The Cornflower Witch Chapter 95

Chapter 95

Ogre

On the plains outside the forest, Yero stood by Scholar Hyde, asking about the assessment.

“Teacher, this mountain forest seems to be particularly different from ordinary forests,” he said, lowering the telescope in his hand.

“Yes, it should be the work of a witch,” Scholar Hyde’s eyes were deep as he recalled some past events.

“A witch?” Yero was quite surprised.

“Indeed, you must have heard similar rumors. During the early days of the Regas Kingdom, witches secretly participated.”

“Such rumors do have some basis. Their strength is formidable, but their upbringing and system are completely different from the Candlefort School that you and I belong to,” Scholar Hyde thought for a moment.

“If my guess is correct, the one who created this assessment ground should be a powerful ‘Nightmare’ affinity witch.”

“Their power is enough to infect the forest, causing it to undergo some kind of change.”

…

Inside the forest, Hylial, gripping her black steel short sword, was battling several black wolves that attacked her.

These black wolves had blood-red eyes and black fur. They lacked the untamed ferocity of Tee wolves, but instead possessed a chilling, maddening disregard for pain.

The black blade swirled with her body, carving a sharp semicircle that slashed one black wolf in half. Another frenzied black wolf fearlessly leapt into the blood, biting at the girl’s sleeve.

By this time, three dead black wolves lay at Hylial’s feet, while the remaining four did not flee, still swarming her, attempting to tear and knock her down.

Seeing this, Hylial no longer hesitated. She reached for the lantern at her waist, and then an orange-red ring of fire bloomed in the dark woods, eliciting several painful wolf howls.

The remaining four black wolves, now ablaze, tumbled and thrashed madly within the forest, their burning bodies scorching the damp leaves into white smoke.

Soon, their movements slowly ceased, their bodies turning charred and black as they collapsed to the ground.

With sword in hand, Hylial approached and examined their condition, getting a rough idea of what was happening.

It was getting more dangerous. These wolves were probably ordinary wild beasts originally, but having been corrupted by the ‘Nightmare’ affinity, they had become exceptionally frenzied, and their strength and speed had partly increased.

Had all the beasts in the entire mountain been affected?

If this was the work of the examiners, then how high-ranked a professional would it take to cast such a large-scale spell? The girl felt she needed to readjust her understanding of high-level professionals.

…

Before night fell, Hylial finally followed a faint trail and found the hidden spring on the mountainside.

Cool spring water flowed from the rocky crevices of the mountain, icy to the touch, with an extremely faint ‘Mist Shadow’ affinity.

Carefully taking out a portion, she tasted it in small sips and found a hint of sweetness, which must be the ‘sweet water spring’ the instructor mentioned.

Afterward, Hylial took out the three small water bottles she carried, filled them with the liquid, corked them, and secured them in the straps around her waist.

With that, the first objective was complete.

She looked at the darkening sky and decided to find a relatively safe place to rest for the night.

The lantern in her hand rotated simply, opening a portion of the sealed iron grate, revealing the Blazing Sun Orchid blooming inside the glass bottle. It emitted a faint glow, illuminating the mountain path ahead of the girl.

Invisible light and heat spread outward in ripples, scorching any mosquitoes, insects, or poisonous ants that approached. Hylial, expertly wielding this specially made lantern, walked safely through the dark mountains.

However, the other students were not as safe.

Mick squatted beneath a cracked cliff, a bonfire burning brightly before him, sending plumes of smoke rising. Yet, it couldn’t fend off the onslaught of mosquitoes and other insects, leaving him in utter misery.

“There are so many mosquitoes here,” he muttered, pulling out a small piece of mosquito repellent and lighting it, causing it to emit trails of smoke.

“I wonder where Brother Jero and his team are now. This should be where they camped a few nights ago.” He had followed Jero’s team’s path, which had been smooth, encountering few beast attacks, but he hadn’t found any clues about the spring.

“That’s enough for now. I’ll sleep well tonight; tomorrow I need to pick up the pace.” He poked the bonfire in front of him, picked up his thin blanket, wrapped himself in it, and leaned against a nearby rock.

…

On the other side, Kaelen secured himself on a high branch to spend the night. Although it wasn’t a comfortable sleep, it was safer.

Komia also built a fire in the forest, cooking food for herself and the “dough” (presumably her white Tee wolf) for the evening.

“Don’t claw at it, it’s not cooked yet,” Komia said, pulling back the white Tee wolf’s paw and continuing to sprinkle salt to add flavor to the roasted rabbit meat.

Solin didn’t build a fire. After taking an antidote, he found a secluded spot, wrapped himself in a blanket, and half-buried himself in the dirt. By this time, he was too weak to move, able only to pray that no other beasts would discover him tonight.

Baron, the young nobleman, squatted on a rocky hillside, roasting an egg in front of him. He gazed at the distant mountains, calculating how long it would take to reach them tomorrow.

Other students either slept in caves, built temporary shelters from branches, or took an unusually challenging path.

Even at night, Iona didn’t stop. The power of the ‘Blazing Sun’ affinity in her body sustained her with enduring stamina. The torch in her hand illuminated the mountain path in the darkness, gradually bringing her closer to where the spring water flowed.

…

The next morning, Hylial awoke from under the large tree where she had slept, then stretched and stood up.

She had slept well last night. The lantern in front of her not only provided stable light and heat but also deterred many weaker beasts, keeping them from approaching.

If the starting points of the students resembled a ‘U’ shape, then their current positions were gradually converging towards the center of the ‘U’, continuously increasing the probability of them meeting.

…

“Hoo, hoo—”

A student ran frantically through the mountains, clad in chain mail with a surcoat, his sword nowhere to be seen. Behind him, a tall figure continually pushed aside branches, playfully chasing the student like a chick.

“Ogre, ogre… there’s an ogre here,” the student stammered, his eyes filled with terror as he stumbled.

“Awoo—” The tree canopy behind him was once again torn apart by a crude, blue hand, revealing a head with a thick, single horn.

Hideously ugly, clad in tattered beast hide, this ogre stood nearly three meters tall. It swung a wooden club from its massive arm at the student hiding beneath the tree.

The student quickly rolled away, but the rough wooden club still grazed a part of him, directly breaking and twisting one of his arms. The intense pain made him cry out in agony.

“Why, why is there an ogre in the assessment…” He was covered in mud and blood, muttering as he fled with his last ounce of strength.

As a great enemy of humanity, ogres were intolerable to all secular nations. Whenever they appeared, they were hunted down, yet one had appeared here.

“Hmph, hmph…” The ogre watched the wailing student, emitting a chilling laugh. Then, its large foot advanced, crushing the mountain soil as one hand reached for the unfortunate student.

Soon, cries of terror and agony echoed through the mountains, startling flocks of birds.

This was the first casualty in this assessment.

(End of this chapter)