The Cornflower Witch

Chapter 113: Camel High Tower

The serpent bearing the world advanced upon the sea of clouds.

The camel bearing the high tower strolled amidst the mountain ranges.

...

When Sylutia stepped inside this tower building, her eyes gradually adjusted, and then she could see everything around her clearly.

The floor was covered with a dark red woven carpet. The surrounding walls and floor were crafted from black stone slabs. On both sides of the passageway were whale oil candlesticks that burned perpetually, emitting a faint scent of incense.

By the side of the door to this passage, a middle-aged man in a black trench coat walked over. He looked to be in his forties, with a faint aura of the Castle Aspect emanating from him.

"You are the student from Scorchstone City, I presume."

He opened the thick-bound book in his hand. The pages within flipped automatically without any wind, rustling as they turned, finally stopping on one page. On the yellowed paper, the name 'Sylutia' appeared, along with a line drawing of her features. On the side of the row recording this girl's information, two symbols were marked: a 'Golden Sunflower' and a 'Purple Night Flower'.

"Oh, it seems you've already caught the attention of some people." Noticing these two symbols, the man stroked his beard, then looked up. Seeing the badge beside Sylutia's collar, his eyes changed slightly.

"A Hidden Grove Badge. That means you must be an outstanding student who completed the three objectives." He nodded slightly."Very good. Afterwards, within the 'Camel Tower', you can stay in a room on the upper floors. There will also be dedicated maidservants to clean your room. As for dining, someone will take you there." After speaking, he raised his hand towards the page. Invisible strands gathered, forming a black key that appeared in his palm. The entire process was effortless.

"This is the key to your room. Go to the third floor, find a room that isn't locked, settle in, then insert the key into the keyhole. Wait a moment, and it will be ready for use."

[Room Key] (Castle): A key with special effects, capable of fitting with certain door locks.

"Pass through the hall, head towards the stairs at the back, and you can go upstairs."

"Go and rest for today. Later, someone will come to inform you about the situation within the 'Camel Tower'."

"Alright." Taking the black key, Sylutia held it in her palm and walked into the passage beside him, full of curiosity.

Walking along the carpeted path for over ten meters, she pushed open the door. What greeted her was a spacious hall larger than a football field. Here, students wearing various clothes, from different races, gathered in twos and threes. Some sat at tables on the side chatting, others hurried past, crossing the hall to go elsewhere.

In the middle of the hall stood a glowing white jade tree. The fluorescence emitted by its branches and leaves illuminated the entire hall. Besides this, there were also many candlesticks around the hall's perimeter, similarly lit with large candle lamps. Warm, yellow halos dotted every corner of the hall.

In this relatively noisy, bustling environment, Sylutia, who had just entered, didn't attract much attention. Only when she walked past did some people curiously glance at her silver hair, turning to look a few more times.

As Sylutia passed by a student with a leopard's head, her nose caught a faint scent of earth and grass. This was her first time seeing this kind of beast-like demi-human.

Continuing forward, there were also many students whose clothing styles were similar to hers, likely from the various countries in the southern part of the continent.

"Where has the Camel Tower reached now?" one student asked their companion.

"How should I know? The windows are mostly sealed. Only people on the upper floors can see outside." The student wearing a bright yellow noble's formal wear shrugged.

"However, I estimate we should be in the Kingdom of Ante by now. Further south is the edge of the continent, where there are only some small countries. We'll pass through them quickly."

"Going around like this, we should be heading to the 'Merchant Capital Alliance' at Meteorite Lake, and then onwards to the Hidden Grove."

"Probably another month's time."

"That's so long. I've been in this Camel Tower for almost half a year. It was still summer when I entered, and most of the clothes I brought are for summer." a female student complained.

"This Camel Tower only takes ten months to circle the various countries of the southern continent. That's already very fast." others shook their heads.

"About fifty-something countries, right? There are probably around eight thousand new students this term."

Carrying her heavy suitcase, Sylutia slowly made her way through the hall, her ears curiously listening to the things everyone was discussing.

Thanks to this life's special talent, she could easily sort out various conversations from the noisy environment and understand them simultaneously. Just in this short distance walking through the hall, she learned quite a few interesting things.

As Sylutia walked slowly forward, several people playfully chased each other across the hall. A girl in a dark red long dress walked while looking back, laughing and joking with her companions behind her. Not seeing Sylutia, she bumped right into her.

Faced with this situation, the young girl adjusted her posture slightly, letting the suitcase bear the impact while she stayed a bit further back.

"Sorry." She quickly apologized to Sylutia, then prepared to pull her companion away.

Regarding this, the silver-haired girl in the black dress didn't mind either, preparing to continue forward. However, the male companion of that girl walked over. His gaze was originally fixed on the dark red-dressed girl running away, only sweeping over Sylutia briefly.

No, after shifting his gaze away, he immediately turned back, noticing the silver badge pinned to Sylutia's chest.

Seeing this badge, his expression changed slightly. He immediately stepped forward.

"Apologies, Senior Sister. Just now, my companion bumped into you. Please do not take offense."

"It's fine. You may go." The girl's gentle, soft voice surprised him somewhat, but he quickly reacted again.

"Senior Sister just arrived, right? Your luggage is so heavy, let me help you carry it." As he spoke, he prepared to step forward and take it.

"This is quite heavy." The girl moved the suitcase aside slightly, somewhat reluctant to trouble an outsider.

"It's fine, it's what I should do." Saying this, he called out to the few people who had run farther away, beckoning them over.

"What's the matter, Taya?" The few companions walked over somewhat reluctantly.

"You ask what's the matter? You almost bumped into Senior Sister just now, you know that?" The tall, imposing young man who had been all smiles and courtesy towards Sylutia just seconds ago suddenly changed his demeanor, speaking sternly.

"What Senior Sister? I don't even recog..." As he spoke, one companion looked at the girl, noticing the badge by her collar.

"...I don't even recognize her? That is a great transgression. Greetings, Senior Sister. My sincerest apologies for earlier." He immediately stood straight, bowed deeply, causing the remaining two girls to also look utterly astonished.

By now, the two girls had also noticed the difference upon their companion's reminder. Their faces lost color, and they nervously apologized to Sylutia, then carefully bowed their heads and stood properly, looking ready to receive a reprimand.

This sudden change in situation took Sylutia by surprise. She guessed that the identity represented by the badge must be quite extraordinary.

Afterwards, following their enthusiastic suggestion, two of them helped Sylutia carry her heavy suitcase towards the stairs opposite the hall.

Continuously climbing upwards along the stairs, the group introduced the living environment here to Sylutia.

"Student dormitories are distributed from the 3rd to the 12th floors, top to bottom. Right now, we're at the hall on the 5th floor. Downwards, the 7th floor has many dining halls where you can eat. Further down, there are also places for activities and training."

"From the 20th floor downwards are where the servants live. They also keep some livestock and have indoor fields for cultivation there."

"What is the living environment like?" Sylutia asked curiously.

"Generally, it's four people to a room, with bunk beds similar to those in ship cabins."

"The bedrooms aren't very big, so everyone likes to come out for activities. The 5th, 6th, 8th, and 9th floors all have very spacious halls."

As they introduced things, they unknowingly arrived at the stairway entrance to the third floor. Two tall armored golems standing guard here raised their weapons, blocking the group.

"Those not wearing badges are forbidden from going upstairs." A cold voice issued from beneath the golems' armored visors.