The Cornflower Witch

Chapter 61: Future Goals

Early December, the sun slanted across the sky, and a distant wind carried a hint of chill.

Amidst a forest floor littered with fallen leaves, Sylutia stood with her eyes closed. She held a sword in one hand, the other empty, fingers hanging from her sleeve, slightly parted as if sensing the breeze passing between them.

A blunt-tipped arrow shot out from the distant woods, speeding toward the young girl. She simply rotated the blade in her hand, drawing an arc from low to high, accurately striking the incoming arrow.

However, this was only the first. Then, arrows assaulted her again from different directions, at varying angles, sometimes even two arrows shot simultaneously from different sides.

Sylutia shifted her steps, the sword in her hand following her movements, slicing through the incoming arrows time and again, growing increasingly proficient.

After a long while, the arrows stopped. Several familiar figures emerged from the woods.

Karen, holding a longbow, walked up to the girl and glanced at the scattered arrows on the ground.

"A total of 30 training arrows, and Tia dodged or parried them all," she said, somewhat curious.

"Tia, did you learn the 'Listening to the Wind to Determine Position' ability?" This was a skill belonging to the Hunter profession.

"No, but when I advanced to 'First Tier - Verdant Nectar,' I gained perception-related enhancements," she replied, opening her eyes, then began picking up the arrows scattered around her, gathering those still usable.Mick examined the broken arrows. He picked one up, observing the fracture. The cut surface was quite smooth, indicating the swordsman's exquisite skill. Even in rapid reaction, there was no misalignment of the blade's edge.

His understanding of this young girl's swordsmanship skill deepened once more.

"Tia, can you spar with me?" he asked, feeling an itch, eager to try.

Previously, he had only received theoretical guidance from her, but the two had never truly engaged in a practical sparring match.

Before Sylutia could answer, Komea jumped over, loudly objecting.

"No! Mick, you're 'First Tier - Bloodline' now, with such great strength. What if you accidentally injure Tia?" She felt a girl's appearance was most important; getting injured in such training would be a real pity.

"How about I use a thick wooden sword?" Mick thought for a moment.

"A thick wooden sword probably still wouldn't work," Komea spoke up again.

"Don't you remember that match with Solyn? You two broke the wooden swords the moment you clashed."

Having practiced the Breathing Technique to the third stage, coupled with the strength boost from the 'Bloodline' Aspect, Mick could now easily shatter a cow's skull with a full-force punch. Komea's concern was not unfounded.

"Ah, I should have sparred with Tia before advancing," Mick lamented regretfully.

Hearing their conversation, Sylutia thought for a moment and slightly shook her head.

"Today probably isn't possible. I don't have a suitable weapon." The short sword she had been using was a gift from Captain Frien. Now, it felt too light for her and was no longer sufficient.

Under the enhancement of the Breathing Technique's third stage, ordinary iron swords could easily snap during intense combat, leading to accidents.

"Now that you mention it..." Mick looked at the shabby iron sword at his waist and also felt it was time to replace it.

His iron sword was rather thick and crude; to put it bluntly, it was just a lump of pig iron roughly shaped into a sword.

Because it wasn't expensive, he didn't mind when it got chipped from hacking. He'd occasionally sharpen it and continue using it.

"What about you, Karen? I see your ashwood longbow is looking a bit old too. Want to replace it?"

"I maintain it quite well, so there's no rush to change it," Karen shook her head.

"What are you all talking about?" Komea, bringing Ray along, approached and placed the bundle of arrows she was carrying with the others.

"I'm thinking about changing my weapon," Mick said, resting his hands behind his head.

"Weapon?" Komea looked at Mick's battered iron sword and couldn't help but cover her mouth with a giggle.

"Geez, it's amazing you aren't embarrassed using that thing, giggle."

"That's how it is being an adventurer. You have to save on everything," Mick shook his head, unbothered.

"If you used a good sword worth over 50 silver coins for hunting and various odd jobs, it'd be ruined beyond recognition in less than a month. That would be such a waste."

"So, adventurers usually prepare several weapons: cheap stuff for miscellaneous tasks and the real deal for life-or-death fights."

"Brother Jello's sword, for example, is made entirely of black steel. Not only is it exceptionally heavy, but it's also incredibly sturdy; ordinary steel can't even dent it."

"Black steel? That stuff isn't cheap," Komea remembered something.

"My dad once followed a guild representative to Scorchstone City to negotiate a deal, purchasing two hundred ingots of black steel. They haggled with the local blacksmiths' guild for a long time and had to promise a lot of additional conditions to secure it."

"What was the price?" Mick was somewhat interested in buying a sword made of black steel.

"Very expensive. One ingot of black steel cost about 5 gold coins, and that ingot was smaller than my hand," Komea recalled.

"If you made a sword from black steel, even if you only used it for the blade and the core was other steel, the price would still be over 6-7 gold coins."

"That expensive?!" Mick wailed. It seemed he couldn't afford it now.

"Looking at it that way, blacksmiths must be very profitable, even better than being an adventurer," he thought of something.

"Of course, blacksmiths are usually the wealthiest families in a village, followed by tailors and physicians," Komea sighed, touching her forehead.

Suddenly, Komea thought of something and looked at Ray.

"Ray, I think you'd be a great blacksmith." Ray had a stalwart build and great strength, indeed fitting the requirements for a blacksmith.

Hearing this, Karen and Sylutia also thought it was a good idea.

"I'm not good at very complicated things," Ray lacked confidence.

"Blacksmiths probably don't need to be that smart," Komea thought for a moment.

"Actually, Ray isn't that dumb, it's just..." She glanced at the black-haired girl beside her. It was just that this one was too brilliant, making the others feel they might be inherently a bit foolish.

Before meeting Sylutia, Komea was also famously quick-witted and had a good memory among her peers.

Their conversation shifted from sparring to suitable weapons, from black steel to blacksmiths, and from blacksmiths to their respective future plans.

"I will become a hunter," Karen had decided on her future direction from the start.

"I'll probably become an adventurer, though I don't feel as strongly about it now." After gradually gaining more knowledge and broadening his horizons, Mick slowly realized that being an adventurer wasn't such a perfect profession.

"Ray says he doesn't know, but after hearing our suggestion just now, he said he'll go to Scorchstone City next year to see if he can learn the blacksmithing trade."

"As for me..." Komea leaned against a tree trunk, thinking carefully.

"Actually, I love to have fun. I don't really know what I want to do in the future either. I'll just learn some interesting and useful things first, then travel around."

"What about you, Tia? Any plans?"

Plans... Sylutia leaned against the tree trunk, looking up at the dense leaves rustling in the wind, the autumn breeze carrying a faint rustling sound.

To be honest, because she had no memories of this life, there was nothing she felt particularly attached to or concerned about.

While this naturally meant a lack of belonging, like a dandelion seed adrift, the benefit was that she also had few constraints and could try many things.

Rarely did one have the talent she now possessed, unimaginable in her previous life, allowing her to absorb the world's many wondrous and novel pieces of knowledge like a sponge, learning various skills.

On Earth, limited by environment, background, and various rigid constraints, most people's lives could hardly be called free or smooth. Many, bombarded by information online, grew numb and anxious. Even if they had ideas, it was hard to persist under the impact of various concepts and realities.

'What kind of life do I want? Or, how should every mortal life destined for death choose to spend its existence?' This was almost the root of all such questions.

Thinking of this, Sylutia slightly shook her head. It was still too early to talk about these things.

However, since she had the chance to see a broader world and experience more wonders, wouldn't it be a great pity to miss it?

"I'll probably study under Scholar Hyde and my teacher for a while. Once I'm prepared, I'll set out to travel and try to further advance my Aspect tier."

"In that case, going to the Hidden Grove seems like a good choice, Tia," Komea reminded.

"That place..." Sylutia recalled Scholar Hyde's introduction.

It was said that the 'Hidden Grove' had outposts established by many schools. Young people entering there could access the elementary secret arts of various schools. If one met certain conditions, they could apply for that school's assessment. After completing various tests and trials, they could join the school and access its true heritage.

These supernatural schools were powerful organizations far surpassing nations. They had branches all over the continent and were the supporting force behind many countries. When the country of Regas was established, it relied on their assistance.

If one didn't go to the Hidden Grove, it was extremely difficult for ordinary people to access high-level supernatural knowledge in the outside world. The teachings within various trade guilds mostly stopped at the Third Tier of Aspects.

Analyzing it this way, going there was indeed the best choice. She could also access a broader world.

Since there was no other reason to reject it, she would set 'reaching the Hidden Grove' as her future goal, Sylutia slowly decided in her heart.