The Cornflower Witch Chapter 120

Although life in Burntstone City was good, Hylial lacked friends with whom she could have deep conversations. Many of the gardener’s knowledge, experiences, and small hobbies she learned, when she spoke to Komia and others, they didn’t understand. Madame Faran certainly understood, but she was an elder and often not at home, so Hylial couldn’t cling to her for conversation. She often tended to the flower fields by herself.

She was used to solitude, but having like-minded friends was a greater stroke of luck.

The two walked through the forested grasslands on the eighth floor. The hall on this floor had special spherical lamps, like small suns, providing light for the plants.

“Lia, what kind of flower do you like?” Florella knelt before a sunset chrysanthemum, carefully touching it with her fingers. The small sunset chrysanthemum swayed slightly, then diffused a faint floral ripple.

“I probably like most of them,” Hylial recalled. She hadn’t encountered any particularly disliked flowers yet.

“But speaking of which, Florella, do you know about ‘cornflowers’?”

“Cornflowers, huh? Let me think, I think I’ve heard of them somewhere.” Florella gently pressed her chin with her finger, her pale pink eyes slightly closed.

“I remember now! An elder once brought back a pot when they returned from a trip to the Fourth Continent. It was said to be a relatively rare flower.” After saying that, Florella described to Hylial what the cornflower looked like.

“It was a blue-purple flower, radiating in all directions from the center with slender, funnel-shaped petals, and the edges of the petals were soft and unfurled like feathers.” Florella’s memory was excellent; she could describe in detail flowers she had seen years ago.

Hearing Florella’s description, a wave of joy surged in Hylial’s heart. She had always thought that cornflowers might not exist in this world, but now someone had finally told her that such flowers did exist.

Although she didn’t know where to find them yet, at least they existed somewhere in the world, which eased her long-standing worry.

“Then, Florella, do you know where I can find them now?” Hylial suppressed the anticipation and excitement in her heart.

“My old family member might have some planted at home, but that’s in the Second Continent, very far away.” It took Florella herself several years to travel here, but fortunately, elves have long lifespans, so they don’t mind the time spent.

“Alright.” Hylial stifled her regret, then quickly made a decision.

Once she reached the Third rank and had some self-defense capabilities, she would embark on an overseas journey to the Second Continent to search, or even travel to the Fourth Continent where they originated.

“Does Hylial really like ‘cornflowers’?” Florella asked out of curiosity, seeing the rare emotional fluctuation in the girl.

“Yes, not only do I like them, but it’s also related to my background, Florella.” The girl curled one wrist, her fingers running through her silver hair in front of her, her voice tinged with a hint of nostalgia and reverie.

“So it’s something so important.” Florella decided to keep this in mind and, the next time she wrote home, ask that elder to mail her some cornflower seeds.

After that, the two walked through the botanical garden on the eighth floor and arrived at the ninth floor.

It was noticeably livelier here, with many temporary stalls and small shops selling various items. Most of the vendors were new students from the Camel Tower.

“A finely crafted scimitar from the Pottery Rock Mountains, incredibly sharp, only 1 Gold Coin!” A man wearing a golden chain held two long, gold-hilted blades, swinging them in the air. The bright blades reflected a cold glint, attracting many passing students.

“Meditation incense, 5 Silver Coins a stick, 30 sticks for 1 Gold Coin.”

“Healing ointment, 30 Silver Coins a bottle.”

“Eastern heat-insulating essential oil, 1 Gold Coin per bottle.”

“Fine brewed blood wine, an excellent item for practicing breathing methods, 2 Gold Coins a bottle.”

Hylial observed the items sold by these students. Their prices and quality varied widely; some seemed very affordable to her, while others were a bit high.

For example, that bottle of blood wine was slightly inferior in quality to what Scholar Hyde had previously awarded them, but the price was double. This was probably because many students here needed it, and the supply was limited, driving up the price.

“Eyeball flower seeds, after cultivation, can form eyeball fruits to help you fight enemies, 1 Gold Coin for 10 seeds.” At this moment, a voice from the noisy stalls caught Hylial’s attention.

It was rare to encounter a plant directly involved in combat, and she couldn’t help but feel a little moved.

Walking over with Florella, she saw that a girl of similar age was selling them. The girl had yellowish-brown skin and wore plain, thick cloth clothing with several convenient pockets.

On the stall, there was a potted plant with a fully grown eyeball fruit. The lower part of the plant resembled most flowers and plants, but the petals above enveloped a semi-transparent fruit, which looked like a peeled lychee with faint black dots, resembling an eyeball.

[Eyeball Fruit (Questionable)] (First-Order Emerald Honey): A plant said to assist in combat.

At this moment, not only Hylial but also other interested students gathered around.

“Can it really fight enemies? How’s its combat power? It won’t just tickle them, will it?” Someone was skeptical.

“How much power can such a small flower and fruit exert? Won’t I have to distract myself to control it during battle?” Some students familiar with plant cultivation shook their heads.

“Can you demonstrate its power?” Someone finally couldn’t help but ask.

The girl first raised both hands, quieting everyone.

“It’s normal for everyone to be skeptical, because this is a newly discovered plant from my hometown. It’s said that an adventurer first brought it back from deep within the swamp.”

“The fully developed eyeball fruit is Second-Order. Currently, my plant is not yet fully mature, but I can show you its potential in advance.” After saying that, she took out a thick wooden board and placed it a few meters away, telling the other students to spread out.

Then, the girl activated the ‘Emerald Honey’ Aspect within her body, interfering with the eyeball flower fruit in front of her. The translucent fruit in the plant glowed like a small light bulb, then an orange-yellow beam of light was emitted, hitting the wooden board not far away and creating a half-centimeter deep charred indentation.

“What you’re seeing now is the light it emits on its own. If you learn the gardener’s inheritance of the ‘Bloom-Flowering Method’ and assist in its activation, its power can be instantly increased tenfold, enough to penetrate the wooden board and pierce through an enemy of the same rank.”

After hearing her explanation, many students nodded slightly.

“Indeed, if activated with the Bloom-Flowering Method, a tenfold increase in this effect would be truly practical.”

“Because it’s light, not only is its firing speed extremely fast, but its power is also quite concentrated, several times stronger than other fire-attributed plants.”

“However, the only problem is how to learn the ‘Bloom-Flowering Method’ at the First-Order.”

“I heard that most gardeners can only master this ability after reaching Second-Order. Less than one-tenth can learn it at First-Order, and it requires a lot of time.”

“My teacher said that he learned the Bloom-Flowering Method at First-Order, but it took him a year, which delayed his advancement. He later regretted it.”

“At First-Order, it’s better to focus on cultivating plants, solidify the basic apprentice profession, then use meditation to increase spiritual power, and with suitable elixirs, reaching Second-Order as soon as possible is the way to go.”

“It’s not useful at First-Order, and there will be more choices at Second-Order, so cultivating eyeball fruits is a bit redundant.” As the onlookers discussed, most of them slowly walked away, no longer interested.