The Cornflower Witch Chapter 65

Chapter 65: Visitors from Afar

After spending a day with Winnie, Hylial and Talil returned in the evening, content.

This time, not only did they express their gratitude to Sister Winnie, but they also learned a lot about the preliminary assessment for the Hidden Grove.

It seems to be held once every two years. Four years had passed since Winnie’s assessment, and the previous one was not presided over by Scholar Hyde, who had retired. The one who received a slot then was a commoner from Burntstone City. His father was a Merchant Guild employee, and their family was well-off enough to support his education. He also possessed considerable talent, demonstrating special aptitude in the ‘Dead Cinder’ affinity.

At just seventeen years old, he had mastered two abilities of the ‘Dead Cinder’ affinity and successfully killed the target of the second round of assessment using his self-made ‘Corpse Poison’, thus earning a qualification.

As for Winnie’s batch, the two who ultimately eliminated their targets were a skilled hunter, who significantly weakened the target’s stamina with special traps before finishing it off, and a warrior, who defeated the target in a direct confrontation with a great axe.

Although the young warrior was severely injured after killing the target, his courageous performance impressed Viscount Xuefeng and Scholar Hyde, earning him a slot.

Over the past few days, Hylial had finally integrated the Dew Prayer Method and Branch Combing Method she had learned previously, completing her job change to [Gardening Apprentice].

Afterward, her destiny card changed from [Girl in the Sea of Flowers] to [Gardening Apprentice Girl], and its effects, based on [Identification Eye] and [Nature Sense], were further enhanced by [Dew Prayer · Branch Combing Lv.2]. This ability is essentially the fusion of the former Dew Prayer Method and Branch Combing Method, leaving two more empty slots in her ability panel.

This method of transforming a destiny card into a specific profession allows for the integration of multiple abilities, thereby freeing up slots for the individual to continue growing and learning. It is an important characteristic for assessing the strength of an extraordinary individual.

Organizations with profound legacies often possess many secret methods for condensing high-tier professions, which is why their members are stronger than ordinary extraordinary individuals.

With empty slots in her ability panel, Hylial could now begin learning new abilities.

Returning to Madame Faran’s mansion, Hylial again took out the transcribed ‘Bloom-Flowering Method’ and reviewed it. The learning difficulty of this ability was noticeably higher, and even she couldn’t fully master it after a week.

She needed to practice more, the young girl mumbled to herself, then walked over to the ‘Swan Orchid’ in the pot. She gently placed her hand on the orchid, closed her eyes to sense it, and then synchronized her ‘Jade Nectar’ affinity with the Swan Orchid, drawing out the ‘Jade Nectar’ power also contained within it.

This subtle feeling was like searching for a fragile thread in the dark; it required extreme patience to catch, and it was elusive, with no other methods to assist.

Sometimes it felt like pure luck, Hylial thought.

This time, she finally found that thread, gradually aligning her rhythm with it. Following this subtle perception, she connected with the Swan Orchid beneath her hand, and a wonderful sensory synchronization unfolded. It was as if she were the Swan Orchid itself, experiencing an entirely different world through the plant.

This miraculous enlightenment immersed Hylial, and she lost all sense of time.

When she finally came to, the outside world was completely dark.

How long had it been? It was already eight o’clock in the evening, Hylial was surprised at the rapid passage of time. Then, she realized that she had seemingly fully utilized the Bloom-Flowering Method, without the usual interruptions or loss of perception she had experienced before.

[Bloom-Flowering Method Lv.1 (Jade Nectar)]: A magic for flowering, which can stimulate the faint efficacy of flowers themselves, making them spread to the surrounding environment. (Completion 4/300)

Phew, I finally learned it. It’s been a week, I wonder if I’ve become dumb, or if there’s something wrong with my learning method, the young girl mused.

Hylial, who had initially learned this ability, was somewhat happy. She stood up, wanting to tell Madame Faran, but unfortunately, Madame Faran had left again yesterday and she didn’t know when she would be back.

Never mind, I’ll continue studying. Also, she needed to check on how the ‘Fire Cloud Orchid’ was growing.

Arriving at her small private garden, it was now equipped with transparent glass panes, making the entire space like a delicate glass greenhouse. Some of Hylial’s flowers and plants were placed here.

At night, Hylial came here with a candle, placing it on a tray stand nearby, and then hopefully approached the row of Fire Cloud Orchids.

Compared to the native Swan Orchid, the Fire Cloud Orchid was a new species artificially selected by gardeners, with higher environmental requirements. If not cultivated properly, it would easily die, and could hardly survive in the wild.

[Fire Cloud Orchid] (Excellent-63): A variant of the Lily Orchid, with delicate flowers resembling crimson clouds and flames. Requires good light and ventilation, dislikes humidity, low temperatures, and fears direct sunlight and dryness.

They neither like humidity and low temperatures nor direct sunlight and dryness, so these specimens are much more difficult to care for than Swan Orchids.

Their growing environment requires a mixture of special red ironstone and fir bark. Watering should not be excessive but also not too little.

Holding a small watering can, Hylial pressed the nozzle, emitting a fine mist to give these Fire Cloud Orchids some moisture, then brought her hand close to the flower stems to sense their current growth.

It would probably take a while longer to improve their quality from excellent (60+) to outstanding (70+).

As for the ‘White Camellia’ next to it, it was much less demanding. The small saplings were slowly growing, currently in the vigorous branching stage. Its cultivation time was longer than the ‘Fire Cloud Orchid’, but the advantage was that it required less worry and was of lower difficulty.

After taking care of them, Hylial’s gaze turned to the ‘Bubble Grass’ nearby. This plant was growing well, but according to Madame Faran, given Hylial’s current strength, she probably wouldn’t be able to make them bloom. She would have to wait until she reached ‘Tier 2 – Jade Nectar’ to truly cultivate them.

‘Bubble Grass’ is an important raw material for ‘Floating Potions’. These potions are expensive, not only useful for preventing falls from great heights but also for certain ‘Sky’ affinity abilities, making them highly priced.

Picking up a notebook in the garden greenhouse, Hylial jotted down today’s watering amount and conditions, then closed the door and left.

At night, she looked at the ‘Swan Orchid’ under the glass cover by her bed, said ‘goodnight’, and drifted off to sleep.

In the dead of night, the rhythm of her breathing in her dream gradually synchronized with the Swan Orchid by her bed. It was as if she were practicing the ‘Bloom-Flowering Method’ in her dream, her rhythm growing ever closer to that of the ‘Swan Orchid’.

…

The next day, Hylial, as usual, watered the flowers in the morning, patrolled the flower fields, and handled some necessary minor issues.

But today seemed different from usual. Someone had rung the bell at the front gate.

Without Lining’s instruction, she expertly returned to her bedroom, changed into a bright yellow dress, groomed herself in front of the mirror, and then slowly descended the stairs.

Today’s guest was a middle-aged man who appeared to be in his thirties. He wore a black suit and had a sharp, military-like demeanor with a handsome, handlebar mustache beneath his nose.

Led by Lining, he waited patiently in the mansion’s front hall. When he heard Hylial descending the stairs, the man immediately stood up and bowed deeply to the beautiful and delicate young lady from afar.

“It is a pleasure to meet Miss Anluoer.” It seemed he had done his homework and knew of Hylial’s reputation in Burntstone City.

“Hello,” the young girl said, coming into the living room, briefly curtsied, and then sat down.

Lining silently served tea to both of them, then quietly stood behind Hylial.

“I came from the distant Wind Peak City, which is in the northern part of the Regas Duchy,” he began to introduce himself.

“Due to its proximity to the border battlefield, Wind Peak City requires a large supply of medical potions. I am the local Merchant Guild representative, and I have specifically come here to seek your assistance.”

“Medical potions, huh…” Hylial pondered thoughtfully.

Among the many extraordinary affinities in this world, those with healing effects are few, mainly dominated by Blazing Sun, Glorious Moon, Jade Nectar, and Blood Discipline, supplemented by Dragon Eye, Snailfish, and Sleepy Winter.

Each affinity has a different scope of efficacy. Blazing Sun and Blood Discipline are suitable for severe external injuries, while Glorious Moon and Jade Nectar are suitable for treating illnesses and internal injuries. As for Snailfish and Sleepy Winter, their healing methods are somewhat indirect, for example, by freezing or petrifying a severed wound, which could stop the bleeding.

Given that it was a battlefield, external injuries would certainly be prevalent, meaning there was an urgent need for ‘Blazing Sun’ and ‘Blood Discipline’ materials. Although sunflowers themselves do not have healing properties, their ‘Blazing Sun’ affinity can effectively enhance the effects of certain medicines and replenish the vitality of the injured.

(End of this chapter)