Cornflower Witch

Chapter 45 The Overflowing 'Dew-Praying Technique'

After a joyful dinner at Komia's house, Siltia returned home.

The 'Swan Orchid' in the backyard is still blooming quietly, and its faint, invisible ripples spread throughout the yard, as if the air itself has become a little cleaner.

"Has it already bloomed, Tia?" Talil carefully followed behind the girl, observing the beautiful swan orchids blooming in the glass dome.

"So beautiful~" she exclaimed naturally, just like Hilti, unable to tear herself away.

The two lingered in front of the swan orchid for a long time before going back to take a shower and go to bed.

……

Three days later, the end-of-month assessment that Maester Hyde mentioned would begin, and Iona was also present today.

"The question is on the blackboard, I've already written it down." He hung up the blackboard.

"The time is set at 2 hours, and I will collect the papers after the time is up."

"If you get into the top three, I will give you a bottle of 'blood wine,' and the first place winner will be taught an additional secret technique," he told everyone about the rewards.

"Now, let's begin answering the questions."

The quiet room was filled with the rustling sound of writing. Some people were looking at the questions on the blackboard, some were deep in thought, and some simply gave up and casually looked around.

Time passed slowly, and when Hilti finished all the questions, she saw that there were still 50 minutes left.

Should she hand in her paper? She glanced around; most people were still writing with their heads down, and even Iona was stuck on a certain question, feeling a bit frustrated.

"Let me check it one more time," she thought, and went through the questions and answers again.

More than twenty minutes passed, and Hilti had read the answers to the questions several times. After thinking for a moment, she decided not to wait any longer and stood up.

When she handed in her paper, the other students were somewhat surprised, but not really astonished. Hilti had been doing very well in the Secret History class for a long time, and their slow pace did not mean that the girl couldn't answer the questions.

Seeing that Hilti had finished ahead of schedule, Iona seemed to be affected mentally. She stopped paying attention to those difficult questions and instead turned her attention to the questions that followed.

Half an hour later, amidst the sighs of many students, the exam came to an end.

"This was so difficult," someone exclaimed as soon as it ended.

"The difficulty is completely different from before."

"Some things are very complicated to calculate." The exam involved a lot of math-related content.

"I noticed that Miss Iona was having a lot of trouble answering the questions."

"Only Tiya finished ahead of schedule. I wonder how well she will do on the test this time."

While everyone was discussing the exam, Iona leaned against the stone pillar by the door and listened quietly. Occasionally, she would raise her gaze to a corner of the classroom where a girl was surrounded by several friends, and a strange light would flash in her eyes.

Soon after, Mr. Hyde finished grading the papers and announced the results.

"Tia is first with 100 points, Iona is second with 84 points, Komia is third with 81 points... Mike has 68 points, Karen has 64 points, and Ray has 57 points." Such a gap in scores surprised the students present.

No one was surprised that Tia came in first place, but what was surprising was the huge score difference, because Tia and Iona usually got full marks, with Iona only occasionally scoring a few points less and falling behind Tia.

But after the exam became more difficult, everyone suddenly realized that the gap between the two students' scores was not as small as it seemed on the surface.

Mick, Karen, and Ray also showed significant improvement in their grades, escaping the bottom of the class and moving into the middle.

After hearing the rankings, Iona left the room without lingering.

“Lady Iona.” Valenie followed behind, trying to remind her that there were still prizes to collect. “Just deliver the wine to my residence later,” Iona said, then disappeared around the corner of the corridor.

"Uh, okay." Valerie was suddenly overjoyed to hear that she could go to Iona's place, and she didn't even care that Iona had left without saying goodbye.

Then Maester Hyde had his servants bring out three large bottles of blood wine, each containing about 800 milliliters, much larger than the 500-milliliter bottles sold by the Adventurers' Guild.

[Blood Wine] (Tier 1 - Blood Law): A medicinal wine made from the blood of extraordinary beasts. It can enhance abilities related to 'Blood Law' and is also very suitable for breathing exercises. (Brewed by Scholar Hyde, excellent quality)

The dark brown bottle was sealed with a stopper and covered with straw paper wrapped with string. The date and place of origin were written on the cover, indicating that it was brewed by Maester Hyde himself last month.

This is of much better quality than what the Adventurers' Guild sells. This bottle will probably cost 80-90 silver coins. After accepting it, Siltiya examined it for a moment and thought to herself.

"Thank you."

Hilti and Komia gratefully accepted the bottle of blood wine, a scene that left the other students present both envious and speechless. Ironically, it was these two girls, who did not major in breathing techniques, who received the blood wine.

"(＾－＾)V~ Happy!" Komia made a hand gesture.

As they were leaving, Baron and several noble students approached and asked directly if the blood wine could be resold.

“A gold coin, this is an incredible gift.” Baron held up a finger. He was a discerning person and knew that Maester Hyde’s ability to brew blood wine was far superior to that of the Adventurers’ Guild.

The other two noble students offered similar prices. In fact, even if they were rich, they wouldn't dare to ask for more than Baron, because Baron was the highest-ranking among them as the heir to Baron.

"Hmm... okay, here you go." Komia thought for a moment, then handed over the blood wine to exchange for money, since she didn't need it anyway.

Then she came to Hilti's place, and after thinking about it, she decided to stay behind.

"I won't use it; I plan to keep it for other purposes."

Barron was a little annoyed, but now that he had one bottle, he didn't care so much about the remaining one.

"Suit yourself, you won't find such good prices outside." He waved his hand and left.

After the exam, everyone left. Because they had finished their exams, Sir Hyde gave them a half-day off, and they didn't have to train in the afternoon.

She put the blood wine in a bag and carried it back to her home.

This is?

She returned home and had just put her things down when she suddenly felt that the scent of 'Emerald Honey' wafting through the yard had become even stronger.

The expectant and joyful girl walked briskly to the backyard, where she saw three blooming 'Swan Orchids' as she wished, all of which were now displaying the complete 'Tier 1 - Emerald Honey' phenotype.

Like three graceful swans slowly spreading their wings, the three 'swan orchids' emitted a subtle halo. If they were in the wild, such flowers would surely attract many special animals. However, due to the glass enclosure and the fact that they were in the city, only she knew about them.

Lifting the glass dome and slowly bending down, Hiltiya gently touched the blooming 'Swan Orchid' with her hand. An invisible ripple of energy connected with it, greatly strengthening the 'Dew Prayer Technique' in her destiny chart. Originally not far from advancing, it directly stepped into the third stage.

【Dew-Gathering Technique Lv.3】(Emerald Honey): Gathers morning mist from the dawn, transforming it into emerald dew, which promotes growth and heals withered plants. (Increased extraction rate and purity of emerald dew water enhances its healing effect on withered plants.)

It seems that the path to becoming a gardener and cultivating extraordinary plants are complementary. Various abilities are used for cultivation, and then these cultivated plants will also benefit the gardener, accelerating its own growth.

When [Dew Prayer] reached Lv.3, Hilti felt as if she had filled a bowl with water, and the [Emerald Honey] elemental power within the [Dew Prayer Lv.3] ability card felt like it was about to overflow.

If the overflowing power of the [Emerald Honey] aspect is directed towards the [Sleeping Maiden] in the center of the destiny chart and nurtured for a period of time, she will likely be able to advance to 'Tier 1·Emerald Honey', and the additional effects of her destiny will also be related to the Dew Prayer Technique.

It seems that advancing to the next level is imminent, but for now, she stood up and touched the black strands of hair on her chest.

Now that the 'Swan Orchid' has been successfully cultivated, she is going to see Madame Fran. Perhaps, as a senior horticulturist, she can offer her better advice.

(End of this chapter)