The Cornflower Witch

Chapter 117: Division of Talent

Sylutia followed behind, watching Edgin handle the situation in front of him. It was obvious he was very powerful; the Slumbering Winter force he unleashed in an instant could rival Iona at full power.

If it were Iona against Edgin, she probably would have been defeated within minutes.

Is this the real genius headed to the Hidden Grove? The girl twirled a strand of hair around her finger, feeling a faint urge to catch up, determined to push herself harder.

But that was only her private thought. To Scholar Hyde and Lady Franne, this girl’s talent was astonishing. Keep in mind, Iona had been exposed to various secret arts since childhood and had studied at the Royal Academy for almost four years to reach her level, while this girl started from zero and completely caught up in only four to five months — and that didn’t even count the extra time she spent relearning things.

In the clearing ahead, Edgin drew the black-bladed, gold-etched longsword at his waist and, with a few simple motions, subdued the three tall Lizardmen. Invisible cold seeped out and froze them, leaving the three who had been so arrogant a moment ago trembling with chill.

Even though both sides were First Tier, the gap in strength was too pronounced.

“No wonder it’s Senior Edgin.”

“Senior Edgin is so strong.”

Those nearby murmured in admiration, and a few who didn’t know him began to ask around until they learned the blue-clad noble youth’s name.

Edgin (Slumbering Winter), Badge holder, Third Floor, Room 16.“Another First-Tier talent,” someone whispered.

“Are there so many geniuses this term?”

“According to what they summarized, there have been six First-Tier students and eleven Second-Tier students so far, and they all live on the upper three floors.”

“Oh, someone actually kept statistics?” someone asked curiously.

“Of course, and there’s even someone selling that intel. If you know in advance which student has talent and make connections, you’ll have a good support network inside the Grove later.”

“So where does Edgin rank in strength?”

“No one’s fought him, who knows, but from what they discuss, Edgin should be among the top six of this year’s students. After all, the other First-Tier students aren’t weak either.”

“Is the difference between First Tier and Second Tier that big?”

“That’s the standard the Hidden Grove developed from centuries of training experience. First-Tier students usually reach Second Tier within about two years; Second-Tier students might take three years; Fourth to Fifth Tiers need five years.”

“If it’s Sixth to Seventh Tier, it could take eight to ten years.”

“Ten years? That means they’d be around twenty-seven.”

“Right. Reaching Second Tier at twenty-seven would be excellent outside, but in the Hidden Grove it’s nothing special.”

Sylutia listened to the whispers around her. Though noisy, she could clearly discern and remember them.

She hadn’t expected such a talent grading system; it was the Hidden Grove’s own evaluation standard.

After Edgin taught the Lizardmen a lesson and retrieved the Serpent Blood Orb for that student, he told them to leave.

Back beside Sylutia, Edgin straightened his garment and said, “Sorry to have kept you waiting. Let’s continue.”

He then led Sylutia away from the crowd to continue touring this floor and explained what had just happened.

“I came up onto the Camel Tower three months ago. After some time, the accompanying teachers asked if I was willing to take a post maintaining student order.”

“If I agreed, I would receive 200 points upon arrival in the Grove. That’s a pretty generous reward.”

“What are points for?” Sylutia quickly thought of systems she’d seen in a past life.

“They have many uses, but the most common is exchanging for courses.”

“You should know, many abilities can’t be learned from oral instruction or text alone. Someone needs to demonstrate or guide you.”

“For example, the most common Breathing Technique can’t be described verbally — that rhythmic flow in the body and blood must be led by an instructor so others can slowly grasp it and then learn it.”

“For ordinary secret art courses below First Tier, one course costs around 50 points. More complex secret arts cost 100 points.”

“Points can also be exchanged for supplies, like incense for meditation, Blood Wine to train the Breathing Technique, restorative teas, and so on.”

“Can points be bought with money?” the girl asked curiously.

“They can’t be bought directly, but they can be purchased indirectly.” Edgin’s face showed a teasing expression.

“For example, if you’re assigned a task that grants points on completion, you could pay someone to do it for you and then submit it yourself. That’s one way.”

“Don’t the teachers intervene in that case?”

“They don’t. Some students come from poor backgrounds and need money. If someone’s willing to spend big, let them.”

“Generally, the exchange rate between points and gold is roughly one to two, so 50 points equals 100 gold coins.”

“Wait, so a course costing 100 points would be 200 gold coins — that’s expensive,” Sylutia said in surprise.

“That’s just the exchange rate. If you have students do tasks, one month can earn about 20 points, so in three months you can learn a course. It’s not that costly.” Edgin explained.

It was the same with Scholar Hyde; he only taught each student one special secret art. Sylutia had chosen the Dew Prayer Method and the Verdant Eye Potion formula, while Komea chose Meditation Method and Phantom Eye. Those were the subjects taught during a half-year course.

Still, many people couldn’t learn within that time. Less than half of the students actually completed learning a new ability in six months.

After understanding the importance of points, Sylutia chatted with Edgin about the Grove’s situation, curious how he knew so much.

“That comes from seniors who went before,” Edgin replied with slight puzzlement. Didn’t no one tell this girl?

Lady Franne didn’t grow up inside the Grove, and neither did Scholar Hyde. They knew the general situation but not the many details. Scorchstone City was small, and if a true talent emerged, most would go to the thriving places to develop rather than stay local.

It seemed her hometown, Scorchstone City, was rather information-poor. The girl rubbed her hair, resolving to talk more with people during this time to avoid missing important information.

In the afternoon, Edgin took Sylutia on a tour of the entire Camel Tower so she could get familiar with it. Afterwards they parted ways.

“My room is Third Floor, Room 16. If you’re free you can visit, but I’m usually only reliably in my room on Wednesday and Saturday afternoons. Other times I might be out on assignments.”

“If you want to make friends, it’s best to pick a regular time to stay in your room, or it’ll be hard for people to find you.”

“I understand, thank you, Senior.” Edgin looked roughly eighteen, certainly more mature in appearance than Sylutia.

They parted, and Sylutia returned to her own Room 22.

After walking all afternoon she was a little tired, so she lay down and napped. After dinner in the dining hall at six, it was time for her appointment with Florerella.

It was time. Sylutia picked up the glass jar holding the Fire Glow Orchid and walked down the corridor on the same floor, searching for Florerella’s room.