The Cornflower Witch Chapter 203

The wind whistled through the window, causing the glass to tremble slightly.

Hylial sat at her desk by the window, writing in her diary, summarizing her recent gains and thoughts. These included things about the outpost’s construction, her personal growth, and occasionally some life insights.

“Day 73 in the Dark Mist Mountains. The new outpost has been completed. We not only finished three large greenhouses but also built a round dining hall. Everyone is very happy.

After the last eave was built, we held our first grand evening party in the dining hall, and everyone at the outpost participated.

I hastily ripened a batch of food in the greenhouse for the party. Many students also joined in the cooking and preparation, each showcasing their skills and making delicious dishes in their hometown styles. During this time, I also learned many new and exotic cooking methods for ingredients, finding it quite novel.”

…

“The Regas Duchy has fallen. This afternoon, when Mr. Reginson came to the outpost again to deliver supplies, he told me this news. Apparently, the association specifically informed me because they noticed my birthplace was Regas.

I wonder how Scholar Hyde, Talil, and Sister Winnie are doing. Unfortunately, I can’t leave freely right now. I can only write to Lord Cassius, the commander of the Holy White Knight Hall. He might be able to inquire about the situation on the surface continent for me.

Last year, I only heard that there would be war in the North, but I never expected the Regas Duchy to fall so quickly.

News from afar, which was usually just casual conversation fodder in Burntstone City, has suddenly swept closer. The tide of the times won’t be avoided just because it’s far away; it will eventually affect everyone in this world.”

…

“After reaching the Second-Order, I haven’t recalled more memories, but as I learn more about the power of the ranks, I’m increasingly astonished by the scenes I witnessed in my childhood. Undoubtedly, my mother is a Seventh-Order witch, but as far as I know, the known top-tier power on the Fourth Continent is only the Seventh-Order; I haven’t heard of any Eighth-Order beings.

Perhaps my childhood memories are vague, and there might be some errors, but if my mother truly was Seventh-Order, it implies many things.

My amnesia should be due to some accident, and for me to suffer an accident even under the protection of my mother, the ‘Aster Witch,’ the enemy would likely be of the same rank or stronger. Although I don’t know who the specific enemy is, this is still a potential danger, and I must prepare early.”

…

“Beauty is a great quality, but for me currently, an overly outstanding appearance also brings some minor troubles. People often lose focus when I speak, or act impulsively due to an overly eager desire to show off.

Additionally, most of the rumors about my reputation are related to my appearance. As for the specific things I’ve done and my achievements, they are mostly overlooked by outsiders, with only the students within the outpost being truly aware.

I wonder if this is a good thing or a bad thing.”

…

After writing about recent events and reflections, Hylial watched the ink on the paper slowly dry, then closed her diary and placed it under her pillow. Since the diary was written in Chinese characters, no one in this world could understand it, so she wasn’t worried about anyone prying.

After two months of busyness, everything at the outpost was slowly getting on track, and Hylial finally had some time to herself.

It had been a while since she had expanded her cultivation.

Although she didn’t know what kind of situation she would face in the future, Hylial had a vague premonition that the current peaceful time wouldn’t last much longer.

Therefore, she needed to accumulate as much strength as possible before the tumultuous situation arrived, to safely get through it.

Sitting in her small room, Hylial drew her legs in slightly, her small, shoeless feet tucked under her knees. She rested her head on her knees, deep in thought. Her silver-snow-like hair cascaded down, a few slightly messy strands falling onto her legs. She had stabilized at the Second-Order, and the next step was to figure out how to advance.

Logically, the ‘Courtyard Esoteric Arts’ of the Four Seasons Alliance would be the most suitable core secret method for her, but she was somewhat concerned about its combat effectiveness. If she chose other types of core secret methods, she would be reluctant to give up the various benefits brought by the courtyard space.

“I’m quite greedy, aren’t I, just like everyone else,” Hylial muttered to herself.

Ultimately, she had to test whether her [Star Talent] could seal core secret methods, and whether such a seal would cause the core secret methods to collapse or malfunction, and so on.

As she hadn’t yet reached the Third-Order, she couldn’t test and verify it. Moreover, testing it on herself carried significant risks.

“If only I could find a Third-Order monster to use as a test subject,” Hylial thought.

There were many such monsters on the other side of the Dark Mist Mountains, but that area was also extremely dangerous. Not only were there Third-Order monsters, but even Fourth-Order ones, making it not a place she could safely venture into yet.

So, she could only look in the direction she came from, to the areas that mirrored the surface continent.

Now that the outpost was stable, it wouldn’t be a problem for her to leave for a few days, but she couldn’t be gone for more than two weeks, otherwise, many people would worry, and accumulated problems at the outpost would also cause trouble.

Two weeks, Hylial calculated how far she could go. Based on this range, she drew a rough circle on the map. Half of the circle fell within the Dark Mist Mountains and the Direwolf Wilderness, with only a small portion in other regions.

Within this small area, Hylial selected again, finally settling her gaze on a marked name.

“Spider Forest”; located upstream of the Rainy Night River, it was a dense jungle infested with 2nd- to 3rd-order spider monsters. Other than that, it had no other special resources, and few people ventured there.

“This is it.” Because the forest produced few resources, and few students ventured there, only those who needed spider materials for their secret arts came to this place.

The nearest outpost was Mammoth Town. From there, it was about 60 kilometers to the Spider Forest.

After setting her goal, Hylial began to prepare. Since she was going to test her talents and many hidden abilities, it was best to go alone. This would be much more convenient, and if anything went wrong, she could use her Alien Star traversal ability to escape without worrying about her teammates.

“White Flower Armor,” “Black Dream Dagger,” “Glimmergold Greatsword,” “Ebony Compound Bow,” “Flower Lantern”…

She inventoried and donned all the equipment and treasures she had accumulated over the years. Once everything was ready, she found the students in charge of various departments at the outpost to explain.

“I’m going out for some training; it’ll be about two weeks. I’ll be relying on you all during this time.”

“No problem, Lady Lia!”

The few of them cheerfully agreed. The outpost’s construction was largely complete, and there were no major issues in the short term. They also saw how hard the young lady had been working and understood her desire to go out and clear her head.

“Be safe on your journey, Lady Lia.” Despite knowing the young lady’s strength, seeing her leave alone, everyone couldn’t help but remind her.

Ultimately, Hylial looked too young. If she were a mature leader around forty, probably no one would have offered such a reminder.

“I know,” the young girl waved lightly, bidding them farewell. Then she pulled up her hood and rode off from the outpost on her horse.