The Cornflower Witch Chapter 198

A week later, the walls surrounding the outpost were initially completed.

“With this, the basic safety of the outpost is guaranteed.”

After the construction was completed, everyone gathered to celebrate, and Hylial also decided to let everyone rest and relax tonight.

Inside the walls, bonfires burned. Dried meat reserves were taken out and simmered with porridge in iron pots, then seasoned with spices. Although it wasn’t a grand feast compared to the outside world, it was an excellent dinner given the current harsh conditions.

Animal hide drums were beaten by the students. Initially, the rhythm was slow, but hearing this familiar beat, many students spontaneously joined hands and danced around the bonfire.

[Ancient Ceremony – Bonfires and Dance Steps] (Beast Teeth, Blood Discipline, Blazing Sun)

‘In the Seventh Epoch, King Murrelet led his people through the Vast Star Wilderness, trekking for nearly twelve years, overcoming countless difficulties to reach the Midsummer Land, where they established humanity’s first home. To commemorate that long expedition and the peaceful harvest, people danced around bonfires, listening to elders sing ancient songs of their ancestors.’

The synchronized beat of the animal hide drums (Beast Teeth), the crowd dancing in circles (Blood Discipline), and the burning, grand bonfire (Blazing Sun)—all three elements required for the ritual were present. Moreover, everyone’s mood at this moment was similar to the legend of old: a sense of grateful satisfaction at finally settling down after a long journey.

As the drums echoed, the students recalled the old songs they had learned, humming the ancient tunes. Their steps gradually synchronized, and the bonfire seemed to be imbued with a strange magic, swaying with the song and rhythm.

Gradually, a warmth of shared blood flowed among the people, dispelling the chill deep within the Dark Mist Mountains. Even the erosion in the wind was temporarily held back by the bonfire, and everything became stable.

The ancient ritual, a timeless story in human history, legends, memories, and history—at this moment, it was awakened in their blood, jolting them from deep numbness and gloom, allowing them to feel the freshness of life once more.

During the dance, Hylial was also pulled in by the students, holding hands with everyone, stepping to the songs, and feeling the warm glow of the fire.

Thus, the ancient tunes were hummed over and over again until they gradually subsided.

Afterward, although many people were sweating and felt a bit tired, they experienced a refreshing sense of release mentally, which was exceptionally comforting.

That night, everyone slept exceptionally soundly, and the invisible gloomy pressure from arriving in the Dark Mist Mountains dissipated completely.

…

The next day, Hylial sat in the temporary large tent, reviewing the reports from various sources, listening to a student report beside her.

“Currently, food can last for another month.”

“When can we expect the next resupply?” Hylial asked.

“According to Mr. Reginson’s schedule, it should be in 32 days, but the exact timing is uncertain. There might be a few days’ delay on the way.”

“Uncertain, huh?” Hylial mused. As the leader of the outpost now, she naturally had to consider food supply issues.

“How long will the greenhouse garden take to complete?”

“The scholars are still directing the craftsmen to refine glass, which will take about two more weeks to build the first small greenhouse, and a month for a large one,” reported a young, short-haired student.

“Gran, have you studied the knowledge of the ‘Six-Point Glass School’?” Hylial asked the young student in front of her.

“I apologize, Senior Sister Hylial, although I know of the ‘Six-Point Glass School,’ I haven’t studied it. Their knowledge rarely leaks out.” “Is that so…” Hylial tapped her fingers. In fact, she had learned from Scholar Seraph before leaving the Glittering Gold Plain.

However, pushed for time back then, her learning process merely involved memorizing what she was taught, without ever truly practicing it, so she couldn’t claim to have truly mastered it.

“Alright then, starting tomorrow, I’ll teach you, and three other people, the basic knowledge of the ‘Six-Point Glass School.’ However, I’ve only studied it roughly, so we’ll need to practice it together.”

The Six-Point Glass School is a very powerful faction. Seraph taught some relatively basic parts of it, where knowledge is not strictly controlled. But if it involves medium to high-level knowledge and skills, it cannot be freely taught to outsiders, otherwise, it would incur punishment from the ‘Six-Point Glass School’.

“Understood,” Gran replied excitedly.

To receive such specialized training was a rare opportunity. In Glittering Gold Plain, learning from high-ranking senior students usually meant paying a large sum of money, though less than directly attending classes.

Knowledge has its price; this is a rule among the woodland and many other transcendent organizations.

“As for the tuition,” Hylial recalled the rule Seraph had told her.

“I’ll only charge you 200 Gold Coins each, but you don’t need to pay now. It’ll just be on account, and you can pay me when you’re able.” If he were to directly learn from Scholar Seraph, this course would cost 3600 Gold Coins.

“No problem, Senior Sister Hylial.” Gran had also looked into the price of this course in Glittering Gold Plain. At that time, although he was very interested, he was shocked by the price and didn’t dare to ask for details. He never expected to be taught here. Even if Hylial’s teaching wasn’t as effective as those high-ranking scholars, considering the price, what else was there to ask for?

The next day, Hylial went to the newly built glass workshop in the outpost to observe how the craftsmen made glass and asked about the specific processes.

During this process, Hylial constantly recalled what Scholar Seraph had taught her, including the selection and proportioning of glass raw materials.

For ordinary glass, the process is relatively simple, requiring only readily available quartz sand, limestone, and soda ash. The glass refining process in this world is largely similar.

However, to make extraordinary glass, a special glass spiritual liquid needs to be prepared and then solidified into glass.

Preparing the glass spiritual liquid requires both the ‘Blazing Sun’ and ‘Glorious Moon’ aspects, which are related to light. Then, depending on the different ratios of these two and other special raw materials, different glass spiritual liquids are formulated. If fine detail and extremely high transparency are needed, the proportion of ‘Glorious Moon’ needs to be increased. If higher light-gathering and strength are required, the proportion of ‘Blazing Sun’ needs to be increased, and so on.

Hylial had the raw materials for the ‘Blazing Sun’ aspect, which was the ‘Sunseed Oil (refined)’ Madame Faran gave her. As for the raw materials for the ‘Glorious Moon’ aspect, she could produce them herself using ‘Hylial’s Spring’.

Once the raw materials were determined, it was a process of continuous experimentation and adjustment. Many subtle sensory details in this process are difficult to describe in books and need to be experienced firsthand.

Over the next month, besides purifying water and overseeing construction, Hylial spent all her remaining time dedicated to making glass.

Again and again, she formulated, fired, and solidified, repeatedly testing the quality of the finished product.

Finally, with the combined efforts of her and a few students, the outpost’s first piece of custom glass was successfully forged.

[Watermark Glass] (Tier 1 – Excellent): Special glass reinforced with the ‘Glorious Moon’ aspect, effective at resisting ‘distortion’ corrosion. (Can withstand the environment of the Dark Mist Mountains for one year)

Although it only had a one-year lifespan, it initially met their needs. As for the ‘Filigree Glass’ she had hoped for earlier, it required specialized metal wires that they couldn’t produce currently and could only be purchased from outside, making them difficult to obtain.