Cornflower Witch

Chapter 37 The Girl Picking Mushrooms
The drizzle that had lasted for two days finally stopped.

As the new day begins, the morning light filters through the forest, and the clear chirping of birds echoes through the mountains.

Pushing open the window, Hirutiya gazed at the distant fields and sky, feeling a rare sense of clarity and tranquility.

She wanted to go out for a walk today; she didn't want to stay indoors reading anymore.

Compared to her, some trainees couldn't wait to rush into the fields, running and breathing excitedly.

After breakfast, Maester Hyde finally managed to gather everyone together.

"I doubt anyone is in the mood for class today, so I'll let you all go out for a walk and some exercise. But it's best if you go in groups to avoid any accidents." He then gave some more instructions before waving his hand and letting everyone disperse.

After receiving permission, many students sprang into action. Some noble students mounted their horses and rode straight out of the village, presumably to go for a ride.

As for the remaining ordinary students, many of them also agreed to go for a walk in the mountains and try hunting.

"The forests during the autumnal season are teeming with all sorts of animals, including common rabbits, deer, wolves, birds in the trees, foxes, wild boars, and more," Thorin explained to his classmates as he walked ahead.

A group of ordinary students followed behind him, including Hilti and a few others.

"The teacher said we shouldn't be too far apart, so we should just move around in these mountains ahead. If anything happens, we should shout loudly so that everyone nearby can hear us."

“No problem,” Lei replied in a muffled voice. Today, he was carrying a thick wooden stick, the very tip of which was even thicker than Hiltiya’s thigh.

Besides him, many of the other trainees also carried weapons, some with iron swords, some with longbows, and even the least armed with simple wooden guns.

After training in swordsmanship and combat skills for a long time, everyone was itching to test their strength. Although they had sparred a few days ago, a spar is still a spar; no blood could be drawn, and no direct attacks on vital points were allowed, which made them feel somewhat constrained.

Today is a rare day of relaxation, and many people want to find prey to practice their skills. If they can encounter a tigress running in the mountains, that would be even better. Not only can they test their strength, but they can also get a good pelt as a trophy.

At this moment, Hilti and the other two were also walking in the mountains after the rain, occasionally holding onto tree branches to go up and down the slope, and walking through the wet and still-damp fallen leaves.

"Komia, do you see those mushrooms over there?" Hiltiya raised her hand and pointed to the grass under the big tree.

"There, mushrooms?" Komia and Karen turned their gazes toward them.

Hiltia carefully stepped on the moss-covered stones and came to the big tree on the slope. She parted the wet grass to reveal a mushroom with a light blue gradient color.

She continued to use her fingers to pry open the soft soil and carefully picked the mushroom with the light blue cap.

【Blue Rain Mushroom】(Quality - Excellent): A rare mushroom that grows after rain. It is somewhat toxic. Direct consumption can neutralize some of the effects of the 'Blazing Sun' phase. It can also be used to extract medicines.

She had seen such a plant in books, but she never expected to actually find it in the forest today. It seemed that a single one could sell for 1 silver coin, she recalled the description in the book.

"Wow, is this poisonous? The color is so unusual." Komia and Karen gathered around.

“Yes, it’s poisonous, but it’s also very useful.” Hiltiya nodded.

"If we get it to the Pharmacists' Guild, they'll pay to buy it."

"Doesn't that mean we can earn a lot?" Komia exclaimed excitedly.

"Hmm, I'll look around some more; there might be some nearby." Thinking of her dwindling savings, Hiltiya knew she really needed to find a way to get some more.

She then walked around the area again, and although she didn't find a second 'Blue Rain Mushroom', she did find other useful herbs.

"This is a gravel grass, this is a chicken neck flower, and this is a sickle vine." Although these herbs have not reached the first-order nature, they are still essential auxiliary ingredients for many potion refining processes.

"I don't understand, Tia, why don't you just tell me how much it can sell for?" Komia carefully put it away in her basket.

“These three plants can probably sell for 30 copper coins.” The girl held up three fingers.

“I earn more than my dad does in a day.” Komia was now completely excited.

"Let me look for it with you, and then the three of us can split the spoils equally," Silti suggested, as she couldn't take much by herself.

"Okay~" Komia raised her hand.
Karen was a little embarrassed, but her family wasn't exactly well-off either, and a sense of anticipation rose in her eyes.

Then the three of them stopped hunting altogether and followed Hiltiya through the rain-soaked forest, stopping and looking for useful herbs and mushrooms.

Under the bushes among the trees, in the hidden crevices of rocks, in the recessed pits, and in the places covered by tree branches, this girl could always easily find those hidden things.

Once again, Hilti crouched among the fallen leaves on the slope, carefully digging up a tiny seedling and scooping it out with both hands.

"What is this, Tia?" The two looked at it curiously.

“This is a seedling of a bubble flower,” Hiltia recalled from the encyclopedia she had seen before.

“Bubble flowers are very fragile, especially when they bloom. However, after they bloom, the petals wrap around each other into a sphere, and when there is a breeze, they float up lightly and fly to very high places.” “These kinds of flowers and plants have a rare ‘sky-high’ characteristic. If cultivated properly, they can yield very valuable raw materials.” Holding it in her hand, Hilti carefully examined it.

There are no other bubble flowers around here, so it's very likely that bubble flower seeds drifted down from the sky from somewhere unknown.

It felt as if she had suddenly landed in these mountains, and she suddenly remembered when she had just woken up in the forest.

Carefully wrapping the bubble flower seedling in the cotton cloth in her bosom, Hiltiya put it away.

The two were delighted to see that they had harvested rare flowers and plants.

"So, are you planning to take Hiltiya back and carefully nurture her?" Karen asked curiously.

"Well, I don't know much about the cultivation conditions for bubble flowers, so I'll probably have to figure it out for a while." Now that she has the Emerald Eye Potion, she can solve many problems.

For the next two days, the three of them spent most of their time traveling through mountains, rivers, and valleys, searching for useful herbs, which they then carefully preserved and brought back to the village.

On the third day, Maester Hyde gave another lecture before concluding their herb-gathering journey.

"You must have had quite a hunt these past few days," Maester Hyde heard his students excitedly discussing what they had caught that day almost every day.

Compared to ordinary people, these trainees generally know breathing techniques, and their physical strength, endurance, and combat ability are much stronger. They can catch animals that many villagers cannot or dare not catch.

“Of course, I hunted two tigresses.” Baron proudly displayed the orange wolf pelt in his hand.

"Thorin caught two of them too," someone muttered quietly.

“I hunted four tigresses, three deer, twelve rabbits, and a night falcon,” Mick said slowly, as if it were a very ordinary thing.

"Oh, so many, could it be cheating?"

"How can you cheat at something like this? Are you going to buy it now?" someone retorted.

Everyone was surprised by Mick's catch. Only then did many people really notice the boy with triangular eyes. He looked a bit fierce, but they didn't expect him to be such a skilled hunter.

“Mick, you grew up in the mountains, didn’t you?” Scholar Hyde asked, stroking his beard.

"Yes." He nodded, his slightly fierce gaze sweeping over the person who had just questioned him.

“Very good. Everyone has their own strengths, and there’s no need for us to compare ourselves in this respect.” Scholar Hyde shook his head slightly, then turned his gaze to the black-haired, bespectacled girl beside him.

"Tiya, tell everyone what you've learned these past two days."

Sigh, to be honest, she had originally planned to continue living a low-key life of development. Hilti was somewhat surprised, but now that Teacher Hyde had spoken up, she couldn't keep it a secret any longer.

"I didn't go hunting; instead, I went to gather herbs and mushrooms with my companions," she explained simply before continuing her report.

"I picked about 321 herbs, including 181 rare ones, 58 rare mushrooms, and 17 vine-like herbs." As she spoke, she took some out of her pocket and placed them in front of her.

"Are there that many?" Many students were shocked and surprised.

Even the most renowned herb gatherers in the Apothecary Guild couldn't possibly have such a harvest in just two days. Besides, Luanshu Village isn't exactly a place rich in herbs or remote. If there really were so many valuable herbs, they would have been collected long ago.

Seeing that many students were skeptical, Bachelor Hyde clapped his hands to quiet everyone down.

“I have examined all the herbs that Tiya collected. The quantity is correct, and some of them are even of very good quality.” He nodded in approval.

"As I said before, everyone has their own strengths. Tia has extremely high talent and ability as a gardener."

“Not everyone has to walk the same path, and what the masses admire may not be entirely suitable for you. So I am very happy to see you truly find what you love and then firmly walk down that path.”

Being used as a role model by the teacher reminded Hilti of her middle school days in her previous life, and she shook her head slightly.

Actually, her swordsmanship and combat skills are quite good; she's not as one-sided as the teacher said.

However, since everyone has misunderstood, it seems to be a good result, at least it avoids a lot of trouble. Otherwise, she would have to find a way to explain why she is better than her peers in actual combat without the guidance of a famous teacher or daily sword practice.

Explaining these reasons would be too much trouble, and she is someone who dislikes trouble.

Throughout the day, Teacher Hyde continued to tell everyone about various things in the mountains, such as the habits of many animals, their activity cycles, and common mountain herbs. However, due to time constraints, he only covered the most practical parts so far.

"That concludes today's lesson. We'll give you another day of activities tomorrow, and then we'll head back the day after tomorrow."

"Oh~" the students cheered excitedly again.

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(End of this chapter)