The Cornflower Witch

Book 2: Chapter 27: The Adventure Team's Invitation

Vol 2 Chapter 27: The Adventure Team's Invitation

After listening to the staff member's description, Sylutia took the booklet handed to her and flipped through it. It listed several resource points near the 'Fir Black Forest' and three secret realms.

The first secret realm, "Shattered Gravel Shore," was located by heading south along the small river. Occasionally, 'Fruit-Eating Rats,' 'Astringent Honeycombs,' and 'Verdant-Crimson Berries' could be found in the bushes along the way.

Among them, the 'Fruit-Eating Rats' possessed a certain level of aggressiveness. Their front teeth could deliver powerful bites 1-3 times, each capable of shattering steel, but they would become ineffective after three bites, taking about a week to recover.

The 'Astringent Honeycombs' would nurture Astringent Poison Bees. Their tail stingers could easily poison ordinary creatures to death, but against Transcendents, the effect wasn't that strong. As long as one handled them properly, they weren't dangerous.

The 'Verdant-Crimson Berries' were special berries possessing the Verdant Nectar Aspect. If given to the locals, they could be combined with other ingredients to make a 'First Tier·Verdant Nectar' 'Secret Recipe Fruit Jam.'

The second secret realm, "Deepwood Forest Path," started from the west side of the town. After walking 20 kilometers, one would gradually enter the gray-white Shadow World, then traverse through a dense, lightless forest. That place was more dangerous, with appearances of 'Night-Crying Crows,' 'Ghost-Shadow Owls,' 'Distorted Dead Trees,' 'Blood-Disc Pythons,' and 'Ash Evil Fruits.'

The third secret realm, "Distant Mountain Gate," started from the north side of the town. After walking 50 kilometers, one would reach the depths of the continuous mountain ranges. There, thick fog surrounded the area, making the situation dangerous. If one could find the right direction and traverse 100 kilometers, reaching a natural stone gate between two mountains, they could find a clear spring pool behind the gate. The 'Stone-Mist Spring Water' within was extremely precious, being a special resource for learning the 'Petrification' secret art, and could also be used in the concoction of potions for the 'Mist Shadow' Aspect.

…

The first secret realm, "Shattered Gravel Shore," was the safest, but it also had the most visitors. Sometimes, one might return from a trip with little to no harvest. Going to the "Deepwood Forest Path" was the choice of many Second Tier apprentices. As for the third secret realm, "Distant Mountain Gate," very few apprentices went there. It was said that previously, a team had set out to explore there, and the entire team never returned."Are there any teams going to the 'Deepwood Forest Path'? I'd like to find a team to go together with," Sylutia inquired.

"No problem. Register here, and when a team is heading there later, I'll help ask for you."

"Alright." Subsequently, the young girl took the form handed to her by the other party. It required filling in her information.

Class, Aspect, specialties, what abilities she had, what skills she possessed. Any information she felt could be valued by others could be written down.

A few minutes later, Sylutia finished filling out the form and handed it to the other party.

"There are sleeping quarters upstairs in the tavern. As a Second Tier apprentice, you can enjoy a certain discount. Do you want to rest here tonight?"

"Of course," Sylutia nodded.

"Alright. Please also note down your room number. If a team sets out, I'll have the tavern's server notify you."

"Thank you."

Afterwards, Sylutia took the key and went up to the third floor. The corridor here had nearly sixteen rooms on both sides, half of which were currently empty.

Arriving at a room, she opened the door and walked in.

Two tidy wooden beds were placed beside the window. The room also had a small table and chairs. The overall style was simple yet cozy.

Putting down the compound bow she was carrying and temporarily unbuckling the longsword to place by the bedside, Sylutia took off her boots. Her feet, clad in black stockings, stepped directly onto the floorboards, relaxing and unwinding.

After lying down for a little while, she got up and went to the bathroom on the other side of the room. It had a brass shower device, with a solid stone basin below, allowing for either a shower or a bath.

The hot water was probably heated by the boiler device behind the tavern. The technology of this world wasn't as backward as one might imagine;

it was just that ordinary households couldn't afford expensive steam equipment.

After bathing, Sylutia changed into a lighter purple dress, leaned against the headboard, and flipped through the books she had brought. Outside the window, the sky slowly transitioned from sunset glow to night.

In the evening, she wrapped herself in the quilt and had a good night's sleep.

Early the next morning, Sylutia woke up very early. After washing up and putting on her light armor, she set out again.

Today, she planned to walk around the town and see some of the local specialties.

Probably because the 'Orchid Secret Medicine' was stationed here, there were many herbal medicine shops in this place. Inside the shops, one could see quite a few First Tier herbal medicine apprentices, all of them apprentices not much different in age from the young girl.

Drying herbs in the sun, grinding them into powder for extraction, preparing the base for medicinal liquids, boiling medicinal solutions, filtering and purifying—this was the daily routine of many apprentices. While assisting professional Apothecaries, they gradually learned the techniques of concocting potions and trained their various abilities until they stepped into the Second Tier. Then they could try concocting some simple potions themselves, which they could then sell in their instructor's shops to earn some extra income.

The 'Orchid Fragrance Healing Potion' could stop bleeding, heal wounds, and slowly regulate internal injuries. It sold for 2-4 gold coins per vial.

Compared to the common 'Blood Healing Potion,' its effect was considerably better, and the price was about twice as high. An ordinary 'Blood Healing Potion' sold for 1-2 gold coins.

If one could sell 10 vials of 'Orchid Fragrance Healing Potion,' it could yield nearly 30 gold coins in income. This was roughly the annual income of an ordinary Second Tier apprentice, showing just how profitable the Apothecary profession was. Of course, if one deducted the cost of raw materials and failed attempts, an average apprentice often only earned 8-10 gold coins from selling 10 potions.

After observing the daily lives of these herbal shop apprentices, Sylutia turned her gaze to the other side. That was a shop selling various furs and animal horns and teeth. The apprentices managing and maintaining the shop were mostly combat-oriented professions.

"How much for this goat horn?" Sylutia asked curiously.

[Spiral Goat Horn] (First Tier·Beast Fang): A curved horn taken from a peculiar goat monster. Sturdy with dense ring patterns, it can be used for crafting items.

Hearing this, the man wearing a beast-hide vest across from her looked up from inside the shop and briefly glanced at the goat horn.

"You can have this horn for 3 gold coins." The price wasn't high, probably because it hadn't sold for a while.

"Can I pick it up and take a look?" Sylutia asked again.

"Go ahead and look. But if you're planning to do something bad, I advise you to be careful," he replied casually, glancing at the young girl whose face was mostly hidden under her hood.

"Thank you." Sylutia picked up the goat horn, feeling the delicate, keratinous texture it transmitted. It was somewhat cool to the touch, felt exceptionally sturdy when held, giving a sense of being more solid than stone.

(The texture is solid, capable of withstanding strong attacks, but has no other effects. Overall quality evaluation: Good.)

3 gold coins was indeed its price;

it would be hard to sell it for a higher price. If made into a small goat-horn hoe for tending the garden, it would be quite useful. It was lighter than iron and also durable and wear-resistant.

"I'll buy it." Sylutia took out three gold coins and placed them on the stall.

"Oh." Hearing the clinking sound of the gold coins, the other party was quite surprised. He stood up, examined the coins a few times, then handed the horn to the young girl.

"If you don't mind, I have some dried goat meat here. I can give you a pack. When going out on expeditions, it's a good choice for rations." Perhaps feeling he had gotten a good deal, the other party was also quite generous, directly giving the young girl a pack of dried goat meat.

[Dried Goat Meat] (Good): Meat from a goat monster. After smoking, the pollution from the Distortion Aspect slowly dissipates, making it edible. It's very filling, but it's still not recommended to eat too much.

After that, the young girl walked around the shops along the street, looking at the leather and fur clothing and armor, longbows and short blades, and various combat tools sold here.

Because the town wasn't large, she basically walked through the entire town that day, familiarizing herself with the general situation.

At night, returning to the tavern, Sylutia was just about to get something to eat when several members dressed as adventurers walked over. The leader was short in stature, wearing light leather armor with two daggers tucked at his waist.

"You're Sylutia, right?"

"I'm the captain of the 'Wobbling Gold Coin' team, nickname 'Bad Apple.' I wonder if you'd be interested in joining us for the next expedition mission."

This not-so-tall captain sat down, revealing the other members behind him: a blond heavy swordsman clad in full plate armor, a cold-faced wizard in black robes, and a chestnut-red short-haired girl. She wore a leather apron and carried an iron pot on her back, looking like a cook.