The Cornflower Witch

Book 2: Chapter 58: Forging Weapons

Vol 2 Chapter 58 Forging Weapons

"Uncle Oken, is the longsword I ordered earlier ready?" The girl arrived at the blacksmith street in the city and found that familiar shop.

It should have been picked up a month ago, but Sylutia had been so absorbed in her studies recently that she completely forgot about this matter.

"It's you. I finished forging that sword long ago, but you never came to get it. I was starting to think something had happened to you." After listening, the blacksmith uncle retrieved a longsword sealed in a black scabbard from the back room.

"Take a look. How's the color and quality? If it doesn't feel right in your hand, I can make some slight adjustments for you."

Taking the sword, Sylutia examined it carefully. Its shape and form resembled the 'Yanling Blade' from her memory. Drawing the blade, its color was a dark gold, appearing almost black from a distance. But with a slight turn, faint golden reflections could be seen. The blade lines were smooth and could easily cut through leather.

[Glittergold Longsword] (Second Tier · Rare): A longsword forged from Glittergold, exceptionally sharp, comfortable to handle, and possessing demon-breaking effects. (Sharpness +3, Demon-breaking +2)

"Give it a few swings. There's some unused, discarded grey cowhide over here." The blacksmith uncle hung up a piece of tattered cowhide rated '[First Tier · Superior]'.

"Alright." Sylutia gripped the sword, swung it through the air, and felt it was about half the weight of black steel. With a slight increase in speed, she could feel a hint of chilling coldness from its sharp edge.

She picked up the sword and, without applying any extra force, simply dragged it across the leather, smoothly slicing open a clean cut in the tough cowhide.This smooth, cutting sensation was captivating. If she had been wielding this sword that day, she probably could have slain that Petrification Lizard forty times over, directly exhausting its recovery power, preventing it from using Mist Form and causing its death.

After trying it out several times, Sylutia sheathed the sword and thanked the blacksmith uncle for his meticulous craftsmanship.

"Here are the remaining 50 gold coins from the order." She took out the gold coins she had brought.

"It's not that much. Wasn't the agreed total 90 gold coins? You already paid a 50 gold coin deposit earlier."

"I know. Consider the extra 10 gold coins a gift from me, as a token of thanks." She wasn't short on money these days anyway.

"Well then, I'll accept it." The other party didn't stand on ceremony either and cheerfully accepted the bag of coins.

After browsing around the shop for a while longer and looking at various weapons, Sylutia remembered the [Black Goat Horn] Agren had given her when he asked for her help. She then asked the blacksmith uncle how it should be used.

"If you're talking about a Black Goat Horn of the 'Nightmare' Aspect, I suggest forging a dagger with it." The blacksmith thought for a moment.

"I learned a special weapon-forging technique before called the 'Black Dream Dagger'. It has very strong demon-breaking effects, and after piercing an enemy's body, it inflicts spiritual damage on them. It's quite unique."

"Some large monsters, while their flesh and blood bodies are strong, their spiritual consciousness isn't that resilient. Attacking from that angle can be more effective."

"The reason it's a dagger and not a sword or spear is that if the blade is too far from the 'Black Goat Horn' in the hilt, the effectiveness diminishes. So a dagger is the most suitable."

"Oh, right, a dagger can also be used as a ritual instrument for many ceremonies. That's more advanced knowledge. You'll probably understand once you reach the Third Tier and start learning about 'Rituals' and 'Sacrifices'."

"So it has that kind of use too." Sylutia felt it was somewhat novel. After thinking it over, keeping that Black Goat Horn wasn't of much use anyway, so she might as well hand it over for him to forge.

"I'll bring that Black Goat Horn over later. Please forge the dagger for me, uncle."

"No problem." He patted his robust chest.

"Also, I'd like to ask you to forge another longsword for me, but this time, make it slimmer and narrower." Her physique and hand size were different from Agren's, so compared to the sword she now held, certain adjustments needed to be made.

Over the next day, Sylutia delivered the Black Goat Horn and had a detailed discussion with this blacksmith uncle about the specifics of forging the two new weapons.

"This is a 100 gold coin deposit. Sorry for the trouble." After paying the deposit for the two weapons, Sylutia said her goodbyes.

Carrying the longsword, Sylutia went to the association to mail it.

"Who would you like to mail it to?" the staff member inquired.

"An apprentice stationed at the 'Evil Wolf Wilderness' outpost, named 'Agren'." Sylutia recalled.

"Alright." After noting it down, the other person calculated the postage and told the girl.

"The total mailing fee is 2 gold coins. This includes the teleportation transfer fee and a runner's fee to help you contact that apprentice."

"Okay." After paying, Sylutia received a confirmation slip.

Afterwards, she thought for a moment and wrote another letter to hand to the staff member.

"Please mail this letter to the 'Linquan Orchard' outpost and deliver it to apprentice 'Florerella'. She came to the Hidden Grove the same year I did."

"No problem."

With these tasks done, Sylutia left feeling satisfied.

Returning to her residence, it was still early. Sylutia read for a while before Sophitina returned, bringing the prepared dinner for the girl.

"I bought this on my way back: a roast goose, two portions of bread, and two bottles of chilled juice." Sophitina placed the packaged food on the table.

"Thank you~"

In the evening, the two sat at the dining table for their meal. Sophitina brought up events from the day.

"Recently, while learning about Spell Models from Instructor Dikes, I heard people talking about you." Sophitina took small sips of juice, her slender fingers lightly holding the bread.

"Oh, what were people saying about me?" Sylutia tried to recall;

she seemed to have very little contact with students from the same intake.

"People say you're particularly mysterious, hardly ever seen. And because you cultivated a large amount of Rare-grade crops, you were discussed by some instructors, and that's how they found out about you."

"A few apprentices who came to the Glittergold Plains with you said you were very aloof back then, not talking to them on the journey, probably thinking their strength wasn't worthy of conversation with you."

"Ah, was it like that?" Sylutia tilted her head, her snow-white silver hair curving over her shoulder and slipping down slightly.

"I was actually focused on the surrounding environment back then. It was my first time coming to the Hidden Grove, so I was curious about everything."

Hearing Sylutia's explanation, the black-haired girl opposite couldn't help but raise her hand to her mouth with a light laugh.

"But that's not how it looks in everyone else's eyes. Still, many people admire you. After all, advancing to Sequence Two within a year has truly amazed quite a few people."

"Some people found out you live in that valley and wanted to sneak a peek to see how you did it. But the instructors warned them, saying they would be punished if they disturbed you. That scared off the curious apprentices."

Sophitina shared amusing stories from study life with Tia, giving her some understanding of the state of other apprentices in the city.

Towards the end, Sophitina grew somewhat curious. "Don't you usually go out to attend gatherings or the like?"

"Are there gatherings? No one told me about them." Sylutia softly refuted, indicating she wasn't that kind of unapproachable person either.

"Your situation is really quite rare." Sophitina shook her head slightly and then told Sylutia about the typical life experiences of apprentices.

"If they've just entered the Hidden Grove, new students often form groups, frequently exchanging insights, especially since they chose the same outpost and mostly study the same path."

"Secondly, everyone is also afraid of missing out on opportunities due to poor information, or falling behind, not understanding the situation. So they actively participate in some gathering activities. After all, such events are only once a month, not a waste of time, and they get to hang out with peers, relaxing their overly tense and oppressive mood."

"Weren't you ever worried about these things?"

"At the time, I was focused on getting the crops in the valley in order, completing task evaluations. I was constantly busy familiarizing myself with and improving crop cultivation. Then I also had to spend time clearing debris from the valley, teaching that group of toads, making them learn some basic procedures to help share the workload..." Sylutia counted off the tasks she completed back then on her fingers, indicating she never even thought about other aspects.

"I think I understand." Sophitina stopped Sylutia's explanation and handed her a sliced roast goose leg.

"Tia is the type of person who, once focused on something, becomes completely immersed in it. No wonder you progressed so quickly." She felt a bit emotional.

"How about this: the day after tomorrow, I'm hosting a gathering. You should come too, meet some of the other apprentice peers in the city."

"Okay."

"Mhm, mhm, I'm finished eating." Sophitina put down her knife and fork and stood up.

"Does Tia want to take a hot bath tonight? I don't mind the two of us together." Usually, the two bathed separately because the bath was limited, so it was one person per day.

"This..." Tia looked at the black-haired girl in front of her, who was about the same height, thought for a moment, and still shook her head.

"Maybe next time."

She really did prefer bathing alone. In the memories of this life, it seemed she only bathed with Ilythia when they were little, and the other liked to fight with her in the water, leaving a deep impression.

"Tia's shy, giggle." Sophitina winked at the girl, then picked up her change of sleepwear and walked towards the bathroom in the back room.

Having lived under the same roof for two months, the two had gone from being politely distant at the beginning to gradually becoming familiar, occasionally making harmless little jokes and teasing each other.