The Cornflower Witch

Book 3: Chapter 4: Hiltiya's Goal

In the morning, Sylutia was the first to wake up. She thought she was someone who liked to sleep in and disliked waking up early, but after living with her two roommates, she discovered that Lovier was even more of a sleeper. Although Aurora also woke up after she started moving, she soon pulled the corner of her blanket back up and continued hiding under the covers to sleep.

Huh? Could it be that I'm actually quite diligent? Sylutia slowly sat up, carefully extricated herself from the blanket without disturbing the other two, then went to the foot of the bed, found her slippers, and put them on.

Perhaps because she slept quite well last night, she wasn't sleepy at all now. After going to the bathroom to wash up, Sylutia changed into relatively warm black long cotton socks, then into a relatively simple but still gold-trimmed dress. It was predominantly black in tone. For warmth in autumn and winter, the originally bare-shoulder part was now covered by a chest-length shawl, protecting the chest, shoulders, and back. A small golden badge was pinned at the collar, stamped with a black griffin.

'Griffin' meant 'griffin' in the ancient language. Sylutia didn't know how Alanfude had found some glorious bloodline ancestor of his and then used this as his family name to flaunt a long history.

Fortunately, there was currently no well-known major family using the 'griffin' as their family emblem, so no one criticized his thin-blooded collateral branch for reviving this surname. In fact, many newly rising families or wealthy individuals would spend a large sum of money to have scholars help them find a famous-sounding ancestor to flaunt. Such things were not uncommon in the Merchant Capital Alliance.

After getting dressed, Sylutia left the dormitory and came to the main street outside. The time was around eight in the morning. The morning sun shone obliquely, and there weren't many pedestrians on the street; most were students carrying schoolbags, heading to school for class.

She walked along the street for a while, found an open bakery, bought several portions of hot bread and pastries, then wrapped them in a paper bag and brought them back to the dormitory building.

When she returned, Aurora was already up. Although much later than Sylutia, she had already washed her face and was starting to comb her hair.

"Is Lovier still not up?" Sylutia placed the bread on the table and asked.

"Not yet. Is Hedra going to call her?" Aurora's words today were quite a bit more compared to yesterday; at least she was starting to speak in longer sentences."I'll go call her." Sylutia walked into the bedroom. Lovier was still leaning against the pillow, sleeping on her side. Her sleeping posture wasn't bad; Sylutia hadn't felt Lovier move much last night either.

Walking over, Sylutia gently shook the other's shoulder. It took Lovier a good while to slowly sit up. Leaning against the headboard, her eyes still couldn't open. Her white silk nightgown was askew, making Sylutia worry she might catch a chill.

Helping Lovier straighten her nightgown, Sylutia heard a slight snoring sound coming from under the blanket. Then she remembered something and pressed and stroked a spot on the blanket, which indeed yielded the expected sensation.

Soon, a chubby, round-faced cat squeezed its head out from a corner of the blanket, let out a meow, then jumped onto Lovier's shoulder, rubbing against Lovier's cheek.

"I know... Dye-Dye, I'll feed you in a bit." Pressed down on the shoulder and neck by this cat's heavy body, Lovier had no choice but to open her eyes, pick it up, and stroke it.

After a good while, she became fully conscious, then, as if fully charged, she lifted the cat in her arms high up, then put it down and kept stroking it.

"Alright, alright, I'm up." Now she had returned to the energetic and lively state from last night.

After a busy round of washing up, Lovier sat with the other two in the dormitory's living room eating breakfast. Even simple bread, enhanced by the heat and aroma, became quite delicious.

After breakfast, the three set off to report to their school. It was about one kilometer from the dormitory, a roughly 20-minute walk.

Although school hadn't started yet, the staff here gave the three a detailed introduction to their future class situation.

"This is No. 89 Middle School. It will teach you many foundational knowledge and prerequisite subjects. For example, if you want to enter a college related to mechanical alchemy, you need to complete and master the 'Intermediate Course' in the mathematics category to pass the relevant college's entrance exam."

"If you want to join a factional college related to historical investigation or natural history, you must master the past of the Fourth Continent, studying the 21 main historical periods from the Seventh Epoch to the Ninth Epoch."

"The colleges are the strongholds of the various schools of the Mage Alliance. They are not nurseries, nor places to amuse foolish children. Everyone who joins a college must become an elite in that field, a talent capable of handling matters independently. Whether you can meet their standards and pass the screening of the exams depends on your own talent and effort."

After listening to the staff's explanation, Sylutia slowly understood the standards and gaps involved. The college students here were more similar to PhDs in her previous life. They had to achieve mastery in their field to be recognized. The minimum graduation requirement for each major college was the Third Tier; some colleges even had additional high-difficulty Trials to ensure the faction's reputation.

As for the middle school they were about to enter now, it was similar to parts of high school and the first or second year of university in her previous life. They would teach relatively complex, somewhat difficult skill-based subjects, but most people could roughly master these subjects as long as they were willing to spend the time.

After understanding everything, the three, upon the staff's recommendation, purchased a thick book titled "College Evaluations." It was published five years ago, the year the Mage Alliance conducted its assessment and ranking of the major colleges, resulting in this ranking and introduction of their characteristics.

Currently, the Mage Alliance has 35 colleges, belonging to different factions, each with its own distinct characteristics. Sylutia also noted the 'Bionics School' where Instructor Nox was previously. Their faction's stronghold was the 'Errimo College,' with a school emblem featuring the monster 'Chimera' with a lion, goat, and snake head. Currently ranked 21st, slightly lower, but its strength was not weak.

Furthermore, the top three ranked schools were respectively the 'Mithril Clock,' 'Origin Hourglass,' and 'Scorching Sun Furnace.' Their subordinate colleges were 'Tetis College,' 'Gras College,' and 'Taireze College.' These were also powerful mage schools with Named Ones, currently the triangular core of the Mage Alliance.

"Which college do you want to go to in the future?" Sylutia turned around and asked the two behind her.

"I will go to Rorik College. That's the college of the 'Puppetry School.'" Aurora already had a goal.

"I still don't know. Probably will find a college good at 'Verdant Nectar' and 'Scorching Sun.'" Lovier thought for a moment. "'Scorching Sun Furnace' is a very powerful school, but their main research direction is giant constructs, power cores, etc., which is different from my preferences."

"Let fate decide." Lovier stopped bothering to think about it and instead turned to observe this not-too-large school.

No. 89 School was right on the bustling street. The main buildings were two seven-story structures, with an open space in the middle for student activities. The teachers here were formal Mages. They would teach students the mainstream 61 types of courses, plus 4 special courses.

"The special courses at our No. 89 School are respectively: 'Aubile Linear Regression Function,' 'Chierti Distillation Refinement Method,' 'Sobis Magic Thread Manipulation,' and 'Fulani Steam Baking Technique.'"

"Students of this school can choose one special course to study for free. Students from other schools need to pay additional tuition."

"If in the future you learn about special courses at other schools, you will also need to pay to enroll yourself."

"The current standard for new students is: three mainstream courses per semester are free. The Mage Alliance will provide two years of subsidies for new students."

"That is to say, for the first two years, your accommodation and three courses per semester, these costs are paid for you by the Mage Alliance."

"If after two years you can pass the mid-term assessment, the subsidy will be extended for one year. After the three-year period is reached, the Mage Alliance will no longer provide subsidies. You will need to find your own accommodation, earn money for school fees, and continue preparing to pass the higher college entrance exams."

"Additionally, if you are over 30 years old and still haven't passed any college's entrance exam, you will be expelled from the Asra District." In fact, such things rarely happened, because generally, apprentices had to prepare their own tuition after age 20. If they continuously failed to pass the exams, they would leave around age 26, without waiting until 30, and go to other areas of the Mage Alliance to work.

The Mage Alliance's requirements are very strict. In comparison, the Hidden Grove Alliance is much looser. Many factions only require you to meet the requirements and don't impose mandatory age limits.

After familiarizing herself with the rules here, Lovier curiously asked Sylutia:

"Which college do you plan to go to later?"

"I want to go to the subordinate college of the 'Mithril Clock.' That's the school focusing on 'Secret Word, Gold Steam, Alien Star.'" It was also the mage school that sparked the transformation decades ago. Their rise made the Mage Alliance seem like it had changed its appearance, becoming like a precisely meshed, efficiently running clock.

Many High-Ranking Officers of the Hidden Grove Alliance believed they must understand the reasons for the Mage Alliance's changes and the deeper goals of the 'Mithril Clock' school before they could formulate a proper response.

As for learning that faction's powerful Transcendent secret arts, that was actually secondary, because the Hidden Grove Alliance also had many treasured secret methods, and the factions and their numbers were greater. However, in the face of the Mage Alliance's powerful system and several times greater number of Transcendents, these secret methods could not turn the tide.

The Hidden Grove Alliance believed that if the Mage Alliance's model and system continued to develop, the gap between the Hidden Grove Alliance and the other side would only grow larger. To bridge this gap and delay the outbreak of conflict as much as possible, they sent Sylutia here to study, hoping that after she became a leader of the Hidden Grove Alliance in the future, she could lead a transformation belonging to the Hidden Grove Alliance.