The Cornflower Witch

Chapter 108: The Trial Grounds

After a good night's rest, Sylutia didn't wake up until noon the next day.

She changed into a pure white dress with pale yellow ribbons and lace, swept her hair to one side over her shoulder, and walked downstairs.

Lady Franne hadn't gone out today. She was sitting in the living room flipping through a book. Seeing the silver-haired girl in the dress come down, she nodded slightly and beckoned.

"Come here, Tia~"

"Okay." The girl, who had originally intended to sneak something to eat to fill her stomach, could only turn around and come to Lady Franne's side.

Noticing the girl's little action, Lady Franne found it somewhat amusing and told her.

"Wait a little longer. Lining is already preparing a sumptuous lunch."

"Okay." Sylutia obediently sat on the sofa.

"You were too tired yesterday, so I didn't tell you much about the Hidden Grove. Today, I can probably have a proper talk with you about it."

"First, how much do you know about the Hidden Grove?""It's probably a place where various organizations recruit students," the girl answered based on previous information.

"Yes, but that's not entirely correct." Lady Franne thought for a moment before replying.

"'Hidden Grove' is just a general term. In reality, it refers to multiple outposts in the Shadow Worlds of the southern continent. They absorb countless talented young people and send them in. A portion quickly grows and matures, becoming the backbone forces of various schools and organizations that resist the Distortion and acquire resources."

"But those who fail will also die silently in the grove, unknown to anyone." She propped her head on one hand, her golden hair slightly curled.

"I rarely tell you about my past, Tia."

"I once had a very close companion who also entered the local Hidden Grove. At first, she wrote me a letter every month, telling me about the progress she made and her growth. You could tell she was in a very good state back then."

"But a few years later, she began to grow anxious because the tasks on her shoulders gradually became heavier, and she started falling behind the pace of other geniuses her age."

"Afterwards, she had to participate in more dangerous but higher-rewarding missions. Until eight years later, I never received another reply from her."

"Many years later, after I advanced to the Third Tier, I joined the loose organization 'Sunflower Cottage.' Although it's a very small organization, because its founder was once a member of the 'Four Seasons Alliance' and had deep connections within the Grove, I managed to get a letter of recommendation from him and went to the Grove branch where my companion disappeared."

"After spending several months investigating, I finally found her name in the records. The last information recorded there was that she and her entire adventuring party went missing while searching for a 'Crimson Ape' in a hidden Shadow World."

"'Crimson Ape' is a monster from the Shadow World. Its eyeballs and heart can be refined into a special elixir called 'Crimson Stone Dew.' This is an elixir that allows the 'Bloodline' Aspect to advance steadily. It's also a rare potion for many Transcendents who find advancement difficult, used to impact the Third Tier."

"Ordinary students simply can't afford it and have to go into the Shadow Worlds themselves to find the raw materials for refinement."

"In truth, her talent was no less than mine. You can imagine, being able to advance to the Second Tier within five years and attempting to impact the Third Tier before the age of thirty, this already exceeded many people's imaginations."

"I can only say that excessive anxiety and haste were her undoing. But that's just the atmosphere of the Hidden Grove. It cultivates Transcendents in an extremely efficient manner, but along the way, it also ruthlessly eliminates students who are unlucky, lack talent, or take the wrong path."

"In the past, many organizations didn't concern themselves with the Shadow Worlds or the abyss beneath the Twilight Sea. But those organizations that ventured into the Shadow Worlds early on experienced extremely rapid development. Fresh blood constantly joined, new organizational backbones grew, they became powerful, and began to squeeze the living space of other organizations."

"Under such circumstances, all parties, organizations, and schools were forced to participate in the competition within the Shadow Worlds. Even the royal family of Regas, which you are familiar with, has a branch outpost in the Shadow World, where they cultivate reserve squires for the 'Fir Knight Corps.'"

"The Candlefort School is slightly special. They don't participate much in the conflicts of the Shadow Worlds but are deeply involved in the governance of secular kingdoms. Few compete with them in this domain, so perhaps the only organization ordinary people know of is the Candlefort School. In fact, there are many organizations more powerful than the Candlefort School. For example, the 'Four Seasons Alliance' I mentioned earlier is one of the three strongest forces on this continent, secretly controlling many countries from behind the scenes."

"The so-called Hidden Grove is the entry point for these organizations to recruit new members. By going there, you will receive resource cultivation from the local Grove and have dedicated teachers impart various knowledge to you."

"These benefits come at a cost. Every course requires payment, and the cultivation resources given to students must be slowly repaid over several years."

"However, as long as you advance and join one of the organizations, all previous cultivation expenses will be repaid by the organization on your behalf, written off in one stroke."

"Talented students, or students with special skills and abilities, are very popular there. Various organizations will offer favorable conditions to recruit them."

"There are many benefits to joining an organization. First, the organization helps with resource gathering. Also, safety is guaranteed to a certain extent, because wantonly murdering an organization's members will incur retaliation from that organization."

"Originally, I didn't care about this. But a few years ago, also considering safety issues, I joined the relatively loose and lenient 'Sunflower Cottage.' As a member of the organization, I have the obligation to hand over a portion of refined 'Sunflower Seed Oil' every year. Apart from that, 'Sunflower Cottage' doesn't have many demands. Of course, they also don't provide many benefits. That's the price of freedom."

After listening to Lady Franne's narration, Sylutia finally understood what kind of place the Hidden Grove was.

"If I don't go to the Hidden Grove, would it be very difficult to pursue studies through other means?" she asked Lady Franne.

"Correct. The temperaments of various organizations differ. Without a recommendation, it's hard for them to trust you. Therefore, joining one would probably take several years, working for the peripheral organization and passing their assessments before you can gradually get closer to the core organization."

"And once you change locations, your previous accumulation is reset to zero, requiring you to rebuild trust and relationships from scratch." Lady Franne commented.

"People without organizational backing find it very hard to gain others' trust, just like a stranger with an unclear background. When you have an identity from a certain organization, as long as that organization's reputation isn't bad, you can easily gain the trust of others."

"Of course, if you do something that damages the organization's reputation, there will be corresponding disciplinary measures within the organization, some even exceptionally severe."

"For the Candlefort School, writing books and establishing theories is extremely important. Plagiarism is also considered absolutely intolerable. Now you understand why Scholar Hyde's punishment was so severe when he was falsely accused back then."

"According to the previous plan, if you continued to study by my side, I could recommend you to the peripheral organization of the 'Four Seasons Alliance' in two years. You would work for them for five years to become a formal peripheral member. To truly join the 'Four Seasons Alliance,' you would need to perform exceptionally well within the peripheral organization, demonstrating special talent and strength."

"If you go to the Hidden Grove, as long as you achieve remarkable results within three years, you can directly join the 'Four Seasons Alliance' as a preparatory apprentice and begin enjoying many of the organization's benefits and perks."

"And after stepping into the Third Tier and officially becoming a member of the 'Four Seasons Alliance,' they will let you choose one of the four seasonal potions to bestow upon you. If you choose the 'Spring Potion,' you gain twenty years of youth without aging. If you choose the 'Summer Potion,' your body will be revitalized, healing any injury or illness, including severed limbs and disabilities. If you choose the 'Autumn Potion,' your Aspect will be refined and condensed, making it easier to impact the next stage. If you choose the 'Winter Potion,' your bodily state will stagnate, frozen in slumber for sixty years."

"Of course, if you're not interested in the 'Four Seasons Alliance,' you can also join other organizations, such as 'Moonfall Forest,' 'Holy White Knight Hall,' 'Rainbow Colored Glass Vial,' 'Magic Eye Sect.' These are all relatively well-known and powerful organizations. Their new members receive various precious benefits."

"The advantage of the Hidden Grove is that the achievements and grades you earn inside are universally recognized by all organizations. This is much easier than in the outside world and also gives you more choices."