The Cornflower Witch Chapter 189

Inside the academy office, Seraphie examined the spell models submitted by the two girls and had each of them demonstrate their spells.

“Excellent, both of you did very well, especially Hylial.” Seraphie nodded.

“From your foundational runes, it seems you’ve mastered them.” The two girls exchanged smiles.

“Next, your goal is to consolidate your current abilities and prepare to advance to the Third Rank.”

“So soon?” Sophiedina was slightly surprised.

“Not at all.” Seraphie shook her head and then stood up.

“The Third Rank is the first major hurdle for Transcendents. Many people spend their entire lives stuck here, unable to advance even an inch.”

“Unlike simply accumulating Aspect Power and upgrading ability cards, entering the Third Rank is equivalent to forging a path where there was none before.”

He walked to one side of the room, pulled out a scroll, unrolled it, and hung it on the wall. It depicted the fate plate of living beings with intricate, archaic patterns.

“The three-phase surrounding fate is the foundation of all life, ensuring its stable continuation, but it is also a kind of fetter, limiting further upward breakthroughs.”

“Entering the Third Rank means slowly opening up a new card slot on the original fate plate, from scratch, and coordinating its accommodation. This path was first created by the Fairies in the Fifth Epoch and later spread to all living creatures.”

“Before that, many creatures tried different ways to enter the Third Rank.” He turned around and introduced it to the two girls.

“You must have heard the legend of the three-headed dog of purgatory. This monster with three heads is part of the legend of the ‘Star Beast Epoch’ in the Fourth Epoch.”

“At that time, the ‘Star-gazing Beasts,’ influenced by information and knowledge from other realms, gradually awakened their intelligence. They didn’t know how to break through the limitations of the Third Rank, and could only violently grow their bodies, devour food, and accumulate endlessly until their fate was strong enough to expand their fate plate, allowing for six ability card slots to appear.”

“Of course, extraterrestrial knowledge also led to many insane actions. For example, the same species of ‘Star-gazing Beasts’ would try to fuse with each other, connecting their fate cards to form a single entity.”

“In that era, many ‘multi-headed monsters’ and ‘fused monsters’ could be seen, such as the three-headed dog of purgatory, the nine-headed hydra, the eight-legged giant horse, the chimera which is a fusion of a lion, goat, and snake, and griffins which are eagle-headed lion-bodied monsters, and so on.”

“Even now, there are still rumors of certain ‘fusion rituals’ that allow low-ranking monsters to fuse and advance, achieving the goal of becoming stronger.”

“This method of advancement pioneered by the Fairy Epoch was originally called ‘transmutation.’ The ‘core card’ created in this way is like a cocoon or cicada shell, protecting the fate card, becoming its strongest armor and weapon. It is the husk of fate, and also the evaluation and impression others have of you.”

“Later, we concretized this evaluation and impression into ‘professions’ and ‘classes,’ representing your current achievements and experiences.”

“A class not only grants you power, but it also represents your way of life, and in turn, shapes your personality and beliefs, like a ‘cocoon’ melting the worm within to transform it into a completely new individual.”

The scholar’s explanation, moving from simple to profound, gradually revealed how history developed and the differences between past and present advancement methods, stirring the hearts of the two girls and giving them much to reflect on.

“When life is weak, it instinctively seeks the protection of a shell. Similarly, during the 1st to 4th ranks, life also needs to solidify a certain ‘class,’ demonstrating its value and advantages to secure a chance at survival. As for some people’s expectation of ‘complete freedom of life will,’ that is perhaps something only a Seventh-Tier life can achieve,” Seraphie explained, the process of advancement akin to a great tree slowly growing.

After class, Hylial and Sophiedina walked out together, discussing their advancement.

“My chosen path, like my father’s, is that of a scholar of the ‘Mystic Words’ Aspect. The core card I need to construct is the ‘Scroll of Erudition.’ This requires me to learn and master a vast array of knowledge, understanding it thoroughly, and building a systemic understanding of this world. This way, whenever I face any problem in the future, I can find its source and solution within the ‘Scroll of Erudition.'”

“The advancement of scholars is generally not fast. It’s like drops of water, requiring the accumulation of knowledge and experience. However, the advantage is that it’s relatively stable, not very dangerous, and consumes fewer resources.”

“Is Liaison choosing the path of a ‘Gardener’? I heard that the ‘Four Seasons Alliance’s’ courtyard advancement method requires a large amount of rare resources to build the ecological cycle of the courtyard.”

“Yes, I’ve heard that too.” Hylial nodded.

Her current goal is still to follow the ‘Gardener’ path, but the ‘Glorious Moon’ Aspect will not be abandoned, it’s just a lower priority.

“The Four Seasons Alliance’s ‘Spring Courtyard’ can create a stable environment like eternal spring, used to cultivate delicate plants. The ‘Summer Courtyard’ can provide intense energy, used to cultivate plants that have extremely high nutritional and energy demands. The ‘Autumn Courtyard’ can be used to cultivate fruit-bearing plants, greatly increasing yield. And the ‘Winter Courtyard’ can provide extreme environments, used to cultivate those rare plants with unusual characteristics.”

“Which one are you going to choose, Lia?”

“Probably the ‘Autumn Courtyard.'” The girl replied, brushing a strand of hair from her ear.

“Autumn? I thought with your personality, you would choose the ‘Spring Courtyard.'”

“I don’t hate spring, but my personality might lean more towards the unconstrained and peaceful autumn,” Hylial explained with a wink and a smile.

The purity of spring, the passion of summer, the unconstrained nature of autumn, and the tranquility of winter. Aside from the passion of summer, she possessed few of these personality traits, though she did have some of each. However, she was still more practical, preferring fruit over flowers.

Time passed by quietly, and only two months remained before Hylial’s departure from the Glittering Gold Plain.

…

‘Direwolf Wilderness’

Beneath the gloomy sky, wild grass sprawled, ashen wolf’s mane grass swaying, stretching to the horizon.

At the edge of the wilderness, a giant wolf was battling a young man. Deep, bone-revealing wounds marred its swirling mane, while the young man’s clothes were soaked with blood, and the hilt of the sword clutched in his hands was slick with gore.

Agren glared intensely at his opponent, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth.

He roared and lunged forward again, his figure a blur in the cold wind. He deftly dodged the giant wolf’s fangs, then, with perilous precision, grabbed its mane, used the momentum to twist his body, and vaulted onto its back. His blade then spun and plunged into the giant wolf’s neck, unleashing a gush of blood.

The blood hissed as it sprayed, and the blade itself grew scorching hot, glowing red like a brand, constantly steaming and igniting crimson flames.

Then the giant wolf violently flipped over, throwing Agren off. It swiped with its massive claw, striking him down, and then bit him, its fangs piercing his shoulder bone.

In this critical moment, Agren desperately pried open the giant wolf’s upper and lower jaws, preventing them from closing.

If those sharp teeth were to interlock, his body would surely be torn apart—this was his last chance at survival.

“Ahhh—” Agren’s muscles bulged, hot blood circulated through his body. At this moment, he activated the ‘Blood Discipline’ Aspect to its extreme, and wisps of white smoke rose from his entire body.

In this manner, his arms trembled as he held open the giant wolf’s jaws for nearly ten minutes. During this time, the giant wolf constantly thrashed, trying to tear him apart, but eventually weakened due to its own blood loss.

Minutes later, the giant wolf lay dead. Agren, covered in blood, slowly climbed out from the wolf’s corpse. He used his knife to sever the giant wolf’s head, then, bare-chested, dragged the huge wolf’s head away. The black and red bloodstains he left behind slowly dried under the pale blue sky.