The Cornflower Witch Chapter 143

During the cake, the two continued to chat, and Hylial gradually learned much about the baker profession.

Although she was surprised to see that a baker’s aspect was ‘Gold Steam’ at first, she quickly understood and accepted this reality.

As Mr. Fred said, there was essentially no difference between forging tools with metal and making pastries with food ingredients; both were about refining, recasting, and transforming existing things.

The negotiation process was pleasant. Hylial and Fred agreed that she would supply them with 2400 Jin of ‘excellent’ quality flour, and in return, they would pay 72 Gold Coins.

“I think I should issue a quest to acquire excellent quality wheat, and then you can take it and complete it. That would be much better,” the other party suggested after some thought.

“Oh, why do we need to do that?” Hylial took a sip of tea from the table to cut through the richness and asked curiously.

“Firstly, it avoids taxes. Secondly, in quest form, the Woodland Association can supervise and guarantee it. You won’t have to worry about me defaulting on the payment, and I won’t have to worry about receiving subpar goods.”

“I see.” The girl nodded, understanding the reasons behind it.

Indeed, this had many benefits, and she could also gain some association points by completing the quest.

The next day, a new quest was added to the White Stone Fortress’s association bulletin board: to acquire 2400 Jin of wheat flour, with a quality requirement of ‘excellent,’ and signed by the ‘Wind Furnace Bakery.’

Hylial, using her student identity registration, quickly accepted this acquisition quest and prepared to lead people to the valley two days later to retrieve the batch of flour.

On the third day, Hylial arrived at the Woodland Association and met with the teacher who was reviewing the advancement situation.

“You are Hylial, correct?” The person was an old man with sharp eyes, wearing a light green floral cloak and a badge featuring intertwined flowers and leaves on his chest.

Sensing the other party’s aura, she perceived him as a Second-Tier Verdant Honey Transcendent, and Hylial bowed respectfully.

“Hello, I am Hylial.” She had specifically pinned her Woodland Badge to her chest today.

Upon seeing the badge, the other party’s gaze softened slightly, perhaps realizing that this girl was already a rare genius, and her rapid advancement made sense.

“Very good, follow me to the second floor of the association. We’ll check your specific situation.” The other party nodded and led Hylial to the second floor of the association hall.

It was relatively quieter there, and most of those handling business were Second-Tier senior students. They looked at Hylial ascending the stairs with a hint of curiosity but didn’t pay too much attention.

Upon entering a room, the other party asked Hylial to sit down and then unveiled a meticulously crafted instrument on the table. It was made of bright yellow metal and featured a transparent crystal sphere in the center.

“This is an instrument that measures the strength of your phase power. Place your hand on it and slowly input the power of [Verdant Honey].”

“I understand.” The girl tried pressing her hand against the crystal sphere and inputting her power.

Soon, a faint verdant glow appeared, and a few specks of light also emerged within the crystal.

“Maintain this state for three minutes.” The other party’s gaze was fixed on the needle below the instrument as he commanded in a deep voice.

Hylial complied.

After about three minutes, the other party nodded, indicating that it was sufficient.

“Next is to test your mental stability.” Saying this, he took out another crystal ball containing a blue liquid with a small boat floating on its surface.

“Try to use your spiritual power to make the liquid inside this sphere rotate.”

“Okay.” Hylial looked at the crystal ball and then concentrated.

Soon, the liquid in the crystal ball began to spin, forming a vortex, the entire process being effortlessly smooth.

“Now, make the hollow pearl inside the boat float up, and remember the liquid must keep spinning.” The other party continued to instruct.

Hylial followed, and the hollow white pearl steadily floated up, resting motionless above the small boat.

Five minutes passed like this, and just as Hylial thought it would continue, the other party nodded and told the girl to lower the pearl back into the boat. “Alright, that will be all.” Covering the instrument on the table again, the old man walked to another desk and began to write a report.

“Your mental power is very stable; I’d say you’re the most outstanding student I’ve ever seen.” He told Hylial about her condition as he wrote.

“This pretty much rules out the possibility that you used shortcuts, because such methods often lead to many problems like schizophrenia, loss of control, dispersion, and so on.”

“Your Verdant Honey affinity is also exceptionally pure, with no traces of alien contamination. This indicates that you haven’t used external means to improve yourself, and your advancement process has been very solid.”

After finishing the inspection report, the other party stamped it to signify his approval and then stood up.

“My name is Yud, and I am a gardener and a full member of the ‘Four Seasons Alliance.’ Our organization focuses on the development, cultivation, and utilization of various resources, with branches spread throughout the continent.”

“If you wish to join, I can be your recommender and help you with the application.”

“I heard that joining the ‘Four Seasons Alliance’ usually requires being a Third-Tier, but I’m only a Second-Tier now. Can I still apply?” The girl was slightly surprised.

“Full members do indeed need to be Third-Tier, but the mechanism within the Woodland is different from the surface. Here, Second-Tier students are allowed to become reserve members of the organization and enjoy some benefits in advance.” This was somewhat similar to large companies pre-recruiting university students before their official graduation in the girl’s previous life.

“As a full member, you will receive a special ‘elixir’ as a benefit for new members. Our organization possesses exceptionally unique ‘Four Seasons Elixirs,’ which are rare items you cannot purchase or easily obtain elsewhere,” he explained the benefits of the Four Seasons Alliance.

“If you become a reserve member now, though you won’t receive the elixirs, you can still get other resource rewards for your studies. I can show you the list of rewards.”

Having said that, he rummaged through a drawer and pulled out a form.

‘Benefits for Second-Tier students upon joining the ‘Four Seasons Alliance”:

1. Eligible to apply for one free course per quarter within the organization. (Course difficulty must not exceed intermediate level)

2. Ten portions of ‘Quiet Contemplation Black Tea’ (quality: ‘First-Tier Verdant Honey’) to enhance meditation effects, provided quarterly.

3. Three portions of ‘Orchid Fragrance Healing Potion’ (quality: ‘First-Tier Verdant Honey Excellent’) provided quarterly.

4. One set of organizational apprentice uniforms provided every two years, with a choice from four seasonal designs (quality: ‘Second-Tier Excellent’).

5. Eligible to participate in one secret realm exploration organized by the Four Seasons Alliance annually, with all gains from the process not subject to submission.

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‘Obligations for Second-Tier students as reserve members of the ‘Four Seasons Alliance”:

1. Must reach Third-Tier within ten years; otherwise, reserve membership will be automatically revoked.

2. Annual evaluation by the Woodland Association must be ‘good’ or above. Three cumulative unsatisfactory evaluations will result in disqualification.

3. May not become a reserve or full member of any other organization, and may not defame or betray the ‘Four Seasons Alliance.’

4. Must attend two exchange gatherings organized by the ‘Four Seasons Alliance’ annually to familiarize themselves with co-members.

5. All generated resources and harvest should be traded internally within the organization as much as possible.

6. If, after reaching Third-Tier, one chooses not to join the ‘Four Seasons Alliance,’ one must pay for the benefits received during the apprenticeship period.

After reading the form, Hylial nodded, indicating that she would consider it.

“I plan to stabilize my current state first, learn and understand more about this stage, and then decide which organization to join.”

“That’s natural.” The Third-Tier gardener expressed his understanding, then thought for a moment, briefly wrote down an address below the form, and handed it to Hylial.

“This is my residence in the city. If you have any questions or need help, you can find me here.” He usually didn’t leave his address to avoid disturbances, but this silver-haired girl with the black hood had exceptional talent, so extending some goodwill was worthwhile.

“Thank you, Teacher Yud.” Hylial bowed in gratitude.

Seeing her quiet and polite demeanor, and her calm state of mind, the old man greatly appreciated her. He then offered Hylial a few words of encouragement before allowing her to leave.

Thus, Hylial was officially registered as a Second-Tier student at the Woodland Association, enjoying many rights and provisions.