The Cornflower Witch Chapter 177

Passing through the stone steps within the castle fortress, Hylial walked through the interior of the tower. Occasionally, through the windows she passed, she could see the azure sky outside and the golden fields of wheat below.

Here, the breeze was gentle and the environment pleasant. It truly was the safest city in the hinterlands of the woodlands.

The wind rustled through the chalk-white stones, bringing a dry scent and a few particles. The higher Hylial ascended the tower, the quieter the environment became. At this point, the boisterous training sounds from the base of the tower were no longer audible, replaced only by the whooshing of the wind.

Several minutes later, she arrived before a thick, heavy door at the top of the tower and gently knocked on the knocker.

The heavily pitted cast-iron knocker struck the door, creating a heavy echo.

Soon, the door was pulled open by a thick arm, allowing Hylial to see the hall inside.

A knight, wearing fully enclosed white-gold armor, sat at the head of the table. His armor was like white ivory, with golden embellishments along the edges and within, resembling a custom-made royal artwork, yet simultaneously exuding an aura of majesty.

As Hylial stepped into the hall, it felt as though she was entering a palace. The entire hall was under the control of the domain spread by this knight. Fortunately, he bore no ill will, merely isolating and protecting this area from the outside.

After a simple bow, the young girl, guided by his gesture, sat at the very end of the long table, her legs together, like a well-behaved student. Her gaze, filled with a touch of curiosity, was directed at the knight sitting opposite her at the head of the table.

“Hehe, I told you this little girl is not simple. She dares to look directly at you on her first visit,” said the burly man next to the knight. His build was far taller than an average person’s, as if he possessed the bloodline of giants, and his muscles were like brass, capable of crushing rock.

Besides these two, there was also an elegant scholar and a familiar witch, Kurand Qiu, in the hall.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I am Cassius, Commander of the Order of the Holy Knights,” the knight’s voice was plain, carrying no disdain or oppression due to their differing statuses.

“Hello, I am Hylial, a new student of the woodland,” Hylial was still unsure of the reason for her summons, but seeing so many important figures, it was likely not a minor matter.

“You may be a bit nervous seeing us for the first time, but don’t worry, what we are about to discuss will not significantly impact your studies or life,” the Knight Commander continued.

“Regarding your ‘excellent’ evaluation, the Association Headquarters has approved it and has also brought commendations. The scholar beside me will inform you of the details.” At this, the gazes of the others also shifted to the figure in the off-white and light blue scholar’s robe. He appeared to be around forty, with a refined demeanor and spectacles perched on his nose.

He nodded slightly at Hylial and introduced himself, “My name is Seraph, and I am pleased to meet Miss Hylial.”

This scholar was a ‘Level 5 Mystic Words’ existence, a rare and important figure even in the entire Glittering Gold Plain. If Hylial had still lived in Regas Duchy, such a person would be considered part of the country’s top echelons.

“Hello,” the girl politely returned the greeting, her eyes showing a hint of surprised curiosity.

Everyone present was above Level 5. The Knight Commander, in particular, sitting at the head of the table, was likely the leader of the current ‘Holy White Knight Hall,’ a top-tier figure at Level 6.

“The Association highly values Hylial’s outstanding performance and has placed a good deal of hope in you,” Knight Commander Cassius continued.

“Hylial, are you familiar with the process of advancing to the Third Rank?”

“I’m not yet clear on it,” she replied. She hadn’t even grasped many things at the Second Rank, let alone the Third. “The Third Rank is an extremely important stage. For many fields, reaching the Third Rank means officially becoming a professional, capable of taking on individual commissions, with their own reputation and name, and so on.”

“This is certainly because entering the Third Rank signifies that your mastery of that field has reached a proficient and complete level. It’s also because entering the Third Rank will open up different core abilities.”

“Every creature is born with its own unique fate and 1-3 abilities. Some of these abilities are innate, while others are acquired through learning.”

“The process of the First and Second Ranks is about completing undeveloped innate abilities, solidifying one’s own fate, and then, at the Third Rank, a great mutation occurs.”

“That is, using the accumulated abilities, aspects, knowledge, and arcane arts, a completely new card slot will be opened. The effect of this card slot far surpasses others and can be considered the core of a Transcendent’s other abilities.”

“You can understand it as fate and bloodline being innate, while the core card is a manifestation of acquired experiences.”

“How to open and utilize this extremely special core card slot has always been a key focus of various schools.”

“The methods of utilization vary among different races and creatures. For humans, the core card slot is often closely linked to their class, so much so that we often discuss them together.”

“For example, the Third Rank class ‘White Knight’ within our Knight Order is formed by combining multiple abilities to condense the ‘Shield of Purity.’ Through trials, the ‘Shield of Purity’ becomes compatible with one’s own fate, achieving the ‘White Knight’ class and granting significant amplification.”

“The blacksmiths, on the other hand, collect various materials to forge a ‘Hammer of Forged Gold’ for themselves. Through trials, the ‘Hammer of Forged Gold’ becomes compatible with their fate, achieving the ‘Forged Gold Blacksmith’ class.”

“Scholars generally write various types of ‘books’ based on the arcane arts of different schools, and then integrate these books with their own fate to achieve their class.”

“Wizards and witches use the model of a certain arcane witchcraft as their core, aligning it with their fate to achieve powerful control in that field.”

“As for Gardeners…” He paused, looking at Kurand Qiu.

“Let him introduce you.”

Kurand Qiu, dressed in a bright yellow wizard’s robe, glanced at Hylial, who was sitting upright, and then explained.

“Gardeners will create different specialized ‘courtyards’ according to their own choices, to cultivate special plants.”

“Many transcendent high-level plants have harsh environmental requirements. They are difficult to encounter or cultivate in reality, and they cannot be moved. To solve this problem, ancient gardeners created their own unique ‘courtyards’ to cultivate plants.”

“Our Four Seasons Alliance is named as such because we master four special courtyard advancement arts, and I advanced to ‘Summer Courtyard’ back then.” He simply raised his hand, and an invisible halo expanded and diffused behind him. The environment in the hall changed in an instant.

It was filled with tall trees, lush flowers and foliage, and clusters of red and green fruits hung among the trees. Golden sunlight streamed through the trees, making everything appear like a fairy land from a poem.