, she would receive an excellent evaluation. If she reached 300 mu and submitted 5,000 catties of high-quality wheat, she would receive a perfect evaluation.

The quality of the evaluation received during these few years in the Woodland would affect the difficulty of joining various organizations in the future. The organizations would review the student’s performance over these years.

“What is high-quality wheat?” Hylial asked about the standard.

“Wheat quality is generally divided into satisfactory, good, excellent, outstanding, rare, and perfect. High-quality generally refers to excellent-outstanding, these two stages.”

“The ‘high-quality’ in the contract means you must submit a minimum of 5,000 catties of unadulterated excellent quality wheat flour,” the other party explained in detail, adding this line in writing below.

“Let me show you a sample,” she said, skillfully opening a drawer and taking out different wheat ears and grains.

The satisfactory wheat was what used to be sold in ordinary shops in Burntstone City, mostly grown by farmers themselves.

Good quality wheat was probably what was used by nobles in the castle of Burntstone City for making bread and pastries, mostly produced specifically on noble estates.

Hylial had never seen excellent quality wheat before. She now dipped a little with her finger and licked it, savoring the taste.

This grade of wheat clearly provided richer nutrition and energy, and had a better taste.

The girl also tasted the outstanding quality wheat. If excellent quality wheat could provide 130% of the nutrition and energy of ordinary wheat, then outstanding quality was 180%.

As for rare quality wheat, she continued to taste it. It provided about 300% of the nutrition and energy of ordinary wheat, and also had a faint sweet aroma. If used to make pastries and bread, it would probably be an excellent delicacy.

Finally, for the perfect quality wheat, the other party did not let Hylial taste it, only allowing her to touch the wheat ears and look at them.

“You can’t taste it, you know. If everyone came to taste a bit every day, the association would lose money,” the woman said with a smile, waving her hand to stop her.

Hylial looked at the plump, golden wheat ears. Even by touching them with her hand, she could feel the faint vitality they exuded.

This kind of wheat was probably supplied as military provisions to high-ranking knights, specially for consumption before major battles.

“Transporting supplies from the Cloud Sea Continent to the Woodland is expensive. Even the most common wheat here costs 10 copper coins per catty, which is ten times the price on the ground,” the woman at the counter introduced to Hylial.

“Excellent wheat is about 1 silver coin per catty, outstanding quality wheat is 3 silver coins per catty, rare quality wheat is 10 silver coins per catty, and as for perfect quality wheat, it’s about 1 gold coin per catty,” she recited the price list.

“Of course, these are retail prices. You are currently a member of the association, so the purchase price will be 20% lower than the market price. The advantage is that you don’t have to worry about selling it, and the association can also send people to help you harvest and bundle it during busy seasons, and process it.”

“This is already very reasonable. As for the purchase price for external personnel, it will be about 40% lower than the market price, as the association also needs to make a profit.”

Hylial did not object to this. If she insisted on taking all the profit, she would probably have to deal with many琐碎雜事 annoying tasks, such as threshing, transporting to the city for sale, tax issues, business negotiations, after-sales service, and so on.

With this time and energy, it would be better to concentrate on what she enjoyed and excelled at.

Division of labor was indeed a great advancement in civilization, allowing people to focus more on a single task without interruption.

After making her decision, Hylial signed the contract, and her farming life would slowly begin from then on.

Perfect golden wheat, she wondered if she could cultivate it.