The Cornflower Witch

Chapter 78: Alien Star Perception

After resting, Sylutia felt her mental state had improved considerably. Especially after that dream ended, she roughly understood that this place was not completely disconnected from the normal world.

Since knights and witches from the past could all enter here, it meant this place wasn't completely unknown, and there must be some way to come and go.

After packing her things, she headed up the hillside once more. As she strolled along the steep cliff, her field of vision gradually widened until she reached the mountain peak, where she could gaze into the vast, immense world in the distance.

Her view was dominated by large swathes of gray and white, but occasionally she could catch glimpses of a few hidden specks of color within them. It was like a blue flower suddenly appearing in a black and white woodcut, or a small red berry growing amidst a bush.

In this nearly gray-white, static world, she noticed a vaguely different outline within the mountain mist in the distance.

In the center of that forest, there seemed to be a ruined stone pillar structure, like some kind of ancient relic.

Could people have actually lived in such a world before? Sylutia was surprised. But since someone had once resided here, they must have had a passage connecting the normal world and this place.

Perhaps she should go there and look for possible clues.

Her gaze shifted as she planned her route to that location, then turned back.

Returning once more to the colored bubble where the gray iron stone sword stood, Sylutia rested for a short while before stepping into the gray-white world below.This time, she traveled for a long time, gradually leaving the sparsely vegetated hillside and entering the dense, twisted forest.

The trees here had long been mutated and distorted by the 'Distortion' Aspect. Looking at them frozen in the gray-white world, they might have already stopped growing, becoming withered, dead things.

Passing through this small patch of forest, Sylutia arrived at a node within the forest. Here stood a tall, moss-covered boulder.

She maintained suspicion and caution towards anything abnormal. This was a lesson she had learned from seeing Knight Horlin's experience in the dream.

Facing this stone, Sylutia focused her perception, her eyes staring intently, wanting to see through what might be different inside.

However, there was nothing special. All her senses told her this was just an ordinary rock.

Could it be a prank? Sylutia was a bit skeptical and decided to go around it anyway.

She shifted her steps around the stone, then nimbly escaped into the gray-white world, leaving this colored bubble. Nothing unexpected happened during the entire process, and she no longer paid it any mind, continuing forward.

The next node was beside a body of water in the forest.

The moment she stepped into this colored bubble, she was attacked.

A poisonous snake from the forest attacked her. It leapt directly from a tree, gliding slightly through the air, its head twisting as it lunged at her.

The girl hurriedly jumped back, then drew her short sword.

With the boost from her Breathing Technique, the short sword swung rapidly, slicing the poisonous snake into three segments mid-air. Black blood and thick mist flowed from the snake's wounds.

Soon, this strangely patterned poisonous snake died.

Standing to the side, Sylutia observed carefully for a while, then used her dagger to pry open the dead snake's head. She carefully extracted its fangs and stored them away.

【Snake Fang】(Distortion): A sharp fang containing Distortion venom, usable for concocting potions and harming enemies.

She continued forward again, arriving at the edge of this small river, and looked into the water.

On the water's surface, Sylutia's reflection appeared, her silver-snow hair flowing gracefully, her slightly dreamlike face undulating with the water's flow.

'I envy you.'

The girl in the water suddenly let out a hoarse voice, then opened her mouth. A blood-red tongue abruptly shot out, snapping towards the girl by the riverbank.

Faced with this sudden attack, Sylutia's heartbeat accelerated. She narrowly avoided it, the blood-red tongue flashing before her eyes before instantly retracting into the water.

She hastily jumped back, moving away from the riverbank, then drew her short sword.

However, this time, the reflection in the water had already vanished, showing no abnormalities.

This... is a bit sinister here, the girl thought to herself.

She picked up a stone and threw it into the water, but this time there was no reaction, which made Sylutia slightly troubled.

If she wanted to continue forward, she had to cross the river. But the current situation was clear: the river surface was not safe.

What other means did she have? Breathing Technique? Dew Prayer Method? Neither of these could harm this strange thing.

Could she only use the black cat to solve the problem? But she only had one use, and Sylutia was a bit reluctant.

Come to think of it, she hadn't used this power since transforming into the Alien Star.

Sylutia thought for a moment, blinked her eyes, raised her wrist, and carefully perceived her own information.

Name: Sylutia·※※※※

Race: Human (※※※)

Status: Healthy (No abnormalities)

Talents: Star [Unknown Tier], Cornflower's Affection [Rare Grade, Can be Upgraded]

Fate Card: 【Girl Under the Starry Sky】(First Tier·Alien Star)

'A girl sleeping yet to awaken beneath the starry sky, possessing unimaginable potential. Now, meteors flash, dispelling the Distortion's mist.'

-Effect 【Discernment Eyes Lv.3】: Originating from a special talent and physique, you can discern colors imperceptible to ordinary people, as well as part of the essence of things. (When you raise the tier of your Fate Card, this ability will also receive synchronized improvement)

-Effect 【Alien Star Perception Lv.2】: Tainted by Alien Star power, your observation of all things is more insightful. You can see five colors difficult for ordinary people to perceive, discovering unknown secrets.

Ability Cards: 【Breathing Technique Lv.3】【Grotesque Black Cat (Consumable)】

Skills: [Basic Swordsmanship Lv.4][Military Swordsmanship Lv.4][Basic Archery Lv.4][Basic Spear Technique Lv.4][Secret History Knowledge Lv.5][Gardening Skills Lv.4][Garden Swordsmanship Lv.2]

——

What is the function of this 【Alien Star Perception Lv.2】 ability?

Sylutia focused her spirit on this effect. Her original Discernment Eyes gained another strange hue, allowing her vision to transcend ordinary limits and see deeper into the core.

This was a vision between reality, shadow, and dream. She saw things that didn't exist in reality, like formless monsters writhing within thick, heavy clouds, and dream creatures hiding in forest corners. They were the size of meatballs, had tiny wings, no eyes or mouths, and breathed in and out.

When she approached, these meatball creatures seemed somewhat afraid of her, scattering away. This was also why she hadn't noticed these creatures before.

Afraid of her? Why? Sylutia didn't understand, but she couldn't be bothered with these little guys right now. Instead, she searched for the monster that had attacked her from the water surface earlier.

After looking around, although there were some strange, formless things at the bottom of the water, they were all very weak, completely incapable of launching attacks. This left her unable to find the target.

Suddenly, she thought of something. She shifted direction, observing the space above the river's surface. Then, on the upper part of a tree branch, she discovered a hidden, transparent tree frog. Calling it a tree frog, but this creature had six legs, no eyes on its head, and instead had a distorted human face on its snow-white belly.

This thing is really weird. Its method of attack was actually to strike again through the reflection in the water, making anyone think it was underwater when it was actually above water.

Not understanding this bizarre creature, Sylutia carefully confirmed once more. This creature's main body shouldn't be strong. So, gripping her sword, she quickly stepped forward, kicked off the tree trunk to leap up, and brought the sharp blade down directly, slicing it in two on the branch.

The dead grotesque tree frog fell. Only then did Sylutia see its complete appearance.

【Human-Faced Tree Frog】(Nightmare): A transparent tree frog that conceals itself in dreams, capable of attacking through mirrors. Its methods are bizarre and hard to find.

The 'Nightmare' Aspect. This was the first time Sylutia had seen a creature of this Aspect.

Blue-purple blood flowed from the dead tree frog. Although it contained turbid, Distortion black mist, the proportion wasn't large. It seemed it hadn't been completely corrupted and polluted.

She didn't know how this creature had survived until now. It must have had other food sources. Sylutia suddenly thought of the meatball creatures hiding in the forest on the other side earlier.

【Dream Infant Beast】(Nightmare): A weak dream beast that can devour the dreams of living creatures. Fears clear moonlight.

She hadn't known the names and abilities of such creatures before, but now she directly analyzed and understood them, automatically comprehending.

It seems the power of the 'Alien Star' is particularly strong in analysis and uncovering truth?

Fears moonlight? Could it be afraid of the power of 'Luminous Moon'? However, she hadn't cultivated the power of the 'Luminous Moon' Aspect. So why was it afraid of her?

The girl shook her head slightly, deciding not to continue thinking about it, or it would be endless.

She might as well assume she still carried residual traces of Luminous Moon's aura.