The Cornflower Witch

Book 2: Chapter 31: Genius Archer Tia

Vol 2 Chapter 31: Genius Archer Tia

The ghost’s gray-white body looked like a rotting corpse, delivering a strong visual shock;

even before it approached, one could almost smell the stench of decay.

Against an enemy like that, without the right countermeasures, it would be particularly unpleasant, especially for classes that relied solely on physical attacks.

Karl methodically used his abilities, first scattering powder to reveal the spirit, then commanding the phantom cat to constantly harass it, looking for an opening to tear the ghost apart.

Fighting ghosts differs from fighting living creatures;

it does not rely on techniques so much as the resilience of the soul, or rather the dark life force.

Clearly, though the phantom cat was small, its form was far more condensed than the skeletal wraith before them, and it was mentally clear. Even with an overall slight disadvantage in Aspect power, it could still easily decimate this mindless skeletal wraith.

After about two minutes, the phantom grew weak, as if about to dissipate at any moment. Karl recalled the phantom cat and pulled out a special black skull.

He pointed the black skull at the ghost, and under the invisible guidance of Dead Embers, the phantom was slowly absorbed into the skull and vanished.

“Is that it?” Pona had gone on several adventures with them, but it was the first time she’d seen Karl use that skull to absorb a spirit.

“Yes. When we get back, I can use certain secret arts to refine the ghost inside the skull into pure Dead Embers energy, which can be used to strengthen the black cat or to bolster my own Aspect.” The principle was roughly similar to ordinary adventurers drinking Blood Wine, except one was related to Bloodline, the other to Dead Embers.“I’ll claim this haul, and when we divide the spoils, deduct four gold coins for me.” Karl told Bad Apple to note it down.

“Okay.” He acknowledged and recorded it.

“Is there really no other use for this skeleton?” The short captain walked over and prodded the pile of dried, rotting bones with a stick.

“No, nothing of value.” Karl shook his head.

“If it were some powerful skeleton, or the awakened spirit was strong, it wouldn’t stay trapped in that dead tree forever.”

“Just burn it. It’s gross to look at.” Pona raised her hand and suggested.

“Sure.”

Pona approached the tree, blew gently on the dry wood, and soon warm flames rose and ignited the half-burned trunk.

After handling it, the group set off again, occasionally chatting about knowledge and anecdotes from exploration.

“Generally, the gains from a secret realm are natural resources or monster drops, but sometimes our harvests are the remnants left by previous explorers—their belongings or signs of activity.”

“For example, if a secret realm once had many deaths and only became safe after enemies were cleared, the relics left behind by earlier explorers become resources for later adventurers.”

“That sounds a little sad.” Sylutia thought of those relics’ owners—probably people about their age, who had walked into the secret realm full of dreams and hopes.

“You can’t dwell on that, Tia.” Pona walked beside the girl, trying to cheer her with her own enthusiasm.

“Anyway, everyone dies in the end, so before that happens, make sure to be happy.” That kind of reassurance made Sylutia open her mouth, and she found it hard to argue.

After passing through a darker stretch of woodland, the canopy above thinned a bit, allowing some light to filter into the dim Hidden Grove.

There was a sound.

While the others had not noticed, Sylutia heard a faint rustle. She looked up and saw, several hundred meters away in the bushes, a beast eating.

Creatures that could survive in a twisted secret realm were unlikely to be ordinary animals. She stopped and cautiously warned the group.

“Oh, you can spot prey that far away?” Bad Apple examined the thicket carefully. After a while he noticed subtle differences and movement.

“You keep saying you’re not a ranger, but I think most rangers don’t have observation skills this sharp.” The captain joked.

“Can you shoot it? If you can reduce its ability to escape, the rest of us can catch up and finish it off together.”

“I’ll try.” Sylutia herself had never shot prey this far.

She fitted a Sickle Thorn Vine seed onto the arrowhead, lifted her Black Ebony Compound Bow, calmed her breathing, and slowly adjusted her posture.

At this moment she concentrated so fully that her sight seemed to pierce through the leaves and branches, allowing her to clearly perceive the shape of the prey.

It looked like a deer, but its antlers were twisted, and its fur shifted with the environment, making it hard to discern.

The bowstring drew back, the arrow nocked, and Sylutia held her breath. When the prey’s position aligned in her perception with the arrow’s trajectory, she released.

The black arrow flew through the foliage with incredible speed and silence, embedding in the creature’s body.

The deer-like monster let out a cry and bolted, plunging into the deeper gloom of the woods.

It bounded and dashed;

soon black thorny vines spilled from the wound, coiling around its body until they reached its legs and caused it to fall. Layer upon layer of black spiny vines wrapped the beast, immobilizing it.

[Corrupted Antler Forest Deer] (First Tier · Verdant Nectar): A deer from the corrupted woods invaded by the Distortion Aspect. Its antlers are twisted and deformed, its mind largely lost, but it still instinctively gnaws plants. Its fur changes with the environment to avoid detection.

The group hurried over. Bad Apple thrust his short sword into the deer’s eye socket with precision, killing it and ending its struggle.

“Oh, new players really do get lucky sometimes.”

Bad Apple checked the dead deer, then stood.

“The antlers and the blood are valuable. Too bad we haven’t been out long—if we run into them on the way back, we can haul them to town.”

“The hide looks great. I’ll help skin it for you, Tia.” Pona spoke up.

Though others in the party could skin animals too, none matched Pona’s skill as a professional cook. Under her hands, the hide could be removed intact and sold for a high price.

“Just this deer alone is worth over ten gold coins.”

They paused, Pona began to skin it, Karl extracted the blood, Yan helped saw off the antlers, and Bad Apple cut the meat. After a short busy spell, their packs held more loot.

[Strange Antler] (Good): The antlers are twisted and tough, unsuitable for crafting tools but suitable for grinding into medicinal powder.

[Color-changing Hide] (Excellent): Can be made into a special cloak that changes color with the environment;

favored by some thieves and assassins.

[Deer Blood] (Pass): Beast blood containing Bloodline energy, usable to make Blood Wine, but polluted and of lower quality.

Along the way they encountered other creatures: odd crows flitting past, ambushers detected in advance by Sylutia. Often a single arrow from her would strike a flying bird or a poisonous snake and pin it to a tree, where it writhed but could not escape.

With this seemingly delicate girl in the team, the trip felt unusually easy. The others only needed to move in to finish off and loot. The supposed novice had become the party’s main force today.

After slaying the monsters en route, their packs gained many trophies.

By dusk they found a relatively safe spot to camp for the night.

An orange campfire burned, and the tired group gathered around it, watching Pona prepare tonight’s meal.

“Roasted venison and mushroom vegetable soup, just wait a bit.”

Being able to eat hot, delicious food in such a pitch-black wilderness greatly improved morale.

Sylutia rested her compound bow on her knees and patiently inspected it by firelight;

the long legs reflected in the flames took on a faint golden glow.

Her use of bow and arrow felt more natural today, almost addictive.

Sensing, aiming, tracing the trajectory rhythm—lock on, let go—hit.

The arrows felt like an extension of her arm, going exactly where she intended with precise accuracy. That positive feedback was intoxicating.

Nearby, Karl checked various medicinal powders and reagents he carried, Yan lay on the grass resting, and Bad Apple nimbly climbed a branch to watch and keep guard.

Everyone had their role. Though they spoke little, an unspoken tacit understanding existed.

Soon the scent of roasting meat reached Sylutia’s nose. She watched curiously as Pona used a special technique to grill: the Gold Steam heat penetrated the ingredients, heating them internally and gradually altering their properties, enhancing nutrition and slowly purging the Distortion contamination during the cooking process.

Cooking seems interesting.

She realized that raising crop quality further herself would be difficult now, but if she could process Perfect-quality food in this way, perhaps she could break limits and create First Tier Verdant Nectar food of higher grade. Such meals reportedly did more than restore stamina and nutrition—they had various special effects.

If she had the chance later, she wanted to learn cooking from Pona. Even if it couldn’t become a career, being able to prepare delicious food for herself would be well worth it.