The Cornflower Witch Chapter 48

Chapter 48: Mountain Hunt

There were still a few days before Hylial was due to help Madame Faran in her flower garden.

One afternoon, after tutoring Mick and Kaelen, Hylial picked up a bow and practiced.

Since she couldn’t demonstrate her swordsmanship, practicing archery seemed like a good alternative. After intermittent practice over the past month, her archery skills had gradually reached a very good level.

[Basic Archery Lv.3]: Basic archery skills, one of the remote combat techniques. (Progress 342/900)

*Whoosh*, another arrow was shot, landing precisely on the bullseye 60 meters away. (‘Basic Archery’ proficiency +1)

Unlike swordsmanship, archery seemed to rely more on muscle memory and intuition, so her progress was slower.

“Amazing, Lia’s archery skills are almost as good as Kaelen’s now,” Komia applauded.

“Still not as good as Sister Kaelen,” Hylial humbly replied.

“Your archery is indeed very good, but Lia, when you have time, you can try shooting moving rabbits or birds in the mountains. That way, you’ll improve faster,” Kaelen suggested.

“Oh, really?” Hylial thought for a moment. Not just archery, but her swordsmanship also needed practice in real combat.

“Tomorrow is a holiday, Kaelen, can you come with me?”

“Of course.” Kaelen nodded; she had already been planning something similar.

“I want to go too,” Komia didn’t want to be left behind.

“I’ll go too.” Mick heard something and walked over.

“If you guys get into trouble, I can help a lot.” He felt it was too dangerous for a few girls to go out alone.

“Me too.” Lei also came over at this point.

“Alright.”

It seemed that the five of them going together was inevitable. Hylial thought about it; there seemed to be no need to hide it anymore. Besides, they were all trustworthy friends, so she could just ask them to keep it a secret.

Currently, her various skills were roughly [Basic Swordsmanship Lv.4], [Military Swordsmanship Lv.4], [Basic Archery Lv.3], [Basic Spearmanship Lv.4], [Secret History Knowledge Lv.5], and [Gardening Skills Lv.4]. Among these, several combat-related skills required actual combat to break through.

After agreeing on the next day’s plan, everyone became excited. Komia was chattering about what to bring.

“Picnic basket, water, food, emergency gauze and medicine,” she listed.

“Isn’t that too much trouble?” Kaelen couldn’t help but interrupt. They were going hunting, not picnicking, and carrying too much would slow them down.

“Ah, really?” Komia was disappointed.

“Me, carry.” Lei thumped his chest with his fist, emitting a deep sound.

“See, Lei agreed to help us carry it, so it’s not a big problem,” Komia raised her hand.

Kaelen could only shake her head helplessly and agree.

…

The next morning, the well-prepared group gathered at the gates of Burntstone City.

“Lia brought a lot of things too!” Komia looked curiously at the dark-haired girl.

Hylial was wearing a short black dress today that was easy to move in, exposing a bit of healthy, fair thigh. Below that were black over-the-knee socks to ward off the chill of late autumn. On her upper body, she wore a fitted, long-sleeved hunting outfit, with a belted leather corset around her waist, which could hold a quiver and a short sword, and also provided some protection.

She held a longbow in one hand, her black hair flowing, her posture light and agile, like an elf emerging from the forest.

“Wow, today’s Lia is just incredibly charming!” Komia exclaimed excitedly. The others also looked at her with wide eyes.

The focus of their gazes made Hylial a bit shy, especially since she was wearing a short skirt today, which was slightly revealing.

“Let’s go, let’s go, stop staring,” she could only urge everyone to move on helplessly.

“Alright, alright, hee hee hee, if we keep staring at Lia, she’ll get shy,” Komia covered her mouth and chuckled, understanding the girl’s embarrassment.

Leaving Burntstone City, they arrived at the mountain forest a few miles outside the city, where morning dew still covered the grass and the air was fresh.

Kaelen walked at the front, followed by Mick. Both had rich hunting experience. The other three followed behind, with Hylial holding her bow and responsible for vigilance, Lei carrying a large amount of luggage, and Komia skipping back and forth, looking around and enlivening the atmosphere.

The five of them didn’t find the journey boring. Along the way, they chatted about recent interesting events. Occasionally, Hylial would stop to pick herbs and mushrooms from the roadside and put them into the basket Komia was carrying.

Large wild beasts were rare around Burntstone City. Even if there were any, they would usually be cleared out by the city’s hunters to ensure the safety of merchants and travelers.

Along the way, they didn’t spot any large living creatures, but they did encounter some small rabbits and forest hawks.

“There’s a rabbit over there, Lia~” Komia whispered.

“Mmm.” Hylial had already drawn her bow. Her posture was standard, her expression serious. Almost as soon as she finished drawing the bow, the arrow flew out and pinned the rapidly running rabbit in the bushes.

(‘Basic Archery’ proficiency +6)

“A direct hit, excellent!” Komia, now a fangirl, cheered loudly. Kaelen, who had been ready to follow up with a shot, put down her bow.

If Hylial had missed, she would have fired a second arrow to prevent the prey from escaping, which was common practice for hunters supporting each other.

Mick stepped through the ankle-deep grass, picked up the rabbit and the arrow, and brought them back.

“Nice, we can have meat tonight,” he swayed the grey rabbit with a smile.

“Let’s go, we’ll continue and find more prey for Lia to practice on.”

Although the five of them were moving together, everyone, intentionally or unintentionally, allowed Hylial to practice archery more, and also protected and reminded her to prevent any accidents. This feeling of being cared for and pampered by everyone made Hylial feel a bit unaccustomed at first, but also a faint warmth.

Mick and Kaelen had plenty of hunting experience and didn’t need to practice today. However, this might be Hylial’s first time hunting in the mountains, so they naturally had to take extra care of her.

Usually, Hylial tutored them, so they were quite happy to return the favor today.

The five gradually ventured deeper into the forest along the mountain path. Along the way, Hylial became more proficient with her bow. Coupled with the adjustment of her breathing technique, her physical strength remained in good condition. This practical training gave her many new insights into archery, breathing techniques, and outdoor tracking.

Indeed, practical combat was the fastest way to improve, and her ‘Basic Archery’ was gradually on the verge of a breakthrough.

In the afternoon, the group found a clearing in the forest and rested.

“Finally, I can rest.” Komia plopped down on a rock, her legs aching, not wanting to move at all.

Among the five, she was the only one who didn’t know the breathing technique, and her physical strength and endurance were the lowest. The fact that she could walk this far was largely due to her usual active and cheerful nature.

The others couldn’t help but smile at her. They didn’t urge her to get up, but instead surveyed the surroundings before returning to sit down.

“I remember there’s a fur blanket in the bag that we can put down,” Kaelen mentioned.

Rocks were scarce in the forest, and if they sat directly on the ground, there would be many bugs and ants. Besides, they were also planning to eat something.

“Alright.” Lei put down his large backpack, and Kaelen opened it, found the rolled-up fur blanket, spread it out, and the group sat around it, easing their fatigue.

“Lia, aren’t you tired?”

Kaelen was quite curious. The dark-haired girl seemed to have even better stamina than herself, showing no signs of sweating, and her movements were as light as when they first entered the mountains.

Could Lia really have elven blood? Kaelen suddenly remembered this, but unfortunately, Hylial didn’t have the characteristic pointed ears of an elf.

“Not yet.” The girl set down her longbow and knelt gracefully on the mat.

After a moment’s thought, Hylial also took off the glasses she had been wearing and placed them aside. At this point, not only was her figure graceful, but her captivating beauty also became apparent, surprising the others once again.

“I feel like Lia is getting more and more beautiful,” Komia voiced everyone’s inner thoughts.

The others all agreed, but seeing the girl’s shy expression, they also found her a bit cute and interesting, so they temporarily gave up teasing her.

“What’s there to eat? I’m hungry,” Mick looked at the picnic basket covered with a cloth.

“Right, right, food!” Komia pulled back the cloth, revealing the contents.

The picnic food was prepared by Komia’s mother, including pies, bread, smoked sausage, and two bottles of beer.

Clean water was difficult to obtain in the wilderness, while alcohol was easier to preserve and clean. (The fermentation process of alcohol kills bacteria.)

“Thanks,” Mick mumbled first, then took a piece of pie and put it in his mouth, devouring it eagerly.

The pies contained a small amount of dried fruit and vegetable chunks, providing a balanced diet with the bread.

The group ate and talked about the situation in the mountains.

“I haven’t seen any traces of wolves along the way,” Hylial recalled.

“That’s because the city’s Adventurers’ Guild regularly sweeps the area,” Kaelen explained, biting into her bread.

“Burntstone City is Viscount Xuefeng’s direct territory and residence, a place for surrounding villages and towns to trade. Safety is very important, so the local Adventurers’ Guild must assist in clearing the surrounding environment. If they do a good job, they don’t have to pay extra taxes to the lord.” She was experienced in the area of hunters.

“Ah, that’s a bit boring,” Mick thought, hoping to hunt a larger prey later to test the results of his recent training.

Like Hylial, he had been studying and training with Scholar Hyde this month, didn’t have the opportunity to participate in adventure missions, and hadn’t had a suitable chance to test his progress.

“Isn’t it good to be safe?” Komia expressed her incomprehension.

After finishing their meal, Komia took out five wooden cups and poured beer for everyone.

“Ha, this taste is really good!” Mick took a big gulp, almost emptying his cup.

Hylial, on the other hand, drank more slowly, savoring the subtle taste of beer on her tongue.

The birds chirped sweetly in the mountains, and the cool breeze of late autumn was refreshing. Even without hunting, picnicking here was a beautiful thing.

(End of this chapter)