The Cornflower Witch

Thick leaves blocked the sky overhead, and the occasional floating fluorescent light drifting between the foliage illuminated the small path below. Several young figures walked along it.

“This is the ‘Gloomy Forest’ secret realm. Since its danger level is 4★, not many people come here,” the student walking at the front explained to those behind.

“I first came here last semester. Back then, we had a six-person team and entered the second layer of the secret realm. We gathered quite a bit, but some of the team members got hurt. I felt that continuing deeper would definitely lead to trouble, so we slowly withdrew.”

“According to the Shadow World’s secret realm danger classification, 4★ generally requires all team members to be at Fourth Tier to be considered safe. This is a relatively dangerous place.”

“Most of the secret realms mages explore or carry out missions in are between 2★ and 3★. Starting from 4★, fewer people venture in. And precisely because there are fewer people, expeditions to such secret realms often yield bountiful rewards.”

Right now, Sylutia was walking in the team. Besides her, there were five other members, making six in total. All were fellow apprentices from Tetis. Among them, Sylutia and Moria were at Fourth Tier, while the rest were at Third Tier. That said, these few apprentices were not far from reaching Fourth Tier. Considering the excellence of Tetis’s apprentices, their actual combat strength wasn’t much worse than Fourth Tier, and each had their own specialties in secret arts.

“Then what are the main dangers here?” Walking in the middle of the group, Sylutia looked up, her eyes curious as she watched the fluorescent light occasionally drifting down from the tree canopy.

These trees possessed a faint ‘Luminous Moon’ Aspect, not reaching the level of First Tier, but the glow they emitted was still enough to illuminate the dim forest.

“Dangerous monsters roam here, such as Second Tier ‘Silent Bats’ and ‘Corpse-Eating Rabbits,’ Third Tier ‘Apple Forest Cicadas’ and ‘Shadow-Walking Beasts,’ and Fourth Tier ‘Hermit Spiders,’” the other person explained.

“Last time we explored, we accidentally entered a ‘Hermit Spider’s’ lair and got attacked. Several people were injured.”

Sylutia nodded and followed the team as they gradually delved deeper into the secret realm.

For the first half of the day, they walked under the faintly glowing tree shade. Occasionally, they encountered some Second Tier monsters, like the Silent Bats that flew without a sound and the Corpse-Eating Rabbits lurking in the dark parts of the bushes.

“Knocking these guys down doesn’t yield much,” a team member shook his head.

Silent Bats were very small, and their blood contained multiple viruses, making it troublesome even for refining Blood Wine. Their wings were usable in some rituals, but the demand wasn’t high, and the purchase price was very low—just a few gold coins per pair.

As for the Corpse-Eating Rabbits, it was similar. Their flesh and blood were tainted with a rotten aura, and their fur wasn’t good either. Few people needed it.

“If I took it back, a Corpse-Eating Rabbit’s pelt could probably sell for 2-3 gold coins, but I don’t really want to bother. First, the smell is bad. Second, I’d rather save the bag space for something more valuable.”

Sylutia listened to their conversation and recalled her expeditions with the Hidden Grove Alliance. If it had been her former teammates, they would have eagerly skinned the creatures and saved them to bring back.

She wondered if the members here from the Mage Alliance were more delicate, or if the elite apprentices of Tetis had simply outgrown caring about such trivial gains.

Probably the latter, Sylutia thought, remembering her experiences in Branuir. There, Second Tier beast furs were still sought after by many, even if the value was limited.

Many of the secret arts in the mage system were related to ‘Gold Steam’ and ‘Secret Word.’ So within the Mage Alliance, metal ores, gemstones, high-grade paper, and ink tended to have higher markups and sold without worry. As for other resources, the prices were average, and demand was much lower.

Most of the beast furs currently purchased were sent to workshops for processing, turning them into high-quality ‘beast parchment’ for copying scrolls, rune inscriptions, and other secret arts, or for making spellbooks—rather than for making clothes or coats.

As for beast blood, aside from being partly used to brew Blood Wine and other potions, a significant portion was also used to make high-grade ink for copying scrolls, spellbooks, and rune engraving.

For example, later when Ti Ya crafted weapon equipment, some of the runes required specially prepared ink for engraving.

Passing through the relatively dangerous first layer of the secret realm, they continued deeper, and the surrounding environment began to change.

First, the number of glowing trees by the path increased. Under the influence of the ‘Distortion’ Aspect, the trees in the second layer started to take on bizarre shapes. Some trunks seemed to have grown screaming human faces, making people uneasy.

But these trees only looked strange. They hadn’t absorbed enough of the ‘Distortion’ Aspect to transform into some kind of monster.

The environment gradually grew darker. Without the cover of leaves, the dry, withered branches gave off a desolate feel. The surroundings were barren. At that moment, the team member at the front raised a torch, and in the orange-red flame, warmth and sparks overflowed, illuminating the area.

Dawn Wind Torches—expedition tools made by Alchemists. The torches were mixed with a special ‘Scorching Sun’ Aspect fire oil, emitting bright light and heat that dispelled darkness and weaker illusions or hallucinations.

Basking in the warmth brought by the torch, everyone felt reassured. Still, they picked up their weapons and began to be on guard. After all, this was the second layer, which had some danger.

At this moment, Sylutia walked in the middle of the group, her hands empty, while thin silver threads slowly formed and coiled around her fair wrists.

Just then, the team suddenly stopped. Before anyone could ask why, the member at the very front raised his staff, and a large crescent blade materialized, silently shooting out to strike a twisted tree branch in the distance.

From the struck branch, a wriggling snake body fell. Only then did everyone realize what had happened.

“Your eyesight is amazing. You spotted it from that far away.”

“Come on, let’s go check the haul. I think it’s a Second Tier ‘Tangerine-Skin Snake.’” Three team members walked into the barren woods.

Sylutia didn’t go over. She just glanced at where they were headed, then turned her gaze elsewhere.

It was a Second Tier ‘Tangerine-Skin Snake’ that had been struck. Its body was now cut in two.

When the three members flipped the snake’s corpse and brought it back, Sylutia heard a faint sound. She turned to look again and saw a huge shadowy outline appearing behind the three of them without warning. Unfortunately, the three were completely unaware.

Without time to shout, Sylutia’s eyes flashed with a silver symbol imprint, its shape turning like a clock hand. Then, in a blur of motion, she shot forward, reaching the three in the blink of an eye.

At that moment, the three had just widened their eyes slightly, their expressions changing slowly, their movements frozen. It seemed slow, but in reality, it was because Sylutia had accelerated her own time, making them appear sluggish.

She passed them and arrived in front of the massive shadowy outline. The figure hidden within sensed that the girl before it was no small threat. It didn’t reveal itself further but slowly faded away, and the woods returned to their barren stillness.

It was only then that the others, startled, reacted and looked back at Sylutia, who had suddenly appeared behind them.

“Just now was…?” They also sensed something was wrong.

“I don’t know exactly what it was, but it’s very likely the ‘Hermit Spider’ you mentioned earlier,” Sylutia shook her head.

【Hermit Spider】（Fourth Tier · Mist Shadow）

A spider that can completely conceal its existence. As long as it doesn’t reveal itself, its life force’s aura and fluctuations vanish entirely, as if it were nothing. Its true body, while concealed, exists in a special state and cannot attack or be sensed.

Another ‘Mist Shadow’ Aspect monster, huh? Sylutia felt a sense of familiarity and nostalgia. Perhaps it was the powerful concealment feature of the ‘Mist Shadow’ Aspect that allowed monsters of this type to survive in the secret realms they explored. Otherwise, even with a high rank, they would likely be easily hunted down by expedition teams.